The wonder of being a child at Christmastime

As Andy was remarking yesterday, it is so amazing to think that the God of the universe was born as a baby and lived on earth. At one point, he was 13 months old and fell down as he was learning to walk and babbled as he was learning to talk. The God of the universe learning to walk! He emptied himself and lived a sinless life to ultimately sacrifice himself for our imperfections so that we could have an eternal relationship with him, full of everlasting joy both here on earth and in heaven. Thank you Lord Jesus for saving us when we have nothing to offer you. Thank you for loving us that much. Thank you God for your infinitely wise and grace-filled plan to save us from the beginning of time. I love you and offer you my life in joyful worship to you, full of wonder and awe just like a child.

Merry Christmas

We hope and pray that each of you has a blessed Christmas, pondering and celebrating the joyful news that Jesus, fully God, became fully man on earth - to live a sinless and sacrificial life and allow us to come into joyful and personal relationship with the God of the universe!

Annaliese "dancing" to "Little Drummer Boy" in her high chair

We got a new camera... a DSLR! It is so much fun playing with it as we try to learn what an awesome tool it is!

Playing with the camera... but you can tell that we have a fake tree (oh well)!

Napa

All new moms and dads should definitely get away for a night or two. We took the opportunity in mid November (I'm a little behind in posting) while my parents babysat Annaliese, or rather got to have a sleepover party weekend! The Thomases and Ji Hae also helped out watching her, so we are very blessed to have family and friends who would bless us like in this way and apparently they enjoyed it!

The weekend so wonderful to reconnect, invest in our marriage and soak up the time together while our daughter was in such good care. We wrote letters before we left about what we love about one another and what we will individually work on in our marriage (not a laundry list of what the other person should work on) and read them at dinner on Saturday. This verbal affirmation was a highlight for me. Napa Valley was beautiful, the wine was exquisite, and the ambiance was memorable. Truly, I don't have words to express just how thankful I am for my wonderful husband and how much he shows me that he loves and adores me.

...Cakebread Cellars...

classic napa

first place we went to

our favorite wine that we tasted

met a nice couple from Florida

...Castello Di Amorosa...

litterally a modern day construction of European castle set on the hill

boutique wines only available from the tasting room

bought a fun and unique dessert wine

...Sterling Vineyards...

gondola ride up to the tasting room overlooking a gorgeous view of the valley

self-guided tour through their wine-making process

randomly met up with the couple from Florida again!

enjoyed tasting a couple of extra wines in the final tasting room

[camera batteries died]

...Rutherford Estates...

the couple from Florida joined us

the draw was "Reds and Chocolate tasting"

it was ok - our least favorite wine/tasting room experience

got 1 piece of dark chocolate though!

Dinnner at Farm at Carneros Inn

recommended by a kind gentleman

beautiful mod decor and ambiance

half the fun was just enjoying the atmosphere, so we soaked it up for a couple hours

on Sunday

Brunch at Fume Bistro

my smoked salmon omlette was among the best breakfasts I've ever tasted

...Black Stallion...

a new winery on a drizzly day

liked their Chardonnay actually (I'm not a fan of many whites)

bought a souvenir magnet

In short, the whole weekend was nothing short of amazing. Words fail to describe the complete experience. I love you, Honey.

29 and the best is yet to come!

Andy celebrated 29 years young on Saturday! His family including our future sister-in-law came to our house for brunch on Saturday and my family came over for dinner on Sunday to celebrate! Andy said that it was one of his best birthdays ever because we got to celebrate with family and good food, just like he likes it - low key :)

We took a quick picture for a Peters family Christmas card on Sunday but forgot to get out the camera at brunch on Saturday with the Dollahites.

Ji Hae has been living with us since June and has become Annaliese's Korean big sister! We love "our Korean!"

Although I am far from being a good public speaker, I gave a quick toast to Andy with our mimosas at our brunch with the Dollahites...

You are…

A Toast to My Husband, on Your Birthday

You are a wonderful provider, taking care of our family’s needs so that we do not have to worry about anything which allows me to care for our daughter and home full time.

