Tag Archives: analie

Feb11

Freeze frame

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Freeze frame

I’m kneeling on the floor of my den. My feet are going numb because I’ve been in this position for so long, but I can’t move.  I’m watching my little girl shuffle away from me on her knees, “walking” behind her wooden push toy.

I feel like I’m watching myself in a movie.

When did she get so big?

She’s stopped shuffling and is now methodically pulling the books out of their bin, and she’s trying to hold them all at once.  Their glossy covers are sliding against each other; she’s spending more time trying to catch the one that got away than actually feeling satisfied with the amount of books in her lap.

She’s so happy in the corner with her pile books.

Every single day I wish I could push the “pause” button.  Or, if in some alternate reality, I could be the one whose baby stayed little for always.

I know some day I’ll wake up and she’ll be grown.

But I try not to think about it.

(Although I’m pretty sure Angus wishes she were grown now.  She climbed into his dog bed with him and is laying on top of him.  He’s completely squashed. That dog has the patience of Job.)

Feb6

Radio-Flying

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Radio-Flying

For her birthday, Analie got the Cadillac of Radio-Flyer wagons.

This wagon is not messing around.  It has six different seat configurations (drawing table, snack tray, with friends, without friends, flatbed, etc…) storage caddies, cupholders, and a UV protectant shade.

And safety harnesses.

Since it was gorgeous weather, we decided to (finally) set the thing up today and go for a spin around the driveway.  Analie invited her BFF Maddie to come play wagons and ride in her swing.

First of all, let’s all just have a giggle over the size difference.  Analie and Maddie are one day apart.  On the growth charts, they’re about 80% apart.  (Analie is the bottom 10%, Maddie is top 10%.)  It hilariouses me every time I see it.

And is this child not CUTE?  I would totally give her spoonfuls of sugar but her mommy would kill me in my sleep if she found out.

Analie was munching on Bunnies (her current favorite snack – do not get between the child and her bunnies) and Cheerios as they rode around the yard.  I’m trying to get her bigger but it’s not working.

Poor Maddie looked like she was suffering the entire ride, but I think it was just too bright outside for her.  I giggle when I look at the pictures, though.

Am I a meanie?

She looks like one of those celebrities with their hands out to indicate, “Please, no pictures!”

Aaaaaaand then Maddie discovered that Analie had food.

I love Analie’s look of MOMMY, SHE IS TOUCHING MY BUNNIES!

There is no question as to what what Maddie wants.  And also no question that Analie doesn’t want to share her bunnies.  (Just look at those selfish, pursed lips.)

Poor girl.

Look at my child’s gloating face…

Maddie was ready to be done with the wagon after 15 minutes or so, and then she got to experience…THE SWING.

So cute.

I love babies in swings.  They have this look of WOAH!  LIFE IS SO AWESOME! all over their faces; I just wish I could bottle it up and store it for rainy days.

When Ana’s swinging she always looks like her head is going to pop off from all her pressurized excitement.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to stay like that forever?

Feb4

Bathing Cutie

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Bathing Cutie

Analie loves to go in the bathroom these days.  Because in the bathroom are all kinds of delightful treats like tooth brushing!  and hand washing!  and bathtime!

Oh, and there’s the washcloth drawer that I let her empty.  She loves that too, maybe more than all the other stuff combined.

While in the bath, we let her brush her teeth which, I KNOW, is probably some kind of safety hazard.  Especially since she loves to lean down to the water, submerge her face and inhale.

So then she comes up sputtering with a toothbrush in her mouth.

And she thinks it’s hilarious.

She also learned to pull up onto her knees a few weeks ago, which I think is so cute.  Her tiny little arms gripping the tub ledge, soft rolls of chunk still visible.  I hate that she’s losing her baby chunk.

I need to feed her more marshmallows or something.  (Wait, that’s the wrong kind of chunk.)

Ana got a squirty flower bath toy for Christmas, and it’s her current favorite thing in the bath.

