GG does it again!

You may recall GG's first attempt at making Amelia a "pillowcase" dress.  It was this super cute number she sported on the 4th of July. 

Well, GG whipped up another pillowcase creation (which she claims only takes an hour or two).  Last week, we went to go see "Bee Movie", so Amelia is super excited because the dress has tiny bees on it. 

I love these types of dresses because they could NOT be any simpler to get on or off.  Plus, the same dress is supposed to fit until age 4 (or older).  When it gets too short to be a dress, you just add cute leggings, shorts, or pants underneath and the dress quickly becomes a shirt. Also, if you throw a long-sleeved shirt underneath, this dress/shirt can be worn year round.

GG has talked them up as being so "easy" to sew, that I might actually get brave and give it a go.  I am thinking about trying to make a Halloween one--that should give me enough time to get it right!

Until next year.....

Since this is the final week for Tiny Tot swim at Waplehorst, we decided to get out yesterday and enjoy one more time. Amelia made it perfectly clear she would not be going down the slide this visit and recalled with astonishing accuracy how the events unfolded last time.  She said something like this, "me, no slide" then when I asked her why she said, "go down slide, water in nose".  Yep, that was pretty much how it went down.

Slide or no slide, we still enjoyed our romp in the pool.  Amelia got a kick out of watching the gigantic bucket dump water on the kids below every few minutes (I don't think the bucket was working when we went a couple of weeks ago).  She also got down on her belly to actually "swim".  

I think she was still tired from the weekend because she puckered out kind of early. So we just chilled on the chairs pool side and watched all the action from there.

little bit of sunshine

Amelia's semi-new favorite shirt to wear is a shirt we picked up for her while visiting San Diego in Feb. 2007.  It finally fits her and she requests to wear it every chance she gets.  In fact, if the shirt is not on her little body, it is most likely in the wash because she wore it the previous day.

So, the other day while wearing said shirt, I asked her what she would like to eat for lunch.  She, apparently feeling a little silly, said, "me eat sun!".  So this is what we came up with:

A piece of wheat bread cut into a circle and covered with peanut butter, a touch of honey, and dried cranberries.  The "rays" are slices of strawberries. 

And wouldn't you know it--she ate the whole freakin' thing!

Amelia and the Giant Skull

Monsanto came through again with a great opportunity to visit an awesome St. Louis attraction without spending a dime! Because Monsanto works so closely with the Missouri Botanical Gardens, employees had the opportunity to visit the gardens this weekend and take advantage of all it has to offer.

Jason's mom came along for the ride and none of us could remember the last time we were down there.  I think Jason and I have only been down once since we've been married and his mom thought the last time she had visited was when Jason was little.  So much has changed!  

One of my favorite additions are these beautiful pieces of blown glass that float in one of the reflecting pools, although I think their inclusion in the pool is seasonal.

I was most excited about seeing all of the Niki sculptures on display at MOBOT through October 31.  This exhibit came to one of our favorite spots in Chicago, the Garfield Conservatory, while we were living there, but Amelia was a little young to partake in the full experience.  

There are 40 beautiful mosaic on display at the garden and many of them you can touch, sit, and even climb on!  Amelia wasn't too sure at first, but warmed up as we went along.  I think it helped to watch other kids climb on them too!

Her favorite was this giant skull.  When the sculptures first came to MOBOT, you could climb on the outside of it, up into the nose and eye regions, but for whatever reason, that is now prohibited.  It didn't matter much to Amelia, she seemed to enjoy hanging out behind the teeth inside the skull. Even after we moved on to other sculptures, she kept wanting to come back to this one.

We also took a trip to the Children's Garden which is a relatively new addition to the park.  Amelia wasn't too impressed, but was also wearing down by the time we got there.  However, she did enjoy the water area and ended up soaking herself with this neat little spigot she found.

There was so much to see and it is all so incredibly beautiful!  When Amelia is a little older and can last a little longer, I can see packing a lunch and spending the entire day here!

Just Peachy!

We made the trek to New Melle on Saturday morning to visit Wind Ridge Farm to do some peach and blueberry picking.  This was our first time at this great little farm only 20 minutes from our house. It was not very crowded at all, despite it being opening day for peach picking.

Amelia enjoyed the short ride out to the orchard on the wagon and wanted to sit right next to the tractor so she could get a good look at the "farmer".

We found a great spot to pick some peaches, although I think Amelia got the best spot of all!

Here she is searching the orchard for the best peach, she had a hard time understanding that the peaches on the ground needed to stay there.

She had the tough job of carrying the peaches for about 12 seconds.  This picture was taken right before she said, "too many, mommy".  

Amelia liked arranging and rearranging all of the peaches in the bucket.

