And I Think to Myself.....What a Wonderful World

Paintings

2011-03-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Julia is a little artist and is very content with a paintbrush in her hand. We bought her an easal at IKEA and she has created some masterpieces. Here is one of first finger painting experiences.

Have I mentioned that she loves to paint rocks? I was walking past her play area one day and glanced down and saw this little sculpture. I liked that she decorated her rocks with a strand of beads and added the gumball for good measure.

This is one of her recent paintings. She described each color in detail....the yellow was a man dancing, the black was a shadow, etc.

Julia's first pedicure and she picked the brightest red that she could find!

I had to touch them up for several days afterwards if they got chipped!

Cheers to 2011!

2011-01-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

John's birthday was New Year's Day, but we had to celebrate a day late because New Year's Eve weekend is such a busy time for rock stars. Julia had a big plan for when John walked in the house. We were both to hide under the table and jump out and scream, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Julia waited under the table very patiently (for about 20 minutes) while he unloaded his equipment, talked to a guy that was outside hunting and FINALLY, made his entrance! Julia and I baked him a strawberry cake and she could hardly wait to share it with him.

I think the days of us being able to blow out our own birthday candles are over around here!

Julia likes to steal our thunder.

Emmy got Julia a rock painting kit for Christmas and she has spent many hours sitting at the table painting rocks. Good thing there is no shortage of rocks around here!

Julia has some "friends" that she likes to drag around with her everywhere she goes. She has very in-depth conversations with them and likes to tell them what to do. Here's Slinky Dog and Rudolph hanging out at the table with her.

Here's old Slinky Dog again....hanging out at bath time. He has a band-aid on his head due to an injury that happened earlier this week. I think it involved him falling out of the bed.

Dr. Julia's in the house. She says, "Mommy, I need to check you up." I think she means give you a check-up. And how about that black tutu to finish off the doctor's outfit??!

Counting Daddy's teeth

The snow started Sunday night and Julia had to go outside and check it out.

The first thing that she did was try a bite.

Monday was a snow day for me because you know these country hills can be treacherous! We stayed outside for a LONG time and had a blast. I was thinking that before Julia, we would sit inside and think about how pretty the snow was. And know, we actually EXPERIENCE the snow which is much more fun. Here she is making her first snow angel.

She ate a lot of snow. I have no idea why???

Snow ice cream!

And here is a shot of our living room floor after a snow day!

Julia wrote these numbers all by herself!

And the best news of the weekend.........

My cousin Scottie had a beautiful baby boy! Nicholas Watson Bonadio was born on January 10. Is it possible for me to love him already? The above picture was of Scottie and I having lunch in NYC last May. She knew then that she was having a baby, but hadn't let the news out yet! They now live in Connecticut and I hope to making a trip very soon. I can't wait to hold him! Welcome to the world baby Nick!

And welcome to the best chapter of your lives, Scottie and Jason!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T15:23:00.000-08:00

Julia and I spent a lot of time in the car driving around town looking at the Christmas lights this Christmas season. She had her favorites and insisted that we visit those over and over again.

Here we are getting ready to head out on a Christmas light adventure. She carried this little bag around with her for a couple of weeks. It was a gift from Jee Jee and Paw Paw that she got for her birthday. It had a little brass clock in it. I have no idea why she insisted on taking it everywhere....even to bed with her???!!. She is a funny little goose.

Hanging out with friends....

Christmas eve, Jessica, Jonny and Chloe came over and the girls made sugar cookies for Santa.

The finished product

Leaving reindeer food even though she was not entirely sure about Santa coming inside our house. I didn't talk too much about it because Julia can get really spooked about certain things!

The highlight of our Christmas Eve and Christmas was Julia's discovery of the Nutcracker. John and I dvr'd it not really thinking that she would be all that interested in it. She sat mesmerized and then got in front of the tv and started doing her own ballet moves. We have probably watched it 10 times and have hours of video footage of her dancing. We laughed until our bellies hurt!

Julia would make us fast forward the Nutcracker through the beginning which is the fun kids and gift part. She wanted to go straight to the hard core ballet. Can't wait to get Nutcracker tickets next year! Just goes to show you that you can't predict what she is going to like. I have never pushed ballet or dance but she definitely decided that she was a little ballerina....all on her own.

Fingers and blankie....how will we ever break this habit?????

Julia's first drink of hot chocolate. I gave her about a third of a cup full with some ice in it and she didn't come up for air. When I saw her face again, the cup was empty!

Santa's note

Santa did a great job picking out some toys for Julia. She has loved every single thing that he left. Except the book with 100 classic stories....too scary she says. I never thought about it, but The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, and all of those stories are a little scary!

Julia slept in until 9 and went straight to the cookies to see if Santa had eaten some! Then she saw the toys and was so excited and cute.

My parents and Sarah came over for a late breakfast and more Christmas celebration. It was by far the best Christmas yet! Cozy, quiet and pretty lazy. I guess we didn't know what we were missing before we had Julia, but that little girl makes everything so much fun for all of us!

2011-01-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

I am just wondering if this is normal....for a girl to need this many things in her nest? Her current favorites are Jelly (the tan Hello Kitty doll in the back), Slinky Dog, Bitty Baby, fabric teddy bear (the one she is laying on and she named it that because someone made if for her), brown teddy bear (with the blue nose) and always lots and lots of BOOKS!

The start of a gingerbread train project

The finished product!

Fun with icing!

Julia's Pre-Picasso art class at EACC has come to an end. We loved every minute of it and I think it was a one time opportunity. Miss Laura said that she was retiring to move to Nashville and find a "big girl job." She was so good to our kids and Julia loves getting creative. She asked me for several days after our last class if art class was today.

A group shot of the art class group minus Devin who wasn't into getting his picture made. You might notice a bunch of pink mouths in this picture because their last art project was decorating sugar cookies and they used LOTS of pink icing!

One of many art class project. This was a paper mache' pig that started with a balloon!

Julia and I went to the Arts Council Festival of Trees this year where lots of organizations and businesses around town decorate a tree. Julia made friends with this guy who sat under CherryFest's tree. We spent lots of time sitting next to this guy. I had to drag her away every time. I can never predict who or what Julia is going to like. I am not sure what this stuffed animal had going for it????

Here we are in front of CrossRidge's tree. These hugs (and me picking her up) are getting fewer and fewer!

John took this picture when I was at work one day. They were heading out to hike in the woods. John had her dressed in a snowsuit and Ugg boots. He said that before they finished the trail that she complained of being hot and he had to take her boots off of her and CARRY her the rest of the way!!! It was probably 50 degrees! He's a little over prepared sometimes!

Stolen goods....

2011-01-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

I had to post some cute pictures that I have stolen from friend's blogs...

This is my very favorite picture of Julia blowing out her candles at her birthday party. I love seeing her so happy surrounded by friends! Thank you Tara, for capturing this moment!

We celebrated Yazuki's 2nd birthday at Pump it Up. Apparently, there was an electrical fire in the bathroom and they whole place had to be shut down for an hour before we could go in. Just made it more fun and gave us some time to hang out in the car! Here's Maggie and Julia anxiously waiting to go in!

Julia being a ham at the party.

Love this picture of Sam! Looking good in the shades!

Here's the birthday girl! They had so much fun playing and running inside Pump it up! Julia played it safe and hung out in the bouncie and playhouse. She wasn't much into the big slides.

Parade Time!

2010-12-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-12-18T21:28:00.001-08:00

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!

2010-12-17T19:50:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-12-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

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.

Pre Halloween and Halloween

2010-11-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

Julia and I started off our Halloween festivities by making homemade sugar cookies. I don't think we would have won any awards for our finished products, but the process was a lot fun!

We celebrated our friend Maggie Neller's second birthday at Village Creek State Park. The weather was perfect and the kids loved playing at the playground. Here are the two little bees that showed up at the party. The little bee to the left is Yazuki and she is in Julia's wee school class!
Happy Birthday sweet girl! Of course, Julia is always going to sit close to the cake!

Then, we did a little trick or treating. I think I said, "Last one!" on the candy about ten times in one day.

Then we headed out to Matt and Julie's house for some fall fun. Julia cooked delicious soup and we hung out in the backyard by the fire. They have an awesome backyard with a treehouse, trampoline and picnic table. Julia LOVED playing there and hasn't stopped talking about it! We ended our night at Milena's house where Julia was so tired that she sat in my lap with her blanket by the fire. The bigger kids went on a country, SCARY hayride and when it was over, a couple of the kids came running and hysterically crying to their moms! I think the Daddy's dressed up in costumes in jumped out of the woods at random places. I'm kind of glad Julia was too tired to go because I am a big ole chicken myself and am sure that neither of us would have slept very good in our country house afterwards!

One TIRED little bee after all of the pre-Halloween festivities! I think she would have slept on the kitchen floor if I would have let her.

Halloween night, John, Julia and I headed to the Memphis zoo for Zoo Boo. We all loved it and hope to make it an annual event.

Julia and I riding the train at the zoo.

Julia's favorite station was the singing pumpkins. She sat here and stared at them for as long as we would let her. They lit up and sang songs. She was very impressed.

Riding rides!

It surprises me that Julia is not really scared of dressed up animals. She went right up to this guy and gave him a high five and a big hug!

We left with 10 pounds of candy and lots of good memories! Happy Halloween!

It's Jack O Lantern Time!

2010-10-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here is Julia in her scary mask that she made in her Pre-Picasso art class. She loves going to her classs and Miss Laura is so good at coming up with creative things for them to do!

Julia and I (pardon the pajama pants!) carving our pumpkin.

eeeeeeewwwwwwwww! Pumpkin hands!

The finished product....our winking pumpkin! Julia was very proud of him and we ate dinner by jack o lantern candlelight several nights!

Another family tradition is to roast the pumpkin seeds. We found the best recipe yet this year and they were delicious. A little butter, garlic salt and worshestire.....

Halloween art projects hanging from her chandelier. I know.....so tacky!

The farmer's market still had a few tomatoes last week. Julia eats tomatoes like an apple. I am so proud of her and don't want her to know that most people would never do that!

Running and playing while having her tomato snack

Litle Sol got to the spend the night with us last week. We loved having him and he and Julia were so sweet and had fun playing. I am posting this bathtub shot because it might be the last one. John gave me a hard time and said that they were really getting to be too old for this.

I disagreed.

I took Julia and Sol to the library for fall family night where they could dress up and paint pumpkins. Here's sweet Maggie and Julia being little artists.

Here is my Spiderman artist!

There were two Spidermen at the library and I could not tear Sol away from his long lost twin!

Here's Julia with the frog, Miss Callie, who works at the library. She had to show Julia her face under the mask before Julia would let her pick her up. She still wasn't so sure about it!

We have this concrete Indian outside and Julia spent a lot of time last week "decorating her ice sculpture." I have no idea why she called it that???

Enjoying her first ever taco

Hanging out at the Eldridge Court park. She wanted to play hide and seek with me while we were there.

She is such a little sweetheart and is growing up WAY too fast!

Lovin eating the sugar cookie batter off of the mixer!

An All Pink Weekend!

2010-10-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

Julia and I had a great girls weekend that started out in Little Rock where we met up with my co-worker and friend, Amanda and her 7 year old daughter Emily. We met up at the Museum of Discovery and Julia loved it.

Julia and Emily at the entrance of the bug exhibit. As always, Julia keeps a safe distance from anything that even resembles something that could move. Her question to me the entire exhibit was, "It's not real, is it mommy?"

Again, a VERY safe distance!

This was her favorite thing at the museum. These tooth tools made real sounds and she spent a lot of time polishing and drilling these teeth.

Another favorite was the wall of magnets. I think she could have stayed here all day.

Then, we went to the nature center in downtown Little Rock. Julia liked the fish and the gift shop best.

Then, we headed down to the Peabody hotel for the traditional 5pm duck walk. The girl in the pink t-shirt is a 14 year old breast cancer survivor!

Then, we checked into the fabulous Capitol hotel! I can't stop raving about it and I won't stay anywhere else in Little Rock (unless I have to!) ever again. This is a picture of our evening turndown service of bottled water and the best pecan toffee that I have ever had!

Our view from the hotel window

Heading out for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. I heard that there were over 40,00o women there this year making it the 3rd largest Komen race in the nation!

At the race. Julia was a little cranky at the end of our walk. She kept saying she wanted to go back to our hotel room. I really couldn't blame her.....

Emily and Julia dressed in pink ready for the race!

Firefighters in pink dancing to some very loud Snoop Dog!

And I am saving the best for last! Our pink weekend ended with Julia and I driving to Arkadelphia to meet our very beautiful and perfect new cousin, Mary Erwin! She is my cousin Leslie and her husband Richard's sweet baby girl and my Aunt Jane's first grandchild!

We wanted to take her home.

A better view of Mary Erwin's face. I love her already!

