Christmas Started Early

I think she is starting to understand what presents are. May the wallet survive..She has already celebrated with grandparents in KY..

Anna Mae being recruited early

Anna Mae has officially stolen my heart in this shot. Grandma and Grandpa Richardson are instilling the values of frisbee in her early, which I definitely agree with!

Halloween

Anna was a ballerina for Halloween this year. She loved her little pink tutu and was so proud of her flower head band. Check out the smile on her face in this picture - she is so proud.

We had a wonderful Halloween weekend. The Brooks family came down from Grand Rapids to spend some time with us. Anna, Payton, and Hudson had a blast playing with each other and their parents had fun too. We spent some time at the Children's Museum in Lexington -the water table was a huge hit.

As you can see Anna is growing up. She is talking up a storm and trying to say new words every day. She loves dancing and singing to her favorite songs; Old McDonald, The Wheels on the Bus, ABC's, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. In this picture she was dancing and when I pulled out the camera she really started showing off. Isn't she so cute!

Hope you had a great Halloween!

Love,

Natalie, Anthony, and Anna Mae

Summertime!

Well, it has been quite awhile since we last posted on our blog. I guess we have been a little busy trying to keep up with our one year old little girl! She is extremely busy and keeps us on our toes, but she bring so much joy to our lives. She is learning new things everyday. She can now blow kisses, say hello, and meow like a kitty cat.

I have started staying home and we are loving every minute of it. Everyone is a lot more relaxed and we are settling into our new routine nicely. I will begin watching my friends two children three days a week in just a few weeks. I am looking forward to having friends for Anna to play with because even though I'm sure she loves playing with me all day, it's just not the same as playing with someone your own age. : )

Anna's favorite toy, at least for this week, is her ball pit that Grandma and Grandpa Wilcox bought for her. She loves to run and jump into it full speed.

I hope everyone is doing well and I promise to do a better job of posting on a more regular basis.

Love,

Anthony, Natalie, and Anna

Winter Has Found Us Again

Ice is on the way, school is closed and the family is at home and enjoying. We have some great new photos that Natalie took. Anna is happy as can be, clapping and signing "milk" with her hands and we think very soon she will probably start walking, maybe skipping crawling all together. Natalie will finish up at the College at the end of May and stay home with Anna and we couldn't feel more blessed by that opportunity. My job title has changed and I have been given some new opportunities to offer supervision/support to our Counseling and Wellness Center and as well to Judicial Affairs and Housing. The title is Associate Dean of Students and will be helpful in moving towards my goal of being a Dean of Students. You will notice in the pictures we had a visit to Mamaw Rupard's house. Blessings, Anthony

Personality

Anna Mae is getting quite the personality these days. She loves sticking out her tounge or yelling at the top of her lungs until she gets your attention....she is very vocal. She has also learned how to clap, which is hilarious and has been a lot of fun to watch....she even claps while she is crying. : ) We love this little girl so much and can't imagine life without her.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Natalie

Happy New Year

We are off to a happy new year after a restful Holiday break. Anna is growing like a weed. Mom and Dad are just trying to keep up. You will notice from one of our pictures that she is already being recruited to be a part of a sorority. She is still trying to decide if she will go Greek! Her Aunt Hannah already took the plunge. Mom is repainting a portion of the kitchen and we are getting ready to redo our kitchen floor. Dad is playing school at the University of Louisville, one more year and he will be done with his Doctoral coursework. Reading at the home these days include Parenting magazine, Brian McLaren book "Everything Must Change", and just finished "Justice in the Burbs," which Dad highly recommends. We are also trying a new church in Georgetown called Harmony Christian and are enjoying so far. May you be blessed and enjoy the photos of our diaper queen.

Merry Christmas

We had a blessed first Christmas! Anna was awake by 5:40, surely aware of the fact that it was Christmas. We have now officially determined her "gifted," after all, Natalie read that babies that have a hard time sleeping may be gifted.. You may also have a gifted baby? We read about baby Jesus out of Anna's book, then she opened her 3 presents. She actually was able to rip the paper off, once again, she is gifted! She got an ornament, book set, and a Busy Ball Popper. Mom and Dad are eating the traditional cranberry muffins that Mommy made and Anna is already back to bed. Oh let's not forget, Daddy is drinking Cinnamon coffee that Mom and Roger gave him for Christmas. Mom and Dad are now going to open their gifts. May you have a blessed day. Much love, Anthony and Natalie

Anna the Banana

Happy Halloween!

