Annada Marie Vergo

Heading into the theater.

Our local theater is running a musical made from the book Pinkalicious. In the book a girl eats so many pink cupcakes she turns pink!

Marc and I decided to take Annada. When we showed her the ad, she was excited. But after we showed her a clip of the musical, she became ecstatic - dancing around, singing and shouting that she wanted to be Pinkalicious too.

Even Daddy dressed up.

All week we had fun as a family looking forward to the show. Annada and I bought the stuff to make pink cupcakes and I even pulled out a new pink dress I had craigslisted for her. We had the whole day planned. We went to the library and tried to find the book. They didn’t have it, but Annada picked out other books with pink themes. And we watched a video of someone reading the book on YouTube everyday.

Hugging Pinkalicious.

The night before the play I got SICK. The most horrible stomach flu I’ve ever had. I was bummed to miss out. But the theater let me move my ticket, so Annada and I will get to go in couple of weeks.

Annada looked adorable. And Marc told me she was the pinkest kid around. Everywhere she went people hammed it up with her by calling her Pinkalicious and clapping as she danced for them. And Annada danced and sang her way through the crowd.

Ever since she has been climbing up on our coffee table and singing and dancing her heart out. She will call, “Mommy, Daddy, hurry! The show is going to start!” Then she spins around up there, usually ending with a dramatic dismount off the stage on to toys she stacked into staircase.

And we’ve eaten a lot of little pink cupcakes!

Making decorations for our front door.

At bedtime when we cuddle Annada often asks me to stay and sleep with her. Last week I told her I would sleep with her the next night Daddy is gone… which turned out to be tonight. (Marc is at a magic jam.)

I realized a few nights ago that Marc would be gone tonight so Annada and I have been planning our “sleep over.” We started by watching Timmy Time and a Dragon Tails with snacks in my bed. (And skyped with Meme and Pepe.) Then we read lots of books.

When it was time to get ready for bed, Annada brought her stuff in my room and we got ready together. Annada was dancing around singing. It was fun to go really slow and take our time.

When we were both ready I held her to start singing, but she asked to skip straight the talking in bed part. I checked the clock before laying down. It was a little after 9. I told Annada we had to be asleep by 10.

We laid down, shared blankets and talked about wolves, Pinkalicious, plans for tomorrow, crafts she wants to do… I was half asleep when right around 10 pm Annada said, “I think it is time to sleep now.”

She threw her arm over my neck, put her face partly on mine and held my hand with the other hand. “I want to cuddle close, Mommy. Sweet dreams, I love you!” Annada said chipperly.

Then I experienced one of the Annada mysteries Marc and I wonder about. Often we will leave her bedroom and night with her laughing, singing and loudly singing… and by the time we get down the stairs her room is silent.

Within 5 seconds of putting her arm around me, Annada went completely, arm-dangling, limp. We slept together for about an hour before I tip toed out. Ahhhh… this was a night to treasure.

Eating reindeer food, dry oatmeal, by the glass.

Showing off her new moves.

Annada has begun ballet. I’m pretty sure I was 10 times more excited about it than she was. And Annada was excited. The ballet school meets where her music class meets and every time she saw girls heading to dance class she would ask me when she would be old enough to go.

Yep. Cutest ballerina ever.

I think I may have been overly enthusiastic, though. Because the night before class she started crying and saying she did not want to go to ballet. She told me she was scared. I asked her to try one class and I promised to stay the whole time. I told her if she did not like it, she never had to go back. Inside I thought we would end up trying again next year.

Remember the picture of Marc doing that when she was a baby?

I was even more sure she wasn’t ready when we pulled up to the building and she started sobbing. I took her out of her car seat and Daddy and I held her. When she calmed down we realized she was upset because she saw the building and thought we were taking her to music class. “I want to go to ballet Mommy! Please, I want to go dance!”

Once we got inside and she saw the other little adorable girls in ballet outfits she ran right into the class room. They didn’t let me go with her. Especially since I promised to stay with her I would have expected that to be a problem. Instead, I watched through the blinds as Annada jumped happily right into class.

Stretching.

Annada did have trouble following along. And the teacher did not know her name and got frustrated when Annada didn’t respond. Annada didn’t seem to mind though. As soon as class was over she was begging me to take her back next week.

When we got home Erin, a friend and YearOne intern, came over. Annada practiced her leaps and chassés all around the block with Erin. Now Annada likes to pretend she is the teacher and teaches me to do the ballet they do in class (and some purely Annada moves like hanging upside down off the couch or spinning until she falls down).

