The New and Improved...

Sorry I've been such a slacker with my blogs, but most of you know why. It's been a really hard few months for little bug and me, and we're so thankful for how much the family has rallied around us.

Meg and Ryan came into town for a visit, which has been great. We don't get to see them as much as we'd like. The girls got along well, although Anni left for Oregon the morning after they got here, so it was short lived.I can't believe how much they look alike. I was hard pressed to get this picture. Getting two toddlers to both look at the camera at the same time is really hard!This one is a little questionable, but it was too cute not to post. After, Addie said that Anni gave yucky baby kisses.

I was in desperate need of a cut and Meg went one better and colored my hair for me. I took picture of the whole process. She did an AMAZING job. Love you Meg!

Before...

Contacts!

So excited to fix my hair

A team effort from Ryan and Meg to pull my hair through the cap

Letting the bleach work its magic

Washing out the bleach

Initial coloring done Just a little more in the front...

At 1 or 2am, we're finally done

Tada!

Dinosaur Park

We went to the Dinosaur Park today with Uncle Sid. Anni loved it! especially the the slides. She stayed with Uncle Sid the whole time.

She wanted to walk on her own, and wasn't scared of the dinosaurs at all. She kept roaring at them!

This was the only one she was leary of, and Uncle Sid took her right up to it. As soon as she touched it, she wasn't scared anymore.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ross and his girlfriend Lauren were in town over Valentine's Day, so we went to a museum and to dinner with them. The giant t-rex was the main reason for going, but it turned out to be kind of a downer, it wasn't as big as we thought it would be.They had some nifty space exhibits.

The bug exhibits were fun, although Anni kept trying to grab them.

They didn't have a high chair at dinner, so she sat between us. She turned circles and ate saltine crackers. She got frustrated and hit me with a saltine at one point, but it was a good night.

18 Months Old

Being 18 months old means more things to get into and more trouble to make. She likes to walk around on her tip toes and loves putting things into boxes and taking them back out, including herself.

Her vocabulary is slowly expanding, and I'll bet it explodes soon. She says Mama, pup pup, ba (which can be ball, bottle, book, bye bye, or binky depending on what she's pointing at), yeah, car, up, baby, num num for food, nigh nigh for good night, and Dada. We almost got her to say apple at the store today. Sometimes she'll try to mimic us (we've almost gotten pretty and itsy bitsy), but not a lot yet. We've been trying to read to her a lot and she loves the touchy-feely books, especially her farm animal one. She'll turn to the page with the colt and then point to her rocking horse. She's a quick one.

She loves to make noise, like any toddler. She spent almost an hour banging on a bowl with a spoon last night.

She's been eating really well and will chow down a whole banana in one sitting. I found some chocolate Cheerios on a sale last week and she loves those.

18 Month Pediatrician Visit

We met our Oregon pediatrician for the first time today, Dr. Mary Ulmer. I really like her. Anni is finally gaining some weight and has moved into the 50th percentile at 24 lbs. She's also in the 50th percentile for head size and height, 31.6".

She ran through a quick check for signs of autism, Anni has none. She is very healthy and very social. She attached herself to a lady in the waiting room for some reason and unloaded the contents of the diaper bag on this woman's lap while I filled out paperwork. The lady was very nice and just laughed at Anni.We're supposed to start giving her a toothbrush twice a day, just to play with for a few minutes and actually brush her teeth once. Easier said than done.Our little bug had to have more vaccines today. Instead of 2, she got 3 because I had them give her the hepatitis A one too so she won't have to get any at her 2 year old check up. I had to hold her hands so she wouldn't grab, so we were doing itsy bitsy spider and the nurse gave her the shot. She was so upset, it's just heartbreaking. I hate having to restrain her during those. I had to go to work, but Kelly said she was miserable all afternoon. Her legs must have been sore because he said she wouldn't walk, just whimpered at him and held her arms up to be carried. The vaccines always make her tired too.

Itsy Bitsy Spiders

Anni's new favorite song. She'll come up to us and do the hand motion for the spider and say "izzy bizzy" in baby talk. It's adorable.

Zoo Lights

Over Christmas we went to Hogle Zoo with Mom, Dad, Ryan, Megan, and Addison. It was snowing, so it was a lot of fun. A little cold, but we bundled up the babies and everyone had a great time.

Get me out of this thing.

Family pictures by the elephant.

She reminds me of the kid from "A Christmas Story." "I can't put my arms down!"

Snowballs

I'm not going near that thing.