Water Water Everywhere

Today we went to the fountains at Bicentennial Mall and WOW did the girls have fun. Annslee had never been but I felt sure she would love it. Jenny mentioned that she and Nancy were meeting down there so I naturally invited myself along... When we got there the girls hung out for a while so the workers could make sure the fountains were working properly. Of course we thought they could have done it earlier instead of making the kids wait. They didn't seem to mind the wait and just enjoyed each other's company (the girls..not the men working LOL)

Suddenly they were finished working on them and the water works began! It is a really cool area with a map of the state then a spout representing each river in the state. The water shoots up pretty high and so I was hoping it wouldn't scare her....I had no need to worry...

After playing for a while we had lunch then it was time to leave...but not before one last pose : )

Later in the evening I was trying to get dinner cooked and she wanted me to paint her toenails. I told her to sit in my chair and I would do it but that she had to stay perfectly still while they dried. I went back to cooking and realized it was really quiet in the living room so I went to check...this is what I found.

My girl and her love of animals

When asked today, "Zoo or Pool" she picked the Zoo! It was nice because Daddy got to go with us and he rarely is able to.

We decided to go to the elephants and giraffes first today. There is a coin well there and she likes it a lot. Usually I am holding her up to drop the coins but today daddy did so I was able to take these shots.

Suddenly we noticed something was coming closer...




Today the African Wild dogs were out (they had been fighting so were not on display recently) but when we got to them they were asleep. Annslee turned around with a look of "what??..wake up already" Another family came up and they started yelling so Annslee joined in and it did wake him up : )

When I looked at this photo I thought she looked so much like a baby...hubby reminded me that she still is very little

One more...just because I can. I didn't take many photos today because I took the video camera and used it more. Her squeals when we saw the baby cougars was worth it : )

Don't worry...we went to the pool after her nap!

Play Ball

Annslee was able to see two ballgames...Her cousin Jacob had a baseball game on Friday night and she loved it. She ran around, ate popcorn, cheered and took some photos (she took the one in the slide show of Gabe and Aunt Dana). After the game she joined all the boys for their post game huddle and then of course went over to get a snack. They were giving out game balls and she wanted one. Uncle Ray gave her a ball and she was thrilled.
On Saturday we got up early and headed to Shelby's game. It was really sunny and she noticed Gabe was blocking the sun with his hand so she had to try that too. Jacob brought his bag to the game so they got out the glove, ball and helment. No one got hurt so it was a success!

She really loves going to games and sports in general. She now tells everyone she is THREE because she knows that is how old you have to be to start T-ball and soccer : )

Pool, Watermelon and Good Friends

Guess who we saw today?? Yep, Mia! We were invited over to swim in their pool and stay for dinner. When we arrived we realized we had the girls dressed alike...totally unplanned this time. Of course that called for a photo session, not that we wouldn't have done it anyway.

The girls ran for the steps because they like to pose there. It took a minute to get them settled down enough to take a few shots because they were so ready to get to the pool. Looks like they are sharing a good laugh about something!

Jenny snapped this sweet photo and then later sent me the one beneath it taken last Father's Day. I hadn't really planned on a Then/Now post again so soon (although I do LOVE them) but I couldn't resist this time. It is amazing to see how much they have changed in one short year. Annslee is still a chubby toddler but has lost most of that double chin from last year...I kind of miss that chunky monkey baby! They are in reverse order..we will try to line them up better next time ; )

We then headed to the pool so our fish could swim. I was so proud of Annslee as she was jumping off the side to me without holding onto my hands! She did that some last summer but hadn't so far this year. She loves water in her face so going under isn't an issue. They both had a blast washing the sidewalk chalk off the deck with their watering cans : )

Once we got back home we stripped them down and headed to the deck for watermelon. They were terribly messy but had a great time. As you can see, Jenny also found another similar photo from last June of a messy eating experience on her back deck. Believe me, the watermelon was nothing compared to the cupcakes!! So, another Then/Now was in order and yes, we have them in reverse order again. Sorry...we will do better I promise ; )








*In case you noticed..the tatoos on Annslee's arms are from VBS this week ; )
Also, thanks to everyone for their kind words on my last post. I know she will talk and I guess we are just a little anxious for it to happen b/c sometimes I see this glint in her eye and I want to know what she is thinking. She is such a funny child so I just know she could tell me something that would make me laugh even more than I already do!

Warning...random

This is a totally random post so consider yourself warned! We are really busy this week with me teaching VBS and Annslee being in my class. I can tell she misses being around a lot of other kids and I miss being around some other adults....however, I am NOT complaining about staying at home.

I had to go to the church to do some prep last Sunday night and on the way we had to stop as a train went by...I looked in the rear view mirror and this is the face I saw : )

Speaking of the girl in the backseat... the other day I was trying to entertain her as we waited at a very long drive thru so I handed her my camera. She snapped a lot of photos and apparently did this self portrait

I walked into the kitchen yesterday and saw her posing in her new purple hat from the Zoo

One day last week my sister came to babysit and I met up with some girlfriends for a dinner out. It was a baby shower of sorts for my friend Shelley who is expecting in August. We had to smile because three of us are expectant moms! Shelley in August, Jana in November and me...????? It was great having a girls night out!

