Annual lobster dinner

Every year my parents have us over for a lobster dinner. It was a huge success once again. Anya sported her lobster slippers and we all had a wonderful time.

Apple picking

On Saturday we spent the day with Dwight's mom, grandmother and family friends. We picked apples with Darlene and Holly. I have never gone apple picking before September. It turns out that it was a great idea, the trees are filled with big juicy apples. We took a hayride and also went out to lunch after. I took a bunch of pictures..

The Beach

Yesterday we headed to the beach with my sister! We had a blast and the weather was perfect. Anya loved running to the water and then running away from it when a wave came.

I definitely learned a lot about beach excursions. Next time I will change her at the car and cover her with sunblock there too. I tried to do both of these things on the beach and we ended up with sticky sand in her hair, face, and everywhere else.
It is a bit more work having a toddler at the beach but it is worth every second of work. She is so much fun to watch. She loved the sand, water, watching other children, and Jill's beach chair too. :)

A new restaurant opened right down the road from us. When we got home from the beach Dwight took Anya and I out for dinner. It was the first time we attempted dinner out with Anya. It was a great time. Anya behaved very well and stayed out an hour past her bedtime.

Indoor fun

The whole summer it seemed to rain only about 4 times. These 4 times just happened to be Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Today the sun shined and it shined bright! It was wonderful. Here is a re-cap on what we did to fill the days during the rain.

Cooking
We cooked peanut butter cookies and I did 99% of it. Anya just isn't old enough and wanted to take the spoon out and play with it instead of stir..

Beans in bowls

I put beans in a bowl and gave her an empty bowl to move them into. She got the idea at first and then decided that throwing them on the floor was just as much fun. The next day we tried this with pasta wheels. She did the same thing. I took out an empty water bottle and we had a great time filling it. I am serious. She would bring over a pasta wheel and drop it in the mouth of the bottle. We would clap together. It was great for her fine motor skills and she was so happy that she gave me a huge hug. twice. maybe thrice. I love being home with her to take in these moments. Now we have a pasta maraca. yay.

Play-doh

Success! Many thought I was nuts to give her play-doh but she loooves it. She didn't make a mess. She squeezed it and pulled it apart. She put it in the canister and took it out. She put it in again and closed the lid. She opened the lid. She took it out. She is in love with play-doh. :)

Crayons and stamps
Crayola has come out with crayons and stamps (and markers too) that are inside a plastic egg for easy holding. I also got her the big crayons. She really enjoyed the big crayons and the stampers. She doesn't last long (lets give it 10 minutes max) but it's a start! (I did some of the drawings obviously)...

Forts

We also tried to make forts and I wasn't too great at it. I must be an amateur. Any tips on fort making? Anya still loved it anyways and would either walk under it...

.. or collapse it from above...

.. or climb on the cushions before falling down and giving me a heart attack..

The Butterfly Place

Today was another rainy day.


We headed to the Butterfly Place with my sister and mom. It is a huge room with flowers, plants, a pond, and lots and lots of butterflies!! We had a great time. The first minute we walked in a butterfly landed on Anya's arm. None of our cameras were out yet, but it was very cool.



It was a great way to spend our rainy day! :-)

Recipe for peach cobbler

Ingredients
6 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups boiling water
3 tablespoons butter

vanilla ice cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10x10 inch baking dish.
Stir together peaches with cinnamon and 1 cup sugar. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together shortening and 3/4 cup sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt alternately with milk. Pour into prepared pan. Top with peach mixture. Drop butter in boiling water and pour all over peaches.

Bake in preheated oven 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with vanilla ice cream!

okay just a few more..

More pics..

Our friend Danielle took these pictures of Anya at Madelyn's birthday party. I love them!

Word List Updated

Word List Updated
Wow
Oh wow (first 2 words together)
Cat
Mama
Dada
Mum
Uh oh
Baba (sippy cup)
Ba-bye and bye
Yay
Duck
Ta tu (thank you)
Yeah
Ook (book)
Baby
Hi
A tee (auntie)
Bubbles
Elmo
Na na (Nana)
Up
Daddy
Mommy
No
Apple
Nana (banana)
Et (Eat)
Bur (bird)
Maaaa (meow)
Hi Mama, Hi Dada, Hi Kitty
Ehhman (Herman)
Hat
Go
Chhhh (cheese)
Joo (juice)
Ny Ny (night night)
Ucky (ducky)
Shoe
A ya (Anya)
P-Boo (peek-a-boo)
More
Cacker (cracker)
Acle (uncle)

I have seen her sign baby, more, hat, hi/bye, milk, cracker, eat, sleep

Madelyn's 2nd Birthday

Over the weekend we celebrated our friend Madelyn's 2nd birthday. Anya had a blast playing with all of the outdoor toys and eating pizza crust. :)
Here is Madelyn opening her gifts..

Anya walked to the tent to stand in the middle and dance for everyone..