The Hollrah Family Blog

2012-02-05T14:07:00.001-06:00

Zell is busy scooting around, and loves standing! The girls are official dual US-Canadian citizens now - their ID cards arrived this week :-)

2012-02-02T14:39:00.001-06:00

Annette got invited to a fairy-themed birthday party, so is enjoying her new wings we got for the event :-) Her boyfriend Trey came over to play on Monday, and they had fun coloring on the driveway and riding Annette's new bike!

2012-01-28T14:37:00.001-06:00

Mormor and Morfar came over for one last dinner sans chopsticks on Wednesday, and are now back in China until July. Today we had a fun outing at Memorial City mall, where the girls played at the castle and drove a car :-)

2012-01-15T08:55:00.001-06:00

The girls had a great day yesterday - they bundled up and went out for a walk with Daddy (Annette liked wearing Mommy's toque), and went to a friend's birthday party in the afternoon at Discover Gymnastics!

2012-01-12T21:33:00.001-06:00

Happy 8 month birthday, Zell! We enjoyed the nice weather yesterday by going to the park with Mormor and Morfar :-)

2012-01-10T21:23:00.001-06:00

Today Zell and I went to Gymboree with my friend May and her daughter Ariana - the girls are 2 weeks apart in age, and enjoyed scooting around the gym :-) Annette loves helping out in the kitchen, especially when she gets to wear her own apron!

2012-01-03T15:52:00.001-06:00

Annette had fun playing dress-up this afternoon with all the necklaces she got from Mormor and Morfar for Christmas :-)

2011-12-26T14:18:00.001-06:00

Happy Boxing Day! The girls had a wonderful Christmas - Annette enjoyed opening her presents and seeing all her grandparents as well as Auntie Lolo! Zell looked festive in her Santa diapers too :-)

2011-12-24T20:20:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas, y'all!! We went to Christmas Eve service this afternoon, where both girls dressed up as angels :-)

2011-12-22T20:31:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we went to visit Daddy at his office! Annette enjoyed coloring at his desk :-) The girls played in one of the many Christmas gift boxes around our house, and Annette helped push Zell in her car around the neighborhood for 1/2 a mile today!

2011-12-20T10:09:00.001-06:00

Annette loves her new Play-Doh set from cousins Sophia and Isabel!!

2011-12-19T21:17:00.001-06:00

We had an early Christmas celebration with Uncle Nils, Aunt Allison, and cousins Sophia and Isabel, where everyone enjoyed opening their first presents of the season. Annette had a lunch date with her boyfriend Trey today, and has been busy teaching Zell how to slide!

2011-12-10T22:16:00.001-06:00

This morning Annette helped decorate the gingerbread cookies we made at Mormor's house, and enjoyed eating the icing :-) We went to the playground after to burn off all that sugar!

2011-12-08T22:03:00.001-06:00

Today we spent all day at Mormor's house doing Christmas baking - we made 3 kinds of cookies as well as rum balls and fudge! Zell entertained herself by jumping in the kitchen. She's taken to sticking out her tongue and rolling over to sleep on her belly, both of which make her very happy :-)

2011-11-30T15:16:00.001-06:00

Zell went to her first Gymboree class yesterday while Annette was at school and LOVED it! Today we went to see Santa - Annette cried at first, but liked him more after he gave her a toy :-)

2011-11-28T10:01:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Mormor and Morfar joined us for the 5k Turkey Trot, and then we all went over to Opa's house for a great feast :-)

2011-11-22T22:16:00.001-06:00

We went to a new park yesterday that had lots of riding toys scattered around - the Hummer was Annette's favorite. She also liked playing with Uli yesterday, who seems resigned to being in a house full of girls :-)

2011-11-19T21:14:00.001-06:00

The girls have been busy! Annette's been teaching Zell all about jumping and putting on shoes. They're getting ready for Christmas early with their matching festive PJs, and even got matching bite marks from their cousin Isabel :-)

2011-11-16T14:24:00.001-06:00

We went to a playground near Mormor's house today - Annette enjoyed sliding and Zell liked feeling the dirt in between her baby toes :-)

2011-11-15T11:57:00.001-06:00

Zell had her 6 month check-up today, which she passed with flying colors! She is 18 pounds 7 ounces (89%) and 27 inches (89%). She had to get 4 shots, but enjoyed playing with the paper on the examination table afterward!

