For the record:

Anabelle, these are things about you when you were three. Thank you for each one of them, for they are my happiness.

You are perceptive.

You are observant.

You are intelligent.

You are musical.

You are sensitive.

You are nurturing.

You are fun.

You are contemplative.

You are intense. About everything. Always.

You are playful.

You are funny.

You are loving.

You are mine.

And I am grateful. Always.

Regarding groceries: You have a very mature Mediterranean pal latte. You enjoy humus, cous-cous, baked Talapia, garbanzo beans. You've been known to put down more than your fair share of corn on the cob. You also like broccoli and peas. You love cheese balls (fresh mexican queso) and beans. Black beans, re fried beans, whatever- you're all about beans. And of course, the staples: yogurt, applesauce, and cereal. You, my small friend, can eat your weight in noodles and can put down a few ribs with your Daddy. You do not eat sandwiches; you lick off all the jelly. You do no not eat cupcakes or cake; you lick off all the frosting. You have, on more than one occasion, swiped sticks of butter and devoured them, as well as the piles of salt from the salt shaker. You eat pizza dough like it's your job. You feel that each day should begin with a batch of oat pancakes.

You say that every color is your favorite, but when given choices, you often choose pink.

You talk in song. No, really. If I ask you a question, you sing your answer to me to the tune of a song. You often match tune and pitch perfectly. You LOVE music. You always have. Your favorite songs seem to be: Let it Be by The Beatles, Come Thou Fount, Castle on a Cloud from Les Mis, and What's the Dilly-Yo?, from some stupid band that nobody cares about. You spend a lot of time in your room by yourself singing your thoughts. You do this for hours, literally. I find you singing and dancing your animals around your room, often with great emotion. I love your love of music, it is a delight.

Right now you are into dressing up. You are always tromping around the house in some fantastic outfit singing about the little world that you are lost in. This makes me happy. Your imagination is your favorite toy and you can entertain yourself for hours with no toys at all. I love to stand outside your door and listen to how you are interpreting the world, based on your "pretend" dialogue.

You LOVE books. Any books. Baby books, long books with no pictures, scriptures. You are all about hearing a story. Whenever you start to whine we start to threaten to take away bedtime stories and you make a quick turn around. Usually. One of my most treasured times of the day is reading with you, snuggled up in bed together, kissing and hugging and laughing and reading and catching each others kisses as we part ways.

You also like puzzles, cutting paper, making arts and crafts, going to the park, meeting people and puppies, cooking with me, dancing in the living room all dressed up, and running errands.


You like to wear "sister dresses" and match Lila and you love to play with her. You have always loved Lila and been very involved in her every move. You make her laugh like no one else can, and it is music to my soul and sunshine to my heart. Big sister is a job you take seriously.

You ask to go to Barnes & Noble, the park, the library, nursery, and Costco.

You are a nurturing soul. From animals to babies, you love to comfort and you do so with deep emotion. You are incredibly perceptive. You sense emotion and are so very sensitive to the feelings of others. The other day you watched a clip of someone singing who became choked up, and when Dad looked over at you, you had tears in your eyes. You innately feel compassion.

You do not like loud things. Even though you are one. Not blenders, not vacuums, not roaring or yelling.

Recently, you asked to watch a movie. I asked which one, then began naming titles. With each one, you named the villain in the show, then said you did not like the movie because of that character. Even 'A Bug's Life' got cut because of the "mean ugly hoppers". For your birthday you got a 'My Little Pony' movie filled with singing, rainbows, sparkles, lollipops, friends, and all things lovely. And this show has won your heart. You are not interested in anything that bears teeth or claws.

Your love for animals is astounding.

You LOVE nature.

You love camping.

You love friends.

And I love you.

Thank you Lovebug, for the gift of you. You have my heart.

xoxo,

Mom

You said it, not me....

