I have an alarm set to go off on each of the boys' iPods at 8:00 every night so that if we can't lay our hands on them, we can follow the sound and hopefully find them. (Everyone's alarm is different.) This came in VERY handy one night when Nick's alarm went off and we traced it to the recycling bin, where Amelia had thrown it. Twenty-four hours later with no alarm, that thing would have been curbside.
In addition to absconding with every family member's iPod or phone at some point, Amelia also successfully reset my password-protected work iPhone to its factory settings, erasing all of my emails and contacts. Twice.
So after months of this, Grayson and I finally decided to buy a used iPod for her. And while the boys typically whine, moan and groan about any one of them getting something at an earlier age than any other of them did, THIS reveal was met with cheers.
And she hasn't looked back since. (And yep, the very first thing I did with hers was set an alarm.)
Here's what it's like on a daily basis now:
"Oh, this Doc McStuffins episode is so funny. She does the cutest things!"
"I mean, Mommy, she's just darling."
" ... "
"Hee hee hee hee hee! Just cracks me up every time!"
"Oh no. Lambie's stuffing is coming out. I hope Doc can fix her up ..."
"Oh yeah, Mommy! Doc sewed her up and everything's good. No worries!"
"You should've seen how they resolved that scene. HILARIOUS."
"What? What do you mean, 'We need to go?' "
"Oh, good one, Mommy! Yeah, I want to finish this episode first."
"You're so funny. Good one, Mommy."
[mutters] "I mean, not so funny that you should try that again, but ..."
"Okay, yes, I'll fast-forward through this part so I can get closer to the end. PUSHY."
"Got my purse!"
"You ready? I thought you said you were ready."
"I mean, if you're not ready to walk out the door, don't tell me it's time to go. Shoot. I can't keep this bag on my shoulder."
"Alright, while you grab your stuff, I'll just throw my iPod in my purse."
"Oh wait. Just remembered something I need to get while we're out."
"I'm just gonna add a Note to my list here."
"How do you spell 'diamonds'?"
OH YOU KNOW I KID. I can't imagine any daughter of mine being into diamonds. But I suppose you never know. Also, she doesn't say more than eight intelligible words, if you were wondering.
And since this post doesn't have enough pictures of her, here are a few more for good measure. You're welcome, family.
My cousin Harry is one of the most talented drummers on the planet. That's not nepotism speaking ... it's just the truth. I wish I could recount for you the many famous musicians he's played with, but he would die.
You see, part of his charm -- and he is SO CHARMING -- is his modesty. You've just never met anyone more humble than he.
This kid I used to babysit, take to paint pottery, have pillow fights with, swim in the pool with, go to the zoo with ... he's turned into this incredible young man. I want the whole world to know him.
For a small glimpse into the talent and humor of the incomparable Harry Miree, hand over the next three minutes of your day to his most recent video.
I've fallen asleep on the couch the last two nights, too exhausted to write. Luckily, a couple of people made two brief videos of Amelia recently that are really cute, so I decided to share them with you today.
First, my dad recorded me tickling her on the floor in the den. Amelia LOVES to be tickled ... she says, "Ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka" all the time. I love it!
Second, one of Amelia's teachers emailed me a video of her walking at school yesterday.You know, I haven't been able to get any pictures or video of her walking since she first did it last month, because she's so secretive about it. Even one of her daily report sheets from school last week said, "Amelia loves to walk when no one's looking!"
But Monday night, after supper Nathaniel was helping her practice walking in the den, when all of a sudden she just took off. She walked from the den into the kitchen, down the hallway, through the playroom, into the other side of the kitchen and back around. She must have taken 50 steps or more! We were all jumping around and clapping, hooting and hollering for her.
(Have I mentioned that when she does anything cute or new, we all clap and go crazy over her? If we don't, she pauses and looks around, craning her neck in all directions to see what else people could possibly be doing that's so important as to rank above proclaiming our adoration for her.) (That must be how narcissists are made.)
Anyway, here's the little video her teacher sent me at work yesterday:
It's so exciting to see her coming into her own ...Watch out, world.
Last week, we took the kids out to a new trampoline place called AirWalk.
