Happy Birthday Andrew!!

I am so happy to announce Julia's newest cousin: *Andrew Charles Cook
*6lb 13oz
*20 inches
*10/27/2009 12:07pm

We can't wait to meet you Andrew! You are adorable!!

October 23 - Another May Baby....

Congratulations to Sheela and Ray on baby de Groot, due in May (within a few day of baby Merrill). They are currently in London and we hope they move back to the states soon so all the kiddies can play together. Congrats, I am so happy for you guys!

October 22 - And the May Baby is......

Mine. Just kidding!! I am super excited to announce that baby Merrill will be joining us sometime in May. Congratulations Becky and Scott!! It has been so hard keeping this a secret for the past few months. A word of advice from a relatively new mom...enjoy your full night sleep while you can!

October 20 - Just Like Daddy

Greetings Bean fans! Did you have a nice weekend? Are you enjoying beautiful cool weather like we are experiencing here in north central FL? I am L-O-V-I-N-G this weather and feel invigorated, it is wonderful!

Gator Homecoming was this past weekend and all local schools were closed down on Friday for a parade. J.D. and I were unable to take the day off (we also had to work on Saturday) so Grandma Yamo came in town to watch Jules. They had a fabulous time! The girls went shoe shopping (a favorite of Grandma and the bean), to the book store, grocery store, and TG Maxx. Grandma spoiled Jules with some adorable new outfits, shoes, awesome toys and lots of Halloween books. We are all enjoying the Halloween themed books, they are so cute!

On Sunday, our neighborhood had a block party and I decided to bring the Halloween pumpkin with some treats. Well...Jules was very excited about the candy..she carried the pumpkin en route to the fiesta and kept trying to eat treats-she seems to be developing a sweet tooth just like daddy! She had a great time playing with the 'big' kids and trying to steal food from the food table. Her partner in crime, neighbor Julia, was on the hunt for cookies. All in all-it was a great time!

Earlier in the week, Uncle Brian came in town to visit from Miami. We went out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and there was a mariachi band. Julia was a little wary at first, but ended up loving the band! She was dancing in her little booster seat, it was fab!

October 12 - Just Like Mommy

I couldn't resist snapping this photo of the bean. There is a basket of books next to her crib and she occasionally pulls one out to 'read' when she wakes up in the morning (it is adorable, we go in to get her up and she is usually laying on her back with a book). Well, yesterday, I laid her down for her nap and she immediately passed out (she exerted a lot of energy at the park that morning). About 45min into the nap, I heard her get up, move around, and then fall back asleep. I eventually went in to wake her up and she was snoozing away, surrounded by books! I LOVE it!!

I did a few posts last week but I neglected to mention the bean's fabulous week at school. Her class hosted a juggler, a toe tapping African drum performance, the Dancin' Gators dance troupe, a photographer and a sign language lesson. Her teachers told me she absolutely loved the juggler! They do so many educational/fun things, it makes me wish I were in school again!

And here is a photo of the bean (looking more and more like a little girl every day) standing in her rocking chair-she is quite the climber these days. We have to watch her like a hawk!

October 9 - Nice to Meet You Tad

Uncