Bittersweet

Today was Julie's last day at Apple Valley Day Care. Next week she will be starting Pre-school. I know that she is ready, but I am starting to question if I am! I will miss seeing my old friend Beth every Wednesday and Thursday. Having that little bit of girl time in the middle of the week was always something that I looked forward to and I know I will truly miss. I will miss our catch up time and miss picking Beth's brain on how to handle Julie's tantrums or whatever misbehavior she is into that week. I have always looked up to Beth as a mom, and am thankful that she shared a little of her wisdom with me in the last couple years.

Beth has watched Julie since she was just 3 months old. Julie learned to smile, sit, crawl, walk and talk all in that time. I look at the pictures of Julie when she started playing with Anabelle and I can't believe where the time has gone.

At lunch today I brought pizza and cupcakes to "celebrate" her last day. The kids were thrilled, but there was more than one time where I thought I would lose it. Beth got her a big girl backpack to take to school. Julie loves it because she is just like Anabelle now.

Julie talks about her day care friends all the time when she is not there, so I will be bringing her by to say hello often. Anabelle will still be coming with us to gymnastics every week, so I am glad that friendship will be able to continue to grow.

I know that this is the right move for Julie, but I think I will have to wait until next week to feel the sweet part of this bittersweet event.

Andy's 4 Month Checkup

Andy did great at his Dr apt, he was happy and smiling the whole time (except when he got his shots of course). He weighed in at a whopping 16 lbs (78 Percentile) and was 26.5 Inches long (93 Percentile). The Dr was very happy with him, his eye movement, head control and he even laughed at the Dr (showoff).

So all in all, he’s perfect….but we already knew that!

4 Months and His First Beach Trip

For Andy's 4 month birthday, we went to the beach and he LOVED it! It was the most beautiful day, about 75 degrees, sunny, clear, no wind. We were running around in shorts and t-shirts (or no shirt in Julie's case). Andy was so happy in the sun and sand. He is getting more and more smiley and giggling too. He is still really trying to turn over, but alas, I think he is just too heavy for his skills. He is a happy boy though and I can't even remember what it was like before he was here.

While we were at the beach, we took his picture, and Julie wanted to show him the water. We had him standing up, he is so strong, so she thought he was able to walk! It was so funny, she took his hand and said "come on Brother!" She will be ecstatic when he can crawl or walk with her.

We go to the Dr for Andy's 4 month shots :( on Wednesday. I will update you all then on his stats.

Let's Play!

This is the story of our wonderful new back yard fun land!

It all started one Saturday when Chris came over to hang out. Little did he know he would be set to work organizing hundreds of pieces of carefully packed, but unmarked pieces of wood. But, being the master organizer that he is, and the trooper he has proved himself to be, we got it done. The wood covered our driveway! We had to measure and assign a letter to each piece of wood in correspondence with the instructions. Sound fun, huh??

Then, the next morning, my mom, Anne, Dave, Justin and Audrey all came over to help us make these piles of wood into an awesome play structure. This is the spot it was going to fill.

It went up much smother than could have ever been expected. All the pieces fit, all the screws, nuts and bolts were there. Dave and John worked on the main structure, Justin and Audrey made the "rock wall", door, chimney and mailbox (yes, it has a mail box), my mom carried wood from the front yard to the back, both my mom and Anne fetched wood and held things in place when needed. And I was the keeper of the instructions!! So I got to boss everyone around! :) Oh, and the kids were home this whole time, Julie played in the sandbox a lot and Andy hung out in his swing, or with whatever Grandma was closest.

The frame went up with only a minor snafu (I told them to put the cross beams on backwards...oops!) Then the flooring went down and siding went up. Justin was gracious enough to test it's durability by sitting on it to put up the siding.

After Julie tested the door, and we put up a little more siding, we decided to call it quites to the day. This is where we left it...Pretty good I think, we had worked about 6 hours on it, and it was starting to resemble the end product!

Then, yesterday while I was at work and the kids were with my mom, Dave, Anne and John FINISHED the play structure!!! Yes, that is John in there and Dave stuck underneath!

But when we got home this is what we saw! This picture is from this morning because it was too dark last night to get a good one.

I wish we had a video of Julie's reaction. She made a sound like when Homer Simpson sees a donut (OHHHH) and she did her little happy dance! She was so excited. She didn't really understand what it was when it was being built, but when she saw it finished, she got it! And so far, the swing is both her and Andy's favorite parts!

This morning when Julie woke up, the first words out of her mouth were "Mommy, lets play" as she ran to the back door. And yes, we were out there in our jammies! Thank you so much, Anne, Dave, Mom, John, Justin, Audrey and Chris for all the work you put into this and the time. It means the world to me, and Andy and Julie too!

"Little" Brother

Julie loves having her "little" brother sit on her lap. She begs me to let her hold him. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be long til he is just too big....

Oh, and check out the attitude...yes, it has started already!

Long, Long Ago....

Ok, eight years ago today to be exact, John and I had our first date. This is our first picture as "boyfriend and girlfriend". Aren't we so young and cute! I love you John!

Giggles!

Andy laughed for the first time today! It was the sweetest thing. We had gone to Anne and Daves to celebrate Mimi's birthday (Happy Birthday Mimi!) and we gave both the kids baths in the sink. During Andy's he was looking at me and smiling, so I was talking to him and he just started giggling! It was great! John, my mom, Audrey, Anne, Julie and I all got to hear it. He did it quite a few times too. His personality is so sweet and quiet, so I was glad I got to hear that first giggle!

Silly Girl

These are two conversations I had with Julie tonight.

As she was getting out of the tub:
JB: Brush teeth now?
Mom: No, we will brush your teeth right before bed so you can have a snack.
JB: Mommy, I want MORE teeth!
Mom: What would you do with more teeth?
JB: EAT! (duh mom!)

In the car:
Mom: Julie, are you a big girl?
JB: Yeah! Like Daddy
HAHAHAHA!!!

Make-Up Attempt #2

This time she got the lid off...

Randomness

This week has been interesting, with going back to work and John starting his new schedule. I really missed being at work and feel like I never left. I was able to get back in the swing of things without much problem, but of course, I miss my babies while I am away. I get over it though by talking about them non stop while I am gone. When I came home Monday, this is what I saw:

Julie has been a little testy, not super happy that I was not home all day, but we made it through.

Julie is also discovering words so much more. Some of her knew sayings, there are too many to list, but these are common:

I love you
Uncle Monster (AKA Uncle Chris)

Uncle Silly or Uncle Justin (she just started saying Justin)

I go play

Brother's awake, Brothers asleep

No! Mine! (this is the most common one!)

This is the conversation she is having with John right now:

JB:I want a pillow!

Dad: What do you say?

JB: Please I want a pillow!

Dad gives pillow

JB: Now water please!

Dad gives water

JB: Thank you Daddy. Nigh-Night!

Keep in mind that it is not bed time, in fact, it is lunch time...she is so sillly!

She is such a good girl and a big helper. Yesterday I made Andy a bottle and gave it to Julie to shake (this is her favorite "chore"). Andy was in his swing so I went to grab a bib before feeding him. When I came back, this is what I found, and he was actually eating!

Andy is doing so well too, he is getting so smiley and trying so hard to turn over! He is so close, but he tries with all his might and can't quite get those 15ish lbs over! Maybe this week. He is also loving his bubble baths with Julie and loves watching her and talking to her (he talks A LOT!!). Here are a few random pictures of Andy: