Big Sister Annie

Annie is going to be a big sister!
June 20th, 2012

We have a small pocket of beautiful grass in our mammoth yard. It is a gorgeous sight and I can only imagine the whole thing finished. Imagine is all I have until who knows how long... a decade? In the mean time, we let Annie out today and she loves the little patch of grass as much as we do! St. George weather is pure bliss. I am assuming there aren't as many of us left in the U.S.A. who still turn on their AC's when driving home from work. I am pleased that I can count myself among them. (The part about the AC, not about the work. I've decided it's time to become independently wealthy and sit home collecting royalties instead of grading 100 essays every other weekend).

After much pleading and begging, Q finally started our first fire tonight!
Ironic that he is the one lounging on the couch enjoying it whilst I am blogging in the library.
It is a positive DREAM! I even pictured myself roasting a duck on an open spit
should the world end and it ever come to that. At least we have the option.

Poor Duke. It's been super cold at night so we broke down and let him in
the mud room. Don't tell his owners who live in our downstairs apartment.
Annie and Q and I LOVE Duke. I hope they let us keep him when they move.
He is the sweetest dog on the planet and Annie tries to ride him like a horse.

I brought home this massage chair cover from the cabin and it entertained Annie
for at least an hour. It took all of 60 seconds for her to figure out the remote.

I've been a wretched photo-taker as of late. This it it from Thanksgiving.
We had a mix of family members and some terrific food.
The most entertaining part of the evening was Megan bringing home her
serious boyfriend whose family owns Pasta Factory.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend at the cabin with Q's family.
Annie was not her usual self.
There was much whining and crying and gnashing of teeth.
Oh Annie. She's got spirit, we'll put it that way.

Annie was the cutest Halloween Chickie on the planet!
I have been dying to document her choice of costume. Last year I spent months pouring over thousands of costumes to find the perfect zebra but this year, Annie wasn't letting me have anything to do with it. When she saw that chickie costume across the store at Costco, it was beyond love at first sight! She begged for me to put it in the cart and completely shunned any other costume I tried to show her. She spent the next hour hugging it tightly as I loaded the cart with large amounts of everything you never knew you needed (because that's how Costco is).

Annie spent over a month before Halloween crying every day for me to get the chickie costume down and put it on her. Then she would spent 20 minutes in front of the mirror admiring her costume and wiggling her fluffy tail while she crawled. She cried every time I tried to take it off and once I even broke down and let her nap in it. Halloween was her dream come true because she wore that thing all the live long day, everywhere we went, and was content as could be.

She is a unique child. Halloween confirmed her immense love to be scared. I'm serious. She can't get enough of the genuine adrenaline rush of being terrified. I am probably the only sick and twisted mom that took their 1-year-old to the haunted corn maze, but she thrilled with delight whenever a ghoulish fiend or crazed zombie jumped out and terrified her. I must admit, it is quite rewarding to hold her while she is being scared. She gasps and cuddles right into your chest and then starts giggling to beat laughing gas. We had to leave the screaming motion ghost up a week after October 31st because she kept looking for it and clapping her hands so it would scream and scare her.

Annie is currently super cuddly. It is the best ever.

October also marked Lailee's birthday party. I would pay some
good money for the recipe of that incredible Italian cake I keep dreaming about.

Newsprint Nose

We took Seth & Co. to Lake Powell just before he left for his mission to Africa and had a terrific vacation. Annie hadn't quite yet learned how to be a good Lake Baby and now I am remembering those miserable summer colds. Maybe this means we'll skip right over the winter ones.

Annie loves adventure sans the life jacket. I bought a couple different ones to see which would be my best bet. Answer: NONE. This little pink number was the worst. I swear it shrink wrapped to her body once I got it on and I couldn't get it off. Do NOT buy it. Also, Annie decided to hate sand seconds after we arrived at the sand hill.

I will miss this place so much when my parents finally sell their houseboat. Antelope Point is the creme de la creme. I'll have to make a note to take a few extra trips down the slide next summer just in case. Oh, and then it came... again. That rancid thought that pervades my otherwise happy little life: I miss being skinny! Oh how I miss it!

Poor Annie, I took her down to visit Q when we lived it the mortuary and when I set her on a table, she face planted it right on top of a newspaper. You could read the print on her nose the rest of the day! I felt so bad.


The first night we moved into our new house, Annie went wild with all the space. She must have covered a few miles before bed time. We've been here now almost 4 months and it is still a dream. I catch myself sitting in different spots and staring at things for half an hour before I finally go to bed. I just can't believe we did this and we made it happen and we are here... 3600 sq/ft of here. It's a dream. May I also add that there is no way my floors will ever be as clean as this again.


This reminds me, I need to post the rest of the before-and-afters.

Stirland Family Lake Powell Trip

My house is a disaster,
I have 96 essays to grade,
I could be taking a nap,
or doing something productive like
dishes, grocery shopping, or going to the bank....

BUT I THINK I'LL BLOG INSTEAD!

Still playing catch up: I thought I was ready for a seasonal change but looking back these photos make me wish it was summer already. They also remind me how much Annie has changed in the last 2 months! I've got to keep up better so I don't miss these windows of life.

Annie was always a defective car baby and, we discovered, lake baby, but with each trip to the lake she decided to like the experience a little more. By the end of the summer she loved it! I can't wait until next year.

We bought a water mat and it is A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

The annual Stirland Family trip was wonderful, as usual. We celebrated Ydnic's B-Day once again at the lake and enjoyed her fabulous life video twice in a row.

Even Kari+1/2 and the twins made an appearance!

Annie and Lailee LOVED their little pool with a perfect view of the big kids playing king of the mat behind the houseboat.

Watch out for Nichole Freestone Burr on the water mat. She's more aggressive than I would have guessed.

Too bad Annie developed a cold and wasn't feeling too hot. This didn't help the defective lake baby syndrome one little bit. These trips to the lake were super fun but intensely exhausting with a little 1-year-old and all her gear.

Grandma Polly is always up for an adventure!