Annabel's First Christmas

We had a wonderful and laid back Christmas for Annabel this year. What with the economy being the way it is, and in an effort to cut back, we tried not to go all out on the gifts for Annabel. And, as you know, I was encouraging our friends and family to give Annabel the gift of a college education in lieu of clothes or toys. For Chris and myself, just having our beautiful baby girl underneath the Christmas tree was all the blessing we could ask for. It was a very special Christmas for us.

Earlier in the week, Tia Ana came over to give Annabel a present for her to open before she went out of town.

What a cute First Christmas outfit! We all know how I feel about Annabel in hats. Irresistible! Thanks, Tia Ana!

Then... the big day! We get our sweet girl to open some presents under the tree.

Annabel discovers that she has some shiny packages under the tree.

A Christmas morning snapshot with Grammy.

Grammy helps Annabel open her present.

A book (among other fun things)! Grammy and Annabel check out her new seahorse book.

On to the next present! This one is from her sitter, Ms. Margaret.

And a cute onesie from JP! It says "Best Gift Ever." Ain't that the truth?

Annabel seems to be more interested in the box, though. I guess cardboard is yummier.

Another present from Tia Ana! Annabel helps Mommy open it.

Annabel gets a present from Santa. She is so excited!

Or, maybe she's just excited about the box. It's so big! And so yummy...

Annabel takes a break from all the present opening and scoots around in her new walker from Ba Ngoai.

Later that day, we went to my grandma's place to spend the evening with the extended family. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but fortunately Ba Ngoai took many pictures! So when I get them from her, I'll post them to the blog as well.

In addition to the photos you see here, there are many, many, many more in the online album on Photobucket. The password is annabel.

Annabel is growing and learning and moving around... she's changing so fast! I don't think I can keep up. I'll post more later on that. I just transferred some cute video too. In any case, I hope you all enjoy your New Year's! Looking forward to 2009!!

Cheers!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well, it's actually here. Christmas! (OK, technically it's tomorrow, but festivities are definitely already underway.) What a year this has been. It seems like it's been a very long one, but one that has flown by. I can barely believe that at this time last year, I was pregnant.

2008 has been a banner year for the FabersInFrisco. Annabel made a very distinctive arrival in April, and our lives have never been the same. We were warned, but you really just don't know, until this little baby actually shows up just how much your world is rocked. In a good way... in a super fantastic, fabulous way. I mean, seriously... we were happy before, but this is nuts!

I think we've learned as much (if not more) from her as she has been learning from us. We continue to learn patience and flexibility, as each day brings us a new challenge from her. We learn awe and respect, as we discover that we can take nothing for granted. We learn joy and laughter, as we see our world through her eyes and her reactions to things.

I thank you for reading this little blog of mine as I try to capture all these precious moments of our lives with her and share them with you. I hope that you had as wonderful a 2008 as we did, and look forward to an even better 2009!

I'll leave you with Annabel's first photo with Santa. This was literally the first photo that they took of her, because immediately afterwards, she took one look at him and decided she didn't like him. She commenced to crying, so we swiftly whisked her away. I kind of wish we got a picture of her crying, but they didn't offer and I didn't think to ask. Oh well, next time!

CHEERS!

Future Bear? Tarheel? Longhorn?

We started a college savings fund for Annabel earlier this year, and plan on opening another one early next. Why the two different plans? Because their purpose is for two different types of savings.

The plan we already started is from Upromise. Upromise is a two-part program. One is their 529 plan, which works like most other 529 plans. It's basically like your 401(k) or other retirement savings program, only this one is specifically for educational expenses. I went to savingforcollege.com, which is sort of an "everything you ever wanted to know about saving for college" site, and the Upromise 529 ranked really well for performance. The other reason we chose this one is because we also participate in the Upromise rewards program. This works similarly to a points program or frequent flyer/diner/shopper program. When you use your registered credit cards at certain merchants (both online and offline) or buy certain products at your grocery store, that merchant or brand will contribute a portion of your purchase to your college savings plan. It's basically free money for Annabel! And her family and friends can also register their credit cards and earn free money for Annabel's college too. (Her Uncle James already registered his -- thanks, Uncle James!)

So the reason for this post is aimed at her family and friends who are still shopping for a gift for Annabel. We are very blessed in that Annabel has lots and lots of clothes, and lots and lots of toys. So we'd like you to consider contributing to Annabel's 529 as her Christmas present this year. The minimum gift amount is $15, and just consider that $15 today will grow into a whole set of books for a semester of college, or lab fees, or at least a credit hour by the time she goes to college. We are grateful for every little bit of help.

Click here to get the gift contribution coupon to contribute to Annabel's 529. The money you send goes directly to her account, and I will be notified of your gift. Annabel thanks you for her first steps towards becoming a Bear, Tarheel, Longhorn, Razorback... or whatever she wants to be.

I know I mentioned that we'll be opening another plan for her. The other plan we're looking at is the Texas Tuition Promise Fund (a reboot of the old Texas Tomorrow Fund). I'll go into that at a later post, though.

Foto Friday is on its way, so until then...

Cheers!

Foto Friday

It was a light photo week, but the ones we have are pretty fun.

Last week, Ba Ngoai came to help me out when Nanny Kristi had to call in sick. She and Annabel had lots of fun playing and bonding time together.

Apparently there was a memo that went out that GREEN was the color of the day.

The girls go for a little stroll around the kitchen.

Annabel also got a new toy this week! She shows off her cool new play table.

Safety first! Annabel checks out the legs on the table to make sure it's safe.

And we have more adventures in eating -- drinking from a cup and finger foods!

Daddy helps Annabel as she learns to drink her juice from a cup. Pear juice seems to be a favorite of hers. (She did not like the prune juice at all!)

Yum! That's pretty good, Daddy!

Annabel loves to play with faces. She particularly loves Daddy's nose.

She checks to see if there's any juice left.

Annabel also got to try her first finger foods this week. Here we try banana chunks. She's still working on getting them to her mouth, but she sure has a lot of fun practicing!

She's thinking maybe if she mashes them up, it'll be easier to put in her mouth.

Later in the week, we try avocado. Why does Mommy keep picking the slipperiest stuff?

"Shhh... don't tell Mommy, but I hid some pieces in my pants to save for later."

"Wait. Where did they go? Did Baylor eat them?"

That's all for this week. Hope everyone is staying warm this winter season!
Cheers!

Christmas Card Pet Peeves

I started working on our Christmas cards earlier this week, and we've also already gotten several in the mail. Wow... I'm impressed! I'll consider myself lucky if these cards reach my friends and family by December 24.

As these cards arrive in the mail, and as I'm working on ours, it brings up some little Christmas card pet peeves of mine. These peeves mostly pertain to those ever-so-popular photo cards that we're getting more and more of every year.

DISCLAIMER! Now, before I get going on this post, if we have received (or will receive) a card from you, and the card you sent reflects one of these peeves, let me just say I'm SO HAPPY and NO LESS appreciative that you put the Fabers on your list. I love all the cards we get, simply because you thought to send us one. This is all just my humble opinion.

First of all, why is it that people send photos of only their kids? Now, I love kids, and I love kid pictures. But if you're sending me a Christmas photo, I want to see you, too! You were my friend first, before the kids came along. Did you cease to exist as a person once those babies were born? Are you no longer [insert your name here]? Should I now refer to you as [insert your child's name here]'s Mom or Dad when I send you an email or call you on the phone? (This kind of goes along with my pet peeve of people who use their kids' photos as their profile pictures on Facebook or MySpace.)

I absolutely understand the urge to plaster your child's photo all over everything. I just gave birth to a super cute, gorgeous, should-be-on-the-cover-of-every-magazine baby girl. Of course I want everyone to see pictures of her! But, she is not the representation of who I am. You won't find me on Oprah 15 years from now, a desperate housewife who has lost my identity because I've just been "Annabel's Mom" or "Chris's Wife" for all these years (at least, I hope not). Anyway, I digress. I just would love to see pictures of the whole family on Christmas cards.

My second pet peeve is about how impersonal this whole process has become. Last year, almost every photo card we received had no personal note or even a handwritten signature on it. (The few that did were from my friends that already knew this was a pet peeve of mine). Some of them even came in envelopes that had obviously been addressed by computer, not handwritten! Hello! Nice to know we're part of an assembly line. Christmas cards are the last remaining dinosaur of personal correspondence (aside from Thank You cards) that we take the time to send out anymore. If you're not even going to sign it, then it might as well be an email. I have a lot of people on my Christmas card list, too. And while I can't write a super long and personal note on every one of them, I at least extend handwritten salutations and a signature so that hopefully you know that I absolutely meant for you to receive this card.

This year, I even received a folded card that was not signed. All that room for a signature, and none could be found. It was as if I was on somebody's direct mail list. Oh well, at least I was on the list!

OK, OK, I'm off my soapbox now. I just had to rant for a little bit about that. Like I said, I do truly love the cards we've gotten because they are from dear friends and family. And I probably have had little or no impact on the way you're going to do your cards this year. But, at least now you know what I'm thinking about as I'm starting to do mine. Whether you wanted to or not.

Hope you're all having a great holiday season!
Cheers!

Foto Friday Returns!

