Anna stories

I realize that I am horrible at both journaling and recording Anna's life in more than just cell phone pictures. She is incredible. Her vocabulary, her physical prowess, her impressive height and eating ability are all things that only a select few people know about. So here are a few recent Anna stories to wet your palette.

Yesterday as I was finishing my lunch at the kitchen table and thumbing through a new cookbook, Anna was playing quietly in the kitchen. Lately, she likes to take her white stool and play with water in the sink, so I was not worried. Every once in awhile I would hear smacking noises, but since we don't keep rat poison, nor cleaning supplies in the kitchen, it caused me alarm. However, a few minutes passed and Anna emerged from the kitchen with her hand dripping blood...at least, that is what it looked like to me. Her whole hand was red and wet and I thought she had found a knife and severed a major vein.

Nope, she had found a jar of strawberry jam and had stuck her entire hand it in and was munching away (much like Winnie the Pooh). No wonder there was no scream.

I recently gave Anna a lady bug necklace that had been given to me prior to my mission. She loves this necklace and wears it a lot! So we were sitting in the rocking chair, and she said that I was the mama ladybug, she was the Anna ladybug, and the necklace was the baby lady bug. I turned to her and said, "I love you my precious daughter!" She looked back and me and replied, "I love you my precious mama ladybug!"

Anna doesn't like the smell of poop and gags when I change her poopy diapers. She also will not admit when she has a poopy diaper and will lie or at least blatantly deny she has had a poopy diaper even when there is incontravertable evidence.

Anna likes to play with a small nativity set my mom gave me. There are only three figurines-- Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. But almost on a daily basis, Anna likes to take her stool over to the mantle where they reside so she can take them down. She is always very careful, especially with baby Jesus.

Anna likes us to draw stick figures of the family on her hands and arms. It will start with a baby Anna, and then go to mama and then dada. Each figure has its own distinguishing characteristic. Anna has curly hair, mama has straight hair, and only dada has ears. She likes to tell us to put two eyes and a smile on each one. But yesterday she told Richard (the artist at the moment) as he was drawing "dada" to put in an eye, and then another eye, and then another eye. Pretty soon dada had 4 or 5 eyes going before Anna was finally content with the finished product.

Anna likes routine...her routine. Every morning after I get her up, she follows the same three step procedure-- she closes the door, turns on the light, and turns off the floor fan. If one of these things has already been done, she undoes it so that she can do it. She will open the door to close it, turn off the light to turn it on, and so forth. The same routine goes on at night.

Anna loves graham crackers and milk. She has learned how to separate each sheet of grahams into 4 sticks and dips them into her milk with precision. However, she does not like to drink the milk if she sees cookie "floaties" in them.

She can sing the "Cinderelly" mice song (even going so far as to imitate their high pitched squeakss), "A dream is a wish your heart makes," "Be our guest," and "Beauty and the Beast." Her favorite song to dance to is "Bibbidy boppity boo." And she has, in fact, turned a stuffed duck into a handsome prince.

So there you go.

A heartbreaking question

One of my goals before this new baby is born is to teach Anna to swim. I also want to teach her to potty train (I am pretty good at it myself, so I figure I have expert advice to give her). Both of those goals are going to be pretty slow in coming, I can tell. Anna loves to take her diaper off, but does not want to use the toilet AT ALL. When I ask her, she resolutely refuses, and freaks out if I try to put her on the real deal.

I thought swimming would be easy. Anna loves water, but only if she has complete control over it, it seems. We went to the local aquatic center that has a warm water pool, and she would have spent the whole time going up and down the steps if I had let her. She loves the feel of the water, but does not want her head to go under the water, and if it is deep enough that she can't touch the bottom she clings to me like a barnacle.

I thought we would practice floating and kicking. I kept trying to convince her that I had her the whole time and that I wouldn't let go, but she looked so nervous every time I tried to place her on her back with my hand supporting her from beneath. After a first initial unsuccessful attempt, I let her play on the steps for about 20 minutes before guiding her back into the pool to practice the floating thing again. This time as I tried to place her on her back, she looked at me, and with a tremulous voice asked, "can Anna die?"

It made my heart stop for a moment. I wanted to respond "No, Anna can never die, and will never die!" but I knew that was not true, so instead I just reassured her that she was safe, and that I was never going to let go-- that I would hold her the whole time. I let her play the rest of the time without forcing any other "skills" on her.

