say uncle!

"Uncle Mott" came over to play for the afternoon...and what a fun afternoon it was! Anna is sure to be talking about this day for many days to follow. Anna woke up to Uncle Matt in her living room and she didn't know where to begin. It didn't take long before she was awake and ready to go, so we took to the outdoors. She walked to the park, swang on the swings and showed her dear uncle how she knows how to go up and down the stairs on the jungle gym over and over again!

Then it was back to the house to show off her sand table and play "rocks". Uncle Matt was a great playmate and even helped her make a rock garden and learn how to bury things in the sand!

Once the weather turned colder we hit the basement where Anna showed off all of her toys and made us all a feast of her play food. Uncle Matt was a hit, she loved playing with him and had to make sure he was close by and watching her at all times. She's already looking forward to his next visit, and so are we! Thanks for coming over Matt!

stacks of fun

Hey dad! Look at me...but will you help?

OK...start with the big ones on the bottom...

Wow, this is cool...look at all the pictures

I wonder what would happen if I touched it...

CRASH!!!! Now, that's the best part!

More blocks, just my size....watch me do this all by "myself"

say what?!

Around 1:15am Anna began urgently yelling for Mommy and Daddy...each second getting louder and more frantic. After a few minutes I couldn't take it any longer and had to go and see what was wrong and hold our little pumpkin.

After 30 mins of rocking, singing and playing with her hair, Anna was calm...although not yet sleeping. She babbled things like "Anna K Dyer" and "no crynin" off and on, but for the most part was silent.

Suddenly she leaned back off my shoulder and looked at me, eyes as big as saucers and chanted "no ghosts, no ghosts, no ghosts". I looked at her and said "What?" She repeated herself as if I should know what she was talking about.

The rest of our strange conversation went like this:

Me: not knowing what to say, I asked "Did you see a ghost Anna?"
Anna: silence...."Yes"
Me: "Oh you did? Hmmm, did he talk to you?"
Anna: silence...."Yes"
Me: "What did the ghost say?"
Anna: waving her hand at herself "Hi, Anna!"
Me: shocked "He did?"
Anna: "Yeah"
Me: "Where did the ghost go?"
Anna: no hesitation "Up high, sky"
Me: "What did you just say? Where did he go?"
Anna: "Up high sky"
Me: "Um, ok"

So...how in the world does she know about ghosts? We have never talked about them, with the exception of mentioning the "friendly ghosts" in her Halloween book which has been put away since October 31st!

While my husband may not believe in ghosts, the jury is still out for me. Let's just say I couldn't really sleep after that.

spring?

Yesterday we took to the driveway and decided it was spring. We brought out the sand and water table and filled it with sand. We began with sweatshirts on, hoping the sun would warm us. About 5 mins later the layers were piled on so that play could continue for at least an hour!

Anna scooped

And poured

Concentration was key

All the while, sporting the latest in seasonal fashion...every season that is!

A Spring skirt, some Spring rain boots, Fall sweatshirts (2 layered under her coat), Winter hat & scarf....and to bring some Summer into the mix, after sand play was over we blew bubbles and chased them around the yard!

you are my sunshine

Back by popular demand...the sunshine song.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Please pardon my singing, not my best performance.

action-packed

This past week has been a busy one for my little companion and I. While the weather has remained quite chilly, we have spent a large portion of our time outdoors, and the rest of it playing with friends. We were able to visit my friend Deena and her 6 month old daughter Avery on Monday...Anna loved looking at her. "Gentle touches mommy" she reminded me often throughout the morning.

On Tuesday we were invited to our neighbor Tara's house (one of my best friends from high school) for a playdate with 8 other kids! It was a riot! In fact, I think that the more kids, the more fun. It's a little chaotic, but at the same time there is no time or room for bad behavior there is just too much to look at, play with and squeal with laughter over. Anna had so much fun she didn't want to leave!

Anna pictured here with the sunglasses she "had to wear" to the playdate at Tara's

Then on Wednesday with promises of 45 degree weather we met Allison and Tyler at a park hoping to swing. Little did we know that we picked the ONE playground with a) no swings and b) snow covering it. So...we headed across the street to the zoo to look at the animals and to sneak indoors for a few minutes between animal exhibits to warm up. Anna and Tyler had a blast. Tyler is now very quick on his feet and the two of them had their moms breaking a sweat! What a fun summer it will be!

Tyler & Anna at the zoo

Amidst playdates we have colored, read books, played with Anna's "bacuum" (vacuum), gone out to lunch, found a fantastic little fabric store that carries a special line of fabric I was searching for, had a coffee or 2 (or 3), began getting acquainted with the potty chair, giggled and laughed. It's been a fun week. Not sure what we left for next week, but we'll find something!

Color mania, and introducing the potty chair (no we aren't training yet!)

future pianist

dirty money, dirty hands

Steve came home from work the other day with a tidbit of trivia burning on his tongue. "How long do you think a dollar bill stays in circulation?" he asked.

"I don't know, like 55 years?" I answered.

Judging from his immediate expression, I don't think I could have guessed more incorrectly.

"18 months...it's so dirty by then"

Obviously this must be so if the following transpired in any other homes aside from ours this week:

Anna: "Mommy, money"
Me: "Yes, where is your money? Papa gave you some dollars, aren't they in your purse?"
Anna: "Purse...purse...purse", hunting for her purse
Anna: "Money!" pulling the dollar bills out
Me: "What do you do with money in your purse? Where do you go?"
Anna: "Shopping"
Me: "Yes that's right! And you use money to pay."
Anna: "Eat money" putting the bills into her mouth and sucking on them
Me: "No Anna, you never eat money! Money is very dirty!"
Anna: "Money garbage" walking to the garbage to throw the dirty money away
Me: "No, Anna money doesn't belong in the garbage" neglecting to follow her
Anna: "Potty, money potty" (dad jumps up and runs after her)

Too late...money is in the potty

Dad grabs money to wash it and let it dry. Meanwhile...

