Revelation

Tonight I gave Annabelle a bath for the first time since we returned home three weeks ago, so that Dave could take over the bed time ritual. (Usually he does bath time and I am in charge of bed time.) Bath time has a reputation for being tense, and a definite chore for whomever is involved in the cleaning process. Over the summer, in Dave's absence, I got a lot of help from my sister and mom and dad... especially if I was having an exasperating evening.

So tonight, after bathing her, having fun, and sharing lots of giggles tonight, it had not occurred to me how successful of a bath experience it had been until she looked up at me, beaming, with the broadest smile on her face -

Annabelle :: Me do good bath time tonight?

Me :: What?

Annabelle :: Me no hit you!

Me :: No, you didn't hit me.

Annabelle :: And me no yell at you!

Me :: No, you didn't yell at me either.

Annabelle :: And me no hit and yell at you!

Me :: That's right. You did not yell at me or hit me.

Annabelle :: Me hit daddy. And me yell at daddy.

Me :: Annabelle! You hit daddy?

Annabelle :: Yes. And Papa. And Grama. And Sissy. And...

Me ::

Annabelle :: Me do good bath time tonight! Me big girl!

Who's teaching her this stuff?

Annabelle :: Mom. What's your email?

Me (shocked) :: My email?

Annabelle :: Yes. What is it?

Me :: allysun dot xxxxx at xxxxx dot com

(pause)

WHY?

Annabelle :: Because I got you a happy (ie present) on Ebay and I want to keep it a surprise.

Me :: (stunned silence)

So there.

Shopping for groceries a few weeks ago, Annabelle spotted some cereal in a very colorful box detailed with lots of rabbits. It was made primarily of oats, and Annabelle is very allergic to oats...

Annabelle :: I WANT THIS! Buy it for me Momma.

Me :: You want this cereal. It's got such a pretty box. But that cereal is not for your tummy. Mommy is not going to buy you that cereal today, I'm sorry.

Annabelle :: When me big and me have a little girl, you come to the grocery store with us. You watch me buy it for HER!

Happiness is a small town...

I arrived back in our small rural town in the Willamette Valley to find that we have our first grocery store! It's small. Very small. Very very very small. About the size of a large bedroom. But I can buy some groceries locally! And it's organic!

This is no small pleasure!

Then, just a few doors down, I noticed that a local church opened up a teen center - a place for local teenagers to hang out and do what they shall do. Ping pong tables, pool tables, lots of couches, etc. Our town was desperate for something like this!

A little growing up happened here while I was gone. It is nice to be home.

Train trip SoCal style!

A quick jump to San Juan Capistrano, tour of the Mission, snack at The Depot, and a fun ride home again...

Getting ready for the train to blow its horn.

On our way South.

At the church inside the Mission, Annabelle lit a candle very carefully as she whispered with solemn reverence, "Happy Birthday."

We sat in the back pew silently watching until Annabelle said, "I wanna see the man." and then walked down the aisle...

...where she immediately knelt and silently stared at the icons and crucifixion.

We aren't Catholic, but since we seemed to have found ourselves in the middle of a pretty organic Catholic experience I figured we'd take the next step. A big ceramic container labeled "HOLY WATER" was a few feet from the altar. So I gave a little to Annabelle and showed her how to make the sign of the cross. Here she substituted her nose for her forehead.

And she took me literally when I told her to touch her heart. So sweet.

Then she simultaneously slapped her shoulders a few times with each hand.



Later, snacking in an alcove, Annabelle heard the train blow its whistle.

And then she heard it again.

And then it was potty time...

Anyone remember this picture from two years ago? Here's the whole blog post if you are that committed... I was able to cajole Annabelle into repeating the whole trick of walking around the memorial and then jumping out to surprise me. Here she comes...

Rawr! Gotcha Mom!

Walking around downtown.

Showing me her favorite colored crayons. Did anyone doubt they'd be red?

I had this great idea of flattening a couple coins on the train tracks, but it didn't really work. I didn't think through the plan very well... the coins fell off the track after the train rolled over them, and then we had to rush to get on the train, so it wasn't like I was going to dive under the train to grab the coins and THEN board. Maybe next time...

Annabelle made up a game trying to keep her hands on the window. The train would rock and throw her off balance a little bit and her hands would fly up and she'd laugh hysterically. Repeat.

Probably the best photograph I've ever taken. A sort of photographic tribute to Susan Boulet?

Last Playdate of the Summer...

One final hour with her BFF before we head back north...

True love at three years old.