All Grown Up

Apparently, despite her diminutive appearance, the largely padded diaper, and the occasional presence of a pacifier, Mia is no longer a baby. She has turned into a full fledged "Little Kid". She eats at her own little table instead of a high chair or booster seat. She knows enough words to mostly let you know what she wants....and has enough attitude to FULLY let you know when she wants it. And today, she got to just go outside and play. Now, we take her outside and let her run around some, but this was different. This was following her two older cousins out into the yard to be a kid. Sure, she was still under supervision, but it wasn't really needed and it certainly wasn't noticed by her. She was by far more concerned with what her cousin Allyson and the dogs were doing than anything Meggan or I were up to. I know this is all normal and I'm sure her grandparents enjoyed watching it. However, I'm just not sure I like it. Dads need to be needed too, you know.

Christmas....part 3

I just got done loading the car to head out for our third edition of Christmas this year. I'm not sure Mia is really picking up on the Christ part of the equation yet, but she is really getting good at opening presents...so, there's that.

The little things

If you know how to enjoy eating dinner and lounging on the couch more than Amelia .... my hat is off to you...

Feeling blue

So, what do you do once Mia goes to bed the night after you were laid up with a fever and cough?....Well, apparently if you can't just sit around any longer, you help your wife change your dining room from tan to a blue-ish gray...



(paint still wet)

White Christmas

Here is a mixture of pictures of Christmas day and our subsequent snowy Sunday. I'd say the final picture in the set perfectly describes how to spend a quiet Christmas afternoon.

Christmas Eve

Unfortunately, I have been sick as a dog today, so there won't be too much of a Christmas update tonight. That said, here are two pictures that basically defined our Christmas Eve...

Mia had a great night and despite her cough, was ready for Santa Claus to show...



Meggan and I felt like the kitchen we bought would require a little assembly...like snapping 3 or 4 pieces together...yeeeahh, that didn't work out so well...

Big Visitor

I'd like to give a big thank you to the fire department for volunteering their time and resources so the children could get a surprise visit from a very special person...



While Mia wasn't sure what to make of the situation, Sophie knows exactly who Santa is and was desperately trying to make sure she got an opportunity to pass along her Christmas list.

Aquarium Fun

4 is sooo overrated anyways...

Due to seemingly chronic allergy problems, we often give Mia an inhaler treatment right before bedtime. As expected, this would not qualify as a spa treatment for her. So, we have had to resort to negotiations of only doing each treatment for 5 seconds. Occasionally, counting off the seconds can take her mind off things. Usually, I assume she is tuning us out completely. However, during tonight's bedtime treatments, we got to see that maybe she is paying more attention than we give her credit for... (sorry for how dark the videos are, but hey, it was bedtime)

Aquarium

The night got away from me tonight, so I'll have to post more aquarium photos tomorrow. For now, here is a picture of Mia checking out the big fish swimming over our heads...

Heads Up

This is what happens when a mom gets too excited about letting her daughter see the penguins up close...

Loot

You know you have a good problem when you received so much loot from the 1st of your 3 Christmas celebrations that you get frustrated trying to carry it...

Time Away

We are visiting family this weekend for the first of three Christmases this year...well, the overwhelmingly commercial part of Christmas anyways. I'll try to post pictures as Internet access is available.

Night Owls

It's almost 3am and we are still awake. I wish I could say it is because we are having the greatest party known to man. Instead, all I can tell you is Amelia hasn't stopped coughing for about 4 hours now. We've tried steam, honey, water, soup, saline spray, everything else we can think of not named cough syrup. It has had little to no impact. Luckily, she seems to feel fine other than the cough....However, I'm not so sure how fine Meggan and I are going to feel at work tomorrow.

Santa came early

Thanks to us deciding to re-acquire the rights to a large portion of our living room previously dominated by Mia's toys, we were forced to ask Santa Claus to come early this year. With no designated area left to play in, she had become very tough to entertain. Luckily for us, Mia has been a good girl this year and Santa was able to free up enough time to make a stop and deliver an activity table...

Plenty of room for her "lellows"...


A nice comfy seat for her baby...


Is this the face of a girl happy to have her table? ....Uhh, yes..

Attention Shoppers

Yes, Amelia is thoroughly enjoying Christmas shopping... and she has even figured out the fact that all the things we are buying are for her.

