Foto Friday

Annabel and JP hang out on the playmat together.

Annabel kicks back in her new swing as she helps Daddy at work.

Annabel started to laugh out loud this week! We can't get enough of her toothless grin and adorable giggle.

Another thing she loves doing is using her legs to stand. Daddy's just helping her balance here. What a big girl!

Annabel gets a kiss from Daddy after he changes her diaper.

Playtime with Ba Ngoai (that's "maternal Grandma" in Vietnamese) this afternoon!

Have a great weekend!
Cheers!

Crybaby matinee? Try cry mommy matinee...

Today, Annabel and I went to see a movie at the Angelika Theatre in Plano. This is the theatre that shows mainly independent films that don't usually get the wide distribution deals to play at the big AMC or Cinemark or Edwards theatres. I had seen a promotional flyer that said that they feature a "Crybaby Matinee" on Thursday afternoons. The flyer said that they basically make the theatre, "baby friendly" complete with changing tables, and that they don't turn the lights all the way down so you can keep an eye on your baby. Also, they said that since this showing is specifically for parents with babies, you don't have to worry if your baby starts crying during the film.

Sounds ideal for Annabel and me, right?

Well, folks, the reality is quite different. For one thing, what the Angelika web site lists is a completely different movie and time than what is actually showing at the theatre. It says that the movie starts at 1:15pm. So, knowing that I'll need to get Annabel settled, I arrive at about 12:55pm to buy my ticket. I ask for the 1:15 crybaby matinee showing of Brick Lane, and they look at me like "say what?" Then they inform me that the crybaby matinee is actually at 2:15pm, and that they are showing Then She Found Me. There's nothing else really starting until almost that time either. Great, so I get to hang out for an hour. At this time, Annabel decides she's hungry anyway, and they have a decent lounge. So I head over there and kill about a half hour feeding Annabel. For the rest of the time, I basically check email on my phone and play with Annabel.

Then, about 20 minutes before the movie is set to begin, I go to the restroom to change Annabel (because all of sudden, she smells stinky!). Typically, most places have that koala changing station that hangs from the wall in the largest, handicap-accessible stall. So I head straight for the last stall, and lo and behold, there's an ACTUAL changing table in there! I get excited about it until I discover that it's BROKEN. One corner of the base of the table top has become dislodged and sinks below the edge, so there's no way I'm putting Annabel on that hazard. I look around, and there's pretty much no flat surface except for a tiny bit of countertop next to the last sink. Fortunately, Annabel is still kind of tiny herself, so she barely fits there (also, fortunately, she doesn't really roll yet, so even though I would NEVER let go of her anyway, at least she's not squirmy enough to try to roll off the surface). So I do a quick change and pray that Annabel doesn't poop again while we're there.

Finally, we head to the theatre! It's not crowded, maybe about eight other people there. Now ask me if any of those eight people are or have babies with them. NOPE. I am the only one with a baby at the supposed "crybaby" matinee. Also, mind you, there is no signage to indicate that this is the crybaby matinee. So there's no warning to anyone off the street buying a ticket to this movie that there could be crying babies during the film. Ugh.

Previews begin. Annabel's doing great. She's in my lap, I'm playing with her feet and she's smiling. Movie starts. Annabel's no longer doing great and starts to complain. Not all out crying, but definitely making noise. Great timing, sweetie! Well, the only thing I know to do that will for sure stop her crying is to stick her back on the boob. I hope and pray that she'll latch on, even though she ate only an hour ago. Success! If there's one thing my Annabel is, she's a great breastfeeder. She happily sucks away as the movie goes. I'm pretty sure I'm a human pacifier at this point, because she falls asleep after just a few minutes, but I'm fine with that. I dislodge her, she sleeps for about 15 minutes and then wakes up. I put her back on my lap, and she's content to watch the movie for about another 15 minutes. Then starts complaining again, only louder! Oh well, back to being a paci, Mommy! This time, she falls asleep for the rest of the film. She's so cute when she sleeps, I feel conflicted between watching the movie, and watching her sleep. Good thing I'm an excellent multi-tasker.

