Yay Summer!

Anna wants to wish everyone a happy start to summer. May your days be filled with simple pleasures like swimming pools, popsicles, sand, joy riding and firetrucks. More to come soon - we're off to Florida to see the Turner side of the family.

Shady Lady

Ready for summer? Anna sure is.

During a visit to the dollar store this weekend Anna procured this lovely pair of pink shades. She pointed them out from her perch in the shopping cart and insisted on wearing them for the duration of the shopping trip. We had gone to the dollar store to try and track down some beads and play jewelry for her - she is very into accessorizing at the moment and she makes a beeline for faux beads and baubles when she plays at her friends' houses.

Unfortunately there were no beads at this time (I was told to check back around Mardi Gras - a very helpful tip from the clerk considering Mardi Gras won't be around for practically a year). But the sunglasses, along with some coloring books, hawaiian leis and a baby bottle for her dolls were more than enough to suffice. I am sure we can dig up some beads somewhere...

The sunglasses were never far from Anna's grasp, which really surprised me because I was sure she would discard them as soon as we left the store. As the pictures below attest, she especially likes to wear them when she eats (she even wore them when we went out to breakfast on Mother's Day!).

My name is....

Everyday Anna is more and more aware of the world around her. Recently, she has started to become more aware of herself as an individual and it's been a neat transition to observe.

As recent as last week, whenever she looked in the mirror, she would hardly give the pretty face looking back at her a passing glance.

Ths week, though, each time she looks in the mirror, she points at herself and exclaims, "baby!!" And, she has figured out that the mama in the mirror is the same mama standing behind her because she will point at my reflection and say, "Mama!", then turn to me, point and repeat.

I think she is moments away from figuring out that the "Baby!" in the mirror is her. She watches her reflection closely as she claps, reaches out towards the mirror, taps her toothbrush on the sink or covers herself with a towel. She smiles each time the "Baby!" mimics her actions...

The biggest "I'm my own person" revelation has come with the help of Anna's favorite TV show, Super Why. Or "why why" to Anna. For those of you not familiar with the awesomeness that is Super Why, the show revolves around a group of "super readers" who meet in a book club to help their friends solve problems. And how do they solve problems? They LOOK in a BOOK! As an avid reader, I love this show's message! I digress...

In each episode as the team of super readers assembles, they all say their names. Then they ask the kiddos to say their names. Imagine our surprise when one day Anna shouted out, "Anna!", at just the right moment. She is absolutely giddy at this moment in the show and asks for us to do it "ageeen!" (again) and "ageeen!" (again)...thank goodness for the DVR!

So, our little gal knows her name...and she is very proud to tell it to you. See for yourself...