Peek-a-boo Video clip

Here is a clip of Amelia playing peek-a-boo with Ford. Watch for her to psych him out...

Peek-a-boo and Blue Beetle Bug

Its seems everywhere we go, people say, "oh look, a Kewpie baby," so I have included this photo for those of you who don't know what a Kewpie doll is. I figured the mohawk won't be around too much longer so we'll enjoy this rollie-pollie Kewpie stage of her life while it lasts.

Amelia is now 24 weeks old. I wish I knew how the age thing worked. When do we stop counting weeks? Because she's 24 weeks, does that mean that she is 6 months old or does she turn 6 months on the 7th of February? Let's just say she's almost 6 months old as not to rush things.
The latest and greatest include her love of the game peek-a-boo. She just figured out how to participate in this game. She pulls various things over her eyes...a cloth diaper, a baby blanket, and hangs out while I pretend I can't see her, you know, "where did the baby go?" You know how it works. Anyway, she pulls it off, all by herself, and waits for me to react with a loud "peek-a-boo!" What could be more hilarious? I know she is not the first baby ever to play this game, but it's new in our world and I couldn't believe she just picked yesterday as the day she decided to initiate it on her own. Cuteness.
Speaking of playing, she has her favorite toys already. She loves this hand me down cloth book she got from her cousins that has sparkly and metallic bugs in it. She loves the blue beetle with fabulous, bright, blue, metallic, fabric wings that stick right out of the page. Tactile heaven. She actually flips the pages to find him in all of his sparkliness. She is enthralled with his wings spending minutes on end staring at them in deep concentration, grabbing them, exploring them with her hands and licking them. Today in the car she fell asleep just holding onto them. How cute is that.
This week, she has also starting exploring the "mmm" sound. That's right, you know what her first word will be..."mama." She actually said it the day before yesterday, not intentionally I'm sure, but I heard it and it was music to my ears.
Though she loves all of her books, her favorites right now seem to be Goodnight Moon and Mr. Brown Can Say Moo. She loves the cock-a-doodle-do noises...again, who knew how hilarious...?
She sits up tripod style although still a little unsteady. Her toes continue to be tasty treats and now she looks for them by pulling her socks off. She's continues to roll from back to tummy, but can't seem to get back once she's there which is the cause of major frustration for her. She tends to throw a bit of a fit when she's stuck. Feisty. She LOVES Mister. She hears him me meowing in the other room and looks for him. Her eyes get huge when she sees him and when he approaches her, she reaches out excitedly to grab him, hard I might add. He's really good around her, actually. It's nice to know they'll be friends. He used to run in the other direction at the sight of kids/babies but he seems to have accepted her finally, which is nice. He's got no choice really.
She's tried lots of new foods, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, squash...so far everything is yummy. She did change her mind about peas however, not so good the second time around. Next we'll try avocados.
She is a happy, healthy almost 1/2 year old baby and we are so thankful. We love sharing her with you, thank you for being a part of our blog world. :) God bless your weekend!
love
F,K,A

Facing Out...

Once again, a blog about the Bjorn. It has occurred to me, especially in the last few weeks, that I have been facing Amelia out in her Bjorn carrier, more so than in. She has been facing in most of her life, snuggled up to my chest, arms tucked in, all protected and cozy as we bounce along going about the business of the day or as I take her on long walks around the neighborhood. And almost inevitably, she falls asleep this way, warm and secure and unphased by the world zooming around her.
But lately I've realized she'd probably like to turn around in that thing so she can see the world and explore it from the confines of her funny canvas contraption. So, she rides along facing out with arms flapping like crazy and legs dangling freely as she moves forward through space with my legs as her means of mobility. What a bizarre feeling that must be...to be just kind of hanging there as she "walks" along with her Mom (or her Dad) completely out of her sight. I suppose she is comforted by the sound of my voice and the movement of my breathing against her back, always knowing I am right behind her, supporting her, and carrying her with me where ever I go. And of course she loves it, happy as a clam as she absorbs, like the sponge she is, all the new sights and sounds before her. In fact, we were at the mall the other day standing in line waiting to exchange something when the woman in front of us turned around and started talking to Amelia. It seemed Amelia had been quietly playing with the pretty gold buckles on this lady's purse and of course the nice lady turned around to investigate...until then I hadn't a clue she was doing this and her intentional curiosity made me laugh. It was then that I got a small glimpse of the beginning of her independence from me and I think that's when this realization hit.