2011-11-12T19:32:00.001-06:00

Happy half-birthday, Zell! Tonight she enjoyed her first veggie dinner of sweet potatoes :-)

2011-11-11T19:06:00.001-06:00

Zell has become quite a good sitter, and loves getting kisses from all her wiener dogs :-) Daddy is bathing both girls all by himself for the first time tonight!

2011-11-07T13:37:00.001-06:00

It's the end of an era - Annette went to her last Gymboree class today, where she's been going since she was 4 months old. She'll pass her membership on to Zell, who will start her gym classes next week :-)

2011-11-07T07:11:00.001-06:00

Zell graduated to sitting in the cart when we went grocery shopping on Friday, and the girls enjoyed sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed this morning :-)

2011-11-03T17:37:00.001-05:00

The girls hanging out at home this afternoon :-)

2011-11-02T21:20:00.003-05:00

Annette had a wonderful Halloween weekend! On Saturday we had our annual Briarmeadow Halloween block party, which closed down our street for the afternoon. In a sea of pink princesses, our little yellow crayon enjoyed the bounce house, hot dogs and a hay ride.

This is what happens after eating too much Halloween candy :-)

On Sunday we got our family pictures taken, and everyone dressed up in Chinese outfits from Mormor and Morfar.

Zell enjoyed chatting with cousin Isabel :-)

Annette (and Zell!) went trick-or-treating for the first time on Monday with Daddy. Annette was very excited, and got good at saying "trick-or-treat" in return for candy :-)

2011-10-28T14:39:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween! Annette had her party at school today, and dressed up as a yellow crayon. She enjoyed decorating a pumpkin and showing off her little sister to all her friends :-)

2011-10-24T20:34:00.001-05:00

Our little cinnamon roll is growing up so fast - she had her first taste of rice cereal today! She did very well with the spoon and seemed to enjoy her dinner :-)

2011-10-24T10:26:00.001-05:00

Our last week in Canada was busy with a short visit to Banff and a longer visit to Oliver, where the girls enjoyed swinging and wine tasting :-) It's been a wonderful trip, and we're all happy to be back home!!

2011-10-16T21:37:00.001-05:00

In addition to visiting family and friends today we paid a visit to West Edmonton Mall, which is enormous! Annette and Morfar went to the indoor amusement park and playground while Zell shopped with Mommy and Mormor. We also took in the sea lion show and deep-sea ship! We were all pretty tired afterward :-)

2011-10-15T21:58:00.001-05:00

We said goodbye to Grams and Matt this morning and drove to Edmonton, where I was born! After spending all day in the car we were able to get out and take a walk in a park nearby, where we checked out the fall leaves :-)

2011-10-14T22:06:00.001-05:00

Today we visited a friend of Mormor who has a 3,000 acre farm in Rycroft. We checked out his grain system and the playhouse he built for his daughter, and everyone enjoyed petting Lucy the horse :-)

2011-10-13T21:07:00.001-05:00

There is a great playground right in front of Grams and Matt's house in Rycroft. Annette enjoyed playing with Morfar and Mommy, while Zell stayed warm inside with Mormor (it was about 38 degrees this afternoon!) :-)

2011-10-12T21:17:00.001-05:00

Zell is 5 months old today!! She celebrated by taking a trip to the historic fort of Dunvegan, where us Texans were the only ones brave enough to venture out in the 42 degree weather. We stayed home in the afternoon, where Zell practiced rolling over on the quilt that Grams made for her and hung out with her big sis :-)

2011-10-11T20:53:00.001-05:00

We took a break from the car today to stay home and make rhubarb pie - Annette enjoyed rolling out the crust. Then we took a walk around town and saw the railroad lines where Britta's Morfar used to work. Zell looked pretty impressed :-)

2011-10-10T21:43:00.001-05:00

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!! We drove from Rycroft to Dawson Creek (about an hour and a half away) for the day to spend the holiday with Britta's Uncle Tim and Aunt Bev. Annette and Zell enjoyed the walk to a playground near their house, and we all had a wonderful dinner with red velvet cake for dessert :-)

2011-10-09T21:40:00.000-05:00

We're in the mountains! Annette and Zell said goodbye to Daddy early Saturday morning (since he had to fly back home to work), and we spent all day in the car driving to Jasper. We were excited to see Mount Robson, the highest mountain in Canada.

