Puzzles, Pancakes, & the Playground -- Now THAT'S a Party!

Can you believe it? Jacob is four. He's four. HE IS FOUR! I'm sorry. I have to repeat it to let it sink in. It seems just like it was yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. He was so tiny (under 6 pounds at that particular time). We sat and watched him sleep. We listened to him make those precious little baby sounds. We tried desperately to get him to eat.

Four years later, things have changed. Instead of watching him sleep, now we just pray that he will sleep past 6:00 AM, as well as take a nice long afternoon nap. And those cute little baby sounds that used to make us melt? They've turned into a running faucet of questions and conversation. While Jacob still has the ability to make us melt (like today when he told me I was "so pretty"), more often than not, his random comments and questions now make us laugh...REALLY hard. Trying to get him to eat is still a challenge. If it isn't a snack or breakfast food, he isn't interested. When he was a newborn, we had to go to extreme measures to make him eat (i.e. letting him drink milk from a tiny little medicine cup). Now our "extreme measures" consist of singing the "Party in My Tummy" song and not letting him eat the next meal until all of the last meal is gone. For example, he wouldn't eat dinner the other night, so he was forced to forego his regular breakfast food and eat meatballs, lima beans and rice from the night before. He didn't like it, but eventually ate it, knowing if he didn't, he would find the same meal in his lunchbox.

Jacob's favorite meal is breakfast. He loves cereal, pancakes, waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, etc... It's the one meal I know he will eat. Given his affinity for breakfast foods, it only makes sense that his favorite restaurant would be IHOP. When we're traveling, he can spot an IHOP from a mile away and if he had his way, we would eat at IHOP several times a week. "How about we just go to IHOP for dinner," he says. The boy LOVES IHOP. As I tried to come up with fun, creative ideas for his fourth birthday party, in the back of my mind, I knew a party at his favorite restaurant would thrill him like no other party could. I decided to go with it -- a pancake party at IHOP.

He absolutely loved it. Since it was his birthday, I even gave him free reign of the syrup. His create-a-face pancake was swimming...errrr...make that drowning...in every variety of syrup. He quickly discovered that you can, indeed, have too much of a good thing. He hardly ate any of his drowned pancake.

Despite the drowned pancake, he and his friends had a great time and the IHOP employees couldn't have been any nicer. They were so incredibly helpful and patient with us.

Since one of Jacob's favorite activities is putting puzzles together, we gave them out as party favors. The kids were happy to have something to do while we waited on our pancakes.

Annabelle enjoyed herself too.

THE CAKE

Jacob decided he wanted a puzzle cake this year. I did a little internet research (and of course, called Erika to make sure this was doable) before I said, "okay." Erika and I worked tirelessly through the night and this is what we came up with. I was pleased. Erika was pleased. Jacob was pleased. As I rediscover every year, baking and decorating cakes is a lot of fun...and a lot of work. Thank you, Erika, for ALL your help!!!!!

After the chaos fun at IHOP, Jacob had a serious sugar rush. We drove over to the playground so he could burn off some of that extra energy.

It was a very fun morning and Jacob had a blast. God even turned down his thermostat for us and kept the temperature below 90 degrees while we were at the playground. What more could we ask for?! Family...check. Friends...check. Good food...check... Fun party...check. Nice weather...check. Everything was perfect! Happy fourth birthday, Jacob! I love you so much!! Let's take this next year a little slower, ok? :)

God bless America, land that I love....

Our fourth of July weekend was a whirlwind of activity. We headed to Georgia for the weekend to visit Philip, Michelle and their adorable dog, Grazie. It was a very fun trip and, true to form, we packed in as many activities as we possibly could. :)



Annabelle loved Grazie. Grazie loved Annabelle. They followed each other around the house throughout our visit. Grazie gave Annabelle lots of baths kisses. Annabelle willingly shared her sippy cup of milk with Grazie...on several occasions They soon became best friends.

After what seemed like a very short night, we woke up and drove into Atlanta to see what we could seee. We ended up at the Children's Museum. Jacob and Annabelle had a blast. Both of them were sleepy, as we arrived during their naptime (they both fell asleep in the stroller), but they still had tons of fun. Jacob ran from exhibit to exhibit, playing and exploring, not sure what to do or where to go next. Annabelle acted much the same way.

