Dora the Explore

Amelia took the neighborhood by storm trick-or-treating tonight...if you count wearing a costume that 50% of the people don't recognize (including one woman who thought she was a little boy) "taking the neighborhood by storm"

Carved with Love

Amelia put in her first work as a pumpkin carver...


She was very happy with her progress...


Once the candle was lit, she started vibrating with excitement...

Bar Work

With all the times Amelia's dance teacher has to tell her to stop hanging on the ballet bars, I'm beginning to think our regimen of extreme tree pull-ups is not the best idea.

Nap Battle pt. 2

As an update to my earlier story about Amelia refusing to nap...when I finally went upstairs to let her out of prison, she opened with "I had sweet baby dreams, Daddy". So, I asked her if she was SURE she went to sleep and she said "I had a good nappy". And there you have it...my daughter, the liar.

Nap Battle

I am currently in the middle of a two hour nap battle with Amelia. Getting Amelia to fall asleep without her pacifier is about as easy as getting Sophie not to bark if there was a cat eating a steak in our front yard. So, while I know she needs a nap or she is going to be absolutely foul this evening, she does not seem to agree. So far, she has left her room 3 times, pulled out every book she owns and read it to her dolls, and has had her piano removed from the room after putting on a concert. Additionally, she has jumped on the bed, fallen off the bed, and found an old pair of shoes that "she needed to bring to her daddy". Essentially, she has done everything she can think of other than put her head on her pillow and close her eyes.

As I type this, I believe she is now doing yoga exercises to stay awake. Here is her down dog pose...

Know When You've Lost

Amelia has picked the same exact bedtime story (Go, Dog. Go!)for over a week straight. I know some people love this story, but to me it is over 50 pages long, makes no sense, and has virtually no redeeming qualities. So, tonight, I asked Amelia what she wanted to read and she predictably said Go, Dog. Go!. That is when I thought I had struck fatherly brilliance. I told Amelia that we were going to let Kanga (her newest doll that sleeps with her) pick the book tonight. She agreed that was a good idea. So, I asked "Does Kanga want to read PJ FunnyBunny?" In my tiny little dad brain, Amelia was going to go for this and I would be set free from my Go, Dog. Go! prison. However, to my surprise, she is far smarter than I am...she simply took her little hand and shook Kanga's head in a "no" motion. She then continued to do this for any book I mentioned...until I got to Go, Dog. Go!. At that point, Kanga miraculously started shaking her head "yes". So much for outsmarting my 2 year-old.

Sure Sign

Each day when we pick Amelia up from school, we go through a rundown of the day's events. Inevitably, she tells us she played with Mackenzie in Home Living. She almost always tells us she had a great day. On good days, she leads with Daddy(or Mommy), I missed you so much. Even though it is all expected, it is still a nice start to the evening. Additionally, we recently added a potty breakdown in which she tells us each day if she used the potty. This is great because she is so very proud to tell us what a big girl she is. However, the last few times I picked her up, she adamantly has claimed she didn't have any accidents. As much as I'd love to believe my daughter and as much as I'd love to think she was fully potty trained, I can't help but notice a strange thing... if she isn't having accidents...and we dress her nicely for school...why does she keep coming home in silly, clown-like, tights...

Home Alone

Meggan had to work AGAIN tonight, which left Me, Sophie, and Amelia on our own. As usual, I allowed Amelia to pick dinner. As usual, she picked pizza. As usual, we had a great night...if you call eating pizza outside, chasing each other around the house, watching back to back episodes of Dora the Explorer, and snuggling on the couch a great night.

Enjoying the lovely Fall weather...


We even stopped and picked up a pizza cookie for Sophie...

Dora?

Amelia is going as Dora the Explorer for Halloween. This was not our first choice, but it was hers. As parents who believe in letting your children make decision for themselves, we obliged. That said, after putting on the wig for the costume, I'm not getting a strong sense of Dora...nope, I'm definitely getting more of an 80's hair band vibe.

