Children's Fantasy Garden

The day that we went to the Aquarium, we went out to lunch with our friends and then Annabeth and I went back to visit the Botanical Gardens, which are right next to the Aquarium. We didn't get to spend too long there, because it was raining on and off all day, and started raining really hard about 45 minutes after we got into the gardens. I had never been there before, and we only got to see a small part. The part we saw was really neat - they have an area called the Children's Fantasy Garden, where there is a castle at the entrance, and everything inside the gardens is larger than life. When we first got in, there was a maze of tunnels leading to an area where there was a giant bee which had a motion sensor and buzzed whenever you walked under it. (Annabeth didn't like this part, as she doesn't like any loud or unusual noises) There was a giant watering can, and some giant seedlings. Then we went through another maze and found an area with giant ants, a spade, a rake, acorns, and pine cones. The next area had a slide leading down to it, and was a giant birds nest that you could go inside and climb into the eggshells. Then there was a giant vegetable garden, with giant carrots, turnips, potatoes, and other vegetables. Annabeth and I really enjoyed it, and I got some cute pictures of her there.

Aquarium

Last week Annabeth and I went to the Aquarium with some friends. There were three moms and 4 kids, three of whom were 2 year old toddlers. The last time Annabeth visited the Aquarium she was 3 months old, so it was fun to visit with her again and see her enjoy it in a whole new way. Keeping up with the 3 toddlers and trying to keep them in one place was a little like herding cats, but a lot of fun. Unfortunately, none of my pictures in the Aquarium came out very well because of poor lighting, except this one, which was at a model stream bed at the entrance. Annabeth loved this exhibit. She really enjoys water and waterfalls right now. One of our neighbors has a waterfall in front of their house, and every time we walk by the house, Annabeth says, "Waterfall!" and wants to watch it.

That reminds me of another funny story. It had been pretty dry here in Edgewood for quite a few months, but in the last couple of weeks we've finally gotten some rain. The first time it rained a couple of weeks ago, Annabeth looked outside and said, "Where's the snow?" I guess the winter snows were the last precipitation she had seen.

Ride 'em Horsey

Annabeth went to the hose, said "Horsey!" and then started riding it:

Fun Pictures by Pat

Here's a few pictures that Pat took of Annabeth recently which came out really cute:

And last, but not least, "Whew! All that picture taking is giving me a headache!"

Bugs

When we were playing at the sand box the other day, Annabeth spotted something on the wall, and said, "Look Mommy, a snail!" I looked, and there was a caterpillar. We have a lot of them all over the stucco walls on the outside of the house in the spring, and Annabeth has been having fun watching them crawl up the walls (she now calls them caterpillars):


Annabeth has also been noticing the big black beetles that we've been calling stink bugs. When we spotted one the other day, she said, "Run away, run away...no stink us, Mr. Stink Bug, no stink us!" She was quite upset. I think Grandma Maria has been telling her to stay away from those bugs so they don't stink. She was much calmer, just observing him, when I took this picture:

Swing Low

The last few days have been warm and sunny, and we've been enjoying time outside. Yesterday we had a fun time swinging at the neighbors' house. They are kind enough to let us use their swing set whenever we want. While I was pushing Annabeth on the swing, she started singing, "Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home..." She pretty much had the whole chorus down. We sang this song before with her while we were swinging, but this was the first time she initiated it. It was so cute to hear her sing it. Also, while she was swinging, she looked over and said, "Mommy, I see my shadow!" Again, we've talked with her about her shadow before, but this was the first time she noticed it herself and mentioned it.

We also spent some time yesterday playing in her sandbox. Here are some pictures:

Egg Hunt!

Ever since Easter, Annabeth has really enjoyed hunting eggs. We have a basket of Easter eggs with her toys, and a couple times a week she will ask us to hide them for her. When she found this particular egg in the little dish on our plant stand, she said "Egg is taking a bath!" and played with it ("I need soap") in and out of the dish for a while.

At the Library

Annabeth loves the library. We go every Wednesday when possible. This Wednesday, the first thing she said when I got her out of bed in the morning was "Library!" The library has a story time for 3-5 year olds on Wednesday mornings and sometimes she'll sit through it, though she's still a little young to sit still for that long. This week they had a guest storyteller, Armando Ortega, who is Fernando Ortega's younger brother! Fernando Ortega is a Christian music artist that Pat and I really enjoy. Here are some pictures from this week before story time. The first picture is of some little benches that the kids can sit in to read. They also have keyboards for the kids so they can pretend to type. There's a train table, too, that Annabeth really enjoys.

