Preparing for Annie's Birthday

This afternoon, I thought it would be a good idea to let Annie watch the two short shows I have about birthdays. One is an Elmo's World about birthdays (Elmo is from Sesame Street) and the other is a "Miss Patty Cake" episode about birthdays (Miss Patty Cake is a popular larger-than-life character with the Christian preschool set). We also read the two books I have that mention birthdays Harold's Birthday Surprise and the end of Let's Eat (where a little girl is having a birthday party). Great preparation!
Later Leia Rose wrapped her special presents to Annie: a plush/birdhouse/shapesorter & an on-a-whim kitty purchase at CVS, . . . the fraternal twin brother of Leia's own Perri Pat Pat: Cherry Chat Chat! : )

Sunday Music

Honestly, I've decided that autumn is my favorite season of the year. These days in the seventies (and nights in the fifties) are absolutely fabulous! Today we went to Mass early so we could go to the music in Carrboro at Weaver Street Market. The whole event was simply wonderful!
Annie has been absolutely been fascinated with all sorts of sounds lately. Today, she would actually clap with the crowd after each song! She gets a kick out of that! (It's funny because when Leia was this age, she was scared to death of clapping. I remember Christmas Eve in Florida that year when everyone clapped at Mass and Leia started screaming. Yikes! But, hey, Annie seems to have more separation anxiety. It's give and take, I guess.) At first, Annie sat on my lap just listening to the music for about a half an hour. (It got a little bit harder after that, though, because all she really wanted to do was eat mulch. It'll be so nice when she's walking, . . . and not doing so much of that oral exploration anymore.)

The most exciting this was that we had some friends join us at the music unexpectedly! Sophia (Leia's really good friend from school, . . . co-buds with Jessica) came with her whole family! Glad we had an extra ribbon wand for Sophia (see below)! : ) It was great to get to know Sophia's mom and dad better, turns out we have St. Thomas More as well as Artgarden in common! We ended up talking lots about Mass and homilies, . . . and last year's "campaign." (Ha!)

Lots of times when we go to the music, I bring these twirling ribbons. This is the first time Leia Rose got to try the rainbow one that Santa Claus brought, . . . and we always bring the ones we got from Cassie's & Alan's wedding reception (those are really beat up now). You can see the huge tree in the background that, if you pick the right spot, will shade you through the whole thing. I still haven't figured out what kind of tree it is. Pecan, someone said.
And who else was there? Leia's former classmate, Bella! This is the girl that is so similar to Leia that they butted heads a bit. Hmmmm, trying to remember what Leia said that day, . . . I asked her “Is there anyone at school who is not your friend?” And she said, “Bella, . . . because she always wants me to do things and I like to do things my own way.” Bella's also the girl who told me that Annie's head looked just like a potato. Ha!
Okay, now this picture really needs an explanation. First, there's Leia, Bella, and Sophia in the background "stepping on the roots" which was one of their favorite games of the day. BUT, I just have to mention the guy in the foreground and the story behind him. We've always called him "Dancing Man" (and today we learned that he's really "Bruce: the Dancing Man.") This guy is the definition of stepping "to the beat of a different drummer." Fabulous! It's absolutely fascinating to watch him doing all sorts of fluid movements to the music, . . . any type of music, mind you. And he's always there. Every week. And he always stands right there by the tree, dancing his dance. Sometimes a child will come and join him. Sometimes a woman will come and join him. He freely dances happily with anyone who wants to, but he never says a word. More often than not, people will be dancing in front of the band, but not necessarily with him (like Leia and I danced today, . . . like we always do). Anyway, last year, we were there when someone actually made an announcement that dancing was banned from these music concerts. I was floored! Everyone there knew it was in reference to Dancing Man, and my thought was, "Come ON, this is Carrboro for goodness sake!" And I observed Dancing Man suddenly sit under his signature tree, look down at the ground, and then disappear completely. He didn't come back for weeks. Supposedly, there was such a public outcry (protests and all) that they reinstated the dancing allowance. Dancing Man suddenly appeared again. So, as you can see, going to the music in Carrboro is always an exercise in character as well. : ) Literally everyone come together: liberals and conservatives alike. Although today I heard the musicians dedicate "Let No Evil Pass This Way" to Bill O'Reilly. Hmmm, liberal undertones, huh? I'll forgive them for that in favor of the bluegrass and due to the general gaiety of the morning. : )
Later, I joined the girls at the other spectacle (this one is always behind the big tree): the hula-hoopers. Sometimes there are people who do things with hula-hoops I never knew possible. Such fluid movements! On those days, I can't take my eyes off those people. Here's Sophia trying a trick I taught her: to use the hoop as a kind of jump rope. : ) The owners are always happy to share with the local children.

