Anne Meets Farm Animals

Today I thought I would take Anne out on an adventure, so we decided to go to the Museum of Agriculture at the Experimental Farms.  It sounds pretty boring, but I knew they had animals so I crossed my fingers and off we went.  Well it was awesome.  Since it was a weekday, there was barely anyone there and everyone that was there seemed to be parents of young children.  They have three different buildings with animals in them (cows, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, etc), an exhibit area that has a tractor exhibit and a play area for kids, and a big outdoor playground in the middle of everything.  Anne and I spent two hours there and she loved every minute.

Anne especially loved the donkey and the bunny rabbit, mainly because she got to pet them.  You could pet almost all of the animals (there is barely anything between you and them), however knowing Anne's adventurous nature I was afraid to let her out of the stroller since I was positive she would walk right up to a pen, reach her arm in, and pull on a goat's ear.  I wasn't sure how the animals would react to such treatment, and I wasn't sure if Anne would have the reflexes or good sense to remove her appendage should the animal become interested in a little afternoon snack.  Next time though, I think I'll be a little bit more liberal about the petting.  She really seemed to enjoy petting the donkey (he was broadside to the side of the pen so Anne could touch his side without coming anywhere near his head).

I was so engrossed in showing Anne the animals that I barely took any photos.  :(  I did take a couple though.  See photos below.

Yesterday I took Anne to a playgroup at the Early Years Centre.  They have a circle time where they sing songs and read a book.  The older babies looked on with interest and participated in the actions.  The younger babies stared in wonder at the whole affair.  Anne did neither.  She walked right up to the lady doing the singing and stole her props.  She wanted whatever puppet or hat or picture the lady was holding at the time.  When story time started, Anne stole the book.  It was a challenge not to ruin it for her (by returning everything she stole immediately) or for the other children (by letting her steal whatever she wanted).  At one point Anne backed up into and sat in another lady's lap.  (She's big into backing up to sit on things now.)  So you can see that my child is not shy.  I'm pretty sure she would have climbed right into a cow's mouth to steal the feed from on its tongue.

Anne is babbling away.  She says "Dad" all the time now, especially in the morning when we first come down for breakfast and she is looking for him (which is sad because he has already left for work).  She sort of says "Mumum", but not really.  Jeff is sure she does.  Jeff is also sure she says "boom" when she drops something and it makes a loud noise; however it sounds more like "baba" and it is not consistent.

Anne seems to have chosen her first "transitional object" (i.e. stuffed animal that she loves).  It is a white kitty that she got for Christmas (forgive me if I get this wrong, but I think it was from Aunt Nancy?).  When you squeeze it, it meows three times.  Anne likes to sleep with the kitty stuffed under her stomach.  Every once in a while she adjusts her weight and we hear "meow meow meow" over the baby monitor.  It is a wonder she gets any sleep at all.

Anne's hair is getting long again and hangs in her eyes.  I don't want to cut it.  I don't want to let it grow too long though either; long, bangless hair seems impractical on a toddler.  However, I don't know how I want to get it cut.  And I don't want her to grow up.  I have experimented with a few barrettes, which Anne tries to pull out of her hair.  They look pretty cute, but they make her look older too.  See photos below.

Anywho, I guess I've rambled on enough for one post.  On to the barrage of photos!

An old photo I just downloaded from the camera I keep in my purse.  This is Anne's first car wash (a month and a half ago).  She didn't seem scared so much as curious.

Anne looking cute all ready to go to the park.  (She found the soother in the stroller basket; we don't usually let her have a soother during the day.)

Anne with the goats at the Museum of Agriculture.

Anne playing peek-a-boo at the park.

Anne tired after a long afternoon at the Museum of Agriculture.

Uhhh, Mom... there's a donkey here.

Hello donkey!

Anne with her hair up.

Anne is a big fan of romping on the couch.

Tee hee hee.

I know, one photo too many.

Talking!