Ever heard of it? It's new to Birmingham, and I'd seen some of my friends buzzing about it on Facebook. But of course since it involves physical activity, mild-to-moderate risk and -- on Family Night -- admits families for a single flat fee, I made a reservation as soon as I could.
You have to sign a thousand-word waiver before you set foot on the floor, and there are three large signs in the waiting area that cover about 45 ways in which you can be injured (or experience "paralysis or death").
Nevertheless, we are a fearless people, and we forged on.
If I told you that getting the boys to hold still for these two pictures before they got to jump into the fray was harder than getting through labor without an epidural, would you believe me?
I regret to say that one member of our family was not as impressed with the facility.
I think she was just tired ... it was a Monday evening, and we'd all had a long day. I'm sure the boys were running on pure adrenaline, but Amelia and I ... we were running on fumes. I wish she'd been able to appreciate it more, because it really is a cool place!
It took Jake a while to get the hang of it, but he really enjoyed jumping off the walls onto the trampoline squares.
He was so proud when he was finally able to do it without falling down.
Each square is big enough for more than one person to jump, so Nathaniel took some time to jump with Jake. I did, too, and I was able to double-bounce him really high!
Nathaniel was able to get some serious air on his own.
This big, open trampoline area was great for families ... here's a short video of Grayson jumping with Jake and Nathaniel:
At the end of the floor, can you see that basketball goal?
Here's a guy dunking a basketball into it!
We saw people doing all sorts of crazy, daredevil things ... there was one guy who did about 15 or 20 backflips in a row, and then he was so dizzy that he fell down. Grayson had to give him a hand to help him up, but even then, he sort of stumbled his way off the mats.
At one point, I was trying to get a video of Nathaniel doing a flip, but instead I caught this guy climbing a bag hanging from the ceiling and then dropping onto his back from about 20 feet in the air. (Amelia seemed to be freaked out while we were watching him; I don't know if she was scared he was going to get hurt or what, but sorry for her fussiness in the audio.)
I never did get Nathaniel doing a flip because people kept getting between him and my camera, but from a different vantage point, I was able to get some pictures of Nick:
Lest you think that the only thing they did while we were there was jump on that trampoline grid -- oh noooooooo. That's only half of the facility! To the right of the grid is a huge foam pit with platforms and trampolines that you use to bounce as high as you can into the foam. (Bonus points if you can find Nathaniel.)
The boys jumped and flipped into the foam pit until they were so tired they couldn't climb out of the foam blocks on their own anymore.
Not to imply that at that point, they were ready to go home. No, at that point, they just decided to move on over to the dodgeball arena.
The big kids and adults were really nice to Jake in there and didn't ever knock him out; they just let him throw balls at them and sort of be the unofficial Ball Boy, running around and picking up balls as they flew by.
We had a really fun evening and would love to go back on a weekend ... sometime when we have more than 10 hours to recover before heading back to work and school. If you have an AirWalk in your area, we highly recommend it -- even if you're adults who don't have kids yet! There was a group of mid-20s adults there for a birthday party, and the guys in the group said it was "the most fun they'd ever had." High praise!
*This is not a sponsored post. It's just something we really enjoyed!*
I'm in Houston this week on business, but I wanted to share a few recent videos with you. They're not of anything really special ... just some random things, but I knew my family would want to see them. And since some of you consider yourselves an extension of my family (AHEM, I'm talking to you, STALKERS), I thought you might enjoy them, too.
And yes, we all talk to her in that ridiculously high tone of voice. It's a sickness.
First, I caught Amelia "sanitizing her hands." She sees her teachers do it all day long, I'm sure, and we do it after we change her diaper around here. To see her miming it was just adorable! (And the carpet spray was in the "lock" position, so she couldn't have sprayed it even if she'd tried.)
Next, even though Amelia isn't walking quite yet, she IS a master at getting up and down the stairs quickly.
And finally, we waited months and months too long for this to have been funny when we finally did it, but we gave Amelia a lemon to taste last weekend. Actually, I still thought it was funny.
Anecdotal evidence: this is what happens every time she goes down for a nap, wakes up from a nap, leaves for school, comes home from school, goes to bed, wakes up in the morning, or is otherwise away from her brothers for any longer than 30 minutes:
