Daddy's Girl

Amelia has really been wanting her Daddy to be home a lot lately and this week he is on nights, so I took her up to see him for a treat. She was thrilled to be at "Daddy's Hospital."

She loved the cafeteria food and ate more than she ever does at home, lol. "Mom, this is delicious." Ross and I laughed so hard; she usually says things are yummy, but apparently the caf chef made the best grilled cheese in the world.
Elise was excited before we left, but she fell asleep on the way there and just took a short nap instead of visiting with Daddy.


We had more fun today at our playdate at Julie's house. Amelia and her new friend Liam invented a new game--swinging on the bar in his closet. I almost had a heart attack, but since Julie allows it, (and our closets don't have low bars) I just let it go. A big pat on my back :)


Elise was such a good girl and just chilled with her buddy Micah.

Then we went to eat lunch with Emily and Micah--so fun and so delicious. I love Qdoba's food. Then, we went to Orange Leaf and finally home for naps. Such a wonderful morning and afternoon with some of my favorite people.

Poppy Doo, Walker Roo, and My Three Month Boo

My Poppy turned 80 Saturday. I still pretend he is 60. Not a day older. It just helps me cope. I was explaining it to Ross and trying to tell him that MY grandpa wasn't like everyone's grandpa. MY relationship with MY Pop is special. I thought he would tell me to stop being dramatic (per usual) and that everyone has a special relationship with their grandpa, but he didn't. He looked at me and said, "I know, and you are lucky." And you know what? I am.

Pop has listened to countless stories of mine and all the memories I have with him are so vivid. I am praying for many more. Steph's blog has a list of some of my favorites. We had a great party day and Elise Mae rolled over (tummy to back) on his birthday with everyone watching. Super special. You know how Amelia feels about birthdays...
Ingrid and I felt the same...

Meme made a meal fit for a king...
After a nap it was time to head to sweet Walker's 2nd Birthday and Amy Jo hit it out of the park. Amelia had such a great time at the baseball themed shindig. I, again, ate myself silly. Doesn't the food look so cute? And it was delish--soft pretzels, nachos, hotdogs, veggies, popcorn--YUM.


Then the kids played a balloon game and Amelia loved it. She got a medal afterward that she was quite proud of. The cake was cutie pie and BLUE inside--a huge hit with the kids.Amelia and Amy Jo picking out her treat bag. It was such a fun party that we didn't want to leave!

In other excitement, Elise is three months old today!She is holding her head up well, sitting in her bumbo and just being plain adorable. Sleep is still verrrry iffy and it has been decided Ross and I don't have children that sleep. :) Nonetheless, she is a very good baby--particularly if she is being held, and I honestly cannot believe I love her as much as I do. No matter what people told me, I was a little leery of how I would feel about baby #2, but she is so precious, and now I have joined the club of, "Oh my word; you love them JUST AS MUCH!"

LOVES
- watching Amelia and Ing
- chewing on hand
- blowing spit bubbles
- her swing
- silkies
- smiling hugely

HATES
- sleeping at night
- bottles
- extended tummy time
- being left alone

Circus

We (Amelia, Jen, Jared, and myself) went to the circus on Sunday amid many conflicting thoughts/feelings on how Amelia would do. I had many people tell me their child was afraid of the circus and it was too loud and long, etc. So, I decided to go for it and give her the experience and if she hated it we would leave at that very moment the hatred was bred. She was TERRIFIED of the clowns that were greeting us at the entrance (I wasn't giving up that early), but she soon warmed up when we were in our seats with a large bag of blue cotton candy.

She loved the trapeze acts, the woman on the moon, and the spinning butterfly people on the ropes. Her constant question was, "How will they get down?" She loved the men that balanced on small little platforms. None of those things would have been things that I thought would have enthralled her. She liked the ponies and kind of liked the bicycle act. She was semi-impressed with the man throwing the vases. Then, it was intermission and she said, "I'm ready to go home." So, home we went. She sat through two hours, and I was pleased. I can't imagine if we had stayed for the whole four hour shindig. Fun experience. Saw the clowns again on the way out and had a total meltdown, lol. Here are a few grainy phone pics.


