Sharing, sharing that's the thing to do . . .

I just read a cousin's blog about her 10 month old and it made me want to remember what Annie was doing at that stage. Unfortunately, I read that she had just entered a selfish stage wherein she felt the need to take other children's toys. My sister warned me then that it would get worse. Guess what? Turns out she was prophetic (or a mother of five). Bummer. I always hoped my child would be the one who shared naturally.

Luckily, there's hope . . . There are some children (generally older ones, but at least one who is her age) with whom she doesn't mind sharing. Maybe in another 10 months she'll be really good at sharing. Here's hoping!

(Note: The rest of this post is for my memory, so I know some of the things I love about Annie at 20 months.)

Besides being a little selfish (and doctors say that is a normal and good developmental stage) and hitting a little bit, Annie is a total joy. She is getting really good at making short sentences. The other day I asked if she would like to get some applesauce with me. To which she replied, "I'd love to." Generally her sentences are more along the lines of "Daddy blow tummy" or "Grandma horses up and down" (from when she went with Grandma to the museum and rode on the carousel). She's beginning to assert her independence in little ways, such as walking down the stairs all by herself. (She praises herself for this feat by exclaiming, "Wow! Big girl!") She is great at matching shapes to other shapes. She counts 1, 2, 3, 5. Counting is one of her favorite activities. She is super social! She remembers other little kids' names really well and likes to tell me about them. She is still obsessed with owies (hers and anybody else's), but kisses always make them better. She's pretty good at knowing colors. There are still a few that she has a hard time with, but she's getting better and better at them. She loves to run "fast", which is not very fast at all. She's almost always reverent during prayers - folding her arms, being quiet, and saying amen. In general she is a super pleasant little girl to be around. Brad and I adore her!

Grandma and Papa come to visit

After 5 cancelled flights, 2 snowstorms, 1 rotten night in a hotel, and countless inept American Airlines workers, my parents arrived in Rochester. Who knew it was so difficult to fly across the country in 2010? I was THRILLED when they finally arrived! I've been anticipating this trip since the day we pulled out of Provo. It was so fun to have my parents here, to let them see where we live, to have them meet our new friends, and especially to give them time to bond with Annie. She adores Grandma and Papa. I almost never held her the entire trip. She didn't want me to wipe her stickies, to buckle her, to hold her hand, etc. She loves her grandparents!

We crammed a lot into the few days that they were here, but I didn't always have my camera. If my mom comes through and sends me her pictures, I will add a few more pictures, so feel free to check back for updates.

Wednesday: Watkins Glen

I am so grateful that they were able to get here to enjoy Wednesday ( a couple of the potential flight scenarios would have had them arriving on Thursday or later); it was our only perfect weather day. And the leaves were so much more beautiful that day than any other. We left almost immediately from the airport to Watkins Glen. Brad and I went there a week or two ago and I really wanted my parents to see it. The colors were beautiful and Annie loved hiking by the water with Papa (it was her favorite picture to look at on my mom's camera the rest of the week in the car). That night after we got home, Mom and I headed to Relief Society for a book and soup review. I reviewed the book Wild Swans. You should all read it if you haven't. It's fascinating! Mom loved getting to know people she'd heard about from me.

Thursday: Public Market, Strong National Museum of Play, George Eastman House, and the Creperie

On Thursday morning I took my parents to Rochester's farmers' market. My dad confessed that he thought it was silly that I was so excited about a market, but he loved it once he got there. He's something of a fruit connoisseur, so it was heaven for him to go around and find the best fruit that Rochester has to offer. (It was heaven for the others of us to enjoy the "fruits" of his labors the rest of the week.)

We went right from the public market to the Strong National Museum of Play. If any of you choose to visit us, this place is a must. It's an incredible museum. It's got stuff to entertain children of all ages. It was so fun to watch my parents play and play with Annie. Annie talked about the giant that Papa moved for the rest of the week. She loved riding on the "neigh neigh" with Grandma as well.

That afternoon we were lucky that Brad had a little time off to come with us. We went to the George Eastman house. George Eastman was the founder of Kodak and gave most of the money to start the University of Rochester. We loved learning more about him!

Finally, we went to a DELICIOUS crepe restaurant for dinner and dessert! Wow! I loved it! Every single crepe I tried (6?) was amazing! Crepes are one of my favorite foods, so I was in heaven!

Friday: Palmyra and Ward Trunk or Treat

We spent the bulk of Friday in Palmyra, but we made a quick stop at Wegman's on the way there. Here again, my dad was a bit of naysayer until we went in. It's quite the grocery store. If only it had pumpkin donuts all year round . . .

