More Funnies

During dinner last night:

“Daddy? Big girl spoon please. No baby spoon.”

Who told her the toddler utensils she’s been using were for babies. How funny.


This morning as we’re walking by our new truck to get into our car:

“Daddy truck. Mommy car.”

Then she turns to the truck, looks right into the bumper, which is at her eye level, and says “Hi truck.”

If you’re not laughing, I guess you just had to be there.

Funnies

I stepped out of the shower this morning to hear a sweet rendition of Baa Baa Black Sheep coming from Amelia’s dark room. She sang the whole song several times.

When she heard me walking around, she shouted “Mom… Mom…”

I didn’t answer.

“I go play now.” she shouted politely.

Again I didn’t answer.

“Hey! Guys! I go play now. Mom. Dad. Mom” And it continued.

All this came from her dark bedroom while she stood in her crib. She cracks us up.


Funnie #2

I’ve been having some pretty bad back pain and have been limping around for over a week now. Last weekend Gene was trying to help me by rubbing my back. At one point, he hit the sore spot and I screamed.

The next thing you know, Amelia shouts at us “Daddy! Be nice to Mommy!”

Funnie #3

Last month our little comedian came running out of her room, having donned her pink Easter beret, with her hands up and growling, and confidently stated “I’m a tiger!”

She’s a hoot!

Vomit

Yesterday, while getting ready for our day, Amelia threw up. Just one quick cough and that was it. It was so fast, I hardly realized what had happened.

She likes to suck the toothpaste off her toothbrush and I think that didn’t set quite right on her stomach.

She looked down at the mess and proclaimed “OH NO! My mouff farted!”

We haven’t stopped laughing.

And wouldn’t that technically be “my mouth pooped?”

The Singer

Yesterday on the way to school, Amelia sang the entire ABC song for the first time without missing a letter.

The girl loves to sing.

She has four full songs in her repertoire. She sings Itsy Spider (Itsy Bitsy Spider), Twinkle (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), Baa Baa (Baa Baa Black Sheep), and Row Row (Row Row Your Boat). She sings them all together, all day long, in one big musical number.

Too Small?

Is this outfit too small on my two-year-old? You be the judge. It was part of a newborn set I got at one of my baby showers. The size is "one size."

Preferences

When Amelia turned two she moved up at school to the room for the two and three year olds. This room has a pretend kitchen and she LOVES it. Today they were given shaving cream to play with. Instead of getting messy, Amelia decided she would rather keep her new dress clean and make coffee in the kitchen for everyone. How cute.

Good thing I bought a hand made wood four-piece kitchen for her. I'm in the middle of refinishing it. I better get busy as this girls got some more coffee to make!

Friends

Amelia has so many great friends. We're calling our Sept. 15, 2008 playgroup time as HugFest 2008. All the kids were hugging and kissing and it was just too cute. Here's Amelia and her friend Austin. When they get older they'll be able to say that they've know each other since they were just a few months old! So cool!

First Visit to the Library

Today we visited the library for the first time. Immediately upon entering the parking lot Amelia screamed "Mooooommmmy!!! Two Trucks!!!" You would have thought the sky was falling. She had simply seen some trucks driving down the road.

I replied "That's nice" or "OK" or something like that.

She then said "I know" with complete confidence. Whatever. The chats we have these days are just too funny.

Our visit inside the library was uneventful. She admired the rows of books, sat down and read a few, and then we left. That was our first visit. Maybe next time we'll make if for storytime.

Back to before the outing - This morning when she first woke up I asked her if she'd like to sit on the potty.

Her polite response was "no."

I asked again if she'd like to try to go potty.

She then said "no try."

I changed her diaper and we went downstairs for breakfast.

Today's Amelia Quote

I think I'll start posting the most hilarious thing Amelia does or says each day. It will be easy to do.

Tonight after dinner, in her sweetest voice, Amelia stated from the dinner table "Daddy, come here right now!" We were in the kitchen doing the dishes and just cracked up. The voice inflection was what got us. Demanding yet pleasant. She's a hoot!

Diapers & Pee

Potty training time is here. She's telling. We're asking. It's a bunch of work with moderate success at this point.

Several times last weekend Amelia stripped herself down to her birthday suit. One of those times was while in her crib during her nap time. She peed all over her freshly washed sheets and blankets. Oh well. More laundry. Who's counting.

