This is a little dark but Anna was really dancing at the reception. We've never seen her like this before. It was a riot, especially all the arm movements. Sadly, we didn't catch the pelvic thrusting on video.
We made it back on Monday night around 6. We are settling back into our normal routine. I had two days back and work and am already excited to have Thursday off. What is it about being gone that makes you not want to go back?
On the way back from Nashville we stopped outside Louisville to visit our friends Chip and Steph. They have two cute kids and Anna and Carter were so glad to see rooms full of toys to play with after being limited to our hotel room and the small duffel bag of toys I brought. They definitely have Elmo and Thomas covered. Come to our house for princesses, dress up and art projects.
We also went to the River Walk where they were having a festival and Anna and Charlie got to ride ponies 
and jump in the inflatable bouncers. Then we headed to a nearby park. 
Everyone slept well that night!
We had so much fun with them and wish we could have stayed longer!
The next day on our way back we stopped in Mount Vernon IL at a McD's to let the kids play on the playland and eat lunch but the playland was closed. I could have killed them. I just stared in disbelief at the sign. We ate and left. Which meant...
The last two hours of the ride back were pretty rough.
Overall good trip! I'm uploading 124 pictures to Kodak Gallery so you'll be getting that link in your email tomorrow. If you're not on the list leave a comment below and I'll add you.
Awesome video of Anna coming soon...
Luckily we were only 2 miles from the house yesterday morning when I remembered.
Hello from Nashville! The drive down went pretty well. We'd been through half the toys by 9 and into the snacks by 10. It rained until lunch. I think 6 hours is about Carter's limit - at that point he got very fussy and we rocked out to Sesame Street the rest of the way.
I took the kids to the zoo today with Kevin's mom while Kevin went golfing with the guys. We're about to get ready for the barbecue non-rehearsal dinner.
It is about 85 here today, a storm moves through tonight and the high tomorrow is about 70 but it should still be nice and I think the rain is supposed to hold off for the wedding.
I'll try to post some pics tonight!
Things are sort of a whirlwind right now. I had to work extra late yesterday (because everyone did) and work continued to be crazy today - a bad week for me because we have tix to Royals tomorrow night and then head to Nashville Thursday. Basically I have to be packed and ready to go tonight.
I have checklists going like this right now
Toy Bag
-------
magna doodle
"water" games
princess magnet thing
dominoes
crayons
more that I can't remember right now (I actually haven't started this list on paper yet)
Medicine Bag
------------
Tylenol
Motrin
Teething Qtips
Benadryl (not just for allergies)
Snack Bag
---------
chex mix
cheezits
fruit snacks
cookies
trail mix
breakfast bars
cereal
apple juice
bottled water
Remember
-------
sippy cups
camera
magazines
dvd player + dvds
bibs
sleeping bag for anna
stroller
pack n play
I have a list for each child by day which look something like this in addition to all the clothes by day.
Anna
-----
swimsuit
flip flops
jacket
cardigan
hat
sunglasses
flower girl dress
tights
shoes
In fact I have a whole bag just for everyone's shoes.
This is the Type A in me, I think. All my Type A friends are probably laughing. They tell me how laid back I am. But I've been packing and laundry all week. And staying up too late and not getting enough sleep and somehow pulling it all off and managing to watch American Idol while I blog.
Oh! Add laptop to the remember list!
*******
Goal Update
I should not have taunted the weight loss gods. Promptly after doing so I think I gained back 5 pounds and have spent the last 4 weeks trying to relose this. I am close. Stuck around 131 right now. I'm sure I'll gain it all back after we travel and eat out too much. Hopefully I can find enough activities to burn a few calories while we're gone.
"I like tree branches" "I like pink"
Random quotes from anna tonight, back-to-back.
*****
Flower girl dress came yesterday for Anna. 2 weeks late I might add, which was making me very nervous. Luckily it all worked out. The size 2 in a tea length fits her perfect as if it were a floor length dress.
I'm all about getting ready for the trip. Dogs got shots today so they can be boarded. I've been picking up lots of car activities - although I have no idea what to entertain Carter with. He's 16 months. Ideas?
*****
Two days and no bites at daycare.
*****
Did toy organization today on the main floor. This involves taking all the toys out of the baskets and storage tubs and putting them back in a way that makes sense. All the 0-12 month toys that had made it downstairs went back upstairs. Broken ones go in the trash. I put the books on the two lower shelves on our entertainment center since I can't really put anything else on those - Carter will just pull it off and they wouldn't all fit in the basket anyway. One thing is clear - we have way too many stuffed animals and we need to have a garage sale. For sure.
Would you believe we rarely buy toys? Here they are all organized. Surprisingly they didn't even go in here when they got home from daycare. We'll see how long it lasts.
