Complete Silence? You Must Be Joking.

Jacob went on a field trip yesterday. Of course, that means Mommy and little sister went on a field trip too. For the past six weeks, he has been learning about different composers, types of music, and instruments that make up an orchestra. What better way to learn about an orchestra than to see and hear one perform in person? Our Classical Conversations group was invited to the dress rehearsal of our local orchestra. Jacob seemed excited about it. I was excited about it. Annabelle was indifferent about the whole thing.

At school, learning about the orchestra.

When we arrived, Annabelle was surprisingly well-behaved, especially since she only had a 25 minute nap in the car on the way over. She sat down between Jacob and me and seemed amused by the different instruments. About 30 seconds later, a twinge of boredom set in and she asked for fruit snacks. I gave her fruit snacks. She happily ate her snack while Jacob walked up to get an up close and personal look at a harpsichord.

I overheard another mom ask if she and her children could sit in the balcony during the performance. This was the answer she was given: "Well, yes. As long as we have complete silence. WE NEED COMPLETE SILENCE!"

"Uh-oh," I thought to myself. "She must be joking." Complete silence? Really? With all these children? MY children?? Oh boy.

The performance began. Then came the noise from the audience. So much for complete silence. My neighbor walked out with her little girl (Annabelle's partner in crime). I knew it woudn't be long before Annabelle and I joined them. Annabelle was enjoying herself a little too much. She loved the instruments. "I he-yuh da tumpets!" she yelled...loudly. "Yem-a-see (Let me see) da tumpets!!" I had no idea she would have such an intense fascination with the horn section. I wasn't aware that she even knew the word "trumpet," much less what one looked and sounded like. With her exuberance, I knew we would have to leave. As I stood up to walk out with Annabelle, the "complete silence" lady looked at me sternly, then walked up to the CC director to discuss the excessive noise. I whispered to her, "We're leaving!" hoping to calm her down a little. I quickly ushered Jacob to another row to sit with a friend and ran to the nearest exit. All the while, Annabelle was crying, "Yem-a-see da tumpets! I want to he-yuh da tumpets!"

So, we were basically kicked out of an orchestra performance. Had it not been for our preemptive exit, we definitely would have been asked to leave. Poor Annabelle. All she wanted to do was see and hear the trumpets. Now that a full day has passed, I can see the humor in this little orchestra incident. It's actually pretty funny when I think about it; however, yesterday, it wasn't so funny. It was just a tad embarrassing. Totally expected, but embarrassing nonetheless. Want to hear something else funny? Out of all the kids in the audience (there were several more Annabelle's age) Annabelle and my neighbor's daughter were the only ones who were noisy and had to be taken out during the performance. Again, totally expected. These two girls are very much alike and have been known to cause a little mischief. They are in the nursery together on Tuesdays and I hear a new story each week about what the two of them have been up to.

And yet another funny thing...although Jacob did think it was cool that he got to play a few notes on the harpsichord, when I asked him what his favorite part of the orchestra field trip was, he excitedly said, "When we got to run around and around the steps and the ramp outside." This occurred after the performance. He burned off some energy by running up and down the steps and the ramp leading to the buiding's entrance. Hmmmm...I think we'll wait a few more years before we attend another orchestra concert. A marching band might be more our speed. :)

Does This Mean I am a Soccer Mom?

Jacob is now a soccer player. He played his first game today. Does this mean I am a soccer mom?

He seems to enjoy himself out there on the field. He is an active participant in the game and for that, I am proud of him. If anything, he is getting plenty of exercise! Everyone told me the games are fun (and sometimes hilarious) to watch. Everyone was right. Today's game was certainly entertaining.

Jacob had a lot of fun, despite the early game time. All his games will be at 8:30 AM. Ugh. Later today he told someone that he didn't get enough sleep last night because the lights came on too early. I agree. I could have used a bit more sleep myself, buddy.

I'm actually not sure what the final score was, but I think I'm safe in saying, Jacob's team won by a landslide. After the game Jacob asked if he was getting a trophy. Heath informed him that he wouldn't get a trophy after playing only one game. When he was handed a snack of gatorade, pretzels, and fruit snacks, Jacob said, "Well, if I'm not getting a trophy, I guess a snack will do." Oh, Jacob, you are just too funny!

After the game, we did a few things around town, then headed to Bluffton BBQ for a victory lunch. Jacob and Annabelle (especially Annabelle) really liked the pig who greeted us at the front of the restaurant.

