In case you haven't heard, this September the Fuller family will grow! Melanie is pregnant and due September 23rd. Updates will surely come, but things so far are going well. We're excited and Virginia Anne is thrilled to become a big sister.
Tomorrow, our not-so-little girl will turn two. Hard to believe it's already been two years, but we've packed a lot into this short time. She has turned into such a smart, beautiful, humorous and all-around wonderful daughter that we're very proud of.
Happy Birthday Virginia Anne!
We traveled to Colorado at the end of March to witness some friends getting married and celebrated an early birthday for Virginia Anne with Melanie's family. Videos and photos are below and on Flickr.
I'm ashamed to say that our last post was before Christmas. My goodness how time flies! I thought the holidays were busy, but these days are even more so. We're enjoying some warm weather right now and work to spend as much time outside as possible.
Virginia Anne has recently gotten into Thomas & Friends and enjoys taking her engines everywhere she goes. They even eat with us sometimes. She loves to walk and we take long walks around the neighborhood with Petey when the weather allows. Last week, we registered her for preschool in the fall (only on Tuesdays and Thursdays) which I think will be a nice change for her and a chance to make some new friends. Her vocabulary is incredible and we call her "repeater" now because she'll repeat anything we say and no word is too advanced for her to try.
Her hair is getting so long now and is hanging in her eyes. Be on the lookout for pictures of the very first haircut in the next few weeks! She is very funny and LOVES to make other people laugh.
Allen is staying busy with work and traveled to DC a couple weeks ago for the CPAC conference. He always enjoys being back in the city that we both love so much. As for myself, I continue to work at Flat Creek once a week and spend the rest of my time managing all of our lives and trying to have fun doing it. So far, it's a blast and I would not trade it for anything.
Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year from the Fullers!
We are enjoying the holiday season very much. For Thanksgiving, Melanie's parents flew in for a quick trip and we had an early Turkey Dinner with Allen's parents Wednesday night. They got on a plane Thursday morning to get back to Colorado in time to celebrate the day with the rest of Melanie's family. Those of still in Tennessee got to eat plenty of good food at Allen's Aunt & Uncle's house. It was a wonderful day. Thanksgiving morning, we put up our tree while watching the Macy's Parade. Virginia Anne - who doesn't watch much TV at all - loved watching all the performers and big animal balloons. I think her favorite was Snoopy since he's in one of her favorite books.
Each night, Virginia Anne counts to three as we light our tree and the various lights outside the house. She enjoys counting down the days until Christmas on our countdown chalkboard, lighting advent candles, and putting Baby Jesus to sleep each night in his manger. Last weekend, we got to see carolers and policemen on horseback at our town Square Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony (Virginia Anne was completely captivated by both sights).
We hope you all are well and we wish you blessings during this season and in 2009!
Virginia Anne has reached several milestones in the past few weeks. She has begun potty training and after only a couple weeks of having the potty in the house, she's already using it. This morning, we changed her bed into a big girl bed by taking off one side railing, and lowering it closer to the floor. She easily gets in and out of her bed now! It's terrifying for Mom and Dad, but she's ready for it. Her nap today went wonderfully and she put herself to sleep tonight just like she always does!
She can use a knife now to cut up her food and loves pulling a kitchen chair over to the counter so she can climb up and watch Melanie cook. Gramma C & Papa B came to visit last week and she definitely impressed them with her talking, climbing, and explosive personality. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that she's only 18 months old because she sure seems a lot older.
We are enjoying the fall season in the Fuller household. We've been to the pumpkin patch twice, the Nashville Farmer's Market, and are gearing up for Halloween this Friday. Since our last post, we traveled to Phoenix, Denver, DC, and back again. Allen was speaking at a conference in Phoenix in September and Melanie & Virginia Anne went with him to visit her Uncle Cliff, cousins, and some friends that live there. While Allen worked, Melanie & Virginia Anne enjoyed lounging by the pool and fit in a trip to the Phoenix Zoo. The weather wasn't too hot (only in the low 100s) and we had a great time with family and friends.
Melanie & Virginia Anne spent the next week in Denver while Allen came back to Tennessee, but he went to Denver the following weekend to celebrate Melanie's Dad's birthday. Just to rack up some more frequent flier miles, while in Denver, Allen flew to Las Vegas to speak at another conference! Now that's a lot of flying to fit into a week and a half.
October has been much calmer...well...sort of. Allen went to DC earlier in the month to - you guessed it - speak at another conference and meet with some clients. This time, Melanie & Virginia Anne stayed at home. With the election less just over a week away, and a good chunk of our client base involved in politics, things are very busy at Flat Creek. Allen has been working hard and we'll all sleep a bit more come November 5th.
Melanie ran in the Nashville Race for the Cure on October 4th and was excited to help raise funds for breast cancer research. Since the day after the race, however, at least one person in the house has been sick with either the flu or a cold. We're all very much ready to have sneezing, coughing, and runny noses be behind us.
Virginia Anne is growing up quicker than we can blink an eye. She is counting to two, talking all the time, running everywhere, and is a delight to each and every day. She is telling jokes, loves animals, pumpkins, and flowers. We're starting to see the beginning of "2," but all in all she's just a true joy and a very sweet little girl. Right now, she's quite sick though and can't seem to get rid of a cough she's had since Saturday.
We hope you all are well and enjoying this wonderful time of year!
