I'm Singing, Singing...

I can't believe what a horrible blogger I've been lately! No posts for the month of November? Terrible. I still don't have time to update, but I need to mention how trick-or-treating went and Thanksgiving, and how much Anna has changed (in mostly a good way!!) recently! Hopefully I will have the chance to do all that coming up very soon, but until then, I just had to post this video. Hearing Anna sing a song that I could recognize made my heart melt, and it still does every time it happens. I managed to capture her singing on video; the first part of the clip she is singing a Gabba song with modified lyrics. She's already arranging her own songs?! Amazing. The second part of the clip she is singing "I'm Wishing," from Snow White.

I-L-L!

This year was the first time that I have ever participated in homecoming at U of I - and it was also Anna's first visit to Chambana! We took Friday off of work because I had to be at rehearsal in the afternoon, so we drove down in the morning to get there with plenty of time. We ate lunch at the new Chick-fil-A that they have at the Union - we took it outside and ate on the quad, because it was a beautiful day! Anna enjoyed that, because I think she was fascinated with watching all the different people. We made our way over to the band building, which for some inexplicable reason Anna seemed to love. There were these metal panels on the floor that she got a kick out of jumping on to make noise; she also liked climbing on the podium. Once music rehearsal started Tim took her to roam around and entertain her. I must say that it was really nice to play in a band again! I got to eat dinner with Tim and Ms. B, and we even caught a bit of the parade on our way to the stadium. Then I had a 3-hour marching rehearsal, and Tim took Anna to Rantoul so that Grammie and Grampy could get her ready for bed. They were nice enough to take care of her for the night so that our goofy schedule would disrupt her sleep (turns out that it didn't work anyway, because she conned them into staying up late!) However, getting up and ready really early the next morning would have bothered her, so it was good that she got to sleep a little later. She ate breakfast with Tim and Grammie and Grampy, then they went to the stadium to watch MI's and Fossil Band's pregame. The game was good too, with the Illini easily winning, but Anna got pretty squirmy (I can't blame her; I'm not a huge fan of football either). After we were all done, we drove up to Cracker Barrel for a delicious, huge meal to finish off the day! I definitely hope I get to do this again! And who knows, maybe Anna will enjoy it more once she's a bit older!

A Frightening Fest

I have been really bad about keeping up with the blog lately. October has been busy! We went to Fright Fest with Grammie and Grampy, and boy was it crowded! It only got worse the later it got too, so it was a good thing that we rode all the rides the last time we were there. The place was decorated very nicely, and I think Anna enjoyed seeing all the spooky sights. Lucky for her the only things that weren't crowded were the kids' rides! She enjoyed the Wiggle World thoroughly, especially since that gave her a good chance to run around and play at the bebow. Plus there's the Big Red Planes and Big Red Cars. She can also ride some things in the Camp Cartoon Network now, and the boats she was able to ride all by herself! She's never ridden anything alone before, so this was a first. We saw a show or two, and Anna naturally enjoyed the music. We also rode the Jester's Wild Ride and Hot Air Balloons, both of which aren't actually kiddie rides but don't really have a height limit. So technically they were Anna's first "big kid" rides! By the time we left the park around 7:30 or so, the line for Batman had to be around 3 or 4 hours long! Yikes! It was a fun, but very very busy day!!

Columbus Day

Anna and I had a wonderful Columbus Day today. The weather has been unusually warm the past few days, but thankfully it has also been dry. We started off our day at Countryside Park and played there for at least an hour. Anna loves the choo-choo, the springy dinosaur, and the bridge that's on the playground. Afterward we went to the book store and found a Snow White book, since that's Ms. B's new favorite thing (she also picked out a Beauty and the Beast and Pooh book, and since they were only $1 each, that was fine with me). Then we went home, got some food together, and walked across the street to have a picnic in the park. Of course she was more interested in playing than eating, but I kind of expected that. Then it was naptime, then Gabba time, then dinner time, then bebow time again, and then she had a bath and read her new stories. I definitely had a great time with her today, and hopefully she did too. It made our summer days seem like a distant memory.