There is a lake in Jasper named Lake Annette, so we had to pay it a visit :-)

Strolling on the shores of Lake Annette

Today we got back in the car and drove from Jasper to Rycroft in northern Alberta to visit Britta's grandmother. There aren't many places to stop along the way when you're in the hinterlands, but we did stop in the coal mining town of Grande Cache. Annette enjoyed playing around in a teepee display at the visitor's centre!

2011-10-07T23:45:00.001-05:00

Annette and Zell had a great day visiting family. We said goodbye to Britta's grandpa, and got to see Kendall's uncle Richard's family too :-)

2011-10-06T23:02:00.001-05:00

Annette had fun feeding the ducks at Maplewood Farm this morning, and we had a great dinner with all the family at Britta's aunt Zoey and uncle Wayne's house :-)

2011-10-05T18:58:00.001-05:00

We had a great time at the Vancouver Aquarium today! Annette petted the starfish, checked out the jellyfish, watched the beluga show and looked at the sea otters!

2011-10-03T22:23:00.001-05:00

We left Grandmama this morning and crossed the border into Canada. It's great to be back in the Great White North!

2011-10-02T18:05:00.001-05:00

Annette and Zell enjoyed a nap and a trip to the park this afternoon :-)

2011-10-01T18:33:00.001-05:00

Strolling in the woods with Kendall's Grandmama :-)

2011-10-01T15:38:00.001-05:00

Traveling is exhausting!

2011-10-01T15:36:00.001-05:00

We survived our first plane trip! Now we're ready for 3 weeks of fun in Canada :-)

2011-09-28T11:06:00.001-05:00

On the rocking horse at Gymboree :-)

2011-09-25T12:01:00.001-05:00

Snuggling with my girls in Annette's bed this morning :-)

2011-09-23T18:10:00.001-05:00

The muffin hanging out at Mormor's house :-)

2011-09-23T09:13:00.001-05:00

Annette loves garbage trucks - she always runs to the window to see them on trash pick-up days :-)

2011-09-23T08:17:00.001-05:00

Annette made Daddy coffee this morning in her new play kitchen - a birthday present from Mormor and Morfar!

2011-09-22T19:16:00.001-05:00

First date night in a while - thanks to Mormor and Morfar for babysitting!!

2011-09-21T15:51:00.005-05:00

Happy 2nd birthday, Annette!! (I'm using this momentous occasion to update our blog after more than a month of absence. But now that I have an iPhone with a Blogger app, hopefully I can do it more often from now on :-))

We had a wonderful party for her this weekend at Huffington Park. The theme was Olivia the Pig, who she's currently obsessed with. Here she is eyeing her cake!

Our beautiful family of 4 :-)

This play table and chairs was her birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy.

Since she's a big girl now, we've also converted her crib to a toddler bed, which she LOVES!!

2011-08-06T16:02:00.002-05:00

While in Galveston we went to check out the new Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens. There are some nice new features like a butterfly area and monkeys roaming around.

Annette liked looking at the fish :-)

We also spent lots of time relaxing and playing on the beach. Kendall brought an arsenal of beach toys in the attempt to teach Annette how to make sand castles.

She mostly preferred to sit in the shade with her Mommy and sister :-)

Annette in her favorite summertime outfit!

2011-08-06T15:43:00.001-05:00

Last Friday was Annette's last day of school at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. Here she is with some of her classmates and her 2 wonderful teachers, Ms. Sara and Ms. Mahnaz. We'll continue to see Mahnaz, since she's become our part-time afternoon nanny. Annette will be moving on to St. Martin's Episcopal Preschool next year, which is perfect since that's where we go to church.

We celebrated the end of school with a trip to Galveston. We rented a condo at the Galvestonian, which is right on the beach. Here are my 3 favorite people strolling on the sand (Kendall has Zell on his chest in the baby carrier) :-)

Annette hadn't seen the waves since last summer, and was a bit unsure of getting into the ocean. Apparently she takes after her Mommy, and will only get in up to her ankles.

Annette did enjoy some sister bonding time...

...and dining al fresco!

2011-07-11T13:57:00.002-05:00

Annette had fun swimming at our friend's house yesterday. She played in the shallow end for a while,

swam in the deep part with Daddy,

and even tried out the water slide!

