Lunch Al Fresco

We had a couple of nice days last week, so I decided to come up with another "mystery" for Amelia to solve. Once again, I gave her some clues and she had to figure out what special place we were going to visit.

Her first clue was a blanket. The next clue was her jacket. The third clue was a huge pile of food I had prepared on the counter and the final clue was the picnic basket. Yes, it took her all 4 clues to figure it out.

Amelia trying to talk me in to eating the granola bar BEFORE her sandwich. It was a no-go.

It was really beautiful out and the pond was apparently calling her name--repeatedly. After about 63 times of asking her to come back to the blanket and eat, I gave up and let her frolic around the water. It was a learning experience after all. She found out that the geese were much more interested in eating her sandwich than she was. She also discovered that they really enjoy chips.

Yep, Henry enjoyed the picnic, too, despite missing out on the same delicacies that Amelia (and the geese) enjoyed. He soaked up some vitamin D and enjoyed his milk al fresco (thanks Fancy Nancy for teaching us a new word that we love to use!).

I really cannot wait to spend more time outdoors. I certainly notice our days don't seem quite as long when we get a chance to get some fresh air and run around!

Ice, Ice Baby

An excellent opportunity fell into my lap thanks to a member of my playgroup. We were able to score $10 tickets to Disney on Ice. I have never been before, but from what I understand, that is an amazing price. And did I mention we pretty much couldn't have had better seats unless we were actually sitting on the ice? I guess they COULD have been a little better, I think we were in the 4th row.

Regardless, I wasn't about to let the cat out of the bag to Amelia ahead of time for fear of having to answer about a billion questions. So, we went about our day that morning and all I told her was that I had a mystery for her to solve (this is her new thing thanks to a budding interest in Scooby and the gang). I told her that as she completed assigned tasks (read: chores) around the house, she would receive a new clue. She fed the dog, made her bed, picked up all of her toys, brushed her teeth, and finished breakfast with not a single complaint! Lovely!

The first clue she earned was her Belle dress. I told her that was what she would be wearing. Next, we made popcorn and packed it in a bag along with a few other snacks and a drink. Then, GG showed up (to watch Henry) as clue #3. The fourth clue were the tickets (which of course meant nothing to her), but I pointed out the word "Disney" on them and she immediately asked, "Are we going to Disneyworld??".

While GG was here, she gave Amelia clue number 5. She pretended to ice skate around on the hard wood floor. Amelia was stumped! Her final clue was me telling her that someone very special would be sitting next to us. Someone that she loves! She asked, "Is it Jesus?".


With all the clues gathered, we headed out to the Scottrade Center to solve the mystery. She was thrilled when she recognized so many of her friends sitting around us and was especially excited when Natalie and Emma showed up to sit next to us. (Thankfully, she wasn't at all disappointed that it was them and not Jesus).


And the show could not have been better! I didn't get a single picture of any of the characters because I was too busy watching these three ladies captivated by the action on the ice. But, nearly every single character that Amelia knows and loves showed up for the performance. She was beside herself and is STILL talking about it weeks later.


And somehow, although I'm not sure how, we escaped without spending a single dime on merchandise (read: light up junk). But, I will be sure to pick up a light up flashlight or glow necklace of some sort next time at Target to surprise her with once we get there. It would be worth it instead of having to deny her no less than 30,000 times the $22 variety sold at the show.

The Papa Pillow

Works every time.

Memphis: Day 4

After my minor freak-out once we booked the mini-vacation to Memphis, Jason said, "We can always just come home if things don't go well". Well, I'm happy to report we made it to the end of our trip!

Most of Day 4 wasn't spent in Memphis. In fact, it was less than 1/2 hour of our day once we got on the road. On the way to Memphis, we had briefly talked about stopping in Sikeston, MO on the way home to take Amelia to Lambert's Cafe. I am not a huge fan of the place, but Jason thought Amelia would get a kick out of the "throwed rolls" and the like.

We really spent a lot of time talking the place up to Amelia so by the time we got there, she was all about seeing some bread get thrown across the room. The first "bread boy" that came around came right to our table and barely tossed one to Amelia. She was not impressed. And, of course, the guy that really threw them all the way across the room made an appearance while she and I were in the bathroom. So, the next time he came out and we were actually at the table, she was pretty excited. So excited, in fact, that she was standing on the bench in our booth watching the man chuck the bread all over the room. She happily exclaimed, "Catch one dad!", so Jason put his hand up to signal to the bread boy that he wanted a roll. (At this time the guy throwing the bread and our booth were about as far away from each other as possible). So the man (who had quite an arm) sent a roll sailing our way and Amelia was awestruck...that is until it struck her right in the forehead! And then, she started crying--hysterically. The kind of crying where she couldn't quite catch her breath to say in one coherent sentence: "I....want....to...go...hhhooommmmeee!".

