I'm a few weeks behind in updates, but we did take Anja trick or treating. I made an adorable costume by buying a brown jumpsuit and sewing a few pieces of fur on it. Unfortunately I didn't check the fit first. I could barely get in on her! But after about a week of trying it on for short periods, she finally decided it was fun to wear, and not just a restrictive furry bodysuit. Sometimes she would forget her costume was a dog and she'd call it a monkey.
Most of the shops in downtown Petaluma were open for the kids for Halloween, so that's where we went. At first she was pretty confused and we had to carry her to each candy spot and hold her bag open for her. After a few stops, she figured it out, but she was very serious about the process. She marched straight into each store with her bag open and waited for her candy. Then she walked straight out of the store and opened her bag to see what they gave her. No smiles and no "trick or treat." Oh, and she didn't understand about waiting in lines, either. She tried to walk around all the taller kids and weave her way straight toward the candy bowl.
We've also had a few other recent trips, one to a wine tasting just down the road when Jay's friend Pete was visiting, and we also went to the beach, where Anja is really beginning to have some fun. She likes to collect small rocks and shells, and hide her toys in the sand, and dig. She also really likes the seagulls and has started to walk just a short distance into the water. We've been a couple of times now to this great beach on Tomales Bay, where the water is shallow and there aren't any waves, so it's a great place to bring kids.
This past weekend we went to the Oakland Zoo. Anja really loved it, and we stayed for 3.5 hours, which is a long time for anything to hold her interest! Here she is just before going into the zoo, wearing her favorite hat with soccer balls on it. She loves soccer balls, even though the only soccer ball we have here is a half-deflated ball that belongs to Blue.
We brought the stroller, but Anja really wanted to run around instead. And I mean run. She really has picked up speed recently. She has a pretty interesting technique, with arms and legs everywhere, but it works for her. Here she is watching the giraffes.
She was also very impressed with the petting zoo and their goats. Actually, she was just mildly amused by the goats until she found out that there were brushes for the kids to use. Here she is, so happy while brushing her goat.
Throughout the zoo were these colorful animals for the kids to climb on. Equally as impressive as the real animals to a 1.5 year old.
Anja really loves to play pretend games. It's so fun to watch, and to make up fun games with her. She loves dressing up, and of course doing everything she sees us do. She's even been pretty good with the potty lately. She uses it at home and has started using it at daycare now too. She helps me fold laundry, which goes about as well as you can imagine it would. Yesterday I laid down on the floor and said, "I wish I had a pillow." She ran into the bedroom, pulled the blankets back and brought back a pillow. Jay let her play with this wrench so she decided to fix her car.
And wow does she like playdoh. She will play with it for a full hour. That is about 50-55 minutes longer than anything else! I am amazed at how good she is at pretending a lump of playdoh is whatever you tell her it is. She told me to make an Ernie and an Elmo, and she's completely happy with the these weird squished pac-man shapes I made instead. And she pretends they are eating snakes and says, "yuck, yuck, yuck."
