Mandolin Rain

Annie reads!

2012-01-07T15:06:00.002-05:00

Not to be misleading . . . Annie can't really read yet, but I think she does a pretty good job! She's basically memorized all of her favorite books: Arthur, Dora, and Thomas the Tank Engine. She was kind of sick of doing it by the time I pulled out the camera, so she was skipping a few pages and not too into it. But usually it's uncanny how she knows every single word!

Oh, and my parents came over this morning and brought these chairs with them. They were always in my room at our house on South Street, and it's fun to see Annie sitting in them while she reads to me. :)

Oh, and it's been sixty degrees here the last two days! We've gone on walks and played out in the backyard. In the middle of January! Such a lovely treat :)

I love watching these sisters

2012-01-02T19:38:00.000-05:00

a little laughter

2011-12-24T20:02:00.002-05:00

It's a little hard to hear over Brant's loud yelling. You just never know what'll do the trick. Clearly Mabel thought it was all hilarious!

We are stuffed from our festive, yummy dinner with my parents and Grandma. Annie is almost in bed and anxiously awaiting Santa Claus! It's going to be SO FUN this year. I think we're more excited than she is. :)

Merry Christmas Eve!

annie's current favorite songs

2011-11-18T22:56:00.001-05:00

mabel is 6 months old!

2011-11-10T17:22:00.001-05:00

Actually, she's almost six months old, but she had her doctor's appointment today. She did great! In fact, she never cried once, and up until now she has screamed through every single doctor's examination. Annie did the same thing til she was two, so I thought Mabes would be same. But no, she giggled and chattered through the whole appointment. Until the shots, that is. But she didn't even cry that long after them, either. :) The doctor said Mabel is beautiful and awesome and all wonderful things! She said she has a very strong core, and is the youngest baby to ever sit up straight and rock in their little scale-chair thing where they weigh her. Annie was an inquisitive little doctor's helper throughout the whole appointment, too. She totally adores Mabel and cares so much about what other people do to her. It's sweet. Mabel's greatest enjoyment the whole day was the crinkly wonderment of the paper on the doctor's exam table. She ripped and (tried to) chew on that lovely stuff the whole time.

Anyway, here are the stats:

weight: 15 lbs. 12 oz (43rd percentile)
height: 25 1/2" (47th percentile)

woo-hoo! Here's to another fantastic six months! I can't believe she's growing so fast! She is a little mover and a shaker, that's for sure. And a total lovable, huggable, cuddly sweetie.

sisters

2011-11-06T10:04:00.001-05:00

standing all by herself and the beautiful fall day

2011-11-04T16:23:00.001-04:00

Mabel's been loving the two-feet life lately!

I love this picture . . . Annie chewing mischievously on Mabesy's hand and Mabel with the perfect innocent and trusting expression.

Mabel hugging her ottoman . . .

This is Annie's "I refuse to look at the camera and smile" pose, and Mabel is totally hammin' it up:

We just got home from a lovely early-November trip to the Masonic Village farm market just down the road from us. It's my new favorite place to take the girls, especially on a beautiful day like today.

We parked at the market and bought some apples, which they grow there on the orchard, and some carrots, broccoli, and the most beautiful onion I've ever seen.

Then we decided to go exploring and drove all around the premises. It's an expansive village--and so pretty in the fall!

When we got back into our neighborhood, the girls and I took a walk down to a secret swingset we found behind a church that's around the block from our house. I took some more pictures; as it turns out, it's beautiful right in our own town, too! :)

And here's some pictures from my friend Ashley's blog of Annie's preschool going to the Masonic Village orchard a few weeks ago for a field trip!

Happy fall, everybody!

a video of life in a snowy October weekend

2011-10-30T11:37:00.001-04:00

another first for Mabel

2011-10-29T10:36:00.003-04:00

Snow!

(That is, assuming she doesn't remember all the snow we shoveled together last winter, when I was five and six months pregnant.)

We're having a freak, early snowstorm today, predicted to get 6-10". Wow! We'll see . . . But it sure is strange to see snow coming down on colorful leaves on trees and still-blooming mums!

We're staying warm inside today!

I'm still new at this . . .

2011-10-21T21:35:00.001-04:00

Annie and I were having a little discussion about Jesus' death and resurrection this afternoon. You know, really light, easy-to-talk-about stuff. A little ways into the conversation, I realize Annie might not be quite ready to talk about death, even if I'm focusing more on the joyful, resurrection part. But there was much more to it than just that. Here's a part of it . . .

Annie: (becoming sad and little upset) I don't like dying, Mommy.
Me: (trying to steer us into a better place) It's okay. It won't happen for a long time, not til you're much older and your body will be tired. You'll be excited to see Heavenly Father and live with Him again!
Annie: (sadder still) I don't want to live with Heavenly Father! I want to live with you!
Me: But you can! We'll all be there together with Heavenly Father! Daddy, me, Mabel, and you!
Annie: (convinced now) Okay. That sounds good. After my nap, we'll go see Heavenly Father. Can I wear this shirt to see him?

She's now keeping that shirt in a special place in her dresser and reminded me tonight as I was cleaning up her clothes just what it is for. :)

thus it begins!

2011-10-19T12:31:00.001-04:00

the coolest new hang-out in town

2011-10-11T18:18:00.002-04:00

Another Adventure in Naptime, or, The Blessing of a Big Sister

2011-10-05T22:43:00.000-04:00

Today I desperately tried to get our overly-healthy lawn moved in the precious time when the girls' naps overlapped. I reiterate, this is really, really precious time for me, and I never quite know how long I'll have, since Mabel's nap schedule seems to change every few days. Anyway, I had about 10 or 15 minutes left of mowing to do when I turned off the lawnmower to listen to the baby monitor. Sure enough, Mabel was crying. Not really bad, though, so I thought, I can finish really fast. She'll be okay for a little while longer. So, feeling pretty guilty, I finished up the lawn, then when I turned the mower off, I was expecting to hear the full-fledged wails of a four-month-old who is totally sick of being stuck in her crib and wide awake. Instead, I hear silence. Then, I hear the sweet little voice of a three-year-old chatting with her baby sister. I hear Annie saying something to Mabel, then Mabel cooing back. It was the sweetest little moment to get to listen in on. Annie was asking her about her nap and what she was thinking about. I come in the house, and this is what I find!

mabel chews on things . . . and sits up!

2011-10-03T17:01:00.000-04:00

Hello, everybody! It is chilly here in PA this week! All of a sudden we went from air conditioners to space heaters . . . how did that happen so fast? We're being stubborn and not turning on our furnace yet . . . Brant is sure it's going to warm up again in just a few days. So, fall is in full swing! I dug up most of our rotting garden remnants over the weekend. Wow, it was Little Shop of Horrors in there! With all the crazy rain we've had over the last month, stuff was growing like wild! I must have had at least 60 tomatoes still on the vine, all green and ready to turn red, if only it wasn't so cold outside! And I've picked two pumpkins from our impromptu pumpkin patch, with a third almost ready. We hit up what will probably be the final yard sale of the season on Saturday, too. And, good thing--I found so many fall pants and long-sleeve jammies for Annie!

