Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Amy's cupboard
This is Amy's favorite cupboard in the house. She used to get into it so often that I had to move the dangerous cleaning chemicals out of it, and thought it would be a good idea to store snacks in it. That worked out really well because when she was hungry she'd just get in there and get what she wanted. She's pretty independent. But then we had a small flooding problem one night, and all of our boxed snacks and cereals got ruined, so we had to change that around too. Now it just stores odds and ends that aren't harmful to her. Dustin snapped these the other morning when she was just doing her own thing.
Superheroes or Supervillains?
We rented Meet the Robinsons last week, and Adelynne loved it..... as much as Dustin and I did! Of course like most kids, she wanted to watch it every day, sometimes more than once. She called it the "bad guy movie." And I think that the movie is the mastermind behind these pictures. Dustin does a pretty good imitation of the villain, but Adelynne said she was a hero, and she wanted to fly. We watched it all week long, and Dustin and I were still laughing the last time we watched it. If you haven't seen it, you should go check it out and watch it, even if you don't have kids.
Visitors
On Saturday, June 21st, my Aunt Jill and cousin Lisa-Marie came into town for a visit on their drive from Virginia to California. It was so exciting to have family stay and visit since most of my family lives in California and therefor we don't get many visitors. Well, with our visitors, we planned to show them Purdue campus, and then to go to Columbian Park and go to the zoo. However, despite a week of beautiful weather, Saturday became a day of storm clouds and rain showers. So we had the chance between rain showers to go show them the wonderful fountains at Purdue, but then it began to rain again. We weren't sure what we should do, but then my Aunt said, "Let's go to a thrift store!" Dustin graciously took the girls home for naps, while my aunt and cousin and I went to the local Good Will store for some shopping. I have never had a chance to really browse at the Good Will, and I didn't realize what fun clothes you can find there with some companions and lots of time. We were there for almost 3 hours, and on the way home we stopped at the Silver Dipper for some ice cream. We called Dustin to let him know we were coming home and us girls decided to play a little trick on him. Before we had gone to the Good Will, Dustin "jokingly" said, "Don't buy any big furniture." So when I had Dustin on the phone I said, "Do we have any rope, because we are going to come home and get some for this thing we bought." There was a moment of silence on the phone before Dustin answered me. But we put his fears at ease when we came home with a few bags of clothes. Oh, and Aunt Jill treated Lisa-Marie and I both to the clothes we picked out, Thanks Aunt Jill, you're awesome!
Later that evening Aunt Jill treated us to dinner as well. We ate out at Christos city grill. None of us had been there before, so it was fun to try something new, and it was really great food! The appetizers weren't anything special, but I tried a Gyro-and I would eat that again. My cousin got some tasty ribs, and I tried them and they were great too. AFter dinner we came back to our place and put the girls to bed. Then we had some grown up time and watched August Rush-a cute movie. And of course we three ladies talked late into the night. Yeah for late night chats with the ladies! I had a great time with my aunt and cousin, and I'm hoping it will happen on their next cross country tour. And who knows, maybe the weather will behave next time.
Later that evening Aunt Jill treated us to dinner as well. We ate out at Christos city grill. None of us had been there before, so it was fun to try something new, and it was really great food! The appetizers weren't anything special, but I tried a Gyro-and I would eat that again. My cousin got some tasty ribs, and I tried them and they were great too. AFter dinner we came back to our place and put the girls to bed. Then we had some grown up time and watched August Rush-a cute movie. And of course we three ladies talked late into the night. Yeah for late night chats with the ladies! I had a great time with my aunt and cousin, and I'm hoping it will happen on their next cross country tour. And who knows, maybe the weather will behave next time.
