The Big Oh-Two

Well, it's about time. It's finally my second birthday. I say "finally" not because I've been looking forward to this day for any particular reason, but because I finally have a reason to sing one of my favorite songs.

You see, for the past few months, I've been singing "Happy Birthday" like it's going out of style. I guess it just really stuck with me from daycare, where kids are celebrating birthdays seemingly once a week.

A couple of months ago, Dad secretly recorded me singing it. I've gotten better since then, but I think this is still pretty good. Eat your heart out, Marilyn Monroe!



(If that player doesn't work, just click this link.)

Anyway, like I did last year on my birthday, I'm sharing a month-by-month slideshow of how much I've changed over the past year. The monthly transitions aren't quite as obvious as they were during my first year of existence, but the overall change is pretty drastic when you see what I looked like a year ago at this time. Here goes...

12 months

13 months

14 months

15 months

16 months

17 months

18 months

19 months

20 months

21 months

22 months

23 months

24 months

It's been a pretty great year. In the time between my first and second birthdays, I...

• Started daycare.
• Learned to walk.
• Began speaking full sentences (and learned some Spanish and Chinese).
• Took a trip to Hawaii.
• Said goodbye to my first house when we sold our condo.
• Moved in with my Ya-Ya and Grandpa in Redmond for three months.
• Moved into a new house.
• Had a baby sister!

And the wonders never cease! Just yesterday, I got a birthday card from my Grammy and Grandpa in Kennewick, and they included a $2 bill in honor of my second birthday. Who even knew that such a magical item existed? And it features Thomas Jefferson, one of Dad's heroes!

I can't wait until my next birthday, because I assume they'll be sending me a $3 bill. I bet another super-important president is on that one too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for William Henry Harrison.

The Afterthought speaks

Hi, everybody! I’m Annabelle, and I’m new here.

I’m writing to you all today because I was finally able to wrestle the computer away from my overbearing sister Eliza so I could properly introduce myself. As you probably know, I was born a little over a month ago, on Sept. 11. A day later, I went home. And, well, that brings me to today. I’ve been told life will eventually get more exciting.

Uneventful or not, this little thing called life has been pretty enjoyable so far. I spend most of my time with my mom, although I’m asleep or eating for much of it, so I’m still trying to get to know her. But from what I’ve seen, she seems pretty great. Eliza told me after I was born that there’s not a better person to snuggle with, and she was totally right. Also, Mom doesn’t mind that I’m slowly destroying her internal clock by sleeping for most of the day and staying awake for most of the night. I’m like the world’s tiniest vampire.

Now, my name. Obviously, “Annabelle” is quite a mouthful. Same goes for my sister’s name, which is why Mom and Dad call her Eliza instead of Elizabeth. But even though Annabelle and Eliza have the same amount of syllables, Annabelle just seems a lot longer when you say it, doesn’t it? So when you see me, you can feel free to call me just about anything you want.

Annabelle is just fine, but I’ve already heard Anna (my sister), Annie (Dad), Anna-Bear (Mom) A.B. (my Auntie Amy and Uncle Ben), Annie B. (my Grammy), and Annie Bananie (also Dad, who isn’t into the whole brevity thing).

But if you really want to be accurate, you can go ahead and call me “Afterthought.” When Eliza is around, wreaking havoc on everything she touches, Mom and Dad often forget that I’m in the room, sleeping peacefully in my chair. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a relatively quiet newborn and your older sister is a two-year-old force of nature. (That said, when Eliza goes to bed at 7:30, it becomes my time to shine, because her absence gives Mom and Dad the opportunity to lavish all their attention on me.)

Now, Mom and Dad may tell people they feel guilty about ignoring me sometimes, but deep down, I know they’re secretly relieved that they even have the option, because it means I’m much lower-maintenance than Eliza is. Will I stay that way? Only time will tell, but for now, I’m pretty content to just hang out in the background and observe. I have no idea if Mom and Dad plan on having any more kids, but if they do, I’d like to think I’m nailing the audition for the role of middle child.

Life with Little Sis

Tomorrow, my little sister Annabelle will celebrate her three-week birthday. Feel free to send gifts.

First things first, for those interested in her well-being – she’s doing great. Her two-week checkup was last Thursday, and the doctor said she’s perfect. She’s gained back all the weight that babies lose after birth (and then some), and she’s still eating and sleeping well. She’s also very alert and engaged during the two or three hours each day that she’s not sleeping.

Because she’s nice and robust, the doctor also gave Mom and Dad permission to start doing “Tummy Time” with Annabelle, which helps strengthen her neck and back muscles – not to mention helps prevent embarrassing flat spots on the back of her head. They stuck her on her belly on the ottoman the other night, and you should’ve seen their reaction when she turned her head from one side to the other. They were more than a little excited. I swear, parents of babies are super annoying.

But since the excitement of those first few weeks has died down, I guess you need moments like these. We’ve all felt each other out, so now we’re able to settle into a nice little routine. And it is nice. Every day, I come home from daycare knowing that Mom will be out in the living room with Annabelle. I walk through the door, get a big hug from Mom, make a bee-line over to Annabelle to say hello, then head to my toy box while I wait for dinner.

I’ve grown quite fond of little Annabelle over these past three weeks, although I’m still trying to find a happy medium on how gentle I need to be with her. I love giving her kisses, but I’ve found (much to Mom and Dad’s dismay) that there’s a fine line between “loving kiss from big sister” and “Road House-style head-butt.” Same with burping. Mom lets me help burp her every once in a while after feeding, but it’s not easy to know how hard I can slap her back. [Editor’s note: It’s not easy for me, either.]

Those minor hiccups notwithstanding, things are going quite well for our little family of four.

By the way, you might have noticed that I updated the header at the top of this page, replacing the makeshift one I threw up there after Annabelle was born. Anybody who knows me knows that this is a big breakthrough, because whether it’s toys, food or the limelight, sharing isn’t exactly my forte.

So, now that she’s essentially on equal footing with me on this blog, does that mean she’ll start getting equal time when it comes to posting updates of her own? I’m not sure yet. Like I said, I’m not big on sharing. But if I were a betting girl, I’d say that, at some point, Annabelle will be sharing her own thoughts on this site. If and when it does happen, I have one request: Take everything she says about me with a grain of salt. Those head-butts can’t hurt that much.