Juliet reads.

I took this video of Juliet yesterday before bed. She was being so cute and "reading" her little book to herself, but of course she refused to cooperate when I busted out the camera. If you hang in there through the video, she eventually does it, but it's close to the end.

Oh, and that squealing you hear in the background is Scott goofing off with Travis in the living room.



Juliet's pajamas are very festive, no? I came *thisclose* to putting her in those when she had her picture made with Santa, but figured, while hilarious, it might be kind of weird.

Happy birthday, Scott!

Where did 3 years go? I blinked, and they were gone. My tiny, little baby with the double chins and roly-poly legs is now a tall, gangly, little boy. I wish I could slow it all down.

We had a pirate-themed birthday party for Scott today, and he seemed to have a good time. Don't you think? Here he is with his pirate friends Andrew and Brinley. Andrew wasn't so into wearing the pirate hat.


Actually, Scott wasn't all that into wearing the hat, either. Oh, well.


The birthday boy is serenaded by his guests.


With Luke and Brinley.


Luke, Brinley and Scott.


Tank and Luke wreak havoc upon the playroom. Tank was the only kid who was interested in wearing the pirate hat for any period of time.


Juliet and my dad.


This one was not taken at the party, but whatever, it's cute. Juliet was mesmerized by her reflection in the window after her bath tonight. She kept pointing to it and saying, "bee-bee" (baby).

Scott's class Christmas party

Scott had his Christmas party at school this past Thursday. He sang songs, iced a cookie and had a great time. Or something like that. Actually, he watched while his teachers sang songs and I iced a cookie. And when I said he had a great time, what I meant was he didn't crack a smile the entire time. Poor kid - he was on Day 3 of a Serious Nap Strike, and he was BEAT.



My little reindeer.


He was so tired.


Juliet was very serious about the party.

More on Breakfast with Santa

So our MOMS Club hosted Breakfast with Santa last weekend. The kids enjoyed running around in their pajamas, and they seemed to have a good time. They weren't too interested in Santa, but they didn't hate him, either. So that was good.

Scott and Travis crafting at Breakfast with Santa. Travis colored a lovely picture of a Christmas tree. Scott scribbled all over the table.




Scott listening intently to Mrs. Claus telling a Christmas story. We held Breakfast with Santa at the local Lutheran church.


Monkey baby in monkey jammies


She makes this face a lot.


Looking relatively pleasant with Santa -


And then, not so much.


Later that evening, we took the kids down the street to the lakefront for the tree lighting. It was coooold!




Terribly blurry shot of me with the kids, but this is about as good as it gets these days.


Scott's birthday is tomorrow, so we have a lot to do to get ready for it. I can't believe he's going to be 3! This week was his last with Early Steps, and saying goodbye to all of his therapists was more emotional than I had anticipated. They've been part of our lives for so long, it's hard to let them go. Scott will be receiving all of his therapies through the public school system after his third birthday, and it feels like a big transition for us. He'll start in the preschool early intervention classroom on Jan. 5. He has to wear a uniform annd everything! Such a big boy.

Breakfast with Santa silliness

We took the kids to the MOMS Club's Breakfast with Santa last weekend. The kids wore their pajamas, and they had a great time. I'm about to run out the door to Scott's Christmas party at school, but I wanted to quickly drop off this video of him being silly.



He's walking really well, isn't he? We're so proud of him.

SNOW!!!!!

I know I am woefully behind on updating our blog, but I have to drop off this picture because there is, like, a BLIZZARD outside our house RIGHT THIS MINUTE.

LOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I'm getting the kids bundled up right now, and I'll be sure to snap some pictures of them in it. Wheeee!!!!

One year - one month late

This post is late by a month and some change, but whatever, I'm a slacker. Faithful readers of this blog (all two of you) should know this by now.

So Juliet turned a year old October 31. We had a little family get-together birthday thing for her Nov. 1 out at Fairview State Park near our house. Travis's parents drove their RV over there, so they hosted our little shindig. The kids had a good time, and everyone paid proper homage to the birthday girl.

Juliet arrived in her birthday tutu and custom-designed, handmade birthday hat and wand, but was quickly stripped of her finery after attempting to wreck it all.

See? She is not happy about wearing that hat. Her Nana did her darnedest to keep it on her for the picture, though:


Tell me that tutu is not the cutest thing ever. Seriously. Is it cute, or is it CUTE?




My man Scott had an accident and fell down while at the park all day. It was pretty rough on his little face. My dad had him up on his shoulders to distract Scott from his war wounds - it seemed to work okay:


We put Juliet's booster seat on the floor of the RV and let her have at her cupcake. She wasn't sure what to do with it at first:


I see this little mischevious look a lot around my house:


Mmmmmm....sprinkles!


