What Anna Claire likes and can do right now.

Anna Claire loves:
1. Playing with the garden hose and helping me water our flower and vegetable garden. She enjoys her watering can at bath time too.
2. Cheese. And she can specify which type she would like by the proper name: "cheddah", American, string, jack, mah-rella.
3. Elmo.
4. Books: Pinkalicious, Dora books, Llama Llama, Caillou!
5. Getting candy for going potty.
6. Circle game. Pics to come. It's a game Anna Claire invented that she and I play daily involving ribbons, a flashlight and a yo-yo.
7. This sounds generic, but new experiences. For example, this week it was Monkey's Treehouse, the magician at the Red Barn and watching airplanes take off.
8. Preparing toy food meals for Teddy Bear and Pooh Bear.
9. Doughnut shop and Walmart mornings. My girl love Shipley's. No surprise since their doughnut holes satisfied my pregnancy cravings. She will ask us to go to Walmart daily. She loves that place and believes they have literally everything. Any time something breaks or we need something, Anna Claire says, "Go Walmart," matter-of-factly.
10. Going anywhere with Mommy AND Daddy.

Anna Claire can:
1. Say her alphabet. She will leave out several letters unless she is really concentrating. But I heard her sing the entire song at a diaper change last night, correctly.
2. Count to ten. Together we have counted to 15.
3. Speak in complete sentences, 5-7 words in length. Words are very clear.
4. Run now bending her knees, and is putting more weight on the bottom of her foot. This may sound strange, but she was late to walk and so I stay concerned about her physical development. Prior to this week she was still walking stiff-legged on tiptoes, so I am relieved and excited!
5. Take risks. She is wanting to try more physically. A month ago, she wouldn't dare attempt to climb a on playset/playground, nor would she pedal a tricycle. Now she WANTS to master both.
6. Blow bubbles. I am excited for her that she is finally figuring it out.
7. Narrate for me what she is drawing/writing. Because she can articulate so clearly what she is thinking, I've started scripting what she tells me while she is drawing on the actual piece of art. I love how much more meaningful it makes it.
8. Pet an animal gently. This has taken some work, but the cats no longer run the other way when they see her coming. She is so excited they let her pet them!
9. Tell us when she is pottying. Now if we can just get her to tell us BEFORE.
10. Identify just about any fruit or vegetable. Or food for that matter. That would be thanks to her Daddy!