Brandee, Bows, and Back to School

On Wednesday, my dear friend, Brandee, came to visit! We always have fun even if we don't have something big planned.
Thanks to Gigi and Lindsay, I think it's safe to say we are set in the bow department! I finally got them all on ribbon hangers, and now I just have to find a place to hang them.
This morning, I took Anna Claire to "Meet the Teacher" at her school. She is still at BUMPS, but this year, she is in a transition class. Basically, since her b-day is in October, she misses the cut-off for the 3 year old preschool class, so they made a class for all the kids who fall into that category. She has 9 kids in her class, and she will go 5 days a week. We don't have to send a lunch because she will eat in the lunchroom, and she will go to Chapel, Music, and Stretch 'n Grow (P.E.) each week. This baby is growing up!
Meet the Teacher '07

Meet the Teacher '08

Meet the Teacher '09

Movie Night, Camp, and Nursery Fun

For the four people that read this blog, I apologize that you've had to look at Anna Claire's janitor pose for way too long! Thankfully, summer is winding down.
A while back, we took Anna Claire to see the movie UP, and she loved it, but she is still a little too young to sit through an entire movie. Every time we pass a movie theater, she asks if we can see another movie soon. I asked her what she liked so much about going to the movie, and she said, "Popcorn, Sprite, and that pink thing (read: fruit roll up)." Brad piped in with, "We can have movie night at home with all those things!" AC was captivated. We went to Wal-Mart, bought said supplies, and headed to the house. We moved the coffee table to another room, set up a couple of air mattress, popped the popcorn, and got ourselves all situated to watch Charlotte's Web. And we did. For 15 minutes. Anna Claire then decided that she really wanted to watch Cars, so we switched movies and watched Cars. For 15 minutes. At which point, AC fell asleep. We ended up camping out in the living room that night as well.
Last Monday, I went with 14 kids and 4 adults to church camp! We had a great week in Pineville, LA. Brad and Anna Claire held down the fort just fine! This was the first time I had been away from both of them at the same time. I'm happy to report that Anna Claire made it to school every day fully dressed and with a bow in her hair! Way to go, Super Dad! They had a fun week together! I had the camera with me, so there are no pictures of Anna Clarie from last week.
This past Sunday night, I helped in the nursery. And while this picture may speak otherwise, I had complete control. Promise.
Gigi - this picture is for you. I'll get a copy in the mail to you ASAP.

Meet Anna Claire, the Janitor

We had to come to the church today to do some work, and Anna Claire played in the nursery. At one point, she came in my office and said, "I fixed the trash in the nursery!" Not sure what I would find, I ran to the nursery bathroom. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I asked, "What did you do?" She then went on to tell me (in no less than 500 words!) that she noticed the bathroom trash can didn't have a bag in it, so she opened the drawer, found the trash bags, tore one off, and put it in the trash can correctly! Hilarious.

This Post is Brought to You by the Letter "B"

Birthday Party: Last weekend, Anna Claire went to a birthday party for a friend. It was a bicycle themed party, so the kids started off by decorating these little foam sheets and baskets for their bicycles. Cute. Before they lined up for a little "parade" of bikes, the kids enjoyed these super adorable stop light brownies on a stick. And no trip to Jessica and Scott's is complete, according to Anna Claire, without a little ride on the horse swing.
Big Fork and Spoon: On Tuesday, Anna Claire and I took an impromptu trip to Dallas to help my sister who broke her foot and is in a hard cast up to her knee. One day, while Aunt Sissy was napping, I took Anna Claire to Willow Bend mall, a place I miss terribly. I would not have taken her picture, except that she climbed on this big fork and spoon set and said, "Mom, take my picture" and sat just like this while she waited for me to get my camera out and take her picture. Silly girl.
Bow Revenge: Also while in Dallas, I found a small nitch of time to visit with my dear friend, Lindsay, who mentioned on her blog that if given the opportunity to be without kids for a week, the two of us could talk non-stop 24 hours a day. It's true. Lindsay sent us on our way with a ridiculous number of bows that she had made, and when we got back to Baton Rouge, Anna Claire wanted to show them to her daddy. Well, I guess this is what you would call a "bow revenge". Please disregard the not-so-flattering picture of me, and just look at all the clips and bows AC put in my hair.
Bus and Brennan: On Sunday, we had a lunch at church. While the other kids were playing after the lunch, Anna Claire was working hard to get a set of chairs in straight rows. She is her father's child and likes things in neat, straight rows. She called her chair creation a "bus" and convinced her buddy, Brennan, to hop aboard!

