Foto Friday and Thankful

Happy Friday! We are up late, having gotten back from the State Fair much later than we expected. Of course, it took us nearly two hours to get there, but that's a story for another post. I'll do a specific State Fair post with pictures and all the deets on our adventures at a later date.

Chris likes to wear Annabel in the Baby Bjorn (pretty much his first purchase once we found out we were pregnant -- he has a lot of experience using it with our friends' kids) when he's doing the chores. Annabel's a great helper!

As promised, here are a couple of photos of Annabel being allowed to play with her bowl and spoon. I'm not sure if she got it out of her system, but she sure looks cute! Now I'm thinking I don't want it out of her system! At least until the next time I feed her, that is...

Annabel says that rice cereal is the latest in organic foundation make-up. Well, her skin is glowing, so it must be!

Nanny Kristi gives Bellie her weekly mani/pedi. Lucky girl...

Annabel checks Nanny Kristi's work. Hope she gets 'em all! Those little fingernails can be razor sharp!

Check out this big girl holding her bottle on her own!

Annabel wonders how long she'll have to live with the papparazzi interrupting her meals. Can't a girl eat in peace?

As you can see, it was a very light picture taking week this week. Chris was in Houston for a few days for work, and I was just a little too scatterbrained to remember to pick up the camera. So to make up for it, I was thinking about all the things that I'm thankful for in my life. And I wanted to write them down.

I'm thankful for Chris. He's the best husband a girl could ask for, and the best Daddy our Annabel could ever have! He takes care of us, pitching in, cleaning the house and changing stinky diapers.

I'm thankful for Annabel. If I knew all my babies would be like her, I'd have a dozen of them! (Although I don't think Chris would agree). She's beautiful, wonderful and lights up my life.

I'm thankful for Annabel's grandparents. They've all been so wonderfully supportive and such a major part of her life. We love you Ba Ngoai, Grammy, Onh Ngoai and Papi!

I'm thankful for our friends. They all knew what Chris and I went through to have Annabel. They've supported us with love, prayers, advice and free babysitting!

I'm thankful for my job. I work for an incredible company, and even more importantly, for some great bosses. The company provides us with excellent benefits (that helped pay to bring Annabel into this world!), and my bosses provide me with the opportunity to work from home a couple of days a week. I have an excellent work/life balance.

I'm thankful for Annabel's child care providers. Miss Margaret, who watches her when I go downtown, is new, but already raves about Annabel. And of course, Nanny Kristi adores her. I'm so grateful to know that when Chris or I can't be the ones to be watching Bellie, there are people we can trust to take care of her.

And most of all, I'm thankful that God has blessed me with all these. It is because of His grace that I am able to appreciate what I have been given.

I know it's not Thanksgiving yet, but who needs a special day to be thankful? What are you thankful for?