After speaking with the daycare owner today about yesterday's biting incident Carter was bitten again this afternoon. Apparently there are several biters in the class now, not just one. I really hope this gets better in the next few weeks. If it gets worse I will just have to pull him - or both of them - out and put them somewhere else. But who's to say it won't happen there too. I can't keep sending him somewhere, and paying them, to have him get hurt everyday though. They are supposed to call me each time this happens now. Hopefully that is incentive enough to watch him more closely - I don't think anyone at the daycare wants to hear from me again right now.
On Saturday Annika turned 4. Kevin's parents came into town and we went with them, my parents and my friend, her husband and kids to Kaleidescope. We went here last year but Anna wanted to go again. Then back to my parents' house for cake and ice cream and gifts. I forgot candles so we used tea lights my mom had.
I forgot my camera so the pics are on my parents camera and there's no telling when I may get to see those. When I was younger we would find film four or five years later before it was developed. With digital they just seem to disappear to me.
Crazy to think that four years ago I worked until noon then went home to meet Kevin got my bag and headed to the hospital for a c-section. She was breach and the version didn't work.
She had a full head of black hair and I remember thinking "that's not my baby." She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz.
At four you
...love
-princesses
-dress up
-lipstick
-gum
-coloring, painting, gluing, anything crafty
-snacks, especially yogurt and fruit snacks
-band-aids for all kinds of boo-boos, especially bruises which makes no sense to me
-all the pigeon books by Mo Williams, but especially when daddy reads them
-the Dragon book that mommy gets to read which is a story about a kid who wishes his little brother was a dragon
-pretending - especially to be Carter's mommy and I'm the sister. Sometimes you pretend Carter is a girl, like the other night when you told me his name was Halley and I was in trouble when I referred to "him" instead of "her"
-playing with Carter. "Can I go play with Carter?" Luckily he also likes playing with you. In fact he wants to do everything you are doing.
-sidewalk chalk and playing outside
-Sluggerrr... from a distance
-hide and seek
...lie. but I can still see right through it. Like tonight when you told me you got bit at school this morning and that someone hit you. All because I was concerned about Carter's bite.
...write "mommy" and "anna" from memory. You can write anything else when you ask how to spell it including Carter and Grandma.
...know your days of the week and seasons and can count to 20
And More. You
...still sweat when you sleep
...almost never take a nap for me on the weekends
...have the most hysterical adorable laugh when you really think something is funny
...have the longest eyelashes EVER and random girls comment on them all the time on how you will never have to wear mascara
...are still not a morning person at all
...sing
Avril Lavigne's "hey hey i could be your girlfriend" in your own words
Kelly Clarkson's "never again" and "since you been gone" at the top of your lungs
...order a cheese danish and chocolate milk as your standard order at Starbucks. You then only eat the cream cheese, with your finger. and always push the straw too far down into the boxed chocolate milk.
...say
"whatever. whatever mom." as if you are 13.
"what the hey." honestly have no idea where this came from. we do not say this at home. which leaves daycare. hmmm.
I love it when
...you hug me for no reason
...you take naps with me
...you say things that I say like "be patient mommy"
...you are pretending and you talk to yourself or your baby dolls
...you say the cutest things like "It turned out to be a beautiful day"
...you make the funniest faces when you are thinking about something or not really sure about your answer
It drives me crazy when you
...whine
...move soooooo sloooooowwwww
...tell me you are full when you only took two bites
...won't stay in bed when you are trying to go to sleep
...make me ask you to do something at least 10 times
...dress yourself in completely mismatched clothes. but i try not to say anything.
as one teacher wrote on a recent review "sometimes Anna is in her own world."
I feel like I should
...be more patient with you. but i'm just so tired of answering the one millionth question.
...take you shopping less. i might be creating a monster.
I love you dearly. You are my "big girl" my Anna Cabana, my Annika Cabanika. I can't believe in another year you will go to kindergarten.
Her checkup is next month so I'll post stats then.
So I called about the biting last Wed. On Thursday Carter was with me all day because he had his checkup and I like to keep them after they get shots. Friday he was there for a few hours until my mom picked them up.
So he was at day care maybe four hours since I called and he was bitten again today. Kevin picked them up and said he didn't see a note so I'm not even sure they saw it. He had a long sleeved shirt on and I didn't notice it until I gave him a bath.
If this child is supposed to be separated from the others how did my child get bit? I'm calling again tomorrow.
Has anyone else dealt with this? Am I overreacting?
Carter at 15 months
Anna at 15 months
After rescheduling a few times at the dr. Carter finally had is 15 month checkup at almost 16 1/2 months.
He weighed about 26.5 lbs - 75th percentile
He was 32 inches long - 75th percentile
Head size I don't recall except that it was 90th percentile. Still a big noggin.
This means he only weighs about 3 pounds less than Anna. He is going to pass her by in no time flat.
This also means he's gained over 6 pounds in 4 months, if I look at his 12 month checkup stats.
I can't seem to find Anna's 15 month stats. Not sure where I wrote those down. Big surprise.
