16 Months

Dear Annie,

There have been a few points in your short life where it seems as if you completely change and grow up overnight, and this past weekend was definitely one of them! Your grandparents picked you up on Thursday night to take you to the cabin, and when we saw you again on Saturday morning, you were a full time walker and talking up a storm, neither of which you were doing when you left us! I'm not sure what they did with you on Friday, or if you just needed a little change of scenery, but it was crazy to see you acting so grown up all the sudden.

This past Friday, so just shy of your 16 month birthday, was when you started walking more than crawling - I honestly had my doubts that this day would EVER come, and had visions of you crawling over the kindergarten threshold. Thanks again for reminding your mama that she's just a wee bit psycho, and that you'll get there when you get there! You literally went from taking maybe 10 steps at a time, max, to walking all over the place, crouching to pick something up, standing back up with no assistance from your arms (which you've been doing for a few weeks now) and changing directions, backing up a bit, no problem. In just the past few days you've picked up lots of speed and can walk clear down the street... and not even look back. Just like everyone always told me it would happen, and I didn't believe them at all.

Communication is the other area that has hugely changed this month. Last month, the words you were saying were a bit of a stretch, and I wasn't sure you even really understood what we were saying most of the time. Over the course of this month, you have started talking much more, and this past weekend when I was trying to recall all of the words you say, it was hard for me to even remember them all. At my last count, you have about 25 words that I've heard you use more than a few times. The words you do say aren't exactly the most helpful though, you still do a lot of grunting when you want something. You don't always get the right context for the word, but it's getting a lot closer! I hope that soon you start to understand that words can actually help you to communicate your wants and needs as well as what you see right in front of you :)

Here is what you're saying this month, the pronunciation if different and the context if it's not always "correct": Thank you (tink oo, which is used when handing someone something since that's when people say "thank you" to you), Please (pees, which is only used when you see a hair clip because you like it clipped to your index finger and we make you say please before we clip it on the 100th time), Hi and bye bye (usually with waves now), Puppy (poppy, this one came out a lot at the cabin with Maggie), Grandpa (bam pa), Baby (to your baby doll), Bubbles, Pop, Cheese (dees, when taking a picture, although not as reliably as last month - it seems you're now kind of over it), Down (dow - when you want to get down or during any song that says "down", which apparently is quite a few), I did it! (dd it! when putting letters in your jug since we said that to you a few times), Woof woof (wuh-wuh-wuh said very fast whenever you see a dog), What's that (wussat, said when you hear a noise or when someone new comes into a room and you can't see them yet), Daddy (said to both me and your dad, and sometimes Grandma and Grandpa too), Ball (ba), Boat (bo), Uh oh, Yeah, Ouch hot (ch-ot! said when you see the fire in Goodnight Moon because I touched it a few times and said Ouch hot! one night), Boo (for peek-a-boo), No (usually only when we're trying to get you to eat something you don't want), Jono (Ja-jo - the first name we've gotten you to say, for your Uncle Jono).

Whew! That's quite a bit, little lady! Notice what's NOT on that list though? Well, I sure do - MAMA or Mommy. Or any word that starts with an M. I have heard you say mama before but VERY rarely and usually only when you're upset. As I mentioned, you usually just call me Daddy, or nothing. I'm looking forward to when you expand your vocab to include the Ms!

You are still pretty easy-going most of the time, but are developing a bit of an attitude. You aren't possessive with your toys around other kids, but you DO get pissed when we stop a beloved activity that you aren't ready to stop. For example: blowing bubbles, or leaving the park. All good things must come to an end, and you get UPSET when that happens! You usually only display your cranky side to your loving parents, though, so everyone else thinks you are a perfect angel. We are just fine keeping it that way - we have no doubts of your affection for us now! Over the past month you do get pretty upset when you see anyone you love leave a room - most of all me. I try to warn you and tell you I'm coming back, but it doesn't always work! Luckily you usually get over it pretty quickly.

In terms of eating, you are still a great eater and are learning your preferences more and more. You will pick through a casserole type dish to find the "good" parts - which are carbs, starch or dairy. I wouldn't call you picky by any stretch of the imagination, but you won't eat just plain steamed veggies. You also like to eat whatever anyone else has, and are quite the mooch. Especially when they are eating bread or cheese, then you are just relentless. You are better about taking bites of bigger things and can feed yourself with a spoon great. I've stopped giving you a fork because you just stab wildly instead of focusing on eating - we'll try again in a few months. Your favorites are bananas, blueberries, bread, eggs, cheese, anything in a tomato sauce, and fruit smoothies. You still only have your front 8 teeth, so things need to be mushy for you to eat them, although you are a pro at gumming things up.

You still absolutely love your belly button, and check in with it on the regular. You can point out your nose, teeth and hair reliably, and others sometimes too. When we ask you what any animal says, we get "woof woof", but I don't blame you - it's not like you see any animals ever anyway :)

Things you love this month: putting your letters in the jug, blowing bubbles (which consists of you putting the wand in and out of the jar and blowing very lightly on it), putting lids on bottles, singing and dancing (you love to do ring around the rosie and "fall down", and now hum along with songs that I'm singing), playing with your baby doll, climbing up the slide at the park, picking up little rocks and leaves, putting together very simple puzzles with a little assistance, stacking your cups (you can get up to 4 stacked correctly now!), and climbing into and out of chairs.

