Scary Santa

Maybe it is because of the snow today, but I'm realizing that it is extremely out of season to still have pumpkins on my front stoop (must remove those tonight). To top it off, my most recent blog post is about a little pumpkin, so I think I owe you an update on what we've been doing this past month:

• I turned 29 (eek! Maybe the last birthday I'll decide to celebrate?)
• I had an AMAZING time traveling to Santa Barbara, CA to run a very hilly 1/2 marathon with my dear friend Stacy as well as see the place out west that she and her husband Jonny now consider home.
• Branden, Annika and I traveled to Charlotte, NC to celebrate Thanksgiving with my sister and brother-in-law and their son, Will. Will and Annika are just a few months apart and it was so fun to see them interacting (and dream about what fun they'll have together as they continue to grow)
  

We decided that since Annika and Will were together, it would be worth trying to get a photo with Santa that we could have as a keepsake and use for gifts for family. Needless to say, Santa wasn't a hit with the kiddos. We may not use this for gifts this Christmas, but I think this photo will become a treasured keepsake for years to come...

Happy Halloween!

Fall Fun

Today was one of those unbelievably warm and beautiful fall days. Knowing that the fall colors are starting to fade and that a long grey winter is ahead, we tried to take advantage by being outside as much as possible. After church Annika spent some time playing with the pumpkins she picked out with Nana Peckenpaugh. She loves carrying them all over the yard. We also made a trip to one of our favorite playgrounds for some afternoon fun. I wish weekends never had to end...

100 Years

This weekend I traveled back to Hope College for Homecoming and to celebrate our sorority's 100th anniversary. I had a wonderful night of friends, fun and memories.

Happy 100th Delta Phi

Toddler Trouble

While we were cooking dinner tonight, we realized Annika had been quiet for a few minutes and went around the corner to find this. Sprinkles EVERYWHERE. She stole them out of the pantry and helped herself. Every day is an adventure!

Annika 19mos

Long gone is our petite little baby. At Annika's appointment today she measured 35 inches (95th percentile) and weighed in at 28lbs (75th percentile). It's amazing how much she continues to learn, grow and develop. She gets more and more fun every day!

Recent Happenings

We have been very busy the last 2 weekends.

We traveled to Naperville to celebrate my grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary and to attend the Napeville Central class of 2000 ten year reunion. We had a wonderful time celebrating with family and catching up with old freinds
This past weekend we traveled to the west side of the state so that I could compete in my first 1/2 marathon. My time was 2:01...now I just need to break that 2 hour threshold! I finished off my active day by dancing the night away with dear friends to celebrate at a bachelorette party. Needless to say, I was struggling to stay on my feet by the end of the night!

Summer...come back!

Ok, I've been HORRIBLE about keeping up with the blog over the summer, but school is back in session for Branden and our schedules are back in full swing, so I thought I'd update you on how we've spent our last three months...

- Branden stayed home with Annika over the summer, arranging field trips, play dates, and trips to the park. He was a superstar dad!
- I was busy at work with a new position and spent a lot of time running, training for my first 1/2 marathon
- We enjoyed a visit with the Johnson clan before the 4th of July. Annika and her cousin Will had a blast getting to know each other
- We spent many weekends at Shorewood, introducing Annika to Lake Michigan and the beach
- Annika became obsessed with my parents' golf cart. "Golf Cart" is now her favorite phrase

Amongst all of the joy and fun, there was a lot of sadness as well.

- We said goodbye to 2 beloved family pets - The Johnson's dog, Lolly and the Peckenpaugh's dog, Mittens
- We traveled to Ohio to celebrate the Life of my grandmother, Mildred "Mickey" Wilson who passed away in July and is greatly missed. Watching both of our moms lose their moms in the past 6 months has been incredibly hard.

Though we are sad to see summer go, the thought of crunchy leaves, pumpkin spice, apple pie and football make us excited about autumn.

We love you and miss you Grandma.

Learning to Pray

As the days, weeks and months continue to fly by Annika has undoubtedly made the transition from baby to little girl. She is taking in the world around her and absorbing information like a sponge. Over the past month she has started to get the hang of praying before meals (or at least the concept of folding her hands). It's so cute (and a little scary) to see her imitate us. We are realizing more and more each day that our job is no longer just to make sure she is kept alive and happy, but to set a parental example...ahhh the responsibility!

Here is a photo of her clearly not at a meal, but "praying" as we took some photos of her in our backyard

Here are some other family milestones from the past month:

- Annika has made the transition form slim to plump in the last 3 mos. She is now in the 80th percentile across the board
- Annika's look is about to change. Her top 4 teeth finally broke through this weekend
- Branden has officially started his summer daddy-daycare responsibilities. Annika is going to keep him very busy!

- Rachel has started training for a 1/2 marathon this fall with a running group in Kalamazoo. Pray for time and endurance!