Friday, June 27, 2008
When Amy took her first steps-May 5th 2008
Before we left on our trip on May 7th, Amy wasn't walking yet, but she did take her first steps at the doctors office on May 5th. We have a little footage here of Amy re-taking those first steps. While we were gone Amy learned to really walk. On May 18th we returned to Dustin's parents house after church, and Amy started walking around the house all on her own. She is now practically an expert at walking, but everyone that gets to experience a baby learning to walk, knows how exciting it is to watch the progression.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Potty Talk
Adelynne is potty trained!!!!!! YAY!!!! It has taken her about 3 weeks to train, and she has had a couple of set backs, but she goes poop and pee in the potty-in the big potty too! She has done such a great job, most of the prompting was all on her own. Sometimes she still asks for a diaper to poop in, but we just tell her diapers are for naps and bedtime, and since she doesn't like either one of those times, she just goes in the potty. She has earned rewards for all occasions, the first being an Ariel Barbie, and a Hershey's Kiss every time she goes pee in the potty. For going poopy in the potty she was going to earn ice cream with Daddy. When she did go poop she came running back outside, (because that's where I was), "Mommy, I went poopy! I went poopy in the potty! Now Daddy can take me to get ice cream!" She certainly did go poop, and our doubts were later put down by the cleanliness of her panties. So Daddy took her to get ice cream at our neighborhood DQ. That was on Tuesday, and she has done great since then. It is so rewarding to have this milestone in Adelynne's life completed. With Amy I will know that it will happen when she's ready, and not to stress about getting it done.
Monday, June 23, 2008
At our house you very rarely see Amy without her baby doll. And this is just one of those sweet moments that I caught on camera with Amy taking care of her baby. I also encouraged Amy to kiss the baby and give her hugs. Amy is my baby doll girl--she takes after me, and I'm proud of it!
Amy loves her baby doll
Kiss the baby Amy, give her a kiss!
pat the baby; pat, pat
Thursday June 19th
An entire entourage of women and children traveled to the Purdue fountain on Thursday, we were quite the crowd! Four moms and 9 kids--all girls minus 1, little Eldon--what a lucky guy! We all had a great time watching the kids run in the fountain or just walk around. I chose not to put not to put Amy in a swimsuit because I knew that she wouldn't get wet and I thought she would benefit from less sun exposure. But she enjoyed walking around and watching the kids play. When I went to get a picture of all the kids, Adelynne was the only one that refused to pose, and instead of joining the kids in a round of "If You're Happy and You Know it..." she danced to their singing. We ate lunch and enjoyed the sunshine and the mist of the fountain, and some of us even got a little wet. We look forward to more fountain trips with our friends!
Amy Jensen's Wedding
This is the only picture we got of my sister on our camera because we forgot to bring the camera to the temple, and then when we went to the reception, the battery was low. So we got this one and then some more of the girls dancing. Hopefully my family and friends will be sending me pictures soon so that I can use them on the blog as well. Hope you enjoy what I've got.
Amy Crashes
When you aren't at home, sometimes it is difficult to get your kids to take naps. Well this was one of those days where Amy just wouldn't go down for a nap. She wondered around the house all morning eating her new favorite treat--Quaker's Chocolate Crunch Rice Cake. She ended up in Daddy's lap before she finished it, and before too long she just crashed. Nothing could be more comfortable than Daddy's tummy for a nice long (not long enough) nap.
So my mother made not just my girls matching dresses, but all four of her granddaughters matching dresses. And since it was the first time they had all been together, Grandma wanted her picture of them. Well Amy really wasn't up for taking the picture, so Aunt Rachel, (Heather and Katy's mom), bribed them all with little pieces of licorice. So the pictures where the girls are reaching out, they are begging for more licorice. If you can stand to watch them all, you might get a kick of their facial expressions and how there are 12 pictures and not one where they are all smiling at the same time and all looking at the camera.
