photos...

For posterity, a few of Annieisms...

"dat's ok Mommie, Daddy home soon" while stroking my arm.

"oh well, dese tings appen" after an accident and she has insured that everyone is ok

"gummie bearz, gummie bearz" Annie loves her vitamins!!!

a few things...

: Annie put two peas up her nose the other day and shot one out on her own and then I had to hold one nostril as she blew the other one out. Argg...

: Annie likes to tell stories and she explains what she just did like "Annie did "sigh" Mommie" "Annie did "sigh" Mommie". Other stories are about what she did while she was "seeping". She told me today that she was eating carrot cake while she was sleeping. Annie does quite a few things while she is "seeping" believe me!!!!

:Annie is into hitting her Mom. I don't know why but she just hauls off and hits me in the arm. Trying to nip this in the bud.

:We have had our condo listed to sell for the past month and we have been talking quite a bit about moving - not that I think at this point it is going to happen due to the market. Today Annie said she was ready for a new house. Uh-oh!!!!

:Potty training is going along. If she has a bare bum, Annie hits the potty every time, on her own- "quick bunny Mommie". Put anything on her and she pees in it EVERY time. Frustrated Mommie. Not sure what to do about this but having a wet floor to clean up is not my idea of fun due to the house having to be "showplace ready" at the drop of a hat. Annie even puts her pull ups or nighttime diapers in the garbage for us!!!!

:Annie is dressing up quite a bit and went out the other night with her wings on. All the other restaurant patrons thought she was lovely.

: Daddy "puts things somewhere" quite a bit when we can't find things!!!!!!

: Auntie Colleen made Annie oatmeal cookies. I don't know what we will do when they run out!!

: Annie told me she had to call Daddy at work today and so we called. Well, it was all about the beautiful tea set that Stella and George gave Annie. She couldn't find it and had to call!!! Daddy suggested she use her white one for now. At this moment, Annie has her dress on, her special necklace, the teacups are on their plates and she is pouring the hot water into her teapot. Guess I have to run to have tea with my darling girl.

OH and speaking of darling, that is what I call Annie quite a bit. She has started to call me "dahling" too. It is really cute. When I was in bed with a migraine the other day, she stroked my face like I stroke hers when she is sad/scared/hurt and gave me big smooches on the kisser!! LOVE my little girl sooooooo very much.

:Annie loves to go on the "jump,jump" aka trampoline with the "boys" aka Max and Fred. Even though the boys are 6 and 4 they are AMAZING with Annie and treat her so very well. At the park, Max goes down the slide with her and the one time he went without her accidentally, a little girl pushed her down. Well, all three boys including Jaspar (10) were going to have a "word" with that little girl!!! Luckily for her, her Daddy was reading the riot act so she was spared the wrath of three angry boys!!!! So sweet. It is too bad they live an island away... she misses them very much...

:Annie is an accomplished swimmer and hates life jackets (so glad as she is learning to swim without floaty things). We were in the lake quite a bit and this past weekend, Arthur had his Regional swim meet so we played at the pool and cheered him on. Annie saw "Artur" across the pool and "swam" across to meet him. I have to get her into the water more often as she just loves it. Putting her head under water is not a problem as she goes down the slide and jumps off the side no problem. Love those swimming lessons last summer!!!!!



Photos of her latest adventures to come soon...

a few more photos...

Camping: sliding down the bank...


Home: artist at work

Camping: "Daddy, camera!!!!!!!!!!"

Camping: getting down

Camping: playing with shadows!!!!

We have lots of photos because Annie is very much into having her photo taken!!!! Will try to post more often...

for Shirley who reminded me how long it has been since I have posted photos...

Annie set up these animals and then was drawing them on her etch a scetch...


Dress up time: love the bunny suit with heels... or maybe not, just don't tell her Dad!!!

quiet time iwth puzzles - miss those days...

Camping: hanging out

Camping: marshmallow face!!!

Camping, having a snack...

Camping: the fire Annie and Daddy built...

At home sleeping with baby...

