Update potpourri, part one of several ...

Wow -- I knew it had been awhile since the last update, but I didn't realize this would be the first post of 2009! Guess we'd better jump right in!

Events of the last six-plus weeks:
--Saucin' New Year's Eve: A good time was had by all down at the Sauce Compound (our friends M&H's place). No rocking, since it was only the one night, and Annika went to bed many hours before midnight ... someday she'll be old enough to try it, but not yet.
--Just two weeks later, not long after Grandma & Grandpa M. went back to frozen Ohio, we had a proper Sauce weekend, with Annika continuing her flawless streak (knock on wood!) of sleeping right through the late-night rocking. When she's out, she's out!
--We went to SF to visit our friends I&K and their son Theo, a few weeks younger than Annika; we went out to the park, where she was enthralled by all the dogs and birds and pulled up a whole bunch of handfuls of grass, twigs, pieces of bark, etc. while Theo sat down and shoved a handful of dirt in his mouth. Heh. Kids.
--The presidential inauguration: We watched that morning as a family, as Barack Obama was sworn in; it was a great piece of history (I even took a couple of pictures), and a very exciting day for us all. She can recognize our new President, but still calls him "mama." Hee!

New accomplishments:
--Eating from larger pieces of food: Looks like we don't have to cut everything up into little bits anymore. She likes to eat bananas, bread and other things grown-up-style. She's even done it a couple of times with an apple -- and THAT I got photos of. It was hysterical -- she was helping me unload groceries, came up with an apple, went "ohhhhh!" and sank her teeth into it. She ate about a third of it that way! 
--Climbing on the couch and chair in the living room: She figured out how to use my little side table to boost herself onto the couch, and the ottoman to brace on so she can climb onto Ray's chair -- all by herself! She's so proud when she gets up there, although we're still working on making sure she knows there are no feet allowed on the seats -- sometimes she gets excited and forgets. She can get down by herself, too -- she figured that out when we stopped helping her. ;-)
--A new bedtime routine: Since she's not breastfeeding anymore, our new ritual is to read a few books before she goes to sleepytown (oh, the number of times we've read that awful Brown Bear book ... and Wheels on the Bus, and Are You My Mother, and the Boynton books, and the Foot Book ...). This means that either mom or dad can put her to bed, and it's so hilariously cute when she tells the other person "nigh-nigh" & gives a kiss before they leave!
--Taking a lot more baths: Active toddlers need more baths than non-mobile babies, so she's getting one nearly every night, especially since her favorite new thing is bubbles (particularly trying to eat them). She loves to help us take the bath things into the bathroom, too.
--Brushing teeth: Our dentist says we have to take care of her primary teeth, so she gave us a toothbrush. Every night we do a little brushing -- mommy first, then baby can take it over. She seems to like it, and it is beyond cute to watch her working on it.
--Helping: She loves to help with anything and everything. Her best one is helping daddy take off his shoes at the end of the day; she pulls them off his feet, then ferries them to the kitchen where they usually sit under her little swing chair. The shoes are almost as big as she is ...
--Letters: I wear the same shirt every night to bathe her -- a NYC Subway shirt with the B, D, and 4 symbols for the Yankee Stadium stop -- and she can read it now; she's also started to recognize those letters elsewhere! It's wild.
--Colors: She knows yellow, without a doubt (yeyow!), and points it out wherever she sees it. She can also point out other colors, but tends to call them yellow if you ask. Still, we're gettin there!