Amelia @ 1

Amelia was in a very smiley mood for her pictures Sunday. Here's a sample:

Tuesday she had her 1 year check-up. Seth had to come with us because preschool was cancelled, and the office was running way behind. The kids were squirrelly, and I couldn't blame them. Amelia was 18 lbs 13 oz, and 29.5 inches long. I weighed her twice (and zeroed the scale myself the second time...yes, I know it's bad that I didn't trust the nurse) because it's unbelievable to me that she weighs almost a pound less than Seth did at that age. She's only half an inch shorter, she just looks like she's got so much more to her than Seth did (I don't mean that in a bad way, Amelia!). She got a good report card and was rewarded with four shots. Her big brother yelled at the nurse during the second one, saying "Hey! One is enough!", which I thought was pretty darn sweet. Then we had to go across the plaza to get labwork drawn, and Amelia added a band-aid on her middle finger to match the two on her thighs. Seth got a sticker at one place and a piece of candy at the other. Again, freeloader!

Amelia is slowly starting to sleep later in the morning (and by later I mean usually after 6am but before 6:30). She developed a love of popsicles when she was sick last week. She is drinking whole milk, which she's kind of mad at me about. She's not walking yet, but has started letting go when cruising, so I'm sure it won't be long. She loves to give kisses and hugs, especially to her daddy. She has started playing with shape sorters and stackers, which her brother is more than happy to help her with. She loves to read books, and whenever she sees a blond boy she says it is her bubba. So cute!

Snow in March? In NC?

It rained all weekend. And then it stopped. And then, lo and behold, the local weatherpeople were right and it started to snow. Here are my three kids watching the first flakes fall around 7pm Sunday, March 1st:We woke up Monday, March 2nd, to 4-5 inches of snow. By 8am we were out sledding in the driveway. It was 24 degrees, so Amelia didn't stay out too long. We don't own any sleds, so we were resourceful and used pool floats. They worked great! (But I do think I will buy the next plastic sled I see and stick it in the back room.)

This was a good place to plop Amelia down:

Our backyard:

Who loved the snow the most?

Colette the dog!

The roads haven't been bad at all (for NC, that is), but school has been cancelled the past two days and is on a two-hour delay tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the 60s this weekend, gotta love NC springs!

Amelia's 1st birthday party

Saturday was Amelia's first birthday. We had a heck of a party. Friday I baked a cake and cupcakes...the birthday girls had their own special cupcakes:And the cake (the party had a cupcake theme):Amelia loved watching everyone sing, she was very tentative at first with the cupcake......and not too messy, she didn't even need an immediate bath afterwards! The birthday girl DEMANDED a juice box, and she did an awesome job using a straw for the first time.

The birthday girls spent a lot of time playing together...

Amelia thinks her biggest cousin, Evan, is hilarious!

Grandma took wheelie for a couple laps, and Amelia decided to join her, it was hilarious!

We had a good crowd, and the kids were too wound up to take naps after the party, so the kids and I crashed hard Saturday night...Seth slept almost 12 hours, Amelia over 10, and nine for me!

while the boy's away...

...the rest of the family will do nothing exciting.

I'm sure you've missed us (ha ha) since I haven't had a chance to blog this week. Amelia had the crud, and I actually took her to the doctor Monday afternoon. Nathan was on antibiotics by midweek. We stayed really busy, and it was madness from Thursday through Saturday. After preschool on Thursday, we drove down to Concord Mills and met Lisa and Michael. A long time ago, Lisa offered to keep Seth for two days so 1) he could get some alone time with his aunt and uncle, and 2) I could do some party prep with only one little helper. Although we all wondered how he'd do, Seth had a great trip. We missed him, but stayed very busy. (And I must say Amelia loved having both of us to herself for a little while.) After a quick loop around the mall (because I may as well shop while I'm there, right?), we headed home. Nathan went to the Wake game and I started cleaning up the house after Amelia went to bed. Friday morning I did all the baking and finished cleaning, and then I had to head into work. Not exactly ideal, but it was the only way between our family calendar, the baby-sitter's schedule, and work's needs that I could get my hours in. We were up before 7 am on Saturday putting the finishing touches on Amelia's party, and Seth rolled in just in time to get the party started. It really was a win-win situation. Here are some pictures from our boring/busy week:

This is for my dad...like mother, like daughter: Thursday Seth's class had a late Mardi Gras/circus day, and he came home with this crazy mask:

The one-eyed penguin Seth brought home Monday. It lives on our fridge and Amelia says, "sat?" (what's that?) every time she sees it. (As well as every time she sees a balloon, window, or light.)

Here are a couple pictures of Seth's trip, courtesy of Auntie Lisa. Seth can talk Michael into anything, including riding in the backseat with him.

Friday morning they visited the Riverbanks Zoo. Seth rode on the carousel...twice. Lisa says it was because the gorilla was stationary and they didn't realise it before the ride started, but I'm pretty sure Seth was working the system...

he loves me, he loves me not...

This conversation took place last night during the Wake game...S=Seth, M=Mommy:

S: Mommy, you are not a match.
M: Not a match?
S: Your hair is not a match to us. I need a new mommy.

Well, that's the abbreviated version, but you get the idea.

