Moving on up... 

Our new apartment

Hello all,

As you may know, these past few days have been spent moving. And it's been a lot of hard work. It's been especially hard for Mike, who seems to carry a majority of the heavy items while I watch the baby. In fact, sometimes I feel like Fred Sanford from the opening of "Sanford and Son" - carrying tiny pieces of nothing while Mike lifts huge, heavy items.

Amelia takes all of this in stride. She has always been a very flexible and adaptable baby. She doesn't seem to mind much when things change around her. Her new room is very small, but our new living room is huge and that's where she spends most of her play time now. Her favorite thing about this new apartment is, without a doubt, the ceiling fan at the top of the stairs. She loves flipping the light on and off from the bottom of the stairs (in mommy's arms) and watching the light at the top of the stairs change.

Speaking of stairs, I was pretty surprised to find out that Amelia can climb stairs without much effort. But, she can't get back down the stairs yet, so she gets nervous and stops about a third of the way up - which may be just as well.

-Lisa

Hair brush? Toothbrush? Same thing. 

I'm still standing...

So, we're all waiting for Amelia to walk. Any day now each of us expects her to hop up and struggle forward with a few shaky steps. A seemingly necessary first step to walking, however, is standing. She's been standing for months, you might say. That's true - what I'm referring to is standing independently without using her hands (or leaning against an object with her belly, which she has been known to do).

I'm sure you're thinking that the moment Amelia stands on her own we'll post the pictures and tell a bragging story. Well, funny thing is, Amelia has been standing (for a few seconds at a time) independently for weeks now, but she has never done it in front of the camera...until now. Mike got this photograph of Amelia standing (in fact, he got two pictures) while I was away on reserve duty at Great Lakes. I realize she isn't wearing pants, but believe me, we're just happy to have this recorded at all.

So, I'm sure she'll be walking soon. I'm equally sure that it will be almost impossible to record her in the process of walking in a mini-movie until she has been doing it for weeks. But, we are always doing our best to keep you updated on "Oodle Boodle's" progress and achievements.

Lisa

Amelia demonstrates how not to be seen. 

"Not that one, the one above it." 

Dis and Dat

Amelia's two favorite words are, without question: "dis" and "dat." She uses them all day long while pointing to toys, pictures in books, towel racks, pens, windows, clothes on hangers, closet doors...you get the idea.

I think it's almost certain that Amelia is trying to learn the names of all the objects she sees and is asking mommy and daddy, "What is that called?" She also wants to be able to hold everything, pull on it, toss it on the floor and mouth it.

She has an especially good time looking at the baby toys at Target. She is overwhelmed by the colors and fun animals and shapes; but I haven't really felt like I had to buy her anything yet. Once I show her how a toy moves, shakes or plays music she's looking past it, pointing, and saying "dat" all over again :).

Lisa

Wanna start a new play group? 

Making friends

Mike, Amelia and I went out to dinner last night at a new (or at least, "under new management") Chinese restaurant. Across the nearly empty dining room sat a baby girl, who had to be very close in age to Amelia. The two girls enjoyed waving at one another; and Amelia, as always, was practically turned around 180 degrees in her seat so she could get a good view of the baby.

Well, the other baby's parents finished their meal and had the nerve to walk out the door with their daughter. This made Amelia very sad - she was so disappointed that her new friend was leaving she fussed and whimpered. It was funny to watch.

I have no idea how to set up a "play group." It's one of those things that everyone seems to be doing, but I don't know how to start / join / participate in one. I think Amelia's at that age when she wants to hang out with other babies. Maybe I can find something through IU...

Lisa

Now, you eat all of that! 

Open!

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was Amelia's one-year doctor's appointment. She did well and was a brave girl when it came time for her shots. In fact, she got a chicken pox vaccine in addition to her normal MMR vaccination. I guess that's now standard procedure for babies. I remember having chicken pox when I was 19 - I get all itchy just thinking about it!

