Anna's Three Year Check-up

We went to see Anna's pediatrician right after her birthday for her three year check-up. I can't believe she's actually three years old! Everything looked great according to Dr. Silkstone. Her ear infection had cleared up from a couple of weeks prior. She weighs 27 pounds and is 36 inches tall. Her percentiles were 12th for weight (ha!) and 25th for height. As much as it feels like she has shot up lately, I was surprised her height percentiles weren't higher...guess it's all relative. She did have to get one shot in her leg, but at least her flu vaccine was nasal! She was so brave and only cried for a few seconds. Man, was she proud of her bright orange band aid! It's so sad...she doesn't have to go back until she's four! Our little girl is getting so big!

Anna's 3rd Birthday: Dora and Diego Party

On Sunday we drove back home so we could celebrate Anna's birthday at Nannie and Pop's house with the Hege family. Nannie went all out decorating with Dora and Diego--there were balloons everywhere, Dora and Boots toothpicks in the appetizers, all the appropriate paper products, and even brown, yellow, and green streamers hung in the doorways as "vines"! It was so cute and Anna loved every second of it!

Nana ready to party in her festive garb!

Aunt Judi and Uncle Bren gave Anna a precious princess tent. Anna was so excited because we had recently gotten rid of her cardboard "house" and now she had a pretty new one! Thanks Judi and Bren!

Anna loved all of her musical cards!

Nannie and Pops got Anna Diego's animal rescue center and Dora's princess castle! Daddy had to help get everything out of the box and put together.
Nana gave her the cutest prince and princess magnetic dress-up set. You can switch dresses and crowns and shoes!

Aunt Erin and Aaron gave Anna a goodie bag with crayola bath crayons, a hand painting set, an Ariel coloring book, and the all-important bubble wand. They had to go out on the deck and make sure it worked!

A family pic

The set-up

The precious cake!

"You can't touch my cake, E!"

Blowing out the candles

What a face!

Star of the show!

Anna and Daddy playing in the princess tent!

Thanks, Nannie and Pops, for helping to make it such an awesome birthday!

Surprise...Happy 35th Anniversary!

Having Anna's birthday party in Wilmington was wonderful, but it was really only a ploy by the Collins siblings to get everyone in Wilmington without our parents being suspicious so we could surprise them for their anniversary. Their 35th wedding anniversary was on September 6th and they celebrated with a much-deserved trip to the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Park in August. They had such a blast, they are already talking about when they are going back.

The siblings and significant others decided last spring that we wanted to do something special for them, so we concocted this "Anna birthday in Wilmington" idea to get everyone home, and then planned to take them to a special dinner at The Oceanic (one of their favorite restaurants). We just told them to be ready at 5:30 with black tops on...otherwise they knew nothing! It felt so great to surprise them! The stars further aligned and we were able to get a special family friend, Jack Upton, to meet us at the restaurant and take some family pictures. We are forever kicking ourselves after those rare occasions that all of us are together because we always forget to take a family picture. This time, we were prepared! We had a great night and now have some very precious family photos to show for it. Thanks so much, Jack!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Daddy!

Anna's 3rd Birthday: Princess Party

Anna got to have TWO parties for her birthday this year, which was perfect since she couldn't choose between a princess party and a Dora/Diego party. This way, she got to have both! We headed down to Wilmington on Friday, the 10th, and had her party on Saturday morning. It was overcast, but warm and breezy. We had her party at the pool at Dune Ridge at Wrightsville where the Hege's condo is. It was great because no one else was there since it was the weekend after Labor Day. Anna loved her balloons and became very possessive of them. She was so afraid they were going to pop in the wind, so we ultimately had to put them away in the condo to keep her from freaking out!:)

A dear friend, Heather Sutton, made Anna's cake. Mimi found these miniature princesses to put on top that Anna got to keep. You can even change their dresses--too cute! Anna had a hard time keeping her fingers away from the icing!

Since the sun was not out, the water was a little chilly at first, but everyone had fun swimming and playing. Some pretty intense games of water volleyball were enjoyed by the family. Poor Johnna was about to pop--only 2 weeks left until D-day!

Anna and cousin Nia

We had pizza and watermelon and veggies for lunch--some of Anna's favorites! Then it was cake time!

"I'm three!"

