Look Ma!

Anne loves walking. She can stop, turn, squat and even fall down gracefully. We just get a kick out of how she holds her arms up. You can tell she is so proud of herself!

Understanding the language

Last night we were reading a book to Anne, and Heather and I like to make the sounds of the animals as we read it. Sheep, cows, cats and ducklings. She seems to really enjoy that. Just for kicks, I threw in "woof woof" although there was no dog. Anne immediately looked up at the patio window, where she sometimes watches the next door dog, Tiger. Heather and I both exclaimed and were delighted.

This is but the newest observation we have made in a long line of little discoveries concerning Anne's grasp of communication. For a while now, Anne has recognized the word "duck" or "quack" and will actually look for her baby duck if we ask where he is. Even if the duck is hidden in Anne's favorite cubby hole, a little storage area in her "musical table". Anne seems to recognize "mom/mommy" and "dad/daddy" as well. Anne has recently started saying "Nn na na na", and we think she is saying "no no no" - Heather noticed that she says that when she gets close to some place where she is not supposed to be, or touch something she is not supposed to.

Her favorite form of expressing her desires is to point and grunt "eh". We are trying to teach her various nouns and repeat them often, so hopefully she is soaking it in, even though she has not given us the pleasure of saying quite what she wants, yet. =) I know, that time is coming soon.

Heather and I are gearing up for Anne's First Birthday party in a few short weeks. What will she be saying by then?

Graduating to toddlerhood

Anne is more often on her feet than hands and knees, although she still really likes to hold on to things. She is walking a lot on her on, from object to object, or even venturing into a room all by her lonesome until she trips on a toe or toy. And she loves it! She looks so proud of herself, and we shamelessly cheer her on. On a few occasions, I have seen get a little hesistant about continuing on, and she will stop, steady herself and squat. Or turn. She is amazing!!

Hot stepping it

Anne is walking more and more on her own - I think she likes it. Heather recently told me that Anne even turned around all by herself. This is scary - she is boldly crossing the infant/toddler boundary. Now if only we could potty train her with equal success...

Additionally, Anne may even have a local school to go to when she is of age. The Champaign school board (Unit 4) has voted in a generous package that includes a school for our subdivision, so it is up to the voters now. This would be such a blessing; currently, all of our neighborhood children our shipped off to various schools via the "Schools of Choice" program, which, opposed to the name, most families have little to no choice where their kids go. For some families, the children go to completely different schools. With a school practically in our backyard (well, about 4 blocks away), Anne will have classmates that live within walking distance, her buddies and playmates.

She's growing up quick

Heather tells me that Anne is picking out books that she wants read to her, via her "eh eh" signal. It is amazing to me that Anne is learning to communicate so quickly, even if only very rudimentary. I am also told that Anne is sometimes "naughty", which I guess comes with the territory. The burden of responsible parenting rests upon me, and that lingering phrase "spare the rod, spoil the child" does not make it any easier. My heart swells with anticipation when I think about who Anne will be, and what she will grow into.

Happy 11 months to Anne!

On Tuesday, Anne and mommy left to visit Gramma in Michigan. Although the weather was cold and the flight a bit delayed on the way out of Willard, Anne did a great job on the plane. And the next day she was full of laughter and smiles.

Both Heather and I really love Anne. How could you not love such an adorable child? We have been amazed at her developement. Heather is keeping a baby journal and can share many details later on, but let me highlight a few.

She is walking much better. I am convinced that she can walk on her own now, but she still desires the comfort of a hand or steady object. On New Year's Eve, she took her first official "unaccompanied" steps. Since then, she continues to increase the distance she is willing to travel on her own. Heather will often hold her hands out to Anne and walk backwards as Anne tries to catch up, both laughing and really enjoying the moment.

Anne is also big on feeding herself. She likes to grab for the spoon of yogurt, or compain when we try to give her a small piece of bread when really she wants the whole slice. Surely, part of it is that she is playing more, like the mess she made with spaghetti the other day. But, we enjoy the entertainment, and Anne does not seem to mind too much.




In other news, I have been working hard to get our pictures reorganized. I am now using Picasa (Google has some really nice products!), and although it is not perfect, it is very helpful.
http://anne.schultzofsavoy.net/photos/

Finally, some new stuff

Lots of things going on, especially with Anne. More to follow later, but here is a list to wet your appetite:

• Attempting to feed herself with a spoon
• Intentionally opening and closing doors
• Putting things "away" or back
• Increased love of ducks - she picked out her birthday motif from a catalog

In other news, I believe I have finally migrated our website to a new host - and there will be a "host" of other changes as well.
The saturn picturesite is now relocated at: http://saturn.schultzofsavoy.net. We have new stuff coming with the new domain - there is not much to look at, but you can get a sneak peek at http://schultzofsavoy.net

First steps

To help 2005 go out with a bang, Anne took her first few steps on Saturday, December 31, 2005. We captured it on video, and I have yet to take a still jpeg from the footage. She continues to develop her confidence, and has even tried to take a few steps unbidden, simply crossing from one piece of furniture to another. She has had a few spills, some which hurt, but I am impressed that she tries as much as she does.

This week, mommy is sick and we are both trying to keep Anne from getting the same thing.

12/11/2005 - enjoying the day 

New Baby

February 19, 2005, 5:09 AM