Annabel Took This Photo

This is probably the best photo I have of Gaby and me. Beginner's luck or gifted photographer? 

Max and Ruby

  I've just spent the last week with Annabel and Gaby everyday. It's nice to spend such a long uninterrupted stretch with them. They are both developing so quickly, you can actually see them progress over the course of a single week, particularly Gaby.

We just finished watching Max and Ruby and put the kids to bed. Max and Ruby is far and away Annabel's favorite show. She requests it literally morning noon and night, and occasionally whines and pouts when its not possible to put it on.

We Tivo it, so we always have some on hand. Something happened with the priority system on the Tivo here, so that some other show is being recorded during the Max and Ruby time slot everyday, so the ones we have on the system are not being replaced by new ones. This doesn't bother Annabel at all. She is happy to watch any one of three episodes that we have over and over and over again. She's seen them all at least 10 times. So, tragically have Kristin and I.

The show features Max, a bunny rabbit who behaves roughly like a one or two year-old child and Ruby, who behaves MUCH more like a mother to Max than the "sister" role that she officially plays would suggest. Maybe she is a much older 16 year old sister, perhaps.

The average episode features Ruby displaying zen-like patience in the face of Max's impossibly frustrating behavior. One of the episodes we have, for example, features Ruby being awoken in her bed by a tired and irritable Max at least five different times for various reasons including flies buzzing in the room, windows that must be shut, pajamas that are too hot or too cold, etc. I am often annoyed at Max just watching it. Ruby though, is a champ.

Annabel is clearly confused about the relationship between them too. Tonight, during the aforementioned episode, I said

"Ruby is a good big sister, isn't she?"
and Annabel said "She not his sister, she his MOMMY".
and I said "I think she's his sister."
"No, She not." said Annabel

She has the sniffles at the moment, a small thing she caught from traveling to and from Detroit for Thanksgiving.

"Are you feeling sick?" I asked her tonight,
"No, I okay. It's getting away." she said

In general she is wonderful to her sister. She shares her toys well, and displays good humor and great patience when Gaby pokes her or snatches things that she is playing with. At her worst, she can whine for an entire morning, and at her best she twirls with joy when she is happy.

She loves princesses and dragons and magic. Several times this weekend, she would approach me with a small item, like a nut or a small toy and ask me to "disappear it". Where I use some clumsy mis-direction to drop the item and then show both hands empty. She loves the magic of it. Gaby, on the other hand rarely takes her eyes on off of the item.

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween this year. It really started last Friday, when Kristin and I went to a costume party on Friday night as little red riding hood and the big bad wolf.

Then on the actual night of Halloween, we had some friends over with their kids so that we could all go trick-or-treaing together. At the start of the evening, I was the only adult wearing a costume. After an hour of drinking wine while we waiting for the sun to go down though, I managed to get everyone into a some sort of costume from the trusty old costume bin.

The kids were going to go as "The Pumpkin Sisters", which was Annabel's idea, but at the last minute Annabel couldn't resist the appeal of dressing up as a princess.

Gaby went ahead with the pumpkin plan, but only had her costume on for about 2 minutes, but that was enough time to snap a few pictures.

We went trick-or-treating at all the shops in North Beach. Most of them had candy out and the kids had a great time.

Gaby was tired by about 6:30, but Annabel was engaged and loving it to the very end.

This was our exchange when it was time to head home.

"Can I get more Candy?" She asked
"Maybe a little more" I said "It's time to head back home"
"I want to get a LOT more, Daddy"

Interestingly, she saved almost everything for later with the single exception of some Gummy Teeth, which she ate on the spot.

Little Pumpkin, originally uploaded by Rgold.

Annabel's First Ballet Class

Annabel's First Ballet Class, originally uploaded by Rgold.

I've been meaning to post this for a few weeks now. This was teken two weeks ago Monday on Annabel's first ballet class. She LOVES it. Click on this shot to link to my photo account at Flickr where there are a few more shots.

The Happy-Dream Side of the Pillow

Last week Annabel came into our bedroom at about 3:00 in the morning.

"Daddy, I had a bad dream". She said
"Oh, I'm sorry." I said. "You can sleep with us." And I pulled her up into our bed.

"I think my pillow must be on the bad dream side. I think I need to turn it to the happy dream side." She said.

"that's a good idea." I said.

"Come on, Daddy. Lets go do it." She said.

So we both got out of bed and went into her room and turned her pillow over. She lied back down and went to sleep in her own bed.

Where does she get these ideas? Hilarious!

Scary Story

Halloween has already started at our house this year. Last year it ran from early October through New Years. Annabel actually bought her plastic Halloween pumpkin with her to Iowa last year when we went out there for Christmas.

I think she saw some of the early Halloween decorations out at Walgreens and ever since, she can't stop talking about it. She had initially said that she wanted to dress as a princess (big surprise), but she has since settled on a pumpkin costume. She also suggested a matching pumpkin costume for Gaby.

