Boys...

In the last week, I've been a bit overwhelmed at the attention Annie has gotten from little boys.

We were at the wedding of one of Eric's college friends this weekend, and before dinner we were playing on the dance floor. There were three or four little boys that insisted on hugging her (quite dramatically, Annie wasn't sure what to think!) and including her in their game of keep-a-way. When I told them we were going to go to our table for dinner, they needed significant reassurance that they would see her again.

The next morning, we had a little picture taking section with some of the kids of college friends. At the end, it was just Annie and her friend Liam. Liam was prompted to kiss Annie. He did. She proceeded to ask for more, and more, and more.

Wednesday at the library, another little boy spotted Annie. He was playing with some bead toy, and he came and sat by us at the puzzles to show Annie all that he could do. She was interested for awhile, then decided the puppet theater looked more fun. He picked up the toy, followed us, and continued to show us. She humored him for awhile, then went over to the giant bunny to read a book. He followed. This continued several more times until another little boy (also named Liam, but no connection to the kissing Liam) decided he was going to join in. Liam and five-year-old boy continued to try to get Annie to interact, she was really more interested in exploring. So, finally, she headed up the stairs where it was too difficult to bring the toy, and was left alone.

I'm hoping this doesn't foreshadow her life too much.

Other things to report...hmmm...

Annie has been observing me using the Boppy pillow to nurse for her entire life now, and has never really shown interest in it. Yesterday morning she walked into our bedroom cradling it around her waist, seeming quite proud. This morning, she climbed into her rocking chair, and asked for the Boppy to be put on her lap. Then she asked for a doll to hold.

One week into cloth diapers, and I must say, thus far, it's no big deal.

We walked at the mall this morning, and Annie played forEVER in the little Lego land. Mostly, she spent time cleaning up the different play tables, putting Lego's in their rightful place.

This weekend, my mom is coming to visit for a few weeks, and we are anxious to see her!

That's our story. Happy almost-end-of-summer. No, I haven't made it to Office Max yet.

Silly Faces

Annie is cracking us up these days. She has an assortment of "silly faces" she'll put on (sometimes on her own, sometimes when prompted) and is quite happy to find others amused at her. She has an infectious giggle that is most often prompted by very active games of run-and-hug-and-tackle and peek-a-boo. Her interaction with her dolls and stuffed animals is growing more and more elaborate...they share lunch with her, take drinks (always with a refreshed "ahh" at the end--just like Annie), make the sign for motorcycle with her, and generally are included in her various activities. She is very fair with them, and chooses a different animal each time we head to the car, making sure no one misses out the excitement of seeing vehicles, trees, rivers, bridges, etc. She also loves interacting with the pictures of relatives that we have up on the fridge, taking them back and forth to magnetic surfaces, dancing with them, zerberting them, giving them tastes of her snacks and drinks. We wish she got to see all of her family as much as she sees the pictures, but it makes us happy to know she's becoming so familiar with faces.

We've joined both the Children's Museum and the Zoo, and have already made good use of that--it's nice to feel like we can visit for just a couple of hours and have that be okay. At the zoo, she LOVES the monkeys and the fish, and seemed quite tickled to have the grizzly bears play in the water just on the other side of her (I'm doing my best not to instill my fear of bears in her!). When visiting with her friend Kaj (and his parents!), we enjoyed riding the tractor out to the farm where they got to hang out with goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens!

At the Children's Museum, one of Annie's favorite stops is the bus, which she loves to drive. Of course, she can't see over the steering wheel, but she's pretty intent on steering away. This morning at the museum, she spent a significant amount of time in the toddler area (Habitot, which has the four habitats of Minnesota represented in fun playthings for little ones) wearing a bird costume--she quite enjoyed flapping her arms and seeing the wings move! The other big fascination for her today was discovering that almost everyone had a sticker (the museum's sticker--her ticket if you will!) just like her--some had them on their fronts and some on their backs, but--as she was quite concerned to discover--the employees did not have them too.

We're all headed for a new adventure next week...We've been using a cloth diaper service and really have enjoyed that. But, the service is going out of business and there are no other such options around us. So, we debated for awhile, but are going to try to continue the cloth diaper experience on our own. I went shopping yesterday for diapers of our own (thankfully we already had covers), and am enjoying with each diaper change this week the fact that I can just put the diaper right in the bin and not have to think about washing it.

