Parade Time!

Well it was no Macy's Day, but the Wynne Christmas parade was a lot of fun! There is nothing like watching 2 and 3 year olds at a parade. Some of Julia's favorites were the marching band and anybody who threw out candy! They had 10 floats this year, which was up from last year's 8. There were lots of loud cars and motorcycles too!

Some of the crew that met up with us on Falls.

Julia looking very sassy in her white fur!

Julia and Yazuki

This reindeer and Santa float were the grand finale!

First Trip to the Dentist!

It is hard to predict how Julia will react when we try something new. Sometimes it takes her a while to warm up to a new place or situation. We are lucky to have Dr. Neall as our dentist because I knew she would already know him and feel comfortable with him. Unfortunately, he was gone the day that we scheduled her appointment and all I could do was hope for the best.

Julia surprised John and I on this one because she was such a big girl (as long as she could sit on my lap) and did perfect! She got a full teeth cleaning, with flossing and flouride treatment. I was so proud of her and went back to work smiling!

Here's Julia picking out her prize after her visit. She also got a pizza certificate for being such a good patient! Are we the only set of parents who BOTH have to be present for thier child's first dental appointment? AND bring the camera to document the whole experience? Poor Julia!

Festivities!

We celebrated sweet Parker's third birthday. He had a Thomas the Train party that was so much fun!

Everybody loves the pinata!

We went to the Vaught's house in Hickory Ridge and had cookies with Santa. Julia would not sit in Santa's lap but when he asked her what she wanted him to bring her for Christmas, she said a train! Santa told her if she was a good little girl that he would definitely bring her a train. Thanks Santa!

Kelly had her place looking VERY festive! I snagged this picture of these two making some big plans and was able to capture a little of the decor. I told Julia she could have as many cookies as she wanted. She ate about 3 or 4 and loved the chocolate dipped marshmallows on a stick the best. Julia likes her sweets!

We took the kids to see the Ringling Brothers circus at Fed Ex forum. I have great memories of the circus from when I was a kid. I am not sure how Julia felt about it but she definitely loved the popcorn. Solomon sat on my lap for some of the second half and didn't move a muscle. He loved it. We had a big buncan party in Memphis with the Jackson's and the neighbor came up and told us to hold it down because Julia and Sol were "jumping through the rings of fire like the circus tigers!" That is my kind of party!

Julia had her three year wellness visit at the Dr. Beth's. She is 42 inches tall and weighs 42 pounds. She is off the growth charts on her height and weight! She still likes to be carried around which is not so easy sometimes! I worried about John carrying her like this because he doesn't weigh a whole lot more than her. They had to stop and check out the new guitars at Gibson. Julia sits on his shoulders like she is the queen. We walked past the police men who were directing traffic and she yelled, "Hey! I'm on my daddy's shoulders!"

The library had a really cute Christmas open house this year with the Kinder's. They write and perform children's music and Julia has one of their Cd's. We took Sam with us and they both loved the program. Julia loves Sam and says, "Sam is my best friend!"

Julia and Sam

Baking cookies! Julia still prefers John over me. They are so sweet to watch.

Our birthday girl!

Our sweet Julia turned three November 29th. I hardly remember what it was like when we didn't have her. We decided to celebrate her birthday with friends and family at a breakfast with Santa party at our house. We had a great time and are so thankful to have friends and family to celebrate with!

Here comes Santa Claus!

Little Whit had a VERY long list for Santa!

Opening presents!

The cupcakes were a huge temptation!

Keri House made the ornament cupcakes and they turned out great!

Here is the reason that I went to Wal Mart at midnight on Black Friday! Julia loves her trampoline and it is even more fun when it can be shared with friends!

The birthday girl!

Stella and Julia taking a quick break.

And then Bitty Baby arrived in the mail....

Julia has spent a lot of time changing Bitty Baby's diaper.

After everyone left, Julia sat down for an hour and colored and used her new Do A Dot art kit.

The trampoline stayed open for business well after dark!

Then, we celebrated Julia's birthday again at Wee School. Here is our rendition of the ornament cupcakes. Not near as cute as Keri's, but we had fun being creative!

Playing in her wee school classroom.

Everyone is ready for a cupcake!

My sweet girl on her actual birthday. Jee Jee and Paw Paw took us all out to lunch and let Julia pick where she wanted to eat. She chose Colby's....I think because they have ice cream! We had a quiet night at home and thought alot about these last three years and how they have been the best three years of our lives.

A Thankful Heart

My heart overflows this Thanksgiving season! John and I got to go to Julia's Thanksgiving feast at wee school. I love having a job that is right here in Wynne and flexible enough to allow me to be a part of Julia's school activities. It is so interesting to see Julia at school and watch her interact with her classmates and teachers. They say that she is a very good girl which makes me feel so proud!

Not a great picture, but here are some of Julia's classmates. Parker, Yazuki and Mrs. Joni is in the blue shirt. Yes, they had CHEETOS for their Thanksgiving feast!

Happy Julia at art class. She made a hand print turkey!

Miss Laura helping Hadley with her hand prints.

Julia had a pretty bad accident around Thanksgiving while playing "Timber." This is the game where you fall straight forward or straight back and land on a pillow. This night, she misjudged the distance and fell forward on to the window sill. She had a golf ball size knot appear on her forehead within the first minute. I called the dr. (and my mother) since John was gone working and we decided to let it be. Five weeks later, the knot is still there but is much smaller. Dr. Beth assures us that it will go away in time. It was a traumatic and scary time!

I love this picture of Tara and Julia!

Julia likes to get in her closet where the bookcase is and read books. She could stay in there for hours. She talked Emmy into finding some books too while she was here visiting.

Thanksgiving afternoon, we went to my parents house for lunch. We came home and cooked a turkey because I couldn't stand for Julia not to have turkey on Thanksgiving. We ate a late traditional turkey dinner and then put up the tree. I had lots of help!

Then, I did something that I have laughed at people for! Headed to Wal Mart at MIDNIGHT to catch the Black Friday sale. HAD to get Julia's birthday present and was successful! I hope to make Black Friday an annual event. Next year, I hope to bring a lawn chair and watch all the madness. Great entertainment! Oh, the things we do for love.