Anna's Birthday Parties

So Anna had a birthday on November 26. But one party wasn't enough. She required three.

Here's a highlight of the photos. You can see all of them here.


Our friend Jen Lederle made this cake for Anna. It was awesome!














Here is Anna eating that awesome cake. She had a great time.

Here is Anna having fun with balloons.

Here is Anna with her toy ice cream truck (Leapfrog) from Mimi and Papa. Anna loves this thing. And mommy and daddy get to have "ice cream truuuck, da dada da daaaa" stuck in their head all day. But it really is fun. Anna will go around the house for at least 20 minutes before asking to stop. She's even trying to do tricks now by standing up while we push her.

And when Curt asks Anna to find the colors (Red Cherry, Blue Bluberry, Green Lime, and Orange Orange), she pushes the right buttons!

Alas, she has not done this for anyone else. . . . I think it is her signal that she wants to start a super-secret society of super-geniuses (like the Illuminati, only cooler) with her daddy. We'll get to work on that.

Yesterday...

I got a bath tray from mom and dad that you can put all your "bath-y" things on while you relax.

Got home today and realized it had a BOOK HOLDER on it!!!!!!!!!!
Hence the expression:

To those who wonder...

What do you DO all day?

I, as a full-time parent, do the same things you do. It just takes me a thousand times longer.

Observe:
This is an example of Anna and I trying to get out the door to run errands.
She is just waking up from her nap. And of course all our outings are based on her nap schedule.

Sometimes inconvenient...

I walk in.
We have to play or kiss through the bars of her crib because we haven't seen each other in 1.5 hours and because it's fun ev-er-y-time!!!!
She instructs me to open the window, as is our tradition (Standing up, pointing at window, "dat!"). "You are my sunshine....." I sing as I do this, as is required.

I lay her on her changing table to take of her jammies and change her diaper.
She understands this as "naked time" and wiggles and wiggles till I give in and plop her on the floor in her birthday suit.
I then hand her her dirty diaper, carefully rolled up, because SHE wants to be the one to throw it away.
Knowing what follows, I distract her from throwing other things in the diaper container as well. (Taking whatever she grabs away, over and over, while I dart back and forth to the closet looking for an outfit.)

I finally grab her after choosing an outfit. She signs for "milk". I sigh and give in, knowing she didn't eat much breakfast and that we'll be out for a while before lunch.
I wrestle her to the ground to get a diaper on her.
She protests.
I WIN (because I'm NOT nursing her bare bottomed. We all KNOW where that would go).

I sit for five minutes while she nurses and I run through my mind everything else I need to do before I can walk out the door.
She gets down. I go to the kitchen to pack a little baggie of food, again mindful that we'll be gone for a while close to lunch. (One of my many genius ideas I thought of while we sat on the couch nursing.)

Meanwhile she wanders away, still clad in only a diaper.

I notice how gnarley her fingernails are as she hands me something she pulled out of the kitchen cabinet. "Can I take her out with nails that bad?" "What if someone sees them?" "It'll just take a few more minutes."

Nah..... (Fingernails stay nasty)

I fetch her outfit and socks and shoes. I found an unopened toy from her birthday and unwrapped it (to keep her captivated while I dressed her).
(It worked, of course.)

She's now fully dressed and wandering off down the hall.

I fetch my socks and shoes, thanking myself again for showering and dressing during her morning nap so I can get out so..... quickly? later on.

Meanwhile, I noticed the bathroom door is open and she's nowhere in sight. I find her unraveling the toilet paper and reaching for the plunger.

"Ewww Ewww!" I tell her for the thousandth time while carting her out of the bathroom and shutting the door.

Finally I manage to get my socks and shoes on while she messes with something else.
I wrestle her into her coat.
Grab her bag of food and water cup.
Manage to find BOTH my car keys and cell phone and stick them in my coat pocket.
I and THRILLED with myself for actually remembering the item I need to return this trip and including it in our load of things to take.

I pick her up and carry her down the stairs, into the garage, and shove her into her car seat (still facing backwards for safety - hard to wrestle her into.)

Manage to hold her down and yet get all the straps in the right places (putting Cirque Du Soleil to shame with my contortions) while looking around for a toy to hand her when done to keep her happy with being strapped in.

Pick up all our other supplies and shove them in the other door.

Huff around the side of the car and into the driver's seat.

Sigh with relief. Sigh with frustration when I see how late it is.

Turn on the car and go.

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Now, I imagine most of you (besides Aunt Emily) needed to run an errand. You grabbed your purse and coat and left.

Was it fun? How nice for you.

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And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is what we do all day (and why we never accomplish anything).

Okkkkaaayyyy. I have a toddler

I've been in denial for a while about having a toddler. "I have a BABY!!!" is what I frequently whined as my family marveled at Anna's advanced development.

