Raincoat

We've enjoyed a few nice Spring days but we haven't been doing anything too exciting lately. We have some special visitors coming this weekend (yay, Team Engel!) and hopefully the weather will continue to be nice.

I was remembering that this time last year we took our first major trip with Amelia. We spent a week in Ireland and absolutely loved it! I also can't get over how much she has grown and changed this year.

April 2008, Ireland

Almost April 2009, Virginia

Apparently we've gotten our money's worth with that raincoat! Gotta love that it has fit her for more than a year!

Happy end of March! Beware of April Fool's Jokes :)

Mama's Mia

I realized I haven't done a purely "brag about Amelia" blog post in a while, so here are a few updates about my little princess. I know that all parents feel this pride and delight at their children's accomplishments, so please bear with me. The novelty hasn't worn off yet, and the blog is such a good outlet :)

TALKING:

She amazes us everyday with her growing vocabulary and comprehension. We've had some funny moments where Sean or I will know exactly what she's saying while others have no clue. Other times she'll say the same thing over and over again until a light bulb finally goes on and I know what she means. Yesterday it sounded like she was saying "bacon, bacon" repeatedly and looking at me expectantly. She has yet to experience the wonders of bacon, so I knew that couldn't be it. Finally I realized she wanted a BLANKET for her baby doll. Oh. She has also begun calling me Mommy (so cute) but right now she is screaming "MOMMY" at the top of her lungs when she should be napping (not cute).

SINGING:

She seems to enjoy music class and library time, and will happily practice songs at home. Seeing her perform "Twinkle-Twinkle", complete with hand movements is ridiculously adorable. I keep trying to get it on video, but she clams up as soon as the camera comes out. Stay tuned.

TEMPER TANTRUMS:

Yep, they are here. The other day we didn't give her juice when she asked for it. She'd previously had a ton of juice for lunch and we wanted her to have water or milk. She let out an ear-piercing scream and hurled her cups of water and milk at us. Then she flung herself on the floor and cried. Lovely. I hope the tantrum phase passes fairly quickly, and I'm sure it will given how fast the past 20 months have gone.

Happy almost Spring everyone :)

Beach Weather in March?

This crazy Virginia weather went from 20 degrees to 70 degrees in 3 days time, but who's complaining?? We took advantage of a gorgeous weekend and went to the Oceanfront on Saturday. It felt so good to walk barefoot in the sand and enjoy a relatively empty beach! Mia liked the beachfront playground and braved the slide solo! If only it would stay like this for the rest of the year...

She means business!

Hugging?/Pushing? buddy Ben

We'll take what we can get!

It finally snowed yesterday in Norfolk! We have been passed over numerous times this winter, and even North Carolina, and our friends in LAS VEGAS have had snow! We only got a tiny amount, but it was enough to introduce Amelia to the stuff. We went on our daily walk up the street, hugging the trees, picking up sticks and looking for birds. She tasted the snow and made tiny snowballs. Not the great sledding and snowball fights that our friends in Md are experiencing, but we'll take it:)

Yes, that's all we got...

Cold, but she doesn't want to come in!

Relaxing with a snack later on

Weekend in NYC

The McB's had an eventful weekend! Sean and I left Amelia for the first time with "Mah-Maw W" while we attended a wedding (law school pal of Sean's) and spent a day in NYC! We were nervous about leaving and called to check in many times, but my mom assured us that Amelia did fantastic!! Such a relief!


We really enjoyed walking around the city, meeting up with my friend Trish, and seeing the sights. We especially loved walking in Central Park, and the views from the "top of the Rock" at Rockefeller Center. The wedding was beautiful the next day and it was great to catch up with old friends.


I took tons of touristy photos in NYC and I'll put them all up on the website soon. Here are some favorites from the weekend.

The Empire State Building lit up for Feb 14th :)

Gorgeous Views from "The Top of The Rock"


Central Park at Sunset

Beautiful Central Park

Me and Trish!

One of the famous Central Park Bridges

Elmo in Time Square (we took this for Amelia)

Cheesy Tourists :)

Even Cheesier Valentine Day Heart Statue in Times Square, but we had to do it!

We cleaned up pretty well the next day:)

Caricature (sp?) artist at the wedding did this based on a photo of Amelia... cute but not sure if I see the resemblance.

