Washington D.C. (LOTS of Pictures)

I had to start with this shot because I'm particularly proud of it. Heidi and I had the entire day to ourselves (thanks Emmy!) and we had a blast running all over town.

Here are my two ladies at Mount Vernon (George Washington's home and final resting place).

Sorry, couldn't resist putting in another. They're just so cute!

Just one of the many gorgeous planes at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum (Dulles Airport).

Heidi & Anna in front of the Enterprise space shuttle.

The Enola Gay, which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Iwo Jima Memorial ... I didn't think it would be so HUGE!

Anna got this ballon at Johnny Rockets, which might have been the highlight of her trip!

Washington D.C. Temple ... quite impressive in person.

Impossible to tell what this is from my picture (really bad lighting and no flash photography allowed), but this is the Declaration of Independence. Quite humbling to see so many original and powerful documents in D.C.

Just thought it was pretty cool to see a document that was actually signed by George Washington. We saw all kinds of artifacts from many of the early presidents.

One of Lincoln's trademark tophats.

Anna LOVED climbing into Mommy's suitcase and throwing her clothes all over the room!

I know you can't tell much from the picture, but this was possibly the most amazing moment of the trip. At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, we were surprised to we among the very few to watch the Japanese Prime Minister arrive to a full military ceremony, 21 cannon salute, etc. He then placed a wreath on the tomb and walked right by us. What good timing on our part!

Ahh, the Lincoln Memorial ... one of my favorites.

The statues at the Korean War Memorial were quite impressive (particularly their facial expressions).

We HAD to get a shot in front of the White House ... though the stranger we asked had no clue how to take a good picture! It was incredible to be so close to the home of so many US Presidents.

What would a trip to D.C. be without a photo of Washington Monument?

Heidi in front of Amelia Earhart's outfit.

The Wright Brothers' original first plane to take flight (at National Air & Space Museum).

Heidi and Anna in the central lobby of the National Gallery of Art.

Hey, it's not every day that you get to stand a few inches from a Van Gogh!

My wonderful Aunt, Uncle, Cousins, and their significant others. Thank you for such a truly amazing experience.

Whew! Sorry for all the pics, but we did so much in a week that I couldn't possibly show even a fraction of it without a lot of photos. I miss D.C. already and hope to go back soon!

What a month!

We have been lucky in the month of February.It is a short month, but we seemed to pack a lot in. There is too much to blog about at this moment so for now I will post the highlights...


*3 week cold and sinus infection (no, not really a positive highlight, but one I dealt with the whole month)

*Anna's first ear infection- yucky AMOX! Oh, I forgot to give it to her again this morning! opps.

*Fun "Old School" Valentines party @ the Owens. We thought it would be fun to make our own "boxes" like you would do in elementary school. Dave and I worked way too long on ours. It was fun! We did the Michigan Stadium...


If you want to see more photos go here: http://owensarea.blogspot.com/2009/02/happy-heart-day.html


*Woke up on Valentines to Breakfast, Chocolate, Carnation hearts, and Roses (and 3 pink carnations for Anna...Daddy is so cute).

*Went to WASHINGTON D.C. for spring break! (yes, spring break is a bit early in MI, but whatever). We will post another time with photos.

* Staying with Dave's Amazing Uncle, Aunt, and Cousins! It was the best part of our trip for sure. We had such a great time reconnecting, and Anna LOVES the Burtons! (especially their photos...I think I'll post about this later)

* Hearing that Dave's cousins might come live by us and go to the U of M School of Law! Congrats again Richard! We hope you and Sarah will come be our A2 buds!

* Pizza with Tophams and getting to hold beautiful one- month- old Sloane while Lincoln "beat" Mia (our dog) with a balloon. Hillarious.


* Fun Get together tonight with Utah and BYU fans, it was a fun get together...and we won't say anymore!

*And to end the month off right, Dave has finished our taxes! We WILL be getting a good return this year, which is so exciting considering the last two years we have PAID (darn self employment!!)

Our Hairy 2 year old

Happy Birthday Mia! Today marks two years for the Black Haired Girl! We love having you around, Anna especially loves you. It was evident when I asked her this morning if she wanted to go see Mia the Doggie and she went "oo ooo" (translation"woof woof") They are best buds.

This was Mia on the first day we got her! So little and cute, she grew way too fast!

A couple months later...

A lot later...Now...

This weekend...

Friday night... Yummy Cottage Inn Pizza with Abernethys (thanks for the idea guys), then home for Ice Cream. Dave and I are alike in many ways, but this is where we differ...

Dave's bowl...

Heidi's Bowl...

Saturday was finally warm enough to get out on a walk! These photos are after our walk, I put Anna inside while I took her stroller to the car and brought Mia in. This is what Anna did, I had to snap some photos.

Mia waited so patiently! I love how her coat catches the light.

And they told us that there were never blue sky days in A2! This was beautiful.

Wanting to travel somewhere warm and a box of kleenex

Some of my family members are on a cruise in the Caribbean. I am SOOO jealous. I watched the news this morning while eating breakfast and it said it was 5 degrees and the windchill was below zero.... COLD!!! So today while wiping 3 different noses all day (mine, Anna Belle's, and Anna- I think I used a whole box just today), I decided that I would take a "mind vacation" to some favorite spots. Who would like to come along... minus Kleenex's? Where should we go?

