Amelia - isms

I am constantly wishing I wrote things down that Amelia is saying right now, but won't be saying in a little while, so I don't forget her cute little language.

For example, she used to call milk, "more some," because I always asked her if she wanted some more, and she just started calling it "more some." But, a few weeks ago she started calling it....milk!

Here are a few other little Amelia language quirks, which I don't want to forget:

• Amelia has called me "Monny" or "Emonee" for several months now. This week, she started calling me Mommy, almost exclusively, unless she is crying or saying it really fast. I liked Monny, but Mommy has a nice ring to it as well.
• Amelia asks me about 100 times a day, "Where did Mommy go?" to which I reply, "I'm right here." and she says, "Oh." When Chris gets home she asks him the same thing. We don't get it. We just roll our eyes and play along.
• She calls her pillow her pippo.
• She adores watching Annie...but calls her Hannnie...like her friend Hannah.
• She loves yogurt, and calls it yo- gut.
• Pasta and Pretzels sounds like same...baba, except that she makes the world plural for pretzels.
  

That is all I can think of now...I know there are more...see i'm already forgetting!

Here are a couple of cute anectodes about Amelia:

The other day I was fixing my hair and a few of Amelia's blocks were right behind me on the floor. I stepped back right on to them and let our a yelp. Amelia, who was playing in her room, yelled, "What happened Mommy?" I explained what happened, she picked up the blocks and moved them into her room, and then came back and kissed my feet, while saying, "I'm sorry Mommy, I'm sorry Mommy."

Amelia refuses to drink milk without it first going in the microwave...she doesn't care how long...it just has to make a trip there first before she will drink it. It you try and give it to her cold, she will say with a disgusted look on her face, "Oh, cold...warm!"

Amelia is OBSESSED with my bed. She would always take her naps there if I would let her, and has to read stories there before naptime and bedtime. She loves to play on it, jump on it, and sing on it. The first thing she wants to do when she wakes up is get on Mommy's bed. And, she won't go to sleep without a pillow off of my bed. This is getting a bit out of hand...

Amelia is starting to notice her clothing, and loves lipstick...she calls it lips. After I dress her in the morning, she stands in front of the mirror in her room to admire herself. She stands there an extra long time if her Dad has told her how pretty she looks.

Amelia's favorite foods at the moment are black beans with corn...and sour cream to dip, french fries with ketchup for dipping (anytime we get in the car to go to the store, she asks if we are getting french fries), rice and chicken, whole apples (she even tries to eat the core and seeds), and candy. Oh, and milk, lots of it.

Well, you are probably sick of reading...I just wrote these so I wouldn't forget. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to scroll down through the blog and see my other new posts.

New Dress

So, on Sunday I put the finishing touches on a dress I sewed for Amelia, and she got to wear it to church. You can't see the dress very well in the pictures (which is a good thing, because then you could see my mistakes), but Amelia has never looked cuter! I love, love Amelia in pigtails and ribbons. She is soooo big!

Thanksgiving Weekend

So, if you thought I was bad at taking pictures during the family zoo trip...you should see the # of pictures I took during Thanksgiving weekend at my parents. I didn't feel well at all, so there are only 4 pictures, and one of them is blurry.

So....these first two are of Amelia doing karaoke with her Uncle Evan. She loved the feel of the microphone in her hand and the taste of it in her mouth...maybe a natural performer? She wouldn't really sing into the microphone - she mostly made weird sounds and said hello. But, it was still very cute.



Here is a cute picture of my sisters...well, 3 of them. They are a lot of fun to hang out with...too bad I just pretty much laid on the floor all weekend.

Family Zoo Visit

My parents visited us two weeks ago and we all headed to the zoo. Amelia went with her grandparents in the middle of the day, and Chris and I joined the fun a few hours later. Amelia ran, and ran, and ran and ran...for about 7 hours. She LOVED being at the zoo with her aunts and uncle and grandparents. My camera batteries weren't doing too well, so I only got a few shots...

