Say, "Cheese"

Today, we took AC for her 2 year pictures/Christmas pictures. As soon as I get the proofs, I'll post them. Until then....
She had to hang out with me for a little while at the office before we went to the picture place. Here she is double-checking our "picture-taking bag" to make sure we had all the necessary items (brush, bow, extra pair of tights, popcorn, etc.).
She practiced smiling all morning! Here's one of the "trial" smiles:
When it comes to getting good pictures, we are not above a good little bribe. Today it was ice cream! (and a ridiculously huge gumball, thanks to Daddy!) Yes, Gigi, we did brush her teeth! *grin*

'Tis the Season....

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Jesus Loves Me

Tonight, I laid down with Anna Claire before she went to sleep. Here's part of our conversation:
AC: Mommy, Jesus loves me.
ME: That's right Anna Claire, He loves you very much.
AC: Yeah.
Long pause.
AC: Mommy?
ME: Yes?
AC: Jesus loves you.
MELT MY HEART!

AC's 2 year stats

I know you've all been sitting on the edge of your seats, wating for these. Ha.
AC went in for her 2 year check up today and was a champ! No tears and super cooperative with the doctor! Way to go, AC! I will admit - I had a "moment" at the doctor's office when they needed to weigh AC and asked her to stand on the 'big girl scale'...no more sitting in the "boat"....our little girl is growing up. You're right - it doesn't take much to move me.
Height: 33 1/4 inches (25th - 50th percentile)
Weight: 27 pounds (50th percentile)
All in all, a good report from the doctor! Plus she got the flu mist (instead of the shot) and that was a funny experience in and of itself.
No pictures...my camera is having issues, so we're shopping for a new one!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

....to Gatlinburg we went! A kind family in our church generously gave us a week at their time share in Gatlinburg, and we had a blast! We were in need of a vacation, and this could not have come at a better time! Anna Claire was a trooper through the whole trip -from the long drive to all the shopping, etc - she did just wonderful!
Here are some views from our cabin's balcony, porch, front gate, etc.:




Pancake restaurants are on every corner in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, so our first morning there, we ate at Flapjacks. Here's Kerstin showing off her chocolate chip pancakes!
After breakfast, the western store next door was calling Brad's name. While he was inside trying on boots (that he eventually purchased), Anna Claire was outside riding on the 1970's merry-go-round. I'm pretty sure I put in about $5 worth of quarters, but I kept reminding myself that in about 12 years, I'm going to wish that $5 would entertain our child for that length of time!
Then it was my turn to shop.....so I found the most delightful Christmas store! This place was amazing! We shopped for a long while in there and made a few purchases! I can't wait to decorate for Christmas!
And because we were on vacation - Anna Claire was allowed to eat breakfast in her new Dora ball pit. Lovely.
Here are Anna Claire and Kerstin before heading out for the day! Anna Claire's new friend is Darby from the "My Friends Tigger and Pooh" show on Disney - her new favorite.
While shopping in downtown Gatlinburg, we were in "need" of a little energy boost, so we found a quaint little place that served all things fried....here's Kerstin trying a deep fried Milky Way while AC samples a deep fried Snickers.


And now for a word from our sponsor: The Mommy Hook! Moms (and Dads) - if you have a small child that still rides in a stroller, this is a must have accessory! It held all our shopping bags, diaper bag, and my purse. When Anna Claire wanted to get out of her stroller, I simply moved the hook over to one side, and the stroller wouldn't tip. I love this new addition to our stroller!
One evening, AC served us all "tea" using her new tea set from her Aunt Roro (Brad's sister).
And here's AC in her "wed wace car"! She thought this was pretty cool!
We went to Ripley's Aquarium while we were there and had a blast! We weren't sure how AC would do with all the fish, but she loved them! She thought she had arrived because she didn't have to ride in her stroller!





We also went to The Apple Barn - a place filled with all things....well....apple! They were serving hot apple pie, apple dumplings, and apple fried pies along with hot/cold apple cider! Pa - we thought of you often at this place! Delicious. Anna Claire pretty much slept through this part of the adventure...I think the aquarium did her in for the day!

Dress Up 101

We're back from our week-long vacation to Tennessee, and I have a ridiculous number of pictures to organize and post....stay tuned.
Until then, here's a cute little picture of AC playing dress up with some new items that a dear family friend sent to us! AC has played dress up at least 3 times today with all these new accessories!

Kerstin Goes to Homecoming!

Last night, Kerstin went with some kids from our church and other exchange students to Homecoming! She had a blast! She went yesterday and had her hair fixed, her makeup done, and had nails put on (To Kerstin's sister...she kept saying yesterday, "My sister will never believe this!). We went to another family's house to take pictures, and Anna Claire kept saying, "K (that's her nickname for Kerstin) loves Cody (one of the boys that went)!" I think her daddy put her up to that!