Yesterday while Annika was momentarily left to her own devices (OK, OK, Kris was in the bathroom), she opened two Christmas presents. Who didn't see that one coming? I did but I wrapped the presents anyway and put them under the tree. Oh well. One was for Gramme so Kris just wrapped it back up. The other was for Daddy from Mommy. Kris now knows the only present that I've got him so far. Merry Christmas honey! I hope you like it! Hee hee. He wrapped it back up and put it back under the tree too. I know it's an awful lot of temptation for her. If she unwraps more, we may have to relocate the presents.

I had another pregnancy freak out yesterday. My mom told me on Thanksgiving that I looked like I was carrying this baby differently than I carried Annika. That I looked like I was carrying lower and more out front. I don't know. I'll have to compare in pictures. Then yesterday a co-worker told me that I looked like I dropped. What? Dropped! Dropping means there is a baby coming and usually relatively soon. At 30 weeks, now is NOT the time for the baby to come. Then he was being very quiet yesterday and I was worried about a decrease in movements. Dead Baby Thoughts (DBTs) kept circling my brain. Finally during a meeting yesterday afternoon he got an energy burst and kicked and rolled around constantly. He repeated this performance last night (which is when he is most active anyway) and again this morning on my way to work. Kris was teasing me last night though that I freak out when he's moving too much and when he's moving too little. I reminded him that my last freak out (the contractions) was not because the baby was moving too much but because my uterus was having a fit. I only freak out about the baby when he's moving too little. Man, pregnancy is nerve-wracking people! I just want everything to be OK and for me to have a healthy, full term baby in February. F.E.B.R.U.A.R.Y. Got it? Moral of the story? Be careful what you say to pregnant women because they are likely to go off the deep end even if you meant no harm. Yikes. Kris must be having so much fun living with me.

Annika is such a good little mommy. She loves playing with her babies. She has one baby that cries or laughs or coos when you push it's tummy. It also came with a couple bottles. Each time the baby cries, Annika picks it up and cradles it in her arms and soothes it. It is so interesting to watch this natural instinct in her. Hopefully that will translate into her being a good big sister too. Annika loves playing with all her stuffed animals right now too. If she asks you to play with "toys", she is asking you to play with all her babies and stuffed animals. She likes to line them up on the couch or stuff them all in your arms or make them slide down your legs while your sitting. She still plays with her blocks and legos and she colors and such but her "toys" are her favorite activity right now.

In the past week or so, Annika has started making her wants known. She now very clearly (and sometimes loudly) states "I want X." X could be some milk or to color or something else. We always tell her she has to ask nicely and I'll ask her to repeat it as "I want X please." Sometimes she gets it and asks politely the first time but more often than not she just states what she wants. At Gramme's on Friday morning she saw the bananas in the pantry. She exclaimed "I love bananas! I want a banana!" We need to work on thank you next I think. She gets the please thing but doesn't say thank you very often. She's also good at saying "Excuse me" when something is in her way. She even said it to the bathroom vanity yesterday when she bumped into it. And she says excuse me to Mara when the dog is in her way. It's pretty cute.