2007 BLOG

Thursday, December 27th, 2007
Woohoo!  I'm up past 6:30 p.m.  I've been feeling better for over a week now, so let's hope this trend continues.  This baby is kicking my butt all over town.  We've been in a sort of lockdown this month, and Jason has been a saint while taking care of Anna and me.  With a a nice long holiday break from work, I've been able to get our household back on our feet and have been able to spend some quality time with Anna.  Jason has been busy painting Anna's new room and we're now working on putting the room together in time for her birthday next month.  How exciting for her!

I've now realized that Anna is playing a game with this potty training business.  Yesterday, she "couldn't" go, but then when I said she could only read a certain book after she went potty... she promptly went!  This potty stuff will be the end of me.  We're now on m&m's and a sticker chart, so we'll see if that works.  If you have any ideas, I'M ALL EARS.

Saturday, November 17th, 2007
I have to share with you some funny comments that I've gotten lately...

"Why are you always eating whenever I see you?" (student)
"Are you limping?" (teacher)
"Are you going to be sick?" (a class of students)
"Is there a baby in my belly too?" (Anna)

It's getting pretty hard to hide now, so yes... we're expecting!  We're absolutely thrilled to finally announce that Anna will soon be a big sister.  We feel very blessed that our family is growing.  Now, if only that morning sickness would go away...

Sunday, September 23, 2007
It's been a rather low key month for us, which works well with my transition back to work!  Weeknights are quiet and weekends are rather peaceful.  Anna has adjusted well to daycare, and her friends and teachers are excited that she is back.  I didn't realize how much "school" benefits Anna... in the first week back, we saw a noticeable jump in her vocabulary!  She is now in the room that is connected to the child sized potties, so we're hoping that she'll get interested in the potty again after she sees her friends use it successfully.

The new phase that we're dealing with is her interest in climbing EVERYTHING.  This week alone she fell off the couch and hit the coffee table, which gave her a black eye, and stood on her rocking chair to reach the books on the top of her bookshelf!  Everything in the house is a ladder to be used to reach something. 

My cousin Emily had her baby this week.  It's always nice to see our extended family grow, and we look forward to seeing new baby Ava soon!

Monday, August 20th, 2007
We've had some fun "firsts" this month.  Anna had her first haircut a few weeks ago!  At first we thought we'd have to leave the salon because she was so upset and scared, but in the end we were able to get it done.  And we recently took her to her first concert, The Wiggles, which was so much fun!  I think Jason and I had just as much fun as Anna.  Maybe we need to get out more.

Anna has been really into "doing things myself", including climbing into her carseat, putting on her shoes, choosing her own clothes and food, and suggesting we take trips (mostly to Target and Starbucks- oops!).  Her language and fine motor skills are really developing, which is neat to see.  Her new obsession has been Thomas the Train, which is starting to rival her Little Einsteins phase.

It's hard to believe summer vacation is almost over!  What a wonderful vacation it has been, spending lazy mornings together, going to the zoo and Starbucks, and being together in the evenings and weekends as a family.  Summer always makes me remember to live "in the moment" and I've appreciated my time at home very much.
Thanks to all for your well wishes, questions, and concerns for my sister Abby, who is adjusting well to her new life in South Africa.  If you're interested, read more about her experiences in her blog... http://abby-zazazoom.blogspot.com/ .  

Thursday, July 19th, 2007
Today my sister leaves on a plane to Africa for the Peace Corps.  It's strange to feel both extreme sadness and intense pride at the same time.  She was home for two weeks this month and we had a blast with her.  She didn't fail to teach her something new and annoying; this time it was the answer to "Who's crazy?"  Of course, the answer was... "Mama".

We crashed and burned with potty training.  We had an alien child with us for two weeks who was so cranky, constipated, and short-tempered that we just had to stop!  Now we have our little Anna back with us, still constipated and strong willed but at least not as cranky.  After those two weeks of pure terror, now I really could care less when she gets out of diapers.  I'm sure with her personality, she will be the one telling me when she is ready.

