Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween at School

It's AC's 3rd Halloween! I can't believe it! We kept it pretty low key. She celebrated at school and when we realized that all the sugar had upset her stomach, we decided that was all the celebrating she needed! Here are some pictures of her today at school.

All the classes did a little performance first thing in them morning. This is AC's class. She is the one right in the middle with a purple bow on top of her head.

AC and her best buddy, Matilda, and Nicky walking in the costume parade. Both Matilda and Nicky forgot their costumes.

Waiting patiently on the mat for snacks. (Today was not her best hair day! Ha!)

My Little Mermaid waiting.

AC, Matilda, and Makayla

Best buddies eating donuts

Mermaid Princess (that's what she called her costume)!

Trick-Or-Treating!

Sitting at the table waiting for lunch!

She had a lot of fun. By the end of the day, she was yelling, "Happy Halloween!" to everyone that would listen!!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Mad At You

I know that two-year-olds can be weird and defiant, but she has started doing some not-so-nice things at home. Her most favorite of all is to announce that fact that she is mad, even if she doesn't appear to be mad at all. Here is a little video evidence.


We hope you all have a great weekend!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Spooky Stuff

Monsters, dragons, and cats! Oh my! My girl is really getting into the Halloween spirit. She actually has no idea what Halloween is or what it involves, but she has noticed all the ghosts and pumpkin decorations popping up every where. And it seems that she has watched something on TV that discussed something of a spookier nature. Monsters and Dragons!

FYI: She had just woken up from a nap. After watching this video, it seems I didn't understand a lot of what she was saying at the time! And yes, she still sleeps in a crib and will continue to do so until she gives me no choice and starts climbing out.


Geez, she wouldn't stop talking about that monster and dragon. You can tell that I really wanted to get downstairs and eat lunch!!

What better way to get in the Halloween spirit than to paint your face like a cat! She loved it and walked around meowing for what seemed like an hour.

So while she loves cats, she is terrified of monsters and, especially, dragons. She refuses to watch Shrek for that reason. I just pray she doesn't start having bad dreams or develop a crazy fear of spooky things!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Lina

Angelina, know by AC as Lina, is a new favorite around this house.

After an episode of her show, AC is attempting to do all kinds of sophisticated ballerina moves.
In the process of standing on one leg.

A pirouette/spin

Arm up, leg back!

Her concentrated face

In other news, this morning I was trying to rush AC out the door for school. We were WAY late. She looks at me and say, "Me don't want to go to Winnie's (her teacher). Me mad you, Mommy!" Mad at me? Oh dear. Where did she learn this? She is FULL of attitude lately. Full of it, I tell you. If this attitude is starting at 2, I dread what it's like in 10 years. Lord, help us.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Organic

I think before I had a baby, I thought only hippies were interested in organic food. It was a shallow and immature assumption. I knew almost nothing about organic food and therefore wasn't interested. I'm not sure exactly when I "saw the light," but I often wish it had been much earlier in life. I think it may have been when I read this article almost 2 years ago. Seven Foods that Should Never Cross Your Lips. This article sparked my interest and I began researching the things I had read about. This research led me to lots of other interesting discoveries about cookware, plastics, laundry detergents, and children's clothing just to name a few.

Sure it costs more. Quite a bit more in some cases. But we are willing to make sacrifices in other areas to make organic products a part of our lives. I believe it is the best way. The only way for my little girl. Is everything we eat or use organic? Absolutely not. I'm not disciplined enough for that. Maybe someday.

I have found a wonderful website that provides great information on almost everything parents use on a daily basis. I use this website all the time. It's called The Good Guide. It has lots of practical information.

I'm writing all this for several reasons. First, I want to remember the websites/links I have included. If I write them down, I will surely lose the paper. I can't find anything these days and my memory seems to be completely unreliable. Secondly, I wanted to share some good info for anyone that might be looking for a place to start with organics. Finally, I want everyone to be more aware of all the things that go into our bodies. Especially our babies. Let's keep them as pure as we can. They are totally reliant on us. It's our duty to do our research and give them the best we have.

So call me a hippie. I can take it :)

Monday, October 24, 2011

Good Morning!

"Mommy, me help you!" she yells before the sun has even risen. My clock reads 6:14. Geez, why is she already awake? I think. "MOMMY, ME HELP YOUUUUU!!" I laugh as I crawl out of bed wondering what in the world she wants to help me with at 6 am, and also wishing I hadn't stayed up so late reading a new book. As soon as I open the door to her room, she says, "Mommy, me pee in potty NOW!" She had on a diaper but I guess she is finally beginning to recognize the feeling of having to go. Woohoo! We rushed downstairs in our sleepy stupor and, sure enough, she peed on the potty! We did the whole you-peed-on-the-potty celebration and had a little talk about not pooping in her pants today. All the while, I make a mental note to buy a potty to put upstairs. The joys of motherhood.