For a week and a half now Anne has been calling Jeff, "Dadad."  At first we weren't sure she was making the connection since she says "dadada" a lot, but we are now convinced she knows it means Daddy.  See video below.

Yesterday we took Anne to the doctor's for her 1-year check-up and immunization shots.  Anne took the shots like a champ, barely complaining during the actual shots and she was perfectly fine afterward.  Anne weighs about 24 lbs (85th percentile), is 78 cm long (95th percentile) and has a 48 cm head (100th percentile).  I don't think her head looks huge, but apparently it's pretty big.  :)  Last week she got her seventh tooth.

Last week Anne started doing the all-done sign when she wants down from her high chair.  We have been doing the sign for about a month in the hope that she would do the sign instead of throwing food when she is done eating.

Although she doesn't say anything except "Dadad" right now, Anne is able to communicate in other ways.  For example, she pats a chair when she wants up, or points at something she wants.  She understands a lot and can follow simple instructions.  Today she ran off with my sock and dropped it.  When I asked her to get my sock and bring it to me, she did.  She can even bring specific books if she knows the name of the book.  She loves reading books.  She will bring you books for hours.  She will even flip through them on her own in her car seat or her swing.

And now for photos and videos:

Anne gets a birthday card from Aunt Lyn.

Anne's birthday dinner.

Upside down!

Anne loves her baths.

Anne's model pose.  

Anne playing with her new kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa B.

Anne saying, "Dadad."

Videos Galore

Since Darwyn was born and since we have had a lot of birthday parties lately (Anne has had cake three times), we've been taking a lot of videos.  Some of my favourites are below.

Anne is learning something new every day.  She learns nouns, like "mailbox" and "rocking chair" and "toes".  She is learning to communicate more effectively, although she still hasn't said any actual words.  When she is hungry she wanders over to her highchair and pats the seat.  When I ask her if it is nap time, she walks over and climbs on my lap, then turns and waves goodnight to whomever is in the room.  

Sometimes, Anne takes her baby or her stuffed kitty and puts it on the rocking chair and rocks it back and forth.  (Hopefully I'll have a video of that soon.)  She understands simple instructions, such as, "open the door" or "drop your soother in the crib".  The other day she learned how to stack one block on top of another (a non-trivial baby milestone).  

Anne is so close to speaking, it's not even funny. She tries to imitate the sounds we make, but none of them come out as words and there is no solid evidence that she is using a sound to mean a particular person or object.

Baby Darwyn at three days old.

Max says happy birthday to Anne.

At Anne's birthday dinner she was more excited about figuring out how the light switch worked than she was about her cake and presents.  Jeff, always the good parent, dutifully switched the light on and off every time she pointed at it.  This has become a bit of an annoyance for me, since now every time I go to change Anne she points at the lamp multiple times and gets all upset when I don't turn it on and off for her each time.

Anne is delighted that she is able to turn on her new ball popping toy.

For She's a Jolly Good Fellow

Anne is one year old today!  For her birthday we had chocolate cake with one candle in it and Anne received some cool new toys.  Grandma and Grandpa G gave her a neat tent with a tunnel to crawl through.

Last week, Anne's new cousin Darwyn was born on March 21st, weighing 7 lbs 8 oz.  We went to visit her over the weekend and, my, but she is tiny!  I can't believe Anne was ever that tiny.  Darwyn is such a cutie!  She has the standard, pathetic newborn cry that sounds more like a goat than a baby.  She sleeps a lot and only seems to wake up to eat.  You can read all about the birth story on their family blog: http://gutoskijames.blogspot.ca/

That's all of the blogging I have time to do for now, but I hope to post more details and some really cute videos soon.  For now, please be satisfied with some adorable baby photos below.

Tiny baby Darwin Jean.

Darwyn and Mommy Greta.

More Darwyn and Mommy Greta.

Anne and Max playing in the dirt with Grandpa G.

Anne coming for the camera.

Anne.

Anne playing with the ball while the dogs look on eagerly.

