Sleeping...

Today, on the way to her nap, Annabeth was talking about going to sleep. Then she asked me, "Mommy, are you going to sleep with Daddy? He's a nice guy."

Walking the stairs...

Lately I've been trying to encourage Annabeth to walk up and down the stairs on her own. I figure that she should be able to do this now - and she's getting heavier and heavier to carry. This morning when we were walking downstairs, she said, "My knees are old." I'm sure she must have heard this from her Grandma Maria, but it was so funny coming from a 2 year old.

Balloon Fiesta

A couple Fridays ago, Annabeth and I went to the Balloon Fiesta with Uncle Earl, Auntie Cam, Kendall and Jonathan. Unfortunately, Pat couldn't come, because he had to work and wasn't feeling well. Since it was just the two of us, Annabeth and I took the shuttle from Coronado Mall, to the Balloon Fiesta Park. Annabeth was really excited to take the "shuttle bus" - the last shuttle bus she took was a couple weeks before, when we took a shuttle from airport parking to the airport.

The morning we went was a Special Shapes Mass Ascension, which means that most of the balloons taking off were special shapes, instead of the traditionally shaped hot air balloon. It is a neat morning to be at the Balloon Fiesta, and we really enjoyed it. It was a beautiful morning - not too cold, even before the sun came up, and very little wind, which means the balloons stay near the field longer and there's more of a chance to see them and get pictures before they fly away.

Jonathan and Kendall were really excited to see the Darth Vader balloon, so that's where we went first. While we were waiting for the Darth Vader ballon to take off, there were Storm Troopers walking around for the kids to meet and take pictures with:

I love this picture, with Annabeth and her cousin Kendall. Annabeth is looking up at the Storm Trooper, like she's wondering, "Who are you?"

This balloon is named "Pig."

Here's "Airplane Happy"
"Lilly Bee" and "Joey Little Bee" holding hands and kissing.
Noah's ark, reflecting the sunrise
Here's "Darth Vader" the balloon that we were waiting to see

Annabeth and Auntie Cam. The balloon behind them is called "Oggy the Friendly Dragon," but when Annabeth saw it, she said, "Look, an alligator!"

Annabeth walking with her cousin Jonny. She loves Jonny and was so excited to see Jonny and Kendall and spend time with them at the Balloon Fiesta.
Look, Kendall is holding a balloon!
Isn't this shot just hilarious? :)
Annabeth and Kendall
Annabeth enjoyed wrestling, chasing, tackling, etc Jonny as much or more than she enjoyed the balloons. She enjoyed watching the balloons for about the first 20 or so minutes we were there, and then this is where she could be found most of the rest of the time.

Trip to Texas

Here are some pictures from our trip to Texas last month. We had a great time, it was great to see our family and Pat's coworkers while we were there. I blogged a little about it last month, but didn't post any pictures then.

Here is Annabeth dancing with her Great Grandpa Frerichs at a chicken dinner we went to the second weekend we were there. I remember when I used to dance with my Grandpa like that. :)
Annabeth's cousin Allison - my brother Jon and sister-in-law Sara's second child. The last time we were in Texas, last January, we missed her being born by about a week. This is the first time we got to see her. Isn't she a cutie? :)

Aunt Sara with Allison and Annabeth

Aunt Sara with all three cousins. This is pretty typical of how Annabeth gives "hugs." She was hugging Justin the whole time we were there - by the end of the second weekend, Justin knew to brace himself for one of Annabeth's hugs when he saw her coming.
Annabeth and Justin taking a bath together. She decided she was going to wash his hair for him. Justin gave Annabeth a bath while we were there, too, but they weren't in the bathtub at the time. After Justin dumped a cup of water over her head, Annabeth came into the room, dripping, and said, "Justin gave me a bath!"
Annabeth and Grandpa Phil walking to the chicken dinner after church.

Annabeth and Justin during one of the rare moments that they were both in the same spot and still long enough to get a picture of them together.
Annabeth and Allison. Annabeth was really excited to get to hold her cousin. After she was done, she said, "I want a baby sister like Allison."
Another Annabeth and Justin picture.
Annabeth trying to fill her daddy's shoes.
Annabeth with her Great Grandpa Oestreich. He was reading her a bible book, and while he was reading, she sang (to the tune of "Jesus loves me") "Jesus loves me in a book."



Another couple of fun moments from our trip - when we went to visit my mom at work one afternoon during the week, Mom had the shaker on to polish some of the chili grills. The shaker basically uses smooth stones and shakes it with the grills to polish them - imagine a rock tumbler, but almost as tall as a person. It is very loud. I was concerned that Annabeth, who doesn't like loud noises, would be scared by it. She stayed pretty calm, and instead of getting scared, asked my mom, "What's that noise all about?" It was so cute! She was just like a little grown up.

We went with my mom a couple of times during the weekend to an assisted living home and a nursing home.

We were looking for my mom's Aunt Evelyn to visit with her, and told Annabeth we were going to see Aunt Evelyn. When we were walking down the hall, there were a lot of the residents out in the hall. One of the gentlemen in the hall said hi to Annabeth. I guess she thought we had arrived since he was being friendly to her, and she said, "Hi Evelyn!"

When we were visiting Aunt Evelyn, we asked Annabeth to sing "Jesus loves me." Annabeth said, "No, ba ba black sheep" and sang that song instead. :) She already sang "Jesus loves me" for another group of ladies earlier that weekend, so I guess she wanted a different song instead. After "Ba ba black sheep" she sang "Jesus loves me" and "Jesus loves the little children."

Potty Progress

In July we tried to work with Annabeth to get her to use the potty, but she wasn't making too much progress and was getting frustrated, so we just let up for a while and figured we'd try again later. The last two days, she has asked to use the potty twice and then used it successfully! We're excited to see her start to make some progress in this area.

It's been too long...

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted here. I still have lots of pictures from this summer/fall to post. When we were without power a little over a week ago, I edited the pictures for posting using my laptop battery, but didn't have an Internet connection to post them. Anyway, here are some pictures from the end of August:

Annabeth playing "mimi's" (pretending to sleep) in the lid to her sandbox. Maria and I were outside with her, and she asked Grandma Maria to get in there with her. Grandma, being a good sport, did.

Annabeth at our neighborhood block party in August - it was a luau theme.

Here was our contribution to the luau - Pat made this pineapple bird, and we put a pineapple fruit dip inside and pineapple chunks around it for dipping. Unfortunately, I didn't think ahead enough to get a picture until after the party.