Seriously?

I love chocolate covered strawberries. Like, they are up there with Dr. Pepper, which I drink by the gallon. So, imagine my surprise when this showed up at my door today.

Hmm...surely it's not really what the outside of the box says. Surely.


Delicious. Decadent. Dang good. My sweet Mom and Dad sent Ross and I such a unique and thoughtful Valentine's Gift. Thanks guys, we loved them. Amelia got a box of Valentine goodies as well.

She loved her box and carefully examined each thing. First the cute cup and then the two new books and the card. All a big hit.


Then, this dog. See?Speaking of Valentine's Day, Ross has planned a surprise for me on Saturday and I am beyond excited. We haven't been away in aaagggggeeees. He is trying to tell me everything about the surprise though. I know it is Branson and he already told me where we are staying. By Saturday, I am sure I will know everything he has planned. Amelia is staying with Gam and Gamp and she says, "Have fun and don't hurry back." Actually, that sounds like something Mom and Amelia would say.

Yes, I realize that Amelia doesn't actually talk in complete sentences. But, I just know what she means. Okay, so she doesn't really talk at all. Sheesh.

We also got these adorable Valentine's cards from Will and Walker today. Love.


And Mammaw sent a pop-up card. What a delightful trip to the mailbox today!

Love

So.....two tantalizing tidbits for today.


Guess who is going to give us a girl? Yep, these two beautiful people. She'll be a knockout. I was moved to tears with the healthy report yesterday. Steph hates tears so I had to clear them, fast. Amelia cannot wait for her little cousin to arrive so that she can start telling her what to do. Kidding---so they can play of course. And be best friends. With the occasional bossing.


And, today is the anniversary of when these two said "I do."

I wasn't there that day, but from my first memory on, they have done nothing but shower me with love, as well as each other. They are looking at Amelia in this picture and beaming, which is so typical of these two. Happy Fiftyfourish Years. I can't remember, but I think Meme said 54 is the magical number of this Anniversary.

Tummy Tidbit
Amelia went to have her ears re-checked today and they looked good. Ear infection is gone. However, we had some discussions about the fact that she won't eat meat or green veggies or anything other than her Orange Trio of sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash. Not a well-rounded diet. And, she is coming off formula in a few weeks, which has a lot of good stuff in it. He gave me a prescription for some vitamins and told me to keep trying with new foods each week. She is in the 20th percentile for weight and is still on "the same curve she has been on" when he plotted her on the chart. So, he isn't concerned that she isn't thriving, but he is concerned she might not be getting enough mojo.

She starts gagging sometimes BEFORE she tries the new food item. I don't even make a big deal of it; I just slip the meat or bean or whatever I am letting her try onto her tray. Often, she will look at it and start gagging or, if she is being really dramatic, dry heaving. This is without tasting the food. Sigh. My child loves drama. She then screams "NACK, NACK." Because one thing she does love is a good ole snack, i.e. Gerber Puffs of Air.

Tantrum Tidbit
Sunday night we took the front of Amelia's crib off to make a toddler bed of sorts and pushed it up against our bed. We have a double bed and with Amelia sprawled out and Ross sprawled out, I am uncomfortable most of the night. I thought this would work perfectly, but she knows the difference. She screams out and flails when on "her" mattress. But, when on our mattress in a big family wad, snoozes fine. It has been a disaster to say the least. We have tried to lay her down every night and failed every night. She is so awake by the third attempt and fail that it takes quite a while to rock her back to sleep. We are back at the drawing board. Since she is in love with her bathtub rather it is water or snow, one of my friends suggested putting her to sleep in it. I am a mere day or two away from trying it.




When we left the doctor, Amelia said, "Mom, I loved that new stuff I tried the last few days."

I could not figure out what she was talking about.

"You know, it was cold and delish. Does it have lots of nutrients? Because I could eat it all day every day."

I finally realize she is talking about snow. "No sweetie that doesn't have any nutrients. Sorry. We will try some chicken when we get home though."

She started gagging in her carseat.

Sledding Day #2

We went back out this morning because all the old snow refroze and made for perfect sliding. Amelia loved it even more today because the sun was out and no new snow was falling. She is quite the little ski bunny.




We tied a ribbon to the bathtub today and went quite a bit faster. I thought she might be scared, but Ross just kept yelling, "She is cracking up." In fact, after a few trips back and forth, she just kicked back in the sled..er bathtub.

I looked back and she was laying down.

This is the life.

The snow is melting now, but it was fun while it lasted.


See ya later snow!

Snow Bath

Snow came to Little Rock.

Unannounced.

Welcomed.



I was bummed Amelia had no sled and my good friend Amy said they were taking Owen out in his bathtub. What a fabulous idea. We copied.