Farewell to the beard
Well as most of our local friends may know, when we left May 7th for our month long trip, Dustin was sporting a very handsome, full beard. He'd had it since Christmas time, and I actually enjoyed it. But for the sake of a family wedding, Dustin graciously shaved his beard, and of course when you do something like that, you've got to take advantage of enjoying some new looks along the way. Since the beard had to go, Dustin thought maybe he could sport another look, and we were wondering what your opinion is on each of the following options:
Option 1: The goatie
Option 2: Super Mario Mustache
I couldn't look at Dustin with the mustache without laughing hysterically. Anyone else? I still laugh when I see this photo
Friday, June 20, 2008
Picmic With Adelynne
Last night after a long day of fun in the sun and dinner with friends, Dustin and I began the long drawn out process of putting the girls to bed. There isn't much to it other than putting the girls in clean diapers and pjs, but actually getting them into bed is the part that takes forever. While I nurse Amy and get her into "sleepy mode" Adelynne is usually entertained by Dustin. This takes about an hour before Adelynne goes to bed herself. Well, last night while I nursed Amy, Adelynne was playing by herself while Dustin was working on some school assignment. From my room I could hear Adelynne talking about having a picnic as she ran from her room to the living room collecting kitchen toys. After I got Amy to bed I was putting my own pjs on, when Adelynne came into my room and announced, "Mommy I made a picmic for me and you and Daddy. But we have to wait for Daddy." I asked her what Daddy was doing and she said, "Daddy is playing caputer." She then grabbed my hand and said, "Come on, we have a picmic!" When we got to the living room Adelynne had set up a very cute picnic inside the inflatable swimming pool that we have still not deflated since last Saturday. She had little plates with cups and pretend food. There was a plate with ice cream, a cooked chicken, a mushroom, and a muffin. Daddy went for the chicken, but Adelynne said, "No Daddy, that's for me." So Daddy got the mushroom and I got the muffin and we all pretended to eat our food. When Adelynne wasn't looking I did the 'ol throw the food over my shoulder. When Adelynne saw that my muffin was really gone, her eyes got wide and she had a look of worry on her face. Daddy was backing me up on this endeavor and Adelynne began lecturing me, "Just pretend eat, Mommy!" Well Dustin and I reassured her that I hadn't really eaten the muffin and we showed it to her. Then we all got to share the pretend ice cream as well. It was the best "picmic" we have enjoyed with Adelynne, I think all of her hard work and preparations really paid off, I only wish my picnics had as much success as hers. Happily we ended the picnic by putting Adelynne to bed, and she was happy to go.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Before she's 3?
Last week Adelynne started potty training, and she's still in full force! She's doing a great job with only an accident now and then. She is getting closer to going poop in the potty too. She's got the peepee down pretty good, so Dustin and I are keeping our fingers crossed that she'll be out of diapers by the time she is three--that is only a couple of weeks away! We don't have any secret to our success. We've been trying to do this for months, but Adelynne has had no interest until last Monday when SHE decided that she wanted to wear her panties. Adelynne gets rewarded with a Hershey's Kiss after going potty, (because only chocolate is a good enough reward), and she has already received Arial Barbie for her accomplishments. When she finally goes poop in the potty, Daddy is going to take her to DQ for her choice of ice cream, and she will also get a Cinderella Barbie. WooHoo!! Yeah for potty training and no more diapers!!!!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Home Again
Well the Belt Family has finally returned to West Lafayette after almost 5 weeks of being on the road! Whew! We all had a great time visiting with our family and friends back in Las Vegas, Nevada, and in Rocklin, California.
