Skiing

On Sunday, Kurt turned on a skiing competition on TV while Anna was playing in the living room. It was an instant hit! Anna stood up in front of the TV, saying, "They're so FAST. Look! They're skiing! Look, look!".

Of course, Kurt's been talking about putting her on skis since she was about 2 hours old, so he was thrilled. The best part, though, was when she started zooming around the room, knees bent, hips tucked and arms behind her as if she were holding ski poles.

"Anna skiing! See? Anna skiing! Good skiing, Anna!" She was very proud of herself, and I had to stop Kurt from running over to Christy's Sport and buying the smallest pair of skis he could find.

Garden of the Gods

Once again, we had our good friends over at Trystan Photography take some family pictures of us for the holidays. Here's one of my favorites, just because Anna's having such a good time. Pretty much ALL the pics turned out great and we'll be using one for our Christmas cards this year.



Anna is really loving the cold and snowy weather. We took her down to the Parade of Lights last week in 8 degree weather, and the only time she fussed was when we had to go inside to warm up. I think she really thrives on the cold!

We also just had a huge cookie exchange party at our house with my mom's group, and Anna was the consumate hostess. She screamed with delight every time another kid showed up and was passing around hugs and kisses like party favors. She played so happily and so hard, in fact, that half way through the event, long before everyone left, she decided she needed a nap. I don't know how she managed to sleep through all that mayhem and noise, but she figured out a way!

That's all for now. Hope everyone's having a wonderful December. Oh, and happy birthday to my brother Val, he turned 31 yesterday! Also, please keep my Grandpa Bloom in your thoughts, he had hip surgery yesterday and will be spending the holidays recovering.

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. We went over to mom's and enjoyed her traditional home cookin'- needless to say, everything was delicious. Kurt and I just happened to stop by the next day right at lunch time to "help out" with the leftovers, too.

This past weekend was a busy one for Kurt, though I mostly sat and watched. He finished painting Anna's new room and put all the trim back up. I wasn't allowed to help paint, something about fumes being bad for pregnant ladies, but now I can start setting up the room to move Anna into it. We're planning for her to move after Christmas, so that she can get settled in her new room before the baby is born. Kurt did a wonderful job and it looks great. Every day Anna has to go and see "purple doors" before she can come down in the morning. She loves it!

We also got to visit with Cari and Cathy this weekend, which was so great. I miss the cousins! Anna took to them almost immediately, but it may have had something to do with the bribery they brought along; a small and very friendly puppy dog, Perry. It was love at first lick, needless to say.

Now that Thanksgiving is past, we're starting to get really excited for the Christmas holiday this year. Both my brothers are coming out to visit, as well as Kurt's sister Monica and her husband, Chad, and son, Ryan. Every evening it seems that more houses in our neighborhood have up their holiday lights and Anna LOVES to go for evening drives and point out all the different colors.

Time to go pick out my cookie recipes for the holiday cookie exchange this year! Tis the season to eat yummy treats! I need to get Aunt Juanita's monkey pull-apart bread recipe, too....

Peek-a-Boo!

Anna, this morning, at the new park by our house.

 

First Big Bump

Last night, Anna fell off the couch and went head first into the edge of the coffee table with a resounding "CRACK!". After about 10 minutes of crying, she reverted back to her normal self, and was actually quite chipper and silly for the rest of the night. The same cannot be said for her poor mother, I was a wreck, I felt so bad for her! Fortunately, it looked much worse than it really was, and the doctor said (because of course I rushed her to the pediatrician for a quick look to make myself feel better) that she'd be fine.

This morning she's got a faint bruise and quarter-sized lump with a little cut across it right between her eyebrows (the picture doesn't show it very well...). It looks a hundred times better than it did yesterday, so I'm hopeful it'll fade quickly. The nurse at the after-hours clinic told me that it was pretty amazing that Anna had reached the age of 2 without having any other big bang-ups. I guess that makes this a rite of passage!

Welcome to the Third Trimester!

That's the title of the automatic pregnancy e-mail I got this morning. Today I'm officially in the home stretch. I love how it says, "Welcome!" as if I'm arriving at some awesome party where everything will be fabulous. Clearly, it was written by a man. But I digress...

The baby is doing just fine, kicking and growing and generally making a big impact on my sillouhette and lower back. I finally had to give in today and go buy a maternity jacket for this winter. It's getting chilly and I just couldn't close my regular coats up over my tummy anymore!

Anna had a big day today at playdate and was practically unconscious when I brought her home. I carried her up to her room (which I almost never do anymore, it's hard to lift her), and her eyes were just rolling all around in her head as she tried to keep them open without success. She ran all around the park and climbed up the big slide more times than I can count. She's really burst from her shell lately and has been showing a hugely increased comfort level around other kids and people. She did have one mishap, though- she tripped on the steps to the slide and bonked her lower lip hard enough to draw a little blood. Still, even with all that, she recovered enough to still play for almost another hour before her pre-nap meltdown.

