My Annelise

Hadleigh has gotten a lot of press recently, so I'm going to write about Annelise, my little munchkin. "Munch" is one of her nicknames, along with "Anna" and "Lieska" and occasionally I'll call her "Elf" (after the angry elf from the movie).

I swear she is 2 but should be 3. When you ask her about her age she claims to be 7, maybe in elf years. I think she is a genius, but I suppose every mother thinks that about her children, but no really, Annelise is one smart chick. It's not everyday that you meet an 18 month who wants to give up diapers entirely. Everywhere we take her caretakers remark about her. She is fairly articulate, so we don't have the communication troubles that we sometimes had with Hadleigh. And she just seems to carry herself like a little person and not like a toddler.

She LOVES her friends, loves going to school and playgroup. She plays with all Hadleigh's buddies at playgroup and most of them seem to accept her as one of their own. She talks about each friend and what she likes about them. She has a little shy streak in her, but she is much more outgoing and daredevil like. She loves talking on the phone and singing to folks on the phone, and she has a wide range of songs she likes, from "Away in a Manger" to "Doh a Deer". Annelise and Hadleigh are very close and A misses H terribly when they are apart. It is super sweet and makes me doubly happy to think about how well they get along together when I think about the possibility of keeping both of them out of preschool next year (still trying to decide about that).

She loves doing things by herself and helping out around the house, which both girls are good at. She is great at entertaining herself and both girls can play for a long while together without needing me. Annelise is growing to enjoy books, which is really nice, and I love having the time to just sit with her.

Annelise is starting to memorize some scripture and repeats it back with such fervor and enthusiasm, and she always asks to pray.

Annelise has always had a will, and it does pop out from time to time. She seems to be pretty sly about it, but we are onto her. Several things have gone by the wayside since I have been prego and sick, including cooking, cleaning and discipline. Now that I am feeling better we are having to do some serious reminding about the rules of the house. The whining is the worst, it just seems to come on hard and then go away for a while. But at this point Annelise seems to just go along with the rules of the house. She pitches a fit every now and then, but most of all is a very amiable little girl.

She LOVES the baby in my tummy and always asks if she can say hello. I love that. My other favorite recent saying of hers is "thanks SOOO much" which she always exclaims after I give her a drink or something to eat, or something else that she has asked for. I love it.

So that is the update on my little munch. She will only be the littlest for 5 more months, and I intend to treasure every moment.