Miss Independent

Anya is definitely showing her personality and independence much more. She doesn't want my help with anything. She wants to decide what to do and where to walk. I know that this independence is a great thing but it can make things a bit difficult at points. Good thing that Dwight and I agree that our little cutie can only get away with so much. We understand that the patterns that we allow today will impact her behavior tomorrow. That said, we can still have fun and be silly. We sat and ate (a delicious Tuscan chicken meal) dinner last night while she screamed her head off to get down. She hates sitting at the table. She would much rather run around. Well, too bad. She finally stopped and ate. I'm glad we stuck with it.
Her spunky personality is definitely going to bring us some challenges but also so many laughs.

Miss Independent at the mall

Anya had fun at the mall yesterday. We stopped in Pottery Barn Kids to play with the lamb rocker. My mom took us out to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Anya loves to walk while holding onto my hands. She gets angry when I pick her up. This morning I let her use her walker and I was hovering over her while she walked on the hard floor. She let go with one hand to push me away! Oh boy.. are we in for it?

Uncle Eddie comes to town

Dwight and I each have one sibling. He has one brother and I have one sister. What a unique bond there is between siblings. Irreplaceable. I am amazed at how our brother and sister in laws have become our own siblings, in a way. There is that special comfort level that only parents and siblings get. An example is that his brother came over to spend the weekend with us on Saturday morning. He walks in to all three of us still in pajamas. Dwight is swiffering the floors and I am feeding Anya breakfast. We give our hellos and hugs and continue to chat with him, not stopping what we are doing. He blends into our every day. It's not easy to just blend into someones every day. For the usual company we are at least dressed. My sister and her husband are the same way with us. We are just us with them.. messy or clean house.. pajamas and all. I love that about siblings.

We had an fun filled weekend with Ed visiting. On the first day we brought him to Redhook Brewery in Portsmouth where they were hosting restaurant week. We had a fantastic 3 course meal for an equally fantastic price. We took the tour of the brewery after lunch and we were all impressed. There were a bunch of other babies and children there as well so I didn't feel bad about having a baby in a brewery. ;) On the way home Anya was cracking me up with her raspberry faces and noises. Here is a picture and a video:

This same weekend was maple sugar weekend. Maple sugar houses in the area open their doors one weekend in March to tours and free samples. We decided to go check one out on Sunday. When we pulled in I was a little apprehensive. It was a small shack with only a few people around. I had a quick vision from the movie Deliverance. Once we walked in my fears diminished. They had free maple coffee and cookies. You can't go wrong with free coffee and cookies.. ever. The owners were a family that do maple sugaring as a hobby. A woman came over to coo and smile at Anya, telling us how lucky we are (so sweet, sigh). A man came over to give us samples of the yummy syrup. Other people like ourselves started to flood through the doors. There was a demonstration or two and we walked up into the woods to see where the trees were tapped for the delicious sugar sap. You could see the smoke coming up from the little sugar shack. It was a cool day and Anya was smiling away at her chance to feel the fresh air. We bought some syrup to take home. I know I will think of that little sugar shack every time I pour it's deliciousness over a pancake.

Our weekend was filled with laughter and stories. We did a lot but we also cozied it up in pjs to watch a movie after Anya's bed time. Anya's uncle was able to see her exploring and getting into things in her walker. He heard her huge shrieks as she chased Herman around the house. He was a great help in the car rides feeding her a bottle in the backseat and wiping her little chin. When he fell asleep in the backseat Anya smiled and stared at her uncle. I think I even saw her chuck a toy at him in hopes of waking him. I love having Anya grow up around her family. I come from a close family so I want that for her as well.
Anya's new thing is not wanting to be fed her pureed food. I'm not sure if she's not enjoying the food, being fed by someone other than herself, or both of these things. She does like the finger foods and once in a while seems to enjoy the pureed meal. She does love yogurt. I have noticed that it is really hard when we are out to lunch. I'm thinking we will have to stop bringing pureed foods and only bring finger foods. On Saturday I shared pieces of noodle and chicken from my meal. She didn't want anything to do with the applesauce I brought. I guess she is becoming that independent little lady.

