Two is the Magic Number

According to our pediatrician, there are certain foods children should avoid until a certain age. One of those foods is peanut butter. Doctors recommend children shy away from peanut butter until they reach the age of two years old. Jacob didn't have his first taste of peanut butter until a few days after his second birthday and I planned on following the same rule with Annabelle; but, with an active peanut butter eating two year old around, the rule becomes slightly more difficult to enforce. I know Annabelle has eaten peanut butter cookie crumbs dropped on the floor by her big brother and she also got into a bag of roasted peanuts once. She had several whole peanuts (shells and all) crammed into her mouth before I could reach her to stop the madness. Thank goodness, she never showed any signs of an allergic reaction. Despite these occurrences, I still waited until her second birthday to let her officially have her first taste of peanut butter.

The "first taste" was fairly uneventful. She ate it off the spoon, but didn't beg for more. I'm just glad she likes it. At least now I have another EASY lunch option to add to our menu. Annabelle, welcome to the delightfully delicious world of peanut butter!

Hmmmm...let me close my eyes and concentrate on what this stuff tastes like.

I think I like it.

Yeah, I like it! But, I like to play with this spoon even more!!

The other day, I overheard Jacob and Annabelle playing in the living room. They had arranged the big red blocks into a square and were sitting inside. I asked Jacob what they were doing and he said he and Annabelle were at their vacation house. "Do you want to come to our vacation house?" he asked. Before joining them inside, I ran to get the camera. When I returned, Jacob had apparently turned into a rap artist...or something. Check out his poses. Maybe he was pretending to be on an episode of CRIBS. After all, he was in his vacation house!

After they left their vacation home, they headed over to the bookshelf for a little reading time. I videoed them from around the corner, but Annabelle soon spotted me and turned on the "cheese."

I love these moments -- when they are actually playing together...and being nice to one another. No hitting. No slapping. No yelling. No biting. No kicking. Just having fun. I love those two little munchkins!!

More Adventures of Cowboy Sheriff and Little Cow

We weren't sure what to do or where to go Sunday evening, but we didn't want to stay home. We didn't really want to take the kids trick-or-treating and we weren't prepared to hand out candy to all the neighborhood children. So, we dressed Jacob and Annabelle in their costumes and headed out to......destination unknown.

We ended up at Rita's Italian Ice, first making a stop (at my request) at Starbuck's for a pumpkin spice latte. As we approached the door to Rita's, a lady yelled to us to come down to Piggly Wiggly because she had "something for the kids." We shuffled the cowboy sheriff and little cow down the sidewalk to see what that "something" was. She gave them each two little candy bars and two bags of pretzels. I realize that doesn't sound like much, but the cowboy and the little cow were thrilled. It doesn't take much to please a four and a two year old!

We got another pleasant surprise at Rita's. Since the kids were wearing costumes, they each got a free Italian ice! Then, later, Heath and I shared another FREE Italian ice -- pumpkin pie with vanilla custard. Yummmmm. We couldn't have chosen a better impromptu destination!

When we got home, the cowboy and little cow had a dance party. At our house, dance parties happen frequently...sometimes with music, sometimes without. Who needs music when you have Jacob? He's a human beatbox. He creates his own music. The funny thing is, Annabelle copies him. On many occasions, when we have sing-a-long time, I end up doing a Wheels on the Bus solo while Jacob and Annabelle dance around and make beatbox sounds. Where do they learn this stuff???

Earlier that day, Jacob chose a pack of Warheads as his after lunch treat. According to the package, these Warheads were extra sour. Jacob didn't seem to mind. He ate the entire bag, with the exception of the one piece I stole when he wasn't looking.

I know it doesn't seem like much of a treat, but Annabelle chose cheese for her dessert. I think it's the bright red wrapper that appeals to her. It opens like a piece of candy. Now, if only she always chose cheese over candy. Wishful thinking.......

Look Out World! Sheeeeeeeeee's Two!!

Hello, people!!!! I am two years old and I am ready for my Minnie Mouse party!!!!