At Annada’s second class she had improved a ton. Her teacher even found Marc to tell him how great Annada was doing. It was great to watch Annada realize her practice paid off.

Really and truly, I just want Annada to have fun and learn a little about being in a class. Getting to see her in totally adorable dance clothes once a week is just a sweet bonus :).

Imitating the Red Mango posters.

Every time Marc and I think Annada couldn’t get any more fun to live with, she grows up and becomes an even greater joy! Over the last couple of weeks Annada has grown up a lot.

Hot:
- Going to “school” - ballet, Sunday school, Kindermusik… without Mom and Dad. Not very long ago I worried she would never be comfortable going off without a family member or long term friend. Now she runs off with glee.

When I picked her up from Sunday school today she said, “Being a kid is rough. Being an adult is easy for me. I think I am ready to go to work now, Mommy.”

- Raw oatmeal. She ate at least a cup of dry oatmeal today. I kept catching her sneak back for more. She calls it “reindeer food.”

- Cantaloupe, blueberries, chocolate milk, gummy penguins, pez, buttered toast, ice cream.

- Cuddling in bed at night. Every night as I finish singing Annada calls out “cuddle night!” Then when I put her in her crib she scoots over and makes a space for me. I lay down next to her and we talk for about 30 minutes. She likes to kiss attack me by giving me as many kisses as she can all over my face. When it has been a while I tell her we can talk about “one last thing.” She draws the last thing out as long as she absolutely can.

- Matching games. It is normal for her to say, “Mom, can we pay High Five (or Brown Bear)? I am going to beat the pants off of you!”

- Long baths. Like 2+ hours. I have to reheat the water. She is so happy swimming around in there. And it gives me time to mend her princess dresses.

- Playing at the park with friends.

- Making decorations for the front door.

- Talking about heaven and death. She is still very curious about this. She has been asking a lot if we will be dead in heaven. When I explain you die on earth and are alive in heaven in a new body, she starting pulling on her body asking, “how does this body come off?” She is innocently excited for Jesus to come take her to heaven.

New:
Setting the table is her new chore.
Hiding her toys in my stuff so she can “work” with me.
Yelling “Potty Potty Potty!” when it is time to go.
Determining if things are real or fake. She studies pictures, statues, movies and then proclaims them real or pretend.
Sharing is a big deal. She tells me if she shares or the other kids share. She loves to share her things with Daddy and I. She even saved part of her cookie from Publix and carried all the way home to share it with Daddy.
Counting: she had 1-10 memorized, but now she is able to look at something 6 or less and tell me how many are there. At night when we cuddle she often asks, “How many is ___?” For example, how many is 3? And we come up with things that come in threes like our family (Mommy, Daddy and Annada).

Out:
Fish (so sad - she loved fish before)
Berries in her oatmeal (they must be separate)
Soup
Eggplant
Hamburgers
Sleeping past 9. (But she is still happy until 9:30, so no complaining.)
Size 8 shoes. She is a solid 9 or 10 now.
Help doing anything she can do herself.

Self-portrait

Meme and Pepe gave Annada a digital camera for Christmas. She loves to whip it out and take pictures of us just living life. (Note, I didn’t post them, but there are lots of pictures of my bottom.)

Meme

She tends to take pictures of people… and the carpet as she runs.

Mommy

All the pictures are blurry because she is in constant motion. Which I think is perfect - it captures the way she sees the world.

We will be traveling during Christmas, so Marc and I decided to declare Saturday Christmas Eve and today Christmas.

Baking Christmas cookies with our neighbors.

Annada and I have been getting ready all week - baking cookies, finding plates and napkins, buying gifts and wrapping them. Annada is the queen of sprinkles. I’ve been sweeping the floor a couple of times a day, but it is well worth it.

The stocking has been hanging for two weeks, slowly getting bigger.

We started by opening stockings. This is when Annada told us we celebrate Christmas and Easter because God gives us candy. She’s been asking all week if there was candy in her stocking. There was plenty - although some of it was from Halloween. I finally found her missing bag waaaay back in the pantry. She really did hide it and forget.

Annada helped us open our stocking and presents. She called it being on our team. She even offered to help eat our candy!

After stockings we let her open one present. She picked the biggest box - her train set. I’ve already got a post about that below.

We told her to close her eyes as we brought in the bike.

Annada’s big present this year was a bike. We let her open presents throughout the day so she could enjoy each one. She is so cute and kind, saying things like, “Sweet! I like it! This is my favorite! Oh yay, oh yay!” After each present she would give us a kiss and hug.

