It's been a while since I've given you an Annika update. Let me break the silence!Annika is officially a little person. Maybe that sounds odd to you "non-parents" but there is something to be said for someone who can verbalize their wants, ambitions and opinions vs. someone who simply enjoyed the rhythmic musings of a wooden stick and a copper pot. The shorter point is: I can relate to her.
She asks so many questions. LIKE ALL THE TIME. But I have (nearly) endless patience for them, because it helps me understand what interests her and understand what she's observing all around her. She asks a lot about skeletons lately. She wants to know why we have them. And why they're inside our bodies. And why doesn't her stuffed monkey have a skeleton?? (Try answering that one).
She's also afraid of monsters, specifically the monsters in the shadows in her room at night. We've tried to tell her they are friendly shadows and that The Unicorn and Mr. Bear are there to protect her all night (two of her larger skeletonless stuffed friends) and that we would never let a shadow do anything to her. But she doesn't buy it. They bother her. And I understand so much. I was so fearful as a kid. No real reason, I just was. It's worrisome only because I don't ever want her to be afraid of anything, and I want her to trust 100% that we will protect her.
The fears lead to some nightmares. The most vivid and specific she's related to us is about the giant clam that ate her. He was big. He ate her. She screamed, "No No!" Why is a giant clam trying to eat my baby!
Happier news is that she has taken very kindly to her new big girl bed. She likes to draw. She loves to play with her dolls. She loooooves her Daddy. He is her best friend. She loves him so much. She wants him to read her bedtime books. She wants him to change her diaper. Blah, blah, blah... :) I'm not jealous! (Usually).
Every day is a new adventure and there are literally no words to describe how much I love her. I hope that if she decides to have kids some day, she'll understand at that moment what she means to me. I can wait until then.
