Limitless

After almost a month of stumbling around and making desperate attempts to coordinate the things we call, "legs," Annistyn has managed to fully accomplish the spectacle of walking! Quite cliche' if you ask me, but it truly is amazing how a child will fall, get back up, fall, cry, get back up, fall, hit her head on the coffee table, get back up, and so on. The persistence, perseverance, and determination is astonishing. Perhaps it is an eagerness to be like all of the highly mobile people around her, perhaps it is her willingness to accomplish a feat that appears effortless to those she sees, or, maybe, it is the simplicity of nature. (Ok, so honestly, I think it is because she can now reach the trashcan. Ick!) Anyway, whatever her motives may be, she never ceases to amaze and inspire me. I can't give up because she tries harder every single time, and I have to be brave because she is limitless.

Furry Friends and Fall Festivals

Annistyn happens to be obsessed with any four-legged, furry, fuzzy, or fluffy critter. (With the sole exception of black cats.) Thankfully, I have finally gotten through to her that not all four-legged creatures are dogs. Instead, they now fall into three categories: dogs, cats, or.... sheep? Yes, that's right, if you aren't a dog or cat, you must be a sheep.

This weekend, my mom, Annistyn, and I braved the odds and visited the Dawsonville Mountain Moonshine Festival. (If you are thinking Redneck Convention 2009, *Ding, ding, ding* You are correct! I must give you this as a prime example: We paid $5.00 to park at the "Tabernackle of Truth." Now, what do you see wrong with what I just said? (Other than the fact that a church is charging for parking... don't even get me started on that.) Not only was this written in Sharpie on the back of what appeared to be a "Vote for mayor" sign of some sort nailed to another pre-existing sign, but couldn't they have at least looked up how to spell "tabernacle" prior to doing so?) I do not mean to poke fun at someone's place of worship, but "Tabernackle," really? Come on.

Anyway, back to Annistyn. As we navigated our way through the bustling streets, we came across a petting zoo. Since she is enthused by the mere sight of an animal, what could be better than to take her to a petting zoo?!?! This was a quaint little arena that played host to a donkey, mule, miniature horse, pot bellied pigs, a goat, rabbits, chickens, a turkey, and of all things, a sheep. So, we paid the $2.00 admission price and ventured into the land of animals that had only existed on the pages of books at this point for Anni. I had a difficult time reading Annistyn. She seemed mind boggled that animals larger than our Boxer, Levi, actually exist. She ran her fingers through the mane of a donkey which evoked giggles and smiles, glared intently at a mule who got a little too close for her liking, developed a fear of chickens after one pecked towards her, had a full fledged conversation with a potbellied piglet, and finally came face to face with a sheep which she readily referred to as a dog. Figures.

(Annistyn and Mimi petting the donkey)

On Sunday, we attended our annual church fall festival. It was Annistyn's first official fall festival, and she thoroughly enjoyed it. It was also her first trial run in her Halloween costume. Seeing the most of the activities were geared towards older children, Annistyn spent a lot of time people watching and food tasting. She experienced the phenomenon of cotton candy, and boy was that a mistake. The fluffy pink sticky goodness on a stick might just be her downfall. To give her another shot of sugar, we gave her a few bites of cake too. (I had to let her sample the goods especially after her Daddy and I stuffed her into a monkey suit... which she wasn't too thrilled about might I add.)
(Annistyn as "Curious Georgette" with her Mimi)

(Rick participating in the sack race)

Overall, I believe we had a great weekend. It was a weekend full of new things and new scenes for Annistyn, and as always, she interjected our lives with new perspectives and her uncanny ability to make us appreciate the little things once again.

Not such a good day...

Well, let's just leave it at the fact that Annistyn and I did not have such a great day today. Tomorrow will be brighter.

Sugar and Spice

Even though I have been mentally planning and brainstorming over the course of the past month, the countdown to Annistyn's 1st Sugar and Spice themed Birthday Party is officially in motion. The invitations have been ordered, and all the other details are in the works.

Speaking of invitations, I have struggled with Annistyn for over 3 days making desperate attempts to get a good picture of her to go on her invitation. I had it in my mind... the perfect photo of her in her birthday outfit wearing her hat and smiling that big goofy smile. (Quick slap back into reality) That DID NOT happen, wasn't going to happen, and was never meant to happen. I did manage to get her in the outfit, but she hated the hat, refused to wear, screamed when I made the move to put it on her head, etc. So, I thought, well maybe a hairbow would be just as cute. (Refer to "Skullet" post made earlier this year. It still applies.) No hat, no bow, fine.

Since nothing was strapped to her head, you would think she would be a happy camper. Wrong.... again. My neighbors probably thought I was a nut. I was out in our front yard making all of these incredibly ridiculous faces, noises, gestures. ANYTHING to make her smile. (i.e. Jumping around like a monkey, barking like a dog, clapping, waving, standing on my head, etc. I was desperate, ok?)

