Day Out on the Town

We decided one day to pack the girls up and take the Trax to the downtown library's storytime. Lots of work for mom and dad, but totally worth it, I think.
Amie totally dug the train.

Her initial feelings about story time (which has more singing and playing than stories for her age.)

Slowly warming up to the bubbles.

No, I love them!

Having a blast in the tunnels.

Chillaxin'.

Little did she know that the water doesn't just fall straight down, it sprays out, too.

The Blaaaaaaaaaaze

The Blaze is the Utah arena football team. We especially enjoy going to the games because it's football (my fave) on a more basketball pace (Jeff's fave.) We got to go free this last week because they were honoring police officers and firefighters (and our friend is interning for the Blaze.) We were excited but a little nervous, as we've never taken the girls. As you can imagine, it was very loud, and in the evening, so the girls struggled a little. Lisie was just tired, but once we finally got her to sleep, she was no prob. Amie didn't like the noise, but she looooooved the Chick-Fil-A cows that came around (she kept pointing at them, laughing and saying "mooooo" then trying to follow them) and the free ice cream we got.

As it turns out, it wasn't the girls we needed to worry about, it was the mascot! See, it wasn't what I'd call packed at this game, so we had excellent seats, and Harley, the mascot, spent lots of time nearby in the lower bowl. For some ingenious reason, he decided he did not want to throw the Tshirts, but launch them in a cannon. But wait, you say. Wasn't everyone real close by in the lower bowl? Why yes, everyone was. Including ME, when he decided to shoot the cannon not into the air, but directly at my face. I saw it coming at the last second, but had my feet up on the chair in front of me, with the baby laying on my lap, so needless to say I did not get out of the way in time. I did, at least, turn my head away and the whistling Tshirt broad-sided my head between my cheek and ear. I saw stars and was instantly bawling from the blow. Luckily, I had smuggled in a cold Dr. Pepper and promptly put it on my face. We thought I was going to be black and blue it was so bad! I am however, still a very white pink white-faced person, my face is just tender. The people behind me were like "I guess you should get the Tshirt since it hit your face." Uh, yeah, thanks! Good times.

The offending T-shirt.

See the fat-purply-redness where it hit me?

Lisie Bear

Amie kept doing the cutest things, but my camera would never snap fast enough before she'd turn her head, so here's one with her face at least, sorry it's blurry. I think this is where she's imitating the Blaze dancers.

Papa

The Great Outdoors

On one of Jeff's days off, I decided we needed to take advantage of the cooler weather and go outside before it got too blazing hot. We grabbed the front- and back-carriers, the babies, a few snacks and went to Ensign Peak. If you don't know, this is a relatively short hike (3mi roundtrip) and I wouldn't say it is difficult, but it is UP all the way there. I strapped on Alisa and Jeff strapped on Amie AND the diaper bag, and we took off. (I think I had the better deal-not only was Lisie lighter, but her carrier straps on the front. It balanced me going uphill.) Both girls seemed to enjoy it-especially Alisa. She is always very happy when we are outside. I love it! So slowly (for mom) but surely, we made our way to the top. Right before we got to the top, the frigid wind set in. Poor little babies! Red cheeks and runny noses had us going down real quick-we didn't get to spend as much time as I'd liked up top. Jeff volunteered to carry both babies down. That could not have been fun, but he said it was easier than one cause they balanced him out. Hey, I packed our bag down! :) It actually was really fun. I'm excited to take advantage of the summer weather with two darling babies!

Here is the proof.

Note the nasty gray clouds. Pretty view, though. It sprinkled for 2 minutes.
Chivalrous daddy.
Plum wears a girl out, working so hard!



This was in my yard-HELLO, no wonder I can't get rid of the weeds in my lawn-that dandelion's as big as my hand!!


