All About Amelia - 11 months

Holy moly... this is my LAST monthly update!!!  This time next month, we will have a ONE YEAR OLD!  Where has the time gone?  It feels like we just brought Amelia home from the hospital yesterday.  I can honestly say this has been the BEST,  yet toughest, year of my life.  Life really does pass by in the blink of an eye, but thank heaven for little girls!

1-23-15

  

Roughly 22 lbs and 29 inches

Sleeping Habits: Hallelujah!!! AMELIA IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! You guys... it has been absolutely phenomenal getting 8 hours of sleep in a row again.  I feel like a new woman, a better parent and wife!  It's amazing what consecutive hours of sleep will do for ya.  Bedtime routine has stayed the same and Amelia is usually down for 11 hours before her morning feed.  Occasionally she will go back to sleep for another hour which is even more awesome!  We still (usually) get two naps a day from her but they always vary in length.

 

Passed out at Grandpa and Grandma Masilko's

Eating Habits: Three solid meals a day, plus snacks, and breastfeeding about 4 times a day, depending on mama's work schedule.  Amelia especially loves fruit, olives, veggie straws and water!

 

Loving food at the Neuvirth's

New Foods Amelia Tried: We are still having fun incorporating dairy into our diets!  This month, Amelia and I enjoyed quiche, cheesecake, Masilko veggie dip, mac n' cheese, taco soup and chilli with cheese.  She also tried bacon and pork and dumplings which were HUGE hits!  Introducing new foods is so much fun!

Yup... loving dairy!

New Discoveries/Developments/Accomplishments: Amelia cut her top left tooth on Christmas Eve which helps explain her crankiness.  She has mastered waving bye-bye and clapping when she excited or playing patty-cake.  Her feet have also become quite an obsession which is funny because she never really paid attention to them when she was younger.  In other HUGE news, Amelia took her first solo steps on 1-6-15.  It was a series of about 6 steps to reach mama, but every day she gets a little more adventurous and I will be surprised if she isn't fully walking by her first birthday!

Someone's getting BIG

Places Amelia Traveled: We were super busy this month with the Holiday's!  We had Christmas Eve at GG's for the Koch's and Great Aunt Cheri's for the Engelmann's.  Christmas day we spent the morning at home, afternoon at Mimi and Papa's and evening at Grandpa and Grandma E's. We also had the opportunity to spend a few days/nights at Mater Filius, which we really enjoyed.  A road trip to West Point was also involved for our celebration with Amelia's Great Grandpa and Grandma Neuvirth.  She LOVED getting spoiled by them and eating at her Great Grandma N's home cooking!  The weather was also phenomenal this month and we headed to the zoo and Chic-Fil-A for a play date!

 Fascinated with the aquarium at the zoo

Playing in Norfolk

Special Events or Holidays: First Christmas and New Years!  Christmas details above... New Years Eve we spent with Brandon's cousins and friends and Amelia had a sleepover at Grandpa and Grandma Englmann's house!  Amelia actually got to have sleepovers at ALL her grandparents houses this month!  One over night on a Saturday at Mimi and Papa's and one over night with her Masilko cousin's in Norfolk at Grandma and Grandpa Masilko's.  She is so well loved!

Getting good at opening presents

New Friends: We had a few MOPS meetings this month where Amelia made new friends.  She also enjoyed playing with little Zion during our stay at Mater Filius.  Our zoo play date was with Wilder and Isla and Chic-Fil-A was with Harper!  She also got to play with her Masilko cousin's towards the end of December.  So many friends, so little time!

Play date "hugs"

New Baby Babble: "Hey-oh" for hello, "ba-bah" for bye-bye, "utt" for uh-oh.  Amelia is getting SO great at imitating everyone.  She also loves waving bye-bye and is attempting to blow kisses while face timing family.  My favorite thing she picked up on this month is holding her hand up to her ear like a phone while we are using our phones.  It is ADORABLE!

Big brown eyes babbling away on her phone

Likes/Dislikes: Thankfully, Amelia is back to loving her bath again!  So glad the unhappiness while bathing was just a phase and we have our happy baby back!  We also made the switch to a convertible car seat this month and Amelia loves being more upright in the car!  Grandpa Keith is still watching Amelia 3 days a week while I work and she absolutely loves her time with him.  Most evenings when I pick her up, she hardly cares I am there!

Bath Time reading

Parents Update:  Brandon schedule is staying pretty busy and consistent, but he was able to take off early a few days to spend more time with Amelia and give my dad a break.  They always have the best adventures together and I love watching their relationship grow!  I am still busy working 3-4 days a week until the new gal officially takes the reins in March.  We still aren't sure where we will be financially at the end of all this (tax season and all) and don't know if I need to find something permanent part or full time.  Only time will tell, but we all know my heart lies at home with my baby girl!  In other news, with grandparents so willing to spend time with Amelia, Brandon and I have been taking full advantage and getting together with friends or having date nights as much as possible.  It's so awesome to fall in love with your best friend!!!  My love for that man gets deeper every single day, especially since he has become a father.  I sincerely hope this continues for infinity!