Laying in our fort together (ie: under the kitchen table), we talk:

What's the biggest word you know?
BRADY

What's the smallest word you know?
ANABELLE KRISTINE

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A COSTUME COW

What kind of car will you drive?
GREEN

Do you want to have babies?
YES

How many?
FOUR

What will you name them?
KRISTY

And what about the other ones?
I'LL CALL THEM ALL KRISTY. ALL THREE OF THEM.

Will you make them take naps?
YES

What will you do if they don't listen?
SPANK THEM. SPANK EACH ONE OF THEM. AND THEY WILL HAVE NO TREATS.


Is this her way of saying she wears the pants in the family?

King Verkie

As told by Anabelle and Mom, lines are rotating narrative

This story is about a
King
And his name was
King Verkie
And he was
A berry very mean guy
The name of his kindom was
A castle ….What was it?
What was the name of his castle?
Verkie’s Castle
And he had a lot of daughters
Two
He had two daughters. What were his daughter’s names?
Verkies.
What were the daughters names?
VERKIES!!!
Oh they were all Verkies. So to tell them apart he…..one daughter wore
A dress
And the other daughter wore
A berry berry jacket
And all day long
The Verkie would dress up in another dress
And the king decided to have a
Another Verkie princess named Sticky
And she looked
In her mirror
And when she looked in her mirror she felt
Sad
Because
She was scared of the king
The king was so mean to her.
He was a wicked king.
He did terrible things like
He smashed his teeth
And get his sword out and have a sword fight
With
And it was berry berry mean.
His favorite food was
A lunch of yogurt
And he also liked some
Yogurt with strawberries.
And he always drank
Juice….orange juice
And his favorite treat was
Some chocolate cake.
The weird thing about the king is that he had
A treat
That
Is yummy
And he always shared his treat with
The princess
The queen thought that the king was
Berry berry mean
But she had to marry him because
She has her dress on
Their wedding was so
Nice.
Because he
Had a crown on his head
One day a handsome prince came looking for
A king
Becase he wanted
To marry the princess.
To show him how much he loved her he
Rocked her back and forth and showed her he loved her.
And while rocked her he sang
I’ll love forever how much I love you my baby you’ll be.
And the princess said
Let’s give eachother kisses.
And then they started
Going to bed
Because
The stars were in the sky
For the wedding the king gave her
A new new car that was very long and green.
So that she could
Squeeze the king tight.
So the princess and the prince
No, the King!
So the king and the princess
Were married
And the prince was
Very in her room to sleep nice and cozy
So everyone lived happily
After.

A very happy me

My day started by puking up diced green chiles out of my nose. So really I had nowhere to go but up. Before we overwhelm ourselves with speculation, let's let the official record show that this case of puking in the a.m. had nothing whatsoever to do with growing a new person. It was the result of doing the plyometrics workout from P90X. I noticed a warning before it began that said not to do it if you have knee or back injuries. I didn't however see a disclaimer about not doing it unless you are a Brazilian tree frog. Apparently jumping around for an hour makes me sick. Very sick. Throw up ten times in a row sick. But I digress...

So again, my day had nowhere to go but up. Now, how much 'up' I was simply not prepared for. Yesterday some dude was at our house trying to get us to upgrade our internet service. He came in and conversation turned to how he used to work on computers. Of course I ask him if he does hard drive recovery. Of course I do, because I ask everyone, because I WANT MY PICTURES BACK. And do you know what he said? He said yes. Of course he said yes, or else what kind of post would this be? So he brought it back to me today and I looked at movies and pictures that I had never seen of Lila's birth. Not like, THE BIRTH, but you know, freshly birthed. I watched about 10 videos of Anabelle around 18 months and it brought tears to my eyes. I remembered in a way I could not have otherwise, exactly what life was like then. How she was. Her little voice. The things she did that were so uniquely her. It's only been a year and oh, how I've forgotten. I made an instant resolution to start making more videos of the girls. It was by far the best spent 45 bucks I have ever spent. (The ocean front resort in Uba Tuba is a close second- but you should have seen their juice bar). This Mama bear is happy tonight, let me tell you. It was also timely because Anabelle has whined more in the last two days then she has in her whole life. I'm not gonna lie-it has worn me down a bit. So I did something tonight I've never done before- I went to see a movie by myself. 'My Sister's Keeper' was at the dollar so I went for it. I sat in the back all by myself. Which was strategic and most helpful when I began to cry my face off. Not just tears- the ugly cry. The sniffles, snotty, puffy eyes cry- you know what I'm talkin' about. It's a very good movie to see if ever you feel that your child has driven you to the point of insanity. It will drive you right home and into their tiny precious arms.

