AMJ One Year Old

Sweet Amelia,

Happy first birthday! From your first cry when you entered this world and our lives, to your first steps that expanded your world and everything in between, it is amazing how fast 365 days can go by. It is amazing how many memories you’ve created for us in those 365 days as we've watched you grow and learn and live and love. Plenty of those memories happened in the past month. You've expanded your vocabulary by saying "uh oh","bye bye" and "Max." You also like to make animal noises. You are our little monkey as you love bananas for breakfast and even more so love to climb on chairs. You started drinking cow's milk this month but still aren't sleeping in the crib. We won't tell Dr. P., for now, as a tummy bug postponed your check up as well as your first dentist appointment. You are so sweet, you probably give us cavities. Daddy missed you for a couple days as he had to travel to Washington DC for work, but you had extra time with him as Mommy went to Charleston for the weekend with Aunt Jessica. You watched football with Daddy and Aubrey and plenty of Barney and Elmo too, they are your favorites. You took a trip to Columbia for a dress fitting and had lunch with Grandma and Grandpa.We'll have a lot of time with family next month at both Aunt Kate and Aunt Jessica's weddings. We are very excited for these special events and also our trip to Disney World. Mommy and Daddy are so very excited for all of the memories the future holds for our family. The next few months will be busy but we took special time to stop and celebrate your sparkle at your first birthday. We can't help but look back at the past year and feel so lucky and blessed and loved because of every giggle, smile and snuggle that you have given us... and so much more. 

AMJ Year One Video

"...sweet Amelia Mae taught me that my heart has an infinite capacity for love." - Mommy

AMJ Eleven Months Old

"There's nothing fancy about the way I love you, but I love you as hard as I can.
  There's no good reason for the way you love me, but you're my waking dream come true.
  There's no good reason for the way you love me, but I thank God that you do."

These are lyrics to a song we heard at a wedding this month and they immediately speak to us and our relationship with you. You are such a sweet blessing and good and perfect gift from God (James 1:17). The love we give you pales in comparison to the exuberant amount of joy with which you fill our hearts. And that joy grows on a daily basis, as fast as the days seem to go by. As hard as it is to believe you are already 11 months old, with each new development and inch you grow, it becomes harder to remember you were ever a little baby. This month was no different than your previous 10, filled with adventures and new tricks. Your communication skills are primed to grow exponentially. You've started signing for "more", "milk" and waving hello or goodbye. You point and squeal or grunt to signal specific wants or needs. Along with telling us what a lion and monkey say, you call us by name now: "MaMa", "DaDa", "Max" and "Aw" (for Aubrey), you can say "snack" to ask for food. Watermelon is by far your favorite new treat but you also enjoy a waffle at breakfast and pureed pouches of other fruits and veggies. When we go out to eat, you are exposed to even more new tastes and treats. Mommy created a summer bucket list for you and your sister, which included a workday lunch date with Daddy. We celebrated your sweet friend Cora's church dedication with friends at lunch at the Fish Market. Other celebrations took place this month...we wished Mommy a Happy Birthday and went bowling for Aunt Jessica's wedding shower. There were a few experiences this month we would have liked to wish away too. Daddy had to come home early from a work trip to Chicago because you were sick and ended up spending a day in the hospital. You had fever and diarrhea, stopped nursing and had become dehydrated. We later found out you had salmonella. Sadly, we also had to say goodbye to Kennedy this month. You referred to her as "dog" (one of your first words). She'll always have a place in our hearts but in that situation or any other time we feel sad, stressed or sick, it only takes a smile or a hug or a kiss from our sweet Amelia to warm our souls. We are overwhelmed by the extraordinary amount of light and love you bring into our lives even as it seems there is nothing fancy about the way we love you.

AMJ Ten Months Old

Sweet Amelia. We are in the dog days of summer so it is appropriate that you have mastered the word "Max." This month, we celebrated the 4th of July at a cookout at Stella and Bailey's. Accordingly, we watched you increasingly learn to play independently. You will sit very contently on the floor and play with toys, intently and imaginatively. You may partly prefer to play alone because Aubrey has the tendency to play a little rough with you. But you also are developing a sense of curiosity so tend to engage with her and whatever she is doing. In the past few months, your exploration was based on the new places you could get by crawling. Now you seem to be exploring the finer details of your surroundings. Don't worry, even though you can be more than content on the floor playing with the Little People Cinderella's castle, Mommy and Daddy continue to take you out into the world for more experiences. After tagging along to do some shopping for boots for Aunt Jessica's wedding, you took another trip to the zoo. You road the train and the carousel.  At Pelicans, Aubrey took Daddy's snow cone so he shared hers with you...just don't tell Mommy. This month, you also had playdates with Madeline and Durham and played in the church nursery.Unfortunately, it wasn't all fun this month. You have been crying in the nursery at times, having a little separation anxiety from Mommy. You caught hand, foot and mouth so we were forced to miss both Durham and Bailey's birthday parties. Also, when we came back from the beach, the AC was broken so it was very hot in our house. We all camped out in the family room that night. It has been a relatively mild summer but it was still quite warm that night. Fall, winter, spring, summer...you warm our hearts more and more every season.

