Eyes, nose, mouth....

This was totally unrehearsed! It was supposed to be a video of Ana's new sound (the lip thing at the start) but she randomly started naming face parts so we rolled with it!

The quality is not great because I think the lighting was a bit dark....but you get the idea!

Driving

Ana is ready to master the three point turn!!

Ana's first snowfall!

Talking and doing animal sounds!

(she is saying "up and down" at first in case you can't tell!!)

Saying hello to Auntie Mel and Uncle Moo!

Twins?

Cracking up!!

Ana is absolutely hilarious these days! This has to be the perfect age. In fact I have decided I would have more kids if someone would get pregnant for me and keep the baby for the first year or so (any offers?)

I can't remember exactly what we were laughing at here, but it sure was funny!

Gangsta walk!

This is from Xmas - we call it Ana's gangsta walk!

Mini-mummy

How cute is Ana in her tracky??

Other mums dress their kids up in dresses to be cute, but I LOVE this outfit on her the best!!!

Unfortunately the pics are not good quality - she won't stay still long enough for a decent shot :-)


p.s. This is blankie! He goes everywhere Ana goes!

Debacle at the park.

So Mummy, Ana and Briscoe were at the park this morning. It was early and cold so we were alone. Ana was playing on the slides and Briscoe was running around sniffing things. There are a couple of slides Ana can go down on her own - a small one for toddlers and a medium sized wavy one. There is also a big spiral slide for bigger kids that I go down with her. Of course Ana wants nothing to do with any of the slides after the first try except the spiral slide!!! So Ana is playing while I was taking pictures of her. To my right I see a man walking and Briscoe rambunctiously heading over to greet him. I am distracted for a second as I call Briscoe to heel. In this split second Ana takes off at lightning speed for the spiral slide on her own. She is half way there and beyond my reach so, with a superhuman effort, I run up the wavy slide in a single bound. Briscoe, ever the loyal dog, tries to follow me. His paws cannot grip the slide and they slip out from underneath him. He slides back down the wavy slide on his fat belly with all 4 legs splayed out! If Ana wasn't trying to kill herself I would have stopped to take pictures! It was hilarious! Instead of walking away embarrassed, or acting like he didn't really want to get up the slide, (like any self-respecting cat would have done) Briscoe gets even more desperate to catch Ana and I, and comes bounding up the steps. So now Ana is almost at the spiral slide with mummy and Briscoe in frantic pursuit, which of course she loves and she starts squealing in delight and speeds up. I finally reach her as she is starting to slide down and I hit my head on an archway clearly designed for people under 4ft tall. So Ana is sliding down the spiral slide, and I am sliding down behind her clinging on to her coat, and Briscoe is behind me trying desperately to reverse direction with his nails scrabbling on the slide. The three of us make it down and we collapse in a heap on the floor laughing. Ana laughing (presumably) because she has just been chased and loves it. Me laughing out of relief and the whole spectacle of events. Briscoe licking our faces as if he thought we were really trying to escape him forever.

So anyway, I learned from this that indeed Ana can go down the spiral slide by herself. So I spent the next 30 minutes watching her tirelessly go up and down the slide. She LOVED it! The faster the better. She even mastered the art of pushing off and riding the edge of the curve for maximum speed!

Here are some pics of my little thrill seeker in action!

The wavy slide (Ana says BO-RING)


The spiral slide of death!
Here we go!!!


On the way home.......Just another day at the park for this gangsta!

Saying her name!

Ana's vocab exploded over the last 2 weeks. She can say so many things now! Here she is saying her name

Swing - Then and now!

Ana in the swing at my parent's house - Dec 2006 and Dec 2007

Christmas 2007

For the first time in 3 years I managed NOT to lose my passport before I left. Note my trail of destruction!

The flight over was good, well, as good as a transatlantic flight on a crap airline can be! Ana was extremely well behaved and utterly charming to the stewardesses ( are they still called that, or is that un-PC? I don't know)

Anyway, we arrived and were not accustomed to the cold! James especially!Ana did all kinds of exciting things, such as singing karaoke, playing the piano, and getting attacked by older kids in a ball pit!



Ana got to spend a lot of time with her second cousin Adam who is 6 months older than her. They played really well together :-)

For the most part...... "Hey - get off my puzzle!"
Christmas day!!

Opening presents!

Mummy getting into the spirit (aka double fisting at 11am)
With Auntie Mel and Mia
Ana was fascinated with Mia, and mostly wanted to poke her while saying "baby"

Eating her first Christmas dinner!