And the winner is...

I think she’s practicing to be an Olympic athlete. Lately, whenever Anna is doing ANYTHING, she’ll suddenly smile, call out some nonsensical babble, and throw her arms up high in the air and wave them around. Like she’s saying, “Woohoo!! I did it!!  Look at me, I’m a WINNER!!!”.  Actually, maybe that is what she’s saying.  I’ll never know, since mostly I don’t understand a word of it. 

She is SO close to crawling, the air is thick with the promise of her efforts.  She reach, reach, reeeeeeeaches for her toys, getting her legs under her and her belly off the ground.  She still hasn’t done it, yet, but I think it’s something she may conquer sooner rather than later.  Then her “Woohoo!” move will really have something to celebrate!  He two bottom teeth have finally come in, and she’s starting to experiment more with her foods now.  The one thing I’ve really noticed is that a lot of the time she won’t eat unless she can be in charge of the food.  Things that she used to like are no good anymore, she wants food she can hold.  This morning, we met mom for breakfast and Anna ate half a pancake all by herself… though “ate” is sort of a grandiose word for what she did.  Mostly she smooshed large portions of it into the vicinity of her mouth.  A good half of that ended up stuck to her face, shirt, hands, high chair and the floor.  She enjoyed it, though, and that’s the important part.

My mom spent Thanksgiving in California this year with my cousin Liz and her family.  She says that Lizzie and my Aunt Juanita read this site every week, which I think is great.  I never know who’s checking it out, so it’s nice to know I’m not just talking to the universe at large.  Hi, Lizzie!  Hi, Auntie!  I hope you are both doing well, Anna says hi, too. Leave me a note in the comments, it gives me instant gratification.  J

Anna discovers she can get into the toy basket all on her own. Happy Thanksgiving!

MAMMA!

Woohoo!!!  She finally said it!  We were at the grocery store this afternoon, stocking up on everything for Thanksgiving, and Anna was loudly singing “Dada, dada, dadadadadaaaaaaaaaa” all through the store, like she always does.  Then she sort of looked away, down at my hand on the grocery cart and said very quietly, “mamma”.  I wasn’t sure if she really said it, but then a few aisles later, she looked up at me and said it again.  Then, as I was putting her in her car seat, she smiled, touched my nose and said, very clearly, “Mamma”.  The whole car ride home was a mixed-up chorus or mamma and dada.  Yay!!!!!! I feel official now!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

All I Want for Christmas...

Is my two front teeth!  Or, in Anna’s case, one front tooth.  She’s finally, finally, finally got a tooth!  It just started popping through a few days ago, and this morning seems to have made it’s way through.  There’s just the tiniest edge of tooth on her lower gum, you have to look very closely to see it.  She doesn’t like when I try to feel it, I think the gums are still sore.  The other front lower tooth looks like it’s about to come through, to, so who knows?  Maybe she will get her two front teeth for Christmas!

Anna is really developing in leaps and bounds now.  Just a few moments ago, she finally managed to crawl!  Well, sort of… she went backwards and it was only for a few seconds, but still, progress is progress, so three cheers for Anna!  She is so close to the real thing, I keep watching her all day, so I won’t miss it.  She sits and turns her self all around, pulling her legs around her and reaching far over and balancing on her hands. She’s doing lots better with real people food, too, and seems to especially like all kinds of pasta, especially with her daddy’s famous tomato sauce on it. We’re also starting to realize how much of what we say to her she really understands.  I can say, “Clap, Anna!” and she’ll clap her hands, or I’ll say, “Shake, shake, shake!” and she’ll start shaking whatever’s in her hand.  If her hands are empty, she’ll start shaking and bopping herself.  She’s always drinking her sippy cup backwards, but if I tell her to turn it around, she understands and turns it around.  Her language is becoming clearer, too, and she mimics a lot of what we say and do, though no “mommy” yet.  I think she’s holding out for dramatic effect.  And that’s your Anna Update!

