Outdated? Here is the Update

IF you don't really want to read what we have been up to, I made and abreviated version in a slide show. You can simply skip down and watch that - it won't hurt my feelings.

Starbucks: An older event, Matt is a good friend and he and Annabelle really do get along. He'll be a great dad (THIS FALL) Congrats again Matt and Jordyn. We took a little day trip with them and I never got around to posting these pictures but don't worry - Annabelle was really having hot chocolate.
Best Hair Day: I have no idea what happened, I just washed her hair and brushed it out and look it turned out in gorgeous little golden ringlets! So for any of you who know Annabelle only as 'that Sherwood kid with bed head' . . . hair miracles do happen :)
Rex Lee Run: Well for our walking group it was the Rex Lee WALK, but a brisk pace at that. We aimed at finishing the 5 k in under an hour and ended up just over 54 mins. Woo HOo!(And yes it was freezing cold). Thanks for pushing me to try something new Keri-Anne!
Happy Birthday Mike: Mike turned 25 last month. To celebrate we went up in the mountains and he made some delicious dutch oven goodness. We set up his new tent, ate cheesecake and even longboarded around a bit. A fun night for sure!
Easter: We dyed eggs, ate deviled eggs, tried to get Annabelle to pose in her new Easter dress.
Girls Week in Colorado: The Sherwood girls (My mother-in-law, Jessi, Kristin and I) and all the grandkids spent a week together in Colorado. We had a blast with the kids and enjoyed scrapbooking when they were all asleep. Annica, Annabelle and Isaac are all within 5 months of each other in age and they seemed to get along really well. Thanks to Shauna for flying us out and spending the whole week playing with us!
Tantrums: Between the week long trip away from Daddy followed 4 days later by a house hunting trip to Arizona, Annabelle's 'Italian' temper seemed make it's presence known on a regular basis. I thought we were hitting a new phase and had a few breakdowns myself. Luckily it has dissipated and we are back to 'normal'.
House Hunting: We traveled to Arizona for a few days to find an apartment. After 2 days of looking we were really excited about several places but we narrowed it down, signed a lease and feel good about our decision. We'll be in Phoenix, the neighborhood seems really safe, we are excited about the ward (A family ward, that'll be a new experience for us) swimming pools, playgrounds, shopping within walking distance, IKEA not to far away . . . newly remodled, TWICE the space we are living in now - Come visit! Mike says he'd love to have all our friends and family down for a big 4th of July celebration!
Hiking the Y: Couldn't leave Provo without doing this! We enjoyed hiking with a few families from our ward. We made it up, caught our breath and headed down so that the husbands could return to finals! Another great idea of Keri-Anne's. THANKS!
END OF SEMESTER: Mike will be done here in just 2 more days! We've been looking forward to this for a while now. He has done an exceptional job balancing school, work, callings, crazy daughter, demanding wife and has done it all LOVING LIFE. He's done great and to me seems confident and ready to start working. Congrats to graduate Mike (who is now asleep on the couch since this post is taking so long). Our friend's the Lee's threw a suprise "Going Away/Graduation" Party for Mike and another friend of ours this last weekend. I wish I had taken some better pictures to post. It was a fun suprise and great to catch up. THANKS SARA!

Looking Forward: We have several weeks to play before we move. We have decided there is a lot here in Utah we haven't seen/done yet. We want to go to Zion's and Arches and maybe Dinosaur Land. We'll visit Mike's Grandparents in Arkansas and our families in Colorado. Any suggestions?

Sorry again for the long update, but as you can see . . . I have been running around a bit more than usual.

"A Child is a Curly, Dimpled Lunatic."

I don't think Ralph Waldo Emerson would revise this statement at all if he came to spend an afternoon in our house. Annabelle is speaking so fluently and learning so quickly almost every single day she says something we are cracking up over. Here are a few of my favorites from the past month or so:

Our Little Lunatic

She was making hilarious face as we waited at the hospital to get her tubes in.

Mike and I realized we didn't have any plans for our Saturday and neither one of us had any real preferences of what to do with our free day together so we asked Anna, "What do you want to do today?" her response was "hmmm, Christmas Eve."

After returning from the grocery store Mike and I were unwinding on the coach watching Annabelle run from us to her room as she talked to herself. She ran out and announced "I'm buying onions and mac n' cheese and cereal and milk and eggs and . . . " When she had completed her shopping list Mike said "Can you get me some brownies?" I chimed in "And some candy for me?" She pursed her lips together and gazed up at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment before replying "I don't know about that".

Annabelle asked me a few months ago if I had a baby in my tummy, as she pulled up my shirt and poked my gut. I had told her no and that it was just fat. More recently we were taking bath and Annabelle leaned with one hand on my belly to support herself and of course her hand sunk in a little bit. She turned to me "Mom, you're fat" I laughed "Yeah, are you fat Annabelle?" after a long pause "No, I'm squishy!"

Tonight on the phone with my Dad she sang the alphabet song and at the end my dad sang "Now I know my" and then paused to let Annabelle continue, she sang "Let-ters". They must have done this over and over, my Dad occasionally suggesting "ABC's" and Annabelle insisting the lyric was "Let-ters". I think I heard my dad snort a few times over the phone he was laughing so hard.

Wednesday was a free day at the zoo in SLC so despite the cold temperatures and snow we went with a group of friends. Later that evening Annabelle announced "The kids had fun at my zoo" I questioned "Your zoo?" "Yeah, it has my animals" with a strong emphasis on MY. For the rest of the evening she could not be convinced that the zoo was not hers.

Several times a day Annabelle will yell at me from her room "MOM - BE QUIET, my babies are sleeping". One time while I was minding my own business, washing the dishes she ran into the kitchen furiously and yelled her famous line. "I'm not being loud Annabelle" is responded. She then proceeded to throw the baby doll on he ground and yell again "Mom, be quiet! My baby is SLEEEEEPING". She isn't actually mad, she just gets going in her pretend play mode. Very dramatic.

Annabelle loves wearing her frog galoshes and I love them b/c she can put them on herself. She'll often check with us whether or not they are on the wrong feet. The other night she and Mike were walking home from Adam and Trudy's house and her jeans started to slide down her bum. "Dad, my pants are on the wrong bum!"

About a month ago Mike was helping me get Annabelle ready to go to playgroup. She didn't want to get dressed. He tried to reason with her that it was cold outside, and that the other kids would be dressed. She argued back "I'd rather be naked!" For the proper use of 'rather' in a sentence she was allowed 5 more minutes before she had to get dressed.

When Annabelle was waking up from getting tubes in her ears she was pretty out of it but wouldn't stop crying. The nurse said that she wasn't in any pain but that they drug they had used to wake her up would make her feel startled. She had been crying for about 20 minutes and had said a few slurred phrases when she suddenly sat up and without opening her eyes, she cried and said "I'm . . . HAPPY!"

Hopefully at least some of these read as funny as they were when Annabelle said them. I can't believe her grammar and vocabulary sometimes. She's a nut and we love her.

Asleep in her high chair with a box of nerds.

Adam mentioned to Annabelle that she had some spaghetti sauce on her forehead. She immidiately dipped her finger in her food and added another dot to her forehead.

Bored?

Apparently I was at least a little bored tonight. Annabelle and I conducted an experiment. What happens when you put curly hair into sponge curlers? The result: Bigger curls. She called all the curlers her "pigtails". Sometimes I am surprised how much Annabelle is willing to put up with :) oh well, it was fun!