Our couch turns into a hide-a-bed. Actually make that three beds.
Category Archives: Annika
Rub-a-dub-dub
Three munchkins in a tub.
This picture cracks me up!
Clara is crying foul play. . . because she does not have the coveted blue pitcher to play with at the moment she wants it. It may have been Clara in this picture, but I assure you, the expression on her face has been seen on every child repeatedly when they do not also hold the “coveted toy of the moment”. Even though I know what she is crying about, just looking at this picture of obvious pain on her face . . . well, it can still tug at the heart strings. And the laugh strings, too.
Potty Training Bear
Annika likes to put the needs of others before her own, so months ago she decided to tackle potty training — for her bear.
I’m Dreaming of a Pink Christmas
A recent discussion of possibly acting out the Christmas nativity story this week at the Vance house led to this exchange:
Jonathan (to Annika): Would you like to be an angel?
Annika: No.
Jonathan: Would you like to be a shepard?
Annika: No.
Jonathan: Would you like to be a wise girl?
Annika: No! I just want to be pink!
The Bit of Butter Made the Batter Better
If there is any inkling there might be some mixing or baking action happening in the Vance kitchen, you can be certain three little helpers will be there to assist in any possible way. Need a beater licked? They’ve got it covered. Need something stirred? They will be there for you. Need something poured in? There just might be tears shed if they can’t be of assistance fast enough. Fortunately, our apartment has an island in the kitchen. Who invented these? I thank them. It makes having three helpful little girls very doable.
Size 25 Diapers
Annika is very good at expounding on the facts of life. As we have three children in diapers (hopefully soon to be two), sometimes it is a hunt to find which child is the stinky one. One time when Jenelle had not found a culprit and was puzzled, Annika decided to help her mother out.
Annika: The cows are stinky, Mommy.
Mommy: Oh really? (Noticing the open window). You know what? I think you’re right. How did you know that?
Annika: Cows don’t wear diapers.
Mommy: So that makes them stinky?
Annika: Ya, that’s why they are stinky, Mommy. They don’t have diapers.
She’s right, you know. Why didn’t we think of that?
Three Sweet Peas
Jenelle’s very good friend and talented photographer, Tricia, spent several hours in the summer photographing our sweet girls. Biased though we are, we think the pictures turned out wonderfully! What do you think?
Princess ‘Ka
Annika has recently started calling things and people by nicknames. ”Can I have a marsh?” That would be marshmallow. If we ask Annika to get a diaper, she’ll hand us one with “Here’s a dipe. I said dipe instead of diaper. Ha, ha, ha! That’s so funny!” Clara is now Claire. Nicolyn is Nickel. Even her special bear is sometimes “Buh” (short for Bear). However, Annika will not subject herself to being called “Ka” or “Anna” or “Annik”. That is just not her name.
We love this little girl and all her fun personality.
Photo Caption Contest #1
The Vances are pleased to announce the first round of their website’s Photo Caption Contest. If you have a caption for the picture shown below, please enter it using the comments link for this post. This round is open until August 15, 2010. The winner will receive a fabulous prize (okay, marginally fabulous).
The Road Warrior Princess
As any almost-three-year-old can tell you, international travel is not to be taken lightly. That’s why the Road Warrior Princess makes no compromises, as seen in her recent trip to Switzerland and Germany.
Annika left the comforts of Oregon prepared:
- princess crown — check;
- DVD player — check;
- pink princess roller bag that Annika insisted on pulling through the airports herself — check.
Her efforts were rewarded with a great trip that included:
- first flying the whole family to Houston so the twin babies could stay with Nana and Grandpa Dell (or, as the twins call them, “Mommy and Daddy 2.0″);
- flying to Zurich, Switzerland with Mommy and Daddy, then driving to Munich;
- during the drive to Munich, repeatedly asking when she could see a castle (an important topic for any princess, of course);
- visiting two castles (the Residenz in Munich and Linderhof Palace in southern Germany);
- celebrating Mommy and Daddy’s 5th anniversary by dining at one of Munich’s hottest vegetarian restaurants (no, you don’t need to adjust your computer);
- Daddy spending a Saturday morning in Mike’s Wunderbarer Waschsalon (free wi-fi included), which reminded him of the last time that he went to a laundromat in Germany and obtained change by taking his mother to her first Turkish grocery store;
- driving through Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland in one day;
- staying at a lovely hotel in Luzern, Swizterland, where Annika could run up and down the halls and eat delicious waffles every morning for breakfast; and
- renting bikes on their last day in Luzern and taking a lovely afternoon ride.