Jason and I felt HORRIBLE. This type of crying is pretty uncharacteristic of Amelia. Granted she was tired, but she said it was hot and it was traveling pretty fast so I'm sure it hurt. The bread boy came over (twice) and apologized profusely. Luckily actually tasting the bread roll was enough to turn off the tears. They are quite good, you know.

She was able to laugh about it a few hours later and still giggles now when we bring it up. But, I don't think she is in any hurry to get back there.

Amelia likes to do this thing lately where she intentionally gets food on her face and then says, "Look at me!". Then, when we tell her that her face is a mess, she laughs uncontrollably. Oh, to be 3!

All in all, I would certainly say the trip was a success! We are already scouting out our next voyage. And Amelia was so excited that the morning after we returned from our trip was spent sewing on two new buttons to her map quilt: Arkansas and Tennessee. She's up to 10 states total that she has visited!

Memphis: Day 3

Given that Day 2 was super busy (and expensive), we decided to take it easy on Day 3 and researched some cheaper things to do around the city.

Right outside our hotel door was a trolley pick up stop. At only $1 per person, it was the best deal in town. Amelia loved riding it and putting her money in the machine as we got in the trolley. And to top it off, each trolley we saw was a different color--which our little rainbow girl loved!

Jason and Amelia doing the trolley thing.

We decided to take the trolley to the Peabody Hotel to see the famous ducks! At 11 AM everyday, these little guys take the elevator down from their Royal Duck Palace on the roof to the lobby of the hotel. They walk the red carpet and then get into the fountain (using steps of course) and swim around until 5 pm. At that time, they get out of the fountain and return to the elevator and up to their Palace.

(As a side note, you may notice that EVERY picture of Amelia from our trip shows her wearing a dress. That is all she would pack for the trip and has basically refused to wear anything other than a dress or skirt without throwing an enormous fit).

Amelia at the famous Peabody fountain where the ducks swim

Myself and Henry (or at least his legs) at the fountain

The duck master giving some background of the hotel and the ducks.

killing time waiting for the little guys

the main attraction--right on schedule!

Amelia and a duck. This particular duck was showering under one of the fountain streams. Amelia thought that was hilarious!

After a trip to the souvenir shop (where Amelia scored a fancy duck necklace), we headed out in search of some lunch. We had read about Huey's online--a restaurant that was supposed to be kid friendly AND have the best burgers in town. It did not disappoint. Poor Henry passed out on my chest while we were waiting for our food. I thought I could hold him AND eat, but the poor little guy kept getting bits of food dropped on his head. So, on went the napkin and Jason thought it necessary to document the moment with a picture.


As you can see in the background, at Huey's they encourage you to write on the walls of the restaurant. Amelia had a very hard time understanding this concept and would not write on the wall until I did it first.

After a trolley ride back to the hotel we all napped. Later, Jason took Amelia for a dip in the pool while we waited for Henry to awake. Not wanting to miss out on Memphis BBQ, we gave Central BBQ a try. Good stuff (although I got a salad)!

Amelia had a minor meltdown that night when we mentioned it would be our last night there (apparently she didn't think we were leaving---ever!). Although, I think the tears were more about missing the pool than anything else....

Memphis: Day 2

Day two in Memphis brought some more exciting adventures for the Ward Family. We started the day with a visit to the Pink Palace--a museum of sorts that was an "editor's pick" on a website I consulted for things to do in Memphis with kids. We arrived at said "palace" about 30 minutes after they opened and we were quite surprised to be only the 4th car in the parking lot.

That should have been our first clue.

The most impressive thing about the Pink Palace was the outside.

But, instead of leaving like we probably should have, we unloaded the kids and shelled out $23 to get into the place. To make a long story short, we ended up paying about $1/minute for the time we ended up spending at the museum.

Amelia and a fancy mirror at the "Palace". Fascinating, no?

Its not that the place wasn't filled with tons to look at, its just that we were looking for something that provided some hands-on experiences for Amelia. She looked around happily for about 20 minutes and then said, "Okay, I'm tired of just walking around and looking at stuff. Let's go play now!".

