Love Letter #4

Dear Anna -

It's been a while since I've written one of these letters, but that doesn't change the fact that my love for you grows every day - so much that sometimes I think my heart is going to burst.In the last few months, your speech has really exploded, and you're getting really good at communicating to us things that you want or need.

Here are some of your favorite things to tell us right now:

• "I Play" - Let's play tea party!
• "I Eat" - Feed me!
• "I Potty" - I probably just wet or dirtied my diaper, but let's go sit on the potty anyway. Maybe I'll get to play with the toilet paper or flush. It's fun!
• "I Slide" - Let's go outside to play on my new swingset and collect rocks.
• "Puppy?" - I love Bailey and I want to see her. But don't let her touch me, or I'll freak out.
• "Homey" - Hold me. Now. Or I'll keep saying it over and over until somebody picks me up!

And you're so smart already, with such a great little memory! I read to you every night before you go to sleep, and we read lots of different books. But no matter what, "Brown Bear" is always on the lineup. You say the words with me ("what do you SEE...looking at ME"), and you always know which animal is next, even before I turn the page. I ask you what sound each animal makes and you're always happy to oblige, which absolutely delights me.

You love to sing and dance. Sometimes, we'll be trying to wind down in the evening by watching Elmo with you while you drink your milk. A song will come on, and you'll look at us and say "dance? dance?" as if you're asking permission to get up. And boy do we love to watch you dance with your cute little bouncing, clapping, enormous grin and booty-shakes!You bring so much light and life into our lives every second that we spend with you; sometimes Daddy and I just lie in bed at night talking about new things you did that day and how much we love you. (It's A LOT!) It's definitely a nice last thought before closing our eyes at the end of the day!

Until next time, baby girl...

Love, Mommy

Cousins

The day after Christmas, Lindsay, Amy and I drug the kiddos to Gonzales to meet up with Jennifer for a "cousins" session. (Yes, I've been seeing a lot of her lately!)

The locations were so much fun - Cajun Village and The Cabin Restaurant - and Jennifer did an amazing job as usual! Seth and Caroline were great little posers, and Anna just kind of did what she wanted. I told Jen that I can't wait until Anna is old enough so I can bribe (or threaten - whatever works!) her into staying still long enough for the camera to focus!

Click here to see the full sneak preview!

Identity

Anna started to learn her full name tonight, and started saying it for the first time. It sounds a little bit like this. . .

Ann-ya.

Gayce.

Nan-dez.

Couldn't say it any better myself :)

The Christmas Marathon

After a 2 week vacation from work (and the computer as much as I could manage!), I'm ready to return to my regularly scheduled blogging. And boy do I have a lot to catch up on!

We had a wonderful Christmas that seemed to last forever this year; hence, it is rightfully dubbed "The Christmas Marathon." It certainly felt like one!

It all started the weekend before Christmas in Houston, where we celebrated Christmas with my family at my parents' house. Lindsay and Seth made the trip to Houston, so the only one that was MIA was our dear Katie. And she was most certainly dearly missed (although I felt a lot less bad for her when she called and I realized she was skiing in the French Alps).We opened presents, did our stockings (as is tradition), shared a wonderful meal, then headed to College Station to Santa's Wonderland. The lines were long, even just to park, but we had a good time even while we were waiting, and it was SO worth it. Definitely check it out if you're ever in the area in December!

There was a building that would every so often shoot out soap suds into the air to simulate snow. It was really cool, and Anna loved trying to catch them.

While MawMaw held our place in line for Santa's Hayride, Lindsay and I took Anna and Seth to the Petting Zoo. Seth pet and fed the animals. Anna, on the other hand, preferred looking to touching.

Anna taking in some of the beautiful sights on Santa's Hayride.

That same weekend, we also decorated a gingerbread train. I thought I was going to be doing most of the work, but Anna really got into it and did a great job...that is, until she realized how good the icing was. Then it was all over! Every time she'd go to put a piece of candy on, one of her fingers would "accidentally" scoop off some icing so she could eat it :)

Because we weren't going to be waking up in our own home on Christmas morning, Santa was good enough to agree to come a day early. So on Christmas Eve Eve (hehe), we wrote a letter to Santa and baked cookies so he could keep up his strength for the big day...

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Anna woke up to find all of the goodies that Santa brought her under our tree! She spent the day playing with her new toys...

Her biggest present was her new swingset! It was from Mommy & Daddy, MawMaw & PawPaw and Omi & PawPaw. We know it's something she will enjoy for years to come!

Then, later that evening we hit the all-too-familiar road to Baton Rouge.

On Christmas morning, we traveled from Baton Rouge to Harahan to celebrate Christmas with Derek's family. We had a delicious lunch at Denise & Kevin's house, then opened presents at Jeff & Amy's. Anna felt like such a big girl getting to hang out with the older kids, and they are always so sweet about including her...

Caroline, Anna & Catherine

PawPaw stopped by to wish Anna a Merry Christmas on his way to the airport to visit Aunt Katie in France.

Enjoying a cookie with Omi & PawPaw

A group picture on the porch of Jeff & Amy's new house - the rocking chairs were Christmas gifts!

Christmas afternoon, we went across the river to Avondale to visit my Mom, Aunt Gay, Uncle Frank and my cousin Lisa, as my dad headed off to Paris to spend some time with Katie for the holidays. I can't believe I don't have any pictures, but even so - trust me, it was a wonderful, relaxed visit with people that we love very much and see far too seldom.

The last stop in our crazy Christmas Marathon was on Saturday at my grandmother's house in Lafitte, LA. I brought the potato salad (a long-running Schober family tradition) and it was a hit. Normally, this would be a good thing, but I have a feeling my Aunt Janice is ready to pass the torch so to speak and I just might have caught myself on fire! lol

We headed back to Houston on Sunday after lunch, and finally crossed that glorious finish line straight into our own beds! I don't know if it feels that good to finish a REAL marathon. I'm not a runner by any definition of the word. But as fun as it all was while it lasted, I have to say: It. Was. Good. To. Rest!Thanks again to all of our family and friends for making our Christmas so special. I hope you all had a safe and magical holiday season!