I'm so thankful that I found this mom's group to join. Besides the fact that I've made some wonderful friends for myself, having the weekly activity and connection with other kids and families has really helped Anna to blossom socially.

She's been spending a lot of time lately just cuddling up to me and Kurt, walking over and hugging my legs, or curling up against my belly on the couch. Now she'll cuddle up, say, "Oh, big hug, mamma,", and pat my belly softly with one hand. She likes to hug Kurt and pat him on his head. I don't know if she's got all this extra affection to make up for the fact that I can't carry her nearly as much anymore or simply because she's becoming more demonstrative. Either way, I love it! Keep the hugs coming!

Anna's Two Year Check-Up

Anna's two year check-up was this morning, and she's coloring in the corner now, fully recovered from the trauma of it all. You would have thought from all the yelling and crying that she'd be scarred for life, but no. Coloring ponies makes everything better. Oh, the resiliency of kids!

The doc declared her super healthy, which is good to know, and he also said her tantrums are normal, even though they are on the more extreme side in terms of how frequent she has them and how suddenly they pop up and then disappear. He said to just keep doing what we're doing and gave us a handout on some loving discipline techniques to try. I have to say again, I really, really like Dr. Kuskie. He's very down-to-earth, straightforward and comforting in his lack of drama, hype or judgement.

Anna really is a stingbean, too! Her head circumference is in the 90th percentile, her height (she grew 2.5 inches!!!!) is in the 75th percentile and her weight... well, at 24 pounds, she's in the 12th percentile. She's so skinny! She's built like her daddy, long and lean. I was worried she hadn't gained more weight, but the doc said that it's obvious from her big height growth that she's getting enough calories, so that's okay. He was proud of her walking, too, but in such a way as make me feel he always knew she was going to walk and be just fine. She had two shots, poor girl, but seems fine now, so it was only a brief bit of terror for her. And that's all! Next time I see him it will be for my NEXT baby's first check-ups in February. That's a mind-blower!

Birthday Party Fun

I just posted a photo album on the left with pictures from Anna's 2nd Birthday party. We had so much fun! All of Anna's friends were there and the kids went nuts chasing each other all around the house for most of the night. There was a surprising lack of drama and tears, especially from our shy girl, and she really seemed to enjoy the whole event. This year we had a book theme with the gifts and Anna is in absolute heaven today as she tries to make her way through each new story. Thank you so much to everyone for a wonderful celebration!

She's Two, She's TWO!

Happy Birthday today to my little girl! We're going to find a carousel in town that's open today and let her ride, since it's the only thing she's been asking for at all. This is a picture from the park yesterday, she had a lot of fun running around and getting silly.

I can't believe she's TWO. Sigh...

 

Giraffe!

Anna was the littlest giraffe this year for her first time trick-or-treating. In fact, she loves the costume so much, she's still wearing it as a cape, calling it her "giraffe hat".

Trick-or-treating went pretty well, though she was a little intimidated at first. But then it suddenly hit her that these strangers were giving her candy, CANDY, and then she got excited. It was less than 30 degrees out last night, so we just took her up our cul de sac and back, but she collected a pretty good haul.

Once we got home, Anna put on her giraffe hat, with the rest of the costume trailing behind her like a cape, and greeted all the other trick-or-treaters at the door with a smile and loud, "Hi, KIDS!".
All in all, a perfect Halloween for everyone.  

Family Fun Day

Yesterday's snow day was one of the nicest days we've spent together ever! Kurt's office was closed, (in fact the road to his office was closed off), and with the power flickering on and off, he couldn't work from home either. The result was that we played in the house together all day, running around with Anna, making comfort food lunches, drinking hot chocolate and relaxing. I worked on Anna's scrapbook and started my first (of many, I'm sure) crocheted winter hats. Anna was thrilled with it all, too. She kept visiting the windows to remind us that, "Look! Look! It's a-snowing!".

A perfect snow day for everyone!

Blizzard- View from the Front Door

 

Just chillin'

 

Pictures

Juli's Sunglasses.

Wearing Kurt's shoes.

Juli and Anna, enjoying a peanut butter bagel.

Free-climbing at the zoo. The ant is her favorite, she'll play on that for days.

Gremlins took my computer

That could be my excuse for not writing in so long... but...

Mostly I just haven't gotten around to it. But I'm here now! Hi!

This month seems like it's been a whirlwind, though I'm not sure why. Anna seems to be starting to even out a little, and her good days are about even with her screaming-demon-posession days, so that's been a relief. She's mostly just so cute that I try to forgive her when here head spins around several times during breakfast.

