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.