A caterpillar joined us for lunch. Annabelle was fascinated.




I''m excited about this soccer season and more importantly, Jacob is too. We're already looking forward to his next game!

In Their Own Words

Annabelle has a mind of her own. We've known that since day one. But, then again, doesn't everyone?

I love listening to her talk. She says the cutest things. For instance, a necklace is "neckins." Rice Krispies are "wice pippies." Milk is "muwkkkk." Coffee is "poff-ee" and her favorite toy is her "hanna behw" (panda bear). I have a feeling these little "Annabelle-isms" aren't going to last very long. Jacob likes to play teacher and correct her mispronunciations. "Annabelle, say, 'neck - less'" he says to her. Then I chime in with, "No, don't tell her to say necklace! I WANT her to say neckins!!" Can't she just stay two forever??? Her big brother even has her reciting his history sentences, so amid the usual two year old vocabulary, you'll hear her spout off names like, "Mahget Patchuh (Margaret Thatcher) and Donald Bagan (Ronald Reagan). She cracks me up...and she is still as wild as ever. :)

What do you mean you couldn't understand her? She said, "In the 1980s, British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and the U.S. President, Ronald Reagan, worked together to end the cold war, lessen big government and strengthen the conservative movement."

Annabelle loves to sing the song, Allelu, Allelu, although her version is a bit different than the original. Instead of "Praise ye the Lord" she sings "Tase ye a Yord." God, you know what she really means, right? :)

A couple weekends ago, we drove through the National Cemetery in Beaufort. As we entered the gate, it occurred to me that I didn't really want to discuss cemeteries with my children. Thank goodness, Jacob was occupied with a toy or book or something (I can't remember what he was looking at) and never even lifted his head to see where we were. Annabelle, on the other hand, looked out her window at the rows and rows of headstones and exclaimed, "Yook at dem dom-noes (Look at them dominoes)!!! I looked over at Heath and all we could do was laugh.

The kids had a blast on the playground that day. Annabelle climbed and climbed and climbed some more. The girl has an endless supply of energy...and no fear...whatsoever.

Jacob has always approached life with a little more caution and less reckless abandon, but he seems to be getting more and more brave everyday. I guess that's what happens when you turn four and a half.

I couldn't make this stuff up...

"Yook (Look)!" Annabelle yelled from the dining room / office / classroom. "Yook what I did!" Jacob ran over to see what she was yelling about. "Oh my goodness!" he yelled back at me. "Annabelle wrote ALL over herself!" Annabelle spun around in the office chair to show me her new and improved red legs. She had a red marker in one hand, the marker cap in the other, her legs covered in red marks. She flashed me the biggest smile and giggled a little as she said, sweetly, " Yook what I did!" I took the marker from her and went back to the kitchen to prepare lunch. I wasn't too concerned. It was a dry erase marker. I once successfully removed sharpie drawings from her skin. Wiping off dry erase markings would be a piece of cake.

As I made sandwiches, Jacob alerted me to another potential problem. "MOMMY, look what she has now!!!" Annabelle was back in the office chair, this time holding a spray bottle of dry erase board cleaner. I grabbed it from her hands, not knowing she had unscrewed the top. It spilled all over the chair and all over her pull-up. "Oh no. I need new pants," she said. She ran to her room to get a new Dora pull-up while I tried to clean up the chair. Who knew dry erase board cleaner would leave such a stain? Not to mention, it smells awful. The label states, "Use in a well ventilated area." I can see and smell why.

Lunch was uneventful. Jacob and Annabelle both ate all their food, albeit VERY slowly. I sprayed another layer of Resolve on the office chair, attempting to, again, remove the stain and the smell. After lunch, we read a story. Today, they chose Bedtime for Frances. Then, it was time for naps -- such a glorious time of the day. Ever since lunch, Jacob had been asking me if he could go outside and get the mail. I told him he could...later. He didn't like that answer. I finally gave in and let him walk to the mailbox before his rest time. I stood at the front door and watched him. He stopped, looked both ways for cars, then turned around and gave me a thumbs up. He opened the mailbox, took out one catalog and ran back to the door. "Mommy, there is A LOT of mail today!" he exlaimed. "Well, bring it inside...all of it," I said. "Not just one catalog." He brought the mail in piece by piece, one at a time. He went back to the mailbox to grab one last envelope, but instead of bringing it home, he took off towards the neighbor's house. Just as I was about to run after him, Annabelle came walking up behind me...pantsless. "I go potty," she said. She had just come from the bathroom. I told her to go get a new pull-up from the drawer. She ran to her room and I ran outside to get Jacob.