Amelia could have gone for hours. "Gin, Gin, " she said. No, not an alcoholic drink, but rather her version of again. So, we went gin. And gin.

Ross didn't have to go to work due to the lovely visitor we had. We were supposed to get rain and ended up with four inches of snow. Such a fun day so far. When Amelia wakes up from her nap, we might just go 'gin.



The above picture is when we tried the laundry basket and our child almost flew out of it several times over to the next apartment complex. Not a good idea. We'll stick to bathtubs. Or one day, when we are cool enough, a real sled.

Suhweet

Take that snow and ice. After five weeks, we finally got to go home. When I realize how long that sounds to us and how ridiculous it might sound to others, it makes me smile. I am so blessed to have such a close-knit and loving family. Sitting here in my quiet apartment, I get a little teary eyed just thinking about it.

I am tired and my nose is running and I have a headache, so I am going to bed. But, I had to post a few pictures because my heart is happy. Enjoy, and I hope they make your heart happy too.

A Smattering

Well, Amelia is not really sure how she is feeling. We had a mixture of fun and meltdowns today. I think her ears are feeling better, but her gums have started to hurt. I kind of forgot about teething and just accepted the precious four that she has. However, I think it is baaaaack.

I read an article that frightened me. "You should start brushing your child's teeth as soon as the first tooth appears." What? We immediately got Amelia an Elmo toothbrush and she has really been going to town cleaning her four teeth.

Meltdown after brushing was over. Nothing was fun for her this morning because she got in trouble for chewing on everything. She chewed on her shoes--gross. She chewed a hole through two books--expensive. She chewed until she cried--ouch. So, we packed up and went to storytime. Lo and behold she was perfect. Sat still and listened to two entire books. Even "participated" in the craft and when I told her to pose with her hamster picture she crammed it beneath her foot.



She had a snack when we got home for being such a good girl and then the meltdowns returned.
And yes, she was the cutest one at storytime :)


Interesting how that happens---good at storytime, meltdowns at home. Amelia took a (much too short) nap and then I made some playdough to bring something different into the mix. AKA distract Amelia from ear and gum pain. She did far better than I thought she would with it. At first she was hesitant to touch it, and then she kept breaking off small pieces and stashing them on the ground.

Dad, notice what table we are using. The best deal EVER. Oh, and notice tiny stashed piece.
Ross is on EKG this month and he has great hours. He was home early enough to help us with playdough and that was exciting.
About thirty mintues in, Amelia decided she miiight want to put one little, teensy bite in her mouth. On try number three the playdough had to be put away. And, yes, you guessed it..meltdown.

I hope she feels better tomorrow and honestly, for teeth and ear issues, she was still quite the delight today. This picture cracks me up. Amelia always looks for me to put my phone down, and although I always try to put it out of her reach, today she grabbed it off the table and started checking my texts. Nosy.

Book Clubbin

So, the second book club meeting was a success. We met at Panera, which is my favorite carb restaurant ever, and the discussion was wonderful. Other than the fact that I obviously love books and love talking, I love meeting because it is my time to just be me. I am not identified as Ross's wife or Amelia's mom, I am just a contributor to the discussion. It is fun to use my brain--especially since I am not working. (Speaking of work--creating the lesson plans for my replacement -and some cash- has been rewarding, but lately I have been slightly downtrodden because I love some of the lessons that I am sending him so much that I want to teach them myself).

We read The Red Tent and it was such an interesting book. The author took a character from Genesis, Dinah, and created an entire story from her life---complete with dialouge and thoughts. Dinah never actually speaks in the Bible; she doesn't utter one word. So, the author took complete liberty in creating a ton of what-ifs. I liked it and although there is some controversy surrounding the book, i.e. it isn't her place to assume what happened, and the book is disrespectful to the Word, I didn't buy into any of that.

The book is a clearly stated piece of fiction. It just so happens to have received its inspiration from the Bible and to me, that makes it all the more interesting. It helped me remember what I all to often forget--the people in the Bible were real people, with real families, and real problems.

If you are looking for something different, you should check it out.

Amelia went to the doctor today and has an ear infection. She was not in the mood for any photos; especially after we were in the doctor's office an hour and a half. And I wasn't really in the mood to take any either. This was partly in relation to the fact that Amelia started bawling and the doctor (not the normal one we see) said, "She is really putting on isn't she?" Well, you keep jabbing that in her ear because you are "having trouble seeing in her ear canal," so perhaps she really is in pain. Even if not, you better shut your mouth because you haven't seen putting on until I get started.

Ohhh, funny story. Amelia was pushing her fish around in this cart and things were going fine. However, he did something to greatly upset her and she jerked him up into the air and started giving a lecture.

Here she is prancing off with a very stern face mid conversation and mid prance.

Poor guy--who knows what he did. I bet he will be more careful during the next ride.