Checking in

So this is so not how I was planning on spending my New Years Eve! I figured I would have a beautiful newborn to dote on or at least be in the hospital. Neither.

I saw the doctor today, no end in sight. Not even started.

They did schedule me for an induction next Tuesday if Brother has not arrived by then. I am not holding on to that though either, my cousin had an induction that did not work, she spent several hours at the hospital only to be sent home.

The wait continues. and continues. and continues.

Happy New Year Everyone - do some dancing and have a cocktail for me.

For everyone that has been calling, e mailing, texting for an update.

Thank you for the concern. The update is there is no update. Not even a twinge. I thought I had a twinge, but then I farted and it went away. Sorry for the TMI, but this is my life right now, getting all excited over a little gas pain only to have it go away.

I did feel the need to get my Christmas decorations all put away today and my Winter Snowmen stuff out. Plus I did 7 loads of laundry (Aunt Stacie would be so proud). That is about it. I'll get back to you when I know something.

72 degrees on December 27th? Unheard of. But that is what happened today.

With my neighbors cottage in the background as comparison it proves that Yes, I am almost as big as a house. With no end in sight.

Dear Brother:

Despite all the pleas I have past couple of weeks for you to get out here I am now requesting you stay put a few days longer. You see, your Dad is trying to drive me crazy. Tonight he informed me in his usual quiet, calm self that he is not “feeling” either name we had picked for you, Nathaniel or Alexander. However, he agreed to put the B names back on the list and would not rule them out just because your initials would be BS, really BTS but you know what I mean.

So we may need a day or two to straighten this out. I promise I will keep him in line as much as I can and will veto anything like Errol or Bruno that he has proposed in the past.

How are you feeling about Benjamin?

Maybe you just need to get out here and let us see you and this will be easier. I just really don’t want you to be weeks old before Dad & I can agree on a moniker for you. You would think we have had 9 months to go over this, but as you will learn, you Dad waits to the last minute for everything.

Hang in there little man, we will figure this out.

Love you so much,

Mum Mum

A few years ago a friend told me a story about how she has shopped and shopped for her son to assure he had the most wonderful Christmas ever. Then on Christmas Eve he announced “the only thing” he wanted was some obscure game and he just knew Santa would bring it. She tried to explain that Santa had already packed his sleigh a few days before and since this was a last minute item it probably was not on the packing list for their house. He smiled confidently and said Santa would bring it, she felt awful at the thought of his reaction the next morning. As it turned out her good friend and next door neighbor had bought the same thing for her nephew that she was not going to see until New Years Eve, thus giving my friend time to go out and replace the gift for her neighbor and wrap up the original one to put under their tree. The look on her son’s face, the knowing – the believing was worth any bit of hassle this may have caused. She remarked to me, Santa does work in mysterious ways.

So last night on the way home from Church Annabelle was starting to crank out a bit, it was close to bedtime, we were off our routine etc. I asked her – “What do you think Santa Claus is going to bring you?” Her reply – “A Frosty Cookie”. I have no idea where this came from, out of the stratosphere; she has never had a Frosty Cookie in her life, let alone know what one is. What was she talking about?

Here is where the Santa magic fits into our story. A few weeks ago I was out grocery shopping and I walked past an end case that held a bunch of break & bake cookies. Something made me stop, something made me think “if I go into labor and we do not hold the annual cookie bake off at least I can whip some of these up so we have some sort of Christmas cookies to put on a plate” I reached into the bin to pick up some plain sugar cookies that I was thinking would be cute with some sprinkles when I saw a lone box of sugar cookies with Snowmen on them. Something made me grab them; something made me buy that last box of Frosty cookies.

Well we had the cookie bake off – we have lots of different delicious cookies in the house but as Annabelle said last night “A Frosty Cookie”, my mind went to the box of break & bake Frosty cookies sitting in the back of my downstairs refrigerator. After she went to bed, we made them up, put them in a container on the table still thinking that she would have forgotten all about them by morning.

After she opened a few of her gifts this morning she looked around a bit puzzled and said “what about a Frosty cookie?”, I said “check the dining room table” The grin on her face when she spied them was worth the entire universe to me. There it was – Santa in action, working his Christmas magic on all of us. For setting the whole chain of events in motion leading up to my little girl eating 2 sugar cookies before breakfast (and about 3 more that day, a definite treat from her regular diet). I never knew I could feel this kind of happiness – the kind you get from giving somebody you love something they truly want, the kind that keeps them believing. The kind of Christmas story that may seem inconsequential, but reminded me of why we say “Yes, I believe”

So my blog-a-day plan did not work out for this week. It was a crazy week and me being me, I totally overcommitted. I finished up work, finished up holiday shopping, have most of what I need done for Brother's arrival completed. On top of all that contracted the Mother of all Colds. Oh yes, and I am 38 weeks pregnant. All of which is not an excuse, I have been a bad blogger and for something I really want to keep up with it has just hit the back burner as of late.

But now, here I am presenting my Dancing Queen. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the girl loves to dance. Unfortunately she inherited her moves from her Dad. She either moves her feet or her arms, rarely both at the same time. Her other thing is to go around and around and around until she is so dizzy she falls over. While briefly concerned about his I was assured by our wonderful music teacher Lauren that at 2 years old it is a good thing for them to develop their inner ear balance system (of course she had some big long name for it which escapes me right now). Apparently all of us are born with a sense of balance/ability to get dizzy, but like other skills it must be developed. At 2 with the spinning that is what Annabelle is doing.

So go my darling - dance the night away. Spin and groove and enjoy yourself. I know it makes me so very happy to see you this happy, even when I have to listen to "Skip to my Lou" 17 times in a row.

It is not as though I do not have blog material, I really do. My goal is to post something everyday this week to get caught up. Things have just been crazy, with the holidays, work, preparing for Brother, there just isn't enough hours in the day.

I wish I could explain why this picture breaks my heart. From the outside it is just some kids eating cake a party. But these kids I have known since birth, they are our playgroup friends that we met at our nursing Mom's meetings way back when we all used to sit around the table and discuss nursing, sleeping and all things infant. Now look at them, sitting up at a picnic table unassisted, eating cake with big people forks not even looking around to see the Mommies hanging out close by. They were independent, confident and totally on their own. All the things I want for my daughter, just not right now.

Annabelle was so into this party, she has been talking about the cake & milk ever since. I think it is about more than cake & milk, it is about hanging out with her friends, sitting up at the big table and all the things that come with being an individual little person.

I have to admit a bit of sigh of relief later when some altercation over a toy sent her flying back into my arms for some comfort. I think we both needed it.

Considering we are at T + 6 days for Thanksgiving I am not going to write the heartfelt post about all the things I am grateful for, all the people I appreciate, everything I am truly blessed to receive. It’s all been done by now, I am sure you are sick of hearing about it.

What I will do is tell you how our day went – it was fabulous.

Now that Mom is living at our house people come to us, I love that. Due to my sister’s work schedule we appointed 5pm the eating time. This was great. Mom & I did not have to get up at the crack of dawn to make stuffing and put the bird in the oven, instead we all slept in a bit, had a leisurely breakfast and then ate cinnamon rolls while watching the parades. Side note on the parades – I sure do not remember all those commercials when I was a kid. We did not even have a remote control back then, thank goodness I could skip around now or we would have had to sit through more pharmaceutical commercials for men’s personal issues that I ever cared to know about. Annabelle, who does not get to watch television under normal circumstances, loved the floats of Abby Cadabby, Dora and the ice skating Care Bears. Santa Claus bringing up the rear made her entire day.

Around lunchtime we started preparations at our own pace. Got the bird in the oven, started on the casseroles, and got ourselves ready. Stacie came over around 2 and helped us peel close to 1 million potatoes. Stacie’s mom arrived a little after 4, and then Karen & the boys arrived shortly before 5. We sat down, had probably the best meal I can remember in forever, then relaxed and talked until our dessert guests arrived. Tom’s family, Mom & Dad, sister Kathy & husband Jeff, niece Jenny, nephew Chris & wife Lisa (Annabelle’s Godparents) and nephew Eric joined us for as Stacie described “a metric ton of pie”.

Annabelle loved having everyone there and even though she was operating sans nap she was happy and silly with everyone. She had to demonstrate how she could dance, which mostly consists of spinning around in circles and occasionally flapping her arms (she gets this from her Dad). An extra bonus was a call from Aunt Charlotte from her work trip in India. We were all so relieved to hear she was safe considering the craziness that was going on over that day. We had a wonderful visit with everyone and Tom surprised my Mom & I by cleaning up the remaining dishes after we went to bed. It was great to wake up to a clean kitchen.

