Kids say (and sing) the darndest things...

So, we've been battling the onset of toddler violence in our house and I have been the sole recipient. Zanna has recently taken to hitting me when she doesn't want to do what is coming next: bathroom, bedtime, naptime, shoes on, etc. I have handled it poorly sometimes and better others, and finally, over Thanksgiving, we had a positive breakthrough. In a quiet moment, when it had been hours since she last hit me, I said to her, "Zanna, it bothers me that you've been hitting me. The next time that you hit me, or someone else, you will need to be by yourself for 2 minutes. People need to be safe, and if you're hitting them, they're not safe." Then, we went on our merry way, probably changing the conversation to Dora or dinosaurs. Later as we drove home in the car, I heard this song coming from the backseat; "I don't hit, I don't bite, I don't even get in the cat's face... because I make good choices!" It continued for a little while, with quite the excellent tune. Cam and I turned down the radio so we could hear her song.
Needless to say, since the song has been sung, Mom has not suffered any more violence at the hands of her toddler. Ah, the power of music.

Rock Band

We played some Beatles Rock Band over Thanksgiving weekend..... Zanna's quite the drummer.

Passing Down Tradition

Aunt Stevie has always been the one to make Great Gramma Jesse's caramels each Christmas, and this year, she taught Zanna how to make them. They had a blast mixing, and pouring, and putting in pecans.... And, the caramels were delish! Thanks Aunt Stevie for passing on a family tradition!

The second littlest cowpoke

Zanna's good friend Josephine already has the title of 'The Littlest Cowpoke" so Zanna will just have to settle for second littlest. On Thanksgiving Day, she got the chance to earn the title. At my Dad and stepmom's new ranch out in Decatur, she got to ride Luke, their horse. She loved it! (Don't worry, Luke stood still :)) I should have taken pictures of the beautiful scenery as well as the cute cowpoke on the horse, but I was a little sidetracked :) It was a great place to spend Thanksgiving day.

Daddy's Little Helper

These are from a few weeks ago when Zanna and Cam made pizza. Zanna LOVES to help Daddy in the kitchen and is learning quite a bit about ingredients and cooking....a chef in the making!

Zanna's gonna be a....

BIG Sister! Yay!
We found out while on vacation to Possum Kingdom mid-September, that we're having our second baby! We're all very excited though, some took a little more convincing than others. At our first sonogram, Zanna said, "Momma, that is not a baby. That is a fish." Upon further questioning, though, she's become convinced and has even taken a keen interest in said baby. We talk about the "baby in momma's womb" and sometimes, in a burst of toddler imagining, she'll say, "Momma, I have two (or even one hundred) babies in my womb." She sings to the baby, and always asks, "When do I get to hug my baby?" Nine months is sure a long time for a 2 year old to wait. Zanna would like to name the baby "Levi" if it's a boy, or "Cinderella" if a girl. I'm now 13 weeks along and finally starting to feel like a human being, albeit one who can eat humongous amounts in one sitting, but a human being again. The big day is May 23, and no, we're not finding out if it's Levi or Cinderella beforehand.