We started out in Las Vegas visiting with Dustin's family. We stayed with Dustin's parents at their house in Cold Creek and while we were there, we all experienced some real mountain like living. On the mountain there were herds of wild mustangs and we saw many new foals with their mothers--which were very protective. Sometimes they would bray at us and stomp their feet if we were too close when we walked on by. The neighbors to Dustin's parents both have roosters, so they crowed all day long, and every time Adelynne heard one she'd say, "A rooster!" Adelynne also saw daily goats, turkeys, and peacocks. Adelynne also enjoyed a daily ritual of walking down to the creek (Cold Creek), and feeding the fish bread and then throwing rocks at them. Amy also attended us on these outings, but not as frequently, she enjoyed being in the house more because she could practice her walking. Dustin grew up in a dome home where his parents still reside, and Amy enjoyed going around and around and around the house. The first five days she would make either mommy or daddy walk her around the house again and again, usually mommy and daddy would do about 5 or 6 trips before we'd make her find something else to do. Then we found a baby doll stroller that she could push around herself, which she did for a few days, and then on our second week there, we came home from church, and she just started walking by herself! She bruised herself up a bit, but she'd just keep going. While in Las Vegas we also were able to visit with Dustin's siblings and their families, and it was really fun to re-introduce Adelynne and Amy to all of their cousins. The girls had a great time playing with them all. We even got to spend time with our best friends Aaron and NIki Patty and their boys Ethan and Owen. We really had a great time with everyone, we just wish we had had more time with them all.
We left Las Vegas after two weeks and drove to Palmdale, CA where my Aunt Michelle picked us up from the rental car drop off. It was the first time in a year that we got to see my aunt and uncle and their four kids. It was fun to see how they had all grown and changed. My Grandma picked us up from there and drove us to her house in Tehachapi, CA. Amy woke us up right before 6am throwing up our first morning there. She threw up again later in the morning, but she seemed to still be in a good mood. Grandma Great took the girls to the best store in town--kMart--to buy them both a new toy. Adelynne studied out all of her options, but decided that "My Little Pony" toys were what she wanted. Amy also studied her options and didn't get very excited about anything until she saw the baby dolls. She wanted to hold them but they were all in boxes so she eventually gave up on them and pushed them away. Then she found a popper toy that plays music instead of popping and she was very happy with that until she found a baby doll that was not in a box and it took her all of half a second to throw the toy to the side and hold that baby doll. It was so cute! Amy just loves baby dolls. Once we got back to Grandma Great's house things just went downhill for Amy. She continued throwing up and couldn't keep any solids or liquids down. Luckily she still nurses so she would nurse from me and throw up. Meanwhile, Adelynne played with her new toys and enjoyed Grandma Great's bunnies. Grandma has six rabbits and two of them are Netherland Dwarfs and they are soooo cute. Adelynne got to hold then and pet them, and she enjoyed going out to feed them all with her Grandma Great. Amy spent three days throwing up and sleeping in mommy's lap. On occasion she would sit up and look around and it would seem like she was perking up, but then she would just collapse in my lap and fall asleep again. She became so week that she didn't have energy to move and therefor she lost her ability to walk that she had learned to do. On the third day I decided to take Amy to the emergency room because she was having high fevers and I figured she had ear infections. She did, and we got her some antibiotics. She continued to sleep throughout the day and she was in no way herself when her Grandpa and Grandma Biggs showed up at Grandma Great's house later that day. Luckily Adelynne had not been sick at all so she was great entertainment for all. However that night Adelynne woke mommy and daddy up because she was throwing up. Dustin and I and the girl stayed home from church the next day and sent the grandparents off with no little girls to show off. I'm sure they were all dissapointed. Sunday night more cousins and aunts and an uncle all came to visit and to take their chances on getting the bug. But we were glad they came, and I'm sorry that they all got sick a few days later. My parents drove us and our family back to Rocklin the next day. It was time to start getting ready for a wedding.
