A few pictures!

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of months. It's hard to believe how quickly time flies by!

Brett wearing Amy on his back. The three of us and Chandra went to Lake of the Ozarks to visit Missouri Children's Burn Camp for their 15th year of camp. It was fun being able to show Brett just a few things around camp. Here we were by the high ropes courses, and Brett was watching someone.

Channie posing for a picture:

Amy's one year photo with Barry. Hard to believe that when she was born, the bear was bigger than she was!

One day when Brett was off we took a little trip to the Science Center. Amy LOVED it, and was fascinated by the dinosaurs. I'd wondered if she would be scared since they have models of a T-Rex and a...something else...that move and make noise. But she just stared and stared, and didn't want to leave. In the next few pictures, she's crawling on a slab that has an imprint of a dinosaur track on it.

Amy had recently discovered the fun ability to lay on her belly and push herself backwards. Hence this picture.

The three of us went to a Cardinals' game recently with our friends Brian and Jenn Johnson (who are expecting their own little girl any time now). It was fun, the Cardinals won, and Amy behaved herself! Brian was nice enough to snap a few pictures of us.

And yes, it does look like my child is throwing a gang sign. We ARE in St. Louis, after all. (Just kidding.)

 Amy is a very curious child. VERY. We always worry when suddenly realize it's been a bit quiet for a few minutes. I was out one evening and Brett was home with Amy when he realized that he hadn't heard her in a couple minutes. She'd gotten into our bedroom, in the dark, climbed onto the bed via a pregnancy pillow on the floor, and found the Kleenex box. (This was NOT her first playtime with Kleenex, either.) Brett found her sitting in the middle of the bed in the dark, with Kleenex all around her. By the time he grabbed the camera, came back, and flipped on the light, this is what he found:

I made buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes a few days ago for dinner. (Yum.) Amy definitely appreciates them. Of course, she's only met one food she didn't care for (jalapeno bratwurst), but she LOVES these. And does a very good job eating them.

I mean, really. Who could resist this face? Not me. How does that line go? Oh, yes. Resistance is futile.

We've had lots of fun lately, and I just love my little girl! It's so fun to watch her learning and growing. She is definitely a walker now, and spends most of her playtime trying to climb everything in sight (and succeeding frequently). She is so smart, and learns so quickly! She doesn't talk a lot just yet, but she's getting a lot better at using signs, which is helping with both of our frustration. I'm not worried about it. She definitely takes after her mother, and does things when SHE is good and ready. (E.g., she weaned herself from bottle to sippy cup in less than 3 days.) So, she'll talk when she decides to. Why am I not surprised that my child is headstrong? :)