Preschool Playdate

The girls and I are headed over to the playground at preschool. It's kind of a summer mixer, get-to-know-you, sort of event. Annie will see some of her friends from last year's class, and Elizabeth will be meeting some of her classmates for the first time.

Lots of firsts around here these days.

Heard 'round Here

A three almost four year old can come up with some funny things to say.

"But my feet are gentle"
"I don't want to ruin my pickle-appetite"
"Um, what were we talking about?"
"Dad, I have to wash my hands! I was digging around my nose."

Mother's Day

I was driving with the kids. (Incidentally, you can fit three carseats in the back of a 2006 Honda CRV.) Annie, 3, starts talking about Mother's Day. She states her intention to make a card for me. Elizabeth, 2, chimes in "Me too!" to show her ethusiastic willingness to also make a card for Mommy. Annie, thinking that Elizabeth has volunteered to help Annie with her card, tells Elizabeth very firmly that no, she can't help. I clarify that Elizabeth wants to make her own card, and Annie is molified. Annie asks if she can make the card when we get home. I informed her that Mother's Day was several days away and she had plenty of time to make a card for Mommy. She then asked if I would help her make the card. I told her that Daddy would be happy to help her. She then asked why Daddy would help and not Mommy.

Mommy: Well, Honey, you're making a card for Mommy.
[Lightbulb going off in a three year old's head]
Annie: Oops.

Dress for me, Dress for you

Today the family was getting ready to go to church. I put on a maternity dress. It was blue. Annie was thrilled to see Mommy in a dress and wanted to but on a blue dress too.

She put on one of her summer dresses. It was too cold to wear such a thin dress outside and it got nixed in favor of a warmer, pinker dress. Ordinarily the little princess would be thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to wear a dress in her favorite color. Not on the day that it didn't coordinate with Mommy.

Since I plan to make good use of out this dress for the next few months, I saw this as being a reoccuring problem.

Annie was consoled with going out and finding a warm, blue dress to coordinate Mommy. I don't know what kind of fashionista I'm creating, but I consoled myself that she did need a few more warm things for the winter.

P.S. Be on the lookout for our blue dresses next week.
P.P.S. Oh, and just wait and see what we turn out for Halloween. There will be a preschool parade and everything.

Compliment for Mommy

Tim's just headed out of town on a business trip. I was getting the girls ready for bed. Annie was putting on her night gown, but had it twisted and was struggling to put it on.

I asked, "Annie, can I help you with that?"

"Oh yes, Mommy! You know how to help. You always help the best. You take care of me."

Have a little think

Courtesy of Tim:


situation is our insisting on Annie going to bed in her own bed -- full scale temper tantrum. Then, abruptly:
Annie: Dad, I have a little idea
Me: oh yeah?
Annie: Maybe I should stop yelling
[puts her pointer finger in the air, up near her face]
and have a little think.
Think, think, think.
Like Pooh.
He's a little bear.
Maybe I should build my bed a little bigger, and then it won't be so small!
And I should stop yelling.
Dad, I stopped yelling.
Will you read me a story?
Me: Ok.

And I thought, I must be the best dad ever.

Annie's Birthday

In an effort to include more pictures, here are a few from Annie's birthday party. These are actually taken by Pat, since Tim and I are slow to download our pictures and even slower to edit them. Enjoy!

Rotten Stinker

Stress has been piling up around here the last month or more. We've been riding out Tim working long hours, taking business trips, family medical emergencies and the girls being ill. Today The Mama wasn't feeling well, and my temper was unusually short all day. As we finished up bathtime and I grumped my way through picking up the towels, I had the most suprising interaction with Annie.

She reached up and took my face in her hands. She gazed in my eyes and said. "Mommy! I love you. I love you even, even when you are grumpy." She really caught my attention. I stopped mid-grump and smiled.

Hmm, where has she heard something like that before? Surely not, "Annie, I love you, even when you cry." Knowing that she had my attention she continued,

"I'm sorry you're yelling at me. Please don't yell. Let's love. Let's huuuug."

She was so full of grace and kindness for her mom, especially when mom was being a rotten stinker. It was such a wonderfully charitable moment.

I apologized. She gave me huge bear hugs, where the shoulder drives into your throat and threatens to crush your larynx. one of those hugs.

Quotable Quotes

At dinner I had a apple cider.
Annie: Drink your beer mommy.
Drink it all up.
There you go. Thatta girl.

Snissors

Annie has been really keen to use scissors all by herself. I found a pair of kid's scissors with the child-size handle and blunt tip. I let her open her package of fruit snacks with her scissors. I turned around to find her about to cut the bow off her new Sleeping Beauty outfit. I cut up the pages of my favorite book, so I guess it's normal to cut up the things you love, I'm just glad I caught her in time.

