Sunday, July 31, 2011

they make my heart so happy...

Recently, we had some family pictures taken by our friend Jenny! I honestly didn't know how the pictures would turn out simply because it was REALLY HOT and Annie Rice was not happy because of the heat...and if I'm honest, the humidity made my hair look like a disaster!  We got a little sneak peak over the weekend and I cried! They make my heart so happy every time I look at them! These are just a few but I LOVE them! More to come...











Friday, July 29, 2011

i just can't help myself...

I just can't help but take lots and lots of pictures of Annie Rice! These are a few of my latest favorites! 
 She makes this duck lip face all the time!






Thursday, July 28, 2011

best buddies...

Miley and Annie Rice are becoming best buddies! I have gotten "brave" and have been taking both of them on a walk together in the mornings! Annie Rice just looks at Miley the whole time and laughs! I love it! 
I had to document this moment the other day through pictures[even though they are horrible camera phone pictures]! Annie was on the bed and Miley jumped up there. Normally, I try to keep Miley away because she just wants to lick Annie's face all the time, but Miley just laid down instead! The first thing Annie Rice does most days is stick her finger up her nose! This time, she stuck it straight up Miley's nose and Miley didn't even flinch! I was really surprised because Annie sure pulled her nose back, but it was super cute and I just couldn't resist! 

 Miley sits at Annie's feet while she eats, HOPING she will drop just a few crumbs:)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

a shower for Annie...

On Sunday, our sunday school class at church had a little shower for Annie Rice! We were blown away by everyone's generosity! It was such a fun party and a great time of fellowship! We got so much stuff for Annie Rice! We truly are so blessed!



 We got this adorable bib! Perfect right?
Our sweet friend Monica made this canvas for Annie Rice! I have been so excited about it! It's very special to me and I absolutely love it! The heart is the area in South Carolina where we adopted Annie Rice from!

We also got this super cool bike puller! I can't wait to start using it!

All the girls[well minus a few that had already left..]
We only live about .2 of a mile[in the same neighborhood] from the hosting house, so Kaz pulled the bike puller home! It was quiet funny!


Monday, July 25, 2011

NYC...OH how I LOVE you...

 I'm beginning to think that it's impossible for me NOT to visit NYC at least once a year! Somehow, I have managed to go every year for the last 6 years...I have to keep up the tradition right? :) 
For months, I have been telling Kaz and my parents that the only thing I wanted for my birthday[which is December] is to go to NYC. I guess that's a pretty big thing to ask for, but why not right? It's also our 5th anniversary, so that's been a little excuse also:) 
The original plan was to go in December..I have always wanted to see all the lights for Christmas! So I began looking at hotels and to be honest, I couldn't find one hotel for less than $350 in December. So I started looking at October. Since our anniversary is the weekend of Halloween, and we always go on vacation during that time, I really did not want to be in NYC that weekend. It sounds bad, but I'm a little tired of being in other cities on Halloween. The craziest Halloween was in Hollywood and after that year, I'm kind of over it...So I looked at different weekends in October and found an amazing deal! Well at least I think so:) Drum roll please.....We are staying at the Waldorf Astoria
I'm super excited and can hardly wait! I honestly can't believe the deal we got! 
I am a little bummed that we don't get to see the lights BUT we can do that another time! Kaz[and a lot of other people] don't understand why I like NYC so much! Well, let me give you a little history..

I'm from a really really small town out in the country. Growing up, NYC was the one place[besides Maine] that I always wanted to visit. In college, I got that chance for a whole week! It was a trip I will never forget and had me hooked for life! I remember walking in Time Square at night and being mesmerized...AND that same night I got to see Tony Danza and Will Smith at Planet Hollywood! I was one of the crazies who waited outside for 2 hours just to peak a glance! BUT why not? It was my first trip and added to the excitement! It was that same trip that me and 4 other girls decided to go for a LONG walk in Central Park and during the walk a blizzard came out of nowhere! By the time we got out of the park I had seen more snow than I had in my whole life! The Gates art exhibit[shown below] was going on at the Park during this time so it wasn't very hard for me to find a picture online to show you all the snow NYC got during that time! It still doesn't do it justice though! The day we left the city, I cried because I did not want to leave...and made a commitment right then to visit as often as I could! 
2 years later, Kaz and I got married and made a weekend trip from DC to NYC with Peter and Emily. It was Kaz's first trip BUT the weather was horrible and rained the whole time! We were completely soaked from head to toe, but still a fun trip in my opinion.

 About 6 months later, I was able to go on vacation to NYC with my parents for the first time. I was SO EXCITED for them to see the city AND YET AGAIN a major blizzard started while we were there! 
This was right before the blizzard...As you can tell the wind had already picked up!
And my last 2 trips have been all girl trips:) 
In reality, I keep telling Kaz he hasn't really seen the city! After all, he was only there for a day and the weather was so bad it didn't count! I think October weather will be really nice! Not hot, but not too cold yet! We will be there for 4 days and Annie Rice will stay with my parents...they couldn't be happier! 
The thing that I'm the most excited about is running in Central Park with Kaz! It's fun by myself but will be even funner with him! I'm an NYC fanatic...and that's ok with me:)

Sunday, July 24, 2011

i can breath a little...

Whew, what a month! I feel like I haven't slowed down...I'm happy to say things are beginning to get back to normal and I couldn't be happier! It seems like we have been traveling so much lately, and I have definitely been very tired! This past weekend was jammed packed full of things including my last wedding for a whole month! I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself...and then round 2 of busy season starts back up! BUT for now, I will enjoy this time:)
Tomorrow will be a whole month that we have had Annie Rice! I can't believe it! This morning in church Kaz leaned over and said, "It's hard to imagine what life was like without her!" He's so true! She's doing so good and really progressing a lot! We hope to start her therapy very soon, just waiting on the final paperwork to be complete! In the last 2 weeks she has started holding her own bottle, which according to the therapist is really big! She is army crawling now, so I'm confident she will be crawling in no time! BUT she has stopped all eating! We have tried EVERYTHING! She refuses to eat anything EXCEPT cheerios, prunes, and sometimes yogurt. We have mixed veggies/fruits in her yogurt and she just spits it out! We even tried going back to baby food and she wouldn't have it! So, I guess she will have to get hungry before she eats, ALTHOUGH that doesn't look promising...She even turned down chocolate! I'm hopeful her eating will get better and am going to try putting cinnamon on her foods tomorrow because she does love cinnamon...so maybe that will help! 
 Miley still wants to get her bath toys everyday! She now even wants to join her in the bath tub at night!

I'm looking forward to a quiet, normal week:) Well, let's at least hope so!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

panda bears, the capitol, and lots of books...

Our trip to DC was so much fun! Annie Rice got to meet her little cousin Matias, aunt Emily, uncle Peter, and grandpa Cy. We all had a lot of fun together. On Saturday, we went to the Library of Congress because I have really been wanting to go, the Capitol and the National Zoo. It was fun day but both kiddos were wiped out! The trip went very smoothly and Annie Rice did very well:)







 She knows how to roll that lip out when you tell her no!





Her finger always goes up her nose when we take pictures!