A Hawk??

Last week, after my morning routine of breakfast, e-mail checking and making Mike's lunch before Anabelle wakes up, I saw something strange on our front porch. I did a double take when I saw THIS:

There was a hawk eating a small bird on my front porch!!! I quickly got Mike to watch as this bird of prey devoured his breakfast. It was pretty disgusting, especially what was left on the porch floor, but it was also incredible to watch nature at its finest in such close proximity.

Seriously, people, I'm becoming a bird lady.

Tummy Time

It was a rainy afternoon on Friday, so Anabelle and I changed into our comfy clothes to wait for daddy to get home. While we waited, we had some fun floor time. I sang her lots of songs about her duck ("Billings") and then watched as she smiled away.
Then we tried out tummy time. She seems to go a few seconds longer each time before she gets really ticked at me! Here is her happiness in the first few minutes.

She's okay as long as her mouth lands on top of her hand...

But this is how tummy time ends. Face flat on floor. Legs kicking away. Screams muffled by said floor.

But she's so cute even when she's mad!

Getting to See Grandma!

Anabelle hasn't gotten to see her Grandma Judy or Aunt Amber since she was born, and she hasn't been able to meet Aunt Chelsie yet! So, we were thrilled when they finally made the move back from Pennsylvania to northern Indiana this week! That means we'll get to see them much more often, and Anabelle will have cousins nearby. This week, we met them in Anderson to finally see them and to celebrate Chelsie's birthday.

Happy 17th Birthday, Chelsie!!

Love from Aunt Amber and cousins Connor and Hailey.

Grandma Judy couldn't keep her hands off of her! Anabelle gave her BIG smiles!

Hailey wanted to hold her all night. As you can see, Anabelle wasn't so sure it was a good idea.

Three Months Old in August!

Anabelle turned three months old last week! Time has flown by. She fills every single day with such joy, love and cheer. We are amazed by God's generosity in our lives and are so thankful for her!! Here she is with her bunny "measuring stick."



She no longer wants to sit when we're holding her on our laps, she tries to stand herself up. So, our entire photo shoot was her scooching her bottom down as she tried to get some traction with her legs. It was a bit challenging, but we did our best!

Anabelle still loves grabbing her dress to show off her tummy. If her dresses are as delicious as they are adorable, I'm sure they are mighty tasty. Daddy thought he'd try it out, too.
My favorite boppy shot... We've decided that because we're always opening our mouths really wide to say hi or smile at her, she thinks it's the proper greeting now. When she's giving us big gummy grins, they begin with a wide open mouth. So sweet!

We just can't get enough of that sweet face and precious smile. Her Tio & Tia gave her this sweet outfit, and Rebecca sent her the most beautiful pink mary jane shoes. She was able to wear the whole ensemble to church this week and was probably the best dressed girl there (definitely better than mommy!)

Such a big girl!! She has incredible head/neck control and loves looking around. We just love watching her grow!

It's been a wonderful summer, especially because our schedules have slowed down quite a bit from pre-baby. We've even been home a few weekends! As Mike tells people, our new favorite hobby is staring at her. Lately it's been playing with her, getting giant gummy grins, introducing her to new surroundings and kissing her constantly!

We also get to have lots of daddy lunch dates, which we all love! We are able to have daddy lunch dates each week because I am now officially a Stay at Home Mommy! We tried to work out an arrangement with my work to allow me to hold on to something part-time, but they need someone full time and can't accommodate both. So, as of August 18th, I am officially employed as Anabelle's mom and Mike's wife. I am so thankful to God and to Mike for allowing us this opportunity! I love every second I am making this house a home and interacting with Anabelle. I know it will only get better!

Campbell Photos

Thanks to Joel Cookston for an awesome photo shoot!

More Pictures!

More pictures!! Papa and Anabelle in her Florida dress (from Great Grandpa & Grandma Schuler)
Her adorable new swimsuit that Mimi and Auntie Abby got her. She loves it and looks so cute in it!

Showin off her dress from Mexico (sans hairbow). She looks pretty stinkin cute in it, even if it is a tube top!

I bought the front to back carrier so daddy can also enjoy having her snuggled up against him. He thinks it's similar to being pregnant... he has no idea! (Can I get an "Amen?") He loved having her so close, and clearly she loved being there! Plus, the view... who doesn't love that?

Mommy and Anabelle at the beach. While we were down there, we saw a momma dolphin and her baby. We named it Anabelle! She had her very own dolphin come to greet us.

All of us out to dinner... the sunset was gorgeous but not very well captured.

I'm sure there will be more photos to come. She may be the most photographed child, EVER! We tell her every single day that she's the cutest baby EVER MADE. :)

Florida Pictures

It's been a fun vacation!! Anabelle has loved it, and Papa & Mimi have loved it even more! We've been pretty relaxed the whole time and have gotten in a little sun time, too. It is so wonderful to spend time as a family and get good quality time with my parents.

The Macks and our sunglasses!
Daddy & Anabelle checking out the beautiful view from the condo.

Daddy gave Anabelle a bottle for the first time by the pool. She did great! And he absolutely loved doing it. I've gotten extra freedom this week as a result.

Me and my love.

Baby bottoms!

Anabelle's first dip in the pool. Toes only! No sun or chlorine on that skin! But she LOVED it!

Anabelle is changing so much, right before our eyes! She loves going from laying down to sitting to standing up! She does it all the time now (with our help, of course). She holds her head up all of the time and tries to sit up when she's laying down. She's smiling constantly, giggle often and just making our lives so wonderfully sweet. She also took her first shower this week! After us swimming and holding her with sunscreen and chlorine, I decided a bath before dinner would be best. I took her in the shower with me, and she loved it! She enjoyed being under the water and didn't mind splashes on her face at all. It's going to be fun to begin those with her... daddy's turn is next.

Stay tuned for more pictures

Trying to Sit

Our newest things started in the hospital, and that's Anabelle trying to sit up. She no longer likes to lay back against our knees when we prop her up on them. Instead, she wants to sit forward. She does the same thing sitting in her boppy. She's working out those abs already!

I tried to capture her smiles on video. I got a little bit, but mostly, here is her trying to sit up. She wants it so badly!

And here she is doing one of her favorite sit up exercises with Papa. I think she likes him doing it because of how high he makes his voice go when doing it. :)

MARCO... POLO!

We are in Marco Island, Florida, taking Anabelle on her very first vacation! It's hot, hot, hot! But it's wonderful! We've spent a few hours in the sun, a lot of time laying around and even more time doting on Anabelle. We're down here with her Mimi & Papa (my parents), enjoying our alternative to a Jones trip this time around.

Here is one of the greatest moments of the week, and perhaps the last 12 weeks... Anabelle giggling! If you listen closely, she laughs after each time Mimi tickles her. Such an incredibly sweet sound!

Stay tuned for more pictures of the trip...

Mini Photo-Shoot

One night, in the middle of feeding Anabelle at bedtime, she fell asleep. I mean HARD asleep. We wondered if she was done for the night, but it would have been highly unusual! Especially to keep up her 9 - 11 hour sleep pattern.

Instead of putting her to bed, Mike and I decided to take pictures of her sleeping so sweetly. They turned out pretty beautifully!

Just as we decided to try to get her hand print done, since she was so soundly asleep, she decided to wake up. We didn't get the hand print kit done, but Mike did capture a mini version of her dramatic wake up routine. If we have to wake her up in the morning, it takes a good 3 minutes of stretching, moaning, twisting, turning, etc. This is a nap version, but it's still precious (and hilarious)!

And this would be her, post-wake up. A little personality showing through with that tongue sticking out??

August Fun

The not-so-fun part of August was saying goodbye to Auntie Rachie who headed back to school in Tennessee last week. It was SO wonderful having her nearby for the summer! She spent an afternoon with us last week...

Anabelle has been a non-stop smiler since the hospital! She is so happy and warms our hearts with her giant, toothless grins. They are frequently accompanied with gurgles, coos and laughs. Her favorite thing is when we tell her she's pretty. It always gets a smile.

And Anabelle's latest discovery is grasping things... mostly her dresses. And, yes, she wears a dress pretty much every day. She is so long that most of her dresses don't make it much past her hands anyway. Regardless, she loves to grab her dress and show off her belly! Here's proof!! It's post-diaper changing, which is why her little bottoms are missing. She just loves showing off that tummy.

This is Daddy, Multi-Tasking

Catching up on July

Few things we missed posting on because of the hospital... Anabelle turned 2 months old!!

And we celebrated Mimi's birthday. Anabelle wore a special shirt made just for her Mimi.

Happy Birthday, Mimi! We love you!