Finally, when I was looking at the photos from the wedding last June I came across one of Annslee in the pool with Daddy. So I thought I would do a then and now.


June 2006


June 2007





Looking back at these photos made me realize how much she is growing up. She has the Early Intervention lady coming once a week and the only thing she is behind in is speech. They are hoping to have her re-evaluated soon but the "guess" is that she is about a year behind. She scores so high on the receptive part that it made her not qualify for intensive speech therapy the first time even though her expressive is so far behind. On the other tests she is off the charts ahead, particularly on the Social and Adaptive where she is at the 4 year old level. She also is pretty much potty trained, can dress herself , knows all or our Chinese zodiac signs, is a master with chopsticks, and many other great things. I still have to admit the Speech issue is a concern but we are working on it and mainly because it is so frustrating for her. Believe me though..she gets her point across without a lot of words through signs, gestures and facial expressions. When she does start talking..watch out!!
One of the new things she is interested in is hair and eye color. She will tell us all of ours as she points to them. The other day at the store an Asian woman was in front of us in the check out line and Annslee kept stroking her own hair and saying black over and over and pointing to the woman who finally turned around. I told her that Annslee was pointing out that their hair was the same. She was so sweet and bent down so Annslee could touch her hair then said, "isn't our black hair beautiful?" YES..it is and I am so jealous.

I Scream, You Scream

well, you know the rest. We went to our local FCC (Families with Children from China) ice cream social and you know Miss Annslee had a great time. Playing with friends and eating ice cream are two of her favorite things afterall.

There were probably 30 + kids there but Annslee and Mia were together the entire time. When we arrived they grabbed each other's hands and that was that.

After eating ice cream they were happy to go to the playground area.

This pic came out blurry but I still love the joy on their faces as the "big girls" bounced them on the see saw
The event was held at Dragon Park..that isn't the "real" name of the park but is what everyone calls it because of the huge mosaic dragon in it. The girls liked climbing all over it. There was a little boy who was following them around for a while and he finally asked "do you want a boy in your picture?" The girls gave him a "yuck" look...hope that sentiment lasts a few years ; )

Busy Saturday

We have been looking forward to this weekend for a while because our calendar was full! We got up and headed to my nephew's soccer game. Of course Annslee didn't really watch that much but she found a ball and thought she should join in the fun!
After the game we went to a church carnival and she had a great time playing all the games and winning some prizes. Her favorite was an Ariel purse to put her candy in. Mamarazzi left the camera in the car but trust me, she had fun.



I know I am her Mama so I am terribly biased but sometimes when I look at her I am totally amazed that I get to spend every day with this beautiful girl!




We came home and napped (well, she did...for 3 1/2 hours!) and then made our way down to our neighborhood block party. There was a ton of food, a bouncy house, a water slide...and much more. The police department came and did fingerprints for our kids which we know we need but hope to never get them out of the safe now that we have them.

This picture was taken early before most of the crowd arrived...it was great seeing our neighbors and meeting some we hadn't before.

Of course she hung out with AJ and we couldn't help but laugh at the contrast of their "tanning" ability. AJ's dad joked that they might just spray tan him.



She checked out the water slide the minute we arrived but never really wanted to do it. Toward the end of the party she changed her mind. I guess I should have stripped her down before she did it but what the heck. Once she got started she didn't want off! She and Daddy were both soaked by the time we had to leave.

It was a fun and busy day...now on to Sunday and the FCC Ice Cream Social!!!

Joy on the front porch!!!

Who has the greatest niece in the world?? ME of course. Actually I have a lot of great nieces and nephews but one in particular has a daughter exactly one year older than mine and that equals great hand-me-downs! We seem to always see each other in June for a wedding and she hands off a large box of goodies to me. This year we did have a wedding (in April) but they couldn't make it so FedEx did the hand off for her!

This was the box that was on our doorstep and as you can see...Annslee liked it and from the looks of her needed some new clothes!

Mama liked what was inside and believe me, this photo does not do justice to the amount of clothes and shoes we received.


I am sad to say the last time we saw them was last June (they live in Florida) and we wish Annslee, Hannah and Abby could see each other more....fun cousin time!

Here is my niece and her hubby at the wedding last year. This photo was taken after hours of dancing so Annslee was getting pretty tired but still wanted to be at the party

Here is Annslee with Abby...the most recent "wearer" of the clothes. This picture was at the rehearsal dinner as they were enjoying some crabcakes


Annslee and Hannah had a blast together all weekend. When we left on Sunday Hannah cried and said she wish we lived in Florida too ; )


I had to add this one in since Annslee isn't smiling in any of the others..as you can tell she had a BLAST at the reception. We had to drag the girls off the dance floor for dinner and then they were back out there!




Finally, here is Annslee sporting her new flip flops and cover up from her cousins' stash. She is so excited because now she has shoes like Mama!

Pool Time...finally

Our neighborhood pool is FINALLY open. I don't know why pools around here don't open until Memorial Day as it is plenty hot enough to swim earlier than that. Anyway, we are very happy about it since we have such a water bug on our hands. It will eventually be a salt water pool but it isn't yet. Yesterday Mia came to swim with us and as usual they had a great time together.

The girls needed a popsicle break...notice the Backyardigans beach towel..love it!

The girls are always so sweet together and we can't wait to swim with them again soon!

Here she is doing some more practicing with wearing hats!