"Addition"al Costs

Double Jogging Stroller: $155.00

8 diapers/day for 2 years: $208.00
NOTE: I completely calculated this incorrectly - I used 52 days as the number of days in a year...not 356. The correct amount is $1,424.00



Bottles, sippy cups, diaper genie liners, bath wash, extra quarters for laundry, diaper wipes, pacifiers and other baby paraphernalia: $300.00


onesies, socks, pants, shoes, coats: $200.00

Sleepless nights, extra laundry, extra wear and tear on our furnishings, and generally more work: incalcuable


Adding a new baby to the Wignall home on May 26, bringing with it joy, love, kisses, good smells, and new little feet to kiss: PRICELESS



p.s. - all photos courtesy of Babies R Us...except the last one.

Halloween

On Halloween afternoon Amelia and decided to decorate pumpkins. I didn't have the energy to dig the seeds out and carve a pumpkin, so Amelia and I opted for a cleaner route - markers & stickers.

After a little bit of marker taste-testing, Amelia decided to "stick" with the stickers. I spent the next hour handing Amelia stickers, talking about each one and helping her decide where to put them on her pumpkin.

I loved helping her learn to be creative, and Amelia loved the results. Amelia LOVES her pumpkin. She carries it around the house, rearranges the stickers and talks about "my punin" all day long.

At the end of the evening, after negotiating with candy, we convinced Amelia that the bear costume(our second borrowed costume this year) wasn't scary, or at least less scary than the fish she refused to wear.


She ended up loving the costume, and loved going trick-or-treating with her friends and their dads. Here's a cute picture from the end of the evening from my friend Jane, the ballerina's mommy.

Amelia's Evil Twin

Amelia's cousin Cate is darling, sweet, lovely, charming and has a very endearing personality. But somehow, she brings out the worst in Amelia. It might be because Amelia doesn't have any siblings, but she is very possessive, and will use any amount of force it takes to get what she desires. Which, while were visiting the Thurston's, was anything Cate was touching, looking at, holding or thinking about holding. Cate wasn't completely innocent...she did her fair share of provoking Amelia.

However, as you can see in this series of photos...this is how all the fights went. Amelia on top screaming at Cate, with Cate on the floor crying.

My high school Anatomy teacher, Dr. Kirk, used to say, "Niceness is nice." I am thinking about making Amelia chant that everyday before we leave the house.

More frequently, we see Amelia's evil twin at our own house. Amelia's usually sweet little voice sometimes says things like, "Stop it!" "Go Away" and "Don't Want It." This usually involves her writhing out of my arms while I change her diaper, try to get her dressed/undressed or put her in her car seat. Terrible Two's here we come...

Our Visit to the Thurstons

A few weeks ago Amelia and I headed up to the Thurston's for a quick visit with Amelia's newest cousin and our first nephew, Parker David Thurston.

We had a lot of fun...here is a little proof.



Amelia really does love her cousins, even dydy darer (baby Parker). Here are some cute pictures with Amelia and Sparky...her dad's name for his nephew.

Amelia & Friends

Here is a cute sequence of pictures from the ward Halloween Party last week. Let me explain a minute before the pictures...

1. No...i'm not a bad mom and made Amelia into a ragamuffin for Halloween. she just refused to wear her darling fishy costume, hence the weird tights, shorts, turtleneck combo.
2. These pictures are with Amelia's dearest friends, Hannah & Cate. She wakes up saying their names, asks to see them all day long, and loves to play with them.
3. Hannah and Cate are both almost 3, so while they like Amelia, they are a bit older, and she doesn't quite understand the rules of 3-year-olds yet.
4. Amelia loves Candy, and will do anything to get Candy. She gets this from her Dad. We've been quoting this Jerry Seinfeld skit all week:


Now, here is the sequence of photos... enjoy.

Hmmm...there's candy in there...and Hannah and Cate aren't paying attention....

"I think I will help myself....don't mind if I do.""Oh, no. Caught with my hand in the pumpkin bucket."