In other circus news, it has definitely been one at our house. Amelia is now crying over everything. She cries if I pick the wrong sippy cup. She cries if her show is over. She realllly cries if I hold Elise. Most of the time it is shortlived. but my word, my word. It is insane. This child has been able to reason things out since she was 13 months old, but all of the sudden there is no reasoning bone in her body. She is full on toddler. Frustrating. Ross has suggested a sticker chart, so we might try that. I know a lot of it is jealousy and it is understandable. Elise has been demanding a lot more of my time--especially on days she chooses not to nap (ahhhh). I love my girls, but just want to be honest. It is circus-y some days. Some scary clown days and some cotton candy days.

But, in one of her many moments of sweetness, Amelia picked out this lovely wall hanging and bunny for Kayla. She and her sweet baby girl are hanging in there and I know would appreciate your prayers for that little one to stay in there as long as possible.

Love

Amelia loves me. She tells me and shows me. It is precious and melts my heart. But, I also love to watch her love others. Like her Gampy.
She sat in Rosa for thirty minutes pretending to drive Gampy all around and had the most fun.

And Aunt Jen came to meet us at the park on her day off and Amelia was so tickled. She wanted Aunt Jen to push her and help her do everything--not Mommy.
There is nothing greater than knowing your child loves you. But, watching them love others comes very close.

Lucky Ducks

I am pretty lucky...

Amelia and Elise both went to MOPS for the first time yesterday. I was pretty proud of myself for getting out of the house with both of them on time, dressed, and in green (thanks for the reminder mom). Honestly, it felt like the biggest feat. And, Amelia went to her class without ONE SINGLE TEAR for the first time. I was the one wanting to cry because I was so happy


Yesterday was St. Patty's Day and my husband brought me home a card and a new book! But the occasion was not just about the luck 'o the Irish, it was our fourth engagement anniversary, and I have no idea how in the world the man remembered. The proposal was fabulous- Amazing Race style with clues and hiking and waterfalls and horseback riding and painting rocks. I still remember every moment. I had dreamed of my proposal from an early age (ridiculously early) and as time went on and I threw myself into teaching, I let that dream go a little. I let it go because there was no one that I met that I could even think of spending forever with. It honestly got to the point where I would have been satisfied with the right man presenting the ring to me in the most stereotypical way possible. Throwing me the ring box even.

Then, Ross came along. In a quiet and unsuspecting manner. Cautious and interesting. A perfect match for me. And you know what? I stopped dreaming of the proposal altogether. I was just elated that I had found the one I wanted to be with forever. For once, I didn't worry about getting a ring. And when it happened, I was surprised. I was thrilled. The proposal was big, perfect, outside, and all tied in to my favorite reality tv show :)
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And because I just can't get enough of this outfit and heels...

Quirky

I do love a good quirk, obsession, eccentric moment, if you will. And here are some of Amelia's currents.

Baby Caleb--This is a small shriveled up balloon from Amelia's birthday party that she has recently decided to name Baby Caleb (in conjunction with Aaron and Rebecca and Caleb coming to stay with us this weekend). He goes everywhere with her and slept with her last night. Strange. And hilarious.

High heels--She wears these high heels from Drew everywhere. They are too big and clunky, thus making them all the more appealing to her. Have you tried changing a diaper when the said diaper wearer is sporting high heels? Not fun.

Some proof: I was wanting her to show off our Easter scene for the camera but she was more worried about Caleb and her HH.


Diaper-clad Elise--When I changed Elise's diaper or take her jammies off in the morning, Amelia screams bloody morning for her to stay in her diaper only and NOT get dressed for the day. When asked why she replies, "Me loves Eese's tummy." Umm okay. She thinks her stomach is hilarious and gets quite upset when I ruin the fun by clothing her sister.

