Labor Day

We had an amazing Labor Day weekend.  We went to visit my brother's family in Minneapolis.  Our drive there was less than successful (Amita did not do well!) but the ride home was just fine and we had a ton of fun in between!

Amita got to play with her cousin Piper.  I think she also enjoyed watching how advanced Piper is in so many things because Amita did her best to keep up and to copy her cousin when she could!  The girls played at home, went to a park, attended a gymnastics class and went to the zoo... we packed a whole lot of excitement into only a few days!!

Here's our little birdie in a birdcage at the park.

Exploring the park on her own.

Riding in the swing.  That was one of Piper's favorite activities too!

Taking the slide with Daddy.  Our little daredevil loved all the slides... the bigger the better!

Crossing the bouncy bridge with Daddy.

King of the mountain!

Amita started drinking water this weekend!  She saw Piper drinking out of a straw cup and just had to have one of her own.

She also started using a fork this weekend.  She is no longer a baby; she's a toddler!

Keeping the house tidy with a little sweeping.

Wearing some Mr. Potato Head glasses... they don't really fit, but that didn't stop her!

Piper showing off one of her early birthday gifts.  What a cute little monkey!

The girls at gymnastics.  They got to practice running, swinging, climbing and all sorts of other fun activities.  Amita had a smile the whole class!!

Doing our best to carry as many balls as possible!

A cheetah at the zoo.  We could get really close to the animals (I was nervous near the grizzly bear!).

Watching the animals with Daddy.  What an exciting weekend!

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

Last week, we took Amita to the zoo for the first time.  We figured with all the animal sounds she's been making lately, this would be the perfect place to practice them.  We had scheduled the day about a month in advance... And of course, it was also the only day last week that it rained!  But we went anyway... and we spent a whole lot of time in the monkey house waiting for the downpour to subside.  That was perfectly fine with Amita; she was awestruck by all the different monkeys!  Plus, she got to make her monkey sounds (ah ah ah) around a million times!!

The weather ended up being great - it kept the crowds to a minimum and it kept me from getting too hot (no small feat lately!).  As soon as the rain was done, all the big animals came out to play.  We saw bears out and moving around; lions pacing; zebras grazing and running; even tigers wrestling just like our orange cats at home!!  But more fun than watching all the animals was watching Amita's reaction to each animal.  She loved calling out sounds and watching them move.  We had a wonderful day and are looking forward to going back again soon.

Here's Amita with Dad.  She couldn't take her eyes off the monkey cage!

One of the "Rafiki" monkeys that we watched.  Some elementary aged kids on a tour with the YMCA were very entertained by these monkeys' butts!

Relaxing with Mama and watching the bonobo monkeys.  There was even a baby monkey that we could see riding on top of his parents.  They carried him around on their tummies and backs... just like I'll be doing with our new little one in my sling come November!

Getting up close to the tigers.  Amita's tiny roar was no match for this guy!

These Muppet toys were mine many years ago.  They still haven't lost their appeal on a new generation.  The hardest thing for Amita is that she wanted to hold them all at the same time... she couldn't bear to put even one down!

From Baby to Big Girl

Since Amita's 18-month checkup, she has been growing and changing rapidly.  I feel like she has gone from a baby to a big girl overnight!  She has simultaneously started walking and talking (she's really big on animal sounds right now - crow is one of her faves... caw caw!!).  She's such a different person than she was a month ago.

It has been a thrill for us to watch her grow.  Every day brings a new surprise or discovery and we are constantly amazed at what she's learning.

Here's a photo montage of some of her big "Big Girl" moments (not the least of which was the top picture, which was her first haircut!).

We have been trying for many, many months to convince her to drink from a sippy cup.  Tonight, when I went to transfer her unused sippy cup milk into a bottle, she decided she would just start drinking from there instead!  Classic Amita - no one tells her when or how to do things!!

Here's her big girl bed... she's very excited about her owl sheets (who who!!).  Hopefully, she'll be interested in napping there sometime soon.

Here she is coloring a picture.  My little big girl is quite the budding artist!

How'd the sticker get up there???

Going down the slide is too easy for a big girl.  Now we need to carry as much as possible while we do it... because that's what big girls do!!

Walking Tall

Amita continues to make great progress on her walking and she is getting more and more bold every day.  She is starting to understand that she can get from point A to point B while staying upright and keeping the toys in her hands, rather than having to interrupt her activities to crawl there.  It has been really fun watching her discover her new walking skills.

