Amanda- November 2008


STACEYALECK.COM		Amanda Rachel Amanda was born on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at 3:16 pm November 2008 We had a very busy month and there are lots of pictures to prove it. We had some warm weather early on and were able to play outside. In contrast, the day of the Help the Homeless Walk was one of the coldest of the month. We sort-of toughed it out. Sort of. We also got to spend some time with good friends like Sean and Charlie. Sadly for us, Charlie and his family relocated to Florida this month. Luckily, we had a few "last hurrahs" with them before they left town. We spent Thanksgiving in Colorado at Uncle Piet and Aunt Stef's house, along with Oma and Opa. While there, Amanda went to the aquarium and got her first haircut. And then at the end of the month, Amanda got to spend some quality time with her cousin Scott, who she hasn't seen since her birthday in June. One of Amanda's newest pastimes is singing and inserting her own words into the song. For example, she now sings, "Row, row row your goat; gently down the goat. Merrily. Life is but a goat" and then laughs hysterically at her wit (she really is Stacey's child). She also looks around her environment for inspiration. Many of her songs happen at the dinner table and are thus infused with lines about forks, spoons, and burritos.





		Playground!
		Amanda's need for speed really shows itself on the playground, where she eagerly flings down the "curly slide" and begs to go ever higher on the swings











		Overheard this month
		Watch me!



		Overheard this month
		"I ate all my milk!"




		Tea Party
		There was much fanfare made last month concerning Amanda's potty training. Here she is playing with another of her special gifts: a tea set that she chose at the store. Unfortunately, potty training didn't go as well as we had hoped and we reverted to pull-ups until she feels more comfortable using the potty on a more regular basis.





		Overheard this month
		"Can I take my sweatshirt off? It's not summer anymore."



		Amanda meets Baby Sean!
		Amanda was very excited to meet her new friend Sean. She had a lot of questions about what he was doing at any given moment. You can read all about Sean and see more pictures at http://rookieindc.blogspot.com/






		Amanda loved to read books to Sean, even though she thought perhaps a picture of a 4 year old boy in the book might be Sean. We set her straight.


		Sean's paternal grandparents were in town to see him, too, and we all went out to brunch together. (Sean is barely visible in his car seat between Chris and Merrie.)


		Overheard this month
		"Please may you help me?"



		Squashluck!
		Our friend Kate hosts an annual pot-luck event where every dish's main component is squash. Surprisingly, everything is always really tasty (although we did sneak in contraband in the form of a peanut butter sandwich for Amanda, who is not yet schooled in the finer points of pumpkin).


		Merrie and Sean cuddle while Amanda and Charlie hang out.


		New babies? New Dads can't be far! Chris, Sean, Wes and Charlie bond guy-style.





		Overheard this month
		"There's much room for you."




		Wes, Lea and Charlie are off to warmer pastures
		A few days before moving to Florida, Lea, Wes, and Charlie got together with all of us one last time.
		There was more than one camera being used at any given time, and we likened the experience to posing for group prom pictures. No one is looking at the same camera in any shot.
















		Overheard this month
		"How 'bout that? Would that be great?"






		Help the Homeless Walk!
		Once again, we walked and raised money for Stacey's workplace, Bread for the City. It turned out to be one of the coldest days yet and we didn't actually make it too far. But it's the thought (and the money raised) that counts, right?








		Amanda's friend Danny was there, too. They were so cold, they didn't even want to talk to each other.


		Overheard this month
		"I'm just hanging out."


		Overheard this month
		"Put deodorant in your armpit so you don't smell so good."





		Thanksgiving in Colorado
		We didn't do a very good job of taking pictures of anything related to Thanksgiving or the people we were visiting (Uncle Piet & Aunt Stef, and Oma and Opa were there, too). However, we did have some fun and Amanda got her first haircut there, too!


		A trip to the Aquarium


		Here's Amanda with the shark, and also a HUGE eel.


		This was one of Amanda's favorite parts of the aquarium. Her most favorite thing there, among all of the cool animals, fish, and exhibits? The animatronic orangutan in the rainforest exhibit.


		Overheard this month
		"I very want to get off this airplane."


		First haircut!


		Before




		The hairstylist gave Amanda some hair mousse and a hand mirror to "paint" on. She had such a great time that she barely even noticed the haircut!




		After. It wasn't much of a change, but enough for the time being.


		Overheard this month
		"I don't want the bath to wash off my haircut!"




		Amanda and Scott
		Amanda got to spend a little time with her cousin Scott (well, Stacey and Scott's Mommy Tracey are cousins). Scott will soon be moving to the area, so hopefully they'll get to play more often!






		Amanda introduces Scott to the wonders of the Busy Ball Popper, an early birthday present for him.




		Goodbye kisses!


		Overheard this month
		"It's Friday! Is it Friday at Elijah's house, too?"




		See all of these pictures and more at our photo gallery