Besides this, we've been busy planting (a boulevard garden), playing, grilling, and getting organized. Even though none of us are on a school year calendar at this point, September is definitely ingrained in us as the beginning of year...I'm busy trying to think of a reason why I should go to Office Max, I'm quite fond of buying school supplies...

Sixteen Months

And so, the adventures continue...

Annie's completed her sixteenth month seeming so much bigger, communicative, independent, and personable than it seems possible. She keeps us on our toes, delighted, and quite reflective.

Social Skills: Annie is quite friendly, every where we go she wants to wave "hello" and "good-bye" at passerby's. She is quick to blow kisses and make silly faces. She likes hugging other little ones (sometimes with enough enthusiasm to bowl them over). She is quite social with her stuffed animals/dolls, and continues to include them in her daily activities. In the last few days, she's begun to offer them turns at seeing the outside world, holding them up to the windows to join in her delights (watching rain, cars, squirrels, trees, etc.).

Eating: She is grasping (literally) use of the fork and spoon much more adeptly, though often finds that her fingers are quicker. She wants to do everything like Mommy and Daddy--this weekend eating corn right off the cob (it is much tastier that way). Drinking from a glass (sans lid) is our new big challenge. Little sips work here and there, but the joy she finds in blowing bubbles often makes for quite a mess. She basically will eat just about anything now, depending on her mood, and--like us--has been enjoying the wider range of produce that summer has to offer.


Motor Skills: Her love of dance continues, and she continually amazes us with her rhythm as she often is exactly in time to the music. She loves walking and running, and is starting to attempt to jump, while her upper body is quite enthusiastic, her feet don't yet leave the ground. We generally have far less bruises/cuts/scrapes then we had earlier in the summer, while I would not call her graceful yet, she is much closer than she was before.

Language Skills: Annie's receptive language is amazing to us, and had challenged us to become better listeners as we are always having to spell things to each other. She continues to pick up new signs and uses them quite appropriately, and more of her babbling is beginning to sound like English. Her "mama" has always been quite clear, in the last few days "dada" has been regularly used (as she tells Daddy exactly where she wants him to be--in that chair, on that pillow, over there). Her "uh-oh" and "no" have very pronounced "o" sounds that make "no" a much cuter word than it should be. She loves saying "bye-bye" and "baby" (and to hear "Rock-a-bye" baby whenever she sees a picture of a baby). Both of us swore she said "trash" the other day, as she is forever being told to say "bye-bye" to the trash cans, it seems that word is stuck. Animal sounds often stand in for their names, and gestures/facial expressions fill-out her language to the point where most of the time we're pretty certain what she would like to be communicating.

In any given day, Annie spends a good amount of time playing outside--in our backyard, at one of the neighborhood parks--she loves playing in water, smelling flowers, still hugging trees, walking, walking, exploring. She loves when we see motorcycles and dogs, trains and planes, buses and bicyclists. She loves scribbling with crayons and pens, sorting and organizing toys and dishes.

Over the past few weeks, Annie has enjoyed visiting with some friends from out-of-town, playing outside a lot, trying out her baby pool, riding the light rail for the first time (she was QUITE wide-eyed the whole time!), taking in all the color/activity/smells at a nearby farmer's market, and discovering more and more about her world. We are in awe that summer is heading towards its end, and are looking forward to making the most of our time outside.

So long, farewell...

Almost eight years ago, I bought my first car--it went with me to the job interview which landed me my teaching job, on dates with Eric, to our wedding, on countless road trips (it's seen both coasts and gone to Canada and nearly Mexico--it basically took me through my twenties. Now, it's in Fargo, ND. We said "farewell" on Saturday afternoon after selling it. It's strange to look out and not see it sitting there, but we are quite happy to be able to be a one-car family.