Mabel is growing like wild, too! She's still so obsessed with gnawing on everything, but no teeth yet . . .

Her current favorite toy by far is the crinkly-crackly, reflective, sparkling water bottle!

And I discovered this morning that she can legitimately sit up by herself! I think over the last week or so I've been having her sit up in my lap, or in front of me on tabletops, but I just haven't noticed it. Poor second child, just doesn't get much attention. ;-) So, while Annie was taking her wonderful, long afternoon nap, I thought I'd dedicate some photo time just for Mabel and her sweet, sometimes under-appreciated, adorable-ness.

See? She can sit up while holding her monkey toy (a close second in faves) . . .

And she can sit up without him, too!

We love our Mabel so much!!

Mabel is both delighted by and scared of her toys

2011-09-30T17:16:00.000-04:00

Annie and Mabel are coloring at the kitchen table

2011-09-22T10:28:00.002-04:00

Mabel is 4 months old!

2011-09-15T19:09:00.001-04:00

Yay! Our little baby is growing so well! We went to the doctor today for her check-up:

height: 25" (75th percentile)

weight: 14 lbs (50th percentile)

She's right on the same track she's been on since birth, for the most part just an average-sized little one. :) She did so well with the doctor today, and even her shots weren't too bad. She didn't like when she couldn't see me, though, so I had to make sure I was in her line of sight at all times. Otherwise, she'd start screaming like a banshee. But once she could see me, she'd start laughing, even as the doctor was checking her out. Mabel's turning out to be quite the mommy-attached little chica, something Annie never really was, at least not to this extent. She's so sweet about it, though; I don't mind her needing me like she does. :) She is so talkative and social and smiley. Also--and I don't want to jinx this, but---she has slept from about 8p to 6:30a for the last few nights! Before that, she's been sleeping from about 8p to 7a, waking up at 3 or 4 for a short nursing. So, it already hasn't been that bad! She's a great sleeper and eater! She's also become much more interested in toys the last few weeks. She is SUCH a drooler and loves to put everything in her mouth and hold tight onto toys! Just as she's been since the day she was born, she's happiest when she's snuggled up in my arms and nursing. But she certainly has eyes that are alert to the outside world, and since it's cooled down a little bit, she's come out on almost-daily walks with me and Annie. She giggles and chats as she gazes all around her. I love seeing her enjoy being outside!

So, to celebrate Mabel being four months and one day old, our town finally lifted the boil water advisory!! After a week and a day of not being able to use any water from our faucets, we are back! I can wash dishes again! And bathe my children! And brush my teeth with running water instead of pouring bottled water on my toothbrush! And wash my hands instead of using hand sanitizer and wipes. Can you tell which ones I'm most excited about? I'm really not complaining about how things have been, though. In fact, this last week, I have just been feeling so blessed that we got through the flooding so well. So many in our town are homeless, waiting to hear what can be done with their few leftover possessions. There are full shelters and so many waiting to get FEMA aid. Our town daily has cleanup efforts going on and there is so much people need. The National Guard just left last night, after watching over certain roads in town around the clock. I've driven through some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods these last few days, and I just can't believe how much people have lost. There are piles as big as garbage trucks of ruined, rotted belongings along almost all of our streets. I put a bunch of pictures on facebook, but here was some of the worst of it in our town. We were so lucky to have our house at higher elevation, about a quarter- to a half-mile up the hill from two of the worst areas along the flooded creek. Our basement filled up with about 3-4 inches of water on the worst day, Wednesday, when it just wouldn't stop raining. But once it stopped raining, the creek and river got higher and higher, as all the rain drained into them. That's when the worst of flooding in town happened. On Wednesday morning, I noticed how hard it was raining, when I tried to get Annie and Mabel loaded in the car and head up to Hershey for Annie's preschool. I couldn't even get out of town! A few blocks up the road, my car couldn't get through the water, so we turned around and tried another route out of town. No luck. More flooded roads. By that point, I could barely make it the few blocks home. I was a little freaked out. Two hours later, I called Brant and told him to get home as fast as he could, because I couldn't stay on top of the flooding basement. I made him stay on the phone with me the whole time he was driving home, and I just knew he was driving through some high water in that little car of ours. But he made it. I stationed Annie and Mabel in front of the TV, which miraculously (cause this never usually works) kept Mabel totally content for almost two hours! After an hour of the two of us carrying buckets of water up the stairs and out the front door to the street, we called in reinforcements. There weren't a lot of people who could reach us, though, but luckily we have two great guys who braved the rain and stayed all day to help us. We spent about 4 hours carrying buckets up and out. Oh man. It was tiring. And we were barely making a dent. Because it just kept raining and raining. Brant finally started chiseling into the cement that had been poured over an old drain in the basement. For about another forty-five minutes he was tap-tapping away in the water, and finally---broke through!! And the water slowly drained. Ah, relief! It took me another day to get everything cleaned out and re-organized downstairs, but the worst was definitely behind us. Not so for so many others, though, and we are still praying for help for those affected. Our next-door neighbors have a couple living with them who totally lost their house. I was talking to them yesterday, and they told me they're not even sure where their three dogs are, in cages in one of the shelters somewhere. So sad!

Anyway, that's our flood story. So, enough about that now. In happy news, the weather has turned a little chilly today, so I spent some time in the attic finding our warmer clothes, especially for Mabel. So excited for fall! :)

Oh, and here's a picture of Annie and Mabel watching TV the other day. Wow, these two love each other! Annie has her very serious, watching-TV face, and you can tell Mabel is just a little amazed. :)

here's a video!

2011-08-31T15:26:00.000-04:00

Our neighbors' two granddaughters live with them half of the time, and Annie's finally decided to become friends with them. They were so adorable the evening we were all sitting outside waiting for Irene to move in. They kept asking, "Is it okay that we're playing in the rain??" and chasing each other around our yards.

The rest of the video is just of us hanging out on the floor with Mabes, what we do most days.

first day of preschool . . . and elizabethtown fair

2011-08-26T16:29:00.004-04:00

We've been a busy family here this week! What with Brant's first day of going back to school AND this big sister here going to her first day of preschool!!

Here she is, all ready to go do some learnin'!

I'm part of a mommy-run preschool that a bunch of friends have started for our kids this year. There's five families, and we have school once a week, rotating weeks, so we only teach once every five weeks. Annie and I are both SO excited. The units we chose and divvied up among the moms are so cool. I love this age! Most of the kids in Annie's class are 3 or about to turn 3. This year marks the first of three years of preschool for our Annie. Since she was born on the first day of the new school year, she'll be the very oldest in her grade. Anyway, her first day went well. She wasn't sad to be dropped off, probably because she's been to that friend's house many, many times. (We'll see how it goes at the others'.) And the report from her teacher was that she was very still and quiet the whole time. Hopefully she'll kick things into gear once she gets the hang of it all. But she sure wasn't quiet after I picked her up. The car ride home was filled with reports of the songs they sang and the weather they talked about and the coloring she did and the kids in her class . . .