She's Two

Yes, Amelia Jean is now two years old. I know it’s true, but I’m not quite sure how we got here so fast. It seems like yesterday when she slept in a swing in the middle of our living room. Now she politely requests her favorite foods (banana and yogurt) as she settles into her chair at the dining room table. She says “yes please” and “thank you.” She can count to twenty in English and ten in Spanish. She's starting to sing four and five letter portions of the alphabet song. She's so very smart! Her sweet disposition is adorable and she’s always giving out big hugs and kisses.

Her birthday week went by amazingly fast. I took the week off to enjoy the festivities. My parents and nephew Cody flew in from Alaska and my Aunt and Uncle drove up from Oregon. We enjoyed a visit to Remlinger Farms and a wonderfully messy seafood feast at the Crab Pot. The weather was HOT; in the 90s all week. Each evening, with all windows wide open and fans running at high speed, we would watch Michael Phelps capture yet another gold medal. Amelia thoroughly enjoyed playing with her nine-year-old cousin and still talks of Papa, Grandma, and Cody’s visit.

On Friday, August 15 we took the birthday girl to the Woodland Park Zoo. She loved the elephants and zebras and then slept through the rest of the visit. I liked the flamingos! Opening gifts with Cody’s assistance was a big thrill. I don’t think she took one bite of her chocolate cupcake, but instead polished off every lick of frosting. Just like her first birthday, the gal crashed quite quickly once the sugar high wore off.

We all had a grand week. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. Our little gal is such a blessing.

Random

Fun at the Luau

This is New!

Too Cute

Amelia and I talk our way through each morning as we get ready for school and work. The other day I put on my blouse and asked her how I looked.

“Pretty. Mommy Pretty.”

What a great answer.

This morning when we got into the car she held up her finger and said “ouchy” and wined a bit about something that hurt her finger.

Before I could say anything she kissed her finger, looked at me, and proclaimed “All Better!”

Where does she get this stuff?

Summer!

Wow - June was a busy month and July hasn’t been any slower. It seemed that during June every time we turned around Amelia was sleeping. In one weekend she attended two birthday parties and crashed immediately thereafter each one of them. Then the following weekend she slept through our entire visit to the Edmonds Arts Festival. It looks like she’s finally getting her last four teeth – the incisors, but they’re taking forever to push through. And then there are still the four two-year molars that haven't even started to make an appearance. Maybe this is contributing to her sleepiness.



We’ve been to the Edmonds waterfront several times since the weather has turned nice. We pack a picnic lunch and Amelia sorts through all the goodies in the sand.


Amelia is officially 23 months old and the countdown has begun to birthday number two!!! We’re taking it REAL low key this year, unlike last year’s first party blitz with 35 guests. My parents are flying in from Alaska with my nephew Cody and my aunt & uncle from Portland happen to be in town. Gene’s mom, sister, & nieces might also join us. That’s about as far as I’ve gotten on the birthday celebration.

Today we’re off to check out the Solar Festival in Shoreline. Who knows where we’ll end up after that? Maybe back at the beach in Edmonds.

All Better

Amelia's counting was correct this morning; one through ten just perfect.

Counting

This morning the counting went like this...

1

2

4

9

Maybe we'll try again tomorrow (smile)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This morning, after a brief quiet time in her crib, Amelia emptied it by throwing each toy out individually. As she was throwing, she was counting.

throw Toy

"one"

throw Toy

"two"

throw toy

"three"

You get the idea. All the way up to ten.

I was shocked, then proud beyond belief. I smiled, changed her diaper, and then asked her to put the toys away because they couldn’t be left all over the floor. She put the toys on the shelf and we were off to the water park.

How cool!

Shoes Shoes Shoes

This is quite likely Amelia's favorite word AND item.

"Shoes."

She says it all the time, brings yours to you, demands hers, hugs them, organizes them (yes, she IS my daughter), remembers which pair you wore in and delivers them to you when it's time to leave, etc.

Amelia loves shoes.

She happened to be 21 months old to the date when I took this video footage. Click here to enjoy!

"I Wuv You"

She said it today. We always tell Amelia we love her and somewhere along the way she learned to blow a kiss back. Today she dropped the kiss and just said it. It was "I wuv you" as clear as a bell and it was beautiful!

Then she kept going.

"I wuv you Mommy."

"I wuv you Daddy."

Waterpark!

I highly recommend Great Wolf Lodge, the new water park in Grand Mound, Washington. We were there over Mother's Day weekend with bunches of our friends and we all had a blast. Amelia played so hard both days that she fell asleep in her carseat before we even started the car.

Click here for the first video I’ve ever taken on my still camera. It’s not great, but you’ll get the idea. Amelia and her friend Owen were dancing and having a great time in the pool.

Spectacles?

