Time to catch up... and there's a lot.

So much has happened since my last blog post so I'll try to cover most everything then go back and blog about each thing worthy of it's own post ;) This may be the longest post ever but I'm just typing as I remember so if you don't want to read it all that's fine I just want it all on paper ;)

Sorry these events aren't in order...

Pete the Cat was the grand marshal of the Decatur Book Festival so of COURSE we had to go!! I took the huge Pete cutout I made and altered him a little to match the new book. I painted his white shoes red, gave him a guitar, and made Anna Claire's radio flyer wagon into a school bus. Anna Claire wore her Pete outfit from her birthday but we found her some red shoes and gave her an orange backpack. We were definitely popular at the parade getting stopped frequently so people could take pics next to our 5 foot tall Pete the Cat. We got to catch a little of Mr. Eric's show but it was PACKED and AC was getting fussy so we appeased her with a popsicle, donated our Pete and schoolbus plywood cutouts to Little Shop of Stories (where she takes music class). I didn't have room and/or use for them at my house. No clue what they will use them for - but I just didn't have the heart to throw them away. At least if they do I wont know about it :)

Anna Claire started preschool. I didn't plan to put her in preschool until she was 3, but the more I realized how bad her separation anxiety was - the more I knew we HAD to start now or it would be worse. The first day was rough.... Second day worse according to the teachers. She finally started warming up and it's gotten better as the weeks have gone on. Now there are very few tears (if any at all) as she gets out of the car, and the teachers say she's not crying at all when she gets to class. When we pick her up she tells us all about her day, what letter they learned, she will sing the songs they sang in music class and we love seeing all her artwork (photos to come.). Here is a typical conversation with her after school...

Us: Anna Claire how was school today?
AC: A paint a pumpkin!!!
Us: Oh! You painted a pumpkin?
AC: Yeah.... a got a paci and it's broken (we cut her paci trying to break her habit, apparently the teachers tried to give her the 'broken' one)
Us: What did you learn today?
AC: Tha let-ter Ddddd..........

Anyway - we can go back and forth with her and we get little tidbits of her day. I love our conversations in the car!!!

The teachers apparently spoil her - they say she only wants to eat snack at the teacher's desk instead of her desk and they let her. They also seem to cater to her a little ;)

Anna Claire also got to meet her new cousin Autumn! I took her to Caron's house and she was just in LOVE with her!!! She was so gentle and just wanted to put her hand on her, but was very sweet. She didn't mind me holding her at all and even got to hold her herself!!! I couldn't believe how calm and gentle she was around her!! While at Aunt Caron's house she got to play with Allie and Wyatt and get a little big-cousin time in. They disappeared upstairs for about 2 hours while Caron and I played photographer with Autumn. When she came downstairs she had one of Allie's headbands on, a teddy bear and a purse. She was not ready to leave but was asleep in the car about 5 min after we left.

We also started music classes again with Mr. Eric. He was on a book tour for his new book the first 2 classes so we had Mr. Michael (the other co-founder of The Learning Groove) and he was wonderful!! Anna Claire really loves going to music class and it's great to see some of her friends she made from the last class.

As for our day-to-day it's been FULL to say the least. Music class Monday, school tues, wed, thurs. Friday is usually our 'off' day but it's always the day that we have to plan everything else so it gets full of 'stuff'. I'm still training for my marathon so we've been going on runs and the runs are getting LONGER. Anna Claire has been on lots of short runs - but also on a 9mile, 10mile, 11mile and 13 mile run with me. And she is FANTASTIC on runs!!!! The last 10miler we did I thought she was asleep - but she was just chillin in the stroller soaking in nature!!! After the 13mile run I rewarded her with a little park time which she loved. Hopefully I won't have to do too many more long runs with her. Marathon training is pretty demanding, I'll be glad when it's over with!!

She LOVES to color and paint... and now cut with scissors. We really have to watch everything because if she finds a pen, marker, scissors - anything is fair game. Today she colored in a arch and said "It's a RAINBOW" - granted it was a black rainbow but cute that she connected the arch to a rainbow. Here I'll attach the pic ;)  The 'arch' thing was the first thing on the paper but then she added the rest of the 'art'.

I feel like I say the same things over and over about what she's learned - but here's where she's at now. She talks ALL-THE-TIME. Full sentences.. full PARAGRAPHS should I say. It seriously cracks us up the stuff that comes out of her mouth. I'll recap our 'bonus time' from tonight in a bit because I was in stitches. She knows her alphabet and knows EVERY letter of the alphabet. Chris said when they were at the dentist office waiting room she saw the exit sign and said "E-X-I-T". She wants SO badly to be able to write her letters and LOVES getting us to write them for her so she can tell us what they are. Anything that has letters or words she loves. Puzzles, her refrigerator magnets, books, you name it. The kid loves letters!!! She also can count to 20 and knows her numbers by sight up to 10. She counts EVERYTHING. Probably because I count everything to her - but stairs, books, buttons, candy, everything!!!! I love it!!

She loves watching Sesame Street in the morning although she gets distracted easily, but also knows when you turn it off. She LOVES the show "Super Why" and "Yo Gabba Gabba".