And before we left, I couldn't pass up this photo opportunity. : ) It was really a glorious morning! Of course, Brian had to miss RCIA as a result (his sponsor wasn't there anyway), but I guess sometimes there are other ways to praise God.

Annie Smells a Flower

I finally got the picture I wanted of the precious look that Annie gives while she's smelling a flower! : ) Now if she'd just eat her vegetables!!! (Hope that's just a phase! These days she'll only eat the broccoli from Outback Steakhouse, . . . and nowhere else!)

Stickers Stickers Everywhere!

Today Leia Rose decided to stick stickers all over her dollhouse "because they make it look pretty." *sigh* This is reminiscent of the time she tore all of the pop-up illustrations out of her pop-up books to make "figures" out of them. . . . times to look back on and laugh. : )

Yay, Ballet!!! +

Can you believe we finally got Leia Rose a spot in a 5-year-old ballet class at Artgarden on Saturdays?!? The only reason why she was allowed in the class was because she was in extended day (otherwise she would have had to have turned five by October 16). Anyway, . . . hoooray! Here she is going to her first ballet class that will lead to the real "show" (the recital). : ) No one was happier than Leia Rose today!
And later Leia had a very creative idea to make a dinosaur out of one of our boxes! "It's a girl dinosaur that's purple with blue poka-dots," she said. : )
Leia wrapped up her play today by being Diego. : ) Here is Diego with his rescue pack (and flashlight?). Leia always uses the zipline, just like Deigo does on the show, when she plays this game. It always involves the same series of events: small animal gets into a predicament, small animal needs to be rescued, Alicia researches info about the animal on her computer, Diego rides the zipline in transit, Diego fends off mean animal, Diego rescues small animal. Today I got to be a lion and then a crocodile, while Daddy and Annie got to be the monkeys (Bo-Bo's) who needed to be rescued.

Annie's First Birthday Card Ever

Here is Annie exploring her first birthday card ever! It was the Faulkners (Karin, Steve, Kevin, Aria, & Eric) who had that honor! : ) They created this special card especially for her, . . . it even has our picture on it!
Little does Annie know that I am currently working on a very special box to hold her brand new card collection, . . . similar to the treasure box that I made for Leia Rose when she turned one. Ironically, I remember vividly my sister making one of these exact special card-holding boxes with my own mom when April was really young.

Tales From the Work Folder

"This is a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a Brontosaurus, . . . and some flowers."
"Look at these neat time-turners! And the sand in the middle is the world during the dinosaur time!"

"We got to taste the applesauce during the first circle time today. Mrs. Schnell put some sugar and cinnamon in it, but Jessica still called it 'yucky applesauce.' But I liked it! And here's the song I learned in school today [to the tune of 'I'm a Little Coconut.'] 'I'm a little acorn brown sitting on the cold, cold ground. Someone came and stepped on me. That is why I'm cracked you see. I'm a nut. I'm a nut. I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut. If you ask me, I don't know. Why the squirrels love me so. I'm descended from the oak right behind me, that's no joke. I'm a nut. I'm a nut. I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut.'"

Picnic Lunch in the "Mouse House"

After school today, we had a picnic lunch and playtime with the Oberlies at (where else?) but the Community Park! : ) Is this the first time I have a photo of the gazebo in the rose garden? (This is the same gazebo that we affectionately call the "Mouse House" . . . I don't know why except to say that Leia Rose created that name when she was two).

