6 months old

Yesterday, Annabelle turned 6 months old. Tim and I can't believe how much she has changed from that little baby we brought home just six months ago. Tomorrow she has her six month appointment with the doctors. She will be getting her last synasis shot too. I've been very thankful for six shots that she's received to protect her from RSV. I'm also happy that she made it through the flu season with only one cold. Two weeks ago she came down with the sniffles and cough, was just plain miserable for days. Although I didn't mind cuddling with her, but we lost a lot of sleep. We knew something was wrong, when she was waking every 2-3 hours, wanting to eat. But she kicked the cold with lots of cuddling with her favorite person, Daddy.

Check out some of Annabelle's milestones so far:

-Sleeping through the night since she was 3.5 months old.
-Rolls from back to belly
-Rolls belly to back (new accomplishment)
-Smiles and laughs
-Talking non-stop
-puts her hands in her mouth
-puts toys in her mouth
-drops and throws toys
-Sleeps un-swaddled
-Eats rice cereal
-Love sweet potatoes
-Love applesauce
-unsure on green beans
-unsure on squash
-Like carrots
-Likes snap peas
-Like Bananas

Still to try:
-apples
-pears
-peaches
-any so much more.

A splash of color...

Who knew a splash of color could brighten a room up so much. After almost four years of living in our townhouse, our basement has a new color. The old color, Tim would call it smoker white. Although the previous owners nor us have ever smoked in our house, the walls were just plain ugly. We debated for several years, what to paint the walls. Red (for Maryland), purple (for Ravens), yellow to just brighten up the room. But we decided to go with a bright blue. The room will officially turn into Annabelle's play room. We are in the process now trying to located or building some kind of storage unit to host all of Annabelle's toys. I wanted something that has cabinets on the bottom and maybe cubbie holes on the top. Maybe something like this or like this.

Now obviously we aren't going to pay this much $$$, but I like the idea. Plus we have a small space that we are working with. Just getting ideas. If you have any suggestions, please pass them along.

Bitter is the New Black and Hush

I finally finished reading Bitter is the New Black by Jennifer Lancaster. I've talked to several people about this book, all whom seem to love the book. I purchased this book back in May 2009 and finally finished reading it in March 2010. It was very hard to read, I have days or months where I would just put it down and not pick it back up. Not sure if it was the author's writing style or I just wasn't into the topic. The story seem to hit close to home for Tim and I. With Tim being unemployed for three months now, I just can't imagine being laid off for 2 years like Jennifer Lancaster, then her husband also gets laid off. That just scares me to no end. But somehow I make it to the end and I'm happy to had start another book.

I picked up the latest Kate White Book "HUSH". What a great book. I love her murder mystery books. It's one of those books that I just couldn't put down. I finished reading this book in three days. I'm sad it's over, I would if the author could write something weekly.

I'm currently reading "Wonderful You" by Mariah Stewart. Well see how this book progresses.

Some changes

I've decided to start with my new list today. I'm sick of my old list and it's time for a change. I'll be updating my blog shortly.

In other news... Annabelle is growing nicely. She has come so far from her birth weight of 4lbs 10. At her last appointment this morning she weighted 13lbs 14.5oz at five months. The doctor also told us that they may try and get her another RSV shot for April. We won't know until end of the month if the insurance company approved her. They aren't sure if RSV season will be ending this month or next, so they are highly recommending her.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! 2009 was a great year for Tim and I. We found out in March of 2009 that we were expecting a baby and in October we welcomed Annabelle Renee into this world. Ever since then we have been very busy, trying to keep up with a three month old. I feel like I've neglected my blog in some ways and not in the others. As you have noticed most of my 101 items are almost complete. I have a few thing items that may need to be revised come March 2010. I've decided that whatever I can't finish in the next two months that I will probably just create another 101 list.

My goals for 2010 are as followed:

Read 25 books in one year. Last year I read 36 books, my goal was 50, but I had a few distractions along the way. I'm happy to report that 36 may be a record for me. I started tracking my reads through www.goodreads.com (check the website it, it's a great tool to use).

Starting in the spring (March 20 is the first day of spring this year!) walk the dogs and Annabelle at least twice a week. I hope to get out of the house as much as possible.

Cook dinner at least three times a week for the entire year.

Save money (put at least $100 away each pay period for Annabelle)

Once summer hits: entertain friends and take Annabelle to play dates.

Things I've been up too...

