Miss Independent

This week, Amelia has demonstrated her independence . . . or at least made a valiant effort to be independent.  She:

* put on one shoe, correctly, by herself.

* has almost mastered drinking from a big cup . . . as long as there isn't much liquid in the cup, and the said liquid is only water ;)

* put on shorts by herself, and only ended up with both legs in the same leg hole a few times.

* is getting better with the fork, but has yet to master the spoon, where everything falls off when you turn the spoon upside down.

* has really gotten the hang of drinking from a straw.

* put on sunglasses by herself - but mostly they ended up looking like this.

Chair Shopping

• According to the 27-year old salesman, "all" women have a hard time with recliners.  I don't know about all women, but I do know that I am recliner challenged and foresee it to be even more challenging with a baby in my arms.
• The power recliners they have are pretty sweet, and would definitely solve my recliner issues.
• I don't know that I really want a recliner though.  They seem so big and bulky.
• According to the older saleswoman, "most" women prefer a glider rocker.  I think I'd rather have a rocker than a recliner, but a glider rocker is NOT what I'm looking for.
• I found the chair I like; it rocks, but it doesn't look like a rocking chair or a recliner.  The only problem: Ken doesn't like it because it doesn't come in leather.
• I say we get the 10-year guarantee stain-guard on the chair and call it good.
• Ken says I should keep looking.
• Oh, and the couch he likes: it's not available at Costco anymore, so that's not an option either.

Randomness

• Is it right that I'm jealous of Amelia's new crayons?  Thank goodness school supplies are so cheap right now; I've got to go get some of my own.
• It rained here yesterday, which was a welcome relief from the 89 F Sunday.  I don't do heat . . . and especially when I'm pregnant.
• Amelia has started the tantrum throwing stage - sometimes I can cut them off before they get bad, and sometimes we both have to suffer through.
• I know I'm pregnant and not fat, but I feel fat . . . and I still have 2 months to go.
• I taught my last Sunbeam lesson on Sunday.  Months ago I resented being moved from the 10-year olds to Sunbeams, but Sunday I felt a bit sad about it being my last week with the 3-year olds.
• I'm going shopping for a new chair today.  I'm hoping to find one that isn't too big or too small or too fluffy or not fluffy enough.  Ken is hoping I can't find a chair I like so that we can buy the cool couch he likes ;)
• Amelia has figured out how to buckle her buckle on her highchair, even moving her fingers so that they don't get pinched . . . but she gets mad when she can't unbuckle it.

Aggie Ice Cream

The family that eats Aggie ice cream together, stays together . . . Take 1

(ice cream has long since been consumed - all that remains are the t-shirts, fond memories, and the desire for more ice cream)

Take 2

 Take 3 . . . and that's all that Daddy had patience for ;)

Friends & Family Weekend

We went to UT for a long weekend to visit family and friends.  Amelia did great on the plane, but she hated it when we tried to buckle her seat belt.  Funny how she doesn't mind her car seat, but I can't seem to buckle her into anything else lately.  As she would put it, "But Mom, I'm a big girl now; I don't need a seat belt."

As we flew out of WA, we flew right by Mt. Rainier.  We got a better view of it from the airplane, than we did being right in front of it while camping the previous weekend.

After a late night arrival, and wrestling with car rental places (I hate that car rental places have such a big issue about using a debit card . . . no one else seems to care.), we finally got to my brother's house in SLC at almost 1am.  Thanks to my brother for letting us crash there for the night and sorry about the early wake-up (Amelia doesn't do so well sleeping away from home).

First stop - the Thornley/ Wilford Family Reunion.  Ken kept Amelia entertained playing with her cousins, while I visited with family I haven't seen for a while. (Credit to Kat for the next 2 pictures; too bad I didn't remembered to get a picture of Kat and I together.)

On Sunday, we visited our good friends, the Pavlovich's.  Amelia and Kylee had fun swinging . . .

 . . . and singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" (shout hurray!) . . .

 . . . and riding the cute rocking horse.  Thanks Andy and Amber for cooking us a great dinner, and Kylee and Makenna for sharing their toys. We loved our visit and wished we lived closer.

