Anna-Kate-isms

I love reading "Quote of the Day" posts from my blogging friends who have children that are talking. It is so fun to hear our children trying to make sense of the world around them, and the phrases we use to describe that world. I can't wait until Anna-Kate is supplying me with quotable quotes! For now, here are a few cute vocabulary items from AK:

truck (truck) normally followed quickly by go

'ep (jeep) normally followed with a tilted head, said as a question da''y (daddy)

I love that AK knows the difference between a car, a truck and a jeep! So funny! She seldom says "car." She either says "go" or she thinks about trying to say it and then just laughs.

Elmo?! Elmo?! to which I typically reply "Not right now." or "Elmo's red."

The other day we heard AK waking up in her crib. Her first words of the morning were, Elmo? Elmo? Elmo?! No. No. No. So funny to me! Sometimes she follows Elmo with No because she knows that she is probably not going to be allowed to watch an Elmo video (and because she has turned into a full-fledged toddler whose favorite word is "no").

Silly, Smart, or Just Plain Cheap?!

Some days when we are out and about......some days when the girls have been extra antsy at home......some days when I just don't want to clean the floor after lunch.....

we take our lunch and "picnic" at the mall's food court!

The girls love people-watching there. There are almost always other kids that they can watch. People can't resist two babies at the same table, so we always get visitors at our table, especially when it is just me and the girls; the girls love that attention! And, it is just fun to eat out!

Catch Me If You Can!

So many posts, so little time! This has actually been a week where I have a lot of posts waiting to be uploaded, but the time just got so far away from me. Look out blog readers.....many posts coming your way over the next few days!! Stay tuned!

Anna-Kate showing off her new talent! She is not fast like the title would imply, but she is proud of herself. She never attempted to go upstairs. Mary-Knowles was here one day and showed her how it was done. Anna-Kate immediately followed. Now, she loves showing off this new skill!

The Model Family

The absolute truth is that I love Sundays! Going to church is energizing to me. Most Sundays I leave feeling encouraged, nourished, challenged, and excited. Today is no exception. That is how I left church feeling.
That is not how I arrived to church this morning. I wanted to pick up the large button on my way in that would read:

I was ready

On-Time

but

my child

threw the biggest tantrum.

Now her eyes are still red from crying,

and my nerves are still raw

(from trying not to lay down beside her and cry).
But,

we are here.

Either I am the only one who needed that button so they don't make them, or they had already run out. I don't blame Anna-Kate. She is going to throw some tantrums in her growing up days. I admit that I still get hurt by them. I want to fix whatever is making her upset, but the only trigger I find is that I wanted to get her dressed for the day. Changing from pjs to a dress......pjs all day would be nice, but a true reason for a melt down..... We were late to church because it took me and Will together 18 minutes to get Anna-Kate changed.

I told Will as we were walking in this morning that this feels like one more way the devil attacks. It takes me 30 minutes to recover from a tantrum as large as Anna-Kate threw this morning. That is minutes stolen from my favorite time of the week; it is the second or third song before I realize I am fully relaxed and ready to enjoy my Sunday.

For all you moms who have been spit up on three times, a wardrobe change required each time, before leaving for church; or, for you moms who have endured a tantrum as I did this morning in your battle to get out the door; or, even for you moms of more than one child who have more kids in the mix to get out the door (and are probably smiling at my naivety with only one).... this post is for you.

Vanity Caught

Doesn't your belly button make you want to kiss yourself in the mirror?!

Aunts and Sisters!

Aunts who make you laugh...
Sisters that spend their days off getting up at 6am to hang out with you and two toddlers....

Priceless!

Going to the Fair with

Cindy Lou Who!!

I think I need to get this out in the open from the beginning: Will and I go to the fair to eat. We start with free hushpuppies at the Mill. We then move on to a roasted ear of corn. From there we get a hearty item. This one is not as important. Most of the time we split a sausage sandwich with onions and peppers. This year we added some fried green tomatoes and fried pickles to our menu. The long awaited fried snickers bar ends our culinary fair experience. Will introduced me to his fair menu when we were dating, and we have continued his tradition together. With that off my chest, I can share our 2010 fair experience.

Here is the one item we shared with Anna-Kate: roasted corn.

Next, pictures of baby girl with her parents.

Then, it is back to the fair experience...

The fair experience with a child this year just meant adding more breaks to see animals to our culinary tour. No begging for rides or games. Just strolling with mom and dad through the amazing amounts of people.

Apparently she enjoyed it.

How did 4 hours at the fair not wear her out?

If I wrote a book,

the title might be....
Lovies, why we need them

or

The Adventures of a Duck, Mouse, and Blanket

or right now, I might also entitle the book:

No! Mine! (the 4-letter word every parent dreads)

The Teething Toddler (and the Mom who loves her)
The Difficulties of Learning to Share
Sweet Moments in a Toddler Friendship

This Week

Sometimes as Mary-Kathryn gets ready, Mary-Knowles feels like she needs some accessories as well. What I love about my busy girl MK is that she doesn't like to leave Anna-Kate out. If she gets one, Anna-Kate needs one too. On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to benefit from Mary-Knowles's generosity as well. Don't we look great now that we are accessorized?!
I thought it was so funny one evening while I cooked dinner to look over and see that Anna-Kate had found some new reading material!

