I know I've been very delinquent with updating this, but rather than overwhelming myself with trying to catch up, I'll just post recent stuff! Today Anna celebrated her 2nd birthday (even though it's not until next weekend) at Chuck E. Cheese's! She has never been before, so we were expecting her to like it pretty well. Naturally she got a kick out of the mechanical cars, but she didn't seem to care for the fake pony ride (she must be spoiled since she's ridden on real ponies before). Even just walking around and looking at all the games seemed to amuse her. When we got there it was pretty empty, and that was pleasant for quite a while. Then we all sat down and had pizza, and they put on a birthday show for our little squirt. Chuck E. Cheese himself came out to sing to her, and she absolutely loved him. She got a fun little blow-up hat and a medal to wear around her neck, and she got to go into this thing called the "ticket blaster." It's this booth that swirls all these tickets around you, and you have to try to catch as many as you can. It was pretty crazy! After that it was present time. She got a lot of really great things: a "White" vacuum cleaner from Mike and Emily, a pretty dress and Woody doll from Auntie Carrie and Uncle Jamie, a White light from Dano, a Princess book collection from Unckie Eye (even though he is back in Germany today), and college donations from Alicia and Grandma and Grandpa Pachla. Her big present was from Bubby and Bobby, and it was her very own trampoline!! I set it up for her tonight, and it's tons o' fun! Anna earned about 300 tickets, so she was able to pick out her first prize. Surprise surprise, she picked out a princess figurine! She fell asleep almost instantly on the way home and slept for about 2 1/2 hours. It was a busy day! We ended it with playing with all her new toys (which she has played with very equally) and watching Toy Story 2.
Just in case I forget to update this on her actual birthday, I should go over some of the things she does now. It's pretty tough, because she has grown by leaps and bounds lately. She can say simple sentences, like "Woody go?" or "Door locked." She loves to sing songs like "I'm Wishing," "Jingle Bells," and "One, Two, Button Shoe." She knows all her letters, upper and lower case, she can count from one to ten, and she even knows several colors! I am still amazed at how she literally learns new things every day. She still loves Yo Gabba Gabba (or "Good Day," as it is still sometimes lovingly referred), and she also loves Sesame Street and Toy Story. She is truly a real kid now and no longer a baby. It makes me very sad, but she's more fun than ever!
