Clint, Christie, Amelia, & Rhetoric Ray

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-03T18:09:00.001-07:00

Pictures In Green St. Patrick's Day Card

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Rhetoric Pics Taken at Hospital

2011-03-01T19:31:00.001-07:00

Here are the pictures taken at the hospital when Rhetoric was only two days old:

Rhetoric's Photo Book Pics, by Christie Ray

2011-02-25T18:38:00.001-07:00

I'd like to share my Walgreens Photo Center photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

Rhetoric has Arrived!

2011-02-17T09:00:00.002-07:00

After checking in at the hospital on Wednesday February 16th at 1pm, I was taken to one of the delivery rooms. Around 1:30pm my nurse tried to get my IV going and she burst my vein twice. She then got another nurse to come and do it instead. Luckily this other nurse got it on the first try. It was now about 2pm and the pitocin was started. The nurse checked to see how dilated I was (at my appt the day before I was 3cm and 75% effaced. The nurse said I was a 3-4cm. My doctor then showed up and broke my water a few minutes later. Just a little while later I had the anesthesiologist come to give me an epidural. After it kicked in, I noticed my right leg was complete dead weight and my left side had a numb feeling but I could kick that leg up in the air. As I was having contractions, I could feel some pain and pressure (with Amelia's epidural, I was completely numb and on top of the world). They switched my medicine a few times to see if it would help numb me. I was numb and tingly up to my shoulders but could still feel the contractions, not what I wanted. When the nurse checked me at 4pm, I was dilated to 6cm. At 4:30pm she checked me again and I was still 6cm...disappointing. At 5pm I told the nurse I was feeling much more pressure and had an urge to push. She checked me and I was at 10cm....yay! I gained 4cm in 30 minutes. That made up for the slower beginning. They called my doctor and once they were all ready, they had me start pushing, at 5:15pm. They told me I was having contractions but now I couldn't feel them...thank goodness, the epidural finally kicked in when I needed it to most. After eight minutes of pushing my son entered this world!

Rhetoric Jefferson Ray

Born Wednesday February 16, 2011, 5:23pm

Induced 2 weeks early (my choice)

7lbs 14oz

20"

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T11:55:00.003-07:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

I started Valentine's Day a few days ago when I made sugar cookie dough. Later that night when the dough was chilled, I rolled it out on the counter and had Amelia help me make heart shaped cookies with my cookie cutters. Once I baked them in the oven and let them cool, I frosted them with some homemade icing and let Amelia help put the sprinkles on top. She had fun helping mommy bake...and loved eating some cookies too!

Yesterday for breakfast I made french toast as usual, but used my large heart shaped cookie cutter so we could eat heart shaped french toast. I also had Clint and Amelia open their Valentine's Day gifts before church (since Clint gets up early Monday-Saturday, long before Amelia wakes up). Amelia (I) made a notebook for Clint with a picture of them together on the cover. Amelia got a few candies and a necklace kit.

I dressed Amelia and I in pink today, of course! Her shirt had hearts all over and she had two pony tails with heart barrettes. We went to a Valentine's Day party at her friends Neils' and Jaxton's house. She got to decorate a Valentine mailbox and a heart shaped sugar cookie. Then she passed out her Valentine's to each of the other kids' mailboxes. She had a blast and looked so cute too!

I took a few pictures of her outfit, almost kissing mommy, and kissing baby brother (mommy's tummy). I can't believe that in about two more days, we will actually be kissing the baby! I am excited, nervous, and anxious. I think Amelia is pretty excited and can't wait to visit me when I go to the hospital to take pictures with her new baby brother.

Going for a Walk

2011-02-11T12:15:00.001-07:00

We went for a walk a few nights ago and I took a picture of Amelia on Clint's shoulders with my phone. This is another test post to see how blog posting works from my phone with a picture.

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Test Post

2011-02-11T12:12:00.001-07:00

This is a test post from my phone. I want to see how it works and if I can post a blog while in the hospital after delivery.

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37 Week Appt

2011-02-08T11:00:00.004-07:00

I had my 37 week appointment this morning and measured a definite 2cm and 75% effacement. We schedule my inducement date for Wednesday the 16th at 7:30am. That's eight days away!!! Wow, I can't believe it's coming to an end. I can't wait to meet this little boy of mine!

Ultrasound

2011-02-03T09:13:00.035-07:00

At my 35 week appointment my doctor wanted me to schedule an ultrasound so we could find out how big this baby boy was measuring.

I had the ultrasound this morning at 7am. I am 36 weeks and 1 day but this boy was much bigger, like I expected. According to the measurements the techinician got, he was 37 weeks and 4 days in size. I know my due date for March 2nd is very accurate, so I just have a big baby...about 10 days ahead of schedule! He is already 7lbs and 85% for his height (big surprise there!).

I am planning on getting induced early because I don't want a huge baby, my labor was pretty quick with Amelia (went from a 5cm to 10 cm in 1.5 hours and only had to push for 20 minutes), and I want my parents down here to help take care of Amelia while I'm in the hospital and when I come home for a few days. Clint works a lot so I can't really rely on him being home to help me try to deal with being a new mother again and taking care of Amelia, and myself. I am grateful my parents are willing to take time off to come down and help out!!!

I figure that this baby will be about 8lbs when he is born, if I get induced around the 18th of February like I want. Amelia was 8lbs 12oz and born 5 days early. If he is 8lbs when born 12 days early, then he would probably be around 9lbs or more if I waited til his due date of March 2nd.

36 Week Appt

2011-02-01T11:00:00.004-07:00

I had my 36 week appointment this morning and measured 1cm and 50% effaced. I'm glad I am making some progress now that I have 4 weeks (but really less) left to go. I brought Amelia to the appointment with me and she enjoyed hearing her baby brother's heartbeat.

35 Week Appt

2011-01-25T11:00:00.002-07:00

I had my 35 week appointment, this is when they start checking my cervix to see what's going on inside. My cervix is starting to soften a little bit, so that's good news I guess.

Picnic at the Park

2011-01-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

I packed a picnic and took Amelia to our community park. We enjoyed sandwiches, apple sauce, cheetos, crackers, fruit snacks, and apple juice. Amelia was more interested in playing at the park than eating. I was able to get a few pictures of her; she got upset when I started to take pictures and would turn away :(

Amelia loves to go down the big slide and on the swing all by herself like a big girl. When on the swing, she wants me to push her high, she says, "Higher, mom!" I'm glad I was able to have a picnic with my baby girl and can't wait to have picnics with both my darling kids in a few months!

C-Wood Baby Shower

2011-01-08T20:44:00.023-07:00

Amelia and I drove to Cottonwood on Friday for my baby shower on Saturday. We played lots of fun games. Here are pictures from the cottonball game (you are blindfolded and must spoon cottonballs out of the bowl on your lap and dump them into the bowl on top of your head).

Amelia had a hard time reaching her arm with the spoon up into the bowl on top of her head.

I did quite well, spooning 32 cottonballs into the bowl.

The theme for the baby shower was Winnie the Pooh, which is what my nursery is all decked out in.

Me and my big 'baby girl'

I received a special homemade blanket from my best friend Paula. I think my baby boy will love it :)

Charlie and Amelia rocking in the chair together.

Charlie and Amelia riding the horse, Grandpa Dave, around the living room.

Sand Angels

2011-01-05T15:20:00.007-07:00

The weather was quite nice so I took Amelia to the park in our community. After playing on the slide for a while, Amelia decided to lay down in the sand and make a sand angel...she called it a snow angel (Little Bear in the TV show Little Bear makes snow angels in one episode).

New Year's Weekend

2011-01-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

My parents came down the night of December 30th for the New Year's weekend since they were in Tucson for Christmas. After Amelia went to bed, my dad and Clint put together the large Christmas present my parents got for Amelia...a play kitchen. When she came downstairs and went into the living room on the morning of the 31st, she noticed a large present immediately.

Amelia was VERY excited when she saw that the large gift was a play kitchen.

She spent time with Grandpa Dave by reading Winnie the Pooh books.

My mom, Amelia and I went shopping and dressed Amelia up into what we called a 'snow princess' so she would stay warm.

When we returned back from shopping, we saw this great play house in the living room. Grandpa Dave turned the play kitchen box into a play house for Amelia. She was also thrilled about this new thing to play with. It had a door and jingle bell doorbell.

There was a window on each side with 'washcloth' blinds. On one side there was a small portal window that could be opened with a string from the inside of the house.

For New Year's Eve Clint, Amelia, & I got to watch the Suns game from a sweet suite room. Clint's sister and husband rented the suite for the Ray family's Christmas gift to everyone. Amelia had a blast and couldn't get enough of the gorilla. She also loved eating cotton candy with daddy.

After the Suns game, we dropped Amelia off at home with my parents and put her to bed. Clint and I went to his aunt and uncle's house for their annual New Year's Eve celebration.

After getting a few hours of sleep Friday night, Amelia, my mom, and I went shopping some more on Saturday. Amelia sported her ladybug hat and mittens to stay warm.

Christmas Eve & Day

2010-12-27T15:05:00.002-07:00

On Christmas Eve we were in Mesa with Clint's family. We took family pictures and then had dinner at my in-laws' house. After dinner we read the Christmas story in Luke. They have a tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve so I suggested that the kids open the small present that Amelia (and I) made. Amelia's eight cousins (ranging from 5 years old to 2.5 months old) were excited when they saw the homemade ornaments that had their names on them. Some thought they were cookies and wanted to eat them. Luckily none of the kids did eat them...they were made from salt and flour so they are edible but they probably wouldn't have tasted very good. We finally left to go home back to Gilbert.

When we got home, Amelia helped me put some cookies and a glass of milk out for Santa. We wrote him a note saying "Merry Christmas" and "Enjoy the cookies and milk." She went to bed and fell asleep after an hour or so, around 10:15pm.

I woke up when I heard Amelia awake and talking in her bed, around 8:15am. When I opened her door, she sat up and said "Santa Claus!" After going potty and getting dressed we headed downstairs. She saw that the cookies and milk were gone and said "Santa ate the cookies all gone (with a very excited face while acting like her fingers were cookies, eating them), and drank the milk all gone!!!" Santa wrote a note back to Amelia saying "Thank you for the milk and cookies. Merry Christmas to you too. Be a good girl this year for your mommy and daddy. Love, Santa" She was also excited that Santa wrote to her and said "Santa write me a thank you letter!"

I went in the pantry to get my video camera and told Amelia to stay put. Of course she didn't, and instea went over to check the stockings. I had the full stockings hanging up on hooks, which were sitting on the top shelf of our DVD stand. I heard a loud crashing sound while I was in the pantry. Amelia tried to get her stocking down and when she pulled on her stocking, the top level of DVD's came falling down along with the stockings and stocking holders. When I came in the living room, she was standing there looking at the mess and said "Oops, it fall down."

She rummaged through the movies and found the stockings and took them over to daddy on the couch.

Daddy and Amelia Christmas morning with the stockings

We didn't get many pictures but did have the video camera recording the opening of stockings and Christmas presents at our house. Amelia was thrilled to see what Santa brought her in her stocking. Once the stockings were empty she wanted to open presents. She would grab a present from under the tree and just assume it was hers. A few of the presents were for Clint so I had to make sure she didn't open them. She sat on the couch and ripped the wrapping paper off the presents and loved seeing what present she got. She then got off the couch to grab another present.

After the presents were all opened, I made green french toast. I used Christmas cookie cutters to make a french toast Christmas tree and stocking for Amelia. She thought they were pretty cool and couldn't wait to eat them. After breakfast was over, around 10am, we had a little bit of time for Amelia to play with some new presents before heading to Mesa for more Christmas celebration. She really enjoyed playing with her Melissa and Doug food cutting box (wooden food with velcro that you can 'cut' with the wooden knife on a wooden cutting board. She also loved the doll set we got her. It comes with a baby doll, a baby doll crib, a baby seat that can be a baby carrier or be turned into a high chair or swing, and pretend baby food, pacifier, bottle, spoon, fork, and bowl. Amelia would put the baby in the high chair and pretend to feed it food and milk. She is practicing for when baby brother comes :)

We went to Mesa and had the big Ray family Christmas celebration at my in-laws house at about 11:15am. There had to be about 100 presents under (and around) the tree. We all sat around the living room (Clint's parents, his 8 siblings, a few spouses, and the 9 grandkids. One of his brothers passed out presents. It seemed like the presents wouldn't stop coming. Amelia got a snow white doll (that she loves to carry around), a baby doll, a thunder tumbler car, cute tinkerbell and princess panties, a few outfits, pink boots, a princess sleeper gown with slippers, new white dress shoes, a note that said "A trip to Disneyland" and a whole stocking full of candy!

I recorded her opening presents and was able to get one picture of her opening a present in all the craziness.

