Anna at 16 months

Well, clearly this post is late, but with our holiday travel we weren't able to get Anna's 16 month update on time. 

Thanksgiving was a laid back affair with our friends Tommy and Nassim joining us for dinner at our place.  We missed our families but appreciated the relaxation of a holiday with no air travel. 

It was a hectic month with preparing for the holidays, but we managed to get Anna signed up for a gymnastics class which she loves! Every Saturday morning she gets to jump around the gym with one or both her parents.  Make sure to check out the video of her on the trampoline on the previous post! She is also able to swing from the bars and walk on the balance beam, and of course ride the slide into a pit of foam blocks. Mom and Dad are only sorry that adults aren't permitted on any of the apparatuses.  Anna is also learning how to play tee-ball!  Dad couldn't resist playing Santa a bit early and has Anna working on her swing already - check out the pics!

Right now Anna is crazy over puzzles - luckily we have dozens for her to work on. The latest hand-me-downs we've received from friends include puzzles with sound - when you put in the piece it makes a corresponding noise.  Most of our friends had boys so lately it's been lots of planes, trains and automobiles.  Anna loves them all - the other day she even was able to say a pretty decent version of "ambulance!" Anna's language grows by leaps and bounds.   She learns at least one or two words each day, sometimes more.  She is eager to repeat anything she hears so we definitely have to be careful about what we say.  Mom and Dad are in the spelling stage for sure! (What time do you want to give Anna her B-A-T-H?  Can you stop by the store and get some more M-I-L-K?)  I fear it is only a matter of time before she picks up on these spellings. 

In preparation for the holiday we made sure to visit Santa Claus, so be sure to look for that picture in this month's collection.  We were lucky enough to have a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Perone this month and they came along for the visit to Santa.  You'll also see Santa's early visit to our house before he came to see Anna again on the east coast.  Click on the picture below!

Anna at 16 months