MAMMA, Mesmerized, & More

Today Annie finally was able to say "Mamma"! : ) She said it once months ago, but that must have been a fluke (because she hasn't said it since). I knew it was coming because the last few days she's made a point to look at me and say, "Na-Na." So I knew she was trying. Today at lunch she looked right at me and put her top lip way down over her bottom one (like she was consciously trying to form the sound) and said, "Mmmmma-Mmmmma." I was overjoyed! And then by the end of the day she said it a few more times! I think it finally stuck!

This is a picture of Annie mesmerized. : ) What is she mesmerized by, you ask? The funniest thing! Move over Baby Einstein! Move over Elmo! Annie is mesmerized by the screen saver from our DVD player! (It makes the word "Apex" bounce back and forth on the screen, constantly changing its color.) This thing's better than Disney!

Leia had another nice day at school today. She did the block building work and the play doh work again. She also did the lima bean pouring work, . . . but she said she forgot the steps were there and tripped over them making the lima beans spill out everywhere. Poor little love! She also told me the new good morning song. Leia sang, "Good morning, good morning, good morning to you! Good morning, good morning, and how do you do?!?" I asked if they sang the "bird song" (that they used to sing when the clock signaled the hour by a bird call, that was last year), and she said they didn't. I asked Leia Rose how her shoes worked today and she said they didn't hurt at all! (Is it possible we won't have to buy new ones?!?) The sequins do get caught on the "strings" of the circle time rug, though. Yesterday, with the mention of getting new shoes, Leia was very upset, "But Mrs. McDowell and Mrs. Schnell and everyone love my new shoes!" Now if we can just keep them on her feet. : ) Then later today we learned more about school. (This later remembrance is always part of Leia's world in regards to school.) Suddenly at dinner tonight she said, "Did you know that a long time ago, people used to have to stop their car and get into a little box just to use a phone?" We laughed really hard, . . . of course she was talking about a phone booth. Are we really that old?!? And then, "And there are also these things that go by parked cars that you get a ticket if you aren't parked there." I think this one was describing a parking meter. Leia Rose said that these were flash cards that the teachers talked about at circle time. What a window into their world! : )

Now a word about Annie's teeth: Annie no longer hates tooth brushing. This is because I switched from using the regular nylon bristled toothbrush to a little finger brush that came with the Gerber toothpaste. I called the dentist just to make sure that was okay to use, they said, "Yes, . . . until she gets her molars. You could also use a damp washcloth." I tried both, but Annie definitely preferred the finger brush (mostly because she can really bite it, I suspect). I just didn't want to make her adverse to dental care at this young of an age, you know? Hating tooth brushing was a challenge I never had to deal with when Leia was a baby. Anyway, now both Annie and I can breathe a sigh of relief. : )

And I just need to end with the joy Annie feels when she hears her Lamby sing. (Oh yeah, and Annie has learned to press buttons, too!) . . .