Party Animals!

That was us yesterday! We had a birthday party for one of Anslie's friends yesterday morning. Hailey turned two and her mommy was very creative (and very brave) and set up pudding finger paints for the kids to play "in". There was also a pinata and all of the girls had fun taking turns smacking it with a stick. Of course, because all of the kids there were around the age of two, they didn't do any damage to the pinata, so the daddies had to step in to get the candy out. Everyone had fun gathering the candy and putting it in their bags.




Later that evening, we went over to another brave friend's home who hosted a really fun Halloween and pumpkin carving party. Anslie had a blast running around outside with the older kids and all of the parents were feverishly gutting the pumpkins for their kiddos. When everyone was finished carving, I think there must have been close to 20 or 30 finished pumpkins! Anslie had a little fun watching as I pulled out the pumpkin guts from ours, touched a couple of the seeds, stabbed the lid of the pumpkin a couple of time with her (kid-friendly) knife, and then took off in search of candy and kids. It was a wonderful night and we had so much fun!

The World's Smallest Braid

Can you believe I got her to sit still for this?!?!

Multi-tasking

I thought I was a good multi-tasker... until today. I was on the phone with Kevin this afternoon and we were looking at some property listings online. Anslie got a hold of a marker and I thought I could talk on the phone, play on the internet, and keep an eye on her all at the same time. Well, at the end of our conversation I looked over at Anslie to find her scribbling all over some papers Kevin left on the coffee table. At least it was on paper, right? Wrong. She got the coffee table too. I took the marker away from her and bent down to clean up the papers when I realized she didn't keep her artwork to the coffee table alone. I remember at one point she was hanging on my lap as I looked at the computer. I had no idea she was decorating my jeans while she was doing it. So, here's a couple pictures of my daughter's artwork. Maybe she'll be the next VanGogh. As long as she keeps both her ears.

Move Out Special!

It's official: My family and I are hitting the high road and heading back to San Diego! We loved the time we spent in Roswell, NM and to show my appreciation I am offering a "Move Out Special!" Book today as spaces are limited. Sale prices end November 12, 2009 (the last day we will be in town). Contact me at shillawna@yahoo.com to make your reservations today. Dates are reserved on a first-come-first-serve basis. Don't miss out! (All fees and signed contract are due at the time of booking.)

Officially.....Unofficial???

We are so excited to let everyone know that we will be done with our detail in Roswell, NM on November 12th. Due to cut-backs, they no longer need as many instructors and so Kevin's extension request was "denied". So, Kev's last day of work here is November 12th and then we will be heading back to San Diego to "...build our home and seek our fortune" quoting a line from The Three Little Pigs, which is Anslie's favorite book right now :)

We have some exciting things awaiting us in San Diego! We are looking into buying a home and it's actually looking feasible. Kevin is getting two raises, a tiny one this month, and then a HUGE one no later than March of next year. That will help a ton with being able to afford a substantial mortgage in CA. My photography equipment collection is complete for the time being and I am planning on putting my nose to the grinding stone and really start building my business (tax ID and business license and all), starting with a "Holiday Sale" (details to come later). So start thinking about pictures for the Holiday Season and shoot me an email if you are interested in booking!

Anslie is also in the clear as far as her medical issues go. She had another check up with her specialist last Tuesday and he said she looks wonderful, she is still heading in right direction, and he has no doubt in his mind that Anslie's size will pick up at any point. He's keeping her on her meds for now and told us to report back to her pediatrician in San Diego, but he thinks there's no need for us to see a GI specialist any more at this point. To top it off, he wrote us a prescription to return the feeding pump we have been hanging on to up til now. So it's official. Anslie is a happy, healthy kid. What more can we ask for?

Kevin and I feel so terribly blessed. There are so many good things happening to our family right now and I have to admit, we keep looking over our shoulders wondering when someone is going to jump out and say "gotcha!" We should just be grateful for what we have and what we are receiving, but I guess that's just the skeptic running rampant in my brain. :) I am grateful. And I have never felt more in the palm of my Savior's hand than now.

Shennanigans at Playgroup

Every Friday morning I host a Playgroup at my house. We usually get a really great turn out and everyone has fun. The kids play and snack and the moms just hang out and chat. If you haven't come before, you should! Even if you don't have any kids!!!

