Capturing Anna | September 2011

anna pants | the face of two point five

Dear Anna,

Hi sweet girl. Just wanted to capture a couple things about you right now and get them down in a letter.

First thing, we love you so much.

Second thing, you are awesome.

Third thing, you make the best faces.

There's a million more things of course, but those are the three that are standing out right now.

You are currently two-weeks into your Montessori preschool experience and it's safe to say that you seem to be happy with it. Each day we drop you off, you give a hug and a kiss at least twice (and the last couple of days you kissed our hands as well) and then you head into the room to see what kind of work you'll want to do first. You have a very kind, gentle and soft-spoken teacher.

I loved this morning when you walked through the door other kids were saying "Hi Anna!" and "Anna's here!"

sweet baby girl + her books

Each night you like to have a couple books read to you and then you like to look at books on your own for quite awhile. Sometimes longer than I'd like you to stay up, but it's for a good cause.

You "read" them out loud to yourself or whatever baby dolls might be hanging out in your bed. Often you mimic whatever you remember about the story or you pick something in the photo/illustration that spurs you to turn the page. I know this because I often stand outside your door and listen. You yell for me when you're done looking at books to come back in and turn off the light. Lately you've been telling me to "have a good sleep Mama" as I close the door.

You still grab and tug and hold onto our ears when you are very sleepy - either just waking up or just falling asleep.

missoni shoes

You are a big fan of playing at the sink. This past weekend you took everything off down to your undies, socks and shoes and played and played. Pouring, scooping, dumping water and asking for more bubbles. More than a little water found it's way out of the sink and onto the floor. You really, really wanted to get into the sink but I told you that you're too big for that now.

I love that you've got opinions about your clothes. You were pretty particular about wearing the striped green socks with those cute little shoes. Most days I give you a choice between two things. Most days you pick one or the other without too much back and forth.

in the kitchen

You are physical. Climbing. Jumping (you love a small personal trampoline we got for your this summer). Hanging. Jumping. Jumping. Jumping.

You are quick to understand and quick to ask another question "why?" or "what's that?"

Apple juice is your drink of choice. Goldfish your snack. And broccoli is your vegetable (you really and truly love broccoli - it's the first thing you go for on your plate). Your current favorite choice for breakfast is grapes and cheese.

You want a kiss from Simon before he heads off for school and love to wave at him as the bus drives away.

You are a bundle of goodness sweet Anna girl. We love you so much.

Love, Mama

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52 thoughts

  1. dawn says…
    09/20/2011

    love this Ali, she is so precious and full of life. she is her own person too which is a good thing. love what you wrote about her and her sweet pictures. thank you for sharing.

    hugs, dawn

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  2. Melissa says…
    09/20/2011

    Oh my goodness! I absolutely LOVE the way you love her. And those awesomely cute Missoni shoes from Target aren't bad either! She will treasure knowing all these things about her little-self when she's much older, especially when she has her own children. Good job Ali!

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  3. Vera says…
    09/20/2011

    When she's 18 and reads this, she will surely cry. Tender :)

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  4. Cindy says…
    09/20/2011

    I have twin almost 2 1/2 year old daughters, and their favorite veggie is broccoli too! I thought they were the only toddlers on the planet who liked it! Not so! :)
    {hugs} and prayers for all of the struggles you're going through right now. I love that you are memory-keeping in the midst. I do PL too, and love your week at a glance system.

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  5. Lisa W. says…
    09/20/2011

    Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....love this! She is a beauty. So miss my little girl being a little girl:) (shes now 17 yrs.:)

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  6. Allyson says…
    09/20/2011

    Hey Ali

    I've been keeping you in prayer. Recently in the midst of a challenging time I found these verses to be a source of great comfort and hope.

    "Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called you name. You're mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end - Because I am God."
    Isaiah 43:1-3 (The Message)

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  7. Allison says…
    09/20/2011

    that is so sweet. i love capturing an age.

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. HeatherC says…
    09/20/2011

    I love the way you capture the little things about your kids that fly past us a million miles a second everyday -- I love that you slow yourself down to notice them and to take note of them. I need to do this.

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Kim says…
    09/20/2011

    So,so sweet.....

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Shelly K says…
    09/20/2011

    simply amazing, beautiful life....thanks for sharing! Hugs!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Jenni Hufford says…
    09/20/2011

    anna make me smile, i can tell she is well loved. :)

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  12. Michelle says…
    09/20/2011

    That first pic of her freakin cracked. me. up. Even before I read any of your post.

    Of course,as the mother of two girls myself, after i read your post it just struck such a cord with me - with my heart, really - because it was just yesterday that some of those same scences were playing out around my house. Now my daughters are 21 and 23.

    I swear it was just yesterday.....

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  13. NatalieSpring says…
    09/20/2011

    Loved this! My daughter is 16 months old. Thanks for the post

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  14. Denise says…
    09/20/2011

    This is so sweet! My daughter{now 18} loved to wear crazy socks BUT she refused to wear matching socks, always, 2 different socks. When I told her they didn't match she would say "Yes they do, I have another pair just like them!" Seriously! She still loves crazy socks, but now she will wear a matching pair, most of the time.

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  15. cinback says…
    09/20/2011

    Such great capture of a little soul. I am sad that I did not start scrapbooking till my girls were much older and I cannot remember these details of them anymore!

    Blessings on you, Ali!

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  16. Mikki McGehee says…
    09/20/2011

    This is such a beautiful blog entry! Anna is so lucky that one day she will be able to see and read this, beyond the fact that it's such a sweet entry, it really speaks so much about who she is and who she will become.

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  17. Cathy says…
    09/20/2011

    My daughter loved playing in the sink as well! I let her pull out dishes, spoons, and whisks, and let her "create" to her hearts' content.

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  18. Suz says…
    09/20/2011

    Such wonderful documentation Ali! Anna and Simon will love your work for their whole lives. Such.a.gift. :)
    Take care you.
    Suz

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  19. Christine H says…
    09/20/2011

    I love that you focus on what is so wonderful and fun and precious about your little girl right now. This age can be so tough and the challenging stuff can be so loud that it drowns out the good stuff (voice of experience here...3-7 was a tough time for my now 15 year old and I spent too much time on the tough stuff)....keep that focus...

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  20. Jolynn says…
    09/20/2011

    Very sweet. I wish I would have done more writing like this when my kids were little. She will love this.

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Dori says…
    09/20/2011

    Precious. Simply precious.

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. tara pollard pakosta says…
    09/20/2011

    she is getting so big!
    she's beautiful!
    I love that you have a little girl!
    tara

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Deb J says…
    09/20/2011

    I love the way you journal about your kids this way. It's so special and what a wonderful thing for them to be able to see/read when they get older.

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Kim S. says…
    09/20/2011

    wow. pricelss. I need to do this. right now.

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Melanie K. says…
    09/20/2011

    My youngest (who is 3) tugs on his ears too ... odd! For a while I kept taking him to the doctor to check for ear infections (my second son had to have tubes put in).
    Kids are wonderful, aren't they? And, as parents, you get to see them 'evolve' ... so cool!

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