Dear Julianna,
Wow. Twenty-seven months. It’s getting harder and harder to keep up with. When people ask me how old you are now, I can’t quickly recall in months as I used to so I’ve gotten to where I say, “Two and a few months” or “She turned two in March.”
Right now as I listen to you talking to all of your “friends” as you try to settle down for a nap, I am yet again impressed with your knowledge. You just told someone in your bed the correct road that you live on. Monday, when Aunt Whitney kept you for my afternoon doctor appointment you repeatedly asked me to tell you what street she lives on and you remembered all that I told you.
Speaking of my doctor’s appointment, on Monday we got to see pictures of your baby brother or sister. Of course, he’s a cutie and we can’t wait for you to meet him. You will be such a good sister! When we ask you about the baby in mommy’s belly you tell us about your baby sister and when we ask what we should name her you tell us, “O.” It was funny the first time but it’s even funnier now that you’ve repeated it several times. Baby O. Always called a sister.
Anyway, you’ve shown us that you’ve got quite the imagination lately. You’ve developed imaginary friends such as Larry the green bunny. And you’ve even got a zoo in your back “ard” consisting of a dog, horse, mouse, fish, and butterfly. But Larry is by far your favorite. You hug him tightly in your arms and sing the Barney Song to him. You make room for him to sit in your car seat with you and whenever people come over to the house you immediately hold out two cupped palms to show off Larry to them. Jules, I don’t know where you get it all, but it’s certainly precious.
At bedtime this month we’ve sort of prompted you to ask God to bless certain people after you say your standard bedtime prayer. After a few nights with guidance, you now readily ask God’s blessing on all kinds of people each night and it’s so much fun to see who you come up with each time. You always list a variety of people, sometimes very random and sometimes just the usual “God bless Daddy and Jules and God bless Mommy.” You’ve prayed for grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and 2nd cousins, friends and really just about anyone you know. You’re such a sweet girl.
You’ve been saying, “I ‘preciate it!” to people when they do something for you and you’ve finally learned the difference between when you should say, “Yes Sir” and when you should say, “Yes Ma’am.” I’m proud that you’re so polite. Sometimes it can be pretty hilarious though. We had to go down to Grandpa’s house the other night to pick up one of the cars and while we were there Sharon asked you if she could come swing on your new swingset and you promptly told her, “Yes, but you have to be nice!”
You still absolutely LOVE to sing. You go around the house constantly singing and will quickly entertain anyone with a few bars of any song you know. Sometimes you mix songs up, understandably, but it always gives me a good laugh. One time recently you sang, “They are weak but He is strong and Bingo was his name-o.” Ha! Jesus is now also known as Bingo. Silly, silly girl!
I know the “Why?” phase is coming Julianna. I can feel it. So I don’t want to complain too much now, but these days you want to know what every single sign you see says. We ride down the road and you are constantly asking from the backseat, “What that say, Mom?” and as you point I have no idea what sign you’re pointing at so I have to give a steady narration as we ride pointing and telling what every sign says before you ask. You’re like a sponge soaking up every last bit of anything you can learn.
We’ll spend the next month together at the beach and I can’t wait. You can’t either. You have already devised a plan for the whole trip. You’re going to swim in the ocean and take your shoes off on the beach. You’re going to play soccer and watch a movie, eat ice cream, and feed the ducks and seagulls. I can't wait to see you live your fun dreams.
Often when you say, "I not love you Mama. I love Dada" it makes me a little sad, but I know it's only a phase you're going through. Like so many other things it too shall pass. And I still love you, Jules. Nothing can make me stop.
Love,
Mama
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
time for arts and crafts, boys and girls!
We made caterpillars and paintings for Daddy, Mamaw, Pap, and Nanna the other day - almost as fun as the play doh sculptures we've been making a lot of recently. Isn't it fun to be a kid with your kids?
click below to play
My Montage 6/23/08
click below to play
My Montage 6/23/08
Saturday, June 21, 2008
one of the best days
Although it started off rough, today has been one of the best days. We went to Tanglewood and walked/ran a 5k. I haven't run in so long and as usual it made me feel so good about myself to do it. I was horrible and only averaged the entire race at about 4 mph, but I was pushing the jogging stroller and I am 8 weeks pregnant so I'll take it.
After that we went to my parents house to take showers and then we drove to Courtney for a family reunion luncheon. I never complain about covered dish lunches and the pecan pie was lip-smackin' good.
When we got home we took late afternoon naps and then waited for Jonathan to get home with the new swingset. We unloaded it and then went to Chick-fil-a for dinner and now we're home to watch the latest from the Netflix queue.
It couldn't have been a better Saturday.
