Ready for Spring!

Today it was finally warm enough to go on our first walk for the year! Amelia thought it was great and so did the dogs. We can't wait for it to get even warmer so we can spend more time outside!

DaDa and Me

"Yep....still there"

"I love my DaDa"

"I Know No Strangers"

Tonight we took a trip to urgent care. Amelia has had a cough for the past week and I thought it may be croup, so I wanted to get it checked out. You may ask why urgent care?! Well, I did call the doctor's office and technically she still has an appointment for tomorrow, but I didn't want to go through another night worried that she was going to suffocate from coughing so much - yes, gotta love those outlandish mommy nightmares!

Anyhoo, for a child who is supposed to be 'sick' this girl did not look or act sick! She stood on my lap and arched her head and back so she could look at the leaves of the tree above us. She bounced on me like I was a jumeroo. She 'oooo'd', she got awes and smiled at pretty much anyone. Yes, this is the definition of our sick child. Patrick met us at the clinic and as he was sitting down getting settled, catching me up on the day - we happen to look over at Amelia......here she is smiling as big as can be and waving.....for the first time......at a complete stranger.....twice! It was soo sweet and completely unprovoked. Of course, then we wanted her to wave at us, but no - she reserved it for the random strangers! Eventually, we'll teach her what a stranger is, but for today - she made some random man's day.

Update: Amelia was deemed to have a cold and no croup - crisis avoided!

In My Element

Here are some pictures of Amelia in her element....showing us her tricks!

Amelia working on her sippy cup. Most of the time she gets a couple sips and the rest ends up on her shirt! But I think the squishiness feels good on her gums. All in due time....

Amelia got a table toy for Christmas from Gramma and Grandpa - and she is getting to the point where she is stable enough to stand and play with it. We used to have it on the floor, but she likes playing with it standing up better.

Amelia is so good at flipping the book pages!

One night we were playing, she was close to the fabric bin and decided she was going to pull it over to see what was inside! Daddy helped!

She was very excited at her discovery!

Still sucking and gnawing on those lips

Amelia is getting so close to crawling! One of the parts to overcome is to get that inner leg kicked out.

What a smile!

The Wild Blue of the Berries

I mentioned in my last post that Amelia was going to be trying blueberries for the first time and they were a total hit! She loved them! I also mentioned that they stain......wow - I was not lying! They stain on the way in......they stain on the way out! After Amelia ate them - anything she stuck in her mouth was also stained. We are still working on the juice thing - actually - the sippy cup. We have not mastered that part yet, so Amelia hasn't gotten much juice yet. I'm okay with it even though I do want her to get the nutrients from the blueberries. Despite the staining capabilities of blueberries - it was totally worth it! I love how Amelia likes so many different foods!

Whipped Bananas

I tried a couple new foods with Amelia and so far....they have been successful!

This morning was whipped bananas! She already likes the bananas from the store, but oh baby! does she ever like the real deal! She was quite pleased with the introduction.

She also got a taste of zucchini last weekend and it was also a success! I was kind of surprised, but the consistency was kind of like applesauce - so I wonder if that is part of it.

Next, she is going to be trying blueberries! And I now realize why I'm pretty sure moms don't give their kids pureed blueberries....they stain like crazy! Oh well - she'll hopefully enjoy that too. I also have a lot of run off juice from steaming them, so I'm thinking I will introduce her to juice too.

Dancing....

As I sit down to write this, miss Amelia is slowly putting herself to sleep and I'm looking around thinking that I should totally pickup and start cleaning, but instead I am going to reminisce....

Someone said, Life is about storms, you are either in a storm, coming out of a storm or about ready to go into a storm. And as I think about life I realize how true the statement is. Storms can be either long or short, mild or severe. When you come out of the storm you feel some level of relief for surviving, but you also realize how God was faithful and somehow He gave you the strength to get through it. And in many ways God figures out ways to bless you or teach you through it all. Now I'm not about ready to claim we have been experiencing a storm like cancer, but it was definitely a hard week. And when I look back on this entry in the future - I am not going to want to re-live that week - so I'm going to skip that part. But this I will say - oh how I love this family of mine - Patrick and Amelia are truly the loves of my life and it is so much better with them in it. And God in his grace provided us with fun blessings and lessons - and those I will write down......