Riding her new bike for the first time.

Annada and Daddy played with the bike and cooked steaks while I made dinner. We had our family’s favorite foods: good bread, roasted cauliflower and carrots, mashed potatoes and steak. Plus sparkling grape juice, or Omaha kid wine, as Annada calls it. She says, “Orlando kid wine is water. Omaha kid wine is soda.”

Annada’s new chore is setting the table. We “aren’t sure she’s old enough” (wink) so she is showing us she can do it. She does a great job. It was even more fun with paper plates and cups because she set the whole table herself and had even picked out the settings at Target.

After we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus for our prayer I told Annada the table cloth we were eating on was her Great-great-grandma’s. She seemed slightly impressed and Marc and I started trying to figure out how old it was. We told her it was 33 times her age and she made a noise. I turned, expecting to see awe on her face.

Pretty impressive.

Instead she had just learned that she could stick her whole hand in her mouth and was trying to get my attention to let me know.

Then we watched the Jesus Film. Followed by opening the rest of the gifts. I got a tablet!!! (Happy dance.) Way to go Marc. Annada is excited she can watch movies on it when we fly. I can use it to make calls overseas too.

The cake survives to be eaten.

We finished up by decorating Jesus’ birthday cake, singing happy birthday and eating it. Annada put all of her new toys to bed and Daddy read to her from a new magazine he ordered for her called High Five.

As I was singing to Annada I asked her what her favorite part of Christmas was. “Eating candy,” she said. I asked what her second favorite part was. “Being with Daddy and Mommy… and opening presents.”

When it was time for bed, Annada cooked her trains dinner, set the table for them, read them books, put toys around them so they would not be bored if they woke up before her and asked me to sing them to sleep. Then she put cheese sticks and water by them so they could have a bedtime snack.

The trains are sleeping to rest their rusty wheels.

This morning the trains sat in her chair with her to eat breakfast :).

Tonight as I was singing Annada to bed (and completely unprompted) Annada said, “I sin. Meme and Pepe sin too. Everyone sins. When did I sin, Mommy?

She paused, but before I knew how to answer she told me, “I sinned when I put the book in my bed after you said enough. When else did I sin?”

“I don’t know,” I replied. “You sin when you do something you know is wrong or don’t do something you know you should. But you don’t have to try to figure out each time you may have sinned in the past. When you sin, just ask God to forgive you.”

“But what happens?” She asked.

“God promises to forgive you,” I said. “It is in the Bible. God said that when you ask Him to forgive your sins he will wash you white as snow.”

“Please wash my sins white as snow, God!” Annada called out.

Then she asked, “Will I change colors, Mommy?

“No, God washes the sin out of your heart. It is a story way of saying He totally forgives you. The Bible has other story ways of saying it too. God says your sin is as far as the East is from the West - further than anyone can go. In another picture way of saying it, God says your sin is buried below the ocean.”

“God squeezed my sin down under the sea,” Annada said confidently.

Playing at the park with Debra.

Annada explains that Christmas and Easter are about Jesus… because he gave us candy.

A few days ago, I was walking with Annada and talking with a friend. Suddenly Annada let out a frustrated scream. At that moment I realized Annada had been talking for quite some time and I was ignoring her.

I looked over and she had tears in her eyes and her hands were in fists. I decided to silently give her my attention for a moment to give her a chance to calm down (and I did feel sorry I’d ignored her so long).

“You are NOT being obedient, Mommy!” Annada yelled. Then she put her hands over my mouth. “I do not want any more words coming out of your mouth. I am trying to tell you about Peter Pan and it is your time to listen!”

Now I was trying really hard not to laugh, so I still didn’t say anything. Plus I felt like I was having a mirror held up to my parenting.

“Listening means you are not talking, Mommy,” Annada followed up.

(In case you are curious, I decided to tell her I was sorry for ignoring her and then told her if I was ignoring her again to say excuse me. And if I still didn’t respond, she should pull on my arm or hand in case I didn’t realize she was trying to get my attention. She smiled, gave me a hug and then began telling me about how the Peter Pan ride is scary because you fly and feel like you will never come down or may fall.)

Annada loves Christmas lights. Before bed she likes to walk around our neighborhood and look at the decorations. While a few neighbors have lights, most do not. Living close to the largest Christmas light display in America, I decided Annada needed to see a real light display.

Cuddling with Christine during the American Idol show.

Our neighbors, Brett and Christine Butcher came with us. Annada loves both of them and it was fun to do something together. We headed to Hollywood Studios.

