Little Lady

Amelia looked very pretty tonight for our trip to church. I did my best to get a picture of her looking so nice, but her highness had other plans, namely holding her feet. Here are my attempts:


I told her she looked like such a big girl tonight, apparently she wanted to show me how big she was:


And now for a smile:


Amelia woke us up this morning at 415. She has been gradually getting up earlier for some reason unknown to us. Tonight, because of church, she got to bed about an hour later than she normally does when I am home. We will see if that makes a difference... I am betting it won't, babies wake up when they wake up and all a later bedtime seems to do is cause a cranky baby the next day who missed out on some sleep (or so I have read online). It wouldn't be so bad, but she doesn't usually like to go back to sleep after waking up before daylight and when she does, it's only for an hour or two. This entire week has been like this, I wonder why.

Feet

Amelia has discovered her feet this week! She likes to hold them from time to time, usually during a diaper change, which makes things a little harder on Mommy and Daddy. We manage and it is nice to see that she is continuing to learn more every day.



This afternoon, Amelia and I went on a nice, long walk around the neighborhood. We ran into a family near the marina and the little boy proudly showed me the bat that he found in the bushes. I took a few pictures of it, here is one:


We were gone on our walk for a little over an hour. We walked past Honeypie and went around back, hoping Jason was outside for something so we could say hello, but he wasn't and since there is no cell reception in Honeypie for some reason, we continued on our way.

Today was a pretty typical day for us. We hung out at home. Tonight was bath night:


We didn't do much in the way of chores though, so now, once Amelia sleeps (she is exhausted and screaming in her bed right now, I am giving her a few minutes, sometimes she puts herself to sleep) I am going to get started on some things!

I take pictures of Amelia nearly every day during tummytime, here is one from today:


Time to go see what Amelia wants/needs, she is not calming down tonight :( Poor baby is so tired and fighting it :(

Play Time!

This evening Amelia and I tried out some toys we haven't really played with yet. First we read some soft books, both coincidently about panda bears. We had playtime in her Bumbo today because we now have the tray that goes with it (her Oma got it for her over the weekend).


What happens next?



Ok, I'm done, next book please :)


Next it was time to "cook":



We played with a few other things today, including her activity mat, and she is pretty cranky now. Luckily it is bedtime in an hour or so, hopefully. Cross your fingers for that one!

We tried rolling over again and she has not been able to do it :( She did last Friday and then again on Saturday morning. Sunday and Monday we didn't get a chance to try again, hopefully that doesn't have anything to do with her not continuing to do it!

Tummytime is getting better every single day. This afternoon we were in the bedroom and I flipped her over on the bed and we did some VERY supervised tummytime, since the bed is so soft and also elevated. Here are some pictures from that:





Once Amelia is asleep tonight, I plan on finishing some more of the cleaning/organizing of the apartment and writing out checks for some bills etc. I will, of course, also have to do some reading on the Vietnam War so I can get caught up/possibly ahead (yeah, right) on all the reading the professor assigns! School is so much harder with a baby around. I knew it would be, but this is the first week and I already feel worn out :( Good thing I am almost done!

No Time to Breath!

I have hardly had time to stop and breath since last Friday. I have been BEYOND busy! After being out of town for the weekend, I had to start summer school yesterday morning and then pretty much went straight to work after. I wish I had had one day between getting back in town and starting school because we had SO much stuff to put away and get this place in order. My summer school schedule includes two classes. Right now I am in 'History of the Vietnam War' and I go Monday-Thursday, from 9-12, for four weeks. Immediately after that I start 'Egyptian Mythology' and go Mondays and Wednesdays, 930-12, for eight weeks.

I have been so frazzled lately and it is really getting to me. I keep losing things and misplacing things, like my glasses, and it takes FOREVER to find them sometimes. Currently, my sunglasses are gone and I am convinced I won't find them since I have no clue where I had them last. Was it at home? Somewhere we went in the past two days? Who knows! I am mad because they were prescription and in order to replace them I need to have an eye exam and I am currently uninsured so I have no idea how much that would be and then there is the cost of the sunglasses/lenses to come up with. This summer is going to be tough if they don't turn up!