Scott joins in on the action:




So now my little girl is 13 months old. At 13 months old, Juliet is walking all over the place. She still loves the kitties, and torturing Tad Smith is a favorite past time (she especially enjoys yanking on his tail). She loves being outside and is absolutely fearless - she'll happily barrel down the slide by herself if I don't pay close attention while at the park with her. And she's a little monkey at home, too - she loves climbing up on top of the leather ottoman in the living room and bouncing up and down. Falling off onto the floor only serves to make her giggle. Juliet is forever removing her shoes and socks - especially when in her carseat. She is always barefoot whenever we arrive at any destination. She has a funny, little sense of humor and loves clowning around and making silly faces. It's funny, because she is a very serious baby when in public or around strange groups of people. Juliet loves putting hats on her head and hanging necklaces (or electrical wires) around her neck - a habit that makes her mama very nervous. She loves getting into the freezer and the kitchen cabinets, and she is very curious about everything.

She's turning out to be pretty verbal, and she's always picking up on new signs, too. Right now she will say kitty, drink, cracker, diaper, Scott, dog, shoe, bubble, baby, light, bye, milk and ball. Most all of her words sound like "dees" or some version of "bah" or "bay," but we know what she's trying to say. Bubble, ball and bye are all pretty clear, and kitty sounds like "tee." As far as signing goes, she knows the signs for kitty, cracker, dog, ball, more, shoe, sock, bath, diaper, bye, milk and drink.

She's a funny, little kid. I'm glad she's ours.



ARGH - I don't know why the pictures posted the way they did, all huge and cutting Scott off on the side. I'll have to come back and fix them later.

A milestone for Scott!!!!

Scott stood up from the floor ALL BY HIMSELF today!!!! Usually, he has to pull up on a piece of furniture, and he'll take off walking from there. We've been working so hard to get him to use those core muscles to stand up on his own, but it's really hard for him.

Anyway, Scott was in the playroom, and I popped in a Baby Signing Time DVD for Juliet to watch while I put him down for his nap. He heard the music, and immediately tried to get up so he could go into the living room to watch the show. I watched him from down the hall, and he was trying so hard, the little guy. He'd get up on his hands and feet, and he'd try to use his core muscles to pull himself up to stand, but then it would be too hard, and he'd give out. He tried about three times with no luck, and then he finally did it! I was so excited, I started shrieking and crying, and I grabbed him up in a hug, and I think I scared him.

So it was an exciting day for us.

I am way overdue for a post, and I have tons of pictures I need to share. As usual, life has gotten away from me. Suffice it to say, the kids are good, Juliet is a full-time walker (have I mentioned that already? I think I have), Scott is doing wonderfully well at school, and we're preparing for his transition out of Early Steps with his third birthday.

Hopefully, I can get on and post some pictures tomorrow.

Halloween hangover

Yesterday was Halloween, and it was a busy day around here! We started our morning at our playgroup Halloween party, where we snapped our annual picture of the kids in all their get-up. It's getting progressively harder as the years go by to get a decent picture of our kids together.

This was the best we could do this year:

Here we have (clockwise) Scott the monkey, Brinley the kitty-cat, Tinkerbell Emma, Abby as Snow White, Paige as the uncooperative Abby Cadabby, and Cinderella Bethany.


Um, yeah. They weren't the most cooperative subjects. Notice Paige has exited the premises.



Here they are during our first Halloween party, two years ago. This was back when playgroup was quiet, and the kids stayed in one place, and all us mommies would hang out and enjoy our coffee and chat with one another. It's not so much like that anymore.

You're looking at Lindsey the ladybug, Paige the witch, Scott the Chinese Dude, Emma the pumpkin, and Brinley, the ladybug.

Can you see the long, black braid hanging from the hat Scott is wearing? Hee!



Juliet did not get to be in this year's playgroup picture because she had a bad cold and had to remain quarantined in the pack 'n play in the corner of the room. Here she is, gazing longingly at the Halloween fun.

She felt so crummy, I didn't even put her in her Halloween costume. We'll have a re-do later today.

We did sing Happy Birthday to her, though, so it's not like she was totally left out. I think she looks a lot like my baby pictures in this photo.


Later yesterday evening, I took Scott over to my friend Leslie's house for trick or treating while Travis kept sniffly Juliet at home. Our neighborhood doesn't have much trick or treating at all, but there were a ton of kids out in Leslie's neighborhood. Scott had a great time, riding from house to house in the wagon. I let him get out and walk up to several doors for candy, but Scott is a wiley thing and kept trying to run away from me, so back into the wagon he'd go. Plus, his monkey costume throws off his balance, and I was worried he would fall.

Check out our crew.

You're looking at Scott the monkey, Luke the cowboy, Theo as Robin, Jack (Theo's brother) as Batman, and Tank (Luke's brother) as a knight.

The weather was cool, which was a good thing, since Scott was dressed in 83 pounds of monkey fleece.


Check out the loot!

Travis and I have already eaten most of it. Ah, the joys of having children at Halloween.

Travis's parents drove their RV over to a local park for the weekend, so we're heading over there this afternoon for a family birthday festivus for Juliet. More pictures to come.

Juliet turned a year old yesterday!

My darling Juliet,

I can't believe you are 1 year old today! A year ago tonight, you were born, and it was absolutely thrilling. Your birth was one of the most surreal, amazing moments of my life - not to mention a most welcome reprieve from the DAYS of labor I endured beforehand. That's right, young lady. Days. I will be reminding you of that fact in the future, I'm sure.

You are starting to take your first steps, and it is delightful to watch! You will take four or five steps before you lose confidence in yourself and sit down on the floor, but I know you'll be running all over the house in no time.

You've recently started the most adorable, little baby jabber, and you are often carrying on conversations with yourself that sound like, "Bleh-bwee-bweh-bleh." It makes your daddy and me laugh to hear you "talk." You do have a nice repertoire of legitimate words, though, with your favorites being "ball" (pronounced with the most adorable Southern accent) and "kitty" (sounds like "tee"). You are always pointing out round objects and excitedly proclaiming them balls, including the dome light on the ceiling fan and the little crystals that hang from the chandelier in the foyer. And anything with fur is a kitty - from your stuffed animals to your Mimi's Puppy. You are also entertaining us with words like "uh oh," "book" and "baby." You love to sign "kitty," and you will often sign for your drink, milk, and - the most important sign of all - crackers. You are a demanding, little thing when it comes to your crackers.

You're a pretty good eater, with hot dogs and cheese topping your list of favorites (and cat food!), but you still depend on mama very much for your milk. You tend to be a busy, little baby and not the most snuggly, so I cherish those quiet nursing times you and I have together. You tug at my heart when you open and close your little fist while nursing - the sign for milk.

I am so grateful for your sleeping habits, Juliet! You go to bed at night with little fuss at all. We nurse, rock for a few minutes, and then into the crib you go, wide awake, where you snuggle up with your little, furry blanket, your stuffed kitty, and your pacifier. You gave up your middle-of-the-night snacks at about 7 months, and now you sleep all not long until about 7 a.m. (sometimes 6 a.m., which Mama does not care for in the least - I do not like to get up before the sun). You are still taking two naps a day, but you can sometimes be tough to get to sleep at naptime. You'd much rather be up and playing with your toys or torturing Tad Smith.

And speaking of Tad Smith (or "Tee!" as you call him), he is your favorite toy of all. You love to pat him, pull his tail, yank on his ears and grab hunks of his fur. Thankfully, he is a pretty tolerant cat, but he will nip at you to let you know when he's had enough. You take great delight in his reactions to you, and you giggle whenever he bites you. Which makes me nervous because HELLO, Tad Smith sent your daddy to the ER about two years ago. Still trying to figure out how to distract you from the cat.

You are such a monkey, always getting into things and climbing on everything. You adore crawling up stairs, and you especially love little chairs that are just your size. You will make a game out of climbing in and out of a little, child-sized chair, often diving head-first onto the floor in the process. I'm afraid you are going to be quite the daredevil.

Juliet, you bring a little bit of magic into my life. You are a blessing to your daddy and me, and to Scott. I love you more than words can say, my sweet daughter.

Love,
Mommy



This picture makes me laugh.


*I wrote this yesterday, but what with Halloween and all the busyness around here, I only got around to posting it this morning.

Afternoon outside

The time between afternoon nap and when Travis gets home is usually the hardest part of my day. The kids are whiny and bored, and I'm pretty much spent from dealing with them all day. So I'm always looking for entertainment during those witching hours. Today we hung out at my friend Celeste's house and played with her daughters, Abby and Lily, and their dog Sandy. The kids were happy and entertained, and I even managed to drink a glass of wine and chat with another adult. A successful evening, all around!

Juliet spent the afternoon playing at the sand table with Lily and Abby (you can see the back of Lily's head here). Check out the adorable black and white outfit she's wearing! Her very favorite (and only) aunt Angi, along with her uncle Jeff and cousins Lauren, Christan and Evan, sent it for her birthday. I wish I had a better shot of the whole thing because it's so cute, and I really do love it.


Woo sand table!


Scott chillin' on the swing.

Travis carves a pumpkin.

Travis decided at 10 last night that it was time to carve the pumpkin. It was very festive, what with him carving pumpkins and me sitting around in my pajamas and not helping.

He is such an artiste.


Stay away from my pumpkin. I'm not kidding.


The design.


Sorry, ladies, he's taken.


He's totally cute, isn't he?