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As you can tell... Amelia posted the above.
Here are a few more videos. This one is Amelia flying home.
And this one is Amelia with the Sit & Sing stage from MoMo & Vern.
And as promised... here are a few YouTube videos of Amelia.
This one is Amelia after dinner when we were waiting for the plane to board. And she said Mama!
This one is Amelia opening up one of her gifts.
More to come! Stay tuned!
So we're still in the middle of celebrating Christmas 2008. So far it's been a great Christmas with lots of family, love and gifts.
This Christmas didn't start out too well, though. Just to bring you up to speed... it was snowing here in Oregon. The day before we were supposed to leave, I found a leak in our big picture window in the family room. To no avail, it wouldn't stop leaking.... until Brad chiseled ice off of the roof that was touching the siding. Finally, the drips started to cease. But that was on Christmas eve day. So before we left the house, Brad put up a tarp on the floor to catch any water. We had a friend come over while we were gone to see if the buckets needed to be changed.
We finally got to the airport at about 3:00pm. The ride was uneventful. The lines weren't horrendous. We got through security within an hour. We got to our gate and our flight was scheduled to go out at 6:30p... but it was running about a half hour late. Needless to say, it was even later than that. After being told that our flight was leaving first before the Phoenix flight, jumping in line, then jumping out of line, we finally go on board the plane at 7:45p. The flight closed its doors at 8p. After that the pilot came out and said that "folks, we need to go through deicing, twice, and we're currently fourth in line." That meant we had another hour to wait. We finally got off the ground at 9:01pm. We didn't get to my dad's house until after 11:30p. Ugh! But Amelia was such a trooper. She slept on the plane and she slept on the car ride home.
Christmas day just lazed around the house. We couldn't get away from the snow, as it snowed there all day. We had a nice dinner and had to wait until the next day to open our Christmas presents... so we thought.
The day after Christmas we went into Reno and went to Cabela's. What an amazing store. Everything you could think of and more. In addition, there were a bunch of stuffed animals. See the pictures below. Brad had a great time looking through the store. Amelia found a chair she liked. She even had some of Auntie Nat's kettle corn... mmmm, tasty! Then we took a driving tour of Reno and went home to have some yummy spaghetti and meatballs. Jay is a chef and made a heck of a dinner. We waited for Deanne, Vince and Lilly to get home, but they got caught in a traffic jam across the Sierra Nevadas. We were supposed to have dinner with them and open up presents, but they made it home after 10p.
On Saturday, we all got together, had left over spaghetti and then opened up presents. Amelia got clothes, shoes and some toys. It was a nice Christmas. That night we left the two cousins with Grammy and Papa and the adults went out to dinner. We went to Thai and it was so YUMMY!
Then Sunday magically appeared and it was time to go home. Our stay in Dayton was over. We got to the airport in plenty of time. The flight left a few minutes late, but it wasn't HOURS late. We even got our own row together again, as we had an open seat beside us on our flight to Reno. Amelia enjoyed the flight back because it was during the day time and she had a window seat. The one thing we didn't enjoy about Southwest was the fact that there was no preboarding for families. They got to board after the A group, but before the B group. Interesting. In any case, we got to the car and my battery was dead. Dead as a door nail, dead. I didn't shut my car door all the way and the dome light depleted the battery. I was sending Brad over to the shelter phone to call for assistance when the assistance just happened by the car. So he gave us a jump and we were on our way home.
We picked up Emmy, did laundry and then opened our Christmas presents from each other and from MoMo and Vern and our neighbors. Amelia got lots of cool clothes, a Sit & Play stage, books, a music cube, a learning purse and more.
I say we're still in the middle of our Christmas because on New Years we're celebrating Christmas with Brad's family, so there are still more packages to give and receive and of course, more pictures to take. But in the meantime, enjoy the pictures. I'll be back later with video of Amelia in front of her Sit & Play stage. She loves that thing!
Here's a little bedtime poem that we're teaching Amelia. Enjoy it and Happy Holidays from Amelia, Brad, Holly & Emmy!
Twas the Night Before Christmas - by Clement Clarke Moore
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.
His eyes-how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"
And here's picture of our creek in the backyard. It has frozen over. There is no water flowing on top and I don't know if it's frozen to the ground. If I had a pair of ice skates I could try and do some figure 8's on the creek (<---- yea right!). You'll see a fish "jumping" out of the ice... just to the right of that is where there's a little waterfall. As you can tell, the water isn't falling.
This is what it's supposed to look like:
Okay... so it didn't take me long to post pictures and new video.
Here's video of Amelia having fun with the spatula while Daddy and I put the ornaments on the tree. Enjoy the video!
And here's a picture of Amelia looking at the tree...
Yep, another sign that Amelia is growing and thriving... she graduated from her size 2 diapers and is now in size 3! Wish they could stay tiny for a little longer.
