Annabelle, Annabelle, Annabelle

When Caleb was smaller, I remember my sweet Moma saying that 18 months was always her favorite age for kids. I thought she was freakin' crazy. You see, Caleb was/is one of the strongest willed children born in this world to date. He started up with what others might call the "terrible twos" when he was about 9 months old. When Caleb was 18 months old, life was a constant battle of wills. In fact, the Christmas right after Adam was born, I opted not to have a Christmas tree because I didn't have time to put it up and I didn't want to deal with him touching it. (aka destroying it) And, yes, I spanked him. I would have tried time out, but I would have had to tie him to a chair or lock him in a closet to keep him somewhere. That seemed a little inhumane to me. From earlier posts, you probably know the story of his maturation and all so I won't go into that again. (click on the word 'posts' to read about how wonderful Caleb is to me!) He is a delightful challenge in my life. By the way, this was the youngest picture that I could find quickly on the computer of him. I think he is 3 (almost 4).

Wow, I really didn't mean to go into all of that. My point is (note the title) that Annabelle is that child my sweet Moma was talking about. She is SO compliant! She knows not to touch the Christmas tree or presents. She is only 14 months old but what a great age! She has added a few more words to her vocabulary like horse and dog. She loves music and taps her foot to the rhythm anytime she hears it. Also, she has started this pointing thing. When I get her up from a nap she usually points at me and laughs. (Is she making fun of me, I am not sure.) It is super cute though. Hhhmm, what else? She is not a big eater and prefers to look at a book while I shove some sort of substance in her mouth. We are down to one nap a day now which frees the morning up a lot. She is about as active as her brothers and runs anytime she can.

So that is what is going on with Annabelle these days.



On the homeschooling front, I am excited to say that BOTH boys have begun to read! I didn't realize what a relief this would be to me before, but a load has been lifted off my shoulders. It just sort of began to "click" on how to put the letter sounds together. Writing on the other hand.............



Yesterday I brought Lanie and Kiah home with us for the afternoon. Mimi was very nervous as I loaded up 5 out of 6 of her grandkids in my van and drove away, but I promised to drive EXTRA carefully. We had a great time together, no fights, no squabbles, and what gorgeous weather! Lanie and Kiah enjoyed our school lesson and it was nice to have two playmates for the day. 4 is better than 3 in most cases because they tend to pair off. Annabelle adores both of them so she was happy too. We will definitely do it again soon. I regret that I didn't take a single picture (very unlike me) so nothing to show ya.

Here is Dollywood instead:

Annabelle has weaned herself.


As my sweet mother would say, "It is the end of an era for you, Julie." No more babies, no more nursing. Alas, I am quite sad.

Adam nursed until he was 22 months. Caleb quit after a year but I figured it was mostly because I was almost six months pregnant at the time. I thought Annabelle would at least make it to 18 months.....you know to get through the cold and flu season. Nope, she has better things to do. Plus, she was only nursing at night for the last month or so. Maybe she will sleep through the night now. Truthfully I have always been a doubter of those who say that their babies "weaned themselves" at 10 months, but now I can believe it. (so judgmental I am)

So 13 1/2 months was it for little Annie.

Thanks giving was odd this year for us. The boys all went down to Acworth, GA for Thanksgiving and then left for the hunting land immediately after the meal. Annabelle and I stayed here since I have sworn off Bear Creek until she is older. Mimi made Thanksgiving breakfast for Grandaddy, Uncle Jonathan, and us. Then we decided to go to Walmart later in the day when we realised how uncrowded it would be compared to the rest of the season. It was a lovely time to be in Walmart except the cashier was a little nasty to us. (don't blame her though, she was working on Thanksgiving..........been there many years myself) You know, now that I think of it, we don't ever really celebrate Thanksgiving the same each year. I worked every holiday before kids, then most years were in GA, and two years ago we were in Barbados. This year we were a part.






I did get a lot done while the guys were gone. My mom and dad love that show "Flip This House". (I would love it too if we had cable.......Angie, could you please tivo it and I will watch it next time we are down?) Anyways, they have learned a little about selling houses and so we decided that my powder room needed some help. Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses. I got a new mirror and stenciled a pattern on the walls. It looks fantastic. It may be hard to leave this house after all. Nope, it won't.

Are you bored now? Bathrooms, stencils, kitchens, blah, blah blah.






Yea for Christmas time!!! I love it!


Merry Christmas!

I just thought I would post this picture because it is really weird. What a face! I will write more later. We are off to Lanie and Lucie's birthday party at the gymnastics gym. I......I mean.......the boys are so excited about it!

My sweet little Annabelle can say "Moma" now! Everytime she says it my eyes almost well up with tears of joy............or maybe a little sadness knowing that I will never hear another baby say Moma to me for the first time. I will just enjoy the sweetness of it now because I know soon enough I will hear it 324 times a day as another child summons me to their needs. I actually work very hard to not be their "Mommy-servant" and to teach them to take care of themselves......... and others for that matter. It surely doesn't come to them naturally.

I will take a moment to write a little about Annabelle as a nine month old. She is one active little gal! Sweet, but on the move constantly. She is very entertained by her brothers and follows them (as well as she can) wherever they go. We are all amazed at how often she smiles. And get this-she obeys me when I tell her no! The boys were a constant training session at nine months. They challenged me on everything, however it is not that way with Annabelle. One little smack on the hand and she knows not to do it anymore. She might cry a little, but she won't do it more than a couple of times before she gets the picture.


I will say that I am the busiest I have ever been in my life. I took 15-18 hours of classes in college every semester, waitressed part time and worked out obssessively everyday, which made me think I was busy then. Then I graduated and got a fulltime job where I worked 10 hour days, 6 days a week and thought I was busy again. None of that compares to mothering three kids, taking care of my household, homeschooling the boys, and trying to help out my hubby with the business. I think that showing the house is what is putting me over the top nowadays. Not that I am complaining.......I am just trying to explain how busy I am........as I sit here and write about it..........get up, get going...........Annabelle will be up from that nap soon. But now I will be able to look back at this and probably say to myself, "And I thought I was busy then!"