Patrick and Amelia have such fun times together which I love to watch! Just as Patrick and I are different, so are our relationships with our baby girl. He allows her to be more independent so she can explore and learn to not be needy. Me - I tend to be right there, helping her along the way with whatever she needs. "Hovering"....well, that may be a stretch, but I'm very helpful. :) While this is great for supporting her - I realized this week - taking a bit of a step back may be healthy, so I have been trying to do that a little bit more. Taking this step back also includes as my dearest brother reminded me one day... "to save some words for me!!" Amelia - unbeknown to me - started saying 'Da' and I didn't even know! Evidently, she has been saying it to Patrick for a couple days before I had heard her. And now, she is even saying "DaDa" - of course, Patrick loves the fact that she says this before mama! How can I blame him?! I would be eating it up! In my defense - he has been working with her on it for quite some time! (Needless to say I'm now working on the 'mama'). Amelia - my dear child - you have reached another milestone.

But that is not the only milestone lately. I'm realizing she is quite the observer....she now claps her hands together! Often I clap my hands with her and say 'Yay' and she has caught on! It is so sweet to see. Now her default had movement is clapping and she gets the biggest smile when you add the 'Yay!'

Amelia is also becoming quite the ball handler! Makin' her daddy proud. Patrick will roll the ball to her and she does this flapping of her arms and sort of does a swat to the ball and off it goes rolling in some sort of a direction. And back and forth goes the rhythm of her ball handling skills with her daddy.

The peak to my 'stepping back' came this morning.....Patrick and I were in the bathroom getting ready and Amelia was out in the loft. She cannot crawl yet, but she can migrate. This morning she was on one of her migrations and I peaked out at her. She was on her belly - now when I looked not even 30 seconds before she had been on her back! So I sat there peaking around the corner like a little kid who was spying on my parents after being put to bed! She then rolled onto her back - a normal occurrence - and sure enough she pops herself back onto her belly!!! Trying to conceal my delight I pull Patrick and we both are now children spying on their parents! How exciting! I have a feeling with this new found ability her migrations will become even more prevalent.

And so closes our latest storm, with a few blessings, lessons learned and I believe we are closer as well as stronger.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass....its learning to dance in the rain....

Bright Future

Each step you take -

every minute, every day -

is moving you toward

a bright future.

(Don't forget that.)

And you've got

what it takes to be

anything you want to be.

All you've got to do...

is believe in you.

Now Presenting

When Gramma and Grandpa came to visit they brought some of mommy's old toys. One of them was her old piano. I set Amelia down in front of it and the first time she hit those keys her face lit up in amazement and she broke into a HUGE smile! She loved the fact she could make such a new and unique sound.

Now presenting our little Beethoven......

I love how when I feed Amelia....

..... she bobs her foot as she passes the time.

..... she reaches her hand up and wants to touch my face.

..... she is in utter amazement when I blow on her hand.

..... she wants to still have a grunt conversation with me.

.... will suddenly see her hand, turn it over and inspect it like it is the first time she has ever seen it.

..... she is starting to understand the sign for milk, even before I begin.

..... and she is really tired, she will start to fall asleep with her hand above her head.

..... she takes a break, just to smile.

Home Show - Year 3

On Saturday, we all went to the Home Show. This is the third year we have gone to the home show and it has been a different experience each time. 1) Regular 2) Preggo 3) With Amelia! Amazing what 3 years will do! (I think I like #3 best :)

Part of the home show is the landscaping part, which provides great picture opportunities!! Unfortunately most of the pictures turned out with a blue tint - though I couldn't resist posting this one.