Parker Pioneer Village

2010-10-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

Parker Pioneer Village is becoming a Fall tradition for our family.....all because they have the BEST kettle corn that I have ever eaten. I wish I could freeze it! And because, it's a lot of fun to step back in time and see how people lived in the "olden" days.

Julia's head is turned the other way because she wanted no part of this donkey licking the feed out of her hand. I am afraid that she takes after her mommy and is a little squeamish.

Learning about bees making honey

Singing along to This Little Light of Mine in the chapel

This couple led the music in the chapel. Don't know why, but it brought a tear to my eye to hear them sing. Their voices sounded so beautiful together!

Ringing the bell to let everyone know we had arrived!

Community Helpers

2010-10-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Julia learned about community helpers this week at wee school. The firemen came Tuesday and the policemen came Thursday. She was very impressed by it all, especially the sirens and lights.

This week was CrossRidge's annual breast cancer awareness luncheon. It is a ton of work, but it turned out great this year!

We had a fashion show where local businesses could show off their latest fashions for women. Becca and baby Rose stole the show!

A carnival showed up in town this week and John could not WAIT to take Julia. She cackled and screamed while running from ride to ride. Before Julia, I was pretty sure that I would not be one of those moms who took their daughter to the nasty carnivals. Turns out, it was a lovely family outing for us all ;)

This nice carnival man (who reeked of stale beer) helped her get into this ride. Julia very politely thanked him. When we came home she asked me if the man who helped her at the carnival was a community helper??!!

Fun With Friends

2010-10-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Julia and I spent the weekend in Northwest Arkansas with Mattie and Daniel. I love seeing Julia start to really play and interact with others.

Here we are at the pumpkin patch. Julia was terrified of this scarecrow behind them because the wind blew his arm just as we were walking up to it and it moved! She kept a safe distance and gave us a good laugh!

Chatting it up with the goats

Sliding down the pile of mulch

Julia and her good friend Mattie hanging out on the hayride.

Jumping in the hay!

This cow train was really cute and I bought Julia a ticket to ride thinking that she would love it! I had to trade our ticket in towards our pumpkin instead because she chickened out at the very last minute! She was seated happily and just as the driver was about to take off, Julia looked at me with a terrified look and screamed, "Mommy, get me out of here!"

Julia and Daniel are literally days apart and Julia is a good 4 or 5 inches taller!

With her pumpkin....

These artists were hard at work with scissors, paper, colors, markers, and colored pencils. They were busy cutting out thier versions paper dolls. Julia is happiest with colors and paper. She loves to create things. The only thing she colors is rainbows, unless it is a picture in a coloring book. I think she just likes to see what all the colors in the box look like on paper.

Here we are at the PTA fall festival at the Wynne Intermediate school getting her nails painted for the very first time! She chose blue.

Jumpies are the best inventions ever!

Painting a pumpkin

Kelly got us all organized and we all got to enjoy a kids play (Giggle, Giggle Quack!) at the brand new and very impressive EACC Fine Arts Center in Forrest City. Here is Julia, Maggie, Caroline, Solomon, Kohen, Sam and Parker. Isn't it funny how the girls are all on one side and the boys on the other? We didn't tell them to do it!

Pretty Julia in front of the Fine Arts Center

Standing in line for the show. I posted this picture because even at almost three, Julia still loves her blankie. Glad John looks good in yellow because it is more often than not draped on his shoulder wherever we go!

Getting ready for the show!

Here is Julia at Jee Jee and Paw Paws taking a book break. She cares way more about reading a book than she does about riding in this fancy car!

Maggie Grace came to town from Atlanta a couple of weeks ago and we all got together to visit. I love this picture of Julia's room full of friends! I have always dreamed of having a house full of kids. I love the sound of them and all of the happy memories that they bring! Kids are the BEST and I am so grateful to have one of my very own!

A Day in the Life...

2010-09-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Julia is such a little sweetheart at age 2 and 3/4! Here are some things that she likes:

- Very open-minded about food and trying new things. If she doesn't like some part of it, she will just spit it out. Last night, we were eating sushi at Edo's and she tried miso soup. She loved the soup, but didn't like the VERY tiny slice of green onion that was in the soup. So, out it came! She loves sweets, cheerios and raisins, frozen blueberries, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, edamame, raw vegetables in dip, popcorn, oh.....did I mention sweets?

- Her teacher at wee school tells me that she is quiet/shy with other children in her class, very smart, very polite, and loves to learn. It takes her a little while to warm up to most other people (except JeeJee and PawPaw and then its an all out celebration!), especially if they are in our house. I have no idea why? She will hide somewhere or hide behind me if someone that she doesn't know very well is here. We are working on it. She is loving her wee school and asks me every night if tomorrow is wee school. She soaks up a lot from her teacher because she comes home saying things/quoting books/singing songs that she learned there.

- Does not like to change clothes.

- Loves books, art, music and her Dad best.

- Her favorite TV show is Yo Gabba Gabba, still. She likes to watch a movie before we go to bed. Lately, it has been the DisneyWorld trip home video. Before that, I usually pick up a dvd at the library every week when we go. She likes the Scholastic ones best, which are really short stories of popular books.

- Makes up jokes that are so funny. After scanning the room for inspiration, she'll say, "What do you call a picture that has a lamp on its window?" or "What do you call a stair that needs a table to sit on the candle?" Then, she comes up with some random answer after we have wrongly guessed about 15 answers. The answer is usually something like, "because it needs an etch a sketch," followed by a very loud laugh and slap on the leg.

- Likes repetition. She gets something in her mind and feels that it should stay that way......forever.

- Arthur is an imaginary friend that hangs out sometimes when its convenient. Like at bedtime when she has to get on to him and tell him to scoot over.

- Julia reminds me of an 80 year old woman most of the time. The other day when I was going to a sale, she told me that she wanted to sit in the car and listen to the birds.

Starting the day out with heart, J, and circle shaped pancakes.

Baking chocolate chip cookies with Daddy. As is sitting in front of the oven will speed up the cooking process!

At a very cute sprinkler park at Craighead Forest Park in Jonesboro.

Our annual outing to the Cooper Young festival with Emmy.

I just couldn't decide which picture that I liked best of these precious little girls so I narrowed it down to my five favorites.

John and I are celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary today. We tried to explain it to Julia last night over our very romantic sushi dinner in Memphis (with Julia). I said, "Julia, your Mom and Dad have been married for twelve years tomorrow!" She said, "Did you come back?" Yes, no doubt that she gets it!

Fall is in the Air

2010-09-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at Solomon's 3rd birthday party! It was a superhero party.

So, when I asked Julia what superhero she wanted to be, she said, "a spot." What? I think that meant that she didn't know any superheros so we made up our own superhero and went as SuperJulia!

Spiderman and SuperJulia enjoying a pre-party sucker.

The best host and hostess!

Sweet Baby Rose

Julia, Caroline and Emmy in the rock climbing wall, I mean palace (that is what they named it!)

Emmy wore a WonderWoman costume that was her Momma's.

Julia is the last one standing at the cake table. You know she has to finish that cupcake before she can play!

The pinata was a hit! When we got in the car to go home, I asked Julia what her favorite part of Sol's birthday party was and she said, "putting candy in that bag!"

Love this one!

We have been spending a lot of time outside on a blanket now that the weather is getting cooler.

Julia is scared of bugs or anything that moves unexpectedly outside. We are working on that one.

Funny how much entertainment a dollar jump rope can bring!

Julia loves to paint, color and make things. She painted this picture and told me that it was a rainbow with Mommy, Daddy, Shyann, Sue (the dogs) and Julia. Not sure what the sixth color blob is. I signed her up for the Pre-Picasso art class at EACC on Tuesday afternoons. Last week was the first class and I think she liked it. They made grandparent's day cards and Julia spent thirty minutes on one card. She took each of the 24 crayons out of their box and colored about four strokes of color inside the card. It was a very orderly and structured process. Next week, is a plaster of Paris family tree. Fun!

Last Sunday, we took Julia to Build a Bear in Jonesboro. She picked out a Hello Kitty doll to make. Here she is putting her heart in.

Giving her a bath.....

She named her Jelly.

Jelly has become a permanent fixture in her bed. Julia loves to hug her!

Pardon this picture of us on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but I think we favor a little in this picture. People ask me all the time who she looks like and I say neither of us. But maybe, just maybe, we could pass for kinfolks in this picture!

A New Chapter....

2010-08-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Our little girl started wee school this week! She will be going on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8-12 pm. We went to the get-to-know-you wee school picnic this week and had lots of fun hanging out with old friends and making some new ones!

Julia in the jumpy at her HAPPIEST!

She requested a ladybug face paint. I suspect it is because she is so excited about her ladybug backpack.

Having a picnic and enjoying some popcorn.

This girl is serious about some ice cream. She asked me if she could drink it when there was nothing but liquid left. I convinced her not to.

Here she is going into her classroom for the first time. She was jumping up and down saying, "I'm so excited about wee school!" Her teacher is Mrs. Jeannette until her regular teacher, Mrs. Joanie, comes back from maternity leave in a few weeks.

Making friends.

Here we are Thursday morning on her first day of school. She got up with no problem and was ready to go! This is a little different from most mornings....she usually does not like getting dressed and wants to stay at home!

Leaving home and hugging her backpack. I am not sure why she loves it soooo much?

Julia was playing with the puzzles when I left. She didn't cry, but cuddled up to me and said, "Mommy, I thought you were going to stay in my classroom?!"

The wee school walls are painted with animal murals. It gives the whole place a very happy feel. John and I picked her up at noon and she was bouncing off the walls. Mrs. Jeannette said that Julia was a very good girl and that she was very smart. She reported that she led the class in singing their abc's several times. We knew is was a good day when that night while I was putting Julia to bed she asked me if Mrs. Jeannette was coming over to sleep in her bed. I told her that if her own mommy couldn't sleep with her in her bed, then Mrs. Jeannette could not either!

Baby Rose hanging on to her mom's legs outside of wee school. I am sure that she got a good laugh at all of us because we were all a bunch of bags full of nerves.

I got a to sneak off last weekend for a girls weekend in Knoxville. We got to stay at a friend's downtown loft and his sense of style is WAY better than mine. Ate some good food, saw Eat, Pray, Love, got in some shopping, and as always, some great conversation.

Celebrate!

2010-08-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

Julia, John and I took a road trip last weekend to drop John off at the place he was playing in Hot Springs while Julia and I headed over to Arkadelphia to stay with my friend Shawnie. It was biker's weekend in Hot Springs and I have never seen more Harleys in one place! I realized when we dropped John off how lucky both of us are to have jobs that we love. I am thinking that he definitely gets the sweeter deal with his arrangement...stay home with Julia during the week, get dropped off at your "workplace" on Friday evening, free fillet mi non dinner with drinks waiting upon your arrival, play guitar to some screaming fans (ok, not always.....but sometimes!), then have a driver pick you after the gig and take you to your comped hotel room.

Julia and John enjoying some popcorn pre-gig at Odie's House of Blues in Hot Springs.

Loved hanging out with Shawnie and Lance in Arkadelphia....I miss that Scrawn! This night also marked the VERY FIRST night that Julia and I slept in the same bed! We have never even napped in the same bed.....no, not even when she was tiny. We both slept great and it was so much fun to wake up beside her. Julia and I also got to have lunch with my cousin (and mommy-to-be!!!) Leslie before heading home. Leslie is a sweetheart and Chickfila was the perfect lunch spot for us. Julia had a blast playing in the play area and got to get rid of some energy before our drive home. Leslie is going to be a great mommy and I look forward to our girls playing together soon.

Here is baby Rose after putting on a great show with her birthday cake! She has the prettiest blue eyes and I just want to kiss her all the time.

Martha Stewart, aka Becca, won the prize with the cutest ever party favors. This is a hand made chalkboard mat to that you can roll up and take to restaurants to keep little hands busy. Julia is very into writing letters (she can draw a T!), shapes, and drawing pictures and has put her chalkboard mat to good use.

Birthday boy Linton in the throne at PUMP IT UP!

We had a great time at Pump It Up Saturday morning. I am just mad that I didn't think of the idea of giant inflatable toys in a huge padded room.

It took her about an hour to get brave enough to try out the jumpies, but when she did, it was ON!

The first hour of the party, she spent hanging out at the air hockey table, the water fountain, and running and screaming across the floor.

Then she got really brave and decided to try out the slide.

Here she goes....

The whole way down, she was screaming, I'm SCARED, I'm SCARED! Then at the bottom she fell out laughing and ran back up to the ladder to do it again.

I think cake is the highlight of every party for Julia. Whenever I ask her what she would like to get Linton or who ever is having a birthday party for their birthday present, she always says, "cake!"

