Annie is 15 Months Old

Annie is 15 months old and good gravy is she something; she is so full of spunk, joy and certainly keeps us on our toes.

She isn’t saying a lot of words yet but does know some baby sign language.  She can say ‘Mama’ clear as day.  We know she knows how to say ‘Dada’ but isn’t saying it quite as much right now.   When you ask her what a dog or Charley says, she replies with the cutest ‘Woof, Woof.’  And when she reads a book with a dog in it, she points and instantly goes ‘Woof, Woof.’  When you ask her a question, you can usually get a yes or no nod of the head, which has made my life a little easier when asking if she is ready to get out of the bath or is hungry.  When you ask her where her belly button is, she lifts her shirt up and points right to it, we find these little things pretty comical.  Aaron likes to trick her when she is wearing her swimsuit and ask where her belly button is and then she can't figure out why she can't find it in her one-piece.  I think that is borderline mean {as I laugh at her struggling to find it}. 

She’s not really into any toys right now.  In fact, she hardly plays with her toys, what she is into is books and Legos.  In particularly picture/word books and books with flaps to open.  I usually just sit a pile of books in front of her and she can entertain herself pretty easily but mostly really loves to be read to.  She definitely has a few favorite books which do get a little old by the 20^th time thru in a row.

She has teeth galore coming in, which has made for some challenging teething days.  She pretty much has half of her teeth now and I’m looking forward to just having them all in.  It’s funny, sometimes a new tooth doesn’t even phase her while others pretty much make for an entirely miserable day {and night}.   Some of her friends at daycare have given up the paci, we think it really helps with soothing thru this teething process so for now I think we will hang on to the paci until teething is over.

I wish I could report that Annie has become less clingy but it’s actually gotten worst.  She constantly wants to be held by me or needs me nearby.  If I leave the room she starts screaming, running after me.  I can barely catch a bathroom break!  Recently I was cooking in the kitchen, my hands were a mess and she was hysterical, with a total death grip around my leg, I had to literally drag my leg with her on it across the kitchen so I could clean my hands and pick her up.  It’s gotten that bad lately!  I love her wanting me and I do enjoy holding her but it’s becoming too constant that we really need to get to a happy-medium soon!   My chiropractor visits are becoming too frequent from carrying her around everywhere!

I’m always amazed at how well Annie excels at Daycare.  The other day I picked her up mid-day and was spying on her before she saw me.  She was eating lunch and I couldn’t believe it, using a fork to eat and she was doing it so gracefully and so focused.  I was like when did my child start using utencils?!  She learns way more at Daycare than she does from Aaron and I.  Daycare has been great parenting for us too.  They help prompt us when she is ready for a change.  She hasn’t been on bottles for months now and sleeps on a cot at daycare, no more cribs for day naps.  She is also very influenced by her little toddler friends, she sees them all doing it so she wants to do it too.  She is a way better eater at daycare then she is for us at home, again we think it’s because her toddler friends are more influential than we are when it comes to eating.  Dropping her off and going to work is easy when we know she is in good hands during the day.

Asleep in the cart, who knew that could be comfortable? 

Lately, we’ve noticed something Annie has been doing.  Sorting.  One day I was watching her take her 3 Leggo sets that are all in one tub and sort them between tubs.  I was kinda shocked that she knew how to sort them so well.  It was a proud and terrified moment for me because I think she has OCD like me!   I didn't mention it at first and then Daycare mentioned one day when I walked in during one of her sorting moments.  I watched her as she walked around sorting like items and they said she does it all the time and is very meticulous about putting like-items in tubs.  Since, we’ve noticed that she does it pretty often.  She watches me sort her toys but I’ve never sorted her Leggos before so that tells me OCD is definitely a hereditary thing!  It’s like I’m proud when I see it and think this girl is going to have amazing organizational skills but terrified because I know how life consuming OCD can be.  Oh Annie!

Annie has also started to learn how to give us kisses on the cheek when asked.  Her wet sloppy kisses are the best. She even makes the 'smacking' noise when she goes in for a kiss.  They usually are wide open mouthed kisses, which is quite comical when she comes at you with her mouth wide open, going “muah!”, she even pulls back kinda fast, which is funny because she is totally mimicking how we kiss her (minus the wide open mouth thing, not sure where she got that from!)   She loves to wave bye-bye, blow kisses and give hugs too.  The running hugs with huge smile on her face might be my favorite.  Aaron and I keep saying that this is one of our favorite ages so far! 

This video pretty much sums it up.  Life is oh so joy-filled with Miss Annie!

Omaha Zoo 2015

Our first trip of 2015 was a success and a lot of fun!  My parents had wanted to take my nephew Eli and Annie to the Omaha zoo and earlier this month we were able to do so.  It worked out really well because my sister, Heather and her boyfriend Andrew were able to meet us from Colorado so not only did we all go to the zoo but it was a perfect get-together as we haven’t done a family vacation with my parents and siblings in years!   On Friday night we drove over and met up with my parents, my brother Cody and his son Elijah.  Mom and I enjoyed sitting the hotel lobby that afternoon drinking wine while Eli and Annie ran around.  It’s cute how Annie kept a watchful eye on what Eli was up to and how Eli kept a watchful but almost like ‘big brother-like’ eye on his little cousin Annie.  It’s the cutest to see them play together or when Eli reaches over and gives Annie a gentle hug.  Annie is pretty clingy to me but with Eli, she lets him come near her and loves his hugs and jumps right in to play.

While hanging out in the lobby, Heather and Andrew showed up, their flight was right on time which was great because we still had the whole evening yet.  We all grabbed dinner at a nearby restaurant and then hurried down the pool to get some swim time in before Annie’s bedtime.  Which we ended up letting her stay up later than normal, not sure if that was a good idea or not but it didn’t completely backfire on us.  It was the first time Annie was in a big pool and she was more intrigued in watching Eli jumping off the side of the pool.  

The next day we got to the zoo early, it started off to be a rainy morning but cleared up pretty quickly and really didn’t end up ruining our day at all.  Annie really loved the petting zoo, I think she could have petted the baby goat kids all day long.   She also loved the artic penguins and the train ride around the park.  We had a little trouble getting her to finally nap in the stroller but when she finally did, she was out for 3 solid hours.  Which we knew it was super important that she caught her nap but a bummer that she missed out on 3 hours of zoo time.  By the end of the day, we had walked 6 miles and seen just about everything there was to see except the Jungle, which at that point we decided we didn’t have it in us to walk thru that exhibit so we hit the souvenir shop and headed back to the hotel.

Speaking of the souvenir shop, I was really surprised, the prices were really good and not a total rip off like I was expecting.  Mom ended up getting Annie 2 animal books and a Lego set, all for $20!  And she loves it and plays/reads with them all the time.  

Back at the hotel, we ended up all ordering dinner in and spending our last evening together with some more pool time.  All in all, Annie really loved this trip to the zoo and we will definitely be hitting up the local zoo here in Des Moines this summer.  First trip of the year was a success and it was nice to get out of Des Moines, spend time with family and do something different for a change.