Update

A week and a half since my last post, this may be a new record for me. All is well here at the Burckart house - we've been busy visiting with friends and family and busy with everything else that goes along with the Christmas season. I love the age the girls are - everything is new and exciting.

Anna has become quite the chatterbox. Whenever we are in the car we talk about where we are going and what we will do. We name our friends and count the cars going by. There are times we will have a short conversation and my eyes almost fill up with tears because of her sweet and sensitive spirit. The other night we were going to bed and saying our prayers. As usual I asked Anna who she wanted to pray for - tonight she wanted to include the puppy. I asked her why and she said 'ears hurt, ears hurt' as she pointed to her own ears (she had seen my husband clean the dogs ears and thought they hurt). How sweet! Anna is continuing to fight naptime but I still try to make her stay in her room for at least 30 minutes. I think this time in her room by herself is really bringing out her imagination. Anna's favorite things to do these days are to feed and play with her baby doll and to have a tea party. I can't wait to give her the kitchen we bought her for Christmas!

Maddie is EVERYWHERE! This is a new experience for me since Anna would just sit and quietly play after she learned to crawl. Maddie on the other hand is the fastest crawler I have ever seen. She is very good at finding the things she should not have (such as computer power cords) and trying to put them in her mouth before I see her. There is no telling the amount of day old cheerios Maddie has consumed that Anna has left lying around. Maddie has also found the stairs and can climb up the first one (yikes!). All of this activity has helped Maddie's sleeping. Maddie is back to sleeping through the night on a somewhat consistent basis and has extended her naps so that they now last an hour or longer rather than the 30 minute cat naps (praise!!). We are moving on from pureed baby foods to more finger foods such as peas and green beans. I did not enjoy trying to turn either of these vegetables into pureed baby food so at last my daughter is eating something green. Maddie has the cutest personality - she smiles at just the right time to melt your heart. She has also a "battle cry" of sorts that she does whenever she is about to attack something or someone (especially something furry such as the dog); it reminds me of Xena the tv warrior princess. Well, there she goes off to the other room following her sister. Perhaps I haven't been blogging because those moments of sitting down are fewer and farther between :).