7/31/2011

Wow...barely making my goal of 4 posts a month again.  I guess time has just got by me over the past 12 days since I last posted.  I am sure you have been checking daily wondering what is going on.  Well here goes nothing...I will warn you now, I have lots of updates and pictures!  I'll start with 2 Wednesday's ago and my last swim lessons. It was a really hot week, so I must say the pool felt quite good.  Dad decided it was time that I take the dive and fully go under water.  I really didn't think it was too bad...well for a while at least.  You know a girl can only be dunked so many times before it starts to get a bit old.  Here is a video of some proof.  Dad thinks it is funny that I come up like a fountain spitting out the water I took in.  Better than the alternative, I don't want to swallow down that water.  God only knows what is in there!

Yes, Marley and I are the same height!

As it has been so long, I don't remember much from the rest of that week.   I'm sure I had a blast at school.  I know I got a bath one day because I got a little too messy with my lunch.  I think I am over the whole 'baby food' thing.   I now want to eat what mom & dad eats.  I especially like all things protein.  Love chicken, salmon, hamburger, turkey, even shrimp.  Breads and pastas too.  But if you throw vegetables on my plate they usually quickly find their way to the floor.  When we are at home, Marley finds that quite enjoyable.  Last weekend was pretty fun.  Friday night I hung out with dad all night, while mom went to a Royals game with people from work.  She had good seats, so we looked for her on TV...but I got bored and tired so went to bed.  Saturday was good, we got the whole house cleaned up so some guy could come look at it and see if he wanted to buy it (I guess the answer to that was no) and then I was surprised again by Miss Heidi (from school) showing up at my house.  I let her know again when she got here that I wasn't so keen on the idea.  I LOVE her there...but this my zone with mom & dad.  Of course we then got to playing with my toys and I quickly decided it was OK that she was here and barely looked up to say goodbye while mom & dad went off to a party for Stephanie & Deron.  I think this getting married thing sounds good, especially if you get all these parties!  Dad says to not get too anxious.  Anyway, I had a lot of fun with Heidi yet again.

Checking out the action

Sunday started off like most Sunday's with church.  I was really tired so pretty much slept through everything..we came home and went to the deck to find a monster big branch of the neighbors oak tree dangling over our deck.  Over the next 30 min's we watched it slowly lower itself on our deck/furniture. There was a lot of excitement that followed....talking with neighbors, tree guys, and just checking it all out.  After all the drama on Sunday, I did play with dad a bit.  It may look like I am out of control here...but I have a blast playing with dad.

Before we even went to the park

Monday & Tuesday of last week were pretty normal...then Wednesday came.  Yep, I had heard about the big biennial Steffen family trip and the day was here.  My first official vacation!  We got packed up in the car and made the 3 hour drive to Adventureland in Iowa.  It was a pretty easy drive, straight shot on I-35 (well at least I think so...as I of course slept through most of it).  I guess our drive was better than others, we beat Grandma & Grandpa there as it took them almost 7 hours - darn, OnStar.  Shout out to Grandpa though as it is his birthday today.  Yay!  We got checked in to our room and immediately went to check out the pool.  That's right our balcony walked out to the super sweet pool (and bar - that dad enjoyed).  Right away we saw lots of family.  I think my cousin Gabby and Aunt Rhonda were the first ones to come say hi.  That was per the usual most of the weekend, dad said Gabby was like a fly always buzzing around us.  Maybe, but I didn't want to slap her away - well most of the time.  It was SO hot in there that I soaked my clothes through and through.  Needless to say, we decided to put on our suits and join the family.  Can you believe by the time everyone got there on Wednesday there were 23 of us?!  Watch out Adventureland!  It has been a while since I have seen everyone, so that coupled with my whole 'separation anxiety' made seeing everyone a bit intimidating for me.  I definitely know everyone is cool and nice, but you see it just takes me some time (preferably 1-on-1) to warm up.  Once I would get comfortable with someone holding me, someone else would come and swoop in.  I learned that if I let a little cry out, I would quickly be handed back to mom or dad.   They all got bored with me and wanted to head to the park, but I was told it was too late for me so mom, dad, and I went to have some Mexican and then headed to bed while they all went and played.

Thursday was a whole new day though...I slept like a rock till the usual wake time (6:30ish) and was ready to go.  We had some breakfast and played some and then grandma came down to spend some quality time with me for a little while before some others started waking up and came to say good morning too.  I did go join Grandma and Gabby for a 2nd breakfast downstairs....I'm quite the fan of scrambled eggs.  I even saved some in my cheeks for later!