Then breakfast commences. I fix AC her usual, Cheerios, milk, and banana, while she begins to watch Leap Frog Letter Factory. As soon as I put her breakfast down in front of her, she proclaims, "Me don't like this anymore." Two things run through my mind. 1) What! Of course you like this. Besides I don't have anything else this morning. 2) When did you develop this little attitude, missy! After a short protest on her part and longer period of ignoring on my part, she caved and ate it. But she wasn't shy about letting me know she wasn't happy. I received the Evil Eye about 15 times.

Then it was time for dressing and hair-fixing. She was surprisingly cooperative for this. That is until she decided she didn't want to wear a sweater after all. Thankfully I found a little Disney poster that featured Woody and Buzz. Operation Distraction was a success.


Then we were off to school. She was pretty cheerful on the car ride and very happy to see her teacher once we arrived. I just hope she doesn't have such an attitude when she gets home!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Moody Girl

Sadly this is the face my girl wore most of the day.

I'm not sure what's up with her. She is just in a funk. Maybe she misses Mamaw and Papaw. The story behind the picture is this: We tried to take her to Monkey Joe's. It was a mad house and she wasn't really wanting to play much. So we didn't stay long. Daddy and I decided it was time to call it quits and she wasn't very happy.

Until she realized we were stopping for 'cream' or frozen yogurt!

When we got home, Daddy decided to do a little workout in the garage. AC must have said, "Daddy, me help you!" about 1,000 times. Here she is showing Daddy the proper way to do a push-up!

We love and miss you all!!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Friday's Facts

Friday's Facts:
1) Mamaw and Papaw left this morning. We had a great week with them but are all feeling a little down today. We will miss them. It takes us a few days to recover from a tough bout of homesickness after our visitors leave.
2) The weather is lovely right now. The high today was 76. It was sunny and breezy.
3) AC had a good day at school. Her teacher said she was very good.
4) We went to the park and stayed for 2 hours. Fun times.








We hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Rain Forest

It has been raining for three straight days. It feels like we are living in the rain forest. Poor Mamaw and Papaw have been stuck in the house with us! Today we decided to brave the rain and go get a little lunch. What better place to go on a rainy day than the Rainforest Cafe. It was the very first time for all of us and we LOVED it.


There were tons of cool fish. AC had a blast trying to find Nemo, Nemo's Daddy, and Dori!

She loved the elephants but when they started moving, she turned to Daddy and said, "Daddy, no elephants get me, please!"


She wasn't as afraid of the gorilla as she was of the elephants.

She really loved these tigers. She kept saying, "Mommy Tiger, Daddy Tiger, 2 babies!"

The best part of the entire trip was that AC actually sat in a chair and ate almost her entire meal. She was so good. AND it has finally stopped raining!!!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Mamaw and Papaw

Mamaw and Papaw are here!!!! We haven't taken many pictures because we are busy having fun. Here's what I got from today.

AC watching Toy Story and eating some 'cream'. She has on a VERY cute dress that Mamaw brought for her.


We hope you all are having a good week, too!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Lazy Day

We didn't do anything today. We only left the house for about an hour and that was for a walk to AC's friends' house, Mia and Elise. We haven't seen them since school started, so it was nice to see their little adorable faces.

Here's what I got for today:
This picture was taken exactly 1 year ago. I can't believe how much she has grown and changed.

Sweet girl smiling with her baby. It was a wild hair day!

She wanted candles in her cake. So I dug out a few old birthday candles and we stuck them inside her little wooden wedding cake. She was so excited.

Pushing her stroller to Mia and Elise's house.

Stopping to look at our neighbor's Halloween decorations.

On the way home.

Lots of love to all of you. We miss you! We can't wait to see Mamaw and Papaw on Monday! AC keeps asking me, "Mamaw and Papaw comin' my house to play?" She is really excited!!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Fall Fun

Today was all about fall! This morning AC went to the pumpkin patch with her class! They each got to buy a pumpkin, get their picture taken, and hear a story about pumpkins. I didn't go with her, but I heard it was a really good time!

AC and her classmates!

More pictures of this trip will be on a blog in the very near future! I'm waiting for another mom to email them to me!

The fun continued this evening. AC's school had a Fall Festival! She and I waited for Daddy to get home from work and then we headed on over.

I knew that she would be crazy wild once we got there, so I tried to get a few pictures of her before we left. Here she is playing in her kitchen.

I took this picture as she was asking me, "Me take baby to Winnie's house?" In other words, "Can I take my baby to Ms. Lyndi's (her teacher) house (school)?"

She didn't stop moving the entire 2 hours we were there. Here she is walking on a wooden bench. Her best buddy, Matilda, is right behind her!

Looking back to see if Matilda is following her.