You are our spiritual leader, setting an example of striving to know and love Christ through everything that you do.

You are generous, as shown by your welcoming Ji Hae into our family and loving to give good gifts to many people, including me (and good restaurant servers ;)

You are industrious with the many talents that God has given you, serving your students, BJ’s customers, soccer and football players, your colleagues, our church body, our friends, our family, and, in the future, your patients.

You are a tender and gracious Da-da, so gentle and loving toward our daughter Annaliese.

Though there are many other things that you are to people who love you in this room and elsewhere, lastly, to me, you are my best friend and the love of my life, and I couldn’t be happier with the blessing of being married to you and having our foundation together firmly in Jesus.

To all that you are to me and to each of us! Happy Birthday!

Annaliese at 1

Annaliese loves taking a bath!

Annaliese is getting a lot better at walking and she just loves to walk around the house, picking up things and carrying them to another location. She knows a few signs: more, all done, water, I love you (blows kisses) and waves for hi and bye-bye. She can identify all of the following body parts: head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, cheeks, shoulders, arms, elbow, tummy, feet, toes (I guess we're just missing legs & knees - those just happen to not be in her "Your Baby Can Read Books & DVD's... can you tell that I'm a proud mama??) Although she babbles constantly throughout the day, the words that we can definitely understand so far are Ma-ma, Da-da, and Ball, but she's also working on Na-na (for Nannie Pie or could be Banana and Ji-ji for Ji Hae - her Korean big sister who lives with us). She is also gradually learning what "No!" means and how to test those limits!

She is no longer the chunky baby that she used to be - kinda sad :( because she is growing longer and losing her baby rolls. She is now in the 20th percentile for weight at 19 lb and 4 oz and 75th percentile for height at 29.75 inches. She still takes 2 naps a day and sleeps for about 11 1/2 hours a night. She drinks 4 bottles of whole milk a day (4-6 oz each) and eats most of what we eat (in little chunks). One of her favorite foods that is funny is frozen peas - she doesn't like them when they are thawed out or warm!

Like most kids these days, she loves screens, buttons and lights, although we try to limit her watching videos and save Sesame Street as a treat when visiting at Nannie Pie's house. She adores our cats, even though she doesn't always know how to pet them gently or make them come back to her. Being outside is another favorite activity as well. She loves to read books... fast!... and lets you know by turning the pages quickly or pushing a particular book away if it is not the one she wants.

Her little personality is coming through more and more each day. She is not a big fan of crowds, but loves to be the center of attention and slowly warms up to people, especially those who have Cheerios or a set of keys in their hands. She loves to breathe fast when she's excited (which is often) and wave both of her hands in the air. She is sometimes a little jealous of others, but we're working on that too. It is so funny to me that she has opinions about so many things already - where she wants to go, what she wants to do and eat! As you can tell, we are having a ball with her and being a parent is one of the most amazing God-given gifts on earth. I can't believe it has already been 1 year.

Happy Birthday Annaliese! & Congrats Jon & Ashley!

As you can see, Annaliese enjoyed her birthday celebration with friends and family on Nov. 15 (3 days before her actual birthday). She absolutely tore into her little home-made decorated cake in true Dollahite fashion

It was so joyful to celebrate the gift of family and what a glorious blessing Annaliese is to us all. Words just do not describe how happy we are to have her in our lives.

It was a double celebration for the Dollahite family too, since Jon had proposed to Ashley just two days before Annaliese's birthday party!

They took this awesome pic as re-enactment of the proposal after the real thing ;) They got engaged up near Huntington Lake overlooking a waterfall. Awhhh! So excited for Jon and my future sister-in-law!

Half Marathon

Although I've never considered myself a runner (and still don't) I completed the Two Cities Half Marathon on Nov. 8th, 2009. Yes. I jogged 13.1 miles (in 2 hours and 28 minutes) and paid to do it.

And I actually had a good time and my knees held up (just sore later)!

Thanks for all the encouragement Virginia!

My sister Jenn completely whooped on the race, finishing in less than 2 hours, without really training! I didn't see her until the whole thing was over, but good job Jenn!

