Dear Amelia - 18 months

Dear Amelia,

In a few days you will offically be 18 months old. One and a half. I like "18 months" better because it sounds like you are still my baby and not on your way to being a big girl. Yesterday you had your 18 month check-up, and you were just over 26 lbs (75th percentile) and just over 30 inches tall (25th percentile). Which isn't surprising because you love to eat! I can't think of many things you have tried and spit out. You like everything (and I'm sure I just jinxed that). You have two more pesky canine teeth coming through that have been messing with your sleep lately, but hopefully that will pass soon.

Every day with you is an adventure. You love to climb and run and stand on things you shouldn't (toys, chairs, people...) - it's hard to catch a picture of you these days because you rarely sit still. And you're tough. You tend to trip a lot but even if you hit your head on something you jump right back up with minimal crying. (We got your legs checked out recently since they are bowed, which causes a lot of your falls, but the doctors said you'll outgrow that.)

You love books, and your favorite is "Sam Sheep Can't Sleep." We have been known to read it five times a day. You don't necessarily talk as much as some other kids your age that we know, but you are getting there. You reguarly say "Nain!" for thank you. You also love "teeees!" (cheese - saying it and eating it). Last weekend when you crashed in bed with Daddy and me, you woke me up by saying, "Mah-mee! Mah-mee!" for the first time ever! I was so happy. (Before, Daddy and I were both "Da".) You also said "ball" and "block" in context this weekend. You can point out your toes, ears, nose, mouth, and eyes - the only one you say is "eyes", but you can find them when we ask. You say "two" when we're counting, and sometimes "six." You say, "feess!" for fish, and some of your other words include keys, go, tree, and light. Even though you don't say them every day, you know what they mean.

Your favorite phrase right now is, "Oh no!" with a very concerned, dramatic look on your face. And my dear, you are nothing if not dramatic! Your facial expressions are so over the top. You are always making us laugh.

Cheese face

Excited Valentine's face - OMG, a card!

 

Kiddo, it's really hard to sum up how amazing your are. It's so much fun to watch you learn and explore. You are ornery and keep us on our toes, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Saying hi to a baby goat

We love you so much, munchkin pants. I can't believe you're on your way to two years old. Slow down!

Love always,
Mommy!

Just stopping by

I have been neglecting my blogly duties as of late, I know. I intended to post Christmas pics, have a half-written New Year's post, and yet none of them have found their way to blog land. So my humble apologies.

I have also toyed with the idea of getting rid of/hiding/migrating some of my old TTC posts and sharing this blog with friends and family in the "real world", but that sounds time consuming and time is not something I have massive quantities of lately.

In general, things are good. I started 2013 feeling hopeful about this year for our family, in a vaguely optimistic way I can't quite explain. Amelia is 17 months old now, and amazing and fun (I'll post more specifics later!). I am loving mommyhood these days.

Will you accept a pic of my cutie pie to placate you until I come back with something of substance? Here's my munchkin enjoying the snow in our back yard last weekend, which was a far more successful excursion than our first attempt, where she screamed and cried hysterically and said, "Nooooo!" over and over. I get it. Mama doesn't like winter either!

26

Yesterday an unimaginable tragedy occurred miles and miles from where I live, but never before had an act of senseless violence struck so close to home. I learned about Newtown, Connecticut and the 26 innocent lives taken there while I was at work, and I spent the better part of the afternoon and evening crying or with tears in my eyes. All I wanted was to hold my baby and never, ever let her go. I wonder all too often what kind of world I have brought my daughter into. But in our house, on a night of heartache, we did not watch the sad news unfold. Instead, we made the most of the life we have been blessed with.

Amelia and I had our first tea party. She's just starting to learn how to pretend, and would hold the cup up to my mouth while I made exaggerated slurping noises. She laughed hysterically and her giggles filled a piece of my heart that had broken yesterday.

 

At bath time I showed her the Ernie "Rubber Ducky" video on YouTube for the first time while she played with her ducky. She thought that was pretty great too.

 

And after her bath, we snuggled downstairs and watched "Elf" until she fell asleep in my arms. I carried her upstairs for bed, and I rocked her for awhile even though she was already asleep. It took a lot of effort to lay her down in her crib and close the door.