Grandpa & Grandpa with all their grandkids

Aunt Rhonda and me enjoying the pool.

We eventually all piled into Molly the Trolley to head to Adventureland for the day...but not before stopping to take a ton of pictures of the whole family, the grandkids, grandkids with grandma...you get the picture.  We got to the park all wearing our bright pink shirts by the way and it was off to the races.  I had a good time hanging with dad and watching people ride some crazy scary looking rides.  I eventually got hungry for some lunch so we found a place for me to knock down some food and sing and yell for those around me.  I then rode around for a while in the stroller while dad rode some coasters.  Next thing I knew, I woke up a couple hour later at an awesome water park!  Can I tell you, I had a BLAST.  Especially once mom, dad, and Aunt Rhonda took me to the lazy river.  We chased each other all around the park.  It was so much fun!  Eventually the fun had to come to an end...I was a total prune and I started getting pretty hungry.  Everyone else was having too much fun to leave so we headed back to the trolley solo.  I may have got a little TOO comfy on the ride home and accidentally peed all over mom.  But really how bad can I feel...she should know that a swim diaper wasn't going to hold anything in!  I was all amped up when we got home so crawled all around the place singing (aka. squealing) before heading down for some dinner.  I ate lots of dad's pasta and goldfish!  My favorite.  For some reason everyone found it entertaining how excited I get when I see the goldfish bag come out.  Apparently they have never tried them themselves, otherwise they would have been jumping up and down (and over me) to get their hands (mouths) on some of that golden goodness.  The more for me.

The whole Steffen clan!

Our little family picture!!

Enjoying the waterpark with Bailey

Friday morning we did a lot more playing and swimming...both of which I got pretty good at over the few days.  I really did have a good time seeing everyone, the time went just too fast.  Hopefully, despite me being my shy self, they all still liked and had fun too.  I got a chance to play with most everyone...and although sometimes through tears was held by them too.  Even Will.  Will always comments on how little "Baby Amelia's" (that's me) hands are.  He even pet me again.  I think he liked me....i wonder if he will call me baby Amelia when I'm up and walking?!  By the way...I am getting closer to that.  I pull up like a rock star...and can walk around with help.  I still haven't decided if it is my cup of tea.  I figure I can get around fine crawling.  Plus, I don't really want to start putting shoes on.  Sorry, sidetracked.  All in all a good first vacation, I did good in the hotel so hopefully dad and mom will be open to more trips in the future!!!

Being silly with grandma!

This blog is long enough so here is the short recap of the remainder of the weekend.  I slept the whole trip home, we had some Indian for dinner, Saturday grocery shopping, playing, dinner at Olive Garden (YUM!), Sunday church, turkey burgers, nap, swimming pool, etc....Ahh....I live the GOOD life.

Enjoy all the pictures (I am sure there will be even more and better pics to come once I see Aunt Rhonda's photos - she is a better photographer than mom & dad!)

A little nap before the water park.

Mom and me enjoying the water.

Enough said!!

Amelia OUT.

7/19/2011

Time for another update all about ME.  I know you love it....  The problem with waiting 8 days since my last post, is trying to remember back that far.  Apparently there wasn't anything TOO exciting going on last week, because nothing is hitting me here.  I have told you guys before about my personal space (bubble)...well, much to dad's dismay, I have opened that up for one special friend.  Yep, I'm crushing on a younger guy at school right now.  His name is Tiago and he is a few months younger than me, but you would never know it by looking at him.  Pretty sure he is going to be a football player.  Anyway, we have become good friends...so much so, that i cried the other day when his mommy came to pick up to go home.  The next day he gave me a big hug (totally in my bubble), but I was a ok with it!  Again, not so sure about dad though.  Other than that, things have stayed pretty much the same...I'm totally on the move discovering new parts of the house and making it clear to mom and dad that the floor needs cleaned a bit more often.  Apparently black knees are not in.

Mom?  Who are these other kids on your lap?!

They may be cute...but look how wide I can open my mouth!

