Favorites

Quote of the night:

Anna - what is your favorite color? "chocolate!"
No, no, COLOR, Anna, what is your favorite color? "ohhh! chocolate MILK!"

Quote of the day:

Earlier today, my princess looked down at her hand and said, and I'm not joking, "Oh no! I broke a nail!"

Event of the day:

Today we hiked up to Franklin Falls and back and she did great, on her own feet nearly the whole way there and back! :)

On the marital note:

We had a debate about getting sushi take out or mexican tonight. Mexican won. Rob says, "Thanks honey, so much! Next time, it's all your decision."
Trying to be spiritual and nice... I say... "no no, Rob, it's not about keeping track or score. It's not a big deal. It's all about just give and take... so.... next time, I'll do the taking!" That is the new running joke now - It's about give and take - so I'll be taking... :)

Anna and Mommy and Money Troubles:

We went to Wallmart last week on a very special date. Annabelle wanted a new blankey! Hallelujah! So I thought, we'd psych ourselves up, talk about it all morning, get excited to welcome a new blankey into the house... we get to Wallmart, she picks out a sweet, soft, new pink blanket. We hold it, hug it, talk about it, walk up to the counter and UH OH....Mommy's credit card is denied!!!??? What???? SO embarrassing - have no idea what happened at the time (something about us being in Canada "triggered" a guard on it or something) . POOR ANNA!! Mommy and Anna walk away with the blankey in the bag behind the counter. Anna is crying and crying - why can't she have the blankey? Finally Mommy has a flash of brilliance, I pull out the culprit and show Annabelle the card and say,
"Anna - Mommy's money is broken!"
Anna: "Uh oh. It's broken?"
Me: "Yup, the money is broken so we can't buy blanky."
Anna: "But we can get new money?"
Me: "Yes we can! Lets go home and get Mommy's other not-broken money!"
Anna: "Yeah! OK! That would be like FUN!"

So off we go... moment saved....

And yes, she still sleeps with her old blankey :)

Anna-sayings:

"that would be like fun!"

"You are my BEST friend!"

"What do you think about?"

"You're the scary part!"

"Can I be the orange kitty?"
"Can I be the gray kitty?"
"Can I be the Ronald?"
"Can I be the Reagan kitty?"
"Can I be Annabelle?"

Sayings, this and that....So I don't forget...

Once again, this morning during communion service, Annabelle looks over at the Cup of the Covenant, the blood of Christ :), and says, "Mommy! It's the Piston Cup! For Cars!" Yup - honey - Jesus gave us the piston cup as a symbol of his sacrifice!!!

Annabelle is into saying "We Are" these days. I'll say - Annabelle, you are so special, "Yes. WE ARE Mommy." Annabelle, we love each other, dont' we? "Yes! We Are!" Annabelle, the sun is out so big today, isn't it?" Yes, We ARE!

We love to listen to her kid songs in the car. The favorite these days is "Father Abraham had many sons" and "Be careful little eyes what you see..." and "My God is so great! So strong and so mighty!" She was singing that last one super loud and full of umph in the grocery store the other day. At first I thought of shushing her and then changed my mind! Sing it girl! Tell the world!! We got a lot of stares...

In the car a few days ago, Annabelle reached for my hand and asked me to pray for her - sweet little soul!!

Right now I am listening to her thudding footseps upstairs as she plays and is saying, "Peter Pan! I'm going to miss you" - "I'm going to miss you too Wendy!" "Ha Ha, Wendy, you're so funny." "Is that so funny?" "Yeah, that's so funny Wendy." "Wendy - These are the lost boys, OKAY?" "WENDY! Wait for Captain Hook!"

My all time favorite is still, "Oh my GOSH, you're KIDDING me!" she says, with the best inflection and appropriate use!

During church today Annabelle was in my arms, legs wrapped around my waist and singing right in my face. I would tell her the next word of the song and she'd sing it loud, and then give me a nose-kiss. At one point she was singing so loud, and she opened her mouth wide, for what I thought, was going to be a note or something, and then she promptly sneezed a big one - RIGHT into my open mouth and eyes! ICKY!! :) She laughed SO hard!

A Day in the Life

I think all too often it is easy, (for me at least, I confess), to complain often about parenting, and to find that outlet to be able to scream - "THIS IS HARD!" and oh how I LOVE to hear, "Boy, that sounds hard!" :) So, my need for my existence to be validated is fed. :) I especially love this one: "Boy, don't know if I could EVER do it..." Strokes the ego! You're darn right! I'm amazing! And this is the hardest job in the world!! :) ... It's rare the Mom's get to hear that... Thus the tirades and the complaints about how I want more sleep, a quiet cup of coffee in the morning, and to sit on my deck without having to first go take care of someone else's needs before my own..

But the truth of the matter is... it is harder than I ever expected - to learn to put someone else's needs before my own like that - and to parent - and do so with godly wisdom (SO hard!) -
BUT it is also more wonderful than I would have ever ever ever expected...

For example, days like today.

Woke up to Anna saying in the monitor - (FIRST thing in the AM mind you) - Mommy! You the Prince and I Thumbulina, OK MOmmy?"
I yell - "OK Anna!"
"Mommy!? You awake?"
"Yup!"
"Ok! I'm coming!" - thump, clunk, dunk - stomp stomp stomp - door flings open - MOMMY! GOOD MORNING!!!

