Wearing Daddy's Tie

Last night, Will got home from work and was playing around in the floor with Anna. All of a sudden, she asked to wear Daddy's tie. It was so cute and I had to get a picture. Doesn't it just melt your heart to see your husband play with your kids? They have such a special bond and the way they play together is so different from the way us moms play with our kids. Every day I come to a more complete understanding of the huge benefits of a two-parent family. God bless all the single parents out there-- I really do not see how you do it. And God bless all the children out there who aren't able to play with their Daddy's tie.

Sunday School Picnic

We have been so lucky to find a warm church with a really great Sunday School class. In the beginning it was not so great. We were all newly married with no kids and were out of town a lot and had so much going on. Social events were near to impossible because we could never find a date that fit everyone. Because of this, we didn't really know the other couples in our class well. Now that it's several years later, most of us have at least one child and are a little more settled. Plus, the class has grown in size, too. We are all a whole lot closer than we used to be.

Sunday, we had our second Picnic at the Park. All of the little ones got to run around and play and the parents got to fellowship amid the chaos. It was a lot of fun and Anna had a blast. It's so funny how the boys were all about climbing and playing with the balls. Anna just wanted to swing and watch everyone. I do have proof that she got on the slide, though!

Watch Your Mouth

Anna and I were driving back from running errands today and we were merging onto the highway from an exit ramp. Well, the guy in the Lexus in front of me was a moron and decided instead of merging like the rest of the world does, he was going to slam on his breaks in the middle of the exit ramp and then cut somebody off as he dove into a space in the lane. I cannot stand when people do this!!! Anyway, as multiple cars were swerving and slamming on breaks (IN THE RAIN, I might add), I blurted out, "Dude, you're gonna get somebody killed!". I felt like this was fairly mild considering what I really wanted to say at that moment. From the backseat, Anna chimed in with "Somebody killed, Mommy, somebody killed." I assured her everything was OK, but for the next 5 minutes, she kept repeating, "somebody killed" over and over again. I pray that she doesn't know what that means. I just kept telling myself that it could be much worse...right?

True Tar Heel

One of the reasons that I wanted to start blogging is to keep a record of all the hilarious things that Anna says. She is at such a wonderful age where she is trying to put it all together and the things that come out of her mouth are priceless. For example...

The background...

Her daddy and I (but especially her daddy) have been pressing on her the importance of Carolina to her life.;) We have been showing her how much fun it is to cheer for them and she has been saying "Go Tar Heels" and "touchdown" since she could utter a word almost. We went to the first football game of the season a couple of weeks ago and she was so much more aware of what was going on. She had the best time playing corn hole with her Daddy and Pops, finding Rameses on the field, and cheering on the Heels.

Well, the other day I was cleaning the house and she was "helping". She had been standing on her steps scrubbing the sink for me while I cleaned the bathtub. Then we moved on to the toilet. I use the fabulous Clorox toilet wand that makes it possible to clean a toilet without actually sticking your hand down in it. Well, I stuck the wand in and started scrubbing with Anna leaning over the toilet watching every move. After a few scrubs, the water started turning blue from the cleaner and Anna busted out with, "Go Tar Heels!".

Will and I have decided that if she can relate blue water in a toilet to Carolina, then we have done our job as UNC parents. Go Heels!

The Many Emotions of Motherhood

Why is it that mothers must ride the roller coaster of emotions all the time?

Saturday was my grandmother's 80th birthday party. It was also the UNC/ECU game. Obviously, Grandmama's birthday trumped the game and I was super excited about seeing family members that I might see twice a year (and a cousin's baby that I have not met yet), but I was already a little bummed that I was going to have to miss the game. I was a good wife and told Will to go ahead and go to the game and Anna and I would go to the birthday (3 hours away, I might add). Luckily, my sister was planning on riding with us, so I did not have to drive 6 hours with Anna by myself. So this was the plan...

Then life stepped in the way. Anna caught some stomach virus Wednesday and was sick through Thursday, but bounced back Friday, so I thought all was well. Not so much! She got sick again Friday night so I had to make the call--do I go anyway because it's such an important event and risk getting other people sick because I want to be there or do I act like the responsible parent and keep both of us home? Ugggghhhhhh! I had to be the responsible parent. I didn't want anyone else to get sick on my account and to drag Anna that far when she didn't feel well would have been child abuse. So we stayed at home. And Will left for the game. And my sister drove by herself. And we watched the game on TV. And got updates about the party from family that was there. And I was miserable.