Duluth

This month we made a road trip to Duluth, MN to pay our respects and celebrate the life of Branden's Grandma, Patsy Thompson. Though the reason for our visit was sad, we had a wonderful time gathering and catching up with the Johnson family.





Some highlights from the trip included:

• Celebrating Branden's 30th Birthday
• Seeing and staying at Branden's sister Julie's house
  
• Seeing aunts, uncles, friends and cousins for the first time in over 5 years
• Annika's first experience with a dirt bike
• Annika playing with Lake Superior stones at Canal Park
• A chance visit with Annika's cousin Will
• A rest stop at a petting zoo in the Dells on our way home

We will miss you Grandma

Tulip Time

About a week ago we took a trip to Holland to give Annika a glimpse at our collegiate Dutch heritage. Not having grown up in Holland I didn't have a little Dutch outfit for Annika to wear, but we did enjoy watching Dutch dancers, some delicious carnival food, fun with our dear friends Courtney and Curt and of course, photos by the tulips.

This was Annika's reaction after I told her she was going to get a $50 fine for picking a tulip

Happy Easter

This Easter my sister Becca and her husband Chris moved into their first house. We had a lot of fun helping them paint and are so thrilled for them and all of the memories they'll create in that home. In-between the craziness of the move, we took a little time at the Peckenpaugh cottage to celebrate Easter. Annika had a blast pulling things out of her Easter basket and playing with Easter eggs. Unfortunately she experienced a little separation anxiety during church...I think we have a task ahead of us to make sure she likes worshiping at church as much as she likes her Easter basket.

Because of the beautiful April weather, we also had the treat

of a walk to the beach. It made us excited and hopeful that summer is just around the corner.

P.S. For those of you who are familiar with my mom's beautiful smocking, you might recognize Annika's Easter dress. I've been begging her to pull some of it out of storage and she shared some very special pieces with me, including this dress that Jacki wore for her first birthday. It was so fun to see Annika in it.

Not so good...

I'll admit that I'm the type of mom that takes hundreds of photos of Annika to get just one good one that I can share with all. I've had a few conversations lately about how digital cameras give us such an easy ability to filter out all of the bad photos and how our kids aren't going to have any photos worth looking back and really laughing at.

So...about a week ago I was in Chicago for work and because the timing corresponded with Branden's spring break, he and Annika came along. Since they were getting to spend a fun day without me, I instructed Branden to take a few photos. He's going to kill me for posting them, but this is what I got. I thought everyone might enjoy a chuckle today.

Nana's Birthday Weekend

This past weekend the Peckenpaughs all met at the cottage for a celebration of Nana's birthday. We went out for a nice dinner at Tabor Hill and spent some down-time playing cards and enjoying being together. We also took a trip to the playground and let Annika experience her first trip down a slide. She wasn't too impressed. Our dog Gordy enjoyed it more than she did.

We were excited to show off Annika's walking, but unfortunately she refused to perform when under pressure. Of course, as soon as we returned home she was walking all over the place. Hopefully one of these days we'll get a good video we can post.

Here are some photos from the birthday weekend.

Nana making Annika giggle

Playing peek-a-boo with Papa

First trip down the slide with Dad

Teeth!

Annika has been a little slow in the hair and teeth department, so when her 2 bottom teeth poked through the week of her first birthday, we (especially Branden) were pretty excited. It has taken a while for them to come in enough for a good photo, but I finally got one at bath time tonight. I don't think my cropping of the photo can disguise how displeased Annika was for trying to get her to show her new smile.

Happy First Birthday Annika

On Sunday we celebrated Annika's first birthday with the Peckenpaughs and Johnsons. Annika was thrilled to wear her special pink dress, open her (many) gifts and eat cake. Although we expected cake to be a insanely messy experience, Annika proved that she is a dainty girl by neatly picking out small bites. It took her almost ten minutes to dig into the whipped cream.

We remember Annika's first days so vividly, it's hard to believe that a year has already transpired. We love every day with her and pray often for her future and for God to shape us as parents.

Happy Birthday Annika. You are a gift.

Out West...

This past weekend we took a family trip to Vail/Beaver Creek for some fresh mountain air and skiing. Annika was better than we could have ever anticipated on her first airplane ride. Everytime I am in Colorado I try to rationalize why I don't live there. I guess beautiful scenery just isn't a replacement of family and friends.

A couple of highlights from the trip:

- Running into old guy friends from Hope at the top of Vail's blue sky basin
- Snow...lot's of it
- Putting Annika in her snowsuit. (She wasn't a big fan of being plopped in the snow to play)
- Getting to spend a day skiing with Jacki and my dad
- Lazy nights watching the Olympics

Thank you Mom for watching Annika so that we could spend the days on the slopes. You're the best!