All Aboard the Booooo-Woooooo Waaay Expwess!!

We had Vacation Bible School at church last week and this year's theme was The Boomerang Express -- an Australian adventure. I helped out with the third graders which was new for me since I've never really worked with kids past second grade. I have to say, it was a really fun week. Thank you Erika for teaching! We had a great group of kids and I enjoyed working with all of them.

Something I did not enjoy, however, was the "getting up for VBS" part. In order to get Jacob, Annabelle, and myself ready on time, I woke up around 5:00 every morning. Ugh. As far as I'm concerned, 5 AM may as well be the middle of the night. But...you gotta do what you gotta do. :)

Jacob has been listening to the Boomerang Express music for the past month and a half. He loves it. Before last week, he would just listen to the main theme song over and over and over and over and OVER again. Now, he likes all the songs and sings every word. I think he listened to the CD everyday in his class.

You'll understand the title of this post after watching the video.

And here he is singing another VBS song. He loves this CD!

Each day after VBS, I asked Jacob, "What did you learn about today?" He always replied, "learned about Jesus." Sometimes he would throw in, "It was a gweat day!" He woke up every morning and ran down the hall yelling, "Boo-Way Expwess!!!!!" He'll probably be disappointed next week when there's no more VBS, but we'll be back at Island Playground and Mommy Bootcamp, so that should make him happy. :)

She's a Pretty Little Monster...and Quick Too!

Annabelle does something new everyday. This week, she started making monster noises and perfected her crawl.

Now I know what you're thinking...another eating video?!?!? No...this is not an eating video. She had just FINISHED eating and started making these noises, so I grabbed the camera. Can I help it if some of her greatest moments happen in the highchair??? I don't know what was in those sweet potatoes, but something brought out the little monster in her!

By the way, she has been eating quite a bit lately and has gained a little more weight. Yesterday, she and Jacob visited the doctor for their ear check-ups (no more infections...yay!) and Annabelle weighed 14 pounds, 9 ounces.

She's been trying to crawl for a while. We actually caught her first crawl on camera a couple weeks ago. We used the other video camera though, and it's a little more complicated to transfer videos to the computer using that one. Anyway.....she only went a couple steps before stopping to play. She actually didn't crawl for a couple days after that. This week, she has been on a mission to get going again and her determination has paid off. She is officially on the move! We can't keep anything out of her reach anymore because she'll go after it, even if it is on the other side of the room!

Here she is in action. Notice the way she moves her left leg. So funny!

A few days later......

She improves more and more each day. Jacob is learning that if he doesn't want her to eat his toys, he better put them up where they belong. I am hoping Annabelle's crawling will ignite a fire in the clean up department. He is not so good at picking up his toys. Now, he will be forced to pick them up or his little sister will take them for herself!

Yes, I Know......Long Time, No Post

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. I mean, Jacob is now reciting Shakespeare and Annabelle is running sprints around the house. A lot has happened over these past few weeks!

Ok...so Jacob is not quite reciting Shakespeare just yet and Annabelle has not learned to sprint, but it has been a busy time for us.

Let's start with the zoo....

We had been trying to get to the zoo for several weeks, but thunderstorms prevented us from going several weekends in a row. We checked the weather forecast a couple weekends ago and finally...only a 20 percent chance of rain! Hooray! Twenty percent sounded much better than the 85 to 90 percent chances we had seen previously. So, off to the zoo we went!

When we first arrived, we wondered if we had made a mistake. Jacob didn't seem the least bit interested in the animals. He was much more fascinated with climbing on benches and walking through the mist that was blowing out of the fans. Then came the thunder and the lightning....and of course, the rain. Hmmmm.....so much for that 80 percent chance that it WOULDN'T rain! Thankfully, during the storm, we stayed dry under a shelter beside the lion exhibit. After the storm, the day got much better. The rain stopped, the sun came out, and Jacob did like the animals after all...especially the giraffes.

I don't know where he got this fascination for giraffes, but Jacob has liked them for a while. The best part about the giraffe exhibit was the fact that the walkway was raised to their head level. So, instead of looking up at the giraffes from down below, we were looking them in the eye. Very cool. Jacob even got to feed them! He had a lot of fun with that and giggled the whole time. I have to say though, giraffes have really disgusting tongues. Yuck.

