Playdate

AB had a playdate with her buddy Solomon a few days ago and it certainly looks like they had a blast! Solomon's mom, Bekah, was kind enough to look after Belle while I went to the doctor. Recently, Belle has been going through some separation anxiety when we leave her in the care of others, but she certainly seemed to recover quickly that day! Belle and Solomon rode around the house together...

Ate lunch together...

and started a band together!!

Don't they seem like really serious musicians?!

Thank you, Bekah, for watching our little girl and thank you to Solomon for being such a kind and fun playmate! By the way, all these photos were taken by Bekah. :)

Valentine's Day

Just in case you didn't know how wonderful my husband is, let me tell you. On Valentine's Day I awoke to a gorgeous bouquet of almost a dozen red roses on the dining room table. It was one shy of a dozen because Trev had pulled out one of the roses and put it in a single vase by itself as a special Valentine to Belle. Awww, how sweet. He was also in the midst of cooking us a special breakfast - scones fresh out of the oven, orange juice and raspberries!! Raspberries are my favorite fruit, which made it an extra special treat to have that morning. He also made an itinerary for the day (pictured below) with all the activities we would be doing. The day's activities began with breakfast, then an outdoor adventure, a surprise spa pedicure for me at the Chrysalis (what a relaxing way to spend a few hours!), playing one of our favorite games while Belle was napping, then dinner and ice cream while people from our church babysat Belle and finally we came home and watched a movie. It was a wonderful day and I am so blessed to have such a loving husband. He definitely knows how to treat a lady. Thanks, Trev!!

AB Sings

Larabee with Daddy

Trev and Annabelle went on an adventure to Larabee State Park this past week. They played on the rocky beach, looked out at the beautiful water view and played on the playground.

Belle even got to go on the stage and run around! Belle LOVES her outdoor adventures with Daddy!

Life with Annabelle

I thought I would give you a glimpse of what life is like with Belle these days...

Belle loves to play with her stuffed animals. Red Bear (above) is still the top dog (err, bear?) around here, although she has high regard for her other animals as well. Recently, AB has taken great interest in making sure her animals are well-clothed. She has graciously let Red Bear borrow her hat, scarf, jacket and boots to make sure he is nice and warm. Now this is quite the treatment for Red Bear, which is most commonly seen in a simple light blue onesie.

AB also loves tea parties with her friends! When I say friends I mean all of those pictured above, which were invited to her tea party. She even holds the cup for them and helps them drink. These are some of her favorite toys these days: her spud buds, Dora and her crew, Piggy and the Little People. She will set them up all throughout the house!

One of Annabelle's Christmas presents from us were these lady bug wings and antennae. She loves them! She'll put them on and run back and forth down the hall saying, "Fly, fly, fly, fly fly!" I definitely think she is hoping to fly by doing this. She is certainly our cute little bug.

Ahh, and the diaper mess. For two days this week, Belle decided that she didn't really need a nap. She played quietly in her crib most of the time and we occasionally heard her talking or singing to herself. Finally, we decided to get her out. As we walked in we noticed this pile of diapers on the floor! There were also some diapers in her crib. Upon further investigation we realized that she had also found her baby wipes and and pulled out every single one and had those strewn about the room as well! It was pretty funny! Moral of the story: move the diaper-changing basket out of her reach. Done.

Press Release

We have two new things to report:

#1: Trev is a student again! After much prayer and consideration, more prayer, the support of others and answers to prayer, it is official: Trev is a student at Covenant Theological Seminary once again! You might be thinking to yourself, "Does this mean that the Mauss family is packing up again and moving halfway across the country?" Nope! Trev is taking a couple of classes by correspondence from the comfort of his own living room, dining room, local coffee joint or anywhere else he can use his computer. We are thrilled for him to continue his education and we praise the Lord for making it possible! He is just about two weeks into the semester and is excited about everything he is learning. The picture above shows Trev working on his studies and Belle imitating her beloved Daddy by reading in a chair next to him. Awww, precious. :)

#2: Well... Belle says it best:

Her dreams of becoming a big sister will be coming true this August!! That's right! We are expecting our second little bundle of joy around August 21st. We are all really excited and can't wait for Belle to be a big sister! She likes to point to my belly and say "baby" and the phrase "big sister" usually follows close behind. Our new baby will be so blessed to have Belle as an older sister. She takes such good care of her bear and other animals that we are sure she will be a loving older sister.

I am currently about 12 weeks along and am starting to feel pretty good. I've been surprisingly nauseous for the first trimester of this pregnancy. It's so surprising because with Belle I had practically no nausea! It's true what they say - every pregnancy is different, even if its the same person. :) Even though I have felt more sick this time around I always remind myself that there are many women who have it much much worse.

Praise God for this wonderful blessing! We can't wait to meet you, little one. :)

Grandpa John and AB

Me and Grandma Kay

Winter

Okay, okay. I know quite some time has passed since our last post. So long, in fact, that here are a few pictures from December. Yep, December. The one above... is from the week before Christmas when we received record snowfall here in Bellingham!! It was certainly a beautiful sight. We went on many a snow walk and made sure we were all well bundled up! Belle is showing off her many shades of pink!

G'pa, AB, Great Grandma Bernie and me at Christmas

Belle on her very own rocking chair... thank you, Great Grandma Bernie!!