I bet Rachel Ray doesn't have one of these in her kitchen!

I did it MY way!

While we were playing in her room this afternoon, Amity enjoyed the new freedoms that crawling is permitting. I intended for us to dance to some Linda Quiroz. She, on the other hand, preferred to explore the dirty laundry...

and enjoy some self-selected reading time.

At some point in the near future, I will work on discouraging the dirty laundry exploration but I hope her self-initiated, self-selected reading will never end. I guess that I need to start praying now for teachers that love reading and letting kids read!

That's What I Love About Sunday...

This morning, we were blessed to celebrate the baptism of one of Amity's cousins. How sweet it is that Mammaw and Pappaw Bounds's great-grandchildren continue to say, "For you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name." (Psalm 61:5)

Amity was well-loved on by her cousins. She was fed,

cuddled,

read to,

and, apparently, "rassled"! This girl can get wiggly!

And..she can also be extremely giggly! She has never giggled at anyone this hard and for such a long time (about 5 minutes!). My cousin thought it merited a phone call to leave a message for GDaddy and KK.

Hair today, gone tomorrow!

Amity got her first haircut today! Well, it wasn't truly her first trim but it was her first cut by a professional! No offense, Shannon! In the last month, Amity's hair has really begun to grow and grow. It's quantity is still nothing compared to her cute friend Ella but it had gotten to the point of a little unruliness. At lunchtime today, we decided to make a trip around the corner to the local barber where Dennis gets his hair cut. While the lady normally only cuts hair from the male-gender, she made an exception since Amity's hairstyle is not much different from a boy's at this point in her hair-journey. Amity did a great job and never fussed (although the pictures do indicate a few moments of concern). She loved the mirrors and would have loved to have gotten her hands on those scissors.

This next one reminds me of the scene in Little Women where Jo laments, "My hair!" and Amy replies, "Jo, how could you? Your one beauty!"

Here is an "after" picture from the back. What a cute little head!

Here is the best picture we could get from the front. We had a giggly girl on our hands!

Welcome to the world, Wyatt Nelson!

Amity is a big cousin once again! Little Wyatt Nelson was born early this morning. Turns out they didn't name him Barnabus! Who knew? We can't wait to meet you, little man!

Bluebird on my shoulder...

Well, I am not really sure it's a bluebird and it's not exactly on her shoulder but I was trying to come up with a relevant song. I can't think of this song without thinking of Tex, the shy Japanese gardener at Pine Cove who would surprise us all by performing a comedic musical routine at the weekly talent show. One of his lines was, "Bluebird on my shoulder...yuck!" Another favorite of mine was "Born free...my dad was a doctor!"

There was nothing yucky about today's sunny, eighty-degree weather so Amity and I ventured into the spring/summer side of her closet and found this little dress that used to be mine. I think it was made my Oma or my Aunt Pixie. As you can see, she seemed to think she looked pretty cute!

I've Got Sunshine...

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day.When it's cold outside I've got the month of May.I guess you'd say what can make me feel this way?My girl...Talkin' 'bout my girl...

Oops! I did it again!

Well, actually this was the first time for a kerfuffle of this sort!

I love smocked dresses on little girls and have been informed that ebay is the place to find them. I have looked on and off for the past few months but never win anything because I won't up my bid past my budget. Last week, Dennis cleaned out his closet and I have begun listing some of his clothes on ebay. Surprisingly, I sold 12 shirts for $52 minus $24 in shipping. He said I could use the money to buy some things for Amity. In my excitement, I read 3T instead of 3M and bid on this super-cute dress and I WON! It was a really good deal for a brand-new dress but it is just a wee-bit small for a little girl who sometimes wears 18M clothes! Since bishop dresses tend to run a little large, I decided to try it anyways. Plus, I am also trying to decide if I should resell it or save it for a potential second Grover daughter (no...this is NOT an announcement!). My model performed fairly well despite it being past her bedtime and having no feeling below her elbows. Doesn't she look sweet? I did, however, have to crop out the drool spot on her left shoulder so that I could still list this as New with Tags or NWT in ebay language (I am quickly becoming tri-lingual!).

Nine months old!

Amity turned 9 months old yesterday! What a month of fun changes this has been!

The curiosity bug has definitely bitten. She seems to notice new things in her little environment on a daily basis, especially those things that Mom and Dad forgot to pick up!

She began to imitate our own excitement as she opened Christmas gifts and reminded us as parents that it is much more fun to give than receive!

She has enjoyed "reading" in her hand-me-down Bunny Chair from the Peters.

Her friendship with Big Brother Paco has deepened...most likely due to all of the food she accidentally drops on the floor by her highchair!

Potassium intake should not be a concern for this little girl! She LOVES bananas and especially enjoys eating them all by herself. She also loves feeding herself cheese, Cheerios, Puffs, and whatever else we can break into smallish pieces. While she rarely opposed fruit, Amity was not a big fan of store-bought vegetables. Over the break, I pureed a few different things and froze them in ice trays and guess what? She loves her mama's cooking! A typical day's menu in the life of Amity is:

Breakfast - Oatmeal with apples and cinnamon and, of course, a banana

Lunch - Baby Chili, Sweet Potatoes, and Blended Peaches and Strawberries (and most likely...more banana)

Supper - Blended Broccoli & Cauliflower, Blended Blueberries & Mango with Yogurt

Oh yeah...she learned to drive...a tad bit ahead on the milestone chart I would say!

Getting braver every day, she has figured out that she can push herself up to a sitting position from her tummy. This latest skill was just mastered yesterday. Of course, the most FUN place to practice such a skill is in the middle of naptime!

Most significantly, Amity is on the move and she can be pretty quick when she wants to. She is not consistently up on her knees but we think it is going to happen any day. She is currently doing everything BUT the typical crawl!

Yesterday, we had our Well-Baby Checkup with Dr. Moore who deemed her "Fantastic!" Of course, what you have all been waiting for:

Weight: 22 pounds (93%) vs me at 22 pounds, 8 ounces (in 1977... we won't post my 2009 stats!)

Length: 28.5 inches (80%) vs me at 30.5 inches

Head: 18.25 inches (95%)

What a joy you are little girl! I often think of where we were a year ago as we waited eagerly to meet you. You have far surpassed all of our biggest dreams! We love you more!

Movin' On Up!

Look what we found after naptime this morning! I think Amity's Daddy has a new project to finish before the next naptime!