A Foodie's Day of Fun - Like Old Times...Plus One

A day of food shopping, tasting, and perusing was typical of us before Anna Claire. Every Saturday. Larry and I were at the farmers markets, international food markets, food festivals, trying new restaurants and grocery stores.

Well, AC is old enough to join us now on a full-blown, all day, food extravaganza. Thanks to her daddy, she has a food vocabulary and palate that would rival any adult's. She is also very aware of what is and isn't good to put in her body, though she will happily stuff her face with junk if you offer it. ;)

We love taking her to the Nashville Farmers Market. Vendors are constantly impressed that she can name just about anything they have set out to offer, and that she will try and like most any sample they give her.

I love Anna Claire's response when we ask her what she wants to buy at the farmers market. She actually helps dictate our menu many weeks based on the answer to this question. Yesterday, she picked out squash, zucchini, red pepper, corn, and peaches. And I mean she literally picked out produce. She knows what a good squash looks like and put perfect ones in the bag. In fact, I find she's pickier than I am. Any little imperfection, and she's not having it!

Is there any other way to make your way through the farmers market, than to eat your way through? This need not cost money. Samples are abundant. Yesterday we indulged in fresh watermelon, kettle corn, goat's cheese, homemade ginger cookies, mustard slaw, plus one vendor gave AC a complimentary banana.

And we couldn't make it out of there without sampling some of our purchases. Anna Claire sure did make her peach look good, and I suspect she sent some business to that vendor.

When it came time to actually eat lunch, Larry and I split a yummy Greek plate of falafel, tabouli salad, flatbread, and hummus. AC had a hot dog and fries, and sampled some off our plate. :)

Tired from all that walking!

Picking out squash

Best looking peaches I've seen all summer.

Watermelon sample! (Notice free banana under her arm)

So much to see! Loved all the colors.

Hot dog and fries for lunch.

Loved banging on this tomato sculpture outside the market

While the farmers market was definitely the highlight of our food excursion, it wasn't the end of it. We hit an Indian food market to get Larry a small bag of coriander seed. I also bought some naan and dal. Can't wait to put that in my mouth!

Next up was the Japanese food market. Anna Claire loved all of the colorful packaging and sweets they had to offer. Hello Kitty is big in Japan, so she was super excited about their HK display. Larry and I had our own agenda: find our favorite snack...ikura (salmon roe). We stopped off at this market pretty regularly before AC, and would just sit in the parking lot outside the store and inhale a container of ikura between the 2 of us. I thought surely Anna Claire wouldn't be interested, especially with Hello Kitty snack in hand. I was dead wrong. She loved the "salty boba!" Boba are little miracles of molecular gastronomy that she loves to put on top of her yogurt at Berry Bear. They are little balls bursting with fruit juice, much like salmon roe which are bursting with ocean flavor. She held her own, easily taking out a third or more of the container. Proud. :)

Finally, we went to Anna Claire's favorite, Trader Joe's. Everything is labeled large and clearly there. She loved reading and trying to read the labels as we made our way through the store. She points out "Trader Joe's" on all of the packaging and knows lots of food words. "That say 'chocolate!' That say 'blueberry'!" Gets so excited when she sees one she knows.

She loves seeing the employees walk around the store with the big "?" sign. She always asks me to explain what they're doing. "Why do they have the sign?"
"Where is Trader Joe?"
If it's a man with a beard, "Is that Uncle Clint? No..."

It's always important to go get a sample in the back of the Trader Joe's, and she loves picking what yogurt flavors we buy. She was also a good helper at picking out produce and cheese.

What a perfect day, and we still have all of this yummy food to look forward to later this week.

My Loss is Her Gain

Having Anna Claire has been a blessing in so many ways, but it has also provided me with the opportunity to do things differently with her, and with second chance at a full childhood for myself (a vicarious one). I love our outings and excursions just as  much as she does. Honestly, I do.

I missed out on a lot of things as a child, and was reminded of this on a recent girls' night out. My friends were reminiscing about softball games, sleepovers, and girl scouts, none of which I ever attended as a child.

When I was a child, I was not allowed to ride my bike out of the yard, go to birthday parties, go over to anyone's house, participate in any sports (not even "girl" sports like gymnastics, cheer, or dance). We never went on vacations. Never flew on a plane. I was never allowed out of my house without my mother right there with me. Until I was of driving age. And even then, outings were limited.

I don't say any of this for sympathy or pity, but rather statement of fact. And partial explanation for why I feel so strongly that Anna Claire should be given every available opportunity. I feel so strongly that part of a parent's responsibility is to help your child discover his/her talents and do everything in your power to support and develop those talents. Every experience we provide has the potential to enrich the child's life, and as an educator, I know the past experiences that our kids bring to the table are crucial to new learning. So we want her to have many, many experiences! We are charged with raising the whole child.

They say it's just as important to learn what not to do as it is to learn what TO do. That has certainly been my case. I'm not an advocate of spoiling, and I don't find AC to be spoiled (though some may disagree), but she will be offered as many options, opportunities, and experiences as we are able to provide.

Letter to Grandma

Inspired by a book we read recently, Love, Mouserella, I decided to ask Anna Claire if she would like to write her grandma a letter, just like Mouserella...and she did! Here it is....word for word. She told me what to write and I scripted:

 

Dear Grandma,

 

I want to come to your house and draw. I want to come myself, then Mommy can come get me after my nap!

