These are a few of my favorite things

Here's some fun things Amelia likes to do in Snohomish....



Amelia loves to visit Hannah the beautiful horse!! Okay, okay...so maybe this was more of a little treat for mom. Hannah is just one month behind me in her pregnancy. I think she knows I'm pregnant, too. We bond.









There are lots of fun parks in Snohomish! And the best part: They're NOT crowded. Amelia loves chasing ducks and geese. We've bought bread to throw at them, but the fighting over the bread sort of turns it into a negative experience. So she just chases them instead.








Since we live on a lake, we go find rocks to put in a bucket and then go throw them in the water. She hands me rocks and likes to watch me throw it far. And yeah, I kind of like to show off for her, biting my lower lip and grunting to really huck it out there.

On Wednesday mornings we dress up and head to Bible Study Fellowship. This is where I drop her off in a class with other toddlers and we are each in our classes for two hours. The children's teaching leader has identified Amelia as a "Victory". In other words, the first couple weeks were a little rough making the adjustment of separating. But every week has gotten easier, and her instructors have told me she's getting really fun to have in class.

Amelia loves brushing her teeth. With each toothbrush. For about 10-15 minutes. Now, whether or not she's actually effectively brushing her teeth, I don't care. If I've somehow convinced her that personal hygiene is fun to do several times a day, I consider that success.

The Big Move

No, I didn't mean to get that kid running in the picture. But it sure looks like I did.


A few weeks ago, this little family took on three days of a moving, packing and transitional fiasco, and we have moved up to Snohomish, WA. We are staying at a one-bedroom apartment above a garage, located on a lake 30 minutes outside of town. The apartment is roomy, and the lake is beautiful and quiet. The place is owned by some extremely generous family friends that are the picture of kindness. I did not expect that we would be so much happier here. There are so many elements that have made our move prove to be the right choice and a real gift. We feel like a complete family, with dad home from work quickly and lovely evenings that aren't rushed the moment he walks in. We've found a church that we really love, we actually want to stay there and visit with people when the service is over (which we've NEVER done). And I've joined BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) for my 6th year here, and even more exciting is that Amelia was placed in her first class this year! I also live close to a long-time friend, who is mother of two of Amelia's good friends. I've also made new friends that I feel like I've been best friends with for years, and I've fallen in love with a group of fantastic women who are as in love with God, their husbands and their children as I am. We live closer to Grant's family, which is an immense blessing, and convenient for date night :). I'm sad that I had to move further from my family, but I know that I can (AND WILL) hop on the ferry and spend a couple days there as often as I need. We are so happy, and so thankful for this new stage in our life.

Our new mailing address, for anyone who'd like it, is PO Box 1855, Snohomish, WA 98291. We don't have internet where we live, but I'll try to keep blogging and updating as much as possible.

Amelia and the deer

A few weekends ago, Grant took Amelia scouting around my parents house, looking for signs of deer activity for hunting season. Grant took Amelia on a hike for a little over an hour, and they saw four deer! One of which, they were able to get very close to. Grant said that when Amelia saw it, her mouth dropped, she pointed at it and said "assshhhh!!" (Meaning "Cash", our dog's name, which is what she says when she's excited about something). Then she gave the deer one of her big arm waves to say hello.

Since then, if Amelia sees a deer or something that resembles a deer, she is in awe. The mouth drops, and she gives a big gasp. It looks something like this...

This photo was taken while dad was watching the hunting channel.

Also, this summer has been a blast, and I've been given lots of breaks thanks again to my sisters and mom. But now that school is starting, Meg is going back to school and Grant and I are looking at some new oppurtunities for our whereabouts in the future, it's hard to know what the next few months will look like. But I do know this has been a fantastic summer and I'm so thankful for all the special memories I've been blessed with, like this one...

family jewels

We all have our weird phobias. Some people can't stand spiders, some heights, some water. And then there are some people out there who are literally spooked by very strange things, like...jewelery. I was surprised to learn that my good-ol'-boy-husband has this jewelry phobia. Necklaces, rings, earrings, you name it, he hates it. He's not "scared" of jewelry, but he really is grossed out by it. He's very specific about when jewelry crosses the point of disgust for him, but he will make it clear that he can't stand it, especially in piles on a counter and especially not in someones mouth. Interestingly enough, his little sister shares this phobia. After doing a little research online, although rare, there really are people who are grossed out by jewelry.

When I first learned of this, naturally I did what any normal person would do, I dangled as much shiny jewelry in front of his face as I could, saying "Really? This is gross to you? Really??" And then watch him cringe and gag. "This?" with a little more shaking near his face. If I'm feeling down and need a laugh now and then, I'll get out a big ol' necklace and watch him go. It always seems to lift my spirits.

Well, as you'll see in this video, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....

good morning, beautiful

Amelia is becoming a kissing expert. I get awoken every morning to little hands grabbing the sides of my head, turning me toward her and then I receive several big, wet, loud kisses from tiny lips right on my mouth. And she doesn't always close her mouth to give you one of her REAL smooches. Of all the things in the world, nothing can beat getting woken up this way. I have been so pleased that she also gives other people kisses when asked nicely.

So yes, we do bring Amelia into our bed in those early morning hours when she wakes up much too soon for us. What a special time this is!! Snuggling and kissing, hearing her sit up and say, "hi! hi!", and then crash down on us for more snuggling.



Since it's the end of July, my little toddler has also earned a very nice little tan. It's so special to have a little person, squishy legs and fingers sprawled all over me, who is the exact same color as me in the summertime. And hard not to giggle when Grant holds her, who is not so bronze, to see such a big difference in color! Of course, her sweet round little face, bushy eyebrows and deep dimples reveal that she is indeed his baby girl.


Watching Amelia running around, learning more everyday and changing so quickly made us look forward to watching our family grow. That's why I'm 7 weeks pregnant with our next baby :)

it's no big deal...

BUT SHE'S WALKING!!!!



and if you think it's really cool...(like we do of course) here's a really long video of her first night of walking!!

salmon with raspberries

A couple of videos for you...

Amelia not only feeds herself, but also helps dad finish his dinner.

This is a little post-bath ritual she's been doing for a few months now. I think this must break some type of record for a person her age.

Bless my sisters

Since becoming a mom my eyes have been opened to how fortunate I am to be blessed with so many sisters, and of course a fantastic sister-in-law. If there's one thing I hope to give Amelia it is the gift of a family like I have. I don't know what I would do without the unconditional comfort and support I receive immediately from each of them, while they expect nothing in return. So many times I just need a "we've been there" phone call from an experienced older sister with tried-and-true ideas; or the comfort that comes from one of them saying "it's a stage, there's absolutely nothing you can do but hang in there". Not to mention the familiar way they all can grab Amelia and shower her with kisses, knowing exactly how to make a 13-month old giggle. I can just sit back knowing there is not a hint of judgement in any of them, only a genuine nod of the head that they know exactly how fun, frustrating and frantic having a toddler can be.

And the very special blessing that I have that very few people get, is a twin sister. Meg is not only just the aunt that looks, talks and moves exactly like Amelia's mom; but she is the living, breathing version of me, pre-Amelia. I get a peek at who I was before everything changed. In other words, I get a timely "what the heck are you doing??" from Megan to remind me of who I was, and standards I had before Amelia came along. For example, pleasant suggestions to not let Amelia completely run my life, or demanding me to give her to a grandma and get the heck out of the house. Or to remind me that some people actually enjoy talking about things other than naps, laundry, and how my daughter is the cutest, funniest and smartest.

So, all this to say I don't know what I would do without my sisters. I would be lost and crazy. Lost...and crazy. I love all of you.

roughing it will have to wait

Grant and I love camping, are good at it, and have always been pretty low-maintenance when it comes to sleeping arrangements and necessities. I love the old saying, "You don't prepare to fail, you fail to prepare", and have always thought that with efficient planning and packing, any camping trip can be a ton of fun. Amelia strongly proved us wrong last weekend. We went camping with my parents and Sam and Faye (5 y/o niece & nephew) up at Whiskey Creek. It was beautiful weather, my parents trailer is big, nice, new, clean and comfortable and my mom is literally a loving servant for us. I did a fantastic job packing everything we would need. Yet, Amelia had an incredibly difficult time sleeping at night. Even with the gorgeous view and peaceful surroundings, our lack of sleep left us (mostly me) crabby and tense. Bringing a one year old camping is a difficult task, and the worry of bothering the people you may be camping with only magnifies the stress. This little lesson can only be learned through experience, especially if you have a "we can handle it, we're tougher than most people" type of attitude like myself.

