All about Anni

I know I've been away.  Miss Anni and I just spent a week with my family in Kansas... trying to do a little rest and relaxation, as well as be there for my beautiful sister's first craft fair while my hubby took a business trip.  We had a wonderful time, but I admit to still feeling a little overwhelmed with life.

How do you deal with the overwhelming demands of motherhood, being a wife, business and life in general?  I think I need some new coping mechanisms... and we're going to start with a little update on my sweet little one.  Yesterday marked 17 months since her birth, so I just want to revel in her little personality for a few minutes.

Nugget has definitely gotten the hang of walking.  She tends to do it at full speed with her arms in the air, yelling "Go, go, go!" or "Yaaaaaay!"  She's also picked up the "Go Big!"  of "Go Big Red!"  after spending a week with hardcore Cornhusker fans.  She is still a little unsteady, especially when she demands to walk on our jaunts outside, but I can't really blame her, I still trip over my own feet.

Our gal has hit the sorting phase.  It's pretty awesome.  These buttons keep her happily entertained and were especially helpful when I had to run out to a meeting and my mom watched her.  I love watching her little self busily at work sorting and thinking through what she's going to dump, pour and sometimes throw next.  She likes to sort other things as well (drawers full of paper, books and kitchen supplies), but this is probably the easiest to keep contained and takes up very little space.

This girl has a very distinct personality, and I love discovering all of its little facets.  She has very distinct body language for "shy" (a little chin dip and tiny smile while she keeps her eyes on the new person) as well as "nervous" (holding her wrists and plucking at her clothes a little).  She also has a wide array of smiles, some of which I haven't quite figured out yet (can a 17 month old have a sarcastic smile?).  As wonderful as it is to watch her grow, I also have to admit to being scared stiff that I will mess it up.  She is such a beautiful little soul and I'm a new mommy, just trying to figure all of this out.  My dad reminded me this weekend that he still didn't have it all figured out.

  
Anni got to spend a lot of time with her cousin, Charlie, and she loved it!  He was amazingly patient with her and she just wanted to follow him around and make sure she could pat his head whenever she wanted.  I love getting to see her love others.

We find her in some interesting positions as her flexibility lets her stretch beyond that of a normal toddler.  Even the normal toddler squat stretches into a little froggie pose.   Oh, and speaking of body parts (great segue right?), she knows a whole lot of hers.  She can point to her belly button, mouth, nose, eyes, ears, hair, feet and hands (well, she just wiggles the feet and hands, but she knows what they are).  Isn't it amazing watching little ones learn?

Oh, and we can't forget the temper tantrums.  She has a good scream on her and likes to instantly alert us to things that are not going her way.  We're working on it :).  

 
Sweet Anni, I love watching you grow!