Who needs apples anyways?

We had these great plans of going to a u-pick apple orchard yesterday and getting great family photos.  All of the trees are dwarf trees, so you don't even need ladders...and Amelia could pick her own!  The only problem was they were closed.  For the second time we've tried this week.  I was so bummed, but we found this cool park instead and everything was right in the world again.

Amelia had lots of fun.

Her fascination with tongues is still alive and well :) 

She got on this spinning toy and said "wow, wow, wow, wow, wow,wow....."

They even had a porch-like swing that Brandon and Amelia had fun on. 

The Zoo!

Today I met Marie and her son Finn at the zoo!  The zoo is fun now that the little ones can walk around and recognize the animals.  

Amelia wore her new boots.  Can you tell that I am excited for the cooler weather?  I got the boots because the only shoes that fit her at the moment also dig into her little ankles, so she needed new shoes.  With winter coming up, I thought boots would be perfect! 

Funny story, she can't really walk in them but won't let me take them off.  It's a love, hate kind of a relationship...but mostly love.  

Here's Finn with a sleeping polar bear.  So cute!  Amelia didn't notice the polar bear.  She knew that she was supposed to stand at the glass and look interested, but she didn't quite make the connection which was almost just as cute.

In all of the times I've been to the zoo, I've never seen the petting zoo! Amelia really, really wanted to pet the goat.  The goat just wasn't feelin' it.

After she got the cold shoulder from the goat, she discovered the hand washing station and probably could have stayed there for the rest of the day.  She has a strange affinity for hand sanitizer.  Just picture me saying "after you do it once, your hands are clean" and her responding "mow-uh, mow-uh, mow-uh."  

True Love

The other day when I was laying in bed, I told Amelia that I wasn't feeling well.  She crawled over to me, gave me a kiss and then sat on my head.  Not in a nice "I want to cuddle with you" way.  It was more of a squish-your-face-and-possibly-break-your-neck kind of a thing. 

We got Amelia a huge teddy bear at Costco a few months ago for the price of a normal size teddy bear because it's Costco, and Amelia LOVES it.  It's her favorite toy by far.  She cuddles with it, rides it like a horse, kisses it, hugs it, etc. 

When I was taking pictures of her with the bear this morning, she did this. 

I think it's her way of saying "i love you."  Or maybe "you're my favorite."  Either way, the fact that she sat on my head the other day made me feel loved.

It's true love.  

Date night!

We didn't get any good photos from our date night, but we still had a great time.  We ate at PF Chang's, walked around Bridgeport and went to an arcade. It was a lot of fun, and I actually beat Brandon at Ski Ball! Yeah, yeah, he can only see out of one eye....but it still counts!

Amelia has a new found obsession with our tongues.  She thinks they are hilarious. She's trying to get mine in this picture. 

Brandon and his eye patch!!! Haha, he didn't wear it out on our date...he just squinted (or winked at me) the whole time.

Brandon's Eye Injury

Last night at the gym, Brandon put Amelia on his shoulders and started walking before she could get settled in.  She tried to catch herself by grabbing his eye socket...

He was in a lot of pain, but took some ibuprofen that helped a little bit.  He's not in as much pain today, but it's swollen.  Off to the store for an eye patch! 

Ten things from Tuesday

It's been a while!  I'll do a quick ten things from Tuesday to get back into the swing of things.

1.  I've been taking more pictures of Amelia recently.  She's adorable.

2.  She has 16 teeth now.  Yeah, 16.  It's like I have a toddler or something... It also means that we have to take her to the dentist soon for her first appointment...which I'm dreading.  Every time I brush her teeth, she somehow ends up pinned to the ground screaming while I try to get a good 5 swipes in before she either sucks all the toothpaste off or tries to eat the thing.  Not the best part of the day.

3.  This summer I broke both my elbows, got pregnant and injured my tailbone. I think I need another (real) summer break.

On second thought, I'm done with summer.  

4. Amelia talks now.  Her favorite word is more, which comes out sounding like "mow-uh".  It's adorable and hard to resist. 

5.  I'm pregnant and have been sick for almost 2 whole months.  But you don't want to hear about that.  I'll share more about the good parts of pregnancy once I remember them.

6.  Brandon is back in school which sucks.  After having him home all summer I was SO ready for us to be back to a normal schedule.  Well, let me tell you, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

7.  Amelia makes animal noises.  She's a pro at the elephant, donkey, cow, and monkey noises.  I think she might have to be an elephant for Halloween.  But, I'll probably change my mind 50 times before we get a costume.

8.  This happened a while ago, but is still worth mentioning.  Brandon surprised me for my birthday with a dinner cruise!  It was super fun.  And a little chilly.  Here I am on the Willamette River in front of the Portland Oregon sign (that you can't really see).  I love that sign.

9.  We go to the zoo, OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) and the Portland Children's Museum a lot.  Especially in the rainy winter when outdoor parks and activities aren't feasible.  Here's Amelia on the go at OMSI.  They have a forest area with chipmunk costumes.  So cute!  Maybe she could be a chipmunk for Halloween...

10.  I go to Florida at the end of this month...childless! Well, kind of.  Amelia is staying home with Brandon while I attend Rachel's wedding.  I'm super, super excited.  My mom is flying in from Ohio, too, which is going to be a ton of fun.  I can't wait!