Crazy

It's been a crazy weekend around here. We are busy getting ready for our trip and getting everyone, including the furry dog, healthy again. First thing Saturday morning, Gracie started vomiting. She also refused food and water for the first time in her entire life. So, she and I went back to the vet where they basically told me it was nothing and to continue the meds given to us on Friday. Thankfully, she is much better today and actually ate and drank. I'm praying this is the beginning to the end of her sick spell. I hate that she feels bad but it's wearing me out. The remainder of the day was pretty typical.

AC slept in this morning...until 8. She's usually a 6:45 kinda girl, so waking up at 8 was pretty awesome. We got ready for church and rushed to get there. When we dropped AC off at her classroom, she was wearing a purple/pink/white dress with silver sandals. When Daddy brought her back to me, she was wearing this...

They told Daddy she had had a really bad diaper accident and they had to change her. When I first saw her, I couldn't decide if it was hysterical or embarrassing. I couldn't stop laughing. By the way, the shirt is size 3T boys and the pants are size 18 months. Too funny!! AC didn't seem to notice that she looked like a miniature safari explorer on drugs.

Later in the day, she began giving me the Evil Eye. I'm not liking this one bit.

We hope you all had a great weekend. We can't wait to be home soon!

Spirit Day

Today was Spirit Day at preschool. All the kids wore these little t-shirts. It was funny to watch AC this morning when she saw a few kids with the same shirt as her. She kept looking at her shirt and then back at their shirts. I could see the little wheels turning in her head.

So far, she really loves it. She loves her teacher and her classmates. She talks about them all day and hugs and kisses each person each morning. She isn't an angel during the day, but thankfully, the teacher has lots of patience and is certain she will adjust in due time. It's nothing serious, just simple things like sitting in a circle and having more patience.

Good news! Gracie is much better today. She has some special food and antibiotics, and I can already tell she is much better! Thank goodness!

Rainy Day

It's been raining non-stop here. Thanks Hurricane Irene. I'll gladly take the rain, if that's all she's giving us.

Today we stayed inside and played, did laundry, read a few books, and sang some songs. AC's favorite song this week is "Turkey in the Straw." She managed to get pudding all over her blankie and when I tried to sneak it off for washing, I got this response.

She wasn't giving it up. I never got it washed though she did let me wipe with a rag. Maybe tomorrow.

AC also had her first taste of honey mustard today. I think it went over well.

My furry baby is sick. She's been sick for about a week. It is really bugging me. I'm taking her to the vet in the morning. I pray that it's nothing major.

Tomorrow is Spirit Day at preschool. I've got to get her little outfit ready! We hope you have all had a good week!

The First Day

Here's how it all went:

I got up early, got myself ready, put the finishing touches on AC's lunch, and ate breakfast.

An hour later, AC wakes up and has her breakfast. While she's eating, I work on her hair. She had some major bedhead. I can tell that she senses that something is different about today. She must know because I am fixing her hair during breakfast. That never happens. As soon as she's done eating, we change her clothes and try to head for the door.

She wasn't having it, at first. I wouldn't say that she was grumpy. She just wanted me to slow down a bit. She is used to having an hour or more to fully wake up and start her day. This morning she had 25 minutes. So, when I started taking pictures, she wasn't so sure she was going to cooperate. Hence the lying down and refusing to stand up.

But I was determined to have a good morning and get a few good pictures of my girl on her very first 1st day of school. She began to cheer up once we got outside.

This is the best I could do when it came to a picture of the two of us.

This is the best I could do when it came to a picture of these 2 goofs. Love them.

In the car on the way to school, she kept saying, "Me ready, Mommy. Me ready." She was so excited.

And she jumped right in as soon as we walked through her classroom door.

Right after this picture, she looked up at us and said, "Love you, Daddy. Love you, Mommy." We kissed her and left. I cried all the way to the car. I'm actually tearing up a little just thinking about it. For the next 3.5 hours, I felt strange. I spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with my girl. We are never separated for more than 1 hour a week. While I so desperately wanted her to start school, I felt like I was missing something all morning. Like I had left a little piece of me behind. I guess I did in a way. A living, breathing 2 year old piece of me.

While I was a crying mess, AC was having a blast. When I went to pick her up, the teacher said she did amazing. Her exact words were, "This girl here has been a big hit in our room today." A big hit, huh? That's my girl...

After a few kisses, hugs, and thank-yous, we were back in the car and headed for home. I must have asked her 10 times what she did at school. She didn't understand what I wanted, but I wanted her to tell me all about it! I'm so happy for her. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for my angel.

Getting Ready

Today was preschool orientation. It didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. AC was really grumpy because she didn't get to finish her nap. She was pretty whiny and bossy most of the time, but I think she liked it. We got to meet her teacher, see her classroom, and meet the other kids in her class - 2 boys and 5 girls. The teacher seemed very loving and earned a few extra points with Daddy and me when we noticed that she had actually labeled all AC's things/cubbies with "Anna Claire" and not just "Anna". None of the kids in her class are potty-trained yet, even though everyone is 2 years old. I'm kinda glad about it. I have plans to potty-train AC after the wedding. Now I don't have to worry about her being the only one in diapers.

Here is my grumpy girl on the way out of orientation. She refused to cooperate and look at the camera.

So, now she's in bed and I'm getting everything ready for her big day. I'll admit that I have cried a little. I just can't believe that the time has gone by so quickly and she is already old enough to make this big step. The lunch and diapers will be packed and my girl will look cute, but I'm not sure there is enough time in the world to get me ready.

But for now, I'm focusing on this stuff. The necessities for a successful first day.
Not shown: Paci and Blankie. Daddy says have to let her take them on the first day. He says it would be cruel to do that to the teacher. I think he's right.

Wish us luck. It's gonna be a big day.

Lip Gloss Disaster

Here's why I have decided to throw away or hide all lip gloss in this house.

She is obsessed. I walked into the next room to look for a piece of paper on which I had written a phone number. I left her sitting at her little table coloring pictures of Mickey Mouse. I could still hear her and knew she would be fine for just a few minutes. Well, I have no idea where she found this. My theory is that she had hidden it in her play kitchen a few days ago. When I left the room, she must have gotten up and found it in the kitchen. Somehow she got the lid off and went to town.

After scrubbing her face to the point of tears, I was able to get most of it off. There was some residual sparkle left around her eyes, but I figured it would wear off during the day. Later that day, she woke up from her nap with bloodshot eyes and a couple of bumps on her cheeks.

Despite the huge pain this mess was, I couldn't help but smile when she finally saw herself in the mirror. "Mommy, look at me! Look, me!! I pitty!" She loved it.

On a different note, we've been busy playing with our little friends Reese, Mia, Elise, and Liam. All of these kids live in our neighborhood and AC plays with them at the park a few times a week. We've been spending a lot of time with these little guys because all of them, even AC, start school on Monday. I have a feeling it will be quite a while before they all see each other again. I'm starting to get a little sad. Orientation is tomorrow. I'm sure that's when it will really hit me. But I'm still excited for her. I can't wait for her to make more friends. I'm so excited for others to grow to know and love my sweet, loving little girl. And I'm so excited for all the things she will learn. According to the curriculum map, the five senses, colors, cutting, and much more are up first! I just know she's going to love it!

2 Year Check-Up and Things

AC had her 2 year check-up today. Everything went well. She weighs 27.6 lbs (55th percentile) and 37.5 inches tall (96th percentile). She is long and lean. She has met all the milestones and we couldn't be happier about that. She got 2 shots today - MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) and Hep A (hepatitis A, a liver disease). She only cried while the needles were in her legs. Once they were out and she got two fun band-aids, she was completely over it. I think she might be feeling a little bad now because she was unusually cranky at bed time. She has never had reactions to any of the shots in the past. I'm just praying this holds true this time around. I know it's what is best for her and, ultimately, all the other people around her, but I really do hate when she gets shots. Hate it.

Our check-up didn't end today. The state requires all toddlers to have two additional tests when they turn 2. A lead test and a CBC (complete blood count) test. The lead test will measure the amount of lead in her blood. The CBC will measure the concentration of white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, and blood volume of the blood. We have to go to a lab tomorrow to have these done. Maybe I'm weird, but I'm glad that she is having these tests done. I want to know everything I possibly can about how her little body is functioning.

We haven't been doing much else the last few days. Daddy had to work this weekend, so it was just me and the little one for the most part. We've been to the park and Publix. We've been swimming and walking. We've been reading books and painting and coloring.

Here are a few random pictures.

I run on my treadmill almost everyday when AC is napping. Yesterday I hopped on and before I started it, I felt something weird under my feet. Look what I found. I wonder who decided to hide all the discs in there?

I pulled all of these out from under the belt. I didn't even know we had that many discs. It's time to clean out/toddler-proof the desk drawers, I guess.

She loves to try and take my camera when I'm taking a picture.

She also loves to throw all the cushions off my patio furniture.

Right now, she is in l.o.v.e. with Blue from the movie "Rio."

