Here are some random pictures from May/June. Amelia is changing so fast these days. She has lots of new words and is trying to put them together. She took a shower with Zach the other morning and when they got out she told Zach "All done wash". Life seems to get much easier when they can tell you what they want and what they're thinking. I never much enjoyed the guessing game. Her new thing is to tell us when she "poops" she also thinks it's great when she "farts" and tells us that one too. She's big into "help" right now and it seems that everything she does she needs "Mommy help". She did bust out her first curse word yesterday... She said "Oh shi*". I guess I need to watch my language a little more closely. My favorite thing she learned this week was how to say "I love you"... definitely the sweetest. She also sings "Rock baby" (Rocka-bye baby), "tinkle tinkle li sta" and "Ashes ashes ah fa down". I think the fun is just beginning.

Here are a few shots from our weekly zoo trip. We had a good time this trip despite the fact that it was over 90 degrees. We took our usual rides on the train and carousel. The carousel is definitely her favorite. She knows exactly where it is and where to buy the tickets. She also takes her time picking out just the right animal to ride (it's usually any critter with a long tail). This visit was actually a bit more exciting because the pigs were in the petting area for Amelia to torment. We usually have to torment them through the fence. Oh and she was head butted by an angry goat. The goats are marked with red tags if they aren't very nice and apparently we crossed the wrong goat. My question is this... if they are angry and aggressive why are they in the petting area at the kid's park in the zoo??? Anyway, we weren't petting this particular goat, but we did get in his way. Amelia wasn't phased though and we found some more animals to scream at and grab, I mean pet.

We recently went to a little birthday party where there was a huge assortment of candy including these suckers shaped like tongues attached to fake teeth. Apparently the suckers were good... this was also Amelia's first lollipop.

We headed out to Hilton Head Island over Memorial Day weekend to spend time with the Nielsen family. It was a great visit, but too short. We didn't get many pictures of the girls together... partly because my child is a big wuss and couldn't take a little hair pulling. Here are a couple of shots with Amelia and Eleanor. Eleanor was always up for a photo op and clearly hasn't developed the dreaded cheese face (her smile is gorgeous). She is a happy little girl and is much more social than Amelia. Amelia is content being shy and contemplative (unless she's playing ball or jumping... then she becomes the life of the party).

When will the dreaded cheese face stop?? Every time I pull out the camera I hear "cheese" and she makes the horrible scrunchy face.

Amelia is obsessed with blankets and anything fluffy. She loves to cuddle on them (hence her love for Wallace's bed). I think we're going to invest in a bean bag chair... although I'm concerned that it will become a weapon for abusing friends and potential, future siblings. Oh and she's also into her belly button. Here are two pics of her looking for her belly button and showing me her belly button. She will also look for her "butt" if you ask.

A few weeks ago Amelia, mom, and I took a trip to Bennettsville, South Carolina for my great uncle's funeral. It wasn't the best of circumstances to make this trip, but we ladies still managed to have a little fun. Bennettsville is a small town and there aren't a lot of places to stay, but we managed to find a super nice Bed and Breakfast right down the street from my aunt's house. We had an entire house to ourselves and they even made us french toast for breakfast. Amelia enjoyed the trip and especially enjoyed the "Privacy Please" sign (or bracelet) and eating breakfast in bed.

Amelia and I took a little road trip to Destin with our friend Emilie and her two boys. It was Amelia's first beach trip (unfortunately without Zach)... fortunately for Zach he didn't miss much. Amelia was not a fan of the ocean, but was ok hanging on the beach. We did enjoy the pool though. She had lots of firsts on this trip including her first taste of bacon, which she loved. We have some funny video of Amelia jumping off the sofa into a sea of pillows with Emilie's son, Caden, that I'm hoping Zach gets up pretty soon.

So I sometimes see little bits of my mom in Amelia, but this picture screams "Little Debby". She looks just like my mom to me here.

Like all little kids Amelia enjoys "talking" on the phone. She usually holds the phone up to her ear (or anything phone shaped) and says "hello" or "hi" and sometimes "blah blah blah Mommy blah blah blah puppy". She thinks it's great of course. Here's a shot of Amelia in my bed at the beach. I let her relax while I was getting dressed. She had the remote in one hand and the phone up to her ear. She was having one of her "conversations" and apparently it was a good one.