"Not even one piece?"Who does this ballerina think she is anyway...I could totally take her in these orange tights."

And, I love this Girl

Just a picture we took that I love for no reason at all, other than I love the girl.

Great Grandpa & Grandpa Wignall

Grandma Cleo and Grandpa Mark came to California...yes, this doesn't happen often...and may never happen again (at least we hope not under the same circumstances - Chris' cousin passed away).

We did enjoy seeing them, and while Amelia was very wary at first she warmed up to them by the end...enough to enlist them in her favorite activity...jumping...to which they were happy to oblige.


Amelia was watching me as I typed this and her response was, "Oh bama. Cupe bama." Which means, "Oh Grandma. Cute Grandma."

Here is the cupe bama with my cupe husband...isn't he so handsome...i'm loving the longer hair.

Grandma & Grandpa Smith

Last weekend Grandma Stephanie and Grandpa Barry came to visit. It was a whirlwind trip, but we managed to shop, eat plenty of great food, visit Coronado and Old Town, and of course play, play, play. We had so much fun, and Amelia had fun getting to know her grandparents.

Tori & Amelia

A few weeks ago we went and visited my parents to celebrate my mom's birthday. I did not get any pictures...except this cute one of Amelia with her Aunt Tori whom she adores.

Conversations with Amelia

Mommy or Daddy: Amelia, can I have a kiss?
Amelia: Say pease.
Mommy or Daddy: Can I please have a kiss?
Amelia (smiling): No-no. No-no.

Mommy: What's this?
Amelia: a bape (grape).
Mommy: What's this?
Amelia: a bope (boat)
Mommy: Who's that?
Amelia: boop (burt)
Mommy: What's this?
Amelia: a buh (book)

Mommy: what's wrong?
Amelia: pier boen (pacifier broken).
Editors Note: Today we cut the end off the last pacifier in the house. Wish us luck during the next few days!

Amelia (standing in the kitchen point to the cupboard): ecinee
Mommy: you already had a vitamin today.
Amelia (louder this time): ecinee!

Amelia (standing in the kitchen pointing to the fridge): icescreamy
Mommy: we already had ice cream today

Mommy: do you want a french fry?
Amelia(running to go get in her highchair): frydee, frydee, frydee

Mommy: do you want to watch a movie?
Amelia (running for the TV): Elmo! Elmo!

Amelia (pointing to any sign on the side of the road): A "A." A "A."

New Beginnings...

Amelia loved her first day of nursery. She didn't cry, and she didn't make anyone else cry.

SUCCESS!

She brought home the cutest handout about being a friend. We love nursery!

growing up....

Amelia is in LOVE

Amelia loooooves her cousins. Every morning when she wakes up, and every morning when she gets up from her nap she says the same thing..."Emma, Cate, Emma, Cate, Emma Cate." She talks about them when she is playing, and asks to see and hold their picture.

It was so much fun to spend 2 weekends with them this month.

Here are pictures from the first weekend(just click on the picture to make the photo bigger):


Then, since the Thurstons didn't get enough of us the first time....they came back...well, Richard and Emma stayed with his parents at a hotel on the beach. Nathalie and Cate stayed are our "bed and breakfast," which is really "couch and cheerios."

Here are some cute pics of Cate & Amelia hanging out:

We were sad to see them go...both times. With Richard and Nathalie possibly moving across the country, this may have been our last weekend together in San Diego. Oh...we love you Thurston family!

Musical Genius

So, right now I am sitting at the computer sending a few emails, and Amelia is watching her Sesame Street silly songs movie. There is a duet done by Kermit and Don Music, in which Kermit helps Don Music write a song. Don Music plays the piano during the duet.

As soon as the song came on, Amelia ran to the piano, opened the lid, sat down, and played along! ok...she didn't really play the right notes...but she pretended.

I wish you could've been here to see and hear her. Sooooo cute!

Cuter and Cuterer

What could be more cute than the new flowers I made and hung above Amelia's bed?