Taking a Hay Ride with Daddy who is trying to get her to look at me for a minute!

It was a really good time. Daddy is tired and sweaty from chasing AC and Matilda around. I wish you could see these two girls together. They walked around holding hands all night. It was the absolute sweetest thing ever.

AC pretty much begged to go to bed when we got home. She didn't nap today and was exhausted. That is only the 2nd time in her little life that she hasn't taken even a short nap. She lay in her bed and sang songs for 2 whole hours. No tears. No yelling for Mama. Just singing.

I'm sure we will pay for this lack of sleep tomorrow! Pray she isn't unbearable!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Her Brain

I've always wondered what goes on in that little brain of hers. She has a mind of her own, no ifs, and, or buts about it. I find myself chuckling when parents talk about how smart their kids are. Don't we all think our kids are smart? I try not to worry about it much. We try to do some sort of academic activity every day but there are days when we don't talk about numbers, letters, colors, and shapes. And I'm ok with that.

In case you are wondering, here is what she does have tucked somewhere in that 26-month-old brain of hers.
1) Counting 1-10. It's hard to get her to do it. It's kinda like she is thinking, "Come on, Mom. That is so lame." But she can do it. The number 4 always trips her up. She can't pronounce it well so it sounds nothing like 'four'.
2) Number Recognition. She can recognize a few written numbers (1, 2, 3, 8). Those are her favorites.
3) Numbers vs. Letters. She knows that 1-10 are 'numbers', not 'letters'.
4) Letters. She can sing parts of the ABC song. She skips the 'L-M-N-O-P" part. She recognizes the written A and B.
5) Colors. She knows orange, green, blue, pink, purple, black, brown. She is hit-or-miss with red and yellow.
6) Shapes. She knows what a circle is.
7) Name. She is finally attempting to say her own name. This double name thing has been hard for her. Most of the time she says, "Na Cares" for Anna Claire. Usually she just refers to herself as "Me (with much enthusiasm)."
8) Opposites. She recognizes the difference between big and little, fast and slow, up and down, stop and go, in and out.

She loves hopscotch. She doesn't play it correctly, but she really likes to run through the numbers. Today we practiced putting the number magnets in the corresponding squares. She surprised me with how many she could do!

Before I had a kid, I swore my child would never watch tv. There are tons of studies that tell you how horrible it is. Well, she didn't watch any tv until she was about 15 months old. And then in a desperate moment, I put on The Wiggles. That was a game-changer. For the first time in 15 months, I could clip my nails, go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, put dishes away. I felt horribly guilty at first. But when I realized that she was learning so much from the little tv she did watch, I had to rethink my stance. I realize that different things work for different families. TV (in moderation and later than 1 year old) works for my family. Every single day, I am amazed at the things she remembers from shows.

On a different and slightly more disgusting note, we had our first poop on the potty this morning! She only had 2 wet accidents yesterday and none today. I put a diaper on her for nap and she did pee and poop in it, but I'm just happy that she isn't afraid to use the potty. She wears training underpants during the day and a diaper during sleep times. It has to be black or white with my girl, therefore no pull-ups here. I feel like I started this whole process clueless, but I am so proud of myself and AC for being successful.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Long Locks

This is not the best picture, but I wanted to share how long AC's hair is when it isn't curled up. I had just washed her hair and blown it dry. I just can't believe how long her hair has gotten. It is actually a little longer than it looks in this picture because it had started to curl by the time I took this picture!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Sick or Not Sick?

Today was pretty typical. Church, lunch, nap, play. It has been raining all weekend, so we haven't been anywhere. AC had a rough day at school on Friday. The secretary called to tell me that she wasn't feeling well. I rushed to pick her up and found her sound asleep on a mat in the office. I expected a long weekend of nursing a sick girl. However, she never got sick. It's weird and I'm still puzzled by it. This child will sleep NO WHERE except the bed. Not the car, not the couch. Unless she's sick. When she's sick she passes out cold wherever she feels most comfortable. Just like she did at school. I was prepared to fight the stomach virus (which other classmates had) and it never happened. I'm not complaining.

However, there was something else that was bugging her. When we got home from school, AC started complaining that her boo-boo hurt. I finally noticed a big swollen knot on her leg with 2 red spots on it. It was so tender that she wouldn't even let me touch that leg anywhere. After calling the teacher and Daddy, I decided to take her to the dr. We feared it may be a spider bite. The dr. didn't have an answer that satisfied me. She said it was a scrape which it clearly isn't. Anyway, I've been watching it all weekend and it has gotten better. It's not gone but it's no longer swollen and painful. Weird, weird, weird.

Back to today. Here is my girl having a little snack after church.



Nice footrest, AC.



Happy Sunday to you all! We hope you enjoyed that beautiful fall weather you are having (and we so desperately miss)!