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At the beginning of this month Mark had to go on a week-long business trip, and Grandma came up from Florida to keep us company while he was gone! She came with me and Amelia to music class, speech therapy (twice), my perinatologist and my regular OB. At the perinatologist I had a growth scan and it looks like baby girl is measuring right on track – she was a little over 4 pounds (at 32 weeks) and was in the 40th percentile. We are incredibly happy that she is not growing too big too quickly, which happens quite often with Gestational Diabetes.

While Grandma was here we got a lot of things done, including a lot of freezer cooking for when baby girl gets here and rearranging Amelia’s room! We added some new clothes storage inside her closet and some new book/toy storage in her room, which freed up a lot of space – it seems so much bigger in there now!  Rearranging her room enabled us to move her little red table out into the kitchen and make an arts & crafts / school nook. She loves her new spaces, and Daddy was very surprised to see all that we accomplished while he was gone! While Grandma was here we had a few gorgeous days, and Amelia and Grandma played outside as much as they could. We really enjoyed Grandma’s visit, and are so thankful that she kept us company while Mark was away. We are very excited to see her again once baby sister arrives!

Grandma left on Thursday afternoon and on Friday evening we went to the airport to pick up Mark. His plane was delayed for about two hours and we didn’t realize until we got to the airport to pick him up! Amelia and I spent a lot of time watching the other planes while we waited for his to land – she was such a trooper, seeing as how Mark’s plane didn’t land until about three hours after bedtime!

Daisha and Cheryl came to visit on their way from Mexico to Virginia. It was so wonderful to see them! Amelia had a blast playing the swing set and reading books with Daisha, and she LOVED watching Daisha’s dog Era run around with Shelby! We are so happy that they were able to stop by, even though it was just for a few hours.

Some other things we did this month: visit a new frozen yogurt place, read in the driveway while waiting for Daddy to get home from work, visited the greenbelt with friends and fed the ducks, and watered the surprise tulips that popped up in our yard!

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Friday was Amelia’s third birthday! Grandma and I put together these sheep cupcakes the night before – we must have spent at least an hour just cutting the marshmallows in half so they could stick to the sheep! On Friday morning we put some balloons, some presents and the cupcakes on the back porch and didn’t let Amelia peek out there until everyone had arrived. We had her “party” at 8:30AM because Grandpa had to work at 10 and wouldn’t be back home until right before her bedtime. She LOVED the sheep cupcakes, the balloons on her chair and the purple “3″ candle that she got to blow out! She was also very excited to wear The Birthday Hat! She thought the presents were neat but she was more interested in trying to get back into the swimming pool than opening her gifts! We just stayed around the house for the rest of the day, playing with new toys and going for a few walks around the neighborhood.

On Christmas Eve Grandma had to work, so we went with Uncle Erik to the hospital surprise her! She was happy to see us and show Amelia off to her coworkers. Grandma gave Amelia a cup of ice water (hospital ice is the best!) and some graham crackers – Amelia loved all of the attention! After we left the hospital we went to the yacht club to play in the sand. Amelia was thrilled to be at the beach! Daddy and Uncle Erik helped her make a sand castle (which was really more of a sand tunnel). What a fun day!

On Christmas morning we woke up early and Amelia opened her stocking while we were waiting for everyone to wake up and/or arrive. After our traditional Norwegian breakfast we started opening presents! The second picture is of everyone opening their gifts from us – we kept baby’s sex a secret until Christmas morning and they all found out when they opened our gift! They had been trying to “trick” us into giving it away ever since we got down there. Grandma was leaping out of her chair with excitement! They found out that we are having ANOTHER GIRL!!!!!! Everyone guessed that our baby was a boy except for Andrea and Cheryl, Uncle Dan and Uncle Erik’s girlfriends – they both guessed girl and they were right!!! Christmas was a wonderful day full of amazing gifts and generosity – there were even a few tears shed!!! We are so incredibly thankful that we were able to spend the day with our Florida family.

On the day after Christmas we went to the beach again – this time to Sanibel Island! We had a lot of fun playing in the sand, and we finally got to meet Rebecca! Rebecca’s mommy is one of my close friends from childhood – Becca is 17 months old and this was our first time getting her and Amelia together to play. They took to each other quickly and had a great time playing together! At the end of the day we took Amelia down to the river to watch the sunset and then Uncle Erik took us to see a house with thousands of Christmas lights that were all synchronized to music. Quite the fun-filled day!

On Tuesday we did lots of laundry and figured out how to pack all of our gifts into the car. My best friend Daisha arrived around 3PM and we had fun catching up. We (me, Mark, Daisha and Erik) went to the movies that evening and on Wednesday we got up early and left Grandma and Grandpa’s house. We (Grandma, Grandpa, Daisha and the three of us) drove to Legoland and had a lot of fun! We only stayed about 5 hours though, because the park had reached maximum capacity and it was way too hard to maneuver through the crowds. After leaving the park we drove to Daisha’s house near St. Augustine – we had fun catching up with her and her mom that evening and then the next morning we left to drive back home. We had a fun-filled and jam packed trip, and we were very glad to get back home.