I know it's my fault; I've trained Amelia to be a high maintenance kid. But in looking back over the last year, I don't regret making life as comfortable as possible for Amelia's first year. Maybe with the second kid I won't be so crazy; unconciously tending to her every need to assure smooth naps, mealtimes, playing, and evenings. I can honestly say I've done the best I can without knowing what the heck I'm doing, and learning as I go.

Even with the rough nights, there were definitely some fun times during our trip. And yes, we will definitely be doing this again, just not with a one-year old :) Someday Amelia will learn to rough it.

taste of success

I have mentioned swim lessons a few times now. Well, yesterday we had a real break-through. Amelia has moved up to the next age level since turning one. She is the youngest one in her class of eight toddlers. All of them are walking, while she can barely stand on her own. So, although she fits in pretty well, she doesn't follow all of the activities perfectly. By the end of class she gets frustrated with me moving her arms and feet for her, trying to get her to paddle and kick while I hold her, and usually ends up just hugging me so I'll quit treating her like a puppet.

Yesterday, that all changed. I don't know if it was the long nap and full tummy before class, but Amelia was finally kicking and paddling on her own, letting me hold her an arms length away from me, and holding onto the water dumbbells while I led her around.


These are water dumbbells. She floats on her tummy while stretching her little arms out and hold onto the bar of this floating dumbbell. I thought it would take years for her to get the hang of this, judging from previous awkward and somewhat frustrating attempts. She looked so adorable and content floating on the water with her chubby little legs fanned out behind her. I have to admit I kind of guided her toward our instructer a few more times than necessary, making sure she saw Amelia's success.

I know this is probably so boring to everyone else, but I'm getting a taste of that crazy joy my parents probably got from watching me and Meg succeed in sports. I even had this weird urge to stop somewhere for a milkshake after swim lessons to reward her for a great job!! But I'll wait a couple more years for that :)

Long days made worth it

While Grant's new job is a fantastic oppurtunity and will hopefully pay off, his 12-14 hour work days make for an endless day for this ol' mom. In addition, me trying to squeeze every moment she's asleep into typing reports for Lee means I am literally working a 24 hour day. It is not easy, and leaves me feeling exhausted, cranky, and a bit frustrated at times.

However, I've found a few things that make it all worth it. Even when I feel like I want to give up, when it's time to rock Amelia to sleep, everything is okay. She literally melts into my arms, her chubby cheek lays on my shoulder facing me, and her light little arms hold my neck and I get to watch her drift to sleep as we rock together. Her perfectly shaped little mouth usually hangs open with those sweet little lips, and I feel each warm breath on my neck. Any frustration I had washes away, and I feel truly happy.

Also, when Grant's gone for so much of the day, it makes the times that we get to have together so much more special. I am so thankful for my little family.

On the mend

After a few days following the worst of the flu, Amelia's starting to feel a little better. Slowly getting back to her playful self.

Yep, definitely getting back to normal around here. I just don't know how she could've gotten sick.

Aaaaaaannnnd another little giggling video for you...

Here's another video, it's kind of long if you have a minute, of Amelia doing something that would only interest those who melt at her every move. We're trying to restrengthen and bulk up Amelia's quads back to what they were pre-flu. I think it's working...

first time home with the pukes

Amelia woke up this morning with her first flu. Few things are more heart wrenching than watching your child throw up for the first time. Amelia puked 3 times this morning. Not knowing what was happening to her, she just wanted to hold on to me and cry while her body was doing a very unfamiliar, uncontrollable thing. I tried to lean her over the sink, but the last thing she wanted was for me to hold her little body away from me. So I just let her puke over my shoulder, down the back of my shirt and partially into my hair. I cannot believe how little I cared about how gross that is and was more upset listening to her struggle. This will hopefully pass by the end of the day, but in the mean time I've been washing soiled clothes and blankies and have made my magical home made chicken noodle soup.

As many-a-sisters have told me before, she is generally happy when she's not puking and doesn't really understand what it means when she's sick. So, what she doesn't know can't harm her, and I put her right back to work. Hey, those floors aren't going to clean themselves! And she's the one who ruined those clothes, she should wash them and put them away! ...it's good for her.