We hung around at his parents house and after Clint's grandparents and his mom's family arrived, we ate Christmas dinner around 4:30pm. After Christmas dinner we had a white elephant gift exchange with the adults, and with the little kids. They set up a Christmas tree pinata in backyard and the kids had turns swinging the plastic bat at the pinata. I even had a turn (blindfolded). One of Clint's brothers broke the pinata open and the kids got MORE candy. We went back inside and had pie and ice cream for dessert. After dessert, we all sat around a few tables and played the LCR game with miniature candies. We each started with 3 little candies and played until only one person was left with a candy in front of them. That person would be the winner and win the basket full of candy in the center. Guess who won...ME! So I got yet MORE candy. I think with Amelia's stocking full of candy, my stocking full of candy, Clint's stocking full of candy, the pinata candy that Amelia got, and this basket full of candy, we have about 10 pounds worth of candy! It is separated into two large bowls; one with all the chocolate candies and the other with the non-chocolate candies. We will have this candy until Valentine's Day I'm sure, and then we will get more candy from my mother-in-law.

We had a great Christmas and were glad we could spend it with family, even if it does get really crazy. I hope that anyone who reads this also had a great Christmas too!
Bring on 2011!

Cousin Charlie's Quick Visit

2010-12-13T21:55:00.026-07:00

My sister and nephew stopped by on their way home from Cottonwood to Tucson. Amelia had a fun time playing with her cousin Charlie. She showed Charlie her special teddy bear (the one Clint and I made at Build-A-Bear when I was pregnant with her). Charlie had a stuffed kitty cat that used to be my sister's when she was a child.

Amelia giving her special bear a 'big daddy hug'. This is how Amelia says she is giving a big, squeeze hug. I get a 'big daddy hug' every night before she goes to bed :)

Amelia was covering her face and counting, I guess for hide & seek but Charlie wasn't hiding very well.

Amelia can count on her own to 20. I have been counting our 15 stairs aloud everytime I walk up or down the stairs with Amelia. I guess she stored that information because one day she covered her face, pretending to play hide & seek with me, and she started counting to 15. I then taught her 16-20. If I say twenty-one, she will say twenty-two, twenty-three, and so on up to twenty-nine. She doesn't count past 20 on her own though, only if I prompt her and help her if she gets stuck.

Temple Christmas Lights

2010-12-11T22:06:00.001-07:00

On my way back to the valley from Cottonwood, I stopped in Mesa and met up with Clint at his parent's house. We went out for a quick bite to eat and then took Amelia to see the Christmas lights and hear the music at the Temple. She really enjoyed seeing the three Wise Men and their camels. The pictures were taken on my cell phone and of course it was dark so they were kind of blurry.

Amelia showing off her new ladybug hat and gloves, and one of my scarves

Mommy, Amelia, three Wise Men, and camels

Cottonwood Visit

2010-12-11T22:05:00.001-07:00

Amelia and I drove to Cottonwood for the day for my sister's baby shower. Amelia had fun playing with cousin Charlie, Grandpa Dave, and my cat, Daisy.

Since we wouldn't be seeing my sister or nephew anytime soon, we had the kids open their Christmas presents from each other.

Rip off that paper!

"What's in there?" Amelia would say when opening a box or bag.

Piano time with Grandpa Dave.

Picture of the two preggo mommas:

Heather @ 32 weeks & Me @ 28.5 weeks

Snow & Shower

2010-12-04T15:09:00.001-07:00

My parents came down on Friday December 3rd. Our local Bashas' was having a fun activity outside their store. They brought snow in, had a bouncy house, bbq food for sale, and boutique verndors set up in the parking lot. My dad, Amelia, and I went down to the store when it started at 9am to show Amelia the snow. She saw snow once before when Clint brought a bucket back from Show Low last year. As you can see in the pictures, there was a decent amount of snow. It was the perfect opportunity for Amelia to wear her cute ladybug hat and gloves.

Posing with Grandpa Dave

Trying to learn how to walk on the snow.

Trying to grab the snow.

Sinking in the snow a little bit.

Posing with mommy :)

Throwing snow at Grandpa Dave.

Grandpa caught the snow that time!

Bouncing in the bouncy house.

More bouncing.

The reason my parents came down for the weekend was for the baby shower my mom was coordinating on Saturday. We wanted to have a baby shower for my relatives that live in the Phoenix area that can't make the drive up to the Cottonwood baby shower. We had the baby shower at Chili's and enjoyed a nice lunch.

Amelia enjoyed sitting between both her grandmas (Grandma Betty pictured).

But Amelia kept coming over to sit in my lap every so often too to get some love from me!

Thanks to all those that were able to come to the baby shower!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-11-27T21:05:00.003-07:00

For Thanksgiving this year, my mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew came to our house. I don't have any pictures really of Thanksgiving beacuse I was in the kitchen doing all the cooking. My mom has been having back problems (3 herneated disks, 1 of which is extruding) so she was on the couch or sitting the whole time. We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner around 12:30pm. Amelia and her cousin Charlie played for a while and then took a nap. After naps were over, we had pumpkin and cherry pie. My sister and her family left to another family party in Phoenix. My mom, dad, Clint, Amelia, and I drove to Mesa for Thanksgiving dinner at Clint's parent's house. We enjoyed more delicious food and great company.

Charlie and Amelia (wearing the cute turkey hat Grandma Susie had for them)

Grandma Susie with the grandkids for dinner.

Charlie and Amelia with their turkey placemats.

Amelia lounging in her red reading chair in her bedroom.

Wal-Mart was having their Black Friday sales start at midnight so Clint and I drove to Wal-Mart at 11:45pm. (Don't worry, we didn't have Amelia with us...she was asleep at home with my parents) The parking lot was full and we parked in one of the furthest spots. That night there was a freeze warning so it was VERY cold. When we walked inside the store, there was a huge line wrapped around the store with people and full shopping carts. I thought it started at midnight (which it did) but I guess people were allowed to come early (many hours early) and get stuff to put in their shopping carts. At midnight, the registers opened for people to pay for the items in the shopping carts. There was only a few items we kind of wanted but there was no way we were standing in a 5 hour line just tp pay! I found the few pj sets for Amelia that I wanted and hid them behind some pillows in the home bedding section of the store :) We walked around and laughed at people for being so crazy and standing in a line for many, many hours, to just save a few bucks. I think I would rather sleep, save my time and energy, and pay full price than waste countless hours doing what these people do on Black Friday. Clint and I left around 12:30 to go to bed. I went back to Wal-Mart around 11:30am, found my hidden pjs, did some grocery shopping, paid (there was no waiting in lines), and left. When I got home, I set up the Christmas tree in our living room on the 2nd floor.

Amelia enjoyed hiding under the Christmas tree.

This was an artifical tree that Clint and I got last year from Wal-Mart after Christmas for 75% off.

She helped Grandma Susie fluff up the branches.

Amelia with our completed Christmas tree.

Taking a ride on horsey Grandpa Dave before bedtime.

Amelia has a few different incentive charts on the wall from Chuck E. Cheese; one for brushing her teeth at night, one for not going potty in her pull-ups at nap time, and one for not going potty in her pull-ups during the night. The chart is for two weeks and every time she brushes her teeth at night or has a dry pull-up, she gets to put a sticker on her chart. I told Amelia that if one of the charts got filled with stickers by Thanksgiving, we could go to Chuck E. Cheese. You can download and print a variety of incentive charts off their website: http://www.chuckecheese.com/promotions/rewards-calendars.php

When you bring it back completed, they give the child 10 free tokens. We went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner with my parents and had pizza and fun! I grew up going to Chuck E Cheese in San Diego so I wanted Amelia to experience the fun too. I had signed up on the email list and had discount coupons for the pizza/drinks. There were also coupons for free tokens that I got when I signed up. We had 65 tokens to use for playing games.

Amelia riding next to Chuck E. Cheese in the car.

Big cheeeeeesy smile :)

Bopping the hammerhead sharks with mommy.

Riding on the tractor with Barney and listening to Old McDonald (one of her favorite songs).

Group picture...thanks Mom/Grandma Susie!

Ray family

Clint, my dad, Amelia, and I racked up 220 tickets. We should have had more except that some of the ski ball games were taking our tokens and not letting us play, and then the ones that let us play, didn't give us tickets :( I beat Clint and my dad in the basketball shooting game :) Amelia had fun seeing all the games and bright lights. Before we left I wanted Amelia to use her tickets to get some prizes. I wanted her to feel like she accomplished something when she filled out her incentive chart with 14 stickers. She picked out a bracelet, a tinkerbell pencil, a sucker, and a pair of sunglasses. Clint wanted some pop rocks and I got a tootsie roll. Hopefully we will be able to go back soon. Amelia has been doing great not going potty in her pull-ups at nap time, and good every other night or so without going potty in her pull-ups.

Fall Festival

2010-10-30T22:00:00.001-07:00

Our church had a Fall Festival and I signed up to bring a dessert. I made Worms in Dirt. I put it in a new, clean pot, used a new trowel for the scooping device, and placed some artificial flowers in the pot. People didn't eat the dessert because they thought it was a table decoration. I took a big scoop out of it and then people realized it was one of the desserts :)

Amelia was a ladybug again this year. The costume was one that Clint bought off ebay before she was born for the personal ladybug baby shower he threw me.

Amelia looked adorable in her costume...except when she had unzipped it and started taking it off, getting almost completely naked!

I was also a 'ladybug' this year...I wore black pants, a red shirt, ladybug wings, and ladybug ear rings.

Amelia enjoyed playing the games. Here she is throwing a bean bag.

This was pin the nose on the jack o' lantern. She didn't want to be blind folded so she knew exactly where to put the nose :)

This was a game where you put the rings on the spiders' legs.

Last, there was a mini golf/croquet game. She wasn't very good at this game...maybe next year.

She enjoyed listening to the Halloween music, like The Monster Mash.

She danced with some friends from church.

She hung out next to the janitor...oh wait....that's daddy!

Clint dressed up like Joe Dirt. He had to grow out his facial hair for a month in order for it to look authentic. I was glad when Halloween was over so he could shave it all off!

There was also trick-or-treating at the Fall Festival. Amelia was shy at first about saying Trick-or-Treat to people but after a few times, she got the hang of it and said it loud and proud because she wanted the candy.

We didn't go trick-or-treating on Halloween since it was on Sunday this year. After dinner in Mesa, we came home and answered the door for the few trick-or-treaters that stopped by our house. Amelia would hide when they would knock. But then once I opened the door, she would come and help put candy in their buckets/bags after they told us Trick-or-Treat.

Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-25T21:30:00.001-07:00

Amelia with the 'before' pumpkin

We went to Grandma Betty's house for family home evening Monday the 25th for pumpkin carving.

Amelia didn't mind getting her hands dirty!

She did a great job scooping out the pumpkin guts.

She wasn't sure about what to do with the scraper tool so daddy had to help and scrape the pumpkin insides.

Look mom! Pumpkin guts.

Amelia really enjoyed working on the pumpkin with Grandma Betty!

Taking a break to eat a cookie after all the hard work.

I continued working on carving the pumpkin throughout the week of Halloween.

I finally finished it on Saturday the 30th, just in time for our church's Fall Festival. It didn't win but I think it looked pretty neat. Can you tell it's a corn and husk?

Schnepf Farms

2010-10-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

We got our faces painted with a pumpkin

Amelia and grandma Susie riding on the very old carousel

There were pig races and a goat race. I got to go up and cheer for one of the goats (Amelia came and helped me). My goat won so I won a piggy nose.

Checking out the chickens and roosters

Amelia rode a white pony named Snowflake. Daddy walked next to her.

At first Amelia was unsure about riding a pony but after a little bit she was very excited.

Petting the goats in the petting zoo area.

Grandpa Dave, Amelia, and I taking a picture by the donkey. Amelia likes to say "hee-haw" and loved seeing the donkey.

We drove in a four person maual go cart on a dirt road course. Clint and Grandpa Dave did the pedalling while Amelia and I sat in the front and enjoyed the bumpy ride.

Amelia got to ride on an airplane.

Mommy and Amelia with the pretty sunflowers.

Amelia and Grandma Susie on the train that rides around the entire farm.

My sweet baby girl!

Our little family

Trip to Cottonwood

2010-09-11T21:05:00.051-07:00

Amelia helping grandma Susie water the plants on the front porch

Watering the plants all by herself

Brushing mommy's kitty, Daisy at grandma's house

Silly face Amelia

This is what Amelia does when I tell her to put her chin down for pictures

We went to Out of Africa with my mom

Getting ready to take the safari tour

The giraffe comes right up to the safari bus. We fed him carrots. Amelia was scared so she didn't give the giraffe a carrot.

She enjoyed riding the bus and seeing all the animals

I was sitting in the very front seat. The zebra almost came into the bus. I was only a few feet away!