But I've finally accepted the fact that I no longer have a baby. Here's why:
This morning, Anna
-Declined her morning nursing for the second day in a row.
-Saw me "feed" her baby doll with the baby gas drops bottle and has now been feeding all her babies all morning. (She doesn't have the knack of burping them yet, so they have spit up all over the place ;-)
-Saw me pick up her large teddy bear and dance to music and immediately grabbed a stuffed frog and twirled around the living room.
-Tries so hard to communicate and is frustrated by her limited ability. When she wants something and wants it now, she'll sign in rapid succession in the vain hope I finally catch on to what she wants! "Help" "Please" "More" "Help" "Please"!!!
-She told me the other day she wanted breakfast. We were following daddy around as he got ready for work and suddenly she stopped what she was doing and signed "Eat".
-We frequently listen to NPR in the mornings. Do NOT ask Anna for her opinion of what Gov. Blagojevich did. She'll go on and on. Well, NPR switches over to music at 9am. The first song yesterday was an organ song. She immediately stopped what she was doing, looked at the radio, looked over at my Grandparent's organ, and walked over to the organ and pointed and it and wanted to play it. What a smart girl!!!



Three cheers for my little baby... I mean toddler!

One year visit:

Round One:
Ear infection vs. Amoxicillin
Ear infection wins

Round Two:
Ear infection vs. Cefdinir (a stronger antibiotic)
FIGHT!!!

We had a great day together, though the shots at her one year appointment were looming in the back of my mind. We get there, play ever so patiently and good sportedly through 45 minutes of waiting for the doctor to tell me she's healthy (besides the ear infection) and growing like a weed.

"This little piggy went to the market...."
"Round and round the garden...."
"No Anna.."
"Don't put the paper in your mouth..."
"This little pi... no Anna!"
"This lit..... TICKLE"

Then came the shots. Still not as bad as that first time. You only cried for about three minutes and it wasn't the screeching howl it was when you were itty bitty and shocked out of your mind. As a mature one year old, you can handle a little bit of pain.
THEN
the doctor suggested an optional test for iron deficiency where they'd draw a vial of blood. I though, "No WAY!" But the doctor gave me that look, knowing what I was thinking, and told me all three of his kids got it done downstairs and were in and out in no time. No big deal.

In my head: "No way!"
What I actually said: "Sure, might as well be sure."

So we headed downstairs, you pushing the elevator button for the first time and me walking like we were on the green mile. A little boy (age 4 or 5) went in before you and howled and cried and you looked at the closed door with such a little look of empathy my heart broke. You toddled over to the door and put your hand on it.

Then came our turn. The little lady was so nice. She gave you an extra arm band thingy/rubber band to play with.
They tied your arm - you started to get nervous and whimpery (you DID just get shots. You aren't dumb).
She got the needle in there fast and pulled it out into position, AND...
...
Nothing.
She moved the needle a bit.
Nothing.
She moved it some more.
Nothing.
She pulled it out a little.
Nothing.
She put it in at a new angle.
Nothing.

FOR

TWO (read: one bazillion)

MINUTES

This whole time you are crying and thrashing around a little, trying to get your beautiful little arm free. You start howling. I start breathing faster. My soothing words come out higher pitched. I take my eyes off the needle, now making me dizzy as I watch it move around under your skin.
I worry about the little boy outside, who is hearing you and who still has another stick to go, or maybe his didn't work the first time...

EITHER!

It didn't work. They took the needle out. No blood in the vial. I swallow my stomach which is now in my throat and hold you to my chest as you cry. The mom guilt part of me threatens to punch myself in the face.

They put a tie around your other arm. The nurse looks at me apologetically as you start to wail again (no needle this time, but you know what's coming). The little boy outside is wailing now listening to Anna. Thankfully, they can't feel a vein good enough to try again. I think, "Thank GOD!" and "Never again!" and the words "recommended, not required" keep running through my head, eating away at my mommy self confidence.

They say, "you can reschedule in a few days". In my head: "I can reschedule... NEVER!" I scoop you up and we rush out. I don't even look at the mom holding the crying little boy, still to be stuck.... again.

I call Curt to an emergency meeting at Daisy Delight. Anna needs some ice cream: stat!
We get home. I have to rush off to work to see a client who only comes in on Mondays. (More mom guilt... someone ELSE pay Curt's loans. I'm needed at home!) I get through it and get home. Stomach still hurting. You have a delightful evening and show no signs of trauma.


But a mommy remembers. I can't stop seeing your poor little arm.

Oh WHERE did mommy put the good wine??????????

Welcome winter!

We woke up to snow on the ground for the first time this morning. So in honor of the passing of fall, here's a picture to melt your heart:



This will be the first winter Anna will enjoy trees, presents, pretty music, and beautiful lights! It is the season of wonder indeed!