Girlie Thursdays

"We went to God today. But, He didn't come out. We just saw a picture of him."
From what I can gather, this is Julia's description of going to chapel at her new school. She's pretty interested in God and Jesus these days. In fact, the other day she told me that when she grows up, she's going to be "a ballerina and Jesus." Sounds like she'll be a bit busy!

In other news, I saw Julia poking at her stomach yesterday, and I asked her what she was doing. She kept at it, very determinedly, and replied, "I am trying to make my belly button go away!" I didn't want to be the one to tell her that that was going to be a hard feat to pull off.

A Song

Julia made up a song for me this morning that I just had to share. It's sung to the tune of Frere Jacques.

Sweetie Mommy!
Sweetie Mommy!
Yes her is. Yes her is.
Her my favorite Mommy. Her my favorite Mommy.
Yes her is.

She was obviously in a good mood this morning! I have to say, this is my new favorite song. I'll even forgive the grammatical mistakes.

Funny Things My Kids Say

From Julia, when she climbed up in my lap after I had been at the gym: "You don't smell very good!"

From Will, when he saw me wearing white jeans and a tank top (i.e., something other than workout clothes): "Mama, why are you so fancy today?"

From Julia: Zach told her that he would rock her five more minutes if she would give him a kiss on the cheek. So, she obliged and got her additional minutes. When those were up, she got a gleam in her eyes, gave him a kiss on the other cheek, and asked, "Now can I have anudder five minutes?"

From Will, who was obviously feeling extremely philosophical: "Mama, who made God God? I mean, who was around before God to decide that he got to be God?" (I had no answer on this one.)
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And, a couple of funny things that I've found myself saying, things that I never really thought I'd have an occasion to say:
"Where is the other half of Chewbacca?"
"Get your cheese off of the sofa!"
"Do not put your panties on Will's head. He doesn't like that."

I'm Back!

Wow. I have been completely sucking at blogging this year. When my kids look back at 2011 and ask what they did or what cute things they said, I won't have anything to tell them. But, as always, I resolve to do better. And, this time, I might actually have a shot at posting more frequently because....I quit my job! Yes, as of June 10th, I am a full-time SAHM, housewife, or "domestic engineer" (Zach's term) or whatever you want to call it. I'm very excited to have this opportunity to spend more time with the kids....well, come the fall I'll spend some more time with them. But, through the summer, I'm keeping them in daycare. Yes, I am completely spoiled!

Anyway, what have we been doing since I last posted? Well, there was Easter. There were various egg hunts, parties at school, dying eggs for the first time ever (not as much of a disaster as I would have thought), an Easter bunny "cake" out of Rice Krispy treats that I was very proud of, church at the Alabama Theater because our sanctuary is being renovated, and lunch at the Venables.

I got strep throat and thought I was going to die. Seriously, it was the sickest I've been in recent memory. I was in bed for three full days, and couldn't even drive myself to the doctor. Fortunately, no one else in the family got it. I think they are all carrier monkeys.

We went to Lindsey and Nate's wedding in North Carolina and left the kids with my parents. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you ask), that was the same weekend that Melanie, Bob, and baby Jack came to B'ham for a wedding. So, EVERYONE stayed at our house, and I think it was a bit much. But, we had a great time! And, that's what really matters. (And then I got to see baby Jack for a day when we got home. Yahoo!) Will also had a great time that weekend--he was enthralled by cool uncle Bob who taught him science experiments and math problems. He's still talking about it.

Will "graduated" from his 4K preschool class and they had a big party to celebrate. It was really cute, even though he's only been there for a year, and even though he isn't actually going to Kindergarten in the fall (he's going to 5K because we're holding him back due to his late birthday). But, the kids had worked hard on their program, and I worked hard on not tearing up while they sang their songs. Off-key children's singing is about the cutest thing ever.

The day after graduation, we headed to the beach. We rented a condo in Seagrove, and my mom joined us for most of the week. It was GREAT! We had perfect weather all week, and since it was the week before Memorial Day, it wasn't crowded at all. The kids loved playing on the beach and swimming in the pool. I have never seen so much energy.

To keep things exciting, as soon as we got back from the beach, I went to Fairfax to wrap things up for work. I attempted to teach "the new girl" everything I could about the job and said goodbye to my co-workers, some of whom I worked with for over ten years. They had a happy hour for me (with too many shots), and gave me a very sweet "retirement" gift...a membership to the Children's Theater for the year. We went to see our first show, The Little Red Hen, this past weekend, and the kids loved it...even Julia!

When I returned, I finalized everything in my last week of work, and then we left town again. This time, we went to Austin, TX to see my cousin Ben (Big Ben, as the kids call him) get married to Amy. Since it was a family wedding, my parents and sister went too, so the kids had their first overnight babysitter. Everything went off without a hitch, and they were even asking for her when we came back (I could really feel the love). We had a great time in Austin. It is such a cool city, and we loved spending time with my cousins, who we don't get to see often. My aunt and uncle put on a great Rehearsal Dinner, and then the wedding was beautiful, though quite hot. On our free day before the wedding, we went out to brunch, rode water bikes, drank during the day, and walked around some of Austin's shops (again, very hot). I felt like we made the most of our mini-vacation!

Whew...we have been busy. Of course, mixed in all of that, we celebrated Mother's Day and Father's Day. Will started swim lessons again (though this time we have to call it swim "practice" and refer to his teacher as "Coach Andrew"). Julia started gymnastics, which is as adorable as it sounds. Will's going to McWane camp this week, and I've been trying to take the kids out of school for some one-on-one time. So, life has been full, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. But really, that's just the way I like it.

They Match!

This was a major accomplishment for me. I got the children in their "matching" outfits, with no fussing from anyone. They agreed to take pictures. They smiled for said pictures. And this was all done before school while Zach was out of town for work! (Their cooperation was fueled by the two sweet rolls that they each had for breakfast, but that's a minor detail that I'm willing to overlook.)

Girlie Thursdays: Cutest Thing Ever

This morning, Julia was looking at a picture from our wedding.

"That when you got marry."
"Yes, that's when Mama and Daddy got married."
"I not there. I was still with God."

She and I had discussed this weeks ago when she could not accept my answer that she wasn't at our wedding. She kept asking where she was, and didn't understand "you weren't born yet." At some point, I used some terminology about how she was still in heaven with God. I guess it stuck with her! You never know what they are picking up.

The Circus

Alternate Title: Sometimes, Just Sometimes, I Think That Maybe We're Doing Something Right

At the end of January, we took both kids to the circus (yes, it's been that long since I posted on the blog). This was Julia's first trip, and though she had no idea what a "circus" was, she was thrilled. She's at a phase where regardless of what the event is, she wants to make sure that she gets to go. In fact, a common question from her whenever she hears us talking about anything, is "Me go?!?" I guess she finally started to realize that we took Will to certain things that she didn't get to attend, and now she is not willing to miss out.

Anyway, I digress. This was Julia's first trip to the circus, but it was Will's third. Last year, we had a firm policy that we were not going to buy any of the plastic, crappy toys that the circus has to offer. We made a big deal about how getting to go to the circus was the big treat, and he also got to get a snow-cone in a tiger cup, which we thought counted as a toy. It did not. At least not in Will's mind. He held it together pretty well until we were leaving, where we had to walk through the plastic toy gauntlet. Then, he lost it--screaming, crying, pouting--if you can think of a bad behavior, he did it. Needless to say, this left a bad taste in our mouth regarding our circus visit.

Fast forward to this year: we decided to come up with a new plan. We succumbed to the fact that buying a plastic toy for each child was just part of the circus experience and cost. But, we told Will that he was going to have to help pay for his toy by using some of his allowance. He gets four dollars a week (when we remember) and doesn't have much to spend it on, so he has quite a stash. He quickly accepted our terms and ran upstairs to get his money. When he came back, we were astounded:

"Here is my five dollars for my toy. And here is five dollars for Julia to get a toy. Because she doesn't get an allowance, so how is she going to get a toy? I brought five dollars for her."

I think I teared up a little bit. This is the exact attitude of giving and sharing that we're trying to foster, and he came up with it all on his own. Of course, he was praised effusively, which he loved, and we all headed out to the circus.

When it came time to pick a toy, he picked a light up, spinning sword, which I believe he has played with exactly once since. But, here's the best part of this story: Julia was standing with us while Will picked his toy, but didn't seem to realize what was going on, and we weren't about to clue her in if she wasn't begging for something (I'm sure she'll mention it in therapy later). After we paid for Will's sword, the man gave us a comment card that had a picture of an elephant on it. Julia thought that was her toy from the circus! And she was happy about it! Between the picture of the elephant and the free tattoo she had gotten before the show, she thought she had hit the jackpot.

And so did we.