AMJ Nine Months Old

At 9 month's old, it is safe to say you are no longer an infant and now a sweet baby girl...or a toddler if based upon your height and weight, which as of today's 9 month check up has you at the size of the average 15 month old. Not only is your body growing but your personality and skills are growing as well. You wave bye-bye and blow kisses. You've mastered crawling and can even pull yourself up to stand which has significantly expanded the world that is accessible to you. As such, you love to point and talk and laugh to share your excitement about every new learning and discovery. You have at last one top tooth coming through and unfortunately you've literally left your (bite) mark on Mommy and your sister. You love hugging and playing with Aubrey and her toys too and now that school is out, you'll have more time to spend with her during the week. We kicked off summertime with our annual family trip to Edisto. This was your first trip to the beach and you loved putting your toes in the water and fingers in the sand but maybe most of all you may have enjoyed rides on the golf cart, with you hair flowing in the wind. It was a long car ride to get there but given your growth, we've upgraded you to a bigger car seat. Unfortunately, you seem to save poops for car rides still. Your diet continues to grow as well, you've eaten watermelon, grits and enjoyed afternoon popsicles on the front step with Aubrey and Mommy. All of these new eats have created new and sticky messes and this month you upgraded to the big girl bath tub. Bedtime is after bath and while we've lowered the mattress in your crib, you still end up in bed with Mommy and Daddy at some point in the night. Every morning before leaving for work, Daddy likes to take a moment and look at how peacefully you and Mommy are sleeping...usually you are on top of Mommy or have her pushed to the edge of the bed. You get your rest though because you wake up every day a very happy and playful baby. You'll need the energy this summer if we stay as busy as we were this past month. You went to Greenville with Mommy for a charity awareness walk, you are the social butterfly in the church nursery and we took our first summer trip to Uncle P's pool. It was your first swimming trip and you loved splashing as you sat in your floatee. You also had some Daddy-daughter time this month when Mommy took Aubrey to her first gymnastics class. Daddy really enjoyed this 1-1 time with you. Appropriately, we celebrated Father's Day this month and Daddy can't believe how much more special of a Daddy you make him feel like with each day you grow, each smile you share, each exclamation and full-body laugh that fills our house with more love than we ever thought possible.

AMJ Eight Months Old

We have much to celebrate this month: Easter, Daddy's birthday, Mommy and Daddy's anniversary and the arrival of your new friend Cora to our very special friends Terri and Tyler. Mommy hosted a baby shower for them. And in meeting their tiny new baby, we already have a hard time remembering when you were that small. Partly, because you were a big baby, but more so because you continue to grow and develop so quickly. Your sweet personality seems to bloom each day, a little brighter than the last. You use your own baby language now, instead of the squeals of the past few months. You seem to always have something to say and want to make sure you are heard.  You have the most amazing laugh and you laugh with your entire body. You have the biggest smile and softest snuggles. You love your sister and want to play with her and her toys. You are fully mobile now, able to army crawl or even crawl on all fours occasionally to get yourself closer to the action. Whether you are telling us that your teeth hurt or that you want more broccoli, you seem to understand that you are part of the family and not just dependent on us and here to eat and sleep...and poop. We upgraded you to a bigger carseat, that means more room for you to stretch those long legs...and more car seat to clean; it seems no matter what time of day, a trip in the car all but guarantees an outfit change for you. This month, you also took your first ride in the toy push car as we walked the dogs around the block. Your 8 month birthday is a very special day. 6 years ago today, Mommy and Daddy got married. We could have never predicted how lucky and blessed we would be at this point in our lives, the amount of love and light you bring into our lives is immeasurable.

AMJ Seven Months Old

Happy 7 Months AMJ! At this month’s doctor’s appointment, you weighed 18 pounds and 5 ounces and are 29 inches tall. You are growing up so fast. It might be the good food you are starting to eat, like oatmeal, avocado and banana. You’ve also tried sweet potatoes and grits. It is a good thing that you’ve got your bottom two front teeth coming in to help you chew up these yummy new treats. Your expanded palette and appetite might also be responsible for all of this extra energy you now have. Along with being taller, you are much too active for baths in the baby tub on the bathroom sink. You love to splash. You also have started a habit of waking up around 4 am, wanting to talk and play for about an hour, each night. Mommy tried getting you to start sleeping in your crib…but you always end up back in bed with Mommy and Daddy and have started pushing Mommy to the edge of the bed. Your first word, to Mommy’s dismay, might be “dog” and she has taught you to play pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo. You are able to sit up and very close to being able to army crawl. We’ve been on the go this month, so you’ve been quite the socialite, especially during spring break. You took a trip to the zoo and wedding dress shopping with your Aunt Jessica. We spent a weekend in Charleston as Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding. Haylee and Kelsey babysat you and your sister. You met Mother Goose this month at the Come See Me festival and have become a regular in the church nursery. It has been another exciting month for Mommy and Daddy to watch you grow. It seems that every day, you are giving us something new to love about you. 

