Sunday, September 28, 2008
silly Mama ramblings
Friday we went apple picking with the Dowling family clan. While the few pictures I took of Annabelle are sweet and actually show her doing a few things other than eating apples, I can assure you that Annabelle's time at the apple orchard was spent almost entirely eating apples. She has her very first diaper rash to prove it, and its a nasty one. Yes, I said her very first. Thankfully Annabelle has proved to be an amazing first child, as I guessed from her easy-going infant days. (Makes it easier to say "I want a dozen!"...okay, maybe not.) She's had two colds in her big 1 year of life, and they were simple, nurse-a-little-more-often, sleep-if-off, 2 days max colds. Never an earache, never medicine needed. She has five teeth and I have yet to see even a dribble of drool, let alone aching cries during the night or throughout the day from discomfort. If you're not throwing some pajamas on her by 7:30 and putting her to bed by 8, she'll let you know. For sure. She enjoys her bedtime schedule, and sleeps peacefully through the night, until I hear from her around 7-7:30am. Sometimes I wake up in the night and miss her. Crazy. She's a simple, laid-back girl...taking after her Daddy.Other new Annabelle tid-bits: She never crawled. Never. Its doubtful she will too. While she always gets around by rolling and scooches, she's always favored walking. She scales the walls now to get from room to room, and we've caught her taking a few steps from furniture to furniture lately.
If you ask her how old she is she'll hold up one finger and proudly announce "one!". So cute.
I'm dreading cutting her hair, though its needed terribly. Somehow the first haircut just seems so, I don't know, BIG.
Heather Dowling at 6:27 PM
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
birthday photos
Click on the picture to check out a few more from our birthday girl's first!Heather Dowling at 10:11 PM
Monday, September 15, 2008
Happy Birthday, Annabelle Rose!
Happy birthday to our beautiful little princess, Annabelle Rose!
She's more joy to our lives than I could have ever imagined she would be.
She's more beautiful each morning, when I walk into her room and see her face lit up with a smile.
She's the gift we prayed so long for and the sweet girl we pray over now.
Today, as she wobbles closer to a toddler and away from being my baby, I can't help push away the tears and just be incredibly thankful. Thankful that I get this opportunity. I get to watch her grow, teach her well, and lead her to heaven. I am blessed.
Here is our girl, growing up, in one year of pictures.
One day old. At the hospital.
Christmas. Helping string pearls. 3 months old.
Valentines Day. 5 months old.
Easter, with Stanley Bear. 6.5 months old.
Pigtails. 8 months old.
Pretty blue eyes. 10 months old.
Today. One-Year-Old.
Heather Dowling at 8:26 PM
Saturday, September 13, 2008
party mode
Here's what we're up to:
Getting ready for her big balloon birthday bash tomorrow afternoon. Wow. This is really happening... her 1ST birthday.
And here's what she's up to:
Looking awfully adorable and like such a big girl today. If only I could keep her at today.
Heather Dowling at 10:05 PM
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
an update of doings...
I can't blame the blog silence completely on busyness this time. We have been enjoying the last snippets of summer (and getting psyched for my favorite leaf-crunching, candle-scented season approaching) with lots of outdoor projects/activities and getting this house back into shape after my almost 3 week absence. We're also praying. A lot. We're talking and listening, not just to each other, but more to Christ. We're grieving with a friend, and missing another. We're waiting on God for sick family. We're finding joy in the struggle and not wasting the hardship as a church family. Or at least we're trying. So yes, to say there is a lot going on would simply be an understatement.My husband is in the process of converting our fuel oil home heating system to a wood stove heating system. To be honest, the idea of it was a beat of a bummer to me initially. You know, the idea of trekking out in the snow (okay, so its like less than 15 feet from the back door) to throw some wood in the furnace twice a day was less than appealing. Then, I thought of how nice it will be come cool weather to step outside and smell our wood stove. Mmmm. They should make a candle with that smell. Do they? Oh right, and the other big plus is the $4,000 we will be saving in fuel oil this winter.
I just can't believe Annabelle's birthday is approaching. I know. I sound like a broken record. Is it terrible that I'm holding back tears just thinking about it? I keep pushing through moist eyes reminding myself about the sweet girl she's becoming and the amazing things she'll do. Isn't it awfully sad that we can't have these baby moments back? Though, I have to admit, I'm thrilled to be throwing a birthday party for my very own big baby girl. Sunday her Daddy and I will leave her with Grandma Dowling and head to Watertown for some shopping for birthday presents and party supplies. Birthdays are just so much fun!
While in North Carolina we squeezed in a visit to the clinic my mom manages and got a weight/height check for Annabelle. She was 1 day shy of 11 months old and weighed in at 16lbs 10oz (3rd percentile) and was 27.5 in. tall (18th percentile). Its okay that she is itsy bitsy. I'll keep her as little as I can, for as long as I can (like I have a say). Her petite-ness is absolutely adorable, anyhow.
I've completely failed on updating this site with photos for those who still use this blog as a means of keeping up-to-date with this little Dowling family. My apologies. I'll work that! For now, I'll leave you with my silly girl "showing her muscles". (As she does when asked!)
Heather Dowling at 9:17 PM