The girl has a memory like you wouldn't believe!! Last week she was in her playroom playing the guitar and singing and I heard her say "I need a pick". I yell out from the office "baby I don't know where a pick is, sorry!" and she says "I go get it". Then she makes a B-line from her play room, through the office, down the hallway STRAIGHT to a guitar pick that was next to the wall tucked half way in the carpet in a hallway full of STUFF. I couldn't believe she remembered it was there of all random places!?? I also couldn't find my deodorant the other day (she likes to play with it for some reason) and just said out loud but to myself "where's my deodorant??" she takes off comes back and says "here go mama" with my deodorant in her hand!! No clue where it was but she knew exactly where it was! Today she woke up from a nap and immediately said "want the chocolate milk on the sofa" Goes downstairs and says "oh there it is!" sure enough - on the sofa. She's done this with chapstick, toys, shoes, you name it - she remembers where EVERYTHING is and even if something isn't where she thought it was she will notice something isn't there and say "where the markers go?". I'm passing down the name my mom gave me to her.... "My little memory bank".

The child absolutely LOOOOOOOOVES to jump. Probably one of her favorite things to do. She jumps for no reason, she jumps when she hears the word, she jumps to music, she jumps in the bed, she jumps and jumps and jumps. She prefers to jump with shoes on and if she starts jumping and realizes she doesn't have them on she will say "I get tha shoes an put them on". Oh - and she knows when she has shoes on the wrong feet. Some softer shoes like little ballet flats she can't tell, but if she has other shoes on the wrong feet she will say "Uh oh, I make it feew better.... oh! der on tha wrong feet! I make it feew better. there that's better"

She has been REALLY into musical instruments lately - specifically the violin. She went through a piano phase and a guitar phase.... now it's all about the violin. She can pick them out in songs and will squeal "Oh! It's a violin!!". She loves seeing them in books and on TV and about a week ago she grabbed two of her golf clubs, tucked one under her chin, used the other like a bow and started playing a "violin" - then started singing the violin song from the Learning Groove!!! She's done this multiple times. We have some videos to post which we will do soon. Maybe she will get the musical talent I always wanted!!

Haven't started trying to potty train her for pee-pee yet. She still tells us when she has to go poo poo in the potty and has had VERY few accidents. Most were the cause of a little too much cheese,milk and bananas. I'll leave it at that.


And now our night tonight:
I put her down a little early since we had music class and about an hour later I hear "ohhhh noooo Anna Claire.... you go pee pee???? Oh no you go pee pee in tha diaper. I pee pee! Mommy I pee pee" So I went upstairs and sure enough she had peed which has NEVER bothered her before this week and recently she has been immediately taking off her diaper after she pees so maybe potty training is coming close! Anyway, I go to change her diaper and she says "I get the pink hair in tha playroom??" (the 'pink hair' is a little pink pom pom ink pen I bought her today at Target, and sure enough, it was in the playroom). So I get it and she says "wan go downstairs for a wiw bit?" Hard to resist so down we go..... Then I swear the next 30 minutes sounded a bit like this (literally all running together):

AC: "I get cozy!! (she likes to sit with a blanket over her - that's her 'cozy') Wan watch Ses Street? Oh no, it's too late, can watch ses street. wew watch it tomorrow."

Me: "yes, we will watch it tomorrow, it's too late"

AC: "Want some goldfish? Nooooo it's too yate. I want pink hair? Oh!!! Pink Hair!! I get-chew I get-chew... Mama get-chew???"

Me: (I tickle her with the pom pom and say "get you get you get you" which sounds like get-chew)

AC: "Oh! A motorcycle? (her little ride-on car) Oh no, motorcycle go niiiiiiiigh-night. where Piper go? Piiii-per. OH Piper! Where go Piper? Piper sweeping. Wake up Piper wake up! Piper go niiiight-night. Wanna watch Ses Street? no. no ses street."

Me: "Baby, please sit still, it's late - lets start winding down"

AC: (jumping up as she sees her golf club) "Wan play golf? Oh THERE it is! A purple golf? (her purple golf club). Where blue golf go? Blue golf go niiiight-night. Wets play golf. A watch it mommy? SWING ahhahahahahhaaha (doubling over to the floor laughing at herself). A mommy pway golf? A watch pway purple golf. Oh oh where ball go?"

Me: "Baby the golf balls have gone night night. All the toys are going night night. YOU need to go night night" (but first I teach her to yell FORE after she swings which she thinks is HILARIOUS and falls to the ground laughing every time I say it)

AC: "Oh! TV is sleeping!! (the screen went black from where I paused my show). Night night tv. Wan go read books in tha pway room?? Ok mommy, I get the books. Yets go read"

Me: "Anna Claire I'll read you books in YOUR room but you are going to bed after"

AC: "Ok, yets stay here. A go jumping? JUMP JUMP JUMP (as she starts jumping) A need shoes? Go get shoes for jumping?"

Me: "No, no shoes. It's time to go night night"

FINALLY I convince her to go upstairs with me, we read some where around 7 books and I put her to bed... with a wet wipe, two baby-go's, a stuffed dog, 3 blankets, a pink pom pom, and a book.

I think she's asleep......