Happy bathtime (finally!)

these pictures are very significant because Annie is finally having a lovely bath unlike the previous baths which involved crying as though we had dropped her into a torture chamber ...

The Intimidation of IVF

have just seen disturbing commercial depicting pantyliner zooming down highway with red dot over it ... can only assume red dot symbolizes one's period ... nonetheless, who cares if your preferred pantyliner can drive down a highway?

slight "freak-out" moment as all IVF medications, syringes and Sharps container arrived today ... even though have done IVF before is still a smidge intimidating ... for the moment, continue on birth control pills ... actual shots don't start until July 6 ... can hardly wait ...

Annie

The Flugtag

have just returned from the Red Bull-sponsored Flugtag, which incidentally is the German word for "flying day." (is excellent to know such factoids) teams create "contraptions" and go down a runway into the Cumberland River to see who can fly the greatest distance ... was great fun, even if several contraptions went off the runway and plummeted straight down into the river ... perhaps was great fun because self was on the bridge with all the other onlookers and not in one of the contraptions ...

ok, for big news (brace yourself) -- have officicially started IVF cycle ... began birth control pills yesterday and will take those until the beginning of the Lupron injections ... cross your fingers and say your prayers ...

Annie's whale pool is full of fresh water now ... how do I know? we were on back deck with pool filling with water, Annie in her swing, and I reading a lovely book ... we sat there for AWHILE and I checked on the pool every so often, but it seemed water level was not rising, but I decided it was perhaps a reflection since I was looking down from the deck ... kept reading, Annie kept swinging, the girls kept napping on the deck, and all was well. or so I thought ... checked pool again and appeared water level had not changed so went down to investigate ... was LARGE pool of water around whale pool and discovered self had not plugged up the pool so as to keep water in it ... pushed little drain-thingy in and re-filled pool ... in meantime, Annie had fallen asleep in her swing ... was excellent morning, even if I SWEAR I heard one of those blackbirds call my name ...

White As Snow

I guess by now everybody's seen the baptism pictures, which I love by the way ... the day was so perfect and special it's hard to describe ... I've said it before, but we have some wonderful family and friends that really made the entire day even that much more perfect ... of course, being the paranoid soul that I am, the white dress that Annie wore completely freaked me out. Should we dress her in the church? Should we take her to the church already dressed? Who in their right mind decided a pristine white garment was what the person to be baptized should wear? (and yes, I know the meaning behind the white garment.) As it turns out, we dressed her before we left the church, which of course made me watch her like a madwoman all the way to the church ... I rode with my parents, so I was in the backseat with Annie praying she would stay clean ... then there was the walk from the car to the church -- what if a bird pooped on her?
And then do you know what happened? I had an epiphany and remembered what the day was really about, and it had absolutely nothing to do with how clean Annie's dress was. (although I will tell you she stayed super clean!)

Happy Father's Day

this is Annie wearing my bikini bottom around
her neck

Annie's version of a headstand

The Christening

ok, here come the christening pictures ... a LOT of them! I've tried to put a heading under any pictures of any people you may not know ...

this is Annie with us (and her legion of fans behind us!) and her godparents, Kelly (my much-discussed and beautiful cousin who was part of the recent baby boom) and James, Anthony's brother ...

this is Annie with her grandparents


this is Annie with my mom and my grandfather


this is Annie with my aunt, my grandmother and my dad

Welcome Back to My Blog

have returned to world of blogging ... been out of town as Annie was christened last weekend in Gulfport (pictures coming soon)... in meantime, these are pictures of Annie with my dad, with Canon (her second cousin), taking her first swim, and one of beautiful and precious Cohen. Canon and Cohen (Cohen was part of the recent cousin baby boom) belong to my cousin, Danielle, and her husband, Craig. They also have an older son, Carson ... we stayed with them while we were in Gulfport. Kids EVERYWHERE but great, great fun ... very lucky to have the wonderful family that I do ...

Our Little Family

so this is a bit of our nightly routine ... Anthony gets home from work, changes clothes, then we all head to the deck out back ... Annie gets in her swing, we play ball with Mary and Hope and just relax ...

remember the aforementioned whale pool? well, so far it's just a huge drinking bowl for Mary and a great place to cool off ... Annie hasn't been in it yet, but she will ... the screaming may attract passerby, but we'll give it a shot ... in the meantime, she still has her own language, and oddly enough I talk right back to her in her language ... no idea what she's saying, but I do love to talk to someone!