Some Firsts for Anna

This girl's been making some progress. Besides her continually evolving belly squirm, lower teeth, motor skills, sounds, and cuteness, here's some documentation of a few recent firsts:

Her first playground swing. 

She was a fan. 

[Not to be left out, here's her brother that day, finally getting to burn some winter cooped-up energy.]

First finger foods! 

She's a master at the puffs. Was deftly grabbing them and stuffing them in her mouth by the end of her first finger food session. 

And since she's always straining to go after things, only to meet the disappointment that she isn't quite mobile, we broke out the walker. She knew exactly what to do with that. Her first time, she figured out how to go forward (backward is the easy way) and here (in the first pic below) was charging into Daddy's arms. She's now (2 days into her walker-ing) confiscating dish towels, and anything else within her new reach, and scooting hither and yon wherever she's inclined. 

And she is most inclined to go after Peter. One thing we (and certainly he) didn't foresee: how well she can trap him in a corner as he backs away from the walker that's trying to run over his feet. 

Some more...

The Martin Family these days

(As artistically dictated and decorated by Peter C. Martin)

Awake or asleep, methinks she's a sweetie.

[Note about the figure in Anna's hand: Daideo (the lego man so named by Peter because he resembles Daideo and came with a tractor)--Peter had set him up on a pedestal, apparently. Perhaps he was giving a speech. Anna quickly seized him and stuffed him in her mouth. Peter probably said something like "Nooooo! Eeewww--Daideo drooly!!"]

Here in a less plaintive moment.


I loved this. Anna was sitting all alone in the middle of the floor. Peter came upon her and changed his plans and sat down to read Curious George near his sister.

Because I can never pick just one:

One of Peter's lego-train creations. 

Here, Peter and I acted out the story Little Blue Truck--"They all pushed Blue, who pushed the dump" 

My kitchen floor company

Paaartaaay in Peter's bed!

How I love them. 

To Remember...

Oops--I started this post a month ago. So here's a slightly dated shot of my little mobili. 

I was thinking the other day back to when Peter was Anna's age, trying to remember what he was doing then, and so much is a blur--leads me to ponder that this life today and these little moments I treasure will be soon gone with the wind of time and forgetfulness. Who they are now will be replaced by who they turn into by next month, next year. I always think I'll remember the little moments, intriguing, moving things the kids say. But I don't. Not even long enough to tell Tom when he comes home.  So much slips through the fingers of my brain. My mind, it seems, is constantly being reused and recycled to process the next hour of parenting. It's hard to stop in a moment to write things down, but I want to try to capture things somehow--like the moment last night when Peter was naming all the family members around the dinner table, and respectfully included the salt shaker. I guess you had to be there. But I was, and I want to remember it. 

I want to remember that right now, according to Peter, Anna's full name is "Anna Clay Martin Girl." [That last sentence was part of the post from last month. You see--it's all different now. He calls her Anna FranCESS.]  So in this digital age where we take bazillions of pictures and actually print/album-ize so few, this blog has been a small (but hopefully effective) side-effort to be cataloging Peter and Anna's ever-changing looks and ways as I go. (And to share them with our far away family so whoever cares to can embrace with us these precious and fleeting thoughts and acts of our babies.)  Someday maybe this little blog will be something more, but for now, here's our latest catch of Martinling moments:

First, rolling around on the floor at 7 and 28 months.

Snow day. As soon as I opened the blinds, he ran for his bathroom sink stool to get a better view.

Grabbing the snow without mittens seems like a good idea at the time. Every time. 

Here's my bathing beauty (in probably her last counter-top bath.)

There's that other baby

Spying Mommy

Peter and Hop hop.
We were reading a book that talked about best friends. I asked Peter who his best friend was. Without hesitation, he named Hop hop. Hop hop goes all around the house with Peter. He sits with him as he reads books, builds blocks, or plays on the kitchen floor. When we leave the house, Hop hop must stay home, so Peter situates him comfortably on the couch and gives him a goodbye kiss. Someday we'll tell the story of how Hop hop was actually a baby gift for Anna from Jie and Enya, but how when Peter first met Hop hop (Jie let him open the gift), he fell hard. When Anna came home from the hospital, Peter needed a little something special. So Hop hop became a gift from Anna (He called him "Anna's Hop hop" for the longest time) and the rabbit became a dear friend.

Peter loves bringing Anna toys. Sometimes I step back into a room to find this:

Or here's a good one: Father/Son Saturday Morning Bread Baking.

This has become a favorite tradition in the Martin house. Peter delights in it, and does some of his best talking about it. Just today, he said something like, "Saturday Daddy stay home...make homemade bread!" (It was in the context of his Monday morning observation, "Daddy drive brown car. Daddy go work...do science!")

On the play mat, he constructed this and informed me that it's the mixer.

Peter loves measuring and watching the mixer. He really loves punching down the dough. And stealing pinches of dough. And he loves eating his handiwork. 

This photo is relevant to that, but more specifically illustrates Peter's preferred method of eating a PB&J: open-face, and alternating between the sides. Wanted to make sure I preserved that one for posterity. 

Cammie and Henry, 2 of his buddies since in utero.

A) Just a classic shot. B) 2 recent favorite foods: hard boiled eggs and broccoli, aka "brocki stew" (the bunny's meal in a favorite Sandra Boynton book.) He loves to rehearse at the table all the things bunnies eat. "Bunny eat cackots (carrots)! Bunny eat grass! Bunny eat brocki steeewwww!" 

He'll have a surprise when he arrives at pre-school and finds out some people finger paint with a shirt on.

 Peter loves his set of wooden food (thanks, Trabandts!) He brings it all into the kitchen every day and prepares it in the colander and salad spinner. He especially loves to cook and mix it in the spinner. Thing is, lately I grab my spinner out of the cabinet and find this:

 Anna likes it, too.

And we recently broke out another food Christmas present (thanks, Dad): Cutting food--pre-sliced but held together with tough velcro until cut with a wooden knife. That genius Melissa & Doug.



Peter is faithful to slice plenty of veggies for Hop hop.

And speaking of food, I've been doing a lot of this for my littlest big eater. 

Finally, the early days of potty training, and Peter's propensity to cover the book shelves with delightful lego displays. And so ends my latest collection of clues to remembering these precious days. Thanks for sharing them!