I'm just going to jump to the weekend and the fun.  Well, actually it didn't start out fun.  After I got home from school and ate a quick dinner i was told we were going for a ride to grandma's in Lincoln.  It's been a while since I've been there...but from what I remembered the drive wasn't bad.  Well, what I forgot was they had mentioned that the roads were closed due to flooding so we would have to go a new way.  Boo...  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the people that live in those areas and have wet houses or farms are much more sad than me, but I was not thrilled with a 4 1/2 hour drive to Lincoln.  Actually, I took the extended drive better than mom and dad.  I did make them stop once though - we stopped in Auburn so I could get out of my stinky pants and have some milk before zonking back out.  Mom said it was the first time she had been in Auburn for decades (that is where my Grandpa McLain is from!).  We eventually made it to grandma's house.  I was exhausted and had a quick snack and went straight to bed.  Even with my weird sleeping schedule, I was up and ready to go at 6 am on Saturday - per the usual.  Dad was hoping that I would sleep in a bit more I guess (and when I say Dad I really mean Mom).  I was a little gunshy when I first saw grandma, but I quickly warmed up and remembered how much fun I have with her.  We played a bit in the AM, but then I got in the car with mom and we headed over to her friend Sarah's house.  There I got to meet her TWO baby girls that turned 4 months old that day, Eloise and Anabel.  Apparently they came out just a week after I was home last time, so this was the first I got to meet them.  They sure were nice, after I warmed up to them - I had a great time playing with ALL of their toys.  Boy did they have some fun stuff, it sure was nice of them to share.  I guess there are 2 of them that is why they get so many.  All I know is I wish we lived closer so I could go over and play more often.  They are already doing lots of big girl stuff (i.e. rolling over), so I'm sure next time I see them they will totally be ready to play even more.  Mom kept saying they were so tiny.  I don't hear that from her much about anyone but me.  I won't comment on their size, but boy oh boy did they have some hair.  Seriously I am over twice their age..and they have WAY more than twice the hair than me.  Oh well, as you see - I still can rock the bald look!  Mom says maybe one day I will get to travel the world with them like she has done with their mommy.  Sounds pretty cool to me.

Thanks for holding my hand too Anabel

After playing with A & E I went back to grandmas for a nap and some lunch.  I also got to play in the pool in her backyard oasis.  It was a lot of fun, but the pool wasn't big enough for mom and she said she was way too hot to sit outside any longer, so I eventually had to stop playing and get ready to head out - to another friends house.  Man am I on the go when I am in Lincoln.  We went and saw the Noecker's.  I immediately liked BJ - no shyness with him.  He just had that way about him, you know.  So I hung out with him for quite a while and listened to everyone catch up.  Tess & Norah came to play with me - Tess even sang me a song or two.  They are so pretty and nice, hopefully I will get to see them again sometime.  Dad was busy playing games with Kaiden and mom was chit chatting away so I don't have a lot of pics to show, but trust me it was fun!  After hanging with them I went back home to chill more with Grandma.  We played a bit and even practiced taking some steps!  I guess mom & dad went out to enjoy some Indian food with BJ, apparently I'm not old enough to get any of that stuff yet.

Sunday morning was pretty low key, which was nice.  Then we went out to lunch - and surprise Grandpa McLain was there with his friend Nancy.  We all sat at the table and had a nice lunch, dad eventually picked me up to play with me and then I tried to go to grandpa but my separation anxiety kicked in full force.  Sorry gramps,  I just needed a little more time and cuddling - I would have totally warmed up a bit more.  Next time for sure!

sure, I'll hold your hand all day....just as long as I can hold onto dad
with the other!

So as you can see all in all a good/productive trip.  By the way, the trip home was much better.  I think we made it in under 4 hours..not sure though since I only remember playing for 45 minutes and then sleeping and waking up a little before we hit town to play a bit more.  We have come to the conclusion that I am probably better in the car than mom & dad.  I guess we'll find out as I hear there are some more road trips planned in the near future.  Until then...I'm truckin' through another (HOT) week here.  So trying to stick inside and stay cool.  Lots of the same ole...Oh yeah, one more thing... tooth #6 has finally popped through so I am getting better and better at partaking in big girl meals.  Both at school and home.  I had some chicken and black beans tonight....both quite good, I must say!  Although full tummy, makes for a sleep girl.  Amelia OUT!

Yay!!!  I moved my feet.  :)

Ummm...Marley, isn't that my pillow???

7/11/2011

Mom was getting frustrated with me - apparently I didn't pose for her like I was suppose to!