More Gabba

This is another video of our little girlie at the Gabba concert. You can see that the dancing back and forth hasn't stopped!

Backyard Movie Fun!

Recently Kohls was having "the biggest sale of the season," and they had a projector for a good price. I've been talking about wanting to get one so that we could watch movies in our backyard, so we decided to get it. This weekend we used it for the first time, and it was REALLY fun! On Friday we watched Beauty and the Beast, and Anna cuddled with me under a blanket while we watched. She loved how big the screen was, and she kept calling Belle "White," because I guess she must think all princesses are Snow White! We also had the outdoor fireplace going, and it was a very lovely, cozy experience! She got really tired about halfway through and wanted to go to bed, so she wasn't able to watch the whole thing.

This evening we watched another movie outside; this time Snow White (Anna's favorite princess). We lit the fire again, and Anna started off by sitting in her own chair. She seemed to get a little scared of the magic mirror, however, and ended up cuddling with me again before the movie even began. That was certainly fine with me! We had the fireplace going again too, despite it being a fairly warm night. I couldn't believe it, but she sat and watched the entire movie! I mean, she was even paying attention the whole time, which is quite an accomplishment for a not-even-2-year-old! She does love Snow White and got excited every time she came on the screen, but she also liked the dwarfs (but not the evil queen!) Once the movie was over, she happily went to bed clutching her Snow White shirt! Yet another wonderful evening with my wonderful little girl!!!!

Good Day!

Last night Anna had an unbelievable experience. She got to see Yo Gabba Gabba LIVE! I have been debating taking her to see it for a while now, because although she loves the show dearly, I was worried that she'd be too young to really appreciate it fully. I'm so glad that I decided she'd love it, because I was right! We took the train downtown, with Anna dressed as Foofa and Tim dressed as (gasp) DJ Lance! We walked to the theater, but Anna still didn't really know what was coming. We sat in the loge, which is the front of the balcony, and Anna was dancing happily to the pre-show music. Then when the show began, she seemed a little confused to see all her friends come to life... and then she was ecstatic! The show was very well done; there were just little snippets of plot that would center around a song, and then they would quickly move on to another theme and another song. They sung familiar, interactive songs that allowed the audience to sing along and participate, and Anna danced the WHOLE time! Even other parents commented about how she must be the happiest child at the show! It lasted about an hour, not including a 20 minute intermission, but poor little Ms. B was so sad when it ended! They released a million balloons right before the end of the first act (during Get the Sillies Out, I believe), so we were able to grab a couple and take them home. It's funny, because as they were coming down I was a little worried that none would fall by us, and no sooner did I have that thought then we got COMPLETELY covered in balloons! At the end of the show I convinced Tim we should get her a shirt, which of course she wanted to wear immediately, and then we had to take the Blue Line (the Metra didn't work out for our outbound trip). Luckily it was a nice evening, because we had a 3 mile walk! We stopped and got Jimmy Johns, so that was good, and spirits were high since Anna was still pretty excited about the show. She ended up going to bed clutching the shirt in her hands, and I'm fairly sure that her world was ROCKED! I'm really glad we took her; it was a great evening for all of us.

Pumpkins!

Last weekend was full of pumpkins and good times! The weather was just right for pumpkin and apple picking. It was chilly and felt like fall, so that put us all in the right spirit to go to the pumpkin farm! We went to Jonamac, which is where we went last year, only this time we went a little earlier in the season. There were TONS of pumpkins to choose from, many of them still growing on the vines! We took a little walk around the place first, to check it out, and then we went to go find our pumpkins. It was a tough job, since there were so many good ones to choose from. Anna helped out quite a bit, and she directed us to where the best ones were :) She also helped Grammie and Grampy pick out their pumpkins (it was 3 for $10, so we had to find 6 total!) She had a little trouble stepping over the vines safely, so she held our hands most of the time. After that she got to go for a pony ride! Grampy went with her this time, and she loved it just as much as ever. I liked how nicely it seemed the horses were cared for. After that we tried to take our picture in the giant rocking chair, but Anna didn't like it this year and started to cry. Oh well, can't with them all! We went inside to get some cider and donuts, but it turns out that Anna doesn't like cider. After that we did some apple picking, and Ms. B was able to take bites out of the apple like a big girl! She loved it too, but she always enjoys feeling like a hot shot. We ended our day with a ride on the apple train - which was just as fun as last year! On our way home we stopped by the new Chick-fil-A in Aurora. YUM!

