i don't know where to start -- anna is just leaping forward into all sorts of new efforts. first, the talking. she has so many different expressions, but my all time favorite has to be her "oooooooooooooh" -- much like chinese, the meaning all depends on her inflection. one is a request for attention: "ooooOOOh?", one is to note that something hurt a little: "OOOooooohhh", one is to express excitement: "OOOOOOOOOOOH!" and one is sort of a little dialogue with herself about something in her hands: "ooooo. ooo. oooooooo."

the other day she fed me a cheerio. i asked and she plunked it right in my mouth.

she still looks a lot like ava, but yet different. she has a much more elf-like look to her. her features are a bit more pointed. well, by that i mean her chin. her nose is just a nose. not pointy. but there is something more delicate about all of her features.

she adores playing in the playroom with the big legos--and things mixing them up as fast as possible in a pile on her lap is the best thing ever. it makes a great sound.

in the meantime, when we are not adoring anna, we have been very very busy craft-wise. we made felt balls out of raw wool which will hang on the tree, we cut out felt christmas trees and snowmen and decorated them for the tree, we put glitter on pine cones, we made cinnamon ornaments, ava finished her finger knitted scarf and yes some whiteyarn blue so that she can make carter one, i manged to make a hat (SO proud), and we are almost finished with ava's finger knitted garland. if it all works out, we will have a very full christmas tree.

carter has also been busy with his new favorite art supply: the stapler. he staples everything can get his hands on. well, paper-wise. he keeps making "books" but her staples them entirely together so that you cannot open them. it is pretty cute.

they are both at school, after a long break. none of us wanted to go back. i mean, i really really really need a break/vacation/day alone, and i do appreciate the chance to at least have 2 hours, but i felt like i was the meanest mommy in the world when they both clung to me and cried. granted, we had a rough morning, but despite everyone's assurances that this whole school thing is for the best, i harbor some serious doubts. but the one thing i know for sure is that ava is learning like crazy. so...off we go.

ok, so anna is now cruising.

well, that is an exaggeration, but not by much. today she pulled herself up on the window seat edge and moved along it sideways -- the entire length. about 6 feet of stepping sideways.

all she wants to do is practice standing and now stepping. she crawls to me and clambers up my legs to her feet. but she does NOT like having me hold her hands over her head. so i have to get down to her level and put my hands under her arms for support.

i seem to remember something similar with carter or ava, not sure which, but i know it was not at 8 months. neither child walked until 12 months, and though they went about it in very different ways, they definitely did not bother with it until very close to that point.

she also figured out pointing.

all this might explain why she is not sleeping at night, but wow. that does not help me. i am a complete zombie. i have fgured out though that she will lie with her head on my shoulder if i walk or rock with her in the dark. if the light is on though, yippeee!! time to PLAY!

however, her teething is nothing compared to what ava is going through. her molars are unbelievable. all 4 at once, and they are so swollen and bloody. AND she is cutting her 2 bottom adult teeth behind her baby teeth (apparently very common, though we are calling her the great white shark-girl), so that means 6 teeth are coming in at once. she was in tears at school the other day, and i had to go retrieve motrin so she could get through the day. she could not even chew her pizza this evening.

i had no idea this was on the horizon. poor ava is the guinea pig for all of my parenting efforts/trial by error. at least it happens in the context of genuine intention to do my absolute best.

reading-readiness? sure! but 6-year molars? no clue.

it is amazing how relaxing textiles are for kids. we have been playing with wool--felting it into little balls (ultimately for the christmas tree), and today i gave both of them some fabric scraps and scissors. i did not even need to give ava sewing materials. they just sat there and cut and tied and cut and draped--it was great.

even anna likes to get into the act--give her a piece of fabric and she plays peek-a-boo. very well i might add. she LOVES it. she pulls it over her face, i say "where's anna?" and she pulls it away with a HUGE grin. it is really adorable.

skate america was this weekend. very exhausting, but very exciting. not many chances to see the reigning world champions compete. and especially not many chances to have the men's world champion sign your skate. very cool for ava.

i spent the day in carter's classroom today. totally exhausting. no wonder those kids come home in a near-catatonic state. no wonder the teachers look like they do. i think the word is glazed.

i was sort of joking when i said that she was pulling up on things (anna that is), but its no joke now. she immediately crawls over to the couch or chair or whatever it is and tries to stand. sometimes succesfully, sometimes not so successfully.

and i SWEAR she nods.

i would have thought that my observations would be less precise with a 3rd child, but it turns out they are more so. i suppose i know what to look for. either that or anna is REALLY obvious.

right now she is singing to a frozen waffle.

last night, carter was snuggled up to me and i thought he said "mom, someday i am going to have a big appointment."

i said "a big appointment?"

and he said "no. a big APARTMENT."

i said "well, that's great carter. i think that would be wonderful." and then he said "and there will be lots of rooms and you could be there too and there would be a first room and that is the living room and it will have a tv and that could be your living room too because i never want to be without you."

the other day, he was painting/drawing or something at the table, and he looked up and said "mom! i am going to be a famous artist! isn't that great?!"

what is interesting about that is that he has virtually NO interest in art if i say "hey! do you want to do an art project?" and even less interest in writing/fne motor skills. i have to just put the materials out and not say anything.

i can honestly say that swine flu or flu flu or flu-like constellation of symptoms truly stink. we have lost 1.5 weeks of november to television and the warmth of our sweat-drenched beds.

all of us, with the exception of anna, have some variation of "an influenza-like illness."

ava was first, and sent me into the stratosphere when her temp reached 105. she got better, then carter got sick (mom and dad are less acutely ill, but struggling through the days), and then she got sick again. so far, carter has only reached 103.

they are sick in VERY different ways. ava gets so angry at her illness, and carter becomes the most snuggly, lovey-dovey kid in the universe.

ava had several episodes of hallucinations -- that was very disturbing -- and it only happened when her fever dropped to 102 or so. i finally figured out that it must be associated with the motrin. medwatch anyone?

on top of that, ava is cutting her 6-year molars. that makes her EXTRA fun.

and completely under the radar, anna is 8 months old today. and for the 1st time, i felt her teeth. they both have finally broken through.

nedless to say, we missed a whole week of school, skating, everything.

good lord. one week of crawling, and i am chasing her all over the house. and she is trying to pull up on things, and she thinks it is a riot to escape out a door, and she just LOVES the electrical outlets and cords. it took her all of 3 days to figure out that if she pulls the pillow that i placed as a barrier away, it will reveal a gorgeous nest of wires to shake.