Amelia checking out the chocolate seats on display in the Chocolate exhibit. This was about as hands-on as it got.

I thought the website made the miniature circus exhibit sound pretty interesting. And it was, for about 5 minutes.

So, about 30 minutes after arriving we decided to cut our losses and head to the zoo instead. Being the cheapskate that I am, this was incredibly difficult for me! But, it proved to be the best decision of the day! When we left the Pink Palace, the cars in the parking lot had more than doubled. Yep, 9 cars!

So, on to the zoo we went! There was, of course, tons to do and see there, but the price tag was a little hard to swallow since our zoo is free and wonderful! (And the $23 we had just flushed at the Pink Palace didn't help). However, it was a beautiful zoo and we thoroughly enjoyed it--especially their prize exhibit: the pandas!

The hippos were great too! Look how close we could get to the sunbathing fellows. As you can see, once again the Magic Meatball was wrong--the weather was wonderful!

Amelia wanted me to take her picture with this snake. We opted out of observing the snake's feeding time during which they were giving it a rabbit. Yikes!


Amelia loved the prairie dog exhibit where she could go underground and pretend to be a little prairie pup herself. The picture unfortunately didn't turn out, but you can kind of see her little head sticking up in the right dome.

Yep, Henry came too! Don't think we left him in the car or something. He loved his first full day in the Baby Bjorn!

I think Amelia forgot what flowers look like given our long, long winter.

Henry got to do a little horse riding at the zoo!

Our day ended up with a nap followed by a trip to a fantastic little restaurant called Soul Fish Cafe. Henry napped, while Amelia dined on catfish nuggets. The food was yummy and the people were so friendly! Seriously, they had the BEST hush puppies I've ever had. I think between Jason and I we ate 14ish.

After a trip to the drugstore for a little candy for dessert, we headed back to the hotel to work off our hush puppies. I am sure this is only the first of many family swims to come!


And before you think we are crazy for putting a two month old in the pool, I have to mention that the water was SUPER warm. Like a bath. He was in for about an hour and loved every minute of it. He was even kicking his legs! Needless to say, he slept well that night too!

Memphis: Day 1

Everyone was required to have their picture taken at the start of the trip.

Jason and I love to travel. Amelia and I took four big trips last year to various parts of the country and Jason joined us for two of them. But, since our journey north to Wisconsin in the fall, our travels have pretty much been non-existent. Something about being in late pregnancy and then caring for a needy newborn keeps long car rides and stays in strange hotel rooms at bay.

Amelia snapped my picture from the back seat!

With that being said, these circumstances didn't keep us from talking about where our first family vacation may take us. For awhile we debated the pros and cons of Chicago, Kansas City, Branson, and Memphis. We wanted to stay within a 4-5 hour radius and we wanted there to be plenty of things to do with the kids (mainly, Amelia). Our only other criteria was we needed a hotel with a pool!

Knowing that Amelia would have her spring break in March, we quickly dismissed Branson and KC because several things we were interested in doing weren't going to open for the season yet. Chicago made us nervous because in March, it can still be quite cold there. So, almost by default we decided to give Memphis a try. It helped that the forecast for the weekend we were considering included daily temperatures close to 70 degrees. After picking a weekend and a location, it only made sense to use our favorite method of scoring a cheap hotel on Priceline to see if we could make it happen. However, as soon as the confirmation came that we had scored the hotel at our desired price, I had a moment of panic. Who voluntarily chooses to take a temperamental 3 year old and an unpredictable 2 month old on a 4.5 hour road trip?

We do, I guess.

Amazingly, we were able to load up the car with all of the necessities for the weekend in my Honda Accord that seems to be getting smaller by the day. And when you ask, "What could you possibly need to bring for just 3 days" let me warn you that the list is not short. Other than the expected clothes and toiletries for 4 people (including one who averages 3-4 outfits each DAY) there was also a bouncer (where Henry naps), a double stroller, a pack-n-play (because I don't trust the hotel's version which is undoubtedly germ ridden and/or centuries old), an entire backpack of books/toys for Amelia, a portable DVD player, a diaper bag, etc. Not to mention that the entire backseat is taken up by car seats now!

Jason's picture at the start of the journey--he thought it would be funny to look angry.

