8 and 9 months

Dear Annika,

I didn't quite manage to write a letter for you last month, so this one is for the past two months combined.

At the beginning of your 8th month, we went to West Virginia for a weekend to meet our friends Lisa and Jeff, and Molly with her three Jack Russell terriers. We stayed in an A-frame cabin just outside the town of Berkeley Springs. I was somewhat surprised to find that there really are springs there, with a long history of use by those seeking health and pleasure. We didn't actually use the springs, but we went hiking, visited some shops downtown, played Star Wars Trivia at the cabin, and generally enjoyed spending time with friends. You were delighted by the dogs, and for the most part they seemed to like you, too. You got plenty of doggy kisses, and had fun crawling around on the floor after them.

By the time Thanksgiving came, you had gotten pretty good at eating small pieces of grown-up food - and in fact, you ate a nearly complete Thanksgiving dinner off of my fingertips. Two Thanksgiving dinners, rather; one at Grandma and Grandpa Karel's house, and one at the Khavin's. I was thrilled that you were so willing to try any sort of food that came your way - I'd like to think that it means you will be an adventurous and unfussy eater all your life, but I know that as a toddler you will probably feel the need to express strong opinions about everything, including food.

Already, you have strong opinions about a number of things: the undesirability of getting dressed and changed; having to take medicine from a dropper; the acceptability of baby food when there is "real" food to be had; the way that Mommy should read books to you. You don't have much use yet for books as stories, but you love to look at the pictures, and preferably to turn the pages yourself. You'll spend a while on your own just sitting with a book and flipping from the front cover, to a page inside, to the back cover, to another page inside. Sometimes, you will let me read to you, even though I do it all wrong.

For the past month or so, one of your favorite pastimes is to bang with your hands on any surface that makes noise, or even some that don't. Your dad seems to be succeeding in his goal of teaching you to be a drummer; already you can alternate drumming with each hand in rapid succession. I'm still hoping that maybe you will opt for piano or guitar instead. You love playing with dad's acoustic guitar, or with the piano at Grandma and Grandpa's place. Or, maybe you will sing - that seems to be your favorite way of soothing yourself to sleep.

One weekend in December, we went to visit Daniel and Sarah, and you had a great time playing their keyboard, crawling around chasing a laser-dot, frightening their cat, and reading books. Here are some photos and videos that Daniel got (some earlier, most from the recent visit) http://www.flickr.com/photos/3e/sets/72157611305385180/

When we went to Grandma and Grandpa Khavin's house for Grandma Yelena's birthday (which also happens to be Christmas Day), of course you got lots of attention from everyone. Uncle Igor's dog Sammy is very fond of you - she licks your feet, gives you "kisses", and whenever you cry, she acts very worried.

For New Year's Eve, you dad and I went up to New Jersey, but you stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Karel. I'm sure you would have lobbied to stay up and party past midnight, if only you could talk.

You're working on figuring out how to talk, I think. Recently, you started trying to say "cat" although it comes out more like "gaah". You often look at me and say something like, "goo-gah!" with such an expressive look that I'm certain you're trying to convey something and I'm just not getting it. The idea that your parents "just don't get it" starts well before the teenage years, evidently.

Love,
Mama