A Few Funnies...

Anna Claire has been on a roll recently....

1. She doesn't think she needs to hold your hand when in a parking lot. Most times, it's a battle because she will walk as close to you as is humanly possible, but just doesn't think it's necessary to hold hands. On Wednesday night, AC and I were in the gym at the church and it was dark. AC was a little scared and held my hand. I praised her for doing that, and she said, "I'm probably not going to do this when we get to the parking lot."

2. Tuesdays and Fridays are "Sprinklers and Popsicles" days at Anna Claire's little school. She loves these days as it means she gets to take her swimsuit and play in the water. When I picked her up yesterday (Friday) and asked about playing in the sprinklers, she informed me, "I not do it next time." "Why?", I asked. "P-cause (her version of because) I not like to change my clothes." "Really? Why?" "P-cause it's just too much."....ha.

3. Just AC and I were in the car recently, and I was on the phone with Brad. I must have called him "Honey" because when I got off the phone, Anna Claire said, "Mommy, who did you call honey?", and I said, "Oh, I was talking to Daddy." She laughed and said, "Mommy, Daddy's not honey. Winnie the Pooh eats honey!"

4. We were out to lunch with some friends at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and I was putting some queso in a bowl for Anna Claire. She wanted more and started whinning that she wanted it big (her way of asking for more). I said, "Use your big words" meaning, 'don't whine'. She quickly responded by yelling, "I WANT IT BIG". I guess to her "big" also meant loud. Nice.

Princess Beauty School

While at Disney World, Anna Claire aquired a new princess beauty set - filled with pretend beauty supplies (nail polish, eye shadow, a mirror, a brush, and a blow dryer). The blow dryer is her favorite because it requires batteries and makes noice. We hear it all the time around our house these days.
Last night, I caught her going into our bedroom, beauty bag in hand. I asked her to stop and show me some of the items.
Oh, and she also got a princess camera that is really just a fancy view-master, but a princess-like voice makes comments like, "Smile!", "How beautiful!", "Oh, you look wonderful!" and so on.
At this point, Anna Claire had shown me how to use all the beauty products, taken a few pictures, and packed up her stuff to continue her adventure to our room (I assume she was going to our bathroom to use the large mirror to "get ready" for church). I asked, "Anna Claire, will you show me how you carry your princess beauty bag?"....This is the look I was given. Clearly, she was finished with pictures and ready to get on with her plan.

Disney Day 2 and Pensacola

Here are the remaining pictures from our trip!
On Day 2, we went to Hollywood Studios and to Downtown Disney - such a fun day, even if it rained for most of the day.
Anna Claire is a huge fan of Buzz Lightyear, all things Toy Story, and Playhouse Disney...so, Hollywood Studios had her name written all over it!
At Downtown Disney, there was this little train that kids could ride. We told Anna Claire that she could ride, but that it was a 'big kid' ride, which meant no parents. That didn't slow her down! She L-O-V-E-D this $2 train ride and tells everyone about it. Nice.

Heading home, we stopped in Pensacola for Anna Claire to experience the beach for the first time. We had a great time there and look forward to going back soon! On our way, I gave Anna Claire 5 M&M's in a bowl while riding in the car. Please look at the mess this child was able to create in under a minute with only 5 M&M's! Oh my.
Look at her cute little footprints in the sand.
Ready to collect some seashells....