Family Portraits

Big Thank You to Jamie for taking these family pics for us. You will rarely see a picture of me anywhere as I am usually taking pictures so here's the annual record that I am still alive and well along with the rest of the family!

I love this picture because we are all tickling and trying to get Julie to smile and she barely looks interested..haha. When this girl is in a mood there is no helping it. :)

Just having a good time with my best friend in the world. We are nearing our 8 year anniversary and have 2 kids. When did we get to be so old?

Julie was definitely not cooperating with us that day but I still love this picture.

I adore the girls in these matching dresses. So fun that I get to dress them up every week for church!
My bright-eyed girls.
Notice, Lizzie's Meow is most appropriately included in this picture. She is definitely part of the family in Liz's mind.

My Baby is Growing Up

Julie is a big ONE YEAR OLD. Shocking! I am still getting used to this fact. Can ya tell? In age, she is "big" but really she is a tiny little girl size-wise. People are always surprised to hear she is one year old because she is so petite!
But since the big year mark is definitely here and has been for a while, here is the update:

She has a tooth!! A tiny little incisor on the bottom has erupted and she loves to chew on anything and everything. Her first tooth just in time for her first birthday!


And other big news: She is walking!!! She took her first few steps on July 16th! And she's been practicing her walk ever since. She's getting really good at it these days.

Julie-Jewels, Jujiebean, Juje- we have so many pet names for you because we adore you so! You are too young to protest these silly names and so they continue on.

Julie Favorites:
Your passion for food is stunning: watermelon, strawberries, and raspberries.
Your cat, Meowma.
Playing with your sister (most of the time)
Exploring (you keep me on my toes)
Swimming/bath time
Reading books: "The Little Kitten," definitely a fav.
Bed time buddies: Mittens (Build-a-Bear Cat), Stubs (very short giraffe), and little blankey.
Most commonly used word- "Mama" Generally used to express any and all needs.

Dislikes:
Walking on grass...touching grass.
Potatoes and eggs. (always reintroducing and you never give in)
Milk (Still allergic to the stuff for now)
Spending any time away from Mom and Dad. (you are stuck to us like glue)

You are such a sweetie pie and so cute! People fawn over you whenever we go out saying what a little beauty you are!

Celebrating One Year!

Julie's first Birthday presents!! She loved it!

Of all her many new toys and presents, I think she liked the paper best. Nothing tastes quite like wrapping paper.

After opening presents all the little princesses moved on to the mini house. You can usually find Lizzie and Katie playing in there, but Julie and Junie seemed to really enjoy it this time, too! After the big cake mess, we cleaned her up and put her in this little pink princess dress- so cute!
Its not too apparent in this pic but Lizzie was not looking so hot for the pics on Julie's big day- the poor girl has a HUGE swollen bruise on her nose that spread to her eye. (tripping into bed frame) :(

It was so nice out that we ended her big day with a walk to the beach!

Notice how this pretty little horse seems so friendly and just barely roped in with that little makeshift fence.

But watch out! When you are least suspecting it turns into SUPER SCARY horse! This picture cracks me up because this horse always acts a little funny and unpredictable. If we get too close, Julie cries! Since it was her B-day, we kept our distance.

Speaking of scary animals...

Just a little garter snake.

These blackberry bushes are right there on the beach and it is ALMOST blackberry season...we are so close!


And we made it to the beach! Hooray!

Happy Birthday Julie!! I think the small family party and day of fun was perfect for her. She was one happy little girl all day!

Julie is 1!

Julie is a big one year old now!! We had a little party with family to celebrate. The main event being the baby feasting on a giant cake of course. Julie has so many little girl cousins that it was a lot of fun to have a princess themed party.

I had a lot of fun making this cake. The flowers and crown are gum paste. The hardest part was keeping a steady hand to smooth the frosting dress instead of just doing fondant! (So worth it to let little hands get sticky!) The inspiration came from a cake my mom made me when I was 8 yrs old. I still remember that as being my favorite cake of all time.


Cupcakes for everyone else!

The candle is lit. Let the games begin!!
She started out slow but got into it more as she tasted the sweet frosting :)

This is when we decided it was time to get cleaned up!! Frosting was EVERYWHERE! It was a great birthday and I still can't believe Julie is one year old!

I am so very behind on my blogging- there are tons more pics to come and of course there are MANY updates on Julie's development. Next blog coming soon...

Uncle Adam Visits

We were so excited to have Adam come and visit us. He was doing a job interview in the area and had an extra day to come and visit us here, in the rainy Northwest! Adam and Julie seemed to form a special bond- she really took to him.


We had a couple sunbreaks in the rainy weather so we headed out on a ferry to Anderson Island. This was Adam's first time on a ferry so the ride itself was part of the experience.

A mandatory part of any guest's experience is dental care so we had a morning of dental appointments, (no cavities for Adam!) followed by a trip to the Olympia Market.
One of the greatest perks of living here in WA is the delicious food! The local markets sell the best fruits and veggies. And then there is the fresh fish. We took him to Anthony's that night for some good seafood, too.
It was such a good time to have Adam come and visit us! I only wish it could have been a longer stay! A year ago, Lisa came out to visit so we have gotten the family in seperate visits! Hopefully the whole family will come and visit us sometime soon!

4th of July

Formula for a great 4th of July:



Delicious Food



+Wiffle Ball


+Swimming

+Relaxing.



+Happy Children

+Firecrackers


+Family
= Great 4th of July!