The photo the above was based on

Go Mount!

I had a great, quick visit with dear old friends from Mt. St. Mary's last weekend. Some things never change, and I'm happy to say that we still like to drink beer and pick good music from the jukebox :) Love you guys!

Pet Pals

Just a few cute photos from yesterday... This doesn't happen often.

18 months!

Stinkerbell is a whole year and a half old!! She recently had her checkup at the doctor's office and screamed at the top of her lungs the entire time. The doc said it was perfectly normal. Anyway, she weighed in at 24 1/2 lbs and she's 32 1/2 inches (50th and 75th percentiles, respectively). She's so independent and wants no help with anything anymore, which leads to extremely messy meal times.

She actually got my shoes on her feet the right way and was walking around the house:)

Rooting for her favorite Steeler!

The Great McBride Stomach Bug of 09

We all survived the above and are really hoping it will be the only one of the year! I'll spare you the details, but needless to say we had a yucky weekend.

Mia is taking the longest to get over the bug, but she's in good spirits and has entered into the "No" phase. It is actually cute right now (remind me of this in a few months please). She answers all of our questions with her own question; "No?", like she's not quite sure.

Us: Amelia, would you like some milk?
Her: No?
Us: Juice?
Her: No?
Us: Water?
Her: No?
Us: How about some Cheerios? Crackers? Yogurt? (She hasn't been eating or drinking as much with the sickness)
Her: No? No? No? Down?
Us: Ok, Ok...
Her: MoMo! MoMo! (Elmo)
Us: Ok, lets go play with Elmo!
Her: No?

Ha!

A Winter's Day

Hi. It is a cold, lazy winter day and I'm watching snow flurries that have no chance of becoming anything substantial. Too bad. It is our first real winter in a few years and a little snow would be nice. This area doesn't typically get snow, so it's no big surprise, but still it would be fun.

We've been busy organizing the house, hanging pictures, and getting into our previously described routines. We got a new camera for Christmas and I haven't had much time to play with it yet, but keep checking because I hope to figure it out soon. It has some neat settings that will be fun to experiment with.

Amelia has been expanding her vocabulary and is saying a few funny things. She will pat us on the back and say "Good Girl" (I think she gets this from watching us with Cali). She likes to try on our shoes and stumble around and she is going to be a mountain climber when she grows up. All day long, up and down the stairs (No help allowed-I'm going to have a heart attack!) and all over the furniture. Time to install a toddler friendly rock-climbing wall!

I hate to leave you with no photos, so of course I'll post one of my recent favorites of our little dare devil. Happy MLK Day, Inauguration Week and return to LOST!!

Look at that mischievous grin! She's up to no good :)

Routine Resolution

I don't really have any New Year's Resolutions. I just want to get back into a routine and feel settled into life here. I started by signing Amelia up for music class, and storytime at the local library, and by joining the gym (for myself). I know joining a gym seems kind of like a resolution, but I've been looking forward to it since October! I can't wait to take regular yoga classes again. You hear all these people (well, mostly Oprah) talk about making time for yourself and putting yourself first (which I find extremely difficult with a small child around...I don't think Oprah understands) but I absolutely plan to spend some time at the gym by myself every week.

Oh, I also want to: read more books, write more letters, cook more, get and stay organized, take piano lessons, teach Amelia Spanish, learn how to take better photos, volunteer, take Cali on more walks, have more date nights, plant a garden, and lose 5 lbs :) Ahhh, New Year's Resolutions!

Holidays Part Two

The trip to PA was short but sweet, although sadly there was NO SNOW! Mia had fun seeing "Baba" (Great Grandma) and her second cousins, great aunt and uncle. We played tons of video games (Wii's Samba de Amigo-how fun!) and went out for our new tradition of a post Christmas Italian meal.

New Year's Day we had the Conley's over for the lucky "white meal". It turned out quite yummy if I do say so myself :)

Happy 2009 everyone!! Best wishes for a peaceful, rewarding and relaxing New Year.

The Annual "Four Generations of Awesome Ladies" Photo (and cousin Katie :) )

Enjoying the New Year's White Meal (and the company)

Happy New Year Baby!!