Nana & Grampa Jim Return!!

When Nana & Grampa Jim arrive the girls find their places in their laps and basically stay there for two days :) Lily gets Plig Plig (her name for Piglet) and Cookie Monster so they can join in the fun.

Big Blue Eyes is happy to rest on Nanas knee.

Mommy comes to say hi!

Amelia tells Mommy a story.

Family picture time!!! It is too difficult to choose a favourite, so here are some from the series...

Daddy feeds Amelia some butternut squash for supper. She is not a huge fan of fruits, but seems to really enjoy vegetables. At this point squash is her favourite. It is unfortunate that she has chosen an orange vegetable as her favourite (hello laundry stain remover!) but we are glad she enjoys something healthy.

Amelia leans forward to meet the incoming spoon. Watch your fingers, Daddy!

Lily finds a cozy spot in Nanas lap...

...while Amelia finds one beside Grampa on the couch.

Love the eyebrow raise, Meelie. Too cute.

Our little octapus is grabbing at everything these days. She loves computer keyboards...

...it takes superhuman effort sometimes to keep her little fingers off the keys!

Meelie looks like she is formulating a plan to circumvent the keyboard restrictions :)

Lily Likes Order :)

One Sunday morning Lily decides to make a "sidewalk" with all her books....

As we've previously established, she really likes to line things up.

Almost 40 books later she has made a pretty fantastic path and admires her work. We don't remind her that she's go another 40 books in her toy box and bedroom :)

Amelia Close-Ups

Tiny little Meelie fingers...

...love to grasp Daddy's thumb...

A happy and content little baby...

...who is very used to having her picture taken. Just like her sister :)

Pancake Breakfast at Daycare

Amelia is dressed in fancy duds and ready to go to daycare with Mommy & Daddy & Lily for a pancake breakfast with the other kids and parents.

Meelie waits patiently (see her on the table - she is pretty small!) while everyone else gets ready.

We finally arrive at the daycare and Gigi serves us pancakes and melon and orange slices.

Lily mows through her first pancake very quickly and moves on to her second...

Amelia is very excited to be hanging out with the big kids! Mommy and Daddy are less excited to be sitting on teeny tiny little chairs, but very happy to be joining Lily and her friends in this feast.

Amelia wants some pancakes too, but it is going to be several months before that happens...

A view of the eating table in the daycare.

Amelia waits with Daddy on the couch while Lily gobbles her third pancake.

Gigi asks Amelia if she is going to be coming into the Dorothy Lam infant program in the Fall. Amelia seems to really like the idea.

Lily at the Park

On Saturday mornings Daddy often takes Lily to the park.

She looooves to use the steering wheel to drive her imaginary car.

When she's done driving the imaginary car she uses a stick as an imaginary umbrella. Which is good 'cause we accidentally left her real umbrella at home. Hopefully she will imagine that the rain isn't really falling.

Amelia's First Solid Food...

In early March it is time to start Amelia on solid food, so we mix up some rice cereal.

She helps Mommy with the first few spoonfulls by holding onto Mommy's hand. At this point everyone is still relatively clean.

Then Amelia grabs the spoon and guides it towards her mouth...

She's a little bit distracted by her audience...

...and then decides she wants to put her hand in her mouth at the same time as the spoon. This slows down the whole feeding process and makes it a heck of a lot messier.

Now we've got food on her face, hands, floor and Mommy's t-shirt.

...and finally she gets ahold of that spoon all by herself and total chaos ensues :) Eventually she gets food in her hair and Mommy's hair too.

Meelie and Mommy both need a costume change after baby's first taste of cereal!

Baba & Grampa Hunter Visit

"Hi Grampa, I'm glad you are here!"

"Your lap is an excellent place to stand."

"And you are very good at helping me stand on the carpet, too!"

"Hi Baba! You are also really great at helping me stand. In the next few days I will show you exactly how much I like to stand. Pretty much ALL the time :)"

After standing up for, oh, hours on end....our little baby gets hungry and needs to fill her tummy.