Zell and I enjoyed dipping our feet in the water.

Nothing's quite as relaxing as napping poolside :-)

2011-07-05T11:48:00.002-05:00

The girls enjoyed having Daddy at home for the long weekend!

He put all their stuffed animals in Zell's crib, which Annette thought was great fun :-)

Nani's birthday was on Sunday, so she came over to see her granddaughters.

Annette was fascinated by all the kittens on the quilt that Great-Grandma Lois made for Zell!

All the activity wore our little muffin out :-)

2011-07-01T13:02:00.002-05:00

"Yo everybody, happy Canada Day!!"

Annette celebrated her other country's independence today with a parade at school.

All the kids got dressed up in red, white and blue and waved flags :-)

Here's Annette with her classmates and teachers!

Zell came to see the parade too, but ended up sleeping through it instead :-)

2011-06-23T11:45:00.002-05:00

Annette, who turned 21 months old on Tuesday, is growing into her role of big sister to Zell, who is 6 weeks old today!

She now has enough hair for pigtails - her new big girl hairstyle :-)

We said goodbye to Mormor a couple of weeks ago by going out for Tex-Mex. She'll be in China until the end of August, when she returns with Morfar.

Zell is growing fast and becoming more aware of her surroundings - here she is waking up from a nap yesterday.

Annette and I went over to her friend Asher's house yesterday afternoon while Zell stayed at home with our new part-time nanny. Annette loves having Mommy all to herself whenever she can :-)

2011-06-05T16:43:00.002-05:00

Zell has had a busy 3 weeks of life!

She had her first real bath with her big sis, who thought it was great fun to have a baby in the bathtub with her :-)

She's been spending time with her Mormor (who came all the way back from China just to see her!), Uncle Nils and her cousins.

She also got baptized yesterday in the same gown worn by her Morfar and Mommy - it's seen a lot of babies in 60+ years!

We are loving our new family of 4 :-)

2011-05-28T16:58:00.002-05:00

The stork has arrived! Zell Persson Hollrah was born on Thursday, May 12th at 3:31 p.m., weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 19 inches.

Heading to the hospital bright and early on Thursday morning, this is the last picture of Zell inside...

...and the first picture of her outside!

We had a wonderful labor and delivery nurse who had 2 hats ready for either a girl or a boy - we were delighted to get to use the hat she made with a bow on it!

Mommy and Daddy with our newest addition :-)

2011-05-11T21:24:00.000-05:00

This will be our last blog post as a family of 3, since the new baby is arriving tomorrow! The princess helped me celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday with brunch at Brennan's, which was wonderful :-)

She loves the new pool Daddy got for her!

It took a while for the water to warm up,

but once it did Annette got in and practiced her kicking :-)

2011-05-05T16:32:00.002-05:00

Summer has arrived! Annette enjoyed splashing and drinking pool water with her friend Trey after school last week.

She's also grown to LOVE bath time, and stays in there as long as we let her :-)

Apparently reading while on the potty starts early...

All of Annette's friends are in the process of turning 2, so she's been a frequent party-goer. This weekend we went to a party at Wonderwild, where Annette made Daddy take her down the slide at least 20 times. Both of them were pretty worn out afterward!

On Tuesday we went to Hermann Park with our moms group from church, where we enjoyed strolling by the pond and feeding the ducks.

2011-04-27T13:47:00.002-05:00

On Sunday we all went to church in the morning, and then to Grandpa David and Grandma Susan's house for dinner in the afternoon.

Annette got a stuffed bunny, which is her new favorite toy :-)

She mostly dined on pretzel sticks, but also ate some cucumber slices for variety.

Meanwhile, her little brother or sister is getting ready to make its big debut! It is 6 pounds 5 ounces as of this morning, and already looks just like Annette did when she was born!

It loves to suck its thumb and chubby little fingers :-)

2011-04-27T13:39:00.002-05:00

On Saturday we went to an Easter egg hunt at our church. Annette was terrified of the Easter Bunny, but loved this little baby bunny.

She gave it lots of hugs and petted it nicely :-)

On Easter morning she got all dressed up in her fancy new dress!

