Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day! Justin is a great dad. He was gone all this week in Minnesota. By Thursday Amelia and I needed a break from each other. Friday she practically jumped out my arms to her Aunt Charity as if to say, yah, another mug to look at! Justin arrived home Friday around 9:15 pm. Amelia and I were outside prolonging bedtime so she could see daddy. When I spotted his car I started waving, jumping up and down, and shouting something about daddy’s home. Amelia caught on to the excitement and gave Justin a very warm welcome! She loves her daddy! For Father’s day we gave Justin a framed picture collage for his desk at work. Amelia Thelin came over on Thursday and took pictures of me and Amelia then vice versa of Amelia T and her son Oliver. Amelia T is a very talented photographer so it was a fair trade.

This week seemed more like a month. Amelia was sick with some virus. Monday morning she woke up with a fever of 102.5 and white spots all over her mouth. I thought it was thrush. So we scheduled an appointment. She still had a fever that afternoon but the spots faded. The Dr said she had a nasty virus and sent us home. The spots came back soon after we left. Murphy’s law!! All through the week she struggled with a very sore throat, bad gas, diarrhea, constipation, runny nose, and teething. If she is not feeling better by tomorrow we will go visit the doctor again. I plan on photographing the spots as proof before we go!!!

Besides a sick baby I kept busy with five photo shoots this week. I asked a couple ladies in my ward to come model with their newborns in order to practice the techniques from the Bellies and Babies conference. I was pleased with the results! The most frustrating part is dealing with my hot lights. It was very difficult to get the same lighting effects without strobe lighting and soft boxes. Still, my improvised lighting situation worked for the most part. The most difficult part about being a photographer is putting in to coherent words what I want the person to do in order to get the result I see in my mind. I’ve always been better at writing then speaking. Practice makes perfect!

I already wrote about Amelia’s little freak out session. She did a five minute repeat of that nightmare about an hour ago. It was past her bedtime so maybe fatigue is the answer to weird toddler behavior.

Charity, Melissa, and Raquel all came over on Friday to pick Amelia and I up. We went to the Gateway for a while to peruse some stores and enjoy the wonderful weather. It was a splendid day to be outside. Catherine Taylor volunteered to take Amelia for 45 minutes that afternoon so I could squeeze in a short workout session. It was heavenly! Thank you so much for the 45 minute break. Catherine said Amelia would squawk everytime Kate (their 11 mth old) got to close or tried to imitate her. Amelia needs a sibling to maul her a bit. Hopefully, nursery will give her some much needed mauling experience. Defend yourself kid and buck up cowgirl. Melissa hosted a BBQ for her good friend who was visiting Utah. We had some yummy grilled chicken, beans, and chips with fresh salsa. Charity has a wonderful dirt pile (aka the cave) in the vacant lot behind her home. Ethan especially loves the cave. He squats down like Gollum from Lord of the Rings and protects his hill with gusto complete with the shrieking and hand movement of the said character.

Saturday morning we enjoyed a family bike ride before the day warmed up. Nothing feels better than to hear the whir of bike tires on the pavement! What a rush! Justin picked out four shirts at Kohl’s to expand his professional wardrobe after lunch. We used the excellent Father’s day sale prices as an excuse to get him shirts. Soon after Kohl’s Charity called and invited us over to swim in their community pool. I was so excited. Something about having a child (who now loves water), an available pool, and cute baby swim suits makes pool lounging a dream come true. That evening Justin and I dropped Amelia off at James and Miekka’s while we went on a date. It was awesome! We had dinner at Olive Garden taking our time and not worrying about food splattered all over the floor and walls. Being Amelia-less felt a bit odd at first but we eased into the luxury. Toys r us sat across the street so we jogged over there to look at sand boxes and fun summer toys. Amelia was very tired by the time we picked her up at 7:20. I love when she clings to me after being gone. Makes the time away appreciate her that much more.
I only attended sacrament meeting because Amelia was acting very cranky. Justin enjoyed the rest of church. Mom cooked a casual spaghetti dinner at her home. When Mom’s spaghetti is involved there is an open invitation. James and Miekka invited everyone over for root beer floats afterwards. Amelia’s favorite toy at their house is a leap frog play grocery basket. She is learning how to steer and move the cart into different positions when she hits a dead end. She was concentrating so hard that everything around her faded into oblivion. What a funny baby! Justin said she grew taller this week. He left a baby and came back to a toddler. Her speech improved quite a bit this week and she can nearly take steps on her own.