Annie-22 months!

Annie has been Miss Independent this month-she's hitting 2 a little early! Crazy, really, how big she is getting so fast. She's lots of fun and keeps us entertained for sure. Here's a little bit about her month.

-"What's that noise?" is the #1 thing we've heard from Annie this month. It's hilarious and cracks all three of us up. She asks us 50X a day. She notices EVERY noise...every bird, truck, bump in the road, etc. When the car parks, she says, "Ok! We're here!" and gets all excited. She gets startled easily and when something like an airplane goes by she comes to us like a magnet. She is certainly into self preservation...one time she asked for the garage door to be opened, so I went to do it, and when I came back she was lying on her belly in the middle of the drive saying, "What's that noise??" She had bailed out when she heard it open!!

-We traveled A LOT this month-to Iowa and to Gulf Shores, and she really was a trooper the whole time. She just asked for book after book to keep herself entertained.

-While in Iowa, we discovered her total love for kitties (Aunt Jeanette has several "wild" farm kitties). She got SO, SO animated over them! She wanted to go outside all the time and see them, and as soon as she saw them she just couldn't stop talking. She said, "What are you doing here? Are you hiding? Are you sleeping/eating? Come here! Come over here (motioning with her hands)." All that in a row as she was bent down to their level to talk to them...it was so, so cute. I wish I had gotten it on video.

-She also loved Grandma DeWitt's baby dolls. She loved brushing their hair and would say, "Want to brush hair, baby?"

-We got to visit the St. Louis zoo on our return trip, and Steven is so good to let the kids get something from the gift shop after a special visit like this (the cheapskate in me cringes at this, so it's good he is the other half of the parental unit in the family, bc I know it really is special for kids to get to do that kind of thing!). Anyway, Annie got a monkey (orangutan), and she was SO taken with it. She would just stare at its face and talk to it. She gave it kisses and on the first part of the car ride, she would just talk and talk and say stuff like, "Let's play, monkey! I love you, monkey. You awake, monkey? Shhh....night, night, monkey." (covering him up with her blankie) It made whatever we paid for it totally worth it. She's been sleeping with it ever since, too.

-Anytime she sees letters or numbers (signs, welcome mats, etc), she says, "A! Look, mommy! A!" She knows A is "her" letter and all letters are A, right?

-She painted a palm branch on palm Sunday, and when we picked her up from nursery, she was SO, SO proud and the first thing she said was, "Look, mommy! I paint! Look!" and showed us. So cute-and of course she had to hold it the whole way to get bubba and head to the car.

-Some of her independent streak this month-She will NOT let me carry her bag (owl lunchbox) in to school. She MUST carry it. Even if her arms are full of so many other things, she will try over and over to carry it herself as she drops it all and falls herself and scrapes her knee. One of her biggest meltdowns this month was at church (when she was exhausted of course) after nursery, she really wanted to carry her bag, paper, and sippy. Boy oh, boy, you should have seen the fits when she eventually had to be picked up. She wants to put on her own shoes and socks (impossible), so this usually ends in a melt down when we have to take over. She wants to buckle herself in her car seat! She ALWAYS buckles the chest buckle herself now! This started out as a struggle because at first she couldn't do it or would wait and wait (to prolong the suspense of the click) that we had to do it for her to get going, but now she just does it herself every time! It's actually really nice! She says things like, "I do it. I got it. Annie do it. NO!! Annie do it!!!" There is a song out right now that says, "My name is, no. My sign is, no. My number is, no...blah, blah, blah. You need to let it go. Untouchable, untouchable" or something like that. Anyway, this reminds us of our girl!! While these things are frustrating, I also love that she is already wanting to make her own way! She's gonna be my big helper one day soon, I can see.

 Other phrases/things this  month:
-I'm a little pee pot (for I'm a little tea pot)
-Is Daddy here? Where is Daddy?
-Nice!
-Whole nana, please.
-tadddaa!!
-says "heavy" when being held (as she re-adjusts herself!)
-jingle bells! (singing when sees sleigh in a book)
-starting to know the colors green/yellow/pink
-candy!! (when sees it in vending machines). Calls most sweets cupcakes (even pancakes).
-brights! sunny! loud! (different comments she makes)
-Let's run! I go upstairs!
-Swimming pool!
-Blows nose and says, "Eeew! Yucky!" Sees bugs or frog in book and says, "Eeew! Yucky!"
-I wanna hold your hand, mamma.
-Hi, bub! Come here, bub! (come here is my fave new phrase of hers-it's "cuh-hee-uh")
-There it is! I found it!
-Watch a movie! (she lasts about 10 minutes)
-Big! (about a noticeably tall/big lady walking by-we got a kick out of this!)
-Booster! (at restaurant). Bye, taco! (when leaving restaurant). She says bye to whatever we are leaving ALL the time!:)
-We were sitting on the sofa, and she all of the sudden said, "Oh!" then hopped down and stopped and turned around with her hand out-palm open- and said, "I'll be right back. I'll be right back." then proceeded to go and turn her noise machine off that we'd forgotten to do after nap. It cracked me up and was so cute. 