Entering the lights. Yes, we are excited.

I knew there had to be a lot of lights, but whoa! There were a lot of lights. Over 100 angels alone. It was impressive almost to the point of seizure inducing.

And there was “snow.” Disney makes the most amazing fake snow out of bubbles. It looks so real I caught myself shivering a couple of times. It is a really strange sensation - my head was telling me to bundle up, but my body knew it was 70-something degrees.

Annada immediately started trying to eat the snow, of course.

The lights were set to music. As we walked out, we watched the fireworks at Epcot go off. It was really beautiful.

After lunch with Cinderella we walked around Magic Kingdom. When we saw the tea cups, Annada asked me if she could ride them. I looked and thought there was no way she is strong enough to spin the cups so I would be fine.

Ride #1.

Wrong. Annada not only can spin the cup she has Aunt Erica’s love of trying to spin really fast.

Ride #2.

As soon as the ride stopped, Annada wanted to do it again. The line was small so we got on the next turn.

Ride #3.

When she begged to do it again after the 2nd ride I thought about saying no. I was feeling sick. But she was so happy I jumped on again. This time Annada spun the tea cup once then put her head down. Whew! I out lasted her. She just sort of swayed through the third but didn’t try to spin the cup. She said she wanted to go a 4th time, but even her request was said softly. We moved on.

Annada has discovered the tea cups. My plan is to let Daddy ride them next!

We ended the night by watching the lighting of the castle.

For Annada’s 3rd birthday, I decided to take her to eat lunch in Cinderella’s castle. I had to reserve it months ago and I’ve been excited ever since. I even had a hard time sleeping the night before we went.

I started the day by mistakingly thinking we could take the monorail to Magic Kingdom from Hollywood Studios, so we ended up walking, catching a bus and then the monorail. But we still made it in time to talk to the ugly step sisters before heading into the castle.

Annada connected with Anastasia and kept talking to her even as we were taking the picture.

We walked into the castle and stood in a small lobby. Cinderella was there and there were no other guests, so she talked to Annada for at least 5 minutes - maybe 10. Annada was awe struck and shy. Cinderella was very kind.

The castle lobby

After we took a picture with Cinderella and a few more guests came in, we sat down to wait to be called up stairs.

This was my favorite moment: Annada cuddled up next to me on the bench, threw her hands above her head by circling them and said, “Coming here is a wish come true!”

I love this picture because it shows how Annada shows the number 2. She has always done it like that. She is telling Snow White that she is two-years-old.

Then they called us upstairs. We walked into the dinning room and were seated near the door. They were just announcing the princesses by telling their stories and then having them make a grand entrance to their theme song. Annada was having a hard time staying in her seat and not running to great them.

As we ate “our servant” brought us a wishing star and magic wand. Later we had a wishing star ceremony complete with music and twinkling lights. I was impressed - it was really fun. Annada ate sitting backward in her chair so she could see everything.

Soon the princesses came to see us. Annada was too star struck to talk much except to Ariel who asked Annada who she was. Annada told her she is Princess Lavender. I explained that all the women in our family have secret princess names and Ariel said, “I want to be a princess too! I mean, um, a secret princess.”

Ariel and I laughed but Annada was very serious and suddenly confident. They talked it through and came up with the name Princess Rose Petal (she couldn’t be Princess Rose because I am Princess Rosebud).

Last came Belle - Annada’s favorite. Belle took a long time with Annada and let Annada hold her hand as they talked. Then Belle kissed her and Annada covered her cheek with both hands with glee. She continued to cradle her cheek until dessert came.

Then I saw…

Belle's kiss!

It was hard to convince Annada to take a bath the next day and wash it off.

Make your own cupcake and ice cream. Annada was a happy girl.

Then we went downstairs and talked with Cinderella again. We retook the picture because the first one didn’t turn out. I’m glad it didn’t because Annada was happy to see Cinderella again. I had told Annada we would have lunch with Cinderella, so she was concerned that Cinderella wasn’t actually at the lunch. Getting to see her again seemed to satisfy her.

Annada told me that after that Cinderella was tired and went to take a nap. We ate dessert then left.

Resting where Cinderella had been.

On the way out we stopped where Cinderella had been. Annada wanted to sit where Cinderella had been, but I think she was really tired because she laid down for about 10 minutes. She was awake, just resting. She seemed very content.

It really was a wish come true. Happy birthday, Annada!

It’s almost Jesus’ birthday, so in my neighborhood it is time to party. We have 6 parties to go to just related to our job! And that doesn’t count the ones I declined for sanity’s sake. I love it - God among us. What better reason is there to celebrate?