She carries him around and treats him like a person. It is kinda cute.

A Few (Unrelated) Things

Just a few random things:

1) I just got a hair cut. That's a big deal for me. It's been 9 months and I needed it desperately. I will admit that I was terrified the entire time because the hairdresser, Ynette, had a very thick accent. The only thing she said that I really understood was "like Kim Kardashian." "Sure," I replied and wondered what the heck she might possibly be asking me. If this lady could make that happen, consider me a customer for life. I don't look like Kimmy, but my hair looks much better. I'm happy with Ynette.

2) We are getting very excited for the wedding festivities. Only 4 weeks away. It's going to be amazing.

3) AC has her 2 year check-up with Dr. Fang on Tuesday. She gets shots. I'm nervous for several reasons.

4) FedEx has lost one of my packages. The driver left a post-it thingy on the door saying he left the box. There is no box. I'm pretty ticked about it and I'm not going to say how I really feel about the entire situation. Let's just say that the amount of trust I put in strangers has significantly decreased since we moved here.

5) A lady actually plugged her ears when AC and I strolled by her in Publix yesterday. Seriously, old Scrooge lady? You must not have kids. Or grandkids. Or friends. You shouldn't bring your grouchy old behind to the grocery store at 4:00 if you don't want to hear children. Oh how I miss me some sweet southern mamas and grandmamas.

6) I need to find a way to overlook other people's bad grammar in writing. I realize this ups my level of dorkiness. Sorry, I'm an English teacher. Just being honest.

7) It has been raining a lot. This makes for very good sandcastle building. AC has found a love for "cattles" so you can imagine how thrilled she was when Mama made her a few.

We love and miss you all!

Lips

Oh boy. This little girl loves to put stuff on her "ipps". I had NO idea she knew how to twist the lipstick. I would have never opened if I had.

The worst part of it all was that this was long-lasting lipstick. It was very, very, very, very hard to get off her face. She thought she looked so "pitty".

Bobsledding

Before we get to the topic at hand (baby bobsledding), I want to share a cute little story from this morning. It's my goal to write down (or blog) about more things like this so I don't forget them.

Daddy took AC to church this morning. He drops her off in her classroom before he goes to the service. Typically, she will cling to him for a few minutes and he will sneak out once she has started playing. Not today. As soon as she got to her classroom, she yelled, "Bye, Daddy!" and ran off to play. She's just getting so big, I tell you. When the service was over, Daddy went to pick her up. As soon as she saw him in the door, she yelled, "Daddy!!!" Before running to him, she turns to her teacher and friends and says, "Bye, guys. Thank you!" She makes me smile. And Daddy too.

Now about the bobsledding. Daddy likes to make AC things from big boxes. Yesterday he made what started out as a boat. Daddy quickly realized that this boat had way too much potential for fun to be just a boat. So it became a bobsled. And despite my objections, they decided to test it out. On the stairs. Oh dear.

Getting ready to take off.

And she's off.

Going.

Done. "More that, Daddy! More that, Daddy!!"

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Daddy goes and makes seats for all her friends. She was beyond thrilled.

Just in case you're wondering, Daddy never let go of the bobsled. He was in complete control the entire time!

We hope you enjoyed your weekends. Lots of rain here thanks to Tropical Storm Emily.

School

Happy Thursday, everyone. We have had very uneventful days yesterday and today. Just playing and grocery shopping. The highlight of the day yesterday was when AC jumped in her pool with her diaper on. A regular diaper, not a pool diaper. If you've never seen what happens to a diaper when it is dunked in water, well, here ya go.

In no time at all, it swells to an enormous size. AC thought this was hysterical and refused to let me take it off her.

Today was very uneventful, except for one very important thing....we finally found a preschool that we love for AC. We've been looking around for quite some time and just hadn't found something that we thought was a good fit for our family. Until today. We are very excited for her to start her academic, social, and Christian journey. It's gonna be good, I tell you. We went today for a short visit and she loved it. I know I'm going to be a little sad when the first day comes, but right now, I'm so excited for her. She is really going to blossom. I can feel it.

This is the only picture I could get today. She's going upstairs to get Daddy so we can leave for preschool.

We hope you all had a good day!

Yummy in Her Tummy

This girl loves pickles. Dill pickles. It's so weird, I think.

She also loves these lil' guys. There's nothing weird about that! They are so very delicious.

She calls them "cake" for some reason. "Mama, cake?" she asks when she wants one.

Yummy!

Hurricane Emily is trying to decide if she wants to come on over for a visit. Pray for us...and that I actually get my act together and create a hurricane kit!