Tooth #13, 14, A compilation of posts (a mix tape, if you will)

Finally, we welcome the arrival of the last two teeth for some time (please God, let there be some time before we start molars. Thank you). Teeth #13 and #14 have arrived. These are the last two until the two year molars make their appearance sometime in the next year.

We have been busy busy busy.

I got a bee in my bonnet and decided it was high time to take our family berry picking after hearing a 20 second story on the news. My strawberry patch isn't yielding any berries yet and we were OUT of strawberry jelly around here. EMERGENCY!

So, John took some time off and we went and picked strawberries. We picked and picked and picked. Twenty six pounds later, we rode home happy with our haul. William, surprisingly was a wonderful helper. He did not sample the berries and took his job seriously as picker. He located and gently picked only the reddest and nicest looking strawberries. He also managed to not SIT on any strawberries. Hurray! So proud!

The rough plan was to make up some batches of strawberry jam over the weekend. This is something I have fond memories of from growing up. There was always chaos of kids running through the kitchen and the noise of the mashing, cutting, boiling, etc required by the jam process. I had warm fuzzy plans of William helping us stir and mash...until I thought things through and decided although he was a stellar picker, he (read: I) wasn't ready for him to be a helper in the jam process. Especially since I don't really recall what all happens to make jam.

So, John and I ended up staying up until the wee hours of the morning making some strawberry jam. With almost every single one of the strawberries in that twenty six pounds. We were EXHAUSTED. And, I'm pretty sure we won't need to make jam for at least another year.

Strawberry picker #0. She rode in the hiking backpack in order to keep us sane.
Strawberry Picker #1
Mama and William picking strawberries
Mama and William picking strawberries - I thought for sure we were going to get rained on. Somehow we got lucky and stayed dry. But, the humidity? Was terrible.
The berries tucked safely in the truck behind the stroller.

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We've been trying to squeeze in bike riding practice whenever possible. It gets to be a little tricky because Amelia certainly has her own agenda when we are outside (scratch that, she ALWAYS has her own agenda). It is not possible to help William conquer the Fear of the Bike and chase the little daredevil out of the street. It is possible to put her in the stroller and have William pedal. The problem here being Amelia is only happy in the stroller when it is moving. No movement? She is climbing out, head first. Being that William prefers to pedal his bike .000000000000098 miles per hour (kid you not, it took him over an hour to pedal/argue/complain his way around the block which is less than .1 miles total), she is not happy to just Sit and Wait Patiently. So, John needs to be home and the evening needs to be less than boiling hot in order to maximize the patience of the parent assisting. So far we have mastered getting on/off the bike, pedaling, taking the helmet off, and braking. Next up: looking both ways before crossing the street, watching where you are going so as not to run over small people, pedaling, going down/up a curb without tipping over.

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Amelia is a climber. She will work her way up onto chairs, coffee tables, toys and such until she reaches the highest point in an area. And then she realizes she doesn't know how (or doesn't remember) how to get down. Recently, I was reading to William in our open living room attached to the kitchen. I knew Amelia was in there, but figured I had time to read the last one and a half pages before I had to pull her off something. Then I heard an unfamiliar clinking sound like someone putting away some glass glasses. I finished up reading to William and when I stood up, I saw Amelia standing (STANDING!) in the middle of the kitchen table touching the metal rings on the glass light fixture. Lucky for me, she wasn't swinging from the chandelier, but it was a close call.

As this habit has developed, I'm repeatedly telling Amelia to "Get Down!" "No no nononononononoooo!" So, days after our kitchen table experiment I was interrupted in my Highly Important laundry folding to Amelia bellowing "Get Down!!!" "No no!!!" from the top of our dining room table. This trend has continued and now when she reaches the summit of her climb, she yells "Get Down!!!" "No no!!!" to alert me she is ready to be lifted down so she can locate another tall object to scale.

ReCap: Amelia 1 Year

One year dr appointment, one year pictures

We had our 1 year visit with the ped. about a month ago and I just can't get my life together to get it posted. We'll see how long this one sits before it finally gets posted*.

Not much has changed. Amelia is a big girl, topping the height charts at 31.25 inches. Amazingly, this is a gain of close to 2 inches since her 9 month appointment just three months ago. Her weight has dropped off some in the charts, which I think happened about this time for William also. She still gained 2 pounds over the last 3 months, but she is now in the 75% for weight instead of at the top of the chart. Fine by me. (Which puts her weight at 22 lbs 9 oz). The doctor is very pleased by her progress and didn't have any concerns. Nor do we. With William I sometimes felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Certainly it can't be all good, can it? This time I'm able to sit back and relax (some). I'm okay that we don't leave appointments with homework or things we need to work on. Luckily, I have my own private list of things in my head of skills I need to be working on with the kids. Good thing I took so many developmental psychology courses!

We also had Amelia's one year pictures done and they turned out GORGEOUS. Seriously amazing. A coworker of my mom does a little photography out of her house. So, I can't really recommend her unless you live in Minnesota. And know my mom. So, here are a few of my favorites:














*Answer: close to 2 months

Words

A lot of new words in the last few weeks (on Amelia's part)!


