Walking and the First Birthday

After a hectic few final days in San Francisco (during which Anika took her first steps and celebrated her actual first birthday) Mama and Anika are enjoying a week of respite and celebration in sunny Colorado. Here are some pictures from the birthday party today and a video of her walking yesterday.

As you can see above, Mama and Grandma baked Anika a very fun birthday cake, loosely modeled after her best friend Davely. It was created from a bear mold; I lowered the ears, constructed a prosthetic muzzle and added a tail. Needless to say, our resident monkey expert was enthusiastic.

Wielding Tools

I just took advantage of a rare moment when she was too busy to care about demanding the camera.

She's been more consumed by her play these past few days, which is nice. I think the ability to entertain oneself is an endlessly useful skill.

P.S. Some new signs: kitty, happy, sleep, hat, monkey, baby and possibly Dada. Anika's also pretty clearly saying bye, and taking an earnest stab at kitty, monkey and ball. Not much development in the walking department this week though. She's very good at standing on her own and cruising, but is hesitant to strike out on her own.

Freestanding!

Here's evidence of the near-walking. She's taken about 1.5-2 steps here and there over the past few days, and regularly stands on her own for about 7-10 seconds.

This image is evidence also of why I'm not taking more photos or videos these days. Every time I get out the camera Anika quits whatever she was doing and demands I relinquish the device.

One Giant Leap?

I saw Anika take one small step this evening. She's been trying to stand on her own quite a bit for the past day or so. I counted 9 seconds on one "stand" this evening. She's also really getting the hang of the sign language. I feel like she's learning a new sign almost every day. New signs include: diaper, eat, phone and fan. She's definitely still interested in signing and saying kitty, monkey, bird and duck, but none are passing exactly. She says "gi" often when pointing at her kitty and monkey stuffed animals, "di" for dog or duck, and "ba" when we talk about birds. But she says "ba" for bread, banana and ball too. Oh, and she says "ah ah ah ah" (as in "ooh ooh ah ah") whenever I talk about Davely or monkeys. Does that count as a word? If she's holding Davely she shakes him up and down as she says this, just like her mama does.

She's also capable of stacking a block, playing ball nowadays, and screaming when she doesn't get what she wants. I think my baby is transforming into a toddler before my very eyes...

The Eleven Month Update

Well, we are extremely busy these days. I'm juggling being a full-time student and mom (with short-term help from Grandma Karen), Andrew is moving into our new home after a brief--an surprisingly relaxed--week and a half of residency, and Anika is... well, just busy.

Andrew was surprised to learn that he'd been scheduled to have a one week vacation just two weeks into residency. It's not what you'd call much needed, but it's honestly an ideal time. He had the movers deliver our stuff yesterday, and after two days of unpacking he'll join us in SF again for a few days on Tuesday. Anika and I will be go glad for his companionship and help.

So that I can get back to work here, I've just posted some recent photos and will list off some recent developments below.

Words*:
Bread
Yeah

Signs**:
Hi/bye
More
Dog
Wash
Milk
Toothbrush
Hooray
Drink

Favorite Activities:
Brushing her hair and teeth, along with those of Mama and her stuffed animals
Kissing
Playing ball
Listening to music/dancing
Playing with nesting cups
Reading books
Pushing her walking toy--and giving rides to her friends
Eating (new likes: curry, nectarines and lasagna; new dislikes: baby food)
Standing (for about 5-7 seconds on her own)

*Anika's been saying "brah" and "yah" for at least a month now, but I'm just now coming around to the idea that they actually mean something. "Yeah" seems like an odd first word to me; nevertheless, when I said "do you want to brush your teeth?" (with no toothbrush in sight) yesterday she said "yeah", made the sign for toothbrush, and then did it again when I demonstrated for Grandma. That's pretty hard to deny...


**She also seems to be trying to sign (and/or say) duck, kitty, bird, eat, bread, and possibly "all done," but they're not quite passable or confused (she signs "dog" when she sees a cat, for instance).

What a smarty-pants!

On the Road Again

I'm very sorry it's been so long since our last update. Much has happened. Andrew and I both finished our respective studies in New York, entertained our families during Andrew's graduation and moved out of our apartment in Brooklyn.

On May 31st, the entire Korson clan (kitty included) relocated to Denver, where we stayed a week with the grandparents. Here are some photos:


Anika is banging the gavel at her Grandma Mary's new office here. During our stay Mary announced that she will retire at the end of November. It was very fun for us to be there to read the many articles and editorials celebrating Mary's accomplishments. We are, of course, deeply proud.

I say "new office" here because, thanks to Mary, a new judicial building is in the works. Everyone at the state courthouse has relocated to the Denver Post building. Mary's office is very nice and has a spectacular view of the Capitol and the current demolition of their former home. I think it will be nice for Mary to look out on tangible evidence of her impact and efforts during her last few months as Chief.


And here is Anika waving with pride after having climbed an entire flight of stairs at Grandma Karen and Grandpa Wally's house. This is a frightening accomplishment for her mother.


After our week in Denver, we once again set out for San Francisco. This summer will be my last at the San Francisco Art Institute (where I've been pursing my Master of Fine Arts degree for a long time). We've been here a week (subletting a loft-style apartment near my graduate campus/studio), and it feels very nice to be settled and staying awhile.




Now that we're settled in SF, we bought the push toy I've long coveted. Anika is cruising around the apartment like a champ. It's amazing to see how grown up she's become.



At a whopping ten months old, she has about 4 signs (hello/goodbye, milk, drink, hooray) and several tricks. She is giving kisses, clapping her hands, pointing at everything, waving at everyone, bobbing her head to music, brushing her own teeth and hair, and playing peek-a-boo independently. She also is becoming interesting in pretend play: feeding us and her favorite monkey, brushing my hair, pretending to eat... And she's getting very insistent. We're practically convinced "bread" is going to be her first word, as she shouts "brah" whenever she sees it (including neighboring diners at restaurants). That said, she is still as sweet and happy as ever. I couldn't ask for a more lovable child.

The sad news, though, is that Andrew departed this morning for Boston. Orientation for his residency begins tomorrow. It was hard to see him go. While Andrew and I have parted for a couple months several times, leaving Anika behind was new. With luck, Andrew will discover he has some time off once he gets his new schedule, but as it stands we won't be seeing him until August 17th (our 3rd wedding anniversary). That all said, he is getting excited to begin the new job and move into our new home.

Now to make art...

Crawling! Or: Spidermom Strikes!

As of this morning, Emdrew has finally figured out how to crawl forward (she's been crawling in reverse for a couple weeks).

Also, I had an "adventure in parenthood" yesterday. Anika was taking her morning nap as I was preparing to go student teach. I went downstairs to put a note for her babysitter on the intercom (requesting that she call rather than hit the button because it wakes Anika) and--that's right--forgot my keys.

Luckily, I'd just opened the window on our fire escape (for one of the first times all year) , so after flipping out for about 30 seconds I solicited the help of the kooky Korean woman who runs the flower shop below us. She let me climb her ladder, from the top of which I pulled myself up onto the iron bars around her air conditioning unit. From there I managed to climb up the outside of the fire escape and in through the window--just in time to welcome our babysitter, say goodbye to a freshly napped baby, and head for school. Phew! Anika never even knew I was gone. My student teaching mentor called me Spidermom. I like it: friendly neighborhood art teacher scales Gotham buildings to rescue babies (followed, naturally, by a lightening-fast costume change).

All in all, it wasn't particularly difficult, just nerve-wracking, hazardous, dirty and wet.