So, one year later, here they are,... the fresh meat media: (a few anyway)

I've included this one only so you know exactly what Lila looks like if you drink a beverage in front of her without giving her any. Less vernix around the hair and ears though and more yogurt.

I totally believe that she is looking at my lips thinking, "Wow! And I thought my skin was flaky- someone get this girl some carmex!"

The little gremlin still loves the dark

Watching her first MLS game- 2 hours old






First night in NICU

Mom, I will have to post the other videos separately, they are taking for-e-ver.

Weeding out the weirdos

If you're reading this, that means you made the cut. Congratulations! Not everybody did. The only reason I made the blog private is because I don't want the whole wide world to know when I am home alone for months without Braden. (Because the whole world reads my blog, you know). I was a bit weirded out by the requests I got from people I have never met, who found my blog surfing the web and started following it. So weird. Needless to say, they are no longer with us. I didn't have them killed or anything- they just didn't receive an invite. I feel better spilling my guts now. At last I can announce all things secret....Braden will go to OTS March 1st. Later than he hoped. Much. Later. But I of course, am happy. He counts down and I am in denial about it.

So long sweet summer

BBQ's, watermelon, ice cream cones, fireworks, amusement parks, long days, tan lines, camping, fireflies, swimming, the smell of tanning oil- these things make me happy.

I can't lie- it's a little easier to bid farewell to an Alabama summer than other places I've lived (for those of you out west turn your shower on to it's piping hottest for 15 minutes with the door closed. Then get dressed in all your layers and walk in your bathroom and you will get a small sliver of the soggy south). But still, my little heart beats for the summer, I can't help it, it's in my California blood. Oh how I wish I did not love the feeling of burning my own flesh day after day. I think this is the first summer in 20-something years that I did not go to the beach. Shameful. It weighs on my soul. I shall live there next summer to make up for it. Meanwhile, we did our best to seek out bodies of water in all their forms.

Trying to decide...

on my favorite moment of last week. Was it:

A) Pulling toilet paper out of Lila's mouth that she fished out of Anabelle's unflushed toilet

B) Talking with the missionaries at the door when Anabelle joins us wearing a piece of lacy silky lingerie with a slit up the leg. I don't know who it belongs to but they should come get it out of my house. And to extend the awkward moment, the missionary asked her what she was wearing. At which point I kindly offered them a drink. Or a meal. Or the name and address of every friend I have.

C) Braden and I are laying down. Anabelle comes in and asks if she can snuggle us. I tell her "sure" but to go find Lila and ask her if she wants to come snuggle too. She leaves. We hear a high pitched exchange. She comes back and snuggles in. I ask, "What happened?" She responds, "I squished her little baby cheeks together and said,'Lila we're snuggling together, do you want to come' and she said 'du du du du du du du du du"

D)Friday morning I told Anabelle that she was gonna play with her friend Carly that night because her Dad and I were going to the temple. Eight hours later, as soon as Braden walks in the door she says, "Dad, are you gonna marry my Mom?!!"

E) Anabelle peeing on my foot in public

Or was it

F) Going to THE BEST YARD SALE OF MY LIFE on Saturday. Among many other outrageous finds, I scored 60 pairs of kids shoes (many with tags, hardly any of them have been worn at all)....grand total? $15 bucks (.25 per pair). You need shoes, I'm your girl.

