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? 

New Photo Album

I've just added a new album to the Pictures list. It may have some pics that you've already seen, but hey, they're still cute! They're some from Christmas, and the rest from earlier this year. I've noticed that it's not as easy to get good pictures of Anna anymore, since she's always on the move. Plus, the second she sees the camera, she starts scooting right at me, hands outstretched, trying to steal it for herself. Anyway, hope you enjoy them. I'm going to post an album with pictures of Ryan soon, too, so keep a lookout for that. Monica, Chad and the baby will be here to visit at the end of April, and I can't wait to get pictures of the two cousins together!

Anna's Hats

In search of artistic expression, Anna has become a hat-a-holic. The other night, she spent the last hour before bed giggling madly while scooting around the house modeling every hat she could find. We call this one the Spring Elf.











Here, we have Anna feeling the Mardi Gras spirit, flaunting her beads and wearing a little knit rolled brim hat, courtesy of Lisa.






And finally, the French Baby. Sporting a light wool blend cap, (crocheted exclusively for her use by me), Anna begins to stash her beads, sensing correctly that bed time is fast approaching. What a sense of style!

"Don't worry, I'm just fine!"

 

Neurologist

Well, since Anna's 15 month check-up, we've been going to a variety of doctors and physical therapists to see what might be wrong with our little girl. As most of you know, she has a pronounced gross motor delay, meaning she doesn't stand, bear weight on her legs, pull up or walk.

It's been a harrowing experience listening to all these serious medical personages telling us, with serious expressions, that there may some kind of long-term problem with Anna's development. It all culminated yesterday, finally, when we took her to see a pediatric neurologist.

I cannot even TELL you how much I was dreading this appointment, but it turns out, it was the best one! Dr. Grabert let me hold Anna the whole time, and just observed her to check her reflexes and motor skills. Then he said that his diagnosis was something called cerebral hypotonia, or dissociation of maturation.

What does that mean, you're wondering!? It means that she has a severe gross motor delay but no other major delays. It means she has low muscle tone, especially on her lower extremities and is very flexible. It means that when you hold her up, she "sits on air" with her legs out in front of her. It means she's not walking yet and doesn't bear weight on her legs or pull up to stand. It means that in all liklihood, she's going to be JUST FINE.

The condition is known to be totally benign, and while she'll probably always be a little behind her peers in her gross motor development, she'll eventually start walking, he said probably in the next few months. Her walking may look funny at first, too, very stiff-legged, but eventually she'll establish a normal pattern. He did say that his diagnosis of this has been wrong two or three times and that if she's not walking by 20 months, we need to bring her back in for further tests. But he was really confident that this was the problem and that we'd never have to see him again.

WHAT A RELIEF!!! He even said that while physical therapy, which she started earlier this month, will help her achieve milestones more quickly, it's not something that is totally necessary. We're going to keep it up, though, becuase now we've just found this therapist who Anna really likes.

It's funny, but another one of the characteristics of the syndrome is the babies being easily frustrated, just starting the cry like mad all at once in the middle of nothing... and that is SO Anna, she does that about four times a day! It is really hugely gratifying to know that, while there is definitely something unique going on with my girl, it's not something BAD, she'll have a normal life, with no long-term negative impact. That was my biggest fear. So now, all we have to do is wait and watch as Anna figures out walking. The average age for walking with this diagnosis is 18 months, and she's 16 and a half now. Plenty of time to get things moving, baby girl.

Books

Anna has discovered my books. Only now, they are HER books. You can see that she goes through everything she can reach, inspecting and disgarding, but she did finally stop and look at one book- The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. At least she's got good taste! Now, to go, once again, and put the books back on the shelf. I mean, really, how's she supposed to take them off if I don't put them back?

Chocolate Covered Strawberry

At the mall last week I bought Anna a treat from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company, since she had been very good all day. It was a HUGE mess, and she had strawberry and chocolate smears ALL over her, but that didn't stop her from really, really enjoying it!  

Anna's Favorites of All-Time... this week

Cat Door? Nope... it's MY door! Kurt, in true handyman fashion, installed this little cat flap in the laundry room door this weekend. The goal was to keep Anna from organizing the cat food, piece by piece, and re-distributing the water in the water dish. The result? Anna's newest favorite thing EVER.

Other all-time favorites of the week:

* Hiding things in my shoes. In the past five days alone, I have found- a hairbrush, several pacifiers, two spoons, one small ball of yarn, socks (hers, not mine), and a crumpled wad of silver foil.

*Using new words. So far we have, "Mama, Cat, Dada, Up, Cup, Cat, Pop, Milk, Stick, Book, Cat, Hi (with wave), Bye (with wave), Cat, and Yes". Oh, and also, "Cat".

*Organizing. She will literally spend HOURS organizing, though not in the sense that she is making things less of a mess. More, she is simply making one that conforms to her high standards of mess. She'll sit and take out all the toys within reach, lay them all in a broad circle on the ground around her. Then she'll move them back into the toy basket. And them back out again. For variety, she'll only take out books for one round, then only stuffed animals. my goal is to get her to end her organizing on the part where she puts them all back in the basket, but I think she's on to me, so that hasn't been very effective.

*Chasing Cats. I mentioned she likes cats, right? Well, before, she used to simply laugh and look at them and maybe grab as they walked by. With Dora, HER cat, she would pet and sometimes lay down on her. But now that she's so speedy with her little scooting method, she has started to truly TERRORIZE the cats. Which brings us full circle back the cat door. Anna will sit next to the door, like in the picture, flip it open, lean in, and then YELL at the poor cats, who are just trying to get a moment's peace. She actually had them penned up in there for an hour yesterday, too afraid to come out the door since that would mean having to pass the Scary Loud Baby with Teeth. I think Finn is developing a twitch.

