Toby's upcoming adventure

Toby was chosen to participate in Franklin's Citizens Fire Academy.  I was 100% on board until I learned that it will involve actually going into a house that is on fire.  I am now 85% on board.  On May 19 I may need to borrow some anxiety medication.  Until then, feel free to send stern emails to Toby reminding him of the danger of fires.

The website is below - have a look.

http://www.franklin-gov.com/index.aspx?page=330

Beth and James' wedding

I'm embarrassed by how long it has taken me to get this post together.  Work is insane, Annie is a handful, and sleep is lacking.  But today the temperature hit nearly 60 degrees and it was gorgeously sunny, so all is well with the world.

Now, on to more important things - Beth and James' wedding! Beth and James were married December 28th in the coolest place in the Yorkshire Dales - The Angel Inn.  The ceremony was in the wine cave - an intimate little cellar, all lit with candles, and the reception was in the pub.  The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception was great fun!  The food was absolutely marvelous...I hear the Angel Inn was one of the first pubs to start the "gastro-pub" movement. 

Beth was, as always, completely gorgeous, calm and composed.  James was, as always, the life of the party...though he managed to keep his face out of the cake, unlike at our wedding. :)

Here is the happy couple, late in the evening. 

Cake cutting! 

I love this photo, such a sweet moment!

Grannie (now Great-Grannie to Millie and Annie), partied late into the evening.  I think I was ready for bed before she was!

Showing proper British composure, this was the pose struck when I requested the Coopers give us a smooch for the camera.   Having already lost my composure by coming completely unglued while giving a reading during the ceremony, I apparently thought nothing of requesting my in-laws "give us a smooch." 

And finally, coming soon to a dance floor near you, "The Crawl."  Toby claims this was some sort of baby-protection move, but I was there, it was most assuredly an attempt at a new dance move. 

A fabulous time was had by all! 

10 months!

I can't believe that Annie is going to be a year old soon!  Toby and I took a couple of snaps today, but had a hard time getting into the spirit after a very fun night out last night.  Grandma and Grandpa kept Annie overnight while we went to a very fun wedding, followed by an attempt to re-live the old days with a night out on the town.  We felt very old and sober compared to the masses down at the honkey tonks...though I can promise that by the way we feel today, we were probably only older than everybody else.  We had a wonderful time with Toby's uncle's brother-in-law, Tim, who joined us in the fun.   He has the coolest job ever - he's a hotel reviewer who is forced to dine and take spa treatments at five star hotels and then rate the service.  I'm sure there are also less awesome parts of his job, but I'm still pretty sure it is the coolest job ever.

Anyway, here a couple snaps of Annie today - just before, and at the end, of bath time. 

As you can see, Annie was not amused by Toby's styling of her hair. 

Happy MLK Day tomorrow!

Welcome Audrey Claire Fulwider!

Val and Ben have welcomed their newest family member, with little Audrey joining big brother Will. She is such a doll.

Home!

We've made it home after a wonderful trip to England.  More posts to come, but the short version is:

We had an awesome Christmas with Toby's family, including the much-extended Wagner family, who also flew over from the US.  We were all thoroughly spoiled, and the most fun was definitely watching Annie and her sweet cousin Millie playing.  Millie and Annie are rather like Ying and Yang, I think.  Millie is sweet and cuddly, and Annie never slows down.  They are quite the pair!

Boxing day included all the Christmas Day guests, plus James' family.  It was great to meet them all before the wedding.  Judith, Jen and Dipesh are all such nice people, and lots of fun, too.

We also got to visit with Grannie, Uncle Rob, Aunt Penny, Ollie and Greg.  The boys took to Annie quickly, which was fun to watch.  We sat with them at the wedding, which was fantastic - Ollie is so grown up and a university student complete with the stubbly beard...quite the heartbreaker, I think. :)  Greg, who is 13, and I share a taste in music, which probably says more about me than him.  Annie was her stubborn little self and didn't easily go to anybody, but at least everybody got to see her true nature.  I have some very cute pictures of Grannie and Annie.

Beth and James' wedding was perfectly lovely, in a gorgeous Inn in the Yorkshire Dales.  The food was marvelous, the sparkling wine was more than plentiful, and their friends and family clearly had a wonderful time celebrating their marriage.  I have some interesting photos of Toby and Annie crawling around the dance floor - check back soon. :)

Off to unpack, etc etc.  Will try to fit in a nap, since Annie's behavior on the flight home was a little less than ideal, and Toby and I are completely worn out.   Happy New Year!

A day of firsts...

A rare post from the ol' man - seeing as poor Krista had to work numerous hours over the weekend staring at a computer screen, Coops has stepped up to inform the masses (well okay, the half dozen or so, of you) of the firsts we experienced today;

1) Annie stood for more then two seconds unaided - we might get above three seconds by the end of next week.

2) Annie experienced her first real snow (as I type it is still snowing and we are very grateful to her Grandma and Grandpa for looking after her tomorrow whilst her school is shut for a snow day).  See evidence of enjoyment and preview of our Christmas card below.

3) Annie [sort of] enjoyed her first Sunday roast cooked by yours truly (all be it pureed).

I could also include the "first time Dad decided it would be a good idea to take the family for a walk to the park to enjoy the snow" but I am sure Annie, Sadie and Krista would prefer to forget the freezing temperatures and blustery northerly winds in their faces so I'll skip that.



Here comes Santa Claus!

We took Annie to meet Santa Claus last weekend at the clubhouse in my parents' fancy schmancy neighborhood.  We had a great time watching all the other kids coming up the stairs, smiling at Santa on their way to the room with cookies and animal crackers, waiting in line, and having complete meltdowns when they approached Santa to sit on his lap.  Complete meltdowns. 

So it was pretty funny to watch, except that all the crying finally started to unsettle Annie, and it was also like having a window into the future.  Besides, Annie has not been particularly thrilled about being held by strangers lately, so we started to get more and more nervous the longer we waited.

Things started out pretty well.  We hadn't tried to dress her up in frilly clothes or make her wear the (super cute) bows or santa hat that Grandma brought along.  The following is a recitation of what I believe Annie was thinking throughout the morning.

Annie:  This is pretty cool.  Grandma and Grandpa are here, and Grandpa seems very excited by those little crackers shaped like animals.  It is a beautiful day and there are lots of big kids to watch. I wonder why Mommy looks worried?

Annie:  Okay, what exactly is going on here?  The big kids are screaming like this is the flu shot clinic.  Am I about to get a shot?  I was told I wouldn't need any more shots until my 12 month visit to the doctor.

Annie:  You may be walking me backwards over to the big crazy man, but I know whats going on.  Just because I can't see him doesn't mean I can't tell that he's back there. And why did Daddy take my socks off?  It's December, and even if it is 70 degrees, it is supposed to at least LOOK cold.

Annie:  Grumps, what are you doing here?!  I thought you were still in England!  What, you're not my Grumps? Well you look like him, so you must not be too bad.

So we hightailed it out of there with nary a tear shed. (And doesn't Annie look cute in the sweater I wore when I was a baby?)  Victory!