 

I want Mommy and Daddy to stay and play with me after that. Mommy can scoot and sit by me.

 

I want you and Freddie to take me to the grape farm (Olive Garden). I don’t want Mommy or Daddy to go. Or Uncle Clint.

 

Love,

 

Anna Claire

Funnies and Sayings

Last night AC asked Larry for an appetizer.
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Still saying, "I can get a spesal, spesal (special, special) treat for that."
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I was telling Larry that our power went off at school today, and AC announced, "Our power went off at Red Barn today too!"
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Trendsetter: I painted each of Anna Claire's nails a different color. We call them "rainbow nails". I found out a couple of her friends have asked their mommies for rainbow nails. BTW - AC still refers to painted nails as "I have fingernails." If her nails are not painted, "I don't have fingernails."
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Tonight AC asked Larry for casserole. (PS - we don't ever call her AC, I just don't feel like typing her name out humpteen times).
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"Go make wrapping sounds," is still code for AC just pooped and wants a little 25 cent gift for doing this.
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Genuine appreciation for things: "You got that milk for me, Mommy? Thanks!"
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Referred to Olive Garden as "the grape farm." There is a picture of grapes on their logo/sign. :)
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When I tell Anna Claire it's time to go, it's not uncommon for her to say, "Three more minutes, Mommy."
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Aunt Kathy called and asked me how I set Meme's air conditioner before I left on Sunday. I explained that I just set it on low, but turned the number dial a little higher, "I'm not sure why it's not working." Anna Claire said, "It your fault, Mommy?"
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Anna Claire still refers to Mr. Amos, our across-the-street neighbor, as "Amos".  (i.e. - "Amos wave to me." or "Amos honk his horn at me, Daddy.")

Little Reader

I promise I try to use restraint when it comes to posting about Anna Claire's ability the read.

It is one of the things I am most proud of about her, but I also realize all parents think their kids are geniuses and realize that that can come across as super-annoying.

I just can't help it today, though. On the way to gymnastics, we were sitting at a stoplight (a very long stoplight), and Anna Claire saw a marquee. She said, "Mommy! That say 'Moving!'" It sure did. It said, "Moving Sale."

 A few second later I hear, "That says 'how!'" Close! It said, "Call now."

We pulled up to Berry Bear this week and Anna Claire noticed the GameStop sign next door. "Mommy, that say 'stop!'" Then later, we drove by Michael's Pizza (Anna Claire's never been to a Michael's). AC said, "Mommy that say 'pizza!'"

Anna Claire also seems to have retained about 80% of her Your Baby Can Read words. One example of this was evident a few nights ago. I walked in the room and she had pulled out about 12 of her YBCR cards. She read 7 out of 12 on the spot. I don't know that she didn't know the other 5, but she FELT like reading 7. I'm posting a pic below of 6 of the words she read correctly. She also knew "drum," not pictured.

Most of all, I love that Anna Claire is now attempting to read a books on her own. And I don't mean sit and look at the pictures. She looks over the whole page and calls out words she knows and attempts some she doesn't know. Her guesses at unknown words tell us she gets phonics. For example, she saw the word "quit" and miscued it as "quiet."

Admittedly, she has memorized some books that we've read to her multiple times, but we can point out random words to her and she's able to read them. Or sometimes we leave out words when we read and she is able to supply the missing word when we point to it.

She is three years, two months. :) This Momma is proud.

Summer at Red Barn

It has been a full, wonderful summer. I have no regrets, and truly felt like we lived every day to the fullest. I can't wrap up summer without giving some credit where credit is due to the Red Barn.

Thanks to the amazing teachers there, and being able to take her a few days a week, Anna Claire has been able to stay in somewhat of a routine, to continue to be socialized, and to have fun and participate in some creative and fun activities that I just couldn't provide at home.

Like what, you ask?

Well, for starters, they have a bunny, "Cookie." With two kitty cats here at the house, I am not looking to add "bunny" to our list of household pets. So score one, Red Barn.

They have a school garden. The kids get to help with the entire process, and go out and visit it often. We have a small garden at home too, and I love that this learning is carried over to school.

They do fun actitivies with the kids, like switching out various materials at the sensory table. They take a water table, and during the super hot days when it can't be used outside, they bring it inside and fill it will all kinds of things: rice, dirt, sand, and more.

They do lots of art! Painting (fingerpainting and with brushes), markers, gluing, stamping, dry erase boards, and more.

Every Friday is water play. The kids put on their swimsuits and run through the sprinklers. Every other Wednesday the ice cream man comes and they get to buy ice cream from him. She consistently picks the Strawberry Shortcake bar, although I seem to remember her getting the Bomb Pop one time. Good choices!

They also let the kids try on every day "grown up" tasks like washing dishes. One day I came in and they had filled a dishpan with soapy water and boy were those kids all about that! They also recently got to use shaving cream like Daddy.

I, of course, have to mention ABC Music. Thursdays revolve around ABC Music and gymnastics, and lately, swim lessons too! Anna Claire so looks forward to seeing Karen every Thursday and I know she is learning so much! She can name just about any instrument you show her, even the weird ones. She knows the words to so many songs, it is truly amazing. Anna Claire seems to have a natural sense of rhythm when keeping time with a percussion instrument or when copying a rhythm I tap out. She has also shown a great deal of interest in Momma's piano and Larry's guitar.

I love the Red Barn! And so does AC!