No crying this time..I promise

This is for all of you who think I am such a mean mommy for getting her out of the tub ; ) She had to get in last night to wash off the bug spray and sunscreen. The original plan was not to wash her hair (her decision) so I put it up on top of her head in a clip.

She seemed to like it being up and splashed for a while

She located Barney and thought he really needed a bath

A couple of these are blurry because they were "action" shots!!


Finally she decided it would be more fun with wet hair so she started dumping water on her head !

Family Time

We had a great time today at my sister's house hanging with the cousins! I grew up surrounded by all my cousins so I know how important this bonding time is. As usual, Annslee had a blast. Once again..my retail therapy got me...the firecracker shirt she is wearing was meant to be saved for the 4th but I don't know if it will still fit then so what the heck, she is wearing it today.

Here she is with Gabe who is 9 months younger than she is ... not sure he is as into the hug as Annslee is ; )

Daddy is fun to hang on! As you can see from Shelby..rabbit ears never go out of style

The big cookie was great but Annslee only ate the icing part

The three older kids have these game things and Shelby's has a dog game on it...as you can see Annslee loved "helping" her play it. At one point she was laughing so loudly Shelby had to hold her ears : )

I think this may be the best group shot we've had in a while. Everyone is looking at the camera and smiling...well, Gabe was kind of smiling...close enough!

*As a footnote to my "retail therapy" admissions. I love shopping at Osh Kosh. You can buy something there and if you save the receipt you can return it even years later and they give you back the amount you paid for it. So if you must shop before you know the size you will need..this is a great place to do it risk free! Of course I am keeping some things because maybe Malia can wear them.

Weekend fun with friends

We had our friends over to cookout and I thought I had the perfect outfit for Annslee to wear. I got it before we even had our referral (retail therapy) and it was a 2T so I thought she could wear it. I put it on her and she complained it was too tight. Oh well, we switched to shorts and a shirt with stars. She seemed to like the switch : )

Here she is with my friend Jana who is having a baby in November! Doesn't she look great!

Of course she got in the pool for a while then decided using Gabby as a horse would be more fun..

Thank you!

On this Memorial Day weekend I wanted to take a minute to say thanks to all those who keep us safe and free!! I know many have sacrified so that we can all celebrate this holiday any way we choose. I have huge admiration for our millitary and for the families they leave behind as they go serve. God bless our troops and God bless America!!

Zoo X 2 !!!

Yep, we went to the Zoo twice this week!! We had plans to take my nephew on Friday and then Tracy called and wanted to go on Wednesday and we said SURE! Good thing we have a Zoo membership. We definitely have made good use of it as Annslee is an animal lover.

We got there and saw that the elephant show was going to be at 2 o'clock but we knew we wouldn't still be there. Luckily when we got to the elephants the trainer was practicing for the show so we got to see the tricks afterall. It is hard to see but in the picture below he just caught a football..then he would drop it and kick it back to the trainer.

The kids loved looking at all the animals and it was fun to watch Jack since it was his first trip to the Zoo.

I hope this is some indication as to how she will be with her baby sister but I somehow think it will be different when that little one is "yours" She did love feeding Jack his bottle.

This picture of the girls cracks me up. We tried to get a good photo of them together all day long. I think the looks on their faces pretty much sums up how they felt about being asked to pose again.

Today we made our second trip to the Zoo with Isaac. Annslee, the Zoo Veteran, was happy to show him around.

This picture is for all our Floridia Gator family and friends : )


On a hot day the Rain Room is always a big hit. Annslee was soaked but she had a great time. *click on the collage to enlarge and see her expressions..priceless



Here they are on the ride home. They were recounting to me their favorite animals, eating an apple and then when I looked back next...they were both sound asleep... must have been a perfect day

Bathtime fun..and then not so much....

I realized last night that I hadn't taken bathtime photos since maybe this post or this one. Bad Mama!! So I grabbed the camera as we headed into the bathroom. Usually she doesn't want to take a bath in our big tub and wants to go upstairs to her bathtub or the shower instead but after tonight I think that will change.

She loved it until I started draining the water. She flashed me a smile then started to add water. I stopped her and got a very sad girl. I know she looks so devastated in the last two photos but I promise she was laughing minutes later as she ran through the house in her "cape" as I was trying to wrestle PJs onto her!

*just noticed the clock...the batteries are dead..I was not bathing my child at 12:30 in the morning ; --also noticed that if you enter through bloglines the slidshow isn't showing up so just hit your refresh button and it will...

Wearing Hats

One thing we know is that when we are in Vietnam getting Malia they will expect our daughters to wear hats to keep the sun off them. When we were in China we experienced the "clothing police", aka sweet ladies who would admonish us for having an inch of NaNa's skin showing when she was sweating in the 70 degree weather, so we know what we are in for. However, keeping a hat on a baby is one thing but Annslee has a mind of her own so we need to start practicing this. She has gotten really good at keeping sunglasses on but hats usually don't last very long. Hopefully by the time we go she will like wearing hats..she looks so cute in them after all!!

I don't know why but in this photo it looks like I only put sunscreen on her from the waist up. Actually her arms are the color of her legs. I do apply sunscreen (50 spf) to her entire body everyday. I know she won't burn but I read somewhere that the damage the sun does to your skin is done in the first 6 years of your life. I don't know if that is true but I do know that even if you tan and don't burn you still are damaging your skin. So all you Mamas out there put sunscreen on your sweeties!

This is a visor she got last summer from Aunt Stacy and she thought it was a good way to start. At least the sun would be off her face : )

She likes to give kisses through the rails on the stairs and we don't mind a bit!