diaper dysfuntion

I am tired of diapers. I actually sat on the floor this morning, smelling the reek from my sweet girl’s bum, for several minutes before biting the bullet and changing yet another diaper. I know, all you veteran moms out there are laughing your patooties off right now. Diapers are my reality, and will be for many, many years to come. But that doesn’t mean I love ‘em, oh no. They’re just one of the many yucky things I do in exchange for getting to enjoy Anna’s often charming company. On the bright side, my absolute exhaustion with diapers assures that I’ll be that much more happy when Anna is finally potty-trained. Of course, by then, there’ll be more diapers for the next monkey, and so on and so on…

I am convinced that my mom is still secretly reveling, from time to time, in the utter lack of diaper-changing in her day-to-day life. I know I will be when my kids are grown.

New Photo Album Posted

Check out the new album I (finally) have posted in the Pictures section. There's some photos from Anna's birthday, as well as just lots of random pictures. Hope you like!

Happy Birthday, Stella!

Yesterday evening, my dear friend Renee gave birth to a little girl, Stella.  She weighed in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces and is 19 inches long.  Congratulations to the happy family, I can’t wait to meet her! 

Oh, no! Run for your lives!

It LaLa’s ball on Teletubbies!  Ahhh!!! 

This is exactly Anna’s reaction whenever episodes feature LaLa’s big, yellow, bouncy ball.  She’s terrified of it, she starts screaming the second it bounces on to the screen, twisting her little body around in an attempt to get away.  Fortunately, we have a DVR, so I just keep a few shows recorded and play them for Anna when she’s in a Teletubbie mood.  This way I can be sure there is no Vast Evil Yellow Ball threatening my daughter through the TV screen.  Another day, another battle against tyranny and terror… such is the life of a mommy.  J

It's her party, she can cry if she wants to!

And cry she did.  Well, at least some of the time.  In true Anna fashion, she became very nervous and anxious the second people started arriving for the birthday party.  Still, she did calm down, as long as she was allowed to remain firmly attached to Mommy Central, (i.e., to ME).  They tell me she’ll outgrow this leach-like existence, though I’ve seen no sign of it lately. I’m not complaining, though.  I plan to hold her tight for as long as she’ll let me.  There’ll be years enough in the future to put her down. 

Truly, it was a very fun party.  Many of my friends from the playgroup came with their children, as well and Fred and Robin, Terry and Lisa and the kids.  Anna thoroughly enjoyed her birthday cupcake, and tried to reach out and grab it instead of blow it out, which was pretty darn cute.  I blew it out for her at the last moment before her fingers discovered fire. I think Kurt has a picture, (which he swears he will give to me, along with the other hundred or so he’s been promising to burn for me for the past year.  No pressure, sweetie!).  She really started to loosen up when it came time to open her presents.  So many toys!  And, even better, so much paper, so many bags and ribbons!  She had a blast, and everyone really went all out.  She received blocks and balls and toy cars and a drum and rattle and xylophone and an exersaucer, and even the long-acclaimed “School House Rock!” DVD.  Kurt and I have been really enjoying that one.  But that’s the real reason we have kids, right?  So we can play with all their toys!

She also received an entire wardrobe of mix n’ match outfits from Terry Bear, thank you so much.  Later that night, Terry gave us another present, too, by babysitting at the last minute so that I could go to Kurt’s band’s final show.  They’re taking a creative break, so it was really nice to get to see them together for what may be the last time.  Aren’t we lucky to have such a wonderful Bear? All in all, it was a very fun birthday extravaganza.

Monday we had her one-year well baby check up, which went okay.  She had to have FOUR shots, poor girl, and was very upset about the injustice of it all.  She’s still a skinny-mini, coming in at a little over 17 pounds, which is 3^rd percentile.  However, she has consistently been 3^rd percentile since birth, so the doctor’s aren’t worried.  She’s just thin like her daddy.  She’s still extra-long, too, but altogether healthy.  The doctor was somewhat concerned that she’s not crawling, standing or pulling up yet, but he said not to worry, so I’m just going to turn off my over-active mommy-worry sensor and turn to the doctor-prescribed remedy: time.  In the meanwhile, we’ll just enjoy the fact that she mostly stays where we put her.  *grin*

Thanks again for all the presents, love and well-wishes.  This was a wonderful 1^st birthday for all of us! Now that it is over, we get to turn our attention to the holidays.  Turkey, anyone?