In other news, July has got off to a great start for us. We got home from Phoenix on the night of June 30th, did some laundry, cleaning, shopping, and baking, and then headed to the North Shore with some of Eric's family. We had a wonderful time--walking, kayaking, swimming, talking, hiking, reading, relaxing, eating, biking, playing--all right by the shores of Lake Superior. Annie enjoyed extended time with her extended family, cousin Emily showed her how to "skip" rocks and entertained and awed her. She managed to stay awake for her second firework display right over the lake. After about ten minutes, she decided the sound was too much, but we had a great view of them from our bedroom, so we watched it through to completion, Annie seemed quite impressed.


















She's perfected her "cheese" face for the camera, not quite a smile, but endearing nonetheless. She loved getting kisses from my parents' dog Cody in AZ, and has decided imitating doggie kisses is fun--she also loves blowing kisses, and giving kisses, and cuddling--we of course are happy to comply. She seems to be getting sillier and sillier, with her stylized walking, talking, and dancing, she keeps us laughing.


She's mastered walking enough that she's started experimenting with speed and force, having a very cute little run. We continue to enjoy trips to the park, where the slide is one of her favorite activities. She also enjoys watering our plants and playing with her shovel and pail.

We look forward to seeing some out-of-town friends over the next couple of weeks, and enjoying the beautiful summer weather!

Ahhh...warmth...

We've all been enjoying our time in AZ--we've swam at least once a day (more often twice), Annie is getting very good at splashing, kicking, and especially enjoys blowing bubbles. We've got to play with cousins Elliott and Kate, and a number of other family members, and had a visit from Cathy and Julie from California. We've ate a lot of homemade ice cream, Annie's expressed her distinct love of blueberries and for climbing. She's played with Cody (my parents' dog) a lot, and is delighted to be kissed by her. Annie's enjoyed playing with new doll-Gabby-feeding her her bottle, pointing out her bellybutton, cuddling and reading to her. We mostly are enjoying time to relax, and to experience summer as it ought to be experienced!

Discoveries...

Annie has made a number of exciting discoveries this week. A few of them are:

1. Your bellybutton is easy to find, and so are other people's if they are okay with you lifting up their shirt.
2. Spinning until you're dizzy and then watching the world spin around you is great fun.
3. Floors have a variety of different feels--the best way to experience them is to lie down, on your back or belly.
4. Talking on the phone can be fun for hours. (She very clearly says "hi" when beginning a conversation--with imaginary friends of course).
5. Brushing your penguin's teeth can be as much fun as brushing your own.

It seems like there are numerous things more that we should add, but the gist of it is that we love watching her explore her world, almost as much as she enjoys it.

We enjoyed a lovely weekend, starting of our Father's Day celebrations with a trip to Sonic (yes, they've finally come to MN). We had a picnic with Eric's dad and stepmom yesterday, complete with playing catch--Annie included. Today, after church Eric did some yard clean-up from impressive winds last night, then we all went on a bike ride, played in the backyard, and Annie did lots of dancing while Eric played the piano.

We are happy it seems like spring has finally arrived in MN, just in time for summer!

Fun with Cousins

We've been enjoying life with our fourteen month old very much. She has added a number of new signs--all revolving around bedtime routine--that she uses with great accuracy. Toothbrush, bath, moon, book, sleepy(ing)...Tonight at dinner she continually pointed at her sleeping cousin Kate and signed "sleepy." Needless to say, we were quite impressed. She been enjoying being social with her family these past couple of weeks. This week, my sister and her children (Elliott and Kate) have been staying with us, and over the last couple of weekends we've seen a bit more of Eric's family than usual.



She's enjoyed playing with Eric's parents, with his brother and his family (especially with cousin Emily), and with great-aunts, great-uncles, etc. We were all very happy to get to celebrate Eric's grandmother's 90th birthday with her! Annie got to use finger paints for the first time to make her a birthday card (she wasn't quite sure what to think of the paints, but enjoyed demonstrating afterwards how she made a hand print whenever the phrase "finger paint" came up).




Over the last few days, we've enjoyed time with our house guests--Sara, Elliott and Kate. We've enjoyed reading together, playing at the park together, traveling together, playing at home together, bathing together, eating together, playing together, playing together, braving thunder storms together, playing together. Elliott (three and a half years old), Annie (fourteen months) and Kate (almost 6 months) are at quite different stages, but they do very well together and keep each other entertained and hugged!







We will be sad to see them head home on Monday, but it's been a fun way to start-off the summer...