On Monday, Ken again entertained Amelia (by running through the sprinkler) so that I could visit with our friend Carol, and her son Andrew.  Thanks Andrew for being patient so that your Mom and I could visit.

That evening, we were able to visit with another friend, Tara . . . but, I forgot again to take a picture.

And on Tuesday, before we headed back home, Amelia and Grandpa went outside to check out the tractor. 

 "Those sure are big tires, Grandpa." 

"It looks complicated, but I bet I could drive this thing."

 And after a final chat with Grandma, our short visit was complete.

Things I learned on this trip:

• Amelia travels well, but she doesn't sleep well in a car or an airplane or at someone else's house, so traveling with Amelia is exhausting.
• Despite the heat in UT, everyone has a greener lawn there than we do in WA, despite our frequent rain showers.
• I re-affirmed that UT has the best ice cream; shakes so thick you have to use a spoon, so creamy, and fresh raspberries this time of year.
• I am grateful I live in the Northwest; I could NOT deal with the heat in the summer in UT.
• Visiting with friends and family is the BEST vacation.   I wish I could have spent more time with everyone.

Things I Learned While Camping

• You don't need a chair while camping . . . the rocks around the camp site are just perfect and come in various sizes.

• Clouds while camping aren't all bad; we enjoyed the 55F temps at night.
• However, when the clouds are so low you can't see the mountain you came to see, it could be a bummer . . . if you didn't see said mountain from home on an almost daily basis. (Mt. Rainier is directly behind me in this photo - in between the trees.) 

• "Moderate" hikes aren't moderate if you're pregnant and hiking uphill.  However, the view from the top was worth it.

• There is a fine line between too firm and too squishy when blowing up an air mattress.  We nearly got it right, but not quite.
• Riding the free shuttle bus in the park was not only efficient, but fun.

•  Camping can come with risks:  
• Picking a camp site online without seeing the campground. (We were lucky and ended up with a great spot).
• Having a toddler that may or may not sleep through the night.  (The 1st night Amelia was up for 2 hours in the middle of the night until she fell asleep in our bed.  The 2nd night, Amelia slept through the night - yeah!)
• And then there are some risks that are completely out of your control:

•  After having a nightlight(s) on in the house for the last 17 months, it was hard for me (and Amelia) to sleep in pitch darkness.
• It's no fun being pregnant and having to do bathroom trips in the middle of the night, multiple times, in the dark, uphill both ways (okay, so it was only uphill on the way there.)
• Eating s'mores on Fudge Stripe Cookies is a great way to end a long day.
• Putting your feet up and relaxing while your husband fixes breakfast is (almost) worth the sleepless night.

• "Clean" at home and "clean" while camping means 2 completely different things.
• It's easy and fun to eat off of Daddy's plate when you're 17 mons. old.

• There is an endless supply of sticks, pinecones, rocks, and flowers to pick at the National Park . . . and I think Amelia picked up every one of them at least once.

• Wearing your husband's clothes works perfectly when you don't have any camping maternity clothes.
• Ending the weekend with a smile makes the lack of sleep not seem so bad.

Randomness

• On Tuesday when we were out walking, a lady stopped to ask about our Burley stroller, and then asked if I wanted to buy some baby/ girl's clothes.  When I agreed to go look at them, she told me she was going through a divorce and had no money for rent.  And her roommate was crying about something and telling me about the boating accident she had had.  I'm not sure if that was to entice me to buy more, but I'm always amazed/embarrassed when complete strangers share so much personal information with people they don't know.
• Do you ever regret not looking at the forecast when you plan your meals?  I did yesterday . . . right after I turned on the oven to 400F when it was 80F - inside and out.
• I'm finally in my 3rd trimester . . . but I already feel like I've been pregnant forever.
• We've been enjoying our produce box that we get every week - love, love, love the fresh produce and taste of home-grown veggies.  But what to do with all the garlic that we've gotten?
• I don't mind re-watching videos with Amelia over and over, but for some reason, I get irritated when a re-run of cartoons comes on TV.  Go figure.
• Amelia and I walked to the park yesterday.  Amelia loves to stop and pick up every interesting leaf, stick and rock along the way.  And once we got to the park, she had fun filling the swing with rocks and sticks.

 Oh yeah, and she loves to swing too.

• We're going camping this weekend.  Wish us luck!