Our Little Baby Blog

Two


Tomorrow Anna will turn two. TWO. Unbelievable. Our little baby is now a full fledged little toddler with an insatiable curiosity and drive that takes us by surprise on a daily basis. For the past couple of weeks, everytime we ask her how old she is, Anna replies, "15 months." I have no idea where she got that idea, but it's taken awhile to convince her that she is two years old. Mike pointed out that this is the first time we've really been counting in years rather than months so maybe the transition is just as hard for her as it is for us.

For so long we've been able to summarize Anna's development with her latest achievements (walking, talking, etc.), but now she's developed into an actual person and that's harder for me to get down on paper. How do you describe someone so wonderful and sweet and giggly and, yet, stubborn and determined and focused? I always find it difficult.

I suppose I should start out by saying that Anna is still my great snuggly cuddly girl. She wants nothing more than to be hugged and kissed and tickled all day long. And, quite frankly, I enjoy that immensely and I try to burn the feelings into my memory so that I'll always carry them with me. Though it's getting more difficult for me to lift and carry her these days, what with the huge baby belly I'm sporting, there is nothing more wonderful than to feel her warm skin and soft hair against my cheek each day. I love everything about this girl, I love her smell, I love her messy face, I love her crazy hair, I just love being with her and am so grateful that I've been able to spend every day with her this past year. She's now carrying on near conversations with us, speaking in complete sentences and asking constant questions. What song is this? Where is that man going? What are you eating? What are you doing? And then she repeats them to us until we finally realize that she wants us to turn the tables and ask her the questions so that she can say what she thinks is going on. "The man is going to work" "You're eating your breakfast" and then she begins to narrate her day and ours.


This weekend Mike was reading the paper and Anna asked, "what are they doing, da da?" and pointed towards a picture. Mike dutifully explained the picture was of an oil drill and that oil comes from the ground and helps makes cars go. Anna nodded her head yes and then said, "And she's walking..." Turns out, Anna was more curious about the women in the Saks Fifth Avenue ad next to the picture and Mike had missed the mark a bit. However, it honestly could have gone either way. The kid is curious about everything.

Despite our worries about the new baby being stressful for Anna, she seems more and more in love with the idea of a baby everyday. She pulls up my shirt constantly and kisses and hugs my belly and the girl will cross a room in two seconds flat if she spots a baby in a carrier. Anna will wave and giggle and try to reach for the baby and, if we actually know the baby, she'll try to hug the baby, too. I love that Anna is so full of love. She exudes joy from every pore in her body. Friends of ours will remark how Anna will just burst into laughter when she hears something funny like a new word or sound or when her friends make a silly noise. It's hard not to laugh right along with her as she repeats the sound and then laughs at herself again.

Anna's imagination has taken off like wildfire now and we get such a kick out of watching her play. Though she still vastly prefers for us to play with her and will demand that we join her on the floor, it's often worth it for the entertainment value it brings. Every animal is pulled out and placed in position as she coaxes them into the "pond" (a plastic lid) and then later into the "car" (a wooden lid) where she buckles them up so they can go to church or the grocery store. Anna will adapt anything she finds into a toy. Her baby stroller doubles as a grocery cart so she can "shop" around the living room for strawberries and corndogs (her faves) and then she'll say, "I'm home" so that I know she's back. Whew! And her toothbrushes like to dance together "at the ball" (yeah, Cinderella, you've even followed us into the bathroom) and periodically will "get married." These things just fall out of her mouth at such rapid rate that I spend half my day laughing and the other half trying to figure out where she picked this stuff up.

Mike also gets full narration every morning. "Are you putting on your work shirt?" "Do you need your shoes?" "Have fun, see you tomorrow!" (his personal favorite because she knows he's coming home that night) Her concept of time and duration are also starting to emerge in a scattered way. She'll drop things like, "I want to play tomorrow" which could make sense and then say stuff like, "you put on your shoes all day long" or BEG to do something on Friday when you know full well she means RIGHT THIS INSTANT.

As much as it is frustrating to deal with the emergence of her new sense of independence and the accompanying stubborn streak, I have to say I'm loving this stage of her development. It's just so much fun to see her personality emerge. And I think it's also helped me mentally prepare for the next baby also because now I find myself so insatiably curious about who this next member of our family will be and how he/she will differ from Anna and us.

So tomorrow, as Anna devours her beloved blueberry pancakes and we sing Happy Birthday to her, I will be consumed with getting her cleaned up and getting our day back on track. But, today, for just a few moments while the little angel naps, I am pausing to commemorate the wonderful creature that God gave us.

Anna, you're just about the best thing that's ever happened to us. Happy Birthday, Pumpkin!

We love you so much.