Smocked Easter Dress

I wish this blog post could be about this beautiful smocked Easter dress I purchased off of eBay today for the low, low price of $10! But, it is not!

Instead, I am in a state of denial and complete withdrawal from eBay. You see, last night I found the perfect, smocked Easter dress for Annabelle. And, I just knew that I was going to be the highest bidder no matter what it took. I went to bed last minute with visions of Annabelle hunting Easter eggs in her beautiful, green and pink smocked Easter dress.

I even considered bidding on an Easter sweater by the same seller that ended just a few minutes before the smocked dress just so Annabelle would have a sweater that matched her beautiful smocked Easter dress.

Well, you probably already know where I am going with this. The bidding war ended this afternoon around 5:00 p.m. I waited until the very last 50 seconds to make my bid to ensure that no one would outbid me. I wanted to give myself a few seconds to type a higher bid in case someone had already entered an automatic bid higher than me. Well, I entered my highest bid of $51.51. Yes, I did say $51.51. And, believe me, I have NEVER spent this much on any outfit for my daughter. But, this dress was the one! And, the $51.51 was the price I bid for the dress, this didn't include the $4.60 required for shipping the dress to me from Birmingham, Alabama.

So, I bid, and with only a few seconds left on the clock, I was the highest bidder. But, then, I refreshed my screen only to realize that I was no longer the highest bidder. What? Was there really someone more stupid than me to spend $51.51 plus $4.60 for shipping for an Easter dress that their daughter would probably only wear once? I guess so! So, quickly, I decided that money was no longer an object. I wanted that dress!

Well, I guess technically money was an object as I bid $55 next, and if money had not been an object, I would have bid $100 or higher and I very likely would have won that dress for Annabelle to wear on her second Easter. I was outbid by the exact same bid of $55 by just a few seconds, and I couldn't type fast enough to enter a number higher besides the $532.50 that I almost entered by accident. I guess it wouldn't have mattered if I had hit $532.50 as I wouldn't have paid any more than the next highest bid? Oh well!

So, I am sharing pictures of the smocked Easter dress that I longed for my daughter to wear. Maybe I can find someone to smock this same design for her for next Easter. For this Easter, I guess we'll just have to settle for one of the two dresses I have already bought her for Easter. One from Carter's with blue and green polka dots that I paid $13.44 plus 6% sales tax for a total of $14.25. It was originally $28.00, but it was 40% off, and I used another coupon for 20% off. And, the other dress with blue gingham and three large bunny rabbits at the bottom of the dress that I found at a consignment sale this weekend for only $4 plus 7% sales tax for a total of $4.28! I tried it on Annabelle today, and it looked absolutely adorable. As for the Carter's dress, it looks adorable too, and I am planning to have it monogrammed with her initials. But, now I am thinking that if I spend the money to get it monogrammed, I should have kept the 24 month size I bought at the same time that I bought the 18 month size. But, I already took that size back. Of course, I haven't had anything monogrammed before, so I have no clue what that is going to cost me.

So, here is another picture. Is this not the most adorable dress you have ever seen? The brand is Amanda Remembered, and the dress size I was planning to buy was 24 months. Maybe that is why I didn't get it? Annabelle is still wearing size 18 months, so maybe I wasn't meant to get it for that very reason. I think she would have been fine wearing the 24 month size though.

Does anyone else think little girls are much more expensive than little boys? I don't think I'd be this obsessed with clothes if I didn't have a little girl. If only I dressed this well!

Acappella anyone?

On Friday, February 22, 2008, Annabelle was up to no good! I was busy trying to get dressed, and she found one of her Daddy's cassette tapes on the bedroom nightstand. Before I even realized what she had, she unreeled a portion of Acappella's "Hymns for the World." Apparently, as I learned later, this was one of her Daddy's favorite cassette tapes, and he has been listening to it at night in his Walkman to help him fall asleep. Can you say get an MP3 player?!?! Only kidding! He has an MP3 player, but he hasn't yet purchased this music on a CD or online yet. I've turned him into a frugal old man, and it makes his young wife proud! Hee! Hee!

So, as you can see from these next pictures, I think Annabelle is going to have to buy her Daddy another tape.

She proceeded to tease our black cat, Shadow, as you can see from these pictures. She dragged the tape around the room, and she watched Shadow as she (Shadow) tried to pounce on it. Look at this first picture with Shadow! It looks as if she is sticking her tongue out at Shadow.

Of course, I could have probably confiscated the tape before it was destroyed, but the pictures were just too cute! Don't you agree?

So, I let her play with the tape while I finished getting ready, and it finally clicked that I needed to grab the camera. I started snapping away. I then put the camera down for awhile, and I came back to Spiderwoman. Can you believe how she wrapped the tape around the recliner and rocking chair in our living room several times? I left the "spider web" in place until Annabelle's Daddy got home so he could see the destruction for himself. He just laughed when he saw it.

