Anna bug

With all of the hullaballoo of Ella's diagnosis, Anna has been ever so slightly neglected. Starting with her birthday 'party.' I made a cake, but we were still new to counting carbs and it was quite the process to weigh out each ingredient for the cake, calculate how many carbs were in the entire thing, weigh Ella's piece and then calculate out how many carbs she was getting. I think we sang to her...honestly can't remember. Good thing Anna was just excited about the tiara on the cake and didn't notice much.

Another milestone in this little one's life came with her first visit to the dentist. He took one look at her teeth and asked if she was a binky lover. Yes she is. She only gets it when she is in her bed, which made bedtime and naptime a breeze. She happily would lie in her bed with her binkie. But the dentist said it was pushing her teeth and no more binkies for her. Amazingly, that was that. She listened to him and took it at face value. No more binky. She never asked for it, fussed about it or complained. But now there was no incentive to go to bed, and naptime/bedtime turned into a whole different ballgame. What was once an easy 1 minute routine turned into an hour (at least) ordeal. And the decreased sleep, combined with having a sister who had quite a bit of attention focused on her, combined with being 3, made our Anna bug not quite as sweet as she once was. Thankfully she has turned a corner recently and the meltdowns are fewer and further between. But we had a rough few months. 

One of the things she does lately that cracks me up is add the word "silly" to the end of her sentences that are directed at you. Like, "Mom, give me some more milk, silly!" Or "Mom. I need a ______, silly!" She does it so naturally that even though it is a bit rude, it is so funny it almost always makes me laugh.

Anna loves her big sister, and wants to do everything like her. I'll ask her what she wants for breakfast, or how where she wants to sit, or if she wants cheese on her sandwich, and typically the answer is "What did Ella choose?" 

I love this video of Anna figuring out "this little piggy..." The first few times she tried she did it perfectly, and as soon as I tried to video her she forgot it all. 

Anna

I've been meaning to do a post on Anna for so long, that most of the things I intended to write are now out of date. But...for posterity's sake (in case my iPhone ever dies, because heaven forbid I back it up) here are some snippets of the past 6 months.

• She has imaginary friends. She doesn't talk about them much anymore, but their names are classic.  Sissy, Luna, Pay-uh and Pissa 

• She used to greet you with, "Is it bwea-fest time" when you came in and got her in the morning. This video isn't the cutest, but someday I am sure I will watch it and tear up as I listen to her sweet voice. 

• The binky. She loves it. Serious love. She can only have it when she is in her crib (or I want her to be quiet on an airplane, in church, etc) and it is not uncommon for her to sit in her crib for hours just so she can have it. When she is deciding whether to get out of her crib and give up the binky she will often take one last 'hit' on it before she drops it. We may never give it up.
• She cut her own hair. It could have been worse, but it's not awesome. We tried to salvage it with a cute bob.
• She has been talking in paragraphs since she was 2. Less interested in numbers and letters.                                          
• She can use the potty on demand, but every time I put her in underwear it doesn't end well. But watching her climb up on the toilet is the funniest thing ever. 
• She often calls me "Mama." Don't know where it came from. It's sweet.

• She occasionally will have this deep laugh that cracks us up. She also will say, "I am a German" in her best Arnold S. voice. 

                                                 

• She's always on the go. We were just visiting our 103-year old neighbor, who commented, "My you are a busy one!"
• Ella is really really great with her. If they fight over a toy, or who gets to do something Ella almost always figures out a compromise that they are both happy with, most of the time letting Anna have what she wants. 

Happy Birthday, Anna!

Anna turned 2! We had a fun little family party--Ella was in charge of most of it. It was a pink themed party. Pink balloons, pink streamers, pink cake and pink attire. We had a bean bag toss which was fun for all ages.  Grandpa Paul was having a bit of a tricky time with his curve ball, and Ella kept gently (and not so gently) encouraging him to just get a little closer.  Chris wowed us all with his hidden talent--maybe it's the long arms, but he's got skills! The above video is perhaps the most disharmonious version of Happy Birthday you've ever heard. We Harman's are not known for our singing ability. But Anna's unscripted "I blow out the candles" makes up for it.

Some fun facts about our Anna bug:

• She thinks her name is Anna Bug Elise Packer
• Her vocab is serious. On the day of her party she said, "Grandma this is.......those are the candles." Grammer girl??
• She went from being happy go lucky eat anything 18-month-old to an "I don't like that" type of gal
• The other day Kimmy was watching the girls and told Ella that she should work on her manners...and reminded her that Anna was really good at saying please and thank you (she is!) Ella was floored as it sunk in that Anna was good at something that she wasn't. "Where do you think she learned that??" she asked. When I asked Ella about it she explained to me her amazement--"Anna learns everything from me--how did she learn that?!?"
• Anna loves her binkies. I don't ask her if she wants to take a nap, but if she wants to go get her binkies. And she usually happily says yes. (She only gets them when she is in her crib...or if I am being a softy)
•  She is starting to really pretend and play jokes. "I am Sophia. You are Eliza. Ella is our mommy."
• She is happy most of the time.
• When she is upset she says, "I want my mommy/daddy"--mommy if she's with Ryan and daddy if she's with me.
• She is surprisingly good at understanding connections between people. If we are talking about an adult, she will ask about their children, even if she doesn't know them well. "Who were you talking to on the phone?" "Dana" "With Gabby?"
• She says "really really" and "tiny tiny"
• We really really love her.

Anna

Anna is 18 months! And documenting her development has been seriously neglected on this blog. Not because we don't love her :) Some things I want to remember--

• She is a fun loving little girl. She loves to laugh and smile and play and play. 
• She loves a thrill, and has no fear.  She loves to slide, climb, jump and splash. This picture is after being squirted in the face with a water bottle--over and over again

• She is a talker. She will repeat almost anything, and is putting two to three words together. "Anna. Sit. Down." Her favorite word is still "Ella." She loves to call for her sister. Her language skills are about 6 months ahead. When she was a baby I worried that she was "slow"--she is proving me wrong. 
• She responds to every question. Most often with a drawn out "yah"said sweet and soft
• Favorite thing to do: "bu-uhl" (buckle). She loves trying to buckle anything and everything. Carseats, strollers, backpacks. Over and over and over.
• She loves her Grandmas and Grandpas. "Papa" was her go to word for both, but over the past few days she has started to say "Drama." 

• She is a busy busy body. Into everything. She is so noisy and busy at church--I've been counting down the days until she was old enough for nursery.
• She has decided she wants to start potty training. She will go on the toilet when asked and once or twice a day she will tell me she needs to go (usually right when she wakes up or is getting in the bath). The problem is that now she does not want to wear a diaper, but if she doesn't accidents are guaranteed. I predict one of two things will happen: she will figure it out and be potty trained by 20 months, or she will get over it and wear a diaper until she's almost 4. 
• She sleeps well. All night long and 1-2 naps a day. Dreamy.

Love this little bug!