My professor for the Vietnam class, Chia Vang, has never taught summer school and it shows! She assigns SO much reading. Tonight I have 100+ pages to read for class tomorrow, eek! I do like her, so far, I just wish she would ease up on the reading assignments! She is very interested in the subject and it shows in how she approaches teaching the class. She is originally from Laos and her family fled to the United States as refugees in the seventies. Coincidently, she spent the past thirty years in St. Paul before moving to Milwaukee to teach!

Amelia is officially in size 2 Luvs diapers. What a big girl she is becoming!

Here are a few pictures of her when I went in to wake her up today:


She did not cry for us this morning, but rather she "talked" a LOT and we finally went in. I can just picture her there, staring at the ceiling with her hands behind her head, "talking", waiting for us to come in.



I have NO idea what she was doing here...but she did this "move" all morning, as she continued to "talk" up a storm.

And now for yet another funny face, for you, from Amelia:


I have now procrastinated enough on here. I have plenty of reading to keep me busy for a long while! I am willing to bet that I will not be able to finish it all by 9 a.m. tomorrow...oops and oh well at the same time :)

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a pretty busy Memorial Day weekend this year! I worked on Friday and got home at midnight. We quickly packed up the car and I showered and we were on our way to Indiana at one a.m. We decided to leave then (vs Saturday morning) to beat all the Chicago and/or construction traffic. It was a great idea, we had NO delays in our travel (other than hungry tummies).

Saturday morning Amelia got her first experience with grass! Here is a picture of her, not so sure about a leaf:



Saturday we went to lunch with my dad's brother and his family.


Amelia with second cousins (I think) Monica and Melissa

After lunch we went to the nursing home and visited with my grandfather. We went outside to chat in a courtyard and Amelia was so tired and it was pretty humid out, so she got a little crabby. Her Nana was able to calm her down and she then napped on her blanket in the shade.


My mom and I were not really included in all of the conversation...they were talking about food the whole time!


After her nap, Amelia got some attention from Daddy in the grass:


The rest of Saturday was go, go, go and we were exhausted by the end of the day!

Sunday, my dad and Jason went to the Indianapolis 500. Thunderstorms were in the forecast, but they held off for the race luckily! They had a, well, you could say, an interesting day and made it home safely!

We found out Amelia can hold her own bottle! Well, only if it is almost empty... She always tries so hard to hold it and sometimes she can succeed!


Sunday, my mom and I went to Aunt Shirley's for a family gathering. I didn't really remember to take any pictures while we were there sadly. Amelia was a little stinker all day. There were other babies there and all we can figure is that she was upset not to be the center of attention ALL the time. We think this because as soon as you took her into a room to calm her down, she was all smiles and happy but then once you left that room it all started again! Stinker!

We did manage to get one picture of my mom, grandma, Amelia and myself before the party got underway:


Amelia needed a nap pretty badly and just wouldn't give in while there, so my mom got her to sleep and then had to hold her the entire time she napped. She was a happier baby (for a while) once she woke up:


After the party I met an old friend for dinner. We met in high school back home, working at Econo Foods, and she is now living in the town adjacent to where my grandma lives of all places! She also had a baby (a boy named Caleb) in February, thirteen days before I had Amelia. We had a great dinner and it was great to catch up with her! I also got to meet her husband! We are hoping to visit again when I am in town for the fourth. Once again, no pictures :( Amelia was asleep the whole time (shockingly) anyways.

After dinner it was time to pack everything up and get some sleep!

Here are a few other pictures from the weekend:






This weekend was long and tiring and full of events, good and bad. Now it is time to try and move past things, hopefully.

I start school in the morning. I pretty much forgot until about an hour ago that tomorrow was the start day, oops!

Rolling Over!

This is going to be a short post, I have to leave for work in about twenty minutes and I am still not dressed!

This afternoon we set up Amelia's play thing/activity mat for her to try out. She was having a good time on her back, cooing a ton and smiling.


I decided to try her tummytime on it, just to see what she'd do. She really seemed to like all the colors she got to look at!


