Florida Prep

We had been talking for awhile about returning to Orlando sometime in the winter of 2011.  We diligently watched airfare and scoured vrbo.com for deals on rental homes.  Everything kind of fell together very quickly and we were suddenly heading to FL in late January!

Poor Amelia, though, the trip certainly didn't seem to come quickly to her.  We have been talking about saving for our trip and making countless trips to the bank for over a year now.  We finally decided that making a Disney World countdown would probably be a good idea.

Amelia picked which characters she would like on her countdown chart and then we google imaged each one.  She picked the picture she wanted, cut it out, and glued it in the appropriate spot.  It was nice to be able to direct her to the chart when she would ask about the trip.

As she checked off boxes day after day, I noticed a slowly growing pile in her room of underwear, socks, books, and toys.  "For the trip" she reassured me.  Then, one night while checking on her before going to bed myself, I noticed that she had started laying out entire outfits to take--complete with coordinating shoes and jackets.

Perhaps the most important preparation was made by Jason, though.  Since we had rented a house with a full kitchen, we were hoping to save some money by eating breakfasts and some lunches at the house.  For Henry's birthday party, we picked up some delicious loafs of  sweet breads at Costco, so Jason set out to get some for the trip as well.  We had plenty of packing space and we thought the bread would make for some quick, easy, and cheap breakfasts. Turns out the breads at Costco are seasonal, but Jason did find something for the trip that he picked up.

 Score!

Lastly, I had picked out this adorable pillowcase dress I was planning to replicate for the trip.  I showed it to Amelia (assuming she would be as excited as me about it) and she immediately nixed it.  I think her exact comment was "what are my other choices?".  We did a google image for "Minnie Mouse outfit" and she picked out a random picture she liked.  My mom was able to make the exact outfit from just the picture.  And it turned out so cute.  Admittedly, it was probably better than what I had originally planned.

So, there you have it.   Disney countdown chart-check! Random princess clothes-check! Extremely large bag of M&M's-check!  Adorable Minnie Mouse outfit-check! 

Next stop:  the house with the Mouse.

Budding Artist

 Henry got his first taste of creating art.  And, luckily, there was actually no tasting involved!  Henry seemed to enjoy himself and he stayed surprisingly clean.

 Kind of reminds me of another little budding artist...

(Notice the same high chair in the same spot in the kitchen with the same paint even! Looks like I've only upgraded the paint shirt and the blinds.)

Junie B. Jones

We've really enjoyed our season tickets to the St. Louis Theatre Series this year.  I feel like the play list was made specifically for my little girl:  Pocahontas, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Fancy Nancy, Peter Pan, and (most recently) Junie B. Jones!

I happened upon a set of Junie B. Jones books a last consignment sale last fall and I've slowly been adding more when I see them at Goodwill (for 30 cents each!).  Amelia and I are big fans of Ms. Jones and have poured over them many a nights together.  To see her in action on the stage was a big hit--with Amelia and me!  And meeting her afterward and getting her autograph was almost as exciting!

RIP little Miss Truman

 "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened".

 Truman and Chase

 Our last night with little Truman

 Truman sporting one of her winter sweaters.

 Truman and I snuggling while she was still our only baby.

 One of many baby kisses.  This ended up being our 2006 Christmas card picture.

Her favorite spot was under the covers next to us.

 Opening one of her presents--Christmas 2010.

 She loved to lay in sunny spots around the house.  There weren't many since we have blinds on all of our windows except 3. Amelia loved to imitate her.

She adjusted to Henry's arrival way better than she did to Amelia's arrival.  Henry and Truman seemed to have mutual adoration for each other.

 At our new house around July 2007.

Christmas 2005 with Chase.

 

 After the Cardinals won the World Series in 2006

She is already missed very much around our house.  Sometimes I still think I hear her breathing or see her out of the corner of my eye.  Often I expect her to run down the steps.  When we came back from vacation it was very strange not to be greeted enthusiastically by her.  I miss her warmth, her strange groaning noises, her smell, her unconditional love, and, among other things, her ability to keep my kitchen floor clean (especially under the high chair).  In my heart I know she is in a better place.

MLK Day Adventure

Not too terribly long ago--MLK day, I think--I had had enough of being cooped up in the house.  Jason was off work and Amelia was off school, so we gave her a choice of 3 different adventures she could go on.  Our inspiration came mostly from an ABC book about St. Louis attractions we had checked out from the library. 

She immediately chose the Lone Elk Park--Powder Valley Nature Center--Ted Drewes option.  So off we went!