My dear friend Juli, the best college roomate EVER, was visiting this past weekend from Minnesota and we had a lovely time. Juli's a Southern Living at HOME representative, so we threw a SLAH party while she was here so she could meet my other, local, friends. It went great, and I wish she could have stayed longer!

Anna, unfortunately, decided that the pressure of a house guest was too much for her and spent much of Juli's visit trying to make me look like the world's worst mom, but we managed to get through it. By the end of her trip, Anna had calmed down and was very affectionate and sweet. One of her favorite games right now is, "What does ** say?", followed by a phrase that she associates with that person or thing. So, now we have, "What does Juli say?" added to our collection of associated phrases. By the way, what does Juli say? She says, "Yay! Hooray!"

This week, Kurt's going to have his first big time alone with Anna, since I am heading out for a few days vacation with my girlfriends. We are only going to be gone for about 2 and a half days, but it's my first time leaving Anna with Kurt for so long. I'm lucky, though, he's a stand-up dad and will have absolutely no problems. I think they plan to take a day trip up to Breckenridge, so he's definitely not worried, either. Heck, I would be nervous to take her so far for the day by myself! However, she is such a daddy's girl, I'm sure they'll both have a wonderful time and not miss me at all.

That's all the rambling update I can conjure right now! I'll try to be more concise in my next post. In the meantime... pictures!

Silliness

Terrible Two's aside, Anna's got some serious silliness in her right now. One of her new favorite things is to run in circles while giggling madly, screaming, "Running! Running! So silly!". She'll go forever, circling the coffee table and running back and forth in front of the TV, where she can see her reflection as she passes by.

I've also discovered that she has inherited her father's gene for cleanliness. We recently gave her the feather duster as a distraction and she went to mad, dusting everything in sight. Now, when I need a few minutes to get the dishes done or whatever, I just hand her the duster and she sets off, dusting the couches, the floors, the chairs, the trash, the toys, the walls and the carpet. I'm going to see if I can find her a little toy broom, too, then she can really start earning her keep!

On the baby front, all is well. I'm healthy and round and just about 6 months along. This little Schwartz is very active and spends a lot of time kicking and squirming around. The only big difference I've noticed in this pregnancy is that I'm getting awful migraines about once a month. Not fun, but certainly something I'm able to handle, with the help of lovely doctor-prescribed pain pills. *grin*

Here's a few pictures... In the first, she's clapping and dancing while Kurt plays a hoe-down for her on the guitar, and in the second, she's looking at pictures of her cousin, Ryan, on the computer. There are hardly any good pictures of Anna and I together, so Kurt promised to start picking up the camera. If I get any better ones of us, I'll post 'em. :-)

Toddler Madness

Anna's going through a change of life...and boy, what a change! It seems like this whole summer she's just been so much FUN, so silly and loving and adventurous and playful. My mom warned me to remember those moments and embrace them while they lasted, and she was right. Anna's temper and mood has just plummeted in the past three weeks, in direct association to when she started walking.

My days have been stressful, dealing with her impending terrible two-ness, and I have to say a lot of it is because she just seems so much more "terrible" than the other kids her age that we know. The constant crying fits over everything are making me crazy. She'll be so sweet and we'll be having fun and I'll be thinking, "Here's the girl I know and love", and then she'll settle into her bi-polar up-and-down every 3 minutes routine and I just want to send her back for a full refund.

Her behavior, while on a normal scale for her age group, just stands out as so much more dramatic and overwhelming than the other nearly-two and two-year-olds that we know. It's much worse when we're around just about anybody else, but especially other kids. The playdates aren't fun anymore because her drama keeps her from being able to interact with any of the other kids, and the constant crying while everyone else is letting loose and having fun really saps my temper.

We're working on it slowly,and I'm striving to be patient and not lock her in a closet, but I have a feeling this is something only time will improve upon. I also know for a fact, have always known, that she's just super dooper sensitive to anything and everything that stimulates her, even if it's something good, like the park, which she loves. It's actually very common in children with dissociation of maturation, which she was diagnosed with earlier this year. Many of these kids have frustration issues and are more prone to fits of temper and drama. I keep reminding myself that she's not being "bad", she's just dealing with all the new things (walking, independance, a growing realization of wants and dislikes) all at once. All these new and exciting developments are good, but often overwhelming, especially with Anna's super-sensitive personality.

SO. I'm working to avoid situations where I just know she's going to have trouble, like being out when she's tired and/or hungry. She's not allowed to hit or kick and fortunately that's something that she really seems to understand. Mostly, though, Kurt and I both and just trying to dredge up as much patience as we can, enjoying Anna's good moods while they last and getting through the bad ones as quickly, cleanly and sanely as possible.

Spare patience lying around the house and gathering dust? Send some our way, we'll see it's put to good use!

It's all downhill from here?

