Ain't Technology Grand?

I am trying to update the blog for the first time from my phone. Apparently, you no longer need a device as archaic as a computer to publish content to the web. I feel like these smartphones are going to catch on one day...

Amita and I had a fun day today. We took her walker outside, played with farm animals on the ottoman, drank out of a sippy cup like a big girl, danced to Lionel Richie, and practiced body parts (she's really good at eye and nose so far).

Earth Day

This past weekend, we were able to participate in a river cleanup that some friends of ours organize (shout out to the Browns and their hard work pulling together the biggest cleanup in the state!).  Last year, our feisty newborn did not allow us to head to the river, but this year, we took our calm toddler in her brand new hiking backpack so we could do our part.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we all enjoyed being outside.

Amita also took a day trip to Madison on Sunday to visit more friends.  She did great for the trip, got to play with two older friends and even managed to take a nap in a strange place!  And in the midst of all that excitement, she also had her first molar pop through!  Finally!!!  Only 3 more of those to go...

Here's Daddy and Amita basking in the sun after our river cleanup was over.

Testing out the new hiking backpack.  Amita wasn't too sure of it at first!

Playing with sidewalk chalk.  She really likes to pound it on the ground.  Not so good for the chalk!

Playing with the new shades in our living room.  She was "hiding" behind them!

Everyone making a Daddy pile!

Pretending to drink from a play cup.  Now we just have to get her to do that with a real sippy cup!!

Easter

Last year, Amita celebrated Easter by wearing a vintage outfit that used to belong to me.  This year, she wore a vintage sweater that belonged to Aaron.  She was a hit at church, as usual!  Amita also had her 15-month checkup with the doctor this week.  She is keeping it long and lean by growing 2 inches in the past three months, but gaining less than 2 pounds.  The doctor said she looks healthy and has no concerns with how she's developing.

And now, some photos from our week!

Here's Amita eating her first Easter dinner.  In true Bubb fashion, she loved the ham, but wouldn't eat the veggies!

Here's the whole family for Easter.  Amazingly, we got one where we were all looking at the camera!

Amita petting her best friends.  Baxter is much more tolerant than Azrael with her unconventional petting style.

Amita wearing a new "hat".  Once she got this basket on, she didn't want to take it off!

Massaging Baxter's tummy.  The cats like it much better when she's not slapping them on the face!

Reading a book to mama - she was "talking" the whole time.

Thanks to some wonderful friends, we had hostas to plant this weekend.  We got them in on Saturday night before the rain started.  Our yard is officially coming together!

March Madness (Not Basketball)

It has been a crazy several weeks at our house!  Aaron has been working long hours and Amita and I have been holding down the fort.  But without the extra set of hands around as much as usual, it sure hasn't left a lot of "free time" for things like the blog.

Here's what's new for Amita.  She has started using sign language (finally!) and so far, can signal when she is all done or when she wants more.  We are going to start working on more signs now that she is getting the hang of it.  She continues to improve on her standing and walking.  She loves to cruise around the perimeter of things and to walk back and forth through the house with her walker.  She gets to go to the doctor's next week for her 15 month checkup (hard to believe - it seems like she just turned one!) so we'll find out her new weight.  Early guesses are that she's put on a few pounds - it's not as easy to carry her up the stairs as it used to be!

Amita on one of our early summer days.  This was the only pair of shorts we had for her!

Exploring the pantry.

Walking with her walker.  The hardest part is steering... which is why one of us always has to chase behind her.  She is quick to get the walker stuck on all kinds of obstacles and let's just say she doesn't really enjoy that!

Hanging out with mama.

Bringing the sunshine indoors in a bright new springtime outfit.  One of her other favorite pastimes is emptying out the toy box!

Getting ready for a chilly walk outside.  What happened to all that summer weather?!?!?!

Crawling on her hands and feet.  Such a funny thing to watch her do!

Somehow, she pulled the cymbal off her music table... you can guess what happened next!

Even with the busy pace of life, Aaron and I managed to take a short trip in March.  We flew in to Vegas and drove to California to hike at Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park for a few days.  Those pictures are in the process of being uploaded to turn into a photo book.  Hopefully soon!

Once we got back from vacation, it was a dose of reality for us.  We took care of as many yard chores as we could before we had to go back to work.

We planted 3 spruce trees.  Look closely... the large one in the neighbor's yard is not one of them!

We installed a rain barrel.  It wasn't the most attractive barrel to start with (it was the plain brown color all over) but with a little spray paint and whole lot of time taping off the lines, it turned out pretty nice.

Our daylilies have started to come up.  Aaron's mom started to clean out around them with a hoe in her "free time" while Amita was napping, but we've still got some work to do with these.

We did work to clear out our wildflower areas.  This is the one on the west side of the house.

And here is the one on the east side of the house.  The plants already seem to be thriving and doing so much better since we cleared it out.  I guess it was worth the time investment to do.

And finally, after all that work, we created a place to relax!  We added a rug to our screen porch to be softer for both little and big feet alike.  Then we brought our chairs up from the basement.  Now all we need a is a little warm weather!