July 27 - Wow Man!

Happy Tuesday! Our bean had a fun and fabulous weekend filled with play dates. Friday night J.D. and Nic took the girls to dinner and then they played at our house for awhile. Saturday morning we went to gymnastics (where J.D. has taken over for me, I can't physically chase her around the gym anymore) and Saturday afternoon we had our first play date with a neighbor, Iris. I met her and her parents at the park awhile back and saw her mom at the pool recently so we exchanged numbers. Iris turns two this weekend so it is fun to have a neighbor and playmate that is the exact same age as Jules! The girls played GREAT together and there was very little 'me, mine' going on. We're going to definitely get together again in the future. On Sunday, Emma and Sarah came over to play. The girls are all so cute together!

In other news, our little bean has become quite the daddy's girl since her father/daughter dinner on Friday night. All she wants is her daddy! Her language skills have also been developing and here are some funny things she's said recently:
*Mommy, out. You go walk dog now. I want daddy. [when I sat down to read to her before bed]
*Wow man! That was awesome! [after having a bite of J.D.'s chocolate muffin]
*No, man! [instead of just saying 'no']

Our little bean also knows the special ringtone I set up for my mother and whenever she calls she shouts 'It's Nonni!' She also likes to pick up the phone and have faux conversations with people. It is so cute. She also tries to text (and occasionally sends something out). This is such a cute stage!

July 23 - Name Game Helpful Hint

Hola. As you all know, my hubby's first name is "John" but he's always gone by "J.D." I've had a few emails and phone calls from people assuming we'll be calling baby bean by his initials too. That is not the case. He'll be called whatever his first name is. So...don't let coming up with the perfect "XX" initial name hinder your submission in any way! And remember we have a long last name so we'll most likely decide on something short, easy to pronounce and spell. This time around, we're also open to top 10 names (I wasn't open to this with Julia). ***Also-a first name submission is great. A lot of people have been submitting a first and middle name, which is cool too, but not necessary. ***

And how cute is this photo of Amelia when she was a pup? I recently took her to the vet (a new one here who I love) and our little porker needs to lose 8 lb. Apparently 84lb is a tad chubby for a female lab. Now..if we can just get Julia to understand 'the puppy isn't hungry' so she stops feeding her...

July 21 - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Another weekend, another fabulous time here in sunny Houston. My friend Steve (co-worker from my Austin IT days) came to visit last week and we had a great time catching up. We spent a few hours at Schlitterbahn Galveston and it was FAB! For those of you unfamiliar with Schlitterbahn, the original water park in New Braunfels, TX is the #1 water park in the United States (yes, it is more popular than the water parks at Disney World, Sea Word, etc). Although I lived in Austin for 4 years (which is close to New Braunfels) I never went, but the Galveston park recently opened and we decided to check it out. They have free parking, free life jackets, kids under age 3 are free, there was tons of covered eating areas, multiple toddler areas and best of all-they allow coolers! They are also open year round so we might take a trip here in November with the Cook cousins (it is about 30min from our house).

In other fun Yamo news, it was 'bring a friend day' at gymnastics Saturday so our little bean brought her best buddy, Emma. The girls had a great time and exerted a lot of energy (look at the little bean passed out on the way home!). Saturday afternoon, the Radford's came over for dinner. Julia and Hannah had a lot of fun playing, and the best part was-there was zero 'me, mine, give it to me!' toddler tantrums between them. They had fun playing with little pet shop animals, my little pony's, the tent and tunnel. It was very cute! At one point they were just giggling away. Adorable!

Sunday, we had another play date at Emma and Sarah's house. The Root's (Emma and Sarah's parents) set up a slip and slide, a water spout thing and a bubble machine for the girls to play with in the yard. After getting wet and wild, we headed in where they painted, colored, jumped in Emma's crib and had an all around amazing time! We stayed for dinner where Jules chowed down on multiple servings of mac 'n cheese and even ate a hotdog! (she's become quite a picky eater recently so it was nice to see her eating without saying 'I don't want it', 'I don't like it' or her new favorite 'I just want yogurt').

Well-we hope you are all having a fabulous week. Stay cool!

July 12 - The Name Game Part Dos

The Name Game

Do you think you know what moniker Baby Bean will end up with? Or maybe you have a fab name you want to suggest..either way, this contest is for you!!

Submit your entry via e-mail per the instructions below. Only 1 entry per person!

Naming Suggestions (encouraged, not required)

1. Incorporate wit, whimsy or thoughtfulness into your entry.
2. Consider a character name from a book, TV show or movie, or an historical figure. The name should have a story behind it, something we can sink our mental hooks into.
3. Avoid names meaningful to you because of your own family history. We really don't care that your grandfather was named Frankfort. Sorry.

How to Enter the Contest

1. Send an e-mail to Christine.yamokoski@gmail.com with the word "CONTEST" in the subject line

2. Propose a first name for Baby Bean.

3. In your own words, tell us about the baby name.

**The contest is open until September 1^st**

The Winner

Just to be clear, this a "game." J.D. and I aren't letting anyone name our child. If someone happens to submit a name that we decide on (and we haven't even discussed names yet!) you'll win delicious baked goods.

The winner will be announced after Baby Bean arrives.

Have fun with this!

July 7 - Belly Shot!

Jill and I traveled to Cocoa Beach last week for our second annual 'reading vacation.' We are both voracious readers (we read over 300 books last year between the 2 of us) so it was great to get away and relax before our little boys arrive. By popular demand, here is a long awaited belly shot (Jill: 31 weeks; Christine: 25 weeks). I'd like to give a special thanks to Robin (Jill's mom) for watching Julia and Debbie (J.D.'s mom) for coming in town to help with Jules. Don't worry grandmas! We realize this is the last girls trip for awhile until the kids are older. Next up will be fun filled family getaways!

So-did you all have a fabulous holiday weekend? Ours had its up and downs. The bean was sick with a nasty stomach bug (she is luckily 100% now) so our weekend was mostly filled with taking care of her and doing lots of laundry (it's amazing how much a 26lb toddler can vomit). We were able to squeeze in a playdate with Emma and Sarah (Amelia came along too) and the girls had a fabulous time together. We also went to the pool last night where Jules spent about 2 hours jumping in and out of the pool-she LOVES jumping! Otherwise, it was pretty low key.

Well-enjoy these adorable photos of our little bean. Happy Wednesday!