Anna and I at the park we go to for our weekly playdate with other stay-at-home moms in the area.

Auntie Monica and Anna, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Happy birthday, ladies!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The day is finally here, it’s Anna’s first birthday!  Happy birthday, baby girl.  It’s also Monica’s birthday, so happy day to you, too, sis.  It’s already been an exciting day, with the wild wind starting at about 3 this morning.  We spent breakfast watching huge tumbleweeds blow through our backyard.  Then, as we were cleaning up, Kurt noticed a package on the front porch.  Anna’s first birthday present!  It was a lovely outfit for her from her good friend Lucy, Renee’s daughter, who lives in Boston.  At this moment, it’s quite possible that Renee is at the hospital in labor with her second child, so as soon as we hear for sure, I’ll let you all know.  That’s all for now, but more birthday updates are sure to come!

Anna's sizes

I keep getting questions about what Anna wants for her birthday and what size she is wearing now, so here it is.  Anything 12 months or above is good for clothes and hats, about 6-12 months for shoes and socks.  Pajamas are best when a bit bigger (she’s so long!), so 12-18 months is good, and the fleece ones with feet are best for this winter.  As for toys, she likes things that rattle and things that light up.  She is especially partial to books; board books, touch and feel books, picture books.  She likes her books in all shapes, sizes and colors.  Other than that, I can’t really think of anything else.  I’m still trying to decide what to get her myself.  I have found a great cake recipe, eggless and dairy-less, which comes out tasting yummy, so at least I don’t have to worry about that.  Thank you, Joy of Cooking!  (That translates into, “Thank you, mom!”, since she is the one who gave me the Joy of Cooking as a wedding present.)  E-mail me if you have any other questions. 

Birthday Week

Thursday is Anna’s birthday, I can’t believe it!  I still find myself saying to people, “I just had a baby.”  But, no, it’s not true, she’s 1 already. And what a good 1 year old she is.  Anna behaved very well for the majority of our trip out to see Monica and Chad this past weekend.  Sure, there were some episodes of baby crankiness and emotional drama, but on the whole, I think she did very well.  I was very nervous about taking her to Monica’s baby shower, too. I didn’t want her to throw a fit and ruin the whole thing, but she was absolutely perfect, as long as I stayed within site.  She likes her momma, does Anna. 

It was a wonderful trip.  We got in Thursday night, and Monica met us at the airport.  She’s about 7 months pregnant, and looks amazing.  She’s got the perfect basketball belly.  It was also Chad’s birthday, so we went out to dinner at a really nice seafood restaurant in Alexandria, right on the water.  Anna was charming the whole evening, too, which added to the pleasure of the experience.  Friday we went down and walk the National Mall, visiting the war memorials and the Lincoln Monument.  It was chilly but really beautiful out and we walked for hours.  Saturday was the highlight of the visit, Monica’s baby shower, the likes of which I had never seen before and may never see again.  It was a baby extravaganza.  I think Monica was a little overwhelmed by the whole outpouring of gifts and affection, but I wasn’t surprised.  She’s a wonderful girl and everyone who meets her loves her and wanted to celebrate her pregnancy in high style.  Little Ryan will have everything he could possibly need when he comes to the world, and then some.  Plus, the cake was really good!  Really, a truly memorable party, and it was great to get to see Chad’s family again.  While we celebrated, Kurt had a day to himself down at the Air and Space Museum, which was really spectacular.  Sunday we relaxed more, and met my friend Wayne down in Georgetown for lunch, then had really yummy Thai food for dinner. 

Anna did pretty well on the airplane ride back, so it’s probably best to just strike the whole flight there from my memory.  The less said, the better.  She’s readjusting to her schedule very well today, and slept great last night, so I’m hoping she’ll be in top form for the party on Saturday.  We’re having dinner at mom’s on Thursday night for her actual birthday, since mom will be out of town for the party. 

I’ll try and get a new photo album up this week, including some from the trip.