Big sister & little sister

Our world of pink has just gotten a little brighter because it's a girl!

From January2010

Here she is touching her toes to her head.

Christmas pictures

From December 2009

We had a great Christmas in Eugene, and we wish you all could have been there with us to enjoy a two-year-old's excitement of the season. Here are some of our photos.

Annikka was very interested in Grandma's nativity scene and the baby Jesus (she had been calling one of her babies "baby Jesus" for the past week).

From December 2009

From December 2009

She had lots of gifts to open, and really got the hang of wrapping paper.

From December 2009

Although I tried to limit the number of pictures posted (did you really want to sit through them all?), she really loved everything, like all the books she received...

From December 2009

From December 2009

From December 2009

the new necklaces and bracelets...

From December 2009

her dollhouse...

From December 2009

a baby carrier (from Santa)...

From December 2009

and bath towel...

From December 2009

Thank you all so much for your wonderful gifts.


As for some other holiday traditions:

She knew who Santa was from books, but didn't really understand what he does or why she should care. We tried to explain what was going to happen after she went to bed on Christmas Eve. She listened carefully, then picked two cookies to leave for Santa.

From December 2009

From December 2009

She was surprised the next morning to see only cookie bits left and the stockings overflowing with things.

From December 2009

From December 2009

She had her first "Christmas log".

From December 2009

From December 2009

And decorated more cookies with Grandma.

From December 2009

From December 2009

From December 2009

She really liked the cookies, frosting, and sprinkles.

From December 2009

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you in the new year.

Singing carols

Annikka loves singing songs, but it's still challenging to capture them on video. Here's my latest attempts, some of her Christmas songs.







I think we might be singing Christmas songs for months to come.

Christmas cards

From December 2009

Annikka was a big help getting our Christmas cards out this year. She put a sticker on the back of each envelope.




Hope you enjoyed your sticker. :)

Christmas tree

From December 2009

We started getting ready for Christmas at our house this weekend by getting the tree up and decorated. Annikka was really excited about it. She worked very hard putting her jingle bells on the branches, while enjoying her special milk (i.e. eggnog).

From December 2009

From December 2009

From December 2009

From December 2009

She did a really good job, and helped get all the bells on the tree.
Here is what you get when a two-year-old hangs your Christmas ornaments. :)

From December 2009

Jump?

I'm not sure how many times a day I hear that question, far more than I can keep track of. One of Annikka's favorite activities...

The power of chocolate

It was a very momentous evening in our house: Annikka pooped in the toilet for the first time!! We have been working on using the toilet before bath time, but until tonight she wasn't interested. She'd usually sit on the toilet for 5 or 10 minutes without doing much of anything (except talking).

Recently we told her that she would get chocolate when she used the toilet. Annikka REALLY likes chocolate, so this got her attention. Tonight after dinner she and I sat in the bathroom for 25 minutes, reading stories and waiting.

After lots of talking and reading (and talking), we celebrated with TWO M&Ms.

From November 2009