Privacy

If you come to our house and happen to need to use the restroom, be sure to lock the door. Julia loves to visit people in the bathroom. I've quickly learned this (the hard way) and have taken to locking the door more often than not. But, Julia really loves visiting people while they're in the bathroom. So, this is what I get while I'm just trying to have two minutes to myself:

(Doorknob jiggles repeatedly.)
YOU IN DER MAMA??? YOU LOCK DOOR???

Yes Julia, I'll be right out.

WHAT YOU DOIN' MAMA? YOU GO POTTY??

Yes, Julia. Just a minute.

YOU GOIN' POTTY MAMA?? YOU NEED PI-VACY? YOU LOCK DOOR AND YOU HAVE PI-VACY MAMA??

Yes, Julia. That's just what I would call this. Complete and utter privacy.

Girlie Thursdays

Also known as, reason #4,326,501 why we're screwed:

Julia wanted to play Elmo on my phone, but I told her no. She looked at me as if I had slapped her across the face, and growled back, "Don't. tell. me. no!"

Oh little girl. That's what Mamas are for! And unfortunately for all of us, I think you're going to need to hear 'no' quite often.

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And, reason #4,326,502:

Will asked for something in a not-very-nice way. In fact, he pretty much ordered me to get whatever it is he wanted. Since I am always such a buzz-kill, I quickly told him that that was not the way we asked for things around here. Julia heard the conversation and decided to interject.

Julia: We say please, Wuh-wuh. (what she calls Will)
Will: JULIA! You are not the boss of me!
Julia (very calmly): I am. And we say please.

Christmas Memories

That last Christmas post was getting a bit too long, but I did want to share some of my favorite memories from this year's Christmas season:

• Overheard while the children were playing with their new wooden Nativity set: "NO Julia, you cannot hit me with the baby Jesus!"
• Julia's reaction as we drove into Mountain Brook village one night and saw all the trees lit up: "Awe-thome!"
• Julia declaring very loudly (and out of the blue) during the Living Nativity "If I go poop in the potty I get M&Ms!!!" I did tell her that one time a while ago, but I have no idea what prompted this as we're not really working on potty training right now.
• This:

• Will's over-the-top joy when he picked out and opened a present on Christmas Eve. He had been asking all season if a particular present was "that car thing like we got Luke A." and indeed it was. I think we could have stopped with that and he would have been happy.
• Zach's over-the-top joy about the beef tenderloin wrapped in pancetta that we made for Christmas Eve dinner.
• Will's sweet program at school and how he knew all of the songs.
• Julia's version of Jingle Bells, which just involved, "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, HEY!" over and over again. Oh, and how she asked me to sing "Manger" each night when I put her to bed.
• Julia wearing a dress I smocked for her and my dress coat from when I was three when we went to church on Christmas Eve. I tried to get her to wear the little cross necklace my mom gave her when she was born, but she declared "dat tickles!" and wasn't interested.

• The finding of the magic elf each morning and how the children were so appreciative, and almost always told him 'thank you' for whatever surprise he brought. I especially loved it on the rare days when Julia found the elf before Will and would shout, "DER DA MAGIC ELF!!! DER HE IS! TANK YOU MAGIC ELFFFFF!"

Christmas 2010

December took it out of me. I think most moms struggle with the fact that they're usually the ones doing most, if not all, of the presents, decorating, cooking, wrapping, etc, and this year was no different for me. Holiday madness coupled with the fact that work was insane--and even included a mid-month trip to Fairfax--really made me feel overwhelmed this season. And, I hated that feeling. I hated worrying if we were doing all of the fun things associated with Christmas, or if my stress over "getting everything done" was taking over (it was). I wanted to provide special, fun traditions and memories for our children, but it seemed like I didn't really get to relax and enjoy things with them until Christmas had come and gone.

This year, we didn't go see Santa. (Though, after last year's visit, I'm not sure that we really missed out on that one.) We didn't go to ZooLights. We didn't make it to our friends' ornament swap because Will and I were sick. We didn't go to our neighborhood Christmas party, or really many Christmas parties at all.

