All About Amelia, Simon & Hannah

All About Amelia, Simon & Hannah

Friday, July 24, 2009

Love Hurts


Couple of things I'm loving this summer...

1. Last weekend we all went to see the movie 'UP'....with both kids...for the second time. THAT'S how much we love this movie. Can't recommend it highly enough. Really sweet story (yes, I cried at the beginning), beautiful animation, hilarious action (ummm...talking dogs...what else do you need?). Even Christopher loved it.

2. http://www.bestbuyeyeglasses.com/. If you're like us and don't have insurance coverage for eye glasses, here's a great site to buy normal (even chic) glasses for relatively cheap. I shopped for three months, getting myself all geared up to pay $300 or more for a pair, until I found these guys. Awesome.

3. The kids' new water table. Maybe I'm the last to know about these things. Most families probably already have one. If not, I think you'd love having one. Hours of safe water fun.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

My Cousins, My Friends

When I was growing up, some of my most vivid memories of time spent with our extended family were with my cousin Courtney. We always lived far away from Court & Aunt Pat & Uncle Darrel, but our families brought us together for holidays, camping trips, summer vacations, and lots and lots of fun. Oh the shows that were produced during these visits...choreographed magic to the tunes of Pat Benetar and Air Supply. Julie and I were ALWAYS the back-up singers to Courtney's headline act, by the way. Good times.

So it was pretty exciting when Aunt Pat, Uncle Darrel, Courtney and her whole family decided to plan a little family reunion here in San Diego last week. My parents were in town to help celebrate Simon's big day, so it was a perfect chance for us all to be together again (we missed my brothers, though). It was awesome to watch our kids get to know each other. Courtney and John have five year old twins, Ella & Finn, and nearly-one-year old 'Baby Maeve'. Millie was absolutely captivated with the twins. She looked at them with such adoration and admiration. And I'll say that it was well deserved. These kids were so genuinely caring and engaging with both Mils and Si. When we tucked Millie in for bed at night or got her up first thing in the morning, she always asked about "my cousins" or "my friends". I love that she used these terms interchangably. Because isn't that what you really want...for your family members to also be your friends?



Is it showtime, girls?

Finn and Si hanging out at dinner.





This was a fun day: pool time and lunch at their resort.



Just one of many very sweet moments with Ella and Simon.

Beautiful Maeve

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Happy Birthday Simon!

My amazing little boy is one year old. What a dream child he is...so content, funny, quick, and SNUGGLY! We had such a great celebration on Saturday. My parents were here from Maryland PLUS my Aunt & Uncle came in from Chicago with my cousin Courtney and her family (husband John and three great kids). Their youngest daughter Maeve turns 1 in a few weeks, so we made it a joint party for the little ones. And of course, Aunt Julie (aka 'My JuJu' to Millie) was here to help cook up the fun.

It was so nice to have a little space to host the celebration here at our own house. Very low-key with lots of baby-watching and lemonade drinking. I can't get too thoughtful here because I will undoubtedly start crying about how fast this year has gone and the farewell to the baby-ness in my life. We are extremely blessed with this family and these kids who grow more fascinating to me each week. Here's to you Si-Berry-D...Happy Birthday!



The party crew: cousin Courtney with Maeve, Ella and Finn


Riding double in his (well, their) new airplane buggy.


Si loves his new rocking chair from Yammy & Poppa!

Big kisses from big sister


I like cupcakes. Do you like cupcakes?


And did I mention that I'm crazy, just like my Dad?


Happy, happy family.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Potty Training, Daddy-Style

Here's what you get when you cross a guy's idea of potty training with modern-day technology:

Yes, Millie is hooked up to Christopher's video iPod and is watching some Sesame Street clips while taking care of business. Shortly after this shot was taken, he had to lay a towel over her lap to keep the iPod from accidentally taking a plunge...an unforseen hiccup in this otherwise genius plan.

On a serious note, this just perfectly captures Christopher's parenting style. He's beyond creative with these kids. Every time I turn around they've got the funniest games made up (stroller-pushing contests, magic elevator) and secret songs to sing ("eggs and bacon and nah") and hilarious names to call each other. He knows that the best way to get us out of a stubborn toddler moment is through laughter, so he constantly has Millie laughing through tears. I am so thankful that he brings so much JOY to the house. What a guy.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Happy Independence Day!


It was a fun day. We celebrated by getting up bright and early to catch the ferry to Coronado Island. We met some friends for what else...a parade, of course! Coronado Island is home to three huge navy bases and its residents are about 75% current or retired military. So the Island OWNS this holiday...they do it up. We parked ourselves in the big grassy median and had a fun morning watching the parade (well, really we had fun watching the kids enjoy it all). The afternoon was much more relaxing with a trip to our brand new Sonic (yeah cherry limeaides!) and naps for nearly everyone.

With Aunt JuJu on the ferry

Millie with her friend Brynn. These girls adore each other. So cute.

Dad, I'm all done

Gettin' Down

Millie and Brynn shakin' it during the parade this afternoon:

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Home Grown

Weeeeee did it! Look what Millie and I grew!

A couple of months ago we had our friends Katherine (the mom, my friend) and Anna (the cutie pie, Millie's friend) over to plant some tomatoes in big pots in the back yard. Gotta tell you, I wasn't too confident in my ability to get any produce off of these plants. I have a long, sad history of killing off plants, trees, flowers, even a beta fish left in my care. But, apparently these tomatoes were dummy-proof (and vacation-proof since we went away for three weeks and they survived with very sporatic watering). Millie's proud of her gardening skills (just not proud enough to actually try to eat one). Here's hoping for a few more before the end of summer!