We love you, sweet girl! You are growing up so fast...slow down a bit, ok!!??

Henry is *FOUR*!

Our sweet boy turned FOUR on February 26th, and it is hard to believe! He is such a precious child, and we love him so much! Below are the answers to the same questions I asked him when he turned three. Following that I just wanted to write a few highlights about him since I wrote his 3.5 year post.

1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? All of my trucks. All of them.
3. What is your favorite fruit? strawberries
4. What is your favorite tv show? Paw Patrol (even though he’s only seen a handful of episodes!)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Yogurt raisins, oranges (he also eats a peanut butter and honey sandwich everyday-he's a creature of habit just like Daddy!)
6. What is your favorite outfit? Space pjs, Paw Patrol undies
7. What is your favorite game? Sneaky Snacky Squirrel
8. What is your favorite snack? Granola bar (chocolate chip)
9. What is your favorite animal? dolphin
10. What is your favorite song? VBS songs (It’s the power)
11. What is your favorite book? ALL of them (it’s true-he loves being read to and has a bookshelf full of books that all make him happy! Many are from Steven and his sister's childhood. Just recently he has been very into the "If you give a" .....books. We have a compilation, so he loves them all!)
12. Who is your best friend? Eli and Ellis
13. What is your favorite cereal? Life
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Dig in the dirt, look for worms
15. What is your favorite drink? Orange juice, lemonade
16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Big blanket, big baseball bear
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Life cereal, applesauce muffins
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pizza at chuck-e-cheese, cake
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? An engineer (awe! This answer was unexpected and so sweet! Last year it as farmer like Grandpa!)

I got him to take pictures by letting him show this coin...I'm not even really sure where it came from, but he's pretty proud of it here! These are not the best lighting, but they'll have to do.

This is him working on showing me "4".

He decided to show me "4" on both hands...:)

-Henry attends a pre-K class every day at the school where I teach. We are there half a day, so 7:30- to 12:30 each day. He is learning a ton and really enjoys it. He loves his teachers (different everyday) and his friends (also different everyday). I get to peek in on him each day at least once, and they are always doing something fun-being read to, learning their letter/verses of the week, learning patterns or using counting bears, doing calendar time, doing some kind of craft or play dough, or having free play time. Henry's favorite thing to play at school is definitely dress up. He is ALWAYS in some kind of super hero costume when I peek in. Those poor teachers are so sweet to help him dress and undress over and over! He likes to play "family" with is friends. He also learns a verse each week, and I am so impressed at what he knows, because half the time I don't know what the verse is myself and we certainly don't work with him on it at home (although we need to make a point to!). He gets to go to the treasure box on Fridays if he can say his verse, and this is all the motivation he needs. He loves it!  I'm so thankful for this set up-it has been perfect for our family. 

-I have noticed he has started coloring in a more precise way-in the lines for the most part. He has also started drawing people-basically head, eyes, and a long body. I've always wondered when this would develop! He CAN write his name, but he is hesitant to do so. He just wants to write H on the top of his papers. I think he has some perfectionist tendencies that come out during times like this. That's not an excuse, just a realization that we will help him through-but I'm going to tackle it next year (during his final pre-K year). Right now I think what he is doing is just fine. He might be a bit lazy, too!:)

-He has all these little phrases he throws in to his conversations now...wait a second...actually...of course....definitely. 

-He still is fascinated by all things spiritual, and we have lots of conversations about this. He LOVES the stories Daniel and the lion's den, David and Goliath, Adam and Eve, Noah, Nebuchadnezzar. He will even act these out and ask me to take a part (mommy, you be so and so and I'll be so and so). They enthrall him. At night he thanks God for Annie, the new baby, and also a bunch of really entertaining, random stuff! Steven and I are always sharing what he prayed for when it is "our turn" to pray with him. He's gone through phases of different prayers, too...Boz prayer (thank you God for this great day...), May the words of my mouth (scripture recitation), God our father, thank you God for giving us food....He is also so curious about heaven and asks lots of questions like, When will we die? Mommy, do you want to go to heaven? Not in a scared way. Just matter of fact. He's learning a lot at church, too. They were recently talking about only things Jesus could do (only Jesus could walk on water, etc.). We picked him up one Sunday and in the car and he said, 'Only Jesus can turn water into a fancy party drink!' We cracked up!! So funny.