Speaking of cake, I celebrated my birthday this week too. Thanks to everyone for making my day special. It's funny how the simplest times are the best. John and I had big plans to watch a movie after Julia went to bed, but he was snoring when I got back upstairs. I loved going to bed before 10! Julia told John that I was three years old and so they put three candles on my cake.

We also celebrated Neall's birthday Saturday night. I love this picture of the triathlon stars in their custom printed tops.

Julia playing the blues for baby Rose.

My little glamour girl

2010-07-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Julia and I at baby Rose's first birthday party! (More pictures soon....) She loves the water and is pretty brave. After the party was over, I asked her what her favorite part of the birthday party was and her first answer was the birthday cake and then second was the swimming pool. We all had a great time celebrating this sweet baby girl's first year!

I wanted to post this picture of Julia and John because of the tshirt that John is wearing. My Mom helped Julia make this finger painted shirt, with glitter paint, for John for Father's Day. My Mom forgets that John has very few wardrobe rules and will wear this shirt anywhere proudly! So, if you see John in a bar somewhere playing his guitar, don't be surprised if you see him in his autographed glitter paint t-shirt.

John and I got a much needed vacation/work trip to Portland, Maine last week. We had a great time and loved wandering through the art museum, long sushi lunches, even longer fine dining at dinner, and walks around the town. Had a good time hanging out with my boss and his wife too. They are wonderful people and I am very lucky to get to work with them both and to know them! Thanks to Jee Jee and Paw Paw for keeping Julia and giving her four fun-filled days. John and I missed her so much and my mouth was literally watering when we landed in Memphis. I couldn't wait to get my hands on her!

Julia napping with TONS of books in her bed. She reads them all before she falls asleep. We love standing outside of her door and listening.

I decided to make home-made dill pickles after I was inspired by my Aunt Jane. Julia was a big help, but not as big of a help as my Mom. It's a two man job! We have to wait 30 days to let the flavors settle in and I can't wait to try them!

Here's the finished product. I have enough pickles in my pantry to feed an army!

We had a low key 4th of July. Here's Julia throwing poppers. She had a big time with them!

The leftovers from all the poppers! Thank you Aunt Jane!

Aunt Jane (who is about to experience not one, but TWO grandchildren very soon!) and Julia! I can't wait to meet my two new cousins!!!!

Maine Memories

2010-07-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

Julia and I just returned from a very happy and memorable vacation to Bar Harbor, Maine. This trip was one of my all time favorites. Even though I had visited this same house and town five years ago, having Julia around makes everything so much more fun!

Here's Julia seeing the ocean for the very first time.
Feeling the cold water for the first time!

Making silly faces

Nothing like feet in the sand

We went to a sandy beach in Acadia National Park. The first thing Julia did was hit the ground and rolled! Over and over again. She laughed the entire time and had a mouth (and head) full of sand! There were people there who were taking pictures of her and videotaping because of her very unique reaction to the sand.

Julia and Daniel digging and talking.

Cute Julia....

Most of the pictures that I have of her involve a lot of sand. Usually on her face. We have been back in Arkansas for several days, and I am still washing sand out of her hair!

Taking a hike at Acadia and throwing some leaves.

They found a rock to slide down.

This is a couple of days worth of sea combing. There is lots of sea glass on the beach behind the house where we stayed. All of us spent hours searching for it on the beach.

Julia, Mattie and Daniel having a picnic in the den.

Standing beside a whale skull at a small university in Bar Harbor. The only major there is ecology. They had a neat museum and the kids loved it.

Julia taking a break to color her daddy a picture at the museum.

Keeping us cracked up

Julia and Daniel entertaining us with a puppet show.

They also had a touch tank with lots of live sea creatures that you could pick up. Julia loved touching the live starfish.

Just had to post this picture of me telling Julia to "look up and smile!" HA!

The towns in Maine are very quaint, with bakeries, home made ice cream, neat little coffee shops, and this cute New England style library.

Julia having fun

Our hostesses....Mary Katherine with Daniel and Mattie

What we had for dinner.....every night. And even some mornings, we would have lobster omelets! Yum. I made the mistake of feeding Julia some lobster the very first night we were there. Of course, she LOVED it and wouldn't touch her chicken strips after she had a bite dipped in butter. Who could blame her?

The back of the house that we stayed in. This is the view from the beach.

This is the view of the beach from the inside of the house. It was an amazing sight to wake up to every morning.

Mattie set up this neat little sea glass "store" on the beach. She would search for sea glass and then put it in shells. She would sell it for 50 cents per shell. What a bargain!

Another night's dinner.

Maine is an amazing place. I am so grateful to have had the experience!

Lovn' Summer!

2010-06-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

Julia got a new pool at Jee Jee and Paw Paw's house. She loves playing in the water and calls getting in the sprinkler, "taking a shower!"

We celebrated Father's Day at Jee Jee and Paw Paw's house. Julia happily announced, "Happy Valentine's Day" when she handed Paw Paw his gift!

Juicy Julia loving a juicy strawberry. I think she could eat a gallon a day!

Fun at home.

All of this from my delicious garden. Ha...I so wish. Our Wynne Farmer's market is my favorite stop after work on a Tuesday afternoon. I am going to try not to market it too much because I don't want to give away Wynne's best kept secret. I'll just say all of this, plus a dozen country eggs, for less than $7. WOW!

I went to pick blueberries one night and had a hard time keeping a little hand out of them while I was putting it in freezer bags.

Julia has been having a good time going to the summer reading program at the library. They have story time and a craft every week. This week, Jee Jee took Julia and she made this "art wrok." The fruit loops are the rainbow, cotton balls are clouds and then the sunshine.

I think the summer reading program is working to encourage reading. John and I have spent literally HOURS of reading to Julia the past few weeks. She will sit still and read for an hour or more at a time. Makes me very happy!

Silly Julia, keeps us smiling and so happy!

A Conversation with Julia

2010-06-14T20:09:00.001-07:00

Julia's building something with her blocks and I asked her, "Are you building a castle Julia?" She says, "No Mommy, I'm building a architecture." Um......okay.

Farmfest 2010

2010-06-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at Wynne's Farmfest this year! Thursday night was armband night where we could ride all the rides we wanted. Julia loved the cars the best. We probably rode this at least 7 or 8 times! Here's Sol and Julia!

Becca snagged this little gem of a picture on the roller coaster. I called it the car wreck roller coaster because that's what I felt like I had experienced when we got off. Julia entertained with a very loud, hearty laugh the whole way!

Here's the Farmfest family of the year, minus baby Rose hanging out listening to some music. Thank you both for coordinating this huge event and for keeping this long time Wynne tradition going! It's a full circle moment for me to watch Julia having a good time at Farmfest. I remember looking so forward to it when I was a kid....it was like Christmas!

Heres Tara and sweet Emmy listening to some music on the courthouse lawn. We also went to Julia's first Redbirds baseball game Friday night with Tara, Emmy and John. It was a fireworks game and our girls loved them! Julia kept blankie wrapped around her head like Mary Magdalene to protect her ears from the loud pops! I was so glad my John got to go with us. He's been missing out on most of our weekend activities because of his music playing/work schedule. He's having fun (well, sometimes) getting to play music for a living even though it can be a rough schedule with lots of driving and crazy all night hours!

Julia eating her first snowcone! She kept saying, "Momma, this is a very special treat!"

Taking a cool, much needed break from Farmfest inside the library.

Back at home, these popsicle breaks after dinner are becoming habitual. Julia and I like to go outside and sit on the deck with a popsicle and talk about our days. You just never know what Julia is going to say. She was telling me about the comode this morning and I couldn't make sense of what she was saying about it. Finally, I asked her to show me what she was talking about and she went and showed me the remote. Oh, should have know...the comode/remote. Close enough!

She also told me that she was building an architecture with her blocks this morning. Ha!

Another first. Here's Julia's first drawings of something other than a circle. She drew these fish on the bathtub the other night. She drew the bodies first, then the tail, the eyes next and ended each drawing with curly hair....lol! Pretty good, huh?

2010-06-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

I love this picture of Julia and Mattie! Julia and I went to Rogers weekend before last. Julia adores Mattie and the feeling is mutual. She also adores Daniel, when we are gone.....lol. We had a blast playing outside in their backyard and having a sushi picnic! Also went to the Fayetteville Farmer's market (pretty neat!), a neighborhood garage sale, and saw the new museum that is being built in Bentonville. Another milestone on this trip was that Julia slept with Mattie in her room on her trundle. They laid in bed whispering when we put them down. I couldn't help but listen. I am pretty sure the conversation had something to do with cinnamon cereal being for breakfast!

The backyard activity of choice was to dig up worms and "feed" them sand. Here's Julia feeding them in the sandbox. I am so glad that Mattie led this activity because I am not much on anything slimy and poor Julia would just have to miss out on the awesome opportunity to hold a hand full of worms if I am in charge.

A friendly game of tetherball. Julia laughed for twenty minutes while playing this game. She thought is was hilarious that the ball would swing around and hit her in the head EVERY time she pushed it.

The first two days of Memorial Day weekend 2010 were spent potty training Julia. We started out Saturday morning saying goodbye to the diapers and setting the oven timer every 30 minutes to remind us to go sit on the potty. She insisted on wearing this black ballerina skirt (I have no idea why) over her new panties all day. First day went okay, second day was better, and we haven't had any accidents since! Wow, I anticipated it to be much worse. We did make use of a bag of marshmallows and some fruit snacks for incentives. I guess I will have to pay a therapist to tell me why I am just a little sad about this milestone.

She is just growing up so fast!

Trust me, I know that I will be in big trouble for posting this one some day, but I just couldn't help it. Memorial Day, John and I took Julia to the Memphis zoo where they had lots of water activities for the kids. Julia was soaking wet and loved being in the water sprinklers. Here she is when we were leaving the zoo sitting on her potty in the parking lot.

We also helped to celebrate sweet little Stella's third birthday. She had a water party with bubbles, water guns, sprinklers, and a blow up pool. Lots of sunscreen and laughs!

Here's Julia enjoying her cake and ice cream. This normally mild mannered child pushes everyone out of the way when they start cutting the cake. She has no patience for waiting in line.

Here is my little pirate after the library's first day of their summer reading program called, Make a Splash, READ. They read stories about pirates and then got to make this pirate hat. Julia wore it home and here is my little pirate saying, "Argh!" with her hooked finger.

We are looking forward to lots of fun activities at the library this summer.

And here are Julia and sweet littl Joanie Terhune. These two were having a very serious conversation in front of the hay bale. We love having the Adkisson/Terhune family over to visit. Julia is still talking about Dempsey and Joanie.....days after they left!

I just couldn't pass this one up. Aren't those little ringlets delicious?????

Julia-isms at almost 2 and a half!

2010-05-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Julia's first pigtails! She doesn't like me to mess with her hair much, but she was pretty amused when she saw herself in the mirror. She has the perfect hair for pigtails because you can twist the pigtail one time and this perfect little ringlet curl stays in place.

Another view

This was the first time she realized that she could actually get out of her bed at nap time and find things to play with in her room. We are amazed that she has just now figured it out since she has been in her bed since December! We walked in after nap and found her piggy bank by her head.

Then, under the covers.....all this money. We both thought she was talking more than normal when we left her to go to sleep. No wonder.

Funny things that Julia said this week:

"What would you like for supper tonight Julia?" Her reply, "squid!"

Her stomach was growling and she said, "My tummy's burping!"

"I hear the train Mommy. The train is by the library, actually."

"I'm getting busy!" What she says instead of dizzy.

She has started singing songs that she knows and putting in her own funny words. For example, one of her favorite songs right now is Twist and Shout. So at dinner time, she started singing, "Twist and chips. Come on, come on, come on chip now. Come on and dip a little closer now. And let me know that you mine."

This girl keeps us rolling. You never know what she is going to say.

She goes way out of her way to wade through a mud puddle.

We took her to Village Creek thinking that she would want to hang out at the playground and play. Fortunately, we came prepared with her swimsuit because once she saw this muddy lake, it was all over.

Floating...

Whats a trip to the lake without a Popsicle?

NYC 2010

2010-05-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

I got to go on a girl's trip to NYC this Mother's Day. We left Memphis Wednesday and came home Mother's Day Sunday. I went with a friend, Leann, and another of her college friends Tiffany that I met for the first time at the airport! It was NYC like I have never experienced it. They made me venture out and see and do things that I have never done before. Some of my new favorites were the audio tour to the top of the Empire State Building, wandering through Soho, hanging out at Chelsea market (a very fun area of the city!) where they tape the Food Network, and the Museum of Modern Art....amazing and I can't stop thinking about it! Other highlights of the trip were seeing Billy Elliot on Broadway (an UNFORGETTABLE performance), hanging out with the cousin Scottie and her husband Jason that live in NYC (I loved every minute of being with them!), and shopping till we drop then having long lunches in outdoor Italian restaurants where they make the world's best pizza.

