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He's making a list, he's checking it twice...
(You know the rest...)

Our city has Santa go around town on a float each December with his elf, and they stop in each neighborhood so the kids can climb up in his sleigh with his reindeer, and tell Santa what they want for Christmas and take a picture. It's very cute. This year Santa's sleigh even had a snow machine, so there was real snow falling.

Incidentally, Anna asked Santa for musical instruments, specifically a "kitar". For your edification, a kitar is just like a guitar, but it is pronounced in a decidedly creative Anna-ish way. (And also so you know, Santa already found one and hid it in the gift closet...along with a pink tambourine, a few pink wood instruments and a pink flute thingy. Santa decidedly veto'd the pink drums.)

With Santa's Elf Helper...


And with Santa himself...


Catching chemically processed snowflakes on her tongue...I'm sure that's healthy.

Anna devised this "trick" and wanted me to video tape it for her, in her never ending quest to get on America's Funniest Home Videos. Abra cadabra!

Anna has three piggy banks: one for God, one for college and one for 'surprises' (toys). She actually came up with that idea on her own quite awhile ago. Well, this weekend, we were going to church, and Anna said she wanted to take her "For God" piggy bank and give it in the offering. I said, "Sure..." and got her a big ziplock bag to empty it into. (She had $28.02 saved up in there!)

She then took a Sharpie, and said she was going to write her name on it, so God would know who it was from. When I came back, this is what she had written:

"To God. From Anna.
I love you Kodi & Mariah."

Kodi is our dog that died this year, and she often talks about him being up in heaven now. And Mariah is my mom's dog that died 2 years ago. She wanted God to tell them that she loves them, or 'just show them the note if he wants to.' She also turned the "o" in "God" into a picture of Kodi, and wrote his name next to it, so God would know what he looked like to find him, to show him the note.

It was so sweet, it made me cry. OK, honestly, I am so pregnant and hormonal right now, the right BEER commercial can make me cry, but still. Pretty cute...

Baby Bump is growing in there. The three of us went to see Baby at our 19 week U/S. Anna was thrilled. They must be learning anatomy in Spanish class, because she kept trying to name all of baby's parts in Spanish, and the tech was helping her. She even labeled one pic in Spanish for Anna to take to school to show her Spanish class. Baby was moving and grooving (legs closed and ankles crossed, not that we were peeking) and even sucking it's thumb in one of the pictures below. 20 weeks to go!

Grandma bought Daddy two tickets for the Niners game this weekend, for his birthday. We bought one more ticket, so that Anna could go too, since she has been asking if we could go to "a real football game" someday. Unfortunately, Grandma and Alisa couldn't go at the last minute, but the three of us went.

It was HOT there! This is mid-November! Did California not get the memo? It was over 80 degrees in San Francisco, and we were sitting in Candlestick, with no wind, and no shade, BAKING in the sun. Anna finally resored to melting ice cubes on her face to stay cool. She and I both had out sweatshirts draped over our heads and one shoulder to try to keep the sun off.

But, the upside it, going in at 2-7, our hopes weren't high. And, miracle of miracles, we WON! Actually, we kicked ass. Now, that has as much to do with the Rams just sucking harder than we do, than it does any REAL skill on our part - but hey, we'll take it. So, it was a fun game. We ate cotton candy and licorice and drank LOTS of lemonade (beer for Daddy), before Anna crashed and passed out. She curled up in a little ball face down on her seat and went to sleep. Too cute...

Go Niners!!! Playoffs here we come!!! (Well, not THIS year, but I'm sure - just by law of averages - someday we'll get there again, so I'm going to start cheering early, just in case.)

Some recent funnies from Anna:

Aunt Tracy loooong ago taught Anna that good things come in small packages. Most notably, little tiny boxes usually have jewlery in them. So, after visiting Aunt Dani the other day, Anna remarked, "I think Aunt Tracy has given Aunt Dani LOTS of little boxes, because Aunt Dani has lots of jewlery." I had to break the news that Aunt Tracy, although very cool, is not the Jewlery Fairy, and all jewlery in the world does NOT necessarily come from her.

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We made rolled baked sandwich things the other day for lunch. We thought if we let Anna choose her fillings, she's eat it. So, she picked salami & cheese. And then refused to eat it when it was baked.

I caved and offered to fix her something else. Browsing the fridge, we had the following conversation:

ME: How about salami slices?
ANNA: Yeah!
CURTIS: How about some cheese?
ANNA: Yeah. OK, wait a minute Daddy. I KNOW what you are thinking. I see where you are headed with this, and I am NOT eating that sandwich.

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While talking to Grandma about how old they both were, Grandma said, "Well, I am young at heart. My body thinks I am old, but my head knows that I am young." Anna replied, "Um, Grandma, I think your body may be right on this one."