This is the only picture I had taken all day. There just always seemed to be something to do, even at our relaxed pace and it slipped my mind until way too late.

I hope everyone had as wonderful Thanksgiving as we did, I felt so truly blessed.

November 12, 2008

Dear Brother:

Yes, that is what we call you, Brother. There has been a name selected for you but I need to know it is correct before I can refer to you that way. I would not want to assign you a name only to meet you and say “Why he is certainly a Fred, Joe or Xavier, not the name I thought at all!” When I see you, I will know, you will know. I will say it; you can nod, smile, or let out a big yell. We have a connection already little man, we can communicate about these things.

You & I are kindred spirits my son, we have so much in common already. First of all you are breech, meaning you are standing up in my belly, not head down ready to be born. While this causes most people to look at me with an expression of sympathy I can understand it. You see, I was a breech baby. I have been standing up for myself since before I was born. There is something to be said for independence, a trait that will serve you well throughout your life. Thank goodness medical advancements have been made in the past 36 years, you & I will not have to go through what your Nana & I went though. I am hoping for smooth sailing during your transition into this world.

Your due date is New Years Eve although it seems you are trying your darndest to get here before Christmas. I don’t blame you, our family does Christmas right. The house is decorated within an inch of its life; there is the cookie bake off, the gifts, food, stockings. I wouldn’t want to miss it either. If you are born cesarean you will be here and home long before the day arrives, even if you turn I am told you are a good size and they expect you to arrive long before you due date at the end of the month. Either way, you will be the best Christmas gift I have ever received.

Another quality you & I share is you are an unexpected gift. With your sister we tried for years. I charted, doctored, tested and prayed for the longest time until her arrival (I will explain how all this works to you someday, in about 12 years). Then there was you. When I thought I had exhausted my blessings and didn’t dare ask for another, suddenly the clouds opened up and down came pennies from heaven. I knew you from the moment of conception (again, we’ll get to that part later), I told your Dad before a test was taken you were on the way. My heart just knew. I also knew that the best kind of gift is the kind you do not ask for. Always know what a wonderful blessing you are and how in awe I am of you, and have been since the very beginning.

This is why we have chosen the name Nathaniel for you. It means “Gift from God” in Hebrew. (The origin being a nod to your Aunt Stacie who missed out on a namesake when your gender was determined.) Because you are truly a gift from God, one I will always appreciate and be honored by.

Now, get here safe & sound. There are so many people waiting to meet you, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, friends. Everyone has been looking forward to your arrival, but no one more than me.

With all my love,

Mama

Happy Halloween to all. Here is my little Raggedy Ann clutching her beloved Andy. We had a costume party with our play date friends and another one at our music class this week. Tonight we will go visit our immediate neighbors and then return to hand out treats.

Sorry I have been behind on blogging - I will post some new updates next week for sure. Crazy, busy time for us, both home and work.

We have had so much going on lately we ignored the 3 beautiful weekends in October and waited until the last minute when it was chilly and rainy to go pick our pumpkin. We went the Saturday before Halloween to a local patch I had been seeing signs for. My thinking was instead of driving the 30 minutes to the big farm we would contribute to our local economy and support our neighbors. As we were pulling down the lane and seeing the scariness Tom reached down to turn down the radio, I said "those dueling banjos are not on the radio". That kind of set the tone for the whole visit. The patch was dead, the pumpkins looked like they had been grown over 3 Mile Island and there was no one around. All this did not bother Annabelle of course, she wanted to run through the mud. I had her stop to check out a few pumpkins.





Then we decided this was too freaky for words and started to leave to drive to the big place. Annabelle started crying, she wanted a pumpkin. We walked over to where you pay and they had these little ones for $1 - she was thrilled! We left there with a happy child but no pumpkin. Annabelle fell asleep clutching her little pumpkin and we did not make it to the big farm.





The next day on the way home from church Mom & I saw one of our neighbors had a wagon load of pumpkins in their yard with a sign saying all donations would go to the Children's Diabetes Foundation. After lunch, Annabelle and I went down there and had a great time. The people were very nice, the pumpkins were beautiful and they let her crawl all over the wagon. We picked a nice one and took it home, feeling good about our charitable donation.

So one of the many things I have learned as a new parent is you cannot present something to Annabelle and say “Look here it is, do you like it?” I do not know if all children are like this but my little Pinkle has a whole 12 step program of her own.

Annabelle needs to process things. She observes, thinks about it, talks about it, and then makes a decision. Case in point, babies.

