Nissa has been busy in the kitchen

Nissa has been busy in the kitchen! Last week she made scrambled eggs all by herself and yesterday she cut up raw salmon with a real knife. No injuries!

ani's 18 month check up

ani and i went to the doctor today for her check up. yay! she's back into the 20th percentile for weight (she dipped for a minute around a year) and 90th percentile for head circumference. man, i hope she doesn't get my fat head. maybe she will. it's not the end of the world. i've finally found a summer hat and sunglasses that fit me well, and that's the worst i've had to deal with. the doc asked if she can say many words. . . of course i couldn't think of many on the spot, but i felt like she couldn't talk as much as nissa did at this age (doc commented she practically came out talking). but she's not without words! i'm going to try to list them below. hey, this doc didn't know nissa since birth. . . ah, whatever. ani is the true musician and mechanic. she loves to look closely and analyze. the push-down top/ball bopper thing- she'll lay down to eye level with the balls and push the top down slowly to see exactly what happens. at the doctor's office, she loved moving the arm back and forth on the scale for measuring length. on the changing table, she loves to play with the window sash.like nissa, she's an observer, taking it all in before making an assessment. ani is climbing more and more and walking better each day. since really walking on her own over memorial day weekend, she's taken to it like a champ, still stumbling like a chimp, but putting in the effort. she can randomly do amazing things, like turning pages in a book, singing along with snuggle puppy, holding a bowl while eating off her lap, putting a straw back in a juice box. but, she's still a baby, likes to put lots of stuff in her mouth, throw everything on the floor, squeal randomly, squeeze the juice box before drinking it and/or tipping it upside down. ani is our little entertainer. she often does silly little things and looks for a reaction. like sitting on a toy bed (way too small for her) and looks up with a big grin. or when we ask her to do her tricks, but she just offers a devilish hee hee. nissa is such a great big sister. i try to reminder about that, since she hears plenty of my exasperations about every other thing. she shares food with ani in the car (and elsewhere, but in the car takes a bit more TLC and she's totally up for the task). she's almost always gentle with ani and the toy/item statching is a rarity. she likes to teach ani to say things, but her favorite is "what does the dinosaur say?" it's mine too, because ani's roar is cute, not too loud and complete with a head shake for emphasis. nissa is a gentle soul that is generous to a fault and adores her friends. nissa is smart as a whip and i look forward to her going back to school. she deduces well and although she "forgets" stuff she knows, she comes right back to it with a giggle and "oh yeah." she's getting better about sight reading and trying to sound out words. she's even counted to 100 more or less on her own a couple times now. she's even confident around older kids - we were at a family party with a pool in the yard, and i was able to trust her to stay out of the pool (just putting feet in, or being on the ladder) but still have fun. mama dada nene/nissa dog woof duck hat hand toes eye head hair nose mouth that (what's that) yes/no (head shakes) ball shoes ouch mmmmmmm