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Anna had been thrashing around all evening, jumping and dancing and being goofy. Curtis and I were torn between being amused and annoyed. After one particularly window rattling crash, she looked up to she if she was in trouble, and when Curtis and I just looked at her, she said, "Yeah, that move needs a little work."

I am strangely annoyed by the fact that the Stupid Geico Gecko has been given a new voice, that has a much heavier accent is is difficult to understand. What was wrong with the original annoying voice, and why am I so bothered by this. Is it just me?

I just realized, upon reviewing some old blog entries, that my last "pregnancy" post was clarifying that we are NOT pregnant. And that at some point I probably should have updated that here...but I think most of you that read this know already.

So, for the record, we ARE pregnant now. I sent out a family email awhile back that had a Top Ten List included. Enjoy...

Top Ten Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions

1. Yes, seriously.
2. About 18 weeks right now.
3. Yes, it was on purpose.
4. April 9th, 2009.
5. A little bit of morning sickness, but otherwise great.
6. She can hardly WAIT to be a big sister.
7. Yes, it will be a boy or a girl.
8. No, we won’t find out ahead of time.
9. No names yet, but we wouldn’t admit it if we did anyway. :)
10. No, that doesn’t mean the house is finally finished (we wish).

This year, Anna became...The Pink Poodle!

It was very cute. We were a little concerned about how trick-or-treating would go. In all the years prior, Anna has dressed up as a ballerina or a flower fairy or a princess - all things that have fairly UNINSULATED wardrobe requirements.

But this year, the pink poodle. The pink poodle costume was warm, furry, fuzzy, and had head-to-toe Halloween endurance written all over it. I was concerned that we wouldn't have our usual "I'm cold - let's go home now" after two houses. Well, we didn't, but her feet did give out before ours did (not by much though). The rain held off and we all had fun. Until next year...

Heaven help us. Get the shotgun out. Anna has a boyfriend.

*sigh* I wasn't ready for this YET. But it is pretty funny and cute. There is a little boy in Anna's class who just adores her. I think the feeling is mutual, but she did say that he is "way too silly to marry". He's in love with her. She loves him too, and she also sits next to him at lunch so that he can open all of her things for her.

Yesterday at the Halloween party, after watching them play musical chairs at the snack table just so they could sit together, her teacher said, "Do you hear abut Sam at all?" Seriously?! He's ALLL we hear about. :) Then her other teacher said that she was talking to his aunt the other day, and their conversation reportedly went something like this:

(After having said something about a girl in his class)
Aunt: Is that your girlfriend?
Sam: No - I only have one girlfriend. That's Anna.
Aunt: Well, what do you like about Anna?
Sam: She's the coolest girl in the whole world. She's so cool. She's the prettiest girl in school. And she's lost more teeth than me!

Ahhh...the perspective of a five year old. At what age, do you think, does it become UNcool to have lost more teeth than your date?

We were on a picnic at Yosemite, when Anna decided she wanted to make a video of her new "recipe". This recipe included Garlic Cheez Whiz, Salami & Ritz Crackers. Despite my dislike of anything that ends in "Whiz", it was a huge leap up from her previous concoction - Garlic Cheez Whiz stuffed Raspberries (which made even HER gag). Bon appetit!

Anna's first pumpkin of the season is now gracing our front porch. The little "thought bubble" was her idea (and execution). It says (in case you need translation): "BOO! Did I scare you? YES!"

Anna had a field trip today, and I had the FUNNIEST conversation with one of the little girls that rode with us. Funniest EVER. Seriously.

So, we were talking about all the fun stuff they were going to get to do at the pumpkin patch: pick pumpkins, dig potatoes, milk a cow, etc. The following conversation ensued:

ME: So you guys get to milk a cow today!
GIRL: My mommy works for cows.
ME: Oh, you mean she works WITH cows?
GIRL: No, she works FOR cows.
ME: She works FOR cows?
GIRL: Yes. She always says the ladies she works for are a bunch of cows.

I think I deserve a commendation or some kind of medal for not driving off the road while in hysterical fits of laughter. Totally priceless.

I got to help out in Anna's class today, and they had art while I was there. It was so cute. This week, they are studying Henry Matisse. Last week, they studied Picasso. I was surprised to hear her tell me distinctive things about each artist's style. (Well, she could be totally wrong, I guess - because I don't know Picasso from a piccolo - but it did SOUND very impressive.)

Then, she told me, "If you paint the subject of the painting and the background the same color, you will disrupt the figure-ground relationship of the artwork....which is OK, as long as you KNOW that is what you are doing."

Hmmmm...I am sure there was some intelligent reply to that commentary, but it escaped me in the moment. She sounded so grown up. Funny, funny girl.

Anna's class is learning the planets in Kindergarten. I'm probably supposed to tell her that it's NEPtune, not NECKtune - and MARS, not MARGE (as in Homer Simpson's wife) - but it's too cute to correct for now.

Anna is learning the Pledge of Allegiance at school. Too cute...

