Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been quite the year for our little family. We began our 2009 journey in Alabama with Adam working on a Master’s degree at Auburn and me on maternity leave. Then, Adam decided to make a change in his career goals. While he was in-between his career switch, he was a stay at home dad when I went back to work. As with many of you, the economy hit us. I found out in May that my teaching contract would not be renewed. We took this as an opportunity to move closer to family. After two years on the other side of the country, our presence (or maybe just Amora’s) was missed.

So we packed our bags and made the move back to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho where my gracious in-laws took us in (once again, I think Amora may have been the deciding factor). And this is where we are now. Adam is working at a US Bank call center for the year where he has been one of the top employees since he started in August. He has been accepted to Boise State University where he will begin a program in Electrical Engineering next fall.

I have been fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home mom for the past few months. Although it’s the best job I’ve ever had, it’s also the most tiring. My little ball of energy keeps me busy all day every day. I’m hoping to get a teaching job in the Boise area next year and plan to retire from that when Adam graduates.

Our little Amora Joy has been growing and developing at a rapid pace. I can hardly believe that it’s already been a year since she joined our family. It seems like she is learning something new every day. She loves to climb, be chased around by her daddy, and cuddle with stuffed animals. She’s a picky eater but normally loves homemade macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, and Grandma’s hummus. She throws tantrums when she doesn’t get her way and gives kisses when she does. We couldn’t have asked for a better daughter.

Through all our ups and downs this year, we feel like God has blessed us in more ways than we deserve. We pray that all of you are able to make it through these hard times and see the good in life. Merry Christmas!

Love,

Adam, Wendy, and Amora Joy Loumeau

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. Because we are living with the in-laws, for once we didn't have to travel. It was so nice to have all the family together, and my mother-in-law did a great job with the meal.


Amora enjoyed trying new flavors. I think the pumpkin pie was her favorite. :)


I got to spend a little extra time with my husband. He's the best!


Adam and his siblings squeezed a few family games into the week.


And the day after Thanksgiving, we all bundled up to see the Christmas parade and the lights. Amora didn't love the cold, but she loved snuggling with her Aunt Hannah.


Can't wait for Christmas!

My Little Climber

November's theme for Amora was climbing. She loves to climb everything possible. It's pretty cute but also a little frightening. Here she is on top of a little cooler.



This picture is pretty funny. Notice anything unusual? She realized that it wasn't put on completely, so she pushed the baby gate forward and climbed over it to get on the stairs.


This was quite a brilliant move, if I do say so myself. She climbed first on her car seat then on the box to get to the goodies on the desk.


She can climb up her grandpa's mountain of a chair. It took her a while to figure out, but now she's a pro.



And the reward: playing with the remote. Life is good when you're a baby.

Here she after she opened the cooler. Then she decided, why not climb in? Great idea, Amora.


And last, the refrigerator can always bring great fun. Be careful when you open it, never know who will slide in before it's closed! Love love love that little girl!

My Little Ladybug

Amora was a ladybug for Halloween. We went to a trunk-or-treat at the church which she didn't really care for. Then she trick-or-treated at the neighbor's house. She looked super cute in her costume and loved playing with the candy wrappers (I ate them, she got the wrappers). Here are a few pictures from her little photo shoot.


SUPER excited to play with the pumpkin!




And this is definitely my little rascal. She's the best treat we had for Halloween!

To Grandma and Grandpa's We Go

A few months ago, I got a great deal on a flight to visit my dad and step-mom. Amora and I headed out a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time at Grammy and Papa's house. There were so many fun things to play with.

Amora especially loved the cat. She even got to pull his tail a couple of times.


She thought the bouncy seat was awesome because she could get really noisy.


She loved all of the different toys.


She thought Uncle John was pretty interesting.


And she got to play with Cousin Billy.


Here's Billy trying to steal Amora's toy. When she's surprised, she does a really fast blink. That's why her eyes are closed in this photo. Such a funny girl.


Here they are with their toys. They'll be buddies as they get older.


Amora still loves her bath time. She and Grammy hit it off.


It sure was a great trip. Can't wait to see you all for Christmas!

She Walks!

This is my little girl about a month ago. She learned how to stand and balance without holding onto anything at about 9 months. This last week, at 10 months, she took her first steps! It’s super cute because she takes tiny cautious steps. She realizes that she’s still learning and is very careful. And of course it makes me so happy to know that her first steps were walking to Mommy. She’s a Momma’s girl, what can I say?

Family Photos

Last month we had the whole family home, so we took some family pictures. The photographer loved Amora, so we had a few fun ones of her. Naked babies are so fun!


She's basically beautiful all the time, but I love this picture. She just looks so sweet.




Here are the siblings. I know, my husband is pretty good looking. I'm a lucky girl. :)


Here are the girls.

Silly faces.


The boys.


My perfect little girl.


The whole family.


And our little family. They turned out super cute. Thanks Terry!

Because I can...

Because I can, I'm going to post a few more super cute pictures of my little girl. Basically all I do all day is follow her around with a camera. Being a stay at home mom is pretty great.

Most of the day I see one of two things: Amora crawling toward me...


Or Amora crawling away.


Every night after bath time she loves to play with her daddy. They laugh and wrestle until Mommy breaks up the fun.


I love this picture. She looks like such a big girl.


Here she is squirming away. When she's really happy about a toy, she will lie flat on her back and play with it. I was trying to catch that moment but instead got what normally happens when I try to change her diaper.


I love this picture. This is Amora's "I'm super duper happy" smile. Gotta love the cheese.

Getting into Mischief

Amora is super mobile and loves to find mischief. This is her with the cutest scrunched up face. I know, she's a rascal.


She loves to climb up the stairs.


She loves to crawl under things, especially the kitchen stools.


But she has ulterior motives. She just likes to eat the chair.


She loves making messes. Here she is very excited to get into a box of clothes from Grammy Cyndee.


I clean her shelf of toys up every night when she goes to bed. It doesn't take long for Amora to make a mess again.


But no matter what trouble we find, at least we have a good time. I love my little girl! But seriously, who couldn't?