Flashback to two years ago: I was waddling around our church's Trunk or Treat event helping my little astronaut (Jacob) play games and collect candy (mostly for me to eat). I joked about how all the walking, combined with excessive chocolate consumption, would send me into labor. As it turned out, my comments, made in jest, became reality. I began feeling contractions later that night. The next evening, at 8:41 PM, our little live wire made her grand entrance into the world. Annabelle has been running at full throttle ever since. Hmmmmmm...now that I think about it, perhaps all the chocolate and my insatiable craving for Texas Pete hot sauce had something to do with Annabelle's spunky personality. :)

So, here we are, two years later. I know I always talk about how wild and crazy she is, but Annabelle is the sweetest little thing. I love her so much. She is more fun than I could ever imagine. She's spontaneous. She's funny. She likes to make silly faces. She loves it when you spin her around and throw her up into the air. She LOVES sweets and can polish off a cupcake in record time. She has an infectious laugh. She likes to climb on ANYTHING. She likes to dance...on tables. She's messy. She doesn't mind getting dirty. She has an odd fascination with the toilet. She sucks her thumb when she's sleepy and carries around her most treasured posession, Minnie Mouse, upside down, by the leg. She practices very good oral hygiene, brushing her teeth no less than seven times per day. She still likes to be rocked before she goes to bed. She loves music and can play a mean air guitar. She loves animals and gets super excited even when she sees a dog. She can maneuver her way out of any high chair, booster seat, stroller, buggy, etc... She refuses to be tied down. She prefers running over walking, and jumping over running. She likes a good nap -- three hours everyday. She likes to play hard. She loves to slide. She has no fear. With Annabelle, each day is a new, exciting adventure and I thank God for blessing our family with this beautiful little girl.

I can't believe she's two already. She's growing up so fast. Everyday, she learns and says new words. She recently started saying, "No tat-you." (No thank you.)

Me: "Annabelle, please just take one more bite."

Annabelle: "No tat-you."

How cute is that? Pretty good manners for a two year old, huh? Unfortunately, those good manners seem to come and go. She's a little inconsinstent -- one minute she's saying , "No tat-you", the next, she's slapping her brother in the face....or even worse....biting him. Yes, folks, it appears we've got a biter on our hands. Like I've been saying, she is a feisty one!

To celebrate her birthday, we had a small, low-key party at the house with family and a few friends. Although, Annabelle is so high-energy, I'm not sure if you can call any party for her, low-key. :) The party's main event was painting with pudding. I knew Annabelle would love it. It's messy. It's colorful. And the best part? It's edible. She started out fingerpainting and ended up shoving handfuls of pudding into her mouth...and all over her face. What fun!! Jacob created a masterpiece a little at a time -- a little pudding on the paper....a little pudding in the mouth.

"Yook, Mommy!" (Look, Mommy!)

After the pudding paint, we let the kids play for a bit. They needed to burn off some of that sugar rush before round two: cake and ice cream.

Since she loves Minnie Mouse so much, I decided a couple months ago Annabelle should have a Minnie Mouse cake for her birthday. My fabulous friend, Erika, and I searched the internet for ideas and finally settled on what I think is now my favorite cake that we've made. We were especially excited to try out a new marshmallow fondant recipe. I'm so glad we decided to go with the fondant over the buttercream. We were very pleased with the finished product! THANK YOU, ERIKA for helping out again this year!!!! I would never attempt these cakes without you...not to mention....it would be really boring if I had to bake and decorate by myself.

Yes, that is a tear under Annabelle's eye. She and Jacob collided in the hallway just prior to the cake celebration. And, of course, that little collision left her with a bruise. I guess we can call it "the birthday bruise." After I turned the camera off, everyone kept encouraging Annabelle to blow out her candles. She heard the word "blow" and blew her nose instead. Eventually, she stopped blowing her nose and focused her efforts on the two candles. :)

Annabelle is a girl after my own heart. She loves cake and finished off her slice in a few short minutes.

After every last chocolate crumb was eaten, we moved on to the presents. She had plenty of help opening her gifts. After all, opening presents is fun...even if they aren't yours.

Until recently, Annabelle never really played with toys. She's always been more into running, jumping, and climbing. Now that she's two, she seems to play a little more. She loves to push buttons and likes anything that plays music. She also enjoys her baby dolls and especially likes to push them around in her new stroller and grocery cart.


So, we've officially crossed the line into what everyone calls, "the terrible twos." However, I am choosing to think a bit more positively. I will call it "the terrific twos." I mean, Annabelle is already a "spirited" child. How much more "spirited" can she possibly get? Hmmmmmm....I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Let the fun begin!!!!!

The Trunk or Treat Adventures of a Cowboy Sheriff and a Little Cow

It's hard work being a cowboy sheriff, but Jacob was up for the job. He rode his horse tirelessly through the night, playing games and collecting candy...all while herding his cattle...errrr....one little cow....errr.....one wild little cow....named Annabelle.

Collecting Candy Corn for the "Corn Toss"

Mmmmmm....chips. Cowboys and cows love chips.

They ran into their friend, Super Why (a.k.a. Katie) and posed for a picture.

The sheriff rode through the trunk or treat event looking around and taking it all in. There were so many games to play and cool things to see, he could hardly decide what to do first. His little cow friend could hardly contain her excitement. She was so happy to be there and went absolutely crazy at the first sight of candy. Even though she was just a little cow, she was still able to play several games. She had the best time. When she wasn't playing games, she was trying to escape.

As much as she enjoyed walking around with her buddy, the sheriff, she enjoyed her freedom even more. Sheriff Jacob had to round her up a few times. By the end of the night, his horse was exhausted and couldn't even hold his head up (or maybe it was just that the sheriff's mother didn't realize she was supposed to put the strap around the sheriff's neck to hold up the horse's head. Ummmm...this costume needed a few instructions).

The sheriff showed off his cowboy skills and mastered almost every game. He had so much fun and by the end of the evening, he had a bag filled with more candy than any four year old cowboy should ever be allowed to eat. No worries. The sheriff's parents were more than happy to take care of the overabundance of sweet treats...particulary the treats of the chocolate variety.

For Annabelle, the highlight of the evening was meeting one of her distant relatives -- the Chick-Fil-A cow! She was so happy to see another cow! Plus, she loves Chick-Fil-A! The sheriff was pretty excited about it too. Jacob, Annabelle, our pastor, and the big cow talked for quite a while, then eventually, their new friend had to be on his way. After the Chick-Fil-A cow left, Annabelle kept yelling, "Cow!!! Ahhhh you????? (Cow, where are you?!?!?!?)" Perhaps, one day, they will meet again. :)

It was incredibly hot and humid that evening -- not exactly the kind of weather you'd expect at the end of October. Between the games, the walking and running around, the heat and humidity, both the sheriff and the little cow were w-o-r-n out...but not worn out enough to go to bed without first eating a little candy. They each were allowed to choose one treat from their bags. The little cow chose a Milky Way and the sheriff ate Sweet Tarts. Then they shared a tiny box of nerds with their daddy. Annabelle ate the nerds "like a rabid dog" (as quoted by Daddy). She had purple drool running down her face and onto her shirt. Beautiful image, huh? Jacob likes sweets, but I think Annabelle enjoys them even more.

It was definitely a great night and a fun time was had by all. In fact, Jacob is already talking about going to Trunk or Treat next year! He can't wait!!

Fun with Food...and the Fair

I’ll have the pumpkin pancakes with a turkey burger on the side.

Who orders that? I do…but certainly not on purpose.

On Sunday, we went to Mimi’s Café for brunch. I saw pumpkin pancakes on the menu and knew right away what I’d be having. The pancakes were served with caramel apples, eggs and a side of either bacon or sausage. I asked if I could get turkey sausage. The server replied, “No, but we have turkey patties…like a hamburger patty.” Thinking I would get little sausage patties, I said, “Ok.” Well, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I might have just ordered a turkey burger to accompany my pancakes. But…surely not. I mean, who offers someone a turkey burger as an alternative to sausage??? I’ll tell you who. Our server. Sure enough, I got just what I ordered. Delicious pumpkin pancakes topped with caramel apples, scrambled eggs…..and a turkey burger. Some breakfast, huh? All I could do was laugh…and laugh….and laugh.