The bus driver asked if a few people would feed the camel a treat and get a camel kiss. I volunteered and put the camel treat on the edge of my lips. He came up and took it right from my lips, so I got kissed by a camel! Luckily it wasn't a slobbery kiss, just a whiskery kiss. Clint still didn't want to kiss me though.

Feeding the deer with daddy

Taking a break to play

Hi grandma Susie!

Whee! That hurt my tooshie though :(

Before we left for home, we saw a tarantula in the driveway

Amelia kept saying "big 'pider"

My Black Eye

2010-09-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

So it all started when I took Amelia upstairs to look in her mouth with a flashlight (she has been saying her mouth hurts and she doesn't sleep well). I thought she was teething the last four molars but then I noticed a white sore on the inside of her left cheek and on the tip of her tongue. From what I have been reading, I believe they are canker sores...not fun for a two year old!

I sat on my bed and put her in front of my lap, her back towards me. I was planning on laying her backwards so I could look in her mouth. She was holding the flashlight for me (Clint's heavy duty black flashlight that cops use). I think she turned the flashlight on and started swinging it around so she could see the light shine across the ceiling.

Well that's when it happened.....SMACK, STRAIGHT INTO MY LEFT EYE!

I instantly laid my face down into my pillow, covering my eye, and starting crying. Part of the crying was out of shock from getting hit but it sure did hurt like crap to get hit in the eye with a heavy duty flashlight! I got an instant pounding headache and I was worried that my eye was going to be jacked up and I wouldn't be able to see or something. I finally got the courage to open up my eye. I was able to see through the tears.

I told Amelia that she hurt mommy a lot when the flashlight hit my eye. I asked her to say sorry to me. She just kind of giggled and got off the bed. This was not the response I was looking for! I held her in my lap and explained to her what she did, and that I would like a hug and a kiss and for her to say sorry. She finally did give me a hug and kiss but didn't want to say sorry. I told her that she needed to say sorry to mommy. After a while, she did say sorry and kissed my hurt eyelid.

I went downstairs, and after talking to my mom, (who works with eye doctors) I put a bag of frozen peas on my hurt eye. Of course Amelia wanted to come check it out. I let her watch her Baby Einstein movies until Clint came home from touch rugby practice so he could deal with putting her to bed.

When I woke up this morning, all around my eye was sore and tender. The top of my eyelid has a red/purple look to it where it got bruised. I wonder if it will turn black. I don't think I have ever had a black eye before, so we will see what happens.

I'm glad I didn't get the black eye from somebody punching me in the face, but I still hope I never get one again. I am lucky there wasn't more damage done to my eye, like a detatched retina. I guess that can cause blindness...no fun!

Making a Mess with Oobleck

2010-09-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

After making goo with Amelia yesterday, I decided that we could make oobleck today to play with.

WARNING: Oobleck is VERY MESSY project!

I got a large bow and added equal portions of cornstarch and water, then stirred. I let Amelia try to help me stir but it is quite difficult. Once the cornstarch and water start to mix together, they start showing the different properties of a solid when poked/stirred and a liquid when left alone.

I put a cheap plasic tablecloth on the tile floor in the dining room. I took Amelia's shorts off so they wouldn't get all messy. She still had panties, a shirt, and an apron to help cover her shirt up from the oobleck. I had her sit next to the bowl of oobleck and picked some up in my hand. At first she was hesitant but soon after, she put her hands in the bowl too. I tried showing her that when you keep squeezing it into a ball, it stays hard. And when you let go, it gets all liquidy and drips down. She tried to squeeze it to make a ball but wasn't quick enough so it ended up just dripping everywhere.

After about 10 minutes of staying clean and keeping her hands over the bowl, Amelia decided it was time to experiment with the oobleck and get messy. She would grab some from the bowl and hold it up over her arm, getting oobleck on her hands, arm, and the tablecloth. This lasted briefly. She then moved to dripping oobleck on her feet and legs. At the end, she had both hands full of oobleck to drip on herself.

Can you guess where we headed after we were done playing with oobleck??

Correct! Straight to the BATHTUB!

I tried to wipe as much off her body as I could. Luckily most of the oobleck had dried and was stuck to her body. I carefully carried her upstairs and put her in the tub. She wasn't happy because she wanted to play with the oobleck some more. I think 20 minutes was a decent amount of time to play and get messy, don't you? Next time I let her play with oobleck, I think I will do it outside and let her wear a bathing suit or something. Then when we are done, she can run through the sprinklers or get hosed off with water.

Playing with Goo

2010-09-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

While looking through my BabyCenter Preschooler email that I get, I found the recipe for Goo. I decided that I would make it so Amelia could play with it as a fun activity. It was quite simple to make and not very expensive. I bought a 4oz bottle of Elmer's glue for 25 cents at Wal-Mart (now would be a good time to stock up because of the school sales. I made two batches of Goo and it seemed to use a lot of my 4oz container of glue) The Borax laundry detergent came in a large box for about $3.00. If I only use it for Goo, I will NEVER run out of it!

Here's the recipe:

1. Mix together 2 tablespoons of white glue and 2 tablespoons of water in a paper cup.

(I used a small plastic cups that I had on hand from a party)

2. In another paper cup (again I used a plastic cup), mix together ten drops of blue food coloring

(I used pink for Amelia's batch and blue for mine. I personally think 10 drops of food coloring turned out to be quite a lot so next time I will use less), 1/4 cup of water, and 3/4 teaspoon of borax laundry detergent.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of the borax mixture to the glue mixture and stir well.

(I used a plastic spoon so I could throw it away afterwards)

4.Store it in an airtight container when you're done playing with it.

(I put it in a Ziploc baggie)

Below is a picture of Amelia playing with the Goo and posing a big "Cheeeeese" smile for me.

I made her a blue bracelet and a pink bracelet.

While playing with the Goo, I couldn't help but ask Amelia some questions to see what she knew (I guess that's just the teacher still in me).

1. I pointed to blue Goo blob and asked Amelia what color it was. She responded, "Blue."

2. I pointed to the pink Goo blob and asked her what color it was. She responded, "Pink" with enthusiasm.

3. I touched my Goo blob and asked her if it was cold or hot. She touched her Goo blob and said, "Cold, brrr."

4. I touched my Goo blob and asked her if it was prickly or squishy. She touched her Goo blob and said, "Squishy" while poking/squeezing the Goo.

I did not mention any of the above answers with her before asking the questions. She was using her own knowledge and past experiences to answer my questions. It is amazing how much a 2 year old can know, and even more amazing that some adults don't know/believe that their child is capable of possessing that knowledge. I know Amelia is my daughter and I am probably biased but I truly do think that she is a very smart little girl! And with such a big cheesy smile like that, how could you think otherwise.

Our 3 year Anniversary!

2010-09-01T20:30:00.031-07:00

It doesn't seem like Clint and I have been married for 3 years already, but we have!

So much has gone on in those three years:

got married :)
I taught 2nd grade
got pregnant with Amelia
went to New Zealand for a late honeymoon
finished teaching 2nd grade
I turned 23
started a printing business at home
gave birth to Amelia
Clint turned 24
celebrated our 1st anniversary
went to Texas for touch rugby nationals in 2008
watched sweet Amelia grow up in her first year of life
I turned 24
celebrated Amelia's 1st birthday
Clint turned 25
celebrated our 2nd anniversary
cheered Clint on at touch rugby nationals in Gilbert in 2009
became the wife of a national champion
watched Amelia learn even more skills throughout her second year of life
I turned 25
got pregnant with baby #2
celebrated Amelia's 2nd birthday
Clint turned 26
CELEBRATE OUR 3RD ANNIVERSARY!!!

I am so thankful to have a loving and wonderful husband like Clint! He works hard to provide for our family, even if it means working from 6am- 6pm. He likes to play with Amelia when he can, even if it's only a few minutes before her bedtime. He lives his life in a righteous manner and always fulfills his church calling. He is a good example for me and Amelia. He is always willing to help someone in need, even if it means going out of his way. I am so glad we met 4+ years ago Clint, and decided to wait the entire year so we could get married and sealed together for time and all eternity in the Temple. I am thankful for Eternal Families and knowing that I will be with you, Clint, and our children forever.

14 Week Appointment

2010-08-31T14:00:00.025-07:00

I had my 14 week appointment today. My belly is starting to get a little bigger. I haven't gained any weight yet (I've actually lost a few pounds) because I am trying to watch what I eat so I don't gain 50 pounds like I did with Amelia's pregnancy. I am hoping to only gain 20 or so pounds this time.

I got to hear the heartbeat at this appointment, which is always exciting! She said it sounded nice and healthy. I was very glad to hear her say that.

My doctor wanted to have my blood drawn again because my thyroid levels were, I believe, high before I got pregnant and she wanted to see how it was doing now. (I had my blood drawn 4 weeks ago at my first appointment and almost passed out because I didn't have any snacks with me.) I didn't have any snacks with me this time and I told her about what happened last time, so luckily she said we can just get the blood drawn at my next appointment on September 28th. I will hopefully remember to bring some snacks with me to that appointment!

Sometimes I think I can feel kicking from the baby but I'm sure I am not. I think it would be way to early to feel anything yet. I wasn't sure what the kicking felt like when I was pregnant with Amelia though so I didn't really recognize it until I was about 22 weeks along. I think I will definitely notice it before 22 weeks this time around.

Amelia's New Ritual

2010-08-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Amelia started doing something new in the last week or so. Whenever I put her down for a nap or at bedtime, I read her stories, sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ask Amelia for a big hug and kiss, say I Love You, turn the lights off, and close the door. I usually go in and check on her 30 minutes after I don't hear anymore noises. I put her blanket on and turn the fan off at night. Every single time I have gone in there this last week or so, I open the door, she is sound asleep, BUT HER OVERHEAD LIGHT IS ON! I have added another step to the bedtime ritual: after closing the door to leave, I hang out in the hallway. Today within ten seconds of me closing the door and saying goodbye, Amelia got out of bed and turned the lights on. I waited fifteen seconds to make sure she got back in bed. I opened the door, turned the light off, and told her to leave the lights off. She laid there saying, "Light on, light on," but didn't get back up to turn it on. I do not understand why she is doing this! I have a ladybug nightlight in her room near her bed so it's not pitch black or anything. It's usually the bright overhead light that she turns on, but sometimes that light along with the desk light. I've noticed when I've come in to check on her, she will have her blankie or hands covering her face...I'm guessing because she couldn't fall asleep WITH THE STINKIN' LIGHTS ON! I love my daughter tremendously but sometimes I wonder why the heck she does certain things, especially when they don't make sense to me. I guess somehow in her mind it must make sense.

This new ritual was just great after the Diamondbacks game on Friday night. We stayed for the whole game...they tied it up in the 9th inning and had to play an extra inning. After the game there were fireworks. We stayed for those and didn't end up getting home until about 11pm or so. We all took a shower because we were hot and sticky. Amelia went to bed around 11:30pm that night...waaaay past her normal bedtime. I figured she would sleep in decently late (she normally gets around 12 hours of sleep, from 8:30pm-8:30am). Well that unfortunately didn't happen. I hadn't known about her turning the light on really well yet, and usually I can hear the click off the light switch on her monitor. At about 8:15am Saturday morning I hear, "Light on, light on." I thought she had just woken up and would fall back asleep. I walked down the hall anyways just to see what was going on. Sure enough when I get to her door, I can see light gleaming from underneath the door. I opened the door and Amelia was just laying in bed like she had just woken up. I brought her into my bed in hopes of her falling back asleep. THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!

I have learned my lesson and every time I put her to bed now, I wait for her to get up and turn the lights on. Then I turn them back off and I guess she's okay with that, because then she will stay in bed and fall asleep.

Amelia's 1st Diamondbacks Game

2010-08-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

I always enjoy going to sporting events! When I was younger and lived in San Diego, my grandparents would take us to the Padres games. I remember the fun times, cracking open peanut shells, and searching for the prize in the Cracker Jacks box. I want Amelia to have fond memories of sporting events too.

The last Diamondbacks game Clint and I went to was in June 2008, when I was around 8+ months pregnant. I was large and in charge. We had cheap seats, way up in the top where the stairs are quite steep. Probably not a great idea for a large pregnant women.

On Thursday night, our wonderful neighbors, Matt & Holly, text me to see if our family wanted to go to the Diamondbacks game Friday night; they had two extra tickets. I wanted to say yes right away but I had to make sure Clint's schedule would work out. We were going to be able to go...yay!

Our family got into Chase Field right when they started singing the National Anthem. I bought a drink and hot dog while Clint took Amelia to the Guest Relations Center. I read that children can get wristbands with their parents' section and seat number, in case they get lost. I wasn't planning on losing Amelia but I thought better safe than sorry. She also got a cool pin for her shirt that said, "My 1st Diamondbacks Game" with Baxter the Bobcat. Also, a Baxter the Bobcat trading card.

We got to our seats; section 131, row 25, seats 15 and 16. We were right down the 3rd baseline. I haven't had nice seats like these in a long time. It was nice to sit in the lower level. Clint really wanted to catch a foul ball. There were plenty of foul balls but they all seemed to go to the left or right of us twenty feet. Oh well!

The game was fun to watch except that we weren't winning until the 9th inning. We were down like 3-0 and we ended up getting 3 guys in, to tie up the game. They went to the 10th inning. Colorado didn't score. One of our guys came to bat in the bottom of the 10th, and with the first pitch, he hit the ball nice an deep to center field, which allowed a runner to score. Victory for the Diamondbacks!

Amelia loved cheering during the game. Whenever people started clapping, she joined in enthusiastically. She loved the different chants that are said at baseball games. She really liked jumping/dancing on the seat. Anytime cheering would stop, she would say, "More again." Her way of saying she wants to do it more, or again.

We got to watch spectacular fireworks after the game too. Amelia actually watched them this time (read post about 4th of July). Every time she saw a pink firework, she said, "Pink one." If you ask her about the fireworks though, she will cover her right eye and say, "Scary."

Amelia was actually trying to smile in this picture but it looks kind of scary, like she's mad or something.

Wiggle worm Amelia in the 9th inning...around 10pm.

Diamondbacks player hitting

Mommy and Amelia standing right at the fence along the 3rd baseline after the game.

Ultrasound is Scheduled

2010-08-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

My ultrasound appointment is scheduled for September 30th. I will be just over 18 weeks along. I can't wait to see the progress the baby has made in growing, and of course (hopefully) determine if we are having a boy or girl. If we have a boy, Clint has a named picked out. He has wanted to name his first boy this name since high school I believe. Not sure on what the middle name would be just yet. If it's a girl, I think we both agree on a name we like. Again, no clue as to what the middle name would be.

I forgot to mention at my 10 week appointment that the doctor did not see twins. So I guess we won't have to worry about picking out two names. It's sad but kind of a relief too. It would be hard adjusting to two babies and all the extra costs associated with two.

Every so often I ask Amelia, "So do you want a baby brother, or baby sister?" She always responds, "Baby brudder (brother)." When Clint asks that exact same question, she responds with, "Yeah!" That response makes no sense! Maybe she will be right and it will be a boy. I know Clint would be excited to get his boy. I myself am a little weary about having a boy. It's a little unknown to me. I would be more comfortable having a girl. I just don't know if we need more estrogen in this house with Amelia! I think I heard a quote or saying that said something about "You can't grow as a perosn if you stay in your comfort zone all the time." So I guess if I want to grow, I need to have a boy and get knocked out of my comfort zone. I know I will love this child no matter what gender they are!

Amelia's 1st Bike Ride

2010-08-06T21:06:00.001-07:00

Clint and I just bought two bikes recently from some of our neighbors. We bought them in hopes of going bike riding together. One day while looking on craigslist, I came across this child carrier for a bike. We attached it to Clint's bike and took a stroll around our neighborhood. Amelia seemed to enjoy the bike ride...no tears were shed. I haven't ridden an actual bike since high school, so around 8-10 years. I was wobbly at first and tried to be very cautious since I am pregnant. Besides the bugs hitting my face every so often, it was a nice little five minute bike ride. I hope our family can continue to bike ride together, at least once a week. It will be nice once the weather starts to cool off but then my body might start getting awkward on a bike with my belly, so we will see how that goes in the future.

10 Week Appointment

2010-08-03T11:17:00.024-07:00

I had my first doctor's visit and was 10 weeks along. The due date my doctor gave me was March 2, 2011. Seeing how my water broke six days early and Amelia was born five days early, I expect to have baby 2 at the end of February. Amelia was 8lbs 12oz. I would really like to have a smaller baby this time around!

It was nice to finally see a picture of the baby and actually see the tiny heart beating. The head is on the right hand side in the pictures below and you can see little tiny arms if you look hard.

My next appointment is August 31 and I will be 14 weeks along. I will get to hear the heartbeat at this appointment. I can't wait! I remember the first time I heard Amelia's heartbeat at her 14 week apt. I started to tear up with joy.

So far I haven't really had a whole lot of symptoms. I haven't really had any kind of morning sickness. I think it's because I get to sleep in until 8am or longer. When pregnant with Amelia, I was teaching and getting up at 6am. Getting up to brush my teeth that early would set my nauseousness off every day from 8-12 weeks. I do feel cramping; it seems like once a day. My doctor said possibly because I'm not drinking enough water. I admit I don't drink enough water. Sometimes it is just hard. If I start guzzling a water bottle, I start to feel like I'm going to gag. Or when I start to drink water, Amelia insists that it's hers and she takes the bottle from me and drinks it.

Amelia's 2nd Birthday Party

2010-07-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

Ray family

Birthday Girl!

Getting ready to blow out the candles

Blowing out the candles...Happy Birthday!

Eating a cupcake

Reading a card with mommy

Opening presents...ladybug quilt and pillowcase mommy made

Riding my new tricycle

Daddy and Amelia

4th of July BBQ

2010-07-04T14:24:00.064-07:00

We went to the Ray family bbq on Saturday July 3rd at Clint's sister's house in Phoenix. We took some pictures before we left the house to show our patriotism.

Since it was a 4th of July party, I decided to make a special treat; edible bald eagles. It is made by dipping a marshmallow in melted white chocolate, then in coconut (except for one end). You stick the white chocolate, non coconut side down onto an Oreo. Let it sit for a while, allowing the white chocolate to harden to the Oreo. Use a toothpick to make a hole in the marshmallow. Stick a cashew in the hole. Use black decorator's gel for the eyes.

We had yummy food at the bbq and had a fun time swimming. Later that evening, we went to where the fireworks were going to be held around 9pm Saturday night. We had to park in a neighborhood street and walk a little ways to the golf course that was hosting the fireworks show. We heard them starting to go off so we walked behind some stores and sat in the parking lot, fairly close to the fireworks but away from the large crowds. We put blankets down on the asphalt and sat in camping chairs.

Amelia was sitting with me on the blanket and once she heard the loud firework go off, she sat in my lap facing me, buried her face in my chest, and clutched her arms around me for dear life. I asked her if she wanted to watch the pretty fireworks and she would just say, "No". I covered her ears and held her safely while I enjoyed the fireworks. I eventually kicked Clint out of his chair so I could sit with Amelia in a slightly more comfortable position. Eventually I think she fell asleep because I felt twitching and she wouldn't respond when I asked her a question. At the very end of the fireworks show, I started to stand up from the chair. She woke up and heard everyone cheering. So she sits straight up, claps her hands, and says "Yay!" What a silly little girl.

On Sunday after dinner with Clint's family in Mesa, we drove back home to our house. We put Amelia in her wagon and walked near the front of our community to watcht he fireworks going off at the Field of Dreams on Power and Elliot. The fireworks were nice, the mosquitos biting us were not nice. Right when the firework finale was starting, a stupid car drove up and parked right in front of where we were sitting and blocked the fireworks! We were able to hear the fireworks 10 seconds after they went off because of the distance delay but it just wasn't the same. Amelia did enjoy watching these fireworks because they were farther away and not very noisy. When they were over, she kept saying, "More, more." We went home and watched the Boston fireworks on tv. Amelia loved watching those as well.

Aside from bbqs and fireworks, my favorite part of the 4th of July is hearing the patriotic songs. I just love the Star Spangled Banner and get choked up every time I hear it or sing it. I am so glad that I can live in this free country and am able to practice religion without being afraid like people in other countries. I am so thankful for my family and friends!

Late Father's Day Gift

2010-06-21T11:46:00.036-07:00

So besides the very awesome S'Mores maker that I got Clint for Father's Day, I gave Clint another spectacular present the day after Father's Day...the gift of another child! Yes, you read that correct. We are finally expecting again!

I woke up early Monday morning and took the pregnancy test. I was shocked that it finally said 'Pregnant'. I was so used to seeing 'Not Pregnant'. I ran back to our bed and jumped on Clint. I told him "Happy Late Father's Day Clint!" He was like, "Okay thanks." I said it again with more emphasis on the Father's part. He figured it out but thought I was lying. I guess he was used to hearing the 'Not Pregnant' response too. After the initial unsureness, he was excited.

It took us a while (a lot longer that I liked or expected) but I'm sure it will be worth the wait. Twins run in both sides of my family so maybe there are two little baby Ray's this time. There are no twins in Clint's entire Ray family so that could be exciting for them.

My first appointment is August 3rd and I will be 10 weeks along. I can't wait to hear the heartbeat(s) :)

Father's Day

2010-06-20T14:02:00.002-07:00

We had our own Father's Day celebration at our house on Saturday June 19th. Clint wanted to have tin foil dinners as his special dinner so we made them. We had bbq chicken, ground beef, corn on the cob, carrots, and potatoes. For dessert, we had some of this cake that Amelia decorated at Bashas that morning.

On Sunday morning, I gave Clint his Father's Day gift. You will probably think it's cheesy but Clint never wants gifts and this was something funny that I knew he would like. I got him a Perfect S'Mores maker. You add water in the back part and set up the graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow, and set it in the microwave for 30 seconds. The S'Mores turn out a lot better this way for me because the little white arms hold the graham cracker down while the marshmallow is melting. Normally when I would make S'Mores, the marshmallow would be rolling off the graham cracker. Clint had like five S'Mores for breakfast and didn't want anything else. So I guess it was a good present!

Here are some pictures of Amelia eating graham crackers in her pjs, with some crazy hair!

Grandma Susie's Visit

2010-06-12T21:34:00.038-07:00

My mom came down for a visit. We went to the Arizona Mills Mall to do a little late birthday shopping for me. We had lunch and went on the carousel. Amelia just loves going on the carousel and gets very sad when it's time to leave.

Later in the evening we went to our community park. Amelia had fun hanging on the monkey bars, swinging by herself, and going down the slide. I love the picture of Amelia hanging from the bars and sitting on the platform looking in the distance!

I WON!!!

2010-06-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

So I just got an email from http://www.savingcentswithsense.net/ (I entered their drawing a week and a half ago) and they told me I was one of the three selected people to win 2 FREE Tickets to the SeaLife Aquarium. Very exciting! I never win stuff so I am pretty amazed.

SeaLife Arizona Tickets Giveaway

2010-05-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

So for those of you that don't know, my birthday is this Saturday. My parents, sister, and nephew are coming to stay with us and we are going to SeaLife Arizona for my birthday activity on Saturday. I came across this site that is giving away two tickets to SeaLife. Thursday is the last day you can submit entries. I am hoping to win these two tickets so Clint and I can get in for free for my birthday. Wouldn't that be a great birthday gift...saving money.

Check out the website and see if you can win some tickets!

http://www.savingcentswithsense.net/2010/05/sea-life-arizona-grand-opening-ticket-giveaway/comment-page-2/#comment-25616

Let's Go Fly A Kite...

2010-04-30T20:40:00.001-07:00

Up to the highest height!

Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring

Up through the atmosphere

Up where the air is clear

Oh, let's go fly a kite!

Up to the highest height!

It was really windy when Clint came home from work so he suggested we fly a kite with Amelia. I found a ladybug kite that we had in our closet so I assembled it. We went down to the basin near our house and let that ladybug kite fly. Clint was able to get it in the air and then let the string out really far. When we were done flying, we counted about how many feet of string was let out. We estimate it to have been about 150 feet. The kite was very far up and looked much smaller.

Clint let Amelia hold the string handle and they flew the kite together :)

I tried to get a nice picture of Amelia sitting with me but she got upset when I tried to take our picture. I like this one because it shows a side view of her angry face. When she gets mad, she tilts her head forward, scrunches her eyebrows, and looks up with her eyes; we call it her evil glare. She also curls her bottom lip out.

Can It Get Any Worse?

2010-04-23T15:45:00.001-07:00

So I went in Amelia's room Tuesday to check on her like I do every night before Clint and I go to bed. It was about 11pm. Right when I walked into the room I could smell that nasty stench. I turned on her dimmed light and I saw what I had expected to see but didn't want to see; barf. It was all over the bed, her clothes, her lovey blankie, kitty, and bunny, and of course on her pillow and in her hair. Yuck!

I called to Clint to come and help me. He was nice enough to take Amelia into our shower and get her all cleaned up while I picked up chunks of food everywhere and rinsed her stuff off before throwing everything into the washer. It took me a good twenty minutes to do all of this. I then proceeded to spray febreeze all over her room to help with the yucky smell. When I finally finished putting new sheets and blankets on her bed I went downstairs.

