Kissing

Anna had speech yesterday and they practiced kissing since it's a good oral motor skill. She was in such a kissy mood afterwards! She was standing facing the couch playing with her computer and every few seconds leaning over and kissing me! It was so funny.

Last Night

Dave is in Chicago again, and when he called last night just before I put Anna to bed, I put him on speaker phone so she could hear his voice. Just for fun I said, 'Anna, take paci out and say 'hi' to daddy'. She did exactly that! Normally her 'hi' sounds more like 'I', but it was clear as a bell last night. Then I said, 'take paci out and blow daddy a kiss' and once again out came paci and she moved closer to the phone and puckered up. Finally I said, 'take paci out and say 'bye bye' and immediately out came paci one more time and Anna clearly (well, clearly for Anna) said 'bye bye' and waved to the phone.

She seemed to know it was Dave and definitely seemed to understand the concept of the phone better than she has in the past. She spoke directly into the speaker and leaned in even closer when she went to give him a kiss - so cute!

This morning I got her up and she immediately took off down the hall toward our room. When I stopped her and told her that Daddy wasn't in there, she pointed downstairs. When I explained he wasn't down there either, she walked back to her room and got ready for the day. It's so cool to see her wheels spinning!

Face Book

I just joined Face Book (www.facebook.com). It's a lot of fun and I've already found two friends I haven't talked to in ten years - I think about them every now and again and have even tried to look them up using Google but to no avail. I was thrilled when I found them within one day of signing up!

If you're interested, create your profile and add me to your friends list (Vicki Withington).

Have fun!

Merry Christmas!

I don't like this picture of me, but I love it of Anna. Plus, it shows off the dress I made for her second Christmas. It was a little short and didn't stay fastened in the back, but it sure did look cute with her white tights and black shoes. She was a big hit!

Anna had a ball Christmas Eve at my uncle's house. She played with her cousins, opened presents (sort of) and crawled up the stairs about one hundred times! My uncle's house has two sets of stairs, and they're both carpeted so she zipped up them every chance she got. Luckily, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Michael, Grandma, Granddad, Cousin Lauren and Aunt Marlene were all there to help because otherwise Dave or I would've spent the whole day on the stairs with her!

Happy Birthday Anna

I'm a little out of order with this post considering it's coming after St. Patrick's Day, but, oh well. . . !

We celebrated Anna's birthday the Saturday before, but Grandma and Granddad could not let the day pass without seeing their birthday girl! We had dinner at Vinnie's (a pizza place in Bloomfield), and even Uncle Jimmy joined us for dessert.

When the waiter saw that we weren't having dessert, he brought out an ice cream 'cake' made to look like a dog complete with whipped cream ears for Anna. We decided it wouldn't be right not to join her so we added rice pudding and some other desserts to the order! I didn't have an Anna-sized spoon so we let her use her hands for the whipped cream - a big hit - and I spoon fed her some of the chocolate ice cream - also a big hit. She couldn't wait for the next bite. She kept standing on the bar of the high chair to get closer to the next spoonful. Too funny! Once I decided she had had enough of the ice cream, she moved onto the rice pudding - I think she may have liked that even more so - she loves cinnamon just like me!

The birthday celebration wouldn't have been complete without singing happy birthday - her reaction was adorable. She got excited and embarrassed at the same time. She kept standing on the bar of the high chair and leaning backwards almost as if she was shy, but she had the hugest smile on her face. She may not have understood why we were singing to her but she definitely knew it was all about her!

Happy second birthday Anna! It certainly hasn't been the easiest two years but they've been worth it!

Anna in a Bar!

That's right, I took Anna to a bar Monday night (St. Patrick's Day). Dave was in Chicago and some neighbors were going down to have a drink and enjoy some free corn beef and cabbage so I decided to join them for an hour.

Anna had a blast (as usual)! She danced to the Irish music, saw some friends and had a little Irish food. I thought it was going to be wall to wall people so I was prepared to have to turn right around and go home, but it turned out to be a pretty good situation. The bar is in the front and then some bar tables and floor space in the back where the food was. Anna got to walk around and dance a little bit but then sat nicely with me while I had some dinner. I wasn't sure she'd eat the corn beef and cabbage so I had already given her dinner. But she sat still long enough for me to eat, enjoy a beer and visit with our wonderful neighbors.

