Pump It Up!

Amelia's friend from school, Isabel, had her 3rd birthday party at this place called Pump It Up! They have multiple rooms that you can rent for parties...this one had a huge slide, an obstacle course and a huge bounce house. The kids had a blast!

It didn't take long for Amelia to warm up to this place. She had Tyler going through the obstacle course at least 5 times and then up the slide. Next thing we know, Amelia is climbing up the slide all by herself...we were amazed that she would and could do it. The video says it all.




Amelia, Isabel and Stella.

Amelia and Stella in the bounce house...
Stella and Amelie are best friends (and they fight like it too sometimes at school...they were also born on the same day, in the same hospital...and they share the same middle name).

Ahhh, the snow...

Amelia had just been dying to get out in the snow. She kept asking if she could go play in it...I finally gave in and told her she could, but then I realized I didn't have a snow suit for her...I ended up squishing her into her old 18-24 months one from last winter...the crotch was down to her knees! She didn't mind one bit so long as it allowed her to go play in the snow. Amelia helped daddy shovel snow and then took a walk around the yard. Because I was selfish and cold we didn't stay out too long, but she said she had fun anyways. I hope to find her a snowsuit that fits and take her down the little hill at Schiller park later this week. I think she'd love it.

24-week checkup

I had my 24-week checkup today and all looked good. I got to hear the baby's heart beat again...it's such an amazing sound. His heart beat was in the 150's. I've gained 22 pounds already...the doctor says that's right on schedule but I feel like that's too much! I hope I can stay true to the 1 pound per week from here on out or I'm gonna be in trouble!

I also had my glucose screen test today. Good golly that stuff tastes horrible!!! It made me really jittery and nauseous but as soon as I ate something afterwards I felt ok again. I'll find out tomorrow if I'm in the clear from gestational diabetes or not....I'm actually a little fearful this time since I was borderline when I was pregnant with Amelia...not to mention the fact that I am constantly craving sweets this pregnancy!

"I take a shower like a big kid"

Amelia has decided that she'd rather take a shower instead of a bath. I thought she'd always want to play in the bathtub with her toys but it seems that she'd rather have the warm water beat down on her face and back than splash in the tub. She loves to do "big kid" things already...our little girl is growing up WAY TOO FAST! Can't anyone slow this down? Just a little?

The GRANDparents....

GRANDPA AND GRANDMA

My dad and Karen came down this past Sunday for a little visit...Amelia had a great time showing off her guitar playing abilities.




GRANNY TIME


Granny loves to play and sing music too, so when she's over Amelia just has a blast with her! They were singing a song about a cowgirl with no pants on in this photo (moments before this Amelia was riding her rocking horse with no pants on — hence the song. It was really funny!)

On display...

Our bathroom/dressing room is now an art gallery. I think her artwork looks amazing ... I know I'm biased, but I love it! She makes me proud.

23 and a half weeks....

It's only getting bigger folks!

My 31st birthday

This was the day after my return from San Antonio. I had planned on taking it as a vacation day so that I could spend it with Amelia. After our rough nights sleep Tyler was off to work and Amelia and I went about our day. The morning went well but nap time came around and she barely slept 45 minutes. She didn't sound much better today so we took a trip to the doctors. Thankfully her lungs were clear so no need to worry about pneumonia. It had started snowing like crazy so traffic was a mess and we were only going about 10 miles an hour on the highway. Amelia looked like death warmed over in the backseat and within a few minutes of being on the road she fell asleep. It took us nearly an hour to get home so she got a good nap in — and she NEVER does anything like that.

The evening was much better than the day. Tyler, Amelia, Bonita and I had dinner at the house and then our friend Matt came over. After our crazy day I had forgotten that Tyler told me I had surprises coming. I opened some gifts and then was presented with the most creative and thoughtful gift a mother/wife could receive....

Remember all the bad days while I was in Texas? Well....what I didn't know then was that on Saturday after they took me to the airport Tyler had big plans for he and Amelia. He had purchased 2 stretched canvases, finger paints and brushes for Amelia to paint me pictures. But it didn't stop there. He had asked Matty to come over and video tape Amelia painting the pictures. He had rearranged the kitchen and set up and little studio on the floor for her to work.

