Hello, my name is Belle. It's my birthday and I am three years old.

The other day, Annabelle fell down and scraped her elbow.  Whenever she hurts herself, she immediately asks me to kiss it.  Then, after I kiss the boo-boo, she tells me it feels better.  Not this time.  I kissed her boo-boo just like I usually do, after which she said, crying, "That does NOT make it feel better!"  "What?!" I thought to myself.  "A kiss always makes everything better...no matter how tiny or big the scrape."  That's when I knew.  My baby is growing up.  **sniff, sniff**

Annabelle enjoys playing dress up -- especially when she's dressing up like a princess.  A couple weekends ago, she insisted on wearing a tiara into Target so she could look like her favorite princess -- Belle.  I let her.  While we walked across the parking lot to the entrance, she and I had the same conversation we always have before going into Target.  "Annabelle," I said.  "When we get inside the store, you HAVE to sit in a buggy."  At this point, Annabelle usually whines and says she doesn't want to ride.  This time, she didn't whine.  She didn't cry.  She didn't even scream.  She stopped walking, looked up at me, her tiara falling off her head, and announced, "Belle doesn't ride in buggies.  Belle is a big girl and she walks."  Well, okay then.  I obliged for a little while.  I knew Annabelle would never stay right with me.  Annabelle would run from one end of the store to the other, giggling with delight as I chased her, looking like a complete idiot.  But I wasn't dealing with Annabelle.  I was talking to Belle, the princess.  Belle did behave herself...for a short while.  I let her walk alongside me until she began to get into everything.  When I could see she was getting an itch to run, I decided it was time to take charge.  She threw a marvelous fit, but as she found out that evening, Belle can and does indeed ride in buggies. 

Weeks ago, I started asking her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday.  Each time, she gave me the same answer:  "A Belle cake."  As much as I wanted her to choose something different, I knew she would love to have a Belle cake.  I went with it.  There was a time when I wasn't crazy about all the "princess stuff."  I never disliked it, I just wasn't a big fan.  How things change.  I have now, admittedly, embraced the whole princess scene in a huge way.  I can't decide whether this is a good or a bad thing.  In any case, Annabelle absolutely loved her princess birthday party.

Of course, she had to dress up like Belle for the party.

And she got just what she wanted -- a Belle birthday cake.

Then the fellow royalty arrived...

There were plenty of commoners in attendance as well, myself included -- grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc...  We kept the princesses from getting too out of control.  As we all know, Belle can get pretty wild.  :)

The little princesses got crafty and decorated tiaras with princess stickers and made their own wands.

After storytime and a princess tea party consisting of heart-shaped strawberry and cream cheese sandwiches, grapes, cheese, Chex Mix, and carrots with ranch dressing (Those are all princess foods, right?  Right??), it was time for cake.

Then presents...

The princesses frolicked around the house for a while waving their wands and playing with the new toys.  Soon, it was time for each of them to go back to their castles.  Before they left, we tried to get a group shot.  After all, it isn't often that you find so many princesses in one room.  Most of the princesses, however, were not interested in this photo op.

It was a lovely party, fit for a three year old princess.  I think all the girls enjoyed themselves and they all looked precious in their princesss dresses. 

You may be wondering where Jacob was since he isn't in any of these pictures.  I figured he would have more fun hanging out with a friend than hanging out with a bunch of princesses, so he went to our neighbor's house and had "boys club" with two other boys.  He had a great time playing with garbage trucks and LEGOs while Annabelle and her friends played with baby dolls and princess wands.  It worked out well.  And don't worry, we saved some cake for Jacob.  :)

Jacob sang Happy Birthday to his sister the next morning, on her actual birthday.  And he made this card for her, all by himself.  He told me he wanted to make a birthday card for Annabelle, so I gave him a piece of paper and he found a red marker.  Isn't it the cutest thing that he drew a picture of Belle?  So sweet! 

Princess Party -- Behind the Scenes.........