I'm glad I'm getting out of my comfort zone with her because so far we haven't had a bad experience - she loves to be with people and see new places, and we don't feel so stuck at home anymore. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Knitting for Baby

I love to knit and I especially love to knit for Anna. I have made a lot of sweaters, some hats and mittens and two dresses - both for the two Christmases she has celebrated with us. I've been trying to get a small business going making customized baby clothes so if anyone is interested in a very special gift, please feel free to contact me and be sure to leave an email address and/or phone number. Here's a picture of one of my favorite sweaters.

The Sling Chair

The sling chair was a great 'babysitter' for us for the first six months of Anna's life. She seemed to prefer it to being held at times. She slept in it a lot during the day and watched the world around her in amazement. Sometimes when people held her and she started to get fussy, they would hand her back to me and say, 'I think she wants her mommy.' I'd take her and tell them that I think she wants to be left alone. I'd place her in the sling chair and she'd settle in either for a nap or a good observation session.

As she got older and stronger, she would bounce in it to the point that I felt like she was going to catapult out of it. Dave would put on music (she especially liked Elvis), and she would bounce to the music laughing and smiling as we danced right along side her.

Unfortunately, we knew it was time to retire it when she started to try and sit up in it. But we milked it for all it was worth and then happily passed it along to a friend knowing it had done its job and would now be a safe place for Baby Spencer to learn about the world.

Vacationing with Baby

I've been focusing on the present recently, but I want to create a few postings about the first few months with Anna before the memories begin to fade.

We went to Maine for a week when Anna was five months old. We stayed in a cabin at the Kiwahnee Inn on Lake Webb for a week. We stayed there a few years back and had a great week. The weather had been unseasonably warm and we were hoping for a similar experience. Unfortunately no such luck. We had been bringing Anna to our town pool all summer long and had hoped to get her in the lake but instead we spent most of the week in jeans and sweat shirts. Dave and I each went in the water once but very briefly.

We still had a nice time. Anna hadn't found an exact routine but was beginning to settle into one so we relaxed in the living room or on the porch while she napped or just let her catch some rest in the car as we toured around the local area. It was nice not to worry about laundry, house work, cooking, etc. while we were away. The only chore was washing bottles and making formula since we had decided to wait for Anna to turn six months before beginning solid food. A great decision since it made for a lot of free time to read and finish a sweater I had been making for Anna.

She loved being outside. We put her in the Baby Bjorn and went on easy hikes. Or we would put her in her exersaucer on the porch and she would watch the lake - on windy days, the lake was pretty rough and she was thoroughly entertained.

It was very cold at night though and we were in a cabin without heat. So we bundled Anna up really well to protect her from the night air. Socks, a onesie, a sleeper, a sleep sack, some blankets in a pack n' play that was also well insulated protected her from the cold. But for some reason she didn't like to keep her hands under the blankets so although she barely moved at night, her hands never stayed under the blankets and were always cold in the morning. So we wound buying leopard fleece, no thumb mittens that she still wears! A great investment for sure! She slept great all week regardless of her cold hands - I think the mittens just made us feel better; she didn't seem to even notice!

One funny memory from that trip is the day we decided to take off as soon as Anna finished her morning nap and go to the waterfall we had visited a few years back. We hiked up a ways and sat and watched some crazy kids swim in the frigid water. Then we headed back to the car to find some lunch. Anna fell asleep in the car, and since she was kind of sensitive to the start and stop of the car as well as the slamming of the doors, we climbed out the window to get our food and eat it on a picnic table next to the car. We held our breath as we climbed back in and applauded our cleverness. Anna slept for over an hour, if not close to two hours - a big feat for carseat napping - she was not fond of it. We were grateful to have a little time to ourselves while Anna still managed to get the rest she needed.