Sorry for the tiny pictures....I didn't even bring my own camera and took these from Tiffany's Facebook page. Here is Scottie, Tiffany and I at the Donut Plant, a tiny little hole in the wall place that makes the most delicious doughnuts. I had a coconut creme pie one, fresh out of the oven.

Leann, Tiffany, and I in front of our hotel, The Warwick. Great location....right in the middle of everything!

Us in the bottom of the famous LOVE sculpture in Manhattan.

Scottie and I enjoying lunch in Little Italy

Tiffany, me and Leann holding our cotton candy. It was served after our sushi dinner in a very fancy restaurant. I loved the unexpected twist. Who would have thought cotton candy??

Me, Leann and Tiffany after Billy Elliott on Broadway. LOVED it!

These Are the Days.....

2010-04-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

I don't think its healthy to put the hose in your mouth to drink water.

Julia thought is was just fine.

Our first ever garden! I had some good influences this year and decided that now was the time to give it a try. Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, may have been life changing read. I highly recommend it. Better yet, listen to it on tape read by the author and her daughter.

A close up of the tomatoes and bell peppers. The cucumbers, squash and carrots were planted by seed. I can't wait to see the first one! Julia and I check on it every day.

Julia, Sol and Katie Beth at Becca and Neall's while they were in Chicago. We hung out at their house and had a fish sticks party while the others went to the play. Baby girl Rose was fast asleep at 7:30, while these little ones were up and partying WAY past 10!

The next night, Tara and Emmy came to our house and we had a true buncan party. Tara, Emmy, Sol, Baby Rose, Julia and I all spent the night at our house. I think I only took two pictures because that was the only time that I had to pick up the camera. Baby Rose is the first baby EVER (I am not exaggerating!) to sleep with me. She was so sweet and cuddled all night. I am really thinking that I missed out on Julia sleeping in our bed....at least some of the time! Tara and I had big plans to get in the hot tub with a nice glass of wine after the kids had all gone to bed. I am cracking up.....so didn't happen. We were too whipped!

Loving the bubbles!

Emmy is so sweet and is such the little momma. She took such good care of Baby Rose.

Here we are at the Memphis zoo. It was a perfect day to be outside and we had so much fun. Julia like the elephant best and was more interested in climbing the rocks and walking around than seeing the animals.

She cried when this ride was over.

Tired Julia, winding down.

A very happy girl on the way home after sushi and Baskin Robbins pink bubblegum ice cream. She ate 6 pieces of California roll and wanted more. She loves Miso soup! She picked the pink ice cream with real bubble gum pieces in it. I kept trying to pick them out, but everytime she got one in her mouth, she would say,
"Those cherries are good!"

This might be one of my favorite pictures ever! Here's Julia having a dance party to John's music. This little girl can flat DANCE.

And the whole time, she's screaming, "FASTER, Daddy, FASTER!"

One afternoon, we decided to have a weenie roast. The hot dogs were fine and all, but really, the marshmallows are where its at. Julia could not keep her eyes off of them. She preferred the white ones over the brown (roasted) ones.

Running and playing in the rain.

Julia's first fingerpainting!

We are talking a lot about the potty lately. I brought in the living room so she wouldn't have to miss out on anything to use it. So far, it has served as a comfortable bench to watch Dora.

Another night, another dance party. John likes really loud music and so does Julia. Here they are dancing to Slash's new album.

After lots of screaming, laughing, and sweating, this dance party ended with a slow dance.

These really are the days!

The Meaning of Life....

2010-04-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Busy making a craft, one of her favorite things to do. She is stringing some beads on a pipe cleaner to make a bracelet. Thanks, Jee Jee, for the art kit!

Muddy boots by the sink.....

The remains of the supper that I burnt because we were having too much fun playing outside!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T05:39:00.000-07:00

The finished Easter eggs turned out to be some incredible works of art.

The Easter party at Miss Melinda's! Julia wasn't sure if she could eat the little egg cake that Julia Ann's mom made. It was too pretty to eat so she had to ask me first if it was ok to eat it! We stayed for a little while after the party so that Julia could play with her friends. It was interesting to stand back and watch her interact. She really preferred playing by herself, but would occasionally boss on of the other kids around...lol.

Here we are getting the house ready for Easter. We always write the holiday on the chalkboard. This is the first holiday that Julia has been big enough to get in the chair and draw her own version of the Easter bunny.

Boiling the three dozen eggs to be died. Thank you Keeli, for the FAR superior country eggs!

Dying eggs and playing with friends on Good Friday.

Here's why they put those little wire Easter egg dippers in the dye kits! It took a couple of days for this little hand to turn back to its original flesh color.

When everybody else was long gone from the Easter egg dying table, Miss Julia had to stick around for the grand finale......pouring the remaining dye from one cup to another. Over and over and over again!

The finished lot.

Trying one....she only liked the yolk.

Sol and Julia enjoying a picnic

Easter brunch at Jee Jee and Paw Paws. Julia loved this "flag" that they gave her for Easter. The only problem was that she insisted on rolling the car window down and letting it fly in the air while we drove. I took the back roads home so that we wouldn't cause too much distraction for other drivers.

Then, were headed to Caroline's house to help celebrate her 3rd birthday. Don't even make me get sappy again about our our babies are growing up. Sometimes I wish I could just freeze Julia right where she is. She is so sweet and funny.

The cutest egg hunt ever.... Julia was beside herself when she figured out that there was candy in these plastic eggs. She was much more impressed with these than the ones with the yolk in the middle.

Then, it was all over when the Easter bunny came out. It was love at first sight for Julia. Here she is running to me smiling and telling me that the Easter bunny was HERE! Keep in mind, this is the same child who HATED Santa and likes to hide behind my leg when we walk into a room full of strangers.

Somewhere, somehow, she found a special place in her heart for this guy. See her peeking around and grinning at him?

And, the hugs.....she couldn't stop!

Hanging out in the wagon...having some cake.

Sweet Caroline...that sweet grin on her face when everybody was singing Happy Birthday to her was priceless!

Then the Easter Bunny visited our house. When I asked Julia later what the Easter Bunny brought her, she said marshmallows. Her more immediate favorite was this American the Beautiful pop up book. We must have read it 100 times. She kept getting the title of the book confused with the song that her Dad often sings to her, "There she is, Miss America."

Here she is with a mouth full of candy.

Pretty Julia on Easter morning. Becca organized a meeting for us at the Southern Independent Living center. The people that were there loved seeing the kids. I think they liked seeing each other best of all.

Nothing like a padded hallway to run down!

Giving Tara a hug

Emmy's turn

Dying eggs with Daddy, take 7...

Dying eggs with Daddy, take 12.....

I have to admit, I will be a little sad to get rid of these guys. Julia has had a great time changing their hats and outfits over and over again. And as always, this little girl has made her Momma and Daddy the two happiest people on the planet this Easter holiday.

Under the Big Top.....

2010-04-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

Julia attended her first circus last Sunday in Memphis. She thought it was pretty fabulous. It was the Shriner's circus at the Agri center. It seems like there were 10 or fewer circus staff members because the same girls who were swinging on the trapezes were the same ones selling popcorn during intermission.

Julia's favorite were the elephants.

Julia marching and dragging Daddy along. I had to post this picture because of the infamous blankie that is draped across his shoulder. I don't think Julia has ever been more than several feet away from it in all of her 28 months. Just wondering if she'll ever be able to function without it!

The breath-taking trapeze act.....

The lions.....

and here is the part that really got on my nerves. Everything was going along smoothly until they announced intermission. Well, the intermission turned out to be an all out carnival...complete with bouncy houses, pics with the tigers, and elephant and pony rides. Every child in the auditorium raced to the floor. I stayed in the stands and got to hear all of the screaming and miserable kids whose parents wouldn't let them (or didn't have the money to let them) participate in the festivities. Then the parents would spank them which led to even more screaming. We left after a very LONG 45 minute intermission with no end in site!

Intermission....are you kidding me?

Here's Julia sporting her new circus t-shirt and yelling, "Cheeseburger!" All in all, I would say it might have been our last circus because I was a little irritated at the commercialism of the who thing. Julia, however, would argue that is was the best night of her life......lol.

Spring Fever!

2010-03-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

The Easter egg at the end of the day after being "gently" carried around all afternoon and night.
Julia dyed this egg at Miss Melinda's when she was there Tuesday. She chose yellow because it matched blankie.

Martha Stewart's in the house! Julia and I whipped up some bird nests for CrossRidge's bake sale. Chow Mein noodles, almond bark and jelly bean eggs....so easy and cute too!

Treat bags for the Easter party at Miss Melinda's. Julia loved sitting outside on the deck and putting these together. It was really hard for her to understand why we couldn't eat the treats and play with the stickers that went into the bags.

One of our favorite places is the library. They always have a craft to go along with the holiday. Here is Julia showing off her newly constructed Easter egg magnet.

Concentrating on making it perfect...

We have LOVED the blow ups at Eldridge Court this year.

Julia and Sol, I mean Spiderman! Becca says he won't wear anything else...lol!

Becca and Spiderman helped us to start a new tradition of playing hide and go seek at Eldridge Court. Here's Spiderman counting.

Here's Julia counting.

She loves the hide and seek game until I am hiding so good that she can't see me. She likes it for a minute, but then sheer panic sets in and after screaming, "ready or not, here I come!" she starts crying and yelling Mommy, where are you?

Julia's quotable quote one night when we were coming home after dark. "Mommy, the moon is following us!" Wow, that's deep!

California Dreamin....

2010-03-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Pebble Beach

I just got back from a great trip to California. Mary Katherine went with me and it's easy to forget that I did go there because it was a required work trip because we managed to fit so much fun in between the work! We flew out of Northwest Arkansas to Sacramento last Sunday afternoon and visited Napa Valley when we got there. We drove to San Francisco where we stayed until Wednesday for my meetings. Highlights in San Francisco were our hike through Muir Woods, dinner in North Beach, Wicked (yes, it was my THIRD time to see it!), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (very memorable!), and of course, the shopping. I LOVE me some Anthropologie!

We left San Francisco at noon Wednesday and headed south on Highway 1. It was an amazing drive and the scenery is unforgettable. We didn't have much of an agenda and I really prefer to travel that way. We stopped when we saw something interesting and made lots of side trips. The trip was the best of everything.....wineries, the city, the beach, the theater, museums, the woods, books on tape, lots of good food, a great traveling companion, and I could go on! We made our way to LA Friday to fly home and only had to buy one extra piece of luggage to haul all of our new purchases home ;)

The wineries.....

Hearst Castle.....very interesting tourist stop in San Simeon!

And true to my crazy ways, I left Fayetteville at 10 pm Friday night and drove straight home to my baby girl because I couldn't bear to be without her for another second. I tried to wake her up when I got home at 3 am with lots of kisses, but she wasn't interested. She made up for it with her squeals of happiness when she woke up Saturday morning! John said she didn't ask for me once while I was gone.

Almost 28 months!

2010-03-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would write a few notes about Julia at almost 28 months....

* She has an incredible vocabulary and it never ceases to amaze us. She gets her pronouns mixed up sometimes and calls Daddy a "she" and herself "my". She calls Sonic "Snogit" She talks to inanimate objects often like telling her book, "Thank you very much, book." Her memory is also pretty amazing. She remembers people and other details better than I do!

* Julia is a little on the shy side when it comes to interacting with other people. I don't say that she is shy where she can hear it because I don't want her to grow up with that label and believing that she is shy. Usually I just tell people that it takes her little while to "warm up" when she is hiding behind my leg and not talking.

* She loves to perform by singing songs and dancing. She loves her music and unfortunately, has her mom's rhythm when she dances! She also loves to color, create things with playdoh, make crafts, and paint. We think she is already quite the accomplished artist.

* Julia is a big girl. Tall and filled out:)! I can hardly carry her anymore without some serious arm cramps...not that she wants me to anyway.

* Her favorite places are the park, the library, Jee Jee and Papaw's house, and most of all "Home Sweet Home." I think she and John would be perfectly content staying at home and never leaving!

* She is a great sleeper and a great eater. She goes to bed around 9 or 9:30 and wakes up around 8:30. Her naps are getting less and less predictable. She usually lays down around 2:30 and after talking for 30 minutes or so, she will sleep for an hour and a half or so. Sometimes, she will do without a nap but we pay dearly for that later! She eats just about anything we put in front of her, but she does have her favorites (chicken, any and all kinds of fruit, goldfish crackers, juice). Oh yeah, and milk. She drinks entirely too much milk!!

* Julia throws the occasional fit, but they usually happen when she is really tired. She is very good natured, very laid back, and doesn't mind following the rules (for the most part.) The worst part of her days are diaper changes (yes, I am getting ready to get serious about some potty training), putting on clothes, and being made to lay down for a nap.

