Goodbye to the blog

It's time to say good bye to the blog updates. It has been a fantastic way for me to write about my experience of being a first time mom through the first two years of my daughter's life. I am having this blog made into a book and it will serve as a reminder for Anya just how much time I spent on the computer ignoring her. Just kidding. I hope this serves as a memory capsule for me and all of our family.

Cheers

Lisa

2 and Beyond

I left off in May and we are currently in the middle of July. Much as happened since I last posted so I will get you all up to date and then sign off for good with a good bye post.

Anya, Ahma (my mom),

and I took

a trip to Cabo

San Lucas, Mexico with my brother's wife's parents. What a fabulous vacation. After all my horror stories of flying with Anya my mom had never experieced the joy. However, much to my dismay and pleasure, she was a doll in flight.

We took a portable DVD player and some favorite You Tube muppets, Wiggles, and Elmo videos

on my iPod and she was quite content to sit there and watch. The only small disaster was on the trip home I didn't have enough time to change her diaper when we changed planes in San Diego and she peed right though it when she was sitting on my lap for take off. I had to wait with wet pants for a good 45 minutes until the seat-belt sign went off and fortunately had a spare pair of shorts in my bag. (Note to parents: always bring spare clothes for your child AND yourself on a plane) I have been spilled on, spit up on, and now peed on all on a plane requiring a change of clothes.

In Mexico Anya swam like a fish. She loved the cascading pools, warm weather, and abundant

large lizards. She was well behaved and warmed to Kelly and Ross immediately. The five of us had a great time relaxing and enjoying the 90 degree days. I actually was able to sit by the pool, read a book, and enjoy a margarita all thanks to my helpful "Anya sitters". What a treat! Anya would wear herself out swimming and crash for a nap on the lounge chair under an umbrella. One day we went to the main beach in Cabo and she took a 2 hour nap on a chair on the beach. It really was an amazing time and very special for Anya to spend some quality time with her Ahma.

After Mexico came Anya's 2nd birthday. We had a small park party with her friends and a family BBQ with family. She was happy to spend time with her cousins and loved her chocolate cupcakes (albeit soy buttercream frosting).

The most recent news is her allergy status. After a visit to the allergist the skin test for diary allergy came back negative but egg was still positive. We had a blood draw and the results were no allergy to milk as well. So we had a "challenge" at the allergist's office. Basically we arrived at 7:30am and stayed until 11:30. She started with 1 tsp of chocolate milk and proceeded to two full dixie cups by the end. She would drink, wait 20 minutes, they would check her skin and face and give her more. She passed with flying colors- no reaction what so ever so we are all clear for milk, cheese, icecream, yogurt and many other dairy gems. Hooray!

Other news in Anya's world is that she is potty training and finding a lot of success. We are happy to cheer her on while she gains new independence. Bribing with chocolate and marshmallows (which are still called "far fars" for some bizarre reason) has expedited the process. Her vocabulary is growing daily and she can communicate with complete sentences. She sings the lyrics to her favorite songs some being Twinkle Twinkle, Barney's I Love You song, and The Wheels on the Bus among others.

On a personal note, I love this age. 2 is so much fun! We play and laugh and generally have a fantastic time together. She asks for family hugs and kisses like a champ. She tells both Myles and I she loves us (without prompting) and it melts our hearts. She is so sweet and I can't imagine my world without her lighting up my days.

Gym Rat

So sorry- the blog took a backseat to opening Myles's Athletic Training Studio and I haven't updated in a while.

Anya's nearly two- I really can't believe how fast time flies with these little ones. I swear I was just as big as a house and complaining about being pregnant and now here we are two years later with such a dynamic little person in our lives.

Anya is a delight- truly she lights up my life. She can make me giggle uncontrollably and test me to the point I feel I might snap- but I love her oh so much. She has her way

with daddy too- I can already see the negotiations falling apart when she utters, "Mom won't let me but daddy will..." we are in for it come the teenage years.

The spirited little soul has been yearning to play outdoors without a coat but this winter just won't let up. We have had a few nice days and finally had a warm enough day to be outside in t-shirts and pants this past weekend. Anya and I are headed to Cabo in a two weeks though so we will make up for some lost sun time.

What's new- the vocab and the jibber jabber constant talking yada yada yada. The girl is just like her mother and NEVER shuts up. Now that we know what she is saying it is hilarious to sit and listen to her go on and on orating everything she is doing. She plays with her babies and changes their diapers fastidiously (requiring her own wipes and diapers). Some favorite words at the moment are octopus, marshmallow, and delicious all of which are mispronounced but wonderful to hear.

SLEEP, glorious sleep. Our child has FINALLY decided to sleep more. She goes to bed at 7 and wakes up by 6 or 6:30 (fine by me because I'm up anyway....) and has started taking 3 hour naps in the middle of the day. I can't believe how much I can get done now that she naps longer than an hour. It is amazing. All this sleep leads to a much happier, chipper, and rambunctious little girl but I'll take it.

Digging in the dirt and finding worms is her favorite outside activity. I have a feeling my garden is going to be dug up before my vegetables reach full maturity- oh well.

