Anna has always loved the camera. Ever since she was a baby we could always count on a smile when she saw us walk in the room holding a camera or a video camera. We used to think it was just the bright orange focus light that she was smiling at but now I think she just likes how we chase her around trying to get a good shot. Last week she started to steal the camera from me, so I had to use the other, bigger camera to capture all of her antics. I was cracking up when I realized that she was picking up the camera and holding it to her forehead to pretend she was taking photos herself. Maybe it's a career in the making? Professional photographer? Photojournalist? Obsessive mommy?

Even though Anna is more steady on her feet lately, she still has some serious trips, bumps, and bruises. Lately I have noticed little scratches on her arms and legs that are too small to be Ruby scratches and her fingernails are too short to be making any marks. She has an unexplained scratch on her chin too and plenty of little bruises on her legs. Yesterday she was walking around the family room pretending to talk on the phone, like she does almost every day. But this time she got excited and tried to run and fell face first on the phone, resulting in a little half-moon of a bruise on the side of her left eye ( you can't really see it in this photo, which is a good thing) . It's okay though, because it matches the little bruise on the inside of the same eye that she got this weekend while trying to chase her daddy down the hallway. The week before that she tripped and her little bunny teeth cut her lip :(


I know it sounds like we are neglecting her, but there is nothing more we can do to save her from all of her "adventures". As you can see from her smiley face, she doesn't seem to mind.

That's our girl. She lives for the thrill. Being afraid is fun and doing dangerous things is even more fun. We should have known something was up at Christmas. When her cousin Sam received a drum set we put our hands over Anna's little 8 month old ears and tried to prepare her for the big scary noises. Much to the surprise of our family, she smiled and danced while the rest of us were hoping it would end soon. Hanging her upside down has always been a big hit too, along with spinning really fast until she is dizzy.


This week she learned to climb up on the couch all by herself. Unfortunately, she doesn't quite know how to get down....or get down gracefully I should say. Last night she just kept climbing up there and hurling herself off head first. I was doing my best to distract her or at least catch her when she did get up there. One time she jumped before I was ready and took quite a tumble. I was horrified but she rolled over with this look of wild excitement in her eyes and scrambled to her feet so she could climb up and do it again. This morning she tried it while carrying around a rinsed out yogurt cup (another story altogether) and scratched her face on the way down. When I tried to comfort her she kicked her legs because I was getting in the way of her next jump. Five minutes later she stood up on the couch and took a giant step right off the edge. Aughhhhhhh! I may die from worry.

Scooter Races!!!

Smiley Boy :)

Earlier in the summer, Nathan and I took Anna to pick blueberries at Bryant's Blueberry Farm in Indiana. The Bryants were friends with Nathan's family when he was younger and they couldn't believe their eyes when they saw not only a grown-up Nathan, but also his wife and baby!

It was pretty hot that day and we got a bit of a late start, but it was still a lot of fun. Nathan wanted to pick about 7 million pounds of blueberries but luckily the bushes were somewhat picked over and we came home with only 5 pounds (about 4 are sitting frozen in our freezer!). Anna did well, but we realized after a short time that she was still a little young for that sort of outing. She couldn't walk at that time so she had to stay in the stroller. There was no shade so it didn't take long for her to turn into a major grouch. But towards the end we let her get out and explore, so she was happy with that. Next year we plan to go a little earlier in the season and since Anna will be over 2 years old, we're sure she'll want to help pick (and eat) lots of blueberries with us.

Boy this thing is BIG!

If I smash my face into it just right, then it helps me to stand up...

Yahooooooo!

See you guys later!

Walking is also handy when you need to make a fast get away. Say, after you have stolen someone's bag of chips...(which you then taste, make a face, and spit the soggy chips on the floor)

Or their water bottle

Sorry for the picture overload, but it's my birthday so I'll brag on my baby if I want to! Oh wait, I do that every day don't I? ;)

I have been a bad blogger lately. Anna has been keeping me soooo busy these days. All she wants to do now is walk walk walk and then turn around and walk back the other way. It's hard to keep up! Anyway I saw this list on BabyCenter and it sums up our days just perfectly!

A Guide to Being a Toddler

· If it's on, I must turn it off.

· If it's off, I must turn it on.

· If it's folded, I must unfold it.

· If it's high, it must be reached.

· If it's shelved, it must be unshelved.

· If it's pointed, it must be run with at top speed.

· If it has leaves, they must be picked.

· If it's plugged, it must be unplugged.

· If it's not trash, it must be thrown away.

· If it's in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.

· If it's closed, it must be opened.

· If it doesn't open, it must be screamed at.

· If it has drawers, they must be rifled.

· If it's a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, computer monitor or table.

· If it's full, it will be more interesting emptied.

· If it's empty, it will be more interesting full.

· If it's a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.

· If it's a stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead.

· If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.

· If mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.

· If mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.

· If it's paper, it must be torn.

· If it has buttons, they must be pressed.

· If the volume is low, it must go high.

· If it's toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.

· If it's a drawer, it must be pulled upon.

· If it's YOUR toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.

· If it's MY toothbrush, it must be inserted into YOUR mouth.

· If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.

· If it's a phone, I must talk into it.

· If it's a bug, it must be swallowed.

· If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.

· If it's not food, it must be tasted.

· If it's food, it must NOT be tasted.

· If it's dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.

· If it has a tail, I must yank it.

· If Mommy wants me to come, I must run away.

· If Mommy wants me to go away, I must CLING ON FOR DEAR LIFE!

· If it's stacked up, it must be knocked down.

· If it's sticky, it must go in my hair.

· If it's bath time, I must run around naked till I am caught!

· If it is a rock, it must be picked up.

· If it is a doll, it must not wear clothes.

· If it is Mommy or Daddy, it must be hugged.

I am a toddler!

Anna's favorite thing to do these days is to hide things. Put the Weebles into their house and close the door as fast as possible. Shove a baby wipe between the couch cushions. Take Ruby's toys and hide them in the entertainment center drawers. This morning, after she went down for her nap, I was cleaning up all of her toys when something caught my eye. After some serious effort I was able to pull these items from behind our TV:

There is maybe a 2 inch space between the TV and the cabinet that it lives in, so it's much easier for baby hands to get back there than it is for me to try and pull things out. Of course when she woke up she saw the pile of treasures, quickly put them back into their secret hiding place, and then went on her way to play with her other toys. Silly girl :)