Annie at Two

I am so far behind on this blog that it's downright discouraging.  Part of it can be blamed on the fact that our internet connection is absurdly slow, so uploading photos is a drag.  In truth, I've been dragging as much as the computer, so the rest of the blame lies with me.

But no more excuses.  I promised that I would highlight our 2 year-old Annika Mae, so here goes.

She's cute.  Dang cute, but she knows it too.  Whenever she's naughty, she flashes that sweet little smile to get herself out of trouble.  What can I say?  She's smart as well.

Annika's trademark feature is still her outrageously long hair.  At two years of age, she can nearly sit on it.  Unfortunately, it is just as unruly as ever.  This is what she looks like in the morning before I've had a chance to try and tame it.

As you can see from the picture, Annika loves cereal.  (It's actually quite seldom that she gets any sugary cereals, but these were give-aways.)  She also loves climbing on high and precarious surfaces like the dining room table.  Where could she learn to misbehave?

Oh.

As long as I'm on the subject of milk, the other day Annika tossed a handful of mini-wheats and a five metal fasteners into a gallon that had just barely been opened.  Argh!

Of course, that's not the only trouble she's made.  Check out how she decorated Brooklyn's baby doll.

Fortunately, this marker was washable.  All of our Sharpies have been confiscated and placed way out of reach for obvious reasons.  Annie has this strange fascination with tattooing.  Most of the time she limits the body art to her own skin, but occasionally baby dolls and siblings are invited to her parlor.

The oh-dang-I'm-caught melt-down.

As battered as the previous baby doll looks, I wish I had some video or pictures to show you how incredibly sweet and loving Annika usually is with her stuffed animals and babies.  She tucks them under blankies, kisses them night-night, and feeds them in her high chair--such tender moments from our miniature mommy.

Other Annika facts:

On her second birthday, Annika weighed 22.2 pounds.  She likes to drink "nilk" and asks for it often, although not quite as often as she peers down my shirt and asks "nurse?  nurse?"  (She's been weaned ever since I went to visit Baby Eila, but keeps hoping.)  Her favorite song is "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam," but the only word she sings is "Beam."  More often, she composes her own melodies of "la la la," consistently sung fortissimo.  As the fourth in a loud family, she's learned to hold her own.  She's also learned that if she shrieks in the middle of a church service or a concert or any other quiet venue where she's bored, she will get taken outside.  We hate taking her out because it's reinforcing bad behavior, but what else are you supposed to do? 

Favorite words:
Jump, Light (she loves to turn the lights on and off), Movie, Story, 'loon (balloon), Bopple (apple), Nana (banana), Cracker, Bubba (Brooklyn), and No.

Phrases:
I wuv you, good girl (sometimes she'll tell this to herself), my mommy, tickle tickle, uh oh (she'll sometimes say this before dumping her food on the ground), and bye bye (we all get suspicious at this one.  She tells us bye, shuts the door, and then trots off to work some amazing mischief.)

At two years of age, Annie's fascination with water continues.  She now climbs up on the toilet so that she can turn on the bathroom sink and play in the water all by herself.  I'm dreading the day she floods the basement.  Before bed, she usually tells us she's "dwinky" and gets her "dwink" by leaning over and slurping directly from the bathroom faucet stream. 

Otherwise, she's generally a good sleeper who goes to bed easily, surrounded by an entourage of stuffed animals.  While weaning was difficult, it was completely worth it when it comes to getting a better night's sleep.  Now if only she were as good of a pooper...  (Way TMI, but the poor 'gal suffers from rocks in her diaper.)

Other weird quirks:  Annie loves to stick her hand in ice water and play with all of the cubes.  Brrr!  Never seems to bother her, though, quite possibly because her hands are always cold anyway from poor circulation.  Oh, and she's recently developed this new game of licking people.  Ew.

Last but not least, let's not forget the Tic Tac Time pat-down that invariably occurs every time she sees Papa Kay.  As soon as she's in his arms, she'll start beating his chest and other pockets until she hears the familiar rattle of a Tic Tac box.  I make no apologies for this one--Papa Kay quite knowingly opened this Pandora's box and seems to enjoy the attention.

No matter how quirky or mischievous our Annika Mae might be, she holds a special place in all of our hearts.  A friend to all, she willingly cuddles with nearly anyone and has made many amigos by snuggling in.  Even so, I cherish the one-on-one moments we have together.  My heart melts every time she takes my face in those little hands and says "Mommy!" in her sweet baby voice.  (Okay, it's fun the first five times.  Less fun when repeated fifty times in a row.)  In moments when I feel overly anxious to pursue my own career goals and dreams, I think of Annie and hope she doesn't grow up too fast, for we sure cherish having our baby at home.