(who else do you see present in the above picture? sheesh)
And, just so no one is left out, little Elise Mae is currently obsessed with eating (boob, not bottle ugh) and being held :) But her Mama is proud that she has been pretty interested in sleeping for long stretches too. Pretty girl! Sorry for the bow Memer, but Amelia picked it out.

Fun!!!!

Hi from my phone before our Thursday playdate..."We so silly,"- Amelia
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We went to the zoo yesterday with Gampy. He came up because both girls had their shots (ahh) and Ross is on call (ahh) and Mom was busy with the Beauty Review (ahh). So you see how lucky I am? Not only do I have the best mom in the world, but also the best dad in the world. He spent the night with me to help with the girls. :)

Elise was awesome at the zoo. I kept waiting for an infant Amelia-like breakdown, but there wasn't one. We were there over two hours and she just chilled in her stroller. When it all got to be too much for her, she just dozed off.

So, if you have been following the blog for a while and know of my love for the zoo, you know of Amelia's love for the petting zoo. However, she decided this trip she would feed NOTHING but the fish. Her reasoning, "Maybe when me big, but me little ight now." Really? You have fed the goats since you were ten months old. Lol. We got home and as I was rocking her for nap she said, "Me loves snakes." Really?

Oh Lowe You Didn't

Our first trip out with both girls in public was this week-- Lowe's. Nice wide aisles. Not too many kids. Just needed some shelving and a medicine cabinet. Who knew the trip would cause Amelia to say, "That was SO much fun!" She loved it, ha. And Elise slept the whole time. Success.

Here is Elise before we left the house. Holy cuteness.


It was raining and Amelia was delighted to wear her rain coat.
However, not near as excited as when she noticed these model showers. She got in and went to town. Scrubbing her hair and singing and washing for twenty minutes. Workers were lined up watching her. She was even more delighted and screamed out, "EVERYBODY is watching me!!"


The double stroller worked out nicely, but it made me nervous to think about taking BOTH girls and the stroller somewhere by myself. It was good with Ross. Not sure I am ready to take both somewhere with it yet.

Oh Lowe's, what a fun trip you turned out to be. Amelia felt carpet samples, ooohed and ahhed at the fan and light section, and took her first shower. It's the little things :)

Come on Over

Come on over baby. Def one of my favorite Christina songs from back in the day. G and Pa came to see us Tuesday night. They were waiting on us after we got back from seeing Lynna's new baby brother up at the hospital! He's so precious. When we moved here it was Asher, Lynna, and Amelia and now they all have a sibling. We double our group in a mere months. But, I digress.

It was fun eating supper with G and Pa and playing. Amelia had a blast and didn't get in bed till 9:30. Oops. She got up at four that morning and never went back to sleep. Oops.

Then, last night the Hahn's came over. Definitely the most fun family ever. Love them. I mean, what if this dapper dude showed up at your house to play? Is it any wonder why Amelia is smitten?Such a ham. We had a great dinner and lots of laughs and playing. Even though Elise hadn't napped much at all that day and Amelia got up at four that morning, they were both in great moods. Which meant their momma was as well. Fun times :) "Emmy" even got asked to play back in Amelia's room ALONE..big privilege, haha.


Amelia went right to sleep but was up from 2-430. Seriously? She wanted to play dollhouse and then kept apologizing because she couldn't get back to sleep. "Me sorry mom. Me no tired." Sheesher. Tonight we are trying a 7:30 rocking time to see if that helps any. I think Mom has it figured out--too much fun with Ross home all week and doesn't want to take time to sleep. Who knows really? Just trying to find a reason helps me feel better.

I will miss Ross so much when he goes back to work Saturday. We have had so much fun hanging out here each day and doing fun stuff and working on forgotten projects. No, not Steph and D worthy projects, just like hanging a few shelves :) I love my man.

Okay, Elise is hungry. Which is nothing new. But, oh how sweet she is.

Oh, please join me in praying for my friend Kayla and her sweet baby girl. She is on bedrest right now and really needing a lot of prayers for that tiny baby in her belly.