Satan is on the attack...

As Lindsey and Eliana were at McDonalds today, her purse got stolen. Yes, that means her i.d, debit and credit cards, and money for the hotel this week were all stolen. She also had her camera in there, with tons of pictures that hadn't been saved onto the computer. She is beyond devastated!!! It also makes for an interesting trip because the bank had to cancel all of their cards. Chris leaves in the morning for Guat, so the bank won't have a card ready for them. We're currently trying to figure something out, so that they're able to have money for their few days in Guatemala. Just pray for Lindsey and Chris....as they are both really frustrated right now! Thanks!!! 

Our last week together...in pictures

From the zoo to playing at the park, we had a great last week with all of Annalise's friends! Here are a few of my favorite pictures! Enjoy!

Yes...they are all buckled in safely! 

Somebody is in-love, but I won't name any names...

They wanted a picture with every fake animal at the zoo!

I love this dress! I ordered it from an adoption blog (redthreadstitches.blogspot.com)!

I think they are going to miss each other!

Fun can always be had at the chick-fil-a play area!

Annalise and Hattie playing at the park

She was "chilly" at the zoo, so she wore my cardigan. I then called her Mr. Rogers the rest of the day. It's so sad to me that she has no idea who that is! 

Very proud of her new fancy nancy game!

Playing "ball" with Corby...this has always been their favorite game!

Me and my sweet little friend after dinner

Corby and his silly little friend at dinner

Oh What a Day!!!

Today was one of the hardest days I've had in a while. I had to say goodbye to my sweetest little friend. Annalise spent the night at our house last night, so we were able to spend some extra time with her. We definitely cried a lot (she probably thought we were a little crazy), but we really had a wonderful time with her. Corby got to "play ball" one last time with her...it's her favorite thing to do with him! And I enjoyed giving her a bath and tucking her into bed. We had bought her a new "Fancy Nancy" game, so we all played that together too. I'd say for her that was the highlight. The child loves Fancy Nancy with all of her heart...it's hilarious! She cried today as I was saying bye to her, but I truly don't think she knew why she was crying. I just think she saw that everyone else was and felt like she needed to also. I sure hope this transition isn't too hard on her!

As I write this, I definitely miss her, but I think that it just feels like she's on a trip or something. I already have some babysitting lined up and a few trips planned to visit family, so I'm going to stay pretty busy. Speaking of that... ELIANA IS COMING HOME!!!!!!! Lindsey and Chris have been in the adoption process for her for what has seemed like years, even though it's only been since last October. And Lindsey has been living in Guatemala with her since June. They finally get to come home, and I can hardly stand it!!! They have their embassy appointment next Monday morning and fly home on Thursday. I can't wait to be at the airport to greet them. Oh what a celebration it is going to be!!! This news definitely brightened my day!!!

Another fun note, we saw Tony Romo last night as he was leaving Mi Cocina, a mexican restaurant here in Dallas. Corby rolled down his window and said, "At a boy, Tony"...he smiled and waved. It was pretty funny. And no, Jessica wasn't with him. I hope there isn't trouble in paradise!

Lastly, Annalise said one of the funniest things to me today. As I was crying (the better word might be wailing) in the bathroom, she came in and asked if she could hug me. As she was hugging me, she said, "Laloy, don't cry. I'm sorry your sisters don't love you very much." WHAT? Where did she get that??? It has definitely made me laugh several times today. I sure am going to miss that little girl. However, I can't help but also be so excited about our future!

I'll post some pictures tomorrow...I'm using Corby's computer and all of the pictures are on mine.

"Look at what you did!!!"

Annalise and I had a rather busy day yesterday! It began with a much-needed haircut for her... she sat perfectly still, knowing the end result was a lollipop from Mrs. Leslie. She really loves getting her hair cut, and said all day, "Don't I look beautiful??? I sure think so!" It was precious! We also played a long time at the park because the weather was amazing today!!! And then I was pretty exhausted, so we rested before my doctor's appointment. 

