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? 

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.