Clint was sitting on the floor holding Amelia, who was wrapped up in a towel, shaking. We figured she probably had the chills, even though her forehead was warm to the touch. I went upstairs to get her some clean pjs and when I came back downstairs, she looked like she was about ready to fall asleep in Clint's arms. We took the towel off to put her clothes on and she started gagging or something. Clint grabbed the towel while I ran to get a large bowl. I wasn't quick enough so she threw up water (which she drank after barfing in her bed) and maybe mucous on the towel. We cleaned that up and got her dressed.

It was about 11:30pm by now and we wanted to make sure she wasn't going to barf anymore so we sat on the couch and watched tv with her. She seemed half asleep but then saw an animal and sat up and got excited. But then a minute later looked almost asleep again. She dozed off a few times so I got a picture of her sleeping on the couch.

We decided to take her to our room for the night in case she had to barf again. Within about ten minutes she started making noises and did barf up some watery mucous. I went to go wash out the bowl and by the time I got back from our bathroom, she had already fallen back asleep.

She woke up again around 2:30am and the same thing as before happened. She barfed a little more and fell back asleep. Aroung 5am I woke up because she was wiggling around and I am a light sleeper for the most part. She had turned her body perpendicular to Clint and me and had cuddled up her head into my stomach and was kicking Clint's back. I rotated her around and slept until she started climbing on me around 7:30am. Clint had left for work much earlier but he later told me that she had been kicking him most of the night. This is why we don't let her sleep in our bed unless it's an emergency because Clint and I won't get much sleep.

On Wednesday morning I made Amelia some breakfast and gave her some milk. She was eating the yogurt and applesauce and said she needed to pee. I took her down from her booster seat and she went poo instead. I brought her back up and she sat there but didn't want to eat. All of a sudden she threw up everything all over the table, floor, and in her bib. I went to get the bowl but she barfed more, and more. Once she was finished, I got her down and cleaned it all up; not fun! She was running around naked since her clothes and panties were soaked in barf. She came into the kitchen holding the bowl part of her potty chair saying 'pee pee' 'pee pee'. While I was cleaning up she went and sat on her potty chair all by herself and peed. She brought it to me to show me and have me dump out the pee in the big toilet. I am so glad she is a bright little girl and didn't decide to pour the pee out on the floor or do other worse things.

Amelia and I sat on the couch watching movies for most of the day. She drank water, ate some popsicles, and a few grapes. She fell asleep in my lap on the couch at 10:15am and slept until 12:00pm. I tried to get her to eat some applesauce and other stuff but she only wanted the applesauce. We played downstairs with her blocks for a little bit then went back upstairs to watch more of her movies. She fell asleep again in my lap on the couch at 2:45pm. After a little while I decided to take her upstairs so she could sleep in her bed. She slept until 5:15pm! I guess she must have been really tired and not feeling well to sleep this much. Usually she takes one nap from 12-3pm or 1-4pm.

We had chicken noodle soup for dinner because the weather was kind of cool, Clint was getting over a cold, and Amelia was obviously not feeling great. She didn't really eat much of the food but did drink some juice. She had a bath and went to bed at 8pm like normal. Luckily she didn't barf in her bed again.

Thursday morning she woke up around 6:30am and whined for a few minutes then went back asleep til about 7:30am. I went and got her because we had to get dressed and up to Mesa. Grandma Betty was going to watch Amelia while Clint and I helped in the Temple laundry room. On the car ride to Mesa, Amelia dozed off for a few minutes. We dropped her off with grandma around 9am. Grandma told us that she slept from 9:15-11:15am. Then she ate some mac n' cheese and cheetos for lunch. I'm glad she finally ate something. We got home around 2:30pm or so. She stayed awake until bedtime at 8pm. Things were looking up for her...No more barfing!

This morning (Friday), she woke up around 8am. I had been awake since about 7am and was downstairs doing stuff on the computer and watching tv. I went up to her room and opened the door. She was standing next to the door, holding the door knob like usual, trying to open it herself. When she saw me, she pointed at and said, 'money'- which is what she calls her lovey bunny. I went over to bunny and there was dried poo all over her bunny, kitty, blankie, bed, and of course her clothes. I think she must have had diarrhea sometime during the night or in the morning and it went up her pull-up and then she rolled around and it was everywhere. I took off her pjs and it was dried and caked on her littly tushy :( I gave her a bath and got the nastiness cleaned up.

She had a good day and went to nap around 1pm or so. As I was typing the previous paragraph about her diarrhea this morning, she woke up, at 3pm. I ran up there because she has panties on and I wanted to get her on a potty to pee. When I got up there, she was next to the door waiting for me. She was standing with her legs apart in a waddling fashion. I saw a wet spot on the blanket on the floor by her bed. I figured she must have peed. I went to pull down her pants and panties, when out falls some mushy poo. Very gross! I got her clothes off carefully and into the bath again, then rinsed the poo out of her panties and pants.

My poor baby girl has had a rough few days lately. I haven't had the best few days either since I have to deal with most of it. I really hope Amelia gets better soon!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

We got back from Cali on Saturday and my mom spent the night. My dad drove down from Cottonwood and also spent the night on Saturday. I made french toast for breakfast Sunday morning. Amelia went Easter egg hunting in our front yard area. She did very well, seeing how they weren’t hidden very hard but placed near tree trunks or in the open grass area. The only problem we ran into was that she wanted to stop and open every single plastic Easter egg and find out what was inside them. Our neighbors also had an Easter egg hunt for a couple of the neighbor children. The other kids were older and found all the easier placed eggs that were supposed to be for Amelia. So Amelia and I went hunting for the harder placed eggs. We found some in bushes and tree branches. After the Easter egg hunts, we went back to our yard and Amelia opened her Easter basket. Mom had put a soft white and pink fluffy bunny rabbit in her basket. Amelia loves this bunny and carts it around all over, along with her kitty and blankie.

Mom and dad left in the afternoon and our family went up to Mesa to Clint’s family’s house. Amelia participated in another Easter egg hunt there with all the cousins and a few other friends. There were eight kids total. Clint and I helped Amelia find the well hidden eggs that were on top of brick wall fences out of reach. There were also little plastic eggs with coins that were hidden very well beneath the clovers. Amelia got to put a lot of coins in her ladybug piggy bank when we got home that evening.

Taking a break to watch pa-pa blow bubbles

The new favorite stuffed bunny

Easter snuggles with mommy :)

Reading the bunny book from Amelia's Easter basket

Trip to Cali

2010-04-03T21:00:00.001-07:00

My grandma had a stroke in the beginning of March. After she left the hospital, she went to a rehabilitation center. She stayed there for a few weeks and was then able to go back and live in their apartment at Fredericka Manor with my grandpa. My mom, Amelia, and I drove out for a week to go see my grandparents and help my grandma when she got moved back into her apartment. My uncle and aunt were going to be gone the week that we went out to Cali so they graciously let us live in their house for the week. They live very close to the San Diego airport so the planes would wake Amelia, and then of course me up at 6:30am when the first plane would take off. This aspect of our stay was a little rough but they had a large friendly dog named Leo who Amelia just adored. She would chase him around and pet him and hug him. He didn't seem to mind her too much. I took care of Leo so for the week, I was like his new master. He would follow me everywhere and make sure Amelia and I were safe.

We couldn't go to San Diego without visiting the zoo so we went to the San Diego Zoo on one of the warmest days we were there. Amelia had a great time seeing all the animals. She stayed awake for 9 hours, had a brief 30 minute nap in the stroller, and then stayed up until bedtime. While at the zoo, we accidentally lost Amelia's blankie! I was very worried because Amelia loves this blankie, as well as her kitty. She would have a hard time sleeping without it. Luckily the zoo lost and found department called us later that evening and said that we had left it on one of the express buses. We drove back to the zoo and retrieved it before Amelia's bedtime :)

Here are lots and lots of pictures from our trip:

Amelia excited to see everything at the zoo.

Riding the very first tour bus of the day around the zoo.

Giraffes- or 'raffes' as Amelia calls them

Riding on the SkyFari

Standing next to a polar bear...don't worry, it's not real.

Taking a lunch break

Amelia wearing a zoo bucket as a hat

Petting the goat in the children's petting zoo

The great big sheep...baaaaaaaa as Amelia says anytime she sees a sheep.

Taking a ride on a large tortoise

One of the many elephants- 'ella' as Amelia would it

Roooaaar says the tiger

Riding on the last train ride through Balboa Park

Posing with the stuffed animal giraffe

Loving the wind blowing through our hair

We went to Corvette Diner for dinner one night. It's a great 50's style diner with a perfect family oriented atmosphere.

Enjoying a thick chocolate shake

We got Amelia a balloon and she wouldn't let it go...not even during dinner

Amelia posing for me while showing off her 'doddie bib.

Playing with the balloon on our way to the car.

Amelia and grandma Susie visiting with great grandma Flo at her apartment.

Blowing on the pinwheel after eating powdered donut holes on my grandparent's balcony.

Taking a quick picture break while walking the hallways at Fredericka Manor.

Blowing bubbles on the balcony.

My grandpa, John, grandma, Flo, me, and Amelia eating lunch at Fredericka Manor.

We took Amelia to the park at Liberty Station near my uncle's house where we were staying. Every time Amelia hears or sees a plane, she points up to it and says 'pane' until you acknowledge her saying it.

Amelia sliding down the big slide next to me.

Amelia playing in the sand with a nice little boy around her age.

A lady at the park had this tricycle. I was wanting to buy this exact one at Wal-Mart for her 2nd birthday present. She let Amelia try it out and seemed to love it. I had to stand behind her and push her though because she didn't really know how to pedal.

Going on the bouncy seahorse

Out taking Leo for his daily morning walk around the neighborhood.

Amelia and my mom with my uncle's tortoise, Ricky. Amelia loves turtles but just didn't want to get close to Ricky.

I gave Amelia these stickers to keep her entertained while I was driving. She got a bit sticker happy!

Amelia went over and sat in Leo's doggie bed and was trying to feed him his bone. He yawned so she was trying to shove it in mouth.

Leo left but Amelia had fun sitting in the dog bed. She would bring her kitty and blankie over and roll around in the bed. I know she misses Leo, or 'E-lo' as she calls him.

Papa's Visit

2010-03-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

My dad went to Tucson during his spring bring from teaching to help my sister and brother-in-law install sod in their backyard. He came up to visit us on Saturday. Amelia enjoyed seeing him and was sad when he had to leave to go home.

Amelia showing papa how she goes down the slide.

Papa taking Amelia for a ride on the swing.

Amelia scooping up the sand.

Digging some more sand; making sure to stay on the sidewalk.

Papa reading Amelia a bedtime story.
I told Amelia to go get a book for papa and she grabbed her potty book.

Amelia loves this book about the potty. There is a girl who is learning to potty train and she has a potty for her stuffed teddy bear. Amelia tries to potty train her stuffed animals just like the girl in the book.

Phoenix Zoo

2010-03-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law wanted to do something with the grand kids during spring break so we all went to the Phoenix Zoo on 18th. Amelia and I waited on the bridge for everyone. While waiting, we watched people feed bread to the ducks and turtles.

Amelia saw the turtles in the water and said, "Toor-tul," which is how she says 'turtle'.

Amelia with cousin Roxie

Amelia with cousin Londann

Amelia with cousin Rowdy (he just broke his leg a few days earlier)

Amelia styling with her hat and glasses

Amelia got a rocking elephant for Christmas two years ago and we named her Ellie since she is an elephant. When we got to the elephants at the zoo, she said "Ellie" because she knew they were elephants.

Large tortoises, who can live to be over 100 years old.

Amelia looking for the rhinoceros iguana.

Macaw

Andreas bear. Amelia is good at saying 'bear'.

Javelinas

Amelia hanging out with grandma Betty

Londann, Cayden, and Roxie riding on the camel. The age minimum is two so Amelia wasn't allowed to ride just yet.

Flamingos

Zebra or "be-be" in Amelia talk.

Amelia with the "raff"

Me, Amelia, and the giraffes.

Group photo:
Me, Amelia, Anita, Brennan, Alisa, Rowdy, Betty, Melissa, Caliann,
Cayden, Romel, Roxie, Londann

Tiger

Rhinos

Wallaby

Amelia taking a nap near the end of the zoo trip. It only lasted 30 minutes and she missed the petting zoo area :(

St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Amelia and I had a fun filled St. Patrick's Day! We started off with green eggs and ham. I then dressed Amelia in all green with some pigtails. I tried to turn whatever I could green, hence the green cottage cheese. I had made some brownies and to make them festive, I added coloring to the white frosting, and voila, green frosting!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Green eggs and ham for breakfast, with milk in a green sippy cup :)

First time using hair ties! Amelia finally has just enough hair to make pig-tails.

The entire green outfit

Green cottage cheese
(don't worry it was just dyed with food coloring, not actually green from being old)

Enjoying the green cottage cheese

A green frosted brownie with a shamrock on top for dessert :)

Cold Water Anyone?

2010-03-16T19:00:00.001-07:00

After talking with my sister about kiddie swimming pools, I decided I should find one for my little Amelia while shopping at Super Wal-Mart for groceries.

Let's backtrack to when I was a child:
There was the blue hard plastic shell kiddie pool, with a built in slide I think. Fun but not easy to store unless you have a backyard or empty garage.

There was the blue plastic pool where the sides are thin, stand up to make the pool shape, and had pictures of animals around it. Also fun and easier to store. (I saw this type of pool while shopping).

Fast forward to now:
Individual sized pools for kids, inflatable with an air pump, nice soft cushioned sides which help with injuries, animals around the sides, and Velcro butterflies. And all for $10! Perfect for our small front lawn area and for my sweet baby girl.

I set it up after we got back from shopping around 5:15pm. The sun was out and it was warm. Amelia loves playing in water, even though the hose water used to fill up the little pool was quite cold. I even set up a beach chair and put my feet in the pool. Amelia had a blast and I know we will do it again in the near future...it's getting hot really quick here in AZ.

Amelia: Baby Figure Skater

2010-02-27T21:00:00.003-07:00

We were watching the Winter Olympics while getting Amelia ready for bedtime and she started dancing with the figure skater. We grabbed the video camera and started recording her. Enjoy watching our upcoming figure skater, Amelia, do her little dance!

2009 Christmas Season

2009-12-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

My parents came down to celebrate the Christmas weekend with Clint, Amelia, and me. They arrived in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. We went to Mesa to have dinner at Clint's parent's house. We enjoyed a yummy mexican style dinner with chicken enchiladas, beef tacos, cheese crisps, etc. We took a combined picture of our families together.

Amelia helped grandma Betty open a present from grandma Susie. She started getting into it a ripped the wrapping paper pretty good.

We left after dinner and went to see the Temple lights and hear the wonderful music. Amelia wanted to climb over the wood fence railings that are in-between the walkways and the nativity scenes. She enjoyed seeing the sheep and would say Baaa.

A little family picture with the decorated trees.

Another family was trying to take a family picture and Amelia decided she wanted to get in it too. Luckily she was too short and didn't ruin their picture but we were able to get a snapshot of her.

Opening stockings Christmas morning.

Amelia enjoyed dumping her stocking out after a while because it was quicker than taking everything out one by one.

Her favorite stocking stuffer was this new Tigger spinbrush toothbrush. She carried it around everywhere until we took it away.

Downstairs opening presents.

Eating a snack at my new table.

"Tan-ta!" is how Amelia says Santa.
Amelia loved her new pajamas that had snowmen, reindeer, trees, and Santa on them.
Santa is on her left footsie so she was pulling at it.

Lounging on my new futon couch before bedtime.

Our family

Christmas 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From our family to yours!

Raincoat

2009-12-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Clint came home from work and it was raining so we decided to put Amelia's raincoat to use. We bought it for her at Sam's Club about a year ago in size 2T, knowing she would grow into it. It's a cute yellow coat with ladybugs all over it. She enjoyed getting wet and being outside. I am just glad that we don't live somewhere that receives a lot of rain. I love our dry heat here in Arizona. I feel safer knowing there aren't hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, or earthquakes. Yes we have monsoon season, which can be destructive, but is only for a short time frame during the year.

Flower Girl

2009-12-21T15:00:00.002-07:00

Clint's sister got married on December 19th and Amelia was one of the flower girls. All of the neices, Roxie, Londann, Caliann, and Amelia were adorable flower girls. They had cute little ivory dresses with a cream furry shawl/jacket thing. They had gold shoes, bracelets, and necklaces too. The older girls wore cute hair accessories and ivory gloves. Amelia had a cute blue flower on a headband but she refuses to have anything on her head unless I glue it on.

My parents came down so they could be at the wedding and see their gorgeous (yes I am partial) granddaughter be a flower girl. I walked along with Amelia because she wouldn't go alone. I was afraid that since she was the last to walk down the aisle, that she would pick up the flowers from the ground. Luckily she didn't but she didn't really throw the flowers either. I took them out of her basket and threw them for her. She didn't scream or cry so I felt that it was a decently successful attempt at being a flower girl. She was only 17 months old at the time.

Odd Places to Sleep

2009-12-07T14:16:00.007-07:00

Amelia is doing better about sleeping in her big girl bed and not falling out. She rolls around a lot during the night and has a higher chance of falling out of bed so I put up a blanket barricade across the front of the bed so she wouldn't roll out as easily. If she wants out of the bed, she can just lay on her stomach and slide down feet first. When I lay Amelia down for her naps, she will immediately sit up and then slide on out after I close the door and leave the room. I have found her sleeping right behind the door, behind the rocking chair, in the corner by her closet amongst her stuffed animals, on the blankets beneath the bed with her box of shoes, in the bed with her head hanging over the edge of the blanket barricade, and in the rocking chair!

Here are some pictures of how I have found Amelia sleeping:

Taking a nap in the bed.

Sleeping on the floor after rolling out at night.

Sleeping on the blankets after getting into her dresser and taking out her box of shoes.

Sleeping behind the rocking chair in the corner..she sleeps here mostly I think.

The other day I peeked in on her and found her like this.

Vrrrrrrr

2009-11-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

So many of yoy know that I LOVE ladybugs! I started collecting ladybug stuff at a very young age. I have quite the collection. Amelia's room, our guest bedroom, and the guest bathroom are all decorated with the ladybug theme. I have a ladybug massage pillow that I've had for a long time. I found it in the guest bedroom and thought Amelia would like playing with it. I put new batteries in it and showed her what to do. I pushed on it with my hand and it started vibrating. She took the pillow from me and tried it herself. She seriously played with it for at least 10 minutes straight. She would pick it up, cart it off somewhere, lay it on the floor, and place her head on it for a few seconds so it would vibrate. She did this over and over and over. She took it in the living room, in the kitchen, in the dining room, and by the pool table. Sometimes she will place it on the floor and just sit on top of it while playing with other toys.

I'm Married to a National Champion

2009-11-16T11:55:00.003-07:00

Clint plays on a Touch Rugby team, Tumeke Touch. They just hosted the national competition this last Friday and Saturday at Discovery Park in Gilbert. Amelia and I went to watch two of his three games Friday evening. It was chilly outside so we were both bundled up in sweaters. My mom bought Amelia a cute green zip up sweater with a picture of Bambi on the hood and Bambi's ears that stick up above on top of the hood. Everybody thought she looked adorable. I took Amelia home to go to bed and Clint played one more game Friday night. They won all three games and Clint got a try (like touchdown in football). The second game they played was against a team from Portland (This was the team they played last year in Dallas for the championship. Portland won last year and Tumeke took 2nd place). They beat them Friday night 4 to 3!

They had two more games Saturday morning and won both of those games too. They were seeded number one for the semi finals. Amelia and I arrived around 2pm; semi finals started at 2:40pm. It was very cold and rainy. We were both bundled up again and sat under a canopy to stay dry. Their team played the number four team and beat them 11 to 5 I believe. The clouds disappeared and the sun came out and it started to warm up quickly. We took off our sweaters and got to spend time with Clint before the final game at 4:20.

The playing field at Discovery Park is in a basin. There is a decently steep hill to climb up if you want to get out and to the top. Amelia enjoyed walking up and down this hill. We bought a meat pie and sat on the side of the hill as a family, watching the mixed touch team play their semi final game.

Clint had to leave and go warm-up with his team for the championship game so Amelia and I went back down the hill to the canopies where the other kids were playing. Amelia enjoyed following the bigger kids around. Clint's game started a little bit late. The sun was starting to go down and was getting a bit cold so I put our sweaters back on. Before the game started, their team lined up and did the haka (the haka is the traditional dance form of the Māori of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. It is supposed to scare the opponent. The New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks, do the haka before their games). Their team was playing Portland for the championship, just like last year. It was a very intense game. One of our players got hurt and possibly broke his ankle. This was the player that Clint would take turns with to go in and play. Since the guy was badly injured, Clint got to stay in and play for almost the entire game. Near the end of the game the score was 3 to 3 and Clint scored a try, making it 4 to 3. Their team just needed to stop Portland from scoring. Time seemed to pass so slowly. Finally we heard the blow horn, signally the end of the game. Their team had won and were the national touch rugby champs! After all their hard work this last year, it finally paid off. Their team was so excited. They did the haka again after the game.

The award ceremony was held after the mixed team had their championship game. Everybody gathered around and the trophies and medals were awarded. Clint's team got a large trophy that they will keep until next year's nationals. Each player on his team received a gold medal. There were select players chosen to be part of the All Tournament Team and Clint was one of them. He received a special shirt. I'm so proud of Clint and his efforts to play hard. I know winning and becoming the national champs meant a whole lot to his team.

I can't wait until next year's nationals competition! They will be playing on the sports field that sits inside the Walt Disney World park in Florida. They will get package deals where the players and family members who come along get park tickets for Disney World. I have only been to Disneyland once as a young child. My family tagged along with my sister's school trip when we lived in San Diego. It was raining the entire time. Our souvenirs were Mickey/Minnie socks. We took off our soaked socks and put the new socks on, put our feet in plastic bags, then put on our shoes. This was so we could have warm dry feet.

TUMEKE TOUCH...2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!

Night Two in Big Girl Bed

2009-11-13T09:21:00.001-07:00

Amelia was getting quite upset and cranky so I put her to bed around 7pm tonight. She fell asleep rather quickly. Everything was going great until about 10pm. I was downstairs watching tv; sitting on the couch, which is directly below her room. I thought I heard a small thunk. I muted the tv but didn't hear anything else or any crying. I decided to go upstairs and check to make sure everything was okay. I slowly opened Amelia's bedroom door and shone a flashlight to the ceiling to give the room a glow. I was quite surprised at what I saw. Amelia had obviously rolled/fallen out of bed; I'm guessing hit the comfy pink blanket I had on the floor and then rolled a little further. She was lying on her back with both hands behind her head, still asleep! I went downstairs and got my camera. When I came back up, she had rolled over to her side. I took a few photos- pictured below. I went down the hall to set my camera down and when I came back, Amelia was sitting up rubbing her eyes and looking around in a daze. I wonder what she was thinking in that head of hers. I got down to her level and told her she must have fallen out of the bed. I grabbed her blankie from the bed and the kitty from the floor and rocked her for a minute, then placed her back into bed. She went right back to sleep.

I am just so amazed that she fell out of her bed, which is about a one foot drop, and managed to just roll over and go back asleep without making any noise other than the thud from hitting the floor! What a trooper. I hope she doesn't do this in the middle of the night. I don't know if I would wake up if the only noise she makes is a small thud. I guess if she does fall out again, she will just sleep on the floor until she realizes that she is on the floor. Once realizing that she is on the floor, she will come to our room looking for us or just crawl back up into her bed. I seriously doubt she would just crawl back into her bed in the middle of the night though.

While Clint and I were in the bathroom getting ready for bed around midnight, we were very startled when we heard a soft noise and a pink blur coming toward us. I almost had a heart attack! Amelia had fallen/gotten out of bed and came looking for us in our room. I put her back to bed and we went to bed ourselves. Around 3am I woke up when our bedroom door slowly opened and I heard Amelia walking in. I was groggy but took her back and put her in her own bed. Seriously in about two minutes, here she came again, this time with her blankie. I almost wanted to just put her in our bed and see if she would sleep with us because I was so tired and didn't feel like getting back out of bed again. But I knew that if I started this, it would probably happen every night thereafter; she would learn that if she comes into our room in the middle of the night she can sleep with us. I definitely do not want her to start that habit! So I got out of bed and put her back down, and this time closed her door. She never did get back out of bed or make any noise until the morning. Unfortunately she woke up around 7am and since the door was closed, she stood there and tried to turn the knob. I was still very very tired but she had about 12 hours of sleep so I knew there was no way she would be going back to bed.

I hope night three is better like night one; I need to catch up on my sleep!

Big Girl Bed

2009-11-12T12:26:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I decided that I wanted to convert Amelia's crib into the transitional bed. I thought about all the big milestones or events that will be taking place from now until her 2nd birthday and I wanted to be able to space them out so they won't all happen at once and possibly be traumatizing for her. Aside from needing to move her into a big girl bed, in the next few months I would like for Amelia to not need a pacifier when sleeping. I also want to try and start potty training around 18 months and hopefully have her trained by 2 years old. At 18 months she will be in nursery at church and I don't plan on having to stay in the room with her the entire time, but be able to go to my classes. She recently got two molar teeth and a lower tooth in all at about the same time and still has more teeth that need to come in. Teething has never been fun for Amelia. So after looking at all these events, the two I felt that I could control were moving her to a big girl bed, and getting rid of the pacifier. Since the pacifier helps when sleeping, especially with all the teething that's been going on, I just don't think I am ready for that battle quite yet. I tried to see if she would take a nap without it a week ago but she just screamed bloody murder forever. I don't have the heart or guts to do it yet. Maybe in the next month or two after she has gotten accustomed to the big girl bed and teething has gotten better.