Amelia and Tyler presented me with the 2 beautiful paintings and then followed it up with a DVD edited by Matty. Tyler had this all planned out over a month ago. He had Matt use 3 special songs in the video — Gracie Girl by Ben Folds, Punk Rock Girl by The Dead Milkmen and Amelia by Joni Mitchell.

Honestly, I have the sweetest, most thoughtful husband ever!

In this photo I am crying as I watch the video. Amelia had gotten me a tissue and said "Don't cry mommy." I tried explaining that they were happy tears and she just hugged me. I didn't know it until I saw this photo that she was crying too.

You can watch the video by clicking on one of these links. You might need to let it load first (hit the PAUSE button to let it load and then click PLAY once it's mostly loaded so you can watch it without interruption).

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=50401420

If that one doesn't work use this one. It's lower res but loads quickly.
http://secure.keepsakenetwork.com/video.aspx?Film=2009

I'll post it here soon.

Days of the single dad

I had to go to San Antonio for a few days for work — it was the American Farm Bureau's 90th Annual Meeting. I left on Saturday the 10th — the morning that everything was covered in ice and I was to fly to Detroit before heading south...makes so much sense, I know. Thankfully the flights were just fine and we had no major delays. Tyler and Amelia took me to the airport — it was SO hard to say goodbye to them — and they went about their day.

I arrived in Texas with no problem and got settled into my hotel. A group of us walked around the Riverwalk (very pretty — the "river" - more like a canal - is surrounded on both sides by restaurants, shops and hotels) and stopped in for dinner at a nice restaurant.

Bad Day #1:
Sunday was filled with work stuff so we were up pretty early and off to the opening session of the meeting. 10 minutes into the meeting I receive a phone call from Tyler — "I'm over it now, but you'll never guess what your daughter did to me!" Never a good sign when Amelia becomes MY daughter and not OUR daughter. "We were heading out to do grocery shopping but beforehand I needed to take out the trash. I was outside for 10 seconds and SHE LOCKED ME OUT!" Our trashcan is out in the backyard so typically Tyler just leaves the main door open and closes the storm door — which happens to have a deadbolt on it that is at the perfect Amelia height. Tyler tried to tell her what to do but apparently she just giggled and walked away. He eventually yanked hard enough on the door that he bent the door frame just enough to allow the bolt to slide past. The rest of the day was a normal Sunday in the Harris house.

Bad Day #2:
5 a.m. Monday I get a phone call from my delirious husband. Amelia had been up all night coughing and crying which meant Tyler was up all night. He got her to calm down and relax in our bed and she fell asleep for an hour or two but he just laid there, awake, holding her. Knowing that she wasn't feeling well he knew he couldn't take her to school, but at the same time he has no vacation or sick days to use. By 9 a.m. we had talked about 4 more times. He had finally gotten ahold of his mom (who at least had a few hours of sleep after her 16 hour shift the day before). She was able to come over and allow Tyler to get a couple hours of sleep before heading into work. Thank God for Mom!

Bad Day #3:
Amelia had a better nights sleep on Monday and went to school on Tuesday. But last week she started this bad habit of not napping at school. After work Tyler picked up Amelia at school and they drove straight to the airport to pick me up. I'm greeted by a tired husband and delirious daughter. I thought for sure Amelia would be just as excited to see me as I was to see her but she was SO tired that when I got in the car she just sorta gazed at me, put her hand out for me to hold and said "mommy" in this pathetic little voice. It was heartbreaking. It would figure she would get sick when I left. I know I couldn't handle it on my own but somehow Tyler did.

We put Amelia to bed early that night. It didn't matter though, she was up by 9 screaming and crying. I walked the halls with her like I used to when she was a baby. It calmed her down but didn't soothe her enough to go back to her bed. She ended up in bed with us instead. The whole time I was in Texas I couldn't wait to sleep in my bed and cuddle with my husband. That didn't happen. For an hour we tried to sleep all 3 of us in bed but Amelia had other plans. She was so tired she had no idea what she was even doing but she most literally kicked Tyler out of bed. He slept in the guest room and I slept with a kicking Amelia all night. But hey, at least she slept.