The movie itself was OK... I'll save movie reviews for another post. I was just pretty irritated about feeling duped into the whole "crybaby matinee" concept, when it was nothing like they advertised it to be! So, when I got home, I actually wrote an email to Angelika's customer service explaining my frustration. I'll let you know if they respond. I'll be interested to see what they have to say (if anything).

Oh yeah! And just as the movie's ending, Annabel let's me know her opinion of the movie by making a poopie! Instead of dealing with the unfamily-friendly bathroom, I take her back to the car and change her there before going home.

I apologize for the photo-less and video-less post. I'll close with a cute photo of Annabel that has nothing to do with this post, aside from the fact that she's sleeping in it and I talked about her sleeping.

Annabel thinks that Auntie Ana makes a great pillow!

Cheers!

We're not in Kansas anymore, Annabel!

This past weekend, Annabel went on her first road trip! We went to visit our friends who live in Sabetha, Kansas. And what a fun trip we had! These are friends that Chris and I have known since we were in college, Susanna and Doug. And their kids, Hannah, Matt and Abigail, who is their newest addition, just a couple of months older than Annabel.

We left Friday afternoon around 4:30 to start on the 9-hour drive. Annabel did great, sleeping in the car until about 7:30. We stopped and pulled over into Sonic to eat dinner and so that I could feed Annabel.

Annabel gets tucked into her car seat by Daddy as we start the second half of our trip to Kansas.

It was a long drive, but Chris and I enjoyed the time to talk and catch up on things. We finally arrived in Sabetha at about 1:30am. Again, Annabel proved her angelic self by being fed one more time and then going straight back to sleep! Needless to say, we went to bed right away too.

The next day, we mostly just caught up with our friends and hung out around their house. I'll say this about small towns, they're very relaxing! No pressure to go here or there, running yourself ragged running errands all over town. Plus, it was raining, so we couldn't even hang out outside or in their yard with the kids.

Daddy and Annabel nap together, recovering from that long drive!

By the time the sun came out and we finally felt like leaving the house, we all went for a walk down Main Street to check out the town. And what did we find when we left? A TRACTOR PARADE (much to the delight of Matt, who is a huge John Deere fan). Unfortunately, I was a dodo and totally forgot my camera, so I cannot delight you with the sights and sounds of an antique tractor parade. Tractors of all makes, models, colors and ages were lined up on display. Big ones, little ones, red ones, green ones, yellow ones ... Hmmm, I feel like I'm writing a children's book. Anyway, it was a lot of fun to watch, and just the perfect way to spend time in a small Kansas town. I don't have photos of the Sabetha tractor parade, but I found this photo that could give you an idea of what we saw.


Later that evening, we went to the next town over for dinner at a place called Phillies, sort of a local bar and grill. Nothing fancy, just home-cooked food. I had the fried catfish fillet (huge! it seemed to be the size of my forearm) and Chris ordered the hamburger steak (he's a big fan of salisbury steak). Oh, by the way, did I mention that it seemed like everyone knew each other? Our friends, Susanna and Doug, are optometrists and have their office on Main Street. So of course, everyone knew them, said hi, made conversation. And, on the off chance that they didn't know someone, they were introduced as "the eye doctors." The response usually being "Oh! I know your office on Main Street!" or something to that effect. Another benefit (or not?) of living in a small town.

Annabel and Abby in their car seats as we get ready to head to Phillies.

After dinner, we go back to the house to wind down for the evening, and then enjoy some of Doug's famous, most excellent mojitos as a night cap! Yummmm... (don't worry, afterwards, I "pumped and dumped" so Annabel did not imbibe the next morning).

Hannah, Matt and Chris relax before the kiddos go upstairs to bed.

