Whirlwind Christmas

Christmas always seems to go by so quickly, and I have to admit that we are often left feeling like there should be another party to go to or something! hah! I'm sure we're not the only ones who feel this way - we just want Christmas to last longer! It is especially true now that Amelia really knows what's going on. She is still asking to go to another party, and she really got used to opening presents! With a birthday close to Christmas - she was in present heaven.

I took the tree down today and she was a BIG helper. She only got sad when I put the snowman and the Santa snow globes away - hmmm. Funny she never even noticed them for the entire month that they were up! She does LOVE Santa though. She has really enjoyed seeing all the Christmas blow-up decorations in our neighborhood (like I wrote about in the last post). It will be interesting to see her reaction once they are all put away :(

This Christmas was great! We celebrated with Andy's family the Sunday before and Amelia was a trooper! She played all day long and didn't get fussy even without a nap!

Wednesday, my mom, dad and sister came to stay with us. We had our own little Christmas - complete with pizza (really festive)! The next morning, was Christmas Eve and we headed over to celebrate with my mom's side of the family. Amelia had her swine flu booster shot a few days before - and, of course, the side effects hit her - and hit her HARD - that day. We had to cut our visit short. Amelia fell asleep in the car for the first time in over a year...so we knew we made the right choice by heading home. That's when it started to SNOW - so we were glad to be home for the rest of the night :)

Christmas morning Santa came! Amelia was so excited! We took video and I can't wait to watch it. Also - she was feeling MUCH better and we were able to go and party with my dad's side of the family! It was really fun and Amelia had a lot of fun playing with everyone.

Saturday night - even though we were tired - we drove out to another party that one of Andy's friends was having! It's no wonder Amelia thinks there's a party every day!!! haha

Here are a few pictures from the week :)

Hot Dog!

It seems we've entered a new phase - yet again. First, it was SpongeBob...then it was Super Why...now we're into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in a BIG way. Amelia is in LOVE with Mickey (and friends). If you haven't seen it, then her doing the "Hot Dog" dance 18 times in a row at the end of each show might not make sense to you, but let me assure you - it is awesome! She gets so excited and just spins and spins and sings at the top of her lungs! This morning she was even trying to get Ruby (our dog) to dance with her.

One of our neighbors has a blow-up Mickey Santa in their front yard and we have to drive by it every time we leave the house or come home. Unfortunately Mickey is "sleeping" these days. Don't the neighbors know that they are disappointing a little girl by not keeping it blown up 24/7??? Come on people!

Don't get me wrong...she's still into the other two cartoons...but Mickey is for sure #1!!


This is just a cute picture of Amelia talking to Ruby. They have become great friends!

Over it!

I am so tired of someone being sick in this house! It is just enough already. Last weekend it was my turn. I had some kind of stomach bug - yuck! The only good thing that came out of that was that Amelia got to go ride the tractor with Daddy and I got to sleep it off! She LOVED riding in the tractor and still asks to go ride everytime Andy takes her somewhere :)

So, while I was on the couch all weekend - Amelia was apparently paying close attention to my actions. She will now get a blanket, lay down on the couch, and ask for pretzels and orange juice to be delivered to her. hahah! What a stinker!




Now Amelia has another little cold. This is about an every 2 weeks or so occurance. This time I blame the little neighbor boy who was over playing at her babysitter's house this week. When I went to pick her up I met this cute little boy who had a runny nose and coughed right as I walked in the door. The kicker is...his dad picked him up while I was still there and walked the little boy out the door WITHOUT a jacket (only wearing a t-shirt) in 30 degree weather! What are people thinking???? We have no hope for keeping these colds away :(

Party Time!

Saturday was so much fun! We had Amelia's 2nd Birthday party at our house (even though her official birthday isn't until the 20th)! We had fabulous weather this weekend - it was perfect!!!! I am so glad we decided to do it a week early because last year it was cold and kind of rainy. I think we'll probably stick with this trend for any future b-day parties :)

Amelia loved having a few friends over and playing in the bounce house! She was THRILLED when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her and she was excited about the PINK cupcakes. Present opening was interesting. She was so intrigued with her first gift that she didn't really start paying attention to the other presents (although she LOVES them all) until the end. Then she figured out that more and more presents were coming out of the bags and she really got the hang of it. I think she'll be ready to go at Christmas.

She as been playing with ALL of her new things today and has had a blast! We have especially had fun having tea parties with Daddy and cooking in her new kitchen :) Hey - who says the parents can't enjoy the gifts too????? haha!!!!


The Bounce House (thanks, Jamie!!!)


The Princess waiting for her lunch!


Playing with Honey and the new kitchen!

Parrot

Amelia is a parrot. She repeats everything we say now. And now that she is talking in complete sentences it might end up getting us in trouble! Time to start REALLY watching what we say!!!! haha.