Hi! i just wanted to say thanks to all the friends and folks who called in the past few days to check up on me and Schwartz baby #2. I tell you, I am feeling the love! I know everyone was secretly hoping to get the boy or girl scoop, but still, it was really nice to be remembered and get to catch up with so many of you, near and far.

For the (very, very few) of you that I haven't talked to recently, everything is hunky dory over here. I had my 20 week ultrasound yesterday, which is a momentous occasion for several reasons. First and foremost, the closer look let us know that the baby is totally healthy, 61st percentile for size, and with all the required arms and legs. Everything looks PERFECT. Usually this ultrasound is where you find out the sex of the baby, too, (thus all my phone calls recently...).

BUT.

We have decided, though it's just killing me now, NOT to find out the sex of the baby this time. Kurt and I are opting for the more dramatic surprise at the end. I have to say that watching the baby on the ultrasound screen, I was really trying to make sense of the images and see if I could find out for myself, but no dice. Then the technician said that she knew what we were having, though she wouldn't tell us, of course. Kurt restrained me from wringing it out of her and we managed to leave the appointment with our dignity intact. This 20 week point is nice for me, personally, because it means that I'm halfway there. Woohoo! So I guess it's all downhill from here, right?

So, no pink or blue this time around, but I'm happy to keep a running poll. So far, more than half of those that have an opinion think it's a boy. Monica and Chad in D.C. think it's a girl. And Opa, down in Brazil, is just relieved that we're doing it "right" this time! *grin* This one's for you, Opa!

Anna was fascinated with the ultrasound, she was fixated on the screen and kept talking about the baby and pointing, both at my tummy and at the screen. So far, she seems to like the idea of a baby, but that's probably because there's not one messing up her schedule and stealing her mommy yet. She pats my tummy and says there's a baby inside, then pulls down my shirt and says, "bye bye baby, bye bye tummy".

In other news, walking has taken over as Anna's preferred mode of getting around, and she's pretty darn cute at it, especially when she tries to "run"- she speeds up her steps and puts her arms in the air as if she's holding two invisible hands, and giggles madly the whole time.

The downside of finally conquering the walking demon is that she launched herself into the terrible two's at the exact same time. Somehow the new freedom and independance of walking has clicked in her head with the tantrums. If she can't go RIGHT NOW where she wants to go, if she can't turn left instead of right, the world falls apart and the screaming begins. Last week was bad and by Friday I was a complete wreck with one nerve precariously dangling. Kurt was able to bear the brunt of a lot of the screaming for me this weekend, and yesterday she was actually very good. She only threw one minor tantrum and we just ignored her, so she gave up and went to play with her dolly.

Hopefully the rest of this week the novelty will wear off a bit and she'll be able to control her mad walking impulses, at least a little. At least until I've had my coffee and can put my shoes on. Because I have learned, yes I've learned...

Always have your shoes on. You never know what expeditions may require your IMMEDIATE attention.

Walking on top of the world

This weekend, Anna had a real walking breakthrough. Up until now, she's been walking a few steps here and there, and she would walk a little bit holding onto our hands around the house. Mostly, though, she still prefered her scooting method to get around.

Sunday, Kurt drove us up into the mountains to escape the city and see the leaves start changing. We stopped at Wilkerson Pass to look around at the view and enjoy the fresh, (though thin, at 9800 feet), air. I took Anna out of the car, and she struggled to get put down, so I set her on her feet and took her hand.

And she walked. And walked. And walked some more. Every time we thought she'd stop, she was just changing directions or looking at flowers. She walked all around the visitor's center, over all the paths, and around all the lookouts. Finally, after about a half and hour, we had to stop because I was getting a headache from the altitude.

She resisted. With vigor. "More walking! Wait! Wait! WAIT!"

The experience was a big moment, because it was the first time it seemed to click for her that walking was FUN and interesting and GOOD. It was also emotional for Kurt and I because we've been watching our friends with babies walk around holding their children's hand for a year, while we still carry Anna. We finally had a moment, as a family, of walking together, holdin hands, through the mountains. It was a perfect day.

And of course, we were too busy enjoying the moment to get any good pictures, though I think Kurt did manage to take one or two. I'll try to post those later.

Today, Anna and I went for a walk down to the end of our cul-de-sac and back. The biggest problem I have with her now is that she doesn't want to stop walking, even though she's stumbling and her legs and starting to give and she's exhausted. I've gotten around the fear of falling for her by saying, "Bonk-a-doop!" every time she goes down. For some unknown reason, she finds this completely hysterical. Who knows?

Anna is officially a toddler! Bonk-a-doop!

Pictures

"Purple Bear"... Anna's newest obsession. This beanie baby was given to her by Eric's dad a few weeks ago, and I'm sure he'd be happy to know that it hasn't left her sight since then.
Anna and Kurt watching Nova on PBS. This Nova was about the Mars Rover. As you can see... Anna was fascinated, just like her daddy.

