Showin' Off & Easter & Poor Me... All 3!

Look at me! I sit up now with only a little help. Oh, and I grab and chew my toys! I even reach for the ducky in the tub now. Here's me showing you how I sit, how I hold, and how cute I am in my bunny jacket from Auntie Kristine.

Today, though, I have a fever from a virus that mama had on Monday. I am sleeping, nursing, sleeping all day long. Mama knows I'm sick when I don't smile and squeal when I'm awake. Mama says I'm a very easy baby these days. Nani Ga, my mama's mama, says I smile at the drop of a dime. I don't know what a dime is, but I do love to smile.

So, that's it for now. Wanted to show off my new tricks, my easter outfit, and my yucky day today.

My Playdate!

Here I am playing with my friend, Eila. Eila is 9 months old, so she is much bigger than I am. She brought me a new black and white book that unfolds across the floor. See me checking it out?? I'm pondering one the shapes, see my cocked head?

Good Sleeper!

Mama was very excited today, because I slept from 7 - 7 in my own crib, with only two feedings! I used to eat many times during the night, so this is a big change. I woke up feeling happy and wanting to play. Mama was so excited she must have kissed me a hundred times! Then again, she is always kissing my cheeks and face. Pop says she kisses me every 8 seconds. Daddy and Grandma Lynn say I'm delicious. That must be it.

The picture is me in my crib. Mama rolls blankets around me so that I am nice and snug inside my swaddle, with my left hand free for thumb-sucking. I sometimes sneak my right fist out of the swaddle, though, and suck my fingers. The great big lamb keeps the blankets pushed together with its heavy bean-bag feet. Its my guardian lamb.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

New Activities and Favorites!

My new fun evening activity is sitting in the Bumbo, watching mama make dinner, and hanging out with daddy. I love to watch everything mama does and try to eat anything that comes near my face. Kind of like a fly.

Oh, and I love the color red!! Mama wears daddy's Cornell sweatshirt, and I get so excited every time I see it ~ even if its the 5th time that day! I forget how exciting it is until I wake up from a nap and see it again.

Mama also puts me on my tummy sometimes and I rolled over this weekend! She introduced me to some new toys (the kind made of wood and paint and cotton that mama says is safe and healthy to nibble on). I get frustrated when I want to pick up the toy and I can't figure out how to do it. I stare at it and try to will it my way. That doesn't work though. Mama shows me how to hold my toys, but I'm still learning.

Me and My Cousins

This is my first gathering with my cousins on my mama's side. Baby Jayden was born 7 weeks after me, and is as big as I am! Cousin Sadie is 8 months older than me, and likes to poke at me. I was doing just fine until she poked me in the eye. Mama moved me away from her for the photo, but I was still upset. Cousin Max and Caitlin are the big ones.

Me and BOB

Who's Bob, you ask? Its my new, cool, jog stroller that Grandma Lynn bought us. It is so much less bumpy on these brick sidewalks than my other stroller. Plus, I get to face outwards, and not just stare at mama. Mama took me down to the Charles River today for the first time. She had me pose in my stroller next to the river, and then we turned right around. She wants to keep me close to home while she helps me get into a better sleeping routine. I just want to be with her, so I protest these new mandatory naps. Life was easier as a two-month old. I could sleep on her wherever we were, and even tune out sounds that bothered everyone else. Anyways, I liked my new ride today, and stayed awake for a full hour. There is so much to look at in Cambridge. People stare at me, too, and comment on how cute "he" is. Just wait until my long curly locks come in.

