First Day of School

Name that movie....."First day of school. First day of school."

I did not give you that much but that is all that I can remember the actual words that come next. I can just picture that little Nemo jumping on his Papa trying to wake him up for school:)


That line plays in my head every time I take Annaka to school or look at her school pictures.

Annaka's experience was a bit different. First of all she was three months late! School started mid June, which we had planned on being here for. Our U.S. time tables were a bit extended so she had to jump in now.


She got all dressed up, ate her breakfast, put on her backpack (that was only filled with her snack and water) and posed for a few photos.



This went great until....

she realized I would not be coming with her.


Then we had a bit of an emotional few moments. After a little pep talk we were on our way.


We got to the school and she immediately jumped into my arms. After another little pep talk she got down, took off her shoes, put them in her shoe cubby hole, grabbed her teachers hand and marched off. I got a hand flip over her shoulder and a "bye Mom".


I think that very moment was more difficult for me than for her.




p.s. Gotta love the backpack view:)

Things people dont talk about....

Why is it that people tend to not talk about deep matters. It is almost as if we have a book of 'appropriate' answers and comments we are allowed to say to one another.

Why is it when we have a bad day or when we are hurting or struggling we stay silent. Sometimes we need to talk about it. Not only to 'get it out' or to get through it, but to allow others to see the power and strength of the Lord. He allows us to experience these struggles not because we are strong or we can 'handle' it....but because He is strong. Because it is His strength He is glorified.

I am guilty as charged on this matter. Just look at my blog.....photos and daily events. Hmmm, how does this document my 'pilgrimage to motherhood'?

Maybe I am saying that I will post more about the reality of what I am thinking about or doing for the day....even if it does not involve a cute picture of our little three year old....even if it means something that I need help with....even if it means something I am struggling with. Yes, some days it will still just be a picture and a cute story.

Three - Clappy Shoe Style

"Clappy shoe, huh?" Yeah, my thoughts exactly when I heard the words resounding out of my little two year old princess mouth. "You want a clappy shoe birthday? A clappy shoe cake?" A princess cake or a ballerina cake or an elephant....anything would be easier.

Does anyone know what a clappy shoe is?

This is a clappy shoe.

So, how in the world do I make a clappy shoe cake? Hmmm, Let's just say the first one flopped with a capital F-. So bad that it looked like a Herman Muenster shoe. I would not let anyone take photos of it. It was a mix of cake and rice crispy treats.

The second one worked out better....not quite what I wanted, but better than the first.

(Though I cannot figure out how to turn this photo...you get the idea)

No huge birthday celebration this year though. We thought we would either be in transit or back on the other side of the globe by now so it was just one side of the family, on a weeknight, for grilling out and cake. We celebrated at my grandfather's house with my mom's side of the family. I think I like the decorations better than the cake ....

Clappy shoe chandelier and name place cards....

(With a cute almost 3 year old as a decoration too:) )

We all (the females) wore Clappy shoes too:)

Actually, I believe Annaka was the only one who wore her Clappy Shoes the whole time. The rest of us just put them on for the picture.

Proof.....even after opening presents, putting on dress up clothes and headband, the clappy shoes are still on.

I love that Annaka is just as into the card as she is the present. She 'reads' every card, keeps it and 'reads' them again over and over and over again. This one had Minnie Mouse ears in it.

She put the ears on while opening gifts.

Until she opened this dress up outfit. The headband won and the ears were brought home later. (Note the princess plate/utensils/cups)

I am thinking now about what to 'suggest' for next years theme. I am going to find the easiest cake to make and begin putting in a good word for that theme in ummm, October? That way next June will be a breeze.

Happy 3rd Birthday to our little Princess!

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Annaka!

(less than 10 hours old)

(2 weeks old)

(4 weeks old)

(4 weeks old)

(First Birthday)

(1st, 2nd Birthday Party)

(2nd 2nd Birthday Party)

Annaka, we thank the Lord for you every day. You are a blessing from God and we love watching you learn and grow. We love you!

Friends here, friends there, friends in between

Annaka has a way of making friends wherever she goes. No matter if it is another child her age, or an adult she takes a liking to....she never goes without an ear to talk to:) She has friends in the states that we have enjoyed watching grow up with her. Friends from several states.

She has friends in Asia, where we live, who not only live across the hall but across town. Actually there are even real people, then there are the animals she loves to watch and call her friends too.

Annaka is all the while learning to adapt to her life and role of a global nomad by creating her own friends that travel between the two cultures with us.

When she was still fairly young Tyrone came to be a constant part of our family and play time. Although she has never actually said it, we believe he has stemmed from Backyardagains.