So after that Debbie-Downer opener on a Christmas post, let's focus on what we DID do: We DID go to the Advent Workshop at our church to kick off the season (and even let Julia come this year). We DID go Christmas tree shopping with my dad (while my mom was in Chicago visiting my adorable new nephew), and got our tree up and decorated pretty early in the month. We DID enjoy the Christmas program and party at the kids' school. We watched all of the classic Christmas movies on TV, and my mom took Will to see them at the Alabama Theater, as well. We read LOTS of Christmas books and wore our Christmas pajamas. We opened our chocolate Advent calendar each day (a big hit) and did our ornament Advent calendar, as well. We talked about the baby Jesus and went to the live Nativity. We hosted Carol and Bill for several days surrounding the actual holiday. We went to children's church at noon on Christmas Eve. We fixed a delicious beef tenderloin for Christmas Eve dinner. We had our traditional Christmas dinner at Mom's house Christmas Day. We ooohed and ahhhed over lights, even though we never took an official light tour. We made Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve and ate them with icing on Christmas Day. We were astounded by a white Christmas (I don't care if the weathermen didn't officially count it as a white Christmas...it snowed on Christmas Day in Alabama and that's all that matters!) We sat by the fire. We opened too many presents. We counted our blessings.

Will and Julia had a fabulous Christmas present-wise. They each got one BIG gift from Santa: a PowerWheels Ford F150 for Will (just like our neighbor's) and a play kitchen for Julia. Though, Will kept pointing out that they were really going to share these gifts: "The truck is mainly mine and the kitchen is mainly hers, but we both get to play with both of them." I think this stemmed more from his desire to play with her gift than to share his, though he has been great about giving her rides in his truck. Other hit gifts were a baby crib, high chair, and Baby Alive doll for Julia, a stand-up microphone for Will, various guitars for the family, books, art supplies, and lots of stocking stuffers. It was almost too much, but they really have enjoyed playing with the things they got. And, they weren't too manic on the actual day...

All in all, it was a great Christmas, made even better by the fact that we didn't have to go to the doctor on December 23rd as we have for the past two years. Will and I were sick before Christmas, and then mine got worse after Christmas, but for the actual day, we were all pretty good. The weather outside was frightful, but the fire was so delightful...so we stayed inside and in our pajamas and just lounged and played and all took a nap. Oh, and Zach and I realized that we already had the two best Christmas presents ever:

Girlie Thursdays

As is often the case with two-year-olds, we've had a bit of an issue with Julia picking her nose. We've obviously been attempting to discourage this behavior. Recently Julia came up with a mantra about this (on her own) that really encapsulates how I feel about the situation:

"No eat boogers. Eat breakfast!"

That, my friends, is some sage advice. You're welcome.

Two-head

For some reason, Julia consistently refers to her forehead as her "two-head". As in, "I bump my two-head!" I'm not sure how this came about...maybe she thinks it's called that because she's two. After all, two IS her favorite number.

Being the big brother that he is, Will set about to correct Julia about foreheads:
"Julia, it's not called a two-head. It's a FOREHEAD. Do you know why it's called a forehead? I think because it is FOUR inches high. Or wait...maybe it's because it's four inches from your nose. But, it's FOREhead, not two-head."

Gotta love four-year-old logic. Good thing he's around to impart this wisdom to his sister.

Girlie Thursdays

As Julia's vocabulary increases, it turns out that Will's not the only one who says cute things.

Lately, if I ask Julia, "Are you a little monkey?"
She replies with, "No, I a cutie!"
Or sometimes, "No, I Mama's baby. I Mama's baby girl."

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The other day, I told Julia it was almost time for supper.
"I want pizza."
"No, we're not having pizza for supper. You had pizza for lunch at school."
"Oh...(pause)...I want lunch."

Update

In the two weeks since I posted this post, things have gone from bad to worse. Julia continued to climb out of her crib, often multiple times a night. One night we went to check on her and found her sound asleep on the floor...bare butt up in the air and pee all over the floor. She had taken off her pajama pants and her diaper, but the kicker is that she put the diaper in the diaper pail and her pants back in her drawer. Very deliberate! Another night she was in her bathroom screaming at the top of her lungs (at 2 A.M.) that she wanted to brush her teeth. One morning when I heard her screaming for us, I went in and found her sitting by her nightlight, surrounded by books and all of the wipes from her container, some of which she had shredded. When I came in, she simply handed them to me and said, "Deese all gone." She learned how to push her stool over to the light switch to turn on the lights. She figured out not only how to climb out of the crib, but also how to climb back in...a process that frightened me when I saw how she did it. She determined that her changing pad would be a nice place to sleep, so she pulled it off of the dresser and set up camp--dragging her blanket and baby along with her. She's destroyed multiple books by ripping all of the "lift the flaps" out of them. And of course, she figured out how to get out of her room.