I have friends with little girls similar in age that all tell me how much their daughters love their baby dolls and real babies even more. Truthfully Annabelle does not pay attention to babies out in public or baby dolls that are present at playgroup. When our cousin Baby Jason was born last month I found this to be the perfect opportunity to see what Annabelle thought about babies.

When Jason was about a week old we went for a visit. Annabelle appeared not to be paying any attention to him. The first time I held him and tried to show her she wouldn’t even look at him, the second time was similar but with apparent distaste when he cried. I left there feeling defeated. My daughter does not like babies and here we are having one in a few short months. What was I in for?

A few days later she crawled up on my lap and said “Hug like baby Jason”, she wanted held like I held the baby up on my shoulder. Then for the next few days she would say “Nana hugs Jason” or “Mum Mum hug Jason”. Then the next week she woke up one morning babbling in her crib saying “Jason drinks milk” “Jason needs a pants change”. A few days after that while shopping she saw a baby drinking a bottle and talked about it the rest of the day. “Baby likes milk”

I purchased a baby doll with bottle, dinner serving set, diaper bag & its own seat. Sunday after her nap I asked if she wanted a new toy to play with. “OK” replied Annabelle. As soon as she saw it she was trying to rip open the packaging (and who came up with the idea to hermetically seal all children’s toys in the package complete with twist ties, plastic tethers and shrink wrap?) Once we freed baby from her cardboard encasement Annabelle took right to her. She feeds her bottle constantly, hugs her but then hands her off to me “baby needs a pants change”. It is not a Betsy Wetsey doll so I just put her up on the changing table and pretend. Annabelle is very pleased with herself and takes her right back to feed her again.

So there we go. After only a 3 week pondering period Annabelle has decided she loves babies.

I just hope this all goes well when Brother arrives; at least I am feeling more confident.

Can’t you just see the devilish look on her face? The things that come out of her mouth lately just make me shake my head. Take for example our dinner conversation last night.

Annabelle - Hey Mum!
Me - Yes Honey

She leans forward and passes gas loudly

Annabelle - You farted!
Me - Annabelle Grace - What do you say?
Annabelle - Excuse you
Me - You say "Excuse me"
Annabelle - You farted
Me - No YOU farted
Annabelle - You did.

At this point I turned to Tom, who was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.

Me - Where did she learn this?
Tom - I have no idea

To my Mom who is wiping tears from her eyes

Me - Where did she learn this?
Mom - No clue

Annabelle - No Clue- Mum Farted

Me – I feel like I am living in a Frat House!

Seriously I have no idea where this came from, of all the things I can accuse my husband of teaching her, this would not be one of them. We do not even use that word.

How does an 18 month old girl get the sense of humor & timing of a 12 year old boy?

Usually when Annabelle exhibits a new behavior I can either

a) rationalize it in my own head
b) go to one of my many child resources to research if this behavior is “normal” and get an explanation of what is really going on in that mind, as that is my goal in life, to figure out how that brain ticks and always be one step ahead.

Lately though, there is a new action this little girl has been exhibiting that just does not make any milestone chart I have found. She steals things. In order to put my parental spin on it “she redistributes assets”. She does not keep the stolen items; in fact she is in quite a hurry to get the hot goods out of her little hands. I know this is coming when I see her running toward me, curls bouncing, with her arm outstretched saying “you have it”. I am usually rewarded with Nana’s cell phone, Daddy’s brush or even the cat’s rubber ball. A recent visitor at our home was recently presented with a bowl of freshly opened cat food, although they were not exactly thrilled at the smell.

Last week while in the waiting room at the doctor’s office I turned to pick up a magazine Annabelle had thrown on the floor and as quick as a wink she reached into my purse, removed my urine sample, ran across the room and handed to another expectant mother serenely reading her magazine. “You have it” Annabelle announced. As the mother lowered her magazine while simultaneously holding her hand out to receive her gift I held my breath, she graciously smiled and said “Thank you honey, why don’t you give that back to your Mom?” Annabelle came trotting back to me repeating “thank you honey”

Having my very own modern day Robin Hood is proving to be quite an adventure.

This is our thing in the morning, we eat our ceral then split a muffin before I leave for work. This time of singing and talking about our day feeds my soul until I get home to be with my Annabelle once again. This picture was taken on Annabelle's 18 month birthday. I plan on reminding her of this time when she is 16 and fighting to stay in bed a little longer before school. Remember this? You used to love our morning muffin time. I know I did.

