Playing Catch Up - The Zip Drive

I have a few notable milestone moments that, as I mentioned in my intro, are on a different website in the Mac abyss.  So I'm going to play a little catch up here and there.  The Sunday before Thanksgiving we visited George & Debbie.  They have a horse named Zip who they recently adopted.  Apparently, over time Zip has lost his....well, zip.  But being sent out to pasture is a good thing when it means you get to go home to the G&D Corral.  Zip's maturity makes him a wonderful companion and perfect for little girls wanting a ride!  At first, Anna was a little...how shall I say...hesitant?(okay, there were tears)  But after seeing Daddy ride around, she knew she MUST GET ON THAT HORSE.  Dad and Anna rode around quite a bit, and every time a ride ended, she said, "I want to ride Zip more."  Her last ride of the evening was actually with Crosby (led by responsible adults, I assure you.) and they had a grand time.  Isn't life swell?

Head over Heels

Mom and Anna go to a parent-tot tumbling class every Monday.  We are in hopes that with early intervention she will avoid Mom's lack of coordination. (It's okay -- I can laugh about it now.)  It's her favorite night of the week.  Unfortunately, her buddy Ethan has graduated to the next class (the one where the parents watch from outside through a gigantic window.)  On the up side, the teacher mentioned that within the next couple of months, it will be time for Anna to move up, too.  While it hasn't hampered her enjoyment of tumbling, I know it will be a happy reunion.   As things are, it's all headstands, somersaults and parachutes.

Let's Go Bowling

Today was Zach's birthday, so we went bowling with the Johnsrud clan.  Anna had a blast and bowled just as good a game as anyone else!  Granted, we were in a lane with bumpers instead of gutters, so that helped.  But she loved to "roll the ballies" and the huge grin on her face said it all.  Uncle Ty was nice enough to share a few frames with her, too.

Not a morning person

This morning I heard Anna stirring so I went into her room to wake her up.  The reception I received was more than a bit icy, and an uncomfortable window into future teen years.  She looked up at me in the dark and said, "What are you doing here?  Get out of my room!"  I turned around to leave but left the door open.  A booming voice followed me down the hall, yelling, "Shut the door!"  Well!  Is this what they mean when they speak about the Terrible Twos?

Then later in the day, as she played in the bath she asked me in her best Tinkerbell voice, "So, what's your talent?"  I replied my talent is loving Anna and I'm very good at it.  When I asked her what her talent is, without a beat she replied, "Opening presents!"

Things that go bump in the night...

...or any other time of day.  Lately Anna has been preoccupied with things that are scary.  She'll say, "Mom, a ghost is coming!" Or a dragon. Or a monster.  And today she told me she doesn't like clowns.  She'll say it with this wide-eyed look of anticipation on her face.  She's smiling all the while, too, so I think it must just be that stage when kids get a thrill out of testing themselves through their fears.  Yesterday she climbed into Mom & Dad's bed and pulled the covers over her head.  "A monster's coming," she said.  "Oh no!  What are we going to do!" I said in mock horror.  Very matter-of-factly, she answered, "We have to go to the circus and get our monster toys."  Well, then.  That takes care of that.  When's the next circus coming to town?

Introduction

This blog is a continuation of a site previously created, and yet still on my computer, unpublished and unavailable to our family and friends.  In an attempt to get these photos and moments of our quickly growing daughter, Anna Elizabeth, out to all of you we're embarking on a new approach...Here we go.