Monday evening we carved the pumpkins, which Anna has never done before. It didn't hold her attention the whole time, but she was amused for a while with digging out the insides and picking through the seeds (that was her favorite part). She, of course, loved seeing the pumpkins turn into "guys," and even now when she sees them on the porch she exclaims, "GUY!" ... although it sounds like "die," which is a little disturbing! It's so nice having a festive house now!

Now I Know My ABC's

Anna is bound and determined to recognize and say every letter of the alphabet by the time she turns 2. She plays with her fridge magnets constantly, she loves her ABC book, she likes to look at her flashcards, and she loves to play with her wooden alphabet. I tried to keep track of all the letters she was saying tonight, but she's not always consistent. However, the ones I'm pretty sure Anna can say confidently are: A, B, C, G, H, I, J, M, O, Q, S, T, U, X, Y, and Z. Those are the ones that she can recognize without any help, and there are quite a few others that she can say with prompting. Now, I'm really trying not to be one of those parents who pushes academics on her children to prove to everyone how smart she is. She's seeking this stuff out on her own!

Other recent changes are: She LOVES the song "See You in September," which happened to be one of Rabbie's favorite songs! Yay! She gets very excited every time it plays, and when he sings, "Here we are, saying goodbye at the station," Anna inevitably will say, "Buh bye!"

Sunday in church she started talking really loud, and then she put her finger to her lips and shhh'd herself! She did it a couple times, much to the amusement of the congregation (and Mommy).

Anna calls all orange fish "Memo," which of course means Nemo. I have a sneaking suspicion that she learned that one from Grampy.

A Place for Everything...

... and everything in its place! You can't tell by the state of our house, but Anna just loves putting things "in their place." For example, every time she uses her sand toys and is then ready to move on to something else, she carefully places all the tools back in the bucket first. She will also make sure that she puts her fuel can back on the lawnmower when she is ready to go inside. She's very selective about it and isn't anal about all things out of place, so I'm not sure what it's about, really. However, I find it very endearing.

Beep!

Anna has started doing something quite adorable... and strange! We were at the grocery store last week, and she tapped my back and said, "Beep!" She has also done it several times since then. I think it's hilarious, but I'm confused as to why she does it! Am I a car? Not really sure... I took a video of her "beeping" the train at the park today. Too funny!

Speaking of things coming out of nowhere, on Wednesday at Grammie and Grampy's, she pointed to her dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, and very clearly said, "Meatball!" Where does this stuff come from?

Happy Birthday, Auntie Loonie!!!!!

Today is Auntie Loonie's birthday!!!! Yesterday I explained to Ms. B about how Auntie is going to have a special day, and I think she might have understood a bit of it. Grampy is going to take her out to lunch (at Klas... mmmm) to celebrate, and then Ms. B is going to hang out with her for a bit this evening while I go to my schools' open houses. Saturday we're going to have all sorts of fun! We'll hit Maggiano's for lunch, have cake, give presents, and have a slumber party! I hope Ms. B's very special Aunt has a fantastic birthday!!