You're a very sweet and funny little girl, Annie! You're always smiling and making faces at people, and you seem to love to observe the action more so than be right in the middle of it. You just get cuter and cuter every day, and we are just loving watching you grow!

I can't wait to see what the next month will bring, little bunk... love you always,

Mom

and just because this is one of my favorite outfits of yours yet, here are a few more photos of you today!

Giving Raggedy Ann a hug

We are loving watching you walk through the house!

Most of the time, when you point, it's always a little angled up

Watching Dad mow the lawn

This is what you look like when you don't want to be held :)

Shaking the letters out of your jug

On the porch with Mia and Madeline!

Finally!

A day with Grandma and Grandpa at the cabin with lots of room to roam, and it seems Annie has decided to become a nearly full time walker!

A rainy weekend

This weekend was exactly the kind of weekend I love - we were at home, but had a few gatherings planned, and some were at our house. Nothing too crazy, just a bunch of low key time with friends. Perfect! You already know about the baking I did, so here is a photo and video summary of the rest of the weekend!

New shirt from Aunt Liz, and perfectly matching bow! It's the little things that thrill me.

Frauntie Mindy gave Annie this very appropriate bib :) HA!! (from Target in case you need to get one)

Remember when these 2 were just little nuggets? Now Nathan is bigger than Annie!

The only photo I got of the 3 kids together - not so great, but oh well.

Annie's "bo" as she calls it

Stopped over at the neighbor's for a bit in the afternoon. This is Annie's favorite toy at Nate & Molly's - amongst all the other big stuff, she returns to this again and again - yup, it's just magnetic alphabet letters in a Simply Juice container - little does she know that I have ordered some of her very own letters and we are almost finished with our bottle of juice... and then this toy will be HERS :)

Dumping them out - the best part about this "toy" is that they can only go in one at a time, and it takes some finessing to get them out again too

Rocking away on the neighbor's porch. I am a big fan of the "soundtrack" to this video as well, right Nate? :)

Annie is starting to get a wee bit territorial with the toys she's playing with - her and Mia had a little showdown over the letters but ended up playing pretty nicely taking turns and each of them going every other letter

We then went to Erik and Jen's house, and Annie had fun watching the big boys play

Lucky Annie gets to borrow this toy from Oliver for a while!

Walked all the way to the end of the street and back with it - I guess she likes it

Had to lose the pants

Simon came out to play too!

Then it started pouring - at least we got in a bit of time outside!

Enjoying the porch in her jams from Adelaide

Sunday morning in the kitchen

We had a park date planned with Laura and Bella, but alas, it was pouring again. So we improvised and hit up the Como Conservatory instead!

We had this room to ourselves for like 30 minutes. Bella sure did enjoy that muffin, although she was willing to share some with Annie.

Seriously. Bella's hair is TO DIE FOR. She was sitting on the other side of the bench, but had to cuddle close to Annie - adorable :)

Annie was trying to wear this like a purse, and also push her basket. It wasn't working exactly how she pictured, so she got VERY UPSET! And like the wonderful mother I am, I took a picture.

So I gave her one of my old purses, and she walked around with that for awhile.

and then with both - yes, slowly but surely she IS figuring out that walking is quite an efficient means of transportation

After tornadoes ripped through our fair neighbor to the west (we got so lucky! It wasn't even really windy here), it turned into a beautiful day. We took a walk a few houses down to see Allison and Aaron for a bit.

We took Annie out to play with the water table (also from Erik and Jen)

I think Ben liked it just as much as she did

and after. Just a wee bit dirty!

After dinner (in a new outfit) all three neighbor girls hit up the water table. It started innocently enough.

and then it got crazy :)

Ended with three very soaking wet girls!

A video of the action. Yeah, I'd say these girls LOVE this water table. I see a lot of soaking wet times with these 3 in the next few months!

What a great weekend! Even though there was a lot of rain, there was also a lot of fun. Here's to many more weekends just like this during the summer!

Caramel Brownies and Strawberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins

I just had to put that photo at the top of the post, because it's a show stopper. The second I saw this recipe for Caramel Brownies pop up on Annie's Eats, I immediately emailed it to Ben. He has been waiting for me to make them for him ever since. We had a gathering tonight where I had offered to bring dessert, so I thought these would be perfect. I told Ben, and he resisted, saying he wanted them all for himself :) Luckily, this makes a huge pan of brownies so there were plenty left over! Yes, I shamelessly copied Annie's photo too - only mine had already chilled in the freezer for 20 minutes so weren't quite as gooey! These were intense. Definitely REQUIRED vanilla ice cream or milk to cut the richness! I actually nearly felt ill after eating these, but I still loved every bite.

A few friends came over with their kiddos this morning, and we all enjoyed these Strawberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins from The Way the Cookie Crumbles. I know it's strawberry season in the rest of the country, and I MIGHT have been able to find them locally here, but I actually just used some frozen ones we have on hand for smoothies. It made these muffins slightly mushier, but they still tasted delicious. The lemon didn't come through enough for my liking, even though I probably used a bit more zest than was called for. I LOVE ricotta in baked goods - my favorite form is still in these lemon ricotta cookies. It was serendipitous that I made these this morning, since I knew one of the attendees of our dinner party doesn't like chocolate, caramel or really anything that sweet, so I brought him his own special dessert in the form of one of these muffins.

Excuses, excuses

My day with Annie yesterday was a bit trying for both us. Especially when we're just hanging out around the house, Annie is becoming more and more prone to tantrums and major frustrations. Thankfully, when we're out and about she's usually distracted enough to be happy and more easy going, but at home? All bets are off. Sometimes Ben and I find ourselves trying to make excuses for her behavior - "oh, she didn't get 13 hours of sleep last night so she's probably just cranky" or the ever popular "well, she's teething" (you know, from now until 3 years old). Then we just try to STOP doing that and realize that sometimes she's just going to be a hot mess for no reason whatsoever, and that's her prerogative :)

I actually find most of her tantrums kind of hilarious, so I wanted to record a few of them here for my own memory. I usually can laugh about it even while it's happening. I know that as trivial as it seems to ME, whatever Annie is upset about is a big deal TO HER, so I try not to say things like "it's ok, you're fine, get over it, you're being silly" and just say things like "You're quite upset that I'm trying to help you eat so I'll let you do it yourself". It's a hard impulse to fight, because I KNOW that she IS fine, but it'll take her awhile to figure that out for herself. I also am not going to totally act like whatever happened to her is the end of the world, but just tell it like it is so hopefully we can both move on with our lives :)

Last Sunday, before I left for Dallas, we were enjoying the morning on the porch. As you can see in the photo above, we gave Annie half a banana on a plate. Why we gave her the plate, I now have no idea. Obviously she didn't have a very good grip on it, so when she was using both hands to eat her banana, the plate would fall off. Thinking I would help her out a bit (I'm sure you all see where this is going) I took the plate away from her. Oh my good lord, you'd have thought I ripped away her most treasured possession. She wasn't even distracted by the fact that she was eating a banana, her most favorite of all foods, oh no. Waterworks and screaming immediately started. I'm pretty sure there was some flailing to the ground involved. Since we were on the porch and thus in hearing range of, oh, the entire STREET, Ben scooped her up and sat her on his lap with the PLATE AND BANANA. AKA, what she wanted. It took her a few minutes to stop her dramatics, and through her tears she started eating the banana again. Ben tried to hold the plate for her, and she (while eating the banana with one hand) took her hand and pushed off his hand finger by finger, no matter where he put it. Oh wow. You can see her big girl tears in the below photo.

What is THIS? A photo of us where we are BOTH LOOKING AND SMILING? (well, hers looks like a grimace, but whatever)

I know this happens LONG ago for many kiddos, but up until about a week ago, Annie would still tolerate being spoon fed sometimes. She liked trying to do it herself, but she was fine if we helped her. Um, not so much anymore. If I even attempt to TOUCH the spoon, she grips it with all of her strength while shooting me a death glare. If I succeed in getting it away from her, screams and tears. Ben gave her some black bean soup while I was gone, and she apparently did this to him as well. Not only did she want to do it HERSELF, she wouldn't even let him touch the bowl. Apparently she managed it pretty well, except for getting it all over herself in the process. We'd only tried "sticky" liquidy stuff up until this point, like greek yogurt which is thick and at least sticks to the spoon. Soup is just a wee bit more messy!

This is apparently how she spent the rest of the night.

I don't even actually remember any specific tantrums from yesterday, other than the typical diaper change fiascos (it's as if the WORLD is ENDING, people! WHEN will she just get used to it??) and major meltdowns in the car randomly. We did have a fun trip to the park, lunch out with Grandma and dinner at Becca and Joe's house so the day was actually overall really fun. I'll focus on that :) Also I can focus on all the new words she's saying and her increased walking! Still not a "walker" yet but she's getting there and it's so cute :)

She shoveled sand into a bucket for probably 20 minutes


Downtown St. Paul for lunch at Key's


Yup, Annie still fits in a bumbo :) Ha! She's much happier in it now than she ever was as a wee baby.


Annie loves the guacamole samples when we go to Whole Foods, so I let her have a few chips and practice her dipping skillz. Not surprisingly, she was a big fan but also a disgusting double (triple, quadruple, until the chip was soggy) dipper


Drinking from a water jug that probably weighs more than she does. Would have finished it off if we let her.


We had grilled pork chops for dinner - I cut Annie tiny pieces (even got her to say "please"! (peeeeees) but she was getting annoyed by my slowness, so I just gave her a whole piece to gnaw on. She was thrilled.

And just a few pretties of springtime in Minnesota! THIS is why we still live here, people. That and the fact that all of our family and friends are here too. Minor detail.