Elmo slippers (updated)

Anne is a big fan of her new Elmo slippers from Grandma Gloria. This morning she brought them to her dad and said, "Feet?" so he would help her put them on.

But it's getting much harder to take her picture or shoot video. Anne yells whenever she sees the camera that she wants to look at "Aa-ya," which is her way of saying Annie, because she knows she can look at pictures of herself on the back of the camera. That is what she is yelling in this picture.

And below is a picture collage from our friend Malia featuring the Elmo slippers.

Another milestone worth mentioning -- sitting still

Anne is a typical 20-month-old who usually cannot sit still. So it was a big deal when she sat in the pew for the entire Mass this morning. It was an earlier, shorter service, but still an achievement.

Last week, on Tuesday, Anne also sat through an entire song at music class with a pair of drumsticks. The drumsticks are problematic -- her teacher calls them Anne's Kryptonite -- because the kids are supposed to sit down while they play with drumsticks. They even have a little chant: "What does Anne do with sticks? She always, always sits with sticks." But this time she DID sit with sticks.

Chapter umpteen, in which Anne speaks much more clearly

Anne knows so many words now, we can't keep up. But we can tell you about a milestone, of sorts. Anne is starting to pronounce words much more clearly. As of the week before Christmas, she started calling her friend Cora "Coh-wah" instead of "Coh-gah." Which means Dora the Explorer has become "Doh-wah" instead of "Doh-dah." And today, she called her friend Taylor "Tay-wah" instead of "Tay-tay."

I thought it might be fun to list as many words she knows that we can think of. She knows many more than this, including Portuguese words she speaks with her nanny, Lucia. But here is a sampling of words she says.

Things she eats or eats with: Bottle, bowl, plate, cup, saucer, tea, coffee, juice ("doof"), apple, pear, banana, grape, muffin, toast, waffle, pancake, bacon, egg ("eggie"), mango, edamame ("eh-ma-ma-ma"), peas, cheese, pasta, rice, quesadilla, pizza, pretzel, puff, yogurt, agua (Portuguese for water), soup, lid.

Things she does: Up, abre (Portuguese for open), yoga (sometimes "yogi")

People she knows: Mama, Dada, Grandma, Lucia ("Noo-noo") Cora, Sutton, Taylor, Lisa, Leo, Raia, Toren, Gabriella ("Gabby"), Annika, Helena, Angie, Charlotte, Miss Mandy, Mr. Mike. Also her cousin Alexa, whom she has not met -- she says "ah-neh-ha" and kisses her picture. And auntie.

Animals, animal sounds: Kitty cat, meow ("mah!") doggie, ruff ruff, cock-a-doodle-do, moo, sheep, baa baa, ticky ticky (that's the raccoon), oink oink ("onga-onga"), owl, who who, eee-eee (for the monkey), beep-beep (for mouse), ribbit ("yibbie"), hippo ("hippie"), neigh, bumblebee, butterfly. She also does this little thing with her lips and tongue to look like a weasel.

Toys and kids' characters: Elmo, Dora, Mickey, Minnie, baby, doll, Violet (a stuffed talking dog), Mininou (Portuguese for little boy, the name of a doll Lucia gave her), Ernie, Big Bird, Abby Cadabby, Zoe, Grover, Winnie, Eeyore ("oh-yo"), Eebie, Princess Robyn, popper (for popcorn popper), choo choo. She knows who Kermit the frog is but calls him "yibbie" for ribbit.

Body parts: Nose, eye, belly button, ear, mouth, knee, foot, piggies, belly, elbow, fingers ("fingies"), chest. Fingers is relatively new, as are elbow and chest and mouth. She says "oculos" for glasses, which is Portuguese. She also says socks and shoes.

Other things she says: Hi, I love you ("ah-nuh-nuh"), boo, moon, flower, car, book, whoa. Also please, which is very big these days ("pease") and thank you.

Musical instruments: Guitar, flute ("foote"), cello.