Happy Birthday, Sweet Anna Bell!

Our precious little girl turned 2 last Sunday!!! And although Sundays are not the best days for birthday celebrations in our house (early church, late lunch and naps, Fred has evening activities at church...many of you know exactly what I mean!) we had a great day of being thankful for Anna Bell. She is such a joy in our family. She is expressive and adorable in just about everything she does. (Fred and I both have to remind ourselves that her "bit of sassiness" won't be quite as cute in a couple of years if we don't discipline her for it now!!!) I am so thankful for Anna Bell and love to watch how God is shaping her. These are just a few of the reasons I am grateful to be AB's mommy:
*She is so affectionate! There are moments that I have to remind myself that laundry and cleaning can wait...there will come a day when she will not want to sit and cuddle in my lap for hours on end!
*In Anna Bell's own words: "I'm FUNNY!!!!" ...and she really is!
*She ADORES her older brother, who she now refers to as "Josh"...even though we never call him that!
*She is quickly becoming a second little mommy to Caleb. Her most used expressions when referring to him are "Awww...how cute!!" "Oh no...mommy; baby cryin'!!!" "I wanna hold it" & "Hi Caleb!!!"
*Anna Bell is the best greeter I have ever met. She will yell your name and run to the door with her arms open wide for a big hug whenever Fred or I come home. She also does this for good friends or family...grandma is a sucker for this one!!!
*She is tenderhearted yet she can hold her own even with kids twice her size (she's quite the small fry; she weighed 18 pounds at her last checkup at 18 months!)
*She gives the BEST HUGS!!!!
*Anna Bell's voice is really raspy. I don't know where she got this, but I definitely need to record it more often.
*She is getting more into girly toys like her kitchen, dress up and baby dolls but also loves playing with trains and cars with Joshua.
*Her favorite song is "Jesus, You are near to me" and asks me to sing it before going to bed.
*She is undeniably a daddy's girl. I love that.
*Often times when I pray for her, I pray that God would develop in her a gracefulness that Anna in Luke 2 displayed. I see this character in her and am confident that as the Lord grows and shapes her, that she will be a woman of grace someday!
I love you so much Anna Bell!!! I cannot imagine our family without you!!! I am so thankful that God saw fit to place you in our family!!!!
Fred's dad and Terry came down for the weekend; it was great to be able to see them and celebrate with them. Thanks for coming, Dad & Terry!!! Unfortunately, Anna Bell woke up from her nap with lots of coughing and a slight wheezing on her birthday...I finally took her to the doctor on Wednesday morning and sure enough, we have had to do breathing treatments again. The doctor said that it was viral, so we are stuck at home until next Wednesday. I am getting a little stir crazy and I think that the kids are too! I took some sweet pictures of Caleb Judson smiling today. I will try to post them tomorrow...we'll see...:)