Annada Marie Vergo

Everyday Annada says something that makes me laugh or think. Here are a few recent thoughts from her:

Pet Chicken

Annada and I were riding home from church yesterday when she asked for French fries. Admittedly, Marc and I are usually starving when we get out of church and stop at McD’s on the way home. Last night, however, we had gone out to dinner first so I had more will power than normal.

I told Annada she could not have French fries, but she could pick out a snack when we got home.

Annada paused. “I don’t want a snack,” she said. “I want a pet.”

Uh oh, I thought. Annada paused for another minute.

“And not a worm, Mommy!” Annada chastised me. (She had asked me for a pet a week ago and I cut up a straw and told her they were worm babies. She made them a little bed and played with them for hours. However, I guess worms were not going to cut it this time.)

Then she burst out, “I want a chicken pet, Mommy! I want a chicken pet so I can touch it. A chicken pet will run with me. Not a normal one. A touching chicken. Please Mommy, please can I have a chicken pet?”

Stunned (and trying not to laugh) I didn’t answer Annada.

“Please, Mommy. Please, please, pleeeeeeaaaaaasssseeee. May I have a touching chicken?”

I still did not know what to say. So Annada changed tactics and began singing.

“I want a touching chicken to run with me, to tooouuuccch,” She sang. “Please give me a chicken, Mommy.”

The plee for a pet chicken song went on until we got home.

(In case you are wondering, we are not getting a pet. No family that is away from home 3+ months a year should have a pet. That is what Meme’s cats are for.)

That Would Not Be Awesome

Annada has a new phrase, “That would not be awesome.”

She uses it to describe a situation that seems like a good idea, but she knows is not as great as it could be.

For example, tonight as we walked home from the playground she stuck her head through the pool gate and said, “I could go swimming by myself Mommy. That would not be awesome.”

Or another time, “I can run down the stairs! But when I fall, that would not be awesome.”

I Let the Pain Out of My Heart

At the pool I asked Annada if she was happy or sad.

“I am happy,” she said. I asked her why.

“I cried,” she replied. Confused I asked why she cried if she was happy.

“I washed the pain out of my heart, Mommy,” she said. “Now I am happy.”

Will You Die, Mommy?

A few days ago Annada crawled into my lap looking very serious.

“Mommy, did Nemo’s mommy die?” she asked. There was something about the way she asked that made it more of a statement than a question.

We don’t let her watch PG movies for this reason – she doesn’t miss anything. But I vaguely remembered Nemo being on without sound at frozen yogurt place we went to weeks ago.

“Yes, Annada, in the movie, Nemo’s mommy died.”

Annada didn’t even pause.

“Will you die, Mommy?”

(Oh God, please help me, I prayed.)

“Yes Annada, everyone dies.”

“What is it like to die?” Annada asked.

“Well, it is like when we went to Africa. God calls you and you leave Orlando to move to heaven to live with Him,” I said.

“Will you and Daddy come with me to heaven?” she replied.

(I was thinking, can this be normal for a 2-year-old? I thought I had years before this conversation.)

“Well, we will either be waiting for you or will come meet you there,” I said.

Annada broke out into a smile and hugged me, no longer serious. “We will live in our heaven home!” she said.

It was like a spell broke and Annada went back to being a 2-year-old. But I don’t think she forgot.

In fact, a couple of days ago we let her watch Rango (minus some scary parts) with her friend Diego and his family. When the movie was over I asked her if she liked it.

“No, because people were mean to each other and some of them died,” she said.

After being at Meme and Pepe’s house, we moved to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. We went boating, ate outside a lot and made s’mores around a fire.

I think one of Annada’s highlights was wearing matching dresses with Grandma. Annada was so proud!

Tonight Annada and I were playing on the playground. Part of the playground has a steering wheel and often becomes a boat or car in Annada’s imagination. Tonight she told me to come in and sit down.

“We are going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house,” She said.

I waited a while. “Are we there yet, Annada?”

“I can’t find them!” she yelled and began running around our ship. “There they are! I see them. They are eating dinner over there.”

Annada ran down the stairs and over to some stools she uses as a kitchen. “I need to bring them some food Mommy. You watch.”

Annada scooped up some wood chips, brought them to an empty picnic bench and set them down. Then she ran back up to me, leaned through the playground bars and blew a kiss to the bench.

At the beginning of August we squeezed in a trip home to Omaha. We really wanted Annada to see her Grandpa before he has surgery Sept. 8. We spent a few days with my parents and a few with Marc’s before flying home.

Face painting with her hero, Aunt Erica. Happy birthday Erica!

Pepe teaching Annada how to ride a bike.

Showing off her socks to Great-grandpa Kennard.

Great-grandma Kennard. For some reason, just today Annada started telling me the story of getting to sit on Grandma Kennard's lap from this night.

Visiting Tommy the Turtle at the Omaha Zoo.

Last December we took Annada to have dinner with Santa Claus at the Omaha Zoo to celebrate her birthday. While we were there, Annada was able to pet a turtle which happened to poop. “The turtle pooped!” Annada would tell us with utter awe for months.

We named the turtle “Tommy” (who is really a tortoise). Annada considers him a close friend and Pepe sends her letters from Tommy and his girlfriend Teresa. Every time we go to Omaha, Annada wants to visit Tommy.

If you look closely, you can see Tommy right next to Annada with Teresa climbing toward her. I don’t know why these turtles came over, but it made Annada’s day. Now when I read her a letter from Tommy she says, “Tommy came to me, Mommy. He did!”

Wondering why I haven’t posted? YearOne.3 starts today!!

We’ve taken 6 trips in 2 months and the last one was our staff planning retreat. Check out our awesome new team:

Our staff team. Annada is convinced it would be fun to throw herself off the pier and drop 30 feet to go into the ocean after seeing a group of rays swim by.

As the retreat was winding down, we saw a huge rainbow stretch across the sky. It’s nice to be reminded how big God is.

The night the retreat ended we let Annada stay up late and took her to the pool. We missed her. She was amazed that she was allowed to be outside in the dark. We had a lot of fun together.

And the next day we went to the beach before heading home. Annada is not scared of the ocean anymore. Instead of staying far away from the waves, Annada would run straight into the ocean and not stop until we grabbed her! Needless to say, we were on high alert. It was fun to see her laugh with joy as the waves came. And she still yells, “Thank you Jesus!” when it is time to leave. (To thank Jesus for making “God’s pool.”)

Actors from the REP

Marc, Annada and I went to the Target Family Festival together last weekend. They had a ton of fun things to do. We took Annada to magic show, a concert and a puppet show. During the concert she would alternate jumping up and down with full body head banging – she’s a natural!

Princess face paint