Much of Jacob's time was spent near the grocery store. He liked unloading the truck and pushing the boxes down the conveyor belt. I thought this was going to be his favorite area...until he found the tree house.When I asked him to tell me his favorite part of the museum, I was 95 percent certain he would say the treehouse. I was right. He loved climbing up and down the rope ladders, going down the slides, hopping across the bridge, running up and down the stairs. He couldn't get enough of the treehouse.

Happiness

Annabelle thoroughly enjoyed the huge water table play area. She had so much fun fishing and splashing in the water. Thank goodness they had little raincoats for the kids to wear or she would have been completely soaked.

Jacob had fun here, too.

After we left the museum, we walked to the World of Coke. Jacob and Annabelle, once again, fell asleep in the stroller and it worked out well because we waited in a Disney World-esque line just to get through the door. Jacob slept through most of our tour, but Annabelle woke up during the first informational movie. I thought it was funny that the child we had to pay admission for slept the whole time, while the one who got in free woke up. Oh well. It didn't really bother me. I wasn't about to wake Jacob from his nap. Anyone who knows Jacob knows what a mistake that would have been.

We met the Coca-Cola bear. Sorry, Jacob. You missed out on this one, but at least you're in the picture!

My favorite part of the World of Coke has always been the tasting room, where you're free to try all kinds of sodas from around the world. I don't know why this is my favorite part because, in my opinion, most of the drinks are not good. So many of them taste like cough medicine. Even though they're gross, it's fun to try them out. I even tried all the gross ones I remembered from years ago just to see if my tastes had changed. Nope. Still gross. Reason #5,372 why I'm glad I live in America!

It's not July 4th without fireworks, so the next night, we went to a local park where a festival was being held...complete with fireworks. Earlier that day, we went to church and the service was fantastic. Jacob had so much fun in sunday school. For the rest of the day, he talked about it -- about the games they played, the snack they ate, the friends he made. I think Annabelle had a good time as well.

On our way to the park!

Already looking for fireworks.

I love picnics...and chips!!

I love Uncle Phil. He gives me rainbow Jell-O!

Jacob had his face painted for the first time. Sure, he's painted his sister's face with a Sharpie, but he's never had his own painted...until now! He sat motionless in that chair...much like the way he sits for a haircut. He asked for a star...

and a star, he received!

Hey, look! I got stars, too!!

...because you can't celebrate America's freedom without.......a whoopie cushion?!?!?!

Thanks for the lift, Aunt Shelli! Now I can REALLY see these fireworks. The question is, can you?

Later that night, we let Jacob play with a sparkler -- another first for him. He liked it just fine until the sparks were about halfway down the stick. Then, he yelled for someone to TAKE IT!

The Race Is On!

Don't you know? It's playtime!!

Annabelle, attempting to wake her brother from his nap.

She was standing there yelling, "Datcha! Datcha! (Jacob! Jacob!) If she is awake, he is not supposed to be sleeping. At least, that's what she thinks. They fight. They yell. They aggravate each other. But they can't stand to be apart.

______________________________

So, in my last post, I commented that I wasn't sure if the summer would pass by slowly or quickly. I can most definitely tell you now. The race is on...to fall. Summer? What summer? It seems every time I blink my eyes, another week goes by. I can't remember another summer flying by so fast. Seriously, I can hardly believe we're already halfway through July. Wow!

PRESCHOOL
Teaching the three year olds has been fun, but certainly not without its challenges. Take for instance, potty time. Taking a large group of three year olds to the bathroom is not easy and not something that is done quickly. Bathroom breaks can take up to 20 minutes...and that's no exaggeration, as most of them need individual help. Actually, now that I think about it, doing ANYTHING with a large group of three year olds is a slow process. But that's ok. They're adorable, fun to work with, and they crack me up all the time. Between the giggles, screaming outbursts, glue accidents, and numerous trips to the bathroom, hopefully, they're learning something. :) What can I say? I'm having a good time and the kids seem to be enjoying themselves. That is what really matters right now. Isn't it?

