Happy Birthday Annabelle!

Wow, she's two years old... and a full fledged running, jumping, screaming, laughing, tantrum throwing, growing, crazy little toddler! And celebrating this birthday has been so fun for everyone... Dave's parents visited the weekend before for an early-ish party, then our friend Gina came into town for the actual birthday weekend and next weekend the party will continue because, well, we still have some special little gifts left to give to her.

Grama Shirley and Grampa Frank arrived with some sporty sunglasses and mardi gras beads all tucked into the cutest little purse. Annabelle wears these sunglasses every day: inside, outside, in the car, around the apartment complex. She loves them! Occasionally she'll wear them while toting her purse around and then pause to take out her cell phone for a quick little chat. We truly have an OC girl here!

As many of our friends and family know, Annabelle is a puzzle whiz. A few months ago she mastered her first 48 piece puzzle and since then all we can do is try to keep up. This new one will take her a few weeks to figure out, but after that?

The dining table set the night before for an early morning birthday surprise: a new book to read during breakfast with Dad, her first two ornaments on her birthday ring, a blankey sewn by mom (already a bedtime necessity just a week later), some fresh spring flowers from Grama Carol, and two new pairs of summer cotton pajamas. You can see we just added these things to our little nature display that we keep as a place for her to share the things she finds outside.

Her precious little ornaments. Each year we'll add a new one...

Blowing out the candles was really her favorite part.

A huge box set of wooden town blocks from Dave's folks is a currently daily favorite.

My mom gave her the sweetest little gold necklace...

Showing off one of her famous big bites, Annabelle gobbles up her birthday cake, a flourless, oat-free apple crisp. After tasting refined sugar for the first time last weekend she knew what was coming when she saw her birthday ring on the table yesterday. She was less eager to blow out candles and more interested in the dishes being served up from the kitchen. She said, "Yummy, Mom! Yummy! Yummy! Happy! Yummy! Mom!"

Later, at the beach in Corona Del Mar, we enjoyed a warm overcast afternoon finding shells and playing in the water. With our friends around and snacks to share, everyone had the nicest time! Here Dave and Annabelle walk in a little natural spring that flows from the nature preserve in the back of the cove to the shore.

Happy Birthday sweet girl! I can hardly wait until next year!

It finally feels like spring...

We've been spending more time outdoors, especially at the beach. Annabelle is almost two (!) and is the quirkiest, funniest girl you ever saw. Kind of like her dad.

Mr Rogers, you are an inspiration!

This is a video clip of Mr Rogers petitioning the Senate for $20 million dollars to save his television show.

My favorite part is when he says, "This is what I give, I give an expression of care every day to each child. To help him realize that he is unique. I end the program by saying, 'You've made
this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.' And I feel that if we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and managable that we will have done a great service for mental
health.

I think it's much more dramatic that two men could be working out their feelings of anger, much more dramatic than showing something of gun fire. I'm constantly concerned about what our children are seeing. And for fifteen years I have tried in this country and Canada to present what I feel is a meaningful expression of care."

A father's photoshoot of one sassy girl

Can you tell she likes having her picture taken?