To make matters a tad bit worse, we had a mishap with her oatmeal this morning. My daughter happens to be a messy eater, and just to get things straight, it has absolutely nothing to do with my inability to feed a constantly moving target. Anyway, for some crazy reason, whenever her oatmeal touched her face, her skin turned bright red. Now, she has been eating this oatmeal almost daily for a couple months, and this adverse skin reaction just decided to pop up on the last day to get a good picture of her. Please do not be concerned, it is a VERY mild reaction, but it was enough to keep the skin around her mouth and on her nose (not my fault) a nice shade of pink for her invitation photo.

To say the least, I didn't quite get what I was looking for; however, I can't be too picky. Any and every picture tells a story. Any and every picture evokes memories of how she was on a particular day. Because of this picture, I will always remember barking like a dog in my front yard, trying to reverse the oatmeal induced redness on her face, her incessant fear of the birthday hat, and the daunting task of getting her to smile.

Was it worth it in the end? Absolutely! Look for her adorable picture in your mailbox over the course of the next week.

"Tuh!"

WOW.... talk about slacker! I am about 7 months behind with maintaining this blog. I promise, I will make a better effort somewhere among chasing Annistyn around the house, cleaning up after my husband, wrangling two insane dogs, doing my school work, etc. etc. etc. I've been busy, but that is no excuse for keeping everyone in the dark about Annistyn's adventures. So, since this blog is about her, let me tell you what she has been up to.

Insanely, Annistyn is quickly approaching 11 months. To say the least, she is a mess with a personality unlike any other. Walking is her newest endeavor, and with each daring step she takes, I see my baby girl slowly growing up. It's absolutely fascinating to watch her adapt to the ways of life; however, it is hard. Soon enough, she will not want me to hold her or carry her anymore, and though it may seem like a minute loss, it is enormous to a mother. Now, if that doesn't pull on your heart strings, I don't know what will. Anyway, let's move onto something else before I have to put this blog on pause again so I can go blow my nose and wipe the tears off my face.

She has decided that books are her thing! (Ok, so I mainly think she enjoys the concept of turning pages, but that's a start!) In particular, she is fascinated by animal books, and I have become accustomed reading the same ones over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over ... and over again. Sadly enough, I have memorized Baby Einstein's epic tale entitled "What Floats?" Even worse, I have attempted to explain to her that a donkey is not a cat and a rabbit is not a dog. (She refers to cats simply as "Tuh" and Dogs as "Duh" not to be confused with what she calls Rick, "Da"). To say the least, I lost that battle. I caught myself arguing with her. Here I am with these detailed explanations as to why a donkey is not a cat. (You know, hooves, big ears, much larger, stubborn, etc.) She just sits there with an incredibly blank stare on her face watching my mouth move (imagine Charlie Brown teacher mode), and when I finally finish my sermon on the animal kingdom, she looks at me and says, "Tuh." Enough said.

Happy (4 Month) Birthday!

Well... today little Miss Annistyn is 4 Months old. I just do not understand where the time has gone. 

3.5 Months.... rolling and drooling

Been a while since I updated, but Annistyn has been keeping me busy! 

Here's the low-down on the munchkin. She is now a VERY active little girl who has mastered the art of rolling over and drooling. Now...  I have tried this whole rolling over ordeal just so I can get a first hand look at why seeing the world from your back is so boring compared to seeing it on your stomach. Let me tell you something: If you haven't tried it, do it! I'm sure I looked like an absolute idiot rolling around on the carpet, but I was curious and I managed to keep the drool thing to a minimum.  (I do recommend moving the furniture out of the way prior to this... so heed caution, and watch before you roll.)

Since the world as she once knew it from her back is "below" her now, the even more daunting venture of exploration has begun...oh and drooling.  So far, she has managed to knock an entire glass of Diet Coke onto my lap at the local pizza place (Nothing like soggy blue jeans and parmesean cheese), pull hair out of our helpless Chihuahua's back, jerk the earrings out of her helpless mother's ear, etc. Even better than the reach and grab tactics are the reach, grab, put in mouth sequence that she also finds quite amusing.  Forget the teething rings and the myriad of toys made specifically for teething, chewing,  and sucking. Who needs those when you can have things like a remote control!?!?!? I swear that thing only works about 1/3 of the time I want it to. The buttons are all sticky and.... ick. (If you come over, just ask one of us to change the channel.)

Did I mention that she drools? You know, I believe I mentioned in another post that my child has the jowls of a St. Bernard puppy, but I am retracting that statement now due to the proven fact that no dog could possibly match Annistyn's "Drool Pool." I didn't know that a child who weighs less than 1/10 of what I do could produce enough sticky slimy goo to cover anything and everything within an arm's reach. Ridiculous. 

In other news, she still looks absolutely nothing like me. :)