 

I always thank God for allowing me to be Amelia's mommy and ask him to watch over her, but last night I was beyond grateful. The tears continued today, hitting me as I drove or when I looked at my sweet girl's face. I pray for peace and healing in Newtown in the days, weeks, months and years to come. I pray that we can all be reminded that there is still good in the world, and that we will strive to share that goodness in the lives of all we encounter.

 

"And you ask me what I want this year/and I try to make this kind and clear/just the chance that maybe we'll find better days/'Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings/or designer love and empty things/just that chance that maybe we'll find better days..." -Goo Goo Dolls, "Better Days"

'Tis the Season for Giving - and Saving!

As I mentioned in my last post, things are a little tight within the old Miller pocketbook these days. (Pocketbook. What a weird, archaic word, eh? Goes hand in hand with "purse strings", I "reckon.") Anywho, I've decided to take advantage of a few ways to save this holiday season. I'll be honest and admit I could save more, but dagnabbit (see what I did there with another old-timey word?) I do love Christmas and finding great gifts. I am not, however, Looney Tunes enough to stay up all night and camp out in a line full of deal-crazed Black Friday shoppers hopped up on adrenaline and 5-hour energy shots while frantically making lists, texting their friends in line at other stores, and analyzing their store maps. I value every moment of sleep I can get these days, and there isn't an electronic gadget on earth I want badly enough to forgo the sweet comfort of my bed. (My apologies if you are one of those people. More power to you.)

So here's what I've done instead:

Kiddo Stuff
Because I hate Mother Earth and have been making her weep by filling landfills with disposable diaper garbage for the last 15 months, I have also racked up a bunch of Pampers Gifts to Grow points. Enough points that I was able to cash them in for a Little Tikes grocery cart for my aspiring shopaholic. You don't even have to pay for shipping on GTG purchases! The site said shipping would take 6-8 weeks, but it showed up on my porch this weekend after only two weeks. Yay for "free" Christmas stuff!

(Bear and boy not included. Daddy assembly required.)

For my voracious little reader (ironic that voracious also applies to appetite, because sometimes Amelia eats magazines and books) I also scored a great deal on a four-pack of Eric Carle books through a program at the school I now work for. I basically got four books for the price of two. They'll be good as she grows because they are hard cover paperbacks, and they include learning questions in the back of each book.

It included these and another one I can't remember (less used than these, of course)

More Rewards Points
I also took the opportunity to cash in some credit card points for a Target gift card, which I plan to use toward Christmas gifts. If you've got debt racked up, you might as well use it to your advantage, right?! 

Stuff for ME!

Because I am greedy like that, I've also got some stuff in the works for myself. For meeting a fundraising goal a few months back with my March of Dimes March for Babies team, I earned a small gift card to Macy's that I have yet to spend.  But last week I realized that I have enough gas station reward points to get another Macy's gift card. Still not enough to cover the new wardrobe I desperately need, but it might be worth it. Mama needs a new pair of shoes! (And some jeans. And various other items of clothing.) 

I'm also taking part in a fitness challenge at work that won't pay off until this spring, but I'll get a $50 Visa Gift Card for basically no extra effort on my part. I just have to "check in" with certain healthy daily activities that earn me points (I actually get points for feeding my child) and I've already reached the gift card goal.

Helping Others

While I don't have a lot to spare this year, I am still doing my best to help others. I've volunteered at work to help with their adopt-a-family program, and our MoPs group is collecting some items for children in need. I found some great kids' items to contribute to that project in the Target dollar bins! In the future I hope to teach Amelia the importance of helping others and get her involved in some holiday giving as well.

What are some of your favorite ways to save? Any holiday deals you want to brag about?

I hope everyone in blogland has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Fall Back

So I promised to be a better blogger, huh? And uh, it's been...well, not quite a month since my last post, so I guess that's an improvement. I would love to come up with some creative and/or witty and/or entertaining posts, but all I've got is my life which isn't all that exciting these days. So let's see, what's new with us? Other than Daylight Savings Time making me want to curl up in a ball every night by 7:00 pm...

