"Italian" Baby

Amelia has been enjoying a LOT of pasta this past week. On Tuesday she was "Lasagna Baby":




The very next day she chowed down at Cossestta's:



Last night we were invited over to my parent's house for spaghetti night...





We all sat on the opposite side of the table for a good reason!


This little girl has had tons and tons of baths this week!

First Week Home

Our first week home has been a busy one! We have been seeing family and friends and getting settled in at Grandpa's house. We haven't been taking a lot of pictures but here are some of Amelia from the park the other night!





Now that the rain has finally cleared (it rained 12 out of the first 14 days of this month here) we have been enjoying some time outside. Amelia cracks me up outside because she just stands there and doesn't move!


I think she is confused by her surroundings. It is quite different here than in Milwaukee, that is for sure!

Well, that is all for now!

Successful Move

Wednesday was the big day. We had a goal to leave by noon but in reality we didn't leave until 3:30! We were pretty organized in packing and loading until the end...in the end we just kind of threw things in and even threw things away just so we didn't have to deal with them. We even left a TV because there just wasn't room and we figured someone will get use of it. The downside to that is that we will need to purchase a new TV when we move into our next apartment!

Jason's friend, Ben, drove up with us to help Jason unload everything and so he could visit Hudson. He and Jason met in Hudson and it was coincidence that they both ended up in Milwaukee, where they got back in touch. I felt pretty sad as we drove across the Hoan Bridge one last time and I caught one last glance of the city:


We had wonderful driving weather and arrived in town just at dusk.


We were greeted by family and unloaded only what we would need for the night. After visiting for awhile we all went to bed, exhausted.

Thursday we went to our storage unit to unload our things. We sorted out what we would want in the coming months for sure, put things we might need towards the front and things we definately would not need in the way back. It went fast since we had lots of help unloading!



After returning the truck we all had lunch at a new place in town, Shanghai Bistro. Jason's siter, Liz, just got a job there - bartending. They have $4 lunches and it was pretty good and just the right amount of food!

We have been slowly getting into the swing of things here again. I am missing Milwaukee a little more than Jason but I know that will pass. I did live there twice as long as he did after all! Next week I start my job search so hopefully something will come up, fast!

Ben left yesterday.


He has been such a help to our family these past few months and it was nice he could make the trip with us.

I think Amelia is enjoying life at grandpa's house:


Maybe that is what we will call this blog now, "Life at Grandpa's"...?

Our Last Day in Milwaukee

Today was our last full day in Milwaukee. It rained. The entire day. Our U-Haul arrived, in the rain.


Jason and his friends, Ben and Ben, carried nearly everything we own down to the U-Haul. Our beds, our kitchen wares, our tables, our chairs, our boxes upon boxes of books and DVDs and our futon frame.


Tonight we are sleeping on the futon mattress on the floor:


Around ten p.m. Jason and I finally snapped on each other and had a fight. We are both stressed out and he is really sick, so going in and out of the rain all day didn't help him at all. Things are fine now. It was stupid but I am shocked we made it all day without an argument but we did.

Jason and the boys are asleep already and I am trying my best to round up all the odd and ends and get them into one box that I can label "junk", even though most of it is not really "junk" - just miscellaneous, small items that accumulate.


Tomorrow is going to be a huge day for us. Before we leave I have to run our modem to Southridge (some mall south of here that I have never been to or even driven by) so I can cancel our cable/Internet service, I have recycling to bring to Whole Foods (they recycle things the city doesn't and we utilize that service), another car load to drop at Goodwill and the red collection boxes for the local women's shelter, clean the apartment up and two cars to load with clothes, toys, cats and Amelia!

Goodbye, Milwaukee. Hello, St. Croix River Valley.

Popcorn Thief

This morning, Jason and I were in the kitchen and I realized it was very, very quiet in the other half of the apartment. I took a peek and this is what I saw:


I found a very content Amelia, eating and playing in our last bag of popcorn from the Oriental! I grabbed Jason and we just had to laugh.


I couldn't even scold her. Especially when she looked at us and let out a nice burp as she shoveled more popcorn into her mouth.


She even tried to share with us...


We vacuumed up the mess and got going with our busy, busy day after we let her play (and eat) a little!


It was pretty funny because as Jason was vacuuming, Amelia was snatching up pieces of popcorn and shoving them in her mouth!

