just horsin' around

Belle loves loves dogs. And apparently all other animals. 

The girl has no fear - as soon as I walked up to these pretty ponies, 

she grabbed the horse's snout and gave it a few pats.

We didn't ride, but I'm pretty sure she would've been 

happy to trot around on one of these oversized dogs.

happy baby

There are few things in this world 

that make this baby as happy as 

running around outside. 

Similarly, there are few things 

that make this baby more unhappy 

than telling her she's nearing

heat stroke 

and has to come inside.

for those of you

For those of you who might be trying to switch your kid from the bottle (or breast) to the sippy and are having only small amounts of luck, try Nuk's Learner sippy. The folks at Nuk did something magic to this little five ounce container of wonder - it's the only sippy she'll drink milk out of. In other words, it wouldn't be more valuable to me if it were glazed in gold.

For those of you like Flamin' Hot Cheetos, try the Cheetos Mighty Zingers Cheddar  & Salsa Picante. Not as flamin', but super delicious. Really good for my weight loss efforts too.

For those of you who want a super cute "poopy pouch," check out these super easy patterns. Because I'm about as handy with a sewing machine as I am at hitting a golf ball with a club, I'm recruiting my super talented sister-in-law to help me. (Read: to make it for me.) I'm packing less and less in the diaper bag these days, so it will be handy to just throw this in whatever I'm carrying.

For those of you who were looking for pictures of a baby practicing her sweet ninja moves, you're welcome. :)

at the top

Silver Lake is nestled at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's surrounded by a lovely boardwalk, which makes it the perfect "hike" for a girl who's just realizing that her feet can take her running away from mama. Watching her run, swing her arms around as she pointed at every little thing, and try to jump into the marsh, we remembered how much our pink-nosed girl loves the outside. We felt a little bad that we've kept her cooped up so much recently.

 

This is one of the biggest reasons we moved back to Utah. Next to having an aunt or grandma on hand at any moment in time, our mountains were calling us. And we're so glad they call to Belle as well.

put a ring on it

Grandma Cheney recently uncovered a tiny tiny ring
that was given to Jess by his Great Aunt Jeanne,
who passed away when he was young.
Even though it's a little small
for her chubby fingers,
we let her try it on.
I think it's so sweet
that her dad's little finger
once fit in this little ring.

milking it

So with the one year mark, we've also reached the "time to really get rid of that bottle and it's yummy formula" mark. Personally, I find cow's milk revolting, so the thought of Belle gulping it down kind of makes me shudder, but whatever. I suppose it will make her bones strong. (Gag. It just makes me gag.) She's been semi-using the sippy for a few months so we're sort of on our way. I say "semi" because she just really doesn't get the whole tipping of the cup. The sippy works out great if she's reclined, but if not, she just gets mad at throws it on the floor.

Enter the straw. She's been "sharing" water with me for a long time using a straw. So when I spotted this number, I knew we were in business. Belle guzzles liquid from her strawed sippy. And the good news? She doesn't have to tip it! So until she understands the word "tip" as well as she understands "shoe" or "ball" (she'll retrieve either when requested to do so), we'll stick with the straw.

P.S. With the one year mark also comes the end of The Daily Annabelle. However, she still has a trio of aunties and a grandma that are hundreds of miles away who would like some updates. Plus, I'M OBSESSED WITH HER. Oh, you didn't know? Now you do. So this blog will now begin featuring a little more Belle. I know, you're like, More? How could there possibly be more? Just you wait and see. :)

365 days of annabelle

So I realize that Annabelle will remember little - if any - of her first birthday party. She won't know how many people came to celebrate her day or that some traveled hundreds of miles just to see her (mom) open her presents. She didn't happen to notice that I dreamed up polka dots and circles and balls from food to favors in honor of her favorite toy (any ball is her favorite toy). She doesn't realize that I spent months planning and weeks preparing for this big day, that an army of family members were necessary to pull it all off.

But when she looks back on her first birthday, at the photos that were taken (see the madness below), I hope she realizes that she was celebrated. I hope she realizes that her first year was incredible - every day better than the last. I hope she realizes that her arrival ushered in a new kind of family and a deeper love for one another. I hope she knows that we cherish her, every little curl on that head, and are so privileged to share every day with her. I hope she knows that because I will never have adequate or enough numbered words to tell her how much I love sharing every day with her, I tried my best to make the celebration of her first year mean something. I wanted to make her day mean something big because she means so very much to me.

My baby girl, how I love you so. Thank you for 365 days full of reasons to celebrate.

Also, I hope that someday she's impressed with how insane I went with the polka dots. ;)

Also, I like to pretend that I won't go this crazy with every birthday. But let's be honest - I really like plans and spreadsheets.

Also, special thanks to the many family members who participated in my party planning. I couldn't have done it alone, and I appreciate and love you all so much for going along with my vision and only mocking me occasionally. :)

happy fourth!