What did you do?
After that we went to my parents house to take showers and then we drove to Courtney for a family reunion luncheon. I never complain about covered dish lunches and the pecan pie was lip-smackin' good.
When we got home we took late afternoon naps and then waited for Jonathan to get home with the new swingset. We unloaded it and then went to Chick-fil-a for dinner and now we're home to watch the latest from the Netflix queue.
It couldn't have been a better Saturday.
What did you do?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
good things that happened yesterday
- I didn't throw up.
- I found several very good new teaching jobs to apply for.
- My parents got an offer on their house!
- Despite skipping her afternoon nap (and therefore mine as well), Jules maintained a pleasant disposition and went to bed at a decent hour.
- My husband started on the laundry.
- It grew one day closer to vacation.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
hypothetically speaking
Let's say someone offered a group of people something they had no use for anymore. You happened to have a great need for the item(s) and you happened to speak up first to claim it/them. The person mentioned nothing about wanting money for the item although you suppose it would be nice to pay them for it/them. You offer to pay more than once and they decline the offer more than once. You know that there are others who would possibly want the same item(s). What do you do?
a) You take the item expressing significant gratitude and perhaps you send a thank you note later. Forget the others who may have also needed it. After all, you were the one to speak up first so it doesn't matter who else could have used it, right?
b) You take the item expressing significant gratitude, you send a thank you note later including what you felt was a reasonable payment despite the giver's insistence that payment is not necessary, and you forget the others who may have needed it since you claimed it first and hopeful you'll have a chance to pay it forward in the future.
c) You offer to split/share/trade-off the item with other interested parties as well as offering to split/share any payment gven for the item. You're thankful for a compromise that helps everyone involved.
d) some other option (please explain)
Please vote in the comments.
a) You take the item expressing significant gratitude and perhaps you send a thank you note later. Forget the others who may have also needed it. After all, you were the one to speak up first so it doesn't matter who else could have used it, right?
b) You take the item expressing significant gratitude, you send a thank you note later including what you felt was a reasonable payment despite the giver's insistence that payment is not necessary, and you forget the others who may have needed it since you claimed it first and hopeful you'll have a chance to pay it forward in the future.
c) You offer to split/share/trade-off the item with other interested parties as well as offering to split/share any payment gven for the item. You're thankful for a compromise that helps everyone involved.
d) some other option (please explain)
Please vote in the comments.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
this week in numbers
It's only Tuesday.
Number of cards I've made so far: 24
Dollars spent on fast food: 14
Number of iPods missing: 1
Loads of laundry still to do: 4
Naps taken: 2
Days until The Mole airs again: 6
Minutes spent hugging the toilet trying not to vomit: no less than 30
Number of articles of clothing I've resisted buying at the store: 11 (YAY ME!)
Number of articles of clothing that actually made it all the way home: 3 + 1 pair of flip-flops for Jules
Times my daughter has sang "Happy Birthday, Pap!": 2,391 (his birthday is in a month)
Number of cards I've made so far: 24
Dollars spent on fast food: 14
Number of iPods missing: 1
Loads of laundry still to do: 4
Naps taken: 2
Days until The Mole airs again: 6
Minutes spent hugging the toilet trying not to vomit: no less than 30
Number of articles of clothing I've resisted buying at the store: 11 (YAY ME!)
Number of articles of clothing that actually made it all the way home: 3 + 1 pair of flip-flops for Jules
Times my daughter has sang "Happy Birthday, Pap!": 2,391 (his birthday is in a month)
i suppose she could be calling me stupid-head
A while back I mentioned how Julianna had started calling me Courtney and Jonathan, Jonathan. It was irritating to say the least. However, it was only a short-lived phase. Now she's decided to call us Mom and Dad.
Can I tell you just how odd it is to hear a two-year old say, "What is that, Mom?" or "I want a snack, Mom!" Bizarre. It just doesn't sound right.
And I don't like it one bit.
She's my baby. Babies don't say, "Mom" and "Dad." Babies say, "Mama and Dada" or "Mommy and Daddy." Certainly not just Mom or just Dad.
I try to ignore it really and I don't correct her since I know it probably won't last and it's not impolite. It's just weird and I don't want her to sound so grown up!
Can I tell you just how odd it is to hear a two-year old say, "What is that, Mom?" or "I want a snack, Mom!" Bizarre. It just doesn't sound right.
And I don't like it one bit.
She's my baby. Babies don't say, "Mom" and "Dad." Babies say, "Mama and Dada" or "Mommy and Daddy." Certainly not just Mom or just Dad.