Here she is showing the "fruits" of her labor (sorry, couldn't resist).

When we picked about 8 lbs. of peaches, we decided we had enough.  Jason paid for them (only 99 cents/lb!) and Amelia and I headed down to the blueberry patch to get started picking those.  The bushes were more her size although she certainly was not choosy with her selections! After awhile, she got that the green ones needed to stay on the bushes and that we should only pick the blue berries off.  She would say, "no green, yes blue".  At that point, she decided she needed to go through our entire bucket and throw out the green ones, which were plentiful thanks to her early efforts.  

We picked about 3 lbs. of blueberries and by then it was heating up and we were all pretty sweaty. We also picked up a bottle of local honey while at the farm.  On the way home we stopped by a house that was selling produce from their carport and picked up some tomatoes, okra, and cucumbers.

Once home, we washed the fruit and veggies and dove right in!  Amelia had a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch, while Jason and I enjoyed BLTs with the homegrown tomatoes we picked up.  And, of course, we all shared peaches and blueberries.

After naps all around, Jason used my grandmother's peach cobbler recipe to make a yummy dessert for a get together later that evening.

We've never picked peaches or blueberries before, but it worked out so well, we are thinking about going back in a few days to pick some blackberries too!

Uh-Oh!

What I really want to say is, "Oh $*!%".

Yesterday started out like most weekdays around here.  We woke up, we got dressed, we ate breakfast.  Then, we went to a friend's house to play.  I chatted with the other mom about upcoming volunteer opportunities for our mom's group while the kids colored, snacked, and played with all of the toys.  We left around noon to get home in time for lunch and nap. Up until this point, our day was completely uneventful.

Let me just add at this point that our semi-new nap time routine consists of eating lunch followed by 20 minutes of "movie time" which Amelia really, REALLY likes.  Then, we head upstairs, read a book, pick out a CD to listen to, and then I put her in the crib--it's as simple as that!

Well, when we got home yesterday, Amelia wasn't interested in eating lunch--at all.  So, I told her many (many!) times that if she didn't eat more lunch there would be no movie time.  This, of course, completely unfazed her.  Basically, she didn't eat anything else and I had no choice but to follow through with my threat.

So, I informed little missy that there would be no "movie time" today because she did not each lunch.  She became pretty upset and rightly so, since she lives for "movie time" as it is pretty much the only opportunity she has to watch TV during the day.  But, I sucked it up and followed through, dutifully completing the rest of the nap time routine tasks.  

When I finally got to the point of placing my sweet screaming angel in her crib, I figured in no time she would calm down and fall asleep since was was obviously so sleepy--yawning, rubbing eyes, the whole bit.

So, I shut the door and no sooner than I was halfway down the steps, I hear the DOOR OPEN!  Out comes Amelia, still crying and saying "movie time, mommy".  Uh, I'm sorry, didn't I just put you in the crib, Houdini? 

So, figuring I somehow missed that step of placing her in the crib, I took her back in her room, set her in her bed and watched with my own eyes as she climbed out of the crib with the nimblenss and precision of someone who has been practicing this trick for years.  She used such grace and agility that for a second I swore she could not possibly be MY child.  I was disgusted and humored all at once and tried to hide my smile from her.  

So, racking my brain, I remember having a conversation with a parent at one time on ways to keep your child in their room when they move to a big kid bed and are not yet used to the rule of staying in it.  My first thought was a baby gate, but my little monkey would probably have it scaled in no time.  So, I grabbed a screwdriver, disassembled the door handle, and reassembled it on backwards--all while cussing under my breath no doubt.  Now, I had the ability to lock the door from the outside so Amelia couldn't open the door and come out. I figured if she doesn't want to stay in bed that's fine, but she will need to stay in her room for some "quiet time".

So, doorknob reattached, I go in search for my little lady only to find her downstairs sitting on the couch poised for the movie to start.  Again, she requests "movie time, mommy" and is disbelieving that I again tell her "no movie today" and take her back to her room.  I put her in the bed again, which she exits before I can even close the door.  I tell her (again) its night-night time and that I'll see her when she wakes up.  I put her pillow and blanket on the floor in case she decides she wants to rest.

After what feels like forever, but is actually only about 20 minutes, I hear a tiny voice say, "mommy, mommy in bed".  Sure enough, when I open the door, she has decided she is ready for bed and allows me to put her in the crib.  She immediately lays down, asks me to cover her up, and then says, "night night mommy". Whew!