Not much going on here. We're just getting ready to go see Papa and Grammy for Christmas. It will be Amelia's second trip on a plan. Will post more on how she does on this trip. Now we're just waiting for the arctic front. It's supposed to dump about a half a foot of snow here, followed by an ice storm, with our area being the last to warm up. Needless to say, if it's really bad outside, I am NOT going into work tomorrow. I hope they close the call center down tomorrow. I love being home in a nice warm house watching all the TV people work. :)
Just checked in on the napping Amelia. She was upset that I put her down in her crib that she snatched and yanked the blanket that hangs over her crib railing and has that all disheveled.
Will try to snap more pictures of Amelia and post them...
((HUGS)) to Monty. Yo, hope I get that VM or email real soon!
Amelia went in for her six month check up... and she's right on track. ooojkovxxmxx <--- she is happy about that. She is 16 pounds 5 ounces (50th percentile), head measures 17" (just a shade over the 50th percentile) and she is 26" long/tall (75th percentile). Doctor says she must have had a growth spurt, but he's happy that she is doing so well. We talked about her left eye... as sometimes it goes inward. He says it's very slight, but referred us to an pediatric eye doctor to see if it's lazy eye. He's happy that she is interested in food and even gave us a list of stuff we can prepare for her. Dr. E says that Amelia is very strong and we should start baby proofing the house (oh joy!). In addition, Amelia had a great time at the doctor's office as she exhibited 6 month behavior by shredding, and I mean shredding, the paper protector that goes over the exam table. Dr. E had a great time watching her reach, grab and tear. But it was a great doctor visit. She got three shots and her rotovirus innoculation. She's doing pretty good. Oh yes, the doctor was examining her gums and said that the top gums look swollen and red, so he suspects that she'll have her top set of teeth within the next few weeks. I said that's fine... as we have been singing "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth." He said, Amelia might get it. Until next time... here's some more pictures!
My how time flies! Today marks Amelia's six month birthday. It seems just like yesterday that she was only hours old. We've come a long way in those six months:
1. Amelia is sleeping through the night. (mommy isn't, though)
2. Amelia is sitting up by herself.
3. Amelia has two bottom teeth.
4. Amelia likes to shout at the top of her lungs.
5. Amelia likes to eat solid foods... in fact we found she really enjoys carrots!
6. Amelia is already in her 6 month clothes.
7. Amelia likes to be independent, but also likes when Mommy and Daddy are close.
8. When Amelia is really quiet, it means she pooping a lot.
9. Amelia still doesn't like the bottle and sippy cup, although she likes the sippy cup more than the bottle.
10. Amelia likes to sit in a high chair when we go out to dinner now.
Tomorrow we go in for our six month check up and shots... oh joy. I'll post her new stats tomorrow. But until then, here's a the bear slideshow and Amelia post-carrot dinner.
Exciting news from Amelia. She just won a cutest baby picture contest on line. Last week Brad entered this picture on http://www.photowow.com/
and on my birthday, we found out that those who frequent the site picked her picture as the cutest baby. There were tons of entries, but Amelia reigned supreme! I snapped the photo of her after her bath one night. Daddy was holding her in his arms... and at the insistance of one of Daddy's co-workers, he entered the picture. (Thanks Dru!) So what do we get? We get a 22"x22" Andy Warhol style picture of the picture we entered. We're so excited. We're now trying to figure out where to put the picture in our house now. The picture will look similar to this:
And... here are some pictures of when Papa visited two weeks ago. Enjoy!
Sorry it's been awhile since the last post... but with family in town and the holiday and a birthday, it's been a little crazy in the household. But today the company left, my mom and dad (boo hoo!). The visit was fantastic, except MoMo had a cold and didn't get to hold Amelia nearly enough. But she got to watch her from afar. I have a feeling MoMo will be back really soon.
Thanksgiving was a blast. We had Brad's parents, his brother and his family and my parents over for dinner. We managed to fit eight adults and two high chairs around our dining room table. And there was even room to spare (not necessarily around our pants after dinner). The meal was delicious and the company was even better. Amelia got her first taste of mashed potatoes... she thought they were fantastic. She also had a little bit of a roll for her first Thanksgiving dinner.
On Saturday, we all went to a craft bazaar. There we found a Christmas stocking for Amelia. We bought it from a woman who was selling wood boxes, but decorated her stall with the stocking. It's homemade and red... and is perfect for Amelia. Now all we have to do is find a stocking holder for her.
This past weekend, Amelia got to visit Santa. She whispered in his ear what she wanted (a brother! Just kidding!)l nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn cxAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGFG4S That would be Amelia telling us what's on her Christmas list. But, that aside, pictures of Amelia and Santa to come.
In the meantime... here is a slide show of our past week...
PS... special shout out to Amy & Tyler... we love you lots and are thinking of you.
