A show of hands.

Raise your hand if you are addicted to The Pioneer Woman.

Anna's fashion project.

Every now and then, Anna will decided to "dress" Grey.  It usually isn't something extravagant.  She normally puts something on him that's simple...or just easy for her to put on him.  While I was neglecting my kids by sitting on the computer post processing photos one day, I decided to check on the oddly quiet duo.  When I came into the "wood room" (living room), as Anna calls it just because she can't say her 'L's...and made up her own name for it, I saw Grey playing in his "circle of fun" (aka the excersaucer).  Anna said, "Mommy, Grey NEED to wear dat hat."  Kelly, do you recognize this?  It's the hat from an "Incredible Hulk" Halloween costume.  Fitting I thought.  And just another day for Grey...

Little-Bitty Big Kid.

Anna and Daddy went for their nightly ritual of riding her bike.  As she peddled away she said, "Hey Mommy, put Grey in the stroller and c'mom!"  Not a bad idea, I thought.  So I loaded the slobbery kid in the stroller and we were off to try to catch the speed racer.  We went the opposite way and met them around the block.  Anna has really become quite the cyclist.  I always get a little nervous when I take Grey out and we walk with Daddy as she rides.  She rides so fast.  The fast part isn't what I'm concerned about, it's the riding fast and coming up to a turn or crosswalk.  She knows exactly what to do.  She either hits the breaks and makes a nice black mark on the sidewalk (which she is very proud of), or makes the turn like a pro.  She was riding as we chased her down the sidewalk and I said, "She looks like such a big kid!  A little-bitty big kid!"  My husband said, "Yep, and she acts like a little-bitty big kid too."  Then she disappeared around the corner.  We caught up to her.  

She's so funny on that bike.  Daddy has taught her how to stand up and peddle hard and to keep peddling and hop up on (very short) curbs.  It's just funny to see her act like she's like 7 years old, but she's just so little...not even 3...but almost!

Football!

I thought this was great.  I took it from across the stadium.

She's looking just above the camera, of course...but smiling!

This is the way she looked for the first half...sucking on that straw.  That coke was huge.

mmmmm....coke.

She's the only excited one in the stands!

Anna, Daddy, and I went to a college football game this weekend.  We had a great time and were surprised Anna stayed until we were ready to leave...which ended up being close to the end of the game.  She hadn't ever been to a big sporting event so we weren't sure how she's act.  Only a few minutes into the first quarter, she was a little whiney and was ready to go home.  I had to give her some Benadryl before we left for the game and knew that it may make her tired.  So to offset the side effects, we got a HUGE coke (well, mainly because I wanted it) and let her have some (most) of it.  She doesn't ever get coke and we thought it was fine this one time.  She bounced back very quickly.  She didn't watch that much of the game and was looking for the horse, the band, and the cheerleaders most of the time.  Here are some fun things she said during the game:

"Where are the singing men?" (the band)

"Is that big man in the black clothes going to help the little men in the black clothes?"

"Did that horse poop?"

"They have to get the ball ALL the way down that way on the green floor?"

"Is that horse taking a nap?"

"Mommy, that boy's funny red hair matches his shirt!"

Miss Morbid.

Anna has been a little obsessed death lately.  Weird, I know.  Very.  She likes to kill bugs and watch them twitch as they die, tells me that her cheese stick is "dead" when she smashes it and pushes it hard down onto her plate.  Today we had to take a shirt back to Old Navy.  Of course the girl had to potty as soon as we got inside.  So I drug her hopping, then hanging, then twirling body to the bathroom.  When we got there, there was someone in there already.  She asked the usual, speaking WAY too loud for everyone to hear, questions about who and what that person was doing in there.  Then she looked up and asked, "What's that say on that sign?", pointing to the "Women" sign.  I told her what it said and then she asked, "What's that picture on there?"  I said that it was a picture of a girl.  She looked at me with a rather disturbing, content look and said, "It's a dead girl."

Unnatural Habitat.

This is the view just beyond our front yard and across the street.  This is a dumpster that was on the opposite side of the "lake" by the playground, which is about a quarter of a mile away.  The playground, as well as several streets and houses, are underwater or flooded.  These (there are three of them) were victims of the flood as well.  They were picked and carried around the lake and this one has now run aground.  What a nice, comforting view...  HA!  I'm sure it will take a while for things to dry out enough for them to come get them and take them back the their home.  The ducks have enjoyed them.

Please excuse the horrible resolution of this photo.  iPhoto, I believe, is still Satan.  But I have found all the photos I thought I lost.  Unfortunately they have been saved at a very low quality.  My friend, Andrew, saved the day...once again.

iPhoto is Satan.

For some reason I have, all of a sudden, lost several months of pictures in my iPhoto library.  I was uploading some shots I took of the flood yesterday and saw that some of the pictures from another day came up as ones that were not yet uploaded.  Hmm.  Funny thing is that I uploaded all of those yesterday.  I looked at my library and am MISSING a TON of pictures.  Like thousands of pictures.  We have some from when Grey was born and little after, but I'm missing all the ones I've taken after that.  I have all of my "clients" photos since they are stored in another place, but none of my own.  I have no idea what to do.  Do any of your Mac users have any suggestions?  I've been working a lot with Illustrator and Photoshop at the same time, would that have overloaded something?  I'm beyond frustrated and stressed out that I'm missing so many good things!

Rain, rain...

It's raining.  REALLY RAINING.  Not just a shower...an entire day of rain.  Those of you know that around "these parts" it doesn't happen that often.  But 8 INCHES in ONE day is pretty ridiculous.  We live near a "lake", or maybe I should call it a storm water detention reservoir, as the sign says.  And when we bought the house last fall, we went back and forth with the insurance and mortgage people about flood insurance.  We wouldn't be able to afford the house if we were required to get floor insurance.  We were pumped when we found out that we were on a suitable elevation that didn't require it.  But as I look outside at the rising waters across the street, maybe we should've thought differently.  Sand bags anyone?

A fence post: Part 2

The latest "conversation":

Anna:  Mommy, is it going to start rainin' again?

Me: It might.  It has been raining lots today.

Anna:  It's not!

Me: It has rained a lot....and sometimes it stops, then it starts again.

Anna: Nu-Uh.... Mommy, where is the button to make the rain start?

Me: There's no button.  The rain falls from the sky...from the clouds.

Anna: NO it doesn't.  

Me: Yep, it does.

Anna: Mommy, is the rain made of water?

Me: Yes.

Anna: No, IT'S JUICE!

Me: Nope, sorry to disappoint...but it's water.

Anna: Nu-Uhhh.

A fence post...

Anna has decided that arguing with everything I say is the best thing yet.  She'll ask me a question about something, whether it's the color of something, what something is, what the something does...  It doesn't matter at all what she asks.  She will almost always argue with my answer.  She asks, "Mommy, where we going?"  I say, "We're going to the store."  She says, "We're going to the Jenni's house."  I say, "Nope, the store." She says, "Nope, to Jenni's house."  Back and forth...   I guess she just likes the "conversation."