Most of the time, when Analiese sees the video camera, she clams up. But, the other day, I caught a rare performance:

This has been a full month for us. Between people coming and going to work on the basement, Daddy being away for a week for work and traveling to Cincinnati for Christmas, we’ve been a bit all over the place. I wish I could bottle up your energy because I am tired! That could be because I’m growing your little brother or sister inside of me, too. Which, by the way, we think you’re excited about. When we ask you where the baby is, you try to lift Mama’s shirt up to see my belly and often offer a kiss. You are going to be a very sweet big sister.

While Daddy was away, I whisked you away to do something very fun and exciting…

your first haircut! { Please, contain the joy. }

Really, though, you did great, babe.

You probably enjoyed our trip to the mall play area with your friend, A, the day before more. You had so much fun running around, climbing, sliding, hiding…it was a fun day for you.

You love your puppy dog! Parker makes you giggle out of no where. You love retrieving his toys when they get stuck somewhere and he usually has a very willing little person to throw his toys for him to fetch. He’s very appreciative that you now know his name, too!

You stay on guard when there’s food involved, though. Smart girl.

Christmas in Cincinnati was a treat for you. You woke up ready for whatever the day held and greeted everyone by name each morning.

We ate a lot of good food all week long and decorated Nana and Poppa’s Christmas tree.

You went to the grocery store with Nana where you put a smile on everyone’s face when you greeted them up and down the aisles.

You went to the bookstore with Poppa where you “organized” the shelves.

We slowly unwrapped gifts throughout the day so you could enjoy what you had been gifted.

Thank you, Uncle Erik, for the colored bubble launcher. It’s bound to be a favorite. However, it’s hiding until summer.

On our last full day, we went to see the trains at the Museum Center…

…made a gingerbread man with Nana…

…and in the evening took a drive with Nana to see the lights at Sharon Woods in our pj’s. What a fun and festive day that was!

When we returned home, we took advantage of having no plans and hung out with Daddy for the rest of the week. We wore our pj’s a lot. You played with all of your new toys quite contentedly. Some days you entertain yourself so well.

Other days require a project like painting { so focused! } or playing with water at the sink { messier than you may think }.

But you still love to color in your coloring books and are even trying to color specific areas instead of just all over the page. Nana would be proud.

In fact, most evenings before bed, this is what you’re doing:

Butt up. Tongue out.

Love you, Analiese!
Mama & Daddy

I just love this picture that my mother in law took of Analiese a few weeks ago at the lake. Her expression and pose are just priceless. We couldn’t have gotten her to do this if we tried!

When I saw the photo, I knew it would be one that I would have fun playing around with in Photoshop. So, I took the above photo and created this:

And this is how I did it:

1. First, I cropped out the diaper.
2. Then, I used the first action from this set I found via Pinterest.com.
3. Then, I followed this tutorial to create a subtle vignette effect around the edges.

She’s stunning, isn’t she?

Remember Parker? Yep, he’s still around, and he’s never far when Analiese has a cup of cereal. She often and accidentally shares her Cheerios with Parker. Here Analiese is giving me a bite as Parker watches very closely.

I mentioned that Analiese hasn’t ventured to take her first solo steps yet. But it’s fun to watch her practice:

Analiese Pushing Shopping Cart from Ross & Heather Chasey on Vimeo.

A couple weeks ago, Parker gave Analiese his birthday gift–a kiss.

This pic is from back in October when we did a photo shoot with Jenn Anibal. The park we went to didn’t allow dogs, so Parker only made into some of the pictures (thus a Christmas card without P-Man).

{ Analiese admiring some ice sculptures, which were pretty impressive. }

{ Me and Analiese – I got cold a lot quicker that she did. }

{ Mama and Analiese – both braving the elements in style. }