Julie is 2!

Julie is 2 years old! There were extra cousins in town so it was an extra large birthday party!  We had a family dinner followed by cake, ice cream, and presents!  I made a "Mimi" cake because Julie is obsessed with that stuffed cat!  The look on her face was price less when I showed her the cake.  She yelled,"Mimi!!!!" 

 

Our Sunday family dinners are always the best, and this day was no exception.  It was extra special to have Stephanie and her kids there too!

It was such a treat to finally get to meet sweet baby Anna!  She was a cutie for sure!

Julie got alot of fun presents including a trampoline from Grammy and Papa!!  Evy drew her a cute little picture (she's quite the little artist)

Now that Julie is two her little personality is definitely in full bloom.  I hope I never forget all the little details of my little baby so I better write them down to be sure!

If I had one word to describe Julie it'd be Sweet.
This girl is sweet and so full of love.  She is known around our house for sharing everything.  Even when its her last morsel of candy.  Even when its something that her and Lizzie have been fighting over and its awarded to her. Its usually a matter of minutes before she hands it to Lizzie and says, "Here ya go!"  She sure looks up to her big sister too.  Today she spontaneously hugged her big sis and said, "I love you Lizzie!"
Now that being said, she likes to get her sisters goat too and she's a professional.
The other day Lizzie made a big deal at dinner about not wanting her food so Dave said "thats fine" and passed it to Julie.  Liz yelled, "No I don't want Julie to have it!!"  So Julie responds by not only devouring her big sister's food but makes really loud and fake munching/eating noises (kinda like cookie monster). That REALLY got Lizzie's goat.  Dave and I were rolling on the floor (terrible of us huh?)

Favorite color: pink
Favorite song: Mr. Moon
Favorite book:  Are You My Mother?
Favorite word/phrase: Mimi?
Favorite activity:  ABC game on computer

She is still a Momma's girl but definitely has her Daddy's girl moments too. She's a great cuddler.

Everywhere I go people are always commenting on how beautiful she is.  Its funny to watch people respond to seeing her at the grocery store, etc, often gasping at how big and blue her eyes are and saying things like, "Oh what long eye lashes!"  I always agree because I think she's pretty cute too :)

Potty Trained!

Now this is definitely a picture to show her future husband.  Not embarrassing at all :)  
This is a late announcement but Julie is OFFICIALLY potty trained! It all went down before her 2nd birthday, too.  We have certainly had our ups and downs but she's a real pro now- Go Juju! Did I mention she learned how to read too? Jk.  She does like to mimic her Mom by glancing through the pages of books and magazines.  :)

Being Naughty

Our computer is up and running!  That means I can blog again!  So much to catch up on!  I have to post this before I forget it.  Lizzie was supposed to be going to sleep but asked for one last potty trip.

Her musings while on the potty:  "I really want to be naughty…*sigh*…but I won’t be naughty to you mom.  Just to the bad guys.  The devil is even bigger than bad guys.  I’ll just be naughty to the devil and bad guys. "

In my head: If only she really were only naughty to bad guys and the devil...*sigh*

Free Babysitting at the Dental Office now!

We finished the mural! It all started when the dental office decided to open an area for free babysitting.  Talk about convenience...I get free dental care and having to find a babysitter keeps me from scheduling sometimes!  No more!   We wanted to make it a fun room for the kids so..My mom came to town to help out and my friend Erin helped a ton as well!  They were good sports and went along with my crazy vision of a giant mural. We went wild and painted an ocean scene on the walls.  We free handed the background. Then we used templates to paint the outlines, airbrushed the details/shading, and stippling for extra shading. 

The office is already scheduling and so far it has worked out great!  The gal who watches the kids has a degree in child care, CNA, lots of experience with various daycares, and loves kids!  We also have a couple cameras set up so the front office or parents can keep an eye on them. 

All that is left now is to spread the word!  Our computer just CRASHED and amazingly these pictures were the last thing I loaded onto the blog so luckily we can still use some of them for the website: DHAonline.com

 

 

My Mom and Dad

My parents came to visit and the weather was great so we headed out for all kinds of adventures!   There was a whole lot of sun and our WA eyes are not used to it so we made sure everyone was properly equipped with sunglasses. 

We decided to show them the true beauty of WA so we headed to NorthWest Trek!  Its basically a safari.  Well, not quite if you're looking for lions, giraffes, and elephants.  No, but really its worth the price and a fun day.  You ride on a bus and view all the NW animals in their natural habitat.  You get a close up view of bears, moose, caribou/reindeer, eagles, cougars, etc. 

This funky looking caribou is not as sick as he looks.  Apparently, its just that time of year they all shed!  He raced up to the front of the bus and tried to lead in front for the whole trek.  The bus driver was petrified of running him over the whole way.  It certainly added to the entertainment!

As we were leaving the Trek we just had to pull over and get a picture of this gorgeous site.  The people who live here can walk to NW Trek its so close.  The combination of mountain, water, flowers, and sun was stunning.  The picture doesn't do it justice.

Unfortunately, we only took pictures this one day but after a week of playing with the kids in the sun, motorcycle trips, celebrating Mother's Day, movies, NW Trek, and just having a blast together it was as hard as ever to say good bye to my parents!  The kids LOVED the time with Grandma and Grandpa of course. Grandpa got ALOT of extra time with the kids while Grandma and I painted...thats a whole post in and of itself I'm afraid. I did enjoy all the extra time with my Mom, especially because it was over Mother's Day! On Sunday we got to put our feet up and let the men pamper us!We definitely miss them, and hopefully they will come out again soon!

Trevor's Visit

I have a couple more photos to pull from my phone...but yes I did a bad job taking pics of Trev's visit.  Pictures aside, we had a blast.  Trev is a fun guy to have around.  Lizzie and Julie agree!  He's a fun Uncle! The weather was beautiful so spent some time at the beach with family, taking the ferry to the Ol Swimming Hole, the Spring Fair, and even a destruction derby!  It was treasured time considering we hardly get quality time with Trev.  We usually see him around Christmas but there is so much chaos, family, and kids running around that its not the same!  Glad he came and hope to have another visit soon! 

Easter Egg Hunt

The kids loved the Easter egg hunt this year.  Lizzie and Julie were both old enough to really search for their baskets and eggs. 

Josh, Lizzie, Julie, Lucy

The girls got lucky this year and got TWO Easter egg hunts!  One at our house with friends and another one with Grammy, Papa, and cousins! 

Julie and Lizzie are always so excited to spend time with Grammy, Papa, and their older cousins.  Sunday is definitely a day they look forward to.