-I let him try gum finally:) He likes it, but doesn't keep it in his mouth for long.

-"Eli is my best friend because we like to play the same things. AND we both have Paw Patrol cups! Also Ellis"

-The child does not need real toys. It's true! He could play with a rope or string for hours. He plays with his blanket the same way-makes a fort, turns it into a cape (Mommy-will you tie this?), it becomes a sled and he piles things on it and pulls them around the house or Annie gets on it and he pulls her, a swing (Daddy-will you swing me like a baby bird?). The possibilities are endless in his eyes! When all else fails, he and Annie just run laps around the house. :)

-"This was a perfect day!"-at out backyard fire pit one night after we had been outside all day.

-"You look cute today" and "You're looking sharp". He likes to use hairspray! 

-He always has dirt under his nails and on his hands and loves to stomp in puddles and dig in the dirt. He continues to be a collector of anything outside-rocks, sticks, nuts, pine cones, you name it. I find all kinds of stuff in his pockets or in my washing machine... His recent favorite thing to find outside is worms. Poor worms!

-He continues to love music so much. I hope we can get him into some kind of lessons when he gets a bit older. He loves Lowe Mill concerts on the docks, we have heard him singing 'rainin hundreds, throw some mo' in the back seat-ha!, he is also still in love with all Christmas music even though 2 months have passed since the holidays. We often sing a Christmas song or two as part of the bedtime routine. He, Annie, and Steven have some intense dance parties in the living room most nights. 

-He is still such a loving little guy. He volunteers I love you quite often and has recently added 'so much!' to this phrase. He loves to sit close to us, give hugs, and his new favorite thing is to write us notes and hide them under our pillow to see when we go to bed. He says they say "I love you" (and things along those lines:))

-He really loves his little sister even if they fuss with each other, too. He is so protective and makes the sweetest comments about her. Steven took them to Chick-fil-A one night while I had a school function, and they were playing in the playplace. Some bigger kids came in, and Henry kept telling them, "watch out for this little sweet!!" talking about being careful around his Annie. One time she was standing up on the sofa beside him, and he looked over at her and said, "I like Annie's little bottom" (she had tighter leggings on!). Just the other day I heard him talking to her, and he said, "You're beautiful, Annie". We also just recently pulled out some hand me down dress up princess clothes, and I put Snow White on her. Henry was SO, SO excited and said, "Annie, can I be your prince? Can I dance with you? You look so pretty!" Oh, it was all I could do not to just melt

-He does not have official chores or get allowance or anything, but he is always so happy to help me do "chores". He helps set the table, and he has to take his plate/cup/utensils to the sink after dinner each night and will often clear the whole table if I remember to ask him. He will clean up the playroom himself and is so proud to show me. He does a good job! He loves to help me clean windows. He also loves to help me cook and dumps everything in the bowl, stirs for me, etc.

-So, so proud to announce new baby. "Mommy, I see your baby!" (at 20 weeks). More on all that later!

-Red Klopster instead of Red Lobster, cimmanon instead of cinnamon, cellarinda instead of cinderella. I just always think these mistakes are so cute since he's such an articulate kid and rarely gets words incorrect. There are a few more I wish I could think of...

-Loves Poppins Mary as he calls it (instead of Mary Poppins!), Cinderella (even though the mean cat and stepmom stresses him out and he looks away). Any of the super mild innocent 20 minute shows are really more up his alley at this point, or something like Looney Tunes, Pooh, Boz for a "movie". He honestly doesn't get much tech time. We should probably expose him more than we do...we have a few apps that he likes to play, and he goes through phases with these, but he will go several weeks without touching them. I figure he'll get plenty of that in life, so it's probably ok not to rush it!