"We could be the pumpkin sisters!" she said.

She really does seem to have Halloween on her mind quite a bit. She is always talking about skeletons and pumpkins. Earlier in the week, she had dreams about going to the Halloween store and when I asked her to tell me a story today and gave her the microphone, this is what she came up with...



Very scary indeed!

-rg

New Tricks

Annabel is in a new stage over the last few weeks. She is getting more complicated and surprising me with some of her questions and reactions.

A few examples:

Yesterday morning we were having breakfast and Annabel wanted to go for a walk. I told her that we could go, but only after everyone was finished with breakfast (Kristin and I hadn't started). She launched into pouty mode, which is usually just her saying something like "But I want to go NOW!". This time though there were gestures in there too. The objection was accompanied by a physical display where she crossed her arms, pouted her lip, furrowed her brow and stood up straight. I've never seen that reaction before. Where did she learn those moves? Not from Kristin or I....

Another example: Last weekend, we were driving in the car. It had been suspiciously quiet in the back seat for a few minutes when she called up to the front with a question: "Daddy, am I still three?" What was she thinking about back there?

She is also starting to be frightened of things. She crawled into bed with Kristin and I last night because she had a scary dream. That's a first for her. I asked her what she dreamed about and she said "I was at the scary Halloween store". We had walked past a Halloween store the weekend before and Annabel wanted to go in, so I took her. Don't I feel like a heel...

Annabel's 3rd Birthday

Annabel's 3rd Birthday, originally uploaded by Rgold.

Annabel had her third birthday party this weekend.

It was a princess party and she was adamant that everyone wear a costume. For the last several days, she could be seen walking around the house saying "No Clothes, Costumes!". She was primarily concerned with princess costumes for the girls and ladies. When I asked what I should wear, she grudgingly allowed for a price or king costume, but she was clearly much more concerned that Kristin wear a princess dress.

The party was awesome. Lots of kids, fun parents, a nice place and a beautiful sunny day.

Here's a Link to Annabel's 3rd Birthday Party Photo Album.

Kristin and I just got back from our trip to Florence if you want to see pictures of that...

Pine Cone Soup

Pine Cone Soup, originally uploaded by Rgold.

We spent the 4th of July weekend in Lake Tahoe. The place that we rented came with a fully equipped kitchen, so we cooked most of our meals. Seeing me preparing kebobs for the grill, Annabel wanted to do some cooking too. We gave her some ingrediants and a bowl and let her go to town.

Pince Cone Soup includes:

2 pine cones, collected locally
Romain Lettuce, leftover from the salad
Pancake Batter
Baby Carrotts
Salt and Pepper

Combine ingrediants in bowl and stir well. Chill overnight then throw away in the morning.

Daddy's Birthday

I had a great birthday today. Both kids got me very thoughtful gifts. From Annabel , I got a purple four-square ball and from Gabby, some magic markers. Kristin assures me that they really did pick the gifts out themselves and I believe her!

We are headed out to Lake Tahoe for the long weekend. None of us have ever been before and we are excited about the trip! We should probably have pictures up when we get back...

In the meantime, I've been playing with Google's new Web-Photo album service. Here's a link to a gallery of photos of Annabel and I and here is one of Annabel and Kristin.

I'll add to these and try to clean them up over time.

Fathers Day

 


We spent the day at the beach for fathers day. We went with Carrie, Aaron, Sedona and Karina. All four girls had fun and kept the grown-ups busy running back and forth to the shore for fresh sandcastle water.

Kristin did a great job of covering the kids with Sunblock so by the end of the day they were just tired and sandy. Daddy, on the other hand is badly sun-burned :(

-rg 

Drama Queen

 

Annabel likes to play out the dramatic scene from Cinderella where the step-sisters and wicked stepmother are ripping decorations and jewelry off of Cinderella just as she was ready to leave for the ball.

"Grab my dress, momma" Annabel will say, then when Kristin grabs her dress, she will spin around and say "No! Those are my beads!" 

I wish you were little

Annabel at the Aquarium, originally uploaded by Rgold.

A conversation from earlier tonight:

"When I was your age, I had glasses too, Uncle Rick" said Annabel as she finished up brushing her teeth.

"Wow." Said Uncle Rick "I wish I knew you back then"
"Yeah." Said Annabel as she thought about that for a second.

"I wish you were little, Uncle Rick. And you too Mommy. An you Daddy. I wish you were all little"

Learning at two and a half

Saturday morning was hectic. We were rushing out for our weekend vacation with another family and running about 30 minutes late. Kristin asked me to stop at the bagel shop on our way to Monteray to go to the aquarium.

"I'm starving", she said

"You Starving mommy?" asked Annabel
"No, I'm not really starving. That just means that I'm hungy" explained Kristin
"Oh mommy. Oh" said Annabel

Then about two hours later when we are arriving in Monteray, pulling up to the restaurant where we were meeting our friends.