It gave Daddy a flash forward of what it would be like to walk her down the aisle :-)

2011-04-18T10:19:00.002-05:00

Annette had a great weekend! On Saturday she got to meet Kay, Jim, Maureen and John, her great uncles and aunts, plus see Auntie Lauren, who were all in town for a wedding.

Yesterday at church they had a Palm Sunday procession where all the kids waved palm fronds as Jesus and 2 donkeys came down the aisle. The donkeys were a big hit, and Annette loved petting them :-)

On Sunday afternoon we went to a birthday party/Easter egg hunt for 2 of Annette's friends.

She was very good at picking up the eggs and putting them in her basket.

After all that work she enjoyed relaxing in a chair and eating a cup of ice, her new favorite treat :-)

2011-04-10T16:28:00.002-05:00

This weekend Annette stayed with her grandparents so Kendall and I could get away one last time before the new baby arrives next month! We went to Galveston and had a wonderfully relaxing time on the beach :-)

Annette's brother or sister is growing nicely and weighs about 5 pounds. This is a picture of it sucking its little fingers - just like big sis!

2011-04-10T16:13:00.002-05:00

Last weekend Annette and her Daddy went to our friend's lake house for a crawfish boil (Mommy was sick so stayed at home).

She LOVED fishing in the cooler for ice and eating it!

The water was still too cold for swimming,

but she enjoyed a boat ride around the lake :-)

On Tuesday we went to the Houston Arboretum with one of our moms groups. The kids loved walking around the trails and looking at turtles in the pond.

2011-03-21T12:52:00.002-05:00

Happy half-birthday, Annette! Our little girl is 1 1/2 years old today :-)

This weekend we went to her friend's 2-year-old birthday party, where she enjoyed cake and coloring.

One of our neighbors had a crawfish boil on Saturday, so we stopped by and played with all the other kids' toys.

Annette is realizing that her world's about to change soon! She helped her Daddy set up the new baby's crib in her room, which they'll be sharing once the baby is sleeping through the night :-)

2011-03-08T15:12:00.002-06:00

We went to opening day at the rodeo last week, where Annette got to see all kinds of animals. Here she is with a classic Texas longhorn.

We visited the birthing center and saw Loretta and her one-day-old calf Norman, who weighed 45 pounds at birth!

The highlight of the rodeo was the petting zoo, which Annette loved even after getting knocked down by a goat :-)

She celebrated the start of spring by helping Daddy with planting this weekend. Both of them LOVE to dig in the dirt!

2011-03-08T15:01:00.002-06:00

Annette has discovered the joys of the garden hose! Only in Houston could she be doing this during the last weekend of February.

She got a bit thirsty from all the fun...

...but decided that hose water is hard to drink and tastes funny :-)

Here she is in a more civilized moment, enjoying some light reading and an afternoon snack.

2011-02-25T12:08:00.002-06:00

Annette LOVES playing outside! We've found that this is the best outfit for playing in the dirt :-)

The princess cleans up very nicely! She loved riding in the chariot at her friend Charlotte's 3rd birthday party yesterday.

The kids enjoyed pizza, cake and a live show at Chuck E. Cheese.

Today is "Go Texan" day in Houston, when everyone gears up for rodeo season. They had a parade at school complete with a singing cowboy!

Annette in her western wear :-)

2011-02-22T14:03:00.002-06:00

Annette turned 17 months old yesterday!

In preparation for her upcoming role as big sister, we got her a doll stroller which she pushes all around the house. She's also added the word "baby" to her repertoire :-)

With spring having officially arrived in Houston, we've been playing outside every day. This playground at Memorial Park is the perfect size for toddlers.

On Saturday we went to a neighbor's birthday party, which had a cowgirl theme. Annette sat nicely at the table while the bigger kids brought her toys they found in the haystack.

There were even pink ponies to ride! Annette preferred petting them to riding them though, since that was less scary :-)

2011-02-19T14:45:00.002-06:00

The weather this week was beautiful, so we got out with some members of our old mom's group from the hospital and went to the zoo.

We went to the African Forest exhibit, where Annette checked out the display of huts.

She liked seeing the chimpanzees, and holding hands with her friend Trey :-)

Then we went to the Children's Zoo, where Annette got to run around on the playground.

In the mouth of the lion!

2011-02-12T18:01:00.002-06:00

In the meantime, Annette's little brother or sister is growing very nicely! As is Mommy :-)

Here it is rubbing its little eyes.