Our team proposed going to WDW and having dinner together for our Christmas party. We put aside a little money each month to have a social and never found time to do it. So they voted to combine it all. WDW does most of the work and we enjoy our team? I was a huge fan of the idea.

We ate at the German Bier Garden. I will admit being a little skeptical, but it was awesome. Yes there was pickled herring (no, I did not eat any) but the food was good. And there was a band and dance floor. It was perfect. Annada and the William’s kids danced (and me, but shhhhh) while we talked.

Annada found a little girl who was also wearing a Belle dress. Annada walked up and started holding her hand. The little girl pulled away twice, but then gave in. They held hands for the rest of the night and I think Annada really made a friend.

The two Belles - they are holding hands in the picture.

And the show was good. I am always surprised at how clearly Disney talks about Christmas. In the show they told the story of how Silent Night was written, complete with encouraging kids to yell “Jesus!” throughout it. Then they encouraged us to sing the song with them.

After the show we went to the Candle Light Processional. Again, I felt like I was in church. Michael W. Smith read the incarnation story from the gospel of Luke and even talked about betting his life that Jesus is the answer we are all looking for. It was a hour of scripture and hymns and incredible music that ended when everyone stood for the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah.

The only bummer is that we were rained on the whole time. But it was that good - it was worth getting soaked.

Then we watched the fireworks which was great. I always choke up when they say “Peace on earth, goodwill to men” in each language represented in Epcot while lighting up that area. It hit me twice as hard this year as we heard the languages of places we had been this year.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’” Luke 2:13-14

At Epcot. While Annada wanted to see Santa, she is also leaving nail prints in my arm. There is no way she was going to touch Mrs. Claus.

This year Annada understands Christmas = presents. She walked in on me tonight looking at a Cinderella play set. The look on her face was priceless and she ran in with awe. She cuddled up next to me and said,

“You can get me all the princesses for Christmas! I will be patient.”

A few days ago she saw a Princess Tiana pez dispenser she really wanted. I told her it was Christmas time so she had to be patient and wait and see if it would be in her stocking (of course, I bought it). Since then she thinks the key is patience.

Every once in a while she starts telling me about how on Christmas she will get presents “of trains and princesses.” Then she will throw her hands up, “Because it is Jesus’ birthday!”

Tonight when it was time to go to bed she ran down the stairs and away from her bedroom. I called for her and was surprised to see she had made it all the way downstairs in the time it took me to look for her. She started calling excitedly, “I’m coming Mommy! I’m coming!”

I could tell she had some very serious Annada business to do and wasn’t just running away, so I let her come back up the stairs on her own. She had a pen and a piece of paper. I asked her what she was doing.

“I am making a list of what to get you for Christmas, Mommy. You can have a Little People play set. It will look like this (Annada draws a picture). You have to be patient though.”

(You know, it just dawned on me that she said that because I was trying to convince her she wanted a Little People playhouse instead of a princess castle. I told her I thought the play set would be really fun. That sweet girl!)

Marc came over so I asked, “What are you going to get Daddy?”

“I am going to get Daddy a little iPad.”

Marc yelled/laughed “Score!”

Marc and Annada were playing with play dough outside. Annada assigned Marc to make a daddy and she was making a baby. When they were done they showed them to each other.

“Here is my baby, Daddy.” Annada said. “It is a boy baby. I know because it has a penis.”

Annada took a piece of play dough and made a small snake. Then she stuck the snake in roughly the right place.

Annada picked up the baby and began to play. Meanwhile, Marc was trying desperately not to burst out laughing. He lost it, though, when the piece fell off.

“Oh no!” Yelled Annada, loudly enough the boys riding by on bikes turned to look. “His penis fell off!”

Making Christmas decorations

I have a parenting confession to make: Annada was wondering the Boardwalk hotel last night at 11 pm.

We had our team Christmas party at Epcot and watched the candle light processional (in the rain - but still soooo beautiful) and stayed for the fireworks. It was the first time Annada enjoyed the fireworks. She kept yelling, “My favorite colors!” And every time they paused she begged me for more.

We walked back to the car through the hotel with Lucky and Jessica when we decided to stop and eat brownies together. I had totally lost track of time and everyone was having a lot of fun. Annada was being particularly charming.

We sat above a staircase together and Annada asked to walk down the staircase to go “shopping for vegetables.” I watched her carefully as she walked down, pretended to go shopping and came back to us to drop off her groceries. From where we were seated I could see her clearly but from the ground floor you couldn’t see us.

