Saturday, January 29, 2011

Boo-Boo Lip. :(

This morning I took Anna Claire outside to play and enjoy the sunshine. She is NOT wanting to hold my hand anymore, so against my better judgment, I let her head out toward the backyard and trailed right behind her.

We weren't outside for 5 minutes before we had a fall and busted lip. Anna Claire was fine after a couple of minutes. Mommy, on the other hand, was still teary-eyed 10-15 minutes after the fact.

I guess I could have prevented it, and grabbed that little hand anyway, but I do have a determined little girl who wants to do it "mysel", and I feel inclined to let her try.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Anna Claire's Duet with Kitty


Here, Anna Claire and Kitty make their debut. I thought it was absolutely precious and was so excited to capture it on video. Had to share!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Books, Books, Books!

What do you at home all day with your toddler? Mine wants to read!

Today Anna Claire had me read Someday three times (Why does the tear-jerker have to be my child's favorite? I still can't get through it with dry eyes!), Over in the Meadow by Ezra Jack Keats, twice, Twinkle Toes by Karen Katz three times, and Dora the Explorer: Super Babies, three times.

She also had me read Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Night Cars, Pat the Bunny (We read "Judy's Book" three times, lol), Gingerbread Man, Peek-a-Boo, I Love You, Winnie the Pooh: Opposites, Pooh's Sled Ride and the whole nursery rhymes pop-up book. I know there were others, but these are the ones that come to mind.

Pooh's Sled Ride WAS Anna Claire's favorite book for weeks, but it's funny how books fall in and out of favor with her. She will have me read favorites OVER and OVER until she burns herself out on them. Tonight when I read Pooh, she kept saying "Nigh nigh" which is Anna Claire-speak for "let's get this over with." I'm gonna miss reading it to her, because when we got to the part where Christopher Robin held Piglet tight, Anna Claire would always exclaim "tigh! tigh!", grab my hands and pull them around her waist, insisting that I hold her "tigh" too. Sadly, I will be returning Pooh to the Public Library on its due date, and maybe on the lookout for a Valentine's Day one.

To wrap up our day of reading, of course at bedtime I read Anna Claire a bedtime story, Lullaby, Lullaby, Little One, one of the three bedtime books we keep on rotation (to include Goodnight Moon and Sleep, Baby, Sleep.

I love reading to her, and perhaps more than that, I love that she loves being read to.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Whoa, Whoa! We're Still Groovin'

These poor birds are so confused with this crazy Tennessee weather. Bad for the birds, exciting for Anna Claire. She loves seeing so many birds in the sky each morning on our drive to school. She heard me say "whoa!" once a few months ago when we spotted THOUSANDS of birds overhead. Ever since, whenever we see birds, 10 or 10,000, she will exclaim, "Whoa whoa! Whoa whoa!"

I also love how Anna Claire still "grooves" every morning on her way to school. Her favorite songs to groove to are Hollaback Girl (she also loves chanting "Nana!" during the part where the spell "banana") and I Gotta Feeling (Kidz Bop versions of both songs).

For those not in the know, "grooving" is AC's signature dance move, where she bobs her head side to side, in sort of a circular motion.

The term grooving was coined by Larry Averitt. Grooving originated approximately six months ago when listening to the theme song to Nick Jr's Little Bill.

I will try to upload a video of the grooving when I can.

Friday, January 14, 2011

We'll miss you, Miss Leah

My heart is heavier today than I anticipated, knowing that today was Miss Leah's last day as Anna Claire's teacher.

I do have total faith in the owners to choose great teachers for our children and already like and trust Anna Claire's new teacher, Miss Ashley, so that is a huge plus. However, it takes time to build the level of trust and communication that I felt we had with Leah.

I felt I could tell or ask Leah anything, and loved that she was always completely honest with us about Anna Claire. She also took the time to tell me funny anecdotes that happened that day, and just made me feel connected to whatever was happening with my little girl in the class that day. More surprisingly, young Leah, almost half my age, has managed to become my friend in a relatively short period time.