I dropped my parents off to do a session while Annie and I hit up the bishops' storehouse for wheat, and she had her (short) nap. We visited Joseph Smith's farmhouse, bigger house, the Sacred Grove, the Hill Cumorah, and the printing press where the Book of Mormon was first published. I love living so close to these Church history sites! Each time I've visited them I feel my testimony confirmed that this is Jesus Christ's church on the earth today.

That night we went to our ward Halloween party/trunk-or-treat activity. Mom was surprised every time someone actually knew who Annie was. I didn't think we being too stealth with the Yoda costume. Thanks to Bobbie for lending us Annie's costume. Annie was in a less than pleasant mood for a good portion of the evening, as the pictures reflect.

Saturday: Niagara Falls

We went to Niagara Falls on Saturday morning. It was super windy and quite cold, but the falls were amazing. The last time I was there (several years ago), I was underwhelmed because I'd seen Igauzu Falls a few years before. However, my low expectations were totally exceeded. This time I loved it.

That afternoon (after a fantastic Whipple Park Halloween party), we visited the University of Rochester campus and the Mt. Hope cemetery. We were all so exhausted by that point that Brad and I only mustered up the energy to take Annie to about 4 houses to trick-or-treat. Luckily she didn't mind too much.

Sunday: Church

We had a nice Sabbath. We went to church, went on a beautiful and chilly walk, ate a delicious dinner (roasted veggies, stuffed pork chops, and Texas sheet cake), and showed Mom and Dad around the medical school. Very unfortunately, after that they had to leave.

We have all been missing them so much since they left! It was such a great trip!

Mt. Hope Cemetery

We went to the Mt. Hope Cemetery today. It is right next to the University of Rochester and is the oldest municipal cemetery in the United States. It is a beautiful place and has become one of our favorites in Rochester. Here are some pictures that we took today. We are doing our best to relish the fall before the long winter arrives.

Small Moment

I hear a lot about the small moments of mothering, but I'm not always good about recording those moments. But I don't want to forget what happened today. I promised Annie that I'd give her an orange when we got home from the farmers' market. I dutifully peeled it seconds after we walked in the door. I broke it into slices and set them on her high chair. Just as I reached for her to put her in, she folded her arms and said, "Prayer". She's been good at folding her arms and saying "amen" to most prayers for a while, but it was really tender to me that she is learning that we don't eat unless we've thanked Heavenly Father first. I've noticed a lot of physical and cognitive developments in her lately, so I was thrilled to see this spiritual development as well.

Catch Up Post

I've been a super lazy blogger, so after loading several older pictures onto my computer, I'm ready to photo dump.

University of Rochester photos:

We took these pictures during our first few days when Brad's mom was here. The campus really is beautiful. George Eastman was the owner of Kodak (HQ for Kodak are in Rochester), and he donated most of the money to start the University of Rochester. When I was walking around campus one day I heard the beginning of a tour about the campus where the guide said that Eastman really hoped that the school would be part of the ivy league, so he only wanted red brick buildings with ivy growing on them all over campus. He also didn't want any buildings named after him, but they fudged a little and named a grassy area in the main part of campus after him.

White Coat Ceremony:

So apparently this white coat ceremony is a big deal in medical families, or maybe just in general. Every single student had at least one parent fly/drive in for the event, with the exception of all five Mormons in the new class. :)

I spent most of my time in the hall with Annie. I'm sort of used to church where most people don't fuss too much if Annie makes a little bit of noise, provided she's not screaming at the top of her lungs. I did not get that much leeway in this setting. People were shooting me not-so-subtle glances when Annie said "Daddy!" as Brad paraded in. On the bright side, this is where we first really got to know Bryce, Annie's little best friend here.

Wine and Cheese Party:

Everyone here is obsessed with a store called Wegmans. Initially, we went to one that was not that big or that nice and we were not overly impressed. However, a few weeks later we stumbled on another one of these stores and this one convinced us that everyone here is right - Wegmans really is amazing. Their cheese section had me drooling. I was dying to try all of it, but I knew we could never afford to buy it all on our student budget. Then we struck on a grand idea - wine and cheese party! We invited a bunch of the people in Brad's class that are in committed relationships to come to our house for a wine and cheese party. Everyone brought a different type of cheese, and we provided baguette slices and non-alcoholic wine for everyone. (It was great we found non-alcoholic chardonnay!) The cheese was amazing! FYI, a drop or two of honey on goat cheese is fantastic!

