Amelia Takes On the World

Hey everyone!  I’m over being sick so I thought I’d catch up on my thoughts… I’m just so excited for Halloween tomorrow.  Mom says I get to be ‘minnie mouse’ - how cute will I be!  I get to have a parade at daycare and a neighborhood party.  So fun.

I’m walking everywhere now, and feeling more and more confident about it.  I can just go down halls and turn and don’t need to hold on much.  Sometimes I still do just in case.  And sometimes mom can’t figure out why I go the direction I go… I do it just to confuse her.  Keep her guessing!

Kaykay stayed with me for two days - thanks Kaykay!  It was a great time.  You made being sick fun and really made mommy relieved to have me in such good hands during the day.

I am happy to be back with friends at daycare though - I missed them!  I saw Meredith right away and held my arms to her.  She and Graham are my best friends.

Hopefully mom will take lots of pictures over the weekend so you can see how adorable I am.

Love,

Amelia

Dearest Amelia,

A week ago, you turned fifteen months old.  Sorry this is late!

We’ve progressed beyond the salmonella and have now battled strep (and another virus, but technically that started after you turned fifteen months old).  You have two molars in and the third is about to break through.  I’m guessing you’ll have all four by the end of this next month.

Last month I called you a sponge and that is still just such an accurate description.  It seems like you really understand what we are saying, even though you don’t say many words.  I’m not sure there is anything you’ve added to your verbal words but you’ve added the signs for ‘please’ and ‘happy’ (though I have to prompt you to use them).

Other than illness you are sleeping well thankfully.  Still love your pacis and we’ve noticed you are loving your lamby more and more.  Maybe it will be your ‘lovey’ since other than your pacis, you haven’t really developed an attachment for anything.

We broke you of your bottles - that wasn’t fun.  Now its sippies only and you don’t really do the morning/evening routine.  Instead you just drink throughout the day and we hope get enough fluids.  I wish you drank more of your soy milk but you do drink so … we are going with the flow for now.  Eating is an adventure too - some days you eat everything - others you only want bread.  We are trying to give you a well rounded meal with a couple things we know you will eat, and not cave and give you more until you eat at least some of the other food.  It seems to work, you finally give in after a day or two and go back to eating everything.  I have a feeling we will fight this battle for years to come off & on.

You aren’t into your babies and stuffed animals anymore - now you love balls - throwing and rolling back & forth.  Well you’ve always loved them, but its your favorite activity.  Books too - you love books.  We’ve progressed to where you will let me read a page or two before flipping too fast for any words.  Maybe I can truly read a book to you soon.

We can finally say you are a true toddler since you started walking right after the pumpkin patch.  It went from one to two steps very quickly to just walking.  You still have your arms out a bit (Frankenstein!) and its so cute, but also so amazing how you can just walk down the hall and turn into a room.  I’m in a bit of shock about it actually.

You are still loving and happy and friendly - maybe a little shy in new situations but otherwise you seem to enjoy life fully and I hope that is a trend throughout your life.

This next month will bring Halloween as well as our first vacation without you - still not sure how I’ll do with that.  It was one thing to be gone walking knowing you were with your dad… but to leave out of the country without my baby?  I might be a mess.  We’ll see.  You’ll probably have a blast being with Nonni and your cousin Lena.  You’ll have them all wrapped around your finger and get whatever you want…. good luck Nonni and Ann!

I hope to get up some pictures and walking video this weekend - you really are looking like a little girl now and have lost almost all the baby look.  Sad but exciting at the same time. Its such a strange feeling - I love seeing you hit milestones and grow up but I do miss the tiny baby.

I love you baby girl,

Momma

So I know, I know - I said she was walking and then no updates, no 15 month post, nothing.  Its been a wee bit busy lately between the 3-day breast cancer walk this past weekend and Amelia having a virus - she’s had a rough fall.  I’m about to fly to NYC for work and thankfully Kaykay is here to watch her while Chris is doing his civic duty serving on a jury.

This weekend we’ll catch up - videos, blog, updates, etc.

Stay warm this week!

Kelly

Unfortunately I haven’t gotten great video of it yet, but she is really starting to walk more and more.  It seems like she took her first 2 - 3 steps back in August and then has been content to crawl ever since.

Let’s see - two weeks ago she finally took about 8 steps unaided… and started standing and then at the pumpkin patch this past weekend she was standing quite a bit, getting herself to standing and walking a tiny bit.