It's also so fun to hear Amelia call for our dog, Ruby, in the mornings. While she's getting dressed she'll gently call for her until Ruby comes running into her room and it just CRACKS Amelia up! It's so funny! She has also taken to giving Ruby "treats" throughout the day. Needless to say, we might end up with one fat dog! I'll have to put her on a diet after the New Year :)

In other news - I cannot believe that Amelia is going to be 2 this month! Time sure is flying by!!!!!!!!!!

I'll take some more pictures soon :)

The Ambassador of Halloween

So, I bought Amelia 2 different costumes for Halloween this year, and she REFUSED to put on either one. Luckily, I found this out in time to return each one - I wasn't going to force her to wear something she didn't like. I finally decided to just get her a Halloween shirt and go with it. Then, Andy had the bright idea to make her a "Halloween Pennant" and deemed her the Ambassador of Halloween! It was really funny! Here are some pictures from our day!

We decorated cookies, went up to Granners and Grandpa's for a little bit, and then went trick or treating! It was a long but very fun day!

She really LOVED trick or treating. Once she got the hang of it she was very brave and even waited a bit longer at each door until they have her one more piece of candy. We'll have to break this habit next year - but it was cute this year while she could get away with it! haha!

Milestones

This weekend Amelia did two really great things.

1 - She mastered the slides at the park. She no longer needs any help and is fearless (at times wanting to go head first)! She had so much fun!

2 - Sorry for being too graphic here - BUT she went poo poo on the potty! It was totally unplanned. She was in the bath, and I recognized the tell-tale signs so I scooped her up, put her on her potty and she did it! We were so proud. Now, maybe that she really gets the concept, she'll want to do it more often! Woo hoo! OK - I'll stop with that. Sorry again.

No pictures this time...more to come later. Busy week ahead!

This Kid LOVES Pumpkins

This time last year I would have never thought Amelia would like pumpkins so much. Last year when we took her to the pumpkin patch she was not a happy camper. This year, however, is a different story! She loves them so much. We say "hi" and "bye" to them at the grocery store. She looks for them out the window as we're driving around. And we also had to bring one of our pumpkins inside so she can see it everyday. I have to say, I am a little concerned that she may have "pumpkin withdrawal" once Halloween and Thanksgiving have come and gone! Yikes!

Here are pictures from yesterday when we visited TWO pumpkin patches. The first one is Grandpa's pumpkin patch and the second one was just a local church set-up where we decided to just play for a bit. Like I said - she loves a good pumpkin!



I got one just my size!



In Grandpa's Patch - going for the biggest ones!



Lining them up.



What about this one? It's all alone.



So many baby pumpkins! Can I have them all?



And, I'll take all of these too!


This looks like it's going to be great.


Getting ready to dig in and help carve!


What a big helper!


Success!!!!! Happy Halloween!

Daddy's Girl

Just a quick picture that I love. Amelia LOVES her daddy and I think you can see from the picture that they are two peas in a pod!

September Wrap Up

We have been BUSY these past couple of weeks! I have been subbing (which is turning out to be really fun. In the classroom without all the paperwork), we had family in town for a super-fun wedding, and we also went to Oktoberfest in McKinney.



Here's the family (plus my parents and sister) at Oktoberfest!



Amelia checking out the pony ride!



Sitting with Aunt Kelsey in the shade.



Trying to get back into the ice truck. Andy put her in there to cool off at one point.



All dressed up at the wedding with Andy and Kelsey. This was so fun - especially the photobooth! Gotta love formal maternity clothes!



Getting too big for her summer outfits :( But still cute!



She insisted on wearing her green pants and a hat after naptime the other day...no problem! She looks like such a big girl in the picture...it makes me sad and happy at the same time:)

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

...it's off to work I go! Well, I am finally in the sub system and tomorrow is my first full day back in the classroom (and Amelia's first full day of daycare). I am more nervous for myself than I am for her. I know she loves it over at Miss Nikki's house. In fact, she is still asking if we are going to Miss Nikki's house everytime we get in the car. She will be fine.

I'm more worried about remembering how to take control of a room of middle schoolers! The job is at my old school, so at least I am on familiar ground and will have lots of teachers there that I know. It is also for a fellow English teacher, so I will know the material (that's not the issue - it's more about getting up there again). I will be there 2 1/2 days this week. And my other weeks are filling up with quickly. This is nice because I know there are a lot of subs out there that can't find jobs (there are A LOT of subs in Frisco) so it helps to know people. I am lucky!

I'll let you know how it goes - should be interesting.

Our Week in Pictures

We had a lot of fun this week! Enjoy the pictures :)

Daddy made us some temporary shade in the backyard last weekend!


Then Amelia decided to cool off in the dog's water bucket! I missed the pictures of her completely covered in mud - but you can picture this same scene...just head-to-toe mud!


