Aaaachooo!

I took little A to the park this week after story time. She had a lot of fun swinging and riding the merry-go-rounds and then saw the kids on the slides and decided we needed to go see them. So we headed over (its across the field which is a long trek for someone with such small little legs). We ran up and down the steps for a while, and then she followed a little boy to the top and watched him go down the slide. A hates slides. The last time we went near them she cried. So, I was very surprised when she decided that she wanted to go down. I asked her twice if she was sure she wanted to go down and she kept trying so I sat her on my lap and away we went. She cried. Big huge crocodile tears and shaking sobs. She still hates slides.

I always prepare Allan's breakfast and lunch the night before. He goes into work really early and eats breakfast there as well as lunch. One evening I forgot to pack his breakfast. He didn't notice until he was already at work the next day so he ate his lunch for breakfast and was very hungry come lunch time. He called me, and little A and I got to bring him lunch. It was so fun to see him during the day. A was SO happy to see him and so excited to be at his work.

Little A's feet have finally grown again! She is finally wearing an infant size 3 shoe. They are still a little big on her, but her size 2's are too small. We have a ton of size 2 and size 4 shoes and only 1 pair of size 3, so we made a quick trip to the nearest city to get a couple more pairs of shoes for her. A loves shoes and going to the store, so she was thrilled. She was so excited to be in all the stores and squealed and giggled at all the people. She is such a cutie. While we were standing at the check-out line in one of the stores she had a long conversation with a little girl in front of us that put a smile on everyone's faces. She is delighted with her new shoes.

We had some friends over for dinner the other day. We had green curry chicken and rice. Little A LOVES curry. She ate it very vigorously throughout the whole meal, and Allan and I kept having to pick rice out of her nose. Allan tried to feed her so she wouldn't get anymore stuck up there, but she wouldn't let him. She started sneezing pretty soon after dinner was over and then sneezed rice out of her nose for about 30 minutes! I felt so bad for her. It didn't deter her from eating it the next day though. The picture is of a different day when we had pasta for dinner. She also LOVES pasta and eats it very vigorously, as you can see. (As a side note we are trying to get her to use a fork or spoon, but she usually just chews on them for a while and then throws them on the floor. She doesn't like them. They slow her down.)

Little A is still going poop and potty in the potty like a pro. She even held it until she got to the potty one day! She has also occasionally started telling me when she has to go.

We went to dance class again this week, and A did a little better. She didn't cry, but she wanted me to hold her for most of the class. I got a really good workout, ha! It's rough dancing with a 22lb baby on your hip. She's funny though. Even though she's nervous she wants to do everything. As part of the class we had a dance circle and each child got to go in the middle and show us their moves. A could hardly contain her excitement. She REALLY wanted to go and kept squealing and gesturing to the teacher. The other girls there are all older than her and are really good with her.

We were dancing around the house one day and I started kicking my leg and saying "kick" over and over. Little A thought it was fantastic and soon started kicking her leg too! It was so cute. The first two dance moves she's learned are battements (kicks), and heel stretches. :)

We are almost done painting the basement! Hurray! That was such a huge job that we were really not looking forward to. We have all the walls and ceilings painted, but we got done and discovered that they all needed a second coat. We have one room and the hallway to put a second coat on and then we'll be done!

I made cookies this week, and little A has been thoroughly enjoying them. She was extremely skeptical about the first one I gave to her. She hates bread, and cookies look kind of similar to bread as far as texture goes. She eventually ate a tiny piece. When she discovered what it was she got this huge smile on her face, put her feet up, leaned back in her chair, and savored it while I made dinner. She was very satisfied. I wish I would have gotten a picture.

A is talking more and more. She mostly says "ya", "Mamma", and "Daddy" but she is actually saying them consistently now. She will also say "book", "baba", "food", "yum" and several other words but only when she feels so inspired. And she still spits out new words and phrases at random and then never says them again.

I was researching the developmental stages and the things I'd read says that she should be pointing and naming things. Little A never points. She looks at things. If she wants something she'll say "Mamma" and then look at it, so I guess she's pointing with her eyes. I was talking to Allan about it, and he said that she doesn't point because I never do. I realized that he was right. She also usually greets people with smiles instead of waving, which is also what I do, I have a hard time remembering to wave. So, we are working on pointing and waving around here. (Allan: Little A is just like her Momma. People like to ask if she is a Daddy's girl, but the answer is always no. She adores Kami)

One morning I came into the living room and found A's stacking tower like this. She usually dumps it and scoots them all around and then is done, so I was surprised to find them all in a row and by the colors of the rainbow. When I play with it with her I always sing the rainbow colors song; it must have stuck with her. Also, I think her favorite color is red. If I give her the choice of a color she chooses red almost every time.

I finally got a visiting teaching assignment. I love to go visiting teaching, and little A loves to go too. At our first appointment she was such a sweetie. She sat and played quietly almost until the end. Then she discovered the stairs and enjoyed climbing those until it was time to go. She thought it was really funny to climb up and then try to run away; she would giggle and giggle when I would catch her. Our second appointment was with a friend who has a baby that is about a year younger than A. We've played with them a few times, and they always have a lot of fun. This time it was nap time for him and really close to nap time for her, so they kind of struggled. A loved playing with his toys though.

This is how I ate breakfast this morning. If I eat at the table A cries and wants to sit on my lap, but if I eat on the couch she will usually play with her toys until I'm done. However, this morning she was very insistent that she sit on my lap and continued to pin one of my arms down while I tried to eat. Funny girl.

We had a fun time this morning running around like this...

and wrestling Daddy like this...

but the wrestling quickly turned into hugs and kisses on the nose. We have such a sweet girl!