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We stayed home again today, but Ana Kate didn't nap (even though we tried for well over an hour)....so it made  for a really long day.  I'm not sure what's going on with her, but the day goes so much more smoothly for both of us when she takes a nap.  I did some cleaning, but it wasn't easy with Ana Kate trying to get in the middle of it.  She wanted to help, but it usually is just a lot more work.  She did manage to pick up her toys today without my help...which was wonderful!  I really want to sort through her toys and get rid of a lot of them, but it's very difficult to do while she's awake.  She of course doesn't want to get rid of ANY of her toys.  I guess I could do it after she goes to bed, but when she doesn't take a nap I'm so exhausted by that point that I just want to relax.  Oh...the joys of a child that doesn't sleep very much.  : )  I am going to attempt to put her in bed at 8 tonight and if that goes well, we'll start doing that every night.  If that works, then forcing the nap may not be such a big deal.

She said the funniest thing yesterday.  I got a new photography reflector and I had just gotten it out of the box and she said, 'Hey Mommy...what is that nifty thing, did you make it?'  I thought it was so cute.  She knows so many words and exactly how (and in what context) to use them.  I know she's smart, but she still surprises me every day with how much she knows.  She has been watching the Talking Letter Factory & Talking Word Factory and she loves them.  She is going around talking about which letters make which sounds and she told Doug the other day that vowels are sticky letters.  She's known her letters for a long time, but now she actually wants to put them together and try to read....so we'll see how that goes.  I really don't want to rush her because it looks like she won't be able to start kindergarten until she's 6.  So we have 3 more years to get ready for all that.  I am trying to get her in the mother's day out program at our church, but there is a waiting list, so I'm not sure when or if she'll get in.  I registered very late, so I"ll have to make sure and register early next spring.  It's very much like a preschool program and she would go 2 days a week, so hopefully we'll be able to start sometime this fall.

We went outside on the porch for pictures tonight and it felt SO nice!  It's so much cooler already and it's supposed to get down in the 50's tonight!  Ana Kate had to bring her fish out for pictures again....so we got another picture of him.  Her favorite show was on again last night....so we saw a couple more episodes of River Monsters.  She also likes man vs. wild, which I find a little odd for a 2 yr. old girl, but she likes it!