Yesterday we had a pretty small group; four girls including Anslie. The girls were playing around, laying on the floor on their backs eating their snacks when all of a sudden, Anslie decided she needed a cuddle. She rolled over and snuggled on Gracie (who is only a couple months older than Anslie but looks like she's a year older because Anslie is so tiny) and Gracie let her do it, patting her back to comfort her. Of course all the moms thought it was cute so we made a big deal of it and so Paige wanted in on the action! The cuddle fest turned into a doggy pile with lots of giggles. When it wasn't as fun any more, we made the girls quit and then Paige and Gracie thought it would be fun to play horse and rider. These girls were just too cute and too silly! (Ignore the quality of the pics-these are from my point and shoot)

Anslie is turning 2!!!

I can't believe my little baby is going to be a full-fledged toddler in less than a month! It's exciting and sad all at the same time, as I'm sure most of you moms out there know. I wanted to do a photo shoot of Anslie to capture her in her beauty at this age...remind me NEVER to try to orchestrate a shoot of Anslie without Kevin home!!! We had fun, but boy does this little girl not want to listen to her mommy! Especially when her mommy's face is hidden behind a giant camera and lens. I may as well not have even existed! Most of the pictures were blurry because Anslie wouldn't stop moving either. I think I got a few cute ones, though. Click on the picture below to view Anslie's entire collection!

Playdoh Fun!

This kept Anlsie busy for about an hour while I vacuumed and mopped all the floors in the house. I had a couple of tiny containers of colored Playdoh that I bought a long time ago for her to play with, and then I made her a batch of homemade play dough. It turned out really well! Next time I will try adding some food coloring! She seemed to have fun, although she's not quite at the age where she can be really be creative with it. All in all she was content and not under my feet, trying to steal my mop, or slipping on the wet floors. It was a good morning!

Eastern New Mexico State Fair Kick-Off Parade

We went. It was fun. Here's the pics. :)

Roswell Zoo, Round Two

Well, it's actually like, round 200, but who's counting? I just liked this title because it rhymed. Anyway, we realized that in all the times Anslie and I have been to the Giant Roswell Park with a Few Animals Stuck in Cages Behind Chain Link Fences with play group, Kevin has never once been there. After sitting around the house all day watching conference, we were all itching to get some fresh air. We popped over to the "zoo" so Kev could experience it for the first time with Anslie. We only had about 30 minutes to explore before the park closed, so we took our time and mozied around so that we weren't finished in 15 minutes (ha, ha, that was a joke about how small the zoo is. Get it?! Get it?!) I, of course, couldn't leave my camera behind, so here's some pics of Anslie in her mismatched Sunday "knocking around the house" clothes and some of the animals. Enjoy!


Mountain Lions


Lemurs


Can you tell it was super windy?


Mr. Llama

Anslie and Friends

We went with some friends up to Ruidoso today to enjoy the turning leaves and fall weather. It was so nice to be outside even though it was much, much colder than any of us had anticipated. We had a picnic at this really cool park and let the kids run around. The parents chatted and everyone was fed and happy. These are some pictures of Anslie playing with her little friends, Paige and Gracie, at the park. She had such a great time, the best time I think she has ever had at a park! Maybe it was the company. Maybe it was the park. Maybe she is just getting old enough not to be afraid of the equipment. Anslie even went down the slide all by herself! That is a HUGE accomplishment for a little girl who would literally cry every time I tried to get her on a playground. Here's to new meeting new milestones!








And this was a pic I snapped on the way home of this little restaurant and gift shop, Tinnie Silver Dollar. It's so cute and every time we drive up to Ruidoso I always tell Kevin I want to stop. So we did.

Tess, ETC

I remember a time when my dogs were my babies. Kevin and I didn't think we were going to have children, so when we got our puppies shortly before our first anniversary, they were our kids. And boy did we treat them as such! Fortunately for us, we regained our sanity when we had a real baby and our dogs became our dogs. The way it's supposed to be. In honor of old feelings and traditions, here's a couple pics of Tess. If we didn't have Anslie, our family blog would be riddled with pictures of her but alas, things are in order and our child takes front row. We love you, Tess, even if we treat you like a dog.


And in honor of my shiny new camera lens that I got in the mail today, here are a couple of test shots from my backyard.

New Picture of Old Me

I was rummaging through some old files of mine and came across a self portrait that I took back in April. I don't know why I didn't work on this picture...I like it now. I think I might have been a little too close to it and needed the chance to forget before I could appreciate. Anyway, I had some extra time while Anslie was "napping" (more to come on that later) and I fixed it up. Here it is: self promotion and vanity all rolled in to one for your viewing pleasure. j/k :)

Click here to see the other oldies but goodies I found today.