They Grow Up So Fast

This morning while I was getting ready in the bedroom, I heard the sound of clinking glass coming from the kitchen.  Someone was up to no good.  Heath peeked around the corner and saw Annabelle dangling from the kitchen counter, leaning over the glass snack jar.  She got down and proudly walked into the bedroom with a tiny box of raisins.  "Annabelle," I said.  "You are not allowed to get your own snacks."  She looked at me, popped a couple raisins in her mouth and replied, "Oh...only Mommy and Daddy do dat?"  "Yes," I said.  "Only Mommy and Daddy can touch the snack jar."  She looked at me for a minute, munching on her raisins like a valley girl chewing a piece of Dubble Bubble.  "Yeah...well...Mommy, I opened this box of waisins by all myself," she chimed.

She is a little over a month away from turning three, yet already, she seems to act more like a 13 year old.  What am I going to do with her?  They do grow up so fast.

Annabelle loves to play with her baby dolls.  After all, she says she wants to be a "real Mommy" when she grows up.  One of her favorite pastimes is looking through the American Girl catalog.  When a new catalog arrives in our mailbox -- oh, happy day -- she is overjoyed.  As soon as she sees the dolls on the front cover, she eagerly grabs it from my hands, plops herself down on the floor or the couch and begins making a mental wish list. And let's not forget...she's two.  I can only imagine what she'll be like a few years from now.  I'm pretty sure she'll need to have a steady, paying job by the age of three and a half (not to mention a much larger bedroom) just to support her American Girl interests. 

...And she has such a positive outlook on life.  Earlier today when I discovered her standing on the open dishwasher door, I yelled, "Annabelle, get off of that!  You're going to break it!"  She listened...and obeyed, but as she stepped down and closed the dishwasher, she said, in a little high-pitched voice, "Ok, Mommy, I will....but if I break it, it's ok.  You will say, 'OH, MY!' and then we can go buy a new one."  

...And she shows such concern for others.  The other day, she accidentally hurt her brother somehow.  I think it involved a rocking horse rocking over his foot.  When he started hollering, she ran over to him, took his face in her hands and said, sweetly, "Jacob, don't cwy!  Don't cwy, Jacob!  It's just an accident, ok?  It's just an accident." 

...And she has a love for body art.  I can't seem to keep the dry erase markers from her.  No matter where I hide them, she manages to find at least one.  And when she does, she gets straight to work,  covering her entire body, from head to toe, in ink.  She usually does this while I'm on the phone, or cooking dinner, or doing a school activity with Jacob.  Yesterday, she walked into our classroom covered in black ink.  She had a mustache, a full beard, and her legs were so black it looked like she was wearing leggings.  I didn't even know she had the marker...until she showed me her finished "masterpiece."  Oh well.  I guess I'd rather her color herself than my furniture or walls. So, go ahead, Annabelle.  Color your arms, legs, and face with dry erase markers.  We can wash it off in the bathtub.  But when you get older, don't even think about asking for a tattoo...unless, of course, you want me to draw one with a dry erase marker.  :)

Welcome to Kindergarten

Today, Jacob began his fourth week of kindergarten.  How is it going?  Great!  Just like last year, each day is different from the next, but we have a routine in place and both Jacob and Annabelle know what to expect from day to day.  Yes, it still gets crazy at times, but all is well.

The first day of school was exciting.  Jacob awoke when his alarm went off at 7:30 AM and dressed himself in the clothes we had chosen the night before.  He and Annabelle had breakfast, brushed their teeth, then....ring-a ling-a-ling....I rang the bell and it was time for school to begin.  Both kids ran into the classroom eager to find out what was in store.

First up on the day's agenda: a picture

Jacob was excited about being in kindergarten.  I heard him tell his sister several times that day, "Annabelle, I can do this because I am in kindergarten now!"  

We began the school day by saying the pledges (American flag, Christian flag, Bible), then listened to and sang a song of Jacob's choice.  On this particular day he chose Every Move I Make .  That's a favorite of Annabelle's too.  They both love all the na na na na na na na's.  After several minutes of singing, dancing, jumping, and being silly, the three of us sat down in the living room to read a Bible story, pray and go over the weekly memory verse.  Then it was back to the classroom.

 While Jacob copied his verse, Annabelle started on a Cheerios necklace.  She LOVED stringing those Cheerios.  I was thrilled that I had actually discovered an activity to keep her busy for a while -- a l-o-n-g while!  

She finished her necklace just as Jacob and I were finishing math.  After putting the math blocks away, we went right down the subject list:  history, science, spelling (with a few short breaks in between), then took a long break for lunch.  The kids played for a little while, then I read a book to them (Annabelle's choice).  While Annabelle took a nap, Jacob and I continued our kindergarten activities.  He read the first chapter of Stuart Little and absolutely loved it.