Jacob had seen his friend out in the yard and ran over to say hello. Annabelle came walking outside with no pants. I quickly put on her pull-up and we walked over to the neighbor's house as well. (And by the way, I still hadn't wiped the red marker from Annabelle's legs.) They were in the middle of a crisis. "What's going on?" I asked. My neighbor was holding her dog down, trying to get her to swallow something from a syringe. "We have to make our dog throw up," she said.

While they were at the grocery store, their dog was at home having a delicious, yet dangerous snack. She ate several packets of hot chocolate -- paper, chocolate...everything. Everyone knows chocolate can be lethal to a dog, so my neighbor needed to give her pet something to make her throw up. I held the dog down for her, while she pried its mouth open. Meanwhile, the kids ran around the front yard talking about throw up.

Finally, the dog threw up...several times. Whew. The kids talked about throw up even more. I said to my neighbor, "You know, this is something our kids are going to remember and talk about forever."

I gathered my two kids and walked back inside. I looked at Annabelle and burst into laughter. She was in the front yard wearing a Carolina Panthers t-shirt and a pull-up. She didn't have on any shoes and her legs had red ink all over them. I suddenly realized I had become one of those parents -- the parent I said I'd never be. "I will never let my kids run around outside half-dressed, looking like little ragamuffins," I used to say. Well, I realize now...life happens. I didn't intend for my two year old to be playing outside in the front yard looking that way. It just...happened. Parenthood is definitely a learning experience and I am loving every minute of it.

The Singer

It was 8:10 pm. I had just sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, curious to see who would win an Oscar this year. As I began to watch, I heard a tiny, little voice coming from down the hall. I muted the TV and listened. It was Annabelle. She was singing, "Zack-kay-is, you come down....goin...house....a-day (Zacchaeus, you come down! For I'm goin' to your house today)." She sang those two lines, over and over and over and over again. She, Jacob and I sang that song earlier in the week when we read the Bible story about Zacchaeus. I don't know what made her think of it while she was lying in bed, but she obviously couldn't get it out of her head. She had been in bed for about 40 minutes before I heard her singing. I listened for a couple more minutes thinking she would quiet down and go to sleep. Nope. Heath thought she sounded so cute, he had to walk back to her bedroom to see her. I walked back with him. I sang the song with Annabelle, the whole song, not just the last two lines. Then, Heath and I kissed her goodnight once more and closed her door. Annabelle continued to sing until just after 10:00 pm.

I guess she was full of energy and couldn't sleep. It had been a fun day. After church, where she got plenty of playground time, we went to a party at McDonald's. It was her friend, Finley's, 2nd birthday. All the kids played their little hearts out. Annabelle climbed right up to the top of the play area with the big kids. I was a little nervous at first, but she had a GREAT time. She stopped playing for a few short minutes -- just long enough to drink a container of caramel sauce and eat a few apple slices along with one chicken nugget. She then quickly devoured a cupcake and went back to playing.

When bedtime came, she went to bed willingly. She was showing all the "sleepy" signs (rubbing her eyes, becoming a drama queen, etc...) but apparently, she decided she wasn't quite ready to head off to dreamland. It was the perfect time for a little vocal practice.

She's been singing more and more lately. A couple of her favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the alphabet song. She gives concerts on occasion...if you ask her nicely.

Annabelle still enjoys her naps and usually doesn't give me any trouble when it's time to go to bed. Today, she came out of her room a couple times during naptime, but happily went back to bed and soon fell fast asleep. She and Jacob are both asleep right now. When Jacob takes a nap, he typically wakes up before his sister. But, on the days when Annabelle is the first to awaken, she makes sure her brother gets up with her. One day last week, I didn't even realize Annabelle was awake until I heard laughter coming from Jacob's room. She had jumped up onto his bed, woke him up and the two of them were happily playing together.

They played in Jacob's room for a few minutes, then both of them headed to the "elevator" with an armload of toys. Naptime was officially over. On to another adventurous trip!!