Another great memory was our last night there - we went to the inn's restaurant for dinner. Anna enjoyed sitting and watching the people and she got a lot of attention as she cooed and smiled at everyone passing by. As we finished up our dinner (and Dave's two desserts!), Dave started to swing his cloth napkin around for Anna's enjoyment. She laughed so hard and so long that the people at the next table were compelled to come and check out the baby with the precious laugh. A baby's laugh truly is infectious.

We finished our vacation with a night at Kelley's family camp in Fryeburg, ME. It poured the day we arrived so we all gathered around the fire in the family room visiting and passing the babies around. It was fun seeing everyone but we were glad that we hadn't planned on staying long since the weather didn't cooperate. Plus, we had been away all week and were ready to get home and settled again. Definitely a good first vacation with the newest Withington. We decided that the next time we returned to Weld, ME, we'd have to go a bit earlier in the season so Anna can finally experience Lake Webb.

Anna's Birthday Party

Anna's second birthday party was Saturday. My family and some neighbors joined us for a jungle-themed celebration. I decorated the dining room with cardboard banana trees and animals, and, of course, tons of balloons! Anna squealed when she saw me come in with three dozen balloons. That alone was worth the hassle!

She had such a wonderful time. Ne Ne brought her 'charges' Elizabeth and Elena who played with Anna most of the day - all three seemed to have a blast. Anna got so many new clothes for spring and some fun new toys. She especially likes the computer from Grandma and Granddad and veggies/fruits from Uncle Michael and Uncle Ransom. I loved the strawberry dress from Uncle Jimmy and Ne Ne. Elizabeth and Elena gave Anna a 'Build a Bear' gift certificate. I was hoping to take Anna on her actual birthday to do it, but we'll see how things go. I'd like Dave to participate so we may wait until the weekend when we have enough to enjoy it.

I was disappointed by one thing - we had ice cream cake and Anna enjoyed it after she got over how cold it was! I checked the video after everyone was gone and Anna was in bed only to find that that was the one part of the day that didn't record. I have no idea why. I was so disappointed. It was a great close up - the facial expressions were priceless, plus she said 'bye bye' right before I turned it off. I was thinking about redoing it this Thursday (her actual birthday), but it just won't be as good since it'll be her second time having the cake. Ugh! Technology!

Grandma and Granddad are taking us out for dinner on Thursday to celebrate, and Anna will open the present from Dave and me. She was a bit overwhelmed by everything Saturday so I figured I'd space out the gift opening. She doesn't really open well yet, but I thought if we had a little more time, I could help her do it rather than doing it for her. I'll let you know how it goes. . . So until then. . .

Pudding

Here is a picture of Anna 'finger painting' with chocolate pudding last summer. The first time she just played with it. The second time (pictured here), she realized it was not only fun to play in but also pretty yummy to the taste! The first time I gave her the pudding I had in her in just a diaper, but since she didn't make a mess, I let her stay in her t-shirt and bib the second time around. Big mistake! I soaked that shirt for days before all of the chocolate came out of it and the bib I just threw away! And, of course, Anna went from the high chair directly to the bath tub when she was done 'painting' (and eating!).

I've talked about the contraption (parallel bars) a lot so I wanted to include a picture for everyone to see what I've been talking about for two months! Here it is - Anna took to it right away and we still use it as a therapy tool. Now we flip it over so she has to crawl into it, and we also place a 'roof' over part of it to form a tunnel so she has to continue crawling. Now we place the balance beam in the middle of it so she can walk on the beam with the aid of the railings. She also loves to push it around the room - not our favorite independent activity but if someone helps her steer, it's ok!

Dancing Queen

Last night Anna was on her balance beam between the contraption (the parallel bars) when I turned on the soundtrack to "Dream Girls". As soon as she heard the first couple of beats, instead of coming out the free end, she crawled out as quickly as possible so she could boogie with Mommy. She couldn't get out fast enough - too funny! :-)

Anna's Juke Box

Our friends and next door neighbors Joe & Doreen gave Anna a magnetic farm that goes on the refrigerator. It is shaped like a barn and has a bunch of animals that go with it. It plays a couple of different songs so when we're in the kitchen and I tell Anna to go put on some music, she goes right for the 'farm' and pushes the button until her favorite song comes on (Oh Susannah). Anna has the funniest dance move - she doesn't move her legs, just her upper body from side to side as she waves her hands back and forth in a wax-on/wax-off kind of fashion. It's hard to describe - you've got to see it!

