Taking Names and Notes

Let the commitment to discipline begin again. Let's call it Project Anna. We'll date it at almost 16 months. Baby Doll - I'd love to excuse you on the basis of being so cute and little and still a baby, but really, it's on. I'm onto you and it is clear you are old enough for some hand smacks, time-outs, correction, and/or a bootie swat. I know you know what I am saying to you and I can tell by your response that you know you are not obeying. Gotta nip that in the bud.

As I changed your third poopie diaper today, I started thinking about what it will be like when you are old enough to wipe your own bootie, you know, when you are an almost-grown teenager who is all attitudinal with her momma. I started thinking about how I will remind you that I was the one that wiped your poopie bootie like a million times and then you will roll your eyes at me like I did with my mom when she said those things to me. It's alright. I wipe your bootie because I love you (and because it stinks to high heaven) and I don't really expect you to pay me back with being an angel child all your life. I love you all poopie now, and I will love you all poopie-moody later. That's just what mommas do, I think. Take care of you regardless, clean up your messes regardless, and love you regardless. And if you are my-kinda-mommy, you take notes along the way.

Recent Anna Notables:

Anna put her pretty little fingers on a smushed worm in a puddle in the cul-de-sac today. Shudder! Noah avoids them at all costs (except to run them over with his car) but Anna is all hands on. Same goes for grasshoppers, ants, and any other critter that's creepy.

Anna in the last month or so has finally attached to not one, but two, loveys. A super soft stuffed piggie from Kohl's and that bunny we all made at Build-a-bear. I love that she has some comfort objects now.

Anna is fixated on pulling open my filing drawer and pulling papers out! And gnawing on the side of the trash can and pulling things out of that, too. Still.

Anna has gotten pushy, literally, with Noah. In Anna's defense though, Noah has started doing things to make her want to push him so that he can alert me to the fact that she is pushing and grabbing. You know, so she can get in trouble.

Anna recently added to her repertoire of words. Chee (cheese) and Dih (again).

Anna totally digs Ring Around the Rosie with me and Noah. Hence the new word "Dih".

Anna insists on using a fork for these foods that don't really need forks: marshmallows, french fries, jelly sandwiches, bread, and cheese.

Anna is indeed still napping twice a day. We had that funny (but mostly painful) stint around Thanksgiving where we thought it was phasing out. She changed her mind about that though...clearly.

Anna is very cooperative with having her nose aspirated. That comes as a huge relief. With Noah it was always such a screaming struggle (him, not me) to suction and/or wipe his nose. Anna's pretty chill. For once.

Right now as I type, she has Noah's stethoscope around her neck and her toy phone to her ear. Earlier I stepped into the playroom and found her attempting to put a Potato Head ear in her diaper. So far, she is not coordinated enough to pull of such a feat, but she is close.

She is always pulling her socks off. She just learned to unzip her jacket. She's kinda unpredictable about whether or not she wants to wear a hat. I can tell she's gonna be the kind of toddler who likes to strip down. And Josh and I predict she will be pretty easy to potty-train.

Anna has this love affair with the humidifier we keep downstairs. She likes to hear and see the tank refill with water as well as lean her head over it so it blows her hair around. And a few weeks ago, her curiosity got the best of her in Noah's room when she pulled the little table over that held Noah's bedroom humidifier and it all fell on top of her. Shocked us all pretty bad. Oddly enough, Noah cried more about it than she did. And she was the one under the fallen table and tank!

Anna can now use her little scoot-and-ride trike that does not have wheels and I love to see her get it. What cracks me up is that she likes to scoot backwards better. And then get immediately off it and push it backwards in circles.

And now, Anna is on the couch pointing the remote at the TV. But it's backwards. But no, wait, apparently that works because she just turned on On Demand.

Gotta run.
Love this girl.
Keeps me on my toes.

No wait, now she's watching Hillary Clinton on C-Span. Yikes.