Fourth of July

Here are some pictures that I haven't had a chance to post from July 4th.

I think this picture looks like an ad for the fourth of july(if there was such a thing), or a postcard. The next two pictures are really bad becdause they were taken when it was getting dark from really far away with the zoom way up, I only included them because this was the day Anna started walking and these are some of her first steps, so they should be documented.

And this one is just cute, bad quality or not.

Cute cousins watching the lame parade together. See the stunned look in Patrick's eye as he tries to comprehend all of the rallies of people sporting anti-Obama signs on the day that stands for patriotism in America.

Rocking like a big girl

Here are some pictures that I took tonight of Anna rocking for the first time in her finally (re-)finished rocking chair. She wanted up and then would bounce to make it rock, she seemed very proud of how big she was. I gave her some books and she sat in her chair and looked at books like this toddler that she is quickly becoming.

Camp to begin Hell

Here begins what looks like a lovely blog about a boy and his father and a bonding experience of their first campout in the backyard. Kurt and Jackson rummaged the woods in our backyard building a fire pit and burning what looked like harmless wood and brush.

The above picture captures what I think Kurt's expression would have been if I had asked him, "Hey, do you think this wonderful memory-making experience with your son is worth the non-stop hell like fire that will cover your body and make you insane for the next three weeks?"

For those of you who don't know, Kurt and I somehow got poison oak, the evil and far more persistant cousin of poison ivy. Apparently it goes through your system and just pops up where ever it likes over the course of the next couple of weeks. We have tried everything and Kurt has even gone in and gotten steriod shots and other meds. We have tried all of the over the counter products from calmine, benedryl cream, ivyrest, and everything else. We have also tried something called jewelweed, which seems to be drying up some of the old stuff, but not stopping all of the new outbreaks. It is seriously the most maddening thing I have ever dealt with and so far there is no end in sight! At least we'll have these delightful family photos depicting a happy family enjoying backyard fun.

one year old

Here are some pictures from Annabelle's first birthday. I don't know what to say about my big girl in this post. I don't understand how this year could have gone by so fast. I'm torn between wanting her to go back to that tiny cuddly baby and loving so much the sweet fun little girl that she is now. She has all of the sudden decided to stand up in the middle of the floor, and yesterday in her very own Anna way, decided to walk and is taking 5-7 steps all of the time. She went from thursday, not even allowing us to hold her hands and walk to saturday, standing up on her own from sitting and walking forward, falling and getting up to do it again. She is a gem and everywhere we go people constantly ask, "Is she always this good" and, "Is she always this happy?" . The answer to both is always yes. Here are some pictures from her little celebration we had with the family.

Anna is "So big!"

Her new birthday phone, since she loves pretending to talk to Dada on everything.
MMMMmmmm, first taste of gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free,soy-free cake, plenty of sugar though! I should get an award for creating something edible with out all of those ingredients.