Anne's huge smile after she activated her new ball popper she received for her birthday.

Anne and Dad.

Babbling Baby

Our friend Aaron noticed that I forgot to mention on the previous blog posting how Anne did on the plane to and from BC.  So, here it goes:

In both directions it took two flights to get to our destination, so we had one 4-hour flight and one 1-hour flight to deal with.  On the way out we had the 4-hour flight first, with no spare seat around us.  It was just around Anne's bedtime so we made the mistake of thinking she would sleep.  Anne had other plans and so for most of the flight she was upset and tired.  Although she didn't bawl outright, she made enough upset noise that I'm sure the woman sitting in our row didn't get much sleep.  This was very stressful and tiring.  By the time we got on the second, 1-hour flight, Anne was so exhausted that she passed out for the whole thing.

On the way back, it was just Anne and I since Jeff had returned the week before.  This time we had a different plan: exhaust the baby ahead of time.  This actually turned out pretty well.  Instead of letting her sleep for her morning nap, we took her to the aquarium, which she really seemed to like.  (Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera.)  By the time our plane took off Anne was exhausted.  She spent about half of the first, 1-hour flight sleeping and the other half quietly fighting sleep and observing the plane and the people.  At the Calgary airport we ate and she played with the toys at the gates (the Calgary airport is a great airport for kids incidentally) and she met a new friend: a 4-year-old girl who just loved her.  So, during the 4-hour flight, Anne spent about 1 hour sleeping, 1 hour watching her new friend (who came to visit us at the back of the plane and ask me all sorts of questions), and the other two hours quietly fighting sleep as she observed the people and especially the 18-month old sitting in the row behind us.  It was as good as I could have possibly hoped for.  On both flights I was lucky enough to have an empty seat next to me (although I had to ask to be moved for the second flight).  Although the day was very long and very exhausting, it all turned out pretty well.  And I didn't even have to use Plan B: drug the baby.

So, that is that.

Since the last blog post not too much has happened.  Grandma and Grandpa G came to visit last weekend, despite it being only 1 week until our new niece is due.  They got to see Anne's excellent walking and witnessed her standing up on her own from the middle of the floor, without any supports, for the first time.

On Wednesday and Thursday I had the flu and mostly stayed in bed while Jeff stayed home and took care of Anne (thank goodness, I don't know what I would have done without him!).  On Wednesday Anne started babbling in a whole new way, very high pitched and variable.    She says "dada" and "mama" all the time now, but we have no evidence that she is trying to actually say our names and not just babbling away.

Anne's main method of communication however is the chirp, or the hoot as Jeff likes to call it.  If she sees something she likes or if she is looking for something or if she wants something, she emits a series of high pitched chirps.  To me, it sounds like a dinosaur sound from Jurassic Park.  Or like she is trying to use echo-location like a bat.  It is pretty funny.  Unfortunately I don't have a video of that yet.

Anne's understanding of words is improving daily.  Today she learned what a nose is.  I can often say something to her and she knows what is coming next.  For example, "Let's go into the kitchen and get some breakfast" to which Anne will respond by walking toward the kitchen.  Or, "Go get your book and bring it to Mommy."  Today she even brought me the specific book I asked for (although I did ask for one of her favourites, so it was a pretty good bet).

Anywho, here is the usual barrage of photos and videos.  Enjoy!

A beautiful photo, taken by Grandpa B, of a ferry from the house in BC. 

A slightly-gruesome photo of the bald eagle eating something, also taken by Grandpa B.

Anne enjoying bubbles in BC, taken by Grandma B.

Anne enjoying bubbles at home.

Anne walking around.

Anne babbling.

Anne crawling down stairs.  She has been doing this for quite some time, but this is the first video I have of it.  It's not a great video.  Excuse Anne's hair; Jeff decided it didn't need to be combed after her bath.

Anne petting the neighbour's cat (again) and doing some interesting yoga moves.  Again, excuse the hair.

