Wisconsin in a nutshell

We just got back from our trip! It was a perfect 4th of July away. We saw a lot of friends and of course family. Amelia was so cute and warmed up to Juan's family right away. She was giggling and playing with Grandma Rose in no time. I was so happy, it's always nerve-wracking thinking she may not adjust as well as I want her to.

 We arrived late Friday. Amelia was so good on the plane, slept 2 1/2 hours on our long flight. There's her favorite face to make, she just loves the camera. At least Juan looks happy and good.

Saturday we spent the day with Juan's family. Chilled around the house, and then visited our regular Kopp's for burgers and custard.

 Antonio got Amelia the cutest little car. It didn't have a battery, and Amelia couldn't reach the pedal, so Juan got a work out pushing her around. As you can see, she LOVED it.

 We went to the park and check out this comfy swing I found.

 We took Amelia swimming for the first time this summer and she was so cute. Juan and I both got brave enough to throw her up out of the water and she would put her hand over her mouth every time because she was so scared, but then she'd come down grinning and squealing. We had so much fun.

 Hanging out on the lawn.

 We saw our friends Patrick and Keegan for breakfast on the 4th. They have the cutest little boys and we had so much fun catching up.

 And of course we saw my friend Julaine a few times. It is nice to always have Juan's family in Wisconsin so that I can go back and catch up with my old friends too.

 On Monday evening, David took us to Grant Park. We took a beautiful hike out to see Lake Michigan. The weather was cool and breezy the whole time we were there really, perfect. Amelia loved the sand and was a little nervous about the water and the smelly fish.

 We also visited Juan's Dad's grave on the 4th, which also happened to be his birthday. It was very special to be there and to tell Amelia about her Grandpa.

The trip was full of good memories. Here is Amelia saying good bye to Grandma. They were just the best of buds by the end.

Fun Fun Fun!

The summer has definitely begun. We've been having fun with family in town, Juan's birthday, and today we leave for Wisconsin! Here are some pictures we took along the way.

We saw Joseph at the Draper Amphitheater. It was so good and so fun to be outside!

Amelia chilled with cousin Sami a lot of the time.

 

It was Juan's birthday on Wednesday! We were apart most of the day, so I dropped off this Candy Bar poster at his work so he could have a surprise. Here's what it says, "Once upon a time, a Big Hunk met his Sweettart and they had a Baby Ruth. Every day was filled with Hugs and Kisses. And lots of Snickers. Amelia sure loves her Sugar Daddy. Today this Hot Tamale is 27. Happy Birthday Juan! Love York Girls, Cami and Amelia."

Tres Leches. So yum.

Amelia was a little freaked out by this new hat from Crystal. Look at Judson in the background, can't take his eyes off it. 

Yesterday we headed to the zoo with a big chunk of my family. Kelly & Kevin & 4 kids are in town from New Hampshire. We had so much fun! If you look closely, there is a giraffe in this picture between my mom and dad.

We saw the bird show, and although Amelia looks unimpressed in this picture, she loved it! She sat on Kelly's lap the entire time and just stared at all the birds. 

The carousel ride was apparently traumatic, or maybe it was just way past nap time for this girl. Thank you to Natalie for hauling along the crying baby.

12 out of the 16 total cousins. Pretty cool. 

And just a day at the park with Barrett. Our park has wood chips and that's all Amelia needs apparently. She spends all her time on the ground with the wood chips, ha ha. 

Some More Gems

We've been sick here all week, Amelia and me. Juan has a super hero immune system and hopefully won't catch our colds. I started out with the stomach flu on Tuesday, immediately followed by a nasty cold that is still brutal. Poor Amelia up in the night coughing, it breaks my heart. We spend a lot of time sleeping upright in the recliner. Any tips on how to treat a one-year-old's cough?

I did get more pictures back. I want to share a few more of my faves.

Similar to Fam Pic #3 in the previous post with a little more of Amelia. I wish she was looking at the camera, but I love that natural laugh captured on camera.

It takes Amelia about 15 minutes to warm up to a new person or new situation. This is her classic "I'm deciding if I want to trust you" face. Luckily she knows Miriam, so this only lasted the first 15 or so pictures. 

Family Pictures!

We finally got some family pictures taken by my dear friend Miriam. Amelia was so happy and fun and the pictures turned out better than I could ever imagine. Yay! Here are some of my favorites. Tell me which family picture I should blow up.

Family Picture #1

I adore this picture.

Family Picture #2

Family Picture #3

One-Way Ticket

I just bought our one-way plane ticket to Austin for August 27. Juan is driving down the truck with our car in tow on Thursday. Amelia and I will fly in on Saturday after the moving truck is unloaded. It will be sad to miss the actual unloading, but I am thrilled all the boxes will be waiting for me to unpack. Does anyone love moving? Ha ha.

I took Amelia to Barnes & Noble today. At first, she quietly played with the trains. Then she kind of strolled around, touching all the books. The stroll turned into a run. I let her be free, keeping close behind her. She wasn't bothering anyone and she wasn't making a mess, UNTIL about 15 minutes into her 'run' she started pulling books off the shelf and turning into a little monster. That was our cue to leave. It's like she knows, she just grinned as I scooped her up, cleaned up the mess, and bee-lined out the door with her. 

I have been dying over these Dora slippers that my friend Julaine sent a while back. She wore them all day yesterday, and they didn't even fall off!

The basement gets pretty icey cold from the air conditioning. It just keeps pumping down here as it's trying to cool the sunny upstairs. We stay bundled and then have to strip off a layer or two each time we go upstairs. Do you know they don't do basements in Texas? It makes me sad. When it is really hot out, I've always looked forward to coming home to the frigid basement.

I'm already nervous about my trip alone with Amelia in the airplane. Especially now that she is walking and we can't get her to sit still for 5 minutes, let alone 3 hours. And she doesn't really watch any movies yet. I'll have to bring lots and lots of books. I'll also get a taste of what it's like in 3 or so weeks when we visit Wisconsin, with Juan there to help! Only 3 weeks away, yahoo!

Cutest Video and More

I finally got a video of Amelia walking, almost running! After a month of practice, she is exclusively walking. She very rarely crawls. This weekend was her turning point. So I officially have a toddler now. 

I have started implementing sign language. The only word she has learned in Sign is Please. Which is adorable, and very polite I might add. As for words she speaks. She says bottle, bye bye, and ball. All sounding exactly the same: Ba ba. Ha! She'll get there. And I am still working on getting rid of the bottle. I am such a mother afraid of change! We're getting there. 

How cute are these two?

 I have been obsessed with furniture lately. All I want is a couch and a bed brand new. Everything else I'll get at garage sales. Well we found a couch! It is leather and we got it at a Memorial Day sale and I am in love with it. I love the color, it is a bit darker than this picture, I found it to be a reddish brown.

That could almost pass for a smile on her face from far away.

 I finally caught a picture of Amelia in her cool girl sleeping position she does every now and then. She is adorable. I am still trying to get her to latch onto a toy or blanket. I guess I shouldn't force it, she does play alone for long periods of time with her toys. But I just want her to pick a favorite!

And in case you missed her quick Please in the first video, here it is again. I got her in a good mood this morning!

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. We had 2 Grill-outs and tons of family all weekend. It was a blast. I'd say Amelia goes freely to almost anyone who holds out their arms to her. She is still suspicious of grandpa and the uncles. But with Sam, she can't stay away from him and loves when he plays with her, he just has to keep a certain distance. Silly girl.