Okay, here is the last update for June and also the last for the next week and a half.
We've been getting ready for our trip most of this week. Running errands, going to the bank, packing, and everything else that is involved with trying to prepare for a trip with a one year old. Hopefully all will go well and Amy will do well riding for so long in her car seat. I think that is both mine and Dean's biggest concern.
Some of you may recognize the chair that Amy is sitting on in one of today's pictures. That is the same chair that I had when I was little. Original paint and seat still too. I wonder how long that will hold up. She managed to pick it up in her room and then carry it out into the hall leading to the livingroom.
The other picture is supposed to be that way. She loves to look at the world upside down.
She is getting more and more active every day. She's starting to interact with the kids at Kindermusik more and has also started to play with the little girl across the street. Mother's Morning Out will start in late August, so that will give her more opportunities to meet more kids.
So now we're off. I'll be sure to post pictures and updates when we get back and let you all know how our big adventure went.
Here are today's "pictures of the day".
Sorry it's been a few days. I've been busy trying to get Amy's memory book done before we go on vacation. I'm hoping to be able to bring it with us so we can share our trip to China with all of our family and friends. The next step will be to get the travel journal on line too. We'll be leaving next Friday, June 29th and returning Monday, July 9th. We'll be making stops in West Virginia and Michigan, with a quick overnight in Pittsburgh.
Amy has been swimming again. She loves playing in the water and trying to kick her legs and swim. She'll have more opportunities on this vacation too.
Words are sporadically popping out now. She said book and flower, once each. Shzs is shoes, baaa is ball, Mom & Dad are pretty regular sounding words now, and she continues to sing and babble.
She likes to play with our slippers. As you can see by one of the pictures, she likes to try to wear them sometimes too. Hats however are another story. She likes to play with them, but won't keep them on her head for long. We managed to snap a couple of pictures of her in different hats. Maybe since she sees her Dad wearing them so often she's starting to like them. We'll see. And since I've missed the past few days, there are 3 pictures today. Enjoy!
Here are today's "pictures of the day".
Amy now has blocks and her own play phone. She is enjoying playing with both of them. She has seen us on the phone and now tries to imitate the behavior with her little phone. Pretty soon she'll be calling everyone long distance. As for the blocks, she has fun stacking them, banging them together, and tossing them into the wooden box they came in.
She also acts very "lady like" at times. The other day while drinking her juice I noticed her pinkie sticking out in the air. She will also hold out her hands when they are dirty during meals and want you to wipe them off. However she still doesn't like having her face wiped.
She is slowing starting to discover coloring. We got her some of the new Crayola Magic Wonder markers and paper. They're great. They will only mark on the paper made to go with them and nothing else. So she can start coloring with those and then move up to crayons once she understands a little more.
Today's picture is her first "refrigerator art".
Amy had her first experience in a pool today. As you can see by today's pictures she is learning to swim and looks quite cute in her little bikini. She was cautious at first, not sure about this big hole with water. But after getting her feet wet for a few minutes and me splashing her a little, she started to warm up to the idea. Next we bounced around in the water a little bit, just still getting used to it. Pretty soon she was kicking while being held, next she was partially on her stomach and kicking her feet, as you can see below. By the time we left she was having a blast. We'll probably go back again next week, provided the weather holds out.
We also had our second Kindermusik class today. Again, it took her about 10 to 15 minutes to warm up to it, making sure of what was going on and what all these other kids were doing. But once she decided it was okay, she started participating, moving around, and by the end, was singing and laughing along with all the other kids.
We are finding that Amy also has quite the imagination. One of her books has pictures of strawberries on one of the pages. She will pick the strawberry off the page and then pretend to eat it or feed it to one of us. She will also pretend that she is drinking my coffee from my cup in the mornings or Dean's soda if he offers the side of the can to her.
Here are today's "pictures of the day".
Amy has given up crawling and is now walking, EVERYWHERE!!!! She chases the cats around the house, until they go hide somewhere she can't get to.