Well, the girl with the ponytail sleeping in the bed...that's what.

Amelia Had a Farm

No, you're hearing right - don't adjust the volume. Amelia doesn't think pigs make sounds...

Pic-i-nic Table

Sometimes, ok, almost all the time, Amelia has us wrapped around her pinky finger, and if she acts like she really likes something, chances are it will end up in our house. Good thing Amelia hasn't discovered shopping at Toys "R" Us or Target yet...

We were at Ikea on Friday night looking for a chair and booster seat to contain Amelia during our not-so-calm family dinners, which pretty much consist of Amelia yelling that she is done and wants to "Get down!" out of her highchair, after which she proceeds to climb onto the table and eat off my plate.

However, there weren't any chairs or booster seats that we wanted to buy. BUT, we didn't leave Ikea empty handed. We managed to buy an entire picnic table. Not a park-sized table, but a petite picnic table, that fits perfectly in Amelia's bedroom.


And, she adores it. She loves to sit in there with her stuffed animals and color with her pencils (she calls them pens). I know this picnic table is helping to foster the artistic genius in her and one day this 30 dollar picnic table is going to make me millions!


Until then, I will enjoy the 20 minutes of quiet in my house as Amelia sits and colors, all the while saying, "A", "A", "A," as she pretends to write them.

The A-Team

Amelia loves the Gathright girls.
Maybe it is because they have so much in common:

their Dads are both economists
their moms are both pianists
their hair is all blonde
their eyes are all blue
they all like CARS
and their names all start with the letter A.

6 years...

It was our 6th anniversary a few weeks ago. I came home from Utah that day, and Chris met me at the airport with roses. We went out a week later, while my siblings watched Amelia. We enjoyed great food at Phil's BBQ here in San Diego, and then we gobbled up this confection extraordinaire from Extraordinary Desserts...the description from their website goes like this... "Chocolate Creme brulee and milk chocolate whipped cream are hidden between chocolate cake layers and smothered with fresh caramel. Crushed chocolate almond pralines surround this dark and dense torte." Don't you wish you lived here, and go to get your own piece?


Here is the picture Chris took of us right before we left for our night out. I had the camera on the wrong setting...so only Chris is in focus in the picture....or maybe the camera is just trying to compensate for my inability to be photogenic.

Life is still very, very good with this man.

All About Emonee

It seems like these past few weeks have gone so fast - I haven't even had enough time to post a few pictures!

After Amelia and I returned from Utah, Evan and Tori came and visited us for the week. They were the best houseguests/babysitters/housekeepers/playground experts/scrabble players(ok, they were awful at scrabble)/movie watchers(about 12)/ beachgoers(we went 4 times while they were here).

We were so sad to see them go. Amelia loved having other kids around, and Evan and Tori pretty much spent all their time trying to make her happy.


Then, last Saturday, my parents came down for the day to pick Evan and Tori up. We went to Coronado and Chipotle - what a great day!

This past week we have just being trying to get back to normal - but Amelia chose not to sign-up for that plan, and has opted to get a cold and teeth all week. So naps have been at a minimum, and our exhaustion levels are up!

Here are a few things that Amelia is doing in her 17th month!

• Emonee - that is what Amelia is calling herself. Occasionally she will pronounce it super clear, and it comes quite close to E-mi-ly. This could be verrrrrry confusing.
• She learned where her elbow and knee are.
• She can count the numbers 2 and 5 in any random order.
• She can identify the color red - thanks Tori!
• She can identify all the grandma's and grandpa's, and can say the words as well.
• She can also identify Emma, Cate and Elmo - and she is obsessed with all three.
• She can reach the pedals of her bike - and use them!
  
• She is becoming a lot more comfortable in the pool - maybe next time she will get her hair wet!
• She knows how to identify mom's mole, while loudly proclaiming, "MOLE!." That could potentially make for an embarrassing situation...
• She can get on the piano bench and play the piano.
• She can shut and open doors. And can even lock herself in her room

So you can see, we've been really busy!