Ballet

We were surprised to find out that parents were allowed to watch ballet from inside the studio today. Unfortunately, this surprise left me with only my cell phone to capture any footage.

She has a bit of a mind of her own....and it shows at the end


Oh well, she had fun


Why be like everyone else???

Monkeying Around

We put in a little work on the baby's nursery today. It isn't quit finished, but we are off to a good start.








(Amelia clearly does not care for the rules)

Need Directions?

What is the quickest way to Amelia's heart? Ice Cream? A Dora the Explorer DVD? Taking her to ride the escalators? All wonderful guesses, but all equally incorrect. This weekend I found out the quickest way to Amelia's heart is apparently to strap 29lbs of cowgirl on your back, let her grab two fistfuls of hair, and run around like you're Silver and the Lone Ranger just smacked you on the rear. I'd like to thank her great uncle, Berman, for doing the dirty work to figure out this solution...

Fortune

I just opened my fortune cookie from dinner. It read "You are a lover of words, someday you should write a book." While I don't hold much interest in writing a book, I do spend a good part of my free time writing on this blog and on screenplays. So, the fortune felt fairly accurate to me. However, given the fact that dinner was eaten at the office and I didn't get to see Amelia tonight, it also felt like a mean spirited slap in the face. It would be like telling someone who is fasting that they would just LOVE the cheesecake you are eating. So, thank you very little fortune cookie...unless, of course, I hit the lottery using your numbers. Then, I could write lots of things - blogs, movies, books, big fat checks, etc.

Family Time

As I slowly get to load pictures from our trip to see family, here are a few of Amelia spending time with her uncle.

Sure, she loved him here...



But, how did she feel after he threw her in the lake?...

Big News

It is 10p.m. and I am still working for the day, so there isn't much time for a post. That said, I wanted to give credit where credit is due...

Amelia had her first "accident free" day of potty training yesterday. I'm so proud of her for making it through the day at school without problem. I'm sure it isn't easy to go potty with 200(might be an overstatement, but it seems like that is how many kids are in her class) other kids standing around staring at you.

Peek-A-Boo

I think it is safe to say the visit to Maw-Maw's house went well...

Emotion

Days like today, which featured the full spectrum of emotion, always feel more complete than the rest. I started the day by saying goodbye to my family. Without fail, this puts me in a somber mood that has me questioning priorities in life and seeking hidden opportunities to be closer to them. This evening, as I was shaking off the final cobwebs of my funk, Amelia and I went to pick up Sophie from the boarder. As the vet brought Sophie from the back, Amelia ran across the room, gave Sophie a big hug and exclaimed "Sophie, I missed you so much!". The way Amelia reacted, you would have thought Sophie just arrived home from serving a tour in Afghanistan. That said, seeing that pure joy on her face lifted my spirits immediately and brought my day full circle. Things are nice... Money is great... But, relationships are all that truly matter.

Off to Grandma's

We are heading to my mom's house tomorrow. Amelia is excited about the trip. After all, how could she not be excited to hang out with this woman...

Stress Relief

My day started with me saying "No, we don't put stickers on the dog. It hurts her fur." and ended with me essentially wrestling Amelia into her pajamas and threatening her life to get her teeth brushed. Not too many people consider their job in corporate finance a nice break from stress...That's because most people don't have a 2 year-old like mine who thoroughly enjoys timeout and thinks the threat of physical punishment is hilarious

Impact

For all you dads out there who have not yet gotten to potty training, listen to me, potty training changes a man. Just a few short months ago, Amelia was fully in diapers. Do you know what I did last night? I folded ten tiny little pairs of Dora panties. No, not Pull-Ups, actual miniature panties. For some reason, to me, diapers mean "baby" and panties mean "virtually an adult". That would have been the most disturbing time of the weekend if I hadn't already had the following two thoughts on Sunday...

1)Wow, as much as I hate to admit it, it is really so much easier if she just poops in a diaper.

2)Wow, they have a potty in their minivan, that..is...awesome.