Now, Tyrone has not always been in her good graces. At one point in time while watching her play in her room, I saw her...with my own eyeballs... "grab" her imaginary friend and tell him " You go in this hole Tyrone" while literally (can I even use that word when talking about an imaginary little boy?) "threw" him in a hole. He remained there for about two months. Even when I would ask her about where he was her reply was always, without a slip and very confidently "Oh, I threw him in a hole."

I know she is a smart little booger, but come on, I can not even keep straight a make believe playtime when she is the 'mommy' and I am the 'tiny-little-girl'. How in the world did she always remember where he was and that she had thrown him in a hole?

It was not until one day when I asked her where he was, to which she gave her same simple reply, and I demanded that I was going in the hole to talk to him. She looked at me as if I was doing something absurd! Then she took him out of the hole and he has played with us again ever since.

Nice vacation? I dont know...maybe I should ask him and see what Annaka says.

Now enter Jake the Pirate. He has come to join us in the past month.

We had a really hard time knowing what she was saying about "Jake". At first I thought she was talking about my cousin Jake....then realized she was saying Pirate Jake because of a Disney cartoon show she had seen all of twice.

This is not instead of Tyrone, but along with him. They are friends? I think. Sometimes, not always, they both play with her at the same time.

I am still very confused as to how old they are. This past weekend Annaka notified me that Pirate Jake is going to marry Tyrone's mom.

A taste of whats to come.....

One of Annaka's favorite things to do... Dress Up!

I love this one

This one is just cute. Shows her fun girlie playfulness right now. Oh how she LOVES her 'clappy' shoes, necklaces, purses, scarfs, 'pretties' in her hair, fingernail and toe nail polish, etc.

Of course this picture was taken just before that cute little blue necklace that Annaka's grandma (my mom) wore when in high school, went into her mouth. She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth which has lead us to adopt the rule that whatever I catch in her mouth gets taken away for 24 hours. Sad day for her.

When will we ever get over this putting stuff in our mouths???!!!

Snooze

This is what happens when you play in your bed for an hour before falling asleep. You fall asleep in the middle of some deep thought, or in a conversation with your (fill in the blank with any of the following....stuffed animal, imaginary friend, the wall )

Oops...

Papa lost his head:(

Sad to say our little WillowTree figurine made it all the way to Asia only to fall over while on our dining room table.....and the husband/father's head fell off. Well, at least we get to learn where to buy super glue now.

Photo Ramblings....

A big fat prize to whoever can tell me what this is a photo of.
Bueller.....Bueller....Anyone....

It is the base of our bathroom window.

Ok, you can scroll back up and look again. See it now? Talk about insulation huh. I can almost fit a shoe out the crack between the window and the window sill. Well, maybe not a shoe but definitely something. It was a problem when an army of hundreds of aunts would come invading inside and would make their way to my kitchen.....and now is an agent of letting HOT air inside! Yes, it is supposed to be 40 degrees on Sunday. Celsius that is. (110 F) We are only at the begining though. I wont even bring up what it will be in May.

There is the top of it.

On a cuter note...

Here is our little Picasso eating. Ha! Whats new! She LOVES to eat.....somedays. On those days her repeated phrase is "I wanna snack" or "I want Bob" (she calls ALL fruitsnacks 'bob' because grandma got her some veggie tales fruit snacks over a year ago) Other days it is applesauce smapplesauce nothing is going down the hatch without a fight. Usually on these days I can make some Dal and that is about all I can get down her. That or if she happens to find a fruit snack packet in my purse when I am not looking. Mealtimes are NOT fun on those days. She fights as we require her to eat a bare minimum. (Yep we are mean)

Oh well, it all evens out huh? And vitamins help on the tough days.

(p.s. She typically LOVES applesauce)

Happy Birthday Clinton!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! 32 years young....when does old start? My perception of this changes almost daily.

Anyway, I love you and am excited to see what the Lord brings in the next 32 (plus more) years!

Here is the birthday boy's cake....

Whoops, not done yet.

Final product.

Time to eat cake!

Happy Birthday Clint! I love you!

C Week

Each week we feature a different letter, make something that begins with that letter.....cook something that starts with that letter....talk about an animal that begins with that letter.....

... well, that is our intention...

Because we have been busy, and have had guests, it has been more like a letter every three weeks. In this case it will take a year and a half to get through the alphabet. We better speed up!

B week (or weeks) were filled with Bumble Bees and Bubbles....this week its cats, caterpillars and cake!

We colored the body circles of the caterpillar....
Annaka like to play with them along the way.....so many things you can pretend random colored circles are......here are some eye glasses

Colored and glued on the legs....

Final product....Today (tuesday) we will eat carrots and Thursday we will make a cake!
(I have no idea why my webcam gives me mirror images.....Oh well, this is what Annaka cut and glued(pasted as my grandmother would say) today.....

Fun day.

Until there was a tantrum because it was time to put the glue away......