Say it isn’t so! Because my terrible vision was detected at such an early age (first grade), Amelia had her first eye exam today. We saw Dr. Preston at Northwest Pediatric Eye Care. Everyone at the office was fantastic with Amelia and completely enamored with her cuteness.

The doctor did say that our little sweetie is likely on her way to needing glasses. Today’s appointment was to get a baseline assessment. We’re scheduled to return in six months and that will be the true test. At that time she may or may not leave with a new pair of spectacles. We’ll just have to wait and SEE! No pun intended.

The First Six!

Amelia had a big weekend; or rather, Mom was very happy that Amelia had such a great time on this one particularly important event. Yep, it's official - Amelia loves her bike trailer!

After last summer's poor performance, we were skeptical of what would happen. We arrived at Bothell Landing, put her helmet on no problem, buckled her into the trailer, still no problem, and took off. That was it. We kept waiting for the screams of disapproval that we heard a year ago, but there were none. Well, only a few down the road when her helmet strap got askew, she dropped her water bottle and couldn't reach it, or saw her snacks and immediately wanted one.

We completed six miles which includes a stop at the park for dinner - Subway sandwiches. A perfect evening! Mom, the closest cyclist for the past three years, is smiling.

Yuck!

Amelia gave us our first real scare this past week. She was so sick and dehydrated from some random bug she picked up that we had to take her to the Children's Hospital emergency room. We were able to get her rehydrated after some anti-nausea mediation, but that only lasted a day. The next day the entire cycle repeated itself and this went on for five days. There were repeat doctor visits, trips to the hospital, and lots of phone calls to her doctors and nurses. As of yesterday, she's doing much better. Thank you all for your prayers and concern.

Now to the fun part.

Last Thursday she had two firsts; her first visit to the emergency room and the first time she said her name. While watching photos on the laptop screensaver, she pointed and said "Me Me Aah." Yep, that’s "Amelia" said by a 20-month old. Too cute.

The other cute thing she did that was also so sad... When she would fill her diaper (with really bad diarrhea) as she did about every 30 minutes for all those days, she would stop, tap her waist, and say with a concerned tone "Oh no, Oh no!" Adorable. And then we would head upstairs to the changing table…

Quick Update

A wonderful day visiting Great Aunt Clarkie at her home in Palos Verdes Estates, CA.

Someone is sure enjoying the hotel room!

Great Grandma Jean's childhood chair from Panama.

Grandma Jean, Kirsten, & Amelia

Amelia's doing great! She’s talkin' more and more each day. She’s hasn’t shown too much interest in using the toilet lately so we'll wait a while before coming back to that. She loves her gymnastics class and going to Jump Planet with her friends to, well, JUMP!!! Swimming is now a routine she anticipates since she’s been going most Saturdays since she was eight months old. She laughs and plays in the water and has little fear of it. That was our goal! Check.

We went to Monrovia last month to visit Grandma Jean and Great Aunt Clarkie for a weekend. It was a delightful time getting to visit with family and let them enjoy Amelia as we do each and every day. The plane ride down was not too much fun for anyone as Amelia got sick with a fever and ear infection the morning we were to leave. She most certainly didn’t like the landing but the plane ride home four days later was a non-issue. She’s a traveling fool with eight flights under her belt and a brand new passport in hand ready for her first international venture.

Babies

Amelia noticed tonight what was on a TV news program for a flash of a moment; babies. She exclaimed "Babies, Babies". We asked her if she would like a baby sister or baby brother. Her unmistakble answer was a clear "sissa". We both laughed hysterically.

No, we have no other news except that we've started communication with a local adoption agency.

Talk Talk Talk

“Oooooh Wow” when she sees something new or something she really likes.

“Pease”
“Tank U”
“More”

“Sit sit” when sitting down on the bottom step to put on her “Shuuz”.

“Dog ga” Dog
“Wuf wuf” is the sound the dog makes. We don’t even have a dog. We have a cat.

Our little gal is full of words and is so very animated. What fun we’re having with her; big hugs, lots of kisses, smiles that never end. It’s all good. We’re quite tired of course, but isn’t that what we signed up for?

On Friday, February 15 Amelia will be 1½ years old. How did that happen?

For the past year we’ve been taking her to swimming lessons every Saturday morning. She’s become quite a water baby as she goes underwater, blows bubbles, and climbs out of the pool using proper techniques she’s learned.

Last week we took her to her first gymnastics class. The trampoline was a huge hit and complete entertainment for us. We’re going again tomorrow because we all had so much fun.

Stay tuned for more Amelia!