The next morning, we go to church, which is in this beautiful old building right on Main Street. The congregation is pretty packed, which could be because "Kids Kwire" was performing before the sermon. Hannah looked pretty cute on stage singing. I took a picture, but we were sitting in the back and it turned out pretty dark. I tried to fix it with iPhoto, but because of "red eye" the kids all look like little demons or ghosts or something. Not appropriate for church! Plus, I was a little embarrassed because I was the ONLY one who took a picture (because mine was the ONLY flash that went off during the singing). So I did not take additional pictures even though I knew that one didn't really come out.

After church and a yummy lunch of Taco Soup at home, the afternoon turned out beautiful and sunny. Because of the rain, not too hot either. So we decided to put on our swim suits and head to the nearby town of Seneca, which had just put in an outdoor pool "aquatic center." It's like the outdoor pool here in the Frisco rec center, complete with big water slides and fun stuff for the kiddos to play on. I even brought a swim suit for Annabel!

Our little hoochie mama, in her camo bikini. Look at that flirty grin!

Much fun was had at the pool, where we spent most of the rest of the day. I even went down one of the big slides, and I am not a fan of water slides. Well, I say "big" slide, but it was one of those corkscrew ones. It was definitely made for kids, because I pretty much had to scooch my butt all the way down the whole thing. Not scary at all, and definitely more funny than fun! Annabel pretty much only hung out where it was shaded. I tried dipping her feet in the water a couple of times, but it was really really cold water, so she didn't enjoy it at all. Pretty much busted out crying each time I dipped her feet.

Mommy, Annabel and Hannah have it made in the shade.

Hannah and Matt played and played and played. Meanwhile, Abby and Annabel (and Chris -- not pictured) took afternoon naps.

After we left the pool, we went to a nearby pizza buffet for dinner. I'll tell you, food never tastes better than after a day at the pool! It was good pizza with an excellent salad bar. There was even non-pizza food like fried chicken, mashed potatoes and various veggies in case you didn't feel like eating pizza. We drove around to see more Sabetha sights and then headed back to the house.

Abby and Annabel hold hands for their photo. What a couple of cuties!

Annabel and Hannah get a bedtime story from me before going to sleep. Wait, Annabel's already asleep!

Since it's a Sunday and Doug has to go into work the next morning, we enjoy iced coffees (decaf, of course) for our night caps instead of more mojito goodness. Annabel surprised us that evening by waking up at 5:30am to be fed instead of her usual 8:30am wake-up call. She ate, went back to sleep and didn't wake up again until about 9:30am.

Monday morning has arrived, and it's another easy morning. We eat a late breakfast and finally start packing things up to prepare to leave.

Annabel and Abby hang out in their bouncy seats together, while Hannah watches to make sure they're OK. What a great big sister!

After another yummy lunch of buffalo burgers out in their sun room, we finally pack up the car and get ready to head back to the big D. Or F, as it were.

We tried to squeeze in one last group photo with the kiddos, but Annabel won't have it!

Turns out she was hungry. That's her, under the pink blanket!

So, Chris, Susanna and the kiddos take more photos while they're waiting for Annabel to finish eating. These photos were taken by Matt and Hannah (the first one wasn't, but the rest are)...





All these photos and more can be seen in Annabel's online photobucket album.

Finally, Annabel is finished and it's time to go...

Annabel waits by the car, already starting to drift off to sleep.

One last hug for Uncle Chris!

On the road again...

An improvised changing table during a pit stop at Mickey D's... only working because we don't have a baby that rolls yet!

Shout out to Mulvane, KS! This one's for you, Sara!

We made it back home, safe and sound a little after midnight last night. We had a great trip and a relaxing weekend, but Glenda the Good Witch was right! There's no place like home...

Cheers!

Foto Friday

I think I'm going to try to start a blog tradition. On Fridays, I'm going to post some of my favorite photos of Annabel from the week. And maybe the last Friday of each month, I'll do a month in review. She's growing like crazy, and it'll be fun to see her in photos from week to week all at once!

