Over The River and Through The Woods!

 Grandma came to our house!  You see that look of disapproval on her face?  It's because we surpassed 30 minutes of daily television.  Welcome to our house, Grandma!  Our Mama lets us watch tv.  She swears it has no negative remercussions on our intellectuance.

 I watch so much TV I'm already speaking approximately 40 words and clear sentences at almost 18 months!  Oh wait, no I'm not.  Just jokin'!  Where's Elmo?  Bah?  Bah?  BAH!!!

 Admit it Grandma, you are enjoying this quality time with us.  In fact, what you are really diggin' is whatever is on the box!  Heh heh.  Thanks for driving 8 hours so you could watch us sit on our goozies on the couch glued to the boob tube!

 Okay, okay...  That's not all we did!  We did LOTS of fun stuff and we always have a good time with Grandma!  First, we took Grandma to our neighborhood Soda Shop down the street where of course the food takes forever so we have to keep VERY busy with activities so as not to pull the antique bottles off the shelf and start rearranging their generally disarrayed junk decor.

 Grandma, I love you but I am not going to debate the merits of my artwork with you and whether my political leanings slant to the left or the right in this matter...

 Let's all agree to disagree!

 BAH!  BAH!  BAH?!?

 Atta boy, Jack.  Way to stand up in your high chair.  Now throw something heavy at someone's head.
Jacky is moving up, up UP to the toddler class next week.  This is bitter sweet.  Bitter for Mama, Sweet for Daddy.  Daddy's all, "My boy!"  Mommy's all, "My BABY!"  This is Mama's BABY, y'all!  These toddlers are no JOKE.  Some of these kids are as big as ANNA and they are two.  Do you think I'm joking?!  Do you?!?!  Have you been to a daycare lately?  I'm not sure what kind of Coca Cola these other Mama's are puttin' in their babies' sippy cups and what kind of steroid pumped chicken nuggets they're eating in their happy meals but DANG!  These kids are GINORMOUS.
Mommy wants Jack to stay a little baby FOREVER.  Like FOREVER.  She even started to cry about it to our teachers and the daycare director at pick up yesterday afternoon and sounded much like we do when we don't want to eat our green beans: "I don't waaaaaaant my baby to be around all those other big babies....waaaaaahhhhhh!!!"  But Jacky seems to like it so far.  I'm sure he'll love it until he comes home with his first broken arm from a full contact ultimate fighting championship match with one of "The Twins" (hereafter referred to as one of The Twins).  I wish you could see these kids' feet.  They are bigger than Anna's feet.  They are almost as big as Mommy's head.  They're not even two.  And they are twins and aren't twins supposed to be small by proxy?  What does by proxy even mean?  I don't even know.  Clearly I need to watch more TV. 
Okay, calm down Mommy.  It's just the Toddler Room.  It's not even the 2's room yet!  Chill, Woman!  I mean, I AM 17 1/2 months old now!  I CAN speak roughly 4 words (Bye Bye, Bah, Bah Bah and Baaaaahhhh).  Time to wrestle with the big boys.
*sigh*
It doesn't get any easier, does it Mommies?
Love,
Lilly, Anna and Big Jack

Moving Back In Time...

 Mommy hasn't been able to post any pictures from our Easter egg hunt at school yet, so here they are!

 Teti, this is a much better picture of you than me...

 Thank goodness Teti was there to help me with some eggs!  Those big kids meant bizness with the egg hunt!  I wouldn't have gotten hardly any!  But Teti is bigger than those kids, and she showed them What's up!

 Hey girl, what are you doin' climbin' that there lattice?

 Thanks for the lift, Teti.  See, sister knows how to look out for shorty's!

 She even helps out the big shorty's too!

 Not a bad haul for Easter egg hunt one of three!

Num, num gimme some candy!
Love,
Lilly, Anna and Jack

Meet Vivi!

 That little baby is just SOOOO cute!  I just LOVE that little baby!  This is Vivi!  The newest addition to our M----- extended family!  She's also the littlest peanut!  She's five months old now and still weighs less than 11 lbs!