Chris said I never write about him, so I thought I would let you know what he has been up to in his 29th year.

• He is teaching his first college class, which has been quite successful so far. Though it is a lot of work because he teaches 3 days a week. I know he is doing fantastic, and he really, really loves it.
• His research is coming along - though he hasn't been able to devote as much time to it, because of his class.
• He is missing his bike. His brand new bike that was stolen just 3 weeks after he bought it.
• He is saving his money for a new bike.
• He's just pretty much being the best dad any girl could hope for, and the greatest husband.
• Oh, and he can now say his ABC's in the right order, and identify the colors yellow and pink(though apparently those are only for girls...).

Utah Visit, II

Amelia and I just returned from our second trip to Utah this summer. I had a work conference in Salt Lake City, so we flew up for a few days.

Amelia spent a lot of time alone with her Grandma Stephanie, Grandpa Barry and the dog Brooke. She loved playing outside, playing in the pool, playing with "Boook (brooke)," and loving her g'ma and papa.

On Saturday we went to Lagoon to ride on the carousel. This was Amelia's second time riding on a carousel, and it went much better than the first. Amelia liked it so much she rode on it twice, and just wanted to stay and watch the horses go around and around.

We had so much fun, though I don't think the people sitting next to us on the flight home did. Amelia was so tired by this time, and our flight was delayed, after we were already sitting on it. So, after more than 45 minutes of sitting in the plane, it finally took off!

It was fun to get home, and see Chris (Daddy), who ,being model husband, had a beautiful bouquet of roses for me to
celebrate our 6th anniversary.

We're home for a while, and probably won't travel anywhere
for a while...at least until we forget what it is like to sit with a
toddler in an enclosed space for longer than 5 minutes.

This little piggy...

Has long enough hair for pigtails! I can't believe how much older two ponytails makes her look, but I just adore it anyway. It only took 10 minutes of twisting, crying(amelia), and wrestling to get the ponytails ready to go! But they were completely worth the blood, sweat and tears.

Amelia's Grandma Andersen, and her Aunt Lauren, Aunt Kari, Aunt Tori and Uncle Evan were the first to see and adore those pigtails. They came down for a fun day at the beach. It was overcast and kind of cold(I know that 72 isn't that cold, but for us San Diegans, it's almost jacket weather). We had fun nonetheless. And when the day was done, Amelia gave hugs and kisses to everyone, and then she jumped out of my arms into her Aunt Tori's and said, "GO!" She did not want to stay with mom and dad, but wanted to get in Grandma's car and go home with her aunts and uncle.

It's so sad...she's already figured out that mom and dad aren't the two coolest people around.

Beach Babe

Yesterday, Chris and I were sitting at the cove with Amelia just enjoying the breeze, and the waves, and the beautiful sun. Chris was leaning back on a bench folding his arms and Amelia promptly folded her arms, said a bunch of jibberish and then loudly procalaimed, "Amen!" It was so cute to see her understand the motions of prayer.

Since we went to the beach so many times this weekend - which Chris did only because he said it was my unlucky weekend - Amelia now things that every time we get in the car we are headed for the water, which she lets us know by yelling, "WATER, WATER, WATER."

I love that she loves the water so much!

It is fun having a 1 year old in the summer. In San Diego.

Que Sera, Sera

Yesterday Amelia woke up really early and then didn't take a nap - she just screamed for an hour and a half...not sure why. So you can imagine that by 2:00 both mom and daughter were a little frazzled.

So, we took the afternoon off. We watched a movie, danced, and then helped ourselves to a couple popsicles each.

I think it's called making lemonade out of lemons. Cranky, over-tired, possibly teething lemons.

Grace....It's a Name for a Girl

It's been awhile since I mused about things we want Amelia, and all our children, to learn. When we were naming her we really wanted her name to mean something to us and to her. We chose Amelia after my sweet grandmother who passed away when I was young, and we chose Grace after my other grandmother, and after one of Chris' ancestors who was an incredible pioneer woman. We also chose the name Grace based on the lyrics to the U2 song "Grace."