Next up was geography, then Latin and English grammar.  Then....we were done.  It was a full and very fun day.  If you were wondering, that is what a typical day is like at our house.  That is our day-to-day routine. It sounds simple, but one of Jacob's favorite things to do is check off the subjects on the dry erase board as we complete that day's lesson.

The next day was Jacob's first day of CC.  Of course, we were all excited about this too.

It's amazing the difference one year can make.  Last year, he was the youngest in his class.  This year he's one of the oldest.  It's been interesting to note the differences in his work, especially his drawing skills.  He shows quite a bit more interest this year, which makes me happy.

Since this is his second year being in CC, he jumped right in immediately and knew exactly what to do.  I was proud of him.  I think he was happy to be back.

At the end of the week, we did a science project with our neighbors.  The kids made edible cells out of jell-o and several different kinds of candy.  While it wasn't the most healthy of activities, all four kids thoroughly enjoyed creating and eating their projects.  My favorite part was the chocolate truffle nucleus.  :)

So, we're definitely off to a great start.  Jacob has already memorized John 1:1-3, as well as three weeks of history sentences about Columbus, the Pilgrims, and The Boston Tea Party.  He knows the bones that make up the axial skeleton, he can tell you about four types of tissue and three kinds of muscle.  And he's only been in school for three weeks!  I've already heard this information spilling over into his playtime.  Yesterday, while he was playing with his LEGOs, I heard him say something about a LEGO man discovering a new land.  A few days ago, he was pretending one of the men was William Bradford.  This cracks me up.  I love CC!

VACAY!!

The first day of school was just around the corner. Our summer was quickly coming to an end. As Heath and I talked about all the events and activities that would soon be filling our schedules, we decided we needed a vacation. We hadn't really done a whole lot over the summer and felt we should try to get away, at least for a couple days.

So, we took a last minute trip to Florida. We woke up Thursday morning not knowing where we wanted to go. After searching the internet for the best hotel bargains, we found a deal too good to pass up. We got ready, packed the car, and headed to Orlando.

Orlando is a fun city...even if you don't go to Disney World. We got our hotel through Expedia and it was one of those deals where you don't know where you'll be staying until you accept the price and pay for your entire stay up front. We lucked out. Our hotel ended up being a resort, complete with several pools, a playground, kids activities, etc... It was wonderful!

So, what is there do do in Orlando besides Disney World? Well......

We spent one full day at the resort pool. The kids hadn't been to a pool all summer, so we thought our time was well spent. I think we made some headway in helping Jacob overcome his fear of water. He loves to play at the beach or in a shallow pool, but put him in water above his waist, and he usually freaks out. It took a while, but he made progress that day. Annabelle enjoyed herself too. That afternoon, after naps, we went to Downtown Disney. This gave us the "Disney feel" without actually going to Disney World. The kids (and grown ups) had a blast.

The highlight of the trip for Jacob? The LEGO store. Oh. Boy. He was in heaven.

Heath and Jacob admired the LEGO construction of this Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs display.

More LEGO creations.

...and still more....

Yep, made entirely of LEGOs.

Just outside the store, Jacob spotted the LEGO building stations. He could have spent an entire day there. LEGOs are even cooler when you're AT the LEGO store!

Annabelle likes to everything her big brother does. She immediately went to work creating her LEGO masterpiece. They also had LEGO Duplo (the bigger blocks for younger kids) building stations.













The store even had a ramp to race LEGO cars. Jacob built a car and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't fall apart at the finish line. (We saw that happen to several other cars.)

Then, it was Annabelle's turn. Right across from LEGO heaven, she found princess heaven.

Our little princess spotted the Disney princesses right away and couldn't wait to stand next to them.

We walked into this HUGE Disney store, an entire section filled with nothing but princess and Minnie Mouse items and she...went...crazy. Disney princesses from floor to ceiling. Minnie Mouse clothes, purses, dolls, shoes, playsets, etc... Annabelle gasped at every turn, grabbing items as she ran through the store.

I'll take one of everything, please!

I am quite certain she would have loved to take home every item she grabbed as she made her way to the back of the store, but we helped her narrow it down to one thing -- A Belle doll.

In another area of the HUGE Disney store, we found Boba Fett, who apparently had also been shopping at the LEGO store. :)

Dinner was tons of fun. We ate at T-Rex, which was like having dinner in Jurassic Park. We were surrounded by dinosaurs and a meteor shower occurred every 25 minutes. During the meteor shower, all the dinosaurs roared, the restaurant got darker, and lights flashed all around us. It was a little scary the first time. Both kids jumped into our laps, but they got used to it and by the time we left, they loved the meteor showers. Not only was the experience great, the food was fantastic. I'm so happy we decided to eat there.

Hmmmm....I don't know if I like this meteor shower stuff.