After about 20 minutes of Annada “shopping” a cast member in a suit met Annada halfway down the staircase. “Good evening Princess. What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m shopping.” Annada replied. I stood up, ready to run down as the man looked around for any sign of a parent.

“Where are you going?” he asked again, looking more concerned.

“I’m leaving my Mommy and Daddy,” she replied.

Doing puzzles at Meme and Pepe's.

Annada is currently “not-napping.” She has an awful cold and was up coughing most of the last two nights. Marc and I are tired from coming in and giving her water when she can’t stop hacking.

Last night at 4 am I brought her water and she asked to come sleep in our bed. She sounded pathetic. So I agreed to crawl into her crib (at least Marc could sleep that way). Annada has the amazing ability to wake up by talking. So the longer I lay in there the more awake she got. We talked about spiders, her plan to bring Meme to our house after Christmas (It will be okay Mommy. Really it will. I will wear my seat belt on the plane.), and how she is almost three so she should be able to get out of bed at 4 am.

After about 30 min of half-sleeping, half-talking, I left Annada sitting up and playing with dolls in her crib. I thought I could catch up on sleep this morning. Nope, Annada woke up coughing and saw the sun was up.

After Thanksgiving dinner with Rabia, Jessica and Lucky.

So, Marc and I decided she would take a nap. Marc is napping. Annada is jumping up and down (literally) in her crib making up songs. I can hear her on the monitor. She’s unintentionally hilarious. She is saying….

(Loud blowing noises.)

“I can blow my nose on my shirt, Daddy! I can. I can. My shirt is washable. It is okay. You will wash it. I did it! I blowed my noise on my shirt. It is okay. The snot comes off. You can wash my bed.”

“I am awake! I am awake! I am awake! Open the door! I don’t need a pull-up. I am awake!”

“Meow. Meow. I am a kitty. I am awake. Let me out. How can you do that to a kitty? I want to go. Let me out. I woke up. How can you do that to a kitty?!”

(Don’t worry. I’ll limit the kitty torture to an hour. I really do wish she would take a nap, though.)

We made it a day and half into our “sugar-detox” diet when… the ice cream truck came.

Wednesdays, ice cream truck day, is a highlight of the week for Annada. But after a day and a half of no candy or ice cream? When she heard the song coming from the truck she threw her hands in the air and yelled, “Thank you God for music!” Then she ran around the playground in circles.

Playing at Meme and Pepe's house.

Tonight I was putting Annada to bed when out of the blue she said, “When I grow up I am going to drive the ice cream truck.”

“The lady that drives the truck is going to get bigger and bigger and when she is too big for the truck she will drive it to my house. I will be bigger, so I can drive. I will drive to you and you can have any popsicle you want on your birthday.”

Annada sat up and pressed her nose to mine, then whispered, “Even Tweety Bird.”

Annada laid back down. “You will get in the truck and I will shut the door. Then we will ride in the truck together. I will have a potty for you in the truck.”

Last night Annada and I returned home. Annada has spent 3 weeks with Meme (one in Orlando, two in Omaha). As usual, Annada seems to jump forward developmentally every time she is with Meme. From puzzles to vocabulary, Annada is 2 going 6.

Annada plays dress-up with Aunt Erica. She's an Indian Princess.

This trip her biggest jump seems to be in bargaining. Marc and I decided we are all going candy free for a couple of days to help break our dependence. As a result Annada has become a first-rate lawyer:

“The sugar in soda will make my body grow strong, Mommy. It will!”

“If I don’t eat all my lunch I will need a popsicle. If I do eat it all, I should get some candy.” (My favorite.)

(I received some candy from Taylor for my birthday.) “I’ll help you eat them, Mommy. I can even open the package.”

“I want to buy some candy for Daddy to say welcome home.”

“Mommy, you haven’t had any gummy penguins today. I’ll get you some.”

“I need a snack. Candy is a good snack. It is even fast!”

My 30th birthday has been an amazing one. While it felt strange and gloomy to be turning 30, God set up an awesome celebration. It started with having fondu with my parents, Marc and Annada. Then many friends sent cards. On the actual day, I had breakfast in bed, read Annada book, attended a beautiful wedding then went to the Dessert Lady with friends. I followed it with a hectic week (YearOne 8 week check in and a graduate class)… and then… going to Asia!

In fact, I’m writing this from Japan. And in 24 hours from now, Marc and I will split and I will go pick Annada up from Omaha. On one hand I am sad to leave, on the other hand I am ecstatic to see Annada again.