Milk
Please
Bless you
Book
Down
Nose
and I'm pretty sure a word that sounds like Ammim that is supposed to be William. She says it first thing in the morning when she wakes up and points towards his door.

Teeth #13 and #14

Amelia got teeth #13 and #14. Upper canines.

Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day! The mama in the house had only a few requests this year:
1. A strawberry patch
2. A picture with her and the kids

Lucky for her, she got her wishes!

We took a lot of photos with Kelly and the two kids, but it was hard to get a good photo of all three. William was really interested in the trucks that he was playing with at the time. So most of the photos he was looking down.

Mama and the big boy! I think he is still holding onto his trucks.

Amelia is making her silly smile face. She cracks us up with this one!

Amelia sitting outside in the grass.

We also like to celebrate the grandmas and great grandmas in our family on this day. Our kids are fortunate enough to have two great grandmas! The kids standing beside my mom's tree. Previous years here and here and here. Everyone is getting so big!

William decided instead of standing next to the tree, he was going to shake the tree.

Amelia is under the tree, William decided to ride his bike around.

William showing Kelly the Mother's Day card we made for her. Unfortunately, he wouldn't let her see it. Or hold it. Or even sit next to her with it. Daddy worked with William on the card awhile ago and he didn't remember all the cool vehicles on the card. He needed a few minutes to admire them for himself.

Still not able to look at it, instead Amelia is showing Mama a book.

There we go, now you can see the card! Amelia decided to taste her shoe.

The Routine

It is the same. Every time.

"Bah?" she ask with book in hand.

How can I resist? I put the work of the day aside to read to my baby.

I sit down cross legged on the floor. Any other way throws her off - she doesn't know where to sit. She will stand up and sit on any available body part, stand up and sit, stand up and sit finally turning to me in confusion. Cross legged it is.

She backs up with a tiny giggle in anticipation before plunking her diaper padded behind onto my lap.

Book clasped between her two hands, she kicks her right foot twice into the air before she is ready to begin. Always the right foot and almost always twice. She isn't to be rushed. Open the book before she is ready and the spell is broken. The book is tossed to one side, scolding babble is thrown my direction. She'll get up and turn her attention elsewhere.

She opens the book, snuggles her body into mine and finally is ready to read. Every moment in our lives isn't this precious. I'm working hard to hang on to the memories like these.

Just when I started wondering if I would struggle with getting this one to read, the interest is finally there.

I debated not telling you this...

because I am deeply afraid that this time next week a half sized tuba is going to show up on our front steps. With a dad in the music business and a cousin-in-law as a euphonium expert, you are not safe talking about tubas in this manner.

You see, William is in love with tubas. He would like to play a real one more than he would like just about anything (see? See why I didn't tell you this?).

It all started innocently enough with a birthday gift of a new book: Tubby the Tuba (with enclosed read a long CD!!). William (and therefore the rest of us) listen at least daily to the adventures of Tubby.

William has started playing his fuzzy yellow blanket as a tuba. When we sing to him at night he tells us to wait so he can get his tuba ready. He carefully wraps his fuzzy yellow blanket around his shoulders, and puts one corner in his mouth. When we start to sing, he plays along by humming along with our song.

Then it grew. Now when we leave the house to run errands, William asks if we can look for a tuba on the way. He used to ask if we could look for a dump truck, train or police car. You know, something possible. Now, we are continually disappointed by the lack of tubas driving around our town. Really, I'm not even sure what we are looking for. A tuba on wheels? A parade? A one man marching band? A tuba painted on the side of the truck?

Please note: I'm sure this is a phase. I'm sure we DO NOT NEED A TUBA at this time.

Morning with Daddy

For this blog post, John is writing.

Today I went outside to work on Kelly's Mother's Day present. I'm extending the terracing along the side of our house (the other side had been done for years). Kelly wanted to have the first terrace done for Mother's Day as she wants to try her hand at growing strawberries. Unlike the previous times I've worked on installing retaining wall stones, I now have a helper. William LOVES to help (especially me), whether it be bringing in the groceries, putting in a screw, using some sort of potentially dangerous power tool, or handing nasty chemicals. Of course, he is distraught when he can't help out (dangerous power tool, and nasty chemicals).

So he was outside with me along the side of the house helping me level and put in the retaining wall stones. Now, I'm a tad obsessive-compulsive and I like things to be exactly right. The process involves putting in a little gravel, pounding it down, installing the stone checking the level in multiple directions, adjusting the amount of gravel etc... William helps out by adding more rock to the pile, sometimes when I'm taking it out. He also enjoys getting his feet into the hole to help me pound it down, when I'm trying to use the tamper. I know he's trying to help, but sometimes I'm about to hit the ground with the tamper when he decides that we need a little more gravel and his hand goes underneath. Ack!

