Go Steelers!!!

Yeah, that's right. It's that time again. While I'm totally stoked that the Steelers have made it to another Superbowl, the memories of just how often the subject was covered back in 2006 on our local news was nauseating. It's all people eat, sleep, and breathe for. I haven't watched ANY news whatsoever since last Sunday and have come to find I've missed out on news that we're supposed to get a snowstorm this week. That's what I get, I guess.

The news around here is that was are planning a 3rd birthday party. *Sob* Claudia settled on Dora so she and I went and picked up all the decorations on Saturday. We made a day of it, just her and I shopping. She really was such a trooper and even had more patience with me than my husband when it comes to me mulling and obsessing over things to buy. She rode her very 1st escalator herself (well, holding my hand) and screamed in the middle of Kohl's...'I LOVE THESE STAIRS!!!' She's such a riot. She even tried on some clothes for me and totally modeled in front of the mirror. She's my little buddy and she's growing up too fast.

Amelia turned 10 months on Saturday. Double digits! Woo! She still just army crawls and is on the verge of learning how to cruise. I think she's working on teeth #3 and 4 which hasn't been kind to anyone in this house. Why can't children be born with a full mouth of teeth? Her favorite things lately are tormenting Claudia and sucking on the bathroom floor. Yum!

When it gets quiet, this is how I find them:



She put it on all by herself...thus the Ward on the front.

Dora yogurt, or beer. Hmmm...

CHeese!

The Steeler hat that Claudia made at school, and Amelia wondering what the heck it is.

Some cute pics from our Gymboree try-on session tonight.

A sure way to cope with the winter blahs...shop for a bathing suit for your cute kid.

Moving forward

There's some confusion in our house as to whether Amelia is 'crawling' or not. I'm sure in her book it's considered crawling. But anywho, in the past week Amelia has started crawling/dragging/pulling herself. Whatever you may call it, she's pretty excited for herself. I'd say it's her preferred method of travel about 90% of the time now and it keeps her very happy and occupied. I think she'll sooner walk than crawl on all fours. She hates being up on her hands and knees for some reason. Here's a video:

http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=0E2C1C525D21B5F6

And a video of Claudia kickin her ball around, which I happen to think it pretty professional looking for a 2 year old:

http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=B76E332AD73CF5F4

And some pics:

Piggy tails that Claudia complained about all.day.long. and begged Daddy to take out as soon as he got home for lunch.



Watching the Night-Night show in Mommy's bed with all of her friends.


Amelia fell asleep in the car on the way home from a playdate this morning and let nothing wake her up.

Her new obsession: The pot and pan cabinet.

Claudia took Amelia's toy keys this evening and said she was going to Daddy's work. She asked if she could take my car. But, she'd be home for lunch, she said. Got her shoes on and went down to the garage and I helped her with the car door. Amelia was a frightened, but willing, passenger.

Still ISO: The potty-trained child and crawling baby

The dust is still settling from the holidays and we're searching for every square inch in our house to store the additional toys. I was happy to see the Christmas tree go bye-bye pretty much the day after Christmas. I was sick of fishing the baby out from under it and my master plan was to start potty training with Claudia. And so I needed a baby-proofed house so that Amelia could be left to her own devices while I devoted 100% of my time to working on Claudia.

Well, potty-training didn't go too hot. Not only does Claudia now need counseling for the trauma that the potty inflicted, but so do Ed and I, because it was pretty traumatizing to see your kid scream their fool head off every time they needed to go to the bathroom. And hopefully Amelia's little brain will help her forget what went on around here.

Yeah, we really went for it. We talked about our plan with Claudia for weeks leading up to the big girl event. I thought she was excited. We went straight into panties on a Sunday morning and she was back in a diaper Tuesday morning because she was taking a chair to her dresser and sobbing and begging for a diaper. :( She's just not ready. I hate that everything I've heard/read says that girls should be potty-trained by 3. Not my girl.

In Amelia news, she's getting so big. At her 9 month appointment, she weighed in at 20#4oz, only 4 ounces less than Claudia was at 9 months. Claudia had a ton of rolls on her little body, but Amelia's a string bean because she's so much taller. It's funny to see how similar, but different they are. The Dr also said to start introducing dairy into her diet so she is enjoying her daily slice of American cheese. She gobbles it up like, 'Why have you been holding out on me, Mom?' Today she had grilled cheese and last night grabbed Claudia's sippy cup and drank some milk by mistake. So far, so good!

For so long I've wished her little life away because she hasn't exactly been an easy baby, but I wouldn't mind now if time started to slow a little. She's so much fun and so loving. Over the holiday, she dropped her early afternoon bottle and has started eating table food full-time. She's such a great eater, just like her big sister, and prefers foods she can feed herself. She can eat almost an entire banana and an entire piece of toast for breakfast in the morning and the other day she fed herself ravioli's. Her neat-freak Momma had to turn a blind eye to the absolute mess, but it made her happy. And hey, it's a little less work for us!

She's also started saying every variation of 'Dadda'. Da, Dadda, Daddy, but no 'Momma' yet. Not that I'm bitter. What Daddy can deny his cute little 9 month old calling for HIM at 7 AM on a Saturday morning. She ain't calling me! She's started waving and is still trying to nail down crawling. She pushes herself forward with her tippy toes, but still prefers to roll at lightening speed. Even though she isn't crawling, she's still into EVERYthing. Things that used to be safe are safe no more.

And so that's everything that's going on. Today was Claudia's 1st day back at school so it's nice to be back into the swing of things. Pics up next!

Don't let her fool you. The potty is her nemesis.

And some recent videos:

Chillin at the mall:

http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=BC6D4885661F1777

Amelia folds:

http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=D6F85C3B787C8029

In this one, I love how Ed comments that there's a lot of food to pick up off the floor and Amelia takes a look:

http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=287DB47062D69747

Monkey see, Monkey do:

http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=02F1BE6D5168836A