Walkin' Baby

It's happened... she's started to walk and now we'll never be able to keep up with her.

She took her first real steps on Wed. and I finally caught a few pics of her looking like the big girl she is.

Not looking at me...

Not looking at me with her finger in her ear...

Not looking at me...

Finally... I have a dozen more like the previous ones, this was the only one where I could get her to look my way.

I'm so proud of my big girl.

Eeny, Meeny, Miny Moe

Abriella is starting to have favorites...

It's really cute to watch...

You just line up all her animals...

First she has to give them all the once over...

I think she see it...

Yes, she has made her decision...

The girl lion it is... always the girl lion (except on the days the piggy is her favorite)...

Although, sometimes she just can't decide...
and then it's just a massacre...

Uh Oh Spaghetti O's

A Lesson On How to Eat Noodles in Meat Sauce
by: Abriella

It really is quite easy... just stick with me and you'll see.

Just pick them up...

and put them in your mouth.

It's ok if you miss, just look down, search all around, and you'll find it.

Make sure you squish at least a few of them... it feels good oozing out from between your fingers.

You can try to use good manners and place it neatly in your mouth.

But really, shoving it in is so much more effective.

Do use some good manners, and don't forget to share.

Sometimes it takes a lot of concentration, but stick with it and just focus.

Scratching your head may help.

When you are finished, politely let someone know you're done.

They'll let you know what happens next...

This part might not be as fun...

Uh oh...

... wait just a minute...

... get me out of here.

Actually, next time, I may just use a spoon.

Big Trouble...

... is Miss Abriella's new name. Now that she is a champion crawler and cruiser she is getting into more trouble than she can handle (or that we can handle). She loves to explore everything which I usually encourage because that is how so much of learning takes place. I always supervise this exploring though because if I don't things like this can happen... naptime and bedtime are pretty much the only times that she is unsupervised and with the new teeth she has done some wonderful "exploring" of how they work on her bed.


She tries to claim that it wasn't her...


but you see, I have evidence...

Then she casually goes back to chewing on her paci and acts like nothing ever happened...


But the bed knows what happened and will forever be scarred...

BIG TROUBLE!!!

Plans

I'm a planner. Or at least I try. I always want to know the outcome of things or exactly how the day will turn out. I like to be ahead in the game and am not always a fan of surprises. Yet, somehow no matter how much of a planner I try to be and how much I want to be ahead in the game, things just doesn't seem to work out the way I think it should. For example, I wake up last Sat. to the baby, I know she's not feeling well so my plan is the dr. that day. :( Yet, I listen to the two messages already on my phone and next thing I know we are the proud owners of this:

Yep, Eric found the ice on Sat and the Camry is no longer... As we sat in the dealership last night deciding whether or not to buy the last '08 Hyundai Tucson Eric decided he needed to call my dad for an extra bit of advice (which I think is awfully cute, by the way). He said that it sounded good as long as we stick to our plan. Which brings me to the point of all this rambling... plans are hard to stick to. It's not that we are bad at sticking to the plans, it just seems that plans are really bad at sticking to us!!

Anyways... I really just wanted to share some more pictures. Just a few snaps that I happen to love.
I just loved these shots and would love to hang this storyboard. She loves her daddy.
Another of the set that I liked.
Getting so big...
Trying to escape to climb the stairs... BIG TROUBLE
I softened this one but now I'm not sure I love it after looking at it on here. Thoughts?!?

Exhausted...

pretty much sums up the wonderful Holiday we had. It truly was a wonderful first Christmas for Abriella, but with more ear infections, overstimulation and refusal to nap we had one tired baby on our hands by the end of it all. And then of course as soon as we get her back on track it's back to daycare she goes, to get sick again (hopefully not), refuse her naps and get worn out.

Anyways, I hope that everyone had as nice of a Christmas as we did. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful, generous and caring family. They all spoiled Abriella rotten (and I feel quite spoiled myself actually) and we are most gracious (well, maybe not for the rotten part, but...). She got all kinds of adorable clothes (I can barely fit them all in her dresser), a rocking horse, a first purse, balls galore, baby dolls, a learning table, and a toy organizer just to name a few. She is lucky beyond belief and has been giving us a break from entertaining her because she is in awe of all her fun toys.

I happened to get some wonderful gifts as well. Quite a few were to help me continue my growing addiction to photography. I may have to actually go into business one day just to make good enough use of everyone's generous gifts. I have been having a great time getting used to these new items and thought I would share some of my fun with all of you. Hopefully you enjoy them as much as I do (warning ~ picture overload)!!
her new learning table and my new lens



her first purse

I couldn't decide... color
or black and white?!?


and then my first practice with my new speedlight... this was too much fun




black and white or color?!? the black and whites seem a little too hot on here. I am having a really hard time finding a happy setting on my Mac... that screen is too stinkin' bright, but it looks like I turned it down a little too much

but finally my favorite picture by far... I am pretty sure this should get printed big and hung in the bathroom.. what do you think?? hehe


If you made it this far, thanks for looking. Hopefully everyone is having a great start to the new year and that it continues to be a good one!!