The restaurant we ate at the first night we arrived.

Notice the awesome turkey pumpkin by Meme and angel pumpkin by Annada.

This is the first year Annada was old enough to really anticipate trick or treating. Everyday for two weeks she asked me if it was today.

Annada had plenty of costumes to choose from. A belly dancing outfit, a flying horse, a ballerina and her mideast princess dresses were all options. She changed her mind a couple of times a day leading up to Halloween. But in the end… she choose the German princess costume Meme brought her that day!

Meme and Pepe came to take Annada trick or treating, celebrate my 30th birthday and help us while we took a class. I loved having everyone together.

On the big night we decided to let Annada eat as much candy as she wanted. We thought perhaps she would eat 3-4 pieces and be done. Um… nope. Before the night was over she had about 10 pieces of candy and was walking a bit wobbly!

She sorted her candy by type, taking each piece one at a time to a table. Later that night Marc and I took all but a few of her favorite pieces and brought the rest to work. I wondered if she would be upset when most of it was missing, but she didn’t complain.

She did, however, hide the candy that was left and the bag. I think she hid it very well, because she can’t find it and neither can we. She keeps looking and has asked a couple of times if we took it. Neither Marc, Meme or I remember touching her bag after that morning, so the mystery of the missing candy bag continues…

Playing with flowers at Epcot.

Meme (blessed-be-she) is here watching Annada during the day while Marc and I take a class. They have made the coolest pumpkins! (Pics to come)

Meme also brought Annada a kit to decorate a princess mirror. Annada loves it. She’s been running around holding it up to us and chanting…

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the best Mommy of them all? It’s Mommy!”

Or

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the greatest Daddy of them all? It’s Daddy!”

Or

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the best Meme of them all? It’s Meme!”

But when she points it at her she says, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful of them all? It’s Annada!”

Going Trunk or Treating with our neighbors Oct 30.

I had just finished praying with Annada before bed last night when she said, “God gave you an excellent baby. You loved your baby. She got bigger and now she is Annada.”

All I could say was, “You are right.”

Annada drew us a mural. She was so clueless that drawing on the wall was a bad idea, she even showed it to me. And… we now have to repaint the wall. I can’t help but laugh whenever I come up the stairs.

The mural day was a particularly busy one - Annada filled the toliet with so much paper it wouldn’t flush, put tissues down the sink (hours later, different bathroom) to it wouldn’t drain and broke a few toys. (She really wants to go potty “all by herself” but I may have to keep the tp with me.)

It was a rainy day and we were stuck inside - I am grateful to live in Florida where she can run off energy most days. And I love having a healthy, curious girl.

Annada wanted to do use face paint to make scary butterflies. I did her make-up, she did mine.

Today Annada, Hannah and I went to Epcot. On our way back the ferry was so full I had to stand next to our stroller. As we were moving Annada got out of her stroller and started roaming the very full boat.

I grabbed her hand to keep her close and she tried to pull it out. So I leaned over and told her, “You have to stay with me when the boat is moving. You can hold my hand or sit in the stroller. Which option do you pick?”

“I want to stand here all by myself,” Annada replied.

I looked at her with my that-is-not-one-of-the-options eyes.

“That is my option,” she said. “And it is a good one!”

Our house is holiday-confused. Annada is convinced that she will go trick-or-treating to find eggs filled with candy at people’s homes. Then we will come home and open presents from Santa. Yes, I have tried to explain it.

So Marc laughed at me when I came home with a nativity set. “This isn’t going to help her understand that Christmas comes in Decemeber,” he said.

I saw one on sale and Annada and I made a special Mommy-daughter date to go get it. We had dinner out together and then went to buy it. Buying a kid-friendly nativity is special to me because I loved playing with the nativity when I was little.

When we bought it I asked Annada whose birth was on the picture. “It’s Isaiah!” she said with glee, referring to her cousin.

When we brought it home we read the the story of Jesus’ birth together. Then I read it again and Marc and Annada acted out the story while I read a short version from children’s book.

Annada has spent about an hour every day since then acting out Jesus’ birth. She pulls out the kid’s book and sets up the scenes. Jesus is often born on the roof. But she and I both love it.

Petting the lobster.

Friday Annada’s playgroup toured Publix, our local grocery store. Annada and I were excited to go. A few weeks ago Annada noticed there was a door at the store she was not allowed to open. It went up stairs to a glassed in level of the store where the offices are. She decided she wanted to go up there badly. I told her only employees could go up there, “I will work here, Mommy,” she said. “I will. They will have jazzercise and I will kiss you goodbye and go to work.”