I try to think up things that he can do to help out, that aren't dangerous or involve him putting is arms, legs, or hands in danger, but sometimes I can't. Even trying to give him something else to do doesn't seem to work. I remember when my dad was working on building something out of wood, he would give me my own wooden block (had my name on it), a hammer, and a nail and I'd go to town putting the nail into the wood and pulling it back out. I remember doing that happily for hours. However, William seems to see through that and knows Daddy is where the real action can be found.

The retaining wall and the terrace did get done in time for Mother's Day. It took a little longer than it perhaps should have. I hope William feels like he helped me out. I had to keep telling him to stop putting rocks in the hole, and get his feet out.

Anyway, this all made me think. I used to love to help my dad when he was working on different projects, and help my mom out when she was making dinner. It made me think how helpful was I really? Maybe as I got older I became more helpful, I was, but when I was three? If I was as helpful as William is, I'm betting I was more of a nuisance than a help. Remembering and appreciating that time spent learning different skills at the side of my parents helps me find my patience with my own little helper!

Grandpa Heidt

Grandpa Heidt came to town this weekend, and we had a lot of fun visiting with him. On Friday night we went and took the kids to Dairy Queen. The kids were not the only ones who enjoyed this treat.

Grandpa wrangling a more mobile, stubborn, and determined Amelia. And yes, we fed her ice cream. She would honestly rather explore/climb/run than do anything else.

William enjoying his chocolate ice cream cone. Believe me this kid can nurse a ice cream cone! He ends up with a soggy cone and melted ice cream goop.

On Saturday, we took a trip down to the Transportation Museum to look at some of William's favorite things. Trains, and cars. Unknown to us, was there was admission was free and there was a Mustang car show going on! William and Grandpa Heidt were thrilled!

William sitting in the cab of some train engine while Amelia looks on.

William, John, Grandpa Heidt, and Amelia waving to Kelly from the Mississippi River tug boat.

William working the controls of the Big Boy. He wanted to ring the bell, but John told him it wasn't working because it didn't ring when he tried pulling the cord. Later on, we heard some other kids ringing the bell. Oops! Maybe next time.

We also took a tour of some train cars. Eventually, we had to leave, which was too soon for William (and Grandpa).

Spring Break Fun in the Pool

Some photos and videos from the pool during our Spring trip to Minnesota didn't get posted right away! Here's a look back:

William tentatively walks into the pool. As with everything lately, he threw a giant fit on the way down to the pool, refused to get in and then proceeded to have a great time swimming! He stood on these steps for a long time before I finally pulled him in against his wishes. He finished the day off by throwing another fit about having to get out of the pool. This boy is exhausted at night with all the fighting he does. When will he learn it is just easier to listen to your Mama? (Or Daddy?)

Grandpa, Amelia, Uncle Mike, and William playing in the pool.

Amelia and Grandpa playing with a ball.

Uncle Mike and William. William had a lot of fun playing with Uncle Mike in the pool. Mike was super patient and let William go at his own speed while still pushing him out of his comfort zone from time to time.

The smile here says it all!

Amelia and Mama in the pool. Amelia spent the greater part of her time in the water trying to either drink the water or lunging for the big ball when I wasn't paying attention. Whatever time she wasn't

William waits with Grandpa for the ball.

Kelly doing some of her physical therapy for her tendinopathy. Therapy required creativity on vacation! What dedication!

William jumping into the pool. If you can call this jumping.

Amelia jumps into the pool.


Do you see a difference? Our girl has no fear!

Tooth #12

That last molar. Finally. At last.

Happy Easter!

We had some beautiful weather on Easter this year! We had a quiet day here at home - somewhat unusual for us as we usually travel over the holidays. Staying home and without visitors made for a quiet day! The kids were up early. Most of the time this would be something we would moan and groan about, but today is was kind of a good thing.

Amelia is Excited! about Easter!

A little smile...

And she's DONE with the pictures

William's "cheese" face

The kids, togetherWilliam picked out the red socks. I didn't argue because I figured they would be inside his shoes...when he left the house.

The Easter bunny came to our house! Amelia was super happy unloading and reloading her basket.William reads his Bunny mail

Mia hunts for eggs - she was pretty good!

Mia's eggs were filled with Cheerios, goldfish crackers, and 1 had a marshmallow bunny inside it.

Two handed shove to get the marshmallow inside her mouth

William's yearly picture with the bunny ears. Both kids declined to have their picture taken with the bunny nose sunglasses I picked up this year. I've already put them away for next year - maybe next year I'll have a taker.

Mia with the bunny ears

The rest of the morning was crazy as John had to go and help make pancakes for the Easter breakfast. I arrived later with the kids and managed the enormous accomplishment of feeding both of them in public. I even ate too. Although, I should probably be honest and let you know there isn't any shortage of people willing to hold Amelia and catch William when he takes off on my at church. Great people at our church! We went to church as a family and then came home for some resting.

We had a lazy afternoon which included our first family picnic in our front yard. No one was very hungry for lunch, so we took out some fruit, cheese and crackers to snack on while we enjoyed some BEAUTIFUL weather. We played, we hung out together - it was a nice weekend.