7-11 kind of fun.  Apparently I could get a free slushie at 7-11 today, but mom says that I can't have that much sugar yet...that and we would probably get shot.  So needless to say, no free slurpie for me.  It has almost been a week now, but I turned 10 months old!  Crazy huh?  I feel like time is going so fast, I got to take my usual pictures with Marley and my sign and then headed off to school.  I had another day where I chose to not drink one of my bottles.  Mom & dad were not real thrilled with me, so I shaped up the rest of the week.  I blame Miss Martha for taking a couple days of vacation.  She wasn't there and it just threw me all off.  Dad came and picked me up a bit early for swim lessons yet again.  This time we actually talked the teacher into bringing the whole class outside...I think the other kids were happy with the warmer water too.  I was having so much fun, we decided it was time for me to make the dive and fully submerge underwater.  I didn't mind it at all....I knew dad was there to keep me safe!  

Thursday and Friday were much better at school with Martha back...I like being one of the 'big' kids now.  Well maybe not bigger than some, how about one of the 'mobile' kids!  Mom picked me up both days because dad has been really busy with work - something about the casino starting on fire, or that is what I heard.  Mom tried to catch me on video on Friday because she thinks it is fun that I get so excited when she (or dad) comes to pick me up.  They especially like my 'excited' sounds.  Whatever it gives me lots of hugs and kisses, so I'll keep doing it!

check me in action

checking out Heidi

Friday night we did enjoy a dinner out at... Houlihans...shocker.  Pretty soon they will just start calling out my name, aka Cheers.  This time was great, I tried so many new things including some steak and tomatoes!  I scarfed down most everything and loved it.  Apparently my tummy didn't quite agree with my tastebuds though...maybe tomatoes are not so good.  Saturday morning dad came down to find me sleeping in my puke.  Oops!  They don't understand why I don't wake up when this happens, but I am so use to coughing all the time at night - I just learn how to roll over and around till I feel better.  Speaking of that, I now often sleep on my tummy.  I know, who would have ever thought that after my months of protesting said 'tummy time'...but I have found that when I get a cough attack, I do better when I roll over.  I'm all good until mom comes in and tries to roll me back on my back.  She will learn...as that won't last long.  Anyway, back to Saturday.  I proceeded to get sick again (all over mom) once again in the AM...but then my tummy felt better to enjoy the rest of the day.  I did some good playing and then after lunch, I joined mom & dad for a trip to Lowes and to the grocery store.  I hung out in the bjorn the whole time and had a blast.  Not long after we got back home I saw Marley getting all excited because there was someone at our door.  I was all good and then I realized it was Miss Heidi (Martha's daughter) sitting next to me.  I kind of lost it.  I know, I know...I'm 10 months, I should be a big girl....but I put 2 and 2 together and I knew I was use to seeing  Heidi in school, which meant mom & dad were leaving me.  Dad had to walk around with me a bit to calm me down, as I couldn't calm down my sobs.  He then let me go play with Heidi and I remembered how much I like her and figured this may not be so bad of a deal at all.  By the time mom & dad walked out of the house, I had a hard time breaking away from my toy to say bye-bye.  I guess they went and enjoyed a soccer game at the new fancy stadium.  I think I got the better end of the deal.  I had fun playing with her for a while, then it was dinner time.  Getting some food in my tummy just knocked me out, so I tuckered out and Heidi put me to bed at 6:30.  I guess dad was worried that meant he was going to be getting up super early Sunday morning, but that wasn't the case at all.  I finally woke up a little after 7am when I heard him moving around.  Talk about a great night sleep!

Yesterday was a fairly normal Sunday...after breakfast we got dressed and made the drive to church.  After all that sleep, I didn't find a need to take a nap on the way so I sang and played in the backseat as well as doing a little something else.  Surprise...Blow out time!  Mom unbuckled me to head inside, thought she smelled something - and then lifted me up to find poo coming out everywhere.  It was quite the site watching people watching dad hold me out in front of him and walk through church.  I actually thought this newfound way of being carried was kind of fun, but mom & dad didn't look so happy.  Mom got poop on her dress and dad was feeling it drip down on his feet while we walked.  Ooops!  Needless to say I had a big cleaning and a wardrobe change once I got to daycare.  All of that wore me out, so after calming down a bit (that darn separation anxiety) and saying hi to my bff Ava....I ended up taking a little snooze while mom & dad worshipped.  Sunday was the beginning of our 'excessive heat warnings' around here so for the most part we hung around the A/C house.  But dad eventually decided he was fed up and going to clean mom's dirty car...so he was nice enough to fill up my crab pool for some playtime in the front yard.  I had a blast.  I got some new bath toys that I had fun throwing out of the pool for mom to pick up and i even loved playing with the sprinkler that came out of my pool.  Even when it squirted me in the face.  Good times...

