31/365

Today we got out of the house....and I was so ready!  I don't mind being snowed in typically...but Ana Kate has been so full of energy this week, it's been tough.  We had planned on going to church last night but I had a headache yesterday that became a full blown migraine by the afternoon, so we just stayed home.

We headed to Fayetteville to do some shopping and then we met Whitney and her boyfriend (Josh) for lunch.  We browsed through several stores and then headed home.  Whitney and Josh came back home with us to hang out and Whitney decided to spend the night tonight.  She asked Ana Kate if they could have a slumber party and if she could sleep in her bed and Ana Kate said 'No way!'.  She's a stinker!

Pictures were quick again tonight.  Ana Kate has chocolate in her mouth (and all over) in almost every picture....but she was happy!

Whitney was cutting Josh's hair and Ana Kate was bugging them.

30/365

We woke up to even more snow!  I'm not sure of the exact totals...but it has to be 9-10" in spots.  I bundled Ana Kate up and she built a snowman with Daddy....her first snowman!  She was more interested in playing with a stick in the snow...but she had fun.  It was pretty cold, so we didn't last long outside.

I wanted to mention that a precious little one from Vietnam will be on Dateline NBC tomorrow night.  The agency we adopted through is run by a local couple (Marvin & Carol) that we go to church with.  While we were waiting for Ana Kate they learned of a child abandoned in Vietnam with some serious medical issues.  They were able to secure a medical visa for baby Quynh and later adopted her.  Her medical issues required many visits to Arkansas Children's Hospital and several surgeries.  She is doing better than anyone expected and is such a sweet and beautiful girl!  The Dateline story is about the residents at Arkansas Children's and follows some of the stories.  I'm not sure how much of Quynh's story will be shown, but she is featured in one of the 'teasers' for the program.  Quynh is shown toward the end of this clip.  It will be on Dateline NBC on Sunday (Jan. 31st) at 6pm central time.  I hope that they include Quynh's entire story because it is truly amazing!  She has come so far since we first met her...she is now walking with the help of a walker!

29/365

We had some nasty weather today. It started with a layer of ice last night and then snowed all day long...and it's still snowing! I think the estimate for our area is 6 -8 inches, but we have drifts outside that are over a foot deep! It was pretty for a while, but I'm ready for it to melt. We were inside all day...it was just too cold and Ana Kate still has a runny nose, so we didn't attempt to play in the snow. Doug made it in to work and got home at the normal time, but he said the roads are pretty bad. Ana Kate actually took a nap today! Yay!! I figured she would since she woke up before 7 this morning.

Since I don't have much to say today I thought I would throw in an update on some of my goals for this year:

• I am happy to report that I am keeping up with my daily Bible reading and I am really enjoying it! It makes my day better and reminds me of what is truly important.
• My food journal has been pretty non-existant this week. I didn't keep up with it last weekend and then I kind of slacked off this week too. I haven't really been eating badly....but I can tell a difference.
• Exercise....still haven't gotten around to it. I still have big plans...

Pictures were tough today as well. Cloudy, cloudy, cloudy..... : ( I do like the one of her playing with her blocks...she was very focused! The others weren't really planned. I was adjusting the settings on my camera and when I looked up she was climbing the stair rail!! I had to take a couple of pictures before making her get down....she's such a little monkey!

28/365

 Today we met Doug and some of his co-workers for lunch.  Ana Kate actually sat still and ate her food and behaved pretty well.  I was proud of her.  After lunch we went by a few stores on the way home.  At one of the stores Ana Kate picked up some Valentine's Day sunglasses...she really wanted them and they were on sale, so I got them for her.  She put them on as we were walking out and said...'I'm ready now Mommy...I'm gonna drive.'  The sales lady thought that was pretty funny.  She's is just so silly sometimes. 

When Doug got home it was just beginning to rain.  We decided to take care of a few errands and by the time we got back there was definitely some sleet and the temperature was down around 30 degrees.

Pictures were pretty difficult today...cloudy all day and a toddler that didn't take a nap.  I can't wait for another sunny day at the park!  I chose the above photo because it was interesting and you can see part of her relection in the window....not quite the angle I was after, but its ok.  I also thought the one behind the curtains was interesting as well.

27/365

I had so much fun at the movies last night!  We only had a group of 6, but we practically had the theater to ourselves.  It was nice to go out with friends and relax!  We saw Leap Year and it was really good.  It's a very cute and sweet romantic comedy.  Someone said afterwards that is was predictable, but I really enjoyed it.  Of course, Amy Adams is one of my favorite actresses, so I pretty much like any movie she's in.  When I got home Ana Kate was awake but apparently had napped the ENTIRE time I was gone.  So I had quite a hard time getting her in bed last night.

Not much going on today.  Ana Kate seems to feel much better.  I tried to make her take a nap today, but after an hour with no success, I let her get up.  I guess she just isn't tired enough for a nap anymore?  It is harder to get things done around here when she doesn't take a nap, but she is sleeping better at night, so I'm ok with it.  I just think a toddler her age should sleep more, but she has never really been a good sleeper, so I guess it's normal for her.

