Almost Two

We had a great President's Day weekend altogether in Arizona. The trip itself was way too short, and filled with good time with family and warmth (oh, how we miss the warmth!). We kept busy, and didn't get to do half of what we wanted, but were glad for the time we had. Here are some pictures from the trip:


Enjoying a reality certainly different from Minnesota's right now:

Picking citrus in the backyard



Helping Grandpa pick veggies for dinner


A trip to the Phoenix Zoo:

After seeing the real elephants, getting to sit on some statues around an "African watering hole".


Quite happy to be in Arizona--to be where it is warm enough to ride around with our shoes off!



This was Annie's first time on a Merry-Go-Round, and she loved it. She was thrilled to be on an elephant, to be with Kate and Elliott. And, when the music and lights started and we started going around, she broke out laughing and alternately giggled and stared in amazement.


Celebrating Arizona Statehood Day/Valentine's Day:
Looking very much like a big girl while playing with cousin Kate.

Ready for a hike at South Mountain with Mommy and Daddy.


Exploring the gravel, she enjoyed finding colorful rocks and putting them in and out of her pocket.



Celebrating Grandpa's Birthday at Aunt Sara's and Uncle Alex's with cousins.



Four generations: Annie, Mommy, Grandpa, and Grammy




Upon our return, we slowed our pace immensely to deal with the joys of having a little girl who is both sick (cousins do love to share!) and getting in her two-year molars. We've got one all the way in, and another one that's gone from a quarter to half-way through in the course of the morning (let me tell you, it's been fun!) and I'm not quite sure what's going on on top. We're happy to get this out-of-the-way now, but wish it didn't make her so sad.

In spite of the emotional roller-coaster this has put her on, she's still loving her big girl bed and doing a good job at staying in it. I was looking at the crib this morning and wondering if she'd ever sleep in it again. I think I was expecting something far more ceremonious to let me know it was time to say good-bye to that idea. Along with that transition, Annie's begun the process of weaning herself (okay, I know she's been doing that to a degree since she's started--that she'll always be weaning from something to something). We've been consistently nursing three times a day since this summer. Two weeks ago I would have said there was no chance she'd initiate weaning before her birthday, but in the last two weeks (perhaps helped by all the excitement in Arizona) she has gone to nursing once or twice a day and even had a day when she didn't at all. I'd decided to let her take the lead on this, hearing from countless sources that around the second trimester, there's enough changes to help push the process along. It'll be strange not to have this as part of our routine...I don't expect that we'll be completely done probably for about a month, but to actually have had a day where we went without feels very strange...

That's our life here. That, and waiting for spring to arrive in Minnesota while making lists and trying to take care of all the things that should be done before Annie becomes a big sister. We know that will be here before we know it.