Match Maker

For Meggan's birthday, Amelia and Sophie bought her an IPad. So far, it has definitely lived up to the hype. I'm still not 100% sure exactly what productive things we will use it for. However, we've had a great time playing with all the non-productive apps. One positive that has emerged is it seems like it will be a great learning tool for Amelia. Here she is completely dominating a game of Memory (which she kinda sorta understands....a tiny bit)...

Shhhh, the bish are sleeping

We took Amelia to the zoo last night. Of course, by "zoo", I mean Petsmart. This is one of the finest ways to spend a Saturday night. While there weren't many dogs still roaming the aisles at that time of evening, we were able to see all the kitties and all the "bish". Now, as much as Amelia loved the kittens (including a rat she kept calling a "kitty"), she REALLY loves fish. She will walk from tank to tank pointing at all of them and moving her mouth in a fish motion. Every once in a while, we talk about getting her a fish....then we decide it is soooooo much easier just to take her to the zoo.

Amelia telling us SHHHH because the kitten is sleeping...


She found awake...


Bish, bish, bish....

Backfire

Well, you may recall that we had to get rid of our coffee table some time ago because young Mia kept hitting her head on it and thus, it was a general danger to her much desired safety. Recently, we found a solution to our problem in the form of a leather ottoman. It's big, it's soft, it's perfect for our dilemma...even if Mia hits her head on it, it won't hurt a bit. However, they delivered it to the house today and within the first hour of Mia being around it, this is what she did (sorry for the poorly lit cell phone pic).....



There is NO WAY dancing and jumping on top of the ottoman can qualify as "safe".

Christmas is all around us

Tonight was Mia's Christmas concert put on by her daycare. I tried to get video of the event in case she really surprised me and put on a performance. She...did...not. On a positive note, she didn't cry either. She basically just sat in the group and looked around. I will put the little video I do have up on the blog when I get the opportunity. For now, here are a few pictures of the pretty girl on her big night...

Thanks

In honor of Urban Meyer stepping down as Head Coach of UF today...

Well, we've been told

Tonight, when the theme song for Elmo's World came on TV, my 21 month-old daughter turned to her parents, put one finger over her lips and told us to shhhhhh. Yes, we were silenced in favor of Elmo. This is getting out of hand.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

when it is as cold as it is now....there is no better place to turn than to your dad's fuzzy Gator slippers...

Last year, I wrote a post called The Dichotomy of You. In that post I said to Mia "You are who I live to protect...Yet, you are to whom I have to teach life's hard lessons". This, of course, means I want her to learn about life without having to experience the bad that is often the finest teacher. Recently, I've been giving thought to what I want for Mia in her life and I've really been struggling with a very related thought...I want her to have every opportunity available to her, yet in some perverse way I'm worried that she'll end up taking advantage of opportunities that frankly scare the crap out of me. A brief example of this is I want Mia to grow to be a confident, self assured person who isn't afraid to take on the world...However, I reeeeeealllly don't know what I'm going to do when she says "Dad, I want to go to school in London". Actually, I have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do. I'm probably going to crap my pants and try to have her mother talk some sense into her...or me. At this point, I really can't even think of the next iteration of this scenario where she actually saves up her own money and says "Dad, I'm going to school in London. My flight leaves Thursday". Somewhere inside I know I am trying to have my proverbial cake and eat it too. I also know that I'll never do anything to hold Mia back from her life just because of my fatherly fears. But, damn, that doesn't mean I'm not going to worry about her.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Tonight, we put up the second Christmas tree of Amelia's life. Naturally, the last one didn't really count. So, for all intents and purposes, this is her first tree. While we did most of the heavy lifting, she did do her best to help.


Amelia sizing up the situation...



She decided she wanted her baby to touch all the ornaments as well...



What's a tree without a Gator ornament?

Normal, right?

I don't want to come across as lazy or unloving, but I was wondering if anyone had any objections to me hooking up one of these on Mia's crib so she doesn't have to wake me up to get her a drink at night when she is having her coughing spells...



Yeah, they're for hamsters. So what?? Don't judge me.

Pushing through

I have to give Amelia credit. She has been a trooper the last few weeks. I wouldn't really say she is sick, but she has been dealing with a runny nose and bad cough for about 3 weeks now. So, she has woken up throughout the night all during that time unable to stop hacking up a lung. On top of that, she damaged the nail bed on multiple fingers by sucking on them too hard. This has left the damaged fingernails a lovely shade of death. So, when she probably felt smoker's lung, a snot mustache, and crypt-keeper fingers were enough, she got a small rash on her face the other day while we were eating lunch. Luckily, that went away after an hour or so. Unluckily, that seems to mean it was an allergy of some kind. All that said, Amelia has not turned into a fussy mess during any point in time. So, for that, I commend her. I'm pretty sure her training at being sick as an infant has prepared her to tough it out when things aren't going her way...plus, she's doing a lot better with the cough-affected sleep than her mother and I are.

Get it girl

Visitors

It's always good when family comes...but, it's always great when they leave. This is a commonly held axiom. However, for me, it always really, really sucks when they leave...this goes for my family as well as Meg's. I miss them all year round, but not much compares to the remainder of the day after they are gone. I always think of all the great things we can do the next time they come and then realize it will be a while before that happens. The obvious answer is to move closer to them. Well, like I have posted on here before, that is easier said than done. There are many obstacles in the way that make that improbable, if not impossible. So, unless I win the lottery or they all decide to move here, I'll just have to suck it up and focus on enjoying the time I have with them...and use Mia for as much leverage as I can to get them to visit.

Through thick and thin

Despite the enormous dump the Gators took on the field today, Amelia and I remain steadfast in our support....



Okay, occasionally she get embarrassed and supports in disguise...



As a side note, we now know what Mia will look like should she ever find herself strung out and homeless...

Looking forward to it

We are very excited about Amelia's first real Thanksgiving tomorrow. Of course, she was alive last year, but this is the first time she'll really be able to partake in all of the eating. Naturally, since I am excited about it, she will very likely not want to eat anything. Either way, I know it will be a wonderful time of eating, hanging with family, and being thankful for all we have been blessed with...then, after all that mushy crap, Meggan and I are going to plan our assault on the Black Friday sales. Look out crowds of insanely crazed soccer moms...we're coming to town.

Too much?

We generally try to monitor Mia's time in front of the television. I believe, technically, she isn't supposed to be watching ANY TV. However, while I really don't want her to develop any attention disorders because of it, at times it is the only life preserver we have when we are drowning as parents. There is no better distraction when Meggan is working and I am trying to cook while being outnumbered 2 to 1 by Sophie and Mia. I would say, in general, she doesn't watch more than 1 complete episode of Sesame Street on any given day. That said, I am really, really starting to worry that she has become an addict. It was bad enough when she started saying "Big Bird" every time she saw a TV. If that was bad, last night was rock bottom. She is suffering from a very bad cough. So, sleeping was quite an adventure. She got stuck in a vicious cycle of coughing, crying, waking up, falling asleep, coughing, crying..... it finally got to the point where the "falling back to sleep" portion was not happening. Meggan and I were in her room giving her honey, water, and anything else we could think of to stop a cough. And, just as Mia is finally falling in and out of sleep, she wakes up and starts saying "Elmo, Elmo, Elmo, Elmo". So, somehow in the middle of the night, my little munchkin is coughing her head off in a semi-conscious state of wake and all she can think about is going downstairs to watch Sesame Street. This came on the heels of her literally begging me to listen to an Elmo CD in the car on the way to school "Elmo...Elmo...peas peas peas peas (AKA please please please please)". So, I'm no expert, but I am thinking when the first thing your daughter says in the morning and the last thing she says at night has to do with Sesame Street...you have a problem.

Reality Check

I had a startling reality check tonight while watching the American Music Awards. First, there was the fact that I knew I must be getting old because I felt like the majority of the acts were about as good as some of the SingStar performances I have seen performed in this very living room. (I know this means I am getting old because pop music has always been this way, you just don't notice it until you are old). Secondly, and much more damning evidence of my age, is that the winner of Artist of the Year, Justin Bieber, is actually closer in age to Amelia than he is to me. This margin may only be a matter of days, but it might as well be years. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go search for gray hair.

Relax

I try to have a pretty strong handle on the best way to have a nice, relaxing Saturday. However, today, Mia showed me when it comes to taking it easy, she rules the house.


Lamb? Check. Favorite Book? Check. Pajamas with feet in them? Check.

Black Friday

Bad News - I just spent countless time, have now gone blind and developed carpal tunnel syndrome from flipping through all the ads on a Black Friday site.

Good News - If I'm willing to wait in line for hours at 4am, I think I've found a way to save $7 on Amelia's Christmas

Interrogation

Mia: Sophie, do you have any idea why there are 4 crayon wrappers chewed up on the floor with no crayons in sight?

Sophie: Honestly, Baby, I really have no idea.

Mia: Sooo, what you are telling me is the crayons were fine when I left this morning, you were home all day by yourself, and now the crayons have been devoured ...all without you knowing anything?

Sophie: Pretty spooky, huh? I guess I slept through the robbery.

Mia: Oh, so NOW, it was a robbery?!? Well, good Lord, maybe we should call the police?

Sophie: I really don't think we need to alert any authorities. I'll keep a better eye out tomorrow.

Mia: No, you know. I think we probably should call the cops. I mean, if YOU didn't do anything, I don't see a problem. Unless of course you are lying...then, you'll probably get the electric chair.

Sophie: The electric chair?!? Really? Uhh, that sounds a little harsh for eating a few crayons.

Mia: Oh, it's not for that. It's just a state law regarding lying to babies. There's a zero tolerance electric chair mandate. But, like we covered, you don't have aaannnyything to worry about, right?

Sophie: No. But, just out of curiosity, what if I wasn't lying? What if I just forgot? Or maybe I was sleep-eating or somebody slipped me something that made me go crazy?

Mia: Hmmm, man, I really don't know. I think the rule is pretty straightforward...you lie...you die.

Sophie: Even if you are a cute puppy?

Mia: Not sure, but let's not get off topic. We aren't talking about a cute puppy, we are talking about you...and you're like one evolutionary step away from a Gremlin. So, they won't think twice about flipping the switch.

Sophie: Okay, okay. I ate your crayons. I just get so jealous of all the attention you give them. Plus, if I'm being honest, the multi-colored poo cracks me up. So, there you have it. The truth. Put that in your electric chair!

Mia: Well, I'm not sure how to put this, but we now have you saying you didn't eat them AND that you did eat them. So, yes, technically you told the truth...but, that means the other time you lied. Sooo, either way, I'm going to have to turn you in.

Sophie: Baby, I want to drop an F-bomb on you so badly right now...

Mia: I wouldn't do that if I were you. Unfortunately, they are even harder on that than the lying.

Sophie: REALLY?!? You lie to and curse at me all the time....what protection does a dog have??

Mia: Nothing at all... Cruel world ain't it,Jackass?

Coat of Many Colors

Now that Meggan has purchased this stunning piece of fashion magic, Mia will not only stay warm, but we will never be able to lose her as it is likely bright enough to glow in the dark.

Sunday best

We finally got back to church yesterday after a far too long absence. Mia thoroughly enjoyed dancing to all the music. However, she clearly did not understand why we were listening to a sermon. She just kept saying "more" "more" hoping to get the band going again. Eventually, I had to take her outside to walk around so that others could actually enjoy the sermon without hearing Mia's commentary and repeated introductions of her family "dada"..."momma"..."mimi". I was only able to get two pictures from the day .... the first one is blurry, but still gives a good idea of how pretty she was in her church dress...and in the second, I happen to take a picture at the exact second she face planted because she was rushing the camera in tights.

She's Happy.....and She Knows It

Not taught that way

Dear Daycare,
I wanted to apologize for Mia's actions today. I have to admit I am a little surprised at her. If you had told me she hit a kid, broke a toy, or colored a Picasso on the wall, I'd easily buy it. However, I assure you as a father, I have not taught her this type of behavior. I will check with her mother, but I am fairly certain she also does not endorse PUTTING BOTH HANDS DOWN YOUR PANTS AND ATTEMPTING TO HAND POO TO YOUR TEACHERS. We had a similar incident at home when we had a little diaper leakage. That said, in retrospect, that handful-o-poo seemed accidental. While she is slightly young to punish for such an incident. I promise we will do our best to avoid any more doodoo pie situations. On the bright side, at least she was trying to share...no? not enough silver in that lining? Fair enough. Sorry again.

Sincerely,

Mia's Dad

Second Place

Meggan and I have done a pretty good job at learning to be second place in Mia's life. First, while Meggan may not want to admit it, on any given day either of us can fall into second behind the other. Then, naturally, we have both drifted to a very distant second behind Elmo, Big Bird, and the rest of the Sesame Street gang (yes, I am counting them as one unit). Now, however, we have reached new lows. Earlier this week, Meggan arrived at daycare expecting Mia to greet her with all the normal jubilation of a kid at Christmas. This, my friends, was not to occur. I'll keep it polite on here and just say that it was indifference at best. So, yes, we now rank below daycare...ouch. I know this is a great sign of growth and maturity on her part. For us, though, I only see two options... it is either time crank up the fun at home or replace Mia with a new baby.