Eating

Anna's been doing pretty well with her spoon and fork. And when she gets frustrated, she just puts them down and starts to use her fingers. She uses her fingers to eat things I would never think to use them for! Spinach; eggs; my turkey, broccoli & tomato sauce casserole; even oatmeal! I figure at this point I'm just glad she eats whatever I put in front of her. At least she tries the fork and spoon. Somedays are better than others. She was doing really well a couple of weeks ago but seems to have regressed. I think she thinks it's funny to make an absolute mess of herself! I don't enjoy it because it makes more laundry - no matter what I do, she manages to get it all over herself, and since it's too cold to eat in just a diaper, I rely on good ol' Spray n' Wash! It is funny though to see her dive into it with such gusto. Oh, well. . .

The fact that Anna will eat just about anything (avocado, squid, salmon, talapia, spinach, broccoli) makes going out nice and easy. As long as we have her milk, we're all set. I still make sure I have some cheerios in case it takes awhile to have our dinner but otherwise, it's a piece of cake. Something has to be, right?!

People are shocked when I tell them what she eats. I was telling a story to a group of women a couple of weeks ago and when I mentioned that Anna was eating spinach, she looked at me and said, 'spinach?' I have to say I'm very proud that she's such a good eater. People tell me all of the time about their children's eating habits and I quietly thank Anna for being so cooperative! One less battle, right?! Well, for now. . .

Story Board

I made a felt story board for Anna awhile ago and cut out some felt animals so I could tell stories to her with visual aids - I thought it would be a little variety from the books we read to her. Plus, as she gets older she can make up stories by herself or with her friends.

She liked it for awhile but then learned how to move around so getting her sit still for a quick story has been ineffective. But I've been busy making more animals this week so I'm going to see if Pam (Anna's speech therapist) would like to use it during her session later today. Perhaps Anna will be more attentive with her teacher. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, it's been a fun project to work on.

All I did was cut a piece of white felt and attach it to a dole. I put a string on either side of the dole and hang it wherever we're playing. I'm trying to find a permanent place for it in her room but haven't settled on a spot yet. I'm thinking of getting hooks with adhesive on the back and placing the board on the back of Anna's door at her level, but I haven't bought the hooks yet. My experience in the past with them has been that they only last for a little while so for now, we're just using it wherever our playing takes us.

Baby Talk

Anna's been babbling a lot over the past month or two. We started with a second speech therapist in January, and she has been making a lot of noise since then. She seems to say 'hi', 'bye, bye' and 'more' but no one but Dave, my mom and I can really determine this. The other day at the playground she said a very good 'hi' when prompted by me to greet the two little girls she was watching so intently. And 'bye, bye' can be detected pretty well when she does in context, but she still has some work to do.

Not only is she making a lot of noise, but she appears to be trying to mimic our facial movements when we say certain words. It's as if she's trying it out before she attempts to vocalize. She's also putting her hand to her mouth to make noises and trilling her lips to do her version of raspberries. She finds all of this very amusing!

Sunday night Dave and Jimmy were howling like wolves and Anna was playing right along. She loves being part of the fun.

We have a long way to go yet but are encouraged by her interest and daily progress. By the end of the summer I'm sure we'll be telling her to please be quiet! :-)

Singing

As part of Anna's speech therapy, I sing traditional nursery rhymes to her, but instead of singing the words, I use vowel/consonant combinations (ba, bee, bi, bo, boo; pa, pee, pi, po, poo). I try to sing to her while she's eating so she can look at my mouth and try to copy me, but I also sing to her in the car since she's a captivated (captured) audience. Yesterday we were on our way home from my mom's and I sang Ba Ba Black Sheep. And like any polite audience, when I finished, Anna showed me her appreciation by clapping and smiling at me. She looked so grown up sitting in her car seat listening attentively and then politely responding as I finished. These are moments I wish I could capture and replay over and over (especially when she's being a terror and I need to be reminded of how cute she can be!).