Anna in her natural habitat- surrounded by books. She was reading all of them in turn, even the one she's sitting on.

And finally... the joys of spaghetti! We're putting this picture in her senior high school yearbook.

"Story, story? Thank you!"

Anna has developed the charming (though often ill-timed) habit of requesting stories all during the day. It doesn't matter if I am on the phone, sneaking a cat-nap, or even in the bathroom. She picks her book and then comes at me, full speed with book outstretched, saying, "Story! Story? Story!". If I give in and read it to her, probably for the 99th time that day, she sweetly says, "thank you, mama", and cuddles in to enjoy herself.

If I make the mistake of thinking something else is more important right now, (like, say, the over-boiling pasta or the war in the middle east), she'll throw the world's biggest hissy fit and follow me around, attempting to fit the book into my hand.

This girl loves her books, and I'm so glad she does. But it must be said that I am getting a little tired of her favorite ones. Oswald, who is apparently a large blue octopus, is her best friend in book land. She has two Oswald books, Ah-CHOO! and Hooray for Fall!, that we read ALL DAY LONG. Kurt and I have learned to be careful about saying the "O" word in her presence, because it'll always set her off for another reading. She's also super-fond of the Dora the Explorer beginning readers series, though she seems to have forgotten about them lately. We can only hope.

I have an idea! How about everyone posts a comment with their favorite unique children's book. I'm not talking Dr. Seuss here, but something more like Rain Makes Applesauce, something you don't see all the time on everyone's shelves. Please. We need a break from Oswald.

Ryan

Remember Ryan? My little nephew is getting to be a BIG boy. He's already starting to crawl now, and is wearing clothes for babies half-again his age. He's growing up so fast!!!

Here's Ryan right after his birth...

And here he is again, with his parents, when they came to visit this past April.

And now... here's the big man from a few weeks ago, practically all grown up! What will he look like by his first birthday? Monica is doing great and keeping up with him like a trooper. He hasn't been sleeping that well lately, but so far she hasn't decided to trade him in, so I think it'll be okay. We love and miss you guys! Anna says, "Hi!".

Overdue Update

Sorry it's been so long, I'm gonna fall back on the easy excuse and blame the heat. That was certainly the cause of my woe today, at the very least.

Craving fresh air and giraffes, Anna and I headed out to the zoo this afternoon. It was lovely, a little crowded, but fun for Anna Banana. Unfortunately for me, it was also scorching hot with nary a breeze to be felt. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is on the side of a mountain, as the name suggests, and it is all uphill. Normally, I don't mind or even really notice this since I'm so accustomed to the zoo layout, but today I had to factor in the past 12 weeks or so of nearly no exercise, the pregnant belly I'm starting to develop (which throws my back all out of wack) and the heat's effect on my no longer swift circulation. To sum it up, Anna had a blast, and I thought my heart was going to explode, probably about one second after I would pass out and fall into the elephant enclosure.

Thankfully, none of that actually happened. We lasted two hours, and then headed over to Grandma's house for air conditioning and relaxation. Anna showed no signs of sleepiness or foul temper and played happily for hours before finally started to look a little tired around 4 P.M. She napped for barely an hour before dinner, and then spent the next hour awake, crying, and terribly upset until Kurt and I just put her straight back to bed. I always forget that if I let her miss a nap during the day, we all pay the price come night time!

Anna has been doing SO well these days. She is still incredibly verbal and talks more than most of the other kids her age that we know. She know the whole alphabet and sings the ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Lullaby and Goodnight constantly. The singing is sometimes a little unclear becuase all the songs morph into one song while she sings, but if you know what you are listening for, it's clear what she's saying. She's also started counting a lot, for fun, and can count up to 14 on her own. Her favorite activity for the whole day is torn between two things: coloring and having me read her stories. She'll sit at her little table and draw for HOURS, and then suddenly get up, grab a book or three and wrap my hands around them so I'll know it's time to read. She says "Thank you" for just about everything, "Bless you" when you sneeze, and "Excuse me" when she has to pass in front of you. She recognizes lots of shapes, especially hearts, triangles, squares and circles. She's also starting to recognize different written letters, and knows the different from seeing her name written to seeing another word written.

She still doesn't like to eat a large variety of foods, but Kurt and I have decided that as long as we get ONE good meal in her every day, then we're doing okay. She loves her milk and has developed a hankering for raisins in the past week or so. She's also starting to walk, slowly, a little bit more every day. So far, it's only 4 or 5 steps once or twice a day, but she's very proud of herself and motivated, so I expect that'll pick up more in the next few weeks.

Mostly, she's just super darn cute as all get out and Kurt and I can't imagine anything better than our little girl. It's going to be so strange to have another baby!

There's a baby in there!

