Little Milestones

Several little milestones today. Some are not new for Anna Claire, but for me. Like her shape blocks, I know she can do this because her teachers have told me so, but she NEVER plays with them at home. But today she did. She emptied them all, and within a couple of minutes she had placed them in the right holes and then put them all back in the bucket. I was glad to see it for myself!

Anna Claire also followed a FIRM instruction I gave her today. I say FIRM, because she does things I ask her in a kind tone all the time. When I have repremanded her and ask her to do something in the past, she would scream or cry. Tonight she took her infamous purple crayon over to her kitchen (don't worry- they're washable crayons) and began coloring on her kitchen counter. I said, same as always, "Anna Claire, we color on our paper. No color on kitchen." Normally one of two things would happen. She would keep coloring on the kitchen and look at me to see if I really mean it, or she would color on something else she shouldn't and look at me to see if that was ok. Tonight...breakthrough! She walked (on her knees) to her coloring table, colored on her paper and looked at me and smiled. I told her what I good girl she was! She was proud and I was proud of her!

Later in the evening she held a crayon up to my mouth and said "No no!" She knows we don't eat crayons or put them in our mouths!

We are learning more about "her language" and how she communicates day by day. When a TV show she likes goes off, they are "night night."

"Paci", for some reason, is coming out "totsy." I say "for some reason" because she really does get consonant sounds right in most words.

Anna Claire is parroting me a lot. Tonight I was talking to her about CDs and how someone took my DVDs. She copied back, "CD, CD, CD!" and "DD, DD!" During diaper changes I tell her I always tell her what I am doing, that I am putting on her cream and paste and diaper. She always repeats back, "ceeeeam!" "pace!" and "diada!"

Her favorite words/sounds right now though are "uh oh!" "mmmmmm!" "beep beep!" and especially "awwwwwwwwwww!" She says "awwwwwwww!" whenever she sees a baby or cute animal, when she give/receives a hug, or when you give her blanket or paci. It's really sweet!

Drawer pulls remind her of our door knocker so she always gives them a knock and says "knock, knock." Any handheld electronic or remote is a phone to her. She will hold up to her ear and say "ho?" (hello).

I was listening to a radio dj explain that no one thinks stories about your pet or child are half as funny or cute as you do. I don't know, I think hers are pretty cute!

Oh, I almost forgot the best one. It's the best because I see that it's going to make my life easier. No more WONDERING if she is pooping. Today she looked up at me as she was going and said, "Mama, poop."

Bathtime Woes

I'm reading blogs to figure out how to keep Anna Claire seated during her bath. She wants to walk on her knees from one side of the tub to the other. I see this as unsafe, not to mention how difficult it is to bathe a moving target.

However, what I am reading is to let her be wherever/however she likes and bathe her there, that insisting she sit could be more dangerous and result in a tantrum. One lady also commented that she would calmly but firmly say, "when you stand you are letting Mommy know you are done," then remove her from the bath.

I am certainly open to suggestions after tonight. I must have retrieved and seated her 30 times. I'm pooped!

Our little miracle

Most nights I either read Goodnight Moon or Lullaby Little One to Anna Claire for bedtime story. I forget about Sleep Baby Sleep. She reminded me of it tonight, pointing to it (sitting on the bookshelf) when I held up our two usuals. I always get misty-eyed when I read the last page:

Sleep, Baby, Sleep
Our promises we'll keep
Be the miracle you are
A wish come true on a shooting star
Sleep, Baby, Sleep.

Each time I read those lines, I'm reminded of how true this is. How long we wanted and prayed for Anna Claire and what a blessing she is to our lives...which leads me to Thanksgiving.

Both went well. Anna Claire had a blast at her Aunt Kathy's. She loved eating cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and ice cream. She REALLY loved Aunt Kathy's homemade bread. She had so much fun playing with her cousins and with metal bowls and spoons. She did more walking Thanksgiving night than we have ever seen before. Here's a clip from that night:

Last night we went to Cracker Barrel with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Clint and Aunt Lisa (yes Lisa, you are earning the title!) She enjoyed looking around the gift shop, where she had fun playing with a ball that lights up. The candy was a point of excitement and drama. At dinner, she loved playing with a pair of metal spoons, coloring her kid's menu, and eating lemons. She really loved her mac n'cheese and corn - it was really good. I tried some. Larry and I spent most of the evening playing goalie, retrieving crayons, spoons, and ColorWonder markers from her high chair and floor, but all in all she (and we) had a GREAT time. Just wish I had more time to talk to Grandma. ;)

Here is a little video clip from Thanksgiving dinner last night with Larry's fam - her debut playing spoons.