And in other outdoor news, the other day, Amie was playing outside. (I close the yard gate, and leave the door open, and she'll always say hi every few minutes.) She had been quiet for awhile, so I went to check it out and found her on her knees, intent on something in her hand. Upon closer inspection, I see a snail shell in one hand, and goo on the other. She kept sticking her finger in the shell, pulling it out with fresh goobers and wiping it on the driveway. Oh. My. Gross. I wanted to barf. She thought it was super cool. Super-Ew.


Note the slime she already wiped on the ground.

Now, who needs boys with a girl like that?

Princess Happenings

Alisa is past her 4 month mark now, and so I went for the first rice cereal feeding. We've been kind of anxious for this time, hoping it might reduce some of her spit-up and reflux issues. I think it was still early-she really didn't know what to do at all! Of course, it'll take some time/practice, but I haven't tried again since that first time. :/ I love her faces, so classic.



My other princess has been pretty delightful lately. She has quite a strong affection for her Barbies, and also just really learned about nigh-night. Here, she decided the step was a bed and had her Barbies go nigh-night.

She thought she'd lay down with them, too. :)

Cuh-wer

Amelie has really been into imitation a lot lately. She watches whatever I do and tries/wants to do it, too. One day, she threw such a fit about my makeup that I put mascara on her (well, sort of. Pretty impossible with a wiggly toddler, but she thought I did.) Then, tonight, Jeff found Amie and her favorite baby doll like this:


She made herself pretty just like mommy's makeup... except with permanent marker. She was so proud of her cuh-wering (coloring.) At least she likes to help clean up her messes almost as much as she likes to make them.

Nice.

Pretties!

We needed a new family picture, so went to get that taken care of. And OF COURSE they have to take 6 different poses, and OF COURSE some of them were too adorable, so OF COURSE we bought much more than we planned. (We didn't buy any of Amie, cause we bought LOTS of poses of her a few months ago.) Here's the result:







My goodness, is it difficult to get 2 little ones to smile together!

Our Little Lisie

Alisa Danielle is now 4 months old (well, this weekend.) I wanted to wait for her checkup to add some stats, but she's doing so many things that I want to chronicle. (And her appointment isn't for a few weeks cause her last one was late.)

Typical milestones: She is so super close to rolling over, she gets almost all the way there and falls back onto her back. She doesn't love tummy time, but will tolerate it ok for a few minutes. She has also been working on teeth for weeks and weeks now! They keep popping their little tops out, then sliding back in. We have seen parts of at least 4 separate teeth, but they all disappear again. This is frustrating because it just prolongs teething woes. (Amie didn't have teeth til almost 10 months old, though.) She is a great smiler, and we're having a similar story with laughs. I've had one good, real laugh session with her, and the same for dad, but neither of us has been able to recreate it since. Sad-as it is incredibly adorable, of course. She has been having lots of tummy issues-reflux, we think. Our doctor said 4 months should be about the end of it, so we're just hoping and praying that soon... She's really actually a very happy baby, but gets lots of tummy ows, and then, geez, you never hear the end of it. It makes it hard sometimes.

She doesn't look much like her sister - she's tall, has almondy eyes, an average sized head and she's got thick, short, fuzzy hair. Their personalities are opposites, too. Amie has always been very active and fireball-ish. Overall, Lisie's been relatively calm-even back in the ultrasounds. Those 2 opposites do love each other, though. Amie adores Lisie, and anytime she plays with her, Alisa will smile and coo right back. I can't wait to see what their relationship turns into as they grow older. Hopefully they'll be as close as we want them to be!

Here, she's about 2 months old, when she first began smiling. Tried to capture it, but only a bit in the beginning.