Leah wrote a farewell letter to each child's family, and I'd like share an excerpt from the letter she wrote to ours:

I cannot even begin to explain how much I am going to miss your little girl. Anna Claire has taught me so much, and has reallly shown me how fast you can falll in love with children....Being able to witness her walk was my only wish I had before I left...seeing her grow up into a toddler has definitely been rewarding and fulfilling.

I will miss you, Leah. These babies have been well-loved and nurtured, and the end result, for me, is my happy walker, Anna Claire. Thank you for everything and keep in touch!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Everything is Night Night.

Teachers at both school and church have commented to me that Anna Claire says "nigh nigh" (night night) all the time. And they would be correct. She does.

I have found though, that "nigh nigh" means many, many different things, and almost never means she's tired. I would say, for one, Anna Claire is most definitely confusing night night for bye bye. I would also say she is personifying inanimate objects, and to her, it can mean something is over.

When credits roll on one of her shows, or when a closing song begins playing, that TV show is "nigh nigh." For example, when the Fresh Beat Band begins to sing "Great Day", they are "nigh nigh".

In the car, when a song is almost over, it is "nigh nigh."

When someone leaves the room or is about to leave the room, they are nigh nigh.

My favorite nigh nigh use is when we are at the doctor's office and Dr. Roads needs to check Anna Claire's ears or nose, which she dislikes, she chants "nigh nigh, nigh nigh, nigh nigh, nigh nigh!" until he is done. Same thing when I have to take her temp. It's too funny.

I have used "nigh nigh" for my own self-serving purposes. For example, when I want her to leave the suction cup fishies alone on the bottom of the tub, I tell her they are nigh nigh. She will reply, "Awww....nigh nigh!" And manuever around them in the bathtub so she does not wake them up. It is SO cute.

Another way this has served us - when we need Anna Claire to put away a toy, all we have to do is tell her it's time for it to go night night. And she's good with it! No tears or power struggle. EVER.

Although we are working with her on understanding the difference between bye bye and night night, I personally love nigh nigh!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Found Items Still Reign Supreme

The big hit today was the BOX containing Anna Claire's new table and chairs - a late gift from Santa. She was so excited to see the box, and had such a good time climbing on top of it, and leaving her mark with her infamous purple crayon, that we said to heck with putting the set together. We just let her enjoy her new "climber". :)


Leaving her mark with Ole Purple




Queen of the Mountain




"Arrrr...I be seein' ye wit me telescope....arrrr...."




Just a few finishing touches...

Thursday, January 6, 2011

18 Month Checkup

The one milestone I was praying Anna Claire would reach prior to this doctor visit, was obviously that she would be walking. I was SO proud to answer that question in the affirmative when asked by the doc!

She was SO well-behaved during our 15 minute pitstop in the waiting room, and Great while the nurse and doctor were asking us questions. We still melted down on the scale and when they have to measure her. I don't get why she dislikes it so much. I will say that on the one occasion we took her to the Gov. Square location, they gave her a Yo Gabba Gabba sticker and that seemed to thwart the freak-out. I told the nurses about the sticker method our past 2 visits, but I guess they apparently did not think it was as ingenious as I did, as we still did not receive a sticker.

We were surprised to learn that Anna Claire has and ear infection in both ears, as she has been showing no signs of discomfort and has been extremely happy and energetic. Dr. Roads prescribed her "the pink stuff" which we refer to as "milkshake" and Anna Claire absolutely loves. He also wrote us a script for when she has a runny nose. I was so excited about this and was unaware there was anything prescribed or not that we could give her for this.

Dr. Roads also noticed that Anna Claire has ALL of the teeth that we can expect to come in until the age of 2. Hurray! Six months of relief for my girl, and for Mommy and Daddy! Anna Claire had to have a flu shot this go round. By the time she actually received the shot, we had been there an hour, and she was expiring anyway. I think it made it easier for me that she was already fretful and crying to leave when they gave her the shot. I still can't watch, and literally FEEL her pain.

Otherwise, I think I can speak for both Larry and myself when I say we were elated to hear HOW advanced Anna Claire is, cognitively, compared to other children her age. We, her doting parents, naturally think Anna Claire is special, and sharp, and PERFECT! It is just oh so extremely satisfying to hear it from someone who has seen it all and knows what is "normal" for this age range.

I am including (finally) a couple of Flip videos I managed to get of her reading some words as I was writing them on paper. I hope to get more here in the next few days and post, and should have an easier time doing so now that we have the tripod. :)



Walk, walk, walk. It's fun, fun, fun.

We are SO getting there! Anna Claire is just as excited I think as we are.

Yesterday she took eight unassisted steps at school, and a couple here and there with them today. At home tonight she kept knee-walking over to wherever I was sitting, grab one of my fingers, pull, and say "up!" She wanted me to walk everywhere with her, but just one finger. She wanted the other hand free! Up until tonight she has wanted to hold on to both of my hands, and if I let go of either one she would get so mad at me. So this is really a turning point!

I have to admit I will miss her little patches on the knees of her jeans. But people who say not to wish time away and that I will miss her knee-walking, honestly aggravate the heck out of me, because yes it is so cute to see her walk on her knees - very entertaining. However, it is painful for her. Her knees stay bruised. The outdoor area at school is paved. It is I will not miss her homeless-looking, hole-in-the-toe shoes. No, back pain, I will not miss you (toting a 25-pounder everywhere I go is not really helping out with my pinched nerve and sciatica).

Oh, I can't wait to see her in dresses, skirts, leggings, tights, boots! Cute, cute, cute! This cutie is going to be even cuter!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

She's WALKING!!



Anna Claire IS walking!

One of her daycare teachers commented that it's like someone just flipped a switch and she took off. She is walking EVERYWHERE. Sometimes she wants you to hold her hand, but rarely. Anna Claire can stand in the middle of the room by herself for long periods of time without holding on to anything for support. You can tell she has a confidence now and is so proud of herself, and we are, of course, proud of her too!

You know, I had a family member comment awhile back that I should be concerned that AC was not walking and that physical therapy may eventually be necessary. It shouldn't have, but the comment really did affect me. I honestly would look at my clock at school, and think, "Anna Claire is probably outside right now. On the pavement. On her knees. Dear Lord, please let her walk soon." But my child IS fine. She has had the ABILITY to do this for a LONG time, but had to have the DESIRE. Nothing wrong with my girl!

I'm including pics in this post of a walking Anna Claire, and video too if I can find a good one. :)



Sunday, January 2, 2011

A New Year

It's hard to think about a new year without thinking of how the changes I hope to make will impact Anna Claire. In fact, most of the changes I intend to make are BECAUSE of her.

One: FAMILY. I want Anna Claire to know and love mine and Larry's extended families and for them to know her. I have done a lousy job of putting forth the effort to make this happen, but I fully plan to improve this. I think it's just so easy to get caught up in the daily grind and forget what's REALLY important. This change will be good for Larry, myself, and our parents too!

Two: ORGANIZATION and CLEANING. I am doing some MAJOR reorganization and cleaning around here. I figure if I spend less time finding things we need on a daily basis, I'll have more quality time to spend with Anna Claire! I will also be less stressed and a better Mommy. One of my favorite quotes I used to share with my eighth graders: A cluttered environment creates a cluttered mind. A clean, orderly environment allows for a clear mind. Oh, I am still a nerd. And proud of it.

Three: BUDGET. We are going to really look at spending and where we can pare down. That way we can look ahead at things we will need for Anna Claire as she continues to transition to toddlerhood. Gear for kiddos is expensive!

I believe in setting clear intentions every new year, but with Anna Claire, I know I will be more inclined to keep them. I am very optimistic about the year ahead and that it is sure to be the best one yet. My life does keep getting better all the time.