He had been talking and then sort of quit for a few months. Now he is finally saying all kinds of words including
mommy
daddy
baby
dog
anna
hat
hot
(these two sound the same except in context)
and alsmot anything else you ask him to repeat including two words together.
He knows everything you say, like "Carter go get your shoes and put them on. They're in the bedroom."
He loves mimicking his sister in everything she does including coloring and running around the house.
He likes to annoy his mother by climbing into the chairs in the kitchen and reach everything on the table.
He throws the remaining food on his highchair onto the floor when he is done, without warning. Thank god we have dogs to clean this mess up.
He loves his blankies so much that we have nicknamed him Linus. He will even lay down on the floor with a blankie and let Anna "put him to sleep"
He loves bananas and milk.
He loves to snuggle.
He still takes two two hour naps for me on the weekends, if I let him. He only sleeps an hour at daycare.
If you don't watch him he will be into the dog water or toilet bowl fast. He also loves to climb onto the step stool in the bathroom and put the toothpaste tube in his mouth, or brush his hair with my hairbrushes that are as big as his head.
Love him!
I experienced the most random act of kindness that has ever happened to me this morning.
I pulled up in the drive through at Starbucks and the guy says, The woman in front of you paid for your order.
I started to take my card back.
Oh. That was nice!
I would like to pay for the order for the person behind me.
It made me feel really good.
Not sure if she was the first one or if it had been going for awhile but it really perked me up and made my day.
Little things!!
There is a biter in Carter's class. Poor thing. I've tried to be really understanding, after all Anna liked to bite so what goes around comes around right? Well enough is enough.
Over the past 6 weeks or so Carter has been bitten on both arms, both legs, his back, his chest and yesterday on his face.
The kind of bites that leave teeth marks and sometimes bruise.
I finally called to complain and sounds like the child is biting all the kids and teachers. They aren't punishing him because he's doing it because he's teething, not as a form of aggression. But maybe if he was punished he wouldn't do it anymore. He is old enough to know that it's ok to bite a teething toy and not a person. Carter gets timeout at home. He knows.
Of course he also likes to go sit next to Anna when she is in timeout and pretend to cry to be just like her. It's very cute and I need to get a picture.
Anyways, the kid is supposedly being isolated during group play. Hopefully that's the end of it.
Tent, tarp, port-a-potty, coolers, chairs, chips, dip, hamburgers, hot dogs, bailyes, coffee, smirnoff, beer, coat, scarf, mittens and more. The home opener was great except for the weather. We bundled up under blankets and enjoyed kicking the yankees' asses! And tonight we shut them out.
Go Royals - we're 6 and 2 and I have to relish every moment that we're above .500
It was Anna's first home opener game and a tradition I hope to start for her that will last a long time. We had no eating rules. This meant she had half a bag of cheetos followed by chips and french onion dip, capri sun and then one bite of hamburger. Then cotton candy in the first inning. She promptly took a 30 minute nap in my lap.
The pics are on Candi's camera - coming soon.
Kevin and I finally had chance to checkout KC's newest hippest area - the Kansas City Power and Light District, also known as Live Block. It's directly across from the Sprint Center. It rocks. Really great bars, restaurants.
There is a big open area that has outdoor seating and you can get your drinks and walk around. Very cool. Unfortunately everyone is checking it out so it's pretty busy. We wanted to eat at one of the new places but it was a 2 hour wait, so we decided to eat at Ted's which is part of the P&L district, but is a chain. It's still great food.
We then headed over for drinks, watched part of the Royals game on the big outdoor TV, then headed up to Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar. They fly in different piano players each week.
My cubemate did a really great video blog that really captures the essence of what it's all about.
We met a very gay guy named Jason who was there with his roommate - who I think was underage because she said she snuck in through the smoker's area - his "friend" who didn't seem interested in him at all by the end of the night, and the girl's boyfriend.
Jason seemed to think Kevin and I were fabulous because we had been married for 7 years and have two kids, yet were out at a bar. Turns out he graduated from high school the year we got married. So I'm pretty sure fabulous = old in his head. He kept trying to remember our names, but he was so drunk that it got to be really funny to me and Kevin.
Ken and Carla!
Kevin and Karen!
Double K!
K&K!
He hugged us when we left and worried he would never see us again.
Probably not I said.
Found this on the camera tonight. This was after a long day of shopping a few weeks ago. I also love the balloon in the middle, which was from a restaurant we had a snack at.
Look what came in the mail today! This is a present I ordered for myself with the money my mom gave me for my bday. It's a holder that turns, sort of like a retail display to vertically store all of your embellishment sheets. As you may be able to tell, I have a slight obsession with letter stickers.
It came with 80 clips. I used all of them and will order some more. You can also order plastic bags to store all the little pieces and clip those up to. You can order them here, looks like the sale is over though, I got it for $45.
Love it.
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