I almost forgot that this website existed. Shame on me! Especially when so much is going on these past few weeks. We ventured to Bethesda for Mike’s oral pathology course and the pre-house hunting. No luck in the house-hunting department. Apparently, six months in advance is just too soon to start looking for a place to live. It’s just the impatience in me that couldn’t wait until a more reasonable time like April. The time spent in Bethesda wasn’t a complete waste though. We met some great people that are doing the same program as Mike. “Uncle” Tiger also kept Annie company. She fell in love with him and constantly asked, “Where’s Unco Tyer?” (spelled phonetically). We are now back in wonderful Jacksonville. Lucy and Lily were very relieved to have us home again. The weather here has been surprisingly cold. This time last year we were seeing Mike off to Iraq wearing only shirts and pants. This year mittens, hats, and coats are almost needed. There’s no predicting weather around here.

Before I forget, I’ve added a February 2006 picture album to the girls’ page. Check it out! Annie is developing into such a cute kid. Her speaking skills increase rapidly almost by the second. I’ve been really impressed with her ability to grasp the concept of possessive pronouns and gender already. She can tell someone when something is her’s or their’s. And when I ask her where Ben is (a little boy in the neighborhood), she will respond with, “He’s at home.” Or if I ask about a girl, she knows to say “she”. I was laughing so hard at her the other day when she was running around in circles in the kitchen shouting, “Mommy, I’m running!” All I could say was, “Yes, you are.” Mike and I have been trying to get in the habit of quizzing her since she likes to do the same to us. We will just pick random things/people and ask where it/he/she is or what color something is. Annie will many times play Socrates by responding with another question. Fortunately, she seems to be getting bored with wanting to know where everyone is at the moment. I didn’t know how much more of that I could take. Annie also loves to color and will ask to do so several times a day. She loves to draw circles which means she will scribble in a circular pattern for several seconds. Annie also still loves to play dress up. I’ve gotten to the point where I only dress her in an outfit when it’s time to go out of the house. Otherwise, it’s up to her to choose her outfits (which usually consist of non-matching, inside-out, baby clothes from Mimi’s closet). Before I would go through all this trouble to get her dressed for the day and then get angry at her when she decided to change into another outfit.

Mimi is a completely different baby these days. She celebrated her first birthday on Feburary 4th. Sadly, she did not receive a birthday party, but we did something kind of fun. We went to the Golden Corral. At the end of the meal, Mimi got to enjoy her first cupcake. I remembered to take the camera, so I got some cute shots of her digging in and making a huge mess. Annie was glad that she got to sing “Happy Birthday”. Mimi’s a full-time walker now and has been since we were in Bethesda. I don’t know if it was the boredom of being cooped up in a hotel room, or perhaps she was just ready to become official. It’s a rare occasion nowadays to find her crawling. Mimi’s vocabulary is quickly expanding as well. She loves to throw food from her tray and then say, “Uh, oh!” Additionally at mealtimes, Mimi knows to say, “All done!” when she’s finished. She says “hi” and “bye, bye” with a cute wave with both of her hands. “Ba-ba” is a word she promptly added to her vocabulary, too. She’s not afraid to ask for one when she’s ready. Mimi is also learning to stand up to her big sister. If Annie takes something from her, Mimi usually responds with a tug of Annie’s hair or a clobber. Normally, I would intervene, but Annie is finally getting a taste of her own medicine. It has been such a joy to see Mimi learn so many new things during these past few weeks. Oh, I almost forgot! Mimi finally has some teeth now. She has two on the bottom, one on the top, and another poking through on the top. Yay! Now she can eat more solid foods.

Mike and I have been busy since our return from MD. Mike’s new church calling is keeping him occupied with lots of paperwork and meetings. He also has extra work commitments that take some of his time up at home. We had a houseguest last week, too. A friend of Mike’s just returned from Iraq and needed a place to crash until his apartment became available. We were more than happy to oblige. I’m keeping busy with Snappy Chic. Apparently, my web design skills are in demand. So now I have 3, maybe 4, web design jobs lined up. I’m kind of excited to try my hand at this and see where it takes me. Snappy Chic may need to be changed to Snappy Chic Designs to include not just jewelry.

Have a great week and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!