Dashing through the snow...

Things Annie Says

Annie has been saying some cute things lately and I have to write them down before I forget.

The other day she picked up a Fancy Nancy book and said "This is my favorite book, Fancy Fancy!". So cute! Then, she began to read it and said "Once uponce a time".

Yesterday she came home from school and Mitch asked her what she did at school she said, "I pway superheros". We thought this was funny because we have never even talked about superheros. Then he said "What superhero were you?" she replied "BATMAN!". Later when I asked her how she learned about Batman she said "Ben!" with a big smile on her face! We haven't heard her talk about Ben as much this year but apparently the spark is still there!

Before bed last night she leaned toward me with her hand cupped to her mouth and said "Can I tell you a secret?". I said sure and she leaned in and said "Mrs. Heidi (her teacher) said warm it up ships!". I had no clue what she was talking about. When went upstairs and I had her tell Mitch and he could not figure it out either! She probably said it twenty times and we guessed every imaginable thing we thought it could be but, she kept saying "No, warm it up ships!". Finally, we gave up and I went to put her to bed. I asked one more time and said "what were you doing when she said that?". Annie replied "Shakin' my booty!"! Then I said "did she say 'warm up those hips?". She said "Yes, warm up those hips!". :)

The Flu

My sweet little Annie girl has the flu! Yes, I am that Mom that cancelled her flu shot appointment and completely forgot to reschedule and now my child has the flu! On the up side, Annie has been in the best mood! Besides her cough, which is getting much better, you wouldn't even know she is sick! She is a trooper! Mitch and I actually joked last night about keeping her on Tamiflu on a regular basis! ;) We have watched the Polar Express 2 1/2 times this weekend and I think tonight we are going to ride in the car to look at the lights on 109 in Lebanon. We are trying to stay in and away from others so we don't infect them. We are making the best of this situation and still having a great weekend!

Anything but shy

Annie has always been really talkative at home, I mean REALLY talkative. To the point where you sometimes tune it out and then occasionally say "cool" or "yeah" and nod your head like you are completely involved in the conversation but you really have no idea what is going on. In public though she tends to be pretty shy. In the past few days she has done a complete 180. This weekend she walked up to complete strangers and said "I'm Annie. What's your name?". Then the person normally asks how old she is and she says, "I'm 2(while holding up 2 1/2 fingers) almost three(then the rest of the third finger comes up). She just randomly has conversations with people! Last night while Mitch was trying on shoes she played basketball with the sales associate at Dick's for about 15 minutes. Then the proceeded to play hide and seek and soccer! Needless to say, she is becoming a social butterfly!

I'm Minnie!

A trip to the pumpkin patch!

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year! And it is not complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch! We went to Bottomview Farms again this year because they have fun activities for the kids and it doesn't feel commercialized like some of the others. I think the sweet little lady that takes your money at the entrance is the owner!

**Side note: I just realized I put these pictures in reverse order! Oops!

This slide was really fun! We both took

a turn taking Annie down it.

I kinda wanted to

try it by myself!

The corn hut

Annie truly loves any type of farm animal!

Examining her pumpkin

The search begins!

We went the 3rd weekend and

they still had a ton of pumpkins-big and little!

So excited and ready to go!

Atlanta Getaway!

We took a trip to Atlanta for a few days to go the the Georgia Aquarium. I think it is the biggest or one of the biggest aquariums in the U.S. It was really cool and worth the short drive. If you have kids it is definitely a must see!

We also visited the Atlanta Zoo since we got 1/2 off for being members at the Nashville Zoo. Annie loves the animals and they had more exhibits than the one here so it made it fun! We even saw a baby, like tiny baby, gorilla! SO cute! There were a ton of pics from this trip and it was taking for ever to upload so, here are a few!

Yes, she is still obsessed with goats!

In this picture the zoo keeper was telling her she could climb up there

and sit with the goat. I'm really glad she chose not to do that!

She LOVED the pool! She also did great with her

swimmies and was kicking all over the place!


She was the cannonball queen! In and out, jumping
over and over and over...

We also did a lot, I mean a lot, of eating on this trip!

That's what you do on vacation right? Well, that's what

I'm telling myself anyway!

The brownie sundae was a hit!


We ate a Japanese restaurant, YUM! It was very traditional.

We sat down in the floor and had to leave our shoes outside

the room. Annie thought it was so fun to eat barefoot!

We also ate at the Varsity which is like an

old school drive-in and indoor restaurant.

We had breakfast at this little diner. Annie snacked on some

butter while waiting for her pancakes!

Yes, I said butter, please don't judge me!

These are some beluga whales at the aquarium. They were

so pretty. Like a mix between a dolphin and a whale.

They had 2 giant whale sharks. They were at least 20 ft long, maybe more. We were there at the perfect time because we were able to see them at feeding time. The workers got in this little raft and the whale sharks followed them around and ate. The whale sharks were twice the length of the raft, scary!!

This manta ray was beautiful! It was huge too! I was doing flips

and rolls in the water the entire time. It was so graceful! In this shot he came right up to the glass and it was amazing!

Annie with the whale skeleton! Eww!

She had a blast!

An albino alligator. These are found in the Mississippi River!

Note to self- stay away from the Miss. River!

Right after leaving the aquarium!

30 seconds later! Literally!!

Asleep in the car but, still has a death grip on the lollipop!

Bikini babe!

This is what vacation is all about!

On the way home we stopped in Chattanooga and visited Ruby Falls.

We got into an elevator that took us 26 floors(in about 10 seconds) below

ground and took a tour through the cave into the falls. It was really beautiful and even Annie enjoyed it!

Typical Mitch!

Little Preschooler!

Annie started back to school and she is so happy to be back! She loves talking about all of her friends and especially Ben, her boyfriend! At any mention of school the name Ben comes up multiple times!
Since she is in the 2 year old class this year they go to music class one day and library the other day! She is so excited to tell us about her day! Her teacher said she is awesome! And, she whispered it while other parents were standing around. That's how I know she's telling the truth! She would have said it loud if she was going to tell every parent that! It was a proud Mommy moment!

July was a pretty busy month and I didn't make any posts at all! Here are just a few pics from July- enjoy! :)

Mom decided since it was so hot outside we would take a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. The girls had a blast and I have to admit it was actually a pretty good trip considering it was CEC! We went early one morning and it wasn't too busy which was nice because you could easily spot the girls!

Morning and Annie playing air hockey! They are such cheaters!

They both slid it and stopped it with their hands.

Rules or no rules, they had fun!

Poor MaeLing! When will they learn?

MaeLing really wasn't choking Annie. She was just doing what we told

her, "Hold onto Annie so we can get a picture!". Annie was ready to play!

One word- Trouble!

She used the majority of her tokens on the carousel!

Annie petting Elvis at the Christmas in July boat parade!

I love this face!

Being silly during a picture with MeMomma and G Daddy!

Woo-hoo! New Barbie Jeep!

She likes to sit and dance to the radio rather than driving!

Fourth of July grill out at Papa and Nana's house!

Nana and Annie on the fourth!