They are predicting a bad ice/snow storm for tomorrow in our area.  I'm not sure if I believe the forecasts yet, but we went to the grocery store tonight just in case.  Last year we had a really bad ice storm (you can read my post about it here), and this one is supposed to be similar.  We did fine last year though....so I'm not too worried about this storm.

Pictures were taken in less than 2 minutes tonight....so not very good.  I waited too late to take them and she just wasn't interested.

26/365

We had a fairly quiet day today.  We stayed home and did some laundry.

Ana Kate must have caught a cold from one of the kids at church because her nose has been running nonstop since last night.  Speaking of which...I mentioned we had a rough day yesterday, but I forgot to say she had two shots at the doctor's office.  I don't really think she felt bad, but it could have made her a bit crankier than normal. 

I put her to bed last night at 9 and she fell asleep within 5 minutes...but by about 10 she started crying and I noticed how stuffy she sounded.  The continued crying and congestion resulted in her throwing up all over her bed and herself.  So we had a bath and bed changing and laundry late last night.  After her bath I rocked her and she fell asleep quickly.  This time I made sure to lay her on her side so all that drainage wouldn't make her sick again.  This isn't anything new necessarily, Ana Kate has always had a light gag reflex and if she cries for very long she will start gagging...but it hasn't happened in a long time and Doug usually will help me either by taking care of her or cleaning up.  But he was out of town for work last night and it was so much harder.  The bath seemed to settle her down though, so I was able to clean up everything while she was in the tub.  She seems to feel a lot better today, but her nose is still running and her cheeks are very chapped.

Ana Kate has been really funny lately.  First she has been calling me Candace a lot...usually when I don't answer fast enough after she calls for Mommy.  She has called Doug by his name for a while, but only uses it ocassionally.  I always thought it was funny...until she started doing it to me.  So I tell her my name is Candace, but you call me Mommy....and she usually giggles and says it again.  The interesting thing is she pronounces it better than many adults.  Second, she has a little baby dolphin stuffed animal that is her favorite and I noticed the other day she was placing it under the barstools.  Then she would say, 'Oh no...the baby dolphin is in trouble.  To the rescue!  I'll save you baby dolphin!'.  She would do this over and over and it was super cute!

I only took a couple of pictures today because baby girl is just not feeling 100% today.  I am getting this post done early because I have Mom's night out tonight with my MOPS group!  Yay!  I'm so excited....we're going to the movies to see Leap Year.  I can't even remember the last time I went to the movies....at least 2 years.  So I'm off to get ready!

25/365

We had a super busy day today! We started off with Ana Kate's 2 yr. check-up this morning (yes...I realize she's almost 2 1/2 now...) Anyway, she is in good health and everything looked great. Her weight was in the 38th percentile, her height in the 40th percentile, and her head circumference was in the 85th percentile (yes...my girl has a big head, but the doctor said that just means she got lots of brains and explains why she's so smart!). The height and weight percentages may seem small, but it's close to average...and keep in mind these are the American growth charts....I haven't checked but I would guess she is actually big on the Asian growth charts.

After the doctor's appointment we went to Fayetteville to meet Whitney for lunch at Marketplace. We had a great time and the food was really good. Ana Kate actually ate her macaroni and cheese and behaved pretty well most of the time we were there. After lunch we stopped by the state beauty supply to get some things for Whitney. Ana Kate did NOT behave in there...she was into EVERYTHING. The cashier saw what a hard time I was having so she offered her a sucker and that calmed her down. I really didn't want to 'reward' her for behaving badly, but I was really worn out by that point, so I let her have it. I know consistency is the key, so I think I will start telling her that if she can't behave that we will leave the store, and then follow through with it. I'm sure this will be a huge inconvenience for me....but after a few times hopefully she will get the point.

It was quite cold today (in the 30's) so we didn't go to the park. Photos were really quick...I tried to take them in our front room (which has the best natural light), but Ana Kate just wants to hide in the curtains....so we played rather than take more pictures. I know I've posted a couple of others of her playing in the curtains, but I just love the one above because of the pure joy on her face.

i heart faces - Texture

This week at i heart faces the theme is texture.  I amost didn't enter this week because I am not a huge fan of texture added with photoshop...but I remembered this photo I took of my daughter playing in the drapes.  The combination of the texture of the drapes with the morning sunlight coming in gives it an interesting look.



 Head over to http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ to check out all the amazing textures this week.

24/365

Not much going on today...and not too much to say. Another lazy Sunday, which was perfect. We went to the park this afternoon even though it was a bit chilly. Ana Kate practiced playing catch with her Daddy and just ran around having fun.

23/365

Ana Kate slept SO well last night...she didn't cry and she stayed in her bed ALL night!  Yay!!  She didn't wake up this morning until 9:30.  Maybe no nap is a good thing for her?  We'll see because she didn't have a nap today either.

I went to Fayetteville this morning so Whitney could cut my hair.  She did a really good job...she's a perfectionist!  When I got home Ana Kate was so excited to see me...she kept saying, 'Mommy's home! I love you!'  SO, SO sweet!!  She is such a sweet baby girl!  We didn't really do much else, it's been raining all day and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon.