All of this meant that Mama and Daddy had to figure out how to fight back. So, we decided to remove her crib. I was worried about her climbing back in, and also felt that having the crib and "grown-up bed" (as she calls it) might be confusing for her. Well, she was (and probably still is) pissed about that decision. So, I read anything I could about getting a child to sleep in a big bed, and the only method I found that was noted as reliable was to spend several nights in "boot camp"--anytime they get out of bed, you silently and with no fanfare put them back in bed. We gave it a shot one night, but cried uncle after 65 times of putting her back in bed. She was very upset about the whole process, but never once laid down in the bed. As soon as we put her there, she got right back up. Clearly we had to come up with a different plan. (Though a couple Zach met at the park said they put their two-year-old back in bed 164 times the first night when they did the process, so maybe we need to try harder.)

I hated the idea of locking her in her room, but that's basically what we resorted to. We got the doorknob covers that make it so little ones can't turn the doorknob, and put them on her bathroom door and her room door. We switched the light switch so that it won't turn on from the switch; it's now just controlled by pull cords on the fan. We moved all of her toys out of her room and put the basket from her changing table in the bathroom each night. Now she points at the doorknob covers and says "Those keep me safe," which is what I've told her, with only small pangs of guilt. And, she tells me, "Light no work anymore."

So now she's "locked" in her room, but refuses to sleep in a bed. She has slept on the floor every night, but of course does not sleep through the night, instead waking up and screaming for hours at a time. Her newest trick is to sleep with her face pressed up against the door, her mouth right up to the crack between the bottom of the door and the floor. This affords her two advantages: first, it makes her screams and cries louder and harder to ignore, and second, once she falls asleep in this position, it makes it so we can't come in and check on her and move her to her bed. This weekend, I put her crib mattress back in the room in the hopes that she would at least sleep there if she wouldn't sleep in the bed, but so far no luck with that. She'll often get in one of the beds, hunker down, appear to be nice and cozy...only to jump right up and scream as soon as you leave the room.

While this makes great blog fodder and my friends find the stories quite amusing, it's actually supremely frustrating. She's overtired, as are we. We're all getting less sleep than we did when she was a newborn. And worse, nothing we're doing seems to make a difference. I'm second-guessing every move I make: "Should I do some attachment parenting and just go in and comfort her until she falls asleep? Should I sleep with her? Let her sleep with us? Or will that make it worse? Do we need to take a harder line and help her learn to comfort herself? Why does she not know how to comfort herself? Should we cut out any sugar or treats after supper? Should we put the crib back in? Will she be scarred by being unable to get out of her room? WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG?"

And, I guess that's the worst part about it: I know we've done nothing wrong. From a textbook standpoint, we've done everything "right" all her life--she's had a consistent bedtime and nap time and a consistent, wind-down bedtime routine. She's always slept in her crib. She has "lovies" that she's attached to. And yet, we're still dealing with this nonsense. I do remember that Will went through a phase of wakefulness around this age; at the time, we attributed it to the stress of a new baby in the house. And of course, his wasn't nearly as bad because he never climbed out of the crib. Like all phases, that one eventually passed, but probably not quick enough for our liking. So, for now, I guess we'll just keep on keepin' on. That seems to be about all we can do.

Julia is TWO

**Baby girl, this is over a month late, but that's just how our life is these days. And, if it makes you feel any better, I haven't written Will's four-year-old letter yet, and I think I might have missed one for his third birthday, too. So, consider yourself ahead of the game.**

Dear Julia,
As always, I'm amazed at how quickly time passes and how you are growing up right before my eyes. I can't believe you're already two! But even more, I can't believe that you're the age Will was when you were born. In so many ways you are so "grown up," but in so many ways you are still a baby...my baby.

You are such a big personality. Often, when we hear words like "spirited" or "strong-willed" they're not meant in the best way, particularly for girls. Yet, I love that you are independent; I love that you know what you want and are not afraid to go after it. I hope those qualities will last because I believe they will serve you well later in life. Of course, the qualities I love the most are also the ones that can drive me the most crazy. It's easy to say that I admire your independence, but it's another thing altogether when you are constantly asserting that independence--constantly wanting to "do it myself," constantly getting into things you shouldn't, constantly testing limits to see exactly where the line is...and then choosing to step right over it. We're going through some bedtime battles with you right now, and while I'm somewhat sympathetic because you get genuinely upset, I'm also beyond frustrated that you make life (yours and ours) so difficult. You are just a child who has to do things the hard way.