Excuse the torn up recliner! One of our cats, Shadow, destructed that recliner years ago, and it is just way too comfortable to throw away. Not to mention, I am way too cheap. But, it really does look bad, doesn't it? Sometimes pictures are not always a good thing.

I'm getting off subject again. So, anyhow, after the Acappella tape was destroyed, I called Annabelle's Daddy to tell him the good news. I said, "How much did you like that Acappella tape that was sitting on the night stand?" He sounded pitiful as he said, "Aaawww. Why, what happened?" I told him that his daughter had destroyed the tape, and he said, "That's alright," still sounding pitiful. Of course, his daughter can really do no wrong in his eyes. I felt sort of bad at that point because I probably could have confiscated the tape before it was no longer playable, but seriously, wouldn't you rather have seen these pictures and read this story? The memories are so much better!

Unfortunately, I was not able to capture the best picture of all. I was on the phone with Annabelle's Daddy having the above conversation when I noticed that Annabelle had somehow gotten the loose tape wrapped around her paci, and she then proceeded to put the paci in her mouth. I grabbed the camera, and I then told Annabelle's Daddy that I needed to go because I needed to go take a picture. I was only a few short seconds late as she dropped the paci out of her mouth just as the camera was focused and ready to take the picture. Bummer!

I told Annabelle's Daddy later that I could have probably saved the tape, and I don't think he was mad. I am just glad it didn't have any sentimental value. I thought surely if it had, that I would have already known (before Friday).

Next time Daddy, don't leave your tapes lying on the bedroom nightstand within little toddler hands' reach!

Just one last thing I have to add...I am laughing now after looking back through the pictures. Has anyone noticed that the pajamas Annabelle is wearing says "Angel?" Ha!

Busted Lip

Annabelle got caught up in a pom pom attached to my sweatshirt this evening, and she tripped and fell on her sweet little face, as a result. She almost caught herself from falling onto her face, and she barely even hit her face, so I thought she would walk away without a scratch.

I thought wrong! Why should I expect anything else from my accident prone daughter?

I picked her up, and her lip was bleeding. She was busy trying to stain her clothes with blood, and her Daddy was trying to hold her hand away from her clothes to keep her from staining her clothes with blood (because she got blood on her fingers). I asked him to grab some paper towels and to wet them so we could apply them to her lip. He was also sweet and kind enough to remember her "Freezer Teether" to apply the cold "Freezer Teether" to her lip. He was so proud of himself for thinking of it, and he should have been!

She got over it very quickly though. I told her while we were trying to stop the bleeding with the wet paper towel that "I hope this doesn't send us to the emergency room this evening." She didn't cry very long, and the bleeding stopped almost instantly. Thank goodness!

Here is a picture of her later with her busted lip! My poor baby!

Obsessive Compulsive?

I am starting to think that my daughter, Annabelle, may be following a little bit in her Mommy's footsteps. So, I've mentioned in one of my blog entries that I am now officially, "Washer of the Paci."

Well, that was cute and all until it started to become obsessive. You see, this morning, I went in Annabelle's room to get her up out of her crib, and she had dropped her paci on the floor. So, I reached down, picked up her paci (off the carpet), and I handed it to her. She looked at me as if she were saying, "What are you thinking Mommy?" She held it out from her, arm's length away from her chest. So, I picked her up and put her on the floor just to see what she would do.

Fussing the entire way, she walked to the bathroom and stopped at the bathroom sink with her paci held high for me to wash it. Are you kidding? Now I have to wash her paci every time it falls on the floor in the morning even if it doesn't fall under the crib with the cat hair and dust? When I gave the paci back to her, she just giggled with delight. Don't tell her, but it was rather sweet, cute and funny!

And, last night, before she would go to her bedroom to read books before bedtime, she took her paci to the bathroom sink once again and dropped it into the sink for me to wash it. She did the same thing to my husband earlier in the afternoon at a random time of day (not naptime and not bedtime).

Tonight, we had to search for the paci. Annabelle found it, and my husband actually offered to wash the paci for her. Why? I don't know! He isn't the one who is going to have to deal with this obsessive compulsive behaviour on a daily basis that he is only encouraging by washing the paci without being prompted.

And, have I mentioned that I am no longer "Keeper of the Paci." Nope! At naptime and bedtime when it is time to nurse, she holds onto the paci, and she gets upset with me if I try to take it away. I guess I didn't do a very good job of taking care of it for her in the past. Maybe that explains why she now decides when it needs to be washed.

New Toother - Molar # 2

Here comes another one! I spotted it today after deciding to look in her mouth to just see if another tooth was making its grand appearance. And sure enough, there it was! Well, you cannot really see much of anything except for the very tip top of the tooth starting to protrude.

