Anya

My little Anya is such a funny girl. I am constantly amazed at this quiet little child. Anya has been slower to start talking than all of my other girls. But, it doesn't seem to have to do with ability as much as whether or not she has anything to say at all. If Anya is excited about something she will talk and talk in complete sentences, otherwise, Anya stays quiet. Of course, she is two and has her two year old moments where she says "no" to everything or just starts screaming. But on the whole, Anya is our very quiet child. I think at first, I just thought Anya didn't know very much-- that she was slow to develop. This is where I have been completely wrong. Anya is so very capable.

For a while now, I have referred to her as our survivor. If some thing was to happen to me and my kids were left alone for any period of time, Anya would take very good care of herself.  She knew exactly where we kept all of the food and the dishes within the first week we lived in our new home. If Anya is thirsty, she gets out a cup, goes to the bathroom and fills up her cup from the bathroom sink. (Anya used to dip the cup in the toilet instead. I am glad that one has changed. ) Anya gets herself apples and cereal all of the time. When Anya poops her pants or her diaper depending on whether she is wearing a diaper or underwear. She always changes her own diaper. (This is a good reason to get her potty trained as fast as possible.) If Anya wants a bath, she gets her toys, undresses, gets into the bath tub and turns on the water. (Luckily she hasn't figured out how to plug the bathtub yet.) If Anya spills or pees on the floor, she gets a towel and wipes it up. When Anya thinks she needs a bandaid, she gets a stool and gets into the cupboard with the medicine and bandaids, gets one, climbs down, opens the bandaid and puts it on. Anya also seems to do a pretty good job of taking care of Joseph. She hugs him when he cries. She even will try and dress him and change his diaper. I don't think Anya is left unattended very much, it is just that she is so quiet, disappears and then we find her doing these incredible things.

Anya does other funny things too. We often find little stuffed toys and dolls tucked into bed in random places. We bought a small metal framed pool. When she wants to swim, she simply undresses, and asks to go swimming. We usually let her swim naked. When I am using flashcards to teach Rachel and Adam, Anya is always there repeating the shapes and letters. When I tell everyone to get a book and to read, Anya gets a pile of picture books and she will sit for an hour looking through her books. When it is time to go some where, Anya is usually the first one with shoes (though usually not her own). Anya is just our cute, quiet, capable little baby.