We had church tonight and taught the toddler class....which is always fun.  We really had an amazing service tonight!  I enjoyed it so much I think I will download the podcast and listen to it again!

Limited photos today...hoping to take more tomorrow.

22/165

It was beautiful here today, so we spent a lot of time outside...which gave me the perfect opportunity to play with my camera.  I think I took over 200 pictures today, so it was hard to really decide on a favorite.  I did learn a lot about my camera and am still figuring out some things, so hopefully I will improve each time I use it.

Ana Kate didn't nap today...but I didn't make her try either.  We slept late this morning and I figured trying to force a nap would just frustrate us both.  So we played outside and then went to the park when Doug got home.  After the park we went out to dinner and Ana Kate fell asleep on the way.  She woke up as we walked into the restaraunt and she was VERY cranky.  She eventually woke up and was happy...and she is still awake now.  We also saw Whitney tonight, and Ana Kate was SO happy...she loves her sissy so much!  I missed Whitney too, so it was really good to see her!

21/365

Another quiet day today.  It was rainy and cold outside, so we didn't do much.  Ana Kate tried to get out of nap again today...but she finally gave up and fell asleep around 2pm.  Yesterday I had mentioned that she fell asleep at 7pm....well she was up again at 8...then I put her back to bed around 9.  She actually stayed in her bed all night and woke up at 8am this morning!  So that's the best night we've had so far this week!

I got my new camera today!  Yay!!  I'm just now starting to play with it and figure it out, so I'm really excited!  I can't wait to see what I can do with it.  Pics were really quick tonight....uncooperative girl and I was in a hurry.  We actually watch tv on Thursday nights...so I'm heading downstairs to relax on the couch for a couple of hours.

20/365

We had a long and boring day.  Ana Kate refused to take her nap...so it was quite a long afternoon.  She really was in a pretty good mood even without a nap....just very active.  Of course a few minutes after dinner she started to get cranky and has had a couple of meltdowns, but she was still awake up until a few minutes ago.  I had planned on putting her to bed tonight around 8, but she fell asleep on the couch around 7.  She'll probably be up at 5am tomorrow!

Photos were tough today because I waited until after dinner (in between the meltdowns), but I manged to a couple that were ok.

She LOVES playing with phones.  Sometimes I'll see her pushing buttons on her play phone and when I ask what she's doing she'll say, 'I'm checking email Mommy.'

19/365

We had a busy day today and Ana Kate did not want to take a nap. I finally got her to fall asleep around 3pm (her normal naptime is 12pm)...so I wonder how hard bedtime will be tonight? We were going to go to the park again after nap, but by the time she woke up it was almost dark and raining...so maybe tomorrow. She keeps telling me that we are going to the park EVERY day. It's really cute!

Still doing the food diary and I did weigh myself this morning and I was 5 pounds lighter than I thought. So...that made me happy, but I would still like to lose another 5-7 pounds before summer. I suspect I lost that weight in the past couple of months, but just wasn't weighing myself. I do like doing the food diary though because it keeps you accountable and it makes you really look at what's in the food you are eating. Not really exercising much yet, but I have big plans!

I am officially up to date with my Bible study! Yay!! When I bought this particular one year Bible they had it in two different translations, the NIV (which I like) and the NLT (New Living Translation). I hadn't read the NLT before, but I got it, and so far I really like it. I am really getting a lot out of my daily reading!

Pictures were kind of blah today....I chose the above picture because I love her eyes. Her expression is a little funny though...I think she was saying something to me when I took it.

18/365

We cleaned house this morning and I then I cooked lunch.  I want to start giving Ana Kate more choices and get her to eat a bigger variety of foods.  So today she had a quarter of PB&J, half of a hot dog (her favorite thing right now), some steamed carrots & broccoli.  When she saw her plate she said...'Oh broccoli...I love broccoli.  Where's the cheese Mommy?'  The only other time I got her to successfully eat broccoli I did add cheese sauce to it and apparently she remembers that.  Her favorite food is cheese currently and I'm having a hard time getting her to eat anything else.   So....she ate one bite of hot dog, tried the carrot then spit it out, and licked the jelly off of the bread.  That was her lunch...which is pretty typical for her...good thing she still drinks lots of milk.

After nap and a snack we went to the park.  It was so nice and sunny today!  Ana Kate had a blast and didn't want to leave, but I promised we'd try to go every day when the weather is nice.  I took all the photos at the park today and Ana Kate didn't mind at all...she was too busy having fun!

I should mention that I know Ana Kate needs a haircut.  She has a lot of stringy pieces that need trimmed and it's in her face a lot (especially when I don't even attempt to put it up, like today).  I have resisted cutting it for so long because it took her so long to get hair!  I am actually ready now to have it trimmed (not cut), but would like for big sister Whitney to do it, and fitting into Whitney's schedule these days isn't easy.  So, we will have a trim soon and I'm sure I will take lots of pics to share.