Man at Work...again

I have now been at work 40 of the last 60 hours of my life (with no end in sight tonight) ... throw in 14 hours for sleeping over those two nights and I have essentially either solely worked, slept, or got dressed for work since Sunday. Additionally, I have seen Mia only to help get her ready for school in the mornings during that time. Booooooo. However, I'm thankful for my job and I'm sure many, many people have it much worse. That said....there will not be any blog post tonight.

Turkey Day

Now that Halloween has come and passed, I think somebody is starting to look forward to Thanksgiving...

Daylight Savings Pt. 2

Here is the breakdown of our day...largely thanks to daylight savings

Here is Amelia heading out and about a few hours after waking up at 4am (formerly 5am)...



Here is Amelia enjoying a delicious breakfast at 8am ...



Here is the aftermath of daylight savings, also known as a schedule-wrecker around 9:30am ...

Daylight Savings

Why am I 99% sure Mia didn't get the memo about Daylight Savings? Which means, while the rest of the non-child having world will get an extra hour of sleep tomorrow...I'll be getting up at 5am instead of 6am?

A look into the future

I have a sneaking suspicion that this look Mia shot me while enjoying a cookie in the mall will be shot in my direction many, many times during her teen years. To me, it says "Duuuh, Dad, don't you know anything?!?"

Right idea....sort of

Well, Mia still has quite a long way to go in terms of learning how to use the potty. That said, she clearly has learned at least one very important detail needed for all proper bathroom situations...

A good magazine to read...

Information is Inspiration

Today, Meggan attended an information session at a private school in town. Now, before anyone mocks us, we absolutely know how ridiculously early it is to think about school. However, this information session was very convenient, so we thought there was no harm in stopping by and seeing what Mia was up against. At the end of the day, I don't think there were too many surprises. There was talk of extensive testing, age limits, and checks I really have no appetite for writing. There's a part of me that wants to start reading more with Amelia, practice our shapes before dinner, and make sure she fully understands that all crayons are not called "Lellows". That said, there is a much, much larger part of me that just wants to tickle her feet, color outside the lines with her, and do any other fun thing we want. I know time flies, but for now, she's 20 months old and I'm going to help her stay that way.

Happy Halloween!!!

Not the greatest..

I didn't have a chance to write a post tonight because I rented Sex and the City 2 for Meggan and we watched it together. Now, I'm not one of those guys who hates all movies aimed at women. That said, it was one of the worst things I have seen in a long time .... and that actually means something considering earlier tonight, Amelia walked over to me holding a handful of poo. Yeah, I said handful of poo. Deal with that image. I had to.

Must be a girl thing

Upon giving Mia her bath a few nights ago, I noticed a slight discrepancy...

List of items used to get Mia ready for bed:

- Elmo toothbrush
- Baby toothpaste
- Children's Allergy medicine
- Dropper for said medicine
- cup of water to rinse down medicine
- Elmo interior bathtub mat to prevent slipping
- Ducky faucet cover
- Dove soap for sensitive skin
- No tears baby shampoo
- Cup to rinse hair
- Ducky towel
- Spray in hair detangler
- Comb
- Desitin diaper rash cream
- Lotion
- Freshly refilled Humidifier
- Night Light
- Book, preferably Goodnight Gorilla
- Cribside music mobile on a timer

List of items used to get me ready for bed:
- toothbrush
- toothpaste
- floss
- soap/shampoo/body wash ...any combination or single item will suffice.

Now, I'd like to think her list will get smaller as she gets older. However, considering I see the mass quantities of toiletries and such used by her mother, I'm not so sure.

Lucky Guy

I'm a lucky guy to have two such beautiful girls in my life. Now, if only one of them would ever smile for the camera....



Why yes, there is a creepy clown just outside the frame...seriously...

Lesson Learned

When I picked up Amelia from daycare today she begged me for an apple. Being the loving father I am, we grabbed one on our way out the door. On the ride home, I would ask Mia questions intermittently just to ensure she wasn't choking. Each time, she talked back...success. However, when we got home, this is the scene that awaited me ...



I did not anticipate that she wasn't choking because she was continually spitting out the peel all over the back seat. Naturally, being the extremely punishment oriented, strict father that I am, she had to pay the price...

