Green Acres is the Place to Be

We went to the farm to see Pa's new baby calves on Sunday. Amelia quickly changed out of her church dress and into her "cowgirl boots" in case she "saw any cow poop." She named a black calf Sarah and a brown calf Thomas, and she was very proud of those names. Elise loved mooing at the cows, and stayed glued to the fence the first thirty minutes.


Then Elise saw Amelia climb the fence and immediately tried to scramble up herself. Thankfully, Pa was there to help.

Next, the girls picked some turnips for the horses. Frank (their little dog) tried to wrestle away one of Elise's turnips, but she screamed, "NO," and scared him off. Haha. This tickled me to pieces (after I stopped having a heart attack thinking Frank was eating her arm off).



Then it was off to the creek down the road to throw a few rocks in. If you will remember the last time we were near water, Elise didn't get to participate; however, she was delighted to have a hand to hold and a rock to throw this time.

Amelia was asking to ride the wheelbarrow and after a little investigating, we found out she meant the four-wheeler. And off they went!
Add to this wonderful day a meal of french toast and bacon and strawberries made by G and that's what I call an awesome day on the farm! Thanks G and Pa

Super Bowl Sunday

So, it is actually Oscar Sunday, but I totally forgot to post this. And, it was a very important moment in the Halsted family's life events: Amelia's first go-kart ride.

We went to Incredible Pizza on Super Bowl Sunday after naps for the girls and a long nap for a post-call Daddy. I have to say, I LOVE their pizza. It is delish. I cared nothing about the Super Bowl and even though Ross would have liked to watch the game, he went with his girls to have some fun. The game was playing in the background and Amelia was into it. "I love football," she says. Haha. She was very scared of the commercials and had to turn the other way. We watch all our cartoons on demand and so she had never seen a real commercial. Precious.

The games were fun, but Amelia was really curious about the Go-Karts. I assumed she wasn't tall enough, but lo and behold she was. Even though I instructed her Daddy to drive on the OUTSIDE and to go very SLOW, he drove on the INSIDE and went quite FAST. Amelia had a huge smile the whole time and loved it.



They won a first place ribbon and she fist pumped as they came across the line. Hilarious.



She wanted to wear her ribbon to school for Purple Day the next morning. Proud of herself, that one.

Conversations...

We saw a man sitting outside the library the other day and Amelia said, "I wonder why he is sitting there, Mom? Lets think of a few reasons."

I chuckled. This is what I do to her all the time to get her thinking and she was turning the tables on me in such a grown-up voice. Hilarious.

A: I will go first. I bet his legs got tired.
M: Good one. Or maybe he is waiting on a ride.
A: Or maybe he was too loud in the library.
M: Or maybe he is just getting some fresh air.

We went on like this for quite a while. These are the days :)
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Me: You ready to go get sissy poo from school?
Elise: Poo Poo. Shewwwww.
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Scene takes place right beside sign that says to keep your dog on a leash.
Amelia: Mom, there is a dog and he's not on a leash!
Me: I know, just stay right by Mom.
Random Lady at Park: Is she scared of dogs or something?
M: No, but I have taught her to be leery of strange dogs she doesn't know.
RLAP: Um, this is a puppy, not a dog.
M: Well, he could still bite her.
RLAP: Nope, he is just a baby, so he won't bite, but whatever.
M: Well, I'm biting my tongue off so that I don't say something very rude.

Perfect

This picture is idyllic and beautiful and Amelia was having so much fun. What you don't see is me trying to balance the camera and keep a feisty Elise from trying to catapult herself into the river. You can't hear her screaming BATH or me laughing and looking a mess as she tries to wriggle free from my grasp to kiss a honking goose. This picture above is only part of the scene. Isn't that true about life in general? We always only see part of the scene when it comes to most situations that don't involve us directly, yet we judge like we've seen the whole thing. Or, I know I do. This picture made me want to work on that.

Happy Birthday Amelia Claire!

This feels like yesterday...
Three is harder than two. Which makes me wonder if there will be a leveling out around, say, seven? Two still seemed small and even as she neared the end of being two, I still beamed and shouted "TWO" when someone asked how old Amelia was. Never for a moment saying, "almost three." My tiny little Buzzy Bee is three?? It is interesting and baffling and precious what a child does for you. I got a glimpse of it as a teacher, because I loved my students. Always called them my kids and lost most of 'self' while teaching and counseling and grading and lecturing. Then, my own surprise bundle came into the world.

And the surprise was not just that I was with child. The surprise has continued and expanded tenfold since her birth. The gap between loving my students and loving my own child became astoundingly obvious. THIS precious being was a part of me. I was TOTALLY responsible for her joy and development and every other thing from A to Z. It all came as such a shock. Oh, my word this is the incomprehensible LOVE that parents speak of. This is why your HEART is ready to leap out of her chest for the next 50 + years.






Amelia,

Being your mom has been blessing upon blessing. Daddy and I were totally unprepared for the way that you would allow us to see life. Everything is more important and less important at exactly the same time. It is more important and more pressing each day to show you the love of God and pray that you find him and keep him with you throughout your life. It is more important than ever to show joy in all our days and squeeze each and every drop of fun out of this life that we have been allowed to have with you. As you age it becomes less important to stress over a bedtime down to the minute and even less important to make sure you wear the socks that Mommy picks out.

Thank you for your infectious curiosity and your innocent (and sometimes not-so-innocent) way of demanding our full attention. Thank you for showing me what it truly means to love. To honestly live out loving patiently and kindly and without boasting. Thank you for your thirst for fun and your passion for the small and big. Thank you for the hugs and kisses and the encouragement you give me every single day. Thank you for being totally you- the little Buzzy completely made in God's image to further push me to be the most complete person that I can be.

If these are the first three years, my heart almost cannot contain the anticipation of those that are to follow. I am so excited for all that this next year holds for you. Loving you forever and always.

Mom

Here is my sweet baby turning One...

Two....

and Three..

Still Partying...

Thanks to everyone that came to celebrate Amelia's special day. She got many wonderful gifts and more importantly, felt very loved. I need to have it recorded that Amelia invited Asher, Micah, Liam, Will, and Walker as far as friends go. Yep, all boys. Sheesh. Thankfully her best friends Ing and Elise are related to her, so there will always be some girls around. And, Liv will be right in the mix by next year. Love those girls.


I had Amelia's dress made, but Steph made all three little girls matching shirts. Aren't they adorable? She has a three month old, an eighteen month old, and works full time and still stayed up the night before the party to make these!!! Elise loved hers.
Amy made this special Minnie bow to match her dress and it turned out so awesome. I just told her to "make a bow." I love, love, how it turned out. Thanks friend!
I tried to get lots of pictures and run around and cheer for the Bee, and I was so thankful for lots of Elise helpers. She's a wild one.






Shelby is under the pile of boys--too funny.

Meeska Mouska, Mickey Mouse

Amelia had her third birthday party today at the gym. She was very opinionated about having it at the gym and she was in her element. Running around, chasing everyone, laughing, and just exuding sheer joy. Everyone had a blast and it just made me so happy :)






Speaking of happy, G and Pa got her 3 months worth of gymnastics lessons, and I am thrilled to get her in class. Amelia Claire is my feisty and tiny little jumper, my cautious leaper; my joyful and carefree runner, my precious almost three year old. I am soaking up her last few days of being two. She, however, declares she is definitely already THREE.