Annie had a blast exploring the cool floor of the upper part of playground structure. It had so many neat holes to stick her fingers through! And she could see through to the bottom level! She enjoyed crawling back and forth, back and forth, especially over the little curved bridge made of the same material (I think she was fascinated that it wasn't flat). And it occurred to me in the middle of allowing her to do this that I never in a million years would have allowed Leia Rose to do it at this age. Reason? Germs. Luckily, I had just read an article on how sunlight almost immediately kills most bacteria and viruses. But even still, this is a good example of how parents can get a bit more comfortable with their children's exploration, come the birth of a second child. Quite honestly, and even though I never would have believed it the first time around, I think Annie is the luckier one. : ) Ironically, we also met up with another little girl from school named Greta (the one who always gets bumps and bruises) and, unbeknownst to me, she gave Annie a rock! Suddenly I looked down at Annie and she had a big, dirty rock in her mouth! Okay, that was it, . . . and I freaked out. (It was Leia who finally told me that it was Greta who gave it to Annie.)
Leia Rose was very proud to go on many of the "big kid things" like this fun climbing part of the structure. Unfortunately, Leia Rose was grumpy for the entire time. I'm not sure why, but I have a hunch that it's because she didn't eat enough lunch. I think she was hoping for a bologna sandwich, but what I brought was some leftover pasta. Oh well. I actually had to take her aside and tell her that this was her warning and that (instead of the "thinking chair") if she spoke with disrespect again that we were going to go right home. Luckily there wasn't another infraction and we got to stay until it was Annie who hit "the wall" and not Leia. : ) Even though Leia had a grumpy afternoon, I have to say that this isn't the norm these days. She is really turning into a wonderful little lady.

It was also interesting to see that Jessica could actually do the monkey bars, . . . and even more interesting to see Leia Rose get frustrated that she couldn't. Ah, my little Leia Rose, athletics have never been her strong suit. : )

A Parent's Prayer

This photo takes a bit of explanation. My friend Karin Faulkner has a birthday today, . . . she's at the beach celebrating with the family. Luckily, she has wireless internet, so she blogs even while she's on vacation. I read her blog daily. This is a picture of the placemat from her birthday breakfast. She was impressed with the prayer on the left hand side. If you click on the picture, you can read it for yourself, or I'll print it again here in case you don't want to do that:

A Parent's Prayer

The are little only once, Lord. Grant me the wisdom and patience to teach them to follow in your footsteps and prepare them for what is to come. Make me take the time to play, pretend, to read or tell a story, to cudddle. Don't let me for one minute think there is anything more important the school play, the recital, the big game, fishing, or the quiet walk hand-in-hand. All too soon Lord, they will grow away and there is no turning back. Let me have my memories with no regrets. Please help me to be a good parent, Lord.

Oh my gosh! I cried while I was reading the blog, and I cried now! : ) It's just such a special parenting philosophy, one that I have always tried to make my own, but of course, sometimes failed in doing. Got to memorize this one and make it part of my own prayers! : )

Love the Bobike Mini!

This is certainly the post to begin Annie's birthday bash! Even though it wasn't quite her birthday yet, I asked Brian to install Annie's big present: a new Bobike Mini. Okay, this is the best bike seat ever created!!! Instead of stuck behind me, looking at my back, Annie was perched on the handlebars able to see everything! It was so exciting to be able to talk with her, touch her, kiss her, . . . that it made me bike even longer than usual! And Annie LOVED it! She felt like she was "the ruler of the bike" in that for most of the ride, she didn't really want to hold my hand or anything. It's as if she were saying, "Leave me alone for I am in control of this contraption!" The cutest thing about our ride though (apart from spotting two deer) was when we were about to go down the "big hill" and I told Annie (as I always do) to "hold on to your hats!" . . . and she reached up and held her helmet! Wow! Cute smarty! : )Here she is, "the ruler of the bike"! (Now if someone could tell me how, with one hand, to buckle a helmet strap tight enough to keep the helmet down on the child's head, . . . and not perched on top as it is here, . . . without pinching the skin. All tips and tricks are welcome!)
And today, it was Curious George who took a ride on the back. : ) But luckily, both girls can ride at the same time if they want.

Now since we're speaking of birthdays, Oma and Papa, don't look at this next photo because it's the special picture that Leia Rose drew for you for your birthdays! (But you can tune in for the explanation later.) . . .
Leia Rose was so proud of this picture! It's the very first time she drew a castle. (And it reminded me a lot of the special castles my godson, Gregory, draws.) She wanted to use a stencil for the pony, but I'm a bigger fan of the princess myself. : )

It's Me!!!

