Tuesday, August 31, 2010

At 3


You are:

-an EXTREME extrovert. You'll talk to anyone and LOVE going out to see people.
-a helper. I was proud to see you picking up the trays and trash in Sunday School (even though you should have been in your seat.) Thanks for helping hang up the socks, etc when I do the laundry. And I'll never forget when you mopped half of the floor with SOAP, but it was a good try!
-FAST. You run fast, talk quickly without breathing, and do your work speedily. The only thing you don't do quickly is eat--which is usually not of much interest to you.
-strong willed. We try to give you a choice in many things which helps. But sometimes you just have to obey!
-happy. We love all your smiles and laughter. This is not to say that you're never whiny or angry! But generally you are a cheerful girl!
-a lover of anything horses. All your horses are named after grandpa Fred's horses. What you really like to do is go fast. You take my exercise strap, use the handles for stirrups, place this over a bench or daddy's leg and gallop away--too funny!
-imaginative. Long after you've been put to bed we'll hear you in there talking to baby and friends. So many interesting things happen to you in your imaginary world. We hear all the time about your purple house, car, and horse. And I've never heard of another three year old that loves to travel like you do. The other day you told me you were going to Malaysia (although you've never actually been there).
-YOU. I'm glad you don't want to do what everybody else is doing and are a leader in many circumstances. We hope to help you grow these capabilities and allow you to be who God made you (not how we want you to be).

So, Happy Birthday--can't wait to see what the next year will reveal about you!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Random

Sorry for the lack of posts. Ana was sick for about two weeks despite 4 trips to different doctors. Matt has been sick for a couple of days, but seems to have recovered much quicker--thank goodness! (He did take one day off work though!)

So here's some randomness for you:
1. The other day we were on the MRT (subway) when a team of some sort got on. They were participating in the Youth Olympics and had there flag on their jerseys. We weren't sure which country it was, but guessed somewhere in the Middle East. They liked Ana's eyes and asked if they could take pictures. This is not unusual and she happily posed for them. When we looked up the flag it was Iran! So Ana's picture is on some Iranian girl's phone!
2. We had 5 birthdays this last week between church and school and managed to miss almost all of them :(
3. We've been at school a lot recently doing all sorts of volunteer stuff in the library, office, and in teacher's classrooms. We've also been running off lots of energy and blowing bubbles!
4. Ana's been riding Stanley the Moose. It's actually one of those floor dusters with a puppet on it. PS She picked out the name Stanley! Hi Ho Stanley Away!!




Friday, August 6, 2010

Ana's Bedtime Story

Every night I tell Ana a story and then she tells me one. (They often have to do with a little mommy!) Here is last night's:

"Once upon a time there was a little Mommy and she had a booger in her nose. And she picked it and she ate it. It was tasty--very tasty. The End"

Her exact words.

Thursday, August 5, 2010


I can't say anything...I clearly remember sleeping with many of my dolls/stuffies. What I can't remember is holding on to all of them at once!

Ana's New Friend





This little girl is the youngest (of 5) of another staff member. She and Ana have played together only once before. This time they happened to get along really well. They shared, talked, swam, and screamed together. We'll definitely have to do this again.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Tortillas


We love Mexican food. Unfortunately it's hard to get or expensive here. So, I've made my own tortillas here for years. They turn out reasonably well, but usually get hard by the second day. I just tried this new recipe from this site: http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2007/03/and-end-to-my-quest-flour-tortillas.html
They were fantastic. I made a double batch and got 28 fajita size tortillas. This recipe is a keeper!

New Hairstyle



We like to look at the blog called "The Story of a Princess and her Hair." It has lots of fun ideas that look more complicated than they really are. Since Ana's hair is rather WILD here, I liked how this tamed it down a little bit. Next time I'll add clips on the last row to make it more stable. She's was very excited to show Daddy when he came home.

The Curse of the Micro Beads

A while ago I had a nice micro bead pillow. I used it at night because it helped my neck not hurt in the morning. One day it burst in the washer--that was a nightmare. I STILL have micro beads that come out when it spins. So--not learning my lesson there I bought another one. This one also burst when Ana jumped on it. No problem, I thought, I'll make another--which I did. This one also ripped out when Ana rode it like a horse (although she was strictly banned from touching it). Not one to give up, I hand sewed the seam again. This time Ana lined up all the pillows on the floor and hopped from pillow to pillow. Needless to say--it burst. I saw it and told her to leave it there. (I was in the middle of cooking a double batch of tortillas--more on that later). She did not--carried it through the flat and dumped out the rest in her room. The were everywhere. It didn't help that our flat is a wind tunnel and it happened to be a very windy day!


Now I've seen worse--I watched a video where two boys "painted" there mom's living room--including the leather couch. I've seen muddy dirty boys walk through the house, but this is more frustrating! No matter how hard you try--you'll never get them all. They hide under cabinets and beds and when you least suspect it--they'll be all over the floor again!