getting caught up...

alright, alright! 6+ months later and I'm ready to post on here again! I think I've taken more photos these last 6 months than I have for most of my life combined. Sharing them, however, is a step in this process I have quickly forgotten about. Without further ado, here is a look at what's been going on in our household this past half-year:


Most recently, we were able to take a family vacation to southwest Michigan. Anna had many firsts on this trip...among them, experiencing a swimming pool:










Michael heading into Lake Michigan...brrr!!



Anna and Grandpa...and just a few of the seagulls that were everywhere!

Another of Anna's firsts: discovering plastic water bottles. These things were highly entertaining for her...which made me love them!

Outside a random shop on Phoenix Street in downtown South Haven.

South Haven lighthouse...accompanied by seagulls ;)

South Haven Harbor on opening night of Harborfest

What?! We're both in a picture?!

Anna discovery #3: grass :)

Ahhhh, her daddy always gets the best smiles out of her!

Thus ends the visual tour of our vacation photos. On to more randomness:

The look Anna gives me when she's tired of riding in the car (man, she's still cute)

One of her many expressions

Oh, she loves her Zany Zoo!

One of my favorite things that she does is to prop up her legs like a little lounge queen when we go for walks in the stroller.

Going a little further back now, this was the Carmel Sprint Triathlon Michael competed in (and did incredibly well, I might add) in April

Anna has taken her sweet time getting used to baby food...this girl really just loves her bottle! So, here we have a little girl who was interested in playing in her new high chair...just not eating.

Go Cubbies!

The next several are from our trip to Vegas with friends. It was great to get away for a few days, but we did miss the little one!

Fountain show at the Bellagio

We stayed at the lovely Paris our last two nights :)

Hanging out around Fremont Street ("Old" Vegas)

and this is what it looks like flying over the Midwest

When I look at this photo, I want to close my eyes and pretend we were actually in Paris!

Fun!! This was taken from our lounge chairs poolside :)

First time trying homemade baby food (sweet potatoes)...little girl did not approve

She did, however, think that the handle of her Easter basket was simply delish.

Getting some TLC from daddy while recovering from one of her (soon-to-be-many) ear infections

First trip to the ER...that's right...bronchiolitis

First time going to BGI's Spring tent sale, and she's not too impressed yet

ER trip lead to some at-home breathing treatments. You can't tell in this photo, but that mask is a pink dragon, and she was not a fan.

Amazed as she finally discovered the crib soother that had been hanging on her crib for weeks.

Whew! That, friends, is a visual recap of this first half of 2011 for us. We are loving watching our little girl grow and begin to experience the world (we are also enjoying the small glimpses of our previously "normal" life every now and then!). Given the fact that it's taken me three separate attempts today to actually finish this post, I think I will try to keep up a little better! Be back with more soon?!?!

Little Sleepy Bear

Oh, our little girl is shaking off her first cold/ear infection...antibiotics and all (I think she likes that her bottles have had a hint of bubblegum flavor, thanks to the meds!). Actually, I should say she's sleeping it off...

Catching Up...and Looking Forward

Well, since our little Anna bug has arrived, the blog (among many other things) was put on hold so we could adjust to life as parents. She has had lots of new experiences already and has survived her first big holiday season! It's crazy to think how different our lives are as compared to this time last year. 2010 was not the easiest, but with Anna's arrival, the year certainly brought our biggest reward. We are so looking forward to seeing what new changes and adventures this little babe will bring our way in 2011!

Loving on her hands...this is her "party shirt" she donned for New Year's Eve!



I can't get enough of her legs...a little bit chubby, and oh, so soft!







Ahhh, so precious!

One of her many expressions...

Fun leg warmers for Christmas :)

Getting familiar with her Bumbo seat...she's not sure if she likes it yet or not.

Did I mention the holidays wore her out?! She fell asleep while laying under her play gym...at this point, she still had two Christmases to go, poor thing!

Daddy gets in on the wrap-time, too (earning BIG points with mommy)!!

Chubby little thighs after her first shots.

Oh, my little snuggle-bugs!

Kisses for daddy

This was the first time we really got her giving us "real" smiles...then we realized we needed to trim her nails, yikes, look at that scratch!

One week old

Again at 1 week...the girl's got a personality!

Meet our Little Pumpkin!

She's here! After much anticipation, our little Anna has arrived! She was born on October 13th at 4:46 pm, weighed 7 lbs 15 oz, and was 20 inches long.

Neither Michael nor I got much sleep the night before, so once I got my epidural, we were both able to get some rest before the excitement really began.

Who knew how delicious crushed ice could be?

Meeting for the first time

First family photo

We're in trouble...this girl's got the pouty face down and she's only minutes old!

Salsa Time:)

Well, this crazy hot summer has taken its toll on our much neglected garden. Despite the fact that I was wondering if the zucchini would eventually take over our entire backyard, we were able to salvage some veggies for a little bit of homemade salsa.

swim-bike-run

Today was Michael's first experience with the Tri-Indy downtown (he completed a Sprint Triathalon earlier this summer in Muncie...pictures to be posted later!). He did incredibly well, and has been so good about training throughout the summer heat.

The first leg of the race was a 1500 meter swim in the canal, followed by a 25 mile bike ride, and then he finished up with a 10K run. Thankfully, the weather was a little cooler than it has been all summer, which was great for Michael, as well as this preggo spectator wife:)


A view of downtown via the canal in the early morning hours



I loved that we could literally walk along our racer during the swim portion of the race!



Maybe Anna will learn to swim like her daddy instead of her mommy!!







Heading into the transition area

Michael in transition for the bike portion of the race



Half-way done with the bike, now for lap 2!

Last turn of the bike portion

Heading into the transition area for the last time...getting ready to run

Running to the finish line

Love this one!!

GOOOD JOB, MICHAEL!!

New Toy!!

Have I told you how wonderful my husband is?!?! He got me a new lens for my recent birthday and I'm loving it! Check these out...totally unedited:)