On New Year’s Eve we went to Grandma & Grandpa’s house for our Christmas with them. Uncle Paul was in town and we had a lot of fun seeing him! Amelia helped Grandma makes some yummy chocolate chip cookies and later in the evening we ate some delicious smoked turkey.

Our Christmas holiday was wonderful, and we enjoyed every minute of time we spent with our families. 2011 was a wonderful year for us – the biggest events were buying our first home and finding out that we would be adding another member to our family! We are looking forward to what 2012 holds for us, and are very excited about meeting our new little girl in April!

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Now on to the weekend! Mark and I decided to exchange the gifts we bought for Amelia and each other on Saturday morning, instead of waiting for Christmas Eve like we normally would. With the added gifts from Florida, there were just so many under the tree, and we didn’t want Amelia to get overwhelmed when it came time to open them. As it is, she will open birthday gifts at her party on Tuesday, gifts from her Florida family on Christmas Eve and then we will go up to Grandma and Grandpa B’s house on Christmas day. That is A LOT of unwrapping for such a wee one! We are so incredibly thankful to have such generous families and friends – we are hoping that by spreading the gifts out Amelia will be able to better appreciate all that she receives! Mark was able to get a few fun videos of Amelia playing with one of her new toys (Leapfrog Alphabet Magnets), and also a picture of her using her new oven mitt to get something out of the microwave (although she won’t put on the matching apron or chef’s hat yet)!

If you listen closely in this next video you can hear Amelia say “letter”!

Saturday night I came down with a nasty stomach bug, so Mark and Amelia continued with our Sunday plans (church with Grandma and Grandpa, then to the airport to pick up Uncle Paul, then lunch and back to Grandma and Grandpa’s house) while I stayed home to rest and recuperate. Today I am feeling 95% better, and I am praying that Mark and Amelia do not get this bug. No fun at all!

We are really looking forward to this week. Mark only had to work today, and starting tomorrow he is off for six days! Be on the lookout for more pictures!

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On Sunday Daisha arrived! She and her doggie Era are staying with us for a week, and then they will drive out to their new home in New Mexico. Daisha brought quite a few gifts from our family in Florida. Amelia opened a few of the gifts, and had fun trying on new boots and a puffy vest, while George tried on Amelia’s new sweater!

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On Friday morning we put up our Christmas tree! First though, Mark braved the Black Friday traffic and went to the grocery store to pick up some eggnog (even though he hates the taste of it). When I was growing up we used to drink eggnog after decorating the tree, and I wanted to share that tradition with Amelia.  She had so much fun – she helped put up almost all of our ornaments, and she REALLY enjoyed drinking some eggnog with me while we admired our tree.

On Saturday we packed into the car and drove up to Natural Tunnel State Park. The last time we were there was over a year ago! Although we didn’t get to see a train come through the tunnel, we all had a lot of fun. A big thank you goes out to Grandpa for carrying Amelia the last half of our hike back to the parking lot, and another big thank you to Uncle Paul for sharing some of his great pictures!

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Thomas has barely left her hand all weekend – she held him as she fell asleep in the car on our way home on Saturday night, she asked for him first thing on Sunday morning, she took him in the car on the way to church, and she played with him throughout Sunday afternoon. What a cutie! Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Paul came over on Sunday afternoon and we had fun watching football, playing with toys, playing with new cell phones and of course watching a Thomas DVD!

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On Wednesday we went to a local state park to take another walk and get some pictures of the beautiful leaves. Again, our walk took a long time because Amelia wanted to  wander all over the place. At one point she grabbed a stick and Grandpa helped her to “test” all of the nail holes they could find in the wooden planks that lined the side of the road. Also, Grandpa found a large rock and taught Amelia that in Norway a rock is called a stein. Fun! Later in the day Grandpa went out to the store and came home with a HUGE stuffed monkey! It is literally as big as Amelia, and it’s perfect for her since she loves Curious George.

On Thursday Mark was able to take the day off of work and we all went to a local farm. We went on a hay ride through the woods (where Amelia helped Grandma take some pictures), we saw some goats and calves at the petting zoo (I think Grandma and I enjoyed the petting zoo more than Amelia!) and we even found our way through a corn maze! The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. Later that evening, right before Amelia went to bed, Grandpa flew her around the house (first in a diaper box and then just in his arms). She had a lot of fun, and I know Grandpa enjoyed playing with her!

We had a wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa, and look forward to the next time we get to see them. I am incredibly happy that Amelia warmed up to Grandpa right away – in the past she has always been reserved around him, right up until the day before we leave. This time she was hugging him and asking for him to hold her within just a few hours! Amelia also really enjoyed her time with Grandma. Grandma was the lucky one who got to sit in the backseat with Amelia the whole three days, and the two of them had a lot of laughs back there! Again, we are incredibly happy that Grandma and Grandpa were able to come and visit, and we look forward to seeing them again soon!