Last night we went to the Elizabethtown Fair with Grandma and Poppy. Brant had class. Boo. :-( We met up with Nancy and Anne and Scott there, though! Yay! :) Usually our tradition is to participate in the horseshoe competition on Saturday morning, but we didn't that this year. Instead, my parents drove up and we played a rousing game of Carcassonne (our new fave!!) until the girls decided to wake up from their marathon afternoon naps. Then we headed over for some fair food, rides, and animals!

I tried to let Mabel in on the fun in these pictures, too. She was amazed at all the lights and craziness that must have been visible while lying on one's back and being rolled around the fair. She was awake most of the evening and totally happy playing with her toys.

Here they are looking at some mechanized miniature sawmill. Some people have amazing hobbies, like building something like this.

Petting zoo!!

Mabel and the sheep chowin down.

what a naughty, naughty girl

Llamas!! Also, see Anne's balloon here?

It flew up into the top of the tent. So sad.

The Joneses avoid some cow poop! :)

We couldn't keep Annie and Anne from the carnival rides any longer. After closely surveying the train ride . . .

We all decided to hop on!

. . . twice!

And the evening ended with Poppy's traditional dunk pitch. He got SO SO close, hitting the edge of the target!

Yay for Pennsylvania fairs! We left and got home about 20 seconds before a torrential downpour. A well-timed evening, I'd say. :)

Also, Mabel has started blowing raspberries and sticking her tongue out. Here's a video of my futile attempt at trying to get her to show you . . . but Annie does a good job at the end, too! Oh, and the guy Annie's talking about that I was getting "pretty mad" at was the person driving in front of us on the way home, who was driving SO slowly, while we watched the clouds darken and the rain start drizzling.

running in the rain

2011-08-24T15:54:00.001-04:00

. . . because she wasn't really singing or dancing in the rain . . . I'd say it was mostly running and splashing!

Showing me how wet her shirt was . . .

What Mabel and I were doing . . . watching from the safety of our rocking chairs. :)

Also, Brant started teaching this week! Here he is heading off to his first class and office hours. We thought it was an appropriate occasion to break out the satchel once again!

And, Annie wants me to post some more pictures of her cars and this block city. I I did think this was a particularly detailed and creative city she made. She sure does like her cars and blocks!

She told me she was especially proud because she used up every block in the box to make this one!

Hope everyone is having a great week! Since there weren't any earthquakes today to keep us busy, I went on two walks with the girls in the double stroller: one to the grocery store early this morning and another to a park up the road with Nancy and Anne! Mabel slept most of the time on both trips. Ahhh, the lulling sounds of weed whackers and motorcycles . . . I love living in a town where we can walk everywhere!

Happy Wednesday!

fun with mabel

2011-08-21T18:49:00.002-04:00

Just like her sister did when she was a baby, our little Mabel loves to stand on her big, strong legs!

Mabel loves smiling at her daddy!

Hahaha, this picture cracks me up. Annie is doing who-knows-what, and Mabel has this expression like, "Well, what can ya' do? I've got a crazy sis."

Loves!!

Mmmm I could just nibble on those scrumptious chubby legs all day long! hehehehe

I came home from errands one evening, and I found Mabel had gotten tired of waiting and decided to feed herself. :)

Standing with papa bear!

strummin' on the old banjo

2011-08-11T12:00:00.003-04:00

I promise I do put clothes on my children most of the time. You just have to grasp these opportunities when they come. She so rarely will perform for the camera. At any rate, here's the second in Annie's Shirtless Songs series . . .

And, here's a video showcasing Mabel's feet-grabbing and sister-tolerating skills . . .

pictures

2011-08-10T18:18:00.000-04:00

And here are pictures from the beach off of my dad's camera!

ocean!

2011-08-07T19:20:00.002-04:00

We just got back from the ocean! Such a fun trip. Brant and I drove down with the girls on Wednesday morning and spent the afternoon napping in the hotel and shopping at the outlets across the street while we waited for some showers to pass. Then we got some fried chicken and walked to the beach for dinner in the sand, watching the waves crash. The beach is so empty at dinnertime--loved it! Then Thursday morning my brother, Thomas, and his wife, Caroline, drove in from DC, as did my parents. We spent a wonderfully long and leisurely day at the beach, swimming in the crazy strong waves, while the sun never even peeked out from behind the clouds! Mabel took about a two-and-a-half-hour nap in our little sun tent. She was content, and thus, so was I. That evening we ate at our traditional boardwalk spot--Obie's By the Sea. It's a Quinn tradition; we've been going there since I was a little little kid. I can't begin to describe how beautiful the weather was that night. Not the slightest bit hot or humid, with an ocean breeze to beat all ocean breezes! My mom snuggled in bed and read books with Annie and Mabel at the hotel, while the four of us walked down the street to get some Rita's. Ooo let me tell ya, key lime & mango ice plus vanilla custard. Delicious!

Friday morning we all woke up and played a sporting game of miniature golf. I got a hole in one and WON! hehehe, gotta' brag. We all did really well, though. Especially Mabel, who chilled in her carseat the whole time, playing with my brother and cheering him on. Then, the Joneses and the Greens rolled up and we all headed back down to the beach and spent a very sunny day on the water. The waves were much calmer and more fun to bounce around in and dive through. I never wiped out once, although Brant did catch a pretty bad one, while he was trying to ride a huge wave in to shore. His head is still a little bruised. :-( Mabel again took a lovely, long nap inside the tent, so I got to spend a lot of time splashing through waves. We said bye to my parents that afternoon and then went out to eat at a fancy Japanese restaurant with the whole crew, kids and all! Mabel obliged by sleeping through the whole delicious meal, and Annie ate all of Caroline's miso soup--tofu and all! She loved it!

Possibly the best part of the trip was how well Mabel slept. She pulled two 12-hour nights, both nights we were there. She only woke up once to eat each time, at about 6am both mornings, and then went to sleep again til 8. Lovely! The beach life must agree with this chica. Also, Annie got to sleep in her own double bed in our hotel room. She couldn't have had more fun with it. She would sit up in her bed and read and sing songs to herself while Brant and I sat in the other bed, reading and watching TV. Then, after about an hour of winding down, she'd say to herself, "Okay, I need to go to sleep now." And she'd lie down with her baby and fall asleep! It was so cute to watch. And when I woke up in the morning, I'd see her silently peering at me across the nightstand, waiting for me to wake up. :)

We left Saturday morning after an impromptu breakfast with everyone gathered in our hotel room as we packed, and we immensely enjoyed our beautiful drive through countryside the whole way home. It feels so good to be home and no longer sandy and damp . . . however, I am already starting to plan next summer's beach trip! Who wants in? :)

heat wave

2011-07-22T14:22:00.001-04:00

the thermometer on our shed this afternoon

We're on our fourth day in a row of way-too-hot-for-central-Pennsylvania weather. The temperatures have been in the low 100s and the heat index has been around 110, with the humidity factored in. Oh man. I am not a hot-weather person.