Great Labor Day

This Labor Day was one of the best I can ever remember. The nice weather has continued, and we decided to join Grammie and Grampy at McCollum Park for a picnic. Grampy planned the whole thing, and he grilled corn, hamburgers, hot dogs, beans, and we also had chips/taco dip and lemon cake. Tim and my dad threw the frisbee for a bit, Anna got a chance to take a nap (she fell asleep in the car and continued her nap for a while after we got there), and my mom and I got a chance to relax. It was windy and cloudy, but it felt very nice, and after we finished eating, Ms. B got to play at the bebow for a while. She had lots of fun, and there were plenty of us to take turns playing with her. Eventually she got tired and wanted to rest, so we sat for a bit and talked, and then it was time to go. What a great day; yum-ma food, cool weather, relaxation, beautiful setting, and good company! If Auntie Loonie, Uncie Eye, and Uncle Dano were there, it would have been perfect!

Fat Lip

Anna was playing in the backyard this past Friday - we finally got a break from the heat and humidity. It's really been a brutal summer, and at last we have had comfortable weather. Anyway, we were eating outside, and somehow Anna must have tripped funny on something. She fell awkwardly and hit her mouth on the ground; the poor kiddo was bleeding pretty good. I cleaned it up right away, but she managed to get her first fat lip of her life. It has scabbed over now and doesn't look so bad, but that first night was quite sad. As you can see in the picture, she had her friend Tigger to help her feel better (and Plex and Brobee are hiding in there too; she loves her new Yo Gabba Gabba Mega Bloks!)

New Things

I read about the so-called "language explosion," but I guess I didn't really know what to expect when it actually came. Today alone I heard her say two new words: down and up! It's very cute how she says them, but I'd guess I'd have to record her doing it, because I'm not sure that I could describe it properly. She also has become - seemingly overnight - a master at her puzzle! It's 8 pieces, and I've never really seen her be able to understand the point of it. She'd always just try to put the pieces wherever, instead of figuring out where they belong. Then this afternoon, she dumps the puzzle and puts all the pieces exactly in the right places!

Other words that she is able to say, but I might not have documented properly: hi, bye, mom, dad, yeah, no, yum, bow wow, baa (for sheep), ball, bear (that's another new one), jar, baby, bubble, vroom vroom (her word for car), uh oh, bee, Eeyore, teeth, eye, "A," wow, yay, why, dance, quack quack, yuck, choo choo, "good day," wheee, and I'm sure I'm missing a few. I'll try to fill them in later. She does also kind of say "zizzer zazzer zuzz," which is adorable.

Bye Bye, Summer Vacation

Today was my first day back at school full time. I must say that this was the best summer I have ever had. Anna has become (well, she always has been, but even more so) such an amazing little person. All summer we had little adventures together, which mostly consisted of bebows. It was a very hot summer too, so I guess maybe we didn't spend as much time outdoors as I would have liked, but we always managed to make it to a park or two, and there was lots and lots of good quality time for us to spend together. She pretty consistently woke up between 7:30 and 8:00, then we'd have breakfast, then I'd shower while she played and listened to music, then I'd enjoy my coffee while she played some more. Then we might go out in the backyard, or read books together, or dance together, or sometimes we'd go for a jog and end up at a bebow. Then she'd eat lunch and take a nap from about 1-3:00, and sometimes we'd play at the park before it was time for me to make dinner. It was a really nice routine that we had going, and I'm going to miss it. I'm pretty lucky to have been able to spend such a big amount of time with her, because she is the best little kid in the whole world!

Leaps and Bounds

It seems like every day Anna is doing or saying new things. She knows some new words now: bubble, baby, and jar. I love how she says "jar," because it sounds a little like "daw." Her obsession with Yo Gabba Gabba is getting pretty crazy. She calls it "deah daaaay," which is supposed to be "good day." Of course Auntie Loonie is to blame for this craze, because she's the one who first introduced Ms. B to the characters (Toodee and Foofa, actually). Then I started recording the show on Nick, Jr. and downloading some of the songs. I also managed to find some toys and books for her too. While maybe I'm helping to feed this obsession, I haven't seen any harm in it (plus I, of course, have my own obsessions, so I understand completely!) I'm looking into her being Foofa for Halloween, and possibly Tim as DJ Lance Rock!