We are finishing up our year at pre preschool as we call it. We joined the Bellevue College Parent Ed program and have thoroughly enjoyed our year. It is two hours on Tuesday mornings and most of our PEPS (mom's group) does it too so all her friends are there. The curriculum is simple and play focused and the kids really love it. The sensory room is Anya's favorite where she plays with play-doh, paints, splashes in water tables, dumps sand/oats/corn etc everywhere. Basically it is the 'messy" room and I appreciate her doing all her mess making at school and not at home. We are continuing with the program next year with our same group of moms/kids. She is so fortunate to have a steady group of playmates at such a young age. It is also nice as a support group for the moms. We feel very comfortable leaving our child with each other in case of emergency or the oh so necessary hair appointment.

Pictures from Lisa

Click here to view these pictures larger

Is winter over yet?

Well, we can't really complain, but for a 21 month old being outside is a fantastic adventure. With the cold, dark, wet days we have been out but it requires a long pre-outside routine and Anya is not always game for the whole uniform- hat, gloves, two coats, boots- etc. (And in all honesty I'm not the biggest fan of fighting with the wet noodle to get her dressed to spend 1o minutes out in the rain) BUT we do it- yes we are true North-westerners and enjoy (or tolerate) the great outdoors even in the dog days of winter.

We did escape the grey days a few weeks ago with a trip to Sun Valley, ID. It lived up to its name and gave us 4 gorgeous days of sun and cold weather. The most wonderful part of the whole trip was having Ahma and Bobpop there to watch Anya while Myles and I were able to play. This was the first time I have spent full days away from Anya with what seemed like no responsibility. It is amazing how much freedom it feels like to know I am not in charge of her day. THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!!!!Unfortunately Anya got sick the second day into the trip and her coughing made for some early mornings but we all coped and managed to ski all day despite our lack of sleep.

After returning home I took Anya to the doctor and she had walking pneumonia. Myles had a sinus infection and I soon followed with a matching sinus infection. The four days of sun were much needed and left us all feeling rejuvenated despite our illnesses.

Updates in Anya's development- she made it on the weight chart at 3% during her 19th month check up. Hooray. She weighs a whooping 21 lbs sopping wet. Her vocabulary is mind boggling. She is speaking in sentences on occasion and loves to sing along to her favorite songs- some being- monkeys jumping on the bed, ba ba black sheep, London bridge, twinkle twinkle little star, and many more. She recites her alphabet and can count to two (we are working on that one- anything after two is just "more")

She continues to amaze us and make us laugh. She is extremely ticklish and loves to be visited by the tickle monster. She often blasts off into rocket ship mode and flies around the house.

Anya spends a good deal of time with her friend Harry and we recently had the whole family up to the cabin. Anya and Harry had a blast and really enjoyed their sink bath together.

Following in her father's footsteps she likes to wake between 5- 5:30am much to my dismay. It is especially gruesome on the weekends- by 9 am we feel we have had a full day. Sheesh.

She is down to one nap and the transition was a struggle and continues to be. She was napping for around 3 hours spread between 2 naps. Now we have a solid hour in the middle of the day- that's it. I have enough time to eat my lunch and check email and then the princess wakes up and wants to color, read, eat, or get naked and poke her belly button.

We recently had another PEPS get together and it seems like only the boys hang out so here is a terrific pic of Anya with her troop of boy- friends!

Frosty and Mahna Mahna

Yes I actually know how to spell Mahna Mahna. While entertaining Anya during her dinner two weeks ago I started singing and dancing the Muppet Mahna Mahna song. Since that episode we are responsible for one million of the nearly 2 million views of the Muppet version on You Tube. Frosty the snowman is another favorite and it is frequently requested. Don't worry we mainly just listen to the You Tube clip- (for those of you unaware screen time for kids under 2 is a major no-no!) Anya has since realized that if she says Mahna Mahna to almost anyone (her doctor, the check out guy at Safeway, etc.... ) they will start singing the ridiculous song much to her pleasure.

Christmas was glorious. We had a nice dinner at Kyra's for Myles's family Christmas- complete with a gift left on the front porch by Santa. After the kids got a hold of the confetti shredded paper Kyra's house was a winter wonderland. Anya thought the "snow throwing" was the most hilarious thing she had ever witnessed and sat in the middle of the floor in hysterics while the kids sprinkled her with "snow." In my prior blog I had mentioned a quiet Christmas eve- well plans changed and we had over 25 people to our house for cocktails and snacks instead. It was fun but exhausting.

We enjoyed a quiet week in between Christmas and New Years and Myles was home earlier in the day so Anya got to spend some much needed time with Daddy.

We had grand plans to go on my parent's boat for New Years, but the sub freezing temperatures made us reconsider and we had a slumber party at Harry's house instead. The kids had fun and went to bed by 7 so the adults had a fun and delightful evening as well.

We have a chatterbox on our hands. Anya has been an early "talker" and now her vocab is just exploding. It is fun to have her try new words- my favorite ones right now are hummus, cookie, monster, and the letter Q. It is so great to be able to understand her most the time and give her what she is requesting (within reason of course). She has come up with some interesting names for family members. Watch the video clip to hear them.