AMJ Six Months Old

More snow this month, hopefully the last we'll see for awhile...unless we take a trip to Alaska or watch the movie Frozen. The temperature was in the 70s the next week which means trips to the park have started. You are now 6 months old. For a half of a year we've watched you grow and how you've redefined us as a family. Your personality continues to bloom, more and more with each passing day. You have such a sweet nature. You laugh with your entire body and smile with your entire heart. Amelia, you and your sister are so very special in your own ways, the words here hardly do any justice in truly representing the blessings that you and your sister are to us. To be honest with you, when you are older and you compare the pages of your first-year picture book to your sisters, some of these monthly recaps might seem shorter than hers.  And you might recognize a pattern of comparisons of your physical growth and development to your sister's.  You might even notice pictures in which you are wearing your sister's old clothes. Know that beyond the debate on whether you and Aubrey look alike, there is no comparison... no question on the abundance of love you receive nor the unique gift of love that only you can bring to our family. There is no doubt that you are forming a very special relationship of your own with Mommy and Daddy and the whole world around you.

AMJ Five Months Old

Sweet Amelia, our happy little Valentine, you are 5 months old and this month was a busy and exciting one. Daddy escaped more snowy weather with a work trip to Miami. It actually snowed twice this month, a little at first then a lot a couple weeks later. Mommy bundled you up and took you outside to experience the winter weather first hand. We're not sure you like being confined by all of the layers of clothes. You certainly aren't happy when being confined to your car seat. Even on short trips to Target or lunch, you are extremely vocal in expressing your displeasure in riding in Mommy's car. Even when we go to fun places like your cousin Camden's birthday party, you really put those lungs to work to tell us you want out.You are generally loud in expressing yourself overall as your conversations remain mostly loud screams and shouts. We suspect you want to be absolutely certain that you have our attention so that we don't miss anything new that you are doing. This month, you've starting blowing bubbles of spit as an alternative to talking to us. Daddy hopes and prays our conversations during your teenage years are a little more coherent. You love to now jump and bounce, whether you are being held in Mommy's lap or placed in the jumper or bouncy chair, you can really go and go. Even in the bath tub, you like to kick and splash. Make no mistake, you have our attention and your sister knows it too. Unfortunately, she has started hitting you. It's usually not enough to make you cry and she tells you she's sorry and that she loves you shortly after. What does make you cry is when Aubrey takes toys away from you. Fortunately, on a trip to Grandpa's house this month, there were plenty of toys to be shared...and fortunately, you slept the whole way there.

AMJ Four Months Old

At 4 months old, you weigh 16 lbs. and 7 oz. and are 27 3/4 in long. That is 7 oz. less and almost 2 in. taller than your sister when she was 4 months old. You rolled over for the first time this month, a month ahead of when Aubrey did for the first time. Mommy and Daddy didn't see it the first time though. You performed for MiMi while we were visiting for Christmas. And what a Merry Christmas it was with our sweet little elf. We spent a day at the zoo with Grandpa. It was Daddy's first trip to the zoo with you or your sister. Mommy made Mistletoe art by painting your foot and pressing it onto a canvas. She added a bow and Aubrey's toes too. It was a sweet present for your grandparents, almost as sweet as your smile. You were given new toys and clothes. Also while at MiMi's house, you took your first bath with Aubrey. Unfortunately, you had multiple trips to the doctor this month. You had shots at your regular check-up but had to go back for a bad cough and also for an ear infection. Dr. P. also gave you special lotion for eczema, a fancy word for dry skin.The weather hasn't helped. It was so cold this month that the power and heat went out for a couple of hours. You slept well, snuggled up with Mommy, like usual. You're a great sleeper overall, sleeping for long stretches in your bed next to Mommy. It's easy to understand why you are sleeping so well. You are really exerting a lot of energy. Not only rolling over, playing on your tummy and looking around, you love to squeal and yell at everyone, just to make sure we have your attention. You've found your feet, so laying on your back means playing with your toes. Mommy also thinks she found your first tooth, so that could be part of the noise and drool. Or perhaps you are just singing to us your favorite Christmas carols. Tis the season to celebrate how much you continue to grow...and how much our love for you grows and how much the love in our family continues to grow because you are a part of it. At church, Mommy and Daddy dedicated ourselves to raising you in a household filled with God's love. We hope that well beyond this Christmas season, that love radiates from you and warms all around you. Even on the darkest and coldest of nights, you warm our hearts.