Our Week

Other than going back to work this week, here's a couple of pictures that show what else we were up to.

Playing horsey with daddy

 Having a tailgate party with daddy while mommy was at work--they had a radio and beer in there.....(really daddy was cleaning out the garage on his last day off....)

 And a sick day--on Friday Anneke had the flu, so she and mommy spent the day on the couch.  I think this is about the only moment where she didn't cry when I left her.  And that about sums up our weekend too, she's slowly getting over the flu, but still isn't herself.

Our Week in Photos

 Mmmm, apples!

 We were getting ready to go outside and she decided she wanted to wear Mommy's hat and mittens....

 Last Sunday we went to Great-Gammi and Great-Grandpa's house for Great-Grandpa's birthday.  We had a great day and Anneke was so fun!  She was good at sharing her toys with Great-Grandpa and shared ice cream cake with Great-Gammi!  Such a lucky girl!

 This picture wasn't from this week, but it's a daily occurance.  Anneke helps Dave make our smoothies every morning.  She pushes the buttons on the blender and samples it to make sure it tastes good....

 .....and then, like this morning, runs around with our cups.....

 ....and stops every once in a while for a sip!

 She likes to sit at the table with us now.  And at this dinner she was mixing the salad for us.  Then she gave Dave his salad, one piece of lettuce at a time!

 And this afternoon she wanted to share my banana with me.  (she wants whatever food we're eating....)  And since I was laying down eating the banana she wanted to lay down too!  And the last picture is an example of the silly faces she's starting to pull as soon as we start taking pictures.  Hilarious girl!



Learning

Anneke is learning so much, so fast!  She's starting to say more words now--hi, bye, uh-oh, please, cheese, shoes--and it's reallly fun trying to get her to copy us!  Not only is she trying to copy our words now, but also our actions.  For example, every morning she climbs up on a chair beside the counter to help daddy make smoothies.  And yesterday we helped her climb up on the couch where she laid down with her head against the pillow, pulled the blanket over herself and grabbed a nearby book.  Now to be fair, she doesn't see us do this too often because we really don't have time to read when she's up, but it has happened occasionally!

Ready? Set? Go!

In recent months, Anneke has learned to race.  She'll put her back up against the front door.  Wait.  Wait.  Wait.... and then go!

 And, she does it again...  (Below, I like how she's staring-down the finish line in this photo...!)

 And, again...

 And, again!

January Catch-Up

Recognizing that we haven't done very many posts in January, I thought it was time for a photo update in the least!  It's been fairly crazy getting back into the swing of things.  We are both quite heavily involved in school extra-curricular stuff right now, so that's keeping us busy.  And of course Anneke keeps us on our toes too!  Some Anneke January highlights:

~she said her first word (at Oma and Opa's)--"shoes"  (what a great first word!!!).  And in the last couple of days she's been copying "cheese".  Other than that she doesn't really copy what we say yet.  However she babbles in her own language like nobody's business!

~She's learned how to climb onto the kitchen chairs which is a real treat (note sarcasm!).  Luckily she hasn't had too many falls from them, although in the last few days she stands on them and tries to rock them, so that could change in the near future!

~She still only has her two bottom teeth, which came in late October-early November, but she likes to try just about anything we're eating.

~She had her 15 month doctors appointment and she weighed 27lbs and was 35 inches.  We're now on the third different size of winter shirts for her because she's growing out of them like crazy!

I think that's about it for now.  Enjoy the pictures!

  We went out to play in the snow one Saturday and these are some of the pictures we took.  Anneke really does not like the snow.  She won't touch it, or sit in it, or play in it.  She just kinda stands there and then walks around.....

 Sledding around the backyard.

 Dave and I have been making smoothies every morning and Anneke loves them too.  She walks around with one of our cups while we're getting ready and takes a sip every once in a while!  She loves her fruit!

Last Friday we had "Dress up as your favourite book character day" so I dressed up as Amelia Bedelia.  Since I didn't have a maids hat with flowers on it like she wears, I glued some flowers to a headband.  Now Anneke likes to wear it!  (By "wear it" I mean keep it on for about 3 seconds, pull it off and ask us to put it back on, and repeat!)

Helpful Anneke

We thought we'd show everyone just how helpful Anneke can be! 

Favourite Photographs from Christmas 2011

I love this one for the way Anneke`s face is lit (below)...

 Anneke is so intense in this one (below)...

You have to love any photo that works with snow falling (below). 

This is the first snow fall that has any potential of staying for the winter. 

Grandma and Grandpa wanted to walk Anneke around in it...

 I would salute, too, if I was in such an awesome sleigh as this one.  Nice find, Opa!

I think this is a nice family shot...

 Every once in a while, Anneke just needs to rest for about half a minute and then she`s up and going again...

 

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

and

Happy New Year!