-He is such a smart kid, but he cannot master the difference between night and nap and it cracks us up. We have figured out that he must think one day is actually two days?? Each time he wakes up, it is the start of a new day for him. When we are telling him when something is going to happen, he is always asking, 'after nap?' 'after night?'. It is so funny. We have finally given up and figure he'll get it eventually!
-Speaking of nap, he still takes on from about 1:30-3:30. If he sleeps then he is later going to sleep at night, but will just sing and talk to himself until he falls asleep. If he doesn't actually sleep during nap, then he crashes quickly at about 7 or 7:30 (as soon as we can get him in bed). Up until  really recently, he was sleeping everyday. For the past few weeks he has gone several days w/o actually sleeping (no nap for 2 days, then nap the third). I can see he is able to cope better w/o a nap than he used to be able to do, so he probably really is phasing out actual sleeping. When he does sleep it is more like 1 hr and 15 or 30 minutes. He will be given rest time each day until he goes to kindergarten, though, so it doesn't matter to me! It's just interesting to watch him change in the sleep department. Henry NEVER gets out of his bed without asking. We started this when he was little, and he has just always followed suit. He calls for us in the morning and after nap. Even with all the toys and books in his room, he follows this rule to a T! He is still in the crib without the front on it, but grandpa is currently building him a bunk bed! It won't be long til he upgrades. We had to make this transition bc we need the crib for #3! Otherwise, I don't know how long he'd have stayed in it! He loves his bed and doesn't complain!

-A few things we work with Henry on are to not use baby talk and not snatching things away (especially from sister). With reminders, he is pretty good about using his words. He takes correction seriously and is penitent when he makes a poor choice. He also has a hard time keeping his fingers away from his nose, but tries hard not to, and will do "self control hands" and "bubble cheeks" or sit on his hands to help. I try to remind myself that at least he doesn't then go from his nose to his mouth directly afterward! Ha, ha!

We love you, big boy! It's hard to believe you are a four year old. We can't wait to see what this next year holds. It is going to be so much fun!

Annie-21 months!

Here are a few notes on Annie this past month-she's a growing girl!!

More new words and phrases (I can't keep up with them all, but I have fun trying!):
Henry turned 4 on the 26th, and he was being asked how old he was by a family member on Facetime. He said, I'm four, and Annie piped up and said, I'm four, too!! and (no kidding) held up four fingers to show them! Steven and I couldn't believe it and cracked up! 
Cookie monster! Curious George!
When asked who her friends are, she recites them all...Owen! Scarlett! Ian! Baby Reid!Jaycee!
I wanna sit down
lotion-I want some, hand sanitizer (han sah-tie-suh)-I want some
Bubba? Where are you? Bubba? BUUUUUUUUBBBA!!! I see you, Bubba! (she also calls him Henny, but not nearly as much as bubba).
It was time to get out of the tub and she said-No! I wanna stay!
In the  morning when we leave her room she says, Bye, bye paci! Bye, bye blankie!
She's upset about messes she sees (like on the floor), and says-Oh, no! Mess Mommy! While gesturing to it with a sweeping hand  motion.
Ready, set, go!
Plays a game where she pretends to lay down and says, Asleep! Then pops up and says, Awake! She will often say Awake! as the first thing when we walk into her room in the morning or after nap.
When we put her in the shopping cart, she says, I want to buckle! and works and works at snapping herself in. She also looked at both ends of the strap at the buckle parts and said, 2 buckles!!
After church one afternoon she kept saying over and over again, I love you, Jason! (church nursery worker that spoils her)
I want juice, too! (when she saw Bubba getting it)...that really goes for anything he gets. She says, I want (fill in the blank), too!!
Annie's turn/Annie do it! (seriously.)
Turn the page, the end, good book
Hop on pop! and Monkey book! (over and over again-the girl loves books)
Ouch! Hurt me. Right there.
Bee-ma (for Grandma)
She's so sensitive to anyone sneezing or coughing or anything like that and ALWAYS says, Bless you! and adds their name if she knows it.
Fell down book, fell down ball (after she drops it)
Stop! (sounds like fop), Hey! (both super sassy and like she's been wronged. ha!)
I wanna play. Play here. (when we are walking in the house from the car from being out and need to go straight to bed but she wants to get down and play!)
Princess! Cinderella! (both so clear)
Yep! and Got it!
After hearing a baby crying when we were out-Baby sad. Sad baby. It's OK sad baby.
When we ask her a question and she doesn't know the answer, she just says, ummmm...ummmm. Over and over. Sometimes I can tell she's trying to start talking to us in her car seat, but all she can come up with is, mommy? (yes, Annie?). Ummm...ummm.