The Story of My Name

My name is Amelia Eve Dullea Adiletta. Well, that's my official name, though I'll go by Amelia Adiletta in school. Eve and Dullea are my middle names. My mama wanted to name me "Eve" before I was even a bean in her belly (they called me the "bean"). She thought it was a beautiful and spiritual name, and the name of the first woman in the bible. Daddy liked it, but one day mama asked him what he thought of when he heard the name Eve. He said it sounded sultry and something else that made mama pause. Amelia wasn't in the running during my bean days, because mama thought it was a mouthful with Adiletta. She loved the name, though. Amelia reminded her of adventure and strength, like Amelia Erhart and another Amelia woman with whom mama travelled across the country, shot machine guns, and climbed mountains. Daddy told mama it reminded him of a field of wildflowers. That image stayed with her. Aunt Molly encouraged mama not to dismiss the name, that it sounded melodic with Adiletta. Anyways, I was likely to be named Eve until the moment of my birth. Mama and Daddy both thought of one name when they first looked at me - Millie. Its a nickname for Amelia, and somehow came to both of their minds. They took two days to name me, mostly because mama still loved the name Eve, and eventually decided that Amelia Eve was a beautiful, playful, powerful and spiritual name. Last name was another issue. Its important to mama to be progressive as a Generation X woman. Every generation, she says, shapes the world for the next generation. That would be me. Daddy supported mama in including Dullea, even if it meant hyphenating. That would be too much of a mouthful for me, though, so they snuck Dullea in there as a middle name. When I'm old enough, I can choose whether to keep it or not. But, either way, I am both a Dullea and an Adiletta, and proud of it. Mama likes to say that I'm gonna "add a letta" love to this world, and that will be my legacy. Get it?! She's goofy sometimes.

(Update: Mama and Daddy are considering dropping the Dullea and just calling it the 'silent D factor'. They just don't want me to be confused. We'll keep you updated!)

The Beginning - From Birth through Four Months

Let's see. How do I catch you up from my birthday until now? My parents planned for me to be born at home, in water, in their arms. Mama hung in there for a couple of days while I positioned myself, but ultimately I arrived at Cambridge Hospital, in the company of loving midwives. My mama had thirty minutes to push me out before the threatened c-section, and, together, we did it. I was stunned to enter the world, but mostly curious to see what my mama and daddy looked like, since they talked to me so much in the womb. I stared at my mama with one eye open, like popeye, for a very long time. I never left her arms, except to be held by daddy, for the first few hours of my life. My mama says that my birth was beautiful. All I know is that I was warm and happy, and amazingly strong, the whole time.
It's hard to be born in the winter in Boston. I hold my breath every time we step outside. It shocks me. I spent my first few months mostly in my mama and daddy's arms, or being carried in a sling or wrap. They dubbed me the "velcro baby". I am happiest when I am attached to them. Wouldn't you be?
My mama loves to dress me up in the outfits people bought me, and take my picture. I'm afraid this pasttime may never go away. Sometimes I pose for the camera, and sometimes I plead for her to put that thing away and pick me up.
I've had so many visitors in my first few months. Nani Ga, my mama's mama, Grandpa John, Grandma and Pop (Pop flew in from Florida for a 3-hour visit just to see me!), Grandpa Maury, Great grandparents Adiletta, and Great Grand-Papa, my aunts and uncles, cousins, great-aunts and great-uncles, and loads of friends.
People say that I look mostly like my daddy, especially when I'm being serious, or cocking one eyebrow, which is usually at daddy anyhow. Feature by feature, I think his genes dominated. I look like my mama, though, when I smile, or when I am perplexed, and furrow both of my brows. I can look very intrigued and concerned for a little person.
I am fascinated with the ducky in the tub (I try to pick it up with my mouth, but can't seem to figure it out. There must be an easier way...), my fist and thumb, and the furry animal called Phoebe. There's something different about Phoebe than my other toys.
I love when mama talks softly to me and tells me all kinds of things, like what we're doing today, how beautiful I am, and how amazing my life is going to be. Daddy sings songs to me that he makes up himself, and also makes up rhymes. Daddy also likes to play airplane with me, and I am very good at making my arms stiff as a board, just like the wings. Oh, and I like to help my parents change my diaper by pulling my legs up for them. They think its pretty neat. Of course, they think everything I do is amazing, which is why I am called Amazing Amelia.