Well, it's officially official and all that jazz. I had my 3 month check-up this afternoon, and the ultrasound showed a tiny and pretty near fully-formed little person! The baby was kicking it's legs and waving it's arm and sucking it's thumb, in general doing everything possible to charm it's parents and wave "hi!" to it's big sister, Anna. My due date is February 8th, but I'm pulling for February 7th, since that's Kurt's birthday.

I'd post a picture, but the ultrasound machine's printer wasn't working. Next time! :-)

Gymboree!

Here's Anna modeling her new Gymboree ensemble. Once or twice a year, I can't resist the cuteness and I end up splurging big time on baby clothes at Gymboree. They have really adorable matched sets of clothes that cost three or four times as much as regular Target brand baby clothes. This time, I got into double trouble because the day I walked in, the salesgirls told me I "only" had to spend $50 to get a 50% off coupon for later in the month... and I fell for it!

So, now Anna has several outfits of overpriced fancy baby clothes, and another 50% off coming later in the month. I'm such a sucker, sigh...

Oh, well! At least she looks really cute!  

Two Steps!

Just now, as we were playing in the living room, Anna took her first steps! She was standing up in the middle of the room, balanced and clapping her hands. I said, "Anna, can you walk? Walk?" We've been talking to her about walking whenever she stands, but she never did anything before.

Today, she said, "Walk! Walk!", and then lifted one foot forward and then the other. Two steps! I was so proud, I burst into tears. She was so proud, she fell over! *grin*

Congratulations, Anna! Two little steps in the right directions!

Pictures

Per Auntie Monica's request, here's a few more pictures of little Anna in action. I'm trying to figure out how to post a video clip, too, anyone have any tips?

We took Anna downtown to the fireworks celebration last night and she was totally enthralled. Last year, she completely ignored the show and slept through everything except that cannon blasts at the end. This year, it was a whole different story. We got there just as the sky was starting to light up in colors, and she just sat in my lap, one arm out to point at the sky, with her mouth open in a big "O" of awe. She kept tapping my knee, to say, "Mama... LOOK! Mama, BOOM!". It was pretty darn cute, I have to say.

ABC's and other new tricks

"A, B, C, D, E, D, B...." Anna is now singing the alphabet song all day long. This is what we get for using that song to soothe her when she was really little; now it's her favorite. Every day she gains a couple new letters. Three days ago, it was just, "A, B, C, B, C, B, C", but now she's worked her way up to E. The funny thing is, aside from the singing just being too darn cute, she actually has a strong grasp of the music, too. You can tell she's singing along to the tune of the ABC song, she just doesn't know all the letters yet.

Kurt and I have also been blown away lately with how quickly she's learning to walk. She hasn't been in therapy for months, but all under her own steam, she's now practicing free-standing, without holding on to anything or pulling up on anything, and she's walking more and more steadily while still holding furniture or my hands. She still loves to scoot around, it's the fastest thing for her, but she's also now crawling, too, about a third of the time. The next few weeks will be very interesting as she takes her first steps by herself!

One strange new skill she's developed is a penchant for headstands. She'll stand up, then bend at the waist, putting her forehead on the ground. Upside down, she's just stay there, using her hands to play with a toy, balanced between her forehead and feet like a teepee. I'm not sure why she enjoys that position, but as soon as she does it when I've got a camera close at hand, I'll post photographic evidence.

Anna is also learning to talk in sentences, mostly comprehensibly. For instance, she'll say, "Where are you?" and then, "There he is!", but it doesn't matter if she's looking for a boy or a girl. She puts together words she knows seperately to make sentences herself, which is really cool. She is also picking up new words SO quickly, we only have to tell her once or twice, and next thing you know, she's using it all over the place as if she's always known it.

Really, all these new tricks are standard fare for toddlers growing up. I'm just constantly surprised and SUPER proud at each new step, skill and development. Go Anna!

Bye-bye, cats

We were very lucky to find a family for Dora and Finn this weekend, together. They left us on Friday for their new home, and their new owner has been kind enough to let me know that they are settling in just fine. I really, really miss them, but I know that they're better off where they can get more attention than we were giving them.

Anna, strangely enough, hasn't really seemed to notice that they're gone. She still says "meow" when she's playing with her cat doll, but other than that she hasn't had any reaction or tried to find them. She seems to be more into dogs right now, seeing "pup-pups" every where she goes.

So, everyone tip a toast back to Finn and Dora. Two beautiful cats who gave me seven lovely years and are now moving on to charm a whole new group of people. Bye-bye, cats, we miss you.

Cats

Anyone in the viewing public have a home for two cats? It's been a topic of discussion in the Schwartz family for three years or so now, what to do with the cats.

The sad truth is, though Anna adores them, the cats are just getting to be more and more in the way and they are definitely not getting the attention they deserve and crave. There's no point in denying, either, that they are not Kurt's favorite household accessory.