This is what Lila looks like after you bust her. Does this look like the face of someone who cares that they have been busted? No. Not at all. The girl cares not. In fact, she looks as though she's actually mocking me. As if to say, "oooooooohhh Mom, what are you gonna do? Real scary..."

Even bigger is even better

How fun, Thanks Letti!

Lila, Anabelle, and I. In a way. A few weeks before Lila made her official, dramatic debut.

Bigger is better

...just working on trying to make my photos larger. I know, I know, such crucial tasks- meanwhile my showers scream for Clorox and an intense scrubdown. This is Lila enveloped in the sweet steals I have scored at recent yard sales. A solid wood child's rocking chair for $2 (which I am re-doing), and at least 15 yards of tulle, also for $2 (which has of course been turned into tutu's). That foolish foolish man had no idea what he was doing. I'll bet his wife busted him when she found out what he gave it to me for.

Tidbits and snippetts and the Urology verdict

Lila's urology appointment this week turned out to be less informative than I wanted. Basically I was told that the tests they did do not allow them to determine the grade or severity of her case. So she was put on a different kind of antibiotic to be taken daily (supposedly not so hard on the immune system) until she is 5. If she ever gets a fever, she has to go to the doctor to get her urine checked to make sure an infection is not the cause of the fever. If it is, we talk surgery. We will see that specialist every 6 months. He turned out to be a nice enough guy, drew me a great picture of Lila's innerds and everything. It didn't make the fridge though. Apparently only 1% of people have this defect/condition. That's our Lila, beating the odds.

Here are some of my favorite moments of the week, made possible by my oldest daughter who, as it turns out, is funny.

-I am trying to lay out and it becomes overcast. I say, "Awwww, man. Where did my sunshine go?" Anabelle says, "MOM!! I'm right here!"

-The girlies are playing in their room. Anabelle comes to get me saying, "Mom, do you wanna see Lila's weirdo hair? IT WILL CRACK YOU UP"!! When I get to their room I see that Anabelle has emptied an entire bottle of baby lotion on her head. I didn't exactly crack up. Something like that. But a little different.

-I haven't seen Lila in a while and I can hear her crying somewhere. I ask Anabelle what Lila is doing and she says, "I dunno. SHE'S FREAKING OUT!!"

-Anabelle walks in my room and asks me, "Mom, is Jesus gonna die?" I do my best to simplify the atonement and the resurrection. I can see her little mind trying to wrap itself around such heavy stuff. She thinks about it for a minute then says," Um, we should probably have a family home levening about that in a lil while."

-"Mom, see my baby bear? He had tight sleep".

-We are laying in bed together one night snuggling for a minute. It is silent. And then,

"Could Jesus go to sleep?"
"UM......I guess he might.....maybe He watches you sleep"
"Did the wickeds kill Him?"
"Yes"
"But it's not good for us to say about killing"
"No, it's usually not. But it's good for us to remember that that happened to Jesus so that we can remember that He did that for us so that we always feel grateful."
"Okay. They should have just let Him go be with Nephi".

-I announce to her that she gets to spend the night at Annie's house on Friday...

GASP. VERY EXCITED FACE. "Can we go right now?!!"

"No, you can go on Friday"

"But I wanna go right now"

"We can't, Annie doesn't feel very good. She's having trouble with her kidneys"

"She doesn't have kidneys. She has adult knees"

- And just an hour or two ago...Lila is being a bit crazy. She's in her chair at the table where they are both supposed to be eating dinner. Lila is throwing food and rocking her chair and yelling. She throws milk.

I say, "Lila, no ma'am. No throwing milk".
Anabelle says, "No ma'am Lila. That's not okay to throw milk".
Lila continues the freak out. I get her something else to eat. She throws it. Anabelle gets it for her. And her milk. She throws the milk. Anabelle gets it again. Lila throws it again. Anabelle shakes her head and says in an exasperated voice, "Ugh. I just don't know what you want sweet baby". Anabelle and I make eye contact and share a smile. She says to me, "We are bosses together".