* She is very content staying at home with John four days a week while I work. She goes to Miss Melinda's on Tuesdays. The last couple of weeks there have been much better for her. She hasn't cried when we left her now for three weeks in a row. It definitely makes all of our days better when she doesn't cry. John is trying out life as a professional musician. It definitely has its ups (getting to stay home with Julia during the week, doing what he loves) and downs (being gone almost all weekend every weekend, driving in the wee hours only to keep me constantly worried about his safety), but overall, its working out okay for now.

Julia and Shawnie and Pat Crase's fun and amazing! art show at the library. Julia spent her time playing with the Thoma the train set that they have at the library. She looks so serious because I interrupted her playing and asked her to pose for the picture!

Hanging out with Sol and Parker

A Sunday afternoon's art and her first time with watercolor!

A Memorable Weekend

2010-02-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

My sweetheart Emmy Ruth turned three on Valentine's weekend and Julia and I made the trip to Memphis to celebrate. Emmy had a great party with everything fun....a jumpie, the ball pit (Julia's favorite), delicious cake, and most importantly, good friends! I cannot believe that Emmy is three. Everytime Julia and I head to her birthday party, I get a little teary-eyed thinking about the many conversations that Tara and I had before we had our babies. I think we both agree that motherhood is so much better than either of us could have ever imagined!

Fun in the ball pit!

The Birthday girl!

Sweet Sol and Julia

I think she was first in line for the cake!

Without going into too much detail, I have to post about my most traumatic experience ever in Memphis. I decided at the very last minute to send Julia back to Wynne to spend the night with Jee Jee and Paw Paw. She left the party with Neall and Becca who insisted on taking her back to Wynne with them (THANK YOU!!!). The plan was for me to stay and meet up with John later where he was playing at a restaurant/bar. While I was waiting on John, I had a few glorious hours in Memphis to shop and hang out by myself. I went to one of my favorite stores on Summer and was just about to check out when Tara called me. I put down my things to look over them one more time before I headed to the register and chat with Tara. I was in the middle of telling her what a great time I was having shopping when I hear, "This is a hold up!" about five feet behind me. I looked and saw a man with a black mask and sawed off shotgun at the register. I hid behind a rack of shoes and thought about Julia. He fired two shots, one in the ceiling and one at the register. He got off with the drawer, but noone was hurt. Well, noone was hurt physically anyway! I am grateful for so many things. First, that Julia wasn't with me! Second, that we all got out of there alive because I know that it could have been much worse. Wow....I am not sure that I will ever be quite the same.

To balance out the horror of the experience, John and I had a great time in Memphis and got to celebrate Valentine's Day in style. It's always fun to watch John play guitar (makes me fall in love all over again!) even though I don't get to see him play that often anymore. We spent the night in Memphis and then saw Jersey Boys at the Orpheum. It was definitely one of my favorites! I loved every minute of it and was sad when it was over. Thank you John, for my very best Christmas present ever! We had dinner then raced home to get our sweet girl who didn't want to leave her Jee Jee and Paw Paw's house. I hugged Julia extra tight when I got to see here and know for sure that I am one lucky Momma.

Disneyworld February 2010

2010-02-17T19:34:00.000-08:00

I am still not sure what came over me when I decided to book this trip, but it was a blast and we made lots of good memories. We were able to leave Wynne in the midst of LOTS of ice and snow and make the long drive to Northwest Arkansas to catch our flight. Thanks so much to my friends in Rogers, we were dropped at the gate and had a great $29.99 each flight on a large airplane (no prop plane!) to Orlando. Julia flies like a queen and never skips a beat. I would leave tomorrow for Paris with our little traveler. I brought lots of snacks, books, and a DVD player to keep her occupied during our travel time and never once even opened the DVD player. The snacks, on the other hand, well we needed those from time to time!

Julia waking up with a smile the morning we left for Disneyworld!

Riding the bus to our first RAINY day at Animal Kingdom. It poured all day long. Looking back on it, John and I decided that we preferred the first two rainy days at Disney because there were NO lines!

Had to post this picture because you can see my jeans and how soaking wet we were!

Imagine what the tennis shoes felt like.

This was as close as Julia ever got to one of the characters. She loved them all....from a safe 10 foot distance. She would stand back and wave at them. She got really close to giving Tigger a hug here, but changed her mind just in the nick of time.

Miss Independence wanted to push the empty stroller instead of ride in it. This is where the snacks came in handy. Bribery does work.

We loved the safari ride, Lion King show, and parade best at Animal Kingdom.

Julia loved the parades more than anything! They were loud and colorful and Mickey was waving right at her, of course.

See those little happy eyes? Now that's why crazy mom and dads take their 2 year olds to Disneyworld!

It's a small world after all....never fails to deliver. May have been my favorite!

The 36th (I'm exaggerating) parade that we saw at Magic Kingdom. Anytime Julia heard music, she asked us, "Is it a parade?" and we had to run and find where the music was coming from.

A family teacup ride!

Oh she loved that castle!

Julia is a heavy little thing, but I will hold her until my back breaks when she needs a blankie break!

Seeing the first fireworks

Swiss Family Robinson treehouse was another of Julia's favorites.

Dumbo is all that she has told people about since we came home. She didn't seem to love the ride near as much when we were there, but she sure loves to talk about it now! When asked if she had a good time at Disneyworld she say, "I rode Dumbo and he flys up in the air!"

She really loved the shows too. Nobody quite does 3D like Disney.

Hanging out with Miss Piggy at Disney Hollywood Studios on our last half day.

John's favorite part of the trip were the 3D movies.
A great and very memorable vacation. Not the greatest pictures. I think we were too busy having fun to waste time with the camera!

Snow Days 2010

2010-02-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

We've had more snow here this year than I can ever remember. Fortunately, only two hours without electricity. There are a lot of great things about living in the country, but snow and ice are not one of the benefits. Our road is rarely, if ever, traveled and it makes leaving difficult. I missed two half days of work and only made it in because a friend with 4 wheel and cookie sheets DO work just fine. John says this one will never be the same......

First, Julia and I

Then, Julia and Dad

Then, Julia by herself...again and again and again! As soon as the "sled"starting slowing down, she would scream, "I wanna go again!" But then would cry when she realized she had to walk up the hill to get the 3 second downhill rush! She made the curve and missed all the trees just fine.

John was proud of himself for capturing this masterpiece.

Julia and I sporting our matching mother and daughter aprons hand made by by Aunt Amy and shipped from California. It was such a treat to get these beauties in the mail! The only challenge with these was trying to explain to Julia that she could not sleep in the apron.

Trying her first bite of snow ice cream. (Excuse the ugly princess pajamas....I so swore I would NEVER!)

What Started as an Innocent Search for a Flight......

2010-01-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

ended in a trip to DisneyWorld! And we leave this Sunday.....yes, as in two days from now! We are flying out of Northwest Arkansas Sunday evening to spend 3 and a half days in 2 year old wonderland. I went when I was 3 and again when I was 13, but John has never gone. We are thrilled and I am trying really hard not to have a bad case of buyer's remorse. I think it will go away quickly as soon as I see Julia's happy face!

John bought me Jersey Boys tickets for Christmas for tomorrow night at the Orpheum in Memphis. Julia will be spending the night with her grandparents, so everyone is excited about that. Tonight was the annual Chamber of Commerce Banquet in Wynne. It was great and I have to admit that it feels really nice to sit there and enjoy the banquet and to not have a role. My friend Keeli did an amazing job!

Here are some random January pics...

Blowing bubbles is a favorite past time.

Making bubbles with the wand is an even better past time!

My good friend Tracy and her family came over last Friday night. The guys were in the basement playing loud music and we just let our kids run wild! They loved singing back up on the mic, playing piano and dancing as fast as they could. Julia was soaking wet from all of her dancing! Here is Julia and cute Dempsey backing up the band with the piano.

Here is sweet Joanie and Julia at 100 o'clock. We partied until past midnight and finally had to wind down! Julia takes frequent breaks with her blankie and fingers when she gets tired. Tracy and I did look at eachother at one point and asked eachother, "Well, did you ever think?????" She was referring to our sweet children running around the basement to the very loud music having the best time ever. Tracy and I have lots of our own memories from high school days that involved lots of loud music. We agreed that kids make everything more fun and that we have both come a LONG way!

Julia passed out in about 30 seconds when she got in her bed!

John decided to make smoothies one night this week. Julia decided she wanted ALL of them. I guess you can tell who rules the roost around here.

Playing "puzzle pieces." Another favorite activity lately.

Silly Julia sticking play doh on her face.

Then cracking when it falls off and screaming, "Mommy, my so funny!"

Just because every now and then I crack up when I see John doing these that I never dreamed I would see him doing. Like sitting in a chair, with a bowl full of goldfish beside him, a pink playhouse in the yard behind him, coloring Piglet in a Pooh coloring book!

Our gingerbread house that we made way after Christmas.

Julia was eating the candy as fast as I could put it on the house. It was a race!

Here's what the box looked like...

and here's our version. They make these things look a lot easier than they really are!

There's a lot of things going "night night" around here lately. Here are some green beans that got covered up in a paper towel and told, "Night Night!"

The Terrific Two's

2010-01-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

I will probably regret posting this when it really hits, but so far, I can't see why everyone calls the two's the terrible two's? Julia is such a little sweetheart and is really a good little girl. She still hasn't climbed out of her big girl bed! Every morning when I go in to get her after I hear her talking, she says, "Mommy, I want to get up now, OK?" When I say ok, she slides down off the bed. Is this unheard of? She is not one to get into things and has never even opened a kitchen cabinet door to get something to eat or pull anything out. I can reason with her most of the time and she rarely fusses. She loves to sing, play with her little people and read books. She also likes her Jee Jee and Paw Paw and Sarah. She gets so excited when she sees them!

Sticker legs....aren't they juicy? Oh yeah, and those are orange play doh worms on the couch that you see.

The snow day. I had to go to work, but John said he spent 20 minutes bundling her up to go outside in the snow and she was ready to come in after about 2 minutes! He said she asked for a paper towel to wipe her hands when she got snow on them.

She is a little artist and spends a lot of time coloring. This was a paint with water book that she was really proud of.

Contemplating life....

John and I are loving every minute of being Julia's parents. We ask ourselves if every little girl is this good or this sweet or this pretty. We think we got pretty lucky.

I got to go the movies last night to see The Blind Side and really liked it, even though it was a little bit sappy. John has netflixed a couple of interesting independent films lately. One was called, "The Real Dirt on Farmer John." Incredibly quirky and right up our alley. I am about to finish reading a fascinating book for book club called Olive Kitteridge. I've had a hard time putting it down this weekend. In our spare time, I am still sewing like mad and John is playing a lot of music. He is playing an exciting gig tonight in Little Rock that is sponsored by the Oxford American magazine.

Life is good!

Bringin' in 2010!

2010-01-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

We went to see Starry Nights (a drive through light show) in Memphis a few days after Christmas. Julia loved seeing the Christmas lights everywhere we went around Christmas time and could spot them a mile away. She has been heartbroken that the lights have come down. Every time we pass this certain house that had some lit up candy canes lining their sidewalk, she says, "They prolly took them down." I keep telling her that they will "prolly" put them back up next Christmas. I feel myself having to knock on a stranger's door next Christmas and request that they put them back out asap!

Here is one of the many reasons that I love having Julia around. She sees things so differently. When we passed by this light display that is in the picture above , she yelled "it's a peacock!

Well, of course it is!

She also named the snowflake lights that lined Falls Blvd. this year starfishes. The candlesticks were keys.

She didn't quite make it until midnight New Year's Eve, even though she tried really hard. John and I got an adult couple of hours at the Rotary Bash for Cash where we ate steaks and watched other people win cash. My parents took Julia to their Sunday School New Years Eve Party. Then Julia and I met back up at Mickey and Jessica's gorgeous new house where all the kids played and had a blast. John was off to his New Year's eve gig, We missed having him with us, but I honestly can count on one hand the number of New Year's eve's that we have spent together in all of our 18 years. It's a busy night for musicians!

Here's Julia New Year's Eve at Jee Jee and Paw Paw's having a moment with blankie.

John's birthday is New Year's Day and he requested a traditional New Years meal and a pineapple upside down cake. Julia and I whipped up our first one ever and it turned out pretty good! He even had a number 2 candle to blow out. No, it doesn't mean anything. We just had it left over from another recent birthday!

Here's Julia's cheeseburger pose showing off her new boots.

She's getting so big that she barely fits in the sink! Happy New Year!

Giggles and Squeals

2009-12-26T13:18:00.000-08:00

The sounds around our house this Christmas were the sweetest I have ever heard....it was all 2 year old giggles and squeals around here! We had a great and very cozy and quiet Christmas this year. John said at the end of the day that it was the best that he's ever had. I agreed wholeheartedly. We didn't leave the house for almost 3 full days! I finally had to get some fresh air and make sure that my car would still start on Saturday after being in since Wednesday!