She is also being much more vocal. Although not discernible words, she is making more noises, babbles, and what sound like sentences - but we can't figure out what she's saying.
She still does not like the grass, even with her shoes on. I tried getting her to walk around the yard, but instead of walking, she would just sit down. Then she'd realize she didn't like sitting in the grass either, so she'd get up, take a couple of steps and grab hold of my leg. So we have this nice big back yard and she doesn't want to play in it.
Her newest favorite toy has been of all things, a brown paper bag. Forget Toys R Us, give her a paper bag, Tupperware, and pots & pans and she's a happy camper. After bringing home this bag, she figured out that not only could she carry it around the house, but that she could put things in and then take them back out again. Now if she would just learn to put her toys away...
Here is today's "picture of the day".
Okay, the weather is just not going to cooperate with us. Yet again, more rain, so we were unable to swim on Friday. Then it's supposed to be nice this weekend and my guess is next week we'll get the remnants of tropical storm Allison and yet more rain. I know we need it, but this is getting to be a bit much.
Amy has now figured out how to brush her hair. She also will brush our hair if we give her the brush or comb to play with. It's quite cute. She is also fascinated with shoes. She will walk around the house picking up whatever shoes or slippers she can find and then walk around with them in her hands. Maybe she'll be a famous shoe designer - or maybe it's just a phase she's going through
She will also finally keep her sunglasses on her face. Although her nose needs to grow into them a bit so they stay on better.
Here is today's "picture of the day".
Amy started Kindermusik this morning. I think she was a bit overwhelmed at first by all of the kids there. But by the time it was about half way through she seemed to start enjoying herself. Although she didn't participate as much as some of the other kids, it was a good experience to start out with this summer. The class is only once a week, so we'll see how she does again next week.
Our pool date has been postponed until tomorrow. We're probably better off, since it decided to rain again today.
Something else she has been doing lately is trying to put her own socks on. She gets the concept, but hasn't quite mastered opening the sock and putting it on her foot.
Here is today's "picture of the day".
Tomorrow Amy starts Kindermusik. The class is in the mornings, for 1/2 an hour. I'll be sure to post about how it goes tomorrow afternoon.
Amy is now walking 80% to 85% of the time. She still crawls a bit, but since yesterday afternoon, she is mostly now walking. She is even reached the point where she can carry two stuffed animals, one in each hand and walk across the room. It is quite the sight to see.
Speaking of stuffed animals, she is now really enjoying playing with them. It took a while for her to warm up to them, but now she enjoys them all. I suspect it was the texture of the animals, since they never had any in the orphanage, it was foreign to her. But now that she has gotten used to the cats, the stuffed animals weren't too far of a stretch. Lately her favorite animals have been a Panda, a Cow, and a Rabbit.
Amy will also have her first experience with a pool tomorrow afternoon (weather permitting). A friend of ours here is having us over after the afternoon nap, for a swim. Since she likes her bath so much now, I'm curious to see how she will do in "big water".
Here is today's "picture of the day".
Amy had a better day today. We think that yesterday's crankiness was brought on by more teeth cutting through. She has three more coming in that we can tell, and I'm sure more are not far behind.
We haven't been able to get outside and play much lately due to the all the rain we have been having. We've tried letting Amy walk barefoot on the grass, but she does not like it one bit. It's okay when she has her shoes on, but she still doesn't like to touch it.
With the way she has been alternating between walking and crawling I'm sure it won't be long now before she is out running around in the backyard.
While I was sorting through many years of accumulated recipes today, Amy decided she wanted to help. I let her have the ones that I didn't want to keep and she then decided to throw them all around the living room. The floor was littered with pink paper for a while there. As you can see by todays first picture, she is also learning to help me clean up.
You'll also see in todays pictures I had to include a picture of the first rose to bloom on my rose bush here at the house. It's the Princess Diana rose from Jackson & Perkins and is doing beautifully. I currently has 4 blooms in different stages of blooming. I've also planted 6 red Simplicity hedge roses. We'll see if those do as well.
Here are today's "pictures of the day".