Look at those long fingers!

2011-02-12T17:49:00.002-06:00

Annette has been busy getting ready for Valentine's Day!

Her homework for February was to decorate a paper heart, but she decided that decorating herself was more fun :-)

This is what happens when daddies draw Hitler mustaches on their babies...

We went to Mad Potter with the moms group from our church. Annette LOVES to paint!

She's also been enjoying the beautiful weather - nothing beats dining on apples and cheese al fresco :-)

2011-01-27T14:39:00.002-06:00

It's been cold and rainy here for the past couple of weeks. One particularly cold morning Annette got all bundled up in her winter coat and mittens! She thought the mittens were fun at first until she realized that they prevented her from sucking her fingers :-)

Annette gets a homework assignment from school every month to decorate a picture - for January it was a snowperson. Annette was very good with the finger paints at first...

but the final result turned out to be a bit messy :-)

She made up for it by helping around the kitchen. She loves putting on the oven mitts, even though they take up her entire arm!

Uncle Nils, Aunt Allison and the cousins came over to play one weekend. Annette and Fritz liked checking out baby Isabel :-)

2011-01-10T11:05:00.002-06:00

Annette got her first real boo-boo last week. On Thursday she fell into a wooden slide at Gymboree class and got a cut next to her eye. It's healing very nicely though and doesn't bother her anymore :-)

Yesterday her friend Rachel came over for a playdate. The girls enjoyed playing together until Annette bit Rachel's finger :-( She has another tooth coming in and anything that gets close to her mouth gets chomped on!

They made up over a wonderful dinner of baked ziti, green beans and blueberry pie with ice cream!

2011-01-05T13:35:00.002-06:00

Let's ring in the New Year! On New Year's Eve we went to the Children's Museum for their annual noon ball-drop.

Annette tried watching the parade while sitting on her Daddy's shoulders, but she decided that was a bit too scary.

She did enjoy dancing to the music though!

We counted down to noon and watched the ball drop in the mini version of Times Square (much less stressful than the real thing, as Mommy will attest to!).

Afterward Annette celebrated the New Year with a tea party in the Tot Spot :-)

2011-01-05T13:26:00.002-06:00

On Christmas morning Daddy made waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. Annette enjoyed cleaning the whipped cream off the egg beaters :-)

Then she opened her stocking and tried on her 6 hair bows from Santa!

Her favorite part of opening presents was playing with the ribbons and walking around holding the boxes.

Mommy got her a magna-doodle, which Daddy liked playing with too!

2011-01-04T15:49:00.002-06:00

Happy 2011! We had a wonderful holiday. On Christmas Eve we got dressed up and went to the children's service at our church.

Annette was an angel like she was last year, but was a bit more of a handful this year. She had a lot to say and wanted to walk all around during the service :-)

Afterward we had appetizers at our place, where Annette got to meet her Great Grandmama in town from Seattle!

Auntie Lauren was also in town, and Annette enjoyed playing with her.

All ready for bed in her Christmas pjs :-)

2010-12-22T14:51:00.002-06:00

This weekend we went to our neighborhood Christmas party, where Annette enjoyed doing crafts. In addition to coloring, she made a hand print ornament and a jingle bell rattle.

Yesterday was Annette's 15 month birthday, and we went to the doctor's office for her check-up today. She weighs 25 pounds 2 ounces (80th percentile) and is 33 inches long (98th percentile!). She is going to be tall just like her parents :-)

Last year Annette enjoyed going to see Santa,

but this year she was having none of it. While she's been getting bigger, it seems like Santa has shrunk!

2010-12-17T13:05:00.002-06:00

We're all getting ready for Christmas! The dogs went to get their holiday grooming last weekend, and came home with matching festive ruffs. Bella even got hair bows on her ears, which she managed to get rid of pretty quickly :-)

Annette got in on the festivity too!

All ready for bed in our matching pjs :-)

Annette decided last week that it was time for her to start walking! She loved walking all over the parachute at Gymboree.

She resorts to crawling sometimes, since that's still her fastest way to get around :-)

2010-12-10T11:14:00.002-06:00

Last weekend Annette and her Daddy went to the zoo. Everyone was lined up to check out the new African Forest area.

This rhino enjoyed a good belly-scratch on a rock.