When we finished up our latest Pippi book a few days ago, Leia Rose saw this picture and said, "Look! It's me!!!" This was a comment both on Pippi swimming under the water . . . and the acknowledgment that Leia could do the same thing! : ) I thought this would be a good post to end the summer.

"What did you do at school today, Leia?"

Today, directly after school, Mrs. Schnell invited us in to see the beautiful apple tree the children had created along with the beautiful apples (Leia's was yellow) that each extended day child had cut out themselves. We also saw the crock pot of applesauce cooking overnight. The pot was way too full, but how could you tell a child that there wasn't room for his/her apple in there, you know? : )
From far away, I could tell that one of the pictures on the wall was Leia Rose's. (Isn't it amazing I can already tell her artistic style?) It was of a Tyrannosaurus Rex drawn in chalk and the caption read something like this: "This was supposed to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex chasing something, but I forgot." Ha!
Right next to it was a beautiful picture made by Jessica. The caption read, "This is a Tyrannosaurus Rex. His name is Boo. He is scary." Let's just hope that Leia Rose is a good influence. : )

Now here's what Leia Rose said today:

"I just loved making my yellow apple! Oliver's mom came in today to help with the applesauce, . . . and Oliver's grandma, too. And I did the 'cookie cutter painter'!!! You take a cookie cutter and put it in paint and then stamp it on a paper and it made leaves, . . . not Christmas trees. At first I thought it was Christmas trees, but it wasn't, it was leaves. I also did the 'float and sink' work and Daphne thought this little green thing would sink, . . . and it did sink, but it was supposed to float and the penny went *wwwwssssshhhhhh.* Mamma! I want you to look at how the penny went as it sank! It went *wwwwsssshhhhh.* [Oh, it went in a zig zag, huh? Neat!]"

Then later, right before bedtime, I got another little tidbit (as I often do, . . . except it's usually at dinner), here is Leia Rose serenading us with "Five Little Duckies" that they sang at school today. And I must say, it takes a certain amount of dexterity to do the right finger movements! : ) In case you can't see the video, the gist of it is, "Five little ducks came out to play over the hills and far away. The mamma duck said, 'quack, quack, quack." And four little ducks came running back." And so on, until the end when "One little duck went out to play over the hills and far away. The daddy duck said, 'QUACK! QUACK!" And five little ducks came running back!" Leia Rose also gave us Mrs. Schnell's rendition of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Five Little Monkeys." Lots of fun word play today in class!

Playing Itsy Bitsy Spider

ANNIE CRUISES and Says "Dog"!

Today Annie and I were playing togther in her play-yard (now you can really get a sense of how big that thing is) and she was having fun pressing these little animals through the holes to make them slide down their little maze to the ground. She's doing the kitty here, but the third one is a dog, and when we got to that one she clearly said, "Dog!" Yay! . . .
. . . and then suddenly she was up holding the edge of the play yard and walking round holding on! Say hello to cruising!!! : )

"What did you do at school today, Leia?"

"We did apples today! We figured out how many there were and colored how many spots there were on a chart. There were 10 red apples, 3 yellow apples, and 2 green apples. I wanted to go on the crocodile see-saw, but two other people wanted to go on it. And we learned a magic number work, but I didn't get to do it. Something bad that happened is that Greta bumped her head, but she didn't cry. And, Mamma, I got to feed the birds today."

Sing Along & Snow

Annie and I tried a fun new activity today, . . . one that I had forgotten about for 11 months or so: a sing along with my guitar! It's funny how my guitar, sitting there in the dining room on it's stand, has become a permanent fixture in our decor, . . . and how seldom I remember to play it. Well, today Annie ventured over there to explore it, and she's the one who gave me the idea. So here is Annie wondering what the heck I'm doing while I'm playing my guitar. Doesn't she look just as if she's seeing an alien from outer space? Funny! (Hey, at least she wasn't scared.)
As she got more and more comfortable with seeing and hearing the guitar, I got out the tambourine for her to accompany me.
And finally, she was brave enough to attempt strumming herself. What an interesting learning experience!
Later today, Leia Rose was thrilled to see that I had gotten some packing peanuts (i.e. "snow") in some boxes today. There's nothing Leia loves more than playing in "snow," and especially (and to my chagrin) breaking them up into tiny impossible-to-pick-up pieces! Ah, the wonder of static cling! : )

