Legos

Legos have become a good sister activity---most of the time! Evelyn enjoys building, and Annalie just likes to empty the bin.

But sometimes, Annalie gets a little too interested in Evelyn's creations....

The Great Indoors

As the winter drags on and on, we get to spend lots of time in the house (sigh). A few days ago, Evelyn exclaimed in an alarmed/accusing voice, "MOMMY!!!! We didn't go play OUTSIDE!!!" Sigh (again).
So, until spring comes, or at least until it gets above 20 degrees, here are some cute pictures of the girls. Inside.

Evelyn is trying to work on her smile for the camera, in full princess attire, naturally. 

And Annalie, just hanging out one morning.  

10 months

Annalie is 10 months old--double digits!

She may be part puppy.

She still loves pulling up to stand on everything, and recently she is even starting to challenge herself by letting go! 

"So big!" continues to be an adorable favorite...

Annalie is becoming an expert at feeding herself (hooray for that pincer grasp!), and some new favorites are peaches, cantaloupe, cottage cheese, and yogurt. She also enjoys stuffing random tiny bits of whatever she finds on the floor into her mouth... She loves to play ball--Daddy is hopeful he may have a future athlete.

 Annalie and Evelyn keep finding fun ways to entertain each other. Evelyn loves tickling Annalie, and they also enjoy laughing hysterically at each other for no apparent reason. 

Happy Birthday Grandma Jean!

Last weekend we visited Grandma Jean and Papa to celebrate Grandma's birthday! We had fun in the snow, and ate pizza and pie.

An enormous snow man was constructed...

Annalie charmed Uncle Dan with "soooooo big," and showed great interest in Grandma's watch.

Evelyn got her very first hot cocoa.

 Showing off her new teeth!

Grandma always has a good book to read.

Omphalocele Awareness Day

January 31st is Omphalocele Awareness Day! 

An omphalocele is an abdominal wall defect which occurs in approximately 1 in 5,000 births. This defect occurs early in a pregnancy, when the abdominal wall fails to close correctly around the organs. The organs are instead enclosed in the umbilical cord and covered by a thin membrane. Omphaloceles vary greatly in size and severity. Omphaloceles are also associated with other birth defects and chromosomal abnormalities. Despite this, an omphalocele is still a highly treatable condition! 

We knew something was abnormal with the abdomen at my 12 week ultrasound. However, even after monthly scans, an amnio, and every blood test imaginable the doctors were unable to diagnose Annalie's omphalocele until birth. It just didn't present typically on the ultrasound. 

We were so lucky that hers ended up being pretty tiny (for an omphalocele--it was about the size of an orange). She also didn't have any associated heart or breathing problems. Annalie was fully repaired at 3 days old, and was sent home after a brief 11 day NICU stay. And since then, she's done nothing but thrive! 

9 months

Happy 9 months Annalie!

 Annalie is EVERYWHERE! She crawls, she pulls up, and she falls down. Her favorite toy is her activity table. She loves finger foods, especially peas, pears, blueberries, avocado, and black beans. She claps and babbles--lots of ma-ma-ma sounds :)

Annalie is now 19lbs, 12oz, and 27 3/4 inches long.

And, here's the 43 month old ;)

Sunny day

In my endless quest to learn how to use my camera, Evelyn modeled for an impromptu photo shoot the other day. Annalie was sleeping and the sun was pouring in, so I got to tinker around a little with my new lens.

 My new phone case :)

I'll save this one for her wedding slide show ;)