Aaahhh, nap time!

Bubbles!

I brought out bubbles for Mary-Knowles and Anna-Kate. I thought this is going to be a great time to get some pictures of the girls. As usual, these pictures show their personalities.

Anna-Kate says, "three! three!" loudly until you put her up on a bench, chair, couch, ... She likes to be in a higher position to see what's going on.
Mary-Knowles likes to join Anna-Kate where she sits, but she doesn't stay long. She is busy!

Okay, this picture is just to show off Anna-Kate's amazing red shoes.

And, Mary-Knowles keeps going.

Beach Weekend - Saturday Night

Okay, for all of you who just thought, "Really? One more beach post?" These might be some of the cutest pictures of all! (This is also the last beach weekend post!) This was such a fun evening; I can't not share it!

Anna-Kate is up from her nap, smiling, rested, and ready to go!
Will loves stopping to feed the geese and ducks, probably as much as (or more) Anna-Kate. Luckily, with a toddler around, there are always cereals to bring out for them.

After strolling around [Broadway at the Beach], it was time for Johnny Rockets! We all shared so that we could enjoy a milkshake, yum-my!

After eating, Anna-Kate was ready to dance the calories away with her new Johnny Rockets friends. She was such a hit that she earned her own Johnny Rockets pin; she carried that pin around for the next 20 minutes, holding it out for everyone who walked by.

After supper we decided to make one more lap around the shops. We also decided to let Anna-Kate walk this time. This might have been the cutest part of the night! The only thing that got her to let go of the JR pin was seeing the balloons. There was a game with lots of balloon. Anna-Kate walked with purpose over to the woman behind the counter and just stood there saying, "bal! bal!" Before I could get over to AK, the woman blew up a red balloon and handed it to AK.

Anna-Kate was so proud of that balloon!

She walked around, swinging the balloon. Of course, that meant the balloon periodically flew out of her hands. Most of the time, Will or I could get to it in time. As we were walking by the stream connected to the puttputt course, the balloon flew out of Anna-Kate's hands. Will and I looked at each other, then said, "bye bye balloon!" A man saw what happened....a man wearing a black leather jacket and a navy do-rag... ran over to the stream, balanced on a rock, bent down and saved the balloon! The man with the leather jacket and do-rag saved the day!

Sunday morning, while I was starting to pack, Anna-Kate found her swimsuit. She looked at me, held up the swimsuit, and then walked straight for the glass doors to the balcony overlooking the ocean. "Not today Anna-Kate." She then carried the swimsuit around until we let her enjoy splashing in the tub while we finished packing.

Aaahhh, if only every weekend was as relaxing and fun as a beach weekend!

Beach Weekend - Saturday Morning

Daddy! Can you believe the ocean was still here when we woke up?! It is amazing!
After breakfast, we put on our suits and headed down to the water. For October 2, it was definitely warm enough to be out on the beach. I put a pair of shorts and a little coat over Anna-Kate's swimsuit to make sure she was warm enough.

This was Anna-Kate's first time at the beach after learning to walk. She leaned on her daddy for the first few minutes as she got her balance, but then she was off! and so was the coat!

Mama wanted to show Anna-Kate her favorite beach past-time, walking on the beach.

Daddy wanted to show Anna-Kate all the cool things to be found on the beach, like a sea urchin.

Anna-Kate said, Mama, Daddy, this is the way I enjoy the beach!

When Anna-Kate started shivering, it was time to go in. As we rode up the elevator, as we walked the hallway, as we walked in the room, we heard Wa'er! Wa'er! Wa'er! Apparently she is happy no matter the water she is in!

Anna-Kate enjoyed splashing in the tub while Will went out and got us a bite of lunch. After our short break, we went back out to the beach for an hour or so before nap time. Anna-Kate was in her kind of heaven!

Beach Weekend - Saturday Afternoon

ah, need I say more

Our Beach Weekend - Friday

We were able to get away to the beach this past weekend. It was a warm weekend for October. We spent most of Saturday morning at the ocean; it was so nice! Will and I kept saying that we feel like this was our best weekend (maybe ever) with Anna-Kate, and the whole weekend was a photo-opp. So, I will share our weekend with you in stages. ;)

"Wa'er! Wa'er!" was the quote of the weekend. Anna-Kate loved being ocean-front.
We walked to Barefoot Landing and ate supper Friday night after checking in. Anna-Kate charmed our waiter. He gave her a high-five after seeing she enjoyed her crabcake.

Anna-Kate and her daddy....

Anna-Kate and...everyone! She puckered up to more people than her mom would want to admit to. This may be something we have to work on before she starts school.