But my laundry does get dry in like 30 minutes, which is nice, I guess . . .

(although, by the time I was done hanging them up this morning, I needed a second shower.)

Annie thought she'd try on one of her awesome winter hats to celebrate the heat wave. Oh, girlie.

We've been keeping cool and cuddly with Daddy when we're lucky to have him home. :) He's in class a few nights a week during this summer term, so sometimes the girls don't see him all day.

And, Annie refuses to accept that she's outgrown the various baby items we've been bringing down from the attic for Mabel . . .

Anyway, I don't know about you, but I'm ready for fall!!

Ahhh, that's nice. :)

2 months old!

2011-07-14T20:38:00.001-04:00

Happy 2 months, Mabel!

The doctor's appointment went well today, after a mishap with the insurance card, which meant I had to go home and try the appointment all over again later this evening. But Mabel did great at her appointment. I just can't help but think back to Annie at this age, when I was still feeling so distraught about her being such a feisty, fussy--filled with personality but so hard for me to handle--kid. At 2 months, I must have seemed like a totally worn-out first-time mommy to our doctor at that appointment. Not that raising Annie isn't worth all the trouble--I wouldn't have our crazy awesome first-born be anyone other than the feisty, stubborn, fantastically smart girl she is! But with Mabel I feel so different. She is a sweet, incredibly smiley, happy baby. She's patient and not demanding unless she's really hungry and I'm nowhere in sight. And the best thing is how she reacts to me and Brant and Annie. She knows our voices and our faces. She'll coo (and sometimes even shriek with delight) when she sees us. :) With Annie, I remember reading in baby books about cooing, and I honestly didn't even know what it was. I don't think I ever heard Annie coo, haha! Two different babies, I guess. Man, do I love them both more than I ever thought possible!

Anyway! To the stats! Here's Mabel at 2 months . . .

height: 23 in (75th percentile)

weight: 11 lbs (50th percentile)

head: 50th percentile, I don't remember the size

Way to go, girlie! Keep on growing!

Mabel and I made a video for you today

2011-07-12T17:28:00.001-04:00

In other news, check out today's tomato harvest! Holy moly me-oh-my! :) At least somebody's liking our humid, 98-degree days!

killing time before church

2011-07-11T15:07:00.000-04:00

When you've got 1 o'clock church, you can get a lot done with your Sunday mornings.

Like building awesome block cities for your cars . . .

And helping your parents clean out the cupboards and sort ALL the spices they have!

it was a happy Sunday

2011-07-03T21:03:00.000-04:00

a little bruno mars over mac & cheese

2011-06-26T10:30:00.000-04:00

one fine summer day in our backyard

2011-06-25T11:26:00.000-04:00

happy summer!

2011-06-20T17:56:00.000-04:00

Well, it's officially summer at our house! I just picked our first tomato from the garden. What a beauty!

And, judging by the looks of those vines, there'll be plenty more where that came from!

happy one month, mabel!

2011-06-14T19:49:00.000-04:00

smilin' . . .

chatting with big sister . . .

smiling at each other . . .

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

strawberry day

2011-06-10T20:16:00.000-04:00

Hey, all! We had a hot, fun, summer-y day! After Brant left for work, I packed up the girls and took my first trip alone with the two of them since Mabel was born. Deep breath! I can do this! And off we went to Arendtsville to pick strawberries! (Mabel only screamed for about a half-hour of the drive.) We met up with my parents, who had already filled a bunch of baskets. After spending a lovely morning outside in the sunshine, we went over to this awesome restaurant, The Apple Bin, for lunch and then headed back to my parents with all the delicious strawberry loot. We all played for a while--Mabel was sooo content at my parents' house. She was an angel the whole afternoon. Then we got all packed back up to come home!

And if only you could smell them too . . . mmmm :)

A lovely day. And cute little Mabes is exhausted . . .

we love our Mabel!

2011-06-02T14:03:00.001-04:00

Maybe a little too much! :)

one week old!

2011-05-21T15:22:00.001-04:00

Little Mabel is one week old today! She is happy and alert and changing so much every day. We took her to her first doctor's appointment this week, and she passed with flying colors! The doctor even said she gained her weight back so fast that we can skip the usual 2-week appointment and just come back in a month. :) She is certainly an eater! I have to say, I really like this newborn stuff more the second time around. Way easier. Except that I have to juggle Annie and her varied two-year-old emotions, but she's a huge help and keeps me grounded and feeling loved. She adores her new baby sister. And Mabel seems to know Annie's voice, more than Brant's or mine, in fact. She always turns her head and follows the sound when she hears Annie. It's really sweet.

Here Annie is showing Mabel how to do the upside-down two-finger suck, which Annie mastered so well. It may be a little early still. :)

She's here!

2011-05-18T04:24:00.000-04:00

Mabel Rose Ellsworth
born May 14, 2011 at 2:02pm
7 lbs, 19 in long

what a difference a season makes :)

2011-05-02T16:12:00.000-04:00

happy Saturday

2011-04-30T14:54:00.000-04:00

We're in the midst of a very happy day. :) Brant worked this morning, so Annie, Memph, and I went on a long walk in the sunshine and chilly breeze. At one point we passed by a little league baseball game between the "Orioles" and the "Phillies." Oh my goodness. I'm pretty sure those kids had to be at least 4 or 5 years old, but most of them seriously looked like Annie's size. All running around with the uniforms and gloves and little hats. So adorable. I can't wait for Annie to play. She can't wait either. She could have stood there and watched that game til it ended, I think.

After our walk, we played outside and went on a few adventures in the car. I wanted to show some pictures of the robin's nest above our front door, though! Look how cozy!

Usually the momma robin is sitting on the nest or on the power lines right above our house, keeping an eye on things. The other day I saw a beautiful blue egg inside the nest. See the transom window by the nest? It's the perfect spot for me to peek from inside.

Annie has quite the collection of springtime vehicles. She takes them very seriously, just as she does her miniature car collection. Here's the big wheels bike. Still can't quite reach these pedals . . .

This next bike is awesome. She couldn't reach the pedals in the fall, but now she can! And she's learning to ride it so well! Can you tell how hard she's concentrating on pedaling?

And here's her car. Lately this is more of her luxury vehicle, in which she'll eat her snacks, cradle her baby, and store all sorts of goodies.

Every playtime ends with her parking her vehicles all alongside each other. She's very responsible. :)

Here are some more pictures from our playtime today . . .

I pulled out the pacifiers as I get baby things ready. Annie quickly snatched up this blue one and hasn't relinquished it yet.

When Brant came home, this is what he found . . . notice the clothes and diaper on the ground. And the look of carefree joy on Annie's face.