Jacob moved up to the 4 & 5 year old class because he's so advanced for his age. Ok, so maybe that wasn't the real reason, but he did move into that class. Since the three year old class was so large, two kids who fell in the "almost four years old" category moved up to "lighten my load." Jacob was one of the two. From what his teacher tells me, Jacob is doing very well and knows as much (or more) than some of the four year olds. Hmmmm. Maybe he is advanced for his age. I've always suspected he was a genius. :) The other reports I hear about him usually have to do with his incessant talking (not in a bad way). This does not surprise me. He does the same thing at home.

Annabelle loves her class. She typically walks right in -- all smiles, no tears. Here are the reports I get about her from her teacher: "She loves to eat and she sometimes takes other people's food. Every time I turn around, she's getting into someone else's applesauce." Annabelle, apparently, likes to be a helper too. When she's not trying to snag it for herself, she enjoys feeding applesauce to her classmates. It cracks me up that she is the little "snack snatcher." Especially because she is the littlest (in terms of size) in the class. She eats the most, yet weighs the least. I think her favorite part of the day is when she gets to play on the playground. She loves playing with sand and there is plenty of it out there. Sometimes, even her ears are filled with sand. She doesn't mind getting dirty. That's for sure.


STOMACH FLU, COLDS, & EAR INFECTIONS! OH MY!
For four weeks, Jacob and Annabelle have been battling runny noses, coughs and ear infections. Jacob has been fortunate to escape the ear infection, but not Annabelle. She came down with a double ear infection three weeks ago and went back to the doctor Monday only to discover she still has it...along with a nice case of conjunctivitis (pink eye). She started the summer with a stomach bug which caused her to throw up ten times in three hours. She got sick at preschool one Friday in June and her teacher informed me that was the very first time a child had ever thrown up on her. She's been teaching that class for years!!!! Can you believe that? Of course, it had to be my child...the very first week. Ugh. Annabelle, that was not exactly what I had in mind when I told you to make a good impression. :) Oh well. I believe she has since made up for it. Thank goodness, she was the only one who caught the stomach flu.

As soon as Annabelle was well, Jacob caught a cold, gave it to his sister and they can't get rid of it. It's been four weeks, yet the runny noses and coughs still persist. To top it off, I got strep throat over the weekend -- loads of summertime fun. Heath has had a sore throat off and on for several days. Although he hasn't felt great, he hasn't been bed-ridden either. Hopefully his sore throat won't turn into strep. I'm praying we'll all get well soon and at least have a healthy second half of the summer. If Jacob and Annabelle don't get over their colds, I will most definitely go insane. Do you know what it's like to wipe two runny noses 24/7 for FOUR WEEKS?!?!?!?!? AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! Just had to get that out.

BEFORE WE WERE SICK
At the beginning of June, we took a weekend trip to Charleston. Heath and I celebrated our eighth anniversary at Peninsula Grill. It was amazing. If you haven't eaten there, I highly recommend it. We'd been talking about having dinner there for years, but never got around to it until this year. Funny...we had an incredible meal at Peninsula Grill while my parents stayed at the hotel with Jacob and Annabelle dining on Chick-Fil-A combos. Even though it doesn't really sound fair to me, I don't think my parents minded a bit. Plus, we brought them back a large slice of coconut cake.

The next day, we played...as much as we could in the 100 degree heat. Jacob and Annabelle had fun at the park in Mount Pleasant.

Let the Summer Begin

Summer officially marked its start this week (although, the 100 degree temperatures for the past few weeks would have us believe it arrived long ago). So far, I can't tell if this summer is going to race by quickly or drag on forever. With our busy schedules, it will be one or the other -- nowhere in between.

So what have we been up to since my last post? A lot. We went to Charleston for a weekend and got so hot, our whole family was just moments away from melting. We played in the rain...literally. We've made frequent visits to the playground. We've been playing outside quite a bit in the torturous heat...and I do mean torturous. I bought Jacob and Annabelle a small inflatable pool for the backyard with a slide and a giraffe that squirts water. That makes the heat slightly more bearable. When we're not in the backyard or at the playground, we've been at church -- our second home. Jacob and Annabelle have started attending the preschool / Mother's Morning Out program at church and I took on a summer teaching position with the same program. I'm teaching three year olds -- 11 three year olds, to be exact.