Today is an unusual day for us. We're having our plumbing redone, so there's a ton of noise and activity in the house (not to mention no water), so I asked Grampy to come over and help. That way Ms. B is able to get out of the house and enjoy some bebow time while I stay here in case the plumbers have questions or need anything. At least it only has to be boring for one of us!

18 Months!

I forgot to mention that we celebrated Squirt's 18 month birthday already! How time does fly. She had a very special day, even though the weather didn't cooperate super nicely. We went to the bebow and played for quite some time, and the ducks even put on a special show for her! It was so cute; they all started diving under the water and flying back up all at once! It was quite spectacular, and she was a great audience - laughing, delighted, asking for more. They obliged, so she got to see it twice before they were done. She got to have all sorts of treats and special treatment (although she always gets special treatment), and I think the day was pretty nice for her. Probably her favorite thing is that we turned her car seat around. I wanted to wait until she was 2, since backward facing is the safest and all, but she's getting so interactive and curious that it seemed better for her overall well-being to face forward. Sure enough, she absolutely adores facing forward, so much so that she actually asks for car rides and wants more once we get to our destination. I think it must make her feel like a hotshot, and I have to agree that she is one.

My Little Monkey

All this time I thought I had a child, but no, she's a monkey. ALL she does all day is climb on everything. She has figured out how to get on the couch, the recliner, the rocker, the ottoman, up the stairs, and on all the kitchen chairs. It's a bit unnerving to see her so nimble and clever. She's quite a problem solver, and she can usually figure out how to get herself where she wants to go. At the park I'm amazed at all the things she can do now. So many places she can climb and maneuver, when just a short time ago she wasn't able to do hardly any of it on her own. My little monkey is growing up FAST.

She can pretty much go down any slide on her own, she can climb some of the crazy steps/walls/ladders that practically give me a heart attack, she loves the bouncy cars and dinos and whatnot, she loves playing in the sand and using her sand tools, and of course she loves the swings. We've had quite a great and busy summer of our "tour de bebow."

A Dream Come True

Before Anna was born, I remember sitting in the rocker (which happens to be Rabbie's) in her future nursery and imagining what it would be like after she was born. I imagined snuggling with her in the rocker and reading a book together. Sunday evening, Anna and I were sitting in the rocker and looking at a book together, and it occurred to me that it was exactly the way I had dreamed it would be those years ago. When she was younger and I'd read to her there, it wasn't the same because I knew that she didn't understand what I was saying or what we were doing. She's able to follow the books now and look at the pictures and interact while I read to her. It was such a peaceful and happy moment. We don't get a ton of those these days, since Anna has the attention span of a toddler. It's really difficult to sit down and read books together, because she can't sit still for that long. Having her able to relax for a bit with me and snuggle was definitely magical.

Getting Our Money's Worth!

We've been getting some decent use out of our zoo membership this year. We've already been 3 times! We love being members, because we can go for short amounts of time without having to worry. Anna has been enjoying it thoroughly. We went on Sunday with Daddy and saw the bears, wild dogs, and spent some time in the Hamill Family Play Zoo, then we went again today with Auntie Carrie! We saw the bears again, and the fish/penguins, the wolves (who were very active), and the Children's Zoo. She loved the goats and the chickens. Actually it was really funny, because she kept saying "yum!" when we were in the chicken coop! Ha ha. Although it was a really hot day today, it sure was fun seeing all the animals - and getting to hang out with Auntie Carrie!!

Evenrod's Howling

Anna has been doing something quite strange the last couple evenings. On our walks she has been fascinated with the moon. She stares and points at it, and if we turn away or it gets hidden by clouds or trees, she gets agitated until she can see it again. I have no idea what brought this on, but the moon doesn't even look like a ball right now; if it did, I might be able to understand why Anna would get so excited. As it were, just looking maybe like a C, I'm not sure why she is reacting this way!