Love,
Natalie, Anthony, and Anna Mae

Too tired to shop......

Anna Mae and I were on our way to the store to buy her first Halloween costume when she decided that she could not stay awake any longer. I laid her on the floor for a second and the next thing I knew she was asleep! I had to share this photo because I thought it was so cute.

Pumpkins!

Last weekend we visited the local orchard. Anna Mae had an exciting time touching pumpkins for the first time. She also loved watching all of the dogs that were there for the Scott County Animal Shelter "Steps for Pets" annual fundraiser.

Tomorrow we are heading to Michigan for the weekend to visit lots of family and friends that we haven't seen since June. We are very excited to see everyone and to spend lots of quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Wilcox. Daddy is excited because we'll be there in time to watch the Kentucky/Florida football game. : )

Happy Fall!
Natalie, Anthony, and Anna Mae

Cereal anyone?

Anna Mae tried cereal for the first time last week. It was an interesting adventure. I think more of it ended up on her shirt or her chin than in her mouth. She really didn't like it too much, so we are going to give it some time and try again later. I wish you could have seen the look on her face when she took the first bite....you'd think we had given her the most disgusting food on earth. She's so cute!

ExerSaucer!

As you can tell from these photos, Anna Mae loves her ExerSaucer. She loves to hit the animals to make them play music, so hard infact that Anthony and I are afraid she is going to hurt her hands. She obviously loves it, so I guess she's fine. :)

October already!

It's hard to believe that four and a half months have already gone by. Anna Mae is getting so big! She is laughing, talking, and even trying to sit up and stand (with assistance). Our doctor was impressed with how strong she was at her four month check up. Anthony and I are enjoying each and every precious moment that we get to spend with her. She is such a blessing and we can't wait to see what she does next. The photos are of Anna Mae when she turned four months old. I'll try not to go this long again without posting something. What can I say....I've been a little busy. : )

Growing Right Up

Lots of babies, little kids, and smiles. Will had his second birthday party recently. Heather pictured here with her little girl Leah, just had her second little girl this past week. Anna Mae is about 10 pounds now and has been cooing, smiling, and much more focused and responsive to people. She just began training for a 5K race that she will run in at age 2. That might be an error, not sure....She is getting some photos done by our photographer friend, Amanda today, so we are excited to see how those turn out. Be well, Anthony

Michigan Vacation

We just got back from Michigan. We were up north for about a week. It was a fabulous trip full of relaxation, multiple family baby-sitters, yummy food and the summer weather that you can only get in Michigan. We went up for Hannah's high school graduation open house which was a big hit, and it will be just a couple of months before Hannah is heading down to attend Georgetown College and live in Knight Hall. We also got to go and visit Natalie's sister Kerri and Rob's new baby, Sophia. She was adorable and we had a blast taking pictures with both babies.

Many people have asked how it was traveling with Anna Mae??? Well the trip up was seamless, she only woke up to eat. Going back home was another story. Our drive back from Grand Rapids should have taken about 6 hrs and 15 minutes...Well, it took at least 8 1/2 hrs, lots of crying, stopping, diaper changes and Natalie did her best in the back seat to please Anna. It has definitely changed my perspective on traveling.

We have only been home for a day or two, but we are trying to get back in the swing of things as I am back at work and going to the University of Louisville 2 nights a week right now. On those days I don't get home until 10 p.m. and it is especially hard to look Anna in the eyes and realize that I was gone all day. Natalie is still home from work and does not anticipate returning until the last week of July.It was wonderful to see some of the old crew in Grand Rapids, we definitely miss you all. Much love, Anthony

Pictures: Baby Addison- Jason and Michele's little girl, Grandpa Mayes in one shot with Anna, the boys, Grand Rapids friends, Sophia and Anna together