I'm back for a very late-in-the-evening Foto Friday! We have got some serious photo-catching-up to do.

We start the post with some photos of Annabel and her baby friends.

Annabel and her friend Haley are best buds.

Haley is a great friend because she loves to share her toys with Annabel!

Annabel really loved this toy of Haley's because she was still getting the hang of sitting up on her own at this time (this was about a month ago -- yes, I know I'm really behind)!

A few days later, Annabel went to go visit another friend, Lila. Here they are holding hands. How sweet!

And, when showing pics of Annabel and her baby buddies, we HAVE to share the most recent of her adventures with JP! Here they are, hangin' in Annabel's crib. Seriously... how cute are they?

JP thinks Annabel's baby bedonkydonk makes an excellent armrest.

The babies are confused by my reference to her bedonkydonk. Annabel, in particular, is not sure if she should be offended.

They decide that now is not the time for worrying about SAT words and just to focus on the joy of being beautiful babies.

Later, Nanny Kristi takes the kiddos for a stroll in the neighborhood to enjoy the mild November weather.

JP and Annabel discuss what route to take through the neighborhood to best take in the scenery.

Once the route is picked, JP, being the chivalrous young man that he is, checks to make sure Annabel's straps are secure before taking off.

Next are some photos of life with Annabel. In particular, one of the things I'm most proud of that I've been doing is making Annabel's solid food myself! I still buy a few baby food jars in the store as back-up or if it's a food I don't think I can attempt, like prunes. But for the most part, I've been giving Annabel fresh food!

This was my first batch of homemade baby food -- carrots and peas. I've also made sweet potatoes, butternut squash and given Annabel fresh bananas and avocado. I freeze each batch in ice cube trays and then store the frozen food cubes in ziplock baggies. She's currently eating about 2 cubes per meal.

Annabel tries my homemade carrots for the first time. You can't really tell here, but she loved them! Prior to making her food, when I started her on carrots and peas, her first taste was jarred food. I can definitely say that she seems to enjoy homemade food more.

Here's her first taste of homemade peas. I don't think she's a big fan of peas in general. She does love sweet potatoes and butternut squash. I've taken to mixing the stuff she doesn't like as much (green beans, peas, avocado -- all green stuff, hmmm) with some she does like (prunes or pears) so she eats it more enthusiastically. Which is to say she doesn't clamp her mouth shut and turn her head away. I really need to show you guys video of that. It's pretty funny!

Also this past month, I clipped Annabel's nails for the first time. Up until then, I had only been filing them down. But now that her fingers are getting bigger and easier to grip, I figured it was time.

As long as she had something to occupy herself, she was pretty cooperative.

I know. Is it weird that I had Chris take a picture of her first nail clippings? Well, at least I didn't keep them. Not that it's weird if you kept your baby's first nail clippings. I'm just saying.

After seeing how much fun Annabel had with Haley's sit-up toy, of course, I had to get a similar one for her. And she loves it!

She especially loves playing with that other baby who is always there with her on this toy.

In addition to sitting up on her own, Annabel is a busy caterpillar, army-crawling all over the place! Here, she's fascinated by the lens cap and goes for it.

Goal! Annabel rewards herself for attaining her prize by giving it a good chomp.

Another new thing for Annabel this past month is the big girl bathtub! She has graduated from her baby bath to taking baths in the big tub. Here she is with Daddy getting ready to go in.

At first, she wonders why Daddy is so far away. He's not usually that far during her bath.

As Daddy bathes her, Bellie gets the hang of things. She really enjoys all the fun splishing and splashing.

All clean! It's official -- Bellie loves her big girl bath!

And finally, we'll close with some photos of Annabel and her big people friends.

Auntie NeNe (Renee) comes over for some playtime with Bellie.

Bellie loves her Auntie NeNe!

We also met up with Auntie Kathryn and our friend Alex for lunch while he was in town for Thanksgiving.

Annabel suckers Alex into handing over his wallet. We made a mental note not to let him take her to the mall when she gets bigger. Then again, it's not our money...

Also, you might have noticed in these last two photos that we've added another hair ornament to Annabel's bow collection. Barrettes (or in this case, just one barrette)! She finally has just enough hair to keep a barrette in. I'm loving having all these new options to accessorize her.

Whew! That was a lot of photos! I guess I should have named the post "Foto November" since that's when all of these pictures were taken. Still to come, photos from Thanksgiving (my Mom took a bunch of photos, so I can do a belated post when I get them from her) and before that, from our trip to Carmel. Including adventures on a plane! Also, my next product review, which has been a long time coming (so what else is new, right?).

Until then, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is having a wonderful holiday season!

Cheers!