15 Months

We have way too much fun documenting these monthly milestones to give up completely now that Annika is one.  We've decided to move to an every three month check-in for updates.  Of course, it seems that we could do daily check-ins and still have new skills to share.  It seems like every day we hear her say a new word.  Kyle recently wrote down all of the words she says spontaneously, which we can understand but maybe wouldn't be clear to others :)

kitty          mama/mommy     no                poo-poo       uh-oh
puppy       daddy                  go                eat                shoe
ball           down                   wa (water)    toes              clokke (norwegian for clock)
bowl         up                        hat               nose             Nana
book         sit                        off                eye              hot
spoon       hat                       more             ear               Animal sounds for a cat, monkey, lion, duck,
bottle        peek                    thank you     bunny                 bird, cow, horse
baby         please                  nana             bear

It's also amazing to see her increasing receptive language and being able to follow directions.  Other favorite activities include coloring, rocking her baby, sitting in all sizes of chairs around the house, playing with cars, brushing her teeth and hair, and playing in water.  We recently went to a Children's Museum and the water tables were a huge hit.  Annika loves to color and frequently requests a crayon.  We're really enjoyed having a child-size table and chairs in the kitchen so that she can do activities while we prepare food.  We can't get over how much fun this age is an how funny some of her antics are!

President's Weekend

Once upon a time when Kyle and I lived in Alaska, we rented a Forest Service cabin in the mountains with our friends over the President's weekend.  Getting to the cabin involved snowshoeing 7 miles with backpacks full of snow gear, clothes, food, and sleeping bags.  We always had so much fun.  With a baby, that kind of hike and rustic cabin wouldn't work as well but we wanted to get out on a mountain this year to begin that tradition again.  By the time President's weekend comes around, the amount of daylight is increasing but there is still tons of snow to be found.  This year we drove up to Mt. Rainier National Park and went all the way to the Visitor's Center at the top of the pass.  It was a bit windy, so we only ended up hiking about 2 miles round trip, but it was quite a workout hiking in the snow carrying Annika!  My plan was to carry her on our backs but with the wind, being carried on our front provided more protection and warmth.  It was a little difficult to see down well enough to be confident with footing.  I was happy that Kyle wanted to carry her on the return trip!  There were quite a few people trekking around and nearly all that went by made a comment about Annika.  One group we talked to said that they had seen a family with an infant only about 4 months old and the mom had mentioned that if the baby was hungry, she just nursed wherever they happen to be on the mountain.  At first I thought those people sounded a bit crazy.......then I remembered the winter hiking we did in Norway last year when Annika was 2 months old.  Yep, we're that kind of crazy :)  Ha!  We found a great spot to take a break and have some snacks before hiking back down.  I think Annika was glad to be back in the warmth when we had lunch at the lodge.

We are always so glad when we make the effort to get outdoors!