She has not been quite as fussy with this molar as with the first molar. Thank goodness! That first molar was a nightmare! Well, I should rethink that comment. She hasn't been as fussy at night with this molar, but she's been a lot fussier during the day. What happened to my sweet and innocent baby?

If you are looking at Annabelle (from her Mommy's point of view), it is on the bottom right side of her mouth. However, it is her bottom left molar.

Of course, I am sure that the fun is just beginning. She had her hands in her mouth a lot this afternoon, so I am thinking that maybe it is just starting to bother her. Her Daddy will be out of town this week, so I am sure that Annabelle will pick this week to wake me every 3 hours!

Is it a bear or a cow or a rabbit?

Annabelle has started growling like a bear. I heard her this morning while her Daddy was reading a book to her. She started growling, and her Daddy laughed and said, "That's right, it is a bear." She apparently was pointing at the picture of the polar bear in the book "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" by Bill Martin Jr and illustrated by Eric Carle.

We checked it out from the library on January 12, 2008, and I have continued to renew it. She loves that book! My husband and I, on the other hand, aren't the greatest of fans. Not because it isn't a cute book, but because we have to make the animal sounds for all of the different animals in the book, and I, personally, do not know the sounds for three quarters of the animals. I think my husband does a great job with the sounds though, but he doesn't seem to think so.

Last night, while Annabelle and I were looking at one of her picture books with animals in it, she pointed to the bear and said, "Grrrroooowwwwlll!" It was hilarious!

Then tonight at dinner, my husband starting growling at Annabelle, and they both had a growling contest. She was too cute, and I did happen to catch some of it on video.

She had started mooing like a cow awhile ago, at least her version of mooing like a cow. The first time I noticed this was actually about a month ago. It was some time shortly after her 15 month birthday because the pediatrician was the one who recommended pulling out some Richard Scarry books to help increase her vocabulary. I had read them to her while she was just a baby, but I put them away when she started going through the phase of tearing and eating books.

We were looking at Richard Scarry's "Best Word Book Ever," and there is a picture of a cow on the front of the book. She would (and still does) point at the cow, take her paci out of her mouth and then "Mooooo." Of course, it sounded a lot like "Mmm," but she understood that a cow says "Moo."

However, now when we ask her what a cow says, her cow sounds a lot like a cow growling!

So, is it a bear or a cow? Either I guess! It just depends on the question.

And, below is a picture of Annabelle actually growling like a bear, but dressed as a bunny rabbit! After I put these bunny ears on her tonight and I started singing, "Here comes Peter Cottontail," she started trying to hop! She basically just bounced up and down in one spot.

Spring Forward

How many more weeks do we have before we have to spring forward with the time? I love having more daylight hours, but I cannot stand adjusting to the time change in the spring. But, I sure do love that extra hour of sleep in the fall. Obviously, it doesn't take long for your body to get used to getting up at the same time every day though, so that feeling of an "extra" hour of sleep doesn't last long.

Well, I am only asking this question because my sweet, innocent, beautiful daughter has decided that the time has already changed!!! This morning, she woke up at 6:00 a.m., I think. I know it was no later than 6:00 a.m., but she could have definitely woken up earlier. I stayed in bed for awhile just hoping that she would go back to sleep on her own. Apparently not! I finally rescued her between 6:30 and 6:45 a.m. Keep in mind, she was just fussing a little bit, so I really thought she would have gone back to sleep. She wasn't screaming, and she didn't sound like anything was hurting. I brought her back into the bed with me and nursed her and then tried to persuade her to let her Mommy sleep just a little while longer. Of course, I should have rescued her much earlier because once I did, it was already too light outside for her to go back to sleep. She thought it was now time to play since she saw it was daylight outside. Aarrgggh!!!

She fell asleep last night around 9:15 p.m. Then, she woke up at 6:00 a.m. I am glad that I actually decided to go to sleep around 12:30 a.m. last night though (or I guess this morning). She went down for a nap at 12:30 p.m. She woke up from her nap around 1:30 p.m., but I didn't rescue her immediately, and I think she fell back asleep again. Either that or she was just very, very quiet. I got her up from her nap around 3:00 p.m. Now, that's a good nap! However, based on the total hours of sleep that she actually got (11 hours and 15 minutes), this isn't looking good for me getting anything else done around the house. I am afraid that she has decided that she doesn't need much sleep any more. Aren't they supposed to sleep for a total of 15 hours at her age? Ha! Actually, I think I've heard 12-15 hours, so she obviously is on the low end of needing her beauty rest.

Fortunately, she isn't lacking in beauty! But, her mother is going to start lacking in beauty if Annabelle keeps this up! Again, how do people get their kids to sleep 12 hours at night and then again for another 3 hours at naptime? I am envious!

And, I know, I know, it could be so much worse! But, I really need my beauty sleep!