Don't get me wrong here. My precious daughter was sick and I was hurting for her. You couldn't have pulled me away from her side, especially when she's puking her guts up and is so pitiful. There is nowhere else that I would have been. BUT, by 10am that morning, she had kept some food down, had some more energy, and was acting more like herself. And so I pouted.

I was missing one of the important milestones of my family's life. I was also not able to be with my husband doing one of the things he enjoys most. And the big kicker--I had planned something and plans had been messed up. That's really what the pouting was for, I came to realize, as the long day dragged on. I do not do well when my plans are messed up. But I think as a parent, you have to adjust to this. Especially with winter illnesses coming up, I'm sure there will be a lot we will miss. I also feel like God keeps beating me over the head, saying "It's not up to you", but I must not listen very well.

The gamut of emotions went through me that 24 hours. But I guess that's just the life of a mom...

2-Year Check-up

Anna went to the pediatrician for her 2-year check-up today and passed with flying colors. She has bounced back quickly from the Wednesday all-nighter, though we're not sure whether her weight was affected at all. Here are her new numbers:

Weight: 22.2 pounds (7th percentile)

Height: 34 inches (50th percentile)

Head circumference: 19 inches (75th percentile)

Although I feel like she eats so much, she is still low on the weight curve. Will and I often ask each other where all of the food goes. At least her weight is on the curve now since we were off for a while. She is still wearing 12-18 month clothes, but I can tell that she's growing because pants are getting shorter on her. If only the longer pants would fit in the waist-- I am anticipating lots of pants pinning this winter, especially once she's potty trained and won't have the diaper to help hold her pants up. I guess she'll continue to be our precious little skinny girl with plenty of room for that brain to grow!;)

Luckily, we did not have any immunizations due so it was a pleasant visit. We will go back in a week or two once the office gets in their Flu Mist vaccine. Any way to avoid a shot is worth an extra trip back to the office, in my mind. Plus, our pediatrician feels like the mist is a better vaccine than the shot, which definitely sealed the deal for me. Now to decide what to do about that H1N1 (hiney) vaccine...

Night Shift

So, it's not even cold yet and the flu and viruses are running rampant! I know that we have been blessed that Anna has had maybe two illnesses her entire two-year life and has yet to require an antibiotic (I know, isn't that crazy?). So, I know we're in for payback and I have been prepping myself for sickness this year since she's starting preschool and will be exposed to more bugs. Well, let the games begin...

Last night she started crying about 11 pm and when I went up to her room, she had gotten sick. Miraculously, she had managed to contain it all in one little area, so clean-up was minor, and the "everybody" of stuffed animals she sleeps with was spared. We did have to change sheets and jammies, but she was in good spirits and said she felt better, so I chalked it up to a little upset stomach. Two hours later, I realized that we were in for a long night. She had gotten sick again and we now had two sets of dirty sheets, two pairs of dirty jammies, and a dirty Bo-bo and Elmo. Anna will not think about trying to sleep without Elmo and Bo-bo, so I was a little worried.

While I started a load of laundry at one in the morning, she got sick again, but Will managed to get her to the bathroom in time. Anna and I then set up camp on the den sofa so Daddy could get some sleep. She proceeded to get sick about every 30 minutes until about 5:30 in the morning. Whenever she would get almost back to sleep, here it would come again. And, of course, after about the third time, it was only dry-heaving or the little bit of Pedialyte that I would let her drink. It was pitiful!! There is nothing that will break your heart more than your precious child puking her guts up and there's little that you can do to make it better!! I was sick for her.

The funny part was that she would sit up and puke and then immediately start talking. "Let's go see Daddy." "Where's Miller?" "Elmo and Bo-bo are getting all clean." It was hysterical. At least I could laugh some at four in the morning!

The good part of the story is that she eventually stopped puking and we got a few hours of sleep in. She was getting back to herself more as the day went on and even kept her lunch and dinner of crackers and Jello down. She slept a 4 hour nap this afternoon (and I got a nap, too) and she was still ready for bed early. Hopefully we can all get some catch-up sleep tonight and put this all behind us tomorrow.