Finding princess party decorations is easy.  I knew that would be a simple task.  Disney princesses are everywhere.  I knew I could find everything I needed and more at the local party supply store.  But, if you've never planned a party at the end of October, here's a tip:  Never go to a party store the weekend before Halloween.  I got to the entrance of the party store and couldn't even walk in because there was such a crowd of people.  There was a security guard at the door and the check-out line wound around to the back of the store.  Yikes.  Thank goodness I was by myself.  Had the kids been with me, I would have turned around and walked right back to my car without even trying to enter the store.  Besides the large crowd, the spooky Halloween decor at the entrance would have given them nightmares.  I think next year I'll start planning Annabelle's party at least a month...or two...in advance.

The cake:  It was another 3 AM night.  No matter what time I start the cake baking process, I always end up going to bed at 3 AM the night before the party.  Things are never as easy as they seem.  Thanks again to Erika for helping out this year!  Heath also got in on the action, if you can believe that!  He helped lay the fondant over the cake.  First up was the smaller top tier.  It didn't go so well.  Heath and I carefully placed the fondant over the cake and...it looked awful.  We ended up with a lot of excess fondant that we weren't sure what to do with.  I was about ready to call the princess cake a total failure.  Then, we laid the yellow fondant over the bottom tier.  It turned out MUCH better.  With a few properly placed yellow polka dots, I decided the top tier didn't look so bad.  Thank goodness.  I REALLY didn't want to have to make a whole new cake.  When it was all said and done, the cake turned out much better than I thought it would.  I was pleased and more importantly, Annabelle was thrilled.  Even with the minor (and sometimes, major) mishaps, I love baking and decorating these birthday cakes.  :)  It's so much fun!

So, Annabelle, you are now three years old (even though you still tell people you are two).  The past three years have flown by.  Just yesterday, you were a teeny tiny baby and now you are a little princess...with a wild streak.  :)  And I love you for that.  You make every day exciting and new and I thank God for allowing me to be your mommy.  Happy Birthday!!  I love you!! 

October

I love the month of October for several reasons.

• pumpkins
• pumpkin patch
• birthdays
• birthday parties
• birthday parties for princesses
• cake
• cooler weather (at least for a few days)
• football
• Krispy Kreme pumpkin spice doughnuts
• Pumpkin spice lattes
• Trunk or Treat
• the colors of fall

I'm sure I could think of more, but these are the big ones.  I could devote an entire blog post to each one...but I won't.  Let's get real.  I can hardly find the time to write about the important things anymore.  That being said, I better get started while I have a free minute or two!

Simply put, October is a fun month.  It begins with my birthday and ends with Annabelle's.  I love all things pumpkin, so God couldn't have chosen a better month for me to be born.  Is there a better way to celebrate a birthday than with pumpkin spice doughnuts?  I think not.  Except this year, I had to wait a while.  When we drove to Krispy Kreme to get them, they were out.  Can you believe that?  I checked Publix every week.  Nothing.  FINALLY, Friday afternoon, I sent Heath to the store to pick up a few things and he came back with my long-awaited pumpkin spice doughnuts.  For that, he earned the husband of the year award.  I LOVE those doughnuts...and my husband.  :) 

My other October indulgence is the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte.  Mmmmmm.  So good.  But, I can't drink as many as I used to.  I seem to have developed a sensitivity to caffeine.  When I drink a lot of it (i.e. a Starbucks latte, mocha, etc...) I start to feel jittery and light-headed.  Weird.  This doesn't make me happy.  But, as pathetic as this may be, I can't NOT have a pumpkin spice latte.  So, I'm willing to feel light-headed and jittery...at least one time.  It's THAT good.

My birthday fell on a Wednesday this year.  When the kids and I arrived home from church, Heath had birthday cakes (yes, TWO cakes) on the table, party decor hung around the kitchen, and a birthday present waiting on me.  Sweet.  Now that I think about it, I guess he's actually earned two husband of the year awards.  :) 

A perfect little party.

