Last Fun Weekend as Party of Three

After all of the work Patrick has done over the last three months, we took this past weekend completely off. I surprised Patrick with a trip to Lancaster for one night, but beforehand he spent the day doing nothing but playing and goofing off.

Playing with Mommy's fabric scraps

Los Doritos Banditos strike again

Amelia has been obsessed with her little hymnal. She asks us to sing page after page and if we randomly sing a song she remembers is in the hymnal, she wants us to go get it.

We tried to watch a Hot Air Balloon festival take-off, but it was too windy in the end for the balloons. But we caught a few photos while waiting.

I chose the hotel in Lancaster because it has an indoor toddler 'waterpark'. Amelia LOVED it and Patrick loved his time with her there too. The water was pretty chilly so I didn't get in much, but enjoyed taking photos of the two of them.

It took a bit for her to warm up to this frog slide, but she quickly became fearless. She watched the bigger kids and even tried going on her tummy a few times. No fear because Daddy was always there to catch her!

 

She made us laugh so hard at these little fountains. Not only would she 'wash her hair' in them, but one time she squatted for quite a few minutes with one jet on her bottom. Patrick says we need to get her a bidet. I just about cried from laughing so hard.

It was her first time in a big hotel bed, and she amazed us by doing great. She didn't climb out or give us any trouble. We have learned to unplug hotel phones and let her play - they are the best possible hotel room toy.

Patrick blessed me by dropping me off at one of my favorite quilt stores and playing with Amelia so I could shop. She's climbing all over the wooden train here.

She loved the Amish countryside - noting every buggy and "horse running", farms and tractors and farm animals that we passed by. She still asks for "See More Animals Please" out the window of the car now.

Water with Friends!

We've had a couple of really hot weeks for New Jersey so we have been happy to enjoy pool and water time with friends!

Peyton & Colin came over for a swim. We didn't get any pool photos but we did have fun at the playground later on!

Amelia likes it (most of the time) when Peyton mothers her.

Silly faces

Surprised faces

Trying angry faces but ended up laughing

We also visited our friends, Delaney & Sawyer, at the shore and had fun playing one morning. The rain chances were high so we didn't make it to the beach but they did have fun getting wet on the deck. So much fun that my camera stayed hidden for most of it since there was a lot of splashing!

The only problem with playing with friends is that Amelia asks about them daily, multiple times each day, after a playdate. So then we have to have another playdate and keep up the cycle of talking about them all the time!

Phases & Habits

Amelia doesn't have strong opinions about what I do with her hair each day, but she does have an opinion about what accessories go in her hair (barrettes, bows, color of elastic, etc). She's been on a double barrette kick lately and still anti-head band for more than a few hours. We get some interesting color combinations and sometimes I wonder what the people in stores/library/doctor's offices think about us. But it's easy to make her happy!

 

 Her hair is pretty crazy post-sleep, particularly when we've been outside or in the pool playing hard.

A little magazine reading with Daddy. She loves the Highlights magazine!

Future Vet?

Helping Daddy put up the crib in the baby's room. She has still been great in her big bed and has started showing a lot of interest in the baby preparations. She insisted recently that we install the baby's car seat and that she would help do it. She's also wanted to go through the baby clothes with me and help pick out baby toys/books from her collection to put in the baby's room.

Little reading cubbies are always in style!

What happens when I put the stamp on my hand?

This kid doesn't bat an eye when she gets a cut or scrape or is bleeding, but a little ink concerns her.

Baking and building, back-to-back!

I frequently eat cereal as a snack and she asked me for some; so we tried our first cereal with milk and it was a hit! Amusingly, she insisted on having both "daddy cereal" and "mommy cereal' in her bowl (cheerios & frosted mini wheats).

It never ceases to amaze me how much your children reflect the things you talk about/do. It really shines a light on our daily habits/routines.

• Recently she came into the room and announced that she was "organizing". She insists on cleaning whatever/whenever I am.
• Any scrap of fabric or ribbon that I let her play with is now carted around and used to "measure". She announces that most things "measure. three." and she will measure EVERYTHING in the room until she's done. We're not sure if it's all the measuring for house projects or my sewing projects that have taught this.
• Not only does she ask for Home Depot and forklifts, but any loud noise is now a hammer or drill. She can identify painting supplies at the store. Recently she announced "forklift" and pointed out the window. I started to correct her and tell her that it was just a semi truck and then realized that there was indeed a forklift attached to the back of the semi. Wow.
• She'll push her shopping cart to the garage door and say "Mommy, open garage. Yo grocery shopping. Food in cart." 
• On Friday nights we make pizza for dinner. When I asked for her help this past week, she started listing the ingredients off from memory. "flour. oil. salt. sugar. oni (pepperoni). olives. mushrooms. sauce. cheese."  I realized that I list the ingredients as I put them on the counter and was really shocked to hear her.
• Any statement we make can be a book reference throughout the day and she insists on finding the particular book and reading it. Example - she has a book called "Do Princess Wear Hiking Boots?" and it has a page about drinking lemonade; if you happen to tell her you're drinking lemonade, she'll remember the book and want to go find it.
• Similarly, we sing the Doxology every night before bed after praying. So if she hears it on a cd (we have a few cds that contain it), she wants to pretend to go to sleep immediately.
• Here she asked to "cut coupons. yo scissors. mommy cut coupons. mommy scissors. food. money."  I was surprised that she had put it all together.

But in the end, ripping coupons is easier than cutting them, right?

Jump, Jive & Wail

After a weekend full of painting and other projects, we took a break on Sunday night to go to the county park & rec's free concert in the park that's just about 10 minutes from our house. It was swing music which is some of our favorite! Amelia did great - she sat for about the first half hour, talking about the swing music and the musicians and the stage. Then she got antsy and danced around, walked in circles around us and people watched. After about an hour, she started glazing over (it was past her bedtime) and asked to go to sleep. We were excited that we had an hour of great swing music!

Set up in the back for a  quick exit if necessary.

Enjoying a popsicle we packed to ward off the heat! I personally love the leg swung over the arm of the chair; she does this all the time in her carseat and other Amelia-sized chairs.

For your entertainment. We're still not sure where she gets her moves.

 

 

Hot and Rainy Days

Some pool time, more art projects and a transition to a big bed have packed out Amelia's recent days.

Oh how I love the quiet silence that occurs on the way home from a library trip. New books keep us entertained for hours!

Eating out lunch with Mommy is a treat!

For the last few days, Amelia has been obsessed with watching me sew. Literally, she woke up the other day and some of her first words were "Mama. Sew. Now. Yo Watch." Here she is telling Teddy to watch Mommy and to scoot over in the chair for Amelia.

Stamping with toilet paper rolls - too fun!

Reusing canning jar lids for a matching game = new favorite!

Since we made cherry pie, she's been asking for pie. This kid learns quickly.

A little playing in the rain

Playing with Daddy in her big bed. She's transitioned without any problems and loves it!