Oh, the talking! And talking and talking....

First of all. My camera is still broken. I have been taking film photos these past few weeks but sure enough have not gotten any developed. So no new photos. I've posted an older one, of Amelia trying to dress herself. I found her this way. She had gone to her room to find a shirt (to put on top of the one she was already wearing) and climbed up on the couch and spent the next 10 minutes quietly trying to put in on. The kid is determined to dress herself. She even has a thing or two to say about what I pick out for her to wear at times. This morning she went and found a flowery knit skirt to pull on over her hippo pajamas. She is currently outside with Ford wearing the above described outfit. Self expression. One and a half years old and already picking out her outfits. I may be in for it.

An update: If you read my last blog, Baby Finn is home now. He is doing much better from what I understand. He will have to be on a strict diet for the rest of his life. As far as neurological damage, I'm not sure that they know yet...so the keep praying for him! I know the prayers are greatly appreciated.

What's new with Amelia these days...it's been some time since I've posted about her. The biggest thing is the TALKING. She's saying it all these days. Three to four word phrases even. Like "mommy sirt lellow." This morning she was talking to herself about Ivey and Elsa coming home from their trip to Colorado..."ome, Ivey airpane...ome, Elsa airpane." She actually spouts off entire monologues of which I can understand every third word or so. And I smile and nod and and reply when I can or say enthusiatic things like "really?" "woww" to which she replies all wide eyed "yah" and then just keeps talking...It's amazing how all of those words are just up there in her little brain and they just form and come out of her mouth at will now. Everyday we hear words she's never said before and it couldn't be more fun. She has started calling us "honey" because we say that to her and she hears us say it to each other.

One of the reasons I did not post a blog these last few weeks was because we had a string of visitors. First cousin Anna, then Uncle Tom, Aunt Maryellen with Sarah and Kera, then Grandma and Grandpa Turrell. Then for the the Easter weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Lotoszinski with Aunt Michelle, Sam and Christopher. It was a busy and fun filled few weeks. Easter was great complete with Easter bonnet (from G & G Loto), an Easter egg hunt, Easter baskets featuring such goodies as a brand new jump rope, books, bracelets, stickers and plastic eggs filled with coins for the water fountain. (How nice to believe that the only purpose for money is to throw in the "wa-wa.")
So a last random "picture this" if you will...
Sam and Christopher had an unusual string of good luck playing "The Claw" game featured at the hotel in Indianapolis on their trip down south. Literally upon arrival, (bless them), they could not wait to shower Amelia with at least 8 - 10 of their prizes, so sweet. Apparently they "could not lose." Amelia became the happy recipient of such carnival quality prizes as a large pink pig, a kelly green lamb, a difficult to describe bright blue and green multi-colored bunny...and you get the idea.
As I spent the week cleaning up and putting away Easter remnants after all had departed, I decided that our house was already over-flowing with toys and so I chose a few of our "claw" friends to take out of circulation, for now, and store in the basement. I placed them strategically by the basement door with the empty Easter baskets, etc. to put away after Amelia went to bed. Last night, right before she went to bed, Ford decided to take a few things down...Amelia happened to round the corner and caught a glimpse of Ford as he walked down with an armload, pink pig peaking over his shoulder. I could see the panic hit her and right then I knew that she knew the fate of her new friends...Ford had shut the door behind him but that did not stop her...Amelia immediately dropped to her tummy and pushed up the flap to the cat door, poked her little face through the opening and cried out to save who she could "PIGGY! PIGGYYY!" Tears and more crying out...heartbreaking. Ford was caught in his tracks and of course he felt he had no choice but to turn around and come back upstairs, with piggy and friends in hand to return them to their rightful owner.

Baby Finn

No photo today. Our digital camera is broken, again. Not sure when it will get resolved at this point so bear with me.
This blog is a prayer request for a little baby here in Nashville named Finn. He is the newborn son of a friend of my good friend Elizabeth. I met Courtney once at a play group at Elizabeth's house where Amelia and Courtney's 3 year old daughter, Maggie, played.
Courtney gave birth to Finn on March 18th. Within a few days of life, Finn was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Isovaleric Acidemia and he was admitted to the PICU at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital where he remains for now. From what I understand, this is a rare disorder in which the body does not break down protein and thus overproduces ammonia. The high levels of ammonia caused some major problems for Finn early on they weren't sure at one point if he would make it...but thankfully they have managed to get his levels down and he improved. He is still in the ICU and has a ways to go. Amazingly, his doctor at Vandy, happens to be one of the leading authorities on this disease and even developed the protocol for treatment for it. Huge blessing! Though he continues to show signs of improvement, his parents have been prepared for Finn to have possible neurological damage.
This is where you come in...please pray for little Finn. For his comfort, for NO neurological damage and for complete and total healing of course! Please pray for his parents and family to find peace and hope during this very difficult and stressful time. We all know and have seen what amazing things God can do and we all know the power of prayer. So lift him up and add him to your daily prayer list. I know his family appreciates it. Healing happens.

