A's Big Day

I've been meaning to write every detail of Annabelle's blessing day down, but first I wanted to make sure I had beautiful pictures to go with it: so Sunday I put her back in her dress and had a little photo-shoot.
First of all, I'm in love with her dress. My mom did an amazing job crocheting it!! Yes. By hand. I cannot even express how much I cherish that dress. Next to our wedding blanket, it's very very dear to me.
She looked so beautiful on her blessing day! And it was especially special because so many people came that love her, including her favorite Grandpa Tracy! That, in and of itself, made the day perfect. We loved having you there dad -- and we're counting down the days til we get to see you (& co) at Christmas!
I love you, dad.



It was also a super special day because beautiful MADISON LYNN was blessed as well :) And she looked absolutely adorable in her dress and bonnet -- I'm so glad Annabelle has such a close cousin! We hope for them to be best friends.
Since we planned a joint blessing, we also got special permission to have our own little meeting after church. And for history's sake, I'd like to list everyone that participated (Annabelle's gonna read this blog when she's older, right?!)
Brother Vlaardingerbroeck conducted (I promise I didn't make that name up!!), Grandpa Dave said the opening prayer afterwhich Jake gave Annabelle her beautiful blessing. The Spirit was so strong, and it was one of the very few times I've ever heard Jake get choked up - so sweet. I was sorta worried Annabelle would jabber through the whole thing ("All this attention at once?!"), but she was very calm and quiet and fell straight to sleep as soon as she was placed in my arms. Then Danny gave Maddy a beautiful blessing. And then my biggest fear took place: Public Speaking!!!! (We decided it'd be nice to have the mom's bear their testimonies)... which turned out to be great. I got to bear my testimony with my sweet girl in my arms, and couldn't help but feel Heavenly Father's love for both her and I. We are so blessed to have her.
K, then Ashley bore her testimony, Grandpa Tracy said the closing prayer, and we can't forget Aunt Julie -- she played the prelude and hymn music (very beautifully! Thanks for doing that so last-minute)

After the meeting ended, we had a super yummy dinner thanks to THE QUINNS!! Without them, everything would've been a mess, but thankfully they're angels from heaven and took care of everything I didn't think of -- which was pretty much... everything :D
It was so fun to see so many family and friends. Sadly I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I would've liked, but here are a couple.





And here are her post-blessing day shots:





We love you Angel-Girl and are so happy we get to call you "ours" ...

Annabelle Lately

She's 4 months tomorrow -- WHAT?!
And this is what she's been up to ;)

Sitting up:


And standing up:



Ever heard of a 4-month old walker?! :D ... Me neither. It's really just good camera timing ;)

Sneak Peek

I know you (my family) is dying to hear about the baby blessing, but I don't have a whole bunch of time and don't know that I'll get it posted before we leave for Oregon tomorrow. So here's a couple pictures to tie you over.
I will say it was a beautiful day, and really really special - and a lot more emotional than I thought it would be!!
This baby girl makes us so so happy - we've been so blessed.

Meeting Grandpa Tracy for the first time:

Tom and Tanya did so much to make everything come together. We love you guys!

Beautiful blessing day. Wishing Grandma Lisa (& co) could've been there too.

Skinny Emma = Happy Emma

News Headline: Emma Van Wagoner's running a half-marathon! Saaaay whaaat?
That's right. And the amazing Natasha Peatross is helping me do it.
Meet Natasha:



She's beautiful, smart, adorable, and seriously the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. And I love her so much.
This morning was day 1 of training: Running in the canyon.
Our goal was to run 2 miles. However, a 1/4 mile into it I thought I was going to d-i-e! (Gosh, it is so embarrassing how outta shape I am) But wonderful Natasha walked with me until I felt I could run again. Which would be never, except she's excellent at mind tricks:
N: "Let's run to that tree up there, and then we'll take another break."
E: **running running, panting panting** almost there.
N: "We can make it to the bend up ahead, come on."
E: **mmm, I guess...**
N:"Well, look, that pavilion isn't too far off, let's run to it and then we'll really stop.
E: **AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**
N:"Hey, there's another pavilion, let's go!"
(at this point I'm literally screaming out loud.)
E:**NAATAASHAA!!**
N: "Put stress on your body, it can take it! It will adapt! That's what Jillian Michaels always says."
E:**I haaaate Jillian Michaels!!**
N: "OK, that's good."
E:**bent over, seeing stars**
(** = my thoughts. Running and talking? Not.Possible.)

Meet Natasha. She's my favorite:


And together, we're running a half-marathon in August. With baby on board :)

The Head Grab

So my babe's been doing some funny things lately... like making this face:
when she just can't take it anymore. It's been cracking.me.UP!
Here are a couple more drama shots:

Sometimes, just one ear:

And sometimes she gets distracted by those funny things sticking out of her head, and tugs on them:


Pretty funny, right?
Well, she's been doing the "head grab" since Thursday, and we've been really entertained by it. Until she did it pretty much non-stop last night, so we got worried. And I started feeling like a terrible mom: What if she had an earache and has been trying to tell us this whole time and we've just been laughing? And I've been taking pictures of her pain? I AM HORRIBLE! So I called the nurse asap and made a late night appointment.

Here's how that went:


= all smiles.

Our girl's fine. 100% healthy. She's just giving us a peek of the d-r-a-m-a to come. And I love it.
Three months and she's making this face when she's upset:


**yikes**

You're Makin' My Dreams Come True!

Ladies and Gentlemen.... An incredible discovery has been made.

But first, let me tell you the incredible story that makes this discovery so... incredible.
It takes place in Germany. With Lauren. Sitting on my bed. And meeting our cousin Scarlet for the first time. (That in and of itself is pretty amazing -- meeting your 21 year old cousin for the first time, and shortly thereafter realizing she was the filling to that big hole in our hearts. We love you Scarlet!)
Anyways, here's the story: Lauren loves Quark. And was eating it on my bed when we met Scarlet. And Quark is German. Incredible part: I FOUND IT HERE. IN AMERICA! And it's delicious.

Greek Yogurt = Quark.

And I'm in love.

Same Phone

This post is mainly for Lauren, because we have the same phone.
So, did you know you could do this with your camera phone??

There are cool borders for your photos:

The B&W feature:

And then awesome hairdo's in case you're having a bad hair day! Brilliant!


I really had a blast figuring out these features yesterday. (And I was bored during Annabelle's nap time, it's like: WAKE UP! Play with me please!!!)

Similarities?!

Last post for tonight: PROMISE!





But did my daughter inherit some great facial expressions of mine, or what?

It's called The Crazy Eye! Watch out boys!!

Suzie Hansen

Suzie's my friend from church and last Friday she stopped by to bring Annabelle this adorable hat. We love it! And can't wait to learn how to make one ourselves.

PS: Annabelle loves her fingers so much now that she gags herself. It's reeeeal cute.

BLOW OUT!!!!

Remember when Annabelle didn't poop for a month? (give or take) Well, she poops again. A lot.
But it still surprises me every time she does. And this last time was my personal favorite.
Reasons
1: It got all over her car seat
2: It got all over my white pants
3: It was all because she wanted: To be naked.

So this is how we drove home.

Bath Time is now a daily must!

We live in a pretty old apartment, and our tub is much too "used" to bathe in, so Annabelle usually just showers with us - which she loves! (On shot day the only thing we could do to make her happy was to hop in the shower!)
But every now and again, I'll pull out our little foam tub and bathe her in the sink. However, this last time it became quite clear that she's a bit too large for that tub, which means soon she'll just be a showerin' girl.

I don't have it on camera yet, but she laughed out loud, fully conscious, when I set her in the warm water. It definitely made the rest of my day! She is just too adorable for me.

And she's definitely happiest when she's naked, so this is a common scene in our living room.


Now that I'm aware that bath time is her favorite time of day, it's become a daily must. (And I'm pretty sure I love it just as much as she does - can't get enough of that baby bum!)

Frog Fairy

I know I'm bulk-blogging, but when I'm in the mood I've gotta take advantage of it! So here goes.

We got this adorable frog fairy from our close friends (Matt and Taunya).
It's an adorable little frog. With wings. A boy frog, with wings. A little boy-frog-fairy. Sounds strange, huh? I think I'm mostly in love with it, because it is ridiculously German. Every time I look at it, I can't help but smile. I think of cute rosey-cheeked German babies bundled up to the max, with this little guy by their side.

Side note: Any time I take Annabelle outside without socks on I feel like the worst mother on earth, because I know exactly how those German mothers would be scolding me: Das Baby braucht Socken - sonst wird sie hoechst Krank!! (Basically: Are you CRAZY?!)

Back to Frog Fairy. Annabelle doesn't really have any other stuffed animals, and well since she is my German girl my nr. 1 goal is to make her irreversibly attached to the little guy. He goes everywhere with her. And definitely sleeps with her every night.

We love you Frog Fairy - and hope you last forever!

The Vernal Family

Last weekend we headed down to Vernal, UT to visit sweet new baby Isaac (and co.)
We had such a great time, especially cause we had constant entertainment: by the beautiful Kaylee Lynn! This girl is so so loved, and not surprisingly so: She is most lovable.

Kaylee sure loved her baby "Anna" (pronounced the German way: Aw-na) - And I've gotta say: I caught myself calling her that a couple times today. It just might stick ;) Thanks for putting a cute twist on her new nickname, Kaylee. We sure do love hearing you say it!

How to talk on the phone:

How to make your hands invisible:

And how to check for your baby teeth:


Uncle Jakey and Uncle Drew threw this little girl around all weekend, and she loooved it.



She loved his scruffy face. "So nice, Jakey."


Uncle Drew and baby model Isaac:

Aunt Rachel and Kaylee. CHEEESE!

Kaylee also had a fascination with Annabelle's binkie. Hence the following:



But Annabelle loved anything Kaylee did to her. So adorable.

Thank you Ashley for letting us stay! We love you lots!!


Looking forward to seeing you all again at Easter!