Basketball!

We went to our neighbor's college graduation party today. It was held at their church picnic shelter which had a long set of stairs down to it from the parking lot. We got there pretty much exactly on-time, but there was still some time to kill before we could let Amelia help herself to some of the cake. She entertained herself on the stairs for a little while, then discovered there was a basketball hoop on the far side of the church. The guys took a break from their pick-up game to go get in line for some food and Amelia quickly appropriated the ball, but then couldn't decide whether to throw it or watch the kid riding the motorcycle. It really was a struggle for her. The kid on the motorcycle went out of sight and her focus returned to the basketball. She asked, "Daddy pick you up and put ball in net." Her verbal skills need a little help, but that was her way of asking her daddy to pick her up and lift her high enough for her to put the ball in the net. We laughed and he said, "I'll try!" She went along with it, even releasing the ball - far below the standard-height net. She wasn't phased and we bounced the ball around with her and took a few shots at the goal.

I wish I had brought the camera though - the look of pure delight on her face when her daddy had picked her up as she asked, with a genuine basketball in her hands going for the net.

(When we first got there she said something about 'party' and I thought she said she had to go 'potty' and was about to frantically look for a toilet somewhere. No, you can't tell we're in the throes of potty training, can you?)

It was a successful party for her - she ate cake, skinned a knee and got to play in the dirt - making a nice little hole with a stick. This was one of those few days that we decided to purposely skip the nap since the party was at 3 pm. I could tell she was tired but we headed out and she did pretty well. Before leaving the party, she insisted on a close-up inspection of one of Christy's presents - a stuffed alligator (not a UF Gator, but a gag gift based on her recent beach trip.) Amelia fell asleep on the way home, though - totally wiped out by 4:30 pm. Poor thing. So we drove to Wal-mart so she could get a little nap in after all.

Since we were out and about, we stopped at a buffet place for dinner where she truly enjoyed one of her new favorites - ham. (Yuck! She is so not my child sometimes.) She also had green beans, which she eats like they're candy, and some shrimp. I then promised her some ice cream and got up to get it, only to discover that they were (a) out of cones and (b) out of vanilla. I brought her back some pie, but Little Miss Great Memory says, "No, Mommy. Ice cream!" So I get up and bring her a small dish of chocolate ice cream and worried that this would not please her - but boy was I wrong! (Again, so not my child. We're going to need a bigger freezer if she develops a preference for chocolate ice cream.) Despite all the cake at the party and then dinner, she had no problem feeding herself the chocolate ice cream, with intermittent sips of water. Nothing pleases her more right now than drinking the glass of water I usually order for myself. She will alternate from using the straw to drinking from the edge, saying she's taking the "last sip" which is what we do when she drinks her milk at home and gets down to the last little bit that the straw can't get. She knows what she wants and she's not afraid to ask. That's my girl!