Our Little Baby Blog

Ten Things Anna is doing these days

1. The big girl cup. After much encouraging (i.e. strong arm-ing), Anna has finally started using that crazy plastic contraption known as the cup... sort of. We're still having trouble getting her to drink at all, but we've stopped using anything but a big girl cup for meals under the guise that ONLY big girl cups will be used at preschool. If you want to go to preschool, you better jump on the cup bandwagon.


2. Watering plants. Now that spring has sprung and our garden has been planted, we do a lot of watering. This is a favorite activity. I fill up her little watering can, she dumps 90% of it on the way to the garden, and then successfully sprinkles a few tomato plants.


3. Adoring the Little Travelers. There is a wonderful series of DVDs called the Little Travelers. Essentially, two little girls and their mom travel to different countries and then produce a short documentary about their trip. Anna is obsessed with these girls and is now asking lots of questions about Japan and the British Isles.


4. Canvassing the globe. This little travelers obsession has spilled over into a curiosity about geography. On a whim, I bought a very old globe (as in still features rhodesia) at a thrift store and started pointing out where some of the countries are. Now Anna will say she wants to learn about new countries and will point to various locales. Her favorite is, of course, Turkey. Big laughs, folks, big laughs.


5. Relatives. Anna is very interested in knowing exactly how we are all related to one another and then using that when she speaks to us. When Andy visits, she'll say, "what is your brother eating?" or she'll ask me, "where is my baby brother?" Very formal sounding and very funny.


6. Sleeping in her tent. Not only does Anna love playing in the tent, but she's actually started sleeping in it at night every once in awhile. I know it sounds crazy, but on those nights when she's refusing to go to sleep and I'm ready to throw in the towel, I will grant her request and just let her drag her pillow and blanket into the tent. She sleeps all night there.


7. An apple a day. Or two or three. This girl is crazy about apples. She will have one in the morning for a snack and then often again in the afternoon. If I'm not paying attention, she will eat three of them. I have a huge bowl full of apples and other fruits on the counter and I refill that thing every single week.


8. Rain boots. Given that the weather is now beautiful and we have big sliding glass doors that tempt us every time we walk into the dining room, we are in and out several times a day. What does Anna wear when she leaves the house? Rain boots. Every. Single. Day. They are, by far, the easiest shoes she has to pull on quickly. Our neighbors laugh every time they see her because she is undoubtedly wearing the boots.


9. Snuggle to sleep. Tent-sleeping aside, Anna has developed an affinity for falling asleep in a very particular way. She wraps her arms around my neck and snuggles in close to me, our noses touching, and stays just like that until she falls asleep. I know that this could develop into a very bad habit, but I have to confess I love it. She won't want this forever. I'm just going to savor it.


10. Hide and seek in my closet. We have weird master bedroom closets, no doubt about it. But the one perk of this situation is that Anna can climb into one of the closets, which is like a teeny tiny room that you have to step up into, and hide there. You can imagine the drill. Let's play hide and seek. You go count.... hmmm, where could she be? Repeat this about five times, the exact same hiding place, and you've got a great way to kill 20 minutes. Perfect three year-old fun.