Annika is 18 months!

Sunday Morning with Dad

There is always something special about Sunday mornings. Nothing compares to the hours before church in the summer when it is beautiful weather and everything is rather quiet. Today Kara came home from a night shift and after she went to bed Annika and I went to unload the laundry. This is becoming a favorite pastime of Annika's. She jumped in our sheets and started giggling, next thing I knew she was laying down in them. She was nice enough to wait and let me take a picture.

She has also become a fan of reading, even though she was disappointed when The Message didn't come with pictures. She opened it up, looked at me, flipped through the pages, grunted, stood up, closed the book and went back and put it away.

Like I said, she loves the washer and dryer.

She did this last week. She found her beanie and just had to have it on. She somehow found her binkie and snuck a hit off it.

she's a lover

It often seems like Annika saves her crabbiest moods for mommy. She will be a little angel until I walk into the room and the minute she sees me its like she just falls apart. It sometimes makes me feel like I'm not doing something right. The other day however, my weekly "My toddler this week" update from BabyCenter brought me some reassurance. It read: "Is your child a ray of sunshine at daycare but a thundercloud when you show up on the scene? Try not to get upset by these end-of-day meltdowns. They're signs of true love. Your toddler knows that its safe to let out all of her pent-up feelings around you."

Oh baby girl, I love you in spite of, even because of, the fact that you let out your pent-up feelings on mommy. It just makes days like today when you couldn't stop telling mommy and daddy that you love us even more special...

Every day before her nap and every night before bed Annika tells me and her daddy that she loves us. She can't quite put her little pinkie up yet, but we know exactly what she is saying.