She's been sensitive to noises this month and runs to us and clings tight until it passes.
She had her first bubble bath this month-oh, the joy it brings now!
She gasps all the time, then says whatever she was going to say (Gasp! Look, mama!!! Gasp! Oh, no! Mess!!). She also always is pointing to things and saying "ooh"!! in a high pitched little girl way.
I trimmed her hair again this month. She now asks for a bow if she doesn't have one. She appreciates her hair being out of her eyes now!
She got hand, foot, and mouth this month from church nursery. It was a milder version than what Henry had a few years ago, and she was a trooper through it.
Went to a hockey game this month and she was all eyes-clapping and bouncing to the music and action/entertainment.
She's had a few time outs this month and does very well with it. She is upset, but says "sorry" on her own without being asked. Now when brother has been in time out for something and he is suppose to be apologizing to her after, she is the first one to go to him and say, Sorry, Bubba. Sorry. even though she's not the one in trouble. It's so cute!:)
She's added some of the teens to her counting. They aren't in order necessarily, but she is definitely adding them into the mix! 13, 14, 16...
She's such an awesome eater (except with H,F,M this month). She LOVES pizza and when she sees it on TV or somewhere she gets so excited and points and squeals and says, pizza! pizza! When we are loading in the car to go eat somewhere and tell her we are going to eat, she will automatically say, Yeah! Pizza! and get so pumped to go get it (even though that may not be where we are going!)
Her book obsession continues. She will have 3 books, and bring them all to you and ask to read. While you are reading one she is paging through the other and when you get near the end of the first book, she is already begging for you to read the next one. She's a mess! She will follow us around the house with a book in hand and say over and over, I wanna read book, Mamma. I wanna read. Even if I've read to her a ton already that day!
She's gotten to where she likes certain spots to plop to look through books-with her back up against any wall or in the 2 corners in the kitchen-she backs right into them and just looks and looks through whatever book (or 2 or 3) she has.
She's willing to do stairs, but she wants to hold our hand. She is much more cautious than Henry ever was in this department. Granted, we had stairs in our old house and he got LOTS more practice than she ever has, but she just also has a much more cautious personality in some ways than he does. Yet in some ways, she seems like a wild thing and a dare devil. I'm interested to see what she will actually be like as she grows

Book lover!!

Where is my nose, Annie?

Where is YOUR nose?

Where is your tongue?

Where is your hair?

Where is your hair bow?

. 
She loves to keep tabs on everyone. In the car she will call our name over and over. When we respond she will go to the next person in the family. So it goes: Hi, Mama. (Hi, Annie). Hi, Dada. (Hi, Annie). Hi, Bubba. Hi, Bubba. Buuuubba??!! (Hi, Annie). Then she will repeat the round over and over again!
She especially loves to keep tabs on Dada. Where'd Dada go? (He's at work) Oh. Bye Dada! I love you! Bye bye Daddy. (when we are pulling out of the garage in the mornings).
She's great about saying, I love you and it's so sweet.
She loves to pray before meals and hold hands and starts to sing God Our Father...She loves the Amen! at the end and says it enthusiastically. 

We can't believe how big you are getting, Anne girl. You are such a snuggly, sweet thing. We love your sassy spirit, and hearing you talk it a pleasure. Can't wait to see what next month has in store for you!

Annie-20 months

Annie just seems so big this month. She really is growing up. It's totally crazy to think she has only been walking for 2 months-she seems like SUCH a toddler and not a baby right now. Her vocabulary is exploding, and there is no way I can catch or record everything she says, but I do what I can! I want to remember those sweet little words and phrases as they develop. As my kids get older, I really do see that it's hard to remember them at any other phase than what they are currently in, so keeping up with little things about them helps me cope with that! As least I can look back and reminisce! Here are a few things about our girl this month.

-Some new words: pocket, earth (erf), open, close, jacket, hair bow out (informing us), shoe off (informing us), princess, I'm coloring (I cuh-nun-ning), balloon (boon), bread, candle, glasses (I got new ones-after she broke mine-and every time she saw me in them for the first few days, she would say, "glasses!"), monkey, santa (seent-tuh!), snowman, Annie! (when she sees a pic of herself or when she's talking to someone on facetime she will point to herself and say it), Henry (Henny), Scarlett, Zacky (both school friends), fell down, oh  no!, are you sleeping? (asked this when brother was covered up with his blanket on the floor-I had not idea she could say/ask that!), I wanna read book!, napkin, silly, tissue, washcloth, fish, kiss (both kinda sound like wish), paper (pee-puh!), hungry!, i wanna see (video on phone for example), reach!, I wanna hug you!, Wanna hold you (oh, how this reminds me of her brother!), pizza. pizza hot!, Bye Owen! Bye Ellis! (school friends), jammies (sounds like beammies), fist bump, sticker (sick-uhh), loud! (and immediately covers her ears), I'm sleepy (and will lie down on the floor), why!!??? (not always, but sometimes in combination with a fit she's throwing after she's been told no-and with such passion, too!), No! Mine! (perfectly on que....where did she learn these 2???:))