It's been quite an adjustment for all of us -- me going to work. Even though it is only three mornings a week, it's still thrown us all for a loop just getting accustomed to the new schedule. For example, Annabelle has to be abruptly awoken on school days. She has always been a late sleeper, so waking up before 7:00 AM is something she is not particularly fond of; but, she is a trooper and does fine once she finally opens her eyes. Jacob typically wakes up around 6:45 AM, so his sleep schedule hasn't really been affected. To be honest, my new wake up time isn't exactly ideal for me either -- 5:15 AM. But I'm getting used to it.

Before the first day of school, most of my time was spent at the church getting my classroom ready, mainly creating and assembling a new bulletin board design. Decorating a bulletin board is fun, but it is not easy...especially with a 19 month old running around destroying the room and all your craft supplies. Ugh. So, I enlisted Heath to provide babysitting services over the weekend to give me some time to get things accomplished on my own. That worked out much better...for me, anyway. :)

School days are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Monday before the first day of school was an especially trying day. I had a lot to get done and felt like I wouldn't be able to finish anything. Jacob, Annabelle and I were at church all afternoon, then to top it off, I forgot I had a meeting that evening. I stayed for the meeting...with my two tired, hungry, and "ready to go home" children. Mistake. I decided it was time for me to leave when I looked at them and noticed they had found the sunblock stick from the diaper bag. Both of them were covered in sunblock -- faces, arms, legs, hands -- white as ghosts. Annabelle was handing the stick to Jacob, obviously wanting him to paint on her a little more. (She is used to being painted / written on, you know.) By the time we got in the car, we had all "had it." It had been a LONG day. Both Jacob and Annabelle cried and screamed all the way to Jim 'n Nicks (there was no way I was cooking dinner).

I was playing their lullaby CD, thinking that would help them sleep, or at least, calm them down. No such luck. So, after we pulled away from the drive-thru window, I turned on the radio. A song by MercyMe was playing -- All of Creation (I wanted to add it to the blog playlist, but it's fairly new and hasn't been added to the website yet). The second Jacob and Annabelle heard this song, their crying and screaming turned into smiles and singing. Jacob knows the words. Annabelle does the whoa whoa parts. Their singing touched my heart so much at that particular moment. I was stressed, tired, and on edge...and my children were equally tired and on edge. Yet somehow, that song made it all better. There they were, laughing and singing praises to God, their tears beginning to dry on their faces. And there I was, tears welling up in my eyes, not from stress, but from listening to my two precious children singing in the backseat of the car. At that moment, God spoke to me and revealed to me how blessed I truly am. This was His way of showing me that I needed to stop stressing about everything and focus on Him. I needed to be singing God's praises just as my children were. It worked. I sang and prayed the rest of the way home and almost instantly, I felt a million times better. God is good...all the time!!

A Day at the Harbor

While we visited my sister in the DC area, we took a trip over to National Harbor for a day. We took the water taxi, which made it extra fun. This was Jacob's and Annabelle's first time on a boat. Annabelle loved it. She seemed to love the wind in her face, the water, the view -- everything. She enjoyed being outside, watching the water. Jacob liked it, but wasn't nearly as thrilled as his sister. He was happier climbing around on the seats inside the cabin. When we took him outside for a better view, he begged to go back inside. They truly are two very different children.



Earlier that day, we went to The Corner Bakery for breakfast. Oh, how I love that place -- especially the swiss oatmeal. Yum. We took our breakfast outside and let Jacob and Annabelle burn some energy by running around and playing by the fountain for a while.

Jacob, enjoying the rest of MY swiss oatmeal.

I tried to get a picture of them sitting beside each other, but the second Annabelle sat down, she was up again. :)

Annabelle climbed up and down these steps over and over and over again. She had scratches all over her legs as proof.

At National Harbor, there is a huge sculpture called "The Awakening" of a giant man embedded in the earth, struggling to free himself. Kids were climbing all over it and everyone was having a picture taken standing in front of it. To Annabelle, it was a giant sandbox. She played hard and, of course, managed to fill her pants with sand.

Jacob stood near the edge of the water and threw rocks.

I have no idea why, but the majority of our time here was spent playing around this enormous foot. Eeewwww.
A Peeps Store -- I never even imagined there was such a thing. They sell dark chocolate covered Peeps. Sooooo good. They also sell these little chocolate candies called Peepsters. They look like Rolos, but instead of caramel, Peepsters are filled with marshmallow. Yum. Yeah, I bought a bag...and ate the whole thing (over several days).

