Christmas 2010

We have had such a special Christmas this year, DESPITE pink eye!! There are some good things that come from being confined, like enjoying our time as a threesome and having nothing to do and nowhere to be except in the moment with each other.

On Christmas Eve, we started out by following same tradition as last year: she gets to open a book, a pair of pajamas, and a toy. (Anna Claire was not able to open the gifts herself. I had to undo the tape, then she would rip off the paper.)
This year the book was her favorite library book, Max's Bedtime (I always try out books first at the public library before buying!) She also opened her snowman pajamas, and a set of toy cupcakes. She absolutely went nuts for the cupcakes.

We knew she'd like them, but if we'd known how much, we'd have got them sooner. I was actually all done Christmas shopping for her last Sunday, but spending the week with her out of school, I noticed whenever I asked her what she was making in her kitchen, she'd say "cu-cakes!" I told Larry Friday morning, that we needed to try to find cu-cakes for this child while we were out if at all possible. Toys R Us had one set left, and they are awesome. They have interchangable frosting and come in a muffin pan. She loves dumping them out and putting them back in - and they just BARELY fit in her oven.

Oh, I made actual chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and chocolate chips for her too, of course. This was to offset the possible meltdown that would insue after discovering that toy cupcakes are not edible. :)



Christmas morning, We loved waking up to see a beautiful blanket of snow out our window and large fluffy snow still falling. So nice to spend the entire morning in PJs.

When Anna Claire first woke up, I wondered if she'd want breakfast or presents first, and I guess the best answer is BOTH. She had a hurried breakfast, then wanted "uh" (up). She went straight for the tree at this point...she was happy to see the presents under the tree.

We just put half of the gifts under Christmas morning, because Meme (Nene) funded a great deal of what Santa brought this year and we wanted her to see them get opened. I also think we did a good job of not overwhelming Anna Claire by letting her open things at her own pace. She would open a toy and immediately want to play with it, then we'd wait until she came back over to give her the next. I think Larry and I had as much fun as she did. It helped that I took a friend's advice and wrapped all toys removed from their packaging with batteries already in them so she could play with something as soon as she opened it. What great advice!

Round one: She opened her stocking containing her Biscuit Christmas book, Ni Hao Kai Lan Bubbles (non-spill!), butterfly mirrors for dress-up center, holiday stickers, and a candy cane full of chocolates.

Next, Melissa and Doug Vehicles puzzle that makes the vehicles' sounds when you place the pieces, Once Upon a Potty book, 2 pairs of pajamas, two pairs of pants, and a wooden book caddy for her board books (surprised how much she liked this! Maybe they make her books feel even more special?)

Then, the finale for round one...a giant purple crayon!! SHE LOVED IT! She did exactly as we suspected and went straight to her coloring table to see if it really colored. So darn cute.



Later on, we took walks outside in the snow and came in to warm up with yummy hot chocolate(her first time trying hot(warm for Anna Claire) chocolate.)

Round two: (Meme arrives) Anna Claire got the most amazing Nursery Rhymes pop-up book. It is so cool, I'm including pictures in this blog for you later when I get the chance (yes, it is THAT cool).

We called Step2 and they were willing and able to sell us ALL of the accessories that came with the kitchen Gan gave us. We are fully up and running. What she loves best is the burner that really lights up and bubbles when you place their special pots/pans on top. Anna Claire also got the Step2 Food Bundle which is freakin' awesome. I never had toy food so cool when I was a kid. The only complaint that the three of us have is that the hot dog CANNOT be removed from the bun - seriously? She keeps handing it to us, saying "Out! Out!" Poor baby. Finally, she got Potsy the Pot, which I already love. It is so cute, sings to her, and fits in well with her kitchen.

Round three: Grandma's house! Anna Claire once again opened gifts in phases, playing with cat toys, Papoo's cast iron stove, and Larry and Clint's old toy train and elephant in between. :) One of my favorite things that she got from Grandma was the Crayola Color Me a Song. It's the thing that plays music faster as she colors faster. Best part is it comes with washable crayons. The crayons are triangular-shaped so that made them a novelty to AC. Good thinking, Grandma!! <3

Grandma also got Anna Claire two Christmas tree shaped books (one Dora, one Spongebob) which she loved! Both books have flaps throughout that reveal hidden pictures. So cool.

She got clothes many other fun things like holiday hacky sacks, a puzzle, and a teddy bear.

