What is it about sparkles and glitter?

I find it so amazing that even at the young age of 2, Anna Claire was drawn to pretty, sparkly things. Things that had glitter on them, pretty dresses that flare out when you spin around, shoes that looked like glass slippers, wands and crowns that were covered with jewels.

It's no secret that she loves all things princess--not only dress up stuff that we have here at the house, but Disney princesses too. The funny thing is, is that she has no point of reference for the Disney princesses, She has seen Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella as far as movies go but other than a couple of toys that have their pictures on them, she doesn't really know the stories, only that they are "pretty princesses."

That is all about to change! I had heard of Disney on Ice and other various shows that Disney puts on, but yesterday I found out that Disney Live is coming to Nashville on March 4th.

I am so excited to take Anna Claire to see and hear three of the most loved Disney fairy tales--Cinderella, Belle and Snow White. There will be singing, dancing, beautiful costumes and Mickey and Minnie will be there too!

If you live in or around Nashville, head to www.tpac.org to order tickets. In the words of Anna Claire, "this is going to be so much fun!"

Does it get any cuter?

My sister (aka "Sissy" to the girls) recently took up crocheting, and as a gift to the girls, she made these beautiful hats! I couldn't help putting them in matching outfits and snapping some pictures. 

Oh my, they are too cute!!!

The party is over...

Well the birthday party is over, but I think if you were to ask Anna Claire, she would continue to say that today is her birthday. In fact, this is a conversation I had with her 2 days after her birthday...
Me: It's time to pick up your toys.
Anna Claire: I don't want to.
Me: I know you don't want to but we have to take care of our things and putting them away helps to take care of them.
Anna Claire: I don't want to.
Me: Why?
Anna Claire: Because it's my birthday.

Only my girl would come back with that sort of reasoning.

We had a wonderful time celebrating her, on her actual birthday. She woke up to sprinkled donuts and a kitchen! I got her on video coming out of her room seeing it for the first time. I don't know what she liked more, that it was pink, or that there were plates and bowls that she could pretend with.

Instead of a cake, I made her lofthouse style cookies, with pink icing and sprinkles of course. She got to talk to all of the people she loves the most throughout the day, and even got a special phone call from my niece all the way from Australia.

That night we took her to "Chicken" Fil-A for her favorite dinner of nuggets, fries and chocolate milk. Our good friends, Brad and Nicole joined us, along with their daughter, Abigail, to celebrate. Anna Claire made sure that everyone at the restaurant knew it was her birthday. It was hard not to hear her shouting "it's my birthday, yay!!"

After dinner, we headed over to Monkey Joe's; an indoor inflatable playground. She and Abigail had the best time and it gave the adults the chance to just sit back and relax knowing the girls were having a good time.

Evidently, over the course of the evening, a conversation took place between the girls about what Anna Claire's present was from Abigail. When we told Anna Claire that it was time to go and we were going to go home and open presents she replied, "well, Abigail told me it might have something to do with play dough." Seriously...did she just turn 3 or 13?

In fact, yesterday, she had her 3 year check up. When our doctor asked her how old she was she looked at him matter of factly, with her fingers held up and a tilt of her head said, "I'm three."  His response to me was, "make sure you are treating her like a 3 year old and not an 8 year old. She seems to be precocious." 

Ya think?

Happy Birthday Anna Claire!

Happy Birthday sweet girl! I can't believe that you are 3 already. Last night as I tucked you into bed, my mind raced back to when you were born; sitting in the NICU, watching every move you made, praying that you would gain weight and begin breathing without the help of the oxygen. My how things have changed!

You are a beautiful, smart and funny little girl. There is not a day that goes by that your Daddy and I don't laugh about things that you have said or done. You are creative and imaginative. Every day you ask me, "can I play princess?" You then proceed to pick out the dress Didi made you for Christmas and proclaim proudly, "this is my wedding dress." And you love to "get married" to Daddy when he comes home from work.

One of your favorite things to do is pretend you are cooking (and you love to watch Giada and Ina after your afternoon nap :)) I listen to you as you pretend you are "cooking onions", putting things in the oven to "get nice and brown" and just the other day you said that you were cooking with feta cheese! So funny!

You love your sister and boy oh boy, does she love you. You make her laugh and smile. She loves to watch you dance and whenever you are in the same room, she is watching every move you make.

You have a soft heart for those you love; always wanting to include those that are sick in your bedtime prayers. You are quick to remind us of those we have mentioned that don't feel well. You pray for Yaya (Jessica) in Australia too.

There are tough days of course, when your strong-willed little heart and mind get the best of you, and me too, but thankfully, those days are few and far between. You are learning what it means to be obedient, not only to honor us, your parents, but the Lord as well.

This coming year, we are embarking on new and wonderful things--memorizing Scripture, learning more responsibility with a job chart and of course continuing to learn how to love well.

We absolutely couldn't love you any more sweet girl! Happy 3rd Birthday!

Clowning Around at the Circus!

There is nothing quite like creating memories with your family. This weekend, we had the opportunity to do just that. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus was in town and were fortunate enough to attend. Not only was it Anna Claire and Molly's first circus, but mine too!

Let me tell you, they put on quite a show and when they say that it is the "Greatest Show on Earth" they don't disappoint! There were several times during the show that I turned to Mike and said, "this is amazing!" or "Wow, how do they do that?"

We arrived early to take advantage of the All Access Pre-Show which allows you to go down on the circus floor and mingle with the clowns, see some of the animals and get a glimpse of what is to come. They did a fabulous job of allowing children to take part in some of the activities and "Asia" the elephant came out and "drew" a picture that was later given to one lucky audience member.

During the Pre-Show you are really able to get up close to some of the circus acts, including the clowns. By far Anna Claire's favorite part!

There were jugglers, dancers, high wire acts, the double wheels of steel, acrobats and of course "Taba" the animal trainer that worked with the tigers.





Everyone had a chance to be a clown!

Ringling Brothers truly puts on a great show and there is something for everyone. Check out their website for upcoming dates. Their schedule includes upcoming stops in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Virgina and West Virginia.

Everything was well done and I don't think anyone left that night disappointed--I know Anna Claire didn't!

Many thanks to Feld Entertainment for giving us the chance to experience the Greatest Show on Earth! All opinions about the circus were my own.

The next Disney princess

We have slowly been recuperating from Christmas; I know, we are a month out. We managed to pass around a cold, to the entire family, had Jessica come back to visit for a few days before heading off to Australia, got glasses for Anna Claire and made a trip to Atlanta for a long weekend with family.
In the midst of the busyness, while Jessica was here, we stole away a night to see Beauty and The Beast. It was Anna Claire's (and Molly too) first movie in the theater. Mike got her a bag of popcorn and we settled in to watch the movie. I'm not exaggerating when I say that her eyes were glued to the screen and her hand was in the popcorn bag--the entire show!

Anna Claire got glasses at the beginning of the month after being diagnosed with Esotropia--something that she will hopefully grow out of in the next several years. For right now she is wearing glasses to strengthen the muscles in her eyes. She doesn't mind wearing them and loves that they are pink and match her princess dresses.

It's been nice getting back into the routine of life after such a busy season and we are all looking forward to what 2012 holds!

Merry Christmas!

Flourishing Frames Christmas

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