Adventures of Anna

Anna has always been our "wild woman" and has provided us with such adventures as the mall security office, the emergency room, and the O.R. of our local hospital for a tonsilectomy. Fortunately, she is also hilarious, so we still love being around her. She mixes up words and names in the funniest way. For example, a little girl at church is named Danielle. I have practiced and practiced with Anna to say it right, but she still calls her "Daniel." I worried and apologized to the mother, but then we heard Danielle call Anna, "Hanna." They were running around church calling, "Daniel!" "Hanna!" So now I'm not as worried.

So our pediatrician suggested we do allergy testing on Anna to see what makes her cough and cough. If I had known what that entailed, I may not have been so eager to test her. They made 87 (87!) dots on her back with a marker, which she thought was hilarious, then scratched some allergen in each one, which was not so hilarious. She was fine through the first 30, but by 68, she was a mess. Fortunately, Kelly was there to help with Daisy so I could help Anna cope. Fortunately, nothing registered as a legitimate allergy, but the doctor found some problems with her nose (which she has broken twice, so there should be some problems, right?) and put her on some medication that helps her sleep past 5 a.m. We are elated!



The day after the allergist, we put her new medication to the test at a field trip with her preschool class to the farm. My friend Michelle was nice enough to watch Daisy so I could ride the bus with Anna, who ran through all the bus rules with me before we left ("We don't turn around to see behind us; we don't yell or scream; and NO opening the windows.") This is a picture of her friends from school: Abby, Ashley, Adeline, and Anna. There are only 7 girls in the class - I can't imagine how the teacher keeps all the A names straight. The kids got to ride horses (Anna proudly informed me that her horse was Pablo), milk a cow, pet pigs and goats, collect eggs from the chicken coop, and last but certainly not least, pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. Anna searched the entire field for the biggest pumpkin she could find. She is so different from Lizzie in the way she interacts with other kids. She doesn't care if anyone is around her, she still talks and sings and laughs even if she is alone. When talking about Anna, Kelly and I mostly find ourselves saying, "What a nut!" Those are the only words we can think of to accurately describe her.


Here is the pumpkin she chose. This is the only time she carried it. Then she insisted that I lift it. I love that she thinks I am so strong that I can heft a pumpkind and pick her up at the same time. I wonder when kids start seeing their parents as human. I still think my mom is pretty super, especially now that I'm a mom.