Thor -- 3 1/4, Anna -- 1 1/2

It seems like so much has changed since I last posted. Anna especially is changing so much. She's starting to talk a lot more, and understands seemingly everything that we say. She can say: mama, daddy, bubba (Thor), apple, ham, hi, boo (frog), eye, ow, up, snow ("no"), poo poo, pee pee, baby, ba ba, dog dog, pumpa (pumpkin) and, her all time favorite, "MEE MEE" which means nursing. Anna still loves to nurse -- sigh. Of course, intuitively I know that it's still good for her, but I'm really hoping she cuts back soon. I nightweaned Thor at about 13 mo. or so, but Anna, at almost 19 months, is still nursing at night. Partly it's because the past 8 months have been pretty crazy, with moving and living different places. So I haven't really tried. But I want to soon.

Anna is also getting her 2 year old molars, which is making her extra cranky lately. But still, she is so incredibly cute!!!! Sometimes I look at her and her cuteness and beauty take my breath away. She loves to play hand games and nursery rhymes, like "10 little monkeys" and "Isty Bitsy Spider." She can play along and laughs every time. She also loves daddy and wakes up in the middle of the night asking for him. She plays with Thor and copies him a lot. Mostly they get along OK, but sometimes fight over toys, or Thor takes toys away from Anna.

Thor is doing really well. He's doing a lot of imaginary play lately. He has an extreme fondness for Pippi Longstocking and Dorothy from the wizard of oz, and he often pretends to be Pippi, or pretends to be a munchkin, or pretends he's in the Nutcracker Ballet, or pretends he's a bear in the forest searching out blueberries. Really it's amazing, I think, his talent for pretending and makebelieve. He's also learning letters more, and can count and draw better. He can make a sort of rudimentary person.

Living in Homer has been interesting and mostly good. It's been an adjustment getting used to a small town, and getting used to the cold and snow. The kids can't last outside for too long -- especially Anna gets cold and complains. So that's been kind of hard. But we went to Kauai recently and that was so fun -- Thor and Anna loved it and it was so lovely and warm. We played on the beach and at the playground every day. Thor keeps saying, "Mama, I really want to go back to Wahai (how he pronounces it)."

Me too, Thor!