Hope you all are having equally sunny Saturdays!

a glimpse into the life of Annie

2011-04-27T18:51:00.000-04:00

See the shirt she's wearing? It's a white dress for the new baby I just bought today and had put in the laundry hamper to wash. See how the laundry hamper's open? Yep, she went in and got the baby dress out. The shirt I had put on her is lying in a heap next to her book basket in front of that open laundry hamper.

The two blue plastic things in bed with her are step stools that she turns over and uses as baskets for her babies to sleep in. She carries them around, usually with a book or two inside as well, and, apparently, sleeps with them.

I took this picture at about 6pm. A little late for an afternoon nap, you may say. Well, I put her down at 2:45. Twice I had to go upstairs and remind her that she should probably lie down in bed instead of spending all of naptime taking all of her books out of her basket and off her shelves. So, when I checked on her at 6, it looked like the third try finally took and she had fallen asleep. :)

HOT

2011-04-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

I will not put in my AC units in April. I will not put in my AC units in April. I will not put in my AC units in April. I will not put in my AC units in April. I will not put in my AC units in April. I will not put in my AC units in April. I will not put in my AC units in April. I will not put in my AC units in April. I will not put in my AC units in April.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T22:48:00.001-04:00

Well, we're at the end of a beautiful, fun-filled day. Annie is still up, reading books in bed and chatting with her new stuffed animals about the Easter Bunny.

Easter started early; last night we opened a package from GramE. This outfit was included, and Annie put it on immediately. She was so excited to show us how she can dress herself, and she did! Then she posed for pictures.

Also in the package were some books, a new swimming suit, a stuffed rabbit, and 2 new cars!! Oh, the joy! GramE gave us some clothes for the new baby girl, too. Annie was just as excited about "Mommy's Baby"s clothes as she was about her new ones. :)

This morning we woke up and found that the Easter Bunny had come to our house and hidden eggs with candy inside!

Then it was time for church! We all got dressed up and took pictures. Annie's were the cutest, so here ya' go!

Church was wonderful. We participated in 2 choir performances (Brant sang in the men's group, which sounded awesome), I got to conduct the congregation in the Easter hymns, which I LOVE, and I taught my Easter lesson for the 7-year-olds. So much fun.

After church we rushed off to be in Gettysburg for dinner with Grandma and Poppy, and Thomas and Caroline. You may not believe it, but the Easter Bunny stopped by their house too!! He hid the eggs outside this time, though!

finding eggs in the raspberry patch . . .

and the horseshoe pit . . . .

and the woodpile!

Then we all sat down inside and watched a little baseball while eating some of the loot before dinner.

Easter dinner was delicious! Ham and scalloped potatoes and yummy green beans! MMMmmm!

After dinner we played a fun game of Peggity (a British version, actually) with Thomas and Caroline and then headed home after lemon meringue pie, coconut cake, and ice cream. :) Lovely!

time for some serious gardening!

2011-04-18T15:36:00.000-04:00

Yay, spring is here! It's been rainy rainy RAINY lately, but today seemed like the perfect day to get started on the Ellsworth Garden! :)

Brant did all the heavy lifting.

Annie wanted to stay in the front yard while we brought in bags of compost, sand, and peat moss. See my yellow tulips in the background? They just bloomed this morning!

Nancy came to help out. We're going to co-op our garden with the Joneses this year. Yay! :)

The girls did their part by keeping the baby dolls happy, going on walks around the yard. :)

Oh MAN that dirt felt soft and delightful!

I hope you all appreciate this picture of me, big and pregnant and barefoot in manure. :)

Finished product! Today we planted a few early spring goodies--peas, spinach, kale, and chard! The little seeds are tucked in there. :)

Happy Springtime!

just playin' on a sunday morning

2011-04-17T18:51:00.000-04:00

Annie and Brant built a huge ramp and slid all her cars down it!

At one point, Annie of course took a break to read a book :)

. . . and here's a video!

fun in the sun!

2011-03-18T15:47:00.000-04:00

Wow, it was warm today! The sun was shining, so Nancy and Anne came over to play. We walked down to the park for a picnic, then walked to Rite-Aid for some much-needed frozen treats, and then we played in the sandbox and the sprinkler until well past naptime! :)

Wa-hoo!!

little lady's almost better

2011-03-14T18:34:00.000-04:00

. . . and we'll be retiring Arthur, as well as The Backyardigans, for the next year or so.

rainy

2011-03-10T14:39:00.002-05:00

I've got a sick little girl sleeping upstairs, and downstairs, a basement that is filling up with water too fast for me to keep up. Ah, what a day. I do love the rain, though. :)

signs of spring

2011-03-01T15:02:00.003-05:00

Hi there! Today is chilly but oh so sunny, so Annie and I spent a good part of the afternoon outside playing and cleaning up the yard. I noticed some pretty happy things going on back there . . .

willow bush buds!

chives!

daffodils and crocuses!

tulips!

more daffodils!

Here's to more sunny days ahead!

Oh, and this isn't really related, but check out these two cuties playing piano together and singing on Sunday night . . .

(that's right; we still haven't gotten rid of the piano smack dab in the middle of the kitchen :) )

How Do You Remove a Radiator? or, Why There's a Piano in My Kitchen, by Coralee

2011-02-08T17:34:00.002-05:00

Joy of joys! Brant found a free player piano on Craigslist that was barely a few miles from our house! He enlisted a nice police office friend with a truck and trailer. He gathered three other strapping young men. They successfully yanked and tugged that humongous piano up and over our snowy sidewalk, yard, and steps. They removed the front door and then the doorjam into the dining room. It barely squeaked through the door. Then. The radiator. None of us could figure a way around this sucker. We can't angle the piano through the door and around it. The radiator is totally in the way. And there's one at the other entrance to the dining room, too. We can not figure out how to get this piano out of the kitchen and into the dining room, where we had intended it to go. Any ideas? I think we'll just have to get rid of it, otherwise.

So sad!

Sunny :)

2011-02-07T13:23:00.000-05:00

I just couldn't stop her from running outside in her pjs and shoveling a little bit. Hey, the sun was out, and it was 40 degrees! What was I supposed to do? :)

Happy Groundhog Day!

2011-02-02T14:46:00.001-05:00

What a fun morning! We're sick with yucky colds, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the craziness outside. And Daddy was home all morning with us to play! Yippee!

More block cities . . . big surprise!

haha--I caught her right in the middle of saying "More cars!" She has lately been obsessed with needing even more cars than she already has.

Everyone needs some Annie love

azaleas

our poor bushes :-(

more azaleas--it was so fun to slide the ice tubes off each little twig--Annie thought you should eat them

rosemary and oregano plants!

we're back!

2011-01-31T15:44:00.003-05:00

Hello, friends! We sure went missing there for a while, didn't we? Our family was without internet and a working computer from Thanksgiving until just a few weeks ago. WOW. CRAZY, right? :) But we're all set back up now, so I thought I'd finally update our blog!

