Sssssss...

"Ssssssss," said Annabelle this evening as she stood at the end of cereal and food boxes that we once used as blocks when she was much younger (12-18 months).

As I was busy cooking in the kitchen, she proceeded to line these boxes up in a curve along the kitchen floor. The boxes were in the kitchen because I had cleaned out her book cabinet built by her Daddy, and I removed the old boxes to make room for more books. I placed the boxes in the kitchen to throw them away. But, first, I had planned to get a picture of her stacking the boxes up just one last time (for the sake of memories). We used to have so much fun stacking these boxes up and then knocking them over with Teddy's help. And, I'm not sure if I ever captured a picture of those precious moments.

I looked at her after she said, "Ssssssss," and I asked her, "What Annabelle? What are you doing?" She looked at me as if I was crazy for not getting it! Then, she said, "Snake Mommy!"

She's a creative little booger if you ask me! How does she think this stuff up?

Here she is explaining to me that she had created a snake.

Shadow Reading Bible

As I was fixing lunch this afternoon, Annabelle came running into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, Sadow weeding Bible!"

I couldn't understand what she said at first, so I followed her into the dining room, and this is what I found.

The Bible was not on the floor earlier in the day, and I didn't put it there. I guess Annabelle decided that Shadow needed to read the Bible!

Arctic Hike

Okay, well, not really, but it sure felt like it! And, I needed a creative title for this blog entry since I've already used "We Climbed Stone Mountain" previously. Thanks hubby for the blog title!

This time though, we climbed Stone Mountain in 40-42 degrees F weather at 12:30 p.m., and it was also a windy day! Hubby even complained about it being cold, and he's been living in Minneapolis (off and on) since August 2008!

Annabelle enjoyed the hike very much (at first). I told hubby when we started the hike that I wouldn't be surprised if that determined little girl climbed all the way to the top of Stone Mountain on her own. As she stepped onto the big, tall rocks, she would grunt! It was hilarious! I am guessing that I must have grunted myself when I carried her over a few puddles and on top of some of the big, tall rocks. She repeats and imitates everything these days! We have to be very careful what we say and do!

Looks like she's grunting in this next picture.

Settling for a picnic of freeze dried peas, carrots, hummus and cherries shortly up Stone Mountain. Did I mention it was cold? She wasn't a big fan of the hummus. And, this was probably the least amount of time that Annabelle needed to eat, ever, in her entire lifetime. Hmmm...perhaps I should feed her in the cold for every meal (to speed her up a bit)!

Daddy and Annabelle share a moment shortly before our picnic lunch.

Annabelle decided to take a break literally within a minute after we had finished our picnic and begun to continue our walk up the mountain. She said, "I sit down." She even got up ready to walk again, and then decided that she needed to sit down again. Lazy little thing! So much for thinking she would actually make it to the top on her own.

Annabelle and Daddy hiking on Stone Mountain. It looks like snow on the mountain if you take a quick glance, but it isn't. That is the actual mountain.

It was a good thing we didn't decide to hike all the way to the top! If we had, Annabelle and I would have most certainly rode the Skyride back down, and Daddy would have had to hike down all by himself to get the car. Shortly after we finished eating lunch, Annabelle decided that she no longer wanted to walk. Poor baby was exhausted and cold! So, we decided to turn around and begin our descent back down the mountain. Fortunately, we hadn't even reached the halfway point. Annabelle wanted me to carry her almost all the way down. Finally, I decided to see if hubby would switch and carry Annabelle down, and I would carry the bags that he was carrying. Well, as you can see from this next picture, Annabelle wanted nothing to do with that! Real tears are streaming. She wanted her Mommy!

And, real tears will get you almost anything you want! She got her Mommy!

Our arctic hike began around 12:30 p.m., and we reached the car around 1:50 p.m. We were all very cold, and we learned that the $1.00 toddler gloves from Target don't work very well! Annabelle's hands were freezing! Annabelle did apparently enjoy herself though because she continued to talk about what we did earlier in the day during her bedtime songs that evening.

Randomness (#2)

This setup with Annabelle's new "chicken" was designed by the one and only, Annabelle! Everything you see on these pieces of furniture was placed there by Annabelle. She calls this her kitchen, but it sounds a whole lot like chicken to me. She has LOVED playing with it ever since I brought it home. I think she actually may like it more than her $85 kitchen from Wal-Mart.

Anyhow, in case you cannot read the pamphlet that she left standing up in the drawer, it says, "The wrong people are cleaning your house!"

Perhaps she is trying to tell me something!

"Pity Peese Daddy?"

"Pity peese daddy? May I keep them?"

Old-fashioned Annabelle Size Pie Chest - $12.21 ($12.95 after sales tax)

Old-fashioned Annabelle Size Hoosier (imitation) cabinet - $10.01 ($10.61 after sales tax)

Smile on Annabelle's face once she realized that Grandmama and Granddaddy bought it just for her...

PRICELESS!

Grandmama loves old antiqued anything, and as a result, I have my own deep love for antiqued furniture. Hence why all of Annabelle's furniture in her bedroom was finished with an "antique" look.

This morning around 11:30 a.m. or so, Grandmama called to find out if we had a place in Annabelle's room for a small piece of furniture that she had found at Goodwill. The answer: "Umm, no, why?"

Well, she had apparently found the cutest old fashioned and handmade pie safe. She asked if I thought we would use it, and I told her that we had absolutely no more room in the house for any more furniture, but I asked if it looked like me? "Oh yes!" she said. We left the conversation with her deciding whether she wanted to incur the expense or not.

Apparently, Granddaddy encouraged her to go ahead and buy it because if she didn't, and it was gone later when I went with her to look at it, she would probably be upset that she didn't buy it, and he figured they could just donate it back to Goodwill if we decided that we didn't want it for Annabelle.

So, when Annabelle and I arrived at Grandmama and Granddaddy's house this afternoon, the first thing Grandmama wanted to do was show me (and then Annabelle) her new prize! She was so excited! And, right now, I'm talking about Grandmama, not Annabelle.

And, rightfully so, in my opinion. Some of you will think that the above pieces are "trash," but Grandmama and I both think they have a lot of character and potential. Granddaddy just thinks "they need a paint job!" Ha! Ha! That's another story for another day. But, yes, they do in fact need a good paint job with a little antiquing done as well.

Well, Annabelle was also very excited when she saw Grandmama's new prize. Her face lit up, and she immediately started opening up the doors and drawers. Then, when she saw that I had the camera, she said, "My camera too! My camera too!" as she pointed to the trunk of my 4Runner where her camera was being stored for the moment. I got her camera, and she "took" pictures of her own! She was hilarious to watch!

Daddy, you up for the challenge? Look at that smile on your sweet baby girl's face! You cannot possibly turn her down, can you?

When Grandmama described the two pieces to me over the phone, I did not picture that they were in fact made for a child. I literally just thought she found an old pie safe. The set of play furniture also included a refrigerator and kitchen sink, and Grandmama and I stopped back by Goodwill later that afternoon for me to decide if Annabelle needed those as well.

The Verdict: Not so much (even though I did think twice about it, and I took a picture (below) for hubby to see).

They were really cute pieces, but the above two pieces that Grandmama picked out could and may very likely be used in Annabelle's bedroom in the future (while she's still living at home). And, if she loves antiques like her Grandmama, Mommy, Daddy AND Nonnie, she will most certainly use these same pieces in her own home one day as furniture.

Annabelle,

If you are reading this blog entry 20 or 30 years from now, you could most definitely use the pie safe as a storage unit for wash cloths and towels and such in your bathroom. That is actually a suggestion from your Grandmama. And, Nonnie actually has a pie safe in one of her bathrooms for storage right now, and it looks great! And, the imitation Hoosier could actually be built onto a bigger bottom piece to match to be used anywhere in your house as furniture. Maybe Daddy will take care of that for you once you and your future sisters finish playing with it.

Just use your imagination sweetheart! (Oh my! I sound like my own Mommy, your Grandmama! May the Lord be with me! Oh...and you aren't supposed to admit that either, are you? Especially in writing!)

Love,

Mommy

P.S. While we were driving to Goodwill this afternoon, Grandmama just smiled about those two pieces of furniture and said, "I just wish I knew the story behind those pieces!" That's Grandmama for you! She loves a good story behind anything! Maybe that is why she does a pretty good job of documenting her grandchildren's lives including some of their comments and actions. She commented about how someone had worked hard building those pieces, probably for their little girl to use for play. She was certain that they were probably built during her era. That makes them very, very, very old! And, she just couldn't understand how anyone could bear to throw them out. And, she loves the little pieces used for knobs and door fasteners because it reminds her of those used during her time. Again, she is very, very, very old!

They are built very well, and after knowing the time that hubby has put into his own furniture makings for Annabelle, I can only imagine that someone spent a lot of time making these four pieces as well.

And, Grandmama and Granddaddy, just for the record, this blog entry didn't take "just a few minutes" for me to write since I know you have been dying for me to post this for hubby to see. Let's just hope he isn't mad at you for consuming his shed with more furniture! Because believe me, our house isn't quite big enough for your findings!

Lollipop, Lollipop

She's a mess! Can you tell? This evening Annabelle had her very first lollipop! Honestly, she should have had one a long time ago, but I think in the past I kept putting them away until later, and then I forgot to give them to her. Sadly enough, I think the doctor actually promised one to her after her last wellness checkup, and I picked it up, but I forgot once again to give it to her because I was in a hurry to get home before lunch (since the doctor was running late, as usual), and I didn't want her to choke on it in the car.

So, when she met Santa Claus last, he gave her a grape flavored lollipop. She wanted to open it and eat it on the way to get ice cream which had been promised to her for "sitting in Santa Claus' lap." Ha! Ha! She honestly didn't meet the requirements for that bribe, but how do you tell a two year old "no" to ice cream when she did her very best to get as close to Santa Claus as possible? So, once again, the grape lollipop was taken away for her to enjoy later.

Well, this evening, she found the lollipops once again, and she wanted to "hold em!" She proceeded to lick them, and I threatened and then finally did take them away as she continued to lick them. I told her if she ate a good dinner that she could have either a piece of chocolate, a piece of candy cane or a lollipop.

She ate a great dinner, and she chose the "lollipop!" So, this was yet another first, and these pictures crack me up! As soon as I pulled out the camera, she started smiling her goofy smile while saying "Cheese!" She was so busy holding the lollipops and saying "cheese" that she stopped eating her lollipop, which was the entire reason I pulled out the camera in the first place.

Earlier today, while she was playing with the unopened lollipops, she told me that the pink lollipop was "Mommy's," and the purple lollipop was "Daddy's." This evening, she chose to eat "Mommy's lollipop." Sweet little thing that she is offered me "Daddy's" lollipop.

I turned her down, and I told her, "Annabelle, that is the lollipop that Santa Claus gave you. He gave it to you, so it is yours to eat. You should keep it, and you can eat it another day."

So, as you can see in these pictures, the unopened lollipop is the original lollipop from Santa Claus. And, I still haven't eaten it!

Magna Doodle

Does anyone remember playing with the Magna Doodle when you were a child? Well, I remember loving mine! So much, that I almost bought it for my nephew and best friend's son for Christmas. I didn't though because I wasn't sure if I had really loved it or if just seeing it at Target brought back fond memories of toys the way they used to be.

So, anyhow, Nonnie gave a miniature generic one to Annabelle on Christmas Eve in her stocking. Since Christmas Eve, all of Nonnie's Christmas presents to Annabelle have been in the trunk of the 4Runner. I finally brought them in today, and before I could move them out of little hands' reach, the little hands found the Magna Doodle!

Just for the record, I had planned to pack the miniature Magna Doodle away with the Christmas stuff until next Christmas because it came with a quarter sized circle to use for drawing. I didn't even realize that it had the pen. Just recently, Annabelle has gotten into a bad habit of putting things into her mouth again, so I am really having to watch what she plays with, more so than I even did when she was a baby (or so it seems)!

Just as an example, we took hubby to Marta the other night for him to take the Marta train to the airport. When I pulled back in the driveway and started getting Annabelle out of the car seat, after dropping him off, she opened her mouth for me to see her new found prize. She had been playing with some very small magnets earlier in the day (probably only an inch long). Well, apparently, she had picked them up on the way out the door to take her Daddy to the "choo choo chain," and hubby didn't notice. I found several more in her car seat. Thank goodness she didn't swallow one! Magnets are very dangerous!

So, anyhow, I immediately took away the circle shape that she was playing with without even a fuss. I did show her the pen though because I saw it just as I was taking away the circle.

She immediately ran over and picked up a picture of her birthday cookie cake that she had been playing with earlier in the day. It had a picture of a horse on it, and she immediately told me, "Daw horse Mommy!" Translation: Draw horse Mommy!

I don't know if Grandmama has been teaching her to look at another picture when she tries to draw something, but if Grandmama hasn't, then I think we most definitely have a future artist on our hands! And, she didn't get that from her Mommy! I was very surprised that she thought to look at another picture to try and draw it. I don't think I've taught her to do that, but maybe I have?

She drew her version of a horse to begin with, and then she wanted me to draw my version of a horse. I drew my version of a horse, and she then told me, "Dog," as she pointed to my horse. Well, she was right, it did look a lot like a dog!

I just sat next to her and watched her draw more pictures on the Magna Doodle. She was having a blast! I guess I cannot pack that away for next year's stocking, huh?

The best part...she started drawing straight lines, and she told me who they were after each line was drawn. I cannot remember who she drew first, but it went something like this:

"Dat Mommy. Dat Daddy. Dat Uncle Matt. Dat Aunt Merafifth. Dat Mawee. Dat A-um. Dat Nonnie. Dat Nanny."

Translation: "That Mommy. That Daddy. That Uncle Matt. That Aunt Meredith. That Molly. That Adam. That Nonnie. That Granny."

And, that's it! Those are literally the only people she drew. Sorry Grandmama and Granddaddy! Apparently, you were not on her mind this evening!

But, Kudos go to Uncle Matt! Annabelle must have drawn your picture five times more than anyone else!

It cracked me up to watch and listen to her, and after watching her for 5 or 10 minutes, I finally pulled out the camera and took a few shots. Excuse the outfit...she had just woken up from her nap, and I had changed her into pajamas because we played in puddles earlier in the day, and she was soaked, and then she proceeded to tinkle on her original matching pajama bottoms during naptime because her diaper was completely full! And, I need to wash some toddler clothes!

Here is a picture of her drawing her stick figures (well, somewhat stick, these actually look a little swirlier than the first drawings):

And, here is a picture of her pointing and naming her stick figures. I am fairly sure she was pointing and naming Uncle Matt in this photo.

And, I forgot to mention, but hubby didn't miss out on this one! He had called just as she was starting to draw, so he may not have seen her actions, but he heard everything over the phone. I think he really enjoyed listening to her. I really do have great intentions of keeping this blog up more regularly for the sole purpose of him to see what his sweet (or not so sweet) daughter is doing while he is in Minneapolis for business.

Splash Splash Splash!

This is just one of the many simple joys in life! Splashing in puddles after we had decided to not go shopping because it was raining.

I got Annabelle in the car this afternoon, and she was very excited to go shopping, but as soon as we pulled out of the neighborhood, it started raining again! Big surprise! It has been raining since Saturday (I think), and it is Tuesday! So, we turned around and went home much to Annabelle's dislike.

She started crying when we pulled in the driveway because she "Ont to go shopping Mommy!" Translation: Want to go shopping Mommy! She did settle down before I even opened the front door, but I was quite surprised because she was on the verge of a meltdown, and the tears were already flowing.

Well, then she decided that she wanted to "pay" in the front yard. I told her it was wet and yucky at first.

Then I thought, "Does it really matter if we play in the rain today?" The temperature was close to 60 degrees F, and at that point, it wasn't pouring down rain, so did it really matter? And, even if it had been pouring down rain, would it really matter then either?

So, I said, "Annabelle, do you want to go play in the rain and splash in puddles?"

"Uh huh," she said.

So, I told her that we needed to go and put her boots and coat on first. As you can see, those are not rain boots, they are snow boots that I bought at Goodwill last year for $2 or so. But, that is all we had, and we were going to make do! Not to mention, since it only seems to even sprinkle snow here in Atlanta every 10 years, the snow boots will probably never be used for their correct purpose anyway.

Dressed for splashing success in winter coat and snow boots (in 60 degrees weather)!

She spotted an orange balloon! It was even more interesting, at first, than the large puddle!

Her favorite puddle was a big, muddy puddle at the end of our street (also pictured in the very first photograph)!

She also found it fun to splash in the puddles with her hands. That was until her hands got dirty. She can be such a girly girly sometimes, and a tomboy the next!

Taking a break to pose for the picture. Is she not precious?

Extreme closeup during our splashing excursion! Picture compliments of Annabelle's Mommy! I think I finally got a good one after the third or fourth shot. If only my skin looked as beautiful as hers. Sigh...

One little Indian posing with her favorite leaf! I stuck the leaf between her coat and head though. She didn't think of that one! She found this leaf, and she enjoyed throwing it into the puddle so she could watch it float. I ended up carrying it home for her at her request. If you look closely at the first picture at the top of this blog entry, you will see that she's carrying the same leaf.

By the end of the splashing excursion, Annabelle's boots were soaked! They definitely were not made for puddle splashing.

Randomness (#1)

I'm labeling this #1 because I am sure that more "randomness" will follow over Annabelle's lifetime. And, this probably isn't the first either!

This evening, while I was busy in the kitchen cooking dinner (packaged ravioli), Annabelle was busy herself. I went in the dining room/living room to check on her, and I found this.

Yes, those are my very dirty, nasty, old tennis shoes! And, just so you know, I did NOT place them on the high chair after we finished walking this afternoon. Nope, I left them by the front door after I had removed them before I even walked on the carpet at the entryway since it has been wet and rainy for the past I don't even know how many days!

If only I knew what was going through that little girl's head when she did this. Good thing I didn't have to wash the high chair tray first (since she no longer uses her high chair) because I was starving!