Here are a few of the lyrics:

Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

Grace, it's a name for a girl
It's also a thought that changed the world

Grace finds goodness in everything
Grace finds beauty in everything

What once was hurt, what once was friction
What left a mark no longer stains
Because Grace makes beauty out of ugly things

Grace finds beauty in everything
Grace finds goodness in everything

We really wanted Amelia to not only carry the name Grace, but to be full of Grace. When I think about how to teach Amelia about grace - Grace she receives from God, and the Grace she can give to others, I think about the importance of teaching her the value of each human being.

I just finished reading this superb book, Gilead, by Marilynn Robinson. 78-year0ld Reverend Ames is writing a series of letters in a journal to his young 10-year-old son, because he knows he is going to die soon. Throughout the book, the Reverend discusses his thoughts on life, but mostly about grace and forgiveness. This one passage stuck out to me:

"I fell to thinking about the passage in the Institutes where it says the image of the Lord in anyone is much more than reason enough to love him, and that the Lord stands waiting to take our enemies sins up on Himself. So it is a rejection of the reality of grace to hold our enemy at fault. Those things can only be true. It seems to me people tend to forget that we are to love our enemies, not to satisfy some standard of righteousnesses, but because God their Father loves them."

I really hope I can teach Amelia the importance of her name, the importance of each human life, and the importance of extending Grace to all she meets.

Oh No!

Just in case you haven't heard Amelia say these two words enough, here are 30 seconds of "Oh, No!" for your listening pleasure. Can't you hear the concern in her voice and see it in her facial expression? It's fake....she has absolutely no idea what these words mean.

Left Wanting More

Yesterday was my brother Eric's missionary farewell. He leaves on Wednesday, July 11. It was a wonderful day with lots of family, good food and fun!

I realized on the way home that I had forgotten to take my camera, so I didn't get any photos of Chris, myself or Amelia with Eric before he left.

Both of our families tease me and Chris about the thousands of pictures we take of Amelia. As many pictures as we have, we still don't have enough.

God bless you on your journey, Eric. Take lots of pictures!

Utah Vacation Top 10

We just returned from our annual summer vacation to Utah. We usually make this 800 mile trek a couple times each year. We are always excited to go, and always excited to return home. Here are the highlights from our delightful trip.

1. Trying to beat the heat in St. George by visiting the coolest family in town - the Eriksons! Thanks for dinner and entertainment!










2. Playing at Grandma Cleo & Grandpa Mark's house.














3. Staying with Aunt Ashley & Uncle Brian. Meeting Zeus. Looking at the fish. Admiring their darling house. Eating Fazoli's and great gelato (check out Maestro's gelato shop on Center Street if you are ever passing through Provo)!














4. Seeing Aunt Jenny compete in the Miss Utah pageant, and meeting her boyfriend John. We aren't biased at all when we say we think she should have won!














5. Playing with Emma. Amelia turns into a fit of giggles everytime Emma is in the room...no one else has that effect on her. It is so cute to see how much they love each other.












6. Playing with Cate.













6. Playing with Grandma Stephanie.










7. Playing with Grandpa Barry.







8. Playing with Uncle Travis






9. Doing all the miscellaneous stuff that make vacations so wonderful. Eating at Rumbi Island Grill, playing in Grandma Stephanie's backyard and picking tomatoes, ping-pong tournaments, staying up really late, playing Apples-to-Apples, going for walks on Lagoon trail, playing with Brooke, bike rides, pasta salad and bbq chicken (don't forget the spinach dip), watching cable tv, looking at home decorating magazines, and going to Taipan (if you live in Utah, and you haven't been to Taipan, go...go now, forget Ikea, go to Taipan!).














10. And, of course, having fun as a family!














Thanks to everyone who fed us, sheltered us, entertained us, made us laugh, giggle, sing, jump for joy, and just plain showed us a good time!

Let's do it again soon!

For additional vacation photos - click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/wignall/June2007.