Polar Vortex of Insanity

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”  -John Steinbeck

The winter in Ithaca has been a horrible one. I may have a distorted memory of last year since I rarely went outside with my baby, but this year it's like I am living in a vortex of perpetual frost. Until today, I had almost accepted the fact that this was my day to day life. I was getting used to it. I started to think it may not be that bad... 
People..I WAS STARTING TO THINK -10 DEGREES WASN'T BAD. 
I heard on the radio that this winter is the coldest winter in over 100 years. I'm not sure if I feel honored to have experienced it, but I do feel mildly insane. 

Then today happened... well, technically it started yesterday, but whatever... it got to 54 degrees.
 54... 54. 
I wore flip flops. If there isn't snow on the ground and it's above 50, the flip flops come out. 

we. played. outside.

 Amelia wore a light jacket and was absolutely flabbergasted as to why it didn't have a hood, and why on earth she wasn't wearing socks in her shoes.. She also wore caprees and kept trying to pull them down. Poor Girl. Ithaca is really getting to her, too. 

Luckily for us, she won't be confused much longer and freezing will again become our new norm. Between tomorrow and Thurdsay we are supposedly getting 10+ inches of snow. For a minute there I thought we were coming out of this wasteland, but alas, we are not. 

We have been doing a lot of indoor activities, but I am so not a craft mom. I will do it if it easy, not too messy, and she can do it herself after a few tutorials. Because of this, we have been frequent visitors to the science center, which she calls Duckies, and the bounce house at the mall, which is now called Slides.

Attempting to go outside

The perfect Scarf from Aunt Katie

Bounce House aka Slides

Practicing motherhood

My newest anxiety

A Lot of Baths.. pretending we are in the Bahamas with blue water

I promise I'm not making her a child slave! She enjoys it... Probably a side effect of  this winter.

Went to Frozen!

More Slides

Dressing herself

Going NightNight in her ball pit

Sledding indoors.. much better

Making Valentines

A lot of Barnes N Noble trips

Naked Forts

Learning New Tricks

I am really hoping for a better April. (because Amelia will be turning 2.. and I want a Park Birthday Party.)

A Toddler Nativity

 .. Then there was this one time when the most adorable thing on earth happened.

Our branch threw a Christmas party, and since the oldest kid is three, the recreation of the nativity was made up of toddlers. It was full of kids wandering on and off stages, laughing, screaming, and just standing there lost and crying for mom.

When I was growing up, I made a tradition with myself (I love tradition) to read The Worst Christmas Pageant Ever every year.. and that is basically what it reminded me of, and Amelia was the Angel. Just like the main character of the book.
Basically, it was adorable.

Miya (wiseman), Drew (Joseph), and Viv (Mary.)

Oh The Places We Have Gone

We have been quite busy lately.

Anthony was given the opportunity to represent the "first year students" from Cornell with a few other "second years" at the UAB conference. Basically, the top M.H.A. schools go and compete against each other with proposed business plans. They get the problem/company 3 weeks before and work like madmen to create the best proposition. At least that is what I understood. Anthony flew to Alabama and got to enjoy some sunshine and warmth, while Amelia and I were stuck in snowstorm in Ithaca. (They didn't win... hopefully, better luck next year when A is captain.)

Anthony has been looking for internships for the summer. He had an interview in Danville, PA, and Amelia and I were along for the ride. It was only 3 hours away, but Amelia didn't care. She wanted OUT! Anthony had his interviews from 12-5, so Amelia and I had time to kill. We went to Walmart, and got some more squeezable baby food, we went to Panera Bread and had a girls' lunch, we drove around the dinky town and decided we don't care much to live there, and we went to the library and played with their toys. My goal was to keep her awake the whole time so she would sleep on the ride home. From 4-5 was a bit rough.

Anthony had a Healthcare conference in Chicago, so Amelia and I tagged along. I L.O.V.E. Chicago. It's a big city, but it's CLEAN and I think they have some of the prettiest buildings. We made the 12 hour drive there, and Amelia did very well... not even a CRY!! We left at 4:00 in the morning, but it was daylight savings, so our times were completely messed up the whole week since we were changing time zones as well. While Anthony was at his meetings, Amelia and I got to hangout with  the Tomlinson's (Anthony's cousins). We had a blast. The ride home was not so good. We got caught in a horrible snowstorm and it took 16-17 hours to get home. Amelia did good, but we were all pretty restless (read: cranky) by the time we got home.

This all happened in 2 Weeks... We were home from Chicago for 3 days and then headed to The Big Apple for a week!

Next Up:: NEW YORK CITY

11 months

..11 Months.. 

My last month of having a baby/nontoddler. What a sad day... It makes me miss those nights that I rocked her to sleep every night wishing she would just fall asleep already. I know every mom wishes she would have cherished those moments more, and I think I really did. I see those moments slipping away from me more and more. No more cuddles or sleeping in the same bed. She is just go-go-go. That is what growing up is.. and I think it means I am doing a good job.

11 Months

Stats:

Weight-- 21 lbs 13 oz

Somethings about my 11 month old::

-- Went through a phase where you would only eat baby food if we poured it into a bowl. You would NOT eat straight from the jar.

-- You have become quite the mover. You are nearly impossible in church.

-- Love pancakes and pretty much whatever we are eating. You eat almost anything if we feed it to you with our silverware and not baby spoons.

-- You say Mama and can wave hello and goodbye

-- You give your toys hugs

-- You had a stomach bug that made you throw up all night. It was so sad. You couldn't keep anything down.

-- You have upgraded a big girl carseat! It is still rear facing, but you are much more comfortable now.

-- You LOVE baby oatmeal, but aren't a fan of many other baby foods. You snack on bites of fruit, Cheerios, and Ritz crackers.

-- Our house is constantly a mess with your toys. You are one busy body.

-- You love to pull mom's clothes out of the bottom drawer of the dresser. Unfortunately, you also smash your fingers in the drawer too.

-- You put phones up to your ear and act like you are talking. (Maybe mom talks on the phone a lot?)

-- Dad had a bunch of interviews for summer internships so we drove through a lot of states this month: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

--You sing, clap, and bounce your head when music comes on. Super cute. 

-- You follow mom everywhere! I find it very flattering.

Next up::: 1 year old!

-----------------------------------BLooPers-----------------------------