Say Cheese!

On Saturday afternoon, we drove up to Frisco for a mini-photo session with Sarah Thompson. She was AMAZING and did such a great job with the girls (and Dennis, too!). We can't wait to see the pictures in a few weeks.

Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a delicious dinner at Macaroni Grill.

Upon returning home, Amity decided to take up photography as her newest hobby..."just like Miss Sarah!"

She's got your back!

It's naptime and I just sat down to post some pictures from the past few weeks.  Usually, Amity naps in her bed and Vivien naps in the pack and play in our room or the guest bedroom/office.  Lately, because of needing to work in both of those rooms, we have tried putting Vivien down in her crib and they have both napped just as well.  This afternoon, I have clothes to fold on our bed and work to do on the office computer so I decided to try it again.  I heard quiet talking and babbling for a few minutes accompanied by the roar of the sound machine.  Just now, I heard, "Mommy, her foot is stuck!" repeated several times.  I opened the door to see V's foot hanging through the crib slats and Amity laying on her pillow pointing at her sister.  By the time, I touched Vivien's foot, she was already slipping it back through the bed so it didn't really seem to be an emergency.  I still love Amity's concern for her sister and I pray this care and concern perseveres, especially through middle school and high school!

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!

Amity finally has a party trick! And, apparently, so does her father!

You see, I seem to have a mental block to remembering the words to "Patty Cake". All of the developmental milestone lists (and people in the grocery store) tell me that I am supposed to be teaching her this rhyme. Well, I have tried printing out the words from the Internet and have even asked different people to tutor me but I can still get no further than "Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can. Roll it and..."
So, I decided to go with a simpler option sung to the tune of "Skip to My Lou"::
Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap your hands together

It is amazing that I used to be able to memorize "Jabberwocky" in the fifth grade. What good has that done me?

We are finding that having a child is providing for some great examples to use in our roles as a counselor and facilitator. Here is what Dennis typed in an e-mail to his staff last week (please read the sarcasm in his comment about my voice!):

Candis and I were sitting down to breakfast this morning and had kind of a “common sense” epiphany. Candis has been singing a little song to Amity with the words “clap your hands” (I tried to sing it to her this morning and she just looked at me like…well, like who taught me how to sing!)…of course, there is a visual demonstration to go along with my wife’s melodious voice. Well, as of yesterday, Amity started clapping her hands when Candis would sing the song. It spurred the discussion this morning that we often times as teachers say that we have taught kids something without seeing any demonstration of learning…as parents we hadn’t considered that Amity had learned the “clapping” until she actually started doing it on her own. I know this is so simple and common “sensish”, but I just wanted to share it with each of you.

Unfortunately our current system doesn’t always allow us the necessary time to witness actual learning taking place (the clapping thing definitely didn’t happen over night), but rather forces us to move forward in an effort to cover all of the required material. As professionals, it is important that we work together to develop strategies that help our students experience success within the required timelines. We welcome any suggestions you have.

Well said! Maybe I should allow myself some more time to learn to "Patty Cake"!

Driving in my car

We love hand-me-downs at the Grover house and are so thankful for all of the friends and family that have been generous enough to pass along some of their beloved toys and clothes. This little car came from my cousin DeAnn's family. She had told me it was cute but I just didn't understand how cute it would be until I saw Amity driving it yesterday afternoon.

Here she has her tongue out as she concentrates on all of the accesories of her "new" car.

Driving is SO much fun!

Remembering to look both ways before crossing the patio.

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!

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!