Halloween
Miss Amelia was Little Red Riding Hood. This was a last minute costume as I intended for her to be Max from Where the Wild Things Are since she and Max both love to "make mischief" and it was one of my favorite books as a kid. However, I was a mommy fail and didn't order the pjs I wanted to use for the costume before they ran out of her size, so Little Red it was (seeing as that was one of the few costumes left in her size at the Halloween store two days before Halloween). I managed to find a goofy wolf hat while I was there, so we were a lovely pair.

It was freezing the night of Halloween, so Little Red and I hit a few houses for trick or treat with her cousin, and then came back home to hand out candy. She loved saying "hi" to everyone before it got too cold and she had to go inside.

Work
My new job is still going well. It's nice to be off earlier to be home with Amelia at night, and I am looking forward to our holiday breaks. And working with high school students is always interesting/amusing/crazy. However, through some miscommunication and some idiocy on my part, it turns out I am actually netting a lot less than my old job instead of more. And let me tell you, we weren't exactly raking in the money to start with. It's tough to be a 31-year-old college graduate and still barely scraping by. This is definitely causing some stress, and leading me to consider whether I can find a part time job after the summer instead that will allow us to save on one of our biggest monthly expenses - child care - while still having benefits. This is also factoring into the fact that while I had toyed with the idea of TFAS next year, I don't know that it will happen. Maybe I should start playing the lottery...

Other Stuff
I decided to host Thanksgiving at our house this year and also elminate another Thanksgiving stop. It's part of my goal to start focusing on OUR family rather than everyone else at the holidays. It may not always work out perfectly, but my hope is that we will spend less time in the car, less time disrupting naps, etc. and just focus on celebrating.

As for Amelia...oh, this girl. She has quite the personality! She is so funny (loves to "dance") and sweet (loves to give kisses). She also has a major stubborn streak and throws some serious fits. She is in perpetual motion and like a ninja when getting into things she shouldn't. But watching her grow is just so amazing. This past weekend she started repeating things when I said them, including "eat" and "cheese." Which I got her to say so I could take this ridiculously adorable picture.

CHEESE!
Note the hair clip to pin back her flowing locks. It stayed in for about 5 minutes.

So there you go. Nothing terribly earth-shattering happening for us. If you'd like some more regularly updated munchkin pics, you can follow me on Instagram: sem513. I don't post a ton, but I try to update every now and then when Miss A is doing something especially cute.

Next up - Christmas! Maybe I'll even post again before then.

Y'all still around?

I am such a terrible blogger these days. I don't know if anyone even still reads when I do post, but I thought I would give a quick update!

Miss Amelia is doing great. She is so much fun these days. She runs everywhere and is into everything. This is a pic from when she unrolled half a roll of toilet paper into the family room the other night.

Who me? I didn't do it.

She says "hi" and "bye" and waves to everyone and everything. She says Daddy pretty regularly but Mama only comes after prompting from me. She will say Dora and ducky when she feels like it, and out of nowhere the other day I said "thank you" when she handed me something and I got a sweet little "tain oooh!" back :-) She sleeps through the night for the most part now (it only took a year!). And she eats like a champ. The child will eat anything. One night she demolished five chicken nuggets, some squash, cheese cubes, and peaches! She is also starting to throw some Grade A tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants. Oy. But otherwise she is a pretty happy kiddo and I love her to bits.

Here are some obligatory pumpkin patch pics from last weekend.

Her shirt said, "Cutest pumpkin in the patch." I have to agree.

As far as other life stuff, I started a new job a couple of weeks ago. I am now an admin assistant at a vocational/technical high school. It was a good move for me for several reasons: I get paid more, it is closer to home (I use HALF the gas I used to) and perhaps most importantly, I get school breaks off. Which means I get Christmas and spring break and six weeks in the summer!!! I am already planning fun things for next summer with the munchkin like swim lessons and maybe potty training ;-)

If you're still checking in with me, thank you! If there's anything you want to hear more about, please let me know, and I will try to post more regularly soon!

Bright as the sun...

The theme for Amelia's party was based on the phrase from her invitations: "Bright as the sun, Amelia Grace is turning 1!" We had a wonderful day filled with friends and family and sunshine (hot sunshine!)

But I was inspired by a recent vacation post from my friend Lacey over at Life of Lacey - who wants to hear all of the fun details about the awesome party I threw? Wouldn't you rather hear about the things that DIDN'T go as planned? Of course you would.