Christmas Eve day, Emmy came over to visit and brought Julia the coolest teepee (Julia refers to it as her house) that Tara made.

Christmas Eve, my parents and Sarah came over and we got busy making some cookies for Santa. Baking has never been my strong point, but Julia was a very good helper.

She loved the sprinkles and insisted on shaking them on the cookies until there were none left in the container!

She took plenty of breaks to enjoy a little bite....

And here are the finished cookies that she picked to leave for Santa. They must have been delicious because Santa ate every one of them and even left Julia a note to tell her how good they were!

Here's where the squeals and giggles came in! Julia didn't need to get up early to see what Santa brought, so we slept until a little after 9. I think her favorite part of Christmas morning was opening her stocking. Maybe it was because of the candy cane that Santa left.

We had a great time opening presents and Julia's favorite thing to say was a very excited, "WOW!" every time she opened one.

Her favorite gift this year was by far, with no competition, the play doh. She has played with it for hours everyday since Christmas. She likes to sit on the couch and make things and then put them in my lap. Then, I am supposed to ask her, "What is it?" and she comes up with the most creative answers. "Caterpillars" "Lowly worm" "Spaghetti" "A mushroom" "an oval" "a present" are some common answers. She also loves the coloring books and colors that she got. She could color for hours! Note to Santa for future reference....it's the little things (playdoh and coloring books!!!!!)

On Christmas Day, my family came over and Mom brought breakfast casserole. Here's everybody in Julia's room playing catch.

When I pull out the camera these days, Julia gets in position (standing tall and straight with her hands clasped in front of her) and yells, "Cheeseburger!"

Good times, and people keep telling me that it gets better every year. I can't imagine!

Tis the Season!

2009-12-25T12:45:00.000-08:00

We have all had such a good time this Christmas season. Julia is truly a JOY and makes everything around here more fun. My Aunt Amy and Uncle Jim sent us a homemade fruitcake in the mail this year. Miss Julia picked the nuts and cherries off the top and left us with the rest!

See that look in her eye? She knew exactly what she was doing!

John, Julia and I had a great time at the Cross County Library's open house. The Kinders (a couple who writes and performs great children's music) came to entertain all of the kids. Julia LOVED the music, but wanted to stay close to me towards the back. We met Sol there and he wanted to be right on stage with the Kinders in the middle of the action!

Here's Julia and Sol dancing and singing!

Sweet baby girl Rose had a good time too. I had to post this picture because this was the night that she officially stole my heart with her sweet smile!

Then it was on to Santa's workshop where every child got to go in and pick out a book. Julia picked a book about snowmen that we have read and read and read and read.....

I let Julia pick out her own cookie and of course, she picked the biggest one on the platter. I think all this good food around the holidays has been one of her favorite parts!

This was her Christmas party at Miss Melinda's. She cried when turned on the street to head to her house thinking we were going to leave her there. She had to sit on John's lap at first just to hold him down and make sure he wasn't going anywhere.

The cookies did help make it a little more tolerable!

Opening presents at Miss Melinda's!

We took Julia to see Santa twice this year. This was our second try when he was at Eldridge Court. She just wasn't having it and I never did get a good picture! She was only interested in grabbing the candy canes that he was offering her and running the other way!

Even with me standing beside Santa and patting his leg, she still wasn't having it!

However, she did love the blow ups at Eldridge Court this year. I spent many nights circling this area! She would scream, "other side again!" as soon as we finished looking at one side! She loved the Christmas lights that lined Falls and the ones on people's houses. What I used to think was ugly Christmas decorations has now become beautiful! Everything looks different when you see it through the eyes of a child!

Cleaning out the toy box to make room for the new!

Julia and her new handmade mittens from Aunt Jane! The only reason she took them off was because she realized that she couldn't suck her fingers with them on!

We bought Julia some new sheets, down comforter, a soft mattress pad and a new pillow for her big girl bed. Ever since we put them on, she has not looked back! She LOVES her new bed. John even took down her crib today. I have to admit, I was a little sad. It seems like its the end of an era!

In other news, John graduated from EACC with an Associates degree in Business management. His GPA was pretty remarkable and I never dreamed our lives would have headed in that direction. I am so proud and more importantly, grateful that he was able to take these two years to be at home with Julia as much as he could. We have certainly been lucky to have been given this opportunity at such an important time in Julia's life. We'll see where his years of work experience and now college degree will take him.

John has been playing alot of gigs and music lately.....which he loves. I have been sewing until my fingers bleed....which I love (well, love most of the time!) What a bonus that we can both make money being creative and doing what we love!

Here's some stockings that I made!

Julia is still the center of our universe. She has started to love singing. Her favorite songs are Happy Birthday, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, ABCs, and Night Night Night (a song my mother made up and used to sing to me at night). She knows all of the colors....even the hard ones like gray! She can recognize all of her letters and only gets a few confused every now and then. And her vocabulary is unbelievable! She can hold a conversation like an adult now and is very expressive. She keeps us rolling with what she says. You never know what will come out! She told me a couple of weeks ago while eating some dried cranberries that she was eating "cranbooties!" She refers to herself as my. Like, "look what my made."

Here she is with magic marker caps on her fingers telling me that she is 2 years old!

She tells everybody that she is "mommy's itty bitty and daddy's sweetheart!"

The Month of the Birthdays!

2009-12-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

Sweet Parker turned 2 this week and we had a great time at his Handy Mannie themed birthday party!

Julia was very entertained by the balloons and spent most of her time at the party hoarding all of them, letting them go, and then starting all over!

The birthday boy!

The pinata was the highlight of the party! You just had to pull the strings to make the candy come out instead of having 10 two year olds swinging a bat to break it. Here is Sol pulling the string. Julia has talked about "pulling the string" for the past two days. I think it definitely left an impression!

Julia only picked up the Tootsie Rolls. But, she picked up ALL of them and carried them around in both hands until we left the party. It took some major convincing to make her let me put her hard earned loot into her bag!

Julia, Sol and Maggie Grace enjoying some birthday cake.

Parker decided to hop on the pinata and scream "giddy up" when we were through with it. Hilarious!

After the Parker's party, Julia and I raced to Caldwell Discount Drug where Santa had come to visit. She wasn't having it.....end of story. I bribed her with every toy in that store. Nothing worked. When we got in the car, she said, "Mommy, I didn't no like Santa."

Saturday night, Aunt Jane, Robin and my family came over. We cooked dinner and celebrated Aunt Jane's birthday. Robin just moved to LA and is so much fun to be with. We ended the night in the hot tub and even had a buncan party. I am trying to bring buncan parties back.....why are they only for kids?

The last very special birthday that we celebrated this month was Mimi Watson's 100th birthday! Mimi is Scottie, Leslie and Robin's grandmother from Earle. I have a lot of happy childhood memories that involve Mimi and times spent at her house in Earle. The party was wonderful and there were so many people there to celebrate her life! She was beautiful and classy as always. Julia had some other ideas about how she wanted to celebrate so we had to make a quick exit. We ended our day at Pancho's restaurant where she was much happier.

After all of these birthday celebrations in the past week, Julia requests the Happy Birthday song every night before bed! She also thinks you are supposed to have cake after every meal.

Paving the Way to Stardom

2009-12-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

Our girl is already famous. She was asked to come and have her picture taken by the angel tree at Hays Food Town. The angel tree lists the names and ages of needy children in our community that people can adopt and help them to have a better Christmas. Julia wore her Christmas best and her picture showed up in color on the front page of our local paper. How silly that her momma is SO PROUD!

I have heard reports that there are no angels left on the tree. I am sure that is because of the beautiful girl who advertised!

My 2 Year Old Little Sweetheart!

2009-12-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Here is sweet Julia on the day of her birthday party! We had the PERFECT day for an outdoor weenie roast and jumpie party.

Tara and Emmy getting ready to party down in the jumpie!

Julia and Sol playing in the sandbox.

Sweet baby Rose....poor sweet girl slept right through the birthday cake!

Opening presents. Julia had to take frequent breaks to "read" the books she got for her birthday!

Julia and Chloe sharing some goldfish.

Sweet Maggie Grace loving on ShyAnn!

The jumpie was a hit! Julia loved it so much and would hardly take a nap after her party because it was still in the yard. As soon as she woke up, that was the first thing she said..."Wanna go jump in the jumpie!" Thanks to the jumpie man's generosity, they didn't come after it until way after dark. Julia definitely got her money's worth....I finally had to pull her out in the dark kicking and screaming all the way!

I am not even going to say how I cannot believe that our baby girl is 2. These two years have been, by far, the best two of my life!

When I asked Julia a couple of weeks before what she wanted on her birthday cake, she didn't not hesitate and said, "Lowly Worm!" In case you don't know him, Lowly in the cool worm and friend of Huckle's in Richard Scarry's books and movies. Julia loves some LOWLY!

Daniel Carey loved the cake! At least the frosting matched his outfit...

Ready to party!

Mattie Pace guarding the cake!

Julia having some left over cake. This picture is of her licking her fingers. She was so loud and smacked after she licked each finger. Where in the world did she learn this????

Julia's actual birthday was Sunday the 29th, even though her party was Saturday. On Sunday, John and I took her to see Curious Georgie live at the DeSoto civic center. She loved every minute and did not move!

Julia hanging out with Curious George

Lots of lights, singing and dancing! The whole program was about George flying himself to Italy to enter a meatball cooking contest. That night when we got home, I asked Julia what George was cooking. I really didn't think she would know, but she screamed out her answer of "Neatballs!" LOL!

Watching George in Daddy's lap....

Loving George....

We also took Julia to Build a Bear the Wednesday before her birthday. Here she is making the very hard decision of which animal she wanted to make. So many decisions.........

She finally picked a cute long eared bunny.

And this is her dragging bunny in his house all over the mall. She has slept with bunny every night since. She would have slept with bunny's house too, if we had let her! Her stuffed animal entourage is growing by the day.

Kissing singing Rudolph good night while sucking her fingers. Now that is what you call multitasking!

One of her favorite birthday gifts was this bowling set. What used to be our entrance hallway is now a bowling alley. Do you know how many times I have tripped over a bowling pin this week?

Julia had a wonderful birthday...thanks to our many friends and wonderful family who made it special and lots of fun. Two years with this little sweetheart is certainly something to celebrate!

Lets Talk Turkey

2009-12-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

Julia and I made a turkey at the library this year. She drug it around proudly for a while after she made it, at least until one of his chain legs came off. I love it that our little library has improved its kids section. They now have craft kits that complement a theme (it was turkeys in November) that changes monthly.

"Cracking a nut!" Now every time she hears a sound in the house like the roof popping, she says, "It sounds like somebodies cracking a nut!"

I cooked my first turkey and dressing this year! It turned out pretty good.....with one exception. John got a good laugh when the turkey cooked all night and half of Thanksgiving Day and when it was done, he pulled out the plastic sack of giblets that had cooked along with it. Why didn't they directions say there was not one, but TWO sacks stuck in its belly?

Julia enjoying her second turkey dinner. I think she liked the raw vegetables that we used for appetizers the best. Oh yeah, and the pumpkin pie!

Julia and PawPaw relaxing with a book after turkey.

Trying on Daddy's jacket.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a blast this year. We had three lit up pumpkins in the house that we had to turn on as soon as we walked in the door or woke up. It was a little earth shattering when I finally had to put the pumpkins up until next year. Does anybody know where I can find a light up turkey?

The festivities started with a Halloween party at Miss Melinda's Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, that was not the best experience of Julia's life because I took her and John met us there. I kept trying to explain to her that we were only going to Miss Melinda's to enjoy a Halloween party and not for me to leave her. She cried and clung to me the entire time we were there, oh yeah, that is until we put her down at the table in front of her cupcake and cookie! The leaving her at the sitters has not gotten much easier for any of us.

Her favorite part of the party was the spider ring that was on top of the cupcake!

Halloween Day, Mom, Julia and I headed to Memphis to go to Emmy's Halloween carnival. We had a great time. And here's....Tinkerbell!

Notice the Halloween bag on her arm that accompanied her everywhere for a few days. Not because it was so cute, but because there were five lollipops in it that kept her interest.

Tinkerbell plays soccer....

Tinkerbell was all fine and good for a while, but then it was time to get comfy. She LOVES this sand table at Emmy's house. Our car looked like we had been to the beach when we got home...full of sand.

Then we went trick or treating at Jee Jee and Pappaws. Julia walked in the front door, sat in her Elmo chair and said, "Wanna watch Elmo." I think she forgot that she was there to trick or treat and not hang out....