 Snuggles with Daddy

Zoo day with mama

Baby A Letter: January 19, 2014

Reading this letter makes me sick to my stomach.  This was the absolute worst thing I have ever experienced and I still can't wrap my head around the accident.  I am so thankful that God and uncle Gary kept Amelia and I safe... God is so good!

Pregnancy Week: 33

Baby Amelia Grace,

It has been a long time since mommy has written!  I am not nearly as dedicated to this as I thought I would be; hopefully, this isn’t a sign of what is to come with my goals of writing to you.  Things have been absolutely crazy as of late and I haven’t made this a priority as I know that I should.  Where to begin?

Mommy decided to roll her car with you still inside of me on the morning of December 27, 2013.  It was the scariest moment of my life and I was so worried that I harmed you!  Not the easiest phone call to make to your daddy, might I add.  We were on our way to my Uncle Gary’s funeral and mommy had her cruise control set going way too fast around a curve.  Although the temperature outside seemed extremely warm for December, the road was still slick and mommy lost control when a deer ran out in front of her.

Time stood still as the Suzuki first veered sideways and then proceeded to roll down the hill and into a ravine.  We had amazing guardian angels watching over us, baby girl.  So many things could have gone wrong, but, miraculously did not. 

• The passenger seat floor mat flew up and landed on top of the driver side window.  This prevented all the glass from cutting mommy as the window shattered upon impact of the roll over.
• Even though it was the end of December, there was no snow on the ground and the temperature was actually really nice (probably mid-40’s).
• There were so many trees that we could have hit as we rolled down the hill, but we managed to miss them all. 
• The airbags never deployed which would have caused more damage to us both. 
• Unlike most pregnant women, mommy was a nut about wearing her seat belt and had done research on how to properly place the belt to lessen impact on you in the event of an accident.
• The car landed on the driver side which meant that mommy wasn’t suspended by her seat belt and she could easily maneuver into a more comfortable position while we waited for help.
• Somehow, mommy’s cell phone landed right within reach to call for help.  We were hidden by trees and brush in the ravine and cars could not see us from the road.  Mommy’s open purse also fell right next to her without any of its contents being spilled.

Because I rolled the Suzuki, we were not given our hospital preference and had to be taken to the trauma center, UNMC.  Mommy was able to call daddy from the squad and have him meet us there (even though he was already all the way to the Gretna exit on his way to us!).  The ride to the hospital was the worst half hour of my life.  You decided to be stubborn and did not want to move for me no matter what tricks I tried and the EMTs did not have the proper equipment to detect your heartbeat.  I spent the whole ride convinced that I had lost you before I even got the chance to hold you.

Thankfully, once in the ER, the doctors found your heartbeat right away.  We were admitted overnight to the OB floor as mommy had irritated her uterus and was having contractions every two to seven minutes.  Mommy sent daddy back to work after everything calmed down end eventually Grandpa Keith, who met us in the ER as well, left too.  Grandma Jamie and Grandpa Doug arrived once we were admitted to OB and didn’t leave our side for several hours (Grandma Jamie would only agree to leave once daddy was back for good).  Daddy got off of work around 5:00 and mommy sent him home to take care of the dogs before he returned to stay the night.  Throughout the day and night, we had several visitors.  Corie, Andy and baby Jacob visited us for about an hour and Corie even did mom’s nails to help her relax.  Maggie and baby Carter, Makayla, Grandpa Keith (came back!) and Grandma Carole, Aunt Cheri and Cousin Jill… they all stopped in to check on us.  Everyone was so worried that you would make your debut into the world at 31 weeks!!! Once again, God and our guardian angels were on our side… we were able to check out of the hospital the next morning and spent all weekend lounging around with daddy at the house.

The best thing to come out of the whole ordeal (other than you continuing to “cook”) was mommy’s BRAND NEW SUV!!!  Daddy wanted mommy to have the safest and best vehicle around to keep you and I safe, so he purchased us a top-of-the-line Dodge Durango.  This was mommy’s dream car and she never thought she would own one.  Of course, mommy cried she was so overcome with happiness and knowing that you would be safe in the car with her!  You really do have the best daddy ever.

We finally purchased a crib and dresser for your room about two weeks ago.  Granted, they are both still in boxes in your room, at least they are there and we are getting closer to being ready for your arrival!  Your baby shower is next Sunday, so hopefully we get lots of things checked off your nursery list and mommy can start pulling things together.  Aunt JoAnn, Grandma Jaime and Great-grandma Carole are coming down in two weeks to paint and help tie in all the different elements in your room.  Mommy is SO excited to finally get things done and feel like we are prepared for you to come into our lives!!!

I think that is enough excitement for now… until my next letter!

Love you more than you will ever know,

Mommy