-Something I've really noticed this month is her singing. She would always join in enthusiastically when we would start to sing, but this month she's been singing to herself a lot, and I love it. In her car seat we overheard her singing "go to sleep, go to sleep" to the bear she was holding. She voluntarily sings the alphabet, too! I didn't know she could do this, but she's picked it up somewhere. She doesn't get it perfectly of course, but I love hearing her try. I need to video it sometime. I've also started waiting to give her paci until we are done singing our night night songs before bed. This means she joins in, and her little voice singing Jesus Loves Me (she says Jesus perfectly and especially emphasizes ME!), Rock a Bye Baby, I Love you and Bushel and a Peck, (and more) and then joining in to say thank you God for Dada, Bubba, Mama, Maggie when we pray is oh, so sweet.

-She counts everything!! I've noticed her lining things up and counting them (not perfectly, but using her little pointer finger and going through the numbers she knows). It amazes me! Our brains are wired for order so early! She is just a baby! She's done this with things like food on her tray, foam toys in the tub, etc. I guess it's with things that are the same. She definitely knows how many two is. She's gotten one of something like a cracker, and I give her another and she immediately, happily says, "two!" I noticed her do it with her duck push toy. She had it out, then also got the popper toy to push at the same time. She was so proud and said-"two, mamma!!"

-Books are still her main passion, and she ALWAYS has a book in hand and is asking/demanding to read. She takes them to the car with her and looks through them while we drive, too. Her second fave toy is probably her popper push toy. She also likes to put on necklaces and had had fun with the piggy bank toy lately that she got for Christmas. She can put the toy coins in the slot at the top herself.

-I don't think I've mentioned her sleeping in a while. She still such a great sleeper, and is SO, SO easy to put to bed. She's cuddly and requires so little. She goes to bed between 7 and 7:30, and I wake her for school at 6:40 or 6:45. Sometimes she's already awake in her bed rolling around and talking. She takes a nap from 1 to anywhere from 3:30 to 4:30, and wakes up happy. She still uses a paci just for sleep, and loves it. She also has her blankie and lovie to snuggle with during nap and night.

-She's still a great eater overall (esp compared to her brother at this age), but she has difficult times when everything ends up on the floor. She doesn't love her highchair, so we have started letting her sit in a regular chair some at home at the dinner table and use a booster at restaurants. She is very happy about this, so it is (usually) a win-win, except for the times when she starts feeling too free and wants to crawl up on the table or walk around the booth...then we have to go back to the high chair! She likes most foods, but one thing that is kinda funny that she refuses is green olives. Everyone else in our family loves them (including our extended family-even kids!), so she is different in that way! She always tries them, but the end up back out of her mouth with a bad face. :)

-Her fits/screaming have slowed down (yay!), but she's started throwing things now, too. She chucks Cheerios and crackers in the car, tortilla chips at the Mexican restaurant....a habit we are trying to change!:)

-This is random, but we find her sitting and quietly examining between her toes a lot! Sometimes she's super quiet in the car and we look back to see she's shed her shoes, socks, and is just checking out those little piggies! She does it at home too...we will wonder what she's doing and find her sitting almost cross-legged with two toes pulled apart just staring in between the two! So funny! Oh, and speaking of toes, she got her toes painted for the first time ever by cousin Emma. She was SO, SO proud of them, too. I had no idea she'd even care, but she was all smiles while they were being painted, and afterward went around to show everyone her feet. It was adorable-and such a girl thing!:)

-Annie LOVES bath and brushing her teeth still. Just recently we've started letting the two kids have the shower on for a few minutes once we are done with actual bath. She loves it! She is so crazy and wild in there and acts like it is a party...water in her eyes, mouth, nose....doesn't bother her! The more the merrier.

You're a sweet blessing, Miss Anne. Can't wait to see what next month holds!

Annie-19 months

Annie turned 19 months the day after Christmas! Here are a few highlights about her this past month!

-Some new words/phrases: mouse, donuts, unbuckle now, Cheerios, Merry Christmas!!, applesauce (sounds kinda like apple piss honestly!), home!! (when we pull into garage), I love you, excuse me (sounds like shooo-me!), cookie, chocolate, happy, sad, strawberries (sawbabies), can I have it?, wanna have it, Mommy!, read!!, heavy, help please, Mama!, play/I play, look, Mommy! look (over and over-sounds kinda like "wook"), shoe-wee! (when I change any diaper-whether dirty or not), Jesus, open, close, help.

