Merry Christmas

Here is a "song" from Amanda, wishing you a joy-filled Christmas.

Ring Around the Rosie

Here we are doing her favorite new tune/rhyme.

Doodling

Amanda started drawing with crayons. She mostly makes a lot of dots and long lines.

 

Funny Expression

I like this picture because Amanda has a cute expression. It has been difficult to take pictures / videos of her since she is usually running up to grab the camera.

 

Little Chef

Matt got Amanda to help snap the ends of the asparagus. She actually put them into the bowl, though she tried to eat them at the beginning.

Eating Yogurt

Amanda has started using a bowl & spoon for eating some of her food. Here she is enjoying one of her favorite messy snack.

Help Unload the Dishwasher

Amanda enjoys helping around the house, especially unloading utensils and dishes from the dishwasher. One of the many words she can say is "hot".

Climbing on Chair

This is Amanda's favorite thing to do now. She loves to climb onto her chair with a book, stand on the chair, then maybe sit down and read the book.

 

 

 

Bib

For some reason, she likes to put on her cloth bib, which she almost never use anymore, on herself. Amanda is very much in the "do-it-myself" stage.

 

Pillow

She thinks smothering me with the pillow is funny.

Halloween "costume"

 

For Halloween, Lucy was Helen Keller, Madeleine was Esmeralda, and Amanda was a "UCLA cheerleader".

Dallas

We finished our trip by staying with Chris and the rest of the Crawfords. We went to Six Flags, and AJ rode on her first rides. She didn't seem to think very much one way or the other of them.
 
 
 

We also went to a little farm and pumpkin patch. It was all fun and the Crawfords were great hosts!

 

Memphis

 
 
In Memphis, we went to the National Civil Rights Museum, which is housed in the hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot (it's the one Clare is standing in front of).

 
 
We also went to Graceland and the Stax Soul Music Museum, but no pictures are allowed there. We had the best BBQ ribs on the trip too.

Nashville

We returned from our first big vacation trip with Amanda. We went to Nashville, Memphis, and then to Dallas to visit her Uncle Chris and his family.

 In Nashville we we to the Grand Ole Opry and saw a great show. A.J. liked the show and quickly learned to clap along with everyone else after every song.

 

 
We also went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, some beautiful botanical gardens, and ate out a lot.

 

Back in a couple of weeks

We are taking off for our vacation so we won't be able to blog for a while. So check back in a couple of weeks for new pictures and updates. Amanda has gained some new vocabularies in the last week. She says "no" very clearly and "all done" while waving her hands (sign language).

 

 

Golden Gate Park

 
 

Last week we went with our neighbors Madeleine and Lucy to the children's playground in Golden Gate Park. It was a beautiful sunny day in our part of town, but over in the park it was grey, windy, and cold.

But Amanda Jo had a lot of fun, climbing up the stairs, and going down the slides with the girls.

 
 

Walking

Last week, Amanda started using walking as her primary mode of moving about.

Noodles

I apologize for not updating this blog for a while. Partly it's because Amanda has diarrhea for the last several days. Here is a picture from before she became sick, of her enjoying noodle (she can slurp it). Also, Amanda has been walking quite a bit in the last few days. We will post more about that when she feels better.

 
 

Beach in San Diego

We went to the beach when we were in San Diego. Amanda sported her swimsuit and enjoyed eating mud.

 

 

San Diego Zoo

We spent a day at the zoo last weekend. We saw the mother panda playing with the baby panda, which was a rare sighting. I had a touching moment with a gorilla.

 
 
 

Visiting Uncle Doug and Aunt Julie

This past weekend, we were in San Diego. Amanda visited Uncle Doug and Aunt Julie. She was quite fascinated with their cat Little Black.

 

Taking Steps

Amanda started taking steps on her own couple of weeks ago. She still mostly crawls and cruises around.

Blocks

 
 
Amanda likes to play with her wooden blocks. She is pretty good at stacking them up, about four blocks high is the maximum she can do. When the blocks fall over, she says "uh-oh", which Michelle taught her. Below is a picture of her creation.

Playing Game With Daddy

I thought these pictures were very cute as Amanda was sitting w/Daddy and playing dice with him.

 

 

After Church On Sunday

This is how Amanda is after church on Sunday. She doesn't take her morning nap at church because there are too many fun toys and people to play with. So she usually falls asleep on the way home.

Cart Pushin'

AJ got a new block-cart that she loves pushing around. She can't really turn around yet, so she just goes until she hits the wall. Then she looks around and asks for help!

Phone

Amanda loves to play with the phone & answering machine. She knows which button makes the fun sound. Sometimes, she will also hold the phone to her face and start babbling.

Day At the Park

Last weekend, for Matt's birthday, we spent half a day at the park. She said hi to all the kids at the playground and enjoyed her new favorite book "Good Night Gorilla".

 

 

 

Toy Store

We went to a toy store a couple of weeks ago. Amanda loved the train set there.

 

Strike a Pose

Amanda is sporting Lucy's bandanna.

 

Amanda's 1st Birthday Card

Uncle Doug and Aunt Julie sent Amanda Jo her first birthday card.

Birthday Cake

Here are some pictures from our casual first birthday celebration. Matt made the chocolate cake from scratch. Amanda didn't quite know what was going on when we were lighting the candle and singing. But she did enjoy the cake and kept signing/asking for more.