Mimi and Papa got Anna the cutest beach towel with her name on it and jeans and a sweater for this winter. She got a cute outfit and a football with her name on it from Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jason. She had requested the football a week earlier at Jason's football game!

Jeff and Johnna and Nia got her a Cinderella doll with two dresses to put on it. Uncle Greg and Aunt Michelle got her a play-doh ice cream set--how fun?!

Mommy and Daddy got Anna The Little Mermaid DVD. We had been looking everywhere for it to no avail and finally had to resort to Amazon.com to find it. I have to admit, I was a little excited about seeing the movie again. After she opened it, she said, "Oh, I was so worried when we couldn't find this movie!" Hysterical!

Mommy and Daddy also splurged and got her a complete Cinderella costume, complete with gloves, purse, and shoes. Don't I look beautiful? I think I might be able to guess what Anna will be for Halloween!

We had such a great time. After we opened presents, the sun broke through the clouds and we got to swim in the sunshine for a while before we left for a much-needed nap time! It was great having the whole Collins Zoo together to celebrate! Thank you, Mimi, for all your help in making it happen! Happy 3rd Birthday Anna!

The End of an Era

On Labor Day Monday, Will and I raided Anna's room to try to make some space for the birthday toys we knew were soon coming. While we were cleaning out, I made a comment about wishing we could take the rails off of Anna's bed because it would be SO much easier to make up in the mornings. Will reminded me that Anna had slept in a rail-less bed at my parent's house and had been fine. I looked at Anna and asked her if she would be OK if we took the rails off. She responded matter-of-factly, "Mommy, I will not fall out." There you have it. So, the rails went up into the attic!! SAD....our little girl has out-grown her bed rails!

Just for peace of mind, we decided to push her bed into the corner, so at least there was only one open side. This required rearranging her whole room and disposing of her cardboard "house" that has been in her room for the last year since we bought her dresser and big girl bed. She wasn't so excited about losing the house, but her room looks so cute and so BIG with the furniture rearranged!

I do have to admit that I love the rails off because now I can sit on the edge of the bed or easily lay down with her for a few minutes before I tuck her in for the night or wake her up in the morning. I have already enjoyed our extra bonding time!

Labor Day Weekend in Atlanta: UNC vs. LSU

Over Labor Day weekend, my parents were super sweet to come up and keep Anna while we went with the Hege fam to Atlanta for the UNC/LSU game. We had a fantastic weekend! We stopped in Gaffney, SC on the way down to shop at the outlets. Let's just say that Jack now has a wardrobe!! The sales were great and I found Anna and Jack's first matching outfit on sale at Straasburg! Too cute!

We got to go to the World of Coke museum and the Georgia Aquarium (largest in the world) while we were there. Here is Will in the penguin exhibit...

On Saturday, a friend of the Heges got all of us back stage passes to the ESPN Game Day broadcast and we got to meet the announcers and the (in)famous Erin Andrews. It was pretty neat. I have to say that Herbie is a hottie!

The Happiest Man in the World...

We were a little nervous about the game with all of the hoopla and suspensions and what-not. And the LSU fans yelling "Tiger Bait" every 2 seconds was just plain annoying. But the game was AMAZING!!! I am so proud of those UNC boys for never giving up and for coming back and making it an awesome ending! Gotta love those Heels! I can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of the season!

A Big First

Anna has had a horrible cough going on about 10 days now. There are no other symptoms...no fever, no runny nose, she doesn't even act like she feels bad most of the time. Just a cough. Will had the same thing several weeks ago for about a week and a half with no other symptoms, so I knew this was a virus and was letting it run its course. Well, after 10 days of waking up multiple times through the night with coughing fits despite cough medicine and a recent rubbing of the ears, I knew it was time to go see Anna's pediatrician. Guess what... Anna has her first ear infection and started antibiotics for the first time at almost three years old! I am so thankful that we have not had to deal with ear infections like a lot of parents do with younger children and am not quite sure why or how we dodged it for so long. When I drew up the Amoxicillin for her today, the smell brought back lots of memories of taking it during childhood. The smell has not changed one bit! And based on Anna's reaction, the taste hasn't either! As long as it works, I'll endure the struggle to get her to take it. I'm sick of the cough and it's not even mine! Here's to quick and happy healing...