-Nightly advent was a big even this past month for our family. Annie loved it and would dance around as Steven played the guitar, would love blowing out the candles when we were done, and learned the word chocolate because of the little advent calendar we opened each night. She was very demanding and excited about this-throwing fits and crying for it one minute, then giggling and all smiles the next because she got it!

-Annie has shown some serious attitude this month with lots of screaming "no!!" and fits, etc. Of course, she still has her sweet times, but she has shown her sassy and dramatic side in a whole new way this month! She learned to "jump" which for her is just raising one foot up and stomping it back down. She transferred this new move to add extra umpff to her fits, though, and sometimes will throw in a stomp while saying no. Sheesh!



-She is SO obsessed with books right now. It is the first thing she talks about in the morning or after nap. She says-read!! book!! wanna read!! She has laser focus and will not let us get away with us not actually reading to her! She is such a lap sitter, too, and wants to back up into our laps to be read to.

-She has started sitting up at the bar stools beside Henry now while I cook or when they eat breakfast, and she looks SO big doing this! She also pushes the bar stools (and other furniture) around the house now. She also loves to push the popper toy around and the wooden frog in laps from kitchen, dining room, LR, and back again. She also carries different bags around the house like a purse. I need to get her a real one I guess!

Annie's big gift on Christmas morning was a baby doll-she was adorable feeding it a bottle and putting in the paci. She had clothes on, but as you can see those got taken off quickly. Annie throws fits if I try to re-clothe the baby. Oh well!

-She adores her blankie and lovie, and this  month I have noticed her using her blankie to cover up different toys (Little People baby Jesus from our nativity set, her glow worm), and then she will say, "night night!"

-Henry was older when we let him start watching TV, but with Annie being the second kid, just gets exposed earlier. Oh well! She doesn't watch long before she gets down off the sofa, but she will sit beside bubba for a few minutes and just take it all in. So cute to see their little profiles side by side.

-The moved her up in church nursery, but she cries and when the infant workers hear her, evidently the go rescue her (especially if Mr. Jason is there). They spoil her!

-She just loves her brother, and she wants everything he has. Toys, food, attention, you name it. When he is on the floor she will go latch onto him like an octopus and "wrestle" with him. She is really tough and seems to like the tousle, but Henry is the one begging for her to get off and saying she is hurting him. Ha! She's gonna be a tough girl. When I do laundry, she always gets bubba's undies and carries them around the house, too. Ha! Oh, and she can say "undies". I think it is because they are Elmo themed ones, but still, it's pretty funny.

It's getting harder and harder to get a good pic of this girl-she is constantly moving as you can see!

-When I go to get her out of her car seat, she plays a game with  me. She has her head turned away from me kind of buried in the side of the headrest. I say, "where's Annie?" and she turns her head to look at me with a big grin...then immediately goes to hid her face again. We do this a couple times, then the game usually ends with he getting her neck with kisses-she is so ticklish! Sweetie.

-While we are out and someone asks her, "How are you?" she thinks they are asking her age and plays her game with them by saying, "two!!"...they don't really get it, but I do and think she's funny!

-We had a rainy December, and every time we would walk outside, she would start singing, "rain, rain, go away!" She counts!! She must have picked this up from Henry or school, because we certainly haven't worked with her on it. She usually starts with two and skips five, and her ten sounds like "bomb!!" for some reason, but otherwise she sounds so big doing this! She so articulately says each number (se-ven!), and does so in order. We are impressed, anyway!:)

We love you, big girl!! Thanks for being so much fun and sassy and so sweet, too. Can't wait to see what next month holds for you!

Annie-18 months!

Annie turned 18 months old on Thanksgiving day (11-26-15). To think that she is 1.5 is amazing! Time really has flown by with her. She had her 18 month appointment on 12-2 and did great. Her stats were: 33 inches long (33%), 24lbs 10oz (50%), and her head circumference was in the 25th percentile. I feel like these have basically been her percentiles from the very beginning. She has had a consistent growth pattern! She had a couple of rough teething days this month, but the ped says all her teeth are in now, so I'm so thankful we shouldn't have any  more of that for a bit! She also had her 6 month ENT appt this month and the doc says her tubes look great and are doing their job. She has been remarkably healthy for the past 7 months-it's been awesome! Here are a few other highlights about Miss Anne this month.