Copy Cat

Last night Anna was sitting on my lap facing me as I read her a book. I licked my finger to turn the page and she did the same. It was so funny to watch her absent-mindedly lick her fingers as she attempted to turn the pages. Of course, when I reacted with laughter and excitement, she did it repeatedly looking for an audience - she is such an attention monger!

Ankle Weights

We discovered a new tool - ankle weights. I put a one pound ankle weight on Anna's right leg every morning after breakfast for about a half hour. I just started doing it yesterday so I will keep you posted on whether or not it helps to strengthen her leg. I think I may need to put one on her left leg once in awhile as well since she still cannot walk up stairs - she still climbs them. I think balance also plays a part in not being able to walk up the stairs, which is why we recently built her a balance beam. I'm hoping the combination will speed things up as playground weather is coming and even though she still manages her way to the top of the playground by crawling, I'd like to see her progress to walking up the playground stairs - a lot less laundry! Not to mention a lot less getting trampled on!

Your Comments - Thank you!

I want to thank the handful of people who have visited my blog so far and taken the time to post their comments. Someone from South Africa posted this morning! I was so excited. Please come back and visit and post often. Tell me where you're from, what brought you to our blog and a little bit about your family. I'd love to find some pen pals (I guess, email pals is more accurate nowadays!) so feel free to leave your email addresses and names so we can keep in touch.

Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you!

Balance Beam Part II

Anna tried the balance beam again last night. At first I put it on the floor by itself and tried to walk her across it while holding her hands. That was a bit awkward so I held onto one hand while we walked sideways across it. Then I just modeled what I wanted her to do on it and put the balance beam between the parallel bars (the contraption) so she could play with it on her own. She played while I finished dinner and did very well. She looked like a little ballerina as she picked up one leg and leaned forward as if she was doing a baby aerobesque! Too bad we didn't have the camera going - we'll have to try again tonight.

Anna truly amazes me every time we make something new for her. She is always up for a challenge and curious about the new toy that her parents are so excited about. She rarely disappoints when it comes to something new. I can't wait to see how she progresses with the balance beam. If it's anything like the contraption, it will be something to watch and a wonderful therapy tool to boot!

The Playground

Anna and I met Jen and Julia at the playground yesterday. Anna had a blast!

We went on the swings first, but Anna didn't seem too keen on them right away so I let her down. She wasn't sure what to do on the wood chips, but she quickly found her footing and started to walk around. Of course, she found the leftover snow first so I'm sure her feet were good and wet within five minutes before we even had a chance to get to the equipment.

After she had her fill of walking in the snow, we headed toward the playground. She climbed up to the four foot suspension bridge and immediately wanted to go across. I took both hands at first since the bridge moves. She was a bit unsteady but quickly found her balance. She wanted to do it herself and I let her but hovered very close in case she were too fall - it wouldn't have been pretty. Soon enough she was hanging onto the railings with one hand and inching her way across. Back and forth we went until my back told me we had had enough!

Next we moved onto the slide. It's only about two feet off of the ground but the first time she went down by herself. I told her to sit down and get close to the top. She made the sign for 'wait' like she does when she gets to the top of the staircase. I told her it was okay so she inched her way to the edge and pushed off. She seemed a bit stunned but then realized it was fun! She quickly got off and went around to go down again even though once she got to the top she seemed a bit unsure. But eventually down she went just in time to greet Julia and Jen.

Julia quickly got up on the playground and went down the slide as Anna clapped and cheered her on. I'm really amazed at how well the two of them interact with one another - they really seem to know one another and like each other. Anna copied Julia by going down the big slide by herself and even trying to climb up the slide. She didn't make it to the top but made a valiant effort!

So after some more playing, a light snack and one more time down the slide, we took off for home to share our triumphs with Daddy. We may go back again today although it's supposed to rain so perhaps another day when Daddy is available too.

Daddy's Little Girl

Dave was thrilled this weekend. Anna finally gave him a real kiss! He was holding her and said 'give daddy a kiss' and she leaned right in, puckered and planted one right on his lips. He was all smiles, and I think Anna was pretty proud of herself too!