Yet, you're also a very affectionate child. You've recently learned to say "I wuv you" and it melts my heart every time. You often like to go through a list..."I wuv Daddy! I wuv Mommy! Mommy wuv me!" You love to give kisses and hugs, you love to hold hands, you're always checking on people if you think they're sad, and you often request "I want hold you". But, despite being independent and wanting things your way, you also seem to want to be with us all the time and get upset when we're separated. This makes leaving you at daycare or with a babysitter REALLY fun, I tell ya. I finally had to teach you that "Mama always comes back" because you seem to think that might not be the case. And many times, when I see you after a day at school or a night when we've gone out, you exclaim with glee, "Mama come back!"

Physically, you can do almost anything you set your mind on. With an older brother to keep up with, you never want to be left behind. So, you're always running--you've gotten very fast--or dancing, playing, climbing, hopping, or jumping (well, you think you can jump, but you really just crouch down and then stand up really fast). For your birthdays, you and Will got a playset in the backyard. Based on your reaction, you would have thought we built you your own DisneyWorld. You LOVE to swing and get this blissed out look while you're flying through the air. You will swing as long as someone will push you. You call the playset "my own playground" and each morning when you get up, you ask, "I go my own playground?"

In addition to playing outside, you adore playing with baby dolls. It's so funny to see your nurturing side...you are so sweet and gentle to those babies. You love to rock them, give them a bottle, or wrap them up in a blanket. You also love animals--both toys and live animals. You want to pet almost any animal, and again are very gentle, and you had a blast riding a horse recently (twice!). Another favorite toy is your tea set that you got for your birthday. You set it up and will play quietly by yourself...putting the cups in place, stirring the tea, pouring the tea. It's rare to find something that will truly keep you occupied like that! You also love to read books, do stickers, and draw, but when we draw, you always want us to "draw your hand". I guess this is something you do at school, because you always request it. Of course, being the second child, you have access to lots of things that Will never had at your age. You know what the Wii is, you build with Legos, play with cars, and you've even started doing games on the iPad. But without a doubt, the toy that is always the most fun in your eyes is any toy your brother currently has.

Eating is not your strong suit, and lately, neither is sleeping. Like everything else, it's always on your terms. So, you may eat nothing for breakfast, but then go through an entire chicken breast for supper. Of course, they claim you eat fine at school, so maybe you just know that Mama and Daddy are pushovers and will eventually cave. For the most part, you eat pretty healthy foods--at home you're almost a vegetarian (by your own choice)--but you won't eat many things that I consider "toddler staples". You hate pasta, so that rules out mac and cheese or ravioli. You're fickle about chicken nuggets, won't touch a hamburger, and you're not fond of PB&J. However, you love almost all fruit (except you declare pineapple to be "too sour"), black beans, CHEESE, pizza, quesadillas, grilled chicken, hummus, bagels with cream cheese, cereal or granola bars, crackers...and that's about it. Well, except for treats, of course! This is another way that you benefit in being the second child...there is no shortage of popsicles in the house, especially after the hot summer we just had.

As for the sleeping, you just don't seem to need as much sleep as the average toddler. You've just about given up your nap (the recent move to a big-girl bed has really sealed nap's fate), and you often seem just fine without it. I sometimes call you the energizer bunny because I really can't figure out a way to wear you out. You're not bad, you're just beyond energetic. Even when we were at the beach playing, swimming, and running all day long, you still seemed to have energy to spare. By evening you might be dragging a little bit, but you never let on because you never want to miss anything.

And really, most of the time, we don't want you to miss anything either because we don't want to miss time with you. You add such a wonderful (albeit loud) dimension to our family and we love having you around--love hearing your sweet singing and watching your crazy dancing; love getting your perspective on things, since like your brother, you never stop talking; love watching your face light up when you smile; love watching your eyes sparkle while you admire your older brother; love the way you do your own thing, but know when to say "I need help!"; love how you run into my arms after a long day away.

Julia, I am SO proud of you and the person you are becoming. I am thankful for each day I have with you and couldn't love you any more. Thank you for being you and being such a light in our family.

Love,
Mama

Night, Night, Sleep Tight

She looked so peaceful sound asleep, except for the fact that...

