The Phelps visit!

We were SO lucky to have the Phelps come and visit us this past weekend.  It was awesome to see them again and it was especially sweet to see Amelia and Drew reunited at last.  When I told Amelia they were here, she ran out of the house screaming with delight, stood in front of Drew (still screaming) and then started laughing hysterically.  Drew looked at her like she was crazy, as usual, and then pointed at her and said, "Ma!" and broke into a smile of recognition.  It really was so sweet.  And then they played just like old times for the rest of the weekend (a.k.a. Amelia stealing whatever Drew picked up, and Drew politely sharing all his toys, food, parents and personal space).

See what I mean about personal space?  Since Amelia doesn't need any, she assumes no one else does either.

Unfortunately I was really bad at taking pictures and I missed so many of the sweet moments.  But in all fairness, it is really, really hard to capture the perfect moments between 2 toddlers.  It's pretty much impossible to get them to BOTH hold still, look at the camera and smile at the same time.  So this is what we've got.

At the beach

 Amelia forcing Drew to hold her hand

So sweet.  Even if it was forced.

 

Andrew teaching the kids to skip rocks into the ocean 

The kids poised with their rocks (that Drew would find on the ground and Amelia would steal out of his hands).

William loved watching these 2 play all day.

 

Awe, so sweet!

We were so happy the Phelps got to be here for my birthday.  It's always fun to eat cake and it's even more fun when you eat it with good friends!

What a cute family!

This was the big 31. 

Don't worry.  The 30's are the new 20's.  I've only found a couple gray hairs.

There was a little bit of cake in there, underneath all the frosting.  Just the way I like it. 

We went to the zoo and the kids loved the penguins...

 ...and sliding down the hill on cardboard....

 ...especially with Dan!

This next series is just a little photojournalistic view of the constant motion.  I was telling them to smile at the camera, and this is what I got.

Amelia: "Hi Drew! I'm just going to hang on your stroller so I can be as close to you as possible."

Amelia: "Oh, no you don't.  You are not done drinking yet."

Amelia: "Here.  Drink some more."

Amelia: "Perfect. Thank you very much."

Amelia: "Um, still no.  Don't put that in there.  You're not done until I say you're done!"

And that's when I have to stop taking pictures and save Drew from the dictatorship that is Amelia and try to help guide Amelia towards a more positive interaction with her best friend.

And here is the farewell hug.  So sweet.  We miss you already Phelps and can't wait until you move in next door to us again...in Santa Barbara!  Come on.  You know you want to!

In other news, Amelia has decided that napping is so last year and she instead enjoys putting on dress-up clothes, emptying her toys onto her bed, filling the toy box with books, and sitting in it by the door yelling, "Mom!  I wake up!" Until I decide we've both had enough of "nap time" and let her come out and watch a movie.  Awesome.

Amelia enjoying the 1 rainy day we've had in Santa Barbara since moving here...yes, Eugene friends, that is an invitation to come visit :)

 And, yeah, you've probably figured out by now, but clothes very rarely make it on my "list of things to fight about" for the day, so she often runs around in her diaper (or some form of nakedness) or in funny clothes like you've seen in past posts.  We have too many other things to fight about; like to sit or not to sit on William.

And here is that sweet boy reading a story with Grandpa over Thanksgiving.

Love these kids!

These kids love each other so much!  This video is just one snapshot in time but the theme is pretty constant -  they love to laugh together.  William thinks Amelia is pretty much the funniest thing alive and Amelia loves having a little brother to entertain (and sit on, and squeeze, and pat, and love to almost literal pieces).

It seems that no matter what Amelia is doing to him (lying on top of him, squeezing his head, pushing his belly, shoving his entire binky in his mouth, covering him with blankets and toys), William seems to love it!  Multiple time per day I pull her off of him when I think the going is getting too rough, and inevitably he is underneath just cracking up!   It's awesome.  I love it and I can't wait to watch them grow up together.

Also, here is a still shot of Amelia's awesome outfit from the video.  This is what she wore all day.  Yes, it is a pair of footie pjs with sandals and a tutu.  Yes, I let her wear it all day, including to a community play group and Costco.

I thought it was a step up from the outfit she wore to the baseball field the other day: Swim suit (on top of a skirt, thus the bundle around her middle) and tights on top of all of that.  She was mad I was taking a picture, but I couldn't resist documenting her unique fashion sense.  Just add sandals and a coat to this picture to envision what she looked like running around UCSB campus.

 

And I love this picture of her on the tire swing with a tutu on over jeans.  She kind of likes her tutu.

Sometimes I wonder what William is doing while I'm holding him, so I hold the camera out in front and take a picture.  I usually get some version of this.

Or this

So stinkin' sweet.

And here he is swinging for the first time at the park.  He's growing up!

Halloween and other stuff

C-U-T-E-S-T little pumpkin you ever did see

 "Amelia, hold still so I can get a great picture of how cute you look in your Halloween costume."

"Okay, now look at the camera and smile."

Halloween was really fun this year.  Thanks to Uncle Dan and Aunt Lisa, Amelia was an NYU-scrub-wearing "Dentist in Training."  She really did look so cute and was original in her costume as she was the only 2 year old in scrubs I saw.  She pretty much loved Halloween after she realized people were giving her candy right and left.  Although she did get pretty scared by some of the costumes.  Her favorite costume was someone who was dressed up as a marshmallow.  She kept talking about the "marshmallow with shoes."

Here's a video when we opened the Halloween package from my mom and dad.  This gives you a little peak into how excited she was on Halloween night.

The toddler bed is bringing all sorts of new experiences to our home.  Like today, after I "put her down" for nap, I hear her rummaging through her room as usual.  A little while later she starts crying, "I can't do it!" So I go in there and she has her head stuck in the arm hole of a size 5 Gaucho shirt.  I help her put it on and then she insists that she needs to wear all 4 Gaucho shirts that we have in the drawer.  I help her put them on and leave.  A few minutes later she is crying again.  I go in to find her head stuck in a pair of panties!  I burst out laughing and ran for the camera telling her I would help her in a minute AFTER I got this great picture!

Notice the layer of 4 shirts, the multiple headbands around her neck (super safe, I know) and the one shoe on

This is my favorite thing Amelia does with stickers.  I think it started at Trader Joe's.  They often give her stickers during check out, and one day I stuck one over her mouth in a joking effort to keep her quiet.  She apparently thought it was a good idea because now every time she gets stickers, she puts them over her mouth.  I love the 3 seconds of quiet it brings.

I love this fluffy head!  So soft and sweet.

 William craning his neck back so he can see what Amelia is watching on the TV

 You know you're a mom when your lipstick looks like this.  

And you still use it.  

Once a month, when you still use lipstick.

Every time Amelia sees a phone, she picks it up and says, "Hello Dramma Asay.  I yuv you too.  Bye bye."  It is so cute.  Especially when she is wearing a tutu and a backpack and has a mountain of toys around her.

Random

This little cutie had a doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago and at 3 1/2 months he weighed in at 16 pounds which is the 85%ile!  Amelia was 17 pounds at 1 year, so I feel like I'm carrying around a 1 year old all day.  Amelia was still in the 10-25% for weight and height at her 2 year appointment.  Can't believe how different these 2 kids are...in so many ways.  

So sweet.

He is wearing jeans for the first time in these pictures.  I love little baby jeans.  

He is growing up so fast and it is so much fun.

A couple of weeks ago we spent the weekend with some friends in Los Olivos.  They had their town fair that weekend and it was so fun to go to the parade, hear the band and just enjoy being together.

Amelia was won over as soon as the first person in the parade threw her a blow pop.


Which she kindly shared with her dad.

Helping dad put on sunscreen 

Dancing to the band.  This girl loves music and will dance every time she hears any.

Yeah for moments like these!

 I made Amelia this dress the other day....out of an apron.  It was an apron from Anthropologie that someone had given me but I never wore it because it was only a half apron.  I am way too messy for a half apron.  But I loved it, so I have been saving it for years and brainstorming what I could make out of it.   And then it came to me.  I sewed up the back and turned the tie into straps and viola, Amelia had a new dress!  It really needs a zipper in the back to make getting on/off easier, but I didn't have one on hand, and I don't actually know how to put a zipper in anyway, so we'll just slide her in as long as we can :)  I love sewing when most of the sewing is already done for me!

Oh, and do you like her bruised forehead and scraped nose?  She got a little push from a 4 year old while they were playing "chase-tag" as she calls it.  Ask her to tell you the story.  It's pretty entertaining.

The other excitement in my life is that Amelia started climbing out of her crib.  I put her down, shut the door and about 2 seconds later she proudly appeared at my side.   Over and over and over again.  So, that very afternoon I went out and bought door knob covers so she couldn't get out of the room.  And this is where I found her. 

 So I converted her crib to a toddler bed and she is so happy.  Today during nap time she unloaded her entire closet onto her bed.  Awesome.

In other randomness, here is Amelia on our way to go swimming.  She's definitely going to be an over-packer.  Every time we head out the door she grabs armfuls of essentials to take with her.

William loves looking at books and trying to grab the pictures.

Amelia buckled her Pooh bear into the car seat, covered him with a blankie, gave him a tomato sandwich and put him in her car for an outing in the backyard.  All this while wearing the baby's socks on her hands.

Just another picture showing how Amelia is not really phased by the baby.  She still takes her spot on my lap or in my arms whenever she wants.  We are a snuggly bunch around here.

Here Amelia is singing "I am a Child of God" for Family Home Evening  It is a lovely rendition.  My favorite part is when, instead of "walk beside me" she says "walk on sidewalk."  I also like when she claps for herself and when she burps.  Yup, this is pretty much as reverent as she gets.




We got a piano a couple of weeks ago (a key board actually) and it has been so much fun having music in our house.  Amelia likes to put the presets on and act like she is playing.  I love to turn down the volume and play while both kids nap.