So Amelia and I went up to her room and got to work. I took the front crib railing off and attached the two little crib 'doors' to the front. Amelia had fun playing in the room with everything while I was doing this. Once I put the mattress back on, she helped me put her toys on the bed. She crawled up on the bed and played for a little bit while I really baby proofed the room. I figured that now she will be able to get out of her bed, anything that seems remotely harmful better be taken out or put out of reach.

Last night I rocked her for a few minutes like usually at about 7:30pm. She was excited to see some new pictures of herself hanging on the wall so wasn't exactly laying down in my lap. I had a nice comfy blanket on the ground right where the opening was in between the two crib 'doors' in case she fell out during the night. (When in the crib, she would roll around quite a lot and kick her feet against the back of the crib railing. She also likes to sleep short ways in the crib with her feet near the back railing and her head near the front railing.) I figured she would probably fall out at least once during the 1st night in her big girl bed.

When I went to bed, she was laying long ways in the bed snuggling with her blankie. Another blanket had been pushed off onto the floor so I picked it up and put it near her feet. I myself had a tough time going to sleep because I was so nervous. I just laid in my bed waiting to her a thud followed by crying. I finally fell asleep but woke up a few times when I could hear her rolling around. Amelie never did fall out of the bed; if she did, I didn't hear anything and she got back into bed all by herself. I highly doubt that though.

Clint got up and went to work around 5:30am. He leaves our bedroom door cracked slightly when he leaves. I always leave Amelia's door cracked so when I check in on her before going to bed, the doorknob doesn't make a bunch of noise and wake her up; she is quite the light sleeper like me. Around 8:40am I heard my door open and the little pitter patter of feet walking toward my bed. I sat up and her comes Amelia with her pacifier in her mouth! It was kind of a nice way to start the morning :) When she was in her crib before, I would wake up to her making noise by playing and talking to her toys, saying uh-oh over and over again because she went poo poo, or by crying. I'm excited that her first night in the crib was so successful!

I was a little worried how she would do during naptime in the big girl bed because it is daytime and she can see the books and toys in her room better. I rocked her for a few minutes and laid her down around 11:35am. I could hear her talking to toys and pushing her glowworm toy, which sings music. I would say she fell asleep sometime before 11:45am. I went to check on her since I didn't hear any noise and this is what I saw:

Her room is actually quite dark during the day due to blinds and window curtains, so I used the flash and nighttime setting on my camera. I hope she doesn't fall out! She has been asleep for almost an 1.5 hours so she will get a pretty good nap. She got around 13 hours sleep last night and with this one hour nap so far, that makes 14.5 hours. According to Babycenter, the average 12 month old child needs 13.75 hours of sleep total for the day and the 18 month old child needs 13.50 hours of sleep. So I figure that since Amelia is 16 months old, she should get an amount somewhere in between. She usually always gets at least 14 hours of sleep total everyday. Maybe that's why, for the most part, she is a pretty happy baby; and why she can get cranky if she doesn't get put down for a nap three hours after waking up in the morning.

I love my little Amelia to pieces and I am so glad that she is growing up into such a smart and healthy girl. It helps me to forget all the tough times I struggled through in the first 4-5 months of her life. I can confidently say that she is going to grow up into a very wonderful and special young lady and that I was an integral part.

Trick-or-Treat!

2009-10-31T21:24:00.008-07:00

No Amelia was not a ladybug again this year :( We have a few ladybug costumes for different ages but they were too big to fit her this year and she is waaay to big to wear last year's (6 month size) ladybug onesie costume. I didn't want to spend much money and buy a costume so I decided she would be a bunny. I already had pink sweat pants for her and a white onesie. She wore pink socks and her pink sport-like shoes. My mom gave her bunny ears at Easter and I safety pinned a fluffy white pom pom ball to her sweat pants. I was looking at winter clothes at Wal-Mart the other day because it is getting cold now and she doesn't have any winter clothes really. I found an adorable faux fur white hoodie jacket. It has a little bit of pink where the pockets are and on the zipper area. I thought this would be a perfect addition to complete the bunny look for Amelia! It would keep her warm, look stylish, and still be useful after Halloween.

I couldn't get a picture of Amelia's complete costume without Clint holding her hands down. She always takes the bunny ears off her head in about 2 seconds after I put them on.

My little bunny :)

Look at that cute bunny behind! Hop hop hop

Mommy & bunny

I don't want these on my head mom!

Clint and I taught Amelia to fold her arms and close her eyes a few months ago so she could learn to be reverent and also join us when we pray. She will randomly fold her arms and close her eyes throughout the day and at the end of church hymns. She is getting better at doing it on command. Clint told her to fold her arms and she did so he was able to get a picture.

And we're off to go trick-or-treating! We practiced at our house first. I had Clint open our door and give her candy. She wanted nothing to do with it. We joined our neighbors, Matt & Holly, and we went trick-or-treating together. After watching their almost 2 year old son trick-or-treat, Amelia started to pick up on what to do. When people would answer the door and put the candy bowl in front of Amelia, she would actually pick out a candy. Sometimes she would try to share and give it back to them. But after awhile she learned to put it in her bucket.

I gave Amelia her first ever sucker to eat; I didn't want chocolate all over her white jacket so I thought a sucker was a better choice. She sucked on it for 30 minute sor more and got to the tootsie roll in the middle. Amelia was a very sticky mess! At one point, the sleeve of her jacket was stuck to the tray on the stroller. I had to pull the jacket out from the sticky area. We decided she was done with the sucker and got her out of the stroller so she could burn off the sugar rush by trick-or-treating some more. If you look closely, you will see the sucker stick stuck to the jacket near her left arm/shoulder area. The stroller is sticky all over the tray table and her hands are a nasty mess. We used wipes to clean off her hands and face the best we could.

After getting Amelia out of the stroller, we knocked on a door and got some candy. They had a few white dogs behind a gate past the entryway. Amelia heard the dogs barking, pointed at them, and said her version of 'dog'. She started crawling into the entryway and then walked over to the basket full of dog toys.

Amelia doing her 'I don't know' hand guesture.

I bet this was one of the highlights of Amelia's night...getting to see dogs and play with their dog toys.

Sweet moment...smiling at daddy :)

Her hands and face were still so sticky, even after we attempted to clean it up with wipes. The fur from the jacket stuck to the sticky mess and you can see some of the fur on her hands and chin.

We walked around our neighborhood for about two hours. It seemed very slow at first; like we weren't going to get any candy. There weren't many people home and only a few houses left bowls of candy out for trick-or-treaters. After awhile we found houses that had the Halloween spirit and were sitting out on their front porch with candy and great decorations in their yards. Near the end of our journey we got to a house that had only gotten five trick-or treaters. She gave us three huge handfuls of candy. When we got home our bowl of tootie fruites looked untouched. Overall it was a pleasant evening. The weather was quite nice, I got in a good amount of exercise from all that walking, we accumulated a decent stash of candy, and Amelia wasn't cranky. Happy Halloween!

Schnepf's Farm

2009-10-10T20:10:00.003-07:00

My mom and dad came down for the weekend so we could all go to Schnepf's Farm in Queen Creek. I went a few years ago while in college but it's a whole different experience with your family and a child. When you first enter into the farm, there are people painting faces. Amelia and I both got our faces painted with a pumpkin.

Amelia wasn't sure what was going on. She stayed very still and only moved her eyes.

The finished product...a beautiful pumpkin

One of our first stops was the petting zoo area. There was a pen filled with goats of all sizes.

There were some adorable little baby goats roaming around. When we would try to pet them, this one bigger white goat would get jealous and come over to be petted too.

The baby goats were quite soft and the bigger goats had rougher fur.

There was a very large sheep who happened to be standing near the fence of his pen. Perfect photo opportunity for us!

The donkey was friendly but I think Amelia was a little uneasy about it.

Our next stop was to the pig races. We were able to sit in the front row and see it all wonderfully.

Before the show started Amelia was having a blast looking around at everything and other kids. A plane flew overhead and she pointed up into the sky and said 'puh'.

A bird was flying overhead in circles so again Amelia pointed but said 'buh' for bird.

Amelia turned around to see where daddy was and make sure he was enjoying the show too.

This was a very large pumpkin compared to Amelia. She did a great job posing on the hay bale!

We went on the hay ride through the orchards and they stopped along the way so people could see the deer. Clint took Amelia over to the fence so Amelia could pet them and see them better. Something must have smelled bad...the deer or the trash can?

Grandma giving Amelia some love on the hay ride.

We went over to the pumpkin area and let Amelia pick a small pumpkin out. These were more her size and she was able to pick them up.

We couldn't pass up another great photo opportunity of our little family in the pumpkin patch.

Mommy, Amelia, and the pumpkins.

We decided that we were getting hungry so we got some corndogs, cotton candy, and fresh lemonade. Amelia found a large pumpkin under one of the tables. She wanted to go over and touch it...so she did.

Last photo opportunity on the large hay bale mountain.

Closer family photo

Three generations on the hay bale mountain. Clint snapped this picture perfectly as Amelia saw a bird or plane in the sky and had her finger pointing and her mouth open and saying something.

Play Doh Fun

2009-10-05T12:02:00.004-07:00

I was trying to think of a fun activity that Amelia could do now that she is a little bit older; almost 15 months. I thought back to when I was a child and I remembered Play Doh. My mom would make homemade Play Doh for me and my sister to play with. I went online and found a recipe to make Play Doh.

Homemade Play Doh
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• a few drops of food coloring

Mix all but the last ingredient in a small saucepan. Cook over a very low heat until it turns into a dough (it’ll take just a few minutes). Knead the dough on a floured surface until cool enough for kids to touch. Separate the dough into as many colors as you want to make. Put just a few drops of coloring in each ball and knead until evenly mixed. I store the dough in a fridge in an extra jar I have lying around. This way, it usually lasts for months! To add some texture to the dough, try a few tablespoons of rolled oats. Some kids love this, some are weirded out.

I doubled the recipe myself so I had enough to make a few different colors. If you have more than one child, you might want to quadruple this recipe so each child can have a sufficient amount to play with.

I put Amelia in the high chair and she poked at it then took a little piece off and ate it. I knew it wouldn't harm her because it's all natural ingredients (plus I know I ate some growing up too). I just told her, "No no Amelia. Play Doh is for playing, not eating." She understood and tried to take it out of her mouth but instead she ended up gagging herself and throwing up breakfast, twice! All over her clothes and the high chair straps. YUCK! So I cleaned her up, took off her nasty clothes, and wiped down the high chair really good. I left her in just a diaper and put her back in the high chair, not strapped in. I reminded her that we don't eat Play Doh. I showed her how to use the cookie/dough cutters and then she started doing it all by herself! I think she enjoyed playing with the Play Doh and will want to do it again in the future.

Create Your Own Font

2009-10-01T12:05:00.002-07:00

Clint told me about this website where you can create your own fonts. The site is www.fontcapture.com. It is very easy to do! You just download and print the template page. This is where you write all the letters and numbers. Once completed, you scan in it and save it on your computer. You can preview your font and if you like it, download it to your computer. Then you can use the font in your programs like Microsoft Word and such. I'm sure you could also use it on your blog too! I don't like my handwriting very much so I use other people's handwriting fonts :) Good luck and enjoy!

We're Off to Cali

2009-09-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

My mom, Amelia, and I went to San Diego to visit my grandparents and aunt and uncle from September 18-21. My grandma's birthday was in a few days so that was one of the main reasons for going in September. Our six hour drive took about eight hours because we had Amelia and needed to stop a few times for food and bathroom breaks. Amelia was a trooper and did quite well considering she was strapped down in the car seat. Last time we drove to California Amelia was just under one month old. That was a pretty rough trip.

All strapped into the carseat and ready to go!

Our first stop was in Gila Bend for a snack, stretch, and potty break.

When we arrived, my grandparents we anxiously waiting to see Amelia. She had grown a lot since they had seen her at one month old. They love to 'show off' their guests to all their friends; Amelia was a huge hit! Everybody just loved her and thought she was adorable.

It was birthday dinner night; they celebrate all the September birthdays on one night during the month. There were balloons at the tables and immediately Amelia pointed to our balloon and said 'ba'. We tied it to her chair so she could entertain herself while waiting for food.

After dinner, we headed up to my grandparents room. Amelia took a short ride on my grandma's walker.

We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house during our visit. We went for a walk after breakfast the first morning. The weather was nice but I wasn't to keen on the humidity. I was quite sweaty after our walk.