Watkins Glen and Letchworth

We have been excited to discover what a beautiful area of the country we live in. We're especially enjoying all the fall colors right now. They are gorgeous! We went to an area called Watkins Glen today. It was so pretty! To get there we drove along Seneca Lake (one of the finger lakes) for about 40 miles. Watkins Glen is a hike along (one of?) the river(s) that empties into the lake. It comes down a gorge, creating stunning waterfalls the whole way.

Brad was a trooper and carried Annie (just in his arms) the whole way. I was so grateful not to have to take a turn. These days I get winded carrying her up our small staircase. Annie loved it and spent most of the hike saying "hi" to the "wawa". It was quite cold, but she was really good the whole time. Unfortunately we couldn't get her to smile in the pictures that well, so know that she was much happier than she looks.

On my birthday (so a while back, I haven't been the greatest blogger), we went to another really fantastic state park called Letchworth. We went with our friends Jenna, Brett, and Bryce. Brett is a first year med student with Brad, so Jenna and I have bonded during the times our husbands are gone. Annie ADORES Bryce. She yells his name in excitement quite frequently. Unfortunately we got too busy taking each other's pictures to realize we didn't get one of the six of us.

Rock-a-bye Sweet Baby James!

It's official - we had the ultrasound today and we're having a BOY!!! We are SOOOOOO excited!!! (Even Brad is, though he thought he wanted another Annie.) The ultrasound tech took a 3D picture, which I thought was going to be silly, but I loved it. You can really see his little face, and in my unbiased motherly opinion, I think baby James is going to be one handsome little devil. From what she can deduce with the ultrasound, he is very healthy. We are thrilled with that news - it's such a relief. He measured a little ahead of schedule, but she told me not to get my hopes up that he'll come early (too late!).

We've got a DVD and some pictures, but I'm not sure how to get those posted to the blog. I hope I figure it out soon, so you can all see our cute little James!

And then there were 75....

Since our little girl is almost at 18 months, MaryAnne and I sat down today and tried to add up all of Annie's words. Not counting animal sounds (unless it is what she calls the animal), we counted 75 words. We may have missed a few, but we are so excited that Annie is able to communicate with us more and more everyday. Her comprehension of what we say is remarkable. We think that is a reason why she is starting to enjoy Disney movies...she can finally understand what is going on. She is very social and so I think she is really enjoying her new-found ability to communicate. Here is a list of the words:

cake, butter, binky, nose, eye, chin, choo choo (train), airplane, neigh neigh (horse), ear, yes, cup bottle, milk, pen, bowl, spoon, doggie, daddy, mommy, grandma, grandpa, house, bubble, outside, shoe, up, down, pizza, out, all gone, all done, stuck, cow, bite, bird, bus, car, ball, kick, mine, please, juice, water, Bryce (her new best friend), bye, hi, both, Annie, Abby, bread, apple, more, sticky, messy, owie, baby, towel, dry, Preston, Issac, pig, otter pop, pet, cheese, cracker, bonk, hot, cold, wipe, yeah, no, keys, go, Bobbie.

Quite the list! We love our little Annie.

Love . . .

my new OB! I am seriously thrilled with this man! If any of you are ever in the Rochester area and need a good OB, his name is Joe Scibetta. He is a little older and super warm. He spent actual time with me! He didn't brush off everything I asked by saying "It's because you're pregnant." He was so cute with Annie. He was SUPER excited when I told him Brad is med school - he purposefully made me schedule my next appointment so that Brad could be there. (I think he really wants to convince him to be an OB; he's going to try to get him to watch a delivery with him.) I am so happy that I get to see him my whole pregnancy (he is even doing my ultrasound instead of an ultrasound tech).

I was grateful to my OBs in Provo for getting Annie here safely, but beyond that, they were nothing to shout about. I felt like a number when I walked in there office. I got such a different feeling here. I seriously left the office beaming. This may seem like a silly thing to post about, but I really feel ecstatic.

I guess I should mention that everything is GREAT with baby #2! His/her heartbeat is perfect; he/she is measuring just right. Things are looking good. I'm so happy about it all!

Little Announcement

Baby #2 is on the way!!! We are so happy about this little announcement! It's kind of crazy to us to imagine life with 2 children, but we're looking forward to it. I'm hoping for a boy and Brad wants another girl. I'm due early in March, so Annie and this new baby will be just about 2 years apart. So far the pregnancy has gone pretty well. I've felt (from what I remember) slightly less sick to my stomach and significantly more tired than I did with Annie. Annie and I both go down for naps nearly every day. I'm also very happy to report that things other than Kraft mac'n'cheese sound good to me this time around (though I do still love my mac'n'cheese). I've been able to run about 4 miles a day and go on a longer weekend run, so I'm feeling great that way. Right now we're just praying that everything continues to go well and that this baby will be healthy.