We celebrated our 5th anniversary yesterday so the girls had a sleepover at Annie's house, and we enjoyed a staycation. It was fabulous. Truly. Fabulous. I can't say we did anything extravagant or particularly exciting, but it is a new experience to do the same old things without kids. We even got up and ran the Birmingham Heartwalk in honor of our sweet little friend Emma Kate. Yeah that's right, we ran the heartwalk. We live a little on the edge. Especially when our kids aren't around. I also rarely discharge my static electricity before pumping gas and I've been known to cut the tags off pillows and mattresses.

It was so fun to run it together. While running we saw someone wearing something that should not have been. Unfortunately, that's all I can say at this time. I started laughing. And laughing. But I was running. And the laughing and running turned into hysterical wheezing. Which made Braden laugh. Which through me into greater hysteria. I soon lost control. A moment Braden will not soon forget nor allow me to.

Plus we heard a really rockin band. And Braden got a cinnamon roll from Edgar's. And I got to have my salad from The Olive Garden. And we partied with the Keislers. All very good things to be treasured.

Celebrity Mail

Today we're writing a letter to Dolly Parton. To say Thanks. I can't take any more of her awesomeness without sending her some toddler-crayoned-glue and glitter-love. Not only does she have really big.....well, anyway- she has a really big heart. As if it wasn't enough that she was in Steel Magnolias, she has a program called Imagination Library that we are a part of. They send each child enrolled (under the age of 5) a new book every month. So twice a month, we have super exciting trips to the mailbox. The other twentysomething days turn out to be quite a let down, and in truth, a bit depressing. And the books she sends are great books. Braden and I are just as excited as Anabelle because by the end of the month we have likely read the last one 78 times and have had it memorized for weeks, so we're just as anxious for new material. Last week she got the book, "The Gruffalo", which I already knew and loved. After reading this to her for the bajillionth time that night, I started calling her Gruffabelle. Whilst picking her nose, and in the nasaly voice that results from it, she says, "No. I am a Pickalo". So you can see that Dolly's efforts to bring literacy into our home are rewarding us in mighty ways.



I found her like this one morning after she had apparently done some late night reading.

Sharing the FREE love (in food form)

For a total thrill:
1) go here
2) Choose any of the food on Schwann's website under $10.00 and they will deliver it to your door FREE on the day you choose.
3) Do a funky celebration jig in your kitchen. After you close your blinds of course.

All the scrubbing/folding/sorting/washing I have to do just became a little more enjoyable because although today I may smell like lysol and never get out of my jammies, On August 27th 2 pounds of manicotti stuffed pasta shells will arrive on my doorstep. And that feels good.

Mother Nurture

Amidst my many projects one night, I found myself in need of some batting. It was late and I just needed a small amount, hardly enough to justify buying a bag of it. So I got the thought that I would go into Anabelle's room while she was sleeping a find a stuffed animal that she wouldn't miss and.... well... you know....cut it's head off. But upon inspection of her animal kingdom (probably around 40 members or so) I couldn't find one that she doesn't play with regularly. Play with meaning, slept with, pushed in the stroller, burped, nursed, dressed up, toted, rocked, and danced with. There never was a more loved on group of animals. I knew she loved them but I was amazed when looking at them one by one to realize that she loves them ALL. She took a certain duck with her to the store last week and lost it there. Oh, the distress. She told me that she needed to call her Dad. So I dialed his number. And upon answering, this is what he heard: SOBBING. MORE SOBBING. SHOULDER SHAKING SOBBING. And then- "Daddy?! I .....took duck to the store....and SOMEONE STOLD HIM!!!"

It is not unusual for us to be crawling in our bed at night and in the process of snuggling in, find a family of puppies has already been tucked in. Or go to sit on a seat and find that under the cushion and the lining, way down in the springs, lies a sleeping pride of lions. We can't help but go to bed smiling when this happens.