Packing and "Our Son"

Our last weekend in Milwaukee has been spent indoors :( I have been working days all weekend since Jason is off now. Tonight is my last shift at work. We have spent the morning packing up everything we can think of!


As you can see, we have quite the wall of boxes going on in our hallway!

Jason and I have been joking the past few days about how Amelia looks like a boy in the clothes we have been putting her in. Jason bought her this outfit, clearly a "boys" outfit, because he liked it. I like it too.


I may have to remember to have her wear a big ol' bow with this outfit in the future...


Today I dressed her in a Twins onesie since Jason is feeling sick and I thought it might lift his mood. Instead, he looked at her and said, "going boy again today?" Oh well. I threw on her Brewers hat for a picture.


I wonder who she'll root for when she gets older?!

Final Weekend

Today started our final weekend in Milwaukee. It was very bittersweet at work today. I have always enjoyed working Fridays. I usually work alone on Fridays so I get more of a chance to talk with "my" regulars etc.

Another thing I love about Fridays is getting to talk with my friend, Bill.


Bill plays the organ at the theatre on Friday evenings before the 7 o'clock film in the main house. He is 93-years old. Don't let that fool you, he gets around amazingly for his age! He drives himself all over town and knows all the best places to eat. We talk about food a lot.

Today, he finally got to meet Jason and Amelia. I had Jason come in for a visit so Bill could meet Amelia before we left. I will miss seeing him every week and just talking about nothing! He is very happy that we will be near our families though. We exchanged addresses and he assured me he would write. I know I will write him when I can. He has been a good friend to me the past two years!

After I got off work, Jason and I decided we wanted Oakland Gyros one last time before we left Milwaukee.


It was great, as usual! Where else can you eat for $12 and be stuffed? Not many places for us! After we ate we went through the DQ drive-thru and got a small strawberry golden oreo blizzard to try since the ads are plastered all over TV! It was pretty good. Jason still prefers regular oreo blizzards but I think I'd order the strawberry one again.

We are home now. It is incredibly humid in our apartment. I think we will probably crawl into bed pretty soon!

Paper Plates and Packing

We are keeping busy! We leave Milwaukee in just 6 short days. I have been busy packing. Jason? He has been busy doing things like this:


We have quite the collection of packed boxes going in our hallway:


I even took the plunge and bought my first package of paper plates ever.


I did it so that we could get started on packing the kitchen up and this afternoon that is just what I did! I have plates and glasses packed so far. I never buy paper products. In fact, I still have 4th of July napkins and blue plastic bowls that a friend brought over in the summer of '07 for ice cream in my cabinet. I just never use throw away dishes. That's probably not a bad thing!

I did leave out Amelia's dishes since she is just getting used to using them.


We are making great progress. As long as there is food on/in her dish she usually doesn't try and throw it. She looks so grown up with her own dishes!

Amelia has been keeping busy while I am packing this week. She plays with her bear non-stop...


...and follows her Ducky around and into boxes...


Those two are becoming pretty great friends as of late!

I, of course, took a break to cuddle with my girl this afternoon because she never wants to cuddle. Ever.


She must have been pretty tired!


I did manage to put her down so I could get some things done and eat dinner in peace for once!

That's all for now, there is plenty to do!

15 Month Appointment

Amelia had her 15-month appointment yesterday afternoon! She is doing great. She is only 22 pounds but she is 31.5 inches long! She follows her height growth curve almost perfectly but she tends to fall off her weight growth curve every couple of visits. Nothing to be worried about!

She had her finger pricked to check her lead levels so that we will know it when we leave Milwaukee. She was pretty upset and then confused by the band-aid on her finger!


She got her booster shots and we were on our way! We went out for lunch and let Amelia feed herself like the big girl that she is:


Of course, we forgot a bib. Oh well!

Her next appointment (18-months) will be with a new doctor. Hopefully he/she is as great as Dr. Hing has been!

Walking

Amelia is slowly turning into a full-time walker! I took this las week and since then she has only gotten better and braver!



**Please ignore the blaring TV. She turned it on right before she started walking. Jason must have been the last one to watch it because it is sooo loud and that is how he likes it. And yes, Amelia can operate the TV quite well. She turns it on and off, changes the channel, adjusts the volume and hits the screen. It is like a really big toy to her, sadly, because it is right at her level and she can easily reach all the buttons!