Easier and Easier

Every day I think being a mommy gets easier. Today Anna Claire was an absolute joy.

Anna Claire loves to color so much - we fingerpainted a turkey yesterday using her handprint. I added the beak, waddle, and feet and glued on a googly eye. She really likes that googly eye. She spent a lot of time this morning coloring over and around it (the turkey, not the eye) with her crayons.

Today I thought about taking her by Walmart to pick up the supplies to make turkey- hand cookies like they've been showing on NickJr, but I felt so weak and sick, I will hold off til tomorrow. I also need to return and renew some of her library books over the weekend. Wonder if they are open on Friday.

During her nap I spent some time online shopping for her for Christmas. I'm wanting to get her her first doll, and some kitchen accessories. I am thinking about getting the Baby Stella doll, which has a magnetic paci, you can get magnetic bottles, feeding set and bathing set for her. I absolutely love this doll. But I told Larry maybe that is not the best doll for her if we are trying to break her of having a paci.

Watching her learn how to talk is so much fun. She is trying to say everything, and we always make a point to repeat back to her what she said, correctly. Then she makes a second attempt. It's important to her that it's right! She has some letter sounds that she isn't able to make yet, so she's substituting other letter sounds or omitting the sound altogether.

Right now I am listening to and watching her sleep on the monitor. I think her paci must have water in it. It's making a crazy squeaking noise. Funny.

11/27/2010: We did end up making the Turkey Hand cookies. Here's how they turned out.


Anna Claire liked the candy corn and the red frosting (waddle) the best. Now when they play that segment and the man asks, "What is our turkey missing?" she says "waddle! waddle! waddle!"

Gaining Confidence

Anna Claire is gaining confidence everyday in her ability to walk independently. This weekend, every time she wanted to get up on her knees to cross the room, I've asked her if she wants to walk and offer my fingers. She pulls up, and we cross the room. Today at "school", her teacher said she would pull to standing when asked and walk holding just one finger. I expect to walk into her class any day now, and for them to tell me she has been walking all over the place.

She also became extremely attached to her paci and blanket during her two week illness earlier this month. We allowed her to have them nonstop, and are now paying the price. We have gone back to only allowing them at bedtime, which is resulting in tears in the car, when snuggling, and during Mommy/Anna Claire reading time. I know it will get easier, but the past two days have been rough.

Today she enjoyed playing in her kitchen, stirring good things to eat and having Mommy taste them. She had fun coloring and fingerpainting. Since reading Harold and the Purple Crayon, she has a definite preference for her purple crayon.


I am looking forward to spend this long weekend with my precious girl and to share traditions and excitement of the holiday season with her!

October/November Update

Not sure where to begin, but Anna Claire and I have both been through our fair share of health-related issues this month (stomach virus for her and kidney infection and sciatic nerve pain for me). It has been a physically tiring month, but also exciting watching this sweet baby girl learn so many new things every day.

Anna Claire is now able to read the majority of the YBCR words, and many other words, simply from repeated exposure to them in books. I just finished editing a video for her in iMovie, using the same format as YBCR, but with words that are important to her in her world. I can't wait for her to see it. She is also the star of the video, along with Kitty and many of her toys. I think she will be very excited.

We have wanted a toy kitchen for Anna Claire for several months now. We were so blessed that our friend Gan's daughter had no interest in her toy kitchen, he offered it to us for Anna Claire. We drove to Brentwood last weekend to pick it up, and she absolutely loves it. She is not able to reach the microwave or open the top cabinets yet, but there are so many other features she can enjoy, that she does not care.

We are currently working on good manners and nice hands. She wants to throw her toys (and food at mealtime). She also wants to pull Kitty's tail and grab faces. She REALLY loves praise, wants to please, and seems remorseful right away when scolded, so it is getting better.

Walking. Not yet. She does not want to, but will walk for long distances holding mine or Larry's fingers. After talking to my cousin last week, who is a physical therapist, I became concerned. He said that walking on her knees for so long will cause her to walk on her tip toes and not properly develop the muscles in her legs that children use naturally by walking flat-footed. He said she may need PT if she doesn't start walking soon. But he also suggested an exercise I can do with her after bathtime each night to help her develop those muscles. She really likes the exercise. It's sort of a massage and stretch similar to some we do in yoga class. In fact, after I put on her Baby Aquaphor she sticks her feet in the air for me to do the exercise. It's cute.

Don't get me wrong. I am HIGHLY motivated to get this kiddo walking. My doctor suggested that carrying a 23 lb. baby, who isn't walking yet, could be part of reason I'm experiencing the sciatic pain. I fully intend on pushing through this pain, because I plan on being a very physically active Mommy.