Miss Independence

Every day it seems like Anna wants to do something new by herself. First she started with brushing her teeth (although she just sucks on the toothbrush), then she wanted to wash her hands on her own, sometimes she refuses to eat unless we let her feed herself, and now she wants to push the stroller and pull the wagon, rather than riding in them! She's also getting better at going down the stairs; she takes them very cautiously and can generally do okay; this is something that I'm very, very glad she's working on! This weekend I got some great stuff for her, including her own table and chairs. She got to try them out in Utah and loved them, and now she hates to sit in her high chair. Anytime that I say it's time to eat, she runs to her "big girl" chair and sits in it. Too cute.

She also got her very own Tigger doll, having already gotten Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore. She LOVES him, maybe because he sits up really well on his own. She has been posing him all over the house... having him sit in her chair, on her step stool, on the ottoman. She gets a kick out of it! We also got this fun wall light that is shaped like a flower (or wahwee, if you're Squirty), but I haven't decided the best place to put it yet. I also found this neato collapsible tunnel at IKEA that I thought looked fun, and Anna has been playing with it delightfully for the past couple days!

Have I mentioned her belly-button obsession? I don't remember. She plays with it almost every time she sucks her thumb (mainly when she's tired), but she also looks for it occasionally - and checks for other people's too! If I dress her in an outfit that keeps her from easy access, she's pretty unhappy about it. Such a nutcase!

Silly Little Kid

Anna just started doing something really funny - she squats down and goes, "Dah!" I need to get a video of it, because for some reason I think it is one of the cutest things ever. I told Tim I think it's because it seems more like a kid thing to do, instead of a baby thing. He said that could be because it's so deliberate. Whatever the reason, I think it's super cute, and usually when I ask her to do it she will (with a big smile on her face!) Also in this video you'll see part of her emerging wit and MAJOR silliness!

Sleepover

Anna had her first Non-Mommy sleepover on Friday! Tim and I went to the Carole King/James Taylor concert, so Grammie and Grampy took care of her for the evening. She did WAY better than expected! When I left her in the afternoon, she was sharing a glass of sweet tea with Grampy and didn't cry at all. Then Grammie got home and they had pizza (she had 2 1/2 squares! sheesh!), and they went for a walk and to the bebow, and then had some ice cream later. She loved her "auxiliary" car seat that they have, because she got to be a forward-facing hotshot. When she got tired later in the evening, she basically told Grammie that she wanted to go to her cribbie (which they had set up in their bedroom). Went to bed with no incident, slept all night... and in the morning woke up and said, "Hi!" Never once did the little girlie cry or ask for me, and she had a wonderful time! I can't believe how big she's gotten, being able to have sleepovers without me! It definitely makes me happy that it was so successful, and we're planning on doing it again sometime soon!

Music Lover

It's no surprise to me that my daughter loves music, considering both her parents are musicians (not to mention that I'm a music teacher). It is pretty funny how opinionated she is about the songs she wants to hear, and how she wants to hear it ALL the time. She'll say, "Da?" and start to shake her hips - it's hilarious! If I put on a song that she doesn't want to hear, she will shake her head no until I find the right one. She even has her own playlist in iTunes, because one day I played a bunch of random songs to see which ones she liked best (I was getting just a tad tired of hearing "I Saw Her Standing There" 10,000 times a day). Turns out that, in addition to loving that song, she also really likes "Where You Lead" (duh), "Yellow Submarine," and "We Can Work It Out." That last one is the most recent favorite, and I'm very excited because that's one of my favorites too! Sesame Street is still her favorite CD, and now she knows how to turn it on when she's in her room. I will be VERY excited when she figures out how to sing along with these songs!

