September 25 - Baby Yamo #2?

A few of you have inquired if baby Yamo #2 is on the way due to my reference in an earlier blog post about being done with bottles "for now" and the sidebar comment about baby x due in May 2010. I can assure you 100% that I am NOT pregnant right now. Yes, we would like to have another child in the next few years, but the baby I referenced due in May is not mine! I'll announce the parents after the 12 week mark. Sorry to those of you getting excited about another chubster with dimples...for now, the bean is our one and only (except of course our furry baby, Amelia, whom we still love to pieces).

Happy Friday everyone!

September 24 - Good Morning Kiss

I have to share the sweetest thing with everyone. Yesterday morning, J.D. got up with the bean (changed her, gave her some milk, etc) and then brought her into our bedroom to say hello to me. He put her on the bed and she crawled over to me and kissed me on the cheek! She has never proactively kissed me before! It was so cute!

(here is a photo of her from August, going down the slide by herself for the first time. Our little daredevil loved it)

September 21 - Spooky Doesn't Scare the Bean

Greetings everyone! We had an adventuresome weekend here in hot, humid north central Florida. I have to keep checking the calendar because it feels like mid-July instead of the end of September...where is the cool fall weather? And I hope it arrives soon!

On Saturday, Jill and I took to the girls to a pond at North Florida Regional Medical Center (yes, the placed where our esteemed daughters entered this world) where we fed the ducks and turtles. I'm happy to note that the turtles seemed to love German dark wheat bread while the ducks preferred french bread. After hanging out with the ducks, we headed to a Halloween store at the mall to check out costumes. Although
there was a huge selection, there weren't too many toddler options). Anyhoo-they did have life size "scary" monsters and wouldn't you know that Jules LOVED them. Whenever I put her down she would immediately run over to them and just stare at them with wonder. She definitely was not scared! We finished off the day at Jill's house where the girls played with flashcards and an assortment of toys.

Yesterday, the four of us went to a local park which was fun but extremely hot. We lasted about 45min and then called it a day. The
sun was just too strong. Afterward, Jules and I went to a local discount store to find kid furniture. I found an adorable red armchair and ottoman but it was $80. I'll keep searching for something more affordable. After that, Jules and I went to TCBY yogurt where she sampled chocolate frozen yogurt (she HATED it!) and she had a great time running around the store with crayons and coloring books.

She also had fun coloring with daddy this weekend and got to see Great Uncle Brian for a few minutes Saturday night.

September 16 - Bottle Free

Baby Yamo fans-I have wonderful, wonderful news. Today is our 4th day sans bottles! Jules is officially on sippy cups full-time now. We also switched up her nighttime routine. We used to do bath, bottle and then bed. About two weeks ago we switched to bottle, bath, book and bed. We thought it might be a difficult transition but she had no trouble! We just replaced the bottle with a sippy cup and once again-she adjusted just fine! And I am thrilled to be done with bottles for the time being.

So far, we've had a great week. Jules has graduated to running around the house almost full-time now. No more walking for her! It is amazing how fast she is. This past weekend we went to Bed, Bath & Beyond (she loved the mirrors and pillow section), a shoe store (where she tried on the cutest little boots; they are dark brown and match her pants but if you look closely, you can see them) and Borders. At Borders, she met a little one year old boy Anish and they played together for quite awhile. That is..until she realized the employee only door to the stock room was open and then it was a game of "how quickly can I get in there before mommy catches me?" Little stinker! She had a great time...I will say I enjoy her zeal for books and hope this translates into wanting to come here in a few years and read. She also partook in some mathematics, as evidenced by the photo above. She loves daddy's math and science books!

In other news, we are anxiously awaiting the birth of Julia's newest cousin, baby boy Cook, who is set to make his appearance at the end of October. I keep eying the most adorable boy clothes at the stores. Just a few more weeks!

September 10 - Drama Queen

Mommy-I am a hungry little hippo and want a graham cracker! Are my crocodile tears moving you?

I know they are in this pantry...If I could just untie this blue ribbon I can grab one..I know exactly what shelf they are on...

Okay-I stopped fake crying, said "pease" and mommy gave me a graham cracker. It was so good I decided to take one bite and give the rest to Amelia (I like to share and she looked hungry). Hmm...mommy, can I have another one??
..

Mmmm, I love rice and beans for dinner!!
I would to give a big shout out to my cousin Victoria for introducing me to her favorite "yum yum" graham crackers. V-you knew what you were talking about-these things are fab! - Jules

September 9 - The Jig

Our little bean is in the process of perfecting 'the jig.' It is beyond adorable, she stamps her little feet, claps and giggles all at the same time! She now does it in the tub at night (when she gets her second wind..prior to crashing for the evening) and in the morning. I'll work on getting a photo or video.

September 8 - Tank You, Pease

Our little bean is growing up fast. We're working on words and manners and this weekend she said 'pease' when she wanted a graham cracker (her new favorite food) and this morning she said 'tank you' when J.D. dropped her off at school. We are loving it!!