The first stop was the observation tower at Lone Elk Park.  Luckily, it was a little bit warmer that day so we could go outside for small amounts of time.  We climbed to the top and were able to spot the pond and several animals.

Then, it was back to the car.  We got to see the bison up close and personal!

I snapped this picture of Henry since it was quickly decided that his car seat should be turned around so he could enjoy the trip.  I had originally planned on keeping him rear facing for as long as possible, but I'm afraid there was no turning back (literally) after this day.  His latest car trick is making his socks disappear!

After a moderately successful drive through Lone Elk, we headed to Powder Valley Nature Center which turned out to be a little of a strike out.  The visitor center is closed on Mondays (boo) and the longer trail with the bridge that crosses over the road was closed due to the weather conditions.  So, we were stuck "hiking" the only open trail--The Tanglevine Trail--which was a whopping 1/3 mile.

As it turns out, 1/3 mile was PLENTY!  It was pretty cold out there afterall!  

We enjoyed spotting this "Tanglevine".  Amelia said it reminded her of Rapunzel's hair.

Believe it or not, we weren't the only "hikers" out there that day. Amelia spotted someone with a walking stick and immediately found one of her own.

Although the Visitor's Center was closed, it didn't stop Amelia from kissing the frog outside.  I think she was a little disappointed that it didn't turn into a prince or didn't turn HER into a frog!

After we pretty much struck out at Powder Valley, we decided it was time to grab lunch.  We thought we would get something quick and then hit up Ted Drewes.  BUT, apparently they are closed for the entire month of January.  I suggested going to Fitz's instead.  Not because the food is so delicious (it's mediocre at best), but because Amelia LOVES root beer and I knew she would enjoy seeing the bottling process.  What I didn't expect, however, was for Henry to love it as well!

I had to snap this picture of Henry at the restaurant because this boy is into EVERYTHING.  He is so grabby and so fast that we had to clear everything on the table far away from him.  I still don't understand why the youngest member of our party needed to occupy HALF of the table!

As an added bonus for the day, we discovered several ice sculptures outside of Fritz's.  Amelia really enjoyed examining them and even Henry got a kick out of touching them.  Brrrrrr.

 

n + e

Look at these two sweet little ladies getting ready to head out for a day at Build-a-Bear.  They are in their matching shirts I made for them for Christmas--one of the few handmade gifts I made this year.  The shirts couldn't have been easier to make and they turned out adorable--although these two can make anything look good!

Butterfly House

With the freezing weather outside, I was quick to accept a friend's invitation to join her at the Butterfly House!  I went in wearing 3 layers and was quickly down to one.  In fact, my camera kept steaming up, so I hardly got any good pictures!

Henry loved watching the butterflies--when he could find them!  They were way too fast for his little eyes to keep up with.

My favorite little lady...

Three of my favorite ladies....

Poor Henry hardly gets any attention when these 4 are together.

Amelia was WAY brave and climbed into the cockroach bubble.  It still gives me chills just looking at the picture!

And last but not least--a picture from earlier in the day while we were trying to kill some time before the butterfly house.  We were listening to a little Jackson 5 when she struck this pose.  I have a video that goes along with it, but I'm saving it for blackmail down the road....

Happy Birthday to Me!

Almost a month ago already, I turned 32!  To celebrate, we decided to head to a hibachi-style restaurant nearby.  In my 32 years, I have heard a lot about these types of restaurants, but have never experienced one myself.  And although this type of food isn't really my favorite, I was looking forward to it nonetheless.

I was a little worried that the fire may be too much for the kids.  So, during the day, Amelia and I watched youtube video after youtube video of hibachi grill chefs in action.  Little did I know that the huge burst of fire is something that only happens once, really during dinner.  I should have been worried about the noise--both of my children were less than thrilled with the loud sounds.

We decided to go early and order the special they had running.  It came with soup, salad, grilled shrimp, rice, vegetables and your choice of meat prepared on the grill. 

Henry especially enjoyed the soup!

Amelia took a few bites too!

My mom brought me this stupid special birthday crown to wear.

Amelia ordered mac-n-cheese and then attempted to eat it with chopsticks.

Lucky for us, the chef thought it would be fun to go around the table and flip a small piece of shrimp into everyone's mouth.  Jason was last to go, so he got 8 pieces fired to him in a row.

Next up was a neat little volcano trick.

 

It was a great time with family and I loved trying something new--even if it wasn't my preferred cuisine!  And in the end, I think the kids enjoyed it too!