And then it happened...she rolled from her tummy to her back! I was taking pictures of her because she was tipping over (she has been doing this awhile) like she wanted to roll over. And then as soon as I put the camera down to interact with her she went over! YAY! Here is a picture of her right before she rolled:


And now, just for fun, here are some pictures of "flying Amelia" this morning:

Another Busy Day

Last night I got a LOT done around here and tonight I am just doing some more random things to get this place back in complete order finally. This afternoon we went out clothes shopping...this never was my favorite thing to do and let me tell you, post-baby it is even less fun. I eventually found some shorts at Target that I really like because they are a perfect length, not too long and not super short! For tops I had less success, but that is ok. I got a few tank tops and that will just have to be good enough! I am starting to worry that my t-shirts won't ever fit again! If that happens, I am hoping that I can get them made into a quilt. I have a ton of t-shirts that are all awesome, from a website called Threadless, and I just don't want to part with them! We also went to Burlington Coat Factory and Jason got a new pair of shorts and pants and Amelia got another sun hat :)

Here are some pictures of Amelia from today:


"Lost in thought" after her breakfast.


Waiting to get dressed this morning.


Her first pair of overalls :)

Now for some funny faces:



Amelia and her gang (minus the furry felines):



Almost bedtime.

Tomorrow we are going to get as many errands done as we can before I work at 330 because after work we are hoping we are not too tired and we can drive to Indiana (that way, we could get an earlier start on stuff Saturday). We are going down for Saturday and Sunday. Sunday, Jason and my dad are going to the Indy 500 (both of my parents usually go, but this year Jason is going with my dad). While the guys are in Indianapolis, the rest of us will be at a family function at my grandma's sister's house. It should be a busy, but fun, weekend.

Also, I cannot wait for September! I heard this week (and just checked their site to verify) that the Milwaukee Art Museum is getting an Andy Warhol exhibition!!! Click here if you are interested in any of the details :)

It's HOT Out There!

It has been much warmer here this week! I do not like heat, AT ALL, and this is just the start of it :( I have a hard time sleeping at night when it is "sticky" in my room. It has been around 90 the past couple of days. I think that I would deal better if my pre-pregnancy clothes fit. I am still wearing maternity pants and larger shirts. I think I might have to make a run to Target and pick up a few tank tops that will fit for the next month or so! Amelia also does not seem to enjoy the heat. As I type this I have her in her bouncer, about 5 feet from a box fan on the floor, trying to cool her down. She is already down to her diaper, so there is not much else I can do!

She has been figuring out that she can grasp things more and more. Here are a couple of pictures of her practicing her new skill:



This morning Amelia had a little time with Ludo before Dad woke up:


She was "petting" him, so he stretched out so she could get the good spot...his belly :)


Bumbo-time is also improving. I have noticed that how she does in it depends on her mood and/or how much we have held her upright that day. It seems that the longer she has been using her neck muscles prior to sitting in the chair, the more upset she gets. Today we haven't done much with her supporting her own neck and she did really well!



And last (for pictures anyways), but not least, I have been trying to get a good picture (or two) of this for my parents, because I always tell them about it... Amelia knows how to relax...we always find her laying with her hands behind her head, like us adults do, often when we are lounging in a chair:


I am hoping to be productive this evening. I need to sort through Amelia's clothes...badly. We got a couple more larger Rubbermaids to sort her clothes into. I already have a NB/0-3 month one started that I am adding clothes to as she outgrows them. Tonight I want to get all her 6-9 month clothes sorted into one and then her 9-12 month ones as well. (her 3-6 month clothes are already out and in her "dresser", ie-a 3-drawer Sterilite like I use for some of my clothes). I really want to get this done tonight so we don't have baby clothes shoved anywhere we can find room. There are even some in extra drawers in the kitchen, it is time to re-organize!

In other news, Jason's new restaurant, called Honeypie, opened this week (yesterday maybe?). Tonight is his first night working where he is actually serving customers. I think we both like the fact that he gets off much earlier working there, but at the same time that makes him work 5 days (instead of the 4 he worked at Balzac) so we no longer have Thursday nights off as a family. I am not sure of an actual website for it, but if you click here it will bring you to a small blurb about it. I am looking forward to trying some of the sandwiches that they have on the menu!

I am hoping to get out running soon now that the stroller is here. Time is ticking away...towards marathon time. Yesterday I worked early in the afternoon and Jason and I decided to get a bunch of things done around the house before I left (very worth it, we got a lot done and it is like some of the weight is off my shoulders!). I have the clothes project that I want to get done tonight too...hhmmm. Perhaps I will try and get out before Amelia's bedtime, even it is just a short run. We'll see. This heat has made her a bit fussy this afternoon, so we might need to stay in and engage in some activities to keep her mind off the heat. Does that work for babies? I don't even know...probably not.