Maybe softball??

Well, we know she is a professional golfer but today she decided to try out her batting skills. At first she would knock the tee over but after a while she really sent the ball in the air. As with her golf swing she alternates between doing it right and left handed.

Playgroup

We had our playgroup today and there were about 15 little girls running around and only two boys. The older of the two boys (he is 4) said "Where are all the boys??" In a few years he will LOVE coming to these things LOL

It was beautiful outside so we spent most of our time there. Our wonderful hostess had a huge selection of dress up clothes so Annslee picked a purple dress to wear for a while. As usual she loved the swing the best and seemed to like pushing it as much as being pushed.

She insisted on sitting at the "big girl" table and raised her juice because she noticed Zena did...cracks me up!

Golfing with Daddy

Daddy bought Annslee her first real golf club. She had the plastic kind but refused to use them. He also got her some purple golf balls so you know she was thrilled with that. She had a great time and as usual her facial expressions were cracking us up.

I am trying something new with picassa...just click on the photo below and it will take you to the rest of the pictures. You can choose slideshow to see them best. Enjoy!

Golf

Molly update and random pics

I got an email from Lolly and Molly is home from the hospital. She is responding to the treatments and will be under the care of a specialist. They hope she continues to improve but they also realize this is a potentially lifelong illness and they will need to be careful and watch for signs of a reoccurence. I know they appreciate your continued prayers for Molly. I am just so happy she is home from the hospital and headed in the right direction. God is good!

You know I don't do "non photo posts" so here are a few more from yesterday.

When we got home from the festival I tried to put her down for a nap but apparently she thought her power nap in the car was enough. After waiting about 15 minutes and realizing she wasn't going to sleep we headed across the street to the neighbor's to swim.



At the festival a woman was selling things made from old blue jeans and we got Annslee this apron. She loved wearing it and you can see she had taken her ponytail holder out so her hair is wild! Oh, and I will have to post photos of the cute little purses we bought that were made from blue jean shorts (they were called booty bags)

Ponytails & a Strawberry Festival

Last night when dad was on his way home Annslee wanted to show him that her hair would go in a ponytail. I had to rush to put it up and then she ran to the window to watch for him. We didn't even have time to throw on some shorts (for her I mean)

Hey Mama..here he is!!

Daddy..tuck your head down like this


Today we headed to the 66th Annual Strawberry Festival. It is the first time we've ever gone but thought it would be fun. Annslee wanted a purple dragonfly on her face and after that we walked around enjoying all the homemade goodies and fun.

Her love for corn on the cob was satisfied with a roasted one on a stick. She thought it was really funny for us each to eat on it at the same time.

A man was there drawing pictures of people and so we thought it would be neat to do one. He did this in about 6 minutes of a two year old who did not want to sit very still or look at him. She was really busy looking around and seeing what to do next. It is a great drawing but hubby and I disagree about whether it looks like her or not...I vote, not really... but I still love it : )

Prayers Needed!!!

I got a call from one of our China travelmates and their daughter Molly is very sick. She has been in the hospital since Wednesday and hopefully can come home soon. We were in Charlotte this past weekend and couldn't get together b/c she wasn't feeling well. Finally Lolly went online and did her own research after the doctor's kept saying it was nothing...and it IS somethings. She has been diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome..a kidney disease.

They are giving her proteins and so far she is not responding but they are hoping she will. Best case scenerio is she responds and is 100 % better...worst case is she will need a transplant. They are obviously so worried and devestated by this news and poor Lolly hasn't left the hospital since they arrived.

As you can imagine they need all the prayers we can send up! Feel free to go to their website and leave a comment and please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers.

Here the girls are together last December

Graduation!

He finally made it..out of Kindergarten that is! My nephew's graduation was last night and there were over 1,000 people in attendance to see 133 cuties walk across the stage. Annslee was great during the singing part when each class did a song but was soon bored with the rest so we walked outside where a softball game was being played. She was thrilled and even wandered into one of the dugouts. She kept pointing to her head saying she wanted to wear a helment like the girls batting. Daddy found out you have to be 5 years old to play so we have a while. Now when you ask her how old you have to be to play she holds up five fingers then shakes her head and holds up two...letting us know she is still too little.

Here he is..receiving his diploma!

The proud graduate


The graduate with his proud parents

Here he is with his brother, sister and cousin

Annslee with her big cousin who plays softball...probably her new hero

Such a simple request..can you help?

I saw this on my friend Michelle's blog and wanted to get the word out here too. Take a moment to read his story and try to find the time to send a card. Nothing makes me sadder than a sick child but hopefully receiving these cards will put a smile on his face : )


Shane Bernier is a courageous seven-year-old boy from Lancaster, Ontario who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was only five. On June 6th, 2006 Shane and his family received some unfortunate news: Shane experienced a relapse after completing 108 of 130 weeks of treatment.
However, despite the bad news, Shane has managed to keep a positive outlook on his situation and has made a heart-warming wish... He hasn’t asked for money or toys or anything of the sort. Instead, his birthday is on May 30th and he would like to break the world record for the most birthday cards ever received. His goal is 350 million cards. With every card, Shane’s courage grows. Something as simple as sending a birthday card could be enough to help Shane find peace and joy in his current circumstances.
Please take the time to send a card to Shane and make his dream become a reality. Share his story with your friends, family and co-workers. If at all possible, get your youth groups, church congregations, employees, neighbours or communities to set aside a few minutes to write a thoughtful note to Shane.
With every card, Shane’s smile grows...

Go to Shane's Wish for all the information on how to send a card.