Well we're off!

Too Much Doggy Fun!

We are headed today to San Antonio and Sea World for four days. I have many blogs to come, but thought I would leave a sneak peak :) Have a great weekend!!!

Mommy and A.C. at her Dance Recital

Passie Fairy

Anna Claire has always been the type to wait until the last minute to do something and then when she makes her mind up to do it, she does it quickly and all the way! For example, she did this with holding her bottle. She wouldn't do it for the longest time! I would try and hold her hands, apologize to her teachers at C.D.O. about it because they had to hold and rock my 9 month old to get her to eat her bottle! Then one day I was apparently taking too long and she reached over and picked it up to get a drink and looked at me like "What? It's not that hard!" So it was no surprise to me that when 3 hit and I took the passies away that these other things occurred as well :) Of course some of these are things I have wanted her to do for about a year, give or take, but she did it all in her own timing!

1.) Passie free

2.) Completely potty trained

3.) Dresses herself

4.) Climbs up on everything

5.) Doesn't sit in a high chair

6.) Washes her own hands after going potty

7.) Doesn't wear a bib

8.) Can buckle her carseat

9.) Drinks out of a cup without a lid at dinner

Can we say overload??? But seriously within 2 weeks all of these things happened. It is crazy!

Anna Claire has always been

addicted to the passie!

I worried about how to take it away,

but figured out a great way for her!

So here's the scoop on the Passie Fairy - I have been telling her the story of the passie fairy since about January. I told her that she will put her passies in a basket, ask the fairy for something in return and the next morning she would get a prize in place of her passies. I told her the fairy takes the passies to the babies that need them. I have always prepped A.C. for things with books and stories, she responds so well, so surely this would be great right? She was down to using the passie only at nap and night time,

so I knew she would do great!

She whimpered and actually cried HARD when she knew it was the actual night.

I gave her "a few more sucks".

We put out the letter that she dictated to me and her basket of the passies we now had left.

She woke up and was oh so happy with her new "Ipod" - yes ladies and gentlemen my three year old asked for an Ipod. It was really just and inexpensive MP3 player, but it is all the same to her! She cried for the passie for about 3 nights and all is good!

Dora, Dora, Dora the EXPLORER!!!

Anna Claire turned 3 on May 11th and we had her birthday party the day before at the Tree House ( a climbing Mc Donalds like play place) at our church. It was a lot of fun with all of her friends, way too many presents and of course too much sugar! On this day she received a picnic table for our back porch from my parents. She was so excited and can't wait to have her guests eat on it with her!

We also celebrated her birthday the next day with my parents at the "Rainbow" Cafe (aka - Rainforest Cafe') complete with balloon animals and a hot fudge sundae! Anna Claire LOVES this place, so why wouldn't we go there for her birthday lunch? Oh, did I also mention that it was also Mother's day? HA! My Mom is such a trooper. After we ate, we let her ride her all time favorite (another post in itself) THE CAROUSEL!!! She was beyond thrilled.

She also had a little class party at C.D.O complete with sprinkle cookies and another party with her Daddy, Uncle Kale, Mimi and PaPa at a fun place called Going Bonkers. This girl knows how to milk it for all it is worth! I still cannot believe she is three.

Get in here quick!

Anna Claire: Mommy! Get in here quick, you won't believe this! Me: Anna Claire just come here please! A.C. (walking towards me holding her belly): I can't believe this Mommy! My belly is pumping! It is really pumping. Oh my gosh! Me: (laughing) Oh, guess what that is your heart beating. A.C. : My heart is in my belly? That is freaking me out!

Dogs!

Well it is no secret that Anna Claire loves animals! The child has made almost weekly visits to PetCo since she was an infant with her Nana. She treats it just like a "mini zoo". It is great, FREE, entertainment! We have had some exciting times with a particular type of animal lately...DOGS!

1.)Anna Claire had a blast with Stella, my parents' dog, in her red wagon! 2.)My new niece is the precious Shipoo puppy... LOLA BURTON 3.)My Mom, Anna Claire and I rescued, so we thought, an old, very sad looking dog on the side of the highway. I know, I know probably not very safe or sanitary, but we have bleeding hearts what can we say? She named this dog and "nursed" it until it's owner came to pick it up. My favorite name this dog ended up with was...TONSIL. Then we had a conversation about why ulcer and tonsil are not real pretty names for something. :)

As I say goodbye...

So, I rarely post a personal post about myself and they almost always involve around Anna Claire, but, this is just a little blurb about me. You know that it is a CRAZY time of year for teachers, we are all wrapping up all of our paper work, sending home artwork and supplies and frantically trying to cram in every tidbit of information we may have forgotten to teach them. I am taking a step back this year and letting these kids have some fun! I have always taught kindergarten before this year, but this year I had second graders. For those of you who don't know Second graders = PURE JOY to me! I have LOVED my class this year. They are fantastically smart, funny and SO well behaved. I am really going to miss them. I feel like my "Favorite Quote of the moment" is what I learned from these kids this year and that is the kind of teacher I always want to be. Only 3 more work days before the Summer

and then more blogs to come people!

Easter Week 2008

We had a wonderful Easter week. It seems like so long ago, but it was very fun. We spent time the weekend before at Nanny and Pappy's farm which is always a great time of relaxing, great food and conversation. Anna Claire adores all the animals and we had fun on a tractor ride. At the farm we colored Easter eggs together. Anna Claire also had an Easter egg hunt with her friends at school that week. Over the weekend it was very chilly! I had to sing for the Good Friday service, Saturday night service and two services on Sunday morning - busy! On Sunday, after Anna Claire's nap the Easter bunny came and she also had a solo egg hunt in the front yard. She loved having no competition! HA! The next weekend we had a belated Easter celebration with our friends Carolyn, Ella Grace and Lila Rose. There was an adult egg hunt as well! Did I win one of the fun lotto tickets or prize eggs? NO - of course not :) Here is a slide show of all of our fun Easter times.

Atlanta?

Who cares that it was in JANUARY, right??? My sweet sister and her husband have even been here since then, but I can't get my act together. We had the best time at their apartment in Atlanta, GA for a weekend of fun! We enjoyed lounging around their apartment, visiting the Dwarf house (first Chick-fil-A restaurant), seeing where Uncle Matt works from the outside, going to the FANTASTIC World Aquarium, shopping and just enjoying spending time together. We love and miss them so much, but we now have a SUPER place to visit. Matt and Lindsey just bought their first home together, so CONGRATULATIONS you two. We can't wait to see it! We love you :)