When Annie wakes up from her second nap these days, I usually let Leia Rose go upstairs and "get" her. Sometimes I even let Leia Rose get in the crib with Annie. Then, while I am making dinner, I keep the monitor on to hear their play. I really enjoy to hear their laughter while they have new adventure and make discoveries together. I feel blessed that these sisters are fast becoming friends. : )

Pippi Revisited

Leia Rose and I just finished Pippi Goes On Board, so we watched a bit of the film today. And can you guess what followed? That's right: playing Pippi! Check out those freckles!!! : ) Here is Leia Rose as Pippi riding on her horse called "Little Old Man" with the monkey "Mr. Nilsson" on her shoulder off to find a new adventure (with the real Pippi on the TV in the background). Again, I looped the song at the beginning of the movie so it would play again and again to accent our play. Got to love that looping feature!
Turns out Pippi's first adventure was to actually find the lost "guy" and "flowers" from Annie's peek-a-boo puzzle! Wow! Thanks Pippi!

"What did you do at school today, Leia?"

"We did targets today, and guess what?!? Price got 100 points!!! I got 4 points, but we all won. It's not really a winning game. Today I got to clean the erasers and the chalkboard. Outside, yes, we played sheds and 'Dinosaur Save Guard.' I was the ruler of the dinos and I had to save Jessica from bad dinosaurs. During extended day circle time we talked about Johnny Appleseed, . . . and we made a tree with branches! Mrs. Schnell drew a trunk and Jesse cut it out. I made some branches and we put the tree together. Tomorrow we're going to make apples! And we took our apples we brought in today and weighed them. It was like this, 'Is this apple heavier or lighter? Put it in the line. Is this apple heavier or lighter? Put it in the line.'"

Staying After School

It has become a tradition with Leia Rose to stay after school (even after extended day!) and read one particular book in the Artgarden lobby, . . . Pinocchio. Why Pinocchio? I have absolutely no idea! : ) Leia's always strangely drawn to books that have something a bit scary in them (the whale named Monstro) and this book is no exception. She just sits there looking at and studying every single picture until she gets finished.
And when a friend stays as well (like Daphne in this picture) they both stay and look at Pinocchio together. : ) There was one day last week when Leia, Price, Daphne, and Jesse all stayed looking at this book. Priceless.

Then we saw the strangest thing driving home . . .
And I just had to document something that I have never seen in our area before. In fact, the only time I've ever seen anything like this was at the beach. It was a plane pulling an advertisement right over 15/501! And it simply said "Geico" with the face of the famous "Caveman" who is about to star in his own new show next week. I don't know why this struck me as amazing, . . . it just did. Perfect opportunity to teach Annie the sign for "airplane."

Annie at the Doctor

Well, today I payed $15 to learn that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Annie. : ) I came in with this huge list of concerns from "possible sinus infection" to "abnormal lump on the head" only to hear that Annie was just fine and was getting over a cold. : ) Best news I could have heard, actually! Because there was no fever, there was no sinus infection. Yay! Her ears were totally clear, the tubes, Dr. Stephens said, prevented it! She studied Annie's head shape for quite a while with the diagnosis being "an asymmetric head." Ha! No tumors! A good thing! : ) As a bonus I learned that Annie weighs 23 pounds, which doesn't surprise me in that she's "thinning out" and certainly not getting any chubbier (despite what that little pooch in the front of her outfit may reveal). During the appointment, nothing made Annie happier than a cherry-flavored toungue depressor! : ) Dr. Stephens gave her one right before she was going to try and look in Annie's mouth, . . . and we both told her to say "ahhhhh." Now, Annie wouldn't let Dr. Stephens use the depressor, but she took it herself, said "ahhhh," and opened her mouth! Dr. Stephens said that it was the first time she had ever seen a one-year-old open her mouth voluntarily for an exam! Good job, Annie!