September 18, 2008

My Dearest Annabelle,

Happy 18 month Birthday! I hope you enjoy it; this is the last half birthday you get. Sorry to break the news, but after you hit 2 you only get 1 birthday a year, it is just part of growing up. But this birthday – your 18 month, year and a half birthday is just so amazing I am finding it hard to put into words. You are a dynamo!! So much has changed since your 1 year letter, in 6 short months you have grown up, and this breaks my heart while it makes me so very proud. Just last night Daddy checked on you as you slept, he reported back that you were so big stretched out in your crib, I could tell he was fighting back tears thinking of 15 short months ago telling me the bed was too big for you.

You are walking – more than walking, running! You announce “Chase Chase” and take off running, your blond curls bouncing as you go. Sometimes you slow down a bit to let us catch you so we can give you a million kisses, which makes you squeal before you take off again. This is the most fun thing ever.

You talk a blue streak! It is amazing to everyone how clear your speech is and how much you say. You are a little parrot that repeats everything. Even the doctor told us yesterday how advanced your speech and memory skills are for your age. You know your colors, count to 12 and can repeat the ABC’s. You are so proud of your skills and clap whenever you finish. Sometimes your Dad, Nana & I just look at each other in amazement at the things that come out of your mouth. My favorite is always “Love you Mum Mum” or “Hug Mum Mum”. Those expressions melt my heart every time.

A big change coming into our lives before your next birthday is the arrival of your little brother. After being told we would never have children, having 2 in 2 years awes your Dad & I at our extreme blessings. There is no way we could have ever imagined having a second baby if you had not been the sweetest, most loveable joy we have ever known. You have enriched our lives more than we ever could have imagined, and for that I thank you. Sometimes I am taken back by the sheer strength of the love I feel; you make me so very happy and grateful every day. Appreciation for the good things in life is one quality I hope to instill in you as you grow, as you have shown me this enlightenment changes your entire outlook on the world and makes it a wonderful place to be.

Happy Year and a Half Birthday my wonderful sweetheart. Know how very much you are loved by so many, not just your Dad & I but your Nana, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, God Parents, and even friends. The sunshine that radiates from you is reflected right back through the eyes of all these people. You are and continue to be the greatest blessing I have ever known.

With all my love,

Mum Mum

We believe we have a new strategy for the Steelers to win, in addition to Mum making Chili in the crockpot, Annabelle must wear her Steeler T-shirt designed by Aunt Jeanne. So far we are 1-1 with this game plan.

The season is looking so bright, Annabelle has to wear shades.

So we went for our 18 week ultrasound and found out I am giving birth to a dancing, leg crossing, squirm worm! The baby was all over the place, each time the tech would try to zero in on the gender it would cross its legs, same thing Annabelle did at her first ultrasound. Then the tech got sneaky and went in from behind, lo & behold – Little boy parts! At least that is what she said, she kept trying to show us, and it all looked like the cord to me. She informed us she was 80% sure, which was enough for Tom. As he confessed later, he would have been happy either way but secretly wanted a boy. Truly, I wanted both, I would have loved for Annabelle to have a sister, but I always wanted a boy too. What I really prayed for was healthy, and we got to see that too. Heart, spine, kidneys etc, all looked good.

So now we are preparing for “brother” to arrive and could not be happier. As with Annabelle, I will believe it when I see it. We were told she was “definitely” a girl, but I just couldn’t feel it until I saw for myself. Everything I have for the first couple of months is all neutral, although Nana has gone a bit wild buying little blue warm sleepers already. Which is fine – we are going to need them with a winter baby.

I was tagged by my friend Amy of One Mom's Quest . I love reading her blog. One day you learn something, next day she makes you laugh with requests written to her adorable 17 month old son. So I am going along, I have enjoyed reading the links she provided, maybe you will enjoy my links too.

Rules Once Tagged:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger (who tagged you) know when your post is up.

Randomness about me:

1) I am deathly afraid of flying animals, birds, bats etc. Anything bigger than a hummingbird. Forget about flying monkeys, they send me into a panic.

2) I could give or take chocolate. Given a choice I would choose vanilla or carmel (pronounced kar-mul) anyday.

3) My BFF & I met on the first day of kindergarden 31 years ago. It is so nice to have a long conversation with someone and not have to explain the players in any given story being told.

