1 Year Statistics!

A little sneak peek from our photo shoot with Erin.

I am writing this with one hand (had surgery today) and I had some pain killers, so I am going to pre-apologize for my mistakes. Here it goes...

This week Amelia had her 1 year wellness check-up. During the appointment she was awesome until the end with the shots (5!). I have never seen her turn that red (mad). But, a little snuggle and snack after made the pain forgotten fast. Dr. Short said she is healthy and doing great. I wasn't too worried, but it is always a relief to hear . Now onto the stats/developments.

Head: 19 inches, 75%. Her big head wasn't as big this check-up. Nothing to worry about. She is still gifted : )
Length: 29 inches, 50%. She has grown a couple inches, but still at the average for her age.
Weight: 22 pounds. 75%. My big girl isn't as big anymore. Still eating well, but because she is walking (more like running) , she is burning calories fast. Time to starting thinking about some races.

Amelia has become very confident in her walking and prefers it over being held or pushed in a stroller. She seems so much happier with this new freedom! However, we have had some "stranger danger" going on. She can get sad when new people are around and ones she knows are not close. But, give her five minutes and you'll hear (over and over) "hi" and a wave. It has also been so fun to watch "things" click with her. She says dog when she sees Tracker, will interact when we read books and her two favorite songs are Old McDonald (will sing the chorus) and Head and Shoulders (starting to do the motions). I am having so much fun teaching her new things and watching her grow. Wade is also working on some new tricks with her. Hopefully I can get a video of them soon.

Now off to put my hand above my heart to stop it from throbbing :).

Happy Birthday to you!

This weekend Amelia went from being a baby to being a toddler!! On Saturday she had her 1st birthday. Friday night we had a celebration with Grandma and Grandpa. She got to have her first cupcake and open gifts. It was a fun little party and she loved the new toys she got. Especially the scooter/wagon/rider she has been riding on ever since. When her cupcake was brought out she wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Luckily I blew the candle out before she went for the grab. I had to give her the first couple of bites because she was more concerned about her messy hands then putting anything in her mouth. But.... she got over that FAST and was soon in laughter with each bite. I think she fell in love with chocolate. Truly her mother's daughter. The next morning we headed south for 4 great friends 30th "quad" birthday. Due to being in town, my sister let me use her home for a small party. Amelia had a great time and was dressed to kill in the outfit Wade bought her in Mexico. Lisa and Amelia shared blowing out the candle. Amelia was due on Lisa's birthday but came 2 days early. That is okay because they got to celebrate together. Happy Birthday Lisa! We love you tons! The party that night brought people into town. I was lucky enough to have some of them to Amelia's party. Lyndsy and Lindsey got to meet Amelia, Abe and Carson for the first time. Living in LA they had only seen them in pictures and watched them grow through blogs.

Amelia's Godsister Lyla also came to the party and helped show her the ropes of being one. I just love that they will be growing up together. Being one can wear you out. Especially when you have two parties!! By that afternoon, Little Miss crashed and took a long nap!

I am extremely blessed with the family that I have. Not only has this been a year where Amelia has grown into a little person, but it has also been a year that has changed me and my life in ways I cannot describe in words. Wade and I love this little girl more then can be expressed. She is a great contribution to the family and it feels like she has always been with us. I could never imagine not having her. I love you Amelia Ann!

Too cute to not post!

Daddy's glasses!

Lazy Sunday

Dad still in bed + Mom still needing a couple moments to wake up = A lazy Sunday.
(FYI...Mom did drink all the coffee before Amelia got the cup. She is almost one, but no caffeine yet)

On this addition of "Tuesdays with Lisa", Karli was home sick recovering from the stomach flu. Lisa talks her into bringing Amelia to her. Karli meets her and...dumm, dee, dumm, dumm...Lisa is now home with the flu. Lesson learned: If you are sick, stay at home in BED!

Sorry Lisa. It was a nice Tuesday (other then being sick). Hope you feel better fast! It gets better the next day.

11 Month Update

So, I forgot to post Amelia's 10 month stats, but here is her 11th. One more month until we hit the BIG 01. I know I say it over and over again....I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW FAST TIME FLIES. I feel like I was just pregnant and that she is still my little baby. But, as I was talking with my in-laws today, we have a little person on our hands who is full of personality and energy!

Gross Motor: We have walking. She isn't the most stable and looks like her dad did on a good night out in college, but every time she gets going she gets stronger, finding her balance better. It is her preferred way to get around now.

Fine Motor: She has mastered picking up small pieces of food (dog food included) and has been working on eating with a plate/bowl and spoon. Throwing these items has stopped and she gets about every 5 bites from using the spoon.

Food: Baby food is for babies! We are 100% table food. She eats and loves everything we give her. During the day we are making the transition to sippy cups and away from bottles. We have also started to give her cups of cow milk to see how here system can handle it. It smells much better then soy.

Developmental: We finally have some teeth. One for sure and another on the way. Not having teeth didn't stop her from eating, but it'll be nice once they all start coming in to tackle some proteins.

Communication: Amelia is a talkative little thing, even though it doesn't really make sense. One day I picked her up from daycare and they swore she said "thank you". Two of the teachers said they heard it not once, but twice. However, Wade and I have yet to hear it (we work on it every night). She is also starting to understand A LOT of words. We are amazed daily with what she knows. Today I asked her where her dolly was and she went looking for it! She also does a good Tracker impression as seen in the attached video.

Oh, Mexico!

We're back! A little tanner, a little chubbier and already planning on how I can get back to Puerto Vallarta. We spent seven glorious days at the Crown Paradise Resort eating, drinking, swimming, eating, drinking, playing on the beach, shopping and oh, did mention...eating and drinking?? We all took full advantage of the resort being ALL INCLUSIVE! We booked Crown Paradise because it is designed for families. And if you have one, I recommend it highly. It has a kid's pool with slides/fountains, Baby/Kids clubs where kids can play and mom and dad can enjoy the adult activities, specialty kid drinks/food, a great beach and best of all the staff was AWESOME. Amelia had a great time and was able to let her water-baby side come into full play. She enjoyed the food, playing (eating) in the sand, and swimming in all the pools and the ocean. It was a great way to celebrate Christmas, practice some Spanish (Wade, not me) and have some quality family time.

We took almost 200 pictures. It was so hard to decide which ones I should post without boring whoever is looking at this post. Here are a couple that only start to tell about our trip: Amelia has learned to climb. At one point she got so high she tipped
the chair and got a face full of sand.

Of course it isn't a family outing if dad/daughter don't do their trick.
The staff loved this crazy pair.

"Carlos (our favorite bartender)! Make it another."
"Oh mom, not another picture. How embarrassing."
We resorted to using a spoon and an empty cup for a shovel and a bucket.
I didn't think she would get the concept when we did our shopping earlier that week.
I guess I was wrong. Oh well, Amelia didn't know any different.

Once we arrived in Mexico we were warned about the "crazy" bus rides.
Amelia thought the ride more soothing then rough.

The waitstaff at Senor Frogs got it right!

"Una mas margarita por favor!"

One of the many slides at the kid pool.
Amelia got a workout going down it, but also trying to climb her way back up it.
I left it to Wade to take her on the bigger ones. Of course she loved those too.

Just riding some waves.

Drying off after a family swim in the ocean.

Just like the crabs.