The food adventures continued throughout the day. In fact, it got even better. After we left the restaurant, we decided to visit the State Fair. Oh, boy. Fair food. Need I say more? If you like fried foods, the fair is THE place to be. It’s proof that people will eat absolutely ANYTHING as long as you throw it in a deep fryer first. My favorite? Deep fried Oreos. My goodness. Those things are yummy. It’s like eating a doughnut with a wonderful Oreo surprise inside. Happiness.

I admit, I like fair food, but there are some foods that cross the line. Take the Krispy Kreme burger, for example. Who decided this was a good idea? A hamburger smashed between two glazed doughnuts complete with bacon and cheese. I’m sorry, but that’s just gross. Another outrageous menu item I spotted was fried butter. That’s right…fried BUTTER. At the same stand where the fried Oreos were sold, you could also purchase deep fried cinnamon butter balls. Now, I realize eating deep fried **insert your favorite food here** isn’t exactly good for you, but deep fried butter? Wow. Even more incredible? The number of people I saw consuming the deep fried butter balls. I’m no doctor, but I’m willing to bet those things clog your arteries the second you even think about popping one into your mouth.



Jacob and Annabelle seem to share my love of fair food. It’s an unfortunate fact. I bought myself a small cup of fries, then decided I needed a little something else to eat along with them. I left my fries at the table and went on a search for some other kind of deep fried food. I returned to the table to find an empty fry cup. Annabelle ate the entire cup of fries – THE ENTIRE THING!!!! Heath said, “Oh. I thought you bought those just for her.” Oh my. You can be sure I won’t be sharing this story with the pediatrician when we go for Annabelle’s two year well visit. I later watched Jacob tear into a corn dog, then learned he drank about half of Heath’s sweet tea when I wasn’t around to see. Yikes. What kind of parents have we turned into? I guess as long as it isn’t an everyday occurrence……..

Jacob couldn’t wait to get on the rides at the fair. He rode the carousel once with Annabelle, the bumper cars with me, and a little dragon roller coaster by himself. During our little bumper car ride, he laughed the whole time. He loved it when we bumped into someone. For some reason, simply hearing someone say, “BUMP!” makes him laugh. So, every time we crashed into another car, I yelled, “BUMP!” which threw him into a fit of laughter. I came off the bumper cars with a bruised knee, but we had a lot of fun.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures and videos. I left my camera in the car, so we were forced to rely on the BlackBerry.

When Jacob rode the roller coaster, I wasn’t sure how he would like it. The first turn threw him around a little bit and his facial expression looked to be a combination of seriousness and fear. But, according to him, he wasn’t scared at all.

Me: Jacob, did you like that? Did you have fun?
Jacob: YES!! That was fun! I went from side to side in my seat!
Me: Were you scared?
Jacob: NO! That was awesome, dude!

Jacob is in the second car:

Annabelle got to ride the carousel twice since it was her favorite thing. She loved it. She smiled and laughed the whole time. Heath rode with her and each time they came around, Annabelle had a huge grin on her face. I was so wishing I wouldn’t have left my camera in the car.

The fair is definitely an interesting event -- the food, the rides, the people. It seems the "adult" rides get more and more crazy every year. Just thinking about getting on some of the rides we saw makes me feel sick. And can you imagine getting on a fair ride after consuming a Krispy Kreme burger? Probably not the best combination. But, that's what makes the fair, THE FAIR. Deep fried Oreo anyone?

Bye-Bye Babyhood!

It's official. Annabelle has graduated from babyhood. We even have a certificate to prove it.

The certificate states,"Annabelle.....has graciously met all of the requirements of receiving her first haircut and has graduated from babyhood on the 21 day of October in the year of 2010."

It took quite a while, but Annabelle's hair finally reached the point where it was time for a trim. I debated for several days on whether I should let her bangs continue to grow or have them cut. The bangs won. We're going to keep them for a bit.