And of course, you can always find these photos and a gazillion more that I've posted on Annabel's online photo albums on Photobucket.

This one is technically from last week, but I didn't upload it until this week. Look at that face! Of course I had to share this one!

Another one from last week, when we went to the movies with Auntie Kathryn. Annabel enjoyed "Made of Honor," but said she's seen better.

Annabel shows off her newest Baby Bling Bow! She says, "I know I'm pretty cute!"

Sometimes Annabel gets annoyed with Mommy for all the picture taking. Enough already, Mommy!

Because we all know how much I love her little feet...

Have a super duper weekend! Cheers!

Baby Bling Bows!

Lots of people have asked me about Annabel's bows. I get compliments on her bows all the time! I was even in Neiman's, and other customers would ask me where I got her bow. The one causing all the hubbub was given to me by a very good friend at one of my baby showers. If you've been looking at Annabel's online photo albums, you'll notice that I put her in it a lot:

There are more, but they're photos I've included in previous posts, so I didn't want to repeat them.

Well, I've finally found out where these bows can be purchased! For you local folks, they can be found at super cute boutique in Firewheel Town Center called Butterflies & Bowties. For the non-local folks (or local folks who don't feel like driving all the way out to Firewheel), you can custom order them online at BabyBlingBows.com. And I mean custom order! You can customize the band color, the bow color AND the flower color! How cool is that?? And it comes in two sizes, small and large (Annabel's is the small). The size actually refers to the size of the bow/flower, more so than the band itself. The band is made of this stretchy nylon material, so I could actually wear it if I wanted to (although it's pretty tight, I have to say). The large band is a little larger than the small band.

So there you have it! You, too, can have a super cute baby bow like Annabel!

Cheers!

Baby wearing contest!

I have to say that I love my Hotslings baby sling. I use it every chance I get to carry Annabel around in it, and in the Father's Day post, there's a photo of Chris wearing Annabel in it. Similar to breastfeeding, baby wearing isn't for everyone, but once you get the hang of it, it's super fun. Besides, if you've seen our car seat, it's like 100 pounds by itself, so totally impractical for me to lug it around with Annabel in it. Plus, it's a great way to get people to notice and compliment your beautiful baby! I got mine at the Right Start store in the Shops at Legacy, but I know you can get them online and at other stores in the area too. I've bought a couple from Lone Star Baby and Kids for friends as shower gifts.

So imagine my delight when I found out about an online contest to win a bunch of baby wearing products. You can win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap).

If you win, you have to share with me... or at least let me have the Beco Butterfly ;-)

Cheers!

Birth Control, part 2

Okee dokee, Annabel is blissfully asleep, so I'm going to torture myself and watch the second episode of Baby Borrowers. You get the rundown, as long as I don't get too irritated and throw my laptop at the TV.

On a side note, I have to say there is nothing better in the whole wide world than holding your sleeping baby in your arms. She's soft and warm, and you know that she completely relies on you to keep her safe. And then it hits you that that is your whole life's mission is to make sure that she's happy and safe. Chris and I love each other with all our hearts and souls, but we never knew we were capable of the kind of love that Annabel has brought us. She's a miracle, our little girl.

Back to the mayhem that is reality television... of course we start off with the recap of episode one, all that drama in 15 seconds. And the announcer reminds us that the fate of all these teens' relationships rests on the outcome of this experiment. Wow. Drama. Back to the present, we're watching the teens deal with their first nights with the babies. The funny thing is, the parents are all watching all night long. Although, now that I think about it, if my child were in the hands of any of these people, I'd stay up all night watching them too. 