I try to ignore it really and I don't correct her since I know it probably won't last and it's not impolite. It's just weird and I don't want her to sound so grown up!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
up to
So I've been a terrible blogger lately. For that I am sorry. I've been spending way too much time sleeping and not enough time on the computer. I've been taking a nap a day plus going to bed kinda early and sleeping kinda late. That has sorta eaten up my blogging time. Here's what else I've been up to.
Reading
Making
new cards for my next card party
Wanting
a swingset for Jules. Yes. Still.
Praying
that I'll get a *certain* job that I applied for about 3 weeks ago (or any job for that matter). I've been furiously sending out resumes and filling out applications. I desparately need to go back to work. I was offered one job that turned out to not be worth the time for the money and now I'm just wanting to get back to teaching this fall.
Sleeping
so tired. all the time. can hardly keep my eyes open to type this. did I mention I've been sleeping?
Freezing
pesto. homemade with fresh basil from J's garden. Actually I haven't quite gotten any made yet because I can barely keep my kitchen free of filth much less find the food processor, but I have dreams of making and freezing lots of pesto from the garden. Does that count?
Thinking
how blessed I am to finally be free of worry about c-diff. not saying I won't ever have to deal with it again. just saying I'm thankful I've stopped having so much anxiety over it. of course it helps that I havent had to take antibiotics for it in a few months now and so far have seen no signs of it returning.
Missing
the SAO convention last weekend (due to financial difficulty). sadness.
Counting
the days until we leave for the beach
Hope you all are up to somethin' good!
Reading
- a Proverb a day
- Miss Understanding by Stephanie Lessing
- Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
- None of these are for book club. Actually, for book club we're supposed to be reading Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, but I'm not sure we're going to be here for book club this month so I'm going to wait until I can get the book to borrow from someone when they're finished. Still loving Bookmootch though!
Making
new cards for my next card party
Wanting
a swingset for Jules. Yes. Still.
Praying
that I'll get a *certain* job that I applied for about 3 weeks ago (or any job for that matter). I've been furiously sending out resumes and filling out applications. I desparately need to go back to work. I was offered one job that turned out to not be worth the time for the money and now I'm just wanting to get back to teaching this fall.
Sleeping
so tired. all the time. can hardly keep my eyes open to type this. did I mention I've been sleeping?
Freezing
pesto. homemade with fresh basil from J's garden. Actually I haven't quite gotten any made yet because I can barely keep my kitchen free of filth much less find the food processor, but I have dreams of making and freezing lots of pesto from the garden. Does that count?
Thinking
how blessed I am to finally be free of worry about c-diff. not saying I won't ever have to deal with it again. just saying I'm thankful I've stopped having so much anxiety over it. of course it helps that I havent had to take antibiotics for it in a few months now and so far have seen no signs of it returning.
Missing
the SAO convention last weekend (due to financial difficulty). sadness.
Counting
the days until we leave for the beach
Hope you all are up to somethin' good!
Friday, June 13, 2008
i adore this child
OK so I know I've been MIA for a while now. More on that later. For now I have a really cute story to get down before I forget it.
We've been playing outside in one of those inflatable swimming pools lately to beat the heat. Julianna constantly throws water out of the pool and I have to fuss at her. Several times today I told her, "one more time and you're going to have to get out for a while." (Yes, I know. Bad mommy for saying "one more time" more than once.)
Anyway, when I finally told her she had to get out for a while for throwing water outside of the pool of course she wouldn't come. I told her that she had until I counted to three to come or she was going to get a spanking. I counted. She didn't budge. I stepped in the pool and popped her and then took her out of the water and made her sit in time-out for a bit. She cried for a minute or two and finally calmed down.
The cat, whom she affectionately calls SI-men, came over and laid beside her. He sympathetically stretched out his chin beside her and she said, "SI-men, be nice to me. I in time out. I not listen to my mama."
It was soooooo adorable I almost died of the extreme cuteness.
We've been playing outside in one of those inflatable swimming pools lately to beat the heat. Julianna constantly throws water out of the pool and I have to fuss at her. Several times today I told her, "one more time and you're going to have to get out for a while." (Yes, I know. Bad mommy for saying "one more time" more than once.)
Anyway, when I finally told her she had to get out for a while for throwing water outside of the pool of course she wouldn't come. I told her that she had until I counted to three to come or she was going to get a spanking. I counted. She didn't budge. I stepped in the pool and popped her and then took her out of the water and made her sit in time-out for a bit. She cried for a minute or two and finally calmed down.
The cat, whom she affectionately calls SI-men, came over and laid beside her. He sympathetically stretched out his chin beside her and she said, "SI-men, be nice to me. I in time out. I not listen to my mama."
It was soooooo adorable I almost died of the extreme cuteness.