Music class (videos)

The highlight of Anne's week is her Music Together class. Toddler participation looks different than adult participation. They might seem distracted -- but really, they're taking it all in. Anne loves her teacher and spends most of the class on his lap. Her pal Leo is in the second video. The third video is from last month - Valentine's Day. (Videos by Grandpa Tom)

The three preemie-teers

(Click to enlarge) These three kiddos are besties -- Leo, Taylor and Anne. They were preemies -- we're all part of a preemie families' group on Capitol Hill -- and they are good friends and doing so well now. Anne is kissing Taylor, what a sweetheart Photos by Grandpa Tom.

Planting flowers with Daddy and Grandpa

Click to enlarge.

Daddy took Anne to the garden store over the weekend to pick out flowers to plant in the front. Big surprise, Anne chose purple. We don't know a little girl who doesn't love purple!

Boogie babe

(click to enlarge)

If you know Anne, you know she loves music. She loves to listen, dance to it, jump to it, clap to it. She loves to try to play and sing. She goes to music classes with Mom every week.

She also goes to music shows on Fridays with her nanny, Lucia. The shows are put on by a local group, Boogie Babes, which has different performers. Here are a few pictures from last week's show taken by Lucia.

Feb. 24: A day which will live in infamy

Anne started saying "no" a couple of weeks ago. That is, she started saying it when she really means it! And she means it often. We think this marks the beginning of the Terrible Twos.

It's not just "no." Anne is really starting to express herself, combining words to make very basic sentences, like, "Mommy, off," and "Be careful, Annie." (The latter sounds like, "Be cah-fo, Aya.")

More communication is good! But it also means that Anne is moving into a new phase of development that is not always easy for her. She's learning how to cope when Mom or Dad say she can't do or have what she wants all the time. And Mom and Dad are learning the best ways to respond!

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.