Anna: "Wash hands...potty"

You can only guess what was in the potty next.

easter winner!

Allison, you guessed the best for the basket so you win! :) I'll be sending a gift card to Starbucks or Caribou or your choice to you in the very near future...just let me know which you prefer. It may come in handy on an early morning!

I should have given you more clues on the eggs...that was a tough one. In the eggs were:

Lucky Charms (leprechan)

Trix (silly rabbit)

Cheerios (bee)

There you have it, thanks for guessing! Hope you all had a very happy Easter!

Easter morning treats

Easter breakfast

Found my basket!

easter challenge

I have very fond memories of Easter morning as a child. The "Easter Bunny" would strategically hide our Easter baskets, and what seemed like hundreds of jelly beans all over the house. A few weeks later, when putting my feet into a forgotten about pair of shoes, something round and squishy would appear. Aha...the hunt lives on! These games went on for what seemed like hours...and sometimes were really even days!

So, it would not be Easter for me without a bit of a challenge. Here we go. Guess as many times as you like, just leave your answers in the comments. You do not need to know me, or have left a comment before to try.

Here sits Anna's Easter basket this year. Candy free...but the eggs are filled. It's a 2-part challenge...let's see how well you do.

1. Name all of the contents of Anna's Easter Basket - I promise at least a glimpse of each item can be seen.

2. What's in the eggs? A hint: There are 3 different things, but are all part of the same "family" - 2 have animals for mascots...the 3rd's mascot celebrated it's holiday this week as well.

I'll pick a winner on Tuesday morning.

And, as I sit here dreaming about the grande non-fat peppermint no-whip mocha that I am going to get from Starbucks the moment I wake up tomorrow....(yes, I did make it all the way through Lent!)...your fabulous prize will be a cup of your favorite java/tea/hot chocolate as well. Caribou, Starbucks or you name the place. If you despise coffee and all of it's relations (how could you?!), then a fitting substitute will be made, of course. :)

easter 2008

While we could spend our days dreaming about last March when it was 80 degrees by the 25th, and footsies were able to fly free...


Instead we embrace the late winter snow by enjoying some time outside. This morning we built our very first snow man. I think it's safe to say that mom and dad had more fun building it than Anna did. In fact, it took a good hour before Anna would say hello to the "nice Mr. Snowman".

We were quite proud of the new addition to our family...until we walked up the street for a stroller ride to find that our neighbor friends had constructed the snowman of all snowmen. This giant bestowing Easter cheer upon the neighborhood towered over all other snow creations. Take a look for yourself. Anna wasn't sure whether to cheer, or run for her life!

Our afternoon outside concluded with a stellar performance by daddy, much to the delight of his admiring daughter. He exercised his althetic prowess by chucking monster snowballs into the air only to come smashing back down to the ground. I believe the words "How much will you give me if I can hit our mailbox from here?" were actually uttered. Ahhhh, the alpha male. Life would be so dull without you.

What is he doing??

Ooo cool! Do it again!

"out...side"

This is where we spend most of our days lately...
even if the snow gets us down in the dumps.
We still find ways to have fun,
fresh air is always great!

design issues?

When changing to the most recent design, I am learning that in some browsers the words are not staying within the white portion but rather extend off of the page. Please leave me a comment and let me know if this is happening to you and if so what browser and version you are using. It appears to work in Internet Explorer 6.0...but I want to make sure it's readable for anyone using something different as well! Thanks!

18 month checkup

This morning we had Anna's 18 month check-up. After a rather traumatic experience a few months ago when we went in for an ear infection, I wasn't sure what to expect today. We spent a lot of time talking about the nice doctor and what she would do and that nothing was going to hurt this time. She walked into the office happy and looked at the fish and didn't seemed bothered.

This did not last long.

As soon as the nurse entered and tried to get Anna to lay down to take a measurement of her height, Anna freaked out. Freaked out to the point of hyperventilation. This continued for the entire hour we were there, the car ride home, through lunch and until a few minutes ago when she finally collapsed for a nap. Needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant experience despite many nice attempts by the doctor to make Anna more comfortable.

We did find out that Anna has gained 2lbs since her last visit and is up to 20.5lbs. Her height measurement was completely wrong since she would not lay down and she could not be pinned down.

Although her next official well-baby checkup isn't until 2 years old, the doctor is going to have us come in again at 21 months for another weight check and some blood work. Anna is still under the 5th percentile for weight and the doctor wants to do a more thorough check to make sure that she does not have any allergies to dairy, wheat, issues with her thyroid or anything else. It will be good to have all of our bases covered.

For now, I too am going to take a nap.

mmm mmm good

"Mommy, mmm mmm good!" Anna declared unprovoked as she dug into the slow-cooker barbecue beef I made yesterday. I guess it was a hit!

artsy anna

As we walked into our home on Sunday evening, fresh off a six hour plane ride, we returned to this beautiful sign. While we were away, Nana brought out the art in Anna....we have been finding said artwork all over the house...aren't they cute?!

Nana also turned Anna on to a new game...fun with shaving cream, or "bubbles". We had to give this a shot ourselves after dinner last night, and even mommy had fun!