Cousins!

In August, we took another quick trip to Washington D.C. to visit Chris, Yoko and Nong Lanna, who Amelia continues to love with all her heart. The girls were absolutely fabulous together! They got along instantly and loved talking, singing, playing, eating, swimming and chasing each other. They're such good friends even though they only see each other a couple of times a year. After our visits, Amelia can't stop talking about Nong Lanna. I hope they remain close all their lives! We also got to see Everett and Rollin Scandlen on our trip. Everyone is growing up so fast! Auntie Tracy came with us and was able to capture dozens of amazing pictures of our family. Here are just a few. Thank you, thank you for giving us images that will last forever.

Over Labor Day weekend, the Lusk side of the family was in town and Amelia got to reconnect with Stacey's boy, "Baby Jake." She LOVED him, too, but I don't think he was quite as enamored with her. She was excellent at sharing her toys and really wanted to play WITH him, but he is still a little too young to play with friends. He mostly played alongside Amelia. We had a fun day at Downtown Disney, where, once again, Tracy took this wonderful photos.

Amelia is such a lucky girl to have such sweet cousins.

School Daze

I can't believe it's been two months since I've written! Where, oh where does the time go? We have had an amazing couple of months and there is so much to report. Events won't appear chronologically, but it's all late anyway.

The biggest news is that Amelia started pre-school Aug. 24 at a wonderful school called Windermere Union Church Preschool. It's been around for 50 years so it's well-established in the community. We spent a lot of time talking and preparing for the big day - reading books, decorating her new school bag, meeting her teachers and seeing her classroom. And when the big day came for me to drop her off with virtual strangers for the next three hours, Amelia was SUPER! Not a tear was shed from her little eyes or mine. ("Only the babies cried, Mama," Amelia cheerily reported back on the first day of school.) Details of her days trickle out and this is what I can surmise. She eats a snack most days, successfully uses the potty (big news when you're 2 1/2!) walks in line, goes to gym class, sings in music class, does art work, reads books and plays, plays, plays!

Amelia is in a class with other 2 1/2year-olds so everyone is about the same developmentally. She goes Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings and talks about some friends more than others. She says she really likes her teachers, Mrs. Jones (pictured here) and Mrs. O'Leary. They seem like very caring, committed teachers who love their jobs and appreciate their students. We have our first parent-teacher conference on September 30. Stayed tuned.