Baby Giraffe

Um, seriously, can this baby giraffe be any cuter???? I don't think so!!!!

Practicing taking steps between things

Annaliese's friend flower friend - Ellyann

Sneaking up on Ellyann for a little "BOO!"

Looks like Annaliese got her!

Daddy's gonna be a DOCTOR!

Congratulations Andy!!!  All praise to Jesus!!!  

Today we received notification of Andy's acceptance to Suny Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY.  It has been a process of a couple of years, including night classes with homework and exams... volunteering at the Orosi Family Medical Clinic... and studying for the MCAT... all on top of his normal load of preparation for teaching, correcting students' work, coaching, being a loving husband and now daddy.  I've been confident all along, but for those of you who don't know what an amazing feat this is, it is EXTREMELY competitive to get into medical school (especially now with more people staying in or going back to school with the current economy).  Of course, all of this is to God's glory, the Great Physician who designed us as well as this universe and everything in it!  God has truly gifted Andy though, and he will be a great doctor!!!  (Can you tell that I am so proud of my Love?!?)

Does this mean we're definitely going to move to upstate NY next summer?  We're not sure yet.  He will accept within the next two weeks to hold his spot, but if he gets in somewhere else that we would prefer, he can withdraw his acceptance at Upstate at that time.  At least we know we're in now!  So we will keep you posted if we hear from any other schools and make any more definite decisions!  Thank you all for your love, support and continued prayers!  

First AGO Event - Pismo Flag Football Tournament

As most of you know, Andy and I met through AGO - Alpha Gamma Omega, Christ-centered fraternity, and LSM - Little Sisters of Maranatha, 10 years ago.  Annaliese got to enjoy her first AGO event this weekend while we got to catch up with old friends!

While Annaliese was cheering her dad and the other Kappa (Cal Poly) AGO alum in the flag football tournament, she got to taste her first beach sand at Pismo... Yeah for their win against Zeta (Santa Barbara) Alum!...

Try as I may, along with the other mothers and their kids, I could not keep her from eating it again and again!

Notice the sand all over her lips!

Annaliese and Joshua Dauphin are only 7 weeks apart.

Although they don't know it yet, their parents have cooked up a plan for their future.

They're just not that interested in it... YET! ha ha :)

Uncle Jon Jon showing Annaliese how to throw a pass.

"I love my Uncle Jon Jon!"

DD time!

Annaliese was such a good girl for her Grandma DD while we were at a wedding in SF.  We also had a great time with family in San Jose for the weekend.

 

P.S. Annaliese is walking!!!!!! She took her first multiple step walk today, and then repeated it many times!  Here's a Facebook link to a short video although you may not be able to view it if you don't have a FB account.  I'll repost it when I get the video from Virginia soon!

Sneak Peak

Frozen blueberries on a hot day

Time for a swim

Preview of Halloween (really just an excuse for a cute costume)

Trying to velcro her tail back on this moving target!

Bargain

Annaliese is smiling with just one tooth showing in this pic, but has 2 on bottom and 1 just cutting through on the top.

She has just learned to "kiss" things, which she learned by trying to "kiss" that "baby in the mirror" - so cute!  Tonight she was trying to kiss the babies in the books too!

She is pulling up and "furniture-walking" and getting faster at crawling... more pics/video to follow!  This weekend she got some gently-used toys from a consignment sale, including this little table and a walker that she can push- she immediately knew what to do and loves it!  She is SO MUCH FUN and I'm sure she'll be walking soon!

Best Friends

Ellyann & Annaliese

Staying Cool

This baby loves the water!  She even tried to "kiss" the water squirting from the little octopus, obviously that didn't turn out too well.

Andy was commenting that summer is over so why are there still commercials for summer things, but as we Valley people know, we probably have quite a few more weeks of summer weather for playing outside in the water during the afternoon.

She kept trying to "drink" from this plastic cup but would get overwhelmed with water pouring on her face.  Then she'd try it again.

So fun. She would love to just hang out in the water all day.

She's getting better at crawling and she gets so excited to show off her skills.  She is also learning to pull up on things and loves to hold our fingers to walk around the house.

That's about the end!