Then we went trick or treating at Kristen and Nicoles. They were decked out for Halloween and had the scary fog machine going at the front door. This is Julia helping Nicole hand out candy.

Check out this scary table!

Last, we headed to Neall and Becca's house. We had a great time. Julia feels right at home there and jumps right into all the fun. It usually takes her a while to warm up to everyone, but not there!

Why is she having not one, but two cupcakes you ask? Because Becca said she could!

There was some role reversal costume changing going on as it got later. Here is Sol sporting Julia's Tinkerbell wings!

That night, Julia laid in bed and played with this light up toy that Kristen and Nicole gave her for what seemed like hours. John took about a hundred psychedelic pictures of the light show that I will spare you of. It was a great day and I thought many times throughout the day about how grateful I am to have my sweet Julia. She makes all the holidays so much more fun!

Sunday, John, Julia and I hung out at the John Hayden Smith park. She is getting so big that we can actually sit in the swings and just let her go on the playground. Until now, we always had to hold her hand and help her get around.

She loves the slide!

Heading home with baby, blankie and those two fingers....her basic necessities in life!

Officially Ours!

2009-10-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

Our girl is 23 months old and I would say "and where has the time gone?" but I won't because isn't that what every mom says? She is a blast and I love listening to her talk and am fascinated by the words and sentences that come from her. We spent a lot of time walking by and driving by the blow up Halloween decorations at Eldridge Court. This girl LOVES a pumpkin!

Emmy got to spend the night with us one night when Tara was gone on a business trip.

Julia likes to gather up sticks and give them to ShyAnn to chew. They could do this for hours.

Sweet girls!

Julia and I play flashcards. She picks them up and asks me, "Mommy, you wanna play?" How can you say no to that?

You got it.....High Five!

My very favorite part of every weekend are in the mornings when John goes to get Julia from her bed and brings her upstairs to spend some time in our bed. He has to bring Julia, "all these books", her blanket, and her milk which trust me, is quite the load.

Julia has been having fun picking up "popcorns" in the yard, counting them and moving them from place to place. I kept telling her that they were called acorns and not popcorns. She compromised and has given them the final name of "apopcorns." Thats the way its going to be and she is sticking to it.

Well, after almost 2 years, Julia is officially paid in full.

I guess that means that now, she is officially ours.......

Fall Fun 2009

2009-10-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Julia and I dressed in our best Halloween outfits (I know, I swore I wouldn't dress my daughter in those stupid themed outfits....) and the three of us headed to Parker Pioneer Village last weekend.
Parker Pioneer Village has a festival every fall and they celebrate the way that things were done in the past. This was my first time to go and we had a blast. The kettle corn alone was worth the trip!

I don't know why we buy expensive electronic toys. Julia counted these beads for at least 20 minutes before I pulled her away!

Julia making some corn meal the old fashioned way.

The highlight of this trip was the seesaw. She laughed so hard and talked about the seesaw for days!

This past weekend, Julia and I took a road trip to Fayetteville to visit our friends and go to War Eagle arts and crafts fair. We had a great time and everybody especially loved the pumpkin patch.

Little Daniel Carey!

Julia and Mattie in the wagon looking for the perfect pumpkin.

Julia and I drove to Little Rock to spend the night at the Peabody with a friend of mine from work. It is becoming a tradition to stay at the Peabody and go to the Komen Race for the Cure every year. Once again, it was a great and very memorable experience! The picture above is sweet Emily helping Julia color.

Race for the Cure....I hear there were over 40,000 people there!

Even the Peabody ducks came out and walked on pink carpet!

Julia enjoying the music and an apple at the Race

Sunday was my favorite day of all because we didn't get out of our pajamas! Here's Julia helping me carve the pumpkin.

She loved squishing the insides of the pumpkin!

Ohhh, she loved this pumpkin! She gave it a bunch of hugs and kisses and wouldn't let me put in outside. It had to stay inside and go wherever she was.

It did turn out pretty good! I love a pumpkin carving kit!

RIP Spooky Shepherd

2009-10-13T14:20:00.001-07:00

Our 16 year old cat Spooky died this morning. She was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago and has had three surgeries to remove the lumps. We knew our time with her was quickly coming to an end the past couple of weeks when she stopped eating and was really slow to move around. John and I had decided last night that we would take her to the vet this afternoon when we got off work to put her out of her misery. Thanks goodness, she died peacefully early this morning at home and we buried her in our backyard. RIP Spooky!

Just for fun, the Spooky story.....

In 1993, I was going to college and we were having a terrible mouse problem in this substandard housing that we were living in. A girl at college told me she had some baby kittens that she needed to get rid of. Thinking that I could solve the mouse problem, I asked her to bring me one the next day. She did and she was a sweet little six week old black kitten. We named her Spooky because it was close to Halloween and because she was black. When I got home, John was SO mad....he does not love a cat. Spooky did solve our mouse problem and we quickly grew to love her. She slept by my head for many years and she was like family. Spooky's peaceful life became a little chaotic when Julia came along, but she learned to love Julia and would still cuddle with the three of us on the couch. I could tell Spooky stories all day long, but its still a little too painful to talk much about her. She gave us 16 years of happy memories and we will miss her dearly!

Not a great picture....but this is healthy and happy Spooky a couple of years ago looking down at us through the stairway railing.

This picture was taken last night from her hiding spot under the bed in Julia's room.

RIP!

Again, Again, and Again....

2009-10-09T05:17:00.000-07:00

I have been picking Julia up from Miss Melinda's (where she is staying Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays) and from my parents (where she stays on Wednesdays) after work. Our ritual is to get in the car and start our drive home with the song C is for Cookie. Then, we listen to the rest of the Sesame Street CD. Julia screams, "Push!" very loudly from the backseat when one of her favorite songs comes on which means, "Turn it up!" I have to skip through the songs when she says, "No like it, this song!" When we get home, she wants to play outside until John gets home. She loves to push her baby in the stroller, play in her house, and slide.

She likes alot of repetition. The day that she was letting the baby slide and then her sliding, she did it over and over again....I am guessing at least 25 times.

It's tough going uphill in the grass!

Just had to show off one of Julia's many talents. She likes to wear my shoes around and this day she had on one incredibly high heeled boot on one foot and still managed to get around a little. I did notice some scuffs around the heels on my boots when I wore them the next day!

We celebrated Dad and Sarah's birthday this week by cooking some chili at my house. I thought Julia would enjoy coloring some homemade cards for the two of them but she was too busy counting the colors and hauling them around to actually color.

Funny how even when its someone else's birthday in our family, we all still sit around and stare at Julia. The true birthday honorees get lost in all of the attention that Julia steals!

I love this picture because she staring at that cake with those very wide eyes! She was in rare form after she ate her piece!

Mom, Ms. Nina and I went to Little Rock for a couple of days this week to attend the Hospital Auxiliary State meeting. Of the 380 attendees, I was by far the youngest person there and I would guess the average age was around 75. It was a good time and we even snuck over to Robinson Center to see Mamma Mia which just happened to be in town when we were there! How lucky were we! It was just as fabulous the fourth time as it was the first!

A Whole New Level of Cuteness

2009-09-30T21:08:00.001-07:00

Fun, Fun and More FUN!

2009-09-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

Julia turned 22 months yesterday and she is getting to be more fun by the minute. We have had a blast lately doing all kinds of kid stuff. She is speaking in sentences now and I thought I would list some common phrases that we are hearing around here....

"I told you I be right back."

"That was a good movie." This Richard Scarry movie about counting....she is obsessed! We have to watch it every night before we read books before bed. The last thing she says every night is, "That was a good movie."

"Are you ready to eat?"

"No like it."

"Sit right here you."

"I want a blankie/milk."

"Wanna play bwocks (blocks)?"

"What choo doing Daddy/Mommy?"

"You hear it Mommy? Daddy playin titar (guitar)?"

"Want read it again." We are now reading the same books over and over again at least three and sometimes even five times. Tonight was the exception. We read a book about pottying and she only wanted to read it once....lol.

Our sweet Sol turned two in early September and we celebrated with a Yo Gabba Gabba themed party. The jumpy was the deal this year. I have decided that all of us parents should just go in together and buy one and just move it from house to house.

I have to admit....the jumpies are fun. I would love to have a few minutes in one all by myself. For now, Julia is my excuse to "have" to get in there because she is a little shy and scared at first. She warms up fast though!

Julia getting ready to go to the PTA Fall Festival. She has her necklace on and eyeshadow ready.
Cute Julia! Thought I would post a picture of this dress because it will be the last time she gets to wear it.

Because....she accidentally got some paint on it while painting these pumpkins!

I had a moment of realization when I sat her up on that bench to paint....she is getting to be such a big girl and really didn't need or want my help at all!

All of the painted pumpkins waiting to dry. Julia's is in the far right hand corner. She used a lot of green in her piece of art.

She had to get in all four jumpies. Notice that this time I am not in there with her!

On the hayride.....

Leaving Fall Festival with a concession. PTA Fall Festival is at the top of my list. It was so much fun and was a little like stepping back in time. I am so happy that I have Julia so that I don't have to miss out on all the kiddie fun!

Sunday, Julia, John and I headed to Jonesboro to the Crowley's Ridge Nature Center. There was lots there to touch, see and hear. Julia's favorite thing was to push the buttons to hear the different bird sounds. She also liked the giant moose that was hanging on the wall.

Mesmerized by the fish and turtles

Learning about bison

Touching the mushrooms on our hike

Holding Daddy's hand on the hike

11 Years!

2009-09-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

John and I celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary Saturday. I can't believe it has been 11 years. But then again when I think about it, I can't remember my life without him in it. I know it sounds cheesy and I am sure that I said it about our tenth, but the 11th year was definitely our best year yet! Unfortunately, we didn't get to celebrate in any special way on our actual date because we had an incredibly busy day Saturday. Our gift to eachother was tickets to see The Chorus Line at the Orpheum Thursday night so we will celebrate then....I can't wait!

Saturday morning, Julia and I headed to the Cooper Young festival in Memphis. We parked at Tara's and she and John met up with us later. We missed our sweet Emmy who was spending the night with friends. I so love the Cooper Young fest. Julia and I made some record art.

Check it out!

Saturday afternoon, Julia went home for a nap and I went to Village Creek to celebrate Ms. Bradshaw's birthday party. Her children and grandchildren actually pulled off a surprise birthday party for her. She is one of my favorites and I had a great time.

Here are Julia's friends playing in the bubble machine. I was a little sad that she missed out on the fun!

The birthday girl! I think those candle numbers say 87!

Sunday was a great laid back day at home. John had band practice in the basement while I cooked a big pot of vegetable soup. This is Julia doing what she does while she is hanging out at home with us. She is playing with her Little People barn. She doesn't play with the Little People and animals that came with it, but substitutes those with her favorite Weebles. Weebles are these round bottom characters that she can fit in her hand. She has loved them ever since she was old enough to play. She transfers them from one spot to another all day long. From her car, to her Elmo shopping cart, to her baby stroller, into her backpack, and then back to the barn. It's a fun game and occupies her for hours!

She is such a smart girl! She knows her colors, can count to 14, knows about 60% of her letters by sight, can sing the ABC song with a little prompting, and is such a joy. She keeps us laughing smiling around here. John and I can't wait to see what the next 11 years of marriage will bring.

More Pictures....

2009-09-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

My favorite picture from our DC trip.....maybe my favorite picture ever!

Or this one.....

Julia at 21 months! This picture was taken after she had had her first Cheetos experience.

Julia enjoying her first ever ice cream cone at the Air and Space Museum.

Julia and I on the Subway in DC

This was what was left of our Ethiopian meal when we finished devouring it. It was delicious and very different from anything we had ever tried before. It was served on a spongy bread that was also used as the utensils.

Senator Ted Kennedy....RIP.

The check in desk at the YMCA where we stayed in NYC. I have never seen more tread mills in my life!

In the Heights......one of the Broadway musicals that we say while in NYC. I LOVED it!

Julia eating a watermelon "Julia style!"

Juicy Julia!

Travel East, Travel West....After All, Home is Best!

2009-09-10T20:54:00.001-07:00

Washington DC monuments

I returned last week after a long, but wonderful vacation/work trip to Washington DC and NYC! It was the best of everything.....family time, work time and girl time! Julia, John and I flew to Washington two Saturdays ago and stayed at the Grand Hyatt. Julia was such a near perfect angel on the trip that I am still saying that I would take her to Paris next weekend if I could afford it! She was such a city girl and her favorite things were the airplanes, taxis, elevators, escalators, subways (oh, she LOVED getting on the train!), ice cream cones, and pigeons. We went to see the monuments, Arlington cemetery, Museum of Natural History, Air and Space museum, spent some time in Georgetown (my favorite!), spent Sunday at Eastern Market which is a large arts and crafts/trade show, and even got to see Ted Kennedy's funeral procession just when it was heading into Arlington cemetery towards Senator Kennedy's final resting place. I was so excited to get to see such an important piece of history! John bought the newspaper for us to keep for Julia so that she will know that she got to see it.