The funniest part of this story is that when she woke up from her nap she stayed in her bed and called to me to come get her out.  Same with this morning.  She seems to be suffering from some sort of trauma-induced amnesia and has no recollection of climbing out of her bed at lightning speed THREE times yesterday.  Of course, I have no problem with this, but I feel like the big-girl bed may be in our near future. Let the hunt begin!

makin' some dough

Finally at age two, Amelia has begun to make her own dough---play-doh that is!  We made up a batch of pink play-doh about 8 months ago and it is still going strong.  So, I decided this week, we would get a little crazy and make a batch of yellow!  Here is the super simple recipe we followed:

• 1  cup flour
  
• 1 cup warm water
  
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  
• 1 teaspoon oil
  
• 1/4 cup salt
  
• food coloring

Mix all ingredients, adding food coloring last.  Stir over medium heat until smooth and doughy. Remove from pan and knead until blended smooth. Place in bag or airtight container when cooled.  Will last for months!

Amelia was pretty helpful making it, but she definitely enjoyed the end result the most!

Go Jump in the Lake!

We had a great time on our trip to the Lake of the Ozarks! We had nice weather, excellent food, and great company.  Jason's mom and grandparents also made the trip down to the Lake house on Thursday and then Jason's dad, uncle, aunt, and two cousins joined us on Saturday.

On the way down, we stopped by a small gas station to pick up some worms for fishing.  Amelia was pretty interested in the night crawlers as well as the other small fish available for purchase at the store.  On Friday morning, Jason's grandpa spent about 20 minutes getting a Tweety Bird pole all ready for Amelia and even put the worm on for her. Amelia's interest in fishing lasted about 20 seconds and just as she was handing her pole off to me, she caught a fish!  She did not really care for the creature flopping all around and immediately ordered us to put the "fish in water". And so ended her love (or lack thereof) of fishing.

Not unlike her attitude towards fishing, Amelia didn't care much for swimming in the lake either.  She got in on Friday briefly before begging to get out ("me up ladder"). It wasn't until Saturday, in fact, that things changed.  We blew up her baby pool and had it down on the dock.  

She was "swimming" with grandma in it and started to get a kick out of watching Jason jump in to the lake.  She was even more interested when he asked her to count to 3 for him before he jumped in.  Jason was making it look like so much fun that I had to get in too.  And with mommy and daddy swimming in the lake together, she just couldn't handle it anymore and requested to come in too!  

Amelia's favorite part about the trip seemed to be playing in the boat. She especially enjoyed "driving" the boat.  The jury is still out on how she felt when the boat was actually in motion, she gave mixed reviews.  

Other highlights for Amelia included:  endless TV watching/snack eating, collecting rocks during an afternoon walk with her mom and grandma (see her beautiful collection below), 

goofing around with Candace and Sienna and especially playing with some of their 

old barbie dolls, 

saying "hi" to the "boy" sitting on the retaining wall,

 waving at all of the boats passing by, and eating her meals on a tiny Amelia-sized stool.

Jason and I enjoyed some tubing as well as a trip to the outlet mall in Osage Beach.  I scored two pairs of jeans for Amelia ($3 each @ Children's Place), a belt for Amelia ($2@CP), 2 sweaters for work for me ($12 each @ Eddie Bauer), a pair of corduroys for Jason ($9 @ EB), and a pair of waterproof sandals for Amelia for next summer ($15 @ Bass).  All in all, it was a great trip!

Five-Dollar Fun

I finally decided to whip out the inflatable pool I got at the end of the summer last year.  I scored this baby at 75% off, paying all of $5 and boy was it worth it!  Its cute with two pool areas and a "slide" connecting the two.  It even has a part that can hook up to the hose to create a little sprinkler under the canopy.

In addition to the pool, we decided to add Amelia's new slide to the mix as well.  This was a source of great entertainment for the kids!

A few times down the big slide, Amelia thought she would try her hand at the small, inflatable slide on her pool.  Unfortunately, it wasn't very slippery, so she ended up basically crawling down it with all of the grace she could muster--which, also unfortunately, wasn't very much.

We were lucky enough to share our pool with some friends!  My friend, Susie, bravely attended with both little ones--Natalie, 2 and Emma, not quite 3 weeks.  It was Susie's first solo adventure with both girls and she did amazing!  She even made it over by 10 AM!

Also in attendance was my friend, Amy, and her son, Sean who is also 2.  Amelia, Natalie, and Sean all have birthdays within about 3 weeks of each other, which made for a very fun morning. Or maybe I should say, a fun morning and afternoon, since Amy and I got to talking after the kids had lunch and next thing we knew it was almost 3 pm!  Amelia and Sean had a blast playing together with all of Amelia's toys, watching "Beauty and the Beast", and then they decided to nap together in Amelia's tent!

One would have thought that Amelia would take a monster nap after swimming and playing all morning out in the hot sun and then playing some more inside until 3...not a chance!  An hour later she was up--which by Amelia's standards is extremely short.  Luckily bedtime came almost an hour early instead!