Catching an artistic moment....

Catching an artistic moment is not always that easy. Especially for me who is not the photography pro like my hubby. One day we were sitting on the couch talking and saw Annaka at the dining room table 'drawing'. Before we knew it she pulled the note pad to the bench, stood on the paper and began tracing her feet. I grabbed the camera and Clint got some good photos from under the table!

Tracing her toes....

What would any girl do next?

Color her painted toenails of course! She colored them blue....to match her dress. Maybe we will have to get some real blue toenail polish as well:)

Too bad we did not get a photo of her little tongue that sticks out when she is concentrating.

Trouble

Scheming little two year old friends.

What are they scheming?


Maybe the pile of toys I found on the playground below will explain....



Not only were they throwing toys over the edge of porch.....they did it in style! (Note the 'clappy' shoes and tutu)

Annaka enjoyed having her friend Haprer visit. It was fun to see them play together.

Friends for life....

Friends in the womb....(only a month apart)

(7 and 8 months old)


And continues even at 2 1/2....

Sweet Moments

Most days, one of my favorite times is reading Annaka her bedtime story. We get her Bible storybook out and have been reading one or two stories a night. (I say most days because I am human and am some days flat out exhausted....or its Clints turn that evening) I lay beside her and we read and converse. Most days she listens well and talks about the story. One day last week we could not get through the story at all. We were reading about the good Samaritan. All Annaka could focus on was the fact that in the picture the man was laying on the ground and there was a donkey beside him so *obviously* there was a problem...."The donkey ate his clothes!"
She would not even let me read the story. I eventually was laughing so hard I had to stop and call it a night. She was so worried about that man's clothes. We still have not gotten through that story. Maybe in a couple weeks or with a different little Bible story book ... with a different picture... I will try again with the good Samaritan. :)


On another note...

it has been fun to see these times in the Word shape her little heart and actions. She was having a difficult time obeying one day. Many times she got in trouble for not obeying and then refused to say 'thank you' or 'Im sorry'. Even just before bed Papa told her to 'come here' and she said no, stomped her foot and threw a fit. In the last moments of the day the Bible story we read was the Prodigal son. We were talking about how he came back and said he was sorry to his Papa and his Papa forgave him and gave him a big hug. She immediately said "Oh, I need to go say Im sorry to Papa" , hopped off her bed, ran into the living room, jumped on top of her Papa, gave him a hug and said "I sorry for disobeying Papa!" No prompting. Simply putting two and two together. I love watching how the Word shapes her little heart.

Picasso

Memories. Nicknames. Sweet moments.

Sweet moments that we look back on with a smile come quite often. Many of these are times when we were trying to 'punish' Annaka yet end up trying hard to disguise our smile/laugh. For example last week when Annaka was having a hard time falling asleep. I went in and did not see her in bed. After searching, I found her hiding behind my bedroom door, my lipstick all over her face and cotton balls in both hands and a gigantic sleepy....past midnight...smile.

But this next one...no....this was not one of those moments.

This was a moment of my pure disappointment a moment where Mama is purely upset. Annaka has yet again taken a crayon to something other than paper. No, this is not her first offense. I went in her room two months ago to find purple crayon on her wall. When I asked her if she colored on her wall her reply was "Yes, and my floor too" This time I looked in her room to see brown crayon on her floor, dresser drawer,
side of her dresser,

and on the toilet seat in the bathroom(I will spare you a picture of that one). First of all, yuck, why was she even in the bathroom in the first place....and with a brown crayon...coincidence? Hmm?

(do you see she even moved a little box beside the dresser to stand on to 'color higher'. Creative)

This situation has brought two things to mind.

1. I am thankful marble is the local lineoleum. Cheap and covering the floors of every house/apartment/store/etc. It may be tough to stand on all day but crayon wipes right off with a wet rag, Yay.

2. I am also thankful I brought a magic eraser with me from the states. Most of it (from other locations) is gone!

Even though this was an event to boil my blood....Clint seems to help me keep my perspective (remember THIS post?) He, after giving her a stern talking to, began laughing and decided to give her the nickname Picasso. He helped me to enjoy the little moments. (after the punishment time that lasts all of two minutes for a two year old) Thank you honey!

I am working on another post about this. About enjoying the sweet little moments and savoring every blessing. Some things the Lord is working on my heart about etc. Maybe another day or two.

p.s. She calls herself Picasso sometimes now.

What is she eating?

Cold peas. Yuck.

She is my little local lady who loves rice, dhal, veggies, rice, and cold peas!? Well, ok, I dont know where people really eat cold peas but had to throw them in somewhere. Did I mention Rice? She loves rice.

More coming hopefully tomorrow.....thought I would get one photo up now.

And please dont mind the wild hair. She may not like this photo in 12 years.