Sunday, May 15, 2011

The Quotable Annika

-- “We’re all snuggin!” Playing Night Before Christmas with Mamalah (“the children were nestled, all snug in their beds ...”)


-- “And that’s the fact of the matter.” Ending an argument, or so she thinks.


-- “There’s candy canes inside!” Eating a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie.


-- “They have head trees!” Our new neighbors’ topiaried bushes.


-- “How do you catch food with these?” Holding a pair of chopsticks, brow furrowed in concentration.


-- “Hey, you pool! Warm up so we can swim in you!” Her almost nightly after her bath, yelling at the pool from our second-floor bathroom.

Month-by-month, February - May

Lookit me, getting an update done after only FOUR months! Oh, well, it’s been an extraordinarily busy and chaotic spring ... so it’s a little sparse, but it’s here!


FEBRUARY

--We got our house! After five rounds of counteroffers, we finally had one accepted, and the process was underway. It felt completely insane, but also right; for her part, Annika wanted to go live there immediately! She talked constantly about our “new NEW house!” and asked if we were going there to stay. But of course we didn’t own it, exactly, for quite awhile yet.


--First overnighter: While Mamalah was visiting at the end of the month, R. and I took advantage of the CABBI gift card we got for Christmas from Uncle Jake & Aunt Jill, and went up to San Francisco for a night in our old neighborhood. We had a great time, but Annika had an epic one -- in fact, when we got back the next morning, she was pretty unhappy to see us! Ha!


--Clubhouse City USA: Her favorite game around this time was building clubhouses with the dozens of un-taped moving boxes we had leaning against the wall (from Home Depot, which quickly became one of her favorite outings, particularly the lamps -- she loved looking at her “colored lights” -- and the ovens, where hundreds of dozens of cupcakes were made). She was always Mike Holmes, and whichever of us she was bossing around was Damon Bennett. Wooden spoons and actual screwdrivers were her tools, and WOE to anyone who knocked over a clubhouse wall ...


--Writing: She can write her name! She came home with a worksheet covered in it, and although she often ignores the right-to-left, in-line-horizontally conventions, she can do it without being told the letters if she wants to (usually she wants you to tell them to her in order).




MARCH

--Officially homeowners ... we signed all the five million documents on St. Patrick’s Day, then got the keys a week later. Of course we couldn’t move in yet -- pack a billion boxes, have a million Guys come to the place (fumigation, fumigation prep, locksmith, carpet measuring, carpet installation, yada yada yada), get the utilities taken care of, etc. But it was ours!


--Turns out, it was a good thing we got a four-bedroom place. Because guess what? We’re having another baby! Due around November 11, and not a minute too soon for Annika. She’s been OBSESSED with babies for a year and a half, constantly pretending stuffed animals, Muno, and other inanimate objects are the baby (and she’s almost always the sister, not the mother), talking about how she wants to be a sister, asking if we can pretend we have a new baby, clarifying that she wants a REAL baby, etc. We asked her many times if she understood that babies don’t really DO much, and she would say, “Babies cry because dey don’t know how to talk. Dey hafta eat special food. Dey can’t walk so dey have to ride in strollers. And you hold dem, and sing to dem, and take care of dem, and change their diapers because dey don’t know how to use the potty.” So she gets her wish -- but we’re not telling her till a little later on. ;-)


APRIL

--The big moving day! We moved the weekend of April 10-11. Our friend Tom was our only helper -- and he made all the difference in the world. Annika loves Tommy to pieces, so it was fun for her, having him around all that time and going to Celia’s one last time on Saturday night. It was an incredibly long couple of days -- and she managed to nap in a pallet on the floor in her room both days as the moving noises continued around her, she was so wiped out.


--Big-girl bed: Ahh, she’s been ready for a big-girl bed since she was two. But we held off, first for containment reasons, then because we were going to move, and R. didn’t want to take apart and put together two different beds in the space of a couple of months. But finally we had moved, and I’d ordered a bed and mattress from Overstock.com. She picked out a set of sheets (pink) and a comforter (white with green and blue flowers) from Target, and from the first night in the new house, she was completely set. She loves the bed, talks about how she has a big-girl bed and wants to show it to everyone ... huge success.


--Stairs: Also, we were totally holding her back, with regard to stairs. She was ready ... but we weren’t! But now we have a two-story house, so unless we want to carry her, or walk with her every single time she goes up or down, she’s got to do it herself. And damned if she doesn’t handle it like a champ!


--Saucewarming party: With abundant warnings of how not-moved-in we are (seriously, we are NOT moved in), we had the Sauce crew over for lunch and the afternoon one Saturday. Chef Tom grilled stuff from Chavez, everybody but me and the kids enjoyed the contents of the beer fridge, we had amazing weather, and Annika had a blast with her pals Mason and Ethan. They spent most of their time on the play structure, but also there was a lot of running around and trike-riding and such. Good times!


MAY

--Uncle Jake & Aunt Jill’s wedding! We flew down to Cancun May 3-9, to an all-inclusive resort where Jake and Jill were having their wedding. Most guests were staying 3-5 days, but it was such a long trip for us (and represented the only proper vacation time we’re likely to get this year or maybe even next), we stayed seven. It was a wonderful time -- 82 degrees and sunny every single day, with a nice gentle breeze, sugary soft white sand, warm clear ocean water, waiters on the beach, a dolphin pool, and family around. Annika had the most fabulous time -- minus a three-day nap strike, which just about drove all three of us out of our DAMN MINDS. We were dubious about the wedding itself, since our little flowergirl had gone napless for three days at that point, but she spent the afternoon at Mamalah and Aunt Lesley’s hotel room, reading books and getting her toenails painted, so she ended up in a pretty good mood. She stood still for pictures, and actually threw some flowers before getting shy and refusing to throw any more (she tossed the rest at her own feet, from her chair, while the ceremony was going on). The wedding was beautiful (I was so happy for my brother!!!), and the reception was one of the highlights of her young life -- there was a light-up dance floor out there on the beach, which she ran to and stayed on from the second she was allowed to until around 10:30, when it started to look like she might pass out cold, standing up. So we gathered her up and said our good-nights, and went on back to the room. Beach again the next day ...


--Just a week after we got home from this happy trip, we had some very sad news: On Friday morning, May 13, Great-Grandpa Kelly passed away. We had been advised back in March that he didn’t have very long, so I had made a quick trip to Texas to visit him while he was still able to move around and talk, and it was unquestionably the right thing at the right time. I was even able to tell him about the new addition to the family, which made him really happy -- I think he’d given up on us ever having another! So although this was not unexpected, it was still terribly sad, and I was deeply sorry to have to miss the funeral (logistics and money made it a near-impossible feat). But I had that time with him, and he is at rest, and that is about the best anyone can ask.


--The first of many cousin fun times: We went to Oakland to see The Cars with a bunch of friends (part of my birthday gifts for R.), and we knew it’d be a late night. So, Aunt Amy to the rescue! She came over with the kids Friday afternoon -- it was the first time they’d been to the house, and both Alyna and Sonic loved it (Sonic even said it was “3DS quality,” which is high praise coming from him!). We left them all having a great time together. Later, Uncle Paul came over for dinner and then took Sonic home, while Amy and Alyna stayed for a sleepover -- another first for Annika! She never wanted them to go home, and made us promise we’ll do it again. :-) Already we’re seeing the benefits of living closer to the cousins!


--Babyschool picnic: At the end of the year, Annika's school had a picnic and slideshow. I talked to a couple of the moms, but mostly everybody tried to corral their own kids. Then we went inside to the auditorium for the slideshow (Annika singing on the way, to the tune of Yo Gabba Gabba's "Art Show"), "Slideshow! We're all going to the sli-ide show!" (This after asking, "Is there gonna be a swing show too?" Heh.) Anyway, it was fun, and she was psyched that we were both there.


--Mamalah visits! There was a crazy sale on Virgin America, so we got Mom to buy two tickets (one for late May - June, and one for October, so she'll be here over Annika's birthday). Once again, as soon as Mamalah got here, R. and I effectively ceased to exist (except when we were Captain Funkiller, e.g. when we told her it was time for her bath, heh). We cooked tasty meals, walked the neighborhood, tried to explore downtown San Jose and found there really isn't much of one and ended up at the Children's Discovery Museum ... and except for the kerfuffle about the blood pressure meds (who knew they'd be harder to get ahold of than Oxycontin or Dilaudid? jeez!), a great time was had by all.