I heard her singing a few weeks ago in her room (as she always is). I peeked in her room to see her dancing her bear about the room in a very romantic and tender way. And this is what she sang, "Oh bear, you're so gentle. And loving. And sweet. I'm gonna marry you in the temple. The temple of God".

The same bear bumped it's head on the counter a few days after she serenaded him. She immediately took him to the rocking chair and very seriously rocked him and sang the lullabye song. How dearly she cares for those around her.

And about her words to the bear- it has become apparent to me that marriage is somehow something she is thinking of. When playing the other day with her friend Clark at the park (yes we love to invite Clark to the park, and sit under a lark, and watch dogs bark, until it gets dark)they were playing under a gazeebo. I overheard her telling him that the gazeebo was the temple and that their baby was crying. Indeed her belly was full with rocks. Poor Clark stood there staring at her with wide eyes and a face that seemed to say, "Dude back off, I just came to kick a ball and throw some sticks". Everytime she sees him she tells him that when she grows up she's going to marry him and then her name will be Anabelle Viola Connor. I'm okay with that if that's what they want to do. I do hope Clark quits punching in her in the face before they make it official though. Not sure how all this marriage stuff became so much a part of her two year old life. Here's the bottom line though- Glad she knows it's important, glad she understands that location is everything, BUT, if anyone has an upcoming college graduation they could invite us to, we'd like to show her that as well.

Put it on the tab

Tim and I have a running tab with each other. It's been running for the last 15 years or so. It's only a one way tab really. It works like this: Tim buys me great stuff or does something fabulous for me, and then I never pay him back for it. But all involved parties understand that this is how our tab operates. So I guess you could say that these pictures have been put on the tab. One day I might pay up. Give back. Reciprocate. But if I don't Tim, know that you are dearly loved and appreciated by me.









I first fell in love with that smile on her Daddy and now I get to see it even when he's not around

Love love love this sweet girl

I know I shouldn't love this picture so much but I do. It really makes me laugh every time I look at it. Anabelle wears such a look of absolute satisfaction; Lila's is absolute desperation and frustration. This picture sums up the sibling relationship so perfectly.

the haps

I have recently been nagged for not blogging. I've been doin stuff. July was an eventful month. We had visits from Uncle Cody and Uncle Tim, we went to Alabama Adventure a lot, we sold our car, Braden got a class date for OTS, and we worked on a lot of home improvement projects. Actually, I guess the last one is debatable. If you ask me, I've been working on home improvement projects. If you ask Braden he might say I've been spending time and money and asking him to nail this or build that so that our house can be even more colorful (=tacky) and full of even more crap that we have to move and store. Take for instance the day I called him from the store asking if he cared what fabric I use to reupholster the kitchen chairs. These were his exact words, "NO. Do whatever you want". But upon seeing the lovely said purchased fabric, his eyes rolled all over his eye sockets and I will not quote his exact words at that moment. Mostly because I do not remember them. But I do vividly recall the cold feeling in my heart. Then a few days later I decided that Lila must be removed from our room. She's a sleep ruiner, plain and simple. So I embark on the journey of converting the guest room into her room. Again, a thoughtfully placed call to the husband:

"Braden, I'm kicking Lila out. She's moving to the guest room. I'm at Wal-Mart looking at paint. Do you care if I paint her room?"

"Why? We're moving"

"In a year"

"So it's unacceptable for our infant to sleep in a room with white walls for a year?"

"YES! EXACTLY!LoveyouhaveagooddayatworktalktoyoulaterBye!"

"What color?"

"I'll surprise you!"

Bet he has never been surprised with "glittery sequins" before. I bet he hopes he never will again either. Fat chance of that though because it's a magnificent color that I happen to have extra of. It's an energetic purple and all the girls in the house feel happy. I totally feel like the hero saving my daughter from the boredom of such a lame room for an entire year of her life. Also I've been doing lots of smaller stuff like re-doing fabulous garage sale items. Bottom line- I'm having a ball. Braden is counting down days until training. Which is easier thanks to a paper chain that arrived in the mail handmade by nieces and nephews with love.

We'll just say for the purposes of protecting ourselves from creepy online stalkers (since I really am currently in the process of privitizing our blog in the next day- this date is what I was waiting on) that he goes to Officer Training at Maxwell Air Force Base, which is only about an hour and a half away sometime next year. So he will go there for 13 weeks, I will chill with the girls here (and likely cry my face off- but will probably spend lots of time in the glittery sequin room for a burst of joy)then we will go to Panama City for about a year, then on to one of the 5 places that Air Battle Managers go (Germany, Japan, Alaska, Oklahoma City, and Georgia...and those are in order of ranked preference). He was certainly disheartened at the continued wait time as he his SO anxious to get on with it. But at least he gets all the free sodas he can handle at his current job. So every thing's golden with us. Except for yesterday he got a shard of metal lodged in his eyeball at work and today he had to go get it ground out along with the rust from the metal. I felt so sad for him I ate two bowls of ice cream. Now we both feel better.

We sold Braden's dear Maxi. It was a lot more dear when his old dirt bag employer paid the payment. The sale was so dramatic for Anabelle. Her crying may have made us a couple more benjamin's though. She still asks about it most days and tells people first thing when we see them that "someone stold our Maxima car". I tell her every time, "No, Anabelle, we SOLD our Maxima car". You can take a girl out of Colton but you can't take the Colton out of the blood unfortunately. So I'm rolling in a Graco double stroller these days. I'm doing my part for the earth, our bank account, my saddlebags, and the girls are well hydrated, tanned, and can totally distinguish between a lizard and a salamander.

A few more days until Lila's Urology appointment. Meanwhile she covers every square foot of our house, fuzzy boa and toilet paper trailing, (her two favorite sources of entertainment) looking for crumbs and scraps to chew on. Thus her nickname "the bottomfeeder".

Back to my projects before Braden gets home. With his eye in such delicate condition I have to save him from all that rolling around his eyes want to do when I announce my next project (and then give him instructions on how he is to help).



God gave us a rainbow of colors. I feel that those colors should be celebrated. Worn. Splashed on walls. Used on nails. Tried on hair. Etc; Is that so wrong?

Besties

Stephanie, my friend who took this picture, told them to give each other a "super hug". Thus the captured moment above. After she took it Anabelle yelled, "SUPER KISS!!" and laid one on Clark.

Some recent photos of A-belle and one of her besties. She refers to everyone as, "My friend _______________" so clearly it would not be reasonable to have a picture of all of her friends. Especially when most of them work at Publix or walk at the same park as us. And a vast majority of them are over 40. The other day we were driving and Anabelle asked me if she could go over to her friend Geneille's house and play. Geneille is in her 70's. And yesterday she introduced herself to a woman walking and told her she wished she would come over and eat lunch at our house. When she made that invite she obviously didn't realize that we were having pretzels and chick peas for lunch.

She can be found standing in our living room with her face in the blinds watching teenage thugs walk by using profanity and beg to go out and play with them. Don't worry, I usually say no. The phrase, "she never met a stranger" could not be any more fitting. And it gets worse if a person happens to have a dog with them. Sometimes we look around and find that she has wandered off and see that she has approached someone saying, "do you mind if I pet your puppy? what's his name? HOW CUTE IS HE!! Oh! He's a cutie little theen!!"

It's been convenient that she has NEVER once cried or protested when we've left her with anyone for any amount of time. That does bite us on the flip side when it's time to leave somewhere. We dread having to get her. This week when I went to get her from Nursery was the first time she has ever ran to me and yelled my name, happy to see me. An indescribable feeling of joy filled my soul. I hope when I'm old she thinks of me as one of her besties too. Especially considering the fact that her standards are so low. I also hope she elevates those standards at some point. And may she ease up on the kissing a bit. Sheesh. She got that from her Dad.