Another video..

Here's another video from a couple of months ago. Pat and Annabeth recorded a Valentine's Day message for me.

Hi Everybody!

Here is a video Pat made from his webcam.

"Hi Everybody!"

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Annabeth wanted to listen to her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse CD that she got for her birthday (thank you Carolyn and Rachel :) ) yesterday. We've listened to it a couple of times since her birthday. When we were heading downstairs to listen, she said "Rachel has that one." Which is amazing, because I never told her that, and Rachel does have it. :) I can only think that she overheard Carolyn telling me at our MOPS meeting last Thursday that Rachel has it and really likes it. It wouldn't surprise me.. that kind of thing is happening more and more.

The other thing that was amazing to me is when we were listening to the CD. There is a song on there about "The Library." She heard the first few notes of the song, which she has only heard a couple times, and she says "The Library Song!" I don't know, but for me as a first time mom, it's just amazing to see her little mind at work. :)

Oh, yesterday when we were taking a walk, we decided to go by our neighbors' house. They have goats and chickens. She remembered feeding them peanuts a few weeks ago when our neighbor Bonnie was out in her yard, and wanted to feed them again. I said, "Annabeth, what are we going to feed them?" At first she said "My jacket!" but when I vetoed that idea, she said "Grass!" and went and picked some and took it to them. They didn't like it too much, but I remembered our neighbor Leslie (who also has goats) telling me that there's a purple wildflower that the goats like to eat. I found some and gave it to Annabeth, and she was really pleased when the goats started eating it.

For those of you who don't know and didn't figure it out from the last paragraph, we live in the country now. :) Here's a picture of our house. (Click on picture for a larger version)

2 Year Pictures

Here are Annabeth's 2 year pictures that we took at JCPenneys. Our favorite is the one with the monkey.

"Mr. Ham"

The last couple of days, Pat's been playing with Annabeth as if his hand was a puppet. He calls it "Mr. Hand", but when Annabeth says it, it sounds like "Mr. Ham". (Pat can be pretty funny sometime, so maybe she's more accurate than we think. :) ) She absolutely loves it, and has been saying "I want Mr. Ham" a lot. Tonight she hugged his hand and said, "I love you, Mr. Ham"





Here's "Mr Ham" posing.










Today at lunch, I cut an orange for us, and told Annabeth it was a little dry. When I looked over at her, she's trying to sprinkle the orange with water from her cup.She doesn't miss much! :)

Berean Baptist Church Spring Banquet

On Friday Annabeth, Maria and I went to the Berean Baptist Church Spring Banquet with Auntie Cam, cousin Kendall and Cam's family. This has been an annual event for us for the last few years. Some highlights: a comment by Annabeth ("Excuse me, I had gas") prompted Kelly (Kendall's cousin) to ask, "Are you sure you're 2 and not 6 years old?" Annabeth's answer "I'm 2 years old. Grandma is 6 years old... Auntie Cam is 6 years old." Apparently she thinks all adults are 6 years old. :)




Kendall participated in a "fashion show" and was dressed as a bride. While she was up front, Annabeth kept saying, "I want my Kendall!"









During the main speaker, Annabeth said "I want to run!" so I took her out to the hallway to run laps when she couldn't sit still. After the presentations were over, she ran circles around the room.

We gave Auntie Cam her birthday present that night (her birthday was April 30) and Annabeth helped her open it. Then she put the tissue paper on like a cape and ran around. What a ball of energy she is - she was running around all night!

Annabeth's name was drawn for a kid's prize, and she got a purple lamb, a bicycle basket, and some crackers and a granola bar. The last couple days she's been asking "Can I have my snacks please?"

Song and Dance

Especially lately, Annabeth has really been enjoying music. She's starting to be able to clap along in rhythm and loves to dance. The other day she got two plastic spoons and was spinning in a circle with her eyes closed and tapping them together, saying "I make music!" She's starting to sing her ABC's, with some of the letters in the right places. Sometimes when she's singing a song and we try to sing along, she tells us not to sing - "Be quiet, I sing it".

Last night when Pat and I were working outside to plant a tree, she was on the porch watching us. She was dancing around on the porch singing, and started playing "Ring around the Rosie" by herself, dancing in circles around her sand box.