So, cousins? Aunts? Uncles? Friends? Anyone know anyone whose looking for two very sweet cats to join their family? They'd be perfect lap animals for someone. They love laps.

"No!"

Sorry it's been so long... we were in Italy! Heheeee... Our trip was wonderful, relaxing, beautiful and ideal, but we both missed Anna SO much. By about day 10, I was ready to come back and see my girl, but I struggled through by lounging on the beach all day and reading novels and eating gelato. Poor me, right? Oh, brave soul...

Anna did wonderfully with Mom and Terry. According to their reports, she was a sweet and happy child the whole time, slept well, ate well, and played in the back yard with rocks. Kurt and I just can't thank them enough, they literally made our honeymoon trip possible. We could have taken Anna with us, but it would have been a VERY different trip. Thanks again! We love you so much!

Another benefit of the trip was that Anna is no longer timid around her maternal family. She really got to spend time with them, and now is excited when we go over there! She knows the house well, she has a basic idea where the cat may be hiding, ("Sappho...? Saaaaappho!"), knows that they keep a box of tops in the corner for her, and loves her Terry and her Grem. Even though we missed her like crazycakes, it was worth it for her to finally make this connection.

So, returning to the headline, Anna has delivered her very first, "No!'. Of course, she was saying it to herself, but still, it was a momentous occasion, promising much usage in the future. It all came about Sunday, as she was scooting around playing with her truck in the living room. Kurt and I had both told her that, NO, she couldn't go upstairs to the playroom right now, we'd go a little later. She kept testing the water, though, scooting closer and closer to the short steps off the living room that lead to the playroom. Just as I was about to tell her, "NO", again, she said it to herself! She looked over at us, looked at the stairs, and said, "No!", and then turned back to her truck and left the stairs behind.

Then we had several, "No's" at dinner, but more sung than said. She's still playing with the word and has yet to use it defensively. Soon, though... so soon. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a great Mother's Day surprise this morning- I came downstairs to find a gift bag waiting for me on the kitchen table, with a bottle of yummy new perfume and a guide book for Italy! Kurt made a delicious breakfast and coffee while Anna and I read books in the living room. Then I got to go and get a pedicure and manicure all by myself while Kurt took care of Anna. What a treat! I am a lucky mommy, indeed!

Anna has me tickled with her newest game. She likes to curl up in her boppy pillow, pull a blanket over herself and say, "Go sleep." She'll lay down, change positions and take pretend naps. It's very, very, VERY cute.

Hope everyone's having as nice a Mother's Day as I am. Love to you all!

"Bonk!"

The other day, Anna tumbled into the kitchen table leg, a very sturdy hunk of wood, knocking her head hard. As I came to see if she was okay, she looked up at me, stuck out her lip in her"I'm-about-to-completely-lose-it" expression, said in a heartbreaking whisper, "Bonk!", and then started bawling.

"Bonk" is the new "bye-bye" of Anna's vocabulary. She says it whenever she falls, no matter how lightly or even if she fell on purpose. In fact, sometimes she'll sit on her play chair, grin at me, throw herself to the ground, and then say, "Bonk!" loudly and for all the world to hear.

My mind just can't keep up with how fast she's changing and growing. This time last month she was still doing physical therapy and we were worried for her future development. From where we are standing now, it seems so silly to have been worried. In the past month, Anna has learned to stand, pull-up, take steps while holding onto furniture, crawl up the stairs, climb onto chairs and couches, and increased her vocabulary to the point that we are no longer surprised by what she can say.

Just this morning, she picked up her Dr. Seuss ABC book and was reading it to ME as she flipped through the pages. She remembered almost all the letters as she looked at the pages, which I know is more memorization and picture association than actually reading the book, but still, we were very impressed.

For Kurt and me, though, it's the physical advancement that is the most exciting. Every time she pulls herself up on a table to look at a book (or reach for something she shouldn't be touching), I feel like everyone in the room should be struck with the same awe and pride that we feel.

Look! She just climbed up into a chair! Time for a ticker tape parade!

Oops... she tumbled onto the floor... "Bonk!".

18 Month Check-up

Anna received a clean bill of health at the pediatrician's this morning. She weighed in at 21 pounds, 13 ounces and has grown to 31 and a half inches. She's still slim, but her weight is much closer to the norm now.

The doctor was impressed with her new skills of pulling up, standing and stair-climbing. Of course, I felt like he should be jumping up and down with glee, but I'm a little biased. Still, in his medically-reserved fashion, he was quite proud of my girl.

She didn't need any shots today, and won't have to go back until her 2nd birthday. She's grown past the three month well-check visits! She's a real, honest-to-goodness, Big Girl now!

Adventures in Toddler-Land!