She got her first doll! Baby Stella. I blogged about Stella a few weeks back - she is neat because she comes with a magnetic paci, bottle, diapers, a pack of "wipes", teddy bear, pajamas...basically anything a baby would have, you can get for Stella. I love her already. I wonder if Anna Claire sees Stella's paci and thinks "I want my paci." We are in the process of breaking her of paci, so I'm thinking maybe about the time the paci fairy comes to get Anna Claire's paci, she gets Stella's too, and they both get lots of goodies when they wake up in the morning, sort of like the tooth fairy. I so stole this idea from Supernanny.

One final note: I have enjoyed reading Christmas books with Anna Claire, so much so, I am sort of sad to pack them up for next year, as I will be when we take down decorations. Thanks to the books, school, Nick Jr, and a set of plastic holiday cookie cutters we got her first of December, she recognizes and can name Santa, sleigh, reindeer, elves, snowman, sled, Christmas tree, and candy cane.

Nene's Christmas Tree and the China Buffet

Today we went to "Nene's" house to help put together and decorate her Christmas tree. Anna Claire loved being there. She didn't walk much on her own today, but was constantly grabbing my hand to walk around and explore Nene's house, and pulling up on the furniture a lot.

She seemed to have the most fun crawling right up to the TV. At home, she physically is not able to get too close to the TV because we have created a wall of toys to limit how close she can get. I think until today she really thought she could "skidoo" into the TV just like Steve and Blue on Blue's Clues. She looked so disappointed when she touched the TV and nothing happened. She also kept trying to give Kai Lan a kiss.

The Christmas lights were also a huge hit with her, we closely supervised and allowed her to play briefly with a strand of lights. That made her whole day. And she was sweet about giving them back when we needed them for the tree. Here is a pic!


After we left my mom's, we took Anna Claire to the New China Buffet in Oak Grove (mom lives near Gate 1, Ft. Campbell). She LOVED it. More importantly, she loved crab. Larry and I were both so stoked. We are shellfish fanatics, so we naturally want our child to be as well. Grapes and mandarin oranges came in a close second. Anna Claire also enjoyed watching all of the people, especially the waitstaff, who were stationed right behind us. They kept smiling, waving and talking to her, and she ate up the attention. One huge hurrah: NO food, I repeat, NO food under the table when we left. First time since I have had her that we've taken her to a restaurant and we haven't left embarrassed for the mess she left on the floor. What a big girl she is getting to be. Oh, and she loved getting to go in the ladies room and wash her hands. That was a really big deal for some reason!

Sweet Memories

I need to jot these down in case I forget. (Btw, is it still "jotting" if you're typing? Or do you need to be writing by hand to jot?? Hmmmm....)

Last night, Anna Claire was carried her purple and blue crayons over to her coloring table. Larry thoughtfully brought the other 6 over to her. She looked up and said, "tank oo!" I love it!

Momma brought Anna Claire a Build-a-Bear box full of little stuffed animals. Now, everytime Anna Claire pulls out an animal from the box, she holds it up and says, "Nee-Nee!" And I say, "That's right! Nee Nee gave those to you!" (Grandkids call my mom Meme, but this comes out Nee-Nee when she says it. Nee Nee it is. Too cute.)

Anna Claire says "Awwww" anytime she picks up her blanket, sees me or her daddy, or anything she loves. We think it is how she says "I love you" right now.

I am sure I will think of more, but it is time to go to her Christmas performance!

Anna Claire and the Purple Crayon

Today, Anna Claire once again was all about drawing. She loves that she can just point at the drawer where the crayons are kept and we will get them for her. We love that when she moves away from her art table with crayons in hand, we can say, "Anna Claire, it's time for your crayons to go night-night" and she'll hand them over with no fuss. We can then put them back on the table for her to use later. What a good girl!

She continues to favor her purple crayon, but branched out today by trying a little black and blue. Larry gave her 5 sheets of plain white paper. She was SO excited to have so many sheets at once. I normally give her one sheet of color wonder at a time, but his paper contribution reminded me of how blonde I can be. We don't have color wonder crayons. They are Crayola washable crayons and they totally work on plain paper. Duh!

We like giving Anna Claire plain paper to see what she can create, as opposed to coloring pages. After talking to my dental hygenist friend, I'm rethinking this. She said her daughter who is now 4, could color a picture of Barney and stay in the lines by the time she was 2. I'd like to see how early we can develop this skill as well. Purple will most likely be the color of choice.

She also will follow simple instructions. For example, she will now move her purple crayon in a circular motion if you ask her to draw a circle. Nowhere near drawing one, but I think it's pretty smart of her to know the direction. Or if I say "dot, dot, dot" she will make dots with her crayon.

Today I loved how important it was to Anna Claire to name EVERYTHING. She was constantly looking around the room, pointing out objects and telling me what they were: ights, chee, nana, piwhoa, awa, jink, nack, eyes, ca-cane, ipes (lights, tree, banana, pillow, water, drink, snack, eyes, candy cane, wipes) There were many more, but these are the first that come to mind. So cute.

Tonight, after bath, Anna Claire was walking unassisted across the room ALL OVER the place. We were so proud of her!

I can't believe we're out of school again tomorrow. I want to get out of the house since main roads are clear and do some fun things with my girl.

Organizing Toddler Books

Loving this to organize Anna Claire's books!

http://www.landofnod.com/Favorites/

Dear Santa,

Since Anna Claire is not old enough to write Santa a letter or list of things she would like, I am glad and willing to do this for her (and having fun doing it, I might add!)

One of her favorite things to do is to play in her play-kitchen. I'm thinking some added accessories could make it even more fun. We also would like to organize her toys and books better so she can get to them more easily.

https://www.walmart.com/giftregistry/gr_detail.do?registryId=86163330551

As much as she loves coloring and anything art-related, I am thinking Anna Claire would ask Santa for and easel http://www.toysrus.com/wishlist/wishlistdetails/index.jsp?overrideStore=TRUS&wishlistId=30809875
and a table and chairs. I am thinking dark finish.
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/my-first-table-and-chairs/?pkey=rromplymfs

I am looking forward to the holiday season and love how much more exciting it is with a child, seeing everything through her eyes!

Baby steps, yes/Baby no cry/Baby no sick

What a title for a blog entry. You can tell I'm tired!

Anna Claire is now taking 3,4,5,6 steps at a time, unassisted. So proud of her! When I hold one hand, she will walk around forever. And now that my back is on the mend, I can do this much more! (with the sciatic nerve pain it was very painful to hunch over so she could walk)

It is hard for me to leave Anna Claire at daycare in the mornings because she always cries when I leave. I know hanging around isn't the answers, and teachers tell me she is fine within a few minutes after I leave. It's still hard! What's harder is that she cries when I pick her up. I am SO happy to see her and I want her to be happy to see me. I know she loves me and how much fun we have together, so to gain some understanding and sanity about this, I've done some reading. Many articles/publications say that for some babies/toddlers, their tears are their way of letting us know they missed us. That is how I choose to take it!

Anna Claire has had a pretty bad cough the past week or so, but only when she's sleeping. Because she is still too little for cough syrup, I opted to try honey, which the AAP recommends giving. Seems to help. She is, of course, still teething, and unfortunately we are getting diarrhea along with that. We gave here a bratty dinner to help firm things up on that end.

I am really loving how Anna Claire can communicate, but more than that, I love the look of satisfaction on her face when she realizes she's communicated effectively. Prime exapmle, tonight she said "ights" (lights) and looked up at the Christmas lights. Then looked at the lamp and said "ah" (off). Lights off! I turned off the lamp and she was so happy. She is still saying poop when she has pee or poop diaper, but this is still VERY helpful!

Seething Teething and Back Flack

Between her teething pain and my back pain, we are quite a pair.

Anna Claire is getting 4 molars. The better to eat with? Sure, but she is really hurting this time. She is drooling like crazy and do we ever know when her Motrin has worn off. I am always glad when these periods are over. And not just because I hate to see my child in pain, but because I am paranoid about medication. I know prolonged use of pain reliever is not good for her liver.

She has never taken to teething rings or cold/frozen rings. She does love a frozen waffle! That has been her daily treat, but maybe a trip for ice cream is in order.

Only we'll need somebody to carry BOTH of us...

Two goofy 7th graders were play-fighting in the hall yesterday and one of them ran into me - retriggering my sciatic nerve pain. I was SO mad. Yes, I wrote them up.

I can't pick Anna Claire up, and she is still not walking completely unassisted. A few steps here and there, but very inconsistent. She will look at me and say, "Mama, Mama, Mama, up!" wanting me to pick her up. I am handling it by staying on the floor on her level, and calling Larry when I need to pick her up to move to another room or put her in/take her out of the bathtub.

I am reading everything I can get my hands on about how to treat nerve pain/pinched nerve/bulging disc. We are still not clear on exactly what I have. If the pain is still with me end of month, I'll schedule an MRI. I NEED to pick up, hold, carry, and love my baby!

Bye-bye patches, hello tights!

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 would knee-walk 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. I will not miss her homeless-looking, hole-in-the-toe shoes. No, back pain, I will not miss you.

Oh, I can't wait to see her in dresses, skirts, leggings, tights, boots! Maybe I CAN enroll her in the 18 month to three-year-old gymnastics!!