22 months: Mine, too

Today I'm taking a break from our regularly scheduled Hawaii blogs to update you on our dear Amelia who celebrated her 22mo birthday yesterday.

 

We are in full blown 'mine' at our house. Everything Owen has, Millie needs. Mine, too? Mine, too? Mine, too? This last week we've jumped right in to 'My do it!' 'My do it!'.

She's also gaining independence and playing by herself, some... favorite phrase is still

 'Mommy Hold You'.

That face. She's all of a sudden a picky little eater. Won't try anything new (even delicious fresh fruit), and her diet consists of bread and cheese. I promise she's offered MUCH more than that.

Big into mimicking and loves water play. She pretend feeds her animals, pretends to put gas in Owen's cars, pretends to water flowers. It's such a cute age!

 

Many of this month's pics are from LOTS of outings around the StL area. If you're reading this, you likely know that M was in Seattle for most of the last 6 weeks. For all of our mental health, we were here and there and everywhere. Here they are watching cars over the highway at the science center.

Exploring the energy required to make a roller coaster go! Thanks Papa Cooper for coming along. We appreciate all of your help!

'Horsie, Mine too'. Amelia is to stuffed animals as Owen is to cars. She knows which ones she wants and where they are. Common favorites are 'Bubbles' (dolphin), 'Mizzou-Rah, Kitty', and now 'Horse, Mine-too'. She carries these lovies around in her 'pack-pack'.

 

Mima and Papa Cooper treated the kids to build-a-bear day at Busch Stadium. This annual  celebration of Fredbird's birthday usually involves a Fredbird build-a-bear giveaway. This year it was a Clydesdale! We were there at the opening of the gates, had a great lunch at Ballpark Village, and even made it through 5 innings. I was proud of the kids and oh,so grateful for another fun and full-day outing.

We also were blessed with a great visit from Steve, Trish, Will, & Delaney Schuster from Denver. These are some of our favorite friends, so naturally their kids are wonderful too.

Delaney was so sweet playing with A.

The other day Owen said, 'Mommy, pretty soon you're gonna have 2 kids. Amelia is growing up to be just like me'. Well he's right. Can you imagine that her whole body used to fit in that car seat? She still had fun 'riding' in it =)

Takes her swim friend everywhere.

This is a common face these days. Still love her, but she's got opinions!

One day we went to see Georgie and Claire in Columbia. Georgie had to go down for a nap so the kids and I headed up to campus. O got a T-shirt and A got the 'Mizzou-Rah Kitty'. To entertain the kids on the drive I sang the fight song. Over.and Over.and Over.and Over. Millie requests it saying, 'Mo Mo Ti Ti, Mama'. How can I say no? It's also her bedtime song these days =)

I also treated them to ice cream that day. They come by their love of ice cream honestly.

'Poo' time on Mima and Papa Cooper's back deck. You'd think we lived there in July...

well we kind of did! Many nights spent at Camp Cooper!

 Zoo train with Papa Cooper('Papa Keeper'). We really distract him from his obligations. You can tell he's devastated.

 

Millie is starting to recognize colors like Yellow ('lellow') and Pink ('Peek'). She's talking a mile a minute and saying phrases. My favorite works are fishy ('ishy') and Bunny ('Money'), but my most most most favorite Amelia-ism is that she calls herself 'Minnie'. Love you, sweet baby girl!

Here Today, Gone to Maui: Day 4. Aquariums, Sunsets, & Calories!

I know in my blogging world the days have crawled by, but when we were in Maui, the days flew. Somehow we were already to Wednesday!

 

Early that morning, Dax & Randy (Papa Nieders) were up before activities to get the ribs on the grill. They continued to cook for the next 8 hours until dinner. Yeah, you've got it, they were GOOD. (Mike's been practicing this same recipe since we've been home from Maui, and I am not complaining ;) ).

 

Then we split in to big kids + some adults and little kids + some adults.

I went with the little kids, obviously, so that's the Wednesday perspective you'll get. We ate breakfast at 'THE' cinnamon roll place in Maui on the way to the Aquarium. Carson thinks they are only good with icing and macadamia nuts. Kid has pretty good taste. Unfortunately this time around, the 2000 calories of cinnamon roll didn't really agree with me. I'll try to remember that next time ;)

Off we went to the aquarium. It's right in the corner of the Maalaea Bay. The same place you leave to whale watch (in the winter months). So I guess Maalaea is a definite must for adventures in Maui.

I adore this shot of the giddy littles ready for their fishy adventure.

Amelia walked around the aquarium saying, 'blop, blop, blop'. That's her sound for fish. She must have said it 1000 times! 

Allllllmost tall enough to see the fish that changes from female to male when the (one) male of the school dies. So I guess women rule that roost.

Baby SEA Turtles. I will forever be in awe of these magnificent creatures. I hate that they're endangered, and I hate that so so so so many of them die before they reach adult hood. But at least the aquarium is helping! Here's an interesting tidbit- the gender of the turtle is unknown until they reach sexual maturity in their teenage years.

Mima Wade & her littlest girls!