Good Book

 

Anna's Cell Phone

 

Anna's Cats

 

Crawling

She did it!  All of a sudden, last night, in the middle of NOTHING at all, Anna just started crawling!  She’s been playing on her hands and knees for a few weeks now, but never had any forward movement.  But yesterday it just sort of clicked and she got this big smile and started crawling!  So far she’s just gone short distances around the living room, and she’s still finding it faster to scoot on her bottom everywhere (that way she can carry things with her).  She clearly is very proud of herself, though.  She gets this big grin on her face as if to say, “Look at me, look what I can do!”.  Good job, Anna Banana!

Carrot

 

Third Tooth

Anna’s finally getting some more teeth.  She’s been so crabby at random moments for the past few days and at lunch today, with Terry, I noticed a little nub of tooth coming in on the top.  Unfortunately, she took to chewing on crayons this afternoon to relieve the ache.  When I looked over, wondering why she was so quiet, she had a mouthful of blue waxy crumbles.  Those things are non-toxic, right? 

I’ve replaced her crayon craving with a big carrot from the fridge.  It’s cold and seems to be keeping her happy and still colorful.  Her cheeks and fingers are all orange.  J

15 Month check-up

Anna had her check-up on Monday, and she’s still a healthy little girl.  Her weight picked up much more in the past three months than it has since she was born.  She weighed in at 20.4 pounds, which is all the way up in the 20^th percentile!  Her height has averaged out at the 50^th percentile, so while she’s still skinny, it’s not as pronounced as it was a few months ago. 

Anna now has several words, though sometimes you have to be her parent in order to understand her.  She says: milk, juice, truck, cat, what’s that?, book, mamma and dada.  She also is now proficient at going down the stairs and sometimes gets up on to her hands and knees for a few moments while she’s scooting and rolling around.  The cutest thing to develop in the past few weeks is her new love of teddy bears.  She has two or three that she prefers above all others and one that she sleeps with every day.  I’ve noticed, too, that her understanding has really grown in the past month or so, too.  You can ask her where her hat is, or her book or bear or milk, and she’ll look around and then go get it and hold it up for you to see!   She’s still working on putting hats on, though mostly she just pats it on to her head in a big pile of fabric, she hasn’t figured out to open the hat up and make it fit around her head yet. 

Since she’s still not standing at all or pulling up to standing, the doctor has recommended we take her in for a developmental assessment, just to make sure there are no underlying problems.  He said in most cases where babies have one area of delay in their development, they just eventually outgrow it and we never find out what caused it.  We’ll be doing the assessment later this month and I’ll keep everyone updated on what comes of it. 

Kurt got home late last night from his ski trip and Anna was startled but then very happy to see him again after five days of missing him.  She definitely noticed he was gone, and by Saturday evening had really started getting clingy and shy again, which she hasn’t been doing for a couple months now. Poor Kurt had to go back to work today on just five hours sleep, so we haven’t really had a chance to hear about his ski trip yet, but I’m sure I’ll have pictures to post later in the week!

Stairs, continued

Well, I had a bit of a shock this morning.  While hanging out in the playroom, Anna did her usual giggle and scoot out to the hallway, where she waits for me to “sneak up” on her and then spot her as she carefully and slowly descends the steps. 

Not today!  Today, she giggled, scooted and just started plopping down the steps while I was preparing to pop out from behind the door and “surprise” her.  I rushed over as she quickly slid to the third step down, giggles ricocheting off the walls. I stood back in amazement and just let her do her thing. She didn’t wobble, fall or lose her grip.  In a matter of seconds, she was sitting at the bottom of the steps, smiling up at me, totally in control of the situation. 

Independence is here… I thought I had more time!

Look what I can do!

She's discovered the novelty of her toy chest, mostly because the cats keep jumping in and out of there, so she wants to get in, too. Go, Anna! 

Stairs

We've been working slowly to teach Anna how to safely traverse the stairs, simply because they are everywhere and I'd rather she be confident around them instead of afraid of them. It's become her New Favorite Thing. If you have stairs in your house, beware. She'll happily scoot over and make her descent, and woe to the person who tries to tell her it's not Stair-Time.
Since she doesn't crawl, the best and safest way for her to get down stairs is to thump on her butt. She scoots up to the very edge, giggles (I beleive I mentioned the giggling earlier...), and then sllllloooooooooowwwly scoots herself forward, leaning way back, until she thumps down on to the next step.
To get down the 6 steps outside the playroom usually takes her about 10-15 minutes, if I let her do it by herself. We're also working on getting back up the steps, and she's started pulling up to her knees at the bottom and reaching for the next step up, so we'll see how that goes.
Speaking of which, she's starting to pull up on to her knees a lot now, trying to look into things, like the toychest or on top of a table. This is a big step for Anna, since she still won't stand totally by herself, though we can get her to do a sort of march by holding her under her arms and walking her forward. I don't know if it's helpful to her development since she won't put her full weight on her legs, but she certainly thinks it's funny! 

Monica and little Ryan

 

Crying? Me? No way!

 

New Photos

Once again, we’ve had our very talented friends at Trystan Photography take pictures of Anna.  Click here, and you’ll be taken to a gallery of the new photos, as well as her 7 month pictures.  Thanks again to Charlotte and Tryg!  Anna wasn’t exactly cooperative during the shoot (okay, she was screaming and crying), but you’d never know it to look at the pictures.  Charlotte can work miracles with a camera, I swear. She’s also set the gallery up with some great prices, so please feel free to order prints directly.  They have some cool options like coffee mugs, t-shirts and fridge magnets, too… anyone want a t-shirt with Anna’s face on it?  J