So the challenge for today is that one "parent" from each of the couples has to leave and go to work while the other stays at home with the baby. The working parent will earn $100 per day to buy food for themselves and the baby and pay rent on the house they were given. Alicea (we'll call her Diva) decides that she's not going to stay at home with baby Karson because I guess she still hates Karson's Mommy. The funny thing is, the show decides that her job is going to be at a lumber yard... yep! A LUMBER YARD. Sweet. I can't wait to see this.

Kelsey (who has baby "It," otherwise known as Etta) says that she's "sick" and can't stay at home alone with the baby. So Sean forgoes a day of salary to help Kelsey (who is totally freaking out) at home. Etta's mom comes over and is actually very nice to Kelsey, and tells her how she was in her shoes, she doesn't get any do-overs, that she still has to take care of the baby, etc. etc.

Meantime, Kelly (the Georgia peach who didn't want to be pregnant) seems to have made a "complete 180" according to the announcer. She's totally connected with the baby and tells us that the urge to have a baby has increased "like, 10 times." Well, Peach, did you forget that you have to be pregnant, first? Apparently so... I guess she'll adopt.

Diva comes home from work (where she complained the whole time, and her "boss" said that if it was real, he would have fired her already) and still refuses to take care of the baby. That night, Karson wakes up at about 2am, and Diva's SO, Corey, tries to wake her up to take care of the baby, but she ignores him. Since he's the only one out of the two who has a heart, Corey gets up to bring the baby to bed to get him to stop crying. Diva sleeps through the whole thing. In his interview, Corey says he's got two babies in his house. Ha! So true. Here's the clip I'm talking about...

Day 2, Diva says she's too tired to go to work and she doesn't want to get blisters. So she makes Corey go. What? Are they relaxing the rules on us here? I thought whoever went to work the first day was supposed to be the working parent all the way through? At the very least, shouldn't Diva face some sort of consequence for being such a pain in the butt? Sheeeeesh. 

In the house next door, Kelsey goes to work and leaves Sean at home with Etta. He tells her not to get fired because they're already a day without a salary. Ha! I gotta say, these girls are all giving Moms a bad rap, because it's totally the guys that are stepping up to the plate here. The girls are the ones being the drama queens while the guys just plod through. Also, there hasn't really been any footage of my fave Houston couple, Sasha and Jordan. I guess they're just doing so well, there's no drama to show. Yay! Go Sasha and Jordan!

Next up, the teens get a visit from their own Moms. Sean's mom shows up and Kelsey admits that she doesn't want kids anymore. Peach gushes to Austin's mom about how they have the best baby ever. Diva and Corey are still in denial and say that they would do better with their own baby and not someone else's. Diva's mom tells them that they need to get over themselves (hmmm... how many adults have told them this now? maybe I should have a counter) and that sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do in order to take care of your family. Sasha's mom is impressed by Sasha and Jordan's maturity and how they've stuck together to take care of their baby. And finally, Surfer Girl and her mom clash because... not really sure why, actually. Surfer Girl just keeps throwing a teen temper tantrum about how her mom doesn't ask her about what's going on with her. So of course, Mom asks her what's going on with her. Surfer Girl responds by rolling her eyes, huffing and stomping up the stairs. Oooookaaaaaay...

Finally, what I've been waiting for! The parents get to pick their kids up and evaluate the teens. But there's only five minutes left in the show, so I guess I won't get to see the butt whippings that I really want to see. Aaaawww... the babies' faces just light up when they see their parents! Miley's parents tell Surfer Girl to patch things up with her mom because she's really going to need her when she has her own baby. The parents of Sasha and Jordan's baby tell them how proud they were and how lucky they felt to have their baby with them. Same for the Peaches. Of course, the parents of Diva and Corey's baby told them how mad they were, and Corey actually admitted that they "have a lot of growing up to do" while Diva just sat there and pouted. And finally, Sean is all grown up while Kelsey "checked out." Yawn. That was disappointing. Well, hopefully the toddler episodes will prove to be more fun/disastrous for these teens.

Time for Annabel's meal! Til next time... Cheers!