Random

There is no creative title to accompany this post because...well...it's just too random. I haven't updated in several days, so just get ready.
First things first...Gigi sent Anna Claire 3 new "put it in water and watch it grow" animals (remember the duck??)! Anna Claire was THRILLED! Our new animals include a frog, a turtle, and a cat. The turtle is, by far, the cutest because he is only a shell, until you put him in water and his little head and legs pop out....ha! The frog and cat are a bit scary after spending a couple of days in the water, I'm not going to lie. They look odd. Check 'em out.



This next picture is soley for Kerstin's sister because I think she will appreciate it! Here is Kerstin working on her new hair style...flat iron and all.
Before going out to eat the other night, Anna Claire and I took advantage of the fact that we now have sidewalks on which to take a walk! Anna Claires loves to be outside. She even stopped to feed the (fake) bunny that sits in our little side yard on our way to take a walk. The purse she is carrying is one that her Aunt Ro-Ro and Grandpa bought for her. It has a belt that goes around the waist and a leash that attaches to it. Greatness. Right now, we're just working on keeping the purse on.

After our walk, we played in the backyard with sidewalk chalk. Anna Claire likes to lay on the ground and have one of us trace around her. On this particular day, she decided to try it herself. Not so successful, but it made for a cute picture.
Can you say she enjoyed her chocolate chip cookie?
On Saturday, we were adventurous and went downtown to the Red Stick Farmers' Market. The first Saturday of the month, they also have arts and crafts booths. The farmers' market was a bit disappointing - a few tomatoes and cucumbers here and there, but there were lots of neat arts and crafts. Oh, and the Smith Creamery was there, selling the best milk I've ever tasted, and I don't even really like milk!


While out on the town on Saturday morning, I picked up some pumpkins for Anna Claire to decorate. She switches between her left and right hands, but just look at the concentration on her face. Please also notice in the second picture how she is sticking out her tongue....that's Gigi coming out in her!

And finally....the Centennial. Yesterday, the Nazarene Church celebrated 100 years as a denomination. We had a big service, lunch on the grounds, and an afternoon celebration. Here's a cute picture of Anna Claire and some of her friends. I guess someone else caught AC's attention just as I was taking the picture. Lovely. And the cakes....no church celebration is complete without good 'ol cake from Sam's!

A New Look

Kerstin has been talking about wanting to cut her hair...and today, she did it! Her new style is SO cute!

Spa Treatment and the Retreat

Friday morning, we were rushing around trying to get out the door, and I noticed Anna Claire's feet were black on the bottom and needed a little scrubbing. So, I let her soak them in the sink. Well, she thought this was the ultimate spa treatment! Ha! Nothing beats eating breakfast while having your feet washed.

This weekend, Brad and I went to our district church retreat - Ministers and Mates - and we had a great time! It was in Vicksburg, MS, and we were able to spend some good time with our other friends on the district.

The Big Switch...

We have officially spent 2 nights in our new home, and all is well! We were determined to stay there Wednesday night, so before heading to church, we filled our van with one last load. When we were taking apart Anna Claire's crib to move it, we made the executive decision to set it back up in her new room as a toddler bed. The first night, she fell asleep in the car, so we put her in bed already asleep and she didn't know the difference (until the next morning when she awoke and was thrilled at the idea of being able to get out of bed all by herself)! Night 1: Last night was a different story. I had her all ready for bed, and she willingly climbed up into her "big girl bed". I turned out the light, closed the door, and walked out. She was quiet for a few minutes until she started knocking on the door and calling out my name. She then started sliding her pacifiers under the door and into the hallway. I let this go for a few minutes, and then I picked up the pacifiers, went in her room, and we had a little chat. I told her that she needed to lay down and sleep and I would come back in a few minutes to check on her. 20 minutes passed, and her room was quiet...maybe a little too quiet. I slowly opened the door, and she was not in her bed. I looked over and this is what I saw..... ...our little darling sound asleep in her chair. Melt my heart. I picked her up and placed her in her bed.
Here are a couple of random videos from the past two days. Anna Claire has started singing songs. She makes them up, but when you ask her to sing, she is always ready for a song! Yes, she is her father's child!*grin* (You will need to pause the music on the blog to hear her singing. You can do this by going to the left sidebar of the blog and pressing the "pause" button on the music.)

Also, Anna Claire's new favorite 'treat' is a mint. Last night, she hit the jackpot when I came out of Target with two bags of mints (and yes, Gigi, they are sugar free)! She even did a little song and dance for the mints.

Cute.

The Little Monkey

This afternoon, we decided to take advantage of the "cooler" temps and go for a walk. Of course, Anna Claire insisted on taking her baby stroller. Today, she wore her sunglasses and decided that her Disney Princess dolls needed to go for a stroll (I think some Little People made it in as well).

Recently, Anna Claire has started to "race". She likes for you to stand next to her, say, "On your mark! Get set! Go", and she takes off running. Clearly she did not inherit the desire to run from her mama! *grin* Today, Kerstin was the one who raced.
We walked over to the church, and just look at AC being a good PK...waiting for the church doors to open! :)
Anna Claire's newest trick will make any mama's heart skip a beat! She has discovered how to "swing" on the bars that lead up to the entrance of the church. I'm pretty sure she is part monkey.

Let's Climb a Tree, Clean a Nursery, and Rock

While working over at the new house, Brad decided to show Anna Claire how to climb the huge live oak in our backyard. Of course, there's a ladder, and he helped her climb to the top of the ladder which was a big deal to her; Brad, on the other hand, kept climbing.

Yesterday, I was in the church nursery for a little while, and I caught two funny pictures. The first one shows Anna Claire and her friend, Brennan, enjoying their favorite activity in the nursery...cleaning! They each ask for a baby wipe and go to town, cleaning all the toys in the nursery. It's rather hilarious and entertains them for no less that 30 minutes.

When it was time to pick up the toys, I glanced around and couldn't find Anna Claire, until I heard her said, "Hi Mommy!" She had climbed in one of the toy tubs and was just chillin'.
And no Sunday is complete without a little dinner at Cracker Barrel and some time to rock on their front porch.
PS - We're are currently living in both houses....lovely. Most of our things are already at the new house, but we are sleeping at the old house while we get the last few things together to move. Brad and I are sleeping on air mattresses in the living room, and this makes me laugh! Here's a picture of our sleeping arrangements for a couple of days. I'm not sure why I feel the need to post this, but maybe I want you to see the craziness that is our life right now (notice the lamp and phone on a chair, the curtains tied up so that I could clean the floor, etc.). Just keepin' it real.