My dearest Annelisa Grace,
Oh how you make my heart smile with gladness! I am absolutely LOVING this stage of development! Not that I didn't LOVE the previous stages we've already been through, but this stage is especially fun and joyful for me. I love your smile, giggle, communication style, personality, silliness, grumpiness, and frustration! I have tried to stop and sit with you more each day and watch you play, which is your number one job! I love how you will crawl or cruise to me and beg me to lift you up! I love walking with you holding on to your little hands. You never cease to surprise me and amaze me! I marvel at how you are apart of our little family, at how God chose us to parent you.
Each week you and I go shopping at Target to get groceries and other items we need at home. On one particular week, I had bought a coffee at the Starbucks inside. You wanted to play with my cup so badly! So when I had finished, every last drop, I passed you my empty cup. Well, you are quite the silly little girl sometimes, and you insisted on holding the cup by the bottom rim in your teeth. You giggled and giggled and I laughed right alongside you! I'm learning that if I respond with a smile or laugh you then decide that you should keep doing whatever it is that got that reaction from me...so off and on you did this with this coffee cup throughout the store! It made this mundane chore so much more exciting!
Annelisa, it is quite appropriate for me to document your cute face covered in various foods! You are becoming a great eater! You have definite favorites these days, oatmeal and mashed, roasted sweet potato to name two! You've been teething a lot this month...working out those bottom molars! All the better once they are in to help you eat the elusive meat...that you never seem to really want to eat.
Mommy and Ms. Aly have continued to run some during this month. We've definitely slowed down and even took long break, but before our break we were blessed with some FABULOUS summer temperatures for our morning runs! You've eaten plenty a breakfast snack in the jogger! On this particular day, it was a cool 65 degrees! Almost unheard of for July in North Texas!
You are still loving your elephant pool! However, it's been empty more than it's been full, so in typical Annelisa fashion you've enjoyed it anyways! Here you are eating your morning snack and enjoying a recline on the slide.
Your 16th month included the 4th of July! Our celebration was simple this year, we went to lunch at Petra. It's funny to me, in hindsight, that we ate Mexican food on our Nation's birthday! Then for dinner we had your Aunt Nancy, Uncle Jeff and cousins over for all-American fare of cheese burgers, hot dogs, and brats! It was a fun night with lots of laughter and playing! We didn't go see any fireworks, though...for one, it's WAY past your bedtime and two, you've shown us signs of being afraid of LOUD noises like the vacuum. So, in the future we will resume firework watching as a family! Which I'm looking forward to!
The weekend after the fourth of July, Grammy and GP came to visit! It was a fun weekend of simply being together! We went to the pool, went out to dinner at Fireside Pies, and made homemade ice cream on the patio. You were enthralled with the process of ice cream making! You also LOVED the results! You make the funniest little face when you first taste something cold, you scrunch up your nose and curl your lips. Then once you really taste it, you beg for more!
We also have gone to the pool quite a few times! We found a great City of McKinney Pool at Old Settler's Park, close to the square in downtown. It has a zero entry, fountains, sprayers, and a big water slide. You've absolutely fallen in love with the water! You have even outgrown your first swimsuit this summer and I had to get you the 18 month size! You love to splash and play then get out and have a snack, and then return to the water for another round of splashing and playing!
Mommy and Daddy celebrated 7 years of marriage on July 15. So the weekend of July 13th, you had quite the treat while we went on an overnight date! Auntie Erin came to visit and spoiled you with Chick-Fil-A, a long game of hide and seek, and plenty of other fun auntie and niece activities! It was quite the treat for Mommy and Daddy too! We stayed at the W Hotel close to Victory Park, we went to dinner at The Iron Cactus, and breakfast at Oddfellows on Sunday morning. It was a fun way for us to celebrate everything God has done in our lives since meeting, falling in love, getting married, and having you!
I love this picture of you from this month! It encapsulates so much of your growth...see you've become quite fascinated with how we wear various items of clothing. You LOVE shoes and will play with anyone's any chance you get. You especially love to drag out various pairs that belong to your daddy. You've also recently enjoyed playing with baseball caps, especially when we see your oldest cousin, Byron. He seems to almost always be wearing a hat and you love to get him to play with you with his hat. So...after seeing him a few days earlier, you discovered this "little" Rangers cap in your toy basket. Daddy had brought it back for you from a Rangers game he attended earlier this summer. You brought the hat to me and wanted help wearing it on your head. So again and again, I helped you "put" it on your little head. It's especially funny now to see this because you've moved on from hats to wanting to see my tummy under my shirt! You are so curious to learn about how this world works!
I love your sweet smile and the glimmer in your eyes! Annelisa you are such a blessing to me! I marvel that I get the privilege of being your mommy!
"The Wheels on the Bus" is your absolute favorite book and song! You love reading this book before every nap and every night before bed! We've started to sing the book in various ways which makes it all the more entertaining for all of us! Your favorite pages are pictured, the very first page of the story..."the wheels on the bus" and near the end of the book, "the bush babies on the bus go snore, snore, snore..." Some day all too soon, you will become bored with this book and song. So for now, I'll happily read it to over and over and over again.
Happy 16 months my little lady! Mommy and Daddy love you very much! We thank God for the blessing that you are to us every time we think of you!
Love always and forever,
Mama