Today we took Amita to her second annual Brewer's 5k.  It was strange to remember last year's race and how small she was compared to this year.  It was a little cooler this year (believe it or not!) and I was thankful for that.  It made walking much more enjoyable.  The best part of the race is the finish line where you get to hang out with all the racing sausages and enjoy a free hot dog, water, and beer!  We found a nice spot in the shade to eat while Amita explored a little and had some more walking practice.  Then it was time to head back home for her nap.  All in all, a fantastic little Saturday!!

Here's a picture of Amita walking unassisted.

It's All Good

It has been a busy couple of weeks since our last post.  We have been busy with converting our former guest bedroom into a baby's room, while Aaron puts in long hours at work and Amita continues to grow.  She is not comfortable walking completely on her own yet, but she is getting braver every day and is trying new things.  She has also added the following phrases to her vocabulary: all done, go go go (from one of her favorite books), and best of all, dada.

At her 18-month checkup, the doctor said everything looks good.  She's in a normal weight range, her walking and talking are normal, and overall, she's healthy and happy!  With the exception of the last week of teething, which has forced her to give up everything but soft foods, she is doing great!  Can you believe her hair is long enough for pigtails in the above photo?!?!?

Here's Amita chillaxin in our bed.  I hope she's as comfortable in her big girl bed when we move her out of the crib in a few months!

In the excitement of everything, Aaron and I were able to get away for a quick weekend trip to a friend's wedding (hey Schmoopy!) in Newberry a few weeks ago.  We even got to do some hiking at Tahquamenon Falls and Pictured Rocks.

Here's Amita climbing up the slide like normal.

But she normally goes down on her tummy.  This is new!

Whee!!!!!  This is tons more fun!

Independence Day

It has been an amazing few weeks.  Amita has started standing and walking unassisted... of course, she still prefers to hang on to something or someone when she can, but she's making great progress.  It was fitting that she started all of this around Independence Day... although, she's been independent since the day she was born!

The 4th of July was a real treat this year... we got to spend it with family!  Cousin Piper helped encourage Amita's walking (they both ended up taking their first steps at our house... Piper started during Amita's first birthday weekend!) and it was great to have the girls together to play again.  They were also real troopers in the heat wave.  Even though it was over 100, Piper kept asking to go outside!

Here's the girls enjoying a wagon ride on our way to a 4th of July parade.

Amita watching the parade with daddy.  She managed to score some candy!!

Trying out the toddler splash pond after the parade.  The water was super cold and Amita wasn't the biggest fan... but she did get brave enough to reach her arms in a few times.  It was a much needed cool down for all of us.

The ducks we entered into the duck races on the 4th.  We didn't win fastest or best dressed... but we have a lot of great ideas for next year.

A future golf pro!  The girls got to test out some occupations at the children's museum in Milwaukee.

Amita the banker... not surprising that she enjoyed the computer and calculator!

Taking turns on the slide on a cooler morning (not quite 80 yet!).

The whole gang downtown!

Garage Sale Season

Summer brings with it all sorts of warm weather fun... but one of my favorites is garage sale season!  I have been finding some great things for Amita at various different sales, all of which have been huge hits with her!

She continues to eat and grow, but her two favorite things are strawberries and cheese.  I guess she gets one from each of us!  She has expanded her vocabulary a little to include hi, eye, uh-oh, and hiyah (like Miss Piggy!).  Every once in a while, we get an up or an all done, so she's making great progress.  She can say mama and dada, but chooses not to most of the time.  I'm sure she will when she decides she's ready (as with everything else!!).  She is continuing her cautious exploration and has not yet gotten brave enough to let go and start walking, but her balance is great and she moves so fast when I hold her hands that it's hard to keep up.  We're looking forward to lots of summer fun this year... here's a look at some of our first activities.

Speaking of garage sale season, here's a heap of clothing that I was able to pick up for her.  We are completely set with 2T size stuff after this haul!!

Amita testing out her garage sale pool.  I'm not sure that we have the next Michael Phelps on our hands...

We recently brought a kitchen up from the basement and put it on our screen porch. It is hands down Amita's favorite new thing!  She absolutely loves playing with it.

Trying out a ball pit that I picked up from a neighbor's sale.  She has really enjoyed it... the only disadvantage is that we keep losing real estate on the porch!  Fortunately, we can still fit a few chairs out there for relaxing after she goes to bed!

Amita copying daddy.  They were leaning back and relaxing on a lazy Saturday morning.

Getting out and enjoying the sunshine with mama...

... but mama doesn't hold a candle to the fun you can have with daddy!

Just because Amita isn't walking on her own doesn't mean she can't find her fair share of trouble.  Here she is rearranging our dining room by pushing all the chairs around.

Two shovels and so far away from the sandbox!  What's a girl to do??

Enjoying a hilarious pair of glasses with daddy.

Making a mess at breakfast.  Who knew you could scatter pancakes like that??