I don't wanna hear it!

Just like the subject line says...no need to go into detail about the long pause between posts. JUST GO WITH IT.

Now that's out of the way, let's talk about our favorite subject: Annika.

Annika continues to entertain me and Chris way too much. We basically talk about her all the time. She never ceases to amaze and impress, and we are bursting with too much parental pride. Is that normal?

Christmas with the baby was great. All three of us were sick during Christmas week, but we powered through and managed to have a lovely Christmas with my extended family. We were able to spend special time with Pop and Gamma as well as Gamma's parents which was a treat for Annika. She loves new people and absolutely loves the attention new people bring her.

Annika continues to worship SpongeBob. She is almost 19 months old. I'm pretty sure the appropriate age for that show is 4-8. Is my baby advanced? Absolutely. Is she that advanced? That's up for debate. In either case, you'll have to pry SpongeBob out of my withered, carpal-tunnel laden hands if you want me to take it away from her. She loves "Bob-Bob," Mr. Krabs, Patrick and even Squidward and when she's beyond hysteria, Bob-Bob never fails. Lazy parenting? Maybe. I really prefer to call it "parenting for the 21st century."

Chris counted her teeth recently and she has 16. Her teeth came in so fast and really, very little trouble associated with the pain of teething. As usual, Annika is a great sport about pain. Though that's changed just a bit now that she knows what a "boo boo" is and delights in telling you she has one and also demands comfort re: "kiss it!." I'm usually surprised that continues to work.

Developmentally, Annika can say three-word sentences (examples include "What was that?" "Kiss the boo boo!" "Daddy get up!") and knows about 80 percent of her ABC's. She can also count to 10 though she's developed a short cut which includes skipping the unnecessary numbers five and six. Next stop: She's taking her SATs in April.

Love to everyone who's been checking this thing for the past six weeks. Some of you may know that I have a new job (which is awesome) but leaves little time for blogging and even less for sleeping. I used to be able to work from home on Fridays which is a luxury I sacrificed for a kick-ass company, so I must tender my working-mom apology (read: excuse). I'm going to post pictures in the next few days (save your guffaws for when I actually don't keep my promise).