1. The Slideshow
I was determined to create an awesome video full of clips and pictures from Amelia's first year of life. I spent countless hours compiling, editing and arranging the slideshow...only to realize the day before that I had no way to show it. You see, we don't have a laptop, nor a DVD burner, or actually a DVD player. We hardly ever watch movies at home, so all we have is a Playstation 2.

So the morning of the party, I was frantically trying to figure out a way to display the fruits of my labor (pun intended). As it turned out, we do have a DVD burner (who knew?!) so my kind brother-in-law brought me a couple of blank DVDs to burn the slideshow. While doing so, I noticed a blank spot on the saved movie. Thought I fixed it. Nope. Oh well. Burned the DVD. What's that? Burned DVDs won't play in our Playstation? Sweet.

I drove like a bat out of you-know-where to BIL and SIL's house a few blocks away to try out their DVD player. Score! It worked. So I rushed back home with the DVD player only to find out we didn't have the necessary cables to hook it up. Eventually MIL brought the cable and the day was saved.

The slideshow in all of its glory (which I can't get to embed at the moment. See! My problems continue). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJKBfHgXJd0

2. The Monthly Pictures
I also had grand ideas to display Amelia's monthly pictures on the doors to our family room. I found cute little wooden sunshine frames (ok, really I think they were flowers) on clearance at Walmart before I had this project in mind, then decided they would be perfect. Except I only had 10 of them. So I went back and scavenged around the bins where I'd found them, and alas, there were no more. So I had to make do with other flowers. All of which I spray painted and printed numbers for.

THEN I had to figure out how to attach them to the doors. I ended up using craft wire, but it took far longer than I anticipated. The end result:

 

And the big picture

 

 

3. The Food

I made rainbow fruit skewers, buffalo chicken taquitos, and pizza roll ups (among other things), all inspired by Pinterest. Due to a recent outbreak of diseased melons, I had to substitute mandarin oranges for the cantaloupe. The pizza thingies charred on the bottoms (thanks to my awesome mom for cutting that part off, they were still delicious!). And ultimately we ran out of food, but everyone got to go through for at least one plate! (There were plenty of cupcakes though. I had about two dozen more behind the scenes.)

 

4. The Nap

Or the lack thereof. Not that she is ever a stellar napper, but apparently Miss Amelia was so excited for her birthday that she took one whopping 15 minute nap in the late morning. Luckily no major meltdowns!

 

5. The Cake

The cake was wonderful and adorable. But the cake eater, who clearly must not take after her mother, wanted nothing to do with it. Smash cake? No siree. Poke cake maybe. But she did happily feed pieces of it to Mommy. Oh, and I forgot to buy ice cream. Now there's a phrase you won't hear me utter often!

 

 

 

But all in all Amelia's day really was a wonderful success. I was one exhausted mama, but I was so happy to create a special day for my wonderful girl! I can't believe she is already 1!

 

Playing with her cousin

 

 

 Not impressed with the cake

Opening presents with Mommy

 



 

1 Year Old!

[Amelia's party will be on Saturday, so more fun stuff to come! :-) ]

My sweet Amelia,

It's 10pm on August 22, 2012. One year ago today at this time, your daddy and I were leaving the house to head to the hospital, knowing the next time we walked in the door we would be a family of three.

At 3:09 the next morning, after exactly 24 hours of labor, you arrived in our lives. The moment the nurse laid you on my chest, nothing else mattered. You were amazing and perfect and I couldn't believe this tiny person was the same being that had poked and kicked and hiccupped in my belly for the past nine months.

I still didn't know then what it truly meant to be a mom. I didn't know how I would feel so helpless and frustrated, or how your first laughing fit over a toy piano would be the sweetest sound I'd ever heard. I didn't know that every time I thought I couldn't lose one more hour of sleep, I would, and I would survive it. I didn't know that being a mom meant  I would have to be strong and brave when we faced more doctor's appointments than one baby should have in a year. I didn't know that I would still to this day feel the need to check on you before I could fall asleep myself - and risk waking you up by touching your cheek or your back or your toes.

