Christmas morning

These are pictures and video for anyone who wants to see Anna's first Christmas morning. Rob and I had gotten in at 2:30 am from his office party (!!!), so we were moving slow when it was time for the cameras to roll at 6:45 am. I literally cannot remember the last time I was out that late, and I'm not sure why we chose to paint the town the night before our child's first Christmas. The cutest part was seeing my sweet mother waiting up for us when we got home.

What fun to have Mama Kae and Papa with us! Anna was very upset that Santa had eaten the cookies and gingerbread house. She's actually still mad about it today. She probably would have been fine with only the stocking stuffers, but she had more than enough presents to open. I've actually hidden most of her gifts and will pull them out periodically over the next several months when she gets tired of her "old" toys. Hands down, her favorite gift is her new Dora the Explorer doll house. I not-so-secretly bought her an EasyBake oven to relieve my childhood.

The night before Christmas

Santa is coming tonight. Yes, December 18th. We made special arrangements with the big guy because we are traveling to Florida to see the Peppers over Christmas weekend. Santa was kind enough to visit us the weekend that Mama Kae and Papa are in town. Anna is hoping that Santa will bring her some Dora the Explorer toys and not eat her gingerbread house.

We saw the Nutcracker today, on "Christmas Eve". Anna was transfixed; she literally did not move for the entire first act. She was really excited to see real ballerinas, and she has been practicing her "ballerina moves" in her ballerina slippers for weeks.

Act 1 is starting!

Act 2 is starting!

Homemade ginger bread house, courtesy of Mama Kae and Papa. It's really awesome!

Anna with Santa's cookies and milk.

Deer Valley

We went Skiing in Deer Valley this weekend. It snowed eight inches our first day out there, so it was awesome for Anna to experience (and us to ski). Here's the view behind our hotel and Anna building a snowman.

Rob surprised up with a horse-drawn sleigh ride. We were Big Ben's first customers of the season. He was a little out of shape,but as our cowboy drivers told us, "a farting horse never tires." Ben farted a lot. Anna fell asleep under the blankets.

Tiny Dancer

My sweet cousin Meg, who has FOUR daughters, has included Anna in her hand-me-down chain. Today's latest installment of cute Kerr clothes (Thanks, Meg!) included ballet slippers and pink leotard/skirt. Anna is in love. She twirled, jumped, galloped and twinkled her way through dinner tonight. (An epic tantrum ensued when she had to undress for bath-time.) Tonight was one of those moments that caught me off guard. Anna is growing up so fast, and while there are times when I can't wait for these "terrific twos" to pass (i.e. bath-time), I just want to hang on to moments like tonight. Seeing our not-so-little girl transform before our eyes always takes my breath away.

Happy Halloween!

We had a great time for Anna's first real Halloween. We were in Pensacola for the weekend, and our flight to Atlanta would have interfered with the city's scheduled festivities. Never fear, grandparents to the rescue! We borrowed a super-charged golf cart from a neighbor and hitched a hay-filled trailer to it. I think the bats, skeletons, streamers and ghoul masks gave it a nice flair. Our neighbors were kind enough to let us trick-or-treat a day early. What fun for our little cupcake (and for the adults, too!).

Happy (belated) 2nd birthday

We finally made it to Anna's 2nd birthday doctor's visit:
weight 29.5 lbs (75%ile)
height 37 in (>100%ile)
Where did we get this big kid?!

These days

Finger painting

Why not be a fire(wo)man?

My new winter coat

We're trying out our new hoodies

Water colors

Me: Anna, do you know what your face looks like?
Anna: A kitty cat
Me: A kitty cat?
Anna: Yes, I painted hers face too! (referring to her stuffed animal)

The Big Apple

We had a great weekend in NYC. Rob and Anna had a lot of time together while I was in conference. They visited FAO Schwartz, the Carosel, diners, and Central Park. We got to see Maggie/Jasper and Cari/Chris which was loads of fun. Rob and I treated ourselves to an incredible dinner at Gramercy Tavern. I was really surprised to see how kid-friendly the City is.
--Cue Beyonce's "Single Ladies (put a ring on it)" and Anna says, "Daddy, I need to DANCE!"

Singing

Anna loves to sing, and I have been trying to capture some of her performances. The trouble with this particular two year old, is that she likes to watch herself WHILE she is performing.

Budding ballerina

This is Anna's idea of ballet. She really likes it when her daddy copies these moves.

What's new?

Fancy-Nancy sunglasses


Our budding ballerina


No better time than bedtime to wear red sequin shoes!

Halloween here we come!

We got crafty last night and came up with this awesome wreath. As it turns out, Anna is really scared of spiders and snakes.

First Haircut

This cut was long overdue. Anyone who has seen Anna's hair knows why I have waited so long to cut it. I really didn't want to say goodbye to those cornsilk ringlets. So I didn't. She probably had 4 inches cut off, but you can barely tell. The salon was really cute, and all the kids sit in different car-shaped chairs during the cut. "Finding Nemo" keeps their attention while the stylist works her magic. We had a good time, and there were no tears shed (by anyone).

Camp Mama Kae and Papa

While Rob and I were on vacation, my parents were kind enough to watch Anna. They had a blast in the mountains: visiting waterfalls, listening ot outdoor concerts, building birds nests, shopping for a new wardrobe, etc. How fun!