A trip up north, zoo classes, playdates, and dinners with friends have kept our summer busy and enjoyable.  Jason has started up with his music again and enjoys running now and I have found time to scrapbook and return to the gym.  Anna loves to blow bubbles, swing, and watch Little Einsteins.  It's been a great summer so far!!

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
It's potty training boot camp this week.  Day 1 had us going to the potty every five minutes, per Anna's request.  Day 2 was just the opposite.  She held it for FIVE HOURS this morning and then we had a little meeting of the minds.  I'm curious what will happen tomorrow...

I turned a milestone birthday last month and I got the best present ever... my sister flew in from Seattle to surprise me!  We had a great weekend.  And this week marks the start of my summer vacation!  I've decided to cancel all of my work and daycare plans and instead I'm going to just enjoy the precious time I have with her.  She is growing up so fast!  We have lots of fun things planned... after PT boot camp is over, of course.

Sunday, May 13th, 2007
Trips to the zoo, playing in the backyard, and walks around the neighborhood remind us that summer is coming soon!  We can't wait!  Anna has been a dare devil lately.  This week alone, she fell down a set of stairs and got a black eye, jumped off a cot and bit her lip... and we have about four or five bruises that are probably from tripping on concrete or falling off window sills.  We even caught her yesterday pushing her stool to the stove to reach a bag of Cheerios on the counter.  Super!  I guess our next investment will be knob covers for the stove.  What a monkey we have on our hands! 

Happy Mother's Day!

Sunday, April 15th, 2007
Nuks, naps, peepee, and Seattle... these are the pretty exciting things that have happened so far in April.  I went to visit my sister in Seattle and we had a such a great time together.  It was so nice to have some bonding time with Abby while she is still in the states.  She'll be going into the Peace Corps this summer.  It was also nice for Jason to have some daddy/daughter time.

Anna gave up her nuk last week, and with that, apparently her naps too!  I was expecting for nap time to gradually go away and for ME to have the choice in getting rid of them.  Let's hope that this is just a phase, and that naps will come back soon. 

On day one of no nuks, she asked to use the potty and then promptly went peepee in it!  We tried to keep up with the potty training, but she had no clue.  Perhaps we'll try again this summer.

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007
Between Jason's opera schedule and my work, February and March seemed to have flown by!  Anna ended her first set of swim lessons last weekend, and they were a great success.  At first I didn't think I'd be able to get her into the pool, but now she seems to really enjoy the water.  This summer will be fun at the various pools in the area, and the batch of warm weather we had recently reminds me that summer vacation is coming soon enough.

We're out of the "Curious George" phase, sadly.  Jason and I really liked that movie!  Now it's "Frosty the Snowman".  She's obsessed with the old cartoon and she now requests that we draw snowmen every time we do art together.  And the toddler bed transition is complete; last week marked five days in a row that she slept in her bed (instead of the floor).  Phew!

Monday, February 5th, 2007
It's been a nice month for us.  Anna celebrated her second birthday in January with some low key festivities and we had a really good time.  She has been counting and saying the alphabet as well as pretty much anything you want her to say.  It's fun to have a little parrot around the house.  We've been having tea parties, making food in her new toy kitchen, doing lots of art, and of course watching "Curious George".  And... we've finally made the transition from a crib to a toddler bed. 

Anna has been teaching us what it's like to be the parents of a child who is two.  Anna thinks naps are negotiable now that she has freedom to get out of her bed.  She loves to walk around her room, and her favorite place to be is right behind the door, looking under it to see if we're standing there listening.  She's fallen asleep right there on the floor quite a few times!  It's hilarious.  And temper tantrums have started in full force.  Her persistence is truly amazing.  I'm sure that is going to be quite an asset to her when she gets older.  At least, that's what I tell myself.