Apparently, every day in Kindergarten, they start the day by writing journal entries. Yesterday's entry was supposed to be about "Why I think people like me."

I asked Anna what she wrote, and she said, "Well, two things. One, I have a GREAT imagination. And two, I have a really funny Daddy. Oh, plus there are the rats (her pet rats, Rosa & Daisy), but I don't think everyone likes that about me - especially Miss Kelly."

Classic...

*sigh* Yup - finally here. And yes, there were tears. (You probably guessed it - mine, not Anna's.) I did however hold off until I got back home. Do I get partial credit for that?

It was actually a near miss, because Curtis and I have both had a nasty cold with fevers and the whole deal...and Anna started getting it yesterday. We patched her up as well as we could for today, and she seemed to be doing OK. We didn't want to miss the FIRST day of school.

She was excited this morning. She did say that she was a little nervous. When I asked about what, she said, "That I won't know how to do my homework." So sweet.

Daddy stayed home this morning so we could all go together and see her off. We were both so proud of her. I think she's going to have a blast! Here are (way too many) pics from this morning:

As we get ready for Anna to start Kindergarten next week, we have been chuckling over a few of her recent comment. Some of them are obviously influenced by the games that she and her engineer Daddy play. They are so cute together.

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CURTIS: What's 1+1
ANNA: 2.
CURTIS: What's A+B?
ANNA: Zero - those aren't numbers. (eye roll)
CURTIS: What is A+B if A=1 and B=2
(I laughed and started to say, "Honey, she's only FIVE!" when Anna interrupted me)
ANNA: That's 3. Duh! (bigger eye roll)

I don't know if I should be impressed or scared.
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CURTIS: What is 3x1?
ANNA: 3
CURTIS: What is 3x2?
ANNA: Ummm...6
CURTIS: What is 3x3?
ANNA: Uh, Daddy, I think you mean 3 squared.

It took me a second to realize that she was actually right.
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We were doing a MadLibs (remember those?) in a restaurant, and I was explaining each blank (adverb, adjective, etc,) So, when we got to a noun, I said, "A noun is something you can pick up or touch." Anna corrected me and said, "Actually, a noun is a person, place or thing, Mommy."

Damn.
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Yup - we're staying busy this summer! All Sport Camp, Sparkle Princess Camp, Cheer Camp, Hula Camp, swim lessons...GO, GO, GO!!! Actually, it's not as crazy as it sounds. We've still had a fair amount of down time, and Anna is having a blast trying a variety of new things. Here are pics from this week's activity - CHEER CAMP!!!

Lots of fun with Snow White at a birthday party today!

We all survived multiple rounds of a tummy bug over the past few weeks. Not fun stuff! At one point, the only place Anna was comfortable, we with her head laying on the toilet to that she was there in case she got sick. She actually fell asleep there, and didn't want me to move her. Poor baby! Happy to say we're over it now (knock on wood) - but it made for these pathetically cute pics.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

No - we're not pregnant, much to Anna's disappointment. But maybe one of these days we'll head down that road again. But for now - no. :) My last post caused a few excited emails! Sorry. :)

At least - that's what I am guessing. She is still hounding us about 'a baby in mommy's tummy'. She's tired of waiting. She used the phrase "brother AND sister" the other day, and I corrected her and said, "brother OR sister - mommy is only going to have ONE baby in her tummy". So she whispers something to Curtis, and it made him laugh so hard that he actually rolled and fell off of the bed...still laughing.

When I asked him later what she whispered, it was, "Daddy, can you have an accident so that mommy has TWO babies in her tummy?" I want to know what kid in her class had 'babies' explained as an accident.

The BOLDED ITALICIZED print is how Anna filled in the blanks on this Mothers' Day Story.

My Mom's Name is Rebekah.

She is 50 years old. (But I have to say - her first guess was "5". Her second guess was "50". Curtis helpfully pointed out that my real age was muchg closer to "50" than "5". )

Her favorite foods are watermelon and kiwis or cantaloupe or cereal. (I have never eaten a kiwi in my life. But I HAVE been trying to get her to eat one.)

She likes to drink Coke. Her favorite flower is a daisy. (Hit the nail on the head with those two.)

Her hobbies are sleeping and drinking coffee. (Damn - truth hurts. )

She is special to me because on Mother’s Day she let me sleep in their bed and because I love her . (OK, that made up for the age thing. )

If I could give her anything in the world it would be to let her sleep in because she likes to sometimes.

So cute...well, except for the age part. Totally NOT cute.

This is for a very good friend's daughter's 5th birthday. Totally a labor of love...but it was fun. And I am *SO* over cakes for awhile again. Lots I would change, or that didn't end up as I wanted it to - but overall I am happy with it.

*I did have to glue Stich's happy little ass to his surfboard, so he's out of commission after this. Thank goodness my dad raised me, not on duct tape (although that was popular too), but on the merits of 5 minute epoxy.