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We took tons of pictures this week and had a lot of fun! We took morning walks in our PJ’s, we went shopping at the dollar store where Amelia picked out a special balloon, we went to the Splash Pad, we laughed as we bounced on Daisha’s air mattress, we went to the Farmer’s Market and we even visited a gourmet chocolate shop! Sadly, we don’t have any pictures of me and Daisha together, and hardly any  pictures of Daisha at all. I am including the 2nd to the last picture just to prove that she was really here! Amelia is just such a fun person to photograph that we kind of forgot to take pictures of anything else!

I am so glad that Daisha was able to come to visit! I always love spending time with her, and I am so happy that she made the trip up here. I look forward to the next time I see her!

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On Saturday morning Grandma came down to pick up Amelia and Shelby – Amelia got to play with her cousins all day! She even went to her first parade, and Grandma tells me that Amelia waved to every single person she saw! While Amelia was having fun with Grandma, Aunt C and her cousins, we were doing something entirely different. Mark, Rick (one of Mark’s good friends), Grandpa and I moved just about all of our things from the condo to our new apartment! It was so much work, and we are very grateful to have had Rick and Grandpa help us with all of the heavy lifting and for climbing up and down the stairs countless times. We are also extremely thankful for Grandma and Aunt C for watching Amelia so that we could get moved in.

By 10 PM on Saturday Mark and I were asleep on our feet, but we still got up bright and early on Sunday morning for another trip down to the condo to pick up some of the last of our things. We came back home and unpacked as much as we could, and then had supper with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt C and cousins A, Big S and Little S. After supper everyone came back to see the apartment and take a dip in the pool. Right now Mark and I are watching fireworks on TV (I didn’t even remember it was the fourth of July until this afternoon), resting up for another long day of moving/cleaning/furniture assembly tomorrow.

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On Friday morning Amelia and I took Grandma for a walk around the neighborhood. Once we got back home, we headed out to do some shopping! We stopped at a few furniture stores to look for some things for our new place, and at one store Amelia got a bright pink balloon! She had a lot of fun playing with it for the rest of the afternoon.

On Saturday morning we drove up to Roan Mountain for the Rhododendron Festival! The day was overcast, but we toured the rhododendron gardens and took some fun pictures. We stopped at the craft festival on our way back down the mountain and had some tasty food for lunch.

Mark ended his trip early and came home on Saturday evening, so he was able to spend Father’s Day with us! On Sunday morning we went swimming, and then had some pizza for lunch. After we finished eating, Grandma stayed with Amelia while Mark and I went furniture shopping. Amelia slept most of the time we were gone, but she and Grandma had a lot of fun playing later in the afternoon! They went ‘grocery shopping’ in the pantry and in Amelia’s toy boxes, and shared a lot of laughs.

I am so glad that my mom was able to come for a quick visit. We are all looking forward to the next time we see her!

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On Saturday Mark took Amelia up to Grandma and Grandpa B’s house. She got to play with her cousins A and S, who were visiting for the weekend! The three kids had a lot of fun, and enjoyed snack time on the front porch.

On Sunday afternoon I made some banana oat muffins, and we went to PetSmart to look at the animals. We saw fish, hamsters, birds, and even a few puppies – of course Amelia’s favorite animals were the birds. Mark and I had so much fun watching our little girl enjoy the day!

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I did get a few pictures of Daisha and Amelia outside, though – fun!

We had a great time together, just like we always do. Thanks for taking the time to come up and visit, Daisha. Shelby is really going to miss your big air mattress in the middle of the living room!

*We seem to have BROKEN my Keurig because we drank so much coffee. I’m really really REALLY hoping Mark can fix it later tonight, because I do not own another coffee maker, and I enjoy drinking my morning (and mid-morning and afternoon and mid-afternoon) coffee!

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My best friend Daisha is visiting from Florida, and she brought us some Florida Tangelos – yum!

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Amelia found a fun penguin in her stocking!

Opening presents is hard work! Our sweet & sleepy Amelia cuddled with Daddy (and a soft new shirt from Uncle Paul) for a while before taking a nice long nap.

After all of the presents were opened and a delicious dinner was consumed, we gathered for a family picture. I can hardly believe that everyone is looking at the camera!

Our little family of three.

The next morning we opened presents from our family in Florida! This was day three of presents for Amelia, so she definitely knew what to do!

Once Amelia woke up from her afternoon nap, we went up to Grandma and Grandpa B’s house. Right before dinner, they took Cousin A, Cousin S and Amelia out onto the porch to blow some bubbles. Thanks for catching this great picture, Uncle Paul!

On Saturday we went to the George L. Carter Railroad Museum at ETSU.

Amelia had a blast riding on Daddy’s shoulders and looking at all of the trains.

Amelia did NOT want to pose for a picture on Sunday morning, but I just had to get a picture of her Sunday best! The gold shoes were a Christmas present from Grandpa B, and the corduroy dress is from Daisha (who will be here tomorrow for a 4 day visit)! We drove up to a church in Abingdon, VA to listen to Grandpa B preach. Cousins A and S were there as well – Grandpa B got to have all three of his grandkids in the congregation!

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