I’ve been squirting it at her since she got it, and a few weeks ago she figured out how to refill it with water and squirt herself.

And what, you ask, is her favorite thing to squirt?

Her face.

OF COURSE!  (When I squirt it at her face she opens her mouth and tries to catch and swallow as much as possible.  It’s the most hilarious thing.)

As soon as the flower runs out of water she always looks at it, with her face dripping wet, like WOW THAT WAS SO AWESOME!

Then she fills the flower back up with water and does it all over again.

And that is why you can’t give this child a bath without full body waders on.  She takes bath time by the horns and shows it who is BOSS.

Joie de vivre. 

Feb2

Analie has eight teeth. COUNT ‘EM.

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Analie has eight teeth. COUNT ‘EM.

This afternoon the weather was gorgeous, so we went outside to go mudding in the backyard.

I dressed Analie in her most awkward pair of pants, two pairs of socks, and two undershirts, thinking they might get ruined if she got super muddy.

But I needn’t have worried about her clothes.  She’s not into getting dirty, although I tried really hard to show her how to dig in the mud.

She does love Angus, though, so he tempted her to at least crawl a tiny bit off the blanket twice.  And then he got too far away so she went right back to where it was dry.

But how sweet is that smile?

My little girl is getting so big.  I love this stage; the curious wonder of a stick or rock she dislodged from the grass, the  fascination she has with picking furry bits of moss off the ground and handing them to me proudly.

Oh…baby girl…can we freeze time?

Jan23

One Perk About Having A Late Crawling Baby

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One Perk About Having A Late Crawling Baby

Analie is, like, the least advanced baby when it comes to movement.  She’s all, Yeah, I know about that cool toy you have over there, but WHATEVS MOM, I’M COOL WITH THIS PIECE OF LINT I DUG OUT OF THE CARPET.

Short version, it has been difficult to entice her to crawl.

Finally, finally, FINALLY, the Wednesday before Christmas, girlfriend started crawling.  (And it’s good that she did, too, because I’m pretty sure our pediatrician was about two weeks away from firing me as a mother.)  Ana’s crawling progress has been slow but steady, but over the last week she’s really gotten if figured out.  More often than not I’ll turn around to make sure she’s still in the same room as me and catch the wobbly backside of my child as she haphazardly scootches herself along the wood floor.

It’s so hilarious.

Last week, Analie discovered Angus’s food bowl.

Several times on Wednesday I told her no and distracted her with one of my mixing bowls.  (Because she loves to alternately stir and whack Angus with the spatula.  Surprisingly he thinks this game is fun too.)

The next day as I was loading the dishwasher and she and Angus were playing on the kitchen floor, she suddenly took off for his food bowl.

I busted out my first Mama Voice and said, “Analie.  NO.”

She was leaning forward with her tiny little hand was outstretched to the food, but when she heard my voice, she JUMPED. (Then I freaked out that I’d been too firm with her.  (Did I yell???!  I need a hidden camera!))

Analie sat up and stared at the food bowl.  She didn’t move.

I continued to freak out in my mind that maybe what I had thought was my firm voice had really been a yell.  (One of my parenting goals is to be just like my mama and speak firmly but with no yelling!  EVER!)  I wished I wasn’t looking at the back of her head, because I wanted to see those little wheels turning; one thing I love about this stage is that Analie can’t keep her emotions off her face.

It seemed like forever, but was probably only about two seconds, before Analie turned around and happily crawled back to the mixing bowl and picked back up where she had left off.

Victory?

The very next day, we repeated the same situation, right down to the mixing bowl and spatula toy on the floor. But this time when I told her no, I used only a fraction of the firmness I had used the day before.  And you know what?  She immediately turned around!  AND SHE HAS IGNORED HIS FOOD BOWL EVER SINCE!

I am totally expecting her to sneak over there again. But for our first NO! crawling boundary, I am so proud of Analie.

