I'm Reading "Little Blue Truck" for the 63rd Night in a Row...and It's Awesome!

Every night for the past two months, Anlee has insisted that we read the Little Blue Truck. She has the option of picking any book from her extensive baby library, yet she chooses this one for bedtime over and over again.

You might think that it gets old reading it night after night after night...nope, I love repeating every word.

Seeing her enjoy that book so much makes me cherish the repetitiveness. From her scanning the bookshelf to find it, then running it over to Dada to read, turning the pages, hearing the animal sounds, bouncing when we read "bump, bump, bump", and especially the final page turn. Her face lights up, she takes out her paci and she knows the Little Blue Truck goes "beep beep".

I know she'll soon grow out of the phase and move onto more exciting tales. And that's why I can't wait to read Little Blue Truck tomorrow night.

Anlee's Favorite Things...and Not So Favorite Things (18 Months)

Favorite things:

Talking - Anlee loves to hear herself talk. She'll gab about anything and her vocabulary is expanding by the day. Besides the normal mama and dada, she has a few other names she loves to shout when she either sees a picture or sees the real life person: me-me (Grandma Yvonne), ba-pa (Grandpa Wade), google (Grandma Twila), pa-pa (Grandpa Randy), ya-ya (Cousin Mariyah), ky-ky (Kyrie the puppy). Then she has her favorite objects like ball, na-na (banana), cracker, cookie, car, tree, peas, gock (rock), ring-ring (like a wedding ring), ning-ning (swing, which she is addicted to). Another favorite is action words like eat, knock knock (on every door she sees), no-no (especially to Kyrie). And she knows more than a dozen animal sounds...but horse and cow are her all-time favorites.

Walking - Anlee will go anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE if she can get there with her own two legs. We went to the City Museum in St. Louis and she ran for baby miles. Whenever we go to my parents' farm in Missouri, she just takes off in any direction. We head to the park around home and she explores the entire venue, not much caring for the playground equipment (besides the swing)...but the rock trails and open grass fields are her real playground. Only when she's really tired will she ask to be carried.

Swimming - Unlike her father, Anlee could live in the water. Put a swimsuit on the girl and drop her in a pool and she's good for at least an hour. It's unreal how her attention span widens when she's sitting in H2O. Just a handful of floaty toys will keep her busy...unfortunately she also tries to drink the water on every occasion. This summer has been full of kiddie pool time and we are talking about possibly getting her big girl swimming lessons soon...her dad needs them, too.

TV Shows: Miles from Tomorrowland, Doc McStuffins, Micky Mouse Clubhouse and her Baby Genius Favorite Children's Songs DVD (mesmerized by it since since birth)

Food: Applesauce, Banana, Bread/Toast, Ice Cream, Green Beans

Activities: Closing open doors (especially the fridge), climbing stairs (still), starting to build blocks more, jumping on Google and Papa's trampoline, playing with Mrs. Potatohead.

Not So Favorite things:

When Mom and Dad Say No: The only one left from the 10 month list that still stands. She's getting to angry toddler phase - if she doesn't get exactly what she wants exactly when she wants it, a tantrum is coming. Throwing her head back and letting out a blood curdling scream is quickly becoming an Anlee trend. Luckily, we haven't had any major public displays of humiliation yet...but I know it's inevitable.

When Kyrie is in her way: Since getting a puppy, we've realized how much a toddler and an energetic fur ball can
clash. You have those rare, cute moments when Anlee will love on and kiss Kyrie. Or they will play peekaboo with each other behind the couch once in a while. But most of the time, the labradoodle with a charged up battery will just butt herself into every interaction with the child until Anlee is throwing bows just to get to the living room. Nearly every day, Kyrie is knocking Anlee down because she just doesn't know how big she is. Hopefully she grows out of the puppy stage soon or the human kid might just have to learn karate.

Baby Genius...with Animals

The Evolution of Baby Talk

Although Anlee has yet to say her first "real" word, she still has an expanding vocabulary of her very own. While the casual observer wouldn't be able to distinguish what she was saying, me and my wife can understand a few words here and there. I don't pretend to be fluent in Anleenese, but I can pick up on some phrases.

"dada": babble mostly, but she does sometimes get it right when we point to a picture
"mama": (see dada)
"pup-pup": puppy
"na-na": food, water or anything she wants to put in her mouth
"ba": ball
"gock": block or rock (interchangeable)
"uh": uh-oh
"EEEE": things aren't going the way I want them to

Her new favorite thing is to point at pictures, but I'm not sure if that's because she's trying to figure out who's who or because she's finally allowed to touch the frames. For the longest time, she was baby Godzilla, wrecking everything in her way...but now she's finally learned some finesse. I'm hoping the same comes with her words soon.

Hump Day Humor: 5 Funniest Tweets of the Week So Far

Grapes Are HILARIOUS

A baby's sense of humor is puzzling. Some mundane things are hilarious, while others are "eh", and a few are tantrum worthy. (Anlee's had a lot more throw-the-head-back, fall-on-the-ground toddler fits lately)

Tonight, we found out Anlee loves watching me catch grapes in my mouth. She giggles whether it's a successful try or a failure. It's awesome. Her cute belly laugh makes my heart happier than rainbow colored puppies dancing on a merry-go-round.

I can't wait to teach her how to toss food up and catch it on her own...but her mommy may not like it.

Life is Full of Tough Decisions