The Oregon Coast...

Maui at Sunset

A Cruise in the Caribbean...

Waterfalls in the Mountains...
OR Waterfalls in Kauai...Or Waterfalls in a Puerto Rico rain forest...

Disneyland...

NYC in the fall...

Private Beach in Kauai close to sunset...

Coast of Kauai swimming with dolphins...

Eating Jo Jo's ...mmmmmmm....

The beautiful mountains outside Dave's cabin ...

Sunset in Florence, Italy...

Zions...

Tetons....

Jenny Lake outside Jackson Hole...

Anna's World

I didn't get much time to blog on Anna's birthday and I wanted to take a moment and update what she is into these days...or what she isn't.

ALL ABOUT ANNA...

* Weighs 18 lbs 13 oz

* Is 29 and 1/4 inches

* Has the SWEETEST disposition

* Light brown wispy hair

* TINY, but such cute feet

* Has two little bottom teeth

* Signs "milk," "more,"and "all done"

* Says "Da Da," "Ma Ma" and today she said "hi,"
* Loves to Babble "gathba" babababa" "lalalala" "aaaaa"

* Pulls herself to standing on everything, and is getting stronger everyday

* Loves to dance and I swear does it to the beat,

* Claps and likes "patty cake"

* ABSOLUTELY LOVES photos, will stop and point at any photo she sees. She also has two baby photo books that she will look at forever. She loves to look at pictures on the computer.

* Loves to skype especially with her cousins

* Uses her right hand pointer finger to show what she wants or where she wants to go.

* Will not keep headbands or bows in her hair, much to her mom's dismay! She also pulls her beanies off as well, which is not good in the cold MI weather

* She loves music: every time she hears a little bit, no matter where it is, she reacts

* Is very good at throwing food on the floor

* Eats okay- her favorites are Corn, Vienna sausages (gross I know, but it was recommended and she loves it), Chicken, Beans, crackers, and juice

* Loves her "sippy"

* Hates getting changed into her PJ's - mostly because she is exhausted by then

* Is a "cheese" and will smile at anyone she sees and will ham it up to get attention

* Is content to play by herself

* Wants to get into every cupboard and is learning new things to open all the time

* Loves books: she will sit and turn pages for quite a while and likes the touch and feel books

* LOVES her "baby," which is a tiny $1 deal at Walmart... I should have bought more for back-ups.

* Won't take naps at work, but loves to sleep on mom. However, she typically will sleep 12 hours a night with one break for food at about 6 am.

* Waves "night- night"

* Thinks the slider or any glass doors are so fun

* Loves Mia, will feed her (by dropping food on the floor), reach out to her, and play with her crate, whether she is in it or not

* Is very into her "birthday balloons" and new puzzle - she will crawl around with the puzzle piece knob in her mouth

* Gets really warm (aka sweats) when she sleeps

* Gives great open mouth cheek slobbers (her version of kisses)

* Thinks bubbles are hilarious

* Loves any little toy she can suck on

* Likes to tear paper, tissue paper is the best

* Will instantly fall asleep in the car

* Snores a little bit when she is sleeping and has a little stuffy nose most of the time. She may have allergies - the doctor said her adenoids are a little swollen, but nothing to worry about now

* Gags on food so we asked the doctor to check it out, she also has inflamed tonsils, but not enough to worry about.

*She is such a quick learner: last night Dave was teaching her how to pull a string on an animal toy and she did it herself today

This little angel is growing up so fast. I absolutely LOVE watching her all day long. She is incredible. I feel so blessed to be her mom!

We had some friends over for dinner on her birthday. Thanks to all for coming, it was fun. Anna wasn't too into her cake, but loved playing with her friends. It was a fun evening. Here are some pictures of the day.

At work...this was right after I scared the two of them while they were playing under the table


Anna loves to look out the windows at work, she feels so big standing there.

Anna's new music from Russ and Carrie - Thanks guys!

Anna and Isaac, as you can probably see, we propped him up to compare heights and he is holding on for dear life at 3 months old!

Here is your cake little one, it is delicious! Mommy knows, she spent the night before eating batter and frosting! mmmm....


....yep, she loves cake. Hopefully she doesn't get my sweet tooth!

Friends who came to the party. We missed you Tophams! Sorry you were in the ER! ):


Hunter was "loving" Anna, they are buds!

ONE YEAR OLDER ...

Oh Yes, Today is a big day at the Miner household. We celebrate one year of having our Miracle Baby enter our lives. I have been thinking all week about the events that lead up to this day a year ago and I feel truly blessed for the blessing of her healthy birth and this wonderful year.

As I write this and relate to a year ago at this time I am reminded that I was sitting in a hospital bed getting induced and dumbfounded by the fact that I was to have a baby THAT day, 3.5 weeks early. There were lots of crazy things that happened with her birth. If you want you can look back to this week a year ago and read our posts. Something I plan to do tonight when I am home and have time to relax and probably cry.

I cannot imagine my life any different. She is truly the most precious thing in the world. I thank our Heavenly Father every day for the constant JOY that she is. I love you my princess, Anna Karen. Happy Birthday!

P.S. The picture above was taken today, though it looks very similar to the photo on the header of our blog! The other is just moments after birth, those eyes were so observant from the moment she was born. They still make me melt every day!