Amelia's first note sent home from school

On September 12, 2008 I opened Amelia's folder that is sent home from school everyday and to my horror there was a note from her music teacher, Mrs. Lyons. Below is the note verbatim:

Amelia was so cute in music class today. We were singing a song and she was "hollaring" at the top of her voice, not her usual pretty voice. When I mentioned we should sing with a pretty sound she said, "Well, the song said make a joyful noise!" And indeed she was right!

I could not help but read the note and laugh and then feel confused about whether is was a bad note or not. I am going to take it as a cute story the way Mrs. Lyons described it. Frank on the other hand loved it and was extremely proud of Amelia. She can be exactly like him at times!

Amelia, Elliott and Cousin Daniel's Day at the Zoo

Today I took Elliott and Amelia to the zoo. We met Grandma Rosie and Cousin Daniel there. It was a great day. Amelia insisted on going to the butterfly exhibit first. You are allowed to hold the butterflies on your finger but they warn you not to pick up any butterflies by the wings. Amelia and Daniel had no problem following the rules but Elliott was a different story. While I was trying to take pictures (on 3 different occasions) Elliott grabbed hold of 3 different butterflies by the wings. Luckily I managed to get them out of his death grip unharmed. I got him out of there because I knew if we stayed any longer he would be solely responsible for wiping out the whole exhibit.

Amelia was scared of the goats in the petting zoo and kept yelling that they were going to eat her. Elliott and Daniel loved feeding the goats and petting them. The bird exhibit was going well until one of the birds bit Amelia's finger. She cried as if she had lost a limb! Those birds are pretty aggressive about their nector. I got bit and so did Daniel but he took it like a man and did not even fuss over it.

You can't go to the zoo without finishing it off with a train ride! We had a lot of fun!

Amelia has moved out!

When Amelia was a baby my plan was for her room to be upstairs (our master bedroom is downstairs). Once she was born I just could not have my baby so far away from me so we added a small bedroom onto our bedroom to be close by. The room wasn't even used until Amelia was 2 1/2 because she slept with us until then. When she turned 2 1/2 she started sleeping in her own bed in the room addition and we were perfectly happy with the arrangement. Most nights her and Elliott would fall asleep together in our bed and then we would move her to her bed. Again, this worked just fine for Frank and I. We love having our babies nearby at night.

This summer (to our horror) Amelia started talking about moving upstairs to a "Big Girl" room. Her Daddy was not happy about this and did not want to hear anything about it. Amelia persisted in her usual fashion and over Labor Day weekend we went shopping for "Big Girl" bedroom furniture. She was so excited she counted down the days for it to be delivered. When it finally came she said to the delivery guys "Excuse me sir, could you please put my furniture together super fast"! She loves her bedroom and has been sleeping all by herself every night ever since we got it ready. She is not scared and sleeps like a baby! It was much harder on Frank and I then it was on her. I did not sleep well the first 2 days she moved up there. I kept waking up all night to check on her. I am used to it now. She is very proud of her big girl room and we are very proud of her!