Tribal Warrior Princess

Kids are noisy. It's just a fact. They are, by nature, loud. At least mine are. They are always yelling, screaming, singing, playing drums, laughing, crying, etc... -- just having fun! It's when they get quiet (and not in your sight) that you need to worry. Usually, if things are quiet (too quiet), you can bet they are up to no good.

The other day as I was sitting in the living room folding laundry, I listened to Jacob and Annabelle playing in Jacob's room. I heard the sounds of several toys. I heard them laughing and talking to each other. I heard the music of drums and little pianos. It never got quiet. I never worried. As I got toward the end of my laundry pile, I called their names. Annabelle came running in with a big grin on her face, pointing at at large blue spot on her arm. But she didn't just have a blue spot on her arm, it was all over her face.

Upon seeing my little blue daughter, I quickly ran to Jacob's room (a.k.a. Big Brother's Tattoo Parlor). Jacob was sitting on the floor, blue sharpie in hand, eyes tightly closed because he knew he had done something wrong. I scanned him and the rest of his room to see if anything else had "mysteriously" been colored blue. Nope. Just his sister. While Jacob spent a few minutes in the time out corner, I spent a few minutes on the internet, searching for ways to remove sharpie marker from skin.

Although I freaked out a little, Annabelle was perfectly happy with her new tribal warrior tattoos. I walked her over to a mirror so she could see exactly what her brother had done to her and she giggled with delight. She loved it. Since I wasn't quite as thrilled with her body art, I proceeded to get the ink off. After reading a number of "remedies" from using mineral oil to fingernail polish remover, I decided to try Wet Ones (antibacterial wipes). It worked. A few wipes later, the blue was gone and I had a nice, clean, germ-free baby.

Jacob said he didn't know why he did it. He just wanted to color. I was upset that he colored on his sister...with a sharpie marker....but I have to admit, the marks on her face were interesting. They looked like Chinese characters. What can I say? He's an artist...on any canvas.

Oh, one more funny thing.....See the picture of Annabelle sitting in the corner? She was sitting across from her brother, who was in time out. Of course, she couldn't let him sit there by himself -- especially after he had done such a great job on her tribal warrior princess tattoos.

Playtime Fun and Conversations

I remember Jacob hitting a certain age where he began copying everything he saw and heard. Whatever I said, he repeated. If I stood a certain way, he stood that way too. If I made a face, he tried to make that same face.

This is where Annabelle is now. She mimics everything. Jacob, however, has advanced beyond simply copying and now questions everything he sees and hears. For example, the other day, I was frustrated about something and let out a big, "uuuuuuuugggggghhhhhhh!!!!" Immediately after, I heard Annabelle mimic my frustration in her version of an "uuuuuugggggghhhhh!!!" while Jacob looked at me and said, "Mommy, what did you go 'uuuuuuuugggggghhhhhh' for?" Hearing both of them respond in different ways made me laugh and forget my frustrations for a few moments. They are just so funny!!

Jacob and Annabelle love to play with sand. They've been spending a great deal of time in their little sandbox in our backyard. Somehow, Annabelle always ends up with a mountain of sand in her diaper. It's as if she takes a shovel and pours it right in; although, I've never actually seen her do that. While she digs in the sand and throws it ALL OVER THE PLACE, Jacob is usually busy creating something -- his imagination, hard at work.

Bless her little heart, Annabelle seems destined to forever have a bruised forehead. She has had a bruise right in the middle of her forehead for almost a month. When one bruise finally vanishes, along comes another. How does she get these bruises? Well, she ran into the corner of the wall and created the first one. The second came as a result of a little shove down the slide at church (compliments of her big brother.) Then after that, she climbed up onto the toilet and fell off, bumping her head on the corner of the stainless steel trash can. Ouch!

Jacob is one smart cookie and doesn't let us forget it. The other night after dinner, we each had a Little Debbie Swiss Cake Roll for dessert. Side note: I sent Heath to the store for milk and a can of kidney beans. He came back with Little Debbies. :) Anyway, after we had finished our dessert, Heath grabbed a box of Hot Tamales candy and began eating them. Here is the conversation that followed:

Jacob: Ooooooh, Daddy....I want some of those. Can I have some of those?

Heath: No. You had a swiss cake roll for dessert.

Jacob: Well.....what did you have????

Touche.