-Anna has begun to speak in sentences. Just the other day I came in after "nap" and she said, "Lovey, I drop it." Another frequently used phrase is, "I don't want it." although it sounds a bit more like "I da want it.". She enjoys repeating words and phrases, so of course we ask her to say ridiculous things like hippopotamus.
-Anna also knows her colors, most of her shapes, and has started counting. She likes to skip 1, but we are working on it. Even by skipping one, she is getting good at counting low numbers of objects. She is excellent at identifying letters- but only the ones that have meaning to her. We go into a store and she will undoubtedly point and say "Anna" and sure enough there is an "A". Other favorite letters include "D" which is Daddy, "B", which is "Ben", "R", which is "Robert", and "G" which is Gigi. Those are just the ones she can see and then tell you who goes with them without prompting. If you say other letters she has an association with many of them. And yes, I still have to prompt her for Mommy most days...
-Anna's favorite activities all have to do with "art". She loves painting, although we haven't repeated that one yet, but also loves coloring with markers, and playing with playdoh. We have tried water painting in her water paint book and watercolors, but she just ruins the brushes by pressing them down. She also loves sidewalk chalk still, but the weather keeps us from it right now.
-Physically, Anna can walk up and down the steps mostly on her own, loves to hop and "run". She loves the active playdates (more on that soon!), but still insists on Mommy to help her with the obstacles. She is not very brave when it comes to climbing and obstacles, and I am perfectly okay with that... I'm sure we will visit the emergency room someday.
-And lastly, Anna loves to help! She really loves to cook- pouring things in, stirring, watching. She will sit on the counter while I cook and "help". Sometimes she just narrates, repeating what I tell her I am doing, but she gets to help some too! She also loves to use the hand vaccuum, probably since Nanny taught her. I can't get it out with out her "doing it". She is my official utensil dishwasher unloader, too. She hands me each item (after I remove the sharp knives) and tells me what they are as she hands them to me to put away. It's adorable. And painstakingly slow.
Okay, well if you read through all of that- which is partly for my memory's sake.. good for you! Here are some pictures and videos of some everyday things that have been going on.
My sweet girl in her Elmo jammies! I'd say this was breakfast, but we can't be sure.
When Goodwill is selling a $5 pink unicorn rocker that sings and talks.. you buy it.
My girl sitting AT THE TABLE being silly at lunch. We (semi) permanently added her booster seat to the table, and she is much happier joining us for dinner at the table. We still use the high chair for lunch and breakfast because we tend to eat those meals at the bar.
Is it just me, or does she look guilty to be eating brownie crumbs? Daddy gave her a bite of the end of a pan of brownies and she was a fan!
Videos!!
So we moved the playset from outside into the basement, since A) we have no furniture for the basement and B) no one can use the playset outside when it is cold. We had just come in from a walk to the mailbox (hence the coat and hat, which she wouldn't take off). Here is her showing off her letter skills- and this was from the beginning of January!
I blame this purchase and future concussion on Uncle David! David gave Avery one of these balls with a handle for Christmas, and Anna loved it (despite being a little bit little for it). When we found one at the Habitat Re-Store for $1 we knew we had to take it home... and it has been a child exhausting hit ever since!
This video isn't super exciting, but I love having videos of her playing at this age. It is cute to see her pick up on things I show her and then do them on her own. Here she is having herself a little tea party!
