Anna Claire's 4th Birthday

Anna Claire's birthday party was on Saturday, but her actual birthday was today. She absolutely loved her party, but I wanted to do what I could to make today special too.

So I put the ball in her court. When asked the night before, she said, "I have no idea, Mommy. No idea."

When I went in to wake her up this morning, she said, "I thought about what I want to do. I have ideas, Mommy!"

I asked her what they were, and she said, "I want to do art and play with all my Play-doh." Done deal. We would certainly do those things.

She walked into the family room through rainbow streamers I had taped above the door. She loved the streamers so much. She kept saying, "Wow! How'd you get those up there, Mommy?"  I also blew up a few balloons and had them floating around on the floor when she walked in, and hung up the birthday banner that we've used every year since she was one. I love how simple things can bring so much joy.

Two large gift bags full of presents went unnoticed by her. I think because our whole house has been cluttered with gift bags since her party on Saturday, she's become de-sensitized to seeing them! I would point the two bags out to her later.

We had breakfast. Anna Claire planned out her birthday menu the day before:

Breakfast requests: Lucky Charms with milk, but I want a glass of milk too. And Goldfish (rainbow ones). And blueberries.

Lunch: I want to have nap and lunch and then cupcakes with my friends at The Red Barn. We can get the little cupcakes at Walmart. Maggie CAN have those. (She has a little friend with a peanut allergy in her class and she is right, mini-cupcakes at Walmart are nut-free! I love how she thought of her friend instead of herself when picking out cupcakes! Precious!)

Dinner: I want to go to Cheddars for my birthday. I really want to go to Cheddars...I've always wanted to got there.

After breakfast, she was ready to play with her ice cream Play-Doh set and brand new Play-Doh that she received as a gift at her party. We played with it for the longest. It really is a neat set with some fun toys and tools.

Art time! She loves her "rainbow" tri-colored markers from Grandma. They are really cool. She figured out pretty quickly that she can use them as stampers, or turn them at different angles for different effects.

Presents from Mommy and Daddy. I looked at the time and realized it was getting late and she still hadn't opened her gifts from us. We kept it simple since Grandma had already spoiled her rotten, and her birthday party was her BIG gift from us, but they were things we knew would be winners: three summer dresses (she LOVES sundresses), a rainbow leotard she'd been wanting, two of the little Disney princess dolls she didn't yet have, an eye shadow palette like Mommy's, sparkle shoes, and my favorite of her gifts, this rainbow machine. I adore it and so does she!

Time to go to Wal-mart to pick out cupcakes. She picked the packs of minis that had some with blue and some pink frosting. "That way the boys and girls can have the colors they like." She also managed to squeeze a chocolate frosted doughnut out of me. ;)

I dropped her off at the Red Barn along with the cupcakes, then returned after their naptime with rainbow jello I had made using these directions, but I made them sans alcohol, of course. The kids loved them - they were surprised, Anna Claire included.

I stole her away after Jell-o and cupcake fun. She really wanted to go home and explained she didn't take a nap at school. She said, "I want to go be lazy, Mommy."

So, we watched TV and snuggled for awhile, then I tried to engage her in some fun (it was her birthday after all). We played with some of her birthday gifts, which she really enjoyed - mainly art though! She was true to what she said when she hopped out of bed. That's REALLY what she wanted to do.

Not long after, it was time for an early bath so we could have dinner with Pop and Daddy at Cheddars at 5:00. She loved, loved, loved Cheddars. We all did! She ordered the hot dogs, but of course, she preferred what we ordered. She loved my pasta and Pop's fried chicken. We also ordered her a Monster Cookie since it was her special day. I have to say, those are THE BOMB.

Then small group for church. We always take Anna Claire with us, but being her birthday, I wondered if she would mind going. Had she not wanted to, we would have just missed it. But she really did want to go! She loves playing with her Red Barn buddy, Lucas, whose parents lead our group. They did have a ball, and it was actually a fun way to end her birthday.

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We enjoyed a super fun birthday celebration with Grandma and Freddie on Sunday.

They truly spoiled her rotten and her reactions were priceless: she got her bicycle, a REAL guitar, knee and elbow pads, tri-colored markers and a real sketchbook, soccer balls and cones, swim shoes and diving rings, Molly from Bubble Guppies, 3 books, princess panties, pink clip-on hair extentions (fun!), and more!

We loved dinner out with Grandma and Freddie. They took us to Torino's in Springfield. Anna Claire loved it. She ordered grilled cheese, but also loved sampling our food. She was so surprised by the waiters clapping and singing "Happy Birthday" to her, that I think it scared her. It was much like the Charlie's Steak House experience for Larry and me - her complimentary birthday cake had strawberries and whipped cream but had a candle instead of Charlie's trademark sparklers.

Last Night as a 3-Year-Old

After prayers, I reminded Anna Claire that this was the last time I'd see her as a 3-year-old, and my eyes started tearing up unexpectedly as I uttered the words. "See you in the morning, when you're four!" I told her. She was so excited, while Mommy was a mixed bag of emotions. ;)

Sweet girl posing for her last pic as a 3 year old.

Anna Claire's 4th Birthday Party: A Rainbow Art Birthday

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Father's Day 2013

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

by Anna Claire Averitt (age 4)

My Daddy likes:
Food: pretzels
Dessert: pistachio ice cream
Game: catch!

