So Grown Up

It takes a lot of struggle to get Amelia to keep anything in her hair. She has been trying to figure out all morning where the hair clip is in her hair...but I've hidden it in the back today. Yep, that thing in Amelia's hair is a ponytail....a PONYTAIL!

She's getting so big...24 ounces of whole milk each day is definitely helping.

She is saying a lot more words including birdy, kitty, baby & Jesus - all of which she mostly pronounces "dy." She also says teeth, momma, daddy, go outside. And just this morning she said please - i think we're making progress - maybe she will faze out the yell and replace it with a sweet please when she would like something.

I will post pictures of our fantastic LA vacation soon, and Uncle Todd's visit with us last week.

Twins...18 years apart

My mom said once that she thought my baby looked just like her Aunt Jenny. She does...don't you think?

Here's Aunt Jenny when she was little.




















Here's Amelia















If she is only half as stunning and sweet as her aunt in 20 years, she will still be one super-lucky girl.

Amelia, The Phone's for You

One of Amelia's first words was Hello. Not "Hello!" or "Hello.", but "Hello?" She will say it into any phone - cell, landline, toy, even her hand works. However, she will not say it into the phone if a person is on the other end. So, she doesn't really understand why she says the word, it is purely a mimic of her parents.

Out of all the things I do repeatedly each day, I'm glad she picked that activity to copy.

If you'd like to talk with Amelia you can reach her at my phone #. She's usually out of the office from noon until 3 for her nap break, but is available most other times of the day.

Thanks for calling!

Vamping with Vocabulary

This week I took Amelia to Kinko's to get some photos scanned (like this one). This is a professional studio portrait and so is copyrighted by the photographer. Most image reproduction centers will refuse to copy professional pictures for this reason.

But from the moment we walked in, the guy behind the counter became enamored with Amelia - she would smile at him and then look away or hide her face on my chest. He played peek a boo with her and told her how pretty her name is (as if she didn't already know). Anyway, I watched him fill out all the fields on the computer and he clicked through the copyright warnings several times, the whole while smiling at my little girl. It's really almost like a super-power. I'm considering speeding more often to see whether she can get me out of a ticket.


She's also beginning to develop some language skills. She knows several words in English and a couple in Canine, but her favorite word is "outside." And really it's appropriate for every occasion. When she's inside, it means "Please, mother, may we go play outside?" When she's outdoors, it means "Oh, father, aren't you glad we're outside?" Only what it sounds like is the following.

7:30am, Amelia's room: "Outside, outside, outside, dada, outside..."

8:30am, taking walk in wagon: "Outside, outside, outside, mommy, outside..."

Please hold - I'm busy for the next 18 years

One of the hardest things for me about being a mom is giving up my "to-do" list in favor of Amelia's.

My list looks like this on the average day:
Workout
Eat breakfast while checking email/blogs
Feed amelia breakfast
Get amelia ready for the day
Get myself ready for the day
Clean house while amelia plays
go play at playground for half-hour
Eat lunch
Put amelia down for nap and I work
amelia wakes up and we go run errands
Make dinner
Play at Park with amelia
Put amelia to bed

Here is Amelia's list:
Workout with mommy
Eat breakfast with mommy
Play in my room with mommy
Play in the bathroom while mommy gets ready (eat the trash, stick my hand in the toilet, try to get in the shower, etc.)
go for a walk (eat flowers, eat bark, eat dirt)
Play on the playground
Eat lunch with mommy
Lay on mommy's lap on her bed until I fall asleep
Wake up and throw all my blankets out of my bed and yell for mommy to come get me
Eat fishy crackers and string cheese with mommy
play blocks with mommy
go on a walk with mommy
play on the playground with mommy
eat dinner on mommy's lap
play games with daddy
go to sleep in mommy's arms

You get the idea...Amelia would really like to spend every waking minute constantly entertained by me. And, isn't that wonderful! It has really been refreshing for me to let go of my to-do list and go with the flow. It doesn't matter if my house is messy, we eat dinner a little later, or I send a few less emails.

I posted this quote in my kitchen as a helpful reminder..."I had the most satisfactory of childhood's because my mom turned out to be exactly my age." --Kay Boyle

Everything else can wait - my baby is growing up, and I'm busy helping her.

All the Money in the World

We just bought a new camera, and I've been a bit concerned about the amount of money we paid for it. But then, Chris took some pictures of Amelia last night...and this was one of them. Priceless.

That's my girl!

For her 1st b-day, Chris and I gave Amelia a few puzzles. Everyday I pull one down and we play with it. She hasn't really gotten the concept yet, and usually the pieces just end up sandwiched between her teeth (maybe I should buy her some real teething toys).

Today, I was washing dishes and I turned around to see Amelia walking very slowly into the kitchen in her pink pajamas, so as not to disturb the puzzle pieces precariously placed upon the puzzle board. They weren't in the slots, but they were all on top. And she couldn't have been more proud of herself. "Ooooh," said Amelia, with the biggest grin on her face.

I couldn't have been more proud of my sweet baby, coming to find me to show me her great accomplishment. I told her what a good girl she was and she toddled back into the living room to show her dad. Too bad she tripped on the way and spilled the pieces all over the floor. That's the good thing about puzzles though, they are made to be broken.

Other sweet notes:

I think Amelia is in-love with her dad. It has taken 1 year; 1 million kisses; 10,000 rounds of Chris singing I am a Child of God, Popcorn Popping, and ABCs; too many diaper changes to count, and lots of games, tickling, book reading, swing-pushing and i love yous. But,she is definitely in-love. Chris makes her laugh all day. She likes to play games with him, go outside with him, hang out next to him on the couch. Amelia likes to read books with him, eat his food, and have him chase her around the house. She wants him to watch her as she swings, goes down the slide and eat all the dandelions in the grass. It's about time that she realized what a good guy her dad is.

I got a sweet haircut this week...Nathalie, this sweet note is for you. Don't worry, I will send you a picture. It's nice to get a good haircut.

Two of Chris' mission buddies came into town this week, as well as one of his mission presidents. It was great to see them, and to hear Chris reminisce. There are so many experiences in Chris' life before me that I am sorry I missed. I wish I could back in time and see Chris as a little boy, in high school and on his mission. That would be SWEET.

I had some early great success with my new job. It has been a bit nerve-wracking for me to not make a steady, salaried income. However, I have 4 accounts that look very promising, and many more out there that I am working on. The smell of success is definitely sweet.

So, I have been imagining and creating this new sweet treat in my head for weeks...I am going to call them apple struesel slices. I haven't made them yet, but I am going to attempt them tomorrow morning during conference. If they are any good, I will let you in on my sweet creation.

I enjoy looking for these sweet moments in my life...makes it better.