Nuts - Day 655

The picture to the right was taken not long ago. Pig and horse got some good eatin' that day.

Anyhow, pig and horse eating are just part of life now, and there are many things that Anna has created, most notably new words such as 'oh-see-see' for elephant, 'baynini' for bunny, and 'fowri' for sweater. Kerry and I have just retrained ourselves to accept these words as our language too.

But the quirks are endless. For instance, I can't tell you why Anna thinks that when I clean behind her ears during her bath that I am cleaning out birthday cake. That's just the way it is. Reality is quite different in our house since Anna arrived. All meat is called hamburger because Anna will more readily eat a meat called hamburger. Groceries are now called 'Daddy [so and so]' and likewise Mommy has her label. Now when I write out shopping lists they are filled with such things as 'Mommy yogurt', 'Anna cheese', and 'Daddy beans.'

Sometimes when something works, such as calling all meat hamburger, Kerry and I feel quite clever. Then I realize that I now always go to the bathroom sitting down (contrary to male biology); readily wake up at 6:30 am; Tivo Clifford and Maisy; and may on occasion eat food that has fallen out of Anna's mouth -- if it looks good that is. I'm afraid that I am changing more than she is.

Anyhow, for this entry I will finish up by elaborating on one little Anna quirk. Last winter during a drive in Texas Anna needed some entertainment since she was not used to traveling in car seats (we don't own a car). I can't remember exactly how it came up -- I know it came partially from a book -- but Anna started associating the word 'nuts' with being tickled.

The tickle prompt has continued to this day. She says 'nuts,' we tickle her, and she loves it. But this game has also become more complex. Now there are belly button nuts, thigh nuts, armpit nuts, chin nuts and she even has her Nya-Nya (stuffed animal) nuts, where we use her lovey to tickler her.

Some nuts, however, had to be discontinued. Table nuts was a choking hazard. Now when she asks for 'table nuts' we tell her sorry and ask her, "Why can't we give you table nuts?" Anna responds, "Might choke." That's right, but we all love playing nuts. And I don't even mind sitting down to go to the bathroom and eating baby leftovers.

Testing Vimeo

Here is a video of Anna chasing ducks. I am testing new services that embed videos into websites and that I don't have to pay for.



Chasing Ducks on Vimeo

Anna the Train - Day 650

Sorry it has been a while. Anna was sick with her first big (or I should say long) cold. It wasn't so bad, but it lasted about 10 days and the word 'boogies' is now in her lexicon forever. Unfortunately, Daddy also caught her cold, and it was a bit miserable for a few days when Anna had much more energy than her Dad did.

The picture above was taken when the Texas Grandparents came to DC. I think Anna looks so funny here -- she is trying so hard to be a big girl.

In other news, Kerry had a couple of her friends from Texas visit a week and half ago, and one brought her 15-month-old baby girl. Anna just loved running around with her new friend, and the chasing sessions were filled with plenty of giggles. It was really fun to see -- and hear -- the little ones play. Kerry's other friend was really great with Anna, and she kept her well entertained. We had a great time.

Anna has also in the last week or two fully assumed the identity of a train. She will correct you if you try to refer to her as Anna. She will just look at you and say seriously, "train." She even corrects herself. This morning she started off by saying, "Anna wants...(strike that)...train wants breakfast." When she falls down it is train that goes boom-boom. When she brushes her teeth it is train brushing her teeth -- of course with her toothbrush with a train on it. When she runs, she is running like a train. When she kicks in the swimming pool she is kicking like a train. When she is scared, it is train that is scared. And when she has bad manners it is train's fault. She is truly a train these days. A few days ago I spelled out with her crayons A-N-N-A and asked her what that spelled. She, of course, says, "train." I also taught her this morning that her hair is red, so when I asked her what color of train she is she says that she is a red train. When you ask her why, she says, "Because I have red hair."

Of course for those thinking about Anna's birthday presents, you may want to follow Anna's identity shift as I am sure she would like Thomas the Train supplies.

Here is another picture from Easter. Sorry, I don't have more recent ones.

Anna has also developed her vocabulary well enough that she isn't waiting around for us to say things anymore. In the last week she has started saying, "What's that?" This question is occurring at a much higher frequency each day. A few days ago I heard Anna say, "What's that," then a tiny set of stomping feet came running my way to get the answer. She then opens her beautiful little fingers to show me..."oooooh, Anna, drop that, that's cat poop." I guess being closer to the ground means that she is better at scoping out errant cat 'packages' than we are.

Ok, one more picture since it has been so long and because I don't have new photos. I've learned...quantity usually pacifies the grandparents.

One last note, Anna has also started wearing hats again. Kerry started a new holiday called 'Hat Day' and sold it as being a very fun day where you go around and wish everyone happy hat day. Of course, we also went to the zoo that day, so it was actually a bit festive. (Zoo pictures will be coming via Snapfish within the week). So far this trick has worked, though I fear Anna is sharp enough that one day she will recognize hat day for what it really is -- just any other day.

