Love Letter #5

Dear Anna -

You're getting to be such a big girl.

You love smelling and picking flowers.
You love coloring and painting.
You love bubbles.
You love playing with your "babies".
You love eating Dora yogurt and "pops".
You love watching Elmo and The Wiggles.
You love carrying your blankies around.
You love "helping" me cook.
You love using the potty.
You love hiding from me with Daddy.
You love dancing with the lack of inhibition only a toddler could have.

And me? I love YOU. Everything about you. More than you know. Always will.

Love, Mommy

Momma Knows Best

This picture was taken about 5 minutes after Anna insisted that she absolutely did not need a nap and that she instead wanted to eat. . .


If kids knew what's best for them, they wouldn't need parents! Clearly, we're exercising our authority here.

Muggin'

Anna doesn't always indulge me when I want to take her picture, but this afternoon's session was at her request: "Anna cheese, Mommy?" So how could I say no?!

Here are a couple of pictures of Anna muggin' in Mommy and Daddy's bed. . .

St. Jude Trike-a-Thon

Today, Anna's daycare had a Trike-a-Thon as a fundraiser for St. Jude. It's very similar to the Math-a-Thons that school age children participate in, only you get people to sponsor you for how many "laps" you complete rather than math problems. It's a great cause, and Anna had a great time.

Parents were invited to come and watch, so I went with camera in hand. Lots of Anna classmates were very happy to mug for me; however, this was the best picture I was able to get of my monkey on her bike. She was having far too much fun to stop and smile for her momma.

Babysitter's Helper

This past weekend, Anna helped Mommy and Daddy babysit Olivia ("Libby") for Uncle Ross ("Woss") and Aunt Nicole ("Cole") while they celebrated Nicole's birthday and their 7th wedding anniversary. Anna had a great time entertaining Olivia and, despite getting jealous a few times, was a wonderful little helper.

We watched Elmo and played kitchen in Anna's playroom, and we showed Olivia how to swing and ride bikes outside. Anna rode her new bike, and Olivia rode the Annalon 'round and 'round the cul-de-sac.

Here are a couple of pictures from their adventures. . .

We got a taste of what it's like to have two babies in the house. And while it was great for the day, I don't think we're quite ready for anything permanent. lol.

We love you, "Libby"! You can come back and play with Nino, Nina & Anna anytime!

Bunny Time

This year was Anna's third Easter, but it was really her first year of being somewhat aware of what was going on and being able to participate in all of the festivities. I don't know who was more excited...us or Anna!

It all started with an Easter Egg Hunt at school on Thursday. They put all of the eggs out on the playground and let the kids at 'em. Anna was kind of tentative at first, but she had a blast once she got the hang of it.

Then, Friday Anna decorated some eggs. We dyed them, then painted them, then put Sesame Street stickers all over them. I gave her full creative freedom, so I take no credit for how pretty (or "interesting") they were!

That night we had to get ready for EB to come. (We left on Saturday for Baton Rouge, so the Bunny was nice enough to come see Anna a day early). Anna wrote a letter for EB, and left her basket along with some carrots out on the table. We told her that the Bunny only comes to see children after they are asleep, to which she promptly replied, "I go nigh-nigh".

The next morning, Anna got to check out all of the goodies EB brought her. I have to admit that I'm kind of sad that my little girl now knows the word "candy" very well. I don't look forward to her starting to ask for it and the fits that will undoubtedly ensue when I have to say no.

After that, we loaded up and headed to BR to celebrate Easter with our families. First stop, though, was a visit with our friends Michele & Matt. Anna and Ryan played together so well - blowing bubbles, sliding, and easter egg hunting. They played and played with those eggs, so much so that Anna got pretty attached to the basket Ryan let her use and was not happy to leave it behind when it was time to go.

Eskimo Kisses

Easter Sunday started, as tradition dictates, at a park on the Westbank with my family. Aunt Katie even made it in from France for the week. We visited with family, flew kites, played on the slides, and Anna even got another chance to hone her Easter Egg hunting skills.

Next stop was at Jeff & Amy's house for their annual Easter Crawfish Boil. Caroline had just gotten an adorable new swingset, so that kept the kiddos very occupied and happy most of the day. The crawfish kept Derek (very) occupied. Later in the day, we went to the levee to attempt to fly kites, but the wind died down. So we opted for some wagon rides down the levee instead. Doesn't get more "New Orleans" than that!

And last but not least, just in case the kids hadn't yet ingested enough sugar to put them in a coma, we went and got some snowballs! It was Anna's first, so I got her a CLEAR strawberry. This turned out to be a good idea because she did spill it not too long after she got it in her grubby little hands. In true New Orleans style, the ice was gloriously finely shaved, and mine was pure heaven with condensed milk on top. Let's just say I'm glad that Houston doesn't know how to do this right, or I'd be at least 300 pounds!

All in all, we had a wonderfully exhausting time, and we wouldn't change a thing!

Two Year Checkup

Here are Anna's stats from her 2 year checkup:

• Weight: 30 pounds (75th percentile)


• Height: 35 inches (75th percentile)

She graduated to the real scale for both height and weight, so no more laying down on the baby ones. She's now in the 75th percentile for both height and weight, so really starting to thin out and become more proportionate.

Dr. Leonardo asked lots of questions about things Anna is saying and doing, and it seems like we are right on track developmentally. Of course, Anna wouldn't do anything I said she could do in front of the doctor. Made me look like a big fat liar!

• Me: "Sure, Anna can jump! Jump for Dr. Leonardo, Anna!"


• Anna: [blank stare]


• Me: "Sure, Anna knows how old she is! Anna, how old are you?"


• Anna: [blank stare]


• Me: "Sure, Anna loves suckers! Anna, tell Dr. Leonardo thank you for the sucker!"


• Anna: [blank stare]

You get the point. Obviously this wasn't a shock for Dr. Leonardo as lots of kids aren't "performers", especially not at the doctor's office. But it was still kind of funny.

She got one shot - which she took fairly well - but the good news is that there should be no more vaccination shots until her 4 year checkup. She'll still have to endure the trauma of some blood work later this week to test for anemia, but that's nothing a Strawberry Shortcake bandaid can't fix :)