She comes and cuddles and cuddles and kisses me - we do "noses" and play the kissing game and the I love you game. She fills my heart with immense joy.

We go downstairs, watch some Cinderella to get the imagination flowing - make coffee - then play and play - I'm the prince of course.

1 hour later - play the who can pick their outfit the fastest - I go to my closet, she to hers - we meet in the hallway with our clothes. We talk and talk about being big girls with big girl panties. She squeals with delight as she puts them on "ALL BY HERSELF" - and everytime I watch her delight, I am delighted. Watching her learn, grow, try new things, be bigger and bigger...and then there is a small prick on the heart... sigh....she is growing up TOO fast.

Mommy- "take me" - Oh, really, can't resist - OK! I love to carry her like a little froggy with her legs wrapped around my waist. She nuzzles her head into my neck and gives me licks (she is now a kitty). We walk downstairs and get into the "Pumpkin Coach" (she is now Cinderella). We go to the toy store to find a present for Brynn. She finds this shopping cart and goes around the store "shopping" - calling me "Daddy" the whole time (King Triton - she is now Ariel)... everyone looks at me funny (Daddy?)... she grabs tons of toys... and then I am proud of her and me, as she willingly and happily puts them all back where she got them...

Starbucks time. We have a date. She wears her Tierra and boa feathers into the store, with her purple dress (again) and everyone stares and coos :)...Proud mommy of my princess. I have coffee, she has water. we talk about what it's like in the castle today... I love it.

Grocery store - I am now Lucifer, she is the "white kitty" - not sure how I like being called Lucifer OUTLOUD... :) We share a donut and walk the store, shop, go home...

We get home and take off some clothes and play with paints in the dining room. FUN TIMES - paint EVERYWHERE! Oh look! Reagan wants to paint! We grab the kitty and put her paws in the paint and make kitty prints on the paper. Shoot - now what? We take Reagan to the bathtub with us. Reagan - not so happy....

Bubble bath time with my kiddo. LOVE it. Splashing, talking, bubbles, washing hair... kisses, hugs, so much love. Playing "hands" is the best - the hands talk and swim and play and suddenly it's "We can fly, we can fly we can fly!" time... we sing "we can fly" on the TOP of our lungs... Such exuberance!

A little picnic lunch on the floor, a bit more Cinderella. We play kitties that chase each other around the living room. When I tackle her - kisses on the belly... SQUEALS of delight. We are now, in the blink of an eye - Sleeping Beauty and Prince and we dance around the living room together...

Bed time... big cuddles, arms around my neck, many kisses...reading books that she loves, she tries to read along... prayers - "Thank you Jesus for my blankie my pac, my ba-ba, my mommy."

And now I have some me-time.

Being a Mom is the best, the hardest and the best. I re-read a journal entry from a long time ago - that said, "this is the worst day of my life. It's so hard being mom, am I allowed to say that?I hate it! I'm suffocating."

A week later - the journal entry read.... "Being Anna's mom is the greatest gift. I am so blessed. She has my heart."

Go figure. :)

--------
Baby stage was one of the funnest. Strap her onto me, take her every where. So small and sweet.
First smiles, first giggles, first word, first crawl, first fall - it's all photographed and videoed b/c it feels and seems like the most amazing thing we as parents have ever seen in our lives!!!!
Nursing - quiet times bonding in the middle of the night... both so tired, both so cuddly....

And then she grows...and it's sad and great... but it's the best. I would die a thousand horrible deaths to give her life if I had to. I would give her the world if I could. My heart is walking around outside my body every day.

The hard stuff is easy to complain about - validates me - helps me vent - etc... the good stuff gets all too often missed... but most of the time, it is actually good with my kid.

She is SO INTENSE and difficult so often, but that intensity gives her this incredible mind, her make-believe is out of this world, her love is very great - she is verbal with "I love you's" and cuddles and hugs and kisses in a way that other kids may not be with their mom's. Her joy in opening a present or seeing something pretty is also "intense." The first time she played at the ocean. The first time she went to the cabin, down the shoot, etc... she loves life.... So it goes both ways... Whatever kind of kid you have, he/she will be perfectly matched to you. Having an "annabelle" type kid is harder than others perhaps, but it also brings a different kind of blessing...


Just thought I'd be sure to tell you all how great it is. The joy in parenting IS 80/20 :) and somedays it feels like 120/0...(like when we tried on ALL of my long gowns and danced with Daddy - such joy!) Somedays the opposite, but overall, your heart will be SO FILLED with joy and love, it will knock you off your orbit...


Off my orbit,
Becca

OH it's been a long time since I blogged.

Anna just turned three and is loving to say, "I'm THREE years old." She changes personalities every five minutes between Cinderella, Lady(and Tramp), Snow White, and "the shark" in Ariel. It's hard to keep up.

Latest "funny" sayings:

Looks at Mom and Dad and says, "OK Kids! You leave the room now!"

I'm telling Anna, "Follow me honey" - and she says, "No, I want to follow Jesus." :) GOOD idea! :)

She is still in love with being unclothed most of the time, we are trying to encourage the free spirit while not getting in trouble with the law :).

When she changes identities, she "puts on" her pretend clothes, necklaces, rings, shoes, etc. When she is done she says loudly and a little angrily, "I am NOT Cinderella ANYMORE!" and proceeds to take off all of her pretend "stuff." This is especially cute at the grocery store.

All for now!

OH it's been a long time since I blogged.