The Little Mermaid

Annabelle was on her best behavior that evening. She sat perfectly still in the chair, taking in the scenery. I couldn't believe it. I can't remember ever seeing her so calm. I fully expected her to climb all over the chair and up the walls -- not that night. Perhaps it was the promise of a sucker at the end if she was good. Jacob had informed her that "Mr. Jerry will give you a sucker if you're good for your haircut." Jacob was correct. In fact, Annabelle was SO good, she was allowed to have two.

Although her First Haircut Certificate clearly states that Annabelle is no longer a baby, I beg to differ. I say, she is STILL a baby...at least for a few more days. She does look a little older with her new haircut, though. Don't you think?

I realize this isn't the greatest "after" picture, but as soon as she got down from the chair, she immediately regained her "wild child" status and would not be still...not even for a split second. While Jacob was getting his haircut, I chased Annabelle around with the camera. I tried my best to get a good shot of her, but she decided playing with the water cooler was more fun than having her picture taken. I was forced to put the camera away in an attempt to keep her from flooding the shop.

A Week-Long Birthday

I love birthdays. They're so much fun. I admit, I'm not particularly fond of the growing older part, but birthdays are a great excuse to eat as much cake as you want (or in my case, cake AND pumpkin spice doughnuts) because.....on your birthday (and everyday during that week) all food is fat and calorie-free.

If only that were true.

I celebrated my birthday last week. No, not just one day last week. ALL of last week. It was a good week. I started out by baking myself chocolate cupcakes. On my actual birthday, Heath came home with a birthday cake. Then, I topped off the week-long celebration with several Krispy Kreme pumpkin spice doughnuts. I'll say it again...it was a good week. However, whoever told me that all food is fat and calorie-free during your birthday week was obviously misinformed. I'm pretty sure I'm one doughnut away from having to lie down to zip up my jeans. I see a date with my dvd player and Jillian Michaels in my near future.

Birthdays have always been a big deal in my family -- full of fun and surprises -- always a party, sometimes big, sometimes small; always a cake; always candles; always friends and family around to help celebrate. Birthdays are great and definitely something to look forward to.

This year, the morning of my birthday, I awoke to a little voice saying, "Happy birthday, Mommy!" Jacob walked into the bedroom, sat down on the bed beside me and handed me a card. On the front of the card, he had written, "Mommy." I was actually impressed with his handwriting. Before I opened the card, he sang Happy Birthday to me. What a great way to wake up! Later, when I walked into Annabelle's room to get her out of bed, Jacob instructed her to say, "Happy birthday, Mommy!" She obliged and it was the sweetest thing. I love my children.

Heath planned to surprise me that evening by bringing home a birthday cake, but he made one little mistake. He told Jacob.

Jacob: "Daddy is going to stop by a bakery on his way home and pick up a cake for you!"

Me: "Oh, he is?!?! Was that supposed to be a surprise?"

Jacob: "Yes. Daddy said, 'If you tell her, then it won't be a surprise.'" (brief pause) "I guess it isn't a surprise."

Me: "No, I guess it isn't" :)

Oh, well. It's the thought that counts, right? Besides, I was still surprised...just a little earlier than Heath planned. He also invited Erika over for cake that night. That would have been a surpise, except he gave in and told me. I love my husband.

Jacob normally has class on Tuesdays, but last week was fall break, so he didn't have school on my birthday. Instead, one of the moms organized a playdate at a neighborhood pool / playground. All the kids had a blast. Jacob and Annabelle certainly were not exceptions.

Playing in the fountains was the highlight of their day.
Can you believe it? It's October and the kids were still able to swim in the pool and play in the fountains -- one of the perks to living in this part of the country.

Annabelle loves to slide.

While Annabelle climbed up and down the playground equipment and ran around like the crazy little girl she is, her brother was busy pretending to be an engineer, taking several of his friends on train rides.

The weather was perfect. It was a fabulous day to be outside -- cool in the morning, warm in the afternoon. A great day for a birthday. And when we finally decided to head home, Jacob and Annabelle both took nice, long naps. I couldn't have asked for more. :)