-The biggest news? She's officially a walker! The weekend prior to Thanksgiving I could tell she was getting more and more comfortable while we were visiting my parents in TN on 11/21. Throughout the week she seemed to WANT to walk and would "ask" to be put down (by demanding down! walk!). We were at Target on 11/24 and she wanted to walk the aisles. Big fits when we tried to pick her up. By Thanksgiving day, she was walking more than crawling. And here we are less than 2 weeks from that and all she is doing is walking now. She has changed from a baby to a toddler right before our very eyes! It is fun to see her exploring in new ways and toddling around like a big girl, too. My back is thanking her as well!:)

-A few other things I want to remember about her transition to walking-while she was still getting the hang of it, she and Henry would hold hands and walk around the house to practice. I couldn't get a good pic of this, but it was so sweet. She also went through a big phase of walking a few steps, then toppling down and immediately patting her head and saying "bonk!" (even though she didn't hit her head at all). She also went through a phase of putting her head down on the ground and her booty up in the air (like the first part of a somersault), then toppling over onto the carpet-over and over! She was so funny doing both of these things.

-She is talking SO much. The nursery workers all comment on how verbal she is and how much she communicates. Some new things she is saying this month are: I love you, Maggie, Mags, good girl, Mags!, up please, chalk, honey, jeep, socks, shoes, toes, side for outside, dink for drink, moe for more, cold (when she touched a cold cup, she said it), thank you mommy (repeating Henry), what's that (about everything!), trash, dirty, mess, yucky, slide, buck for cup, jacket, turkey, cleamup for clean up, right now! (oh yes), sorry mama, oh (after every answer we give her), rain rain! (the beginning of the song-if we walk outside and it's raining), poopoo and pats diaper, where pass go? (for where did my paci go?), I wanna have it, I wanna eat now, whoa! (EVERY time she sees the Christmas tree), big (when I give her a whole banana) and so many more!

-She wants to keep account of ALL the family all the time, so she is constantly asking, "where's dadda? where's bubba? where's mama?" As soon as she wakes up in the morning or from nap, the first thing she says is "where's bubba?" When I say, "bubba's sleeping" (or whatever), she says, "oh". If we are all in the car and Steven jumps out to run in somewhere, she immediately says, "where's dadda?" It is kind of amazing how aware she is of us all at all times. She is also in a phase of just saying all of our names over and over again in her car seat while we are driving like she is making a list of everyone in the family. Mama, dadda, bubba, Maggie. Over and over! She is attached to her blankie and will say "where's blankie", too.

-She loves to write (ie-make lines) with chalk outside, loves to use paper and crayons/pens/markers, etc, and loves to play with playdough. She dances to music when she hears it and tries to sing along to songs she knows-Jesus loves me, old McDonald, twinkle twinkle, etc. It's so cute to hear her baby voice try to say the words.

-She likes to throw trash away and will walk from the living room into the kitchen with some trash to throw away when we ask her to. She is totally obsessed with her toothbrush and goes and gets in the drawer herself and gets it out to "brush" her teeth. When we brush them at night it is a battle because she wants to do it herself, so it usually ends in major fits and serious sadness when teeth brushing time is over.

-She remains an awesome sleeper. She is so sweet and easy to put to sleep, and she NEVER cries when being but down. When we ask her if she wants to go night-night, she ALWAYS says, "uh-uh!" and snuggles right in. She loves her bed and will stay in there a long time once she wakes up just rolling around and playing with her blankie.

-She makes a monkey noise when we ask "what does the monkey say?" and also now knows more body parts-head, back, arms, legs, tongue, mouth. When she doesn't have a bow in her hair, she pushes her bangs back out of her face herself, and she looks like such a big girl. Steven and I both think it's so cute when she does it.:) She also plays with her hair while she goes to sleep in her car seat if we are driving somewhere.

-She knows her name and can say it. When we ask her what her name is, she points to her chest and says "Annie!". She also knows a joke-it is so funny and we don't know where she learned it. When we ask her how old she is, she holds up one finger on each hand and says, "two!". We say, "no! you're ONE!" and she says, "no!" in a teasing way. It is so cute and she laughs and does it over and over. Henry likes to do this with her.

-She's very friendly while we are out and is always waving and saying "hi!". At the grocery store the other day, she held her arms out to FOUR different women for a hug, and of course they ALL came over and gave her one right away. It was hilarious. I don't know what got into her!

-She is still in the baby nursery at church and has a special friend named Mr. Jason who spoils her and gives her all kinds of attention. I didn't realize how sweet their relationship was until some of the workers told me he is recently divorced and his 2 young kids are with his wife up in TN much of the time, so he comes to volunteer in the nursery and wants to be with Annie bc she reminds him of his daughter. They are 2 peas in a pod, and it is so cute! He comes on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights to be with her. So sweet.

And she's off!

Rock, rock, rock!

It's hard to get a pic that's not blurry-she's moving all the time!

Had to include this one of her saying night night right before Steven was putting her to bed.:)