Her comment made me face my greatest fear. Before Anna was born, my greatest fear was being forgotten and unimportant. Now that I am a mother, my greatest fear is living without my sweet girl. I know there is so much that is outside of my control. I know that I cannot prevent every catastrophe from happening. I know I cannot be there every moment of her life to shield her from pain. And I know that sometimes children do die...and I cannot expect that I am safe from ever going through that tragedy.

But my prayer is always that God will allow me to have her for as long as possible.

This girl loves to paint!

This girl loves to paint! I decided to give both Anna and I some creative wings by stocking up on paint and paper and projects to last out the long Northwest winter. The first project was....

painting Anna!

We really had intended to paint a birdhouse, but that lasted for all of five minutes before she realized that her body was a much more interesting canvas! Every painting project now ends the same way, with a bath, because Anna inevitably ends up painting her tummy, her face, her feet.

We have also gone to a cool painting storytime at a local toy store that Anna really likes-- again, because she can end up painting her face.

Richard really likes that the photo below shows Anna holding a paintbrush in both hands ("like DaVinci" Richard says). Anna has shown a fairly clear preference for her left hand, but she whips out the right when the moment suits her. Apparently, Richard was the same way.

First Pumpkin carving

Halloween is by far my favorite holiday! I didn't realize it until this year when I became giddy around October 1. Visions of candy buckets and jack o lanterns danced in my head! Since my husband is an accountant, I have to view everything in terms of a cost/benefit analysis, and Halloween comes out on top every time-- even compared to Christmas. Reasons why Halloween is the best:
1. kids in costumes! And costumes are cheap when you do exchanges with friends or get them second hand!
2. candy, candy, candy!! I know I can buy myself candy any time I want to, but getting it for free brings out my inner 6-year old, and you see the best variety of candy at Halloween. I would never buy myself Airheads or Whoppers or those cheap Palmers chocolates, but I am an equal opportunity candy monger and I love everything at Halloween!
3. Pumpkins. They taste great in everything, are the perfect cheap Halloween decoration, and provide a whole evening of fun
4. Chili/chili cookoffs: Chili is the official food of Halloween and I couldn't be more thrilled.
5. Perfect fall weather! Colorful leaves, breezy sunny autumn days.
6. Trick or treating. Melts my heart to hear Anna shyly whisper "trick or treat"

The Halloween Season kicked off with Anna's first ever pumpkin carving

This is a video of Anna assisting in the pumpkin carving a nd entertaining us with her rendition of "Old McDonald had a farm!"

A day in an exploress' life

How to have a fun outing with a kid: don't have expectations. Especially don't expect that this "outing" has anything to do with what you want to do-- get exercise, socialize, pick a few pounds of berries, get a tan (some people still want them, apparently).

The amazingly ironic thing about having fun with kids, is that the more you release yourself from your expectations of how you want it to turn out, the more you and your child will have fun!

Case in point: Anna and I explored the other day. We started on a walk with nothing but a few snacks and a plastic magnifying glass, and we had the most amazingly wonderful time together. We didn't get incredibly far in our walk, but it was way better than the majority (all) of the long walks I have dragged her on for my benefit!

We found slugs in abundance.

and yes, that is a tutu that Anna is wearing. She finds it breathes well in the mugginess of the jungle...

a nice close up of the slug was in order. It was all I could do to keep Anna from picking it up and either 1) eating it, and 2) putting it in her pocket.

there was also some great puddle time. I know that the mom in me should have told her to stay out of the puddle, but I like to encourage puddle jumping in our family!

THAT is a happy girl...

and Anna is having a great time too :)

Anna found this caterpillar all on her own. I didn't even see it!

watching Anna discover things is one of the most rewarding parts of being her parent. She gets SO excited, and she squeals a lot.

and of course, how could you resist blackberry picking along the way (a way better snack than the ones I brought)



And these few pictures hardly do justice to the true awesomeness of our explorer experience. We also met three spiders, in their webs; saw a blue flower, a purple flower, and a yellow flower; examined a leaf that was just like the kind that the "Very Hungy Caterpillar" eats through to calm his troubled tummy (holes and all!); and to top it off, we ran through crunchy brown and yellow fall leaves-- just to hear what it sounded like! Like I said-- a truly awesome day.

No expectations...just Anna and me!

Anna videos: "Blue/Pink Anna" and "Peanut Butter Bliss"

The first video I took a couple of weeks ago. Anna is wearing the pink dress we brought her back from Mexico and which she has insisted on wearing almost every day since then. She has a definite affinity for pink which was not planted or cultivated by us. She is obsessed with colors these days. Everything is associated by its color-- even Richard and I. Depending on what I wear, I am "green mama" or "black mama."
Anna says one of her most common phrases at the end of the video-- "fig it" (fix it).