Dad's Grad

After many years and much toiling, Jeff was able to walk in this year's Salt Lake Community College Commencement Ceremony for his Associate's in Criminal Justice. He has been accepted to Weber State's Criminal Justice program (one of the best in the country,) and will begin his Bachelor's there in the Fall. People often ask me (and I think him) "isn't he already a cop?" or "he doesn't need a degree for that, does he?" (For the moment, let's just put aside the fact that I think this is a gutsy and frankly, rude, sentiment.) When it boils right down to it, no, Jeff does not need a degree. We have been so blessed that he has already been working in his chosen field for a few years now, and that it amply supports the needs of our little family. Would it be easier for us if Jeff were not in school? Certainly. Would we have more time together if he didn't have homework? Without a doubt. Would it be more budget-friendly? Absolutely! Do I wish he wouldn't do it? Never for a second. Jeff loves what he does, and plans on doing it for a long time, but he is always looking ahead and planning for the future of our family. At the SLC PD, they have 20 year retirement, which means Jeff could be signing of from there when he's only 44. He knows he may do something else, or may stay longer, but he also knows he may not. He has been thinking ahead to that time and wants to allow for the possibility of one day teaching criminal justice at a college or university. I love this about Jeff. He is always thinking about us, always trying to give us everything that we need and want and to make life for us the best he can. He also wants to set the example for our children. Whether or not he decides to do those things 20 years down the road, he has and will have accomplished so much, and helped teach our children that education, responsibility and betterment are important to us in our family. I am so proud of him for being prepared, ambitious, persevering, and thoughtful.

Jeff's walking down the ramp.

Her usual important-event behavior.

Getting to play with TWO grandma's at once, alright! No shortage of snacks or toys here!

Looking stoic with Papa.

While we were waiting outside the arena, Amie and this girl played ring around the rosie. So cute!

New best friends.

He even earned his honor cords, great job, babe!


Our little fam.


Jeff's free banana pie from Braza Grill, where we celebrated afterward. What a steal, right? (I mean, can you even see that speck?)

Oh, the Beautiful Head Gear

Tonight, as I was going through the pictures on my camera to see what still needed to be blogged, I noticed that there was a large assortment of pictures of my girlies with things on their heads. I thought they were all too cute to leave unposted, so here theya re for your viewing pleasure.

Post bath time.



Matching head gear!



Changing into jammies.



Uncle Ricky's Indiana Jones hat.



One day, Amie just kept bringing me more and more of her bows to put in her hair. Cute!

My Amie Jo

Oh my goodness, how time flies! Our little 5 lb. 14 oz. Amelie Josephine is now (over) 18 months old! She's still a little thing, weighing just 22 lbs at her last Dr. visit. She's a little whiz kid, and not only keeps us on our toes, but melts our hearts every day.
She is so cute with her sister. Even though she's not always as gentle as she should be, Amie is constantly giving her loves and wanting to hold her. (She has a sign for it-pulling up her sleeve and patting her forearm means she wants to hold Alisa.) She also has a sign for coat-it looks like she's trying to be a chicken. :) She is really starting to love the company of other kids, not that she didn't before, but now she can't get enough. We go to the park or store, and she'll just chat her little heart out with kids. Adults if she's in a great mood. She's still running and dancin' all over the place, and gets mad if she can't walk EVERYwhere we go. She loves to read books and like to try her little vocal chords out at church. She helps with clean up, and just started throwing away diapers (woo!)
She has begun to really really talk these days and seems to learn a new word every day! Here's a list-probably not too comprehensive, I forget them all.

Eat, ween (swing,) wee (slide,) coat, hi, bye bye, walk, chair, pee-yee (pretty,) burbie (birdie,) Barbie, baby, NO!, cheese, pop, cup, mama, dad, deeder (sister,) yeeshee (Lisie,) gama (grandma,) book, booger, butt (for diaper,) ow, bear bear (kiss it better,) cookie, EE-ette (Mewsette-a character in one of her favorite movies.) I know there are more, but that's what's coming to mind.

My favorite is actually bed time. We put on jammies, then brush teeth (which is a game for her,) then we read a story, and rock to a lullaby. She gets very snuggly and even gives a precious smile when you put her in her crib. Even when she seems amped up and resistant to bed, as soon as you put away the book, turn off the light and start singing, she puts her little (well big) head on your shoulder and often pats your back, too. Doesn't get much better than that!