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my heart on wheels

After seeing how much Anya loved the little walker on Sunday we took it home with us to borrow for a bit. I put her in it yesterday after clearing my wine glasses from the wine rack. She started walking everywhere in it. I started having heart attack after heart attack. She found the drawers and she found the cabinets. Luckily the tray on the walker prevents her from opening the cabinets completely. She tries and tries but can't get in and you hear open, shut, open, shut, open, shut. She then found the trash can which I don't really want her hands touching. I guess we will have to buy a small can to put under the sink. All these things to think about. Next she moved over to the hallway and started walking towards the night light I have there. I removed it only to notice the open outlet I created. I moved her back to the dining room while I put the safety covers on. I would be fixing things while looking over my shoulder at her getting into something new. It was funny, but scary! Next, she found the table runner on the coffee table. I was in the kitchen as I saw her pulling and pulling. A candle that was on the runner was getting closer and closer to her and fast! I screamed "No!" and got there just in time. The runner is gone now. She discovered that she can 'run' after the cat now. She is psyched about this. I'm not sure if Herman isn't pleased or he considers it a game. He doesn't seem thrilled. The look on her face while walking towards him is priceless. She loves coming into the kitchen and grabbing at our legs. She was pulling on Dwight's pants last night as he was making dinner. It was cute. She also loves to look at her reflection in the stove and touch the walls. There were moments of me wanting to get rid of the walker really fast. They are dangerous even though I have my eye on her at all times. I have the doorway to the basement shut (obviously) but I want to get a lock as well because I just don't trust that the cat wont open it some day or we will not be paying attention. Worst fear right there. I did have those thoughts of hiding it away from her and there will be moments where I will do that. Watching her wave her arms in excitement at me because she was having the best time.. well I just can't take that away from her.

Miss Independent *continues

We have a little Miss Independent on our hands once again. Last month I posted this about our little one being independent. Yesterday I gave Anya a sippy cup filled with water. She hasn't been a fan of the sippy cup, until yesterday. She lifted it up and was sucking away, however, the cup wasn't tilted. Sip, sip, sip.. all air. I reached over with my finger and pushed it up at an angle. Anya gave me a whine and shoved my hand away. My little precious angel of a child shoved me away! She continued to suck in air and I tried once again to help. This time she got so mad at me that she lost control of her sippy cup. It fell over and she flailed her hands quickly to get to it before I did. She was whining and reaching frantically for that stinkin' cup. Little Miss Independent is showing herself.

The funny thing is I am happy. With this stubborn perseverance she will be tipping her glass in no time.

Today I gave it to her again. She tipped it upside down and watched her tray fill up with water. After it was filled she splashed the water everywhere. I don't blame her, it did look pretty fun.

Miss Independent

I love that Anya wants the spoon. Giving her the spoon makes a huge mess.. but I guess babies learn while making big messes. :) She loves to put her hands in the food (yogurt today) and chew on the spoon. I was trying to show her how to fill the spoon up with food but she gave me a bright red face and a stubborn grunt at me trying to help. Every time I tried to guide her she would get mad at me. I think we have a long road ahead of Gemini vs. Gemini. I was the same exact way as a child. I wouldn't let anyone show me how to tie my own shoelaces in first grade. I finally went into the living room all alone and tried over and over until I got it right all by myself. My mom says that I tie them 'backwards' because that is how my dad taught me. I remember being stubborn and angry that they wanted to teach me. I need to remember that she is my child.. she will act this way because I am this way. I need to learn to step back and let her learn all by herself once in a while.. making messes along the way. I did step back today and I witnessed her putting that spoon right into her mouth all by herself. Go Anya!