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!