The second video is proof eternal that she is her daddy's daughter. She pounded about a half a cup of peanut butter in one sitting and would have continued had I not stopped her. She likes to eat it with a spoon.

Run Anna Run

Lately, Anna is obsessed with running shoes. Mommy's running shoes, Daddy's running shoes, and Anna's running shoes. When she gets these shoes on, she always starts running. It reminds me of that scene from "the Sandlot" where one kid asserts that new black Converse sneakers are guaranteed to make a boy run faster and jump higher.
but I think for Anna it is the color pink. Its like she becomes supergirl when she wears the color pink. Combined with her running shoes, she is a force to be reckoned with.
But when she is not running, she is content to sit and smell the foilage...

and to sit and play in the soil...
and to lay in the grass and serenade the bees...
and to hide in the grass with her lamby
and to generally show Dora the explorer that she's got NOTHING on Anna!

what a girl! She amazes me everyday with her spunk and energy and unique perspective and imagination. And she is SO incredibly intelligent. When it is time for her to be in school, she is going to be the one schooling me!

we have fun.

she is my friend!

A growing girl

Anna is growing so fast. She is a little person with quirks and opinions, and believe me, she asserts them (quite adamantly I might add). She still doesn't give a hoot for cameras. I feel like I am a National Geographic wildlife photographer, camouflaged and stalking my subject.
I wish I knew what she was thinking. Because she is thinking all the time. I can practically sees those little wheels turning blindingly fast in her head.

she has started dressing herself, or at least trying. She successfully lets me know what she wants to wear (actually, she is better at telling me what she DOES NOT want to wear, and by process of elimination, we are left with everything pink), but she still needs some work at putting them on herself. She often tries to put the pants on over her head or she tries to put her legs into the arm holes.
I remember promising myself that my children would never be embarassed by their hair or hairstyle...and yet, I can't help but put her hair into a "Who-ville" like ponytail on top of her head nearly every day. Moms get to get away with all sorts of stuff. And I think she looks cute....
Anna's current mode of transportation

I caught Anna with my lip gloss today. She refused to give it back. She kept trying to get it on her lips, but kept missing. Probably had a date later on. It makes me realize that she really does watch me. Unless all women are born with an innate desire to paint their lips with sticky gloss and thus recognize exactly what to do with a colorful tube found in a diaper bag.
probably having second thoughts about the color choice...(should have gone with the coral-- it would have better matched the orange onesie).
this picture is to show how long Anna's hair is when it is wet, just after a bath. I actually have to work out the snarls in her hair after days of her curls matting and getting stuck together with the bits of food that find their way into her wild mane.
and this is what happens after it dries....
nothing but curls!
update on her development:

she can count to 4, and often says the rest of the numbers through 10-- just not in sequence.
she still loves reading more than anything else.
she will eat almost anything if we provide her with a dipping sauce
her favorite activity is dancing on our bed while her daddy plays the guitar
she has learned how to take her pajamas off. I often find her naked in the morning.
She lets me know when she has a poopy diaper by saying "poo pa doo"
She loves the alphabet-- especially the letter "W." She likes it when I wear my BYU LAW sweatshirt because she can point it out.
On walks she likes to pause at each car and point out the numbers and letters on the license plates.
Her most used word-- "again"
She likes to rub lotion on her feet. And she loves hand soap.
The only thing that will get her out of the bathtub, is the promise that she can play on the bed.
Everything has the potential to be a hat with Anna.
She loves phones and will say both "Hello" and "Goodbye" (before hanging up the phone by placing it on her head-- as a hat).

Try to Remember

I think that a lot of the time I take being a mom for granted. My life settles into a routine of taking care of Anna and getting my "chores" done. I find myself sometimes groaning when I hear her begin to stir in her bedroom, signaling that her nap is over. And there are some days when I realize that all I have done is just filled in the time until she goes to bed....

But sometimes I really get it....
that I have been given an incredible gift (even if I don't always appreciate it). And I can only hope that I get to keep that gift for as long as possible.

In those moments, I try to remember everything about my daughter, about being her mom-- what her hair smells like after a bath, the way she squeals when she is being chased, the way she pulls on her hair as she is falling asleep, how she grabs my hand when she wants to show me something, and the look on her face when I come into her room in the morning. No one has ever loved me like that.

