Notice her baby is now in the picture. Anna has gotten more attached to her and keeps her close by most of the time. The other day she had her in the cart at the grocery store. We saw another little girl about Anna's age coming down the aisle. I said "Can you say Hi to the girl?" and Anna said "Hi, girl" then added "my baby" and moved the baby to the other side of the cart away from the the girl. Mind you the other little girl was posing no threat and I don't even think she had looked at Anna's baby.
I would say the biggest development in these last few months has been Anna's vocabulary. It is fun because she is able to communicate with us and we can actually carry on simple conversations. She is starting to become a little external processor, describing everything she does and sees. Both Brad and I are more of internal processors so it will be interesting to see if Anna stays so chatty. Could make for an interesting dynamic between the two of us. :)
Lately, she has become a bit more clingy and often wants me to pick her up and hold her when I am in the middle of something (the picture is of her reaching up to me). I think she realizes she is becoming more independent but likes to check in with mommy for reassurance. Most of the time, I don't mind.
She loves to climb on Brad and horseplay and she tries to do it with me when he is not around. Sorry little girl, there is only so much this pregnant momma is up for.
She has finally stopped eating crayons and will doodle with them for a few minutes at a time. I am loving these
crayon rocks because they are so much easier for her to hold.
She used to hate the towel to be on her head, but now she loves it and runs around with it on her after bathtime.
The girl LOVES to read (flip through) her
Jesus Storybook Bible and it is by far her favorite book right now. She brings it to me throughout the day to read to her and I also often find her reading it in her room. Usually, I hide the books that I am tired of reading over and over but it is the Bible so I can't do that! I pray she always has such a love for the Word!
Since she has gotten picky about eating fresh fruit, sometimes after her nap we make smoothies. She calls them milkshakes and loves to get to drink out of a straw in a big cup just like mommy. I really enjoy this time with her and the other day, it made me think of a day when we will sit and share a cup of tea as mother and daughter and as friends.
Lastly, I'll let her tell you what she is learning these days:
I love reading other blogs to get ideas, inspiration and even encouragment. I came across this blog with a great idea for both a Christmas and New Year's tradition that we started this year. Before we packed our Christmas decorations away, we wrote a list of our goals for the next year and slipped them into our stockings. It will be fun to open them up next Christmas to see how well we met our goals (or to laugh at what we wrote down). I'll admit, I kind of like making goals in this way because it makes us think about what we would like to achieve, but doesn't carry the pressure of a New Year's Resolution.