I can feel the spirit of my younger self dying a little bit just from typing minivan and awesome in the same sentence.

Dance Lessons are Paying Off

Amelia getting down to the Fresh Beat Band

I believe this is a modified Cotton-eyed Joe into some lovely floor work...


More loco legs...


Using her ballet toe pointing ability...

One Week Later

After multiple weeks of struggle, we had a breakthrough at ballet this morning. Before class, Amelia not only said she was going to dance, but also that I could watch her on camera. That alone would have been great after it being a major issue for her the last few weeks. It was dicey for the first few seconds of class and then out of the blue Amelia started participating. She was jumping, walking on her toes, even doing some work on the ballet bar. Meggan and I went from grumpy parents who didn't really want to go to gushing pageant parents. I mean, it wasn't like we stood in the back of class and cheered and Meggan didn't choreograph moves from on the bar or anything. We were far too proud of her to do something that would embarrass her. That would be ridiculous. Okay, truth be told, I might have run out and hugged her if they didn't lock us out of the room.

Out With the Old

Once we found out we were having a boy this time, we knew the day would come where we had to get rid of all the girl things we were saving for the second time around. Today was that day.

No, this is not an episode of Hoarders...




The best part about going through all your old stuff? Finding treasures you thought you'd lost...such as homemade turkey hats...

Quality Time

Nobody understands you like your friends. That's why it is so important to spend quality time with them as often as possible...and by "friends" I mean stuffed animals...and by "quality time" I mean sitting on the bathroom floor while your parents get ready for work.

Potty.....please

Potty training is a pain in the rear. I hate every single thing about it. However, there is one thing I hate more than the rest. Sure, I hate how gross it is, how inconvenient it is, and how frustrating it can be. Also, did I mention it is nasty? I know most people say diapers are far more disgusting. I call these people "liars". Rather than wiping, I literally close my eyes and wish the poop away. It hasn't worked yet, but I'm hopeful. I also tried clicking my heels three times while saying "there's no place like home" - another failure. So far, the only thing that has worked for me is running screaming from the bathroom and yelling for Meggan to go in there. Luckily, that one works every time (which I have to admit has only been a handful of times as Meggan already assumes the role of Chief Potty Officer). Having said all that, the thing I hate the most about potty training is that for the love of God I cannot get her to do it. I've offered her candy, money, jewelry, ice cream for breakfast, a car, one embarrassment-free date when she's older, a temporary lift of the requirement that she attend college at UF, etc.. So, she knows we want her to potty. I know she knows we want her to potty. She knows I know she knows we want her to potty. What I don't know is if she doesn't care or if she simply enjoys being defiant. Either way, when we sit her on the potty and she doesn't go, says she doesn't have to go, and then puts a beatdown on a diaper 5 minutes later...I basically want to pack her things and send her to military school.

Small Talk

Amelia and I sitting outside having a daddy-daughter ice cream date...

A dad walks by carrying a boy roughly Amelia's age

Amelia: (pointing at boy) Awwww, look at the little baaaabbyyy.

Me: Baby, we don't point and talk about other people

Boy: (Clearly upset at the accusation)I'm not a little baby. I'm a big boy!

Me: See, he didn't like you calling him a baby

Amelia: (Wondering what she did wrong) I don't even know his name!

Good Weekend?

If your weekend didn't include jumping your diaper off in a personal-sized bounce house, Amelia is not impressed.

Working up some nice static hair...


Replenishing fluids...


Taking a much needed rest...


Reflecting on how good life can be...

Just a Trim

Amelia finally got a long needed haircut this weekend. We have given her the "my parents are super cheap so they cut my bangs themselves" trim a few times, but it has been a long time since we got an actual substantial cut. Amelia's hair is now three inches shorter than it was...and still probably longer than most 2 year-olds. As silly as it sounds, it was a harder decision than it seems like it should have been. The good news, however, is that her pigtails are no longer so long that they hang into her ice cream bowl when she turns her head. So, hooray for that.