Little Corny... But Still Pretty Cute

We took our first stab at professional photos a couple weeks ago. I patiently waited for a day when Anna got a nice long morning nap, thinking that would be the key to smiles and cooperation. Turns out, the long nap worked against me. Anna had way too much energy and would hardly sit still. It was nothing short of a miracle that the photographer got at least a few decent shots. Sadly, all of the "good" photos had some corny element like the white plastic heart or -- sigh -- the super gay forest scene, but once I saw Anna's cute little face up on the order screen, I had to put my photo pretention aside and order a few.

Thanks Em!!

When we got back to RI, there was a HUGE box from my good old UM friend Emily, full of birthday presents for Anna. While I think Anna's favorite part was throwing the purple packing shreds across the room, she definitely liked the fuzzy Elmo card and couldn't stop looking at her first set of "crayons". Personally though, my favorite was the cheetah print bib. Only Emily could get something like that past the Josh inspection. Thanks for all the goodies Em! ...and as long as I'm posting, here's a cute photo from the PA trip that I forgot to include on my last blog. This is Anna and her "cousin" Becca on the float at Josh's Grandmom's pool. Anna was totally fearless in the water:

Anna's Little Friends

Well, another trip down to PA is over. We squeezed in visits with so many family and friends -- some of whom hadn't even met Anna yet! Here's a great photo of Anna & her buddy Gabriel playing in the sprinkler pool. Nan was nice enough to drive up from VA and stay for a couple days. Thanks Nanner!! Our two kiddos loved the sprinkler pool and played really well together. That being said, Gabriel wasn't big on the idea of giving Anna hugs:

Anna also got to spend some time with her cousin (er, second cousin??) Eowyn. We took the girls out to lunch at the Lederach Tea Room and despite the fact that it took almost an hour for our sandwiches to come, they were perfect little lavendar frocked angels. (Ahem, is "frocked" not totally a word that Eowyn's mommy would use?)

On Tuesday we spent some time with Kathy, Nicholas and Matthew at Mason's Mill Park. Here are Anna & Nicholas with their sippy cups. Cute! I also managed to snag a photo of Anna in the sprinkler showing off her new skill -- standing up on her own!! (Notice how excited Nicholas is for her in the background!)

I also got a great video of Anna in the sprinkler:

And here are a few other random photos from our trip that I'm posting just because they're super cute:

Holding a hair curler and a zucchini for no good reason

Shades

PJ's

Packing to go home

Father's Day

Hi Josh... Anna and I miss you and can't wait to hang out next weekend. I tried to get Anna to actually say "I love you daddy" or at least "DAAAA DEEEE" on video, but no luck. This pic is the best we could come up with. Happy Father's Day!!

More Cute Photos

Why is it that I can't seem to get enough pictures of a Anna with cookie goo on her face? She doesn't look too happy in this photo, but trust me, this was the only time she stopped smiling during the entire cookie episode.

Yesterday, Anna spent part of the 180 degree afternoon in her new splash pool and LOVED it. I took about 400 photos, but narrowed it down to a few of the more internet-appropriate ones. Don't miss the nose-picker shot. Classy kid.

The PA Tour

Anna and I have been in PA for a couple days now, catching up with about three billion people. All the running around is tuckering us out! Anna has fallen asleep in her carseat more times than I can count. We're hoping the pace will slow down a bit, but there's still plenty of people to see.

I had to pull over when she fell asleep the other day because I saw a great opportunity to catch the chubby cheeks in action. Realizing that soon they'll be gone forever, I couldn't pass it up. She's crawling, climbing, and cruising around like a maniac, so it will only be a matter of time before she's a trim little toddler. Sadness!

This past Friday, we went over to the June Fete with Granddad and Mom-Mom and took Anna on a merry-go-round for the first time. I thought she'd love it, but within 30 seconds, she was clinging to me and pinching my arms with a look of complete panic on her face. Maybe next year...

Birthday Girl

There's no good way to talk about your baby's first birthday without sounding a little trite... can't believe a whole year has gone by... can't believe how much she's changed... blah, blah, blah. I actually thought I would be sad when the one year mark came, and while I'd give anything to go back to that delivery room and hear her voice for the first time all over again, I'm happy that she's a year old. She's a good, funny little person who seems to enjoy each day more than the next as she aquires new skills and comprehends more and more of the world around her. So, at the one year mark, I just feel really blessed that we have such a great little girl.

Here's a couple photos of Anna opening gifts at the Kulp family Memorial Day / birthday party that my parents hosted on Monday. Word got around about Anna's love affair with duckies, so she got a few more from her Aunt Ellen and, clearly, was thrilled about it.

I love this photo of Anna and her buddy Nicholas examining the goods. Poor Nicholas was in tears just before this picture was taken when he saw Josh let a birthday balloon fly away. Josh consoled Nicholas by telling him the balloon went to be with Jesus. It worked... no more tears.

Here's a photo of the entire Kulp clan (minus Jacob and Caleb). We just keep getting bigger. In the past four years we've added seven new members!

Anna got a Winnie the Pooh birthday card in the mail yesterday and she's been it carrying all around the house ever since. It's pretty cute, despite the glittery trail it's leaving.