SML 08

in our bathing suits, on the boat, in the lake, playing washers, ball and frisbee, reading, walking, eating, packing and unpacking groceries (one of anna's newest past times-grocery shopping with items around the house), swinging in the hammock, laughing, watching movies, playing games until the early am but most importantly just being together!

QT...

with mommy and daddy!

The one and only niece!

Anna is loved well.

Spotlight!

Yes, without a doubt Anna was the spotlight for eight adults these past few days!

On a final note...

"BBOOOOAT!"
at least a hundred times our sweet little girl puckered those lips and screamed this word!

Learning to folllow directions...

These pictures are perfect examples of how our little girl is growing physically and enjoying the freedom of being very mobile. She doesn't just walk anymore but almost runs. We have had some close calls with some of her crawling and scooting friends as their hands and feet are often in the path of our barreling toddler. Anna headed straight for the slide at the park and wanted to go down the slide over and over again. However, our fearless little girl will not venture on a swing, even though almost daily we push her empty one in our front yard and she says "wee" from the ground looking up. Even her baby doll has taken a ride in the swing hoping to lure Anna. Our almost 15 month old is learning to follow directions, which has been fun to watch over the past couple of weeks as well as very helpful. Some of her favorite phrases to follow are...
1) To close the refrigerator door (really any door but we often ask her to close the refrigerator door or our shower door).
2) To sit down. Now we just have to get her to learn to stay seated.
3) To lay down when you say night-night. She will lay down anywhere-outside or one of her favorite places, the cold kitchen floor.
4) To smell or in her case sniffs as loud as she can with puckered lips anytime we see flowers.
5) Her most recent trick is if she has a dirty diaper and you ask her, she will then make her way to her changing table and wait to be picked up. If only she would always stay happy during the changing process.
6) Anna has her bedtime routine down pat. After dinner we will ask her if she is ready for a bath. She will then make her way to the bathroom. After bedtime reading with daddy he will stand her on the floor and tell her to brush her teeth. She will then make her way to the bathroom. After her teeth are brushed she makes her way to her crib and waits for us to put her down.
7) Her Aunt Mary Beth taught her to look under the bed for my parents cat when we were last at the lake. However, Anna instead of turning her head to look will stand on top of her head. It is quite a site to see. We were talking on the phone to Aunt MB one day after being back and all of sudden Anna was standing on her head. I couldn't figure out what she was doing for the longest time but realized she was "looking under the bed." It has made for some fun forward rolls.
8) Of course Anna still gives plenty of kisses when asked as well as without being prompted! She is surely lovable!

Front Yard Fun....

Most days you can find Anna and me in our front yard playing. Often it is around lunchtime or 5:30pm, waiting for daddy to arrive. A week or so ago we were sitting out front when I heard Anna say "heyyy da." I knew it was not time for Kevin to be home so I turned to see who she was speaking to. As I turned, a green SUV was passing our house. Anna amazes me daily with the knowledge she has and the ways in which she is able to grasp things. Daily her vocabulary is expanding. Here are some of the words she has mastered and repeats back often...done, down, side (outside), all gone, no (loves to say no, no, no), ma, dada, nigh nigh (night-night, which is for nap time or bedtime), nana (banana), bye, hey, hi, ball, bah (bottle), wahhr (water), boat, raaa (rock, in which she will go to a chair that rocks and begin to rock it). Last weekend at the lake Anna was mesmerized by the boats. From almost any place in my parent's house you can see the water. Anna quickly learned they were called boats and as soon as one came into sight she blurted out BBBOOAT as loud as possible. Meal time was especially fun as she could see all the boats pass from the kitchen windows. Shortly after we got home we were outside and one of our neighbors started up their lawn mower. Anna quickly looked around and said, "bbboat." She associated the loud noise to the noise the boats made on the lake. It surely is fun to watch her little brain begin to sort through and put things together.

From one Fourth to another...

Wow, how our little one has changed and grown in a year. The top row is of Anna at the lake, July 4, 2007 and the bottom row is this year at the lake. Notice Anna asleep on Grandmommy's shoulder in 2007 and in 2008 she is wide awake as she swings in the hammock!