The only picture that came out with regular coloring.

We had to take a milk break, but I have to admit - it felt great to sit down! The venue for the home show is HUGE! We should have worn a pedometer.

Checking everyone out as they go by! I kept thinking she was tired, since she kept yawning - but almost everytime I covered up the stroller for a nap the whole thing shook as she kicked, moved and tried look around.

Hanging out at the Home Show

Gramma and Amelia

Amelia started to slap the box and thought it was the funniest thing EVER!

Why Gramma Cycle?!

Many have asked why Gramma Motorcycle - well, my mom decided to buy a Harley a couple years back and my nephew Noah LOVES his gramma's harley. He loves her motorcyle so much, that he named her after it.....Gramma Cycle and it stuck!

Gramma and Grandpa Visit

Last weekend Gramma and Grandpa came to visit! They hadn't seen Amelia since Christmas and they were quite amazed at how much she had changed! Kept saying how busy she was.

Gramma and Amelia right after their arrival - Gramma is in 7th heaven! Amelia was convinced Gramma was a jumperoo - and she bounced and bounced on her.

Grandpa had just as much excitement as Gramma to see Amelia!

Gramma reading Amelia her bedtime story. Amelia has become very interested in looking at the pictures and feeling the textures in books these days. Her interests and development changes so quickly!

With all the lovin' going around - Indie refused to be left out! He decided to jump up - uninvited!

Indie thought he would provide some love back....

Amelia was showing Grandpa her drive and learn

"See Grandpa....look"

We also went to the Harley shop and found this onsie! All we needed was a little do-rag

Concentration

So Serious!

All Smiles!!!

Amelia loves her drive and learn! Her newest use for this singing steering console is to lift it up and either suck on it or flip it over. Considering the size ratio - she's got some muscles!

Oh the concentration....

Always Believing in Yourself

Last weekend we bought a book for Amelia entitled, "You Go, Girl...Keep Dreaming". The book is all about believing in yourself and encouraging words. I think self-esteem is so important and want to encourage Amelia so she has the self-confidence to believe in herself. Here is one of the entries.....

Believe in yourself and all you want to be. Don't let what other people say or do make you frown. Laugh as much as possible. Let in the good times and get through the bad. Be happy with who and where you are. You are in the right place and your heart is leading you to a great tomorrow. When circumstances seem difficult, pull through them. This will make you stronger than you think. The longer you practice the habit of working toward your dreams, the easier the journey will become.

You were meant for great things. Learn as much as possible. Always follow your dreams.

Update

Wow, the last couple weeks have flown by! I had to take a trip out to North Carolina for work for 2 1/2 days last week. It was sooo hard to leave. I literally felt like 2 pieces of myself were missing. I stopped by daycare before I headed out and Amelia was so incredibly excited to see me. She squealed with delight and nuzzled into my shoulder multiple times! Of course that just made it harder to leave! Daddy did an awesome job all by himself and Amelia did a good job too! Being away definitely made my heart grow fonder for both of my loves. I love my family! They make me complete and are such blessings in my life! In the two days that I was gone, Amelia grew and seemed to grow over the weekend too! I can't believe how big she is getting.

These pictures are from a couple weeks ago. There has been a lot of floor time lately - trying to work on Amelia's tummy time - she really is not a fan of it. We are also working on getting her to roll from her back to her belly.

Amelia continues to buzz her lips and slobbers all over herself! She works so hard at it - face turns red, tips her chin down and buzzzz

Tummy time! Or more like back time.

Lately Amelia has been smiling so big - it seems her face is going to bust!

Amelia figured out the book part of her jumperoo and now flips the pages back and forth

Gnawing on some apple

I thought Amelia looked so cute that I wanted to take a picture......

....She was such a poser!! She put her hand on the step all by herself! I nearly melted right on the floor.

So cute, that here is another!

More 'tummy' time

Daddy and Amelia

Mommy and Amelia