Keeping warm...

We've had the coldest February we remember in awhile here in Minnesota, and so we've had fun trying to keep all of us entertained indoors. Luckily, Annie's antics, a festive Valentine's (and Arizona Statehood Day, of course!) week, a trip to South Dakota, and a visit from Jenia's parents (who remind us daily that if we were in Arizona it would be 77 degrees as opposed to the ridiculous subzero temperatures we've had) have kept us busy.

As Annie approaches eleven months, she is increasingly confident in her mobility, and here and there will even stand by herself for a few moments. In recent weeks, she's found two new loves: rocking and paper. Before my parents arrived, she was enjoying rocking in the big rocking chair in her room, but when my parents got here they had with them a rocking chair my grandpa had given me when I was little, and Annie is enjoying that even more. With paper, well, she loves every aspect of it. She loves the sounds it makes as she crinkles it, she loves to look at the pictures on it, she loves to rip it into tiny pieces which she then carries all over the room with her, she would love to eat it if we let her...Our magazine basket is now one of her favorite spots in the living room.

Annie has enjoyed having lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa, and has been entertaining them with her wide variety of silly faces, sounds, as well as her frequent dancing, waving, and clapping. Bath time is becoming more and more of a treat for Annie as she's discovering the joys of splashing. Her new music class has continued to be a blast, Annie is very outgoing and comfortable with all the kids and the teacher, and enjoys interacting with them as much as possible. In whatever she's doing, she loves to get people to laugh and smile, and we of course do so often in her presence.

Last weekend, we traveled to South Dakota for Annie's cousin Kate's baptism, and had a great time playing with cousin Elliott and Kate. It's fun to watch Annie interact more and more with Elliott and to watch her fascination with Kate (who she pets a lot). Kate and Annie are just 9 months apart--right now that seems like a whole lot--but as they get older, it's fun to think they'll be so close in age.


We are quite relieved that warmer temperatures are being forecasted for the weekend, and are planning on spending some time outdoors!! (I know I've been in Minnesota too long when the 30's feel like a warm up...)

It's hard to believe next month Annie will turn one...

We're all a bit older...

Since our last post, our family has celebrated birthday week: Jenia turned 30, Eric turned 33 and Annie hit the 10 month mark. As usual, we all enjoyed the festivities, relishing the time with family and friends, and with just the three of us as well--we had tasty birthday breakfasts (gingerbread pancakes are a new favorite of Annie's!), Eric and I both got to try out our baking skills, Eric made a tasty (from scratch!!) cranberry angel food cake for me, and I got try my hand at french silk pie for him. We especially enjoyed day time together as Eric started full-time his new job in the tech department at a local college this week. Annie and I are VERY excited at the prospect of having him home in the evening for dinner and the bedtime routine, but we will very much miss having him stop in during the day.



The real excitement in our lives continues to be (and I doubt that it will ever cease to be!) Annie. She is now an expert crawler, expert puller-upper--even on sleek surfaces, perhaps the effect of reading her gecko book too much, expert stair climber (up not down), and she is contemplating cruising, making half-hearted attempts here and there. She loves to explore every corner and every surface of the house, which keeps us on our toes for sure!


She has always loved books, but is increasingly fascinated by them. She is definitely showing preferences, having not only favorite books but also favorite pages that we get to turn to again and again. She's recently combined her love for music with her new motor skills, and loves to pull up onto the piano and play little songs for all of us. She still loves dancing, and seems to especially enjoy hip-hop music (we listen often to a public radio station that has a great eclectic mix of music)--when crawling and the music comes on she'll stay on all fours but just lift one arm and move it in time to the music, it's quite a riot to watch!

We started a new music class last week. It is one for the next age group, and she is on the younger end of that group. It was fun to watch her watch the "big" (15-18 month olds) kids move around with ease and interact in a much more complex way, and it will be interesting to see the impact this has on her!


All in all, she continues to delight us. It is quite an exciting time seeing this little personality emerge more and more clearly. Her curiosity and sense of adventure are clear motivators for much of her day, and her sweet personality and goofiness keep us smiling!