Ah, it's so nice to be home.

22 weeks - I think I swallowed a beach ball

January 8th marked 22 weeks. I can't believe how fast it's going. This little boy is constantly on the move — poking, pushing, stretching. He's either got a big head or a big butt...he pushes one or the other so hard against my belly that I look completely lop-sided...and it's so uncomfortable. Typically he's really low in my pelvis area and that is SO not comfortable either! The other night he was kicking and squirming around for over 3 hours!!! He apparently has all the energy that I'm lacking. All in all I've been feeling pretty good. My back is still killing me most days and it's really getting hard to pick up Amelia now but we're all managing. Thankfully I have an incredible husband who does more than any other man/husband I know.

Our next appointment is on the 27th.

The best $20 I ever spent

I mentioned before that Amelia has really been into music lately. I had ordered her a small wooden guitar from an LTD catalog (they're always going around my office) for Christmas. Of course it was on back order but it finally arrived last week. She loves to play her "puitar" and sing to us. Now if only she could find those missing letters in the alphabet! (See video below).

Amelia updates

Amelia has become quite the little girl. She is just amazing. I know I'm a little biased, but I swear, when she walks in a room she just lights it up. Her language skills, manners, personality, sweetness and comedic timing are impeccable for a 2 year old. I don't even feel like we can take any of the credit for it, she is just truly a blessing.

Her sense of compassion is like no other. I tend to complain a lot about my belly or my back hurting and she offers to rub them or get me a pillow...it's the sweetest. She also tells me that she has a big belly "just like mommy does."

She's really been into music lately. Making music especially. She keeps asking Tyler and I for a violin. I'm pretty sure there is no other instrument that when played wrong can hurt the ears more. I'm not saying we're going to buy her a violin — maybe a "toy" guitar. We'll start there. In the meantime, she plays her piano, xylophone or pretend violin every night. The pretend violin consists of holding a stick under her chin while moving another stick across it...it's really sweet to watch.

When Amelia and I were driving back from my dad's house I decided to try out some hip hop music with her. I'm driving my dad's car right now (while he patiently fixes my problem car) which has Bose speakers in it. She asked me to "turn it loud" so she could dance (in her car seat). I had her "raising the roof" ... it was a pretty funny sight if you were in the car next to us, I'm sure. Now when we're in the car she dictates what kind of music she wants to hear and when she's tired of it she simply says, "No more songs. Quiet."

"I do it. I do it." is also a phrase you will hear quite frequently. Shortly followed by, "I did it!" She has become very independent and helpful. She likes to help make our meals (put the pasta in the water, pour her own drink, place her waffle in the toaster oven, etc.), get herself dressed, pick out her clothes, clean up her toys (while she sings "Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up" — this must be something she picked up from school).

I think I'd like to keep her at this age forever. I just love it!

Christmas in Warren ... and a healthy check up

The morning after Christmas we packed up and headed to Warren. Having no set plans for the entire weekend we just sorta went with the flow and it worked out wonderfully. Amelia LOVES Buni and Beeps' house. She makes herself right at home — probably because Buni gives up her room for Amelia.

We all went over to Tusa Jennie and Uncle Pete's house on Saturday afternoon. For some reason Amelia kept calling them Uncle Jennie and Pete. Later, Beeps made us a fire downstairs to keep us all warm and cozy ... this took me back to my childhood! I remember having a fire in the basement almost every Sunday in the winter when I was growing up. The house was always filled with aunts, uncles and cousins. I long for those days sometimes...and I know I'm blessed to have those memories. It meant a lot that my daughter was able to experience the same feeling I had as a child.

While enjoying the glowing fire Amelia also made sure everyone got a check-up from Dr. Harris. The crack wasn't planned, it was just a funny addition to the photos.


