What's New Wednesday: The Half Birthday Post

Annabelle turned one and a half on Monday this week, and the daddy and I celebrated our wedding anniversary at the same time. A big day! I thought about what sort of half birthday traditions I'd like to start in our family, and I decided that for now I would just use the day as an excuse to be completely obnoxious with my camera and create a photo journal of the day, so that's what I did. Unfortunately, once the daddy got home from work and I got busy with dinner and such, I let my photographing duties slide, but I still got most of the events of the day. 

Dear Annabelle: A Day in the Life

You woke up around 6:30,

picked out a shirt, but refused pants, and then went to the
kitchen to do some sweeping.

Eventually you got some pants on and we got in the car to take daddy to work.
You really didn't want to get in your car seat.

We came home and ate some breakfast: banana nut muffin,
and sweet potato hash with watercress.

We cleaned up from breakfast and went out for our morning walk.

There was a rooster in the neighbor's yard and you were very
excited. We followed behind it for quite a ways and you really
enjoyed watching it walk. You kept shouting, "roost!" and
each time it crowed, you would point and say, "WOW!"

The rooster went off into the jungle, so we headed
home for a refreshing glass of water (or three).

Your shirt got a bit wet, so we had to change your clothes. Then,
we heard the trash truck so you rushed to the window to watch!

We headed to the clinic so we could see your pediatrician and you
enjoyed playing on the rocks outside. You weighed in at exactly 22
pounds and were somewhere around 31 inches, but it's hard to say
for sure since you really didn't want to be measured. The doctor said
 you were just perfect, but we knew that already! She asked how many
words you had and I wasn't quite sure, so I decided to list them
throughout the day and the list is over 170  words long!
You have a lot to say!

We picked daddy up on our way home from the clinic and he came
home to eat some lunch with us. You're always really excited to see him!

After lunch, you headed to bed for a nap. You got really good rest!

After your nap, you helped me bake a half birthday/anniversary cake.
You wanted to taste everything - even the flour! I gave you a separate
bowl for your own ingredients and you had a great time with that.

When it was finished, I turned around to put the cake in the oven -
and look what you did while I had my back turned!

I thought you were just climbing for the sheer love of  it, 

but it turns out you were after my tea. It didn't have any caffeine,
so I thought, why not? and helped you move to your table where
you could polish it off a bit more safely.

Daddy turned up not long after and helped you get some
clothes on so that the two of you could enjoy a walk. I think
he was feeling a bit silly, because he kept putting you over
his shoulder.

You came back rather hungry, so you had a bit of milk while dinner
was in the oven.

We all sat down to dinner together. We had some tempeh with
fajita seasoning, black beans, sprouted tortillas, and salsa. Yum!

You have been giving really great hugs lately, and you graced me
with one right after you finished eating. It was just what I needed!

After dinner, you went with your dad to take a bath and get some pjs. You and I went off to your room together and you nursed your way into dreamland. Thus ended the first day of the second half of your second year. I can't believe you're one and a half already! Your daddy and I really enjoy spending our days with you and can't wait to see what the next six months are like. Love you!

Mama

P.S. You did get to try our cake eventually. We
waited until after your nap the next day. You liked it,
but just had a few bites since you were stuffed from
all the broccoli you ate beforehand!