So when I told her we got to go behind the door the next day, she was so excited she kept squealing with happiness after I tucked her in bed.

The next morning I had to wake her up to get there in time. She was groggy and cuddly at first, then suddenly stopped. She broke out into a huge smile. “Let’s go to Publix!,” she yelled.

Ahh. The cookie.

They took us upstairs first thing and Annada was clearly impressed. We could look out over the whole store. After that, though, she and the other toddlers were pretty focused on making sure we got a cookie before we left.

We finished up by going to “Old McDonald’s” as Annada would say. Cookies, a balloon, friends, halloween candy and french fries. Annada was a happy girl.

Belle is coming!

Wednesday Marc took Annada to see the princesses at WDW. Since then, every night before bed Annada wants to talk about that day with me - where the princesses were sitting, which ones were there and …

Notice her feet are literally off the ground.

She always recounts the moment she was walking away from Cinderella, turned and ran into her arms. Marc said Cinderella and Annada were beaming. “Cinderella hugged me, Mommy! She really did.”

The Merry-Go-Round is no longer scary.

Annada likes to imagine what the princesses are doing while she lays in bed and we talk. Right now she thinks they are in their beds outside looking at the stars with their princes. Until the mosquitoes come. Then, like everyone else in Florida, they have to flee inside.

Hayrack ride

No one celebrates the seasons as much as Floridians. Multiple times I have seen people cover their entire lawns with white foam pretending it is snow. And Fall is as good as Christmas in Nebraska. There are Fall Festivals everyday in October ending with Halloween parties.

It’s almost getting hard to pick which event to go to. Fortunately, Annada is fond of bounce houses, firetrucks and horse rides.

Just last weekend, we went to 3 free festivals in a row. (Marc and I tag teamed the first two, then went together for the third.) That totals: 3 firetrucks, 4 bounce houses, more sugar than I want to think about, face painting, a pony ride, 2 new pumpkins, Daddy and Annada getting kicked off one inflatable obstacle course for some “cheating” (he carried her up the climbing wall), 2 hayrack rides, UCF cheerleaders, dancing troops, making a stain glass pumpkin, bookmark and pumpkin card and (I’m ashamed to admit it) 2 hot dogs.

In Florida, we may not have weather changes, but we know how to party. (And Marc and I aren’t even counting the half-a-dozen Octoberfests every weekend this month.)

The last truck burned up. I'm not kidding. The fire chief showed us the video on his phone. It had a gas leak. We are talking a huge ball of burning fire truck.

Annada followed these women around. She was in awe of their stunts.

Do NOT mess with this butterfly.

And now, the cutest new dancer for the REP:

Creating airplanes and heliocopters

Annada loves art. It started with coloring. Then a few months ago she began asking to paint with watercolors. She would paint for about two hours everyday. Recently she has begun branching out into mixed media. Everything is fair game.

Drawing stars

Today alone she has: drawn with marker on napkins, drawn on her chalkboard, painted two pumpkins, used stickers, glue and glitter on a foam pumpkin, finger painted Daddy and I both a card, created “mail” for mommy complete with drawn-on envelope and tiny pieces of paper inside and “pottery.”

“Pottery” was my favorite part. We had the Butchers over for dinner. After dinner we talked while Annada went into her room. When she came back she began pulling my hands telling me, “It’s time to do pottery, Mommy!”

I explained to Annada I was talking with my friends and she stood there a moment. Then she went to Daddy and, starting to cry, she pleaded with him, “Daddy, I am all ready for pottery. Please, have Mommy come do pottery with me.”

At that point I realized this was important to her. So I asked her if we could do pottery downstairs. “Please Mommy, pottery is upstairs,” she replied.

Annada held my hand and led me into her bedroom. There on the floor she had made stations like in her art and music class. There were two smocks (bibs) laid out for her baby and I. The baby was propped up and ready to do “pottery.” I sat down in front of a pile of stickers and a whiteboard.

Annada then explained step-by-step how to make pottery. First she drew a design on the board to make the pottery. Then she let me try. Then her baby tried. Then we used the stickers and our fingers, along with some imagination, to paint the boards/pottery.

Annada was so intent and careful. She even held my hand to help me sometimes. When she was done she sang the clean-up song and we put everything away. Then she happily went downstairs to be with our friends (where I let her paint pumpkin #2 while we talked). Ms. Katrina (her Kindermusik teacher) will be proud when I tell her.