M-I-C-K-E-Y....

M-O-U-S-E! I think if I hear or sing that song one more time today I'm going to absolutely croak!!!!

Today was the 4th annual Cookies With Characters benefiting Meredith's Miracles. I have helped with it the last 3 years, so this was my first year on the other side of the fence. It was definitely fun, but not something I'd want to do more than once a year. I am pooped! I actually WAS Minnie the first year, the next year I was co-director, and last year I was 8 3/4 months pregnant, so I did as much as I could. Shelley has been Cinderella the last 3 years, so it's always fun watching her.

Annistyn LOVES Mickey Mouse and gets REALLY REALLY excited when Mickey Mouse Clubhouse comes on. She sings and dances to the Hotdog song and the theme song. She was caught off guard when they came out at the beginning for the "show", but she clapped as soon as she figured out what was going on. She cried when Spongebob and Patrick were on stage and didn't like the "heroes" (Batman, Superman, etc...) either. She loved Dora and of course, she loved Cinderella (i.e. Aunt Shelley!)

Blakely came and I tried to get them to look at me for a picture. Here's how well that went...



Here is one of just Blakely. She is getting so big and looked so cute with her big bow. Her daddy hates bows, so I usually don't get to see her with one.



After the show, we went to take some pictures with the characters. We didn't get one with everybody- some of the lines were really long. But here are a few...
(P.S.- Some of these are kind of rough. Between the lights, the other 20 people waiting in line, Annistyn, who was unsure at first about the characters, and all the other factors- we're just lucky to have pictures!)

Minnie....


Annistyn liked her better once we walked off.

Cookie Monster...


She was fine until I left her in his lap! I really didn't want my picture taken today- Even though I have been doing good with my diet and exercise and I have lost 13 pounds! Whoo-hoo!

Mickey- can you tell he's her favorite?

She was about to go crazy when we were waiting behind the 40 other people to meet him. She was running around me in circles, clapping and waving at him, dancing, and "singing" the Mickey Mouse song.

Dora and Diego...


Again.... she was fine until I walked away. Then she had a fit!

And our favorite... Aunt Shelley....Oops! I mean Cinderella!


She knew her Aunt Shelley, so she sat with her. I didn't put all of the character pictures on here, but wanted to share a few.

Here are some of just Annistyn in her cute Minnie outfit. My mom could have made this, but we have a birthday party outfit to work on and an Easter dress. I knew it would be hard to get it done in time, so I found a good deal on etsy.com and ordered it.





Speaking of birthdays- did you notice my new festive blog design?? SOMEONE has a birthday in less than two- yes...less than 2 weeks away. I thought we'd celebrate early. The design matches the 2-sided announcements and invitations that I made. I should get them in Monday and I promise I will share them, but not until they have been mailed. That ruins the fun if I show them early!

Sorry that I have been MIA this week. Guess what I have been doing???
I'll give you one hint...



Chasing this little live wire around!!!
We have our own Dora the "Explorer" at our house...



She is into EVERYTHING!!!



And won't stay still for 2 minutes!











She even has her first "boo-boo" (above her left eyebrown) This is courtesy of the window sill and Mommy not being able to catch her fast enough.





She is so wild!!!!

Well... I'm going to bed. I had some more things to share, but I will save them for another day when I am not so exhausted!!!

Life is But a Dream...

Yesterday we went to Destin to eat for Shelley's birthday. It was so beautiful here! A week ago we were playing in the snow, and this weekend, I dug my flip flops out of the closet! It was 70 degrees! I needed a taste of spring and now I just can't wait for it to come.

We stopped on Holiday Isle in Destin for some quick beach pictures of Annistyn. Of course, when we got to the spot we were going, they had a construction project and there was orange netting everywhere. It was really hard to find a spot to put Annistyn to get a half way decent background. I KNEW we should have just gone to the public beach access, but we used to stay at the condo at the end of Holiday Isle and I knew there was some pretty sand and grass. I just didn't know about the construction. Annistyn didn't like the sand at first. I know it felt funny on her feet. Last weekend she was walking in snow for the first time. I got a few pictures. They didn't go quite as planned but between the construction, bad shadows, and her mood... they were okay!






Today it was warm again. We went to the Dream Park for some pictures that I can hopefully use for her first birthday invitation which HAS to be done this week.