The dinosaur behind him made noises throughout the evening. Annabelle said he sounded like a cow. "Dat dinosaw says 'mooooooo'," she yelled.

The next day, we went to Aquatica -- Sea World's water park. The kids L-O-V-E-D it. They had a terrific play area for younger kids with water slides and other water play activities. Annabelle slid down the water slides about a million times. One of them required her to be with an adult, so, I ended up riding that slide a million times as well.

I was really proud of Jacob. He slid down all the kids' slides several times. Each slide sent him plunging into the water. I was afraid he might freak out, but instead, he popped up out of the water, wiped his face and got back in line to do it again. Hooray!! He was also able to ride several of the adult slides. He rode them all twice -- once with Heath, then again with me.

On the slide pictured above, Jacob and I sat in a round float. I faced forward and Jacob was facing me. He had already been down the slide once with Heath. As we got closer to the top of the stairs, I asked him if he was sure this was the slide he rode with Daddy. "Yes, this is it," he said emphatically. "Okay, was it fun?" I asked. "YES! It was really fun, " he yelled. We hopped in the round float, situated ourselves and down we went. Judging from Jacob's expression, he was not having fun. He looked terrified. In fact, as we flew down that slide, I have never seen him look more pitiful. I felt awful that I had made him ride it with me. But, when we got to the bottom, he shouted, "See, Mommy! Wasn't that FUN?!?!?!?" That made me feel much better about the whole thing.

I wish I had more pictures of the day, but carrying around a camera at a water park isn't the best idea. I took this picture right as we were about to leave. We ended up spending the entire day at the park -- 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM. Can you believe that? Annabelle took an afternoon nap on a lounge chair. If she hadn't taken a nap, we definitely wouldn't have stayed all day.

We finished off our Orlando mini vacation with a breakfast buffet. Jacob and Annabelle were being silly at the table. There was chocolate cake on this buffet...and chocolate chip pancakes, fruit loops, pudding...all kinds of sweet stuff. Would you believe my kids just wanted to eat oranges? A proud parent moment. :) But...please don't ask me what was on my plate.

We hit the road and made one more stop to visit Aunt Betty and Uncle Bing. We had a nice visit, even though the kids were a little tired and cranky.

On our way home, we saw a full rainbow stretching across the sky. We saw one on our way down to Florida, too. A perfect start and a perfect ending to a very fun trip.

Yes, I didn't!

Annabelle loves stickers.

"I want a snack!" Annabelle yelled as she ran into the kitchen.  "Annabelle, you just had a banana," I said.  "That was your snack."  She quickly responded, "Yes, I didn't."  Well, she was partially right. 

This is her new favorite line right now -- "Yes, I didn't." 
Me:  "Annabelle, I just saw you put a LEGO in your mouth."
Annabelle: "Yes, I didn't."

Me:  "Annabelle, you can not have more juice.  You just drank a juice box."
Annabelle:  "Yes, I didn't."

Her other favorite line is "The Bible says not to **insert behavior / activity here**"  Sometimes she uses it in the form of a question.

Me:  "Annabelle, this is your warning.  You will go to time out if you do that again."
Annabelle:  "No, the Bible says not to go to time out."

Me:  "Annabelle, do not put LEGOs in your mouth!"
Annabelle:  "Oh, the Bible says not to eat yeggos (LEGOs)?"

Me:  "Jacob, do not hit your sister!"
Annabelle:  "Jacob, the Bible says...NOT..TO...HIT!!"

Oh..they wear me out and crack me up all at the same time.  :)

These days, Annabelle can be found (at all times) caring for a baby...or two...or three.  It might be a baby doll, stuffed animal, or sometimes Fisher-Price Little People, but she is always taking care of someone.  She pushes her dolls, animals and Little People around in the doll stroller with a diaper bag hanging from the handle.  She may stop for a few moments to build with her LEGOs -- which Jacob so graciously gave her after he got so many "big boy" LEGOs for his birthday -- but then, she goes back to the babies, changing their diapers, feeding them bottles and snacks, and comforting them when they cry.  She loves babies.  So much so that Jacob asked her the other day,"Annabelle, what do you want to be when you grow up?  A mommy?"  Then he told her she would have to wait until she grows up.  He ended the speech with, "Look at mommy.  She is all grown up and she is already a mommy.  Isn't that cool?"

Speaking of Jacob, I have a quick story about him.  Last Sunday, I taught his class during the worship service.  One of the younger children had to take a potty break.  I stepped just outside the door to make sure she made it to the bathroom.  As I was standing there, Jacob came out and said, "Hey Mommy...I took over for you while you were gone.  You are the teacher and I am a piece of you because I am yours, so I was the teacher while you were gone."  All I could say was, "Thank you, Jacob."  That boy never ceases to amaze me.