"You ready for lunch?" I asked Annabel
"No, I not starving daddy. I not starving"

Annabel Speaking

Annabel has gotten much more articulate lately. Over the last few weeks its been amazing to notice all of the new inflections in her voice. She is now much more expressive than she has been. It is easist to notice this new expressiveness when she REALLY wants you to get her something. The please daddy is much more dramatic than it had been even just a few weeks ago.

Yesterday, I asked her to hold the microphone (which she calls the speakerphone) and tell a story. Here is what she came up with.

Eggs for breakfast?

Some further evidence that the easter is extendingg itself in Annabel's mind for weeks on end:

I asked Annabel if she wanted eggs for breakfast this morning.

"I do, daddy" She said.
"What kind of eggs do you want?" I asked
No response
"Do you want scrambled eggs or sunny-side up eggs or over-medium eggs, like mommy likes?" I asked

"I want CHOCOLATE eggs, Daddy. Chocolate."

Purple Princess Dress

Picture 299, originally uploaded by Rgold.

This is Annabel's favorite princess dress. She wears it almost everyday. She often asks to wear it to school or out to the cafe for breakfast. When we say that she can't, she insists. When we stand our ground, she sometimes has a tantrum.

She REALLY likes it.

Somebody's Tired

We were all set to head out for an afternoon of house hunting. It took at least 20 minutes to get everyone dressed and ready, get the car loaded, get the kids into the car seat and open the garage door. Just as we are about ready to pull out, Annabel says that she has to go potty.

I take her upstairs, put her on the potty, shut the bathroom door and go about collecting some CDs to bring to the car. After about 5 minutes, I hear her singing in the bathroom "somebody's tired". It actually sounded like "Sum-buddys Tie-Rrd".

I opened the door and asked "Annabel, are you tired?" And she smiled at me and nodded yes.

I said "Are you done going potty?"

"Not yet" she said, so I closed the door again and when back to what I was doing. As soon as the door closed, she went back to singing "Some-buddys Tie-Erd". Cute :)

When I grow up, I want to be...

Today, Annabel told us that she wants to be an egg-hunter when she grows up.

"And I could find eggs with Gaby" she said.

She's been on a week-and-a-half long Easter kick, and it doesn't seem to be letting up at all. Sue is here now and she reminded us that Annabel brought her Halloween pumpkin with her to Iowa when we went there for Christmas, so I guess at that rate, it's possible that Easter lasts all the way through the summer.

She also said that she wants to be an artist, a storyteller and a teacher when she grows up too...

Easter Sunday

Easter was quite an affair this year. Kristin set up Easter baskets for both kids and planted Easter Eggs all over the house for a morning Easter Egg hunt. Annabel LOVED it. Here is a video of her running around the house looking for eggs.

Kristin dressed them in matching Easter dresses, which I thought was hysterical, and we walked up Union street to the Union Street Easter festival and parade. Annabel had her first horseback ride on a little pony they had there and then we went on the spinning teacups. Mommy was already feeling a little sick, so daddy had to do teacups with the kids.

By the time we got off, I was feeling sick too...

There are princesses dancing in that castle.

We got some castle megablocks for the girls. Annabel and I made a big castle today and made up some stories about princesses and horses and castles.

Rick asked Annabel if that was a new castle set.

Annabel said "Yeah, and there is another castle outside.".

Rick said "oh really?"

Annabel said "Yeah, want to see?" Then she went to the window and pointed at Coit Tower.

"See, uncle rick? There's princesses dancing in that castle".

Here is a blurry picture of Annabel and the castle.

The arrival of Annie

Annabel's invisible friend Annie arrived recently.

The first time I recall her mentioning the name was when she was in the bathtub. We opened the drain, and when Annabel heard the water going down, she said

"Annie went down the drain to the ocean."

And we asked "Who is Annie?"

"Annie is my friend and she went down the drain in the water". She said.

Since then, she's mentioned Annie just about every day. They play together, and Annabel is often waiting for Annie to come over. When rooms are messy, it's often Annie who is the culprit and it's Annie who orders food that Annabel never seems to be interested in eating.

Interesting that their names are so similar :)

Busch Gardens

carousel, originally uploaded by Rgold.

We spent a day at Busch Garden's before leaving Florida. Now Annabel has seen Carousels before. She's seen animals before. She's even seen Carousels and animals together in the same place before (The San Francisco Zoo has them both).

But never has she seen carousels, animals, flying dragons, stuffed animals, slides, pirate ships, ice cream, lollipops, and rollercoasters all in one place.

She fell asleep in the car on the way home from all the excitement.

funny words

"cowapater" = caterpiller

"chicken nudditz"= chicken nuggets

"backack" = backpack

"kwistin" = kristin

"wob" = rob