4th of July

This year's July has been warm and sunny... until we got to the actual holiday. It rained off and on, but still, it was fun. We went up to Tim's Uncle Mike/Aunt Terry's house again, since they have a big party every year. It was hot enough to swim, but Anna was slow to warm up to the water. I think she's completely forgotten about her swim lessons from last year. Eventually though, she didn't mind being in the water, and eventually she would even let us splash her. We got to borrow an innertube for her to sit in, and she loved that too. She also loved their little "bebow," which had a slide and a swing, so much fun to be had. Anna definitely wasn't a fan of the bouncy house though... I think part of it was that the first time she was in there a bigger boy got in there too and was a bit too rowdy for her liking. There was also a 10 yr old there named Kennedy, who was very good at acting like a Mommy. She took Anna under her wing and played with her, pushed her in the swing, and helped her climb the climbing wall. I've never seen anyone so good at playing mom before! It was a nice relief too to have someone play with Anna who isn't me!

I'm posting 2 pictures of my Squirt - one from this year, and one from last year. How time flies!!

Big Girl On Her Bike!

Last Thanksgiving Grammie picked up a bike for Ms. B in preparation for the summertime. It's actually supposed to be for 2 year olds and up, but it seems like it makes more sense to give it to her in summer, rather than January. The bike is awesome; it's Little Mermaid, the seat is adjustable (although she still can't reach the pedals), there's all these buttons on it that make noise and light up - including indicators that blink! - and it blows bubbles! It's a very cool bike, and Anna is thrilled to push herself around on it... and stick her fingers in the bubbles. She has some trouble getting off it, but I'm sure she'll get the hang of it very soon.

Sick Little Girlie

Poor little Ms. B has had a fever for most of this week. It seems to be the worst in the night, and it has been messing with her sleep... of course, ever since we got back from vacation, everyone's schedule has been a little messed up. We're not tired when we're supposed to be, so Anna hasn't been getting to bed at 8:30 like usual. I doubt that has anything to do with her feeling sick though. She's been a real trooper though, because other than being a bit clingier than usual, she hasn't been crabby or difficult or anything. If I had a fever of 102, I doubt I'd be as high-spirited as her! We were able to get her a doctor's appointment today, and they said it could be Roseola, but the only thing to do is wait it out. If she has a fever on Monday we'll need to bring her in again, so we'll see what happens.

The only thing that has been really bad about this is that I've been hesitant to take her to public places. I don't want her spreading the illness to anyone else, and I'd rather keep her excitement to low levels in order to keep the fever down. It sure hasn't been easy - or as fun! But hopefully she will get better soon and we can continue our summer of parks, pools, and other outdoor adventures!

Pool Time!

This week has been hot and humid, which is the perfect weather for splashing in the pool! We got a hard plastic pool this year, because our inflatable pool didn't last long last year. She loves putting her hands in the flowing water (like when I have the hose on), she thinks it's hilarious when she splashes me, she gets a funny look on her face when I spray her head, and of course she loves climbing in and out.

Anna absolutely loves the water, and she would probably stay in it all day if I'd let her!

My Favorite Day

The day we went to Thanksgiving Point was my favorite. It was a beautiful, warm day, so we decided to spend it outdoors at a farm in SLC. When we got there it was about time for lunch, so we did that first and ate outside. Then there was this fun little water sculpture that the kids had fun playing with (and it was free), so there were a bunch of different levers that you pull to make different things happen... like shoot out water or make silly sounds or make some of the gears move. Then we continued on, and there were some beautiful garden areas with lots of roses that the kids enjoyed running through. Finally we got to the main part, which had a big barn with this fake cow that Anna really loved sitting on (I have no idea why), and lots and lots of farm animals outside. We saw all sorts of sheep, goats (and a 1 day old baby!), horses, cows, roosters, turkeys, pigs, geese, ducks, etc. Included in the $3.50 admission was a ticket that you could use to either have a tractor ride or a horse ride, and since Anna had never been on a horse we really wanted to do that. She absolutely LOVED it! She was all smiles the whole time, and then when the ride stopped, she did the "more" sign! We walked around a bit more, but since we had one more ticket, we let her ride again. She was just as excited the second time, and once again she did the "more" sign when the ride was over. I joked that I think we should get her a pony for Christmas, but hopefully some play toys will do! Once that was over it was naptime, so we left. But it was just a really fun, happy time for all of us!