Annette was very excited about riding the carousel!

Rum balls, anyone? Mommy and Daddy made 200 of them last weekend in preparation for Christmas :-)

Our little "Snow Belle" is ready for the holidays in her festive tutu pjs :-)

2010-12-10T10:47:00.002-06:00

Annette has been busy learning lots of new skills! Unfortunately one of these skills is being a picky eater. She loves cheese though - string cheese, mac and cheese, veggies (only if covered in cheese), etc.

She also loves checking her email on Daddy's phone :-)

She's learning to eat using a plate and fork! It's a lot of work though, so she often ends up tossing away the fork and using her fingers instead.

Drinking through a straw is her new favorite thing :-)

She also likes making silly faces for the camera!

2010-11-21T14:59:00.002-06:00

With Mommy being out of commission for the past month, Annette has been enjoying lots of time with her Daddy. He helped her with her homework assignment of decorating a turkey to display in her classroom at school.

They also went to the Children's Museum, where Annette played in the ball pit!

Here she is making tea for Daddy in the little cottage at the Tot Spot.

This picture was obviously NOT taken with Mommy's permission :-)

Thank goodness Daddy gets her all cleaned up before bedtime!!

2010-11-21T14:46:00.002-06:00

Happy 14 month birthday, Annette! Her blog hasn't been updated since her 13 month birthday because she's going to be a BIG SISTER and Mommy has been having a rough first trimester :-) Her little brother or sister is due on May 18th!!

We had a big block party on our street for Halloween. People from all over the neighborhood came to enjoy the festivities :-)

Annette dressed up as a fairy!

She enjoyed playing with all the toys at the party,

and taking a turn in the bounce house!

2010-10-22T12:22:00.002-05:00

Since all of the grandparents were out of town for Annette's birthday party last month, Nani threw her a belated birthday party at her house.

She enjoyed opening presents,

and eating her homemade carrot birthday cake!

Last week we went to pick out some pumpkins for Halloween at a nearby pumpkin patch. The princess loved climbing all over them :-)

"Look at all my pumpkins!"

2010-10-22T12:09:00.002-05:00

We have been remiss in updating our blog this month, since October has been keeping us busy! Annette turned 13 months old yesterday, and I turn slightly older (32 years!) today :-)

We have been getting out a lot and enjoying the beautiful weather. One day after school we went to play in a nearby park,

and then went out for ice cream! The princess made a big mess and thought that plain vanilla ice cream was a bit boring...

Annette plays out on our deck every day. She loves eating dirt and splashing around in the dog bowl :-)

She especially likes the weekends, when her Daddy makes her fancy dinners on the grill!

2010-10-01T10:39:00.002-05:00

Annette loves playing with the camera! Here she is trying to take a picture of herself last weekend :-)

With the weather being so nice lately she's been taking walks in her little red wagon, a birthday present from Mormor and Morfar. Annette loves looking all around and throwing her toys out of the wagon!

Annette tried feeding herself yogurt with a spoon the other day. At first she was pretty good about using the spoon,

but soon decided that her fingers were more effective :-)

We went to the doctor's for her 1 year check-up. Annette's figured out that the doctor's office isn't as fun as she once thought - she had to get 5 shots :-( She's 22 pounds 10 ounces (75%) and 31 inches (90-95%), so is growing very consistently!

2010-09-24T19:40:00.002-05:00

The birthday princess got to try another cupcake on Tuesday. She was a bit apprehensive after her chocolate cupcake experience,

but this one turned out to be vanilla so she liked it much better!

Today after school we checked out the new play area at the Galleria. It's a big foam replica of the Galleria mall and surrounding streets. Annette climbed up the Williams Tower,

cruised down Westheimer,

and checked out Neiman's (she takes after her Mommy) :-)

2010-09-22T13:36:00.002-05:00

For Annette's birthday party last weekend, we turned her room into the "Balloon Room". It was very popular with all her party guests :-)

She enjoyed chasing some of the errant balloons down the hall

We also had a "Decorate Your Own Cupcake" station, which was a big hit!

Annette was very good at sharing all her toys with her friends :-)

PRESENTS!!!

2010-09-21T15:08:00.002-05:00

Happy first birthday, Annette!!!

Annette and her friend Rachel a year ago...