Then Amelia got to play with Honey and the awesome curtains in her hotel room! It was so much fun, she wouldn't even stop for a real picture. So there's the back of my mom's head.


Amelia LOVES watching TV with Daddy and sharing POPCORN!!! At one point they were feeding each other - pretty funny!


And, finally, a scene I typically walk in on at least once a day around here. Amelia and Daddy behind a curtain (or chair) reading books. It is still clear that I am not welcome to join them, as Amelia will either push me out of the room or just close the curtain in my face. Oh well - it's still cute!


She caught me!

Summer Fun and Shenanigans

Now that the weather is a little more tolerable, we are able to be outside more - yeah! So, one evening we all went out to the backyard and tried out sidewalk chalk for the first time! In the picture you will see some random scribbles - those are Amelia's - the other drawings are courtesy of myself and Andy (great artists - haha)!
I should have also gotten a picture of the dog because she ended up BLUE, and no, Amelia didn't start that one. Andy just drew a line down her white fur and, well, monkey see - monkey do! She was blue for days...it was pretty funny.



We also have a new "toy" for Amelia that we found at an estate sale a long time ago. We set up this old school desk for her and she loves it! We have another one in the garage for baby #2 (wouldn't want him/her to be left out)!



I'm pretty sure I've mentioned Amelia's love of hiding in small spaces before, so now I'll show you the proof. She is always hiding out behind the chair in her room. She'll take all her toys and books back there with you. Sometimes others are invitied to sit with her - other times she pushes you out of the room. I wonder what she's up to on those occasions! Here is where I found Andy and Amelia the other day - apparently he was the chosen one that day!



And finally - proof that Andy should defintitely be a hair stylist - awesome.



No pictures, please!

We Survived!

For those of you who don't know yet - I have decided to go back to work (part time) as a substitute until baby #2 is here. We are at the point where Amelia needs to be a little more social (and so do I)! So I am going to work 2-3 days a week once I'm up and running in the Frisco ISD system again.

The hard part was finding a good babysitter. We wanted someone who kept a few kids in her home - we weren't ready for a more school-type setting just yet. Because it was so close to the start of the school year, I feared that all the "good ones" would be full. I was almost right! I went on several interviews and literally wanted to walk out of some of them. I mean, it is amazing that people will leave their kids in some of these dirty places! The others were OK and at least clean, but when we found Miss Nicole - we were set! Not only is her house spotless, but she paid attention to Amelia right away, she is keeping kids that are Amelia's same age, she has experience, she has 3 kids of her own, and she is wonderful.

Amelia went 2 times this week (for 1/2 days) to get used to being somewhere else. It was a success! In fact, when I went to pick her up both days - she didn't want to leave! That's a good sign! Her schedule is having to be adjusted a little bit, but she's pretty easy going these days and took to napping in a new place and at a new time without any trouble.

It was hard dropping her off and driving away, but I wasn't afraid for her - just for me. I didn't know what to do with myself, but I sure did get a lot done :)

Who Is This Child?

It was a normal weekday and Amelia and I were headed out to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up a wedding gift. I parked the car, got her out and proceeded to put her in the shopping cart. That's when I met the craziest child EVER! And it was MY daughter! She started flipping out. She was making noises I'd never heard come out of her. I'm talking about growls and howls and screams at a pitch befitting a howler monkey! It was the craziest thing I'd ever seen.

I decided to keep on and hope that she would calm down once we started moving around (as she normally does when she's a little upset in public). The key word there is a "little" upset. I was WRONG! I had to leave the store. There was no reasoning with her or comforting her or distracting her. I started to think something was hurting her so I did a full body search. Nothing. So we got back in the car. Surely she'd calm down when I told her we were headed home.

NOPE! She screamed and growled the entire way home. Good thing it was only a few minutes down the road. I was at my wit's end. I didn't know what was wrong with her or what was even happening at this point. I even texted Andy to see if he knew who was possessing our child - he didn't know either!

We pulled into the garage - still screaming. I got her out of the car - still screaming. We walked into the house - and she stopped! She was herself again. Ahhhhhhhh........

Well, it was short lived. The phone rang and I was talking to a friend for a while and she started up again! At least we weren't in public this time. I finally just had to put her in her room and close the door (I'd never had to do that before and it was well beyond a timeout situation). I stood by the door to make sure she wasn't knocking things down, and found that after about 30 seconds she was calm and talking to herself. So a few minutes later, I opened the door to check on her and she got up from her toys and closed the door on me. Apparently this alone time was doing the trick!

She was OK all the way up through her nap, but was NOT happy about waking up. This time the tantrum was short-lived, but it was still a very strange day. I will admit I was a little nervous about putting her in the car the next day to try again at the store - but she was perfect!

