Ranch Dressing Anyone?

Annabelle loves ranch dressing. So much that she felt the need to dip her thumb and index finger into the small container of ranch dressing at McDonald's today while we were having lunch with Grandmama and Granddaddy.

Here she is in the act. These pictures only show the thumb dipped in ranch dressing because Granddaddy taught her to only dip her thumb and lick it instead.

Before these pictures were taken, Granddaddy accidentally knocked her original container of ranch dressing onto the floor. She broke into a meltdown, and Granddaddy went back up to the counter to get her another one.

And, then, once again, Granddaddy saved the day with dessert!

Can you guess the dessert? Chocolate chip cookies!

What is a day with Granddaddy without cookies or ice cream? And, believe me, Annabelle plays him well. Before we left for McDonald's this afternoon, Annabelle told me, "I don't on't to eat at home. Granddaddy told me we eat ice cream." He had actually told her that they would have ice cream tomorrow at Mayfield Dairy, but she doesn't miss a chance to blame Granddaddy for her need for ice cream.

Thanks Granddaddy!

Focus Point

I am so very excited! I learned something new with my camera by first getting the tip from the Pioneer Woman Photography blog and then by reading my camera's instruction manual. I just learned this Saturday evening, and I applied what I learned on Sunday. I know I am no where close to being a photographer, but these are amazing pictures (for me)!

Before, I used the auto focus function, but with this new trick, I was able to still use the "auto focus" on the lens itself, but adjust where the little red boxes appear and focus on Annabelle's face or eyes. Finally, I got more pictures where Annabelle's face is clearer than anything else in the picture, and I didn't even have to take a hundred pictures to get that perfect shot.

Following are my two favorite pictures from Sunday! Is she not the cutest thing ever?

Here she is celebrating her Daddy's birthday at a park in Alpharetta off Cogburn Road. Her Daddy is helping her climb. Look at that dimple! It is clear as day!

And, here she is dressed for success at Nonnie's house. We were visiting with Nonnie, Uncle Matt, Aunt Meredith and Cousins Adam and Molly to celebrate hubby and Aunt Meredith's birthdays. Molly and Annabelle were playing in the sunroom. Molly had been playing with the fireman hat earlier, and as soon as Molly laid it down, Annabelle turned to me and asked, "Mommy, may I play with this now?" as she held the hat up in the air. So very sweet and polite! I think her new friend, Annalee, has rubbed off on her. Annalee was such a sweet and polite little girl when we spent time with her and her family in Hilton Head. Thank you Annalee!

So, I told her that she could play with it as long as Molly had finished playing with it. So, she then turned to Molly and asked, "Are you finished playing with dis?" Molly apparently approved. Then, Annabelle picked up the maraca, and I couldn't stand to not take a picture. She just looked too cute. She had already dressed herself in the apron before she got the fireman hat from Molly.

Of course, by the time I grabbed the camera, she was almost finished playing with the maraca. She put it down right after I took this shot, but I persuaded her to hold it a little while longer so I could take a few more shots. This picture still turned out to be the very best one.

Dear Annabelle,

One of the hardest things about being a Mommy (to me) is the mundane day to day activities of laundry, dishes, lunch, snacks and dinner. I think the one thing I miss the most from working full-time is the constant learning. Well, looking back, I do remember getting frustrated at work sometimes because even some days on the job were mundane as well, and I didn't feel like I was learning something new every day.

But, over the past two and a half years, I have learned to venture out to learn new things and create new hobbies for myself that I never felt I had time for before while working crazy hours. Honestly, before you were born, I really didn't have any hobbies besides my love for traveling. Work was my only hobby. Sad, but true!

Since you've been born, my hobbies (besides you, of course) have become blogging, digital scrapbooking and photography. The latter I haven't been very good at, but I've wanted for so long to learn how to take better pictures and use my camera properly. I have a long way to go, but it makes life so much more enjoyable when you can learn something new every day.

I hope you will also strive to learn something new everyday! My Mama Gordon, your Great Grandmother, loved to learn new things, and as a result, she loved to live! She even learned to e-mail when she was in her nineties. Not that she did it very often (if more than once), but she wanted to learn!

I love you sweet girl! Thank you for helping me learn what life is all about!

Love always,

Mommy

Materialistic?

Who taught this child to be materialistic at the ripe old age of two?

Last night, while I was rocking Annabelle to sleep, the following conversation was held.

Annabelle: "I don't like dis house."

Mommy: "You don't like this house? Why?" I was quite stunned by this comment.

Annabelle: "I want a diffwent house."

Mommy: "A different house? Why?"

Annabelle: "I need room for all my stuff?"

Huh? She needs room for all her stuff?!?! Seriously! I forgot to ask her if she'd like to find a job to pay for a mortgage on a bigger house to make room for all her stuff!

I blamed hubby as soon as I left her room for her materialistic behavior. I said, "You need to be careful what you say. She totally got that from you!" He laughed and then said, "I've never said I didn't like this house."

Don't let the bed bugs bite

There is nothing sweeter in life than Annabelle covering me up with her prized blanket and saying, "Night, night, Mommy! Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

As my frustrations grew this afternoon during naptime, Annabelle pulled the above trick, and she eased my stress and lifted my heart a little.

It has been a windy afternoon here in Atlanta, and I have this fear of one of the huge oak trees in our backyard falling directly onto Annabelle's bedroom, so I told her she could nap in our bedroom this afternoon. I pretended to be sleeping in hopes that she would do the same.

Finally, at 3:30 p.m., I decided it was time for her to move to her crib! It is 5:10 p.m., and she's asleep. Thank goodness because last night was a living nightmare dealing with an overtired toddler at 9:00 p.m. who had not napped earlier in the day.

And, right now, it doesn't seem very windy.

Strawberry Graham Cracker Cheesecakes

Does this not look tasty to you?

If it doesn't, then it was probably just the photographer's fault as the above consists of Cinnamon Graham Crackers covered with Cream Cheese and Strawberries for BREAKFAST!

Does it look or even sound good to you NOW?

Well, apparently, Annabelle was not all that interested (except for the first cracker). At least she did eat one cracker covered with cream cheese and strawberries. She did arrange them herself as a "butterfly" which I forgot to do, but I normally do with her sandwiches. My mom had always arranged our sandwiches as butterflies when my brother and I were younger.

I was excited about my creativity for breakfast. I read in a little book my mom bought for me shortly before or after Annabelle was born called "Feed Me I'm Yours" by Vicki Lansky. It is a great little book, and it provides creative suggestions for feeding your child. My creativity consisted of adding some strawberries to her original suggestion.

In her book, she recommends that parents not stick to the norm of only breakfast foods for breakfast. For example, if your child wants pizza for breakfast, feed him or her an English muffin covered with spaghetti sauce and cheese. As we've always heard, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Per Vicki Lansky, "People who skip breakfast are more likely to eat between meals and often consume more calories in a day than people who eat breakfast."

So, since my used to be breakfast eater is not interested in breakfast at all any more, I've decided to try and be more creative and change the breakfast meals up a bit.

But, apparently, it didn't work! I'm afraid she's now getting too much liquid during the day consisting of apple juice, water and chocolate milk. Yes, chocolate milk, because "I don't like big girl milk. It tastes sour!" according to Annabelle. I dilute the apple juice, usually 2 ounces for every 8 ounces, but she has been known to drink 3 sippee cups of diluted apple juice in the morning and then another 3 sippee cups full during naptime. That doesn't count the other 2 sippee cups full that she drinks the rest of the day. That is 64 ounces of liquid for a 2 year old! Is that normal?

So, my sweet, very loving two and a half year old is driving me to eat these.

But, as you can see, she's already gotten to them first!

I LOVE Cadbury Mini Eggs. If you've never had them, they are AWESOME! I believe they first came out during my freshman or sophomore year in college (1997-1998) because one of my good friends was sitting down eating a bag of these while she was studying. She shared some, and I have been addicted ever since. Thanks Sarah!

This year, they came out with a Christmas version which hubby proceeded to buy me a bag once they went on sale after Christmas. I had already looked for them earlier last week after Easter at Target, but I couldn't find any. Then, my sweet and thoughtful husband brought ME home a bag. He once again found them on sale.

Again, he brought them home for me, but Annabelle has decided that she likes them too. Hubby even told her that he'd buy her a bag next year since she told him, "Daddy, I like dese!" Of course, she doesn't understand "next year," and she's already told me that Daddy told her he'd buy her a bag.

It is so hard to teach sharing when you don't want to share yourself! But, you'll do anything for your sweet, loving daughter when she says, "May I peas have an orange egg?" Then, I promptly eat them and hide them during naptime!

T-D-D-D-I

"Why'd you call him dat Mommy?" laughed Annabelle.


Shortly before, I had instructed hubby that Teddy was missing.

"Could you find T - E - D - D - Y?" I asked hubby as we finished the final touches to the bedtime routine.

Hubby left the room to look for Teddy.

Annabelle laughed, "T-D-D-D-I! Why'd you call him dat Mommy?"

The best part of the story: She said that to me BEFORE hubby had even arrived back with Teddy Bear. I didn't think children were supposed to learn to spell until they were closer to 4-5 years of age! Oh my! I guess we are going to have to start making up code works that change constantly.

Dear, Dear Annabelle,

I called Teddy Bear "T - E - D - D - Y" because if I had told Daddy to go and find Teddy Bear, you would have either (a) broken down into a meltdown or (b) promptly escaped from my lap and followed Daddy to help him find Teddy Bear which would have probably added another 20 minutes to the already hour long bedtime routine.

Sweet baby girl, I am afraid that you are much like your Mommy in many ways. You are quite the night owl, and you do NOT like mornings!

Therefore, we'll do everything we can, including spelling Teddy, to get you to bed within less than an hour every night. And, sweet girl, for the bathtime nights, we are looking at between an hour and a half to two hours to get through your bedtime routine, if we are lucky!

May God bless you with a child just like you!

Love always and forever,

Mommy

This will be the day that I die

Yes, I know, a little morbid for a blog title.

But, it is a warning to those who babysit Annabelle to not be concerned when she starts singing, "this will be the day that I die."

You see, hubby was trying to entertain Annabelle this evening while I cut her finger nails and toe nails, so he sang the old classic, "American Pie" to her. She listened to him very intently, and when he was finished, she grabbed the toy microphone from him that he was holding to sing the song herself, and we all joined in and we all sang "American Pie" together.

Most of the version of "American Pie" that she sang was a mumble, but oddly enough, the tune really seemed to be there, despite the lack of words.

However, she did sing "this will be the day that I die" very clearly. And, she sang that verse over and over and over again!

And, if you hear something about "whiskey and rye," again, don't be alarmed! This is just another verse to the song (which she also seemed to get).

Hubby laughed and said, "Just wait until your Mom hears her sing that!" He was referring to the blog title, but I think she'd be a little troubled with the "whiskey and rye" verse too. Hubby said, "I can hear her [my mom] now. Tom! Did you hear what she just said?"

Ballerinas?

Or karate students?


The one who is actually taking ballet looks like a ballerina. The other child, who I won't call by name (Hint: She's my child!), looks more like a karate student.

Annalee was teaching Annabelle some of her new ballet tricks. Monkey see, monkey do! Annabelle has enjoyed watching and imitating Annalee all weekend.

Slumber Party

This evening, Annabelle and Annalee had a slumber party. Annabelle attempted to "borrow" Annalee's pillow, but Annalee persuaded Annabelle to use a place mat for her pillow instead. And, yes, Annalee is the one who actually came up with the idea all by herself and made the suggestion. One creative little girl if you ask me!

So, here is one of the best shots I was able to get of the girls having their slumber party! You try taking a picture of two very busy little girls, one two years old and the other three years old. Not a bad shot considering the circumstances.

Her First French Braid

And, probably her last!

I asked Annalee's Mommy to show me how to French braid on Annabelle's hair this evening. Annabelle sat very still for her to braid her hair. She braided it loosely so that Annabelle wouldn't complain too much.

Does her hair not look beautiful? I love it! Annalee's Mommy made it look so easy, but I doubt I'll be able to figure it out when I actually sit down with Annabelle and try.

Skee Ball

Here is a picture of Annabelle playing skee ball with her Daddy for the very first time. She preferred to throw the ball overhanded.

Cereal Bar

Annabelle's snack of choice on the beach is an apple cinnamon Nutri-Grain bar. She refers to them as "cerealreal bars," and she asks for them pretty much as soon as the bags are set down on the sand. I just wish I could write "cereal" the way that she actually pronounces it because it is quite humorous.

She insisted that "Annalee want cerealreal bar too." I don't think she quite understands yet that Annalee isn't quite as big of a fan of the cereal bar as she is.

Does it surprise me that my daughter was the only one who needed a snack at the beach (besides me)? Nope! That girl loves her some snacks when they are offered (or in this case, expected).

Windy Day

It was a beautiful, but windy day at the beach today. Shortly after we arrived, I told Annabelle that we should take a walk along the beach and pick up seashells. As we were walking towards the water, Annabelle piped in with the following.

Annabelle: It making me go da wrong way!

Mommy: What is sweetheart?

Annabelle: Da wind!

I couldn't help but laugh at her comment. Poor baby! The wind even almost blew her over a few times. I'm not sure if it really made her go the wrong way (since it didn't matter which way we went), but she definitely had a point!

She just cracks me up!

My Baby

is no longer a baby!

But it is these subtle moments that remind me that she still needs me (and Teddy) for comfort and support.

This morning, I allowed her to watch a little Sesame Street in bed at our beach condo while I put on my makeup and finished packing a few things so we could get out the door to go shopping. I glanced over at her, and I noticed that she was snuggling with Teddy Bear (which is the norm) and one of her baby blankets that made the trip. It was such a precious picture, so I grabbed the camera. And, naturally, she changed positions. I finally coaxed her to sit back up as she had been sitting so I could capture this precious shot.

My baby is realizing that she is no longer a baby. During our drive to Hilton Head yesterday, Annabelle and her Daddy had the following conversation after Hubby referred to her as a baby for some reason. I cannot remember the specifics as to why he called her a baby, but she was obviously quite offended.

Annabelle: I not a baby Daddy! I a big girl!

Daddy: I know sweetheart.

Annabelle: Why'd you call me dat Daddy?

Daddy: Because you'll always be my baby sweetheart!

Oddly enough, the blanket shown in the above picture is actually the very same blanket she refused last night as I was tucking her in. The blanket in the picture is normally hung at the end of the crib to block the headlights at night and sunlight in the morning. I always tuck her in using her "Annabelle" blanket, but we left it at home because it smelled like tee tee.

Well, last night, I was wishing we would have just ignored the tee tee smell and taken it with us. I didn't know the "Annabelle" blanket had become yet another lovey. She gets a peppermint every evening instead of "Mommy's milk." That was my success to weaning her! And, yes, I do brush her teeth after she eats her peppermint. Well, she reminded me last night that she had not gotten her peppermint. She started to fuss, but I was able to quickly distract her with an animal cracker to replace the beloved peppermint.

But, the blanket was a different story. She said, "Cover me up Mommy." So, I covered her up with the blanket shown in the picture above. "Noooooo! Not dat one! I want my udder one!" I told her that we had left it at home. You would have thought the world was coming to an end based on the way she was acting. She finally did settle down, and tonight was not an issue at all. I guess she has become attached to yet another lovey!

Dear Annabelle,

These are some of the little things that remind me that you still need me! Sometimes I find these habits and your behaviour annoying and frustrating, but it is the moments like these when I sit back and think and realize that you are only acting this way because you need someone to love and comfort you when the world seems big and scary.

The world is big and scary sometimes sweet girl, but I hope you'll always find comfort in knowing that I love you and that I'm always here for you whenever you need me, no matter what! And, I mean, no matter what!

Even though I want you to be as independent as possible, not depending on anyone else for anything, I still hope you'll still need me for some of the little things, even when you are grown, married and with a child of your own. Goodness knows, I still need my Mommy and Daddy!

Love,

Mommy