...and today! It's amazing to see how much happens in a year :-)

Annette had a big cupcake-themed birthday party this weekend. I wonder what her first birthday wish was?

Probably not for another chocolate cupcake, which she didn't seem to enjoy very much!

2010-09-18T20:39:00.002-05:00

This week Daddy made Annette her favorite breakfast every morning - toast with strawberries and scrambled eggs :-)

After school on Monday we had a playdate with one of our mom's groups - there were babies and toddlers everywhere!!

Yesterday Annette met her new cousin Isabel for the first time!

It's hard to remember that Annette was ever that small...

Today we went to Annette's friend Asher's first birthday party. He walked all around while she enjoyed driving his car :-)

2010-09-10T16:12:00.002-05:00

Last Friday we celebrated the start of a long weekend by going swimming! Annette and her friend Asher crawled all around the baby pool in their floaties :-)

On Labor Day we went over to Grandpa D's house for dinner. Annette helped pick out the spices!

After school on Wednesday we went to the Children's Museum, where she climbed up stairs (her favorite!).

Yesterday we tried out Wonderwild, an indoor play area, with one of our mom's groups. They had a big inflatable slide that you climbed up on one side and slid down on the other. We did it at least a dozen times - the princess loves sliding!

She also loves her new favorite lunch of spaghetti with tomato sauce :-)

2010-08-30T16:19:00.002-05:00

Annette loves being outside and crawls all around our deck!

Uli helps bring Mommy's attention to a stinky diaper :-)

The princess is turning into such a big girl! She's outgrown her infant car seat and is now riding in her new big girl car seat :-)

Since she's pulling up on everything and starting to walk while holding onto something, she also went shopping for her first pair of shoes!

She got a brown pair with pink flowers and sparkly pink tennis shoes :-)

2010-08-30T16:05:00.002-05:00

Since Annette will be turning one year old soon (!), we're weaning her off of her pureed baby food. Here she is with her new standard breakfast of turkey slices, whole wheat bread and strawberries.

The dogs gather around to wait for food to drop from the sky :-)

Last week Annette went to visit her Mommy's old office!

She liked seeing my former co-worker Crystal again, who has upgraded to her own office and my old job title :-)

All the office talk wore Annette out, so we went over to Mormor and Morfar's house (to see how it's holding up in their absence) and had a good nap! The princess always has wiener dogs around her, even when she's sleeping :-)

2010-08-21T22:01:00.002-05:00

Happy 11 month birthday, Annette! In one month from today, she turns into a big girl :-)

We got a preview of the big day by going to her friend's first birthday party. The kids loved climbing in and out of this baby pool filled with balls,

and checking out all the birthday boy's toys!

Finn, the birthday boy, just moved here from England when he was 5 months old. We're looking forward to seeing whether or not he ends up talking with a British accent!

Annette loved the automatic bubble-blower :-)

2010-08-17T13:47:00.002-05:00

Annette starts her mornings these days by taking her pack of wiener dogs for a walk :-)

Back inside, we've installed baby gates in her playroom. Now that she's crawling all over the place, nowhere is safe and we have to keep an eye on her at all times!

Yesterday we went to a splash pad with our old mom's group from the hospital. Annette loved climbing up the stairs to the water slide and sliding down with her Mommy - we must have done it about ten times!

After swimming we had lunch at a friend's house. Annette checked out their baby prison, which reminded her of hers at home.

She's awfully cute for a convict!

2010-08-08T21:01:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday, Annette saw Mormor and Morfar off at the airport for their year-long trip to China. We will miss them!

Annette tried to cheer Mommy up by helping unload the dishwasher :-)

Annette, like all kids, has decided that she loves Cheerios! She steals a few from her Daddy's breakfast each morning :-)

This morning Daddy made a special breakfast of blueberry waffles with strawberries and whipped cream - yum! The princess enjoyed licking the whipped cream off the beaters, just like her Mommy!

2010-08-03T15:18:00.002-05:00

On Sunday Kendall and Annette went over for dinner at Grandpa David and Susan's house.

Annette enjoyed playing with a dog that was slightly larger than her dachshunds at home :-)

Some parrots took up residence in their bird feeder outside, which was quite a sight!

Today we joined Allison and Sophia for story time at a library near their house. The girls heard stories about snakes,

and then went to play in a park nearby :-)