It's been a busy month with the birth of my daughter, cookie exchanges and just finding time and energy to do things that I love. But last Sunday I attended a cookie exchange with a few friends (about 25 of them). Lisa was so nice to host this cookie exchange at her house. After slave in the kitchen for two days (yes it took me two days, with an newborn at home and tons of phone calls I finally got my cookies done). Tim was very pleased with all the cookies I brought home. 100 cookies or so, plus the two dozen I made for him. After sampling all the cookies I decided that my favorite cookies were the Chocolate Chip Meringues and Gooey Butter Cookies. Tonight I made the Chocolate Chip Meringues. Here is the Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and set aside.

In large metal or glass bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar while continuing to beat until they hold stiff peaks. Mix in the vanilla and cocoa on low speed, then fold in chocolate chips by hand. Drop small mounds of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart.

Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Turn off oven, and leave the cookies in the oven for 1-2 more hours, or until centers are dry. Remove from pan and store in an airtight container.

Other things that I've been up to while out on maternity... taking care of Annabelle, sleeping a few hours here and there, playing with the baby and when I have time baking. I can't do all my baking without inspiration. I must say that I love google reader. Google reader holds all the blogs that I'm interested in reading in one location, no more bookmarking. Thank you google reader for making my life easy. If you have time to check some cooking blogs, check out Vintage Victual. The blogger is having a give way of some yummy mixes. I wish I had time to blog about my food experiences, but with Miss Annabelle and then starting back to work in a few short weeks, I just don't have time.

Annabelle Renee has arrived...

Sorry this post has taken forever to add, but I've been a very busy mom. Annabelle Renee arrived seven weeks early on October 7, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. weighing 4lbs and 10 oz and 18.5 inches long. Here's the birth story for those that are interested. I woke up on the sixth feeling not right. The day before I received my annual flu shot and I thought maybe the flu shot was making me feel awful. I went to work, feeling quite large and had a feeling that my blood pressure was on the rise. I had my 33 week check up later that day. I was so surprised when the doctor confirmed that I gained 20lbs in two weeks and my blood pressure had skyrocketed. She sent me to the hospital for some testing. She wanted to make sure the baby was okay. I was really upset, being that this was the first appointment that Tim had missed the entire time. I left the doctors office very upset, headed downstairs, finding my coworker (she works in the same office building that my doctor is located in). I started to cry because I was scared. She told me not to worry that she would take me to the hospital. She called the shuttle, but unbeknowest to me, she was having Franklin Square Security pick me and her up and taking us to the Women's Pavilion. I first called Tim and I told him to high tail it to the hospital and secondly I called the dentist office to cancel my appointment.

I arrived at the hospital thinking that I was only getting some blood work and another ultrasound. They decided to admit me due to my weight gain and high blood pressure. My doctor arrived an hour later to assure me that I was in good hands, but they needed to induce me, so I was having this baby in the next two days. I was so scared because I knew that she was too early and that she would be on the small side.

I was admitted at 4:30 p.m. and the doctors started to administer magnesium sulfate to get my blood pressure back on the positive side. I was not ready to have this baby, I didn't have my bags packed, nor did I have a baby book. So thanks to my aunt Linda for picking up clothes for Tim and I and my sister-in-law Rena for coming all the way to the hospital from Anne Arundel County with four or five different baby books. We settled in for the night for a long night of testing and hardly any sleeping. Around 2:00 a.m. I felt some leakage down below and I told the nurse that something was happening. At first she didn't believe me, but later it was confirmed by the house OB's that my water did break. Contractions started a little later and I keep asking for drugs, but I never received any. I didn't realize until a few days later that because of the magnesium sulfate I was unable to receive any good drugs. I did receive an epidural around 9:00 a.m. and I was told to get some rest. Okay, yeah okay, I'll try and rest. I happen to feel one side effect with the epi and that was that my entire body was itching. Tim keep commenting not to scratch my eyelids. Around 3:30 p.m. I thought the epi was wearing off, but I think that was just my body telling me that it was ready for this baby. I progressed pretty fast with pitocin that at 4:oo p.m. I was 100% dilated and ready to push. I thought for sure I was going to have this baby without my doctor (the hospital was so busy) that my nurse told me not to worry that she could deliver Annabelle if Dr. Hesse was not available. Annabelle arrived 30 minutes later with a ton of hair and healthy scream. But because she arrived so early, she was whisk away to the NICU.

She sent 12 days in the NICU, causing havoc to the entire NICU Staff. She drove them crazy because she was so feisty, but because she was feisty, I feel that this brought her home a little early.

Annabelle is currently one month and 2 weeks old and is up to 7lbs. She is still feisty and has her days and nights mixed up, but we still love her, even if we are getting about four hours a sleep a night.