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Outfit by daddy: wool winter scene sweater, polka dot shirt,
pink capri pants,polka-dot socks, green sunflower shoes...

First ponytail!

First spring breaker! Cousin Anna came down to Nashville for her spring break from Interlochen Center for the Arts in Northern Michigan (where she works). We were so happy to have her and Amelia loved her. Wish I had a picture of them hanging out but I failed to take any at first and then our camera broke...could be a while for new blog photos. The above were taken with Anna's camera. Much fun was had by all, Amelia and Anna bonded, and Anna was able to witness many firsts this past week...

1. First ponytail! Her hair is finally long enough in the back to make the teeniest pony...regardless of it's size, she was so proud of it and she pointed out that she was now like Mommy (who wears her hair in a ponytail almost everyday these days) and Anna, and of course "I-I" (her pal Ivey). I have to admit, I got a little choked up...again.
2. Shoes! Amelia puts her own shoes on now. Somehow she knows which shoe goes on which foot. She even velcros them closed, hops to her feet and then claps for herself.
3. While coloring in a coloring book, Amelia dumped out the contents of her crayon box, (I'm talking the big box of Crayola crayons with colors like "Tumbleweed" and "Mac and Cheese"). I decided to take advantage of the moment by encouraging Amelia to practice taking turns with us putting the crayons away. We each took a turn and as I encouraged Amelia to put another crayon away, she hopped to her feet and walked away declaring "mommy turn!" Hmmm.

Anna left this morning and Amelia is still talking about her. Sad to see her go but her visit kicked of a slew of spring break visitors! Can't wait for more fun!

Melting...

Outside at dusk, in jammies, on a warm spring evening...chasing Mister.

Breakfast with Bearw.

One of my favorite things about being Amelia's mom are the surprises. It seems that she manages to pull them out at just the right times. The kind of surprises that remind me she is becoming an independent, sweet and loving little girl. A little human that I have the privilege of guiding and teaching, nurturing and loving. As scary and challenging as it seems some days, and as I often find myself questioning myself at every turn, it's the most important job I have ever taken on and absolutely without question, my very favorite. The rewards are immeasurable and sometimes, well, surprising.
Lately, after a few books and only a few minutes of rocking together in her big cozy rocker, she has been asking to lie down in her bed to fall asleep in her favorite position. On her tummy, knees tucked in, bum in the air, hands placed under her belly with elbows out (to keep them warm I imagine) with her mommy shirt tucked on up under there too. But yesterday was a little different...as I was laying her down in her crib and she assumed this cozy position, she picked her head up, turned her big brown eyes up at me and for the first time, without me saying it first and without prompting, she sweetly and softly said "ub youuu." For those of you who don't read Amelia language, that means "I love you." I swear if it was possible to melt away, I think I might have right then and there. And surprisingly, as if my heart wasn't full enough, I actually felt it grow. It was quite possibly the sweetest surprise.

Happy 19 months!

Elsa and Amelia sharing a hug at the zoo.

Amelia and Ivey checking out the iguanas.

A little sidewalk chalk with GiGi.

So excited to go to the pool with Daddy.

Warm and sunny spring evening on a blanket in the grass.

Amelia is 19 months today. Hard to believe in just 5 short months she'll be 2. She had her 18 months well visit this past week. Happy to report all is well and she did great. She is a healthy toddler top to bottom. She did cry the entire time we were there...beginning in the parking lot. I think we have a bit of a reputation at the office now. :) She is 24 lbs and 12 oz which puts her in the 60th percentile for weight. She is 32.5 inches tall...75th percentile for height and her head is 49 cm...97th percentile. :) Yes, overall the visit was a bit stressful, but as promised mid doctor visit we took her out for a pizzie when it was all over. She ate almost 2 pieces and seemed to forget about how upset she was and even hi-fived us when we told her how brave she had been. Poor little nugget.
Some new things in our world. Amelia has started calling herself "Mimi" as this is what her little friend Elsa across the street has stated calling her. Admittedly Amelia is a tough one for the little ones to say. Where before when Amelia would try to verbalize when she wanted something or related herself to something going on around her, she would point to herself, eyebrows raised, and make kind of a questioning high-pitched "mm?" Now it's pointing at herself while asking, "Mimi? Mimi?" As if to say, "can I have some of that?" or "it's my turn?" or "i have one of those too?" It's pretty cute actually.
She has also started calling me "mommy" instead of "mama." It's bittersweet in a way since she's been saying mama since she was a wee one. Lots of new words, even tougher ones like "bookstore" and "outside." She likes to point out when people have on "jeans," which is interesting to me since she hardly ever wears them and I don't recall talking about them extensively at any point. She is intrigued by Smokey the Bear on the back of her Little Golden Books as he wears jeans...no shirt or shoes mind you but he does wear a hat and he carries a shovel. It is a little odd, can't blame her for wondering.
Oh, and tonight after her bath, she ran her little naked self down the hall and into the kitchen to see Ford who was doing the dishes. I stayed behind to clean up the bathroom and after a few minutes I heard..."OH, YUP, that's your poop, don't step in it." I walked in to find Amelia had pooped on the kitchen floor. A first...only took 19 months.

Tea with monkey and pee pee on the potty!

Tea.

Crumpets.

Isn't it a lovely morning, monkey?

Well, today was a big day. It started off like any other day, morning tea with monkey, playing outside in her tutu, the usual. But what made today different was actually quite a big event in our world! The first pee pee on the potty! And isn't that just the way it goes that it caught us all a bit off guard. Here's the story:
Ford and Amelia were playing in the living room as I cooked dinner in the kitchen. He noticed she was fidgeting with her diaper so he asked her, "do you have to go pee pee?" She nodded. "Do you want to go on the potty?" She nodded again.

Now keep in mind, Amelia has not been all that interested in actually sitting on her potty, and when she does, it's very brief and nothing ever happens, but the wheels are always turning so we act out the whole thing anyway.

So, off to the bathroom they went...off with the pants and diaper as she sat down on her little green and blue, ten dollar, plastic potty. She stood up after a few seconds, turned around, looked down at her potty and waved goodbye to her pee pee...as usual, there was no pee pee there but Ford went along with it as we always do. She decided to sit down again and Ford asked her if this time she wanted to look at a magazine. Again, she nodded. She flipped through the pages and they exchanged small talk when suddenly, Ford caught a glimpse of something glistening...pee pee! He called for me and I ran in...she stood up, looked at her real live pee pee but seemed a bit oblivious as to the magnitude of what had just taken place. So, we clapped for her and congratulated her and the bigger deal we made of it, the happier she was. Ford gave her some toilet paper and she even wiped! (She's been practicing wiping for a few weeks now). She beamed with pride as all three of us sat in the bathroom, Amelia still on her potty, clapping gleefully as she looked back and forth at Ford and then myself, still trying to figure out what the all fuss was about.
It was then that I had one of those moments...when I feel like it's all happening too fast. How did we get here...already? Really? Ford and I exchanged a knowing glance as we continued to clap and I swallowed over the growing lump in my throat. She's big now, I kept thinking, not just because she finally peed on the potty, tomorrow she may want nothing to do with it, but because she can. Next thing I know she'll be attending her first day of school, riding a bike, losing her first tooth...
Next, there was hugging and more praise and I asked her if she wanted a treat...more excited nodding...and she ran down the hall with her little bare butt, toward the kitchen, still clapping.
I didn't even care if reinforcing the whole potty thing with a treat was the wrong thing to do, because it seemed like the right thing to do and she enjoyed every little bit of her little dish of vanilla ice-cream, very much.

OUT!

Library story hour.

Exploring.

Amelia and GiGi...kind of look alike in this one...she is her mommy.

Ford and Amelia out looking at the moon.

Enjoying soup and bread with GiGi. She insisted they sit together.

Determined.

Bubbles.

It has been very warm here in Nashville...spring-like even. Which is good, great actually and we are enjoying every minute as I am reminded by native Tennesseans, it will get cold again. Since the warm weather started, we have spent every free minute outside, playing...ball, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, lots of walks and pushing the dolly stroller up and down the block and even a trip to the zoo. Amelia LOVES being outside. In fact, as soon as she wakes up she heads for the door enthusiastically yelling, "OUT! OUT!"

Lots of perks about being outside right now...the temp of course, seeing neighbors out and about, lots of "doggas" on walks with those neighbors, no chiggers or mosquitoes, and all of the running around and fresh air makes for one sleepy kid at nap and bed-time. Love it!
Above are a few photos of Amelia enjoying this sneak peek of spring.