As usual, Amelia was weighed and measured. She is now 29.25" tall (at 55% for babies her age, slightly taller than average) and has a head circumference of 44.75 cm (again, pretty close to average). However, Amelia is still only 18 pounds, which puts her at the 10% mark for weight. Mind you, she's been sick recently, but I can't help thinking she's just not eating enough.

Funny thing is, Amelia eats better for daddy than she does for me. While at the doctor's office we checked her progress against an early 70s (if I had to guess) development chart for babies and it stated that 11 month old babies, "may resist eating for mommy." Very odd.

Before finding out that our baby was a little thin, Mike shared with me a secret to his success with regards to feeding Amelia. If she gets fussy or turns away he says to her in a commanding voice, "Open," and she does. I used to think this was a bit much for feeding a baby, but I'm starting to use the technique myself...

Now, mind you, I don't want to cause any worry. The doctor said that Amelia is obviously thriving and doing just fine. Eighteen pounds is still considered normal, though it puts her on the thin side of normal. Most of us would be thrilled to be tall and thin, and I'm sure Amelia will be fine. In fact, I remember that for some time after she was born she wasn't even on the chart for weight...

Lisa

Are you worn out, yet?

Earn that ice cream!

Summer is here, school's out, and it's time for me to get back on the treadmill and, if nothing else, prepare for that Navy physical fitness test that's less than two weeks away.

So, last night I went to the gym and ran a little. I was very easy on myself because I did not want to wake up feeling wracked with pain and discouraged. (I have to keep reminding myself that I am no longer at boot camp and can do things at a reasonable pace.) I paid a whole $39.95 for a full summer membership to the campus gym and made a schedule of when I would be using it.

In addition, I'm trying to teach myself to earn treats instead of just eating them out of habit. This means that in addition to trips to the gym there will be more walks for baby and I, which will be fun and healthy for both of us. In fact, Mike, Amelia and I took a lovely walk around campus on Mother's Day, weaving in and out of the trees BEFORE stopping into Cold Stone for ice cream to go.

So, here's hoping I can keep myself motivated and going off to the gym. Of course, this doesn't mean I can neglect my Incomplete...

Lisa

Our little sunshine LOVES books, and her parents couldn't be happier!

Almost there..!

The semester is technically over as of today. And I, mommy, am just about finished with my school work.

I completed both of MY courses earlier this week and turned in my students' final grades this afternoon. My final task is to complete an Incomplete I "earned" last spring. My professor has VERY generously offered me an extension - but I need to get this sucker done, and soon. Finishing a fairly basic program in Java will earn me a passing grade in this course and a second MA, so the motivation should be there...

Having said that, now that things are slowing down look for the web page to be updated soon. With this new blog, I'm not sure the web page is as exciting to the grandparents as it once was, but I still love posting photos of the precious baby for all to see.

Lisa

This cracker is exquisite!

Taking a breather...

Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. This is finals week, and I have term papers to write. I spent a full 13 hours straight writing one paper on Monday, stopping only to scarf down a chicken sandwich in the library basement. (The paper was not finished when I went to bed at 2 a.m. - and wound up 22 pages long by the time I was done.)

I have another paper due, well, today. I'm just not convinced it will be finished today. I'm honestly a little tired of writing at this point - and just sleepy overall. But, I bet I can finish by tomorrow...maybe.

I found an excuse to take a break this morning, when nothing I had at home sounded good for breakfast I decided to take Amelia to Cracker Barrel. We had a good time. Amelia especially liked looking around the shop at all of the colorful gifts. Though I looked like a goofy tourist doing so, I took photos of the baby because I have been noticing lately that almost all of the pictures we have were taken around the house. I bet some of you think we never leave our apartment, based on the photographic evidence.

Well, the baby can only amuse herself for so long - so I'd better get out of this chair and off the computer. When and if she takes a nap I'll try to write my second term paper, somehow.

Lisa