Parksville: playing in the sand.

ps: we have listed our house and put an offer in on another one. Please send this stressed out Mommie some white light, prayers, whatever you believe - to have the strength to get through this time and sell this house fast. THANKS A MILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This child...

is really incredible. The way her mind works is a wonderful thing. Yesterday, when we were in the garden and Annie wanted a hug, she stood at the edge and said "Daddy, listen". He didn't so she said "Daddy, listen, Annie hug" twice and he finally listened, put down what he was doing and gave her a hug. We talk about "listening" quite a bit. I guess Annie has taken it to heart and when she feels her parents aren't listening to her needs, she now has the words to express herself!!!!
Annie had me in tears tonight. I have had a very sore lower back for about four days now and have not been able to arbitrarily pick her up. When I tell Annie that Mommie's back hurts so I need to wait until it is REALLY important for me to pick her up, she says "ok" and "helps Mommie" by scratching my back. Well tonight, my back went into a spasm after standing and cooking dinner for an hour so I had to stop and lay on the floor. Annie was concerned, came over to me, lay down on me and said "Don't worry Mommie, Daddy home soon". I broke down and cried. She is sooo sweet and kind. She also knows that Daddy will take care of us when we need him to which is soooooooo important in the attachment process.
Oh and the other thing Annie is doing, is taking control of her "elimination" process. She has decided not to use the potty but to wear diapers. Fine, no problem. So, I need to check them and the other day when I went to check her diaper Annie looked at me indignantly and said "No Mommie, no touch Annie diaper!!!!!"... I had to laugh at that one.
So, here are some photos of our trip to Parksville and Camping!!!

Annie having her first roasted marshmallow and hanging out by the fire after a few!! Notice her sippy cup in the cup holder. LOVE IT!!!!!!


Playing in the sand and at playground at our motel in Parksville... soooo close to the beach!!!!!

Annie went out every morning and just sat and played with her buckets in the sand. I could see her from our little kitchenette while I made breakfast. She was so very content...

What a week!!!!

We have had so much fun in the past week. A week ago today, we jumped in our camper and headed out camping for the first time. It was super!!!! Everything worked really well and other than a little leak in the secondary gas tank, all was well. We were out at Sooke with friends and had a great couple of nights learning about how amazing our 1976 camper really is. We even found the trick to putting the wee one to sleep - take her for a walk during nap time!!!!
We came home on Saturday, had a wonderful meal with Veronica, Colleen and Arthur who spent the night and then we packed up for a trip up island on Sunday. There we met with the Wang's who we travelled with to China last year. It was three days of talking, reminiscing and learning even more about each of our families. Annie LOVED playing with Anna and her big brothers Aaron and Christopher. Being a single child, Annie doesn't have the luxury of two older brothers to play with and have at her beck and call. The boys were incredible with both the little ones and we so appreciated the genuine way they took Annie under their wings. She loved the boys and was very sad when they were leaving tonight. We haven't uploaded any photos yet but they will come soon.
So tonight, the Wang's made their way to Victoria, en route to the states and we had a nice long visit as well as a meal together. Annie and Anna were adorable in the matching dresses Carol made them. The boys are EXCELLENT with the camera so they were able to catch the girls in a video as they ate cookies and twirled around the living room. Carol even made Annie a GORGEOUS cape that I would wear if it was in my size!!!!!! She wore it after dinner, all the way home and was reluctant to take it off when she was getting ready for bed. We are hoping that we can have an annual visit together so that the girls will grow up knowing each other - they share so much history!!!
Whew. Now for the weekend, wonder what trouble we can get up to next!!!!!

Posting...

Being a busy Mom makes posting a challenge BUT I wanted to say thank you to Red Sand and the boys for inviting us to Vancouver to visit with them while they were there. We had a wonderful time and Red Sand is such a super Mommy!!! Annie and the boys played beautifully together and that gave the Mommies some time to talk. After four years of exchanging gifts, reading blogs and supporting each other through some tough times, it was one of those incredible moments when Red Sand opened the door and we hugged for the first time. There we were, with the children we had hoped and waited for, playing together. Really neat!!!!!!!