We are a month and a half from Nadia's "due" date :) That's fun. Tomorrow we begin painting the new room, putting the crib together, etc. We received our Contours Tandem Double Stroller in the mail yesterday thanks to our awesome family (Lora & Q) and so things are definitely getting more real! However, I must confess that although Anna is only 15 months old, the days of thousands of diapers, spitting up and lots of crying seem so long ago that I had almost forgotten...only to be starting them again! Oh well :) At least this time I know it passes :) We'll post pictures of the room - maybe :)
As far as Anna Grace is concerned, she is an absolute joy. Daryl and I are constantly telling each other what a delight she is and how much we are enjoying this stage of her life. She still naps twice a day, sleeps great at night, is great on trips, loves life, and there is so much to fascinate her since she is still so young - oh, and she loves us - yay! In the morning when I carry her down stairs she says, "Hi, Mommy", puts her little arms around me and says, "Hug...kiss..." So fun.
Some stats - Anna weighs 22 lbs and 30 inches tall. She still has minimal hair, but otherwise, is very healthy :)
As far as words go, she at least makes an attempt to say anything you ask and often tries to mimic us. We're sure she says at least 150 correctly, although we have to ask her to repeat them sometimes, but we're pretty okay with that! She also has begun putting words together. Like at the doctors on Wednesday she got two stickers and said, "Mommy, two sticker." She also says things like, "I'll be back" or "All done, down?" Tonight at dinner with friends she said (mostly correctly) Megan, John, Kirk (Tirk), and Naomi (Nami).
She can count to 3, say the alphabet to "F", point to most all body parts (although she often gets her shoulders wrong), distinguish colors like yellow, blue, and pink, make her animal noises and is an excellent dancer ;) She completed her first puzzle all by herself yesterday (please don't be fooled - the pieces are huge and go in holes that have the picture of them in it) and makes sure to remind us to clap when she does such things correctly.
She also took swimming lessons this summer and was certainly the most improved (she cried off and on the first few days!) and now LOVES pools and the beach. Examples:
Other firsts for her - the beach, the zoo, Washington DC, 12 hour car trip, sleeping in a hotel room with Mommy and Daddy. She has recently taken to singing as well, and although she usually only says the first few words correctly loves singing "Twinkle, twinkle," "Rain, Rain, Go Away," and "Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes."
Thankfully she still will play in her exersaucer while I shower, but because she has watched me get ready so often, she is now putting on deodorant (without taking the cap off), blush (she literally takes the top off the brush, spins it out and swabs her face, spins it back and returns the cap), etc. This is a little disconcerting.
For instance - Anna wearing mommies headband. She insists this is "pretty".
Daryl is doing fantastic as well. We have traveled what seems like a lot this summer and he has been a huge help through it all as well as just a blast to be around. This is the first full weekend we've been home in 5 weeks, I believe, and we are very, very glad. I don't think we'll be traveling much now until after baby 2. Yay. Neither of us have any new stats we would like to share. I'll be keeping my weight to myself for a while, thank you :)
That's it for now. Thanks for checking in.
