Halloween

I can honestly say that I don't remember the last time I carved pumpkins, but we had a lot of fun doing it this year.

From October 2009

From October 2009

Annikka also enjoyed going outside to see them glowing.

From October 2009

She had two Halloween costumes this year. There was the skeleton for the pajama party at daycare...

From October 2009

And the spider for trick-or-treating...

From October 2009

She picked the spider costume herself, and was very proud of it.
But the part she liked best of all was passing out candy to the kids that came to our door.

From October 2009

Second birthday party

We had Annikka's second birthday party downtown at the Play Factory. She had a lot of fun with all her friends and asks if we can do it again.





Twelve ~2 year-olds with cupcakes is quite the sight.




It was so fun to see them all playing and interacting, very different from last year's party.



And we had a very tired girl at the end of it all.

Doing more for herself

The cooler weather has brought out another trick in the toddler room--teaching the kids to put their jackets on by themselves. Annikka demonstrates the technique for you.



Now if only she'd catch on to potty training that quickly...



but she's still content to use a diaper.

Talking... & talking...

For those who haven't seen her recently, Annikka is a talker. Maybe more than the average 2 year old, or so we've been told. And it's so interesting to see her put ideas together. Tonight, as we were driving home, she says, "That car has a bike on it." And it did, on a roof rack, so we agreed with her observation. Then she says, "That was funny." (Then she goes on to talk about her goldfish crackers, etc.)

Later at dinner, Joel is trying to tell me about his day, but Annikka keeps interrupting. He tells Annikka that daddy is talking to mommy and it will be her turn to talk next (they practice taking turns a lot at daycare). He asked her to sit quietly to wait for her turn. But she looks at him and says, "But there are no babies sleeping, Daddy." What can you say, she was right.

Fall fun

From October 2009

You never know how long we will get to enjoy fall before the rain comes, so we used the beautiful fall weekend to take for Annikka out for a hayride at a pumpkin patch. The tractor that pulled the wagon was also a big hit for our toddler.

From October 2009

From October 2009

There was also a giant haystack to climb on.

From October 2009

From October 2009

ANNIKKA IS TWO!!

Happy birthday, dearest Annikka!

From September 2009

She's less baby and more little girl every day. To celebrate, she brought cupcakes to school to share at afternoon snack, because cupcakes are what two-year-olds think birthdays are all about. Then we had a nice quiet birthday dinner at home--Annikka requested green bean casserole--and she opened her present:

From September 2009

From September 2009

It's cupcakes, of course! :)

From September 2009

After dinner, Annikka blew out the 2 candles on her cupcake.



She's having a Play Factory party next weekend, so the birthday excitement (and cupcakes) will continue.

Annikka, the musical

From September 2009

Her life is, I swear. Do all little kids love music this much? This girl is always singing. She knows more songs than I can possibly count, and so many our "conversations" are interrupted by one--something will make her think of a song. She also makes up her own words to songs, to better fit her situation I suppose. We'll work on getting some on video, although she still hates performing--guess you'll just have to come to visit to hear for yourself.