Another Chatterbox...

Anna is in the midst of a language explosion - she is learning new words every day and the ones she already knows are becoming clearer and easier to understand.

Some of her new words just over the past week or so are: 

Book

Milk (she says it more like 'mulk')

Baby

Help! (usually said while pointing to something that she can't reach)

Daddy (she had been saying Dah-ee for a while, but now she clearly says Daddy)

Zilla

Lennan (she says Leh-lehn, but you can definitely tell what she's saying!)
Kitty
No
Hello! (sometimes she says it like Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. It's hilarious)

She loves singing lately, too. She is always trying to sing along with Grace when she sings Twinkle Twinkle and Bah Bah Black Sheep. She doesn't have all the words yet but the tune is there! And she still loves singing No One, her favorite. 

Tumblebugs

Last night Grace started Tumblebugs, a beginner gymnastics class. This is her first structured program, and her first activity of any sort without parental involvement. I knew the class did not require any parental participation, but I assumed parents could stay and watch. Nope! I had to sign her in and leave until the 45 minute class was up! After filling out some paperwork, I ended up waiting in the car for half an hour. I felt a little guilty because I would have explained to her that I would be leaving and prepared her a bit for being there by herself, but she didn't seem to mind. It helped that one of her friends from Wee Bears is in the class too. I waved to her as I was leaving and she said "Come over here with me, Mommy!" I told her I'd be back in a few minutes and she responded with a cheery "Ok!" When I came back to pick her up, she was deep in conversation with one of the instructors, and demonstrating her favourite thing they did (jumping around like a frog). When she saw me, she gave me a smile and a wave but kept talking to the instructor with a smile on her face. Then she came skipping over, showed me the sticker she was given, and told me all about what they had done. She had a great time and I think she's looking forward to going back again next week. Next time I'll bring a tea and a book!

At the Playground for the First Time this Year

We've had a ton of rain lately so all of the snow is gone (for now). We got ready and walked over to the playground today! We didn't stay too long because Anna and Lennan weren't having much fun after they got tired of the swings. Grace had a blast playing in the puddles and came home with soaking wet pants, socks, and boots!

Anna's Song

When Grace was a baby, we discovered that she really liked Neil Young. I think she was around 6 months old and we were on our way home from Cape Breton (a 3.5 hour drive) and Grace was fussing in the backseat. Brian put on the Harvest Moon album and within seconds of Unknown Legend playing, Grace fell asleep. We both laughed about it and said she must be a Neil Young fan! The next time she was fussing in the car we put the song on and again, she calmed down almost immediately and went to sleep. We thought it was a fluke but it kept happening! She still likes the song Unknown Legend and will sometimes ask to listen to "the song that I liked when I was a baby and I would go right to sleep!"

A few months ago, Anna was crying in the car on our way home from Zilla and Bampers' house. We were playing some songs on Brian's phone and when No One by Alicia Keys came on, Anna stopped crying. We looked at each other and chuckled, and we tried the song the next time Anna was fussing in the car - it worked! For the past few months, any time Anna is fussing or crying in the car, we put on No One and she settles right away. It's to the point now that if Anna starts crying, Grace will say "put on No One, quick!" Grace has been singing the song to Anna for months and it does soothe her; it's so sweet. Recently, Anna started singing along with Grace! We've even heard her singing the song to herself when she wakes up in the night. I finally caught the two of them singing on video:

That's What She Said

Grace (after watching the Mickey Mouse version of A Christmas Carol): Mommy, you can be Mr. Scrooge, I'll be Mickey Mouse, Anna is Tiny Tim, and Daddy is Bum Crack.
(I laughed so hard and almost didn't want to tell her that it's actually Bob Cratchit).

G: Mommy, are you coming outside?
Me: No, I'm going to stay in with Anna. You can stay out with Daddy.
G: Yeah, 'cause we're best friends!

Grace, while playing Ball in a Cup: This is really tricky! I can't do it when I'm 3. Maybe when I'm 4. 

Anna: 

(Anna's ramblings aren't as comical because she's just learning to talk, but we think she will be a little chatterbox like her big sister!)

Hi!
Bye bye

Up!

Mommy

Dah-yee (Daddy)

Toe (toast)

Chee-O! (Cheerios)

Wah (water)

Num num num (while enjoying her food!)

2014

My first blog post of 2014 - halfway through January. I had told myself that I would post more frequently this year but I'm not doing a very good job of that so far!

I'm hoping to post more going forward. I need to keep in mind the reason I started this blog in the first place - as an online baby book for the girls. Even if it's just a short post about something funny that happened that day or something interesting that we did, it will be fun to look back at later. I'm working on a post about our holidays!

For now, here's a couple pictures of the girls.

They love reading to each other!

Anna wasn't feeling well, so they snuggled up on the couch and watched a show.