Big Eyes - Day 635

This picture was probably taken more than a year ago while we lived in The Hague. It was also a time when Anna would let us put a hat on her. Recently, I have tried to get her to wear a hat again, telling her that it is important to protect her face from the sun. I thought it would also be good to use her stuffed snowman as a model for her new pink sun hat. Well, in typical fashion, Anna's unpredictability has gotten the better of the situation. Now her stuffed snowman has a new hat (not her) and when I try to put it on her, she says, "No, Man's hat," and she goes over to her toy and puts the hat on it. I might as well write that hat off now and focus on sunscreen.

Anna has also started something else in the last week. In a previous post I mentioned that when she falls down or hurts herself, she comes to give us a kiss to make it feel better. Well, this still happens, but she also demands that we kiss her too. She will usually identify the body part that was hurt and ask us to kiss it. In the last week, however, on three occasions she has plopped down a bit hard on her butt and says....yes, you know where I am going with this...Anna says, "Mommy, Daddy, kiss butt." Of course, we did what any good parent would do....

Today Anna also helped with the cleaning. She usually helps by pushing a swiffer around and running interference the whole time. Well, today I had one of those static dusting mitts on and Anna wanted none of that. She demanded that I take the mitt off. But since I had to finish cleaning, I just pulled one of her winter mittens out and put it on her hand and asked her to help out. Well Anna loved it. Anna walked around the house for the next 30 minutes running her hand over everything and 'dusting' the house. When I finally had to put her to bed, she really started crying saying, "Want to dust, want to dust. Go downstairs and dust." When she finally realized that she had to go to bed and I told her to take her mitten off she said, "Need to dust bed," and she started running her mitten hand all over the inside of her bed. Three hours later when she woke up from her nap, she still had her mitten on and didn't take it off until she went to the swimming pool. We have a good duster.

Here is another old photo from The Hague. Anna really loved her feet. Today she learned the whole patty cake song and was clapping her feet together too. It made me remember the feet days.

Anna the Sub-contractor - Day 628

This is one of Anna at the National Building Museum. They have a room called the building zone where they have all sorts of toys with a building theme. Here she is with her work goggles and hat. She also likes to wear her overalls and toolbelt (see picture below).

Anna started music class last Thursday and she really likes it; however, the class is a bit on the touchy-feely side. The idea is that we (the parents and nannies) sing and do everything, while the kids do whatever they want. The theory goes that the child will eventual be exposed to different songs, sounds and instruments and choose what s/he wants to do. Ok, this sounds fine and I am sure there is a sound logic to it, but while Anna is 'finding' herself, I am sitting in a circle with other caregivers pretending a handkerchief is a bird and waving it around. When I look over my shoulder, Anna is just spinning around in a circle in the corner trying to get dizzy. I sighed a big relief when the song ended, hoping the next song would let kids 'find' themselves with drums or something else, then the class leader said, "Let's sing that one again." Fortunately, Anna finally realized that while she was spinning around, another kid took her handkerchief and Anna started to cry. Seeing an opportunity, Daddy quickly relinquished his 'bird' so she would be happy...and of course, I was quickly provided another handkerchief to replace my loss -- back to the birds.

Anna is also a regular at a local coffee shop called Firehook. Every morning we go there and get a banana nut muffin. Anna, of course, knows this and starts calling for her muffin a few blocks before we get there. The staff and many regular customers also know her. One lady who works behind the counter always asks Anna if she wants a muffin and Anna usually yells out for the whole establishment to hear, "Muffin please. Muffin please." This will continue no less than thirty times. Anna calls the person who gives her the daily muffin, "Lady Muffin."

We have also started to teach Anna manners. A story in one of her books talks about some kids (Bop and Bonk) who have bad manners. Well, Anna understands when she has done something that is considered bad manners and will usually recount to Kerry later on the handful of instances where she has had bad manners during the day. Today, she threw a plate on the floor and looked at it on the floor, then looks at me and says, "that's bad manners."

But Anna is also in a catch-22 situation where she knows she shouldn't do some things, but she needs to perform them to learn what not to do. Misbehaving is bad manners, but learning is good. For instance, she likes to imitate previously undiscovered bad manners like rocking in her chair and says, "Bop and Bonk rock in chairs, that's bad manners." Yes, you are right, now stop rocking in the chair....

Ok, here is one more picture of Anna at the building zone in her work clothes.

Anna's swimming is also going very well. For a while, she didn't want to go anymore, but after a few 'forced' swimming lessons, she now loves it. It helped that the last instructor was really good and sang songs while swimming like Row Your Boat and The Wheels on the Bus. We also tell her she is a really good kicker, which she is, and she just starts kicking away whether she is in her stroller, bathtub, or at the swimming pool. All in all, she is having way too much fun as the weather has gotten nicer. Unfortunately, she presently has a cold (her second one since being born) and she doesn't realize that she needs to curtail her active days.