We went to The Spaghetti Factory for lunch on Saturday. I had never eaten here but I enjoyed the chicken fettucine alfredo dish. Amelia had fun slurping the noodles into her mouth.

My mom gave Amelia some spaghetti to eat and she got a little messy in the process.

Look at all the water...can I go in mom?

This is fun, I like getting wet!

Ooh kelp

Wet sand feels pretty neat

I see you mommy and I'm coming to get you!

After church with greatgrandpa and mommy

Playing in the sand at the nearby park

Hey mom come and play with me

Posing for a pic by the large ship and anchor in the middle of some sand

Going for a walk along a river. We saw a sealion swimming and popping it's head out of the water every five seconds.

Alright mom I'm ready to go home...this time I'll do the driving

Eating some ice cream at our stop in Gila Bend

Cousin Charlie's 1st Birthday

2009-09-12T17:32:00.006-07:00

Amelia and I went to Tucson for my nephew's first birthday party. Amelia and cousin Charlie played for a little bit together and then he got to open his presents.

Amelia was fascinated with this little plastic lawn chair that Charlie had.

For some reason Amelia wanted to go into the playpen that was setup. Maybe it was because it was filled with balloons and stuffed animals.

Me, Amelia, my sister Heather, and her son Charlie.

Again Amelia on the chair...told you she was fascinated with it.

Here Aunt Heather, I brought you some tissue paper back.

What's this thing on my head?

Hey mom! It's your adorable little present...me :)

Walking outside on the astroturf.

Sharing cake with mommy.

Labor Day BBQ

2009-09-07T20:30:00.002-07:00

Clint's family had a BBQ party for Labor Day on Monday. I went swimming with Amelia this time since Clint went swimming with her last time at the 4th of July party. Amelia got to wear the adorable ladybug swimsuit her Aunt Melissa bought her for her birthday. There is a cute sun hat that goes with it but Amelia isn't very fond of things going on her head just yet. I placed Amelia in the pool chair floatie while Clint snapped some pictures. She didn't want to smile a whole lot but we got the funny one of Amelia pointing to Clint while sticking her tongue out at him. I brought her pink ball to play with in the pool, which was good entertainment for a while until she spotted the duckie pool thermometer. People finally started arriving to the party and Uncle Brett cannonballed into the pool and splashed me and Amelia. Clint did a great job and capturing our expressions!

Rain Hair

2009-09-03T20:30:00.002-07:00

Amelia and I went with Clint to his rugby practice at Mesa High School so we could walk around the track. There were clouds and lightning in the distance when we left around 7:30pm to head home. We got home around 8pm or so and it started to rain outside. Clint thought Amelia should go outside and experience the rain so out they went. The lightning was a few miles away and the thunder was getting sort of loud so I told them to come back inside so she could go to bed. I got a few pictures of her silly wet rain hair. She doesn't have much hair still so when it's wet and sticking up you can see that she does have some hair. The hair is getting long in the back and right behind her ears.

Bubbles

2009-09-03T15:50:00.003-07:00

Amelia received a little bubble machine for her birthday so I decided to pull it out as a fun activity for her. I placed it on our countetop where she couldn't reach the machine and let the fun begin. At first she just sat there, pointing at the bubbles, and babbling. Then she decided that she wanted to touch them so she smeared the bubbles that were piling up on the floor. Her legs and hands were very soapy so she would slip and slide when crawling around. She kept crawling over to me because she was so excited and wanted to make sure I saw what she was doing with the bubbles. I'm glad Amelia enjoyed playing with the bubbles but now when she can see the bubble machine, she will point to it and whine because she wants me to turn it on. I think Amelia will have a fun time playing with bubbles in nursery in 4 months :)

2nd Anniversary

2009-09-01T18:00:00.002-07:00

Clint and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary a few days early because we would be busy with different activities on September 1st. My wonderful mother-in-law came down and took care of Amelia while we went out to dinner at Chili's. We then went to the Superstition Springs Saver movie theater. We watched Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. It was nice because it was only $2 per ticket but it was ridiculus trying to get our tickets! We stood in line for a while at the main box office and when we got up there the lady said it was cash only. So we went inside and got some cash from the atm and then stood in one of the consession stand lines; they can sell tickets I guess too. This line took forever because all the people in front of us were getting drinks and snacks. This lady and her son totally cut in front of us so I was getting more frustrated every minute. We finally got our tickets and had to sit in the very back corner because it was so packed. We were late so we don't know what happened in the very beginning of the movie. We enjoyed the remainder of the movie however. Clint wanted a Slush Puppy so we drove to a Shell gas station that sells them and got one on the way home.

I can't believe we've been married for two wonderful years...I love you Clint!

3's of Me!

2009-08-26T09:07:00.003-07:00

I found this on someone else's blog and thought it was neat so I am filling it out about me and putting it on our blog.

Three names I go by:
1. Christie
2. Mommy, mama, mom
3. Heather- when my mom forgets which daughter I am

Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. Financial Services Senior Representative
2. 2nd Grade Teacher
3. Beverage Cart driver at a Golf Course

Three places I have lived:
1. Imperial Beach, California (Birth-8 years old)
2. Cottonwood, Arizona (8-18 years old)
3. Mesa/Gilbert, Arizona (during college/once I got married to present)

Three Favorite drinks:
1. Strawberry Lemonade
2. Milk
3. Apple Juice/Grape Juice

Three TV shows that I watch:
1. Monk
2. NCIS
3. Wheel of Fortune (I loved The Price is Right until Bob Barker retired)

Three top places I have been:
1. New Zealand!!!
2. Hawaii
3. San Diego Sea World/San Diego Zoo

Four of my favorite restaurants(I had to cheat on this one and add one more):
1. Cheesecake Factory
2. Paradise Bakery
3. Chili's
4. Filiberto's

Three things I'm looking forward to:
1. Having more children someday.
2. Watching Amelia grow up, learn new things, and become a wonderful young lady.
3. Spending Eternity with Clint! He is my best friend and I love him so much!

Amelia's 1st Carousel Ride

2009-08-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

My mom came down to visit this past weekend. We took Amelia to get her one year pictures taken at JC Penneys in the Superstition Springs Mall. We were famished after having the pics taken so we stopped and ate in the food court. We saw the carousel and thought Amelia would have a fun time riding on it.

I rode on the carousel with Amelia first and we chose to go on the zebra. She wasn't too sure about being strapped in but once we started moving she seemed to enjoy it and never cried!

After our ride, my mom went on the carousel with Amelia and they rode on the bunny.

1 Year Pictures

2009-08-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

When my mom came for a visit we were able to get Amelia's one year old pictures taken at JC Penneys. I know she already had her birthday and will be 14 months old in a few weeks but I wasn't going to even try to go and get her pictures taken by myself! It is just way easier to have another pair of helping hands. Thanks mom! Most of these pictures turned out pretty cute. There are a few that aren't as good as the rest but I included them anyways. Enjoy!

I love this picture with her finger in her mouth...it looks like she is thinking or something.

This is one of my favorites! Amelia has been walking around when she wants to for a few weeks but chooses to crawl because it's easier and faster for her to get where she wants to go. I'm glad the photographer was able to capture her in the process of walking towards me :)

Amelia's fourth tooth on top is about ready to come through so she really enjoyed gnawing on the number one the photographer gave her to hold.

My poor baby looks so worried! I wonder what's going on in that little head of hers.

This is another one of my absolute favorites! I just think it is so adorable and the moment was captured so perfectly.

What's This Green Stuff?

2009-07-31T13:32:00.001-07:00

I gave Amelia some kiwi fruit during lunch today and she wasn't to sure about it. Hey mom, what is this stuff?"

Even though I don't think I like the looks of this stuff, I will flash you a great big smile!

Ooh, it's kind of slippery.

Are you going to make me eat this mom?

Is Daddy Home Yet?

2009-07-30T17:15:00.002-07:00

Amelia was wondering when daddy was coming home so she crawled over to our balcony door on the 2nd floor and peered out the window to see.

Mommy, I don't see daddy :(

I guess I will have to entertain myself and play with the door stopper...

Or I could crawl around and explore...

But I think I would rather come and get you mommy!

My Little Indulgence

2009-07-28T16:05:00.002-07:00

It all started back in my freshman year of high school. My mom and I started scrapbooking. Ever since then I try my hardest to find time to continue doing it. Usually I get most scrapbooking done when I go visit my parents in Cottonwood. In my four years at college, I was able to get finish two scrapbooks.

I must say that after college, I have been a slacker. Right now my wedding pictures are in a photo album on my tv cabinet. My hope is to someday do something with them. I know my mother is working on a wedding scrapbook for me to someday have. After Clint and I got married, we went on a late honeymoon to New Zealand for three weeks. We took TONS of pictures. I have gotten the best ones printed already, about 200 photos! They are sitting in a box just waiting to be put in the wonderful travel scrapbook my sister bought us. Someday I will get something done with these pictures!

I told myself I would be better and make sure I kept up to date with scrapbooking once Amelia was born. Well, bad news, I have disappointed myself yet again. I have taken many pictures since she was born and I finally did get all the pics I wanted printed and organized. I had bought a cute 8" by 8" scrapbook and my mom bought me a 12" by 12" scrapbook for me to use. A few months ago I did finally start scrapbooking Amelia's photos. The other day I finished the 8" by 8" scrapbook with her first month of life. I must admit that I think this scrapbook is amazing! It has all the cute embellsihments and page layouts. I am very proud of this little scrapbook and that I will be able to give it to Amelia some day.

Since I finished the first month of her life in this smaller scrapbook, I have now started the larger ladybug scrapbook. While Amelia was napping for two hours, I was able to get a two pages done. I tried doing some more while she played near me but she just wanted to come and see what I was doing and play with the scrapbooking tools. I picked her up and showed her the pictures. She pointed at them and a big smile took over her face. She then would say 'ba'. I would point to Clint and say daddy. She got very excited. I pointed to myself and said mommy. She got happy but not as excited. I think since she is around me all day, daddy is more of a novelty to her. I then pointed to the picture of her and said Amelia. She just kind of looked at it for a second and wasn't sure about it. Then she pointed at it, smiled, and said 'ba'.

I have so many more pictures to scrapbook from Amelia's first year of life. My goal is to catch up so that I can start working on her second year of life. I have a feeling her 2nd birthday will be here much sooner than later. I hope that I don't diappoint myself again and that I can successfully manage my time and work on my little indulgence of scrapbooking!

12 Months Old

2009-07-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

With all of the birthday excitement I got wrapped up in, I forgot to take Amelia's 12 month pictures. I did finally take them, which is very hard to do now. Amelia stands up instantly when I set her in the chair and leans over to where the cd player is and tries to reach it. I did get a few good shots but then she started getting cranky and wanted to go off the front of the chair to go eat lunch.

Amelia is still very into opening and closing things such as doors, cabinets, drawers, books, and any toys that have doors or flaps. A little while before her birthday, Amelia started taking her toys or objects out of her toy baskets and put them into other baskets or boxes. I can tell her to go put a toy in the basket or bring it to me and she will do it! This comes in handy now when she picks up little pieces of stuff off the ground or objects she isn't supposed to have. I just hold out my hands and tell her to bring it to mommy and she comes over to me and places whatever it is into my hands. I praise her and clap so she knows she did something good. I'm hoping this behavior will continue for her.

For her birthday, Amelia got one of the ring stacking toys that plays music when the rings are placed on the base. She is getting very good at placing the rings onto the base one by one. She gets frustrated if the ring doesn't go on correctly the first try. I tell her it's okay and to try again.

We have been showing Amelia how to get off the couch by getting onto her stomach and sliding down feet first. She is good at getting off the couch feet first. Last week I was in our bathroom getting ready and Amelia was on out bed, which is about three feet off the ground. She wanted to get on the ground and come be with me and play on the ground while I got ready. She would get right up to the edge and peer over. She would throw anything that was on the bed onto the floor and then look at it. Then she turned over onto her stomach and started dangling her feet over the edge of the bed. She started pushing her body near the edge of the bed until she slid down the side and landed her feet on the floor. I was quite impressed since the bed is higher than her. She is a little over 30" tall and her head doesn't even see the top of the mattress.

The last few days Amelia has started taking a few little steps. If I am sitting on the floor and she is crusing along the couch, I tell her to come to mama. She will let go of the couch, face me, and take a step or two towards me, and then lunge into me. I'm hoping this is another important milestone towards walking. I want her to be able to walk so her legs won't be as dirty and scuffed from crawling.

Amelia has the two bottom teeth and three top teeth plus one on the way. The top right, left, and the one at the right of the front tooth. The one on the left of the front tooth is working it's way through right now and agrivating Amelia's mouth. Hopefully it breaks through soon so she won't be in pain.

One of my favorite pics of Amelia flashing her beautiful smile

Talking to her teddy

Thinking about the ladybug on the quilt

Checking out the buttons on her dress