Amanda Rachel
Amanda was born on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at 3:16 pm

May 2008

Amanda graduated from jumping to galloping this month, and this is now her main mode of transportation. When "walking," she gallops straight ahead. When "dancing," she gallops in a circle. When running, she just runs, awkward though it may be.

Her language skills continue to develop, as you would expect. However, she's still learning etiquette. Case in point: While all 3 of us were sitting down rolling a ball, Amanda wanted to sit in Stacey's spot, but couldn't figure out how to ask for it. So she walked over and said, "Mommy, go in the kitchen and make dinner!"

Amanda made on the potty this month! It was completely by accident. She was just hanging out on the potty, reading a book. When she stood up, Stacey got so excited by the puddle in there that Amanda got a little scared. Amanda didn't even realize what she had done. She didn't react when it happened or bring it to Stacey's attention. As a reward for making on the potty (as opposed to just sitting and trying), she got a "bean" (a.k.a. an M&M). She clearly didn't make the connection between peeing on the potty and getting the chocolate, because when you asked her what happened, she replied, "I sat on potty and got a bean." There's no mention of actually using the potty for its intended purpose.

We traveled to California for a "twofer" this month. We spent some time with Aleck's family and also attended the Bar Mitzvah of Stacey's cousin Kyle, who also lives out West. The trip was great overall, save the flights and jet lag (for all 3 of us!). During our visit, we took a day trip to see Amanda's Uncle Menko and Aunt Cami, and most importantly, her cousin Matty. It was great to see them and the kids had so much fun together.

During this trip, Amanda had the rare opportunity to spend Mother's Day with both of her grandmothers (who live on opposite coasts), as we were in California on that day. In the morning, we were at a brunch with Grammy related to the Bar Mitzvah, and following that, we went back to Aleck's family and saw Oma. What a treat!