for Valentines!
This is a request we hear often from our 21-month-old. Anna even knows exactly when we are on our way to the grocery store as it is a path often traveled by mommy's car. We pass the road we would turn on to head to the grocery store on Tuesday and Thursday mornings as I take Anna to preschool. As we pass the road Anna says, "bye grocery." Once we pass that road she knows she is off to see some of her favorite friends. She often is just as thrilled to make the turn and head to the grocery. Both school and the grocery often get a huge applause from the backseat when she realizes she is heading to one of those locations. She recognizes the street on the way home from preschool too and will wave to the grocery. On rare occasions we turn down the street the grocery is on but continue to other shops. This often puzzles Anna for a bit as she tries to figure out our destination. Anna also knows her way to her grandparents house. If you tell her we are going there and you make a wrong turn she is not a happy back seat driver!
Most mornings Anna wakes and says, "dada work, call dada" in which we proceed to call daddy with a good morning call from Anna. But on two mornings a week Anna is thrilled to find dada at home. Valentine's was one of these mornings. Our sweet girl loves her days with her daddy. She loves the evenings on those days when he is at work when we all can "sit-sit" in the den and read together. Every evening she has her special time with her daddy as he baths and gets her ready for bed. It is a special time for them and a blessing for mommy. It is so fun for me to listen to Anna at dinner recount her day to her daddy. It is amazing how she can recall what we did and who was a part of our day with just a little help. In between naming various people she has seen or places we went she will shift her eyes up and say, "umm, ummm" before spitting out the next word. How easily they pick up on things from us that we don't think we do often and how amazingly well they use them in the correct context.
The park rates right up there with the grocery and preschool. It is one of those words that once said is repeated over and over by our little one until she actually gets to go to the park. Thus, you better not say the word, "park" unless you are planning a trip there with her. If you ask Anna what you do at the park she will tell you, "sli" and "swi." Yes, the child that would never swing will now swing and will actually ask to go swinging. She even likes to go high in the swing.
Time with family. Family that traveled all the way from Florida. It was a real treat as we spent much of the weekend at my parents house where all our meals were prepared for us! Yum! The real photographer of the family hopefully will be sending pictures our way soon. Robin even traveled to the park with us on Sunday and did a photo shoot of Anna.