The Elevator

"C'mon, Annabelle," Jacob yelled down the hall. "We have to huwee (hurry) and get in the elevator before the door closes! Huuuuuweeee!!" I closed the pantry door just in time to see Jacob turn the corner with an armload of treasures -- two toy lanterns, a Clemson flag, a microphone case that Heath brought home from church after band practice one night (no doubt, filled with more treasures), and a tiny magnadoodle. He quickly ran towards the coat closet with Annabelle trailing closely behind. Her arms were full of stuffed animals -- a little gray bunny, old Minnie Mouse (the beloved), new Minnie Mouse (not so beloved), a pink toy lantern and a ziploc bag full of crackers. Jacob opened the closet door, threw his belongings inside and crawled in atop his things as well as the other things we keep hidden away on the closet floor. Annabelle did the same. Jacob pulled the door closed and off they went.

Going up! Or maybe they were going down. Who knows? :)

This is a typical scene at our house lately. The elevator...errr...coat closet....is a busy place. Jacob and Annabelle are constantly riding up and down the elevator. This elevator makes several stops. Sometimes, it takes them to the hotel (one of their bedrooms), where they'll stay and play with toys for quite a while. Other times, it takes them to a campsite (their bathroom). The bathroom is one of the only rooms in the house with no windows, so with the lights off and the door closed, it is completely dark. This is where the lanterns come into play. They set up their three lanterns around the bathroom and pretend they are camping at night. Side note: Several weeks ago, our power was out for a couple hours. Jacob and Annabelle were overjoyed. They were so excited to carry their lanterns all over the house in the dark.

I love to see and hear them playing like this -- their imaginations hard at work. And I'm always curious to see which toys they take with them into the elevator. The lanterns are ever present, and Jacob almost always has the microphone case, but everything else changes depending on whatever story is being played out in their minds. I once saw Annabelle crawl into the elevator with three baby dolls and a diaper bag. I thought it was cute until she threw a fit because the doll's stroller wouldn't fit in the elevator with her. Annabelle screamed on the floor while Jacob closed the door and went to the hotel without her. But, never fear, he came back later and asked if she wanted to go camping with him.

I'm not sure what they were doing here, but those poses crack me up!!

Here, Annabelle. Let me show you how you're supposed to wear your hat.

Cheeeeeeese!!

18 verses

Parenthood has its ups and downs. Everyone knows that. Like when you're in a shoe store and your children are running wildly down the aisles, pulling off boxes of shoes while screaming at the top of their lungs. Yes, I've been there. That would be one of the "downs." Or when you're up in the middle of the night washing crib sheets and taking care of a baby with a bad stomach bug. Or even worse, cleaning your car after said stomach bug hits between your house and the grocery store. Yep, been there too. Those are definitely "down" moments.

But, thank goodness, the ups far outweigh the downs. And, boy, do I ever love those "ups." Take last Sunday, for example. I've been trying to keep you updated on Jacob's progress in school, so you probably know that he's been memorizing the sixth chapter of Ephesians. Right now, he knows verses 1 - 18 and he'll begin learning verse 19 tomorrow. Word has gotten around about Jacob's memory work and last Saturday, we received a call from our associate pastor asking if Jacob could "help him out with his sermon" by reciting his verses. Jacob seemed excited about the opportunity, so we said, "Yes."

I couldn't be more proud. He recited his verses in both worship services that morning. This video was taken during the second.



The excitement of the morning caught up with him as soon as he walked off stage. Jacob crawled up into Heath's lap and fell fast asleep during the second half of the service. :)

Jacob has worked so hard this year. We typically review his memory work for school at least four days a week and he recites his verses everyday. He likes to stand on the coffee table now when he says his verses. He feels like he is on stage. And, by the way, that is the only time standing on the coffee table is ok at our house. While Annabelle may enjoy dancing on the table or using it to perfect her high jump, we don't encourage that behavior. :) Annabelle, when you begin memorizing scripture, you too can stand on the coffee table with permission.

So, of course, I am proud of Jacob, as are many other people. Besides being proud, this has also given me a big boost as far as homeschooling goes. I am so glad we chose to homeschool this year. To be honest, before Classical Conversations, the thought never even occurred to me that my four year old would be capable of this much memorization. I mean, really...18 verses, soon to be 24?!?!?! C'mon. Adults (myself included) can't even do that!! That's just crazy talk. Well, as it turns out, it's not so crazy after all. Jacob, you never cease to amaze me.