Well, let me back up a bit here. Last week, I was out of town almost all week for work. Zach said the kids were fabulous for him (of course) and he got major props from everyone for being such an amazing dad and taking care of HIS OWN kids while I was gone (of course). Then I returned home on Friday, but Zach had to leave for his work trip on Sunday. Apparently Julia had had enough of this "being good" business and all hell broke loose when I tried to put her to bed on Sunday night. She's always been good about going to bed, but on Sunday she decided to scream like I was cutting off her arm. Luckily, my parents were here and helped deal with Will while I was trying to calm Julia down. Eventually, after over an hour and a half of rocking, comforting, etc. from both me and my mom, Julia finally gave up the fight.

Same scene on Monday night. Except this time, she's added a new trick: climbing out of her crib. She did that once while we were at the beach, but hadn't done it since, so we thought things were fine in that department. Will NEVER climbed out of his crib, so this is new territory for us. So, Monday night...my wonderful parents are here again helping out. I put Julia down, she's screaming, and then we hear a big thud. She had climbed out of the crib and fallen on the ground, luckily unhurt. I comfort her, try to get her to calm down, and then put her back in the crib. Where she climbs out again, this time more skillfully--no thud. I put her back, she climbs out. (Are you seeing a pattern?) Finally, mom rocks her until she is so exhausted she can't fight it anymore, and she stays in bed. (Only to wake up at 12:30, at which point I gave in and brought her to bed with me until she woke up for the day at 5:30. But that's a whole 'nother story.)

Fast forward to tonight. Mom can't come help, so I'm on my own, praying that Julia will shape up. Things are going pretty well, until I try to put her in bed. I put her in her crib, leave the room, and she immediately starts screaming and climbs right out of her crib. Luckily, she can't open the door to her room yet, but I can hear the cries getting closer to the door, so I know she's out of the crib. I decide to take the hard line...no more rocking. I firmly tell her that it's "night night" and put her back in her crib. She climbs out. And repeat. The third time I put her in the bed, I hear her crying, but it doesn't seem to be getting any closer to the door. I figure she must have been tired and stayed in bed, and her crying subsides pretty quickly. Yes! Victory! Now onto getting Will to bed...

Around 8:30, which was about an hour after I put Julia to bed, I go in her room to check on her. Now here's where we pick up from the beginning of this post. She looked so peaceful sound asleep, except for the fact that SHE WAS IN THE CHAIR! Yes, that's right, the last time when I thought she was in bed, thought the cries weren't getting any closer, thought I had won the battle...she had instead snuggled herself in the rocking chair and rocked herself to sleep. This is what we're dealing with around here.

A little while later, I successfully moved her from the chair to her crib without her waking up. We'll see how long that lasts...

Girlie Thursdays: Be Happy

Carol gave Julia a pink t-shirt that has a picture of a bee and then the word "happy": Be Happy. Julia loves it and constantly asks for her 'be happy' shirt. If one of us says, "Don't Worry," we've taught her to respond with "Be Happy!" And, if she sees anyone who is sad (or pretending to be sad to get her attention...not that I've ever done that), she'll go up to them, pat them on the hand, and say, "Be happy, Bubs (or whoever it is)!"

Don't worry, little girl. It's hard not to be happy with you around.

Girlie Thursdays: Smarty Pants

I haven't written much about Julia lately, which is a shame because she's at that age where she's learning and doing new things each day. But, for some reason, it's also difficult for me to write about her. With my limited writing skills, I just don't feel that I can really capture her personality, emotion, expression...just her little SELF. She is so funny, bossy, expressive, smart, creative, independent, and loving. Compared to a few months ago, her temperament has really improved, and she's not hitting as much. In fact, she is super sweet and affectionate, always offering up kisses and hugs. She particularly loves to kiss boo-boos--on herself or other people. But, I digress. What I wanted to write about today is how much she's been learning recently. It's been sneaking up on me that she knows so much these days. With Will, I was aware of his every movement and accomplishment. But with Julia, I just don't have as much time as I did with Will to sit and patiently do puzzles, or shape sorters, or letters. Yet, she seems to be doing just fine:

She knows a lot of her letters. She doesn't know many by name, but she knows who each letter is for. So, she points at an 'H' and says "HeeHee" (Hulie). Or "Tracy" when she sees a 'T' (her teacher at school). Or, "Mama! Kate!" when she sees a 'K'. Sometimes she gets so excited to tell you about the letters she sees that she just can't contain herself. However, there are quite a few letters that she doesn't know because she doesn't have anyone to associate them with. So, if your name starts with an E, I, or R, and you'd like to become an integral part of Julia's life, just let me know.