For two dollars, we were given a few branches with leaves for the giraffes to eat. Jacob didn't want me to hold him, so he fed the giraffe through the fence. A couple times, the giraffe stuck out her tongue and wrapped it around the fence to get to the leaves.

Obviously, the zoo trip was pre-haircut!

Annabelle enjoyed herself too. She was a perfect angel all day, despite the 100 degree heat. I think she only cried one time the entire day and that was only because she was so hot in the stroller and wanted to get out for a while.

I wish I had more pictures of our zoo day. I forgot to charge the camera battery the night before and after only taking a few pictures, it died. Typical me, right? Oh well. At least I have a few. :)

Besides the giraffes, Jacob also liked the giant anteater. I think he liked it because it came so close to us. He also loved petting the pygmy goats. His reaction to goats is much better than mine when I was three. I remember seeing a picture of me crying as a goat was eating my shorts or something. I guess it wasn't too traumatic. I'm not afraid of them now. :)

Milestone After Milestone After Milestone.....

As women, I think we all (at one time or another) aspire to be the perfect wife and mother. We have visions of a neat, sparkling clean house, an amazing and delicious dinner on the table every night, and perfectly behaved angel children. Those visions continue for a little while, then reality sets in. The house is semi-clean (or a complete disaster, depending on the day) and there's always some task (or several) begging to be done. Dinner is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because you spent all afternoon driving around so your kids would sleep. And when you pick up your child from the gym nursery, your kid's the one screaming and picking his nose.

It's been an exciting week -- lots of new things.
I started going to StrollerFit when Jacob was 8 weeks old. It's been great, but I decided to try something new over the summer -- Mommy Bootcamp. I have one word to describe this class -- whoa. It is tough...but tough is good, right? If this class doesn't whip me back into shape, nothing will. While I am being tortured...I mean...working out, Jacob and Annabelle get to play in the indoor playground (it's the place where Jacob had his birthday party last year). Jacob loves it and from what I hear, he's been very protective of his baby sister. Apparently, he won't let Annabelle out of his sight and if anyone tries to mess with her, he is ready to fight. I guess that's good...and bad.

Jacob and Annabelle have actually been playing together a lot this week. Maybe they're feeling sorry for each other since they both have ear infections. I took Annabelle to the doctor last Friday because I could tell she didn't feel well. We found out she had a double ear infection -- her first one. She's been on Amoxicillin for a week now, so I hope that infection is gone by now. I told the doctor I would be back in to see him on Monday with Jacob....just speaking from experience. Sure enough, we ended up going on Tuesday. He has a double ear infection as well. More Amoxicillin. One good thing did come from this, though. I learned about the free prescriptions at Publix. Publix has eight prescription drugs that are absolutely FREE and Amoxicillin is one of those eight. I am very excited about this. I only wish I knew about it sooner!

Ooh...she's heavy!

I have to watch him now. Jacob will pick her up off the floor and carry her around. Scary!

I'm gonna get you big brother!

Annabelle: Must....get....that....microphone!!

Enough With This Baby Stuff. I'm on the Fast Track to Adulthood!

Yet another eating picture. It's the easiest way to get good pictures of her!

Annabelle may be only seven months old, but she thinks she is two. Last night, she pulled herself up and stood for the first time. She and Heath were playing in her room when I heard, "Paula!!!! Get in here!!!!" I walked in and there was little, tiny Annabelle, standing up, holding on to the Drop 'n Roar Dinosaur! I couldn't believe it! We sat her back down and she stood up at least two more times before playtime was over. Wow. I am soooooooo not ready for this. She's growing up waaaaaay too fast for my liking. The other day, I went to get her out of the crib after her nap and she was sitting up holding on to the bumper. I knew we would have to lower her mattress soon, but I didn't think we would be doing it last night!!!

Annabelle also has more exciting news. She has a tooth! Her bottom, front tooth on the right side finally decided to make an appearance on Monday. So far, it is a loner. Its other friends are still in hiding, but I suspect they'll be making their grand entrance soon.

