Mommy and Amelia day

Amelia started to have some jealousy issues that started in early August and they were only getting worse. I knew I had to spend some one-on-one time with her so I decided once a month (or so I hope) there will be a mommy and Amelia day. I took the last Friday in August off and Amelia and I had a GREAT day together.

First we had breakfast at First Watch where she told EVERYONE that we were having our "special day" together.

Then we went to Build-A-Bear where Amelia made her very own stuffed animal Owl!




There's a ritual you go through to make your animal your very own...including giving it a heart. She made a wish, kissed the heart and tucked it inside her owl. Then she gave it a "bath." The owl's name is Zizzy. :-)



We then went shopping — Amelia got a new necklace and her very own lip gloss — then enjoyed lunch by the water fountain inside Easton.


The highlight of our day was going to our very first movie in a theater! I thought for sure we'd make it through 20 minutes, if I was lucky, but she loved the experience and sat through the entire movie. We saw Ponyo (by Japanimation legend Miyazaki) about a little goldfish on a quest to become human. It was such a sweet movie. There were only 7 of us in the theater so it was perfect. I can't wait for our next "special day."

August in Review

It's been a long time since I've posted anything...it's been really hard to find time to sit down and do something fun ... taking care of two is just non-stop and I've been trying to get in as much freelance work as possible which means I'm ALWAYS on the computer. I haven't slept much in the past 2 weeks and it's starting to take it's toll on me, but I really wanted to post some new photos of the kids. I hope you enjoy them.


OHIO STATE FAIR

Amelia loved riding the rides by herself.

We stopped in to feed the animals at the petting zoo.

I had asked her if she wanted to ride the horsey and she said yes. So I took her over to the pony rides and she almost threw a fit right then and there...she said, "NO MOMMY. I want to ride the REAL horsey!" Turns out ponies aren't real, but the ones on the carousel are.

We stopped in at the Ag & Hort building and she rode the peddle tractor around the track. Half way through she stopped to get gas and fix the engine ... she's got a great imagination!

Admiring the baby chicks and ducks.

We rode the HUGE ferris wheel together. I was more nervous than she was!


Painting the OSF art wall.



BACKYARD FUN
It's been the coolest August in memory but this one day was so HOT that Tyler
and I even got in the pool with Amelia. It's amazing how much fun you can have in such a tiny pool.

She was trying to drown Tyler.



AUNT RACHEL'S VISIT

Rachel, one of my best friends from back home, had a conference here in Columbus so she stayed with us one evening. Amelia loved having the extra attention and I had some much-needed girlfriend time!


DANCE PARTY
We had some friends come over a couple weekends ago and one of them brought her nephew over to play. Amelia and her new friend, Reece, danced and giggled until they were sweating. I didn't get the greatest photos of them but they were hysterical to watch!


NEVER turn your back on your almost-3-year-old when she says she's putting on her lipstick.
She was holding crayons in her hands when she said this so I didn't think much of it. I turned away for 5 seconds, looked back and THIS is what I saw! Thank goodness they were washable markers.


I WANNA BE LIKE DADDY

Oliver stole daddy's hat. I'm not really sure who it looks better on.

She's reached the age where clothes just get in her way. Hopefully she outgrows this quickly! She'd go completely naked if we'd let her.

My Millie-G

Just being goofy with daddy.
Click on me to make me bigger ... you'll appreciate my surly (and sweet) faces even more.

My Ollie-Pop

Click on me to make me bigger. I'm so cute, you know you want to. Go on. Click.

break-through weekend

After taking care of both of the kids it was inevitable that I was going to get sick. (Thankfully Tyler didn't.) Last Friday I had a temp of 102.6 — fever, chills, body aches, sore throat — the whole 9 yards. I forced myself to go to work for a little bit but just couldn't make it. Tyler came home with the kids and Amelia said, "Mommy, I have to apologize to you....I'm sorry I got you sick" and gave me the biggest hug. This was a step in the right direction. She even took a nap at school!

My mom came in town that night and got to spend some time with the kids. She gave Oliver a bath for me and put him to bed and she sang with Amelia as they watched The Sound of Music. It was a really nice night.

Tyler and I were afraid to get too relaxed, not knowing if Amelia was going to come at us again with her behavioral issues. That night I thanked Amelia for being such a good girl. She crawled into bed and told me, "See Mom, I brought Good Amelia Grace back. I told you I would."

That child is just too smart for her own good.

The rest of the weekend went wonderfully! She took 3-hour long naps, slept great at night, was a good listener, and was very helpful all weekend. She was a little strange though — she didn't want to go outside to play, refused to go to the park and didn't want to ride her bike — all of her favorite things to do. She said she just wanted to sit on the couch and listen to music. So we did. On Sunday evening we made dinner and took it to the park — she had fun afterall.

Bad attitude

It started with Amelia acting out, not napping at school and being a genuinely bad kid. Even the teachers at school were telling us that they felt sorry for us. Then 4am one morning Amelia wakes up screaming, "I can't breathe." She felt like she was on fire. She had a temp of 102 and was coughing uncontrollably. I took Oliver to school that day and stayed with Amelia. Typically when she's sick she just wants to sit on the couch and cuddle. THIS TIME WAS DIFFERENT. She was a PUNK! As her cough worsened so did her attitude. So what's a parent to do? Give in. And so, within reason, we did. BIG MISTAKE. That child knows how to take advantage of you and any situation. You give her an inch and she takes 10 miles!

That same weekend Oliver came down with a fever too. And then a rash. Turns out he had Roseola ... and so did a handful of other kids in his classroom. By the time the rash comes out he's no longer contagious. He did really well the whole time actually. He didn't eat as much as normal but he was still my happy baby.

Amelia stayed home from school a few more days. Her fever broke but she didn't look the greatest and her cough was awful. And she was becoming more difficult to handle. Nothing made this child happy. Nothing. You can imagine the tension in our house that week — we weren't very pleasant to be around. She wasn't sleeping which meant we weren't sleeping. I gave in one night and put her in bed with me. She was up every 45 minutes. It was miserable.

When she finally went back to school she was misbehaving there too — more than usual. Tyler and I even discussed possibly needing to call a therapist...for her AND us.

She was so terrible some nights that she was going to bed at 6:30 — and without dinner. We felt like failures.

Then one night as I was putting her to bed I explained to her that mommy and daddy were very sad and that we missed our Good Amelia Grace. That we were tired of seeing Bad Amelia Grace. That we used to have so much fun with Good Amelia Grace and we hoped that one day she'd come back. That little stinker sat up in bed and said, "I can bring her back. I can bring Good Amelia Grace back, mommy." and leaned over and gave me a hug. Damn she's good.