She did such a great job while I was at the doctor. She loved hearing the baby's heart beat; however, I would say she was more impressed with the stirrups. She kept putting her elbows in them, asking what they were used for. I pretended as if I didn't hear her....it was effective.  It appears our baby is quite the mover, so it took her a while to get it on the machine for more than a second. But once she did, Annalise was thrilled! I too was thrilled that she eventually found it....it definitely made me panic inside at first! But everything else looked great, and we'll find out the gender on Oct 16th! I can't wait!!! 

Lastly, we ended our day with ice cream! We went with my friend Mary Virginia (also a nanny) and the kids she takes care of, Luke and Emme. We thought we would be really fun nannies and let them have a cone, since we usually opt for the less messy cup. Luke dropped his at one point and made a small mess on the table. Annalise looked at him and said, "Look at what you did." Her tone was rather harsh, as was her facial expression! She wasn't in the greatest mood during the outing and ended up wanting me to just throw her cone away....it got on her dress and that was the end of it! We definitely had a great day together!!! 

Showing off her new hair cut!

Enjoying her time at the doctor's office!

Cleaning up Luke's mess...she was very concerned with the messes on the table!

I also have a video of her listening to the heart beat, but I can't seem to get it to upload. As soon as I can figure that out, I'll add it. It's pretty cute!!! 

Watch out Fashion World....

Here comes my sassy sister!!!! I am SO proud of Little Leah right now!!! She randomly applied for an internship that was mentioned in one of her fashion classes last week, and lo and behold, she was accepted! She was also told that the ones abroad are very difficult to get into, but guess what?!?!?! Nothing is too difficult for sweet Leah! She was accepted into the Barcelona program. To be honest, I have no idea what she'll be doing.... I am just SO thrilled for her, I can hardly contain myself!!!! She's going to be amazing at it, whatever it is!!! She has done a fabulous job so far in her major, and I can't wait to see how this opportunity adds to her love for fashion! I love you Leah!!!

Oh Norway, How I love Thee!

Since my friend Erica used to live in Norway, Corby and I especially enjoyed our time in that country at Epcot. I will do a separate post about Epcot, since it is my favorite park, but for now I'd like to give a little tribute to Erica and her beloved Norway. 

Just curious how many of these hats you owned...

I bet these make you hungry....what was your favorite?

Was this what your house looked like???

Are you sure you never learned about clouds? There appeared to be several different types looming over Norway. 

Having nothing to do with Norway..... but guess what?!?!? We saw 2 chefs, neither of which were smoking. Who knew?!?!?!? 

Let's just face it....I'm sad!

When Annalise's dad told me they were moving, I was extremely sad. I cried in the evenings for a while, but then I just became numb to it. I really just wanted to enjoy my last few months with her....and we definitely had a blast! We went to the nail salon for the first time to get our nails done. It was so much fun! We've also had more play dates than I know what to do with! But this weekend it hit me again. I think I held it in for so long that now the flood gates are open.....look out! I honestly can't stop crying. I'm sure part of it is the fact that my hormones are crazy right now, but I also feel like it's normal to be this sad. Last night, Corby and I just cried on our way home from church. It broke my heart to see him so upset, but at the same time, it makes sense....he loves her so much! It may sound weird, but I almost feel like a part of me is going to be gone once she moves.

This is our last full week together, so I'm going to try to make it the very best. We have a few lunch dates planned with her favorite friends, and hopefully the weather will be nice enough to go to the zoo! I knew this was going to be hard, but I don't think I expected it to be this hard. I just keep praying that the Lord will be my strength and my rock. With this move, there are so many things I worry about. Most of them, I'm going to have to give up to the Lord because it's out of my control. However, I can't help but worry that she's just not going to really understand. Will she think that I'm the one that left her???? Oh, I sure hope not! That is honestly probably the hardest thing about this. I never want her to think that I'm the one that abandoned her. If you think about it, just pray that this week will be our greatest week together and that I can be strong around her.

"I want a Belle dress!!!"

Oh...."I want a Belle dress"....that's what we heard Annalise say ALL day on Sunday at Magic Kingdom. The funny thing is that she hasn't even seen Beauty and the Beast. Who knows where it came from, but the child was absolutely obsessed with getting that dress. So at the end of the day, we went to the store to get it. Her dad was in line with the Belle dress and suddenly she changed her mind......"NO...I want an Aurora dress!!". So with not such a great attitude (we were all so annoyed by the end of the day with her whining about the Belle dress), her dad went and got the Aurora dress. And no, I don't believe she's ever seen Sleeping Beauty either. 