Saturday evening was spent with the Hilemans and Isslers. Jessica and Justin are Amelia's Godparents so it was extra special that we got to spend time with them. Amelia absolutely LOVES them too. I only wish we could see them more often. I hate that we live so far apart. (They live in Virginia for those that don't know them). The Hileman's house was filled with cousins galore. It took Amelia a little while to warm up to so many people but she soon made herself at home.



Sunday morning we went to church and then over to Aunt Tami's for lunch. This is a house that all children dream about running around and seeing how much trouble they can get into! Thankfully Amelia was on her good behavior that day. I wish I had photos of all the beautiful Christmas trees in Aunt Tami's house...they were just amazing!

Christmas morning

This might have been the quietest Christmas morning ever. We woke up around 7 and headed downstairs. Some of the presents that Santa left had to be put together ahead of time so we put them together and spread them throughout. Santa left Amelia all kinds of useful necessities for her babydolls. She now has a crib (a miniature pack-n-play), a swing (which also becomes a carrier and a highchair), a diaper bag and stroller. She's really into playing mommy ... we're hoping this is helping in transitioning her into Big Sister, too. Santa also brought her a train table and wooden train set. She loves them all.
In the photo above Amelia had set up Eeyore next to the crib and gave him a book to read to the "baby" who was trying to sleep...she actually said all of this to me...so freakin' cute!


Granny and Nanny came over later that morning and continued to spoil her rotten! Granny got her this super cool doctor kit that Amelia just can't get enough of. We all then headed to a "Christmas Story" style lunch ... at a Chinese restaurant. It was perfectly wonderful. Especially the part about not having to cook or clean up!
After lunch we attempted a family photo by the tree. Why is it that these never work out for me!? This was the best we got.
Don't forget ... if you click on the photos you can view them larger.

To Grandpa's house we go...

After leaving Hali's on Saturday night Amelia and I headed to the west side of Cleveland to have dinner with Stephanie Parker, a friend from high school...also due in May! (There's about 10 people I personally know that are due between March and the end of May...it's kinda crazy!) Grandpa and Grandma were out at a friend's holiday party so it was just Amelia and I. We got in pretty late (late in toddler time...it was 9pm.) Amelia had fallen asleep in the car which worked out rather well for me. I unloaded all of our stuff and set up her bed and then brought her inside. Of course that's when she woke up. She wanted nothing to do with sleeping at this point! Just my luck. I tried and tried and she wasn't going to let me out of her sight so I laid down with her on the air mattress I brought with us. And as my luck would have it the air mattress had a slow leak in it.

Amelia and I ended up sleeping in a twin bed together for 2 nights. If you would've told me this was how it was going to work out I might have dreaded it, but in all honesty, sleeping next to your daughter you can learn a lot about her. I found out that she talks and giggles in her sleep and she is a super cuddler. She rolled over a couple times throughout the night and put her arm around me ... it was so comforting and sweet.



Making breakfast with my dad is a tradition. He'd always let us sit on the counter and stir the eggs before scrambling them. (A real treat at 4 years old!) Now it's Amelia's turn. Today we had our favorite cinnamon rolls and Amelia helped Grandpa prepare them.





That afternoon down in the Valley we lucked into the most beautiful setting where Santa Claus was visiting. I was really bummed that Tyler wasn't with us since this was Amelia's first Santa visit. It turned out that Amelia wasn't so sure she wanted to see Santa anyways ... not upclose and without mom, at least. But it was worth all the photos and videos that I got.

A visit with Aunt Hali

Amelia and I decided we needed to see Aunt Hali and Uncle Mark. So on the 19th we headed up. Amelia was so comfortable with them and their home that it made the visit absolutely perfect. Usually Amelia doesn't sleep too well in unfamiliar places ... Aunt Hali's house was like her second home ... it was strange yet welcome! We had so much fun catching up and comparing pregnancy notes.


At this time Hali was 23 weeks and I was 19 weeks.

Aunt Hali took Amelia on her first train ride, too! We rode the RTA through town and Amelia thought it was the coolest thing. It's always so much fun to experience something again AND for the first time, with your child. The wonderment on Amelia's face was priceless.