4) Once heard, the song “All my exes live in Texas” will stay in my head for 3 days minimum.

5) Clutter makes me very nervous

6) Annabelle’s laugh is the best sound ever, it lightens my heart.

Who I have tagged:

1) Quiet Epiphanies

2) My Brown Eyed Girl

3) Terbrock Family

4) Chez-Kessel

5) Copeland Family

6) Brulotte Family

Seriously, if you don't want tagged or your link on this post, let me know, I will remove right away. I thought it was a fun way to view others blogs. As a self confessed hack, I need to steal all the ideas I can get.

Last week while Daddy was on vacation Mum got very sick one day – cough, cough and called off work. Amazingly by 9am I felt better! We spent the day at a local amusement park for kids. Due to the 90 degree temps we spent a good deal of time at the pool. Annabelle had so much fun playing in the kids area that has all these pipes with water pouring out. She also liked the waterfall mushroom and swimming in the 3 foot area with Daddy. Then we headed off to ride the trolley through Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and the Merry Go Round.

When I look at that face, that beautiful face so full of joy and excitement, experiencing these things with such a sense of adventure I think “Oh yeah, I need to take more sick days” Cough Cough.

So our trusted eye doctor told us last year during our annual visit that he wanted to see Annabelle before she was 18 months old, this past Saturday at 16 months she attended her first exam. Tom & I both figured with both of us wearing glasses since grade school Annabelle did not stand much of a chance of dodging the bad eyes bullet. He explained at this point he really couldn’t give us a diagnosis as far as what she is seeing (i.e.: 20/20) but he could determine if her eye muscles are developing evenly and properly, also if she was nearsighted.

The great news is she passed with flying colors! She was able to pick a small piece of paper out of the doctors hand several times (didn’t even try to eat it!) and watch the Bert finger puppet move all around while he held her head still. The only part she hated was at the end when he got real close and shone the light in her eyes.

Afterward while I had my exam she trashed the waiting room, fingerprinted the glass door and made a new friend. A man waiting for his wife let her play with his watch and encouraged her to sing (not that it takes a lot of egging on). When he asked her name she said proudly “Grandma!!”, and then cracked up laughing.

Annabelle has turned into such a good helper with all things domestic. Here she takes the corn after I husk it and pulls the silk off, well most of it, just some of it, maybe 2 or 3 strings.

Then she brings it back.

Then she heads over to see Nana for a quick rest from all this manual labor.

Then she comes back over announcing "walk" and takes the corn for a walk around the porch.







And finally she stacks it just so. I hurry up and take it in the kitchen before she wants to throw it over the rail into the flower bed. This of course, causes some tears, "corn, pease" but she quickly recovers and we move on to our next task, sweeping up the porch.

So this weekend we were hanging out on the deck, I was painting my toe nails. Annabelle was watching and wanting to imitate Mum.

Annabelle - "petty toes" (pretty toes)
Me - " do you like pretty toes? What color are they?"
Annabelle - " "pink"
Me - "pretty pink toes"
Annabelle - " petty pink toes"
Me - - " do you want pretty pink toes?"
Annabelle - " OK"

So we proceded to paint her toes pink. As soon as I was done she reached down and wiped it off the big toe. A huge tantrum insued, complete with tears, back arching and loud yelling. Enough to bring Daddy outside. "Are you having fun yet?" Go away, Daddy, we can handle this.

I fixed the toe then we sat on the swing so they could dry. We sang songs, tried to distract her from constantly wanting to touch them. It worked, my little Diva is so happy with her pretty pink toes.

We had a lovely visit with Jeremy & Josh on the 4th of July. Annabelle just adores them and had so much fun showing them her toys, running around the yard and here they are on the swing with a good many of her stuffed animals.

We also went to a big parade that morning with Aunt Heather, Annabelle really liked it for about 15 minutes and then wanted to run around. She found an old couple to attach to, called them Pap & Grandma and showed them how she could dance. Then she took off and made it her job to pick up every stray bottle, tissue or leaf on the ground and hand it to the person closest. One lady gave her a big red balloon which made her day.

She didn't make it to watch the fireworks as bedtime is 8:30, as I was putting her pj's on I said "I'm sorry you are going to miss fireworks this year" to which she replied "No problem"

Yes, it's true - New Years Eve.
We are so very blessed.

I know I have been lax in my blogging - truth is we have been so very busy the past few weeks I just had the opportunity to upload some pics. I will bring you up to date.