I'M KIDDING!! These photos were taken on days she wasn't sick.
(well, the last two were, anyways)

We made it, Amelia!

Amelia celebrates her first birthday today. Of course, I can't believe she's one already, but at the same time, it has been a very long year! I'm thinking back to what I was doing this day last year, and man, that was an incredible day. Now I watch Amelia shove peanut butter toast in her mouth, take a giant swig of water from her sippy cup while she watches Jake Gyllenhaal on Sesame Street. She looks over at me and covers her mouth during a fake cough, and then keeps eye contact with me while she slowly drops a chunk of toast on the floor for her drooling buddy. I'm in awe of this little soul that's changed so much already. What will she be like next year? What will I be like next year?

Grant has taken a new job in Lynnwood, which is about an hour commute. We're sacrificing a lot for his new position, but are hoping it will be well worth it. Eventually we're going to need to sell our house and move up north. Big plans for this little family, and evidently, a lot can happen in a year.

Look at that mop on Amelia!

We celebrated Amelia's first birthday in Belfair last week. Very sweet little party, lots of balloons (Amelia's favorite), mom barbequed burgers and I made cupcakes. A great time was had by all! The next day we went for a hike on Mud Mountain with our good friends Rick and Raederle. I think Amelia seemed to enjoy it, she loves them.

I finally caved and let her have her birthday cupcake.

PRESENTS!!

Amelia loves to snuggle-snuggle. Especially super soft bunnies from Gramma Stella!

Raederle the comedian.

Nothin' like a little peek-a-boo to wrap up a great day.

Amelia's personality is in full-bloom

I am loving watching Amelia's little personality and expressions become more and more apparent. She lavishes herself in anything that resembles a beautiful necklace; her current favorite is Cash's purple leash. There are times she won't go anywhere without wrapping it around herself like a scarf. It's so funny when she stops whatever she's doing, as if she's just remembered she needed something in her bedroom, and then turns to crawl quickly down the hall, breathing heavy "sssh--sshhh-sshhh's" and slapping her hands and knees down the hardwood, with a quick turn toward me to make sure I know she's doing something very important, then back to the slapping. When we tell her, "No Amelia", she looks at us and shakes her head no back at us, as if to say, "right, what I'm doing is wrong." (and then continues going for the power outlet or near the edge of the deck). Yesterday she had mac and cheese for the first time, and could not get the noodles in her mouth fast enough. She ended up eating much more than a one year old should be able to eat. Today she fell from a large mat the height of about 1 1/2 feet flat onto the side of her face in gymnastics today, her feet dangling above her head for a second. Everyone saw and was ready for a horrible cry, but Amelia just slumped her legs over and got up to quickly crawl to the next mat. These are just a few items that are expressing her little character. And I am lovin' this girl.

Life after baby

The other day I was hanging out with Meg, (whose name Amelia can say now, by the way) before her first swim lesson. Thinking out loud I said, "I am so excited to see Amelia in her little swimsuit tonight!". Meg replied, "You always have something to look forward to with Amelia. I'm looking forward to baking butterscotch cookies and facebooking tonight". Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't love a night of cookies and spying on friends, but it's true: every week there is something new for us. Fun or difficult, our new lives as a family is certainly full of "spice" since Amelia's arrival. New pigtails, sunglasses, words, friends, toys, sleep patterns, car seat upgrade, everything, it's always new. Not to mention, anything that we used to do is a thousand times more fun (and difficult) with Amelia.

Needless to say, swim lessons were a blast. Grant came too, and if you think Amelia has a cute little set of thunder-thighs with tights on, wait till I get a pic of her in her swim suit ;)

Man I love those church ladies

I love this pic.

Yep, you're seeing that right, those are pig tails.

This Sunday I completed a huge feat: We went to church. This means I dropped Amelia off at the nursery for the first time. As if it weren't difficult enough for me to leave her with my own twin sister, now I dropped her off with some smiley old lady who allowed me zero time to give my long, dramatic goodbye, let alone even see the nursery (which I didn't). She literally reached over the counter, took Amelia from me and whisked her away into the unknown. I had to tell myself to close my mouth as I watched the back of Amelia's cute little head, name tag stuck to her back, bob down the hall with the cheery, wrinkly lady. But after some thought, I realized that old lady knew exactly what she was doing: sparing us the drama and embarrassment that is created by an overbearing, first-time mom. Those church ladies, what a sharp set of gals.