You are such a spirited, strong willed little girl. I often wonder where life will take you, and I hope you will use that fire in you to love others fiercely and follow your dreams. The past year has both flown by and at times stood still, but it has been a beautiful adventure.

Your daddy and I love you, sweetheart, and we always will.

Happy 1st birthday, kiddo. We made it!

Love,
Mommy

My silly girl!

10 Month Letter to Amelia

Dear Amelia:

The past couple of months have been even more amazing than the few before them, if that is even possible. You are developing such a little personality. You laugh at peek-a-boo games. You are very strong-willed and determined, and you have started throwing fits when you don't get what you want. I am afraid this may be a preview of your teenage years. You continue to wake up once a night and never sleep past 7:00am, no matter when you go to bed. Your naps still last 30 minutes, like clockwork. You certainly did not inherit your sleep habits from your mama.

You wave and clap, and you LOVE to eat. Feeding yourself pieces of fruits, vegetables, cheese, bread, rice, you name it - you seem to love it all! You also like to fake cough to get us to laugh and return the sound.

You took your very first vacation and dipped your toes in the ocean for the first time. The car ride to South Carolina wasn't fun for any of us, so you and Mommy flew home - your first airplane ride! And to add to your firsts, you also got your first tooth while we were on vacation.

We upgraded you to your "big girl" car seat when we got back. You seem to love anything that is the shape of a star - a water toy and the topper to your stacker toy. You love water - the pool, the ocean, the tub, and you love to "splish splash" with your hands.

You crawl faster than any baby I have ever seen when you are on a mission (like chasing the cat or following Daddy to the kitchen), and just last week you took one eensy weensy little step! Mommy and Daddy both saw it, and I'm sure we're in trouble when you figure out how to take a few more. (And so is the cat!)

We've started planning your birthday party, and I can't believe it's been almost a year since you came into our lives. I love you so much, sweet girl. And your daddy does too. Happy double digits!

Love,
Mommy

The Luckiest

It's been forever since I've blogged, and I hate to come out of the gate with something that is kind of a downer, but it's something I've been wanted to share. I work in a college disability services office where we provide services to a wide range of students - learning disabilities, Asperger's, psychological issues, and physical disabilities, including students who are deaf or blind.

One of the first students I met when I began working in my office over two years ago was a girl named Samantha (Sam). Sam had a degenerative condition that was slowly stealing her ability to see, hear, or speak clearly, and at the time I met her she was in a motorized wheelchair and assisted by a service dog. She was a sweet, smart, funny girl whom everyone bent over backward to help. About a year after met her, Sam withdrew from the university to go home and pursue writing children's books about service animals. The truth was, her health was declining and her family wasn't sure how much longer she had.

Recently we learned Sam was at home, being cared for by hospice. One of her friends at the university decided to set up a scholarship in her honor, and at our office's scholarship reception a couple of weeks ago, Sam's dad came to help present the scholarship to this year's recipient. He choked up as he shared how grateful he was for the support they had received from our office, and told us Sam was still holding her own, resting peacefully for most of every day. I later went up to him to tell him how often people inquire about her, how loved she was, and recounted a story to make him laugh about a day when her service dog was tangled in her wheels, and we heard a very clear, "HELP!" from our hallway as she yelled to us. As I told him the story from where I was seated, I realized looking up at him that Sam had his eyes. And my heart broke for their family.

I went home that night and I rocked Amelia before bed, and as she squirmed around and pulled my hair, I couldn't help but wonder if Sam's family ever had those moments. And I felt so terrifically blessed. The future is always a great unknown, but in that moment my heart was so full of gratitude and love for my precious girl that I can't put it into words.

There are amazing women I encounter every day who have lost a child, or who have tried for years to get pregnant - and are still trying. There are amazing families who are blessed with children, only to have their lives changed forever by illness. But rather than drowning in self pity, they are often the strongest, most amazing people I have had the privilege of knowing.

"They left me with your shadow, saying things like Life is not fair & I believed them for a long time. But today, I remembered the way you laughed & the heat of your hand in mine & I knew that life is more fair than we can ever imagine if we are there to live it." ~storypeople.com

*To read the story of a wonderful mom and daughter currently fighting a battle for a 4-year-old's ability to speak, check out this blog post at Uncommon Sense.*