While I can't say I was exactly thrilled about turning another year older, I can truly say that the "growing older" fact really didn't bother me this year. I feel blessed.  Blessed to celebrate another birthday, and blessed to celebrate it with such a loving family.

Biskini and Frinkles

I catch her with her eyes closed about 90% of the time. 

My kids love biskini.  I love biskini.  My husband will even eat biskini.  We had it for dinner a couple nights ago -- roasted, with parmesan cheese.  Yum.  Do you like biskini?  What?  You've never heard of biskini?  It's a vegetable (Well, it's really a fruit, but it's a vegetable at our house).  You know...green...part of the squash family...looks similar to a cucumber.  What?  Zucchini?  Oh, wait...you're right.  It is zucchini, not...biskini.  But don't tell Annabelle.

Annabelle and I sat crouched in front of the oven, checking on the zucchini when she exclaimed, "Yook at the biskini!!!!!"  My kids make me laugh on an hourly basis.  This was one of those times.  I don't know why her mispronunciation of zucchini hit me so funny, but I was immediately thrown into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.  Annabelle laughed too, not because she thought she was funny, but because I was funny.  Maybe I laughed because she was so excited about the zucchini.  Maybe it was because she said "biskini" in all seriousness. Maybe it was just that "biskini" is a funny word.  I don't know. What I do know is, this green vegetable will be referred to as biskini for the foreseeable future, simply because it makes me laugh.

And the word fun continued at the dinner table, this time with Jacob.  Just as he finished his dinner, Jacob announced, "Hey, I have two frinkles!"  Heath and I looked at each other.  Frinkles?  What in the world?  "You have two frinkles?" I asked.  Jacob quickly replied, "Yes, here and here!" He pointed to a spot on his arm and another on his leg. "Frinkles!"  I suddenly got it.  "Oh, you mean freckles!" I said.  Heath and I both started laughing.  Jacob just looked at us very matter-of-factly and responded, "Yes, freckles...see?"  He was still pointing them out.  I like it when Jacob messes up a word now and then.  He's so smart.  When I hear a "frinkle" I am reminded that he is only five and he is still little.  :)

Last night on the way home from church, I was awed by the beautiful full moon.  Jacob and Annabelle liked it too.  Annabelle has always been fascinated by the moon.  I asked Jacob if he knew what caused the moon to be so bright.  "I don't know," he quickly answered.  "The moon doesn't shine like the sun," I said.  "The sun's rays reflect off the moon and make it appear to be shining."  Jacob interrupted me to say, "Oh I know that,"  Then he continued.  "...and when there is a lunar eclipse, the earth blocks the sun's rays and makes the moon look red."  This from the kid who, two nights before, said he had frinkles.  I was astonished.  "That's right, Jacob," was all I could say.  He must have read about that in a book because I don't remember ever talking about lunar eclipses with him. 

And then, again, he reminds me that he's only five....

The sticker on his head came from a banana peel.  It says, "Place sticker on forehead.  Smile."  And that's exactly what Jacob did.  He follows instructions so well.  :)  What am I talking about?  Yeah...if I'd have found that sticker on my banana, it would have been on my forehead.  Goofiness runs in the family.

Right under the moon, we noticed a particularly bright star.  Thanks to the Google Sky app on Heath's phone, we discovered that it wasn't a star at all.  It was Jupiter.  When we walked inside, Annabelle begged to go back outside to "see da pwanet."  Heath took her out again.  Like I said, she's always been fascinated with the moon...and the stars...and now, apparently, the planets.  She woke up somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00 AM, stumbled down the hall and over to my side of the bed.  "We can go outside to see the pwanet!" she whispered.  As I walked her back to bed, she talked in a high whisper about Jupiter and how Daddy took a picture of it with his phone (he didn't -- he was using Google Sky) and how she wanted to go outside and see that pwanet again.  I tucked her back in bed, told her we couldn't see it anymore, and kissed her forehead.  Amazingly, she seemed ok with that.  But, three hours later, when she woke up for the second time, the first thing she said was, "I want to go see the pwanet!"

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.