Fast Track

No longer willing to be left behind, Anna is on the development fast track... and I mean FAST. Every single day she's doing something that a month ago we thought was totally beyond her. Not only can she now pull up to her knees, which a month ago was a truly difficult and upsetting activity for her, she stands up by herself and also comfortable stands and looks at books or colors for long periods of time. This morning I looked away for a moment as she was sitting on the floor. When I looked back, she had climbed up into the little kid chair at her coloring table and was standing on it, with her hands balanced on the table. After I moved her over to stand by the chair to read her book, she was angry with me and STAMPED HER FOOT! Then she took two steps, still holding onto the chair, but her first ever steps, and sat back down on the floor, saying, "Bonk!" as she plopped to the ground.

She's also become an expert at stairs, she climbs quickly up, scoots back down, the climbs back up again. We're trying to institute stair rules so she doesn't go up without adult supervision, but she's resisting. She doesn't want to wait for slow old Mama or Dada, she's got places to be and things to do!

In addition to this huge leap forward in physical development, Anna is now talking, semi-intelligibly, all the time. Her vocabulary is somewhere from 25-50 words. I can't be more specific because I really have lost track. Each day she says something new in a totally clear voice, as if she's always known what that is and how to say it. This morning I got her out of bed and she said, "Hi, Mama. Outside, tree?" Hey, if she can ask, I can deliver! We went right down and looked at some trees this morning, I was so proud!

Oh, boy. As I was typing this, and I'm a fast typer, Anna was playing with her crayons ON the floor. I look back around, and she's SITTING ON TOP OF THE TABLE, indian style, crayons in hand, digging through the box of coloring books. Oh, boy, oh, boy.

Or, in Anna's new favorite all-time phrase...

Uh-OH!

Family

Last weekend, Monica, Chad, Otto and little Ryan came to Colorado to visit, and we had a GREAT time. Ryan, who is now just over 4 months old, is a totally adorable addition to the family. He's so cute! Our friend Charlotte, over at Trystan Photography, took some wonderful pictures. If you'd like to take a look, feel free to visit the gallery.

Anna really enjoyed spending time with her Opa (as we call Otto). He's one of the few guys out there that she took to immediately. Here they are, bonding over breakfast one morning.

She was also fascinated by her cousin Ryan, though she seemed to pay the most attention to him when he was in things; Ryan in the baby swing, Ryan in the bouncy seat, Ryan in the infant car seat. Whenever she could, she'd try to "help" him by swinging him or bouncing him with extra vigor. After everyone left last Monday, she spent a good portion of the day looking in all the baby things that were left, trying to find Ryan, saying, "Baby?" and looking around as she would swing the seat on the baby swing with her hands.

The next day after they left, Anna had a terrible tantrum day and in the end, the only way I could get her to stop crying was... put her in the swing like baby Ryan! She sat happily for over an hour, clapping her hands to the music and watch TV while I attempted to regain my patience and perspective.
I checked, the weight limit on this swing is 25 pounds, so she'd be okay for another 4 pounds or so. Still, I didn't want to start a new addiction, so after the Tantrum Day, I put the swing back in the closet to wait for it's next tiny friend.

It was so nice having Monica and her family here, I really miss having them nearby, especially now that Anna has her little cousin to look after. Hopefully we'll be able to get several more visits in soon, though I imagine that the next time we see Ryan he's going to be twice the size he is now and probably running all around, raising a ruckus.

I'll post an album with more pictures of the visit soon! Until then, don't forget to check out the pictures at Trystan Photography's gallery.

I love blueberries!

 

Boppy- the ultimate in comfort

 

Friends

Anna is totally in awe of Kira, my friend Lisa's 5 year old daughter. I mean TOTALLY in awe. With family in town this weekend, we had a BBQ on Saturday for everyone to come and visit, and Anna spent the afternoon chasing after Kira and doing everything that Kira did. It was truly beautiful to watch, they were adorable! Kira got into the game, too, kissing and hugging Anna and also scooting around on the floor as Anna scooted after her as fast as she could.



Though they are 4 years apart, it's really fun for Lisa and me to see them playing and laughing together. They'll grow up like cousins or sisters, it's very surreal for me. The next generation, in action!

Adventurous Spirit

Anna gave us a horrible scare this weekend in Breckenridge, where we were visiting with friends. In the span of a few moments, she managed to slip under our radar and out the front door of the 3rd floor condo and halfway down the old open-air stairs before a neighbor saw her and grabbed her. Kurt and I were so worried, it was a truly horrible moment, and it all happened in the blink of an eye. She's fine, though, and her parents, while a little bit older and a little less naive, are okay, too. Nothing like a scary moment to make you appreciate your child even more! She has a truly adventurous spirit, which will be keeping us on our guard for the next several decades, I'm sure. Live and learn, right?