That is when I linger an extra few minutes in her room when I am putting her to bed. I take my time rocking her to sleep so I can stroke her hair and listen to her breathe. Sometimes she goes right to sleep in my arms, but sometimes she looks back at me, and I try to remember that too-- that look of absolute trust. And so I whisper "I love you." I want her last waking thought to be how much her mommy loves her.

so yeah, I take it for granted sometimes...
but other times, I really get it. Like today.

And just as predicted, she did not appeal to logic

Would you rather....

spend 5 hours in an airport terminal with an eighteen month old, 3 Elmo movies, and nothing more than a peanut butter sandwich and fruit snacks because your flight was delayed...

or sleep with two giant sized dogs who think they are people and a cat the approximate shape of a basketball?

Or, is it possible to be blessed with both in the same vacation?

Can one woman be so lucky?

Oh,yes....she can.

But on to more important things, like the rapid transformation of my beautiful 18 month old daughter into a moody, dramatic, diva without reason.

Ahhhhh the good old days when I could tell something was wrong with Anna because she was crying...
I knew that she needed food, or a diaper change, or a nap. But regardless, when she cried it based on some rational need.

A few months ago I watched in awe as Anna threw her first fit. There was rolling around on the ground, there was a little kicking involved, there was screaming, and it had nothing to do with any basic needs. I don't even know if Maslow factored in toddlers when he created his hierarchy of needs. Maybe Anna is yearning for self-actualization. Maybe she is just frustrated that I am not fluent in semi gibberish... or maybe she is just not getting what she wants, when she wants it, and she is letting me know that my desire to teach her the value of delayed gratification is not appreciated!

My greatest fear is being realized. I live with an irrational being that does not appeal to logic...or does not find logic appealing. I try to reason with Anna using all my powers of persuasion (which are many and great!)...I craft finely tuned and nearly flawless arguments that would impress even the most seasoned judge...all to no avail.

I have learned that at some point, I just have to walk away from it. Its either that or turn on Sesame Street, and Elmo already has enough power in this relationship.

And to be fair to her, she is a really good little girl most of the time. Which means that perhaps she is not so different from myself or any other person. We all throw fits sometimes, or get moody, or act like divas...

and then we eat a Snickers, and all our problems are solved!

Oh Anna, its a good thing you are learning to talk so you can tell me what you need, because sometimes, I just don't know!

Any good suggestions on how to deal with fits?

Anna's hobby: Pinecone sorting

Anna's outside hobby, on the rare day when the sun shines enough for us to venture outside to soak up some vitamin D, is pine cone sorting. The large tree in the front of our yard gets quite a few pine cones piled up at its base. So Anna feels it is her particular duty to remove said pine cones from the yard and to transfer them to the street.
every pine cone is specifically placed in the street. Sometimes she wanders up and down looking for just the right spot of paved road. I have seen her place a pine cone down somewhere, and then, dissatisfied with the position, take it up again to reposition it somewhere else.

maybe she is writing code. Perhaps she is spelling "help" and hoping some low flying plane will see it and save her from the woes of toddlerhood.
in any case, it certainly occupies her whole soul when she is doing it. I love to watch her. Sometimes I try to make her laugh by picking up one of her pine cones and tossing it toward her and saying "pine cone!" in a funny voice...but she just looks at me as if to say "mommy, I don't have time for jokes right now-- this is serious stuff!"

love that little lady.

The cookie monster

We went to a barbeque last weekend, and of course, the last thing I had to do was snag a couple more chocolate chip cookies for the road before we left. All I did was look away for a second and Anna had grabbed one of the cookies and was already halfway to town on it

She has a distinguishing palette, that one. We tried to give her part of a McDonalds hamburger today, and she spit it back out (her "crap-o-meter" must have been beeping like crazy). For the most part she eats vegetarian all the time-- lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, plain yogurt and the occasional graham cracker or pbj. Her current love affair is with blueberries, which makes for some interesting and very vibrantly hued diapers.
Here is a video of her inhaling about a pound of blueberries.

When good library trips go bad!

It started out innocently enough....a normal trip to the library...

then Anna saw something she wanted...

"Excuse me...Hey! Can you help me reach the books on the top shelf? Help a baby girl out!"

...and then Anna took things into her own hands.

Soon she was terrorizing the entire library. Poor books were being taken from their homes and tossed carelessly aside. Then Anna really started getting into trouble...literally.


"...uh, mom.....could use some help here!"
"no wait...I got it...just need...to get...my foot..."
"Whoops! Nope....that didn't help"
"maybe I can eat my way out..."
"I don't know how I got myself into this!"