The British Invasion

Last September my mum and David arrived for a long visit.  I was so excited to see them.  Amelia wasted no time in having grandpa play a card game with her, then she snuggled up with her Nana.  Don't they look great considering they had been up for more than 24 hours?

Just a few days later, mum, Amelia and I drove to meet Auntie Carol and Uncle David who had been visiting other friends in Utah, they had made time in their schedule to visit us in Oregon.

Amelia and Auntie Carol looked cool in their summer shades.

We went to the Bridgeport Shopping Center to the Apple store.  The hanging baskets within the open shopping mall were beautiful.

Uncle David became one of Amelia's favourites.

She loves the kids' area in the Apple store, and knows exactly how to operate the i-pad.  She made us all giggle when she said in a surprised voice to Auntie Carol "you don't know how to work the i-pad?"

A while later, two i-pads had been purchased and we went on our way.

Since it was close-by, we decided to visit the Visitors' Center at the Portland Temple, it's fairly new and although only small, a great place to visit.

 

After watching a little film and looking around, we had our photo taken in front of the Christus.

Next, we walked around the temple grounds, taking photo's as we went.

 

 

The flowers are always beautiful at the temple.

 

 

 

Amelia stared into the reflection pool, I wonder what she was thinking.

 

 

It was a beautiful day out and I was excited to be surrounded by family.  It's unusual for Matthew to be outnumbered by Brits!

A Trip to the Salon

I'm playing catch up on the blog and can't believe I am three months behind, better late than never I suppose.

Last Fall I set up an appointment for Amelia to have her hair cut at Salon 554.  Shelby is my hair-stylist and I love her, she's not only great at what she does, but is just a sweet gal and I knew Amelia would be very comfortable with her.  Of course, my girl was pretty shy to begin with but I think overall really enjoyed being pampered and getting her hair washed like a big girl.

She sat very still while Shelby trimmed her pretty golden locks and totally rocked the penguin cape she was given to wear.

After the cut, Shelby had fun blow-drying her hair, Amelia giggled a lot.

 

 

Finishing touches Shelby checked to make sure both sides were cut evenly.

And "ta-da!!!"...my girl was done!

Her appointment had been during my lunch break, so I had to take Amelia back to daycare.  Since I had my camera, my little model posed for a few pictures with her new "do".  It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon.

 

Side note:  At 6:20 am, each weekday morning, our local TV news station give special birthday shout-outs and show birthday photo's.  The picture below was the one I chose to send in on Amelia's 5th birthday.  She was so excited because they showed her picture first...they even pronounced her last name correctly.  What a celebrity!

 

 

 

It was a great hour that we spent together and I'm looking forward to lots more trips to the Salon with my pretty girl.

A New Pre-school for Amelia

On September 5th, Amelia started a new pre-school.  She is now in the 4 year old pre-school, one of the older children, since she turned five in October. I am amazed at how grown up she is looking these days.  I have to admit, I miss that she doesn't wear a uniform at this school because it was so easy not having to think about what she should wear, but we found this cute outfit and it was perfect for her first day.

It was a pretty morning, so she posed for a few pictures out in the front garden.

When we got to school, Amelia was excited to find that she and Abby shared a cubby in which to put her coat and bag,  her name was on a green crayon label (she was excited that the label was green just like the color of daddy's Boston Celtics).  Amelia's backpack is the pink, purple and turquoise one, second from the left.

Whilst the parents attended a quick orientation, the children went into the indoor gym just across from her classroom.

She loved the "hop ball", it brought back fond memories of the one I had a kid, which was also orange.

Here's the sign outside Mrs. Brown's classroom showing all of Amelia's classmates.

I picked up Amelia and Abby after school (I am lucky to be able to be able to share car-pooling with Abby's parents/grandparents and Kelly, her daycare provider).  Both of these cuties were very excited about the fun they had on their first day!

A couple of months have past since this first day of school, and Matthew and I recently attended a parent/teacher conference with Mrs. Brown and I'm happy to report that our little girl is doing great, I'm such a proud momma!

Keep up the good work sweet girl.

A Girl and Her Bear

Although Amelia has never had just one teddy bear that she couldn't live without, there are definitely several very special soft toys that she adores, such as Scamp her dog that Nana gave to her.  Today, I want to introduce you to one of her favorite bears, Sweetie-Heart (although please note, this name may change tomorrow).  He recently had to undergo surgery to fix an open seam on his back. It made me so happy to see my girl's excitement as I carefully stitched him back together.

On this particular afternoon, a couple of weeks ago, I was quietly watching Amelia as she snuggled up with Sweetie-Heart whilst watching a movie (a rare quiet moment in our household).  My heart melted as I watched her hold her furry friend, even by the way she used him as a pillow.  Of course it was a memory I wanted to capture in pictures.

 

 

What a cute pair!

Pizza Night Fun!

Our pizza place just came up with a fantastic idea, a pizza kit you can buy for kids to build themselves.  Amelia was very excited to get one.  Everything you need comes inside the box, Amelia chose ham and cheese for her topping.  Here's what you do:

First spread the tomato sauce on the pizza base, being careful not to go to the very outside of the pizza.

Next sprinkle generous amounts of cheese over the sauce, using your fingers of course.

Don't leave any cheese in the container, we don't want to waste it now... 

Oh forgot one step, make sure your hands are clean before you start...

Use your ham to make a pretty design on top of the cheese, this is our attempt at a flower.

Once it's all done, place pizza back into the box so that your mum can take a photo of the uncooked masterpiece.

Place in a preheated oven at 425 degrees and watch it like a hawk as it turns golden brown and the cheese begins to bubble.

Pull out of the oven after about 10 - 12 minutes and let it cool for a couple of minutes.

Get special permission to eat it in front of the TV, just like dad does.

Give a thumbs up if it's a tasty pizza.

Clean up any crumbs from your mouth. 

That's all there is too it, pretty easy don't you think and so much fun!
Who knows, maybe Amelia will be a chef when she grows up.