Our time in Rocklin with my parents was relaxing and somewhat entertaining, and I guess a little stressful as well. I had to host a bridal shower for my sister, which actually turned out to be really fun since it was a small crowd. We visited with more cousins and my brothers and my nieces, and Amy and Adelynne both recovered from their sickness. I enjoyed my time with my sister Amy before she got married. We ran a lot of errands getting ready for the wedding, but we spent some time shopping too. I got to visit with my good friend Phoebe and her boys Salem and Lincoln and my best friend Ashley. After our first week in Rocklin the girls really started adjusting to new schedules and new faces so life was more relaxing for Dustin and I. However Dustin and I took turns sleeping on a bed with Adelynne or sleeping on the couch by ourselves. Adelynne did not want to sleep by herself. The days finally wore away, and June 7th arrived--the day of my sisters wedding. It was a beautiful day and my sister was absolutely stunning. It all still seems so surreal to me, Amy is married. The reception was fun, I saw lots of old friends from my childhood and danced until my feet hurt so much that I could only walk on my heels. I had a few bites of cake and about three glasses of punch--it was my favorite. After everything got cleaned up we drove back to my parents house--it was about 11:30pm. We got the girls in pjs and Dustin and I started packing up all our stuff. We finally got to bed at 12:45am. We woke at 4am after a "short nap" and left for the airport so that we could catch our 6am flight. Luckily we had a really awesome airport official get us through the long line at security and then we got to preboard so that really helped things run a little smoother for us. The girls did pretty well minus a few tantrums mostly from Adelynne. But after a layover in Denver, another two hour flight, waiting 45 minutes for our shuttle, we reunited with our car and drove home. Adelynne actually cried to go back to Grandma Biggs' house all through the Indianapolis Airport and for a significant amount of the ride home. But it wasn't until we drove over the Wabash river into West Lafayette did she become excited about going home. And then she began saying "We're almost home to my house!" And we made it home.
I know we have missed so much with everyone here in West Lafayette the last month, and we hope that we get the chance to catch up with everyone. We are glad to be back home with our friends and we're anxious to get our lives in order again. I do have some pictures to post from our trip, but it might be a while, but hopefully not.
We started out in Las Vegas visiting with Dustin's family. We stayed with Dustin's parents at their house in Cold Creek and while we were there, we all experienced some real mountain like living. On the mountain there were herds of wild mustangs and we saw many new foals with their mothers--which were very protective. Sometimes they would bray at us and stomp their feet if we were too close when we walked on by. The neighbors to Dustin's parents both have roosters, so they crowed all day long, and every time Adelynne heard one she'd say, "A rooster!" Adelynne also saw daily goats, turkeys, and peacocks. Adelynne also enjoyed a daily ritual of walking down to the creek (Cold Creek), and feeding the fish bread and then throwing rocks at them. Amy also attended us on these outings, but not as frequently, she enjoyed being in the house more because she could practice her walking. Dustin grew up in a dome home where his parents still reside, and Amy enjoyed going around and around and around the house. The first five days she would make either mommy or daddy walk her around the house again and again, usually mommy and daddy would do about 5 or 6 trips before we'd make her find something else to do. Then we found a baby doll stroller that she could push around herself, which she did for a few days, and then on our second week there, we came home from church, and she just started walking by herself! She bruised herself up a bit, but she'd just keep going. While in Las Vegas we also were able to visit with Dustin's siblings and their families, and it was really fun to re-introduce Adelynne and Amy to all of their cousins. The girls had a great time playing with them all. We even got to spend time with our best friends Aaron and NIki Patty and their boys Ethan and Owen. We really had a great time with everyone, we just wish we had had more time with them all.
