Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Christmas 2011 Photo Flashback


1)  me playing with my Angel bells: candles' heat move the angels, who tinkle the bells
2)  Alexandra dancing with dad around the tree while mom sings the elf song [tip tap tip tap tipe tipe tip tap tip tip tap]
3)  Alexandra baking gingerbread cookies with Mummi [and Mia, Aurora, and Michael]
4)  Alexandra dancing
5)  My cousins came on Christmas Day; kids' table


 

1)   Alexandra bringing the biggest toy she can find to the corner behind the tree
2)  Yay!
3)  Dad tickling Alexandra with tinsel while we decorate the tree

1)  porkkana laatikko [carrot casserole]; bread; cheese, gravy
2)  ham; rossolli [salad of potato, carrot, beet, apple, pickled cucs]
3)  mashed potatoes; lanttu laatikko [rutabaga casserole]
4)  best way to get a toddler addicted to chocolate: advent calendar :)


1)  golden-haired girl studies Joulupukki [Santa]
2)  Alexandra decides to decline sitting in Santa's lap, but agrees to distribute everyone's gifts... but only to Mummi
3)  opening the first gift on Christmas Eve
4) smiling Mummi
5)  Mummi's Christmas tree top
6)  building a block tower [first time playing with blocks!]


1)  Mia and Anna and Aiti played The Princess Bride game
2)  Dad lifts an entire pyramid wall of blocks
3)  Christmas Day breakfast of puuro and kiisseli [rice porridge and fruit reduction sauce]
4)  profile of a little elf
5)  playing in a box [empty boxes would have been gifts enough]
6)  a belated Christmas Eve dinner [she was finally napping while everyone else ate]



Monday, January 9, 2012

Toddler Bed

Alexandra successfully escaped her crib in early December, and I have found her perched on the crib railing several times since then. Last weekend, she escaped the Pack n Play that is her bed at my parents' house. These escapades coupled with a recent resistance to naps (she typically enjoys getting her blanket and pacifier to take a good long nap or two) convinced me that she would be safer, and feel more empowered, if we converted her crib to its toddler bed state.

First night in her iso tyttö (big girl) bed:
10:23 PM, 70 minutes past tuck-in

A quiet rebellion? A cuddly friend? A sleepy explorer?

She was so quiet after I checked on her half an hour before, at which time she was approaching the bear after being reminded for the 5th time to go to sleep, but since she wasn't leaving the room I thought I'd let her be for a few minutes.

A Few of My Favorite Things

You can download a "resolution kit" from run lucas run--they're cute! I saw them at Modern Parents Messy Kids and at Dear Lizzy, and decided to jump on the band wagon. Resolution wagon? Except I didn't want to print, write, take a photo, and upload a photo, so I just stole the text from one card:

My name is: Anna
My favorite food: changes frequently by mood: fish tacos; Cafe Rio veg salad; alfredo pasta with broccoli

I love to play: I love to click play on my favorite sit-coms (How I Met Your Mother; New Girl; The Big Bang Theory; Modern Family; Happy Endings; Raising Hope). I also love to play word-nerd games with friends.

My favorite singing + dancing song: Whenever I Hear the Song of a Bird + Jump Your Jiggles Out

A place I'd like to visit: London, England; NYC

My favorite storytime book: (this week) Pyhien Kirjoituksia (Holy Scriptures) for children and Surprise Tails (Pooh)
My favorite treat: ice cream sundaes

My best friend is: Oh, I don't want to say online. But I will write it in my journal. They know who they are. ;)

I love the color: grassy green; robin's egg blue



My name is: Alexandra [and I'm 19 months so my mom is answering for me]

My favorite food: (this month) oatmeal. Before that: clementines; bananas; yogurt; applesauce

I love to play: [a period would suffice] with my blanket, with my baby doll, with my Little People toys, with tiny [chokable] objects I find, Peek-a-Boo, "Get You/Tiku Tiku (Tickle)", "Wrestle", with pillow dog, etc.

My favorite singing + dancing song: Hämä-hämähäkki (Itsy Bitsy Spider) + If You're Happy and You Know It

A place I'd like to visit: my grandparents' houses; aquariums; a candy factory (haven't visited that yet)

My favorite storytime book: (this week) My Little Word Book
My favorite treat: fruit snacks; ice cream; chocolate

My best friend is: Haylie (and Ella and Ethan and Brynlee...)

I love the color: red [that's been her favorite color since she was born, as far as I can tell]


Other Alexandra favorites:
-finding the moon
-watching Little People, Muumit, Baby Einstein's World Music, or Little Einsteins
-learning/practicing skills such as assembling puzzles, putting on clothes, "counting", and singing the alphabet
-dogs

Something funny she's been doing lately: reciting a rule while breaking it. Ex: "Ei heitetä!" ("We don't throw this!") while throwing anything.



We'll see if I can get Matthieu to play survey tomorrow. (He's currently miserable with a cough--Alexandra and I have a milder version.) I think I'll "fill" this out every few months instead of annually, because Alexandra is growing and changing so quickly, and because I have a lot of favorite treats that deserve some limelight.