Adventures in Annasitting

I have a bunch of random pictures from the last couple of months that either each have Anna in them, or were from excursions she was a part of. So I thought that I'd compile them into one post. She is such a tiny little person with a huge vocabulary and a strong will. She can be silly and spunky, but is sensitive and tenderhearted. Having her in our home over the last 8 months has helped to soften up the rough edges that our boys have, and has left Noah asking when he will get to have a baby sister.

When Anna wakes up from her nap she often waits quietly and patiently for me to come get her, so I have to check frequently to see if she is awake. One day I was surprised when I went in to check on her to find that she had actually done something mischievous! From inside her pack n play she reached over to my nightstand to retrieve this box of candy which she emptied into her bed, unwrapped, and proceeded to devour. When I came in she looked up at me with the guiltiest little expression and just froze waiting to see what I would do. Now a moment like this from my boys wouldn't surprise me at all, but for Anna to do that - it had to be documented. So, I hurried and grabbed my camera and snapped this picture. Note the chocolate all around her lips. It's only too bad that in this photo you can't see all of the empty wrappers strewn about...

Building was always a popular choice. Anna liked to announce the color of each block as she would add it to her masterpiece.

Picnic outside enjoying some sunshine.

This day I was changing Lincoln's diaper, and when I finished and looked up this is what Anna looked like in her high chair:

Totally zonked out. And she hardly woke up when I cleaned her off and took her down for her nap.

Picnic lunch at the park.

Me swinging with Linc.
Lincoln loves to swing, and it seems like it is never high enough or fast enough for him (totally his personality). In fact when you push him, you often hear him yelling "Bigger! Bigger!" (meaning that he wants a bigger push). Check it out in this clip:


Anna loves to swing too, and she isn't exactly timid with it like you may assume a petite little person like her might be. She squeals with delight at a nice high push herself!

Noah enjoying some time on the swings too. He's a bit more cautious of a kid, but once he feels safe and comfortable he gets more willing to go more all-out with things.

Lincoln is the polar opposite of Noah in that respect - he jumps head first into things without hesitation...sometimes literally. In fact, it was on this trip to the park that he waited until Mark and I were both paying attention to something cute Anna was doing - and he scrambled up to the nearby fire pole and jumped. He banged his head pretty hard, and fell far enough that I was worried about him...but it wasn't long before he was back out on the playground. So, hopefully the kid can channel his high energy and lack of fear productively in his life, and learn some good common sense along the way too of course.

Anna also really loves the slides. Here she is perched at the top of one before she took off all on her own.

I'm sure that I could think of some comedic commentary to put in thought-bubbles above Anna's & Lincoln's heads, but I'll just leave that to you and tell you that this was just a quick shot from one day that I was at the grocery store with them.

Anna playing with girlie stuff at a toy store (called Three Little Monkeys) that we went to. So cute.

My mom and I took the three kids to castle park (click here to see it) one day. Despite the fact that there was still snow on the ground, it was packed and the kids were all having a great time! Lincoln particularly loved running throughout the castle...and since things were slippery (and he kept almost falling) I felt like I had to do the helicopter-mom thing and hover over him. Luckily it didn't bother Lincoln, instead he made a game of it and he would hide behind something and then peek out at me with this big screaming smile.

Anna and Lincoln enjoying the swings.


You never know if Lincoln will come out at the bottom of a tube slide foot first or head first...on his back or on his tummy, but he is almost always smiling.

Anna and Noah on the playground as I'm trying to convince them that it really is time for us to start heading home.
For those of you that don't know...Anna is no longer in our home each week now as her mother Kate is on maternity leave! So, this post wraps up any "babysitting" pictures with Anna in them. However, we still have a few months here in Utah and we'll be seeing them around - so don't be surprised to see this curly, blond headed girl pop up in a few more pictures down the road. In the meantime - a huge thanks Kate & Kyle for entrusting us with your sweet little girl!