When she's not upright with help from an adult, Amelia is content (for short periods) standing in her exersaucer. She is more interested in playing with the toys on it these days, so that makes her happy. And it makes us happy, too!

Occasionally she looks up to make sure that somebody is in the room with her. She REALLY does not like it when she is left alone in a room. It makes her very sad :(

"Hmmm...what should I do next?"

Lily gets her groove on with Mommy.

We're not sure what this game is called, but it involves Baba flipping Lily's legs up in the air.

Lily takes her drawing very seriously. She can be very intense sometimes when she is creating a masterpiece. Several weeks ago she drew all over her legs with a Sharpie. When I asked her what she had drawn she said very matter-of-factly "A seagull." I cracked up.

Lily considers what picture to draw next...

Amelia finds a cozy place in Grampa Hunter's lap and has a little nap.

When Amelia goes to bed Lily gets a ride from Grampa. First she gets a more conventional ride. We'll call this one "the swing."

Then she gets a less conventional ride. Let's call this one "the football."

"Hi guys, what's goin' on?"

Lily reads a book to Mommy.

She likes to make up stories about the characters...which often involve going potty, going shopping, getting dressed and getting time outs for "not listening." We are pretty sure she is drawing on her own life experiences for these fictitious tales.

Lily reads another book to Grampa.

Some more hand-gnawing action from Amelia.

Lily is, in her own words, "Really not happy." When we ask her why, she says "Lily is a little bit cranky. Lily had a long day." We understand, Lily, we do!!

Meelie is standing again. Shocking!!

Meelie says, "I'm number one!" We tend to agree.

Lily climbs over the back of the loveseat to visit with Grampa.

Lily's sticker book keeps her very busy. We have to limit her useage to only 5 stickers per day, otherwise she'd use them all up in an hour. As it is, she proceeds to put every single sticker on the front cover. Often on top of each other. Not quite sure she understands the point of stickers but we appreciate her self-expression.

Grampa loans Amelia his finger for awhile.

Then she heads over to Baba's lap for some more standing action.

Back to Grampa for even more standing...

...and walking up Grampa's tummy.

Hungry again!!!

Refueled and ready to go!

Always wanting to entertain, Lily puts on her pink sunglasses that match her "marshmallow" top (she has named it that because it has colored polka dots on it that she thinks look like colored marshmallows).

Baba & Grampa take Lily to the park...

Surprise, surprise, Lily wants to go on the swing! She throws her head back in sheer delight.

Snack time! We're not sure exactly what this look from Lily means but we're pretty sure the wheels in her brain are a-turnin'. Quickly.

Amelia looks at Baba from the change table...

...she is getting very squirmy and more difficult to change...

Baba is successful with the change and quickly sits Meelie up so she can see what's going on.

She is not happy for long sitting down and so she must stand up. Again!

Finger chewing...

Amelia hitches a ride.

Lily holds her baby...

Amelia is not thrilled with the situation but that's because she wants some milk....we'll hook her up right away.

Nighttime finds Amelia standing again...

...change of scenery...

Mid-morning naps are the best. Especially on Baba's lap.

After waking up Amelia decides to get a close-up look at her toes...

...and then gives them a little taste.

Lily dances with Baba & Grampa Hunter. And Eeyore, too!

Lily says goodnight to her baby.

Daddy gives Lily a ride down the hallway. She knows the difference between walking and running and often yells, "Faster, Daddy, faster!"

"Again Daddy, again!"

Lily is pleased with the speed Daddy is going...

...very pleased!!!

And she is most displeased when the game comes to an end :(

Lily helps Mommy bring Baba her birthday cake. We have an early birthday celebration because we cannot join Baba in Winnipeg for her birthday party.

Lily is EXTREMELY helpful, and even licks the candles for Baba.

She also helps Baba open her gift. A fabulous plum colored bag. Lily wants to give Baba another present so she runs into Mommy & Daddy's bedroom and brings back a little red and green box that she thinks looks like a gift and would make a good present....it's actually a little tool that belongs to Daddy. We all laugh and smile and Lily is so proud :) She is a very generous little girl!