Energizer Rabbit

Annabelle smelling a flower
After bathtime one day, I dried Annabelle off first. When Gabi was ready to get out, Annabelle grabbed Gabi's towel, held it in front of her, and then held out her arms as if to pick up Gabi and dry her off. (I hold a towel across me while picking up the girls, so I can wrap my cold, dripping child up quickly.) Of course, when Bella did that, the towel fell on the floor, so she picked it up, patted the towel against her chest, and then reached her arms towards Gabi. Again, the towel fell. Undeterred, Bella tried again. It was very cute to watch Bella try to defy gravity to help me take care of big sister.


Bella trying to sit in a doll swing
Bella is a big fan of Ring Around the Rosie. She loves to grab our hands and sing "Ashes, ashes, ashes, ashes. Down!" and sit on the ground.


Annabelle watching Gabi's dance class
She has also picked up Old McDonald. I remember after Kris Allen's homecoming concert for Top 3 week of American Idol, my friend Trish and I were in the car with my girls and her son, Preston. All three kids sang Old McDonald quite loud the entire ride home from downtown. Annabelle's version involves many rounds of "E-I-E-I-O" interspersed with some animal sounds.


"Cheese!"
Last week, Annabelle's 8th tooth (bottom right lateral incisor) emerged. Tonight, I noticed that she now has tooth #9 (top left lateral incisor). Finally, she's catching up, now with all four central incisors, three of four lateral incisors (still missing the bottom left), and her two top first molars. I can feel the bottom right first molar about to break through.


Annabelle in Texas
Annabelle has learned to say "Cheese!" and smile for the camera. It's very cute, as is most of what she does. That girl does have a captivating smile.


Climbing stairs on the big kid playground at Fellowship
Annabelle is our adventurous child. She as I have mentioned before, she climbs everything. She can even handle the curvy (quarter circle) ladders on her own, to the dismay of other mothers at the park. Now she'll request to sit and swing on the big swings, not just the baby swings.


Rock climbing at the Wonder Place
Due to Bella's employment of the magic of stools, we can no longer keep pens on the little stand by the kitchen phone since Annabelle discovered we kept "colors" there. When I'm cooking, she'll push a kitchen chair over to the counter and climb up next to me to help. When I'm not cooking, she'll use the same strategy to reach the leftover Halloween candy. When I ask her what she found or what she's eating, she'll very truthfully and happily tell me, "Chocolate!" So cute! But today I threw away most of the candy and moved the rest.


Bella climbing into her high chair
Annabelle is now using two-word sentences. She is great at expressing herself. In fact, she is almost constantly talking. Car rides are very noisy these days. We can't take her into church because she won't shut up. Her voice is adorable and makes me smile, but by the end of the day, I am definitely ready for some quiet time!


Annabelle wearing my shoes
Like any normal toddler, her favorite two words are "no" and "mine." Another word story is about green beans. Thanks to some snap pea chips (like potato chips, but made from sugar snap peas... a crunchy version of edamame) that Bella eats at Lolo & Lola's house, she now calls all chips "green beans." Hmm... sounds healthy, at least!


Annabelle found a hiding place at the L.R. Zoo
We scheduled Annabelle's surgery for June 18th. Her left eye has not cleared up since that brief remission in March. Her right eye is much better, so we'll just put stents in the left eye and only probe the right eye. Her ENT was re-evaluating her, anyway, when he found out that she might not have needed the Oculoplastic surgery. He wants to do a Microlaryngoscopy and Bronchoscopy in order to determine whether she needs the Supraglottoplasty or something else.


"See-Saw! See-Saw!"
The scheduling is all set for both doctors to go into the OR on the same day. As the anesthesia is a bigger risk than either procedure, it will be nice to get everything taken care of together. (Honestly, I don't think I would consent to it otherwise. But, I didn't consent to the eye probing in Atlanta, either -- Daddy came in and signed that form. He has a much higher tolerance for that sort of thing that I do, and obviously she needed it.)


Alex and Bella checking out the pond at the library
None of these minor medical issues slow down our little energizer bunny. When toddlers first learn to walk well, I compare them to wind-up toys. You put them down, and they just take off straight ahead. Of course, Annabelle doesn't walk any more - she runs. And she doesn't just head in the direction you point her; she most definitely has a mind of her own. But she's still go-go-go, like an energizer rabbit. Just a lot more trouble. ;-)


"Water!"