Lunch Conversation with Anne

When asking Anne what she'd like for lunch, lately some of the responses I've gotten have been:

"Hot hog" (hot dog)

"boney" (bologna)

"oh nice" (when she gets what she wants)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Anne!

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girl! What a great day to celebrate Anne. I still remember how I spent July 4, 2009, not having any idea that we'd meet this precious firecracker the very next day! Always with a smile, she's growing so much and carrying on great conversations with all of us. I continue to know God has a plan in saving her for number 5 because she is completely a professional at going with the flow since she has done that since day one. She's so much of her own person, too, and our family for sure wouldn't be the same without her. She has a great relationship with her siblings as they love to entertain her and in return, she can always make them laugh, too, with her cute antics. She loves babies (that's good), Dora and company, riding her trike, playing with phones and on the computer, wearing sunglasses and her sister's shoes, and being read to. She's very loving, a bit stingy with her kisses, but never with her smiles.

We had a nice day with her and the Lees joined us for her birthday dinner of homemade pizza, salad, fruit salad, and of course cake and ice cream. Dora cake for sure this time around.

She's so much fun and we couldn't love her more. We love you sweet Anne!

Anne's New Shoes

So Anne has been refusing to wear shoes lately and whenever I'd put them on, she'd say, "Owie, off." I really didn't think about it too much. She'd pretty much wear sandals on occasion that looked like they fit fine and she always loves to wear Leah's shoes. But, in effort to haver her have shoes on more regularly, I took her to get some new shoes. I ended up with a 1/2 size bigger and a wide shoe and I have to say, I think she loves them. We got them on Saturday and tonight is the first night she hasn't worn them to bed! She actually wanted to, but I told her we could leave them off & put them on in the morning. She said that would be ok. I even snuck a picture of her the other night because I thought it was just too cute.

A New Friend at Swimming Lessons

Leah had two other children in her swim lesson class this time around. There was a little boy and a little girl. Leah told me she made a new friend there and her name was "Cake." Hmm, I thought. "Well, do you think her name was Kate?" And Leah said, "No, Mom, her name was Cake." OK, then I just went on with a smile. Leah was sure of the little girl's name.

A few days later, her brothers decided to give her a bit of trouble about it. Luckily, she didn't take offense, but just stuck to her story. The boys had wondered if her name was Chocolate Cake or White Cake, etc. Boys, boys. But like I said, Leah stuck to it and said, "No, her name was just Cake."

Our Little Hostess and the Play Date

On Friday, Mya's Grandma Kathleen was out of town, so we got to have Mya come play for the morning. I think she had fun. Anne sure was cute playing with her. She'd bring her toys, kiss her gently on the shoulder, and give her hugs. As usual, Mya just watches and gets her eyes and ears full of activity with our lively family. I was proud to say there wasn't even a teeny cry or whimper from her while she was here. Not that she ever really makes noise, but she seemed happy the whole time. We all had fun.

Deanna Rose 2011

We finally made it to Deanna Rose in June. The weather was sunny and only 80 degrees, so we thought we'd take advantage of the cooler day. We had a great time. A couple new additions there were the General Store and the Ice Cream Parlor. We also visited Ben's Bank a couple times, but we'd done that last year, too. It was lots of fun. I was surprised just how much Anne enjoyed feeding the baby goats a bottle. I thought she'd be afraid, but she wasn't the least bit afraid. Always a fun field trip!

Here's a quick comparison of Miss Leah from 2010 (on the left) to 2011 (right). She's grown!

Swimming Lesson Observer

Anne did a great job being patient while the kids had their lessons. She did feel a bit deprived since she didn't get to take part this time, but she hung in there and looked cute for me.