Arrived

So this isn't going to be super newsy, but suffice it to say we've arrived in Rochester, we're safe, and we're happy. Annie was super stoked (that word has entered my vocabulary as a result of being married to Brad) once we got her room set up - she bounded all over, playing with all her toys, jumping in her crib, dancing to the clavinova songs, etc. Brad and I are also adjusting to the move pretty well. Our ward is fantastic thus far - we've been invited over for several dinners, had multiple treats given to us, been shown the fun places to go, etc. And we just found out tonight that there is a men's book club. Love that! They are reading Heart of Darkness this month. :) I'm so pleased that it's not just the women in this ward that are taking the time to be more well-read. Also, to everyone who ever warned me how cold I would be when I moved to Rochester - how wrong you were. I'm DYING in this heat and humidity. It's been in the high 80's and 90's this week and high humidity. We have no working AC, so I'm constantly looking for excuses to visit our local library and Walmart. Lucky for me, we're nearing the end of the summer and it will cool down considerably soon. I'll put up pictures once I take some. :)

Final England Post . . . Oxford and Blenheim Palace

We spent our final full day in England in the beautiful city of Oxford. We were both charmed. We kept trying to figure out if there was any way that Brad could do one of his rotations in Oxford. We could really get in to spending 6 weeks there.

We started off on the right foot in the morning because the night before we'd gone to a grocery store and stalked up on hummus, cheese, fruits, Schwepes Bitter Lemon, Lilt Zero, etc. for a dinner in the hotel room with the family. It was so nice after several heavy meals to not feel like I weighed ten pounds more at the end of the meal.

We began the morning with a walking tour of the city. This proved to give Brad his bearings for the rest of the time we were in Oxford. Unfortunately, it had no such effect on me, but I did enjoy seeing the city this way. We walked by several of the colleges. Apparently there you have to be admitted to a college in order to be accepted to the University, some colleges are more prestigious and some are less prestigious.

We also walked by the Eagle and the Child (nicknamed "the Bird and the Baby") which is a pub where C.S. Lewis, Tolkien and some of their friends frequented to discuss ideas and exchange their writings. We went in and it was as smoky and dingy as ever.

We ended our walking tour with a punting expedition. This was an essential thing on my list of "to do"s in Oxford. I went to Oxford with my parents when I was 17 and I thought punting looked so charming, but it was super expensive, so my mom assured me that if we watched the punters, took a picture by the punting, and then looked at the punting book later, it would be the same as if we'd gone punting. Right. So on this trip we actually went punting, and I LOVED it!

Let's be clear, I didn't do any of the actual work of punting, but (maybe because of this) it was so fun! Brad started off punting in our boat. Steve (my brother-in-law) assured him that punting was the culmination of all of Brad's P90X workouts, and in a lot ways, it sort of was. He used his strength and balance. The pole kept getting stuck in the mud and he'd have to yank it out without losing his balancing and falling in or tipping the rest of us over. Brad sat down and Steve took over. Brad commented that when you're up there doing the work it feels like you're cruising, but sitting in the boat makes you realize how you are just meandering along.

After about ten minutes of Steve's turn (we only had the boats for an hour), we ran into a road block of sorts. There was a group of Indians who had all recently finished their MBAs in England who were touring the country before they went home. They mastered business administration, but not punting. Their boat was completely perpendicular to the river and spanned the width, so there was no way to get by them. They were about to resort to trying to pull it along from the side when Brad jumped out and offered to punt them in. You'll be happy to know they are now facebook friends. Brad was a hero!

We split up after that to let people do their own thing. We got yummy sandwiches for lunch and then climbed to the top of St. Mary's cathedral to get a view of the city. We walked around the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library, and Blackwell's book shop. All in all a fantastic trip to Oxford.

We spent the afternoon at Bleinheim Palace. This is where Churchhill was born - he was part of the Duke of Marlbourough's family. The current Duke still lives in one part of the palace. The palace really was amazing. The grounds were extensive (2100 acres) and beautiful. We also happened to have one of the best tour guides I've ever had. She knew so much more than just the prepared script about the house. She was fun and gave us a taste of her political views. She also introduced us to the the term "damp squib". Google that. :)

It was very sad that night to realize that the trip was at it's end and that we had to go home to face reality again. We loved this trip! Thanks Mom and Dad!!!