We ate some interesting food after asking some locals what their favorites were. The most memorable was the Ethiopian restaurant where all the food was eaten with no utensils.....only a piece of large flat bread was used to pick up different meats and vegetables. Very interesting experience and delicious! I had to put Julia and John on the plane Tuesday evening to head back to Memphis so that John could get back to school. That was tough....but we all survived.

I headed back to an empty and quiet hotel room and hopped a bus the next day after meetings to head to NYC. Believe it or not, I found a $5.00 bus fare for a bus that left on the hour every hour to New York. So around 11:45, I checked out of the hotel, literally walked across the street to board the brand new bus, and 3 and a half hours later, I was in NYC! Mary Katherine flew in from Fayetteville and met up with us that night. We stayed with my cousin Scottie and her husband Jason (the ones that just got married in Aspen....see previous post) for the first two nights. I can sum up the whole NYC experience by saying that it was FABULOUS and that I loved every minute of being there. Scottie, Mary Katherine and I had a blast and I had so much fun getting some quality time with both of them. Scottie was the perfect hostess and their apartment in SoHo was definitely a treat. We saw 9 to 5 on Broadway, took a double decker tour, did some shopping, and ate some very memorable sushi!

Mary Katherine and I spent our last two nights at the Vanderbilt YMCA where we shared a dorm style room complete with bunk beds and hardly enough room for us to fit our suitcases. We also shared a college style bathroom with many very young European travelers. Interesting.... I am still trying to make a final determination, but for now, I would say that I would do it again because it is dirt cheap and how nice do your accommodations really need to be when you are sleeping 6 hours and then heading out again for the day????

After four fun packed days of museums, the best pizza and food that I have ever eaten, Broadway, shopping, late night manicures and pedicures, and great girl time, I was refreshed and ready to get home to my sweet baby girl. She and John were waiting on me at the airport and Julia screamed with excitement when she saw me. I couldn't (and still can't) stop kissing her. Julia did well while I was gone. She got to spend a lot of time with her grandparents and John even took her to Memphis to see Sesame Street Live "Elmo's Green Thumb." Even with all the guilt I felt in leaving her, I now believe that mommas actually do need some time to do things just for fun. So, we are planning our next long weekend that we will take next summer or maybe even the next. I am guessing it will be NYC again because I don't think I could ever get enough.....

I picked some of my favorite pictures

This is a favorite because it represents how most of the trip went....Julia is a girl on the go...she led/drug me everywhere we went by holding my hand. She is still relatively content to be in the stroller, but adamantly prefers walking!

John took this one....

Walking to see the monuments....Julia is such a big girl!

Getting creative in the Lincoln Memorial....whatever it takes to keep Julia happy!

My favorite Memorial...

Rocks

2009-08-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

So....my camera is officially out of commission and has been sent off. I am missing all kinds of cuteness around here and hear that I will be without it for at least 4-6 weeks. Thought I would tell you about the pictures that you would be seeing here if things were right.

1. Rocks everywhere!
Julia picks up a hand full of rocks every time she goes outside and brings them in. They are everywhere....under her bed, in her bed, in the kitchen, in the trunks of her toy cars, etc. And, they HURT when you step on them barefooted!

2. Julia dancing!
This girl loves some tunes. She dances like a wild woman and goes around and around! Three days ago, she was so wound up that she got dizzy and fell into an ottoman in her room. Within one minute of falling, the imprint of the ottoman fabric showed up on her forehead. The next day, a huge bruise showed up under the fabric imprint. Her little legs always look beat up....with mosquito bites, bruises, little scrapes, etc. I guess that's a good sign in that she is very curious and likes to explore....sometimes to her own detriment.

3. Julia "ordering drinks at Sonic"
I guess Julia has seen me order drinks at Sonic so many times that she has started "ordering" her own out of her Cozy Coupe car. She lifts her head through the front window and says, "Yes, I need a small coke and ice." Plain as day! She even sticks her head out from the deck railing and "orders." This girl keeps us rolling!

4. Julia reading big girl books
I have been so proud of Julia crawling into my lap and asking me to read to her. I have been reading stories out of a Sesame Street book lately. The pages are full of words and it takes a long time to read each page. She will sit through an entire story and not move. She even asks me to read her the book that I am reading. Pretty amazing since there are no pictures to even look at! Speaking of books, my book club just finished, The Help, which was great. It's been a long time since I have read a book that was hard to put down.

John has been playing music on the weekends, so Julia and I have had lots of girl time. We love our time together, but Julia is happies when the three of us are together and paying a lot of attention to her. We were eating dinner last night and she looked at John and asked, "You happy?" He said yes and I continued on by telling her that we were happier than we have ever been. Julia sure makes life sweet around here!

Grillin and Chillin

2009-08-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

The happiest news this week was the arrival of sweet Rose Ryan Jackson! Sol now has a precious baby sister. I got to hold her last week and I forgot how tiny newborns really are and even better, how soft and cuddly they are. I could have held this little cuddle bug all night!

Back at home, our big girl has been busy grilling us some chicken every night on the grill that her grandparents got for her. She is talking in sentences and soaks up several new phrases every day. Last week it was, "Oh my gosh," "Oh my," and "Who knew?" Her new favorite song is "C is for Cookie." She screams with excitement when it comes on and as soon as its over she says, "Sing Cookie again? Okay Julwa!" She answers all of her questions to us with "OK Julwa" meaning that we are supposed to say yes. "Eat some chips? OK Julwa!" "Want wash hands? OK Julwa!"
Oh, she keeps us laughing and John and I usually end every day by telling each other funny Julia stories. What did we ever do without her?

She had a blast swimming this weekend! She was so brave and laughed out loud most of the time she was in the water. She loved playing Motorboat and would even jump off the side into my arms.

She even stuck her face in the water and would try to blow bubbles.

The sidewalk chalk and body art was almost as fun as being in the water.

My birthday was yesterday and I thanked John this morning for helping to give me the best birthday ever. First, my favorite meal of grilled salmon, fresh asparagus, and a sweet potato. Then, a very sweet note left of my desk and a sweet birthday card. Last, a great and relaxing night at home with my bestest peeps...John and Julia. John laughed at me when I thanked him and said that five years ago, I wouldn't have called staying at home doing nothing my best birthday. It's all about simple abundance these days.

Aspen!

2009-07-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

John, Julia and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Aspen! We went to my cousin Scottie's wedding and had such a great time. I was a little nervous about flying with Julia, renting a car and being gone for 6 days, but our baby girl is a real trooper and we were so proud of her willingness to just roll with it! We decided that she was 95% good on the flight there and about 99% good on the flight back. That gives her a good 97% average!

Julia and I heading to a brunch for all the girls given by my Aunt Jane and cousins Scottie and Robin. Julia sat at the end of the table in a high chair placed there just for her. She ate jellybeans and blew her nose loudly with the Kleenexes that were sitting next to her on the table. Fortunately, the conversations were so lively at the other end of the table, I was the only one who noticed the obnoxious blowing sounds she made with her mouth!

Hanging out with blankie in her pretty smocked dress.

My glamorous cousins, Robin, Scottie, and Leslie!

Julia meets her second cousin Elliot for the first time! He is a precious little sweetheart and I miss him already!

Our welcome to Aspen tote bag from Scottie and Jason that was delivered to us after we arrived at the condo! What a treat!

Julia decided that she would have more fun hanging out with her mom and dad at the condo while everyone else was enjoying a party after the rehearsal dinner. It was my first time to understand why people take teenagers with them on trips to help with the kids! I was sad to miss it, but got over it quickly after seeing this sweet, happy face once we left the party.

Julia and Elliot

Elliot's Mom and Dad, Anna and Brian who live in Portland getting ready to head out for the wedding. Oh, I so love my cousins!

The three of us going up the mountain for the wedding in the glass gondola. Julia loved the ride.

This is Caroleena, the babysitter we hired to watch Julia and Elliot while we were at the wedding. She came up the mountain with us and got to hang out with the kids in the bridal suite. Caroleena was a sweetheart and after agonizing over the decision of whether to hire a stranger to babysit or for one of us to miss the wedding and keep the kids for all these months, we loved her and wanted to bring her back to Arkansas with us!

A perfect and breath taking ceremony on top of Aspen Mountain!

Pretty Aunt Jane, so happy seeing Scottie!

The beautiful place setting that was just for me after the wedding and after an hour of wonderful champagne and hors d oeuvres!

John's dinner!

My dinner!

My Aunt Amy and Uncle Jim from California all dressed up!

Mom and Dad all dressed up!

The stunning bride!

Happy couple's first dance

Look at this sunset!

John and I at dinner

Got in some good family time Sunday!

Family dinner with all the Bonady brothers and sisters.

John, Julia and I left Aspen to drive back to Denver and spend one night there. We drove the scenic route and loved every minute of it. This picture was taken just a few minutes outside of Aspen in the mountains and looks like a postcard!

I love it that Julia literally stops to smell the roses!

The reason we stayed the extra night in Denver was so that we could enjoy lunch at my all time favorite restaurant, Sushi Den. Julia chowed down on the edamame.

John's the true sushi eater in our family....here is his sashimi lunch! He even ate octopus. Keep in mind though, he still won't admit that he likes sushi, but he is the one who says lets go eat some sushi regularly!

Julia has been to Sushi Den before! This was two summers ago when I was about 5 months pregnant with her!

And here we are now!

Thank you Scottie and Jason for a very memorable trip! I wish you both the best and many happy years together!!!

Now That's My Girl!

2009-07-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Julia is 19 and a half months old! She keeps us laughing and I could just sit and watch her all day. She still loves to "read" books. Her reading skills have improved lately and she will name one or two objects on each page that she is reading. These names are usually jumbled between 10 Chinese phrases. Her favorite toy is her Weebleville, these little rolly people who live in a plastic house with slides and elevators. She is a good and healthy eater and will try just about anything we put in front of her. She loves watermelon and most fresh fruit. Her bedtime is usually a little after 9 and she wakes up around 7:45. Great timing.....she wakes up just as I am leaving for work and who can resist saying good morning to their baby girl? I am late everyday! Julia is talking and has made some good sentences lately. "Mup (Come up on the bed), Elmo, TV" "Airplane in the sky gone bye bye" Her brilliance amazes me!

Shawnie brought us a pineapple from Hawaii. I didn't know what I was missing out on by buying canned pineapples.

Julia has a new obsession----"coco's (colors)" She loves these markers and hoards them. She spends as much time taking the lids off and on as she does coloring.

Julia likes to sit on the air conditioning vent in her room and read books or color.

Sol and Julia enjoying a delicious summer meal. I asked her if she wanted to go see Sol. She thought I said "see saw." So now, whenever I show her a picture of Sol and ask her who is that, her first answer is Emmy and her second is see saw!

I am one proud momma watching Julia help with the evening chores. She even swept UNDER the chair!

A Week Gone By....

2009-07-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Meet sweet Joan Terhune. She was christened last Sunday in Memphis at St. Luke's Episcopalian Church. Since I am honored to be her Godmother, we all got to spend a great day with some of my favorites! Tracy (her mom) and I have known each other since we were little and became good friends in high school. She and Brad are two of the coolest people that I know and I am so happy to play such an important role in the life of little Joanie!

Lunch at Tracy and Brad's

Our next adventure was to lay some Bermuda sod at our house. My parents helped while Sarah kept Julia occupied inside. We worked hard but it looks GREAT! I can actually see some light at the end of the this landscaping project tunnel. We still have a lot to do, but green grass makes a huge difference! It's taken my body almost a week to recover, but I'm almost there. Many thanks to the family for their help!

Julia likes to sit on the kitchen counters while I am cooking. She picked up a raw onion and decided to try it.

Here's what she thought about it!

4th of July, Julia and I drove to Rogers to spend some time with the Vandiver's. They live in a really nice neighborhood where we were able to pull chairs into the front yard and watch an amazing firework show. Julia got to enjoy the show in her pajamas. She loved the fireworks for about ten minutes and asked, "What is that?" at least 200 times! She called them "crackers."

We went to the Fayetteville Botanical garden too and had a great time. I have never been to a botanical garden because I always thought it was what old people did....LOL! Now that I have my own project going, I have become much more interested in plants. There was a section of the garden that was designed especially for children and Julia loved it. I think we could have stayed there all day....if there wasn't such good shopping in the area....

Mattie looking in after Julia and Daniel. Mattie (who is 6) was so sweet to Julia while we were there. I think she is Julia's new idol!

When we got back, I got to have a girl's night out to see Wicked at the Orpheum in Memphis. We had a blast and Wicked was pretty incredible. I could have watched it again the very next night!