Although she isn't crawling yet, she's very, VERY close. She'll get up on her hands and knees, move one knee forward, then sit back down. She can scoot herself around pretty well. If she sees something she wants, she'll find a way to get her hands on it. She's a very determined little girl. A few more tries and I bet she'll be crawling all over the place. Watch out Jacob! You better start picking up your toys!!

Seven Years and Counting

Seven years ago today, I was nervous and excited, but relatively calm, all at the same time. Seven years ago today, I was getting the worst make-up job in history -- hot pink lipstick, pink eyeshadow...need I say more? Seven years ago today, I woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning after it had stormed the night before -- a perfect day for a wedding. Seven years ago today, I married my wonderful husband. :)

I can't believe Heath and I have been married for seven...SEVEN...years! Has it really been that long? Actually, when I think back to when we first met, it seems like a lifetime ago, but the time has gone by incredibly fast. So much has happened in those seven years!

Happy Anniversary, Heath! I love you!

Now, if only we were hopping on a plane to Maui like we did seven years ago...........

Who Said Swimming is Fun????

I was born in Florida and my grandparents had a swimming pool in their backyard. It was only natural that I take swimming lessons as early as possible. I think I was about a year and a half old when I had my first lesson. I loved it. Well, let me take that back. I don't think I loved it...at first. I don't actually remember any of those early swimming lessons, but I've been told I wasn't too excited about being dunked under the water over and over and over again. C'mon...would you be?? It didn't take long for me to get used to it, though. After a few dunks, I was sold. I loved the water! We have old home movies of me swimming around in the pool like a little fish...errrrr...more like a frog. And I use the word "swimming" very loosely. I would stand on the side of the pool, jump in, kick my legs and paddle my arms as fast as I could, but would hardly move from where I originally jumped in. I laugh every time I see those videos. The point is, I loved the water. I wasn't afraid. I loved "swimming" under the water and I hated when it was time for me to get out of the pool.

Jacob has always loved the water. He loves to splash it in his face. He loves to play in the sprinklers and he loves the baby pool. However, his love of water quickly changes to fear when he gets into a deeper pool and realizes his feet won't reach the bottom. Even if I am holding him, he is terrified.

I don't want him to be afraid of pools. I want him to discover how much fun they can be. So, I signed him up for swimming lessons, which he started last Monday. I wasn't sure how he would react. Now I know. The first lesson, he cried and screamed for the entire half hour. The second lesson, he cried and screamed for at least 75 percent of the half hour. The third lesson, he cried a little over 50 percent of the time. At least he's improving, right?

I stayed and watched the first lesson, but decided not to hang around for any future lessons. It works out better that way. I will say, even though he cries and screams, he is cooperative. When his instructor asks him to do something, he does it. He might be wailing at the top of his lungs, but he does it. I am certain, with time, he will come around and will enjoy swimming lessons, but for now, this pouty lip sums up just how Jacob feels about the water.

Swimming...ugh.

Can't I just stay here on the steps...PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASE?????

After one of his lessons last week, I asked him what he liked best about swimming. He said, "I got out...and showed Mommy!" Funny. Of course, his favorite part was when the lesson was over and he was able to get OUT of the pool!

Party Time

Jacob loves birthday parties. He throws parties all the time, mostly for his little farm animals. He stacks up a set of nesting boxes and uses them as a birthday cake (creative, huh?). Then sings "Happy birt-day to yooooooou!" as loud as he possibly can.

Last week, he was invited to two real birthday parties and he was soooo excited. We went to Katie's party on Saturday afternoon. She is four years old! Can you believe it? Jacob could hardly wait for her party. From the day we received the Wonder Pets invitation in the mail, he never stopped talking about it. We put the invitation on the refrigerator and Jacob took it down at least once a day and asked about Katie's party.

Monday morning was Carter's (our neighbor) birthday party. He had a Wall-E themed party. Jacob has really gotten into Wall-E lately, so of course, he loved it; but the sprinklers were his favorite part.

I think Annabelle had fun at the party too. She got passed around from person to person while I tended my wild child. Thank goodness she's a happy baby!

So, all these parties have me thinking now...."What should we do for Jacob's birthday this year?" I have a few ideas in mind, but haven't settled on anything yet. Island Playground was such a hit last year. I hope I can come up with something equally as fun (or better!) for this year's party. Hmmmmmmmm......... At least I still have a couple months to think about it!