We left Las Vegas after two weeks and drove to Palmdale, CA where my Aunt Michelle picked us up from the rental car drop off. It was the first time in a year that we got to see my aunt and uncle and their four kids. It was fun to see how they had all grown and changed. My Grandma picked us up from there and drove us to her house in Tehachapi, CA. Amy woke us up right before 6am throwing up our first morning there. She threw up again later in the morning, but she seemed to still be in a good mood. Grandma Great took the girls to the best store in town--kMart--to buy them both a new toy. Adelynne studied out all of her options, but decided that "My Little Pony" toys were what she wanted. Amy also studied her options and didn't get very excited about anything until she saw the baby dolls. She wanted to hold them but they were all in boxes so she eventually gave up on them and pushed them away. Then she found a popper toy that plays music instead of popping and she was very happy with that until she found a baby doll that was not in a box and it took her all of half a second to throw the toy to the side and hold that baby doll. It was so cute! Amy just loves baby dolls. Once we got back to Grandma Great's house things just went downhill for Amy. She continued throwing up and couldn't keep any solids or liquids down. Luckily she still nurses so she would nurse from me and throw up. Meanwhile, Adelynne played with her new toys and enjoyed Grandma Great's bunnies. Grandma has six rabbits and two of them are Netherland Dwarfs and they are soooo cute. Adelynne got to hold then and pet them, and she enjoyed going out to feed them all with her Grandma Great. Amy spent three days throwing up and sleeping in mommy's lap. On occasion she would sit up and look around and it would seem like she was perking up, but then she would just collapse in my lap and fall asleep again. She became so week that she didn't have energy to move and therefor she lost her ability to walk that she had learned to do. On the third day I decided to take Amy to the emergency room because she was having high fevers and I figured she had ear infections. She did, and we got her some antibiotics. She continued to sleep throughout the day and she was in no way herself when her Grandpa and Grandma Biggs showed up at Grandma Great's house later that day. Luckily Adelynne had not been sick at all so she was great entertainment for all. However that night Adelynne woke mommy and daddy up because she was throwing up. Dustin and I and the girl stayed home from church the next day and sent the grandparents off with no little girls to show off. I'm sure they were all dissapointed. Sunday night more cousins and aunts and an uncle all came to visit and to take their chances on getting the bug. But we were glad they came, and I'm sorry that they all got sick a few days later. My parents drove us and our family back to Rocklin the next day. It was time to start getting ready for a wedding.
Our time in Rocklin with my parents was relaxing and somewhat entertaining, and I guess a little stressful as well. I had to host a bridal shower for my sister, which actually turned out to be really fun since it was a small crowd. We visited with more cousins and my brothers and my nieces, and Amy and Adelynne both recovered from their sickness. I enjoyed my time with my sister Amy before she got married. We ran a lot of errands getting ready for the wedding, but we spent some time shopping too. I got to visit with my good friend Phoebe and her boys Salem and Lincoln and my best friend Ashley. After our first week in Rocklin the girls really started adjusting to new schedules and new faces so life was more relaxing for Dustin and I. However Dustin and I took turns sleeping on a bed with Adelynne or sleeping on the couch by ourselves. Adelynne did not want to sleep by herself. The days finally wore away, and June 7th arrived--the day of my sisters wedding. It was a beautiful day and my sister was absolutely stunning. It all still seems so surreal to me, Amy is married. The reception was fun, I saw lots of old friends from my childhood and danced until my feet hurt so much that I could only walk on my heels. I had a few bites of cake and about three glasses of punch--it was my favorite. After everything got cleaned up we drove back to my parents house--it was about 11:30pm. We got the girls in pjs and Dustin and I started packing up all our stuff. We finally got to bed at 12:45am. We woke at 4am after a "short nap" and left for the airport so that we could catch our 6am flight. Luckily we had a really awesome airport official get us through the long line at security and then we got to preboard so that really helped things run a little smoother for us. The girls did pretty well minus a few tantrums mostly from Adelynne. But after a layover in Denver, another two hour flight, waiting 45 minutes for our shuttle, we reunited with our car and drove home. Adelynne actually cried to go back to Grandma Biggs' house all through the Indianapolis Airport and for a significant amount of the ride home. But it wasn't until we drove over the Wabash river into West Lafayette did she become excited about going home. And then she began saying "We're almost home to my house!" And we made it home.
I know we have missed so much with everyone here in West Lafayette the last month, and we hope that we get the chance to catch up with everyone. We are glad to be back home with our friends and we're anxious to get our lives in order again. I do have some pictures to post from our trip, but it might be a while, but hopefully not.
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