In other exciting news, I checked off another developmental task yesterday.  Yep, I 'pulled self to stand'.  I'm pretty sure this new found skill is going to come in mighty handy! AMELIA OUT!!!

7/5/2011

 

Yep, I'm still crawling.  I have definitely learned to pick up some speed at my new skill too.  Now still no need to go get a radar gun or anything, but slow and steady wins the race right?  In addition to me working on perfecting this new skill, I have been expanding my menu lately.  If you haven't noticed - i totally gave up on updating my 'foods' page, because I just couldn't keep up.  Over the past week, I have really started to enjoy eating more big people food.  Some of my definite favorites are chicken, mac & cheese, and animal crackers.  Dad says I can't call it eating when I store it in my 'chipmunk' cheeks....first of all, I thought they were jowls.  I need to go look up what a chipmunk looks like to see if I should take offense to his comments.  Anyway, I figure why swallow the food down right away when I can save some of the good stuff for snack later.  Mmmm....

 

Let me fill you in on some of the highlights since I last wrote.  Wednesday I had my normal swimming lessons...but wait!  They weren't normal at all.  We ditched the teacher and instead went to the outdoor pool with my friend Maddie and her parents.  I definitely dig the outdoor pool way better.  The rest of the week at school was good.  I gotta say, I like being one of the older kids in class.  As you all know, I have mastered playing with my rings like I am suppose to - so my new fun game is to put them on the arms and legs of the little kids in class.  I quite enjoy the challenge of hitting a moving object, I don't think they mind too much..and they are out of luck if they do, since they can't move away!  I have been informed that I am quite the independent girl who enjoys my own personal space.  Uhh...yeah, I enjoy my little bubble...if you try to enter it uninvited, do so at your own risk. 

 

This weekend was a good one...it was a 3 day weekend!  Yay!!!  Saturday morning was a busy day, after breakfast we made a trip down to the farmers market.  Boy was that fun!  Mom & Dad got some good looking fruits and veggies and mom got a really pretty bouquet of flowers (for $10!!), you get some good deals there!  Apparently some lady thought she could get a great deal, because she asked dad if I was for sale.  Luckily he said - no way.  After the market, it was just dad and I hanging out because mom went to hang out all day at a spa for Steph's bachelorette party.  She came back looking pretty relaxed and had some pretty toes.  We then got in the car and headed to my friend Avery's house to hang out for a bit.  Avery was nice enough to let me play with her toys, i found some good ones.  I also got to say hi to Maddie, Mason, Evan, & their parents.  Maddie's dad Stu totally scared me by sneaking up on me with some blue monster.  Apparently I am suppose to like that cookie monster guy....but I thought he was scary!  Our time there was short, but I did get in a bit of time with Kellie.  Always good to have people to read to me!  We didn't get to stay long because we had to take mom back down to the plaza so she could continue her party for Steph.  I was fast asleep by the time she got home, but apparently she had fun.  

Sunday was pretty low key with church and the usual....we did meet Maddie and her parents on the Plaza for dinner.  That was nice.  I even got to eat some of mom's noodles and chicken.  A bit spicy, but I liked it!  

Yay USA!!!!

Yesterday was the 4th, apparently that is America's birthday.  Kind of cool.  I got dressed up in my red, white, and blue...and played with a flag.  That was how patriotic I got.  I guess when I'm older I can check out all these pretty fireworks I have heard for the past few nights - boy are they loud.  I will look forward to that.  Other news from yesterday....I moved up to size 3 diapers.  That's right, moving up in the world.  I then proceeded to pee all over my clothes.  Apparently they are still a bit big...or mom needs to do a better job of getting them tight!  We did make a trip to the pool yesterday afternoon.  It was a perfect day to hang out there, not too hot at all.  I really have a lot of fun playing in the water with mom & dad.  

That's about it for now....I have something going on right now because it really hurts me to drink and I keep trying to tell mom and dad....I let them know REAL loud tonight, but they were not seeming to listen.  They did give me some ibuprofen so I'm good to go....to dreamland that is.....  Amelia OUT!

Thanks dad for eating your pizza on your back, so I could
continue my snooze.

showing my independence