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful, and Christmas and New Year's were too. We spent Thanksgiving in Gettysburg with my family and my brother's in-laws and had the most delicious dinner! Christmas came early for us, as we drove for two days down to San Antonio to spend a week with Brant's fam. We got to see everyone and were especially excited to meet Annie's baby cousin Cadance. Oh! So fun! We were back in good ol' PA by Christmas Eve Eve, just in time to come down with some serious stomach bugs, which luckily didn't last long. We hosted a beautiful Christmas Eve dinner with my parents. We unfortunately still had some pretty sensitive stomachs, so we didn't get to eat much, but the leftovers were divine! We opened presents that night and had a jolly holiday! Christmas Day was spent relaxing with our amazing friends, who, sadly, had all also gotten sick with the bug, but it was still a lovely, peaceful day. On New Year's Eve, Brant had to work--too bad, since it was also his birthday!--but Annie and I went down to Gettysburg to host a high school friends holiday party at my parents' house. I so wish we could all get together more than we do! Annie made off like a bandit at the white elephant party--and she also got a present from little Miriam and a book from Jeff and Alex!

So here are pictures from Christmastime and thereabouts . . .

Annie chillin' with Papa Bear

Memphis and his little friend Cosmo, who lived with us for a few snowy days before we headed to Texas.

Annie did so well on the trip to Texas. We sang, read books, and chit-chatted with cows out the window.

We missed the Welcome to Texas sign, so here is a picture I took once we crossed the state line! I was trying to get Annie to look at the camera.

Texas sky

. . . and she's out. Right before we arrived at Steve and Carolyn's in Fort Worth. Figures.

Going on a walk around Steve and Carolyn's neighborhood!

Baby Cousin Cadance. Seriously, this baby is magical.

Of course, Annie made off with Cadance's baby doll.

walking with Papa

We explored an old fort with Pops!

looking at the tanks with Uncle Glen

and making soft pretzels with Uncle Glen!

holding Cadance

spending every moment she could with Cadance

showing Uncle Steven how to properly suck on two fingers

presents! New Baby!

Yay! We now have our very own Ligretto!

stopping at a hotel in Jackson, Tennessee on the way back to PA--Annie is a little mesmerized by the TV

Christmas Eve dinner with Grandma and Poppy!

all decked out to go bring in presents from the car

Brant got new power tools!!

Annie got a huge stuffed dog from Uncle Thomas and Aunt Caroline.

She named him Christmas.

Christmas morning breakfast!

Brant with cinnamon rolls :)

cool girl with her new sunglasses from Great Gram

Bedtime reading with Spencer and Heather late one Sunday night

snow!

getting a taste

my little snowbunny all set to go back out after yet another snowfall

walking the town

I didn't realize how fast she was running until I took this picture and saw how far away she was!

I just think our yard is pretty in the snow :)

Annie snuck out in the snow with her slippers on. What a goober.

More recently . . .

We were even lucky enough to get a visit from Pops (aka Brant's dad) a few weeks ago! He drove in from Philly and spent two days with us. Most of the time you could find him sitting on the living room floor with Annie, his most adoring fan. The two of them built some pretty cool car cities out of blocks.

And we started our second round of Kindermusik this month! Annie is already singing a lot of the songs, and Brant and I are learning the new ones, too! What a fun way to pass the winter and see Annie grow.

Let's see . . . what else . . . over the weekend we hosted a party for Brant's fellow American Studies PhD students and their families. We ate a LOT of yummy food and played games well into the night. Nothin' better than that! :)

So now things have settled down quite a bit. We're still doing a lot of work on the house. The rooms upstairs are almost all done--floors sanded and varnished, and I've been putting up new curtains. We found an awesome antique dresser for one of the bedrooms, too. That gets delivered tomorrow! Yay!

We're just staying warm and playing in a lot of snow. The view here in town is perpetually white, now that it pretty much never gets above freezing. Haven't seen grass in a long time. It's beautiful. It's cozy. It's winter!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks. These are just random recent snapshots of life around the house. Enjoy!

Annie in curlers one morning before church

haha! funny face!

early morning snow

oh, Memphis.

who doesn't want to go for a bike ride in the snow when it's 18 degrees outside?

Annie and her friend, Natalie, whom she totally adores, working seriously hard on some play-dough creations

cutie pie in her vintage green jacket sent by GramE!

"No, Mommy! I will button it!"

Block City!!

Annie puts a lot of things in lines now. I'm always finding random things arranged meticulously all throughout the house.

more snow! look at my little oak tree!

the sandbox is almost all covered up!

happy nights

2010-11-09T12:58:00.001-05:00

Brant has been home in the evenings a bit more lately, so Annie and I have been enjoying all the time with him we can! And Annie sure is one crazy girl!

Her favorite spot to be lately is on the kitchen counter while Brant and I cook, wash dishes, eat dinner, anything! Here she is after church in her pajamas, as I try to convince her it's time to eat dinner . . .

Over the weekend we bought a toddler bed! Annie still has shown no inclination toward climbing out of her crib (yay! knock on wood), so we're not going to set it up quite yet. But we will make the transition sometime in the next few months, probably. We had the bed parts and mattress in the living room on Sunday night, and Annie just couldn't help herself! Hopefully she'll forget all about the fun she had playing on her bed when it comes time to actually learn to sleep on it!

She and Memphis love chasing each other around the dining room table. I think she was the one being chased here . . .

And Annie's also gotten really good at scolding and commanding Memph. She points at him with a serious alpha face and goes, "SHH!" or "DON'T!" It's funny, and he really listens to her, actually.

Crazy hair!

One of the other nights when Brant, sadly, was not home, I pulled out my old blocks for Annie. We've had these for a few months now, but I was waiting for Annie to show real interest in them. Well, I pulled them back out for her, and she got right to work. Within minutes she had built this awesome city! She was talking to it and explaining stuff to me, showing me all the buildings and where she put it all. What a creative little architect! :)

(I just love all her funny different smiles!)

Happy Thursday

2010-11-04T15:55:00.001-04:00

You would just never guess that this little girl throws about ten tantrums a day, now would you? :)

singin' on a saturday mornin'

2010-10-31T09:59:00.001-04:00

I know they're the same ol' songs, but she just really likes singing them!

bike ride along the C&O canal

2010-10-25T10:37:00.000-04:00

On Saturday Annie and I loaded my bike up into the car and drove down to meet my parents for a lovely fall bike ride along the C&O Canal in Maryland. We were between the canal (which was mostly dried up) and the Potomac River the whole time. And it was a gorgeous day!

driving down . . .

Getting the bikes ready!

and here are all the pictures I took along the trip!

we stopped at a dam and lock for a picnic lunch.

here's the lock keeper's house!

picnic time!

then we hopped back on the bikes and rode a little further!

It was such a wonderful day!

Then on Sunday we drove down to Gettysburg and had a birthday dinner for my dad with my parents and Thomas and Caroline. Everyone finished off with a rousing game of Royal Rummy. :)

Festive Books for Fall!