I picked up Amelia after the service. She appeared to have a great time doing who-knows-what for an hour, and now we're experiencing the inevitable cold that follows her exposure to the general public. I can't help but compare the repercussions of that crazy hour at the nursery to a wild night out that we'd have in college, that we'd pay for with a hang over. Life's funny that way I guess.

Also...Amelia made the swim team. Lessons start next week, I can't wait!

sorry, Mills.

The other day Me and Amelia went to Fred Meyer for a few groceries; a fantastic activity for her right now. We leisurely wondered the store, she strained around me to make eye contact with every soul in there, and try to find anything that resembled a big shiny balloon. (As all mom's know, it's a great way to kill 45 minutes). We finished up and were heading out to the parking lot, feeling the early spring's warm air. As usual, I had my wallet in my pocket, groceries in one hand, and Amelia on the other arm. As we approached the truck, it hit me: "KEYS." Yep, I locked 'em in the truck when I was first pulling Amelia out. I called Grant who happened to be working in the area. Not wanting to go back inside the store, I opened the tailgate and Amelia and I climbed in the truck bed and waited.

If you know me well, you know I forget things, a lot. I always have. In high school our parents ALWAYS had to bring us our forgotten mit, jersey, book, lunch, tennishoes, etc.. And fortunately we were in a small enough town that anyone could find one of us and say, "uh, you left your passenger seat door wide open in the parking lot". In college Meg and I survived only because there were two of us to bring what the other forgot due to a desperate call from our cell phone, or Grant was always our savior; walking behind us in any public place with our forgotten purses, keys, licenses, coats, etc.

So, as I'm sitting in the bed of my truck in the Fred Meyer parking lot with my 11 month old daughter, I couldn't help but think, "I'm sorry, Amelia, for bringing you into my life of irresponsibility. This won't be the last time we'll be sitting, waiting for dad to bring us something I've forgotten. In fact, this is only the beginning of me stopping dead in my tracks saying 'oh crap!' and fumbling for my cell phone to call for help." I hope this is something we can all learn together, this "responsibility" thing. Who knows, maybe Amelia will be so tired of me forgetting things that she will always be the one to remember and remind us of all of our items....when she's two.

What's happening at 11 months?

Amelia will be 11 months old in 5 days. Things are happening so fast now! Here's a laundry list of what's new:

She is starting to stand (hands free), and it is one of the most exciting things to watch!

She says mama, dada, Cash (At-sssttthh), and my mom said she told her to "top! top!" (stop) while she was wiping her face.

She's starting to enjoy Cash's huge kisses, she crawls over to him and puts her face right next to his mouth, he licks her, and then she grabs the sides of his head or sometimes his snout, to try to get him to do it again.

She loves to be chased by us, but stops and waits after a few feet to let us tickle her.

At meal times, when she gets bored in her seat, she grabs and lightly pulls a few strands of hair from the back of her head. Needless to say, after oatmeal or cinnamon toast with butter, she has a pretty stylin' "moussed up" do.

It seems like everytime I pull her out of her carseat and lift her out into the fresh air of wherever we're going (grocery store, grandma's, the park), she sticks her head out, smiles, and squeals like it's the first time I've ever let her out of our house.

I know this is not uncommon, but she imitates me when I'm on the phone, saying "la-la-la-la-la-la-la" with a few clicks of the tongue in between the "la"s. It's a "baby language", and it is hilarious.

So, that's what's new at 11 months. Whew!