I made her lay comfortably on her oversized pillow and watch Sesame Street for no less than 20 minutes. I think we can all agree she learned a valuable lesson today.

Pumpkin Patch?

Uhhhh, yeaahh, the pumpkin patch thing didn't happen today. It wasn't that we didn't want to go. It was that we didn't want to go enough. We had quite a bit of yard work to do and our friends we were going with were tied up as well. So, I am sad to admit, I have no pumpkin patch pictures for you tonight. However, we did uncover two very important facts tonight...

1) Amelia has no concept of what a costume is. She simply snuggles her Elmo costume as if it actually Elmo's limp, lifeless body.



2) Amelia's friend, Connor (the lion from last Halloween), had a very interesting idea for his costume this year....Elmo

Pumpkin Patch Redux

If all goes according to plan, we are taking Amelia to the pumpkin patch. I really have no idea what to expect. She has an amazing knack for really going the extra mile when it comes to breaking down crying during memory making moments. Hopefully, we will have some photos of the event to post tomorrow night. In the meantime, here is a little stroll down memory lane from last year's trip to the patch...

Fun with Crayons

Tonight, Mia decided it was a pretty good idea to go ahead and start coloring on the hardwood floors. I'm not sure if she got bored with her coloring book or just thought perhaps they needed a little pizazz. Also tonight, Sophie ate several crayons, leaving only wrappers on the floor and skittle-colored turds in the backyard. I am certain neither of these met with my approval. What I can't figure out, though, is who I am more upset with. Is it Amelia for coloring my floor like subway graffiti? Is it Sophie for tasting the rainbow? Or is it me for somehow not stopping both of those things before they happened? Hmm, probably the last one. But, just in case, I think I'll put all of us in the time out chair for a while.

Happy to see her

I made it home tonight not only in time to see Amelia, but in time to play with her for an hour or so. It's a funny thing how frustrating it can normally be when she doesn't feel well or is acting out. Yet, on days like today where I haven't seen her much lately, I just enjoy her company regardless of mood, health, or the fact that she ignores me for Sesame Street. The simple things like chasing her around the house and tickling her into relentless laughter can completely erase the funk of a long workday, work week, or even work month. Tonight was a night that I badly needed....even if our conversation on the couch went like this... "are you glad daddy's home to see you tonight?" "Noooo". "You're not? That hurts daddy's feelings. Do you care that you hurt daddy's feelings?" "Noooooo" and then she proceeded to smack me in the mouth. Ahhhh, love.

Know when to say when

I have been working for 14 hours straight. I did not make it home in time for dinner or to see Amelia before she went to bed. Unfortunately, this kind of work schedule has been pretty common the last week or two. I'm grateful to have my job and am thankful for the opportunities it provides. However, roughly 5 minutes ago, my computer locked up and I lost about 2 hours worth of work. So, I am now faced with only a few options considering I have a deliverable due at noon tomorrow that is now WAAAY behind schedule. 1) Stay up for the next several hours rebuilding what I had done and finishing the remainder of the analysis. 2) Light this P.O.S. laptop on fire and joyfully watch it melt away years of torment. or 3)Shut down, go upstairs and watch Amelia sleep for a little while and then peacefully join Meggan and Sophie in bed. My head says #1, my heart says #3, and yet, a small part of me is leaning towards the pure catharsis of #2. I'm pretty sure I'll end up in bed soon, but let's just say this laptop is lucky it houses too many pictures of Amelia and the only copy of the screenplay I've been working on. As for the work due tomorrow, I'll just have Sophie make up some numbers in the morning.

Nutritious AND Delicious

This is a picture, albeit a terrible cell phone picture, of Amelia at lunch today. Now, ordinarily I would not be proud of the fact that we are feeding her grilled cheese and fries. However, today, I would have preferred to be saying she cleared her plate than to tell you what she is actually doing in this picture...Yes, that is crayon in her hand. Yes, she is using it as a fork. And, yes, she is spearing Fruit Loops with it and eating them.

The REAL fun

Meggan took Amelia to a story time event today where she got to sit back, eat fruit loops, and listen to a great story. I'm sure Meggan felt like this made her the most fun parent today. Little does she know, I don't need any events to maintain that title. This is the scene moments before they left while I was outside loading her into the car...


Here she is laughing while chasing me...



Here she appears to be trying to growl at, or perhaps, eat me