So I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he seemed really serious about it and I had to leave the room before my feelings got really hurt. Although I have started to consider highlights, I really don't think I'll ever be able to pull off sandy blonde. Nathan gave him a stern talking-to and told him that he loved me and I was staying and that if Seth didn't like it that he would be the one to leave. Which got me a half-hearted apology.

But now today? Today he LOVES me. And it's not just when he wants a snack. Ah, my little Gemini....

Who wears the pants...

...and who wears the hair bows...

Nathan was changing clothes after work on Wednesday and Seth came out of our closet wearing a (clean) pair of khakis...we love how it makes it look like Nathan wears really big pants. Add that day's work shirt and it makes for a whole lot of silliness at our house!

We had our first parent-teacher conference yesterday. Seth is doing satisfactory in most areas, and the "needs improvement" and "excellent" areas balance each other out. Surprisingly, he scored excellent in sentence structure, manners, and vocabulary recognition...the boy who one year ago was barely putting three words together. Since he has a summer birthday, we're trying to decide what is best for him next year...what I always thought he'd do and what he ends up doing may be two completely different things. That's life for you!

Facelift complete!

Our big project, a mini-makeover for the front of the house, is complete. New shutters (now grey, no longer Carolina blue), a few new shingles, a new cap, and new railings for the stairs. Hurray!

Valentine's Visitors

We just had a VERY fun weekend. Seth's celebrating started on Thursday, when his class had their Valentine's party. He put them all up on his closet door. His teacher's valentine included pixie sticks...a little messed up, don't you think?Saturday morning, Tim, Tiff, and their little guy arrived. We had sooo much fun. Tim and Amelia playing on the floor:

Seth loved having another baby in the house...I guess he's bored with his sister already.That afternoon the adults snuck out to the Wake Forest-Florida State game...you get to see a lot more of the game if you don't bring the kiddos along!I'm sure Amelia is going to be on the lighter side when she goes for her next check-up, but she sure looks big next to her new friend (he's 5 months younger).So cute!Sunday afternoon we checked out Nathan's new office and all four of us took naps (that never happens!) Uncle Bryan stopped by on his way back to Atlanta. As you can see, the kids loved their surprise visitor.

Freeloader

As always, my living room makes for a dark video, but we wanted to show of how strong Amelia is. This wasn't a one-time occurence, it happend several times on Saturday. Lazy Seth!

a hint of spring

Ah, North Carolina winters. The kids were out of school on Wednesday for bad weather (I guess...we never saw any of it), and Saturday started a nice long stretch of beautiful days. We spent about four hours over the course of the weekend at Tanglewood park. When we got home from Sunday School yesterday, Nathan had some windows opened. Amelia was absolutely fascinated:

I remembered to bring the camera with us to the park on Sunday. I got a lot of good pictures. I may even bore the family with an album of them! Amelia loves to swing. I think Nathan could spend all day pushing her.I've decided Amelia is 97.5% tomboy. I definitely need to make sure I have plenty of "play clothes" on hand. She crawled all over the playground, and even tried to go head-first down the slide.Once Amelia realized that Seth was pushing her, she didn't want to turn back forward!I thought this was my new favorite when it was still on the camera...now I see it's a little blurry, though.We found the guys playing in a big field beside the playgroud. Here is Seth and his big stick:Sitting on a bench by Mallard Lake watching the ducks and geese...somebody was getting sleepy (and it wasn't Mommy...)Seth made a game of throwing rocks in the lake:

Landon is 4!

Last Tuesday the kids and I packed up an overnight bag after preschool and had a sleepover in Cary. We came back just in time to hit Funigans for Landon's birthday party. Actually, we were a little bit early. Seth tested out his skills playing kiddie-bowling prior to the party. He's definitely much better at Wii. It was a good way to make the week go fast!

just checkin' in...

On the nights I work, I can't go to sleep until I check in on the kids. I have a 99.8% success rate of sneaking in without either of them waking up. Monday night was so comical I had to take pictures. Notice Seth's pillow in the top right corner, as well as Cow and Dog on the right hand side, so you see where Seth is supposed to be: This has been Amelia's preferred sleep position lately: sideways in the crib. Her little bum was so high in the air, I thought she'd wake up with a neck cramp!

Playing on the floor Tuesday, waiting until it was time to pick Seth up from school...

Seth brought this home today, I had to share (although he won't even try hot chocolate because it starts with the word "hot"):

Tara's shower

We have been waiting a LONG time to have a party for Tara, and last Friday it was time to celebrate Max's arrival (hopefully in early March!). The nursery is yellow and brown with a puppy dog theme, so this is what I came up with for her diaper cake: Amelia not-so-secretly wishes Lonnie was her mommy. She'd definitely have a lot hipper wardrobe!

Stacey made this diaper wreath:

Fancy cupcakes from the Fancy Pastry in Lexington:

The excited mommy and daddy. Kudos to Chris for hanging out with a bunch of women all morning!

This was definitely one of our best showers. Everyone who could showed up because we all love Tara (everyone should have one of her where they work). There were kids everywhere. And it was a school day! Seth had a bunch of the boys from the 05-06 baby boom to play with, and there were at least four babies there that were younger than Amelia, the youngest being a whoppin' 30 days old. All the little girls were wearing pink and brown, and we didn't even plan it! (Unfortunately we didn't get a picture, but do you really think we would have gotten a good picture even if we had tried?)