A Few Things That ARE Kid Related

1. I've nursed since August 2005. I had a four week hiatus between weaning Annie and having Elizabeth
2. I currently have no plans to wean Elizabeth. She doesn't like not-nursing. I'll probably wait until I"m pregnant. The milk changes and I imagine she'll be less interested in drinking it.
3. I know how to climb from my deck across the decks of a few neighbors and get to the ground. I know this because my daughter locked me out of the house and I had to climb down to let myself back in through the front door. I had my other daughter with me and my husband was out of town at the time.
4. I got in a car accident and had staples in my head. My head got cut because I had just puchased a high chair & it was in the passenger seat next to me. The baby was in the back and I didn't want to leave the hospital until a doctor explained to me twice how they were certain the baby was OK.
My car was totalled. The other driver was at fault, but the officer on the scene didn't ticket him.
5. I hammered a hole in the door to the bathroom because the baby barricaded herself in there.
6. I know the theme song to Elmo's World, Barney, & Strawberry Shortcake.
7. I know the villians' names in most of the Barbie movies.
8. Ask me my opinion about laundry pre-treater
9. Both my feet are injured from playing with the kids
10. I consider a cup of coffee my daily treat to myself. A way to take care of myself in the mornings when the kids are their most needy

Love Means Tickles

Last night Annie was getting settled for bed.

She slung an arm around my neck, nuzzled in and said, "Mommy, I love you."

I told her I loved her and I loved Elizabeth. Annie got excited about the idea of Mommy loving not one, but two people, so she started mentioning all the people she loved. It turned into a pretty funny litany.

"I love Mommy. She can tickle me.
I love Simon. He can tickle me.
I love Elizabeth. She can tickle me.
I love Daddy. He can tickle me.
I love Caitlin. She can tickle me.
I love Katherine. She can tickle me.
I love Baby Emma. She can tickle me.
I love Aunt Dawn. She c an tickle me.
I love Uncle Mark. He can tickle me."

So love means tickles?

Quotable Quotes

"Mommy, do you like me?"

"Yes, I like you, Sweetie. So, do you like Mommy?"

"I like craisins, Momma."

More Potty Training Success

Annie pooped on the potty again today!

She wore padded 'panties' this morning until bathtime.
We finally found the Strawberry Shortcake underwear on Ebay. Advertised as unopened. I bid and we're waiting for them to arrive in the mail.

Is this what ordering from the Sears and Roebuck catalog was like back at the turn of the century?

Remind me to post pictures later. Not creepy potty pics, but cute ones.

Annie Survives Bleach in the Face

Annie survived licking tylenol, she survived a bout of rotavirus, and now she's survived spraying a bleach cleaner into her face.

Fortunately I was right there when it happened and I immediately put her in the bath and started pouring water over her head until she stopped crying about her eye stinging and started complaining about so much water.

I then called the doctor. They told me to put her in the bath again, then bring her over immediately. They would work her in.

The doctor can tell if there has been any damage to the eye by putting in eye drops that glow under a black light. If the dye is anywhere in the eye, it indicates that there is damage. An intact eye won't keep the dye on it. Annie had the eye drops put in and the black light was turned on. It looked like someone had put a flourescent eyeliner on her, but her eye looked fine. She was well. Fortunately the doctor's visit took all of 30 minutes.

Since our girl narrowly escaped injury, we asked her what she'd like to eat for dinner.

"Pizza!"

Little Women

"Mommy's Makeup. Ooooh, I'm so pretty. Oooohhh, Annie's a cutie pie. Betta No!"

Happy Birthday Annie?

Today is Annie's Birthday. Her family party is this weekend, but I wanted to make the day special today. I figured I'd make today a 'yes' day. To let her do things she'd like to do (that weren't utterly dangerous like drown her baby sister Elizabeth in the tub) to try and celebrate.

We spent nearly an hour in the tub, met Daddy for lunch--late of course, because tub time extended itself 45 minutes--played on the play park in the mall (no outdoor activities because of the rain), napped, watched the Princess Movie (worthy of it's own post), had noodles for dinner, and went to have ice cream with the cousins to round out the day.

The pinnacle of the entire day was the Happy Birthday Well-wishes of family and loved ones.

Annie's Godmother Kate & her baby friend Simon spoke with Annie in the evening. Kate had been working on having Simon say "Happy Birthday Annie" most of the day. She was continuing to coach and encourage him to speak while on the phone.

Kate: [singing] Happy Birthday to you
Simon: silence
Kate: [singing] Happy Birthday to you
Simon: silence
Kate: [singing] Happy Birthday dear Annie
Simon: Ha Buu-day Lizabeth.

Yes, Happy Birthday Elizabeth.

Ride the Horsey

The girls and I headed to Burke Lake Park today for a trip on the carousel. Annie had a blast.

When Daddy's Away The Girls Will Play

The Husband is away on another business trip. He left yesterday afternoon. Annie had a hard time settling to sleep with him gone and seemed at loose ends when she woke up. It seemed that a crucial fixture of her sleeping and waking routines was missing. Daddy was away at work.

We'd gotten too complacent with routine. We were allowing the man to keep us down! I decided a wild crazy week of baby party was in order. I scooped up the girls and took them to the supermarket for juice, milk, cookies,jarred food, diapers, and hot dogs. Freshly stocked for a wild week without the old man keeping us down we walked to Starbucks. I got coffee, prayed Morning Prayer, and Annie stood by my table pointing out various things.


Other plans for the week include a NINO meeting, playing with the cousins, a trip to Burke Lake Park, and maybe some other fun baby-friend time.

Independence Day

Family got together for the Forth Of July. My sister from Seattle flew in that morning. Here she is, holding Betta.


Unfortunately, I don't have pics because the camera battery died, but the girls loved the fireworks display done by friends' HOA. Annie stood on the street shouting, "Boom! Boom! Fire up der!" and clapping and jumping around. She was heard down the entire street. Happy 4th everybody.