 And here comes 23 lbs of jealousy right here!

 That's better! 
Love,
Lilly, Anna and Jack

It's My Buthday!

 I had THREE wonderful buthday celebrations for turning FOUR.  So I kinda got ripped off when you think about it.  I should have had FOUR buthday celebrations.  Thanks for screwing me over again, Mommy.  I will talk to my counselor about that when I grow up.

 I am so sweet and happy!  I had a great buthday!

 First up, presents from Babi and Duda!

 "It's what I always wanted!"  Thank you, Babi and Duda for the book and the Hello Kitty scrapbook kit!  Lilly loves it!

 Next, from Uncle Mark and Aunt Kimber a Barbie Mermaid! "I like that Mermaid!"  Thank you Uncle Mark and Aunt Kimber!

 Can't go wrong with candy!  Thank you Teti and Mr. Bryan for my Nuds!

 Play-Doh JACKPOT!  Score!  Thank you Grampa and Grammy!

 "It's just what I wanted!"

 "She has black hair like mine.  And Mommy's."

 Sweet, sweet girl!

 Sassy, sassy girl!

 This year I wish for peace and harmony, starting right here at home.

Wait.  That's no fun!  Ha ha ha!  Ha ha ha!  Just jokin'!
Happy buthday to ME!
Love,
Anna Jane
P.S. Thank you Grandma for the ponies, Thank you Aunt Tracey, Uncle J, Ollie and Vivi for the game and thank you Uncle Dan for ZACORA!  Thank you, thank you!  Love y'all!!!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Anna Jane!

 Dear Anna Jane,
This is going way too fast.  You're already FOUR years old with the sass and spunk of a tweenager.  I love every minute of being your Mommy.  We all love every minute of you being our sweet (and sassy, and spunky) Anna.  Today I picked you up from school for some Mommy/Anna Jane time and as we walked out into the parking lot (me holding you, while I still can, loving that you'll let me) you looked at me and said, "Mama, God knows today is my birthday.  It's a beautiful day.  He made it just for me!" and you are so right.  He made YOU just for me!  I am so grateful.

 This has been such a big year for you - you've had a lot of changes.  You started this year as a pretty new big sister to baby Jacky (whom you now dote on when he's not getting on your nerves); you started this year with Mary Lou and Mallorie (and Marek, too - whom you still miss very much); you started this year in Kentucky (which you also miss very much) and now you're a true GRITS (girl raised in the south!); you started preschool (which you love); you can write the letters in your name (all over the furniture in the house); you sing words to grossly inappropriate songs (you DO have the moves like Jagger!); you got to be a flower girl, you went to your first beach wedding, you got to see Mickey Mouse and the friends again, you've made new friends with real people and with furry stuffed animals, you've found your really loud inner voice and you're not afraid to use it, you make jokes with the wit of a ten year old, you give new meaning to words like "tAnnatrum", "Annamated" and "Annamal", your funny faces would earn you awards in competition - you have grown so much in just a year for such a sweet little girl!

 Still you are the spice to Lilly's sugar and you are the sunshine of our every day.  We love you so very much Anna Jane!  So VERY, VERY MUCH!

 This is sadly, the last year we get to celebrate a birthday at Gattiland (or Gattitown as it was in Greenville) as it shut it's doors for good on Sunday, April 8 to be converted to a shootin' range.  With 32 lanes.  They were real specific about that.  But you got to have a lot of fun with just us M-----s who love you the very most in this world.  We rode the carousel for the last time (which thrilled Daddy to bits because it always made him feel like he was going to puke)...

 ...we played our favorite games and got tickets and cheap chotchkie junk to add to your purse.  We ate pizza, watched Wreck It Ralph and had lots of dessert.  We had a LOT of fun, Babycakes!

We kissed Gattitown/land GOOD BYE with your 3rd year and we welcome all the joy and fun and suprise and wonder of a new year.
I love you so much, Anna Jane.  You hold a very special, very exclusive place in my heart.  Don't you ever forget it.
Love,
Mommy