I wonder what set her off that day? And who was that child?

Just Some Stuff...

Nothing all that exciting has really been going on lately. So I thought I'd just post some random things.

1. Pregnancy Brain is going strong. I wore 2 different shoes out in public the other day and didn't realize it until I got home! They were both black sandals - it could have been much worse!

2. I am thinking about going back to work a couple of days a week this coming school year (subbing). I think it would be good to get back into the the work world (my brain needs it) and I think finding a good place for Amelia to socialize and learn from someone else will be great practice for pre-school, etc. But, I'll still be with her the majority of the time - so it won't be a complete shock to my system (or hers)!!! We'll see what happens.

3. We have been to some fun parties - and there are more to come. We went to a backyard bash (in the rain) at Josh and Sommer's! Amelia was more interested in the kitchen set and the stairs than anything else. In fact, when I was holding Raney (or maybe it was Ruby - sorry) she couldn't have cared less! Hmmmmm...wonder if that's how she'll be when new baby gets here - doubtful. We also went to Ryan and Meredith's couple's shower (sans baby) and it was so much fun! Can't wait for the wedding!


4. Amelia is still up to her old tricks - carrying a specific object around every day (and it's usually different everyday). The top contenders have been combs, a hair brush, a big plastic spoon, and a pad of paper with Elmo on it.

5. She has also started putting things into the toilet. This is a fantastic new development - haha. She's so fast! I don't even hear her doing it when I'm in the same room with her! Sneaky little one.

Well - that's all I can think of for now...I'm sure something much more exciting will happen that will be much more interesting for my mom to read at 2:30 in the morning!!!! haha

The Lunch Caper

Today was a normal lunch day for Amelia. It started with turkey, then some cheese and strawberries. Well, she LOVES fruit, and she knows that she has to eat the other things before she gets it (otherwise she'd just eat fruit and nothing else). Anyway, I gave her a plate of turkey and then walked about 3 feet from her to empty the dishwasher. She finishes her turkey, has a slice of cheese and then asks for her strawberries. Seeing that she's finished everything, I happily serve them to her (yes-I'm her personal waitress).

Lunch is now over. I wipe her hands and face...unbuckle her from her chair...set her on the ground...and there it is. ALL of her turkey is sitting in her chair! That little stinker waited for me to turn around to put dishes up and proceeded to stuff her turkey under her legs.

Now, I ask you...how does a 20-month-old know how to do this??? We certainly don't sit around stuffing food under our legs. She is plotting against us...I just know it!

It was so funny - I guess I'll have to be more diligent during lunch tomorrow!

The Cat's Out of the Bag

I've done a good job (again) of keeping quiet for the last 12 weeks...but I can finally let everyone know that Baby #2 is due Feb. 9th! We are excited (and nervous), and Amelia doesn't have a clue. She's not going to know what hit her!

Hiding Spot

We've known for a long time now that Amelia likes to hide - not necessarily from us - but just to be in a small space of her own for a while we think. She hides behind the chair in her room...under our clothes in the closet...she tries to hide behind the curtains in the living room(but that's a no no)...and now she hides behind the ottoman in the living room (that we have pushed aside so that there is more room for her to play - obviously that isn't necessary anymore)! She takes her favorite toys of the day and stashes them there throughout the morning and afternoon. It does make cleaning up a little easier because they are all in one spot. Today, we left them there...it will be interesting to see what she does with them in the morning. Will she add to the pile or take them out and start a new one??? Anyway...she was having so much fun today and I tried to get some good pictures, but she wouldn't stay still long enough so they aren't the best - oh well.

Yellowstone Vacation

We just got back from our first official family vacation. On Thursday we flew into Jackson Hole, WY! I was REALLY nervous about the plane ride, but Amelia did great! She had her own seat so she had plenty of room to get up and down and was OK with sitting in mine or Andy's lap for take off and landing. She definitely earned her wings!




Friday morning we got up bright and early and headed off for our drive through Yellowstone!


It was so pretty!
We got to see the Geyser Basin...


Old Faithful...


Some wildlife...


and Mammoth Springs!


By this point, Amelia was going a little stir crazy in the car...so we headed out of the park!


That night we stayed in a little cabin in Livingston, Montana. We stayed there for a couple of days. We were actually there for a wedding reception. Amelia and I missed most of it since it was late at night, but we had fun playing with Andy's friends during the day on Saturday.


On Sunday we drove through the other side of Yellowstone park on our way back to Jackson Hole.
This time we got to hike a little way up Mt. Washburn (where there was still snow on the ground in July)...



We saw the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (although we didn't get to stop this time)...
and we saw a bear!


That night, we actually got to go out to eat in Jackson Hole before calling it a night for our early flight back to Dallas.
Amelia was great, once again, on the flight and was SO happy to get home and nap in her own bed!!