daddy, swiper, little frogs, baby moses

I think I will forever remember the age of 2 for Anna as boundless energy, contagious laughter and vivid imagination. Over the past few weeks Anna's energy has gone into overdrive. I thought perhaps it was just me thinking this, given my energy ebbs and flows as baby grows...but it was confirmed yesterday when my dear husband exclaimed "she just never stops!". Oh dear Anna, you are a ball of fire.

I have to say, it is a lot of fun. There are moments of exhaustion on the part of her parents - but the laughter that fills our every day is so worth it. Anna wakes up singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" - which she has informed me is my cue to come and get her. If I have not arrived at her door by the close of the song, a chorus of "Mommy, where could you be?" follows, interjected with other songs that occupy the running playlist in her head (Old MacDonald, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABC's, and more).

Weekends are filled with hugs and kisses for daddy. Anna knows when it's the weekend and automatically shifts to calling for "daddy" on Sat and Sun mornings. From sunrise to sunset, daddy is her go-to person..."daddy, will you please play with me?", "daddy, should we go on a wagon ride?", "daddy, should we go downstairs?". It is so fun to watch the 2 of them together as they soak up their weekend time. On multiple occasions this past weekend I watched Anna walk up to Steve in the middle of her play, give him a hug and say "I love you, daddy". Does it get any better than that?!

Some of our biggest laughs come from Anna's vivid imagination. Our evenings are interrupted with "did you hear that mommy/daddy?". No, Anna - what was it? "Swiper, he's in the office (or around the corner, or upstairs, or in the kitchen, or over "der")" And then we chase this invisible Swiper saying "Swiper no swiping!" until she is certain he is gone.

One morning when I went in to get her up for the day she climbed out of bed with one of her hands in a fist. "Anna, what's in your hand?" I asked. She opened up her hand to reveal an empty palm but replied "My little fwoggy, I saved him, I am going to bring this fwoggy downstairs and have a snack".

And last night in the bathtub she told me that baby moses came out and was sitting in the tub with her. She splashed him, set him on the ledge and talked to him for the entirety of her bath. She also has informed me that she has a baby in her tummy as well, and it's "grwowing".

Why don't our imaginations stay that way forever? Seriously, she has so much fun - all of her own making!
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On another note, baby is getting much more active. Perhaps this little one will take after his big sis afterall! From the time I lay down at night to the time I wake in the morning, baby rolls, kicks, jabs and often practices for entering the outside world. While not the most restful sleep, I enjoy feeling this baby and imagining what he or she will be like. Baby is still sitting very low - there are times when I feel baby is so low that it's going to fall right out! Anna talks to the baby, and likes to feel the baby kick her hand when she rests it on my tummy. I can't wait to see her as a big sis.

We have started to get the things on our list that we need before baby arrives. Fortunately the list is not too long, and of course we have a few months yet...but it's fun to get things done bit by bit. Last week I took out all of the neutral newborn onesies, socks and sleepers from storage, washed them and put them in the nursery. I forgot just how little those things are! It was so fun, I enjoyed every moment. I find myself enjoying the sweet anticipation of this baby's arrival and continue to wonder is this baby a boy or a girl?