Splish, Splash

Last week, Kristin and Ava, Maite and Cristiana and Amelia and I ventured to the splash park at Dr. Phillips Community Park and the girls LOVED it! It's a beautiful park right on Lake Buenavista with a large, covered playground, volleyball courts in the sand, picnic tables and the splash park.

We had a picnic lunch, pushed the girls in the swings and ran around in the water. But, most importantly, we witnessed Cristiana practice her new, mad walking skills. Go, Cristiana, go! She did so well, even on the slippery surface.

We'll definitely be going back. The park is just the thing to help make it through the long, sticky Florida summer months.

Put Me in the Zoo! (Or at least take me there again.)

Last Friday, Amelia went to the zoo for the first time! We met friends Kristin and Ava and Maite and Cristiana at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Sanford. Tracy had the day off and came along too. The zoo is a community zoo about 40 minutes north of us complete with elephants, a splash park a carousel and a train.

As you can see from the photos, the girls and their mamas had a ton of fun looking at the animals. The elephants were a hit with everyone! We also fed the goats, saw monkeys, peacocks and a sloth. When we were feeding the goats at the petting zoo, Amelia must have thought they looked like big dogs because she pointed at them and said "woof, woof, woof."

Then came the splash park! Ava took right to the water in her stylish swimsuit and crocs. Amelia and Cristiana were a bit more tentative at first, but in the end everyone got - and stayed - very wet. The girls didn't even seem to mind that the water is still cool this time of year.

We'll definitely be going back to the zoo for more fun!

I'm Going to be a Big Cousin - Again

Last weekend was a weekend full of babies! We went back to our old stomping ground in the Tampa area to meet little Olivia Davis, the newborn baby girl of my dear friend Lisa and her husband David. And we stayed with Auntie Stacey, Uncle Tommy and all their dogs and cats.

They have such exiciting news! They are going to be parents soon! They were chosen by a birth mother to be parents to a newborn, likely due around June. They only have three months to get ready for the little one and should find out soon if the baby is a girl or boy. We're so happy for them!

Here are a few pictures of Amelia in a cute dress that her Grandma Barbara sent her. Now that Amelia's going to be a big cousin again, I guess she has to look like a big girl and not a baby anymore!

I'm One Now, Mama! Don't Kiss Me Too Much!

With the weather warming up here in sunny Florida, we decided to go down to our little local lake here in Ocoee - Starke Lake - and take Amelia's official "one-year-old portrait." Amelia, of course, wore a purple dress that her Grandma Barbara bought for her, purple shoes and a purple clip in her hair. Tracy, photographer "extraordinaire" as they say in French, came with us and brought a toddler-size chair that she uses for herself (and sometimes her cat, Eos.)

Amelia had a great time climbing in the chair, then out of the chair, then in, then out - you get the idea. She also loved watching the ducks waddle around and the boats speed by. And she is still just as photogenic, beautiful and charming as ever. She just doesn't want her Mama kissing her too much in public.

I'm a Big Girl Now!

As Amelia grows and learns more and more about the world, we have signed up for two classes to help expand her horizons. One is Kindermusik, a music class for kids, which research has shown does all sorts of fabulous things for young brains and their development. So far, Amelia really seems to just like banging on the drums and dancing to the music. We've only had two classes so there is still plenty of time for the next Mozart to emerge!

The other class is Gymboree, which is a safe gym-like class for kids. Amelia LOVES this so much she doesn't want to leave. The gym has all sorts of cool things for her to climb on, jump on, fall down on and practice her mad physical skills. And it's all baby-proof in a comfortable atmosphere with other kids her age.

Tracy tagged along with us the other day and took this great shots!

Visiting Nong Lanna

I know this is long overdue since our trip to Arlington, Virginia to visit my brother Chris, sister-in-law Yoko and ADORABLE niece Lanna was in early February, but here are some equally adorable photos from our visit. In Thai, "Nong" means younger brother or sister. Since Lanna is four months younger than Amelia we call her Nong Lanna. We had a FABULOUS time, as you can tell from the photos. It was freezing for a couple of days, but then the weather warmed up.

Amelia didn't seem to mind the cold and loved watching the ice-skaters at a rink near Chris and Yoko's place. She also liked showing Lanna how she can walk and play and greet people with the Thai greeting "Sawadee Kha" and send kisses.

Lanna is such a sweet baby girl and loves to dance (which she did a lot while my Dad was holding her) smile and laugh. She's a jolly baby and has this great belly laugh. We got to spend an entire day with her one day when Chris and Yoko went to work and it was so much fun! Of course, Nong Lanna and Amelia never slept at the same time.

We also got to visit with Everett, the son of my cousin Ben and his wife Mandy, who is Amelia and Lanna's second cousin. Everett is exactly Amelia's age. He was born on the same day as Amelia and they look so much alike that we call them "twin cousins."

Of course my parents were beyond happy to have both their two beautiful, happy grand-daughters together, if only for a few days.

Thank you Chris, Yoko and Nong Lanna for hosting us!

Happy First Birthday, Amelia Marie!!!!

What a momentus occassion!!!! Amelia turned one-year-old on Friday, Jan. 30 and we cannot believe how quickly time has gone. She has grown up so much since that night one year ago when we held her for the first time at the hospital and wondered what the future held for our baby girl. Now Amelia's walking, communicating, feeding herself and eagerly learning about the whole, wide world.

To celebrate, we had family and a few friends over. (The party was planned for the park, but it was rainy and COLD so we moved it inside.) Amelia LOVED all the balloons, the visitors and the cake - especially the frosting. She's still pointing at all the balloons around the house and tries to blow out candles after we sing her "Happy Birthday." This little girl loves a good time!

A few days later Amelia went to the doctor for her 12-month doctor's appointment. She got two shots and was not happy. We're proud to report that Amelia is still in the 90th percentile for weight and height at 24 pounds, 12 ounces and 30 and 1/2 inches! She charmed all the nurses with how much she can understand and made the doctor laugh by blowing her kisses. It was really pretty cute.

Enjoy the photos!