2010-10-20T15:09:00.001-04:00

Here are some of our favorites this year! :) Happy reading!

one of the older Arthur adventures--Annie loves all things Arthur!

We love to count all five pumpkins on every page, and Annie is so good at finding the black kitties too!

a happy story written in a fun-to-read poetic verse!

I got excited just reading through these ideas. Simple, fun!

beautiful. fall. colors. Everything is in cut-paper illustrations. Puts you right in the spirit! :)

more cute pictures of Annie

2010-10-18T12:10:00.000-04:00

I feel like this is all I post lately. But oh well!

These pictures were taken by the Banburys, who watched Annie on Saturday so Brant and I could have a date night! Anne was there too, and of course so was Lucy, Trey and Michelle's adorable girl! I bet these three rockin' girls were a handful!!

Well, I've got chicken for tacos cookin', and the little goober pictured above is about to go down for a nap, although she doesn't know it yet. :) Happy Monday, everyone!

Tuesday Treat

2010-10-12T19:58:00.000-04:00

here's a little musical video cheer . . .

impromptu visit!

2010-10-10T10:12:00.000-04:00

GramE and Great Grandma Jane arrived last Wednesday for a "surprise" visit to Pennsylvania to see us! We were so excited! They were here for only two days, but we had so much fun! The only pictures I took were from our hike at Chickies Rock overlook. It was a beautiful fall morning!

We also enjoyed some yummy meals at Brownstone and Cracker Barrel, bought a bunch of cookies at the first official opening of Missy's Ugly Cookies, and played and played as much as we could!

Can't wait to see you again!

I've got one word for ya' . . .

2010-10-05T19:28:00.001-04:00

. . . pumpkins!

outside in the morning

2010-09-24T13:42:00.002-04:00

Summer's trying to get one last hoo-rah in, now that it's officially fall. We're having a humid heat wave! This morning Annie woke up, and the first thing she said (as she does most mornings) was, "SIZE!" (translation: outside)

So, out we went! Of course, not until she had donned her just-barely-too-small red hat and white church shoes. She insists on wearing these everyday. :)

(She spent almost 10 minutes getting her bag on her bike just right before taking off.)

cold? what cold?

2010-09-16T17:42:00.001-04:00

I couldn't decide whether to title this post "cold? what cold?" OR "rain? what rain?"

'Cause we've got both here in Pennsylvania today! We're all wiping a lot of noses and coughing a lot of coughs! We're under the weather, but loving the rain!

Annie and I thought it was a perfect afternoon to take a jaunt in her new galoshes!

And on a sunnier tone, here are some more sandbox pictures from the past week!

And two more wonderful parts of this week:

Heather brought me by some of her birthday treat, homemade rice pudding! In flavors vanilla, chocolate, and coconut, no less! Ohhhh decadent :)

AND we got a new refrigerator! Check it out!

(I told Annie to pose with the fridge and smile. Look at that cheese!)

So much space!! Love it!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

apple pickin' time!

2010-09-13T15:18:00.001-04:00

Over the weekend we went on an apple orchard field trip with a bunch of friends. It was a beautiful September day, and we had a blast!

Annie's in total waif mode in all these pictures. She's also in this phase where she refuses to look at the camera or smile at all. Lovely. :-)

choosing just the right apple . . .

heading back to the wagon!

We were firmly told not to bite into our apples until we got off the tour, because otherwise the yellow jackets would attack us. Annie had such a hard time with this rule! See the tiny bite marks all over her apple?

welcome to our yard!

2010-09-09T20:54:00.001-04:00

We have three new additions to the our backyard!

Annie's sandbox is all done!

Well, it needs a bit more sand, but that'll have to wait til Brant gets a day off. I don't have the energy to manage Annie and lug a few 50-pound bags of sand out of Lowe's. :)

I promise I didn't tell her to pose like a Baywatch babe in the sand here.

This is SUCH an Annie look . . .

And the other additions . . . ta-dah!!

my willow tree!

and my little oak tree!

Come by and visit anytime! :)

birthday, wedding, Beatles, canoe races!

2010-09-06T18:15:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful, busy weekend! It started with Annie's 2nd birthday dinner on Friday evening. Poppy came over and started work on his present for Annie--a sandbox! Annie helped him by handing him his hammer. :)

Annie's cake :)

We talked to GramE and Glen and Nicole online! All the kids were trying to join in. :)

Then it came time to blow out the candles!

and open presents!

we ate yummy fried chicken, strawberry salad, biscuits, and sweet potato fries!

When everyone had gone home, I went looking for Annie and her grandparents. I found them out back in the pitch dark, sitting in the sandbox! :)

The next morning, things didn't slow down, not even a bit! We woke up and played in the morning sunshine with another present--a pretend kitchen set . . .

Then we all headed down to Gettysburg to drop Annie off at my parents' for the day, so we could go down to Baltimore for my friend Stacey's wedding. We took a few pictures because it was SUCH a gorgeous September day!

Then the wedding! They had champagne with bubble-covered raspberries :)

The happy couple!

Dancing the night away (almost--I don't last quite as long as I used to!) It was so fun to see so many old friends!

THEN on Sunday, my whole family came up for a dinner at our house. We ate apricot-herb pork and then enjoyed a nice porch-settin'. (after some rousing games of kubb, of course)

When the sun went down, we pulled out Beatles Rock Band, which Thomas and Caroline had brought up from Virginia. So much fun!!

Today, Labor Day, marked the Ellsworths' second annual trip to Kipona, Harrisburg's downtown festival! And that means canoe races!!! We got there nice and early to register and enjoy the chilly morning on the river.

Then friends joined us! Yay!

And they're off! Brant and Spencer (canoe #5) raced in the same doubles heat as Tim & Heather and Scott & Nancy.

There's Tim and Heather!

Brant and Spencer won! First place over all in the novice class!

Annie dumped water all over herself so she spent some part of the day pantsless . . .

Then on to more races! Scott and Nancy . . .

And the 4-person war canoe! This one was exciting. There's Brant, Tim, Spencer, and Heather heading out!

And they tipped!!

. . . but came home strong! :)

. . . and so wet!

We celebrated the day by finishing off with a lunch at the top of Harrisburg hospital. This is a special place for us, since Annie was born at this hospital, and we just really love the view! Annie, however, doesn't remember anything about the lunch . . .

Happy Labor Day! Have a sunny week!

Daddy loves his Annie

2010-09-05T22:24:00.000-04:00

Here's the video Brant made for Annie's 2nd birthday! Enjoy!

Happy September 2nd!!

2010-09-02T15:31:00.005-04:00

It's another HOT day outside here in central Pennsylvania . . .

. . . but inside, this little girl . . .

. . . is having a COOL happy birthday!!

Yay, Annie! You're 2!

(As you can tell, GramE, the Play-Doh continues to be a big hit!)

(And, Aunt Carolyn, she fits into the apron! A gift that keeps on giving! :) )

Texas! Texas!