When I think about the small changes, even something as simple as turning her around in the Bjorn, I find them bittersweet...as excited and enthralled and amazed as I am with watching her change and grow, a huge part of me can't help but want her to stay small, always holding her close to my chest, and facing in.

Go Green!

Well, sports fans, here she is looking pretty happy wearing her Spartan dress (a gift from her hard-core MSU fan family members). Gearing up for an exciting season of Spartan basketball! Go Green! (Don't be offended Michigan fans, she still roots for U of M football. You don't have to be a fan of the dress, but you can still be a fan of Amelia).

Happy New Year!

New in '08:
Sweet Potatoes...

Reading by osmosis...

Sitting up like a big girl...
(and chillin' with my dolly)

Amelia is now 5 months and 1 week old. She is ever changing and constantly keeps us entertained. No, I did not create the mohawk effect in her hair, it just appeared in the last month or so. She is rolling all over the place and is trying to sit up on her own, she's still working on her balance, a bit top heavy. She has found her toes and has managed to reach them to her mouth, tasty. She has almost mastered putting her own pacifier in her mouth which is a real nice feature, and this morning she even tried to put it in MY mouth. She tried sweet potatoes tonight for the first time and seemed to enjoy them. She continues to drool like crazy but still no sign of a tooth. She is very affectionate and snuggly and seems to be growing up at an alarming rate! (Has anyone read the children's book Someday? Don't do it if you haven't, a real tear jerker. Not worth the money since you can't get through half of it and have to close it up. Ford swore he'd never read it again...)

From the previous blog you can tell she had a blast in Michigan. She was a totally different baby this trip compared to the trip home for Thanksgiving. "They say" there is a huge difference between months 3 and 4 and in Amelia's case, "they" were right. She was very social, she hardly cried and slept surprisingly well wherever we were. She was a champ in the car, she enjoyed the parties and masses of people and the visiting from house to house. Most of all she loved the kids! She's never seen so many little people!
What a different Christmas it was watching my own child experience it for the first time. Not that she knew what was going on, or that she'll remember it, but suddenly in the blink of an eye, everything is different. It's like starting all over again in a way, there is a newness to everything, and we get to sit back and watch it all through her eyes. She gives us a legitimate reason to act like big kids ourselves, which is silly and fun. It's reassuring to know that as an adult, those feelings never really go away, it just takes children to keep them at the surface. They don't even have to be your own children; nieces, nephews, grandchildren, God-children...it's just has to do with how much you love them and how much you enjoy watching them experience life.
We are so excited for the year ahead with Amelia. '07 was certainly eventful and it was the beginning of the newest chapter in our lives. It was full of new experiences and challenges, joy and happiness, as well as fear and immense stress... but ultimately it was a year of the greatest blessings and certainly one that we will never forget. Happy New Year.

My first Christmas in photos...

I was baptized at Holy Spirit Church in
Grand Rapids, Michigan on December 23rd.
It was a special day for all of us.

Me and Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve at
Grandma and Grandpa Turrell's.
Lots of fun and lots of presents!

Feeling festive with my Daddio.

Christmas morning, my very first gift from Santa Claus,
what on earth could it be?

We spent Christmas morning at Aunt Michelle's house,
more fun and more presents!

Grandpa got a fancy new tool. Real nice.

Later we went to my Great Aunt Stefeni's house to celebrate Christmas Day.

I had a great time, I even let everyone hold me.
I like parties now.

Oh my gosh, did you see what I got!!!?

Cozied up and winding things down with a good read.

Merry First Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!