This weekend we went to our neighborhood Christmas party, where Annette enjoyed doing crafts. In addition to coloring, she made a hand print ornament and a jingle bell rattle.

Yesterday was Annette's 15 month birthday, and we went to the doctor's office for her check-up today. She weighs 25 pounds 2 ounces (80th percentile) and is 33 inches long (98th percentile!). She is going to be tall just like her parents :-)

Last year Annette enjoyed going to see Santa,

but this year she was having none of it. While she's been getting bigger, it seems like Santa has shrunk!

We're all getting ready for Christmas! The dogs went to get their holiday grooming last weekend, and came home with matching festive ruffs. Bella even got hair bows on her ears, which she managed to get rid of pretty quickly :-)

Annette got in on the festivity too!

All ready for bed in our matching pjs :-)

Annette decided last week that it was time for her to start walking! She loved walking all over the parachute at Gymboree.

She resorts to crawling sometimes, since that's still her fastest way to get around :-)

Last weekend Annette and her Daddy went to the zoo. Everyone was lined up to check out the new African Forest area.

This rhino enjoyed a good belly-scratch on a rock.

Annette was very excited about riding the carousel!

Rum balls, anyone? Mommy and Daddy made 200 of them last weekend in preparation for Christmas :-)

Our little "Snow Belle" is ready for the holidays in her festive tutu pjs :-)

Annette has been busy learning lots of new skills! Unfortunately one of these skills is being a picky eater. She loves cheese though - string cheese, mac and cheese, veggies (only if covered in cheese), etc.

She also loves checking her email on Daddy's phone :-)

She's learning to eat using a plate and fork! It's a lot of work though, so she often ends up tossing away the fork and using her fingers instead.

Drinking through a straw is her new favorite thing :-)

She also likes making silly faces for the camera!

With Mommy being out of commission for the past month, Annette has been enjoying lots of time with her Daddy. He helped her with her homework assignment of decorating a turkey to display in her classroom at school.

They also went to the Children's Museum, where Annette played in the ball pit!

Here she is making tea for Daddy in the little cottage at the Tot Spot.

This picture was obviously NOT taken with Mommy's permission :-)

Thank goodness Daddy gets her all cleaned up before bedtime!!

Happy 14 month birthday, Annette! Her blog hasn't been updated since her 13 month birthday because she's going to be a BIG SISTER and Mommy has been having a rough first trimester :-) Her little brother or sister is due on May 18th!!

We had a big block party on our street for Halloween. People from all over the neighborhood came to enjoy the festivities :-)

Annette dressed up as a fairy!

She enjoyed playing with all the toys at the party,

and taking a turn in the bounce house!

Since all of the grandparents were out of town for Annette's birthday party last month, Nani threw her a belated birthday party at her house.

She enjoyed opening presents,

and eating her homemade carrot birthday cake!

Last week we went to pick out some pumpkins for Halloween at a nearby pumpkin patch. The princess loved climbing all over them :-)

"Look at all my pumpkins!"

We have been remiss in updating our blog this month, since October has been keeping us busy! Annette turned 13 months old yesterday, and I turn slightly older (32 years!) today :-)

We have been getting out a lot and enjoying the beautiful weather. One day after school we went to play in a nearby park,

and then went out for ice cream! The princess made a big mess and thought that plain vanilla ice cream was a bit boring...

Annette plays out on our deck every day. She loves eating dirt and splashing around in the dog bowl :-)

She especially likes the weekends, when her Daddy makes her fancy dinners on the grill!

Annette loves playing with the camera! Here she is trying to take a picture of herself last weekend :-)

With the weather being so nice lately she's been taking walks in her little red wagon, a birthday present from Mormor and Morfar. Annette loves looking all around and throwing her toys out of the wagon!

Annette tried feeding herself yogurt with a spoon the other day. At first she was pretty good about using the spoon,

but soon decided that her fingers were more effective :-)

We went to the doctor's for her 1 year check-up. Annette's figured out that the doctor's office isn't as fun as she once thought - she had to get 5 shots :-( She's 22 pounds 10 ounces (75%) and 31 inches (90-95%), so is growing very consistently!

The birthday princess got to try another cupcake on Tuesday. She was a bit apprehensive after her chocolate cupcake experience,

but this one turned out to be vanilla so she liked it much better!

Today after school we checked out the new play area at the Galleria. It's a big foam replica of the Galleria mall and surrounding streets. Annette climbed up the Williams Tower,

cruised down Westheimer,

and checked out Neiman's (she takes after her Mommy) :-)

For Annette's birthday party last weekend, we turned her room into the "Balloon Room". It was very popular with all her party guests :-)

She enjoyed chasing some of the errant balloons down the hall

We also had a "Decorate Your Own Cupcake" station, which was a big hit!

Annette was very good at sharing all her toys with her friends :-)

PRESENTS!!!