2010-08-23T22:20:00.003-04:00

Almost two weeks ago, we were here at 5:30 in the morning:

and then spent 3 1/2 whiny hours here:

And then we were in San Antonio!! Look, it's Brielle!

After a delicioso breakfast (even though it was noon to us), we hopped in the car and headed to Austin to meet Glen and Nicole as they were driving in with their moving truck all the way from Utah!

(I didn't take any pictures of their adorable fancy-schmancy apartment, but that's what would be inserted here if I had)

On the way back to S.A. we saw a sunset like only Texas can do . . . .

The following morning Annie woke up extra early to eat breakfast burritos and torment Harry-dog. :)

Then we had a baby shower for Carolyn, the mother-to-be of the second Ellsworth granddaughter!!

We girls all met up at the Guenther House, a gorgeous old stone restaurant on the River, for a baby shower breakfast.

A few days later, we got into the car again to head to Canyon Lake!

The nine of us shared these two little cabins--so comfortably!

I got in some much-needed girl-talk . . .

And we played so many games!

All of us in the first cabin woke up early the next morning to take a refreshing dip in the lake!

True to form, Annie spent no time needing to warm up to the idea of getting into the water, especially with awesome Uncle Steven at her side.

Then we all got in a boat and headed out on the lake!

The boat brought with it all sorts of fun goodies. Cindy quickly showed us all up by SLALOMING on the water ski!

Then Brant hopped on and did amazing too!

And Glen! WAHOO!!

Then we pulled out the kneeboard. Nicole was the first to jump off the boat and try this one out . . . She did a 360!

Okay. Then I decided, after so much prodding, to try it out myself. So I know that a kneeboard is like the easiest thing to get on and shouldn't be too intimidating.

But I was terrified! Here is a progression of my first-time-ever experience being pulled behind a rather-fast-moving boat.

Yay!!!

So here's what Annie did while we were out on the water all day:

She was so comfy in her little sleeping quarters!

We spent two more days back in San Antone. Annie got to have her nails painted for the first time by GramE:

And then she got to show them off to everyone!

We worked a little bit more around the house before heading off . . . Annie got a few more kisses from Uncle Glen . . .

And here's one last picture in Texas of my little hillbilly baby in her overalls showing off for everyone:

Then we came back to good ol' Pennsylvania!

Instead of unpacking, we hurried and got dressed for a dinner party! But first Annie wanted to have a photo shoot at her favorite spot of late: the changing table and mirror--

At the end she made a little bed and pretended to go to sleep . . .

The table's all set . . .

And the gang's all here! And they brought the food! (Spencer and Heather were especially exciting to see again because they've been gone all summer long!)

oooo steamy Heather!!

They created this incredible shrimp pasta with fresh vegetables in the sauce. This picture totally doesn't do it justice.

Now in the days since we've been home, Brant's been preparing for his first day back to school as a PhD student! Today was his first day. He left in the morning for a full day of work, came home for a short 20 minutes for dinner, then left for a three-hour evening class. That's pretty much the way life will be like for us now for 4 out of the 5 weekdays. But it's a great time that we've been looking forward to, really. Brant and I are both so happy he's going to be in school again. We are a family that enjoys being in education. :)

Today Annie and I started the school year off right by trying to get our house organized, especially the library, so Brant will have an inspiring place to do his schoolwork.

We whiled away some more of the long lonely hours with another changing table photo shoot. This time Annie opted to give herself a sponge bath with baby wipes.

This was the first time, I think, that she's discovered this picture hanging there. She was really excited to see the baby in the mother's arms.

So much so that she knocked the picture out of place trying to touch the baby!

So, yeah, since the school year has started, I guess the summer is pretty much over. I couldn't be more excited! It has been a wonderful season full of so many awesome trips and adventures, just the way I like it! But I'm ready for the heat to go away and to start doing the activities that fall ushers in. The first of which---Annie's birthday!! She turns 2 in almost a week! In the spirit of this momentous occasion, let's now take a quick glimpse back to a changing table photo shoot of yore . . .

(Annie at 2 months)

one spectacular weekend!

2010-08-01T19:22:00.003-04:00

Howdy, everybody! (We're leaving for Texas in a week and a half, so I thought I'd start practicing my "howdy"s!) We had a really great weekend! Here's how it started . . .

we found out an advantage to having a cement sidewalk running through our backyard--more room for sidewalk chalk drawings! (and for perambulations with baby dolls)

After we'd decorated our backyard with birthday chalk drawings for Nancy, we had the Joneses over for an early birthday dinner. They did all the cooking! :) Scott grilled some amazing ribs and corn on the cob . . .

Annie and Anne feasted on the cobs while they waited for dinner. . .

The birthday girl slaved away in the kitchen and posed for blurry pictures! :)

Here are some of the ultra-tasty results . . .

And here's just a cute picture of Annie I took that I think really shows her free-spirit summer self.

Then, per yearly tradition, we drove to Cowan's Gap State Park in central/western PA with my mom and dad. We spent one lovely, lazy day on the man-made beach and swimming in the beautiful lake!

this has become one of Annie's favorite things to do in sandy water. . .

The next day, my dad, Brant, and I headed across the dam . . .

. . . to hike the Horseshoe Trail. We also did this last year (except last year Brant was carrying Annie on his back; this time she stayed at the beach with my mom).

Lemme tell you about this trail. The map marks it "For Experienced Hikers Only." It is so so steep! Here is Brant at the foot of it.

And we're off!

We crested the top of the mountain and then hiked down a few hundred feet to walk along the ridge. This is what the path looks like on the other side of the mountain, the part we had to walk down. It's rocky and even steeper than the path going up.

But the Horseshoe Trail is worth the overlooks!

Here we're overlooking the state park--that's the beach down there!

On the way home, we stopped for a few hours at the East Broad Top Railroad. I can't begin to describe how fun this was. Train rides, old-fashioned style . . . I love it!

The train arrived 45 minutes before it was scheduled to leave, so we could explore the cars and climb around on the tracks.

This was the car we sat in for the 45-minute ride through PA countryside. It was built in 1882. So cool!!!

ALL ABOARD!!!

Bye for now! :)

land of little horses

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This is a wonderful little place that's gotten a lot bigger since I was there last, 20 years ago or so.

Once we entered the place, she took off from one corral to another, yelling, "Here it is!! Here it is!"

(That's her new favorite phrase.)

She chased the goats around until they finally sought protection within the horse corrals. :)

She rode on the cool tire-horse swing

Then we wandered through the woods to find a hidden cowboy village!

Look out, here comes Annie Jo, into the saloon!

Grandma tickled the ivories.

Then we took some quiet time in the chapel.

Praying! SO adorable! :)

She climbed up on the tractor, which really wasn't meant for kids to play on, but what the heck?

Back in the saloon for some dancing . . .

Playing checkers . . .

Annie hasn't quite grasped the whole head-in-the-wooden-cutout thing yet . . .

I thought this town was plain charmin'.

Time to go!! Who wants to tear Annie away from the tractors in the 100-degree heat? :)