Anika is 3!

What a difference a year makes.  I would not have believed the changes if I did not see them first hand.  Ani plays by herself, she listens to our explanations and rules, she is sleeping in her own bed, she likes footy pajamas.  All new to us.  And the best news - she can eat any food.  We still don't over do dairy or wheat, but we no longer need to stress about what can go into her mouth.  Tummy candy (papaya enzyme) still has a place of honor in the kitchen cabinet, but it is used much less frequently. 

Ani's 3rd Birthday Party!

Ani's birthday party was a success.  Which means, limited crying and lots of running around.  Check and check.  I will always get helium balloons.  I had to pick them up in Virginia - 28 of them.  It was a cold, windy day and my car was reminiscent of a clown car.  Every time I would get one in another would pop out.  But it was worth it all - those kids found 100 ways to play with them.  Three year olds are creative little things. 

One day, a few months ago, Anika saw her big girl bed in the basement while feeding the kitties and she asked, "Mamma, what is that?"  I said it was her big girl bed that she could sleep in when she was ready.  Her reply, "I am Ready Mamma." So Kevin hauled it up, we arranged the room to make it fit (to Ani's specifications) and she has slept there ever since - all through the night.  She calls for me in the morning to come get her.  Wait.  One night she heard a man in her pillow and she was scared and slept with us.  "The man" was Dolemite, the big kitty, trying to hide under her bed.  Since then, Kevin has created a wood barrier under the bed to keep big D out.  And we eliminated white pillow cases on her pillow because that is where the man is.  Luckily, our friend, Sarah, had just given us purple flannel sheep pillow cases.  Life is only getting better! 

Now that Ani is sleeping in her own bed, she gets cold.  When she slept with us, she would throw the covers off of herself (and us) all through the night.  Now she needs warm footy jams.  Only footy jams.  Nothing else will do.  Fleece two piece sets worked for about 2 weeks, and now we are back to the footy jams.