And I’m also glad that she waited so long to start crawling.  Because I’m not worn out by saying no yet.  (That’ll probably hit next week, right mamas?)

 

 

Dec19

ME TOO, GUYS!

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ME TOO, GUYS!

I was laying on the floor playing with Analie who was pulling stuff out of her junk mail bag (yes, my child plays with junk mail and she loves it) when Joey leaned over and gave me a kiss.

I’M SORRY.  IT HAPPENS.  I HAD TO PUT IT IN THE STORY OR IT WOULDN’T MAKE SENSE.

Anyway, when Analie saw what was going on and she immediately leaned forward and smashed her face right in between ours. Then she giggled like she’d gotten in on something really awesome.

I haven’t been able to stop laughing since.

Dec13

The Next CEO Of Starbucks

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The Next CEO Of Starbucks

Analie goes totally postal when she sees us drinking coffee.  She reaches her arms out (and/or starts flapping), sets her jaw, and growls for us to GIVE! HER! THAT! MUG! NOW!  PLEASE.

The past couple of days I’ve given her my coffee mug after I finished it.  And as soon as he gets it, she’s grabbed it with both hands and held it up to her mouth just like she’s seen Mommy do.  It’s hilarious because it covers her entire face. (I totally need to get a photo of this.  I am a failure.)

She started reaching and growling for my coffee mug this morning, and it wasn’t even close to being empty.  So, I thought, I’ll just let her taste what’s in there and nip this little problem in the bud.

(Point of detail: I drink my coffee black.)

I held the mug to her face and she put her tiny hands on either side of it.  We tipped it toward her mouth and she took a little drink of straight up black coffee.

I expected her to grimace and cry.

Instead, she flapped, squealed, and lunged for the mug again.

Plan = Backfired.

Dec10

100% Black Angus

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100% Black Angus

Yesterday at the puppy house, it was total chaos.  There were shih tzu puppies everywhere.  I took a camera with the intention of taking photos of the cuteness, but THERE WERE TOO MANY PUPPIES.  And puppies are normally wiggly, but shih tzu puppies take it to the next level entirely.  So everything was out of focus and I just gave up after awhile.

We had to drive about an hour away to get to puppyland.  On the drive in I told Joey to steel himself against all the cute puppies, we were going to choose between two that were “on sale” due to being a little bit older than the other puppies.  Unfortunately, once we met the “on sale” puppies, we kinda realized why they were on sale.  And we got a different one.

An all-black buster whom we named Angus.  Yes, after MacGyver.  OH MY GOSH.

Analie loves him.  They are friends forever already, on the drive back he rode on her lap in the carseat for awhile and she gave him gentle pets and squeals and kisses.

This morning I gave him a bath because he smelled a little bit funny.  And he was out of focus.

He was all, I HATE THIS!

I REALLY HATE THIS!

He recovered once I gave him the hair dryer treatment,  and then he and Analie played in the doggy bed for awhile.

Nov15

Swing, swing, swing

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Swing, swing, swing

 

Yesterday was gray and gloomy and warm and weird all at the same time.  It was the craziest weather and I was loving it.  (The only thing that could have made it better was if we had gotten some more of that crazy thunder action that mostly hit southeast of us.)

Today it’s just gray and damp and kinda chilly.

And it’s laundry day.

(Which reminds me that I really need to start that load of towels.)

So instead of doing laundry, we went outside to swing.

Swinging is fun.  Even when it’s cold and the swing has to be wiped off three times because it’s covered in soggy leaves and puddles of water.

Analie loves lounging in her swing; she doesn’t even care if she’s being pushed.  She likes to bounce in it, and she also likes to sit back and watch the cars drive past.

An ambulance WITH ITS SIREN even went by.  I was pretty sure her eyes were going to bug out of her skull.

 

 

It’s fun to holler…

It’s fun to squeal…And it’s fun to be the Fun Police.  ARE YOU HAVING FUN YET?  Get to work having fun NOW!