She had SO much fun and I did get some good pictures. I just picked a few... or 15... to put on here for a sampling.












Did I mention I LOVE this little girl like crazy????

More update later... just wanted to share pictures from our weekend!!!!

Late Love

I've been meaning to post a few pictures from Valentine's Day- but Monday I was enjoying being off work and playing with my little angel and then yesterday was busy trying to catch up from the long weekend.

I have to say that the melting snow was a big MESS and I don't think I want to live somewhere that is always snowy. I LOVED it when it was here and I hated to see it go, but the reason it is so special is because it is so rare for us. I think if we could have one snow day a year it would be just perfect. I can't tell you the last time that we spent a whole day just being a family. We didn't have a schedule or an agenda. We couldn't go anywhere. We just played and had fun and enjoyed being together. It was so nice!

Before church on Sunday, we gave Annistyn her Valentine's Day gift.






We didn't get her anything big. We got a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD, an Elmo and Friends Sing-A-Long DVD, a book, and a Valentine bib for her to wear at lunch. We are trying to stock up on the DVD's since she will be in her new carseat soon and can watch them in the car. I'm more excited about that than she is!!

She was really ill Sunday morning- I had to take her out of church. That is really rare for her- she usually stays in "big church" the whole time. She wouldn't even eat lunch! She napped for a while and was still ill when she woke up. She still looked cute though in her tutu outfit Sunday night.




She is such a book worm! She found where I was keeping her stash of books, so now she likes to go and drag them out all over the place. I try not to complain because she LOVES to read and I am excited about that!



Here's a picture of my sweet Valentine doggie...


Michael and I decided not to do gifts this year. We have always done it in the past, but we both agreed that we really didn't need anything and decided to save the money instead. Of course I love all three of my "Valentine's" like crazy- but I hope that we celebrate that more than just one day a year.

I love my doggie- Finley! He came into my life at just the right time and helped me deal with the loss of a special friend. He is such a good dog and he loves us and his "sissy" so much. I'm so glad that Annistyn can grow up with a companion like Finley. He feels our home with so much joy and so many puppy kisses!!!



(Excuse the red eye- it's an OLD picture and I didn't have time to zap it out before uploading it)

I love my husband! I'm glad that is he everything I am not. He really completes my puzzle- and trust me, I was missing A LOT of pieces before he came along. We've been through a lot together and I love him more and more every day.



I love my sweet baby! She is so fun and so silly! My heart lights up every morning when I open her door and see her standing in her crib singing a song and bouncing up and down. She is walking EVERYWHERE and it seems like all I do is chase her around! I love every minute of being a mommy- she is definitely the sweetest Valentine present ever!!!




Well, tomorrow is already Thursday and you'll hear no complaints from me! The weekend is right around the corner!!! :)

The Snow Must Go...

I guess all good things come to an end! Today we sadly watched as our winter wonderland melted before our eyes. Right after lunch, I took Annistyn out one last time. I know it will probably be a really long time before either of us see it again.

She had fun again today. (And yes, she does own more than one coat! This is the thickest one she has though. Plus it is big enough I can put several layers underneath it. I did change her hat. I didn't want her to be a complete fashion disaster by wearing the exact same outfit two days in a row. Her pants are different brown ones too.)





She didn't understand why she couldn't walk in it!


I didn't put her mittens on today so she could actually feel it. It was about 15 or 20 degrees warmer anyway.










One more with Mommy!



Her wet snow fanny- from sitting in it!




And on a warmer note- some of her spring sandals came in today. I found a website that had a bunch of Puddle Jumper sandals on sale for $12.95 each. I ordered 4 pair. I couldn't find them that cheap on EBay. I order 3's and they were really big when I tried them on her today. She is still wearing a 2, but maybe her feet will grow a little before it warms up.

Here she is checking them out...



I haven't really been able to take pictures of her walking. It's a hard thing to get on a camera. However, today she was walking over to me and I took some pictures. They actually do a decent job showing off her walking skills.







Since we've been cooped up for a couple days she has decided that she wants to walk EVERYWHERE. She has been alternating between crawling and walking, but the last couple of days she just walks. She goes back and forth on the same path and walks off to other rooms. For almost 2 months it has been her second choice. I guess she decided she finally wanted to make it her primary means of travel.

Well, I'm SNOW tired from all the excitement over the last couple of days. AND I still have 2 days before going back to work! Yipee!!!!