Other than that, we had a great day at Magic Kingdom. Annalise and I spent some time together while Corby and her parents rode Space Mountain. We waited 45 minutes for Peter Pan's flight....which lasts about 20 seconds. I would say the wait wasn't worth it....Annalise, on the other hand, absolutely loved the ride! One of the funnier moments was when she and I were riding It's a small world (one of my faves!). At the end of the ride, she looked at me and said "It is a small world afterall".  I mean, are you kidding me???? What 3 year old says that??? I thought it was pretty hilarious! She also got her hair done at the Bippity Boppity Boutique at Cinderella's castle. It was SO cute watching her! She loved the way she looked...so much so that every day she wanted me to recreate the look. Yeah, that didn't work. 

Here are some of the pictures from our days at Magic Kingdom (we went on Sunday and Thursday). We were able to see her favorite princesses, along with Minnie and Mickey. Corby and I had just as much fun getting our pictures with all of these characters! She loved riding all of the rides and watching the parade!  It was so much fun!!! 

The fairy godmothers making her beautiful!

The finished product! She was precious!

Annalise and Aurora...and her Aurora doll

Annalise and Cinderella

Annalise and Belle

Minnie, Mickey, and the Pardues

Giving an enthusiastic "thumbs up" to the tea cup ride

Annalise and Ariel

This is for my mom...for some reason when I was younger the coon skin cap was my souvenir of choice at Silver Dollar City. Who knows that I was thinking?!?!?

Hope you enjoyed hearing about our days at Magic Kingdom! 

Disney World... Are you ready for this???

I don't know if there is a child more obsessed with Disney Princesses than my sweet Annalise. It all began when her costume for Halloween last year was a princess dress. Thanks to grandparents, who spoiled her with princess dresses for every holiday, she has quite a collection. We leave for Disney World tomorrow afternoon, and she is absolutely beside herself! She talks about it everyday.... who she is going to see, what rides she's most excited about, and more importantly, which princess dress she will be wearing each day. She told me today that she planned on getting another one while she's there....and I can assure you, that will definitely happen. Corby and I can't wait to watch her with all of her favorite princesses...it's going to be a dream come true, as she would say!

If only we would've known what this innocent costume would've started!

Looking beautiful in her "Belle" dress!

Now this is my fault...but I couldn't resist it! Corby and I gave this to her for Valentine's Day. She would've worn it every day if I had let her!

And finally...my favorite! If you recall from the movie "Beauty and the Beast", Belle's yellow dress is an off-the-shoulder look. Well, she tries to do that with every dress she wears, and I finally captured it with my camera. She's just SO hilarious!

 

I'm being brainwashed!

This past weekend, Corby and I went to Atlanta to visit his family. His brother, sister-in-law and nephew live there, and since Alabama was playing that weekend...we decided to go cheer them on. Yes, I said "we". I've been absolutely brainwashed....I even sang along with several of the songs. I'm obviously embarrassed to admit my fall into peer pressure, but don't you worry Arkansas fans... I'm cheering harder for the hogs (even though I don't know if that will help). I will always be a proud Arkansas fan and will make sure our child gets even exposure to both teams!!! We ended up having a great time with his family, and we are both in love with Lake, our nephew! He's hilarious!!!

Here are 2 funny Annalise quotes that I'm sure you'll enjoy...

"Laloy, you're wearing me out, girl." - This was said to me on Friday, as we were leaving my house to take her back home

"You're ruining my princess life!"- Yes...you read that correctly! I asked her to be patient as I was talking to Lindsey (who lives in Guatemala)...she wanted lemonade, and I apparently was taking too long, and in turn, ruining her life!

And here's a picture of her "riding" a horse at Chuck E Cheese. I asked her why her legs were on only one side of the horse, and she promptly informed me that "That's how Snow White rides a horse". Needless to say, she's obsessed with princesses.