Next we went to a shark feeding and scuba diver/ocean naturalist lesson. The kids were just as enthralled as I was. They sat on the floor and watched and listened.. and most of the time even without snacks!

 

The size of these rays?! I don't think I've ever before seen an aquarium tank this big. I was fascinated and had to keep my jaw off the floor.

The scuba diver taught about the animals as they swam by him. A unique lesson indeed!

After naps brought a little swimming. O loved the pool but A was lukewarm. I was surprised by this because she seemed to enjoy her swim lessons so well last winter. She kept saying 'cold,cold,cold,cold'. Until next time, Millie!

After our delicious rib & fixins' dinner, we went down to the park across the street to watch the sunset. I love this shot of A running with the sunbeam shining on her!

 

Now that's just sweetsie!

 

Gaga Nieders came prepped with a box of ice cream bars. Dax's parents are truly servers. They fed all 15 of us allll week long. The food was overflowing. They amazed me.

 

Now this is what he calls 'Bacation!'.

Ah, Joy! Vacation!

Oh Ava. I think she was pouting because her ice cream was gone. I just couldn't resist this pic; it's such a classic Ava pose! Dax says, "If you're going to be good at pouting, you have to practice a lot".

There was more than one occasion that these two were asked if they were sisters. Becky always responds, 'Yes, but I'm younger'. (Not true). Wish they got along better!

I don't even know.

Multigenerational Nieders.

 

And then it was time for the sunset.

The best one we saw the whole time in Maui.

Listen closely and you can hear it sizzle....

Here today, gone to Maui. Day 3

Day 3 brings us to Tuesday , May 27.

That morning Mike, Papa Cooper, Dax, Lindsey, and I went paddle boarding. To say I was tentative would be an understatement. You might recall that I tried paddle boarding on a 'calm-surf' day in Malibu with Britt. I didn't conquer it, but I stayed dry at least! Malibu was glass, especially compared to the Maui surf. Also, anytime Mike and I do something athletic (it doesn't matter what or with whom), he's the best and I'm the worst. So I knew I would be the one in the ocean the most (I was.. fell 6 times I think?). BUT, I'm so glad I went. It was gorgeous out on the water. We saw sea turtles swimming, we got a kid free morning, fish tacos for lunch, and the company (of course) was tremendous. We left all of our belongings in the car, knowing full well we'd be wet... so no pics of that adventure.

Tuesday night bought more kid free time. It's pretty nice to have more grandparents present than children! Dax, Lindsey, Mike, and I took Dave and Becky out to dinner to thank them for this wonderful trip. They chose Leilani's, an open-air seafood restaurant in Lahaina. The sunset did not disappoint, and the drinks were just as tasty as they were pretty!

Cheers!

Perfection in a glass.

Maui Dave with a Mai Tai. What a great couple!

View from our table! Seriously, sometimes I just pinch myself.

Wade, party of 4. All grown up!

Thank you, Leilani's for your delicious Mahi in Thai Coconut Sauce & Hula Pie.

You were very good to me. xo, Heather

Here today, Gone to Maui. Big Beach Edition.

Big Beach has long been hailed a favorite of all of ours. Why, you ask? Well because it's big! The sand bank is BIG. The waves are BIG. And it's just a small hike away from Little Beach where clothing is optional. Mike and I accidentally learned that on our honeymoon.

 

A quick moment for a group pic before the waves started to come in. That day the waves were the biggest I've ever seen in my life. There were surfers and I kept imagining how I would stabilize their broken necks when they washed upon the shore. That water is powerful!

 

Here's a pic for perspective. Look how short Carson looks compared to this wave..

and just imagine the waves breaking farther out!

 

I love this Mike Cooper photo bomb.

 

Our little clan spent a lot of time in the sand that morning. Thanks to my trip to LA with Britt, I had a huuuuge hat that covered my shoulders. I stole it off of her sailboat. It's too windy on the boat to wear a floppy hat, so it just needed to go to Maui.

Serious shovel-er.

 

Ava didn't spend a lot of time in the sand. She was petrified of the 'dirt'.

This was the classic pose every time someone tried to put her down =)

 

So her great daddy improvised.

Becky Wade photo bomb! Also, this is how Amelia took a lot of pics.. ..huddled in to a shoulder. (She is more and more like her daddy everyday... family pictures are his worst nightmare ;) ).

Great action shots by Papa Wade.

Too bad these kids didn't have any fun!

A frequent pose for Owen at the water's edge.

Millie probably asking Mima for a cookie or sucker.

She thought the beach was for shoveling and for junk food.

Love this man!

View of Molokini Crater from Big Beach. Papa Wade, please let me know if I'm wrong.

Sand sliding!

Hunting for shells!

After naps we drove up to Lahaina to spend some time by this huge banyon tree. It's all one tree. There are lots of vendors (and homeless people) around the area. While we were here, Millie had an allergic reaction (on her face!) to the sunscreen, so we hoped over to Walgreens for some Benadryl and headed home while the rest of the clan shopped.

Back at home she was all better... and kind of wired. Guess she has the 'opposite' reaction to Benadryl! Anywho, looooove this shot of the kids and wanted to end the post of this great day with these two amazing blessings.