Now I remember why I don't work night shift anymore...

Anna's Second Birthday!

I can't believe it's been two years already!! You really can't afford to blink--it goes by so fast!

We had Anna's birthday party Saturday at a local coffee shop. It's OK, I know you're confused. A local church opened up a coffee shop that also has small concerts and whatnot. They had the brilliant idea of putting in an indoor playground! On one end of the building is a room with colored foam tile on the floors with large Fisher Price climbing equipment, riding toys, and the huge Legos--perfect for 2 and 3 year-olds! It even has Purell dispensers on the wall--gotta love it! The kids had a blast and I didn't have our large family and a handful of close friends all in my house!:) They also have a great birthday room in the back to house all the party chaos!

The theme was Elmo, of course, since he is Anna's obsession at this age. I was going to make her cake, but then found an adorable one at Harris Teeter with little figures on it that she could keep, so I took the easy route. Add in some delivered pizza, a fruit tray, and drinks provided by the coffee shop and this party was easy breezy!

Anna got lots of fun, new toys and has been quite overwhelmed with all the new choices to play with. Thanks everyone for all the good stuff!! Now I just have to rearrange the den so that we are not overflowing with toys.:) Maybe next year we can do a very small party and ask people to bring things for charity instead of toys. If not, we'll be drowning in them!

It was a really fun weekend altogether because the Collins fam was ALL here! (This maybe happens twice a year.) So, besides the party, we had lots of fun family time. Unfortunately, we had so much fun that those pictures are not really blog appropriate.:) Here are some of the pics from Anna's party that are rated "G":

The adorable Elmo cake (with Big Bird, too)

Anna and her friend, Tucker, who she gave multiple hugs and kisses to. It was so precious, but I think Will was getting a smidge worried.:)

One of Anna's favorite toys was her shopping cart and Build-a-Bear teddy that she named "Dora" since she has a backpack, too. This bear even has a cell phone! Thanks Judi and Bren!

Mommy, Daddy, the birthday girl, and Dora the bear

Mimi, Pawpaw, Greg, and Michelle gave Anna her very own table and chairs set. Now she's ready for Play-doh and coloring books on her own table!

Anna's First Day of Preschool

Is this real? Is my precious little angel old enough for this? I could not believe the time had come for preschool. Well, to be truthful, it's actually just Mother's Morning Out, but it still counts. Since they changed the cut-off date back to August 31, Anna missed it for the 2-year-old class even though she turns two a couple of weeks after school starts. Oh, well. She'll just always be one of the oldest!

I kept telling myself that it was good for her to socialize and be in a classroom setting. I knew I was going to enjoy those six precious hours a week to myself. But, I still could not believe it was time for this already. It felt like just yesterday that she was sitting and crawling and babbling. Could she be old enough for this already? The answer...yep.

Her first day was Tuesday, September 1st, 2009. Anna was so excited about her backpack and going to school! The morning of, Will stayed home a little longer than usual and we took pictures before her big day. Then Anna and I got in the car and headed to her new school. We got out of the car and, of course, she wanted to wear her backpack to walk inside. She strutted herself into that classroom like she was 12 and barely looked back. And you would be so proud of me--I told her "Have fun! Mommy will see you later" and turned around and left without so much as a tear! Yay, I did it without losing it!

It's funny how God gives you little winks to let you know things are OK and exactly the way they are supposed to be. Not only are her teachers, Mrs. Linda and Mrs. Kelly, sweet and wonderful, but we walked in to find the room covered in ladybugs. For those of you who don't know, Anna's nursery was decorated in ladybugs and so that has become her mascot. Almost everything she owns has to do with ladybugs. It only fits that her classroom should as well. The rug in her classroom has ladybugs on it and the nametags for the cubbies are ladybugs, too. Maybe that's why I was so OK with this new milestone--because everything was as it should be!

All ready to go!

We're going to take this picture

every year on the first day of school!

Anna with Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Linda

Here We Go!

And we're off! My husband, Will, and my friend, Sarah, from Texas have been after me for months to start blogging. So, here I am and here we go. I may not get started officially until after Anna's birthday, but at least this is a start!