Anika and I were in Wisconsin for nearly two weeks, during which time it snowed, rained, and eventually made it up to 70. Ah, spring. The cousins were all too happy to see each other again, and this time Anika actually took notice. It was fun to watch her eyes follow Sofia everywhere, and her little legs and mouth wigging and working to express her interest. And oh, does Anika love her Grandpa. Lots of smiles and conversations, which made my dad happy since Sof at this age wanted nothing to do with him. He blames it on the beard. Now, however, Sofia and her grandpa are BFF. Grandma and Anika had some bonding moments as well....I have a feeling my mom's personal favorite was napping together while the rest of us took the noisy toddler and the two enthusiastic dogs for a long walk around the farm. Becca, meanwhile, made sure that the Easter bunny put a bib with the words "I Love Auntie" embroidered on it into Anika's Easter basket. The bib worked its magic, because Becca is just about Anika's most favorite person, and could make her giggle and wiggle like nobody's business. Sarah came home for Easter weekend, and we all drove down to Madison so that Anika could meet her Great-Grandma Jo and mingle with the extended family. We visited with friends, drank a lot of beer (hey, in Germany doctors proscribe a beer a day for nursing mothers, so I'm just doing my part to stay healthy), enjoyed a picnic on one of the few days it wasn't crazy to don a pair of shorts, and even held an Easter egg hunt on the lawn. Not as fancy as the White House Easter Egg roll, I'm sure, but lots more fun for Sofia as she was the only kid out there and ergo enjoyed all the loot the Easter bunny had hidden amongst the trees and bushes.
Anika has nearly mastered the art of rolling over. When she makes it, she is awfully proud of herself. And in not-so-fun news, she has also started teething. We know this because of the high-pitched screams and constant crying towards the evening hours, as well as her penchant for chewing and drooling over anything and everything she can get into her mouth. All this and yet no discernible sign of teeth....a bit of research and polling amongst veteran moms indicates that this could go on for months or even years. Those who invented teething tablets and dye-free infant Tylenol deserve to be millionaires.
Despite the teething and one awful experience trying to frantically open a tube of infant Orajel in the Wal-Mart parking lot, it was marvelous to be home and I'm missing everyone already.
We took a boatload of pictures, but of course I haven't had time to get them onto iPhoto and we are leaving in about 30 minutes for a road trip to New Mexico. I'll try to post them when we get back on Monday. Which is, incidentally, the day that Anika is officially four months old. It is hard to fathom that she's only been in our lives for four months, but at the same time she is growing up way too quickly.
No comments:
Post a Comment