Pender's Game

For the last two weeks, Anne and I were visiting Jeff's family on beautiful Pender Island.  Jeff was there for the first week.  Grandma and Grandpa B rented a beautiful, huge, brand new home on the water with an incredible 180 degree view of the ocean, Gulf Islands, and Vancouver Island.  The house has an entire wall of windows that opens up onto a huge deck about 250 feet above the water.  Just down the cliff is a bald eagle's nest and we got to see the eagles every day.  We were even lucky enough to see them eating other birds and mating (not at the same time).  This morningthe eagles laid an egg in the nest.

It was wonderful to see Anne's Aunt Laura, who lives on the island, as we don't get to see very often.  Uncle Conor and Aunt Lyn also visited the house for a week, so we had the whole B family all together.  It was just lovely.  I can't thank Grandma and Grandpa B enough for putting us up.  It was such a beautiful, relaxing trip.

Over the course of the two weeks Anne went from a few stumbling steps to confident walking all over the place.  She even almost runs sometimes.  She particularly likes to rearrange the furniture, and to throw and chase her ball.

Anne hasn't said any words yet, but we can tell she is close.  She understands a lot though, including the following words/phrases: Grandma, Grandpa, Mommy, Daddy, ceiling fan, coke, sippy cup, ball, baby, firelady (one of her toys), nap, come here, "no, thank you", touchdown, wave, clap, socks, dishwasher, trees, car, bottle, soother, high chair, penguin, and Cheerios.

Last week she started offering things to people.  She will often bring you a toy or her sippy cup.  Also last week, she pointed to Grandpa in a photo as well as in real life.

As usual, here are a bunch of photos and videos:

Anne with Marc (Jeff's cousin's son) at a playgroup before we left for BC.

Anne in the huge house that Grandma and Grandpa parents rented.

Hello, hello?  Anne thinks the remote is a telephone.

A small part of the beautiful view from the house that Grandma and Grandpa B rented.

Is there something on my face?

Jeff playing Scrabble with a bald eagle on the tree in the background.

Beautiful view from the deck.

Grandpa and Dad down by the shore.

Anne on my back at Bricky Beach.

Mom and baby.

One of the many fearless deer on the island.  He is standing on part of the long staircase from the house down to the shore.

Anne with her ball.  She loves to throw her ball and watch it bounce.

Anne on my back and Grandma B in the background.

The beautiful house with the window walls opened up.  (The bench barricade preventa Anne from burning herself on the wood stove.)

Anne cuddling a pillow at Aunt Laura's house.

Anne cuddling Sammy at Aunt Laura's house.

Anne playing with Grandpa's hat on the ferry.

Anne rearranging the furniture.

Anne, the eagle, and the view.

Getting to the Point

The past week has been a good one for Anne.  She got her sixth tooth, so she now has all of her front teeth.  She learned to put all of the shapes in her shape bucket.  We show her which hole the shape goes in, but she rotates it and tries it until it goes in.  She started pointing at everything she sees.  The other day at Walmart she kept pointing at different people.  The cashiers found it especially amusing and liked to point back at her.

Yesterday, Anne decided that walking was better than crawling and now tries to walk everywhere first, before reverting to crawling.  It is amazing how quickly she is learning.  Whenever she holds a phone now, she puts it up to her ear like she sees mommy and daddy doing.  Today she picked up the kitchen timer and held it to her ear.  She understands new words, like "kitty" and "nap" and "vacuum cleaner" (which is sitting in our bedroom and she never fails to point at it when she sees it).

We bought Anne a rain coat the other day, and it is so darned cute that I couldn't decide which of the many photos to post.  So I posted most of them.  And a few cute videos too.  You can't blame a mother for thinking everything is cute, can you?

Anne pointing at the trees.  Hurry up, Spring, so we can go out and play! 

Anne points at you!

Anne caught walking between furniture.  She looks kind of guilty.

Seriously.  Do these photos need captions?

Laughing video.

Anne pets a kitty (our neighbour's cat, Monster).