Walking in Heels

Note: I have now fixed the video so you can all watch it. Sorry I made it private, I got kind of caught up in Jason's internet privacy but didn't realize it would inhibit viewing.

I have been trying to get this stupid video onto this blog for weeks and it hasn't worked. Basically, I was too impatient to wait for it to upload (but they never let me know how much had been done and how much needed to be done so really, can you blame me?). I had all but given up until we created a youtube account and can now upload videos to youtube. Now, I can upload to there (which does give a status bar) and just embed the videos here. (And there was much rejoicing. Yeah.)

So this video that so needs to be here is Anna being dang cute. I've noticed that so much of what makes us laugh about her now is her personality and that really comes out better in a video (and she has this habit of avoiding the camera, it better just be a phase). So here she is with a skill set beyond her years. It goes sideways partway through, sorry about that, we don't have video editing software so I can't fix it.

Little Tikes

One great thing about being at Kristen's is that they have a bunch of great toys that I would not have thought to get. They even have toys in every age range so there are fun things for Anna. Lately she has been quite fond of these two Little Tikes things, a car and a slide.


Since coming here, she has gotten to the point where she can go up the stairs and down the slide all by herself. She can even land on her feet rather than just slide off onto her bum. Not surprisingly, she is really into big slides at parks too.


The car is another big hit. She likes to ride around in it on their sidewalk which conveniently goes in a big loop around the grassy area of the yard. Or get pushed if anyone is offering. I've noticed that she doesn't really steer very well but still has fun.

Amazingly, Kristen has had these two toys for years. Apparently, when Christopher (who is 15) was a baby, they saw them either for sale or on the side of the road (I don't remember which) so they got them and they have lasted through all (except for Luke who is really too young yet) of their boys ever since. So if you are ever thinking of getting something like that but think it's kind of pricey, they are built to last.

Braids

I find myself not realizing how long Anna's hair is until I put it up and discover it is long enough to braid!

She can even sit still while I do it. Usually when there are fun cousins to watch while she sits.

Colors

We're working on teaching Anna colors. Kristen has a bunch of plastic plates/bowls/cups/forks/spoons from Ikea that are solid bright colors. So for meals, I'll choose two of whatever I need in different colors and let her choose which one she wants. I can't tell yet if she has a favorite color, she even chooses other colors over pink. What I think is really funny is that she doesn't want her fork/spoon to match her plate/bowl. This is funny to me because everyone else in this house likes to have them match. So when I give her options, I include the matching one and she always picks the other color.

She does the same thing with hair accessories. We have these little claw clips in tons of colors. One day before church I wanted to put the green one in her hair because she was wearing a green dress. She made it very clear that she did not want the green one. As I was thinking of what other color would work (maybe white?), she made it quite clear that she wanted the orange clip. So, that day she wore a green dress with an orange clip. It was cute but not what I would have though of. Apparently, she prefers contrast to matching.

Baby Luke

Kristen's youngest, Luke, is six months old now and Anna loves him. She was interested in babies before we came here and that hasn't lessened over time. She likes to hold him and hug him and, unfortunately, even sit on him when he is having his tummy time. When she finds empty bottles, she tries to feed him.

In spite of the worried look on his face, he quite likes Anna too. He laughs at her and puts up with all that she does although isn't too thrilled when she gives him an empty bottle.

I was really glad to see that she doesn't have any problems with jealousy when I hold him. She is just starting to want to sit on my lap too when I hold other kids or even try to push them off but nothing too bad and only when I'm sitting. I'm so glad for that because I admit I'm getting nervous about how old she is getting without an imminent sibling. From what I understand, the longer you have just the one, the harder it is for that one to adjust to having the new one. I really hope that Luke is helping to ease those problems.

The Beach

Anna in her oh-so-cute beach outfit from her Grandparents in Hawaii.

Seeing as we are in California and it's summer, we have been able to spend a bit of time at the beach. Fortunately, Anna loves it. The water here is cold (less than 60 degrees) so we generally don't actually get in the water but we have a lot of fun playing in the sand.


I think it's ironic that with Anna I suddenly enjoy doing things that I didn't use to. The beach is another example. Generally I hate sand. I'll refrain from my tirade now, but seeing as Anna is liking the beach, suddenly I do too. Go figure.

Since Anna is Anna, she likes to play with the other kids that are there. They very nicely shared their sand toys with her.

This beach also had some great rocks to play on. There was a big rock that the older boys were climbing on. Naturally, Anna wanted to climb it too so I put her on it a little way up. To my surprise, she kept climbing and ended up at the top. Seeing as she was higher up than me at that point, I thought it a good idea to climb up after her. I don't know why I keep getting surprised at the things she can/wants to do. I guess that's parenting.

New Favorite Toy

Kristen has a giant trampoline and Anna loves it! At first I was a bit nervous about having her up there. I mean, people get going high and it's high off the ground and there is gravel and I once got hurt on a trampoline. I have gotten used to her being up there and she has even gotten up there on her own with the help of a small slide.

Anna and Eric

The boys are really good with watching out for her while they are all up there. Apparently Kristen has done a good job of teaching her boys (she only has boys) to take care of girls. We think it helps that they don't have any sisters to pester them. It's nice to be able to let Anna go out with the boys and play and know that they will keep an eye on her.

Anna and I with Peter (middle, 6) and Eric (right, 3)

When we were first here, Anna and I spent some time at least every day on the trampoline. These days it's less but if we are outside, Anna pretty much always wants to be on it. She's getting pretty good at jumping by herself but still would rather have someone up with her.