We had everything packed up and ready to go just 20 minutes after our anticipated time of departure. About 30 minutes into the trip, Amelia exclaims from the backseat, "Wow! This IS a long trip!". (Obviously, I had advised her that we would be in the car a long time. I thought it was pretty funny that 30 minutes was long to her!). Shortly thereafter Henry woke for the first time and quickly decided he was hungry. We pulled over so that I could feed him and he happily ate on the first side while Amelia and Jason got out and explored the gas station snack selection. While I was trying to extract a burp from the H man, he started to cry and got very upset. Assuming he was eager to start on side two, I tried to get him going only to listen to him get more and more upset. Very upset. Very, very upset. Some might even say completely inconsolable. And did I mention that he had his 2 month check up earlier that day? Did I mention he got 4 shots and an oral vaccine? Yikes! I realized (as I was envisioning an entire weekend of this type of screaming) that I hadn't given him any Tylenol since before his appointment. So, out came the Tylenol and my little man was much happier within 10 minutes of administering the goods.

Sleeping off his 4 shots--for now.

Still leery of continuing on a path that was taking us farther from home, we decided to take a chance and keep going. A few hours later, we stopped to gas up and eat dinner. Amelia got a Happy Meal at every kid's favorite restaurant and her toy inside was something called the "Magic Meatball". This apparently is the equivalent to a "Magic Eight Ball". We explained to her how you can ask yes or no questions and the Meatball will predict the answer. For the next couple of hours we asked the Magic Meatball countless questions: "Is the weather going to be good this weekend?" (no). "Is Henry going to be crabby tonight?" (yes). "Is our hotel going to be nice?" (no). "Are we going to have fun this weekend?" (no). The Magic Meatball started to make us very nervous with its negativity! Luckily none of its "predictions" came true!

Eventually we made it to Memphis and our hotel. We (and by "we", I mean Jason) had promised Amelia a swim in the pool upon our arrival and although it was nearly 9 PM, he followed through and took her for a short dip.

Tennessee welcomes us!

And so ended Day 1! Thank goodness Henry had no further problems and slept, well, like a baby!

Two Months: the Low Down

Well, somehow two months with our little boy have flown right on by. He has had so many firsts this month as we have become more brave venturing out into the germ-ridden world. He's been to virtually every shopping venue in the area and even joined his sister on a trip to the grocery store. And, despite his mama's certainty that things would not go well, they did! He handled himself like a champ during my first stroller aerobics class of the year. And on the first 50 degree day of the year--he made his first trip to the park!

Henry continues to eat every 2-3 hours during the day, but for some reason he is willing to give up that schedule at night. He's consistently sleeping between 7.5 and 8.5 hours every night with very few exceptions. I attribute this to our patented double swaddling method. Little does he know, in the next day or two, he will be switching from the pack-n-play in our room to his crib in HIS room. Today, in fact, Amelia and I dusted off the baby monitors. I'm hoping that doesn't affect his sleeping habits.

looking very manly in his purple Bumbo

And speaking of eating, the boy is HUGE! He had his check-up last week and his stats are as follows:

Weight: 14 lbs. 9 oz. (96th percentile)
Length: 24.5 inches (91st percentile)
Head Circumference: (85th percentile)

In case you aren't keeping track, that is a big growth spurt for the ol' noggin--something the doc reassured me as being very normal.


The doc said he is the size of an average 4 month old and told me he may need to start rice cereal in the next month or two if I cannot keep up with his needs. Hopefully that won't be necessary! I am not quite ready for all the messiness that comes with introducing food to an infant. Incidentally, he has outgrown much of his wardrobe and has started wearing 6-9 month clothes already! We just switched him to size 2 diapers as well.

Apparently, he also has a bit of a flat head on his right side, so I am trying to make an effort to keep him from favoring that side all of the time.


Henry spends his days smiling and chatting and watching his big sister accessorize him. He is a pretty easy going little guy. Baths are a treat for him and he (usually) doesn't mind trips in the car. He also enjoys looking at ceiling fans and trying to figure out why his canine sister barks so much. He is s l o w l y coming around with tummy time and instead of just laying his head down and crying he actually has been putting it up and looking around.


All in all, I cannot ask for a better start to this life as a family of four.

Two Months!

The Bridge to Nowhere

Apparently the easel isn't only for painting anymore....

"Booty" Shakin'

During a diaper change, the following conversation ensued:

Amelia: Why does Henry have that strange booty that hangs down and shakes all around?

Jodi: (I won't write my exact words, but suffice it to say that I explained his genitalia to her in simple but correct terminology).

Amelia: Did I have one of those when I was a baby?

If She Only Knew....

GG: Amelia, how much longer is Henry going to be a baby?
Amelia: For a couple more months and then the REAL fun starts!