Yesterday we were playing with her friends outdoors and she’d just walk like she’s always been doing it (well with some frankenstein arms but…) - I saw her go 10 steps, play stop or turn, and then keep going… its amazing how much better she is than 3 days ago.

So our lives will never be the same now - chaos will ensue with our true toddling toddler.

Baby Momma

PS Video will come soon, I promise to try and capture it.

Amelia got to visit her first pumpkin patch after her haircut this morning.  We really need to be outside with her more - she just loved it and was working hard on her standing and her walking - though its difficult to stand on uneven ground, she sure was trying and doing pretty well.

She also helped me pick which pumpkins to get, and gave me a big ol’ kiss.

Then we surrounded her with pumpkins!  She decided maybe sitting down on one was the safest place to be.  She was also very curious about the pumpkins, especially the ones with some dew still on them.

We hope everyone else is having a great fall.

This morning was momumental - Amelia’s first haircut.  She feel asleep in the car on the way there which worked out well - she was very mellow for the big event.   We went to a children’s specialty place - Pigtails and Crewcuts, and they did great.  Amelia just sat there and let them do their thing, and the end result was just a nicely trimmed version of her adorable curly hair I love.   Amelia didn’t want to pose for our camera, but she posed for the picture they took for her ‘offical first haircut’ certificate, with a curl of her hair attached.  Guess she knew which one was more important.

Hi everybody!  Amelia here.  Can’t believe its Thursday again, how often do we have these things anyway?  I’m finally getting over my illness but I’ve been a little cranky the last couple days.  I can’t tell mom & dad why… I’m not really sure myself.  At least I’m still adorable!  This week the thing I do the most is not only sign ‘more’ but say ‘mar’ over and over to eat more and more food.  Especially bread.  I love bread.

This week at daycare we were supposed to come as scarecrows - there are lots of fun days this month with Halloween coming up.  So mommy put me in jeans and a straw hat - wasn’t the best scarecrow outfit, but it worked.  I looked cute, but I always look cute!

Mom gave me this new food last night, wheat thins with hummus.  It was pretty tasty! Don’t I look cute in my headband?

I love my pacifiers, and I particularly love to have more than one at a time, so I can interchange them whenever I want.

I’ve also been a mama’s girl this month, more clingy than normal.  Here I am resting my head on mama’s leg…

Hope everyone has a good weekend.  Apparently I’m getting a haircut and visiting a pumpkin patch!

Amelia

Last night my parents were in town - catching an early flight Tuesday morning out of Atlanta.  As we were all hanging out, I decided to put on Amelia’s music cd that she loves to dance and play to.  We were playing away with the new drum toy she has, when she noticed my dad (Grandpa Joe) tapping his foot noticeably to the music.  Well Amelia decided to crawl right on over, stand up by the couch and stomped her foot along side his - it was just too cute.

And in walking news - we’ve seen her take up to 8 steps now a few times and she is finally taking steps at daycare as well.  Next thing we know we will turn around and she’ll be running.  Maybe its her new size 5W tennis shoes (which happen to be the same as her old size 4 ones - what can I say I like them!).

Baby Momma

Hi everyone,

Thanks to a wonderful cherry-flavored thing called amoxicillin, I might survive.  I wasn’t sure for awhile - I was so cold and shivering with a fever for a couple days… even meds didn’t want to work.  But the wonderful nurse at my pediatrician figured it all out and now I’m back to being me.  I even gave in and will drink milk out of sippys.  I’m not even sure what I used to drink them out of… its a fuzzy memory.

I am so glad to go back to school on Friday, I miss my friends.

What is everyone doing this weekend?  I think my parents are mostly focused on cleaning up the house, doing some projects… they are thinking about moving to the other side of town to get closer to daddy’s job.  That way he can spend more time at home, less time driving.  They aren’t sure yet though.  I do know we need to go get me new shoes this weekend, so that should be fun!

Hope everyone has fun!

Amelia

If you answered strep throat - ding ding - you are the winner!  Not that strep (or salmonella for that matter) are childhood only, but they sure do make the little babies so pitiful. 

So home with Amelia, she’s napping, thankfully we know what it is this time around and have antibiotics.  No 5 days of waiting like our last illness.  I had an inkling, she wouldn’t eat foods with texture, only nice soft things - and the fever was so high - 104 this morning!  So not surprised its strep and glad we know.

Amelia’s Thoughts will be back tomorrow!

Kelly