Our Daily Life - Volume 17

More blurry cell phone pics from our day to day life:

 

Hope goes through phases where she insists on picking out her clothes and dressing herself.  She did great with her shirt this day - she just paired it up with purple shorts.  At least she has the right team on top....

 Juliana loves sitting in this bin of balls - I can't even count the number of times these balls were picked up over the last couple of months (before they found a home in the garage).

 Juliana loves splashing around in the water table.

 Yes, IN the water table.

 Dipping her cheese curls in ketchup, then applying it to her cheek.

 Hope watching Cinderella in her glass slippers with Juliana.

 Hope likes to get ready with me in the morning

 We had glow in the dark bath night - it was pretty fun.

 Hope wore this to daycare one day - yes, backwards and all.  She did let them turn them around as soon as she got there.

 Hope and her pet slug.

 The softball collection from our yard.

 On the lawnmower with Daddy.

 Juliana in her new Pediped sandals

 Reading Mr and Little Miss books in bed

 Super cute in her nightgown

 Just a swingin'

Three and a Half

Well, Hope is now in the second half of being three years old, anxiously waiting to say she is four.  What is it like to be a three and a half year old?

 

Hope.....

 

is both sassy and sweet

loves to watch "Horseland"

has claimed ownership of the iPad 

loves crafts

plays in the dirt

takes a tumbling class

likes little science experiments

plays with barbies and her dollhouse

likes to make and decorate cupcakes

calls her sister "Sweetie Pie"

is afraid of bugs sometimes

has pet bugs sometimes

loves babies

is beautiful

makes me smile every day

 

I miss you Grandma

Today would have been my Grandma's 79th birthday.  I can see her smiling down on the girls from heaven - probably shaking her head, covering her mouth and trying not to laugh at some of the things they come up with.

 

Welcome Baby Oliver

Hope and Juliana's baby cousin, Oliver Shane, arrived on Monday, September 24th.  He weighed 8 lbs, 1oz and measured 20 inches long.  The girls haven't had the chance to meet him yet, but I got to hold him and see how adorable he is,

 

from his head....

 to his toes.

Welcome Oliver!  I bet Hope will love to be a little mother hen to you.  And Juliana will love rough-housing around with you.

Seventeen Months Old

 

All toddler - that is what best describes Juliana at this point.  She finally let go and started walking on her own around fourteen and a half months.  She was a pro from the beginning - because she had so much practice holding onto my hands.

 

Juliana doesn't talk much.  Sometimes she will babble.  She will say words occasionally, just not regularly.  But she really doesn't need to talk.  Hope does it for her.  I hear that I was a later walker and talker too, so I am not really concerned.  In the end, I don't think it impacted my SAT scores at all.

 

Juliana loves shoes.  She loves hers, mine, Hope's, any one's.  She loves to try them on and walk around.  This morning she was actually able to put her own on. 

 

Juliana follows Hope around all the time.  When she does talk, "Hope" is what she typically says.  If Hope brushes her teeth, Juliana wants to brush her teeth.  If Hope pushes her baby doll stroller, Juliana wants to push it too.  If Hope colors, Juliana wants to color.  Etc etc etc. 

 

Juliana loves to empty things - whether it be the baby wipe container, the tissue box, or the laundry basket full of clothes that I just folded. 

 

Juliana loves to be outside.  She will go to our patio door and cry and cry to go out, after getting her shoes, my shoes and Hope's shoes for me (she still has her "little" temper too).  She loves to go down the slide, and of course, she is still quite the little climber.

 

Juliana is a little snuggle bug.  Even though she loves the freedom of running around, she still enjoys being held.  She loves to run up to Joe, Hope or me and give hugs.

 

My favorite times with Juliana are putting her to bed.  We rock and read books, then I lay her in her crib.  She snuggles up with her stuffed lamb - a mini-pillow-pet.  Then she anxiously waits for me to cover her with a blanket.  Lately, Hope has been coming in to say a bedtime prayer with Juliana.  What she says is different every night, but it is usually something like, "God is great.  God is good.  Thank-you for Mommy, Daddy, Hope and Juliana.  Bless everyone in the world.  Jesus loves me, this I know.  Bible school tells me so."  Then she usually makes up a song to sing about Jesus riding the bus round and round, all though the town.  Juliana giggles, and then falls asleep.

 

I love this little girl, so so much. 

Here is a link to Hope at seventeen months.  Check out the difference in the length of their pigtails.

http://karenjoeandfamily.blogspot.com/2010/08/hope-turned-seventeen-months-old.html



First Driving Lesson

For Christmas 2010, Joe's parents gave Hope her first car.  We have kept it covered up in the garage until several weeks ago when we took it out for the first time and Joe gave Hope her first driving lesson.  Hope has caught on to turning left and right, and going forward and in reverse.  Looking at the pictures really makes me realize that my baby Hope is gone.  At least we still have a few years before she will be driving a real car......

 

One of Nature's Miracles

After our last visit home to see my parents, we came home with more than just our dirty clothes.  Aunt Kathy gave Hope her first monarch caterpillar.  As kids, my sister, brother and I used to love to hunt for these and take them home and watch them grow and then change into a butterfly.  It is fun to carry on the tradition.  Thanks Uncle Darvin for the hunting - apparently they were scarce this year.

 

 

 

Our monarch butterfly emerged this past Tuesday morning.  We let it outside and watched it flutter around for a bit.

 

When we came home Tuesday evening, Hope had to go see if the butterfly was still here.  She got pretty upset when it wasn't.  She has since moved on and now talks about her butterfly, named Hope, being on its way to Mexico.

Preparing for Baby

A few weeks ago I spent some time preparing for a baby - it just isn't ours. 

 

Hope and Juliana will soon have a little cousin - the first one for both of them since until now they have been the youngest on both sides of the family (I am just referring to first cousins).  We had a baby shower for the mom-to-be, Nicolette.  I got to use a lot of ideas from Pinterest.

 

The diaper wreath

 Mini diaper cakes

 Not from Pinterest - Juliana was just climbing again

 Baby cupcakes

 Nicolette making her appearance

 Soon to be Mommy to a little boy named...??????

 The paper onesies - I didn't get a picture of the line of real ones.

 As Hope noticed - this little girl showed up wearing the same dress as her, with the same pink bow, and she has the same color of hair and the same color of eyes.  She is her second cousin, Kara.