You know who she is, right?

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto…

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In an effort to post something on my blog between weekly menu plans, here are some things that have been going around in my head and our home.

I’ve been feeling musical lately. I’ve started trying to practice piano again—not just sit down and play, but really practice and work on something difficult and get better at it. I manage to do this for about 20-30 minutes after Anna’s nap while she’s sitting in her high chair eating raisins and graham crackers. It takes about 10 minutes to warm up, so I only get a few minutes to actually work on something, but it adds up, and I’m making slow progress. I’m working on Felix Mendelssohn’s Praeludium in E minor. It’s a rich, fluid piece, fairly short, a little challenging without being insanely hard. I’m done trying to learn stuff that’s so incredibly difficult that only professional musicians play it, and stick with pieces I actually have a shot at playing well. Maybe I’ll play it for you someday. But probably not. I’m just doing this for me, to remind myself that there’s still some talent buried in there somewhere.

David’s parents visited us this past weekend. Anna doesn’t see them very often, but whenever they come, she warms up to them in just a few minutes and is all over them. How many adults does it take to accompany a toddler to the park? Four. To storytime at the library? Four. None of us wanted to miss out on anything! They enjoyed getting to see Anna do the fun things she likes to do, and Anna loved the captive audience and undivided attention all weekend!

I’ve been trying to get back into the exercise habit. A few weeks ago I heard about the “Miles for Milestones” 5K on October 31 and thought it would be a good goal to work towards. I’ll be satisfied if I finish in 31 minutes; happy if I finish in 30. Now if the weather will just cooperate that day. It’s at 8 A.M. (Why do they have these things at 8 A.M. in the cold-weather months?!? Wouldn’t 10 A.M. or noon be much nicer?) It will be chilly, which is fine if it’s dry, but I’m not running in 40-degree rain. I don’t have the right kind of clothes for that anyway.

I think I want to paint the kitchen and living room. I haven’t told David this yet. Hey, honey, I think I want to paint the kitchen and living room.

Is there any way I can tell you just how enamored I am with Anna? She is one amazing kid. She’s been especially sweet lately. She is such a blessing! She is so funny sometimes. The other day in Wal-Mart we were stopped next to the milk, and she smiled, stuck out her tongue, and went “AAAAAAAEEEEEEEHHH.” I looked up to where she was looking, and there was a picture of a cat on a big sign hanging over the pet stuff. Yep, that’s how she makes her cat noise. I hope I can get her animal sounds on video sometime! They’re too cute.

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We took Anna on her first trip to the zoo yesterday! It was a little chillier than I had hoped, but we’re running out of available fall weekends and we wanted to get a trip in. We took our friend Abby along with us since Abby’s parents needed someone to keep her for the morning.

Here are David and the girls…

… looking at the giraffe:

This fun little guy scampered out to say hello and totally posed for the camera:

Anna and Mommy in front of some kind of deer-like critter (you can tell I learned a whole lot, huh?)

Me with both the monkeys:

A fine rhino:

Who doesn’t love chimps?

I tried to get a shot of a zebra’s rear for Becké, but they were too far away. Sorry, Becké.

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Are you building a fort?

Anna LOVES to get into the pantry, select a few various grocery items, and set them out on the kitchen floor. (more…)

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… in her new polka-dot panda pjs?!?

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It fits perfectly on our fingertips! And apparently it’s hilarious!

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In my 16 years of living in Conway, I have somehow never been to the little Faulkner County Fair until today. I took Anna this morning (and met up with our friends Rae Lyn and Elizabeth) to see the dog obedience demonstration and walk through the barns with all the animals. She loved it! She’s good at recognizing farm animals in her little storybooks and making their sounds, so I wanted to give her some real-life experience. We saw the cows, goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits. (The pigs were blocked off, perhaps because they seemed a bit temperamental.*) The goats were so friendly! They were our favorite and made me want one for the backyard. (Don’t worry; I know better.)

*Update: David just informed me that the pigs were probably blocked off because of the swine flu. I asked if he was serious. Yes, he said, it’s happening in county fairs all over the country. They don’t want the pigs catching it from people.

Update again: Our friend Jennifer got to see and even pet the pigs this evening, so I guess it was just a temporary closing.

There were lots of school kids there to see the dogs:

The goats—so sweet and cute!

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Eighteen months, that is, not years! Whew! Although there are some similarities, namely that she thinks she’s all grown up and independent and can do whatever she wants, while her mom and dad sometimes have to convince her otherwise. Oh my, the 18-year birthday will get here way too fast. But, for today, we’ll relish the 18-month one.

Anna is an indescribable joy to us. Despite my previous comment, she really is a very sweet, happy child. She smiles and laughs a lot, loves to dance to music and do motions to the songs she’s learned, loves to interact with people, mimics everything we do, and learns new things constantly. Whatever did we do without her? I don’t know!

Happy half-birthday, sweetie!

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My brother let me play around with his Nikon D60 last weekend. It takes some great pictures, but at the same time I realized I have a lot to learn. Here are some pics of Anna and her cousin Addie, with their daddies and Mammaw and Pappaw.

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… when Anna looks at me just right, it’s like I catch a glimpse of what she might look like as a little girl. The baby face disappears for a just a moment and I can almost imagine a grade-school Anna, like an age-progressed photo or something. I can’t really describe it, and there’s no way I can catch it on camera. Is that weird? Have any of you other parents experienced that?

It will be all too soon before I find out if I’m right. :(

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