She knows almost all of her colors. Yet, unlike Will who wanted everything to be 'Lello' (which is STILL the way he says 'yellow' by the way), Julia's default answer is (of course) PINK!

She can do simple puzzles. She likes to pick up a piece, point to the spot where it will go, and say, "Dat one right DER, Mama." It's really cute (and repetitive).

She can count...to two. Two is her favorite number. If you ask her anything to do with a number, her answer is always two. So, she sounds really smart if you ask the right questions, like, "How old will you be on your birthday?" or "How many eyes do you have?" She uses this in conjunction with her letters and likes to point out anytime there are "Two Tracys! Mama, two Tracys!" (She will say this even if there are four 'T's. Two just means there are than one.)

She's starting to learn a few little songs and will sing along with you or do the motions for the ones she knows. My favorite thing is how she just seems to know the end of a line and chimes in a that point. Like, for "Twinkle, twinkle little star" she just yells 'STAR!"

She's very bossy and puts together full sentences to convey what she wants: "Come ON, Mama right now!" or "Sit right DER, Wah-wah (Will)!"

Now, don't waste your time telling me that these are all very normal almost-two-year old behaviors. I think it's clear that these point to brilliance and greatness in the making.

Atlanta

A word of advice: Never, under any circumstances, go to the Georgia Aquarium on the Friday of July 4th weekend. Or any day of any holiday weekend. Or any time other than a random Tuesday afternoon in October.

So, we went to Atlanta over the Fourth of July weekend, and suffice it to say, the Aquarium was packed. Mom and Dad came with us, and the plan was to leave early Friday morning and get to the Aquarium a little after lunch. After a GPS-induced ride through the Atlanta ghetto, we made it to the Aquarium in one piece. The plan was to just to let Julia skip her nap--she would be tired, but would probably be okay, since she is genetically similar to the Energizer Bunny. Nothing about this plan worked out very well. Like I said, the place was mobbed, and it was hard for Will to see the exhibits. Julia didn't care much about seeing the exhibits because she was busy screaming her head off. Finally, I found the Aquarium's Ballroom, which is where they have events, and I was able to wheel Julia around in her stroller. She was still screaming, but at least there weren't as many people around to think I was kidnapping her. And, the Ballroom had two huge windows that showcased some of the place's best exhibits--the rest of our group joined us in the Ballroom and we were able to get close-up views of the Beluga whales and various kinds of sharks. Julia finally calmed down a bit, and we were able to go to the interactive section of the Aquarium, which the kids really enjoyed.

Trying to touch sting rays and sharks. We had to physically stop Julia from diving in.

On the fishing boat replica

Please, no more photos. I just can't handle the paparazzi.

After the Aquarium, we met some college friends for dinner and got to meet their sweet little girl. We had dinner outside on a rooftop at a brewery, and it was lovely. Surprisingly, the weather was fabulous--the humidity disappeared for a few days, so it was nice all weekend. Back at the hotel, Will stayed in the room with Mom and Dad, and Julia bunked in a suite with us. Aside from Will's twenty million questions and comments, it all worked out well.

The next morning, we went over to Atlanta's children's museum, Imagine It. It was perfect for the children, and definitely more their speed. It was similar to the McWane center (although not quite as focused on science), and the kids had a ball trying out every exhibit there. They sat on a tractor, built with sand, tap-danced, played in the water table, and generally had a fabulous time. At this point, we were right across the street from Centennial Park, so we headed over there to check out the scene. We had a bit of ice cream, and Will played in the fountain, and then it was time for the girls to go home. Julia did pretty well in the car, but once again, skipped her nap and chatted the entire time. While the girls went back to B'ham, the guys went to Will's first baseball game and saw the Braves play the Marlins. From what I hear, they had a good time. When they arrived home late that night, Zach reported, "I didn't put any more sunscreen on him, I didn't take any pictures, and all he ate the whole time was ice cream." Yep....sounds like a Daddy trip! They all had a blast.

On the actual Fourth, we just played around the house and had lunch with friends. The kids didn't even know that it was a holiday, and we didn't let on that there was anything exciting going on that night. We had thought about trying to take at least Will to see the fireworks, but after two days of crazy schedules and not enough sleep, it was better that we all went to sleep early. The next day, we went to some friends' lake for the day and all had a wonderful, relaxing time. There were several children right around Will and Julia's age, and they had fun playing together.

Whew. By the time we went back to work on Tuesday, I felt like I needed a vacation.