Monday, October 27, 2008

Mowing the hardwood floors, just like Daddy!

A month ago, when Annika turned one, Geoff and I bought her a walk-along toy. Rumor had it that she used the one at daycare all of the time. Of course, as it usually goes with finicky toddlers, she refused to use the toy once Geoff and Grandpa Glenn put it together. She points to it a lot and says, "Wheeee!" since that's the noise we use to entice her to use it, but refuses to push it. Yesterday afternoon, Annika was watching Geoff mow the lawn with the push mower. I guess she thought that Daddy was playing with his "Wheeee!" toy. She immediately came inside and began pushing hers all around the house screaming, "Wheeee!" When she hit the walls or furniture, she yelled "Uh-Oh!" until I came to the rescue.



Was she tired after all of that pushing around the house??? No! Although she's still not walking yet, climbing is on the top of Butterbean's "fun things to do when Mommy's not looking" list. Eating dog food, pulling Geoff's sports collection off the shelf, and putting rocks in her mouth also fall on this list!

Speaking of Geoff's collections. . . the Duff beer plate and fake can is one of his wonderful displays. Please note that it is hidden behind the refrigerator! He looks forward to the day when we have a room for his "stuff", and I do too!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Enjoying the weather

What a beautiful afternoon! After we got home from school, Annika and I played in the backyard for a bit. Geoff has worked so hard making our backyard a refuge that we can all enjoy. You should have seen the overgrown mess that existed when we moved in four and a half years ago. Annika loves being outside, especially since it means she can pick up rocks, dig in the dirt, and smell the flowers.

She almost stood up by herself . . .then she realized that she wasn't holding on to anything.

She didn't let her first taste of dirt ruin her appetite! Butterbean fed herself the entire dinner I fixed for her-woohoo! She had 1/2 of a rice cake with peanut butter, dried cherries, home-grown tomatoes, some baby food, milk, and rotini with tomato sauce. It's the largest meal she's had in a while, so we were thrilled!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Lunch with "B"

Any of you who witnessed the tears during the first two months of our first daycare, know what a relief it was when we moved Annika to The Chastain School last March. Miss Beata, aka "B", was a true blessing! Annika learned so much with all of her caregivers (Beata, Deana, Sally, and Vanessa), however Miss "B" was with Butterbean the longest. Unfortunately, we had to leave The Chastain School in August when I got my new job closer to home.
Here is a picture of her last week there.



Annika and I finally got to have lunch with Beata yesterday, and we had a great time catching up and hearing all about her wedding plans! It was so great to see her again, and Annika seemed to know exactly who she was.



We are extremely fortunate that our new daycare, Urban Explorers Preschool, is a wonderful place with wonderful people caring for the little ones there. It gives me great comfort that Annika is loved and appreciated when I can't be with her during the day. I finally understand why all of those parents questioned me so much at Open House every year!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Sleep? What's that?

It's been a looooong week! I didn't realize how spoiled we were with a child who has slept 12 hours every night since she was a few months old. The cold that Annika had this week put us all behind on catching zzzzzs. The picture below exhibits all of the daytime naps that she's been taking instead. (Sometimes four or five a day!) The carseat proved useful for sleeping when the congestion was too problematic to sleep on her back.


Butterbean woke up several times a night crying every night this week, and the only thing that has seemed to calm her is watching Noggin. I have never been so appreciative of television as a distraction! She is finally on the mend, with a little runny nose and cough hanging around. I wonder if this is related to teething since she's barely eaten since last weekend. She's almost 13 months and has no teeth, so I would be relieved to discover that baby dentures aren't in our future!


Yesterday, she finally felt like playing for a little while. She was fascinated by the stack of "freebie" cups that we keep in the pantry! Later she gave her best buddy, Odin, some lovin'!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Visit to Miami






We returned last night from a weekend visit to Miami. We headed down so that Annika and I could attend the wedding shower of a family friend, Melissa. Glenn and Geoff went to the UM game instead of hanging around for the fairy tale themed shower.


Visiting with Bestemor and Grandpa was the highlight of Annika's weekend. Although she didn't feel well, she enjoyed swimmng with Bestemor, snuggling with Aunt Allison, visiting with Oldemor, and dancing with Grandpa. Geoff and I actually enjoyed a date night in South Beach, so thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!


Unfortunately, Butterbean actually feels worse today and is home sick. We are headed to visit Dr. Sells momentarily.