At his job my Daddy: works on his computer.
I like to: draw and color with my Daddy.
He is special to me because he likes to color and draw with me.

My Daddy is best at drawing, just like me.
My Daddy is 5 years old.
My Daddy is 3 feet tall.
He weighs ? lbs. ("I'm afraid I don't know, Mommy.")
He has black hair and brown eyes.
He likes to wear black shirts.

I had Anna Claire answer these same questions about her Daddy last year. Here's how she answered them a year ago to compare.

"You forgot Anna Claire!"

At church last Sunday, Anna Claire's friend Olli saw me walking to the car without Anna Claire. He didn't realize that she and her Daddy were already in the car waiting for me, so Olli hollered, "Anna Claire's mom! You forgot Anna Claire!"

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Then, at The Red Barn on Friday, I dropped Anna Claire off for soccer to find out the coach was running a half hour late. So I let her stay and play and ran back to the house to get a sun hat so I wouldn't burn watching her at soccer. When I got back, her friend Jackson saw me come in without her. I don't guess he realized she was already there because he asked, "Where's Anna Claire?"

I smiled and said, "She's right over there," pointing to her. I said, "Did you think I forgot her, Jackson?"

He laughed, "Yeah, I did think you forgot."

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Glad to know her friends are looking out for her! :)

Party Planning, Hospice, and Nesting, Oh My...

I can honestly say that this summer has been the most emotional one in my life. Bittersweet would be a good word - the fun and excitement of planning a 4-year-old's rainbow birthday party coupled with the anticipation and joy of preparing for bringing a new life into our home has taken the edge off the heartbreak and tears of bearing daily witness to my mom's rapid decline in health.

Then add to the equation that I am returning to the classroom in less than two months time - a new subject and grade level I've never taught before. And my mom's house looks like something out of "Horders." I know we need to go through it and get it sold fairly soon. But the mere thought of having to tackle either of these stressors makes my eye twitch. So I head for my go-to place when things get tough - avoidance. I have done nothing to prepare for the upcoming school year, and avoid Mom's house like the plague.

I do this partly to keep my stress level low with this new baby. I do it partly because Anna Claire deserves to have a great summer and I want to cherish this time with only her as my only child before her time gets divided. And I do it partly because I stay worried constantly that the passing of my mom will coincide with Anna Claire's birthday. I pray daily that Momma can hang in there until this sweet girl has a chance to celebrate her special day. But with her losing weight daily and refusing to weight (down to 102.8, 15 lbs. less than she weighed just one month ago), I am rightfully concerned. Hospice and doctors told us several weeks ago that they anticipate she has a couple of months.

I don't want my mom to suffer any longer than necessary, but the thought of having to explain the concept of death to my little girl on or near her birthday, would be more than I can bear. Prayers please!

How to Keep Your Child from Becoming a Picky Eater

Friends and others often comment about what a great eater Anna Claire is. And Larry and I loved hearing Anna Claire beg for more crawfish last night at dinner. Atta girl!

I've thought about writing this post about this for some time now, but after doing some reading, I truly think I know what I'm talking about and can write it with some credibility.

It Starts Younger Than You Think
I can tell you that it starts young, in infancy and in utero. Did you know that babies have very developed taste buds as early as 21 weeks in the womb? They take in and swallow their amniotic fluid which takes on the flavor of whatever you've eaten. Same is true of breast milk.

I nursed Anna Claire for the first 14 months, so it's no wonder we have identical cravings and that the child will eat just about anything, just like her mom! She was captive to my eating habits for a total of almost 2 years!

Exposure to Multiple Foods is Critical - and Do It Young
I also have to credit her Daddy. Larry is a graduate of California Culinary Academy and a true foodie if I've ever met one. It was his great ambition from the time she was able to consume solid foods to present her with opportunities to try everything. He had so much fun exposing her to foods and watching her reactions to them, as I did. And research does state there's a correlation between exposure to foods and children's eating habits.

Homemade Versus Store Bought Baby Food
I don't say this to sound snooty or judgmental, because had a been a single mom or had a different husband this may not be the case, but Anna Claire has never had store bought baby food. After tasting store bought baby food at a baby shower, I felt so blessed to have a husband that took such great joy in cooking and pureeing all of our child's foods - that stuff tastes gross! Here is an article comparing store bought to homemade baby food.

Another interesting fact is that babies actually have many more taste buds than we do. That's why they like lemons as wee ones, and reject them as sour later on. Little babies can pick up on the sweet notes of a lemon that we aren't able to as adults.

I say that to point out the store bought might be even less appealing to someone with more taste buds - if we think it tastes bad, what do babies who taste with more intensity think?

You Get What You Get and You Don't Throw a Fit
 I think many parents are quick to say their child just doesn't like many foods, so they present them with chicken nuggets every night because "that's all they'll eat." I beg to differ - we have an expectation with Anna Claire, and always have, that what we present her at mealtime is what she gets. And you know what, she eats it! Raising our expectations for kids can completely change the outcome, I've found.

I am proud of how well our sweet girl eats, but I feel we have done a great deal to encourage this. I am expecting a baby #2, and we plan and steering the same course for her!