So, with Labor Day comes an extended weekend and wow did we have a fun time. On Saturday, Jill and I took the girls to a local teaching zoo at Santa Fe Community College (http://www.sfcollege.edu/zoo/). We had a guided tour which was geared toward older kids but the girls still had a good time looking at the gibbons, alligators, parrots and other animals. After the zoo, both girls chowed down on jelly sandwiches (Jules ate her entire sandwich in about 5min flat, no exaggeration) and took much needed naps. Later that afternoon, Jules and I went to the mall to check out Halloween costumes. They had a cute bumblebee outfit and ladybug but I am searching for a cute little vampire costume. I'll keep hunting! While at the mall, I also took Jules to the play area for the first time. I have to say this is one of the happiest I've ever seen her-she went crazy! She started laughing, giggling and clapping all at the same time. She was enamored with the bigger kids and had a fabulous time.

Sunday, Jill and I took the girls to the park where they had a fun time going down the slide and the swings. Later that afternoon, Jules and I went to Target to find some new shoes. I have to say I'm a tad disappointed in the selection, they only had about 5 different shoes to choose from! Luckily, we found some that fit. I must note that the little bean immediately grabbed a pair of winter boots with fur trim (future snow bunny perhaps) and some red sparkly shoes that reminded me of the wizard of oz.

Yesterday, J.D, Julia and I went to the mall again where the little bean played for almost an hour and went on her very first escalator. She went up and down with daddy about 4 times and kept smiling and clapping. Super cute!

August 31 - Weekend Fun

Happy Monday everyone! Our little bean had a fabulous weekend yet again. She traveled down to Tampa on Friday afternoon with daddy and they had a great time at grandma's house (I stayed in town to wrap up some work stuff...I also got some quality reading time in). Although there are lots of fun toys at grandma's (including a little dollhouse, train set, and books), Julia had the most fun with the stairs. She went up and down them probably 15 times (J.D.'s back is a little sore from following her up and down making sure she is safe). She also loved the little red rocking chair (it was a perfect fit) and the water frog (that she got for her bday).

In addition to all the fun at grandma's, Julia had a play date with Ella and the girls had a fab time. Ella has 3 miniature long haired dachshunds that Julia was a tad afraid of, but after a little while, she was fine. They played, went for a wagon ride with their dads and had some water fun in the backyard. All in all-it was a great weekend!

August 26 - Silly Silly

"Silly!"-Julia. Yes, our little bean actually said 'silly' this morning while she was reading a book. It was beyond adorable!

Some other tokens that are equally cute:

"Up now."-with arms outstretched upward

"Welcome."-she kind of says this...we're working on 'please', 'thank you' and 'you're welcome.'

"momma"-we're working on 'mommy'

"dadda"-we're working on 'daddy'

"puppy"-Amelia

"doggie"-Amelia

"duck"-when looking at a flash card of a duck

"All done"

"Hi"

"Hey"

"bye bye"

And here she is in her new "big girl" carseat-otherwise known as the 'princess chair' according to daddy. She loves it. And she loves when I reach back and tickles her little piggies!

August 24 - Welcome to 'Tudeville. Population: 1

Hello Bean followers! Did you guys have a wonderful weekend? Ours was filled with its ups and downs. On Friday, Julia had her 12mon appointment and she did great. She didn't cry too much from her shots and is healthy as can be. After dropping her off at school, I sat on an MBA alumni panel for new MBA students at UF. It was great being on campus again! After answering questions and having lunch, school called that Julia was sick so I had to get her. I took her to work for a few hours and then we chilled at home. I wasn't feeling that great myself and ended up falling asleep at 6pm! After sleeping for 15 hours...I woke up and felt fine the next day.

On Saturday, J.D., Julia and I went out for lunch and since it is the first weekend that students are back in town...all I can say is: CHAOS! We went to a local deli and there was literally a line out the door. We ended up at a different deli with a short wait and our little bean ate an entire bowl of mac n cheese and applesauce. She has quite an appetite! After that, we went to the museum (were it was also very crowded, there were parents everywhere in town for orientation) where we all had fun.

Yesterday was a busy day for the bean and I. We got up early, went on a long walk with Amelia and then went to the park with Jill and Julia. There were lots of little kids at the park and the girls had a great time. After a short, 45min nap, Jules was ready for the rest of the day..or so we thought. Jill and Julia came over and the little bean was super fussy. I put her down for a nap and after 20min or so of high pitch screaming, she slept for....about 20min. The girls played a little while longer and after they left, I had a clingy, super fussy bean on my hands. I fed her dinner (peas and ravioli) where she refused to eat her peas. She wrangled the fork from me at one point and I wrestled it away from her. She was NOT happy with me! I took her out of her highchair and she was literally stomping her little foot on the ground, fake crying pointing at the fork. I admit I found some humor in the situation but I was mostly thinking-we definitely have a little 'tude (our nickname for 'attitude') developing here. We need to nip this in the bud!