Gotta love Dad

As much as I vowed never to be the wife that hands her husband the fussy baby the moment he walks through the door so that SHE can get dinner finished, I totally am. But, the good news is, I happened to have married the best first-time dad there is. Amelia is going on her seventh tooth, which means that towards the end of the day, she's not all hugs and giggles. However, here's a quick little story that I hope I never forget:

I pulled one of these evening hand-offs, as described above, yesterday. I handed Grant a fussy little Amelia and took off downstairs to take care of laundry (sooooo important, right?). As I walk upstairs, I hear a now-silent Amelia, and Grant saying, "ya ready? Ready?" Before I could begin to imagine what stunt they were performing, Grant whisks by in front of me, bent over, shuffling backwards down our hardwood hall, holding onto the end of a blankie. Next Amelia's happy, round face and dimples, two teeth poking up and three whisping hairs slides by grinning at me. He'd propped her up on a pillow on the other end of the blanket, and was giving her a quick tow down the hall. As you can imagine, this was followed by some cackling. What would I do without him?

lost but not forgotten

I received a call from the tech who tried to retrieve the data from my hard drive, and the worst is true: they cannot get the photos. For $700-$2700 I can send the hard drive to California where they may be able to get the photos and data by internally entering the hard drive. This means Grant and I are either going to have to get rich or wait until advances in technology will make it cheaper to retrieve the data. Until then I have facebook photos, anything I've emailed, this blog and memories. If anything, when all is done, Amelia is old, and I walk through the pearly white gates to meet my Maker, I can see Him sitting in a big white swivel office chair at a beautiful computer desk, spinning around and waving me over to go through all the lost photos on His computer with me. Can't wait :)

Cash's "work-in-progress"

They've been working on this for a few days now.

You're the mom, do something!

Since my little sweetums is learning more about the world, picking up patterns and consistencies, learning routines, cause and effect, etc., she is really perfecting her "fake cry". She's been fine-tuning it for about a week or so now, and it's almost Oscar-worthy at this point. She's learned how to push her voice and pitch, and switch from the front of her mouth to a shrill back-of-the-throat cry, and really scrunch up her face to emphasize her opposition. We all know, practice makes perfect.

But now that we have some "behavior" issues coming to fruition, I seem to be having a hard time deciding what kind of parent I'm going to be. Do I nip it in the bud? Play tough mom and make her scream so she learns how to figure it out herself at the tender age of 9 months? Sounds like a lot of work, but good results. Or, do I try to prevent her from ever crying, creating a sense of great security that makes her feel confident all the time, not needing to cry because she knows I'll come at a moment's notice. Well, I have no idea. But I know whatever I do, it needs to be consistent. So, I've come to a crossroad that will have a huge impact on both of us for the next few years.

It's kind of funny, though, because I find myself walking to her screaming on the floor, wanting me to pick her up or what-not, and I'm just kind of staring at her, not really knowing what to do. Sometimes it makes her stop crying because she's confused and in suspense of what I'm doing. But I just don't know. So I just stare at her, her face frozen amidst a fit. I'm sure I'll figure something out, choose a new "parenting philosophy" that's somewhere in the middle of compassionate and stern. But for now, there's just a lot of me frozen in indecision, and real confusion on Amelia's part. I wonder, do all mom's do this? Or am I overthinking my responses of her behavior to the point of "no-response"? Maybe it's the curse of just having one kid, whereas with more children you don't have time to evaluate the pro/con of each response. I guess we'll just have to see wait and see what kind of mom I'm going to be.

inhale, 1-2-3, exhale 1-2-3.

Amelia; the precious, the darling, has executed her first big "oops" with some real finesse this week. One might ask, "Oh [giggle- giggle, chuckle-chuckle] what did the little cutie break? A plate? A cell phone perhaps?" All those things would have been perferred, but she really outdid herself and chose the most priceless of items to destroy. She yanked on the cord to our external hard drive and let it bounce on the floor. In a nutshell, this sensitive piece of hardware, about the size of a thick book, holds all the data to our computer. All the reports for my work, and all the photos from the last 6 years or so. All of them. So, the hundreds of photos from these first nine months, years of family, showers, christmas, everything is in there.

I tried turning on the hard drive after the fall, and it made an awful grinding noise and would not connect. I put my face in my hands, and felt like my chest had dropped down to my belly. Of all things to damage, this might be the worst. Since then I've taken the hard drive to a "data recovery" place, to see if the photos are recoverable.

I explained what had happened to the quiet, sympathetic tech at the data recovery place. I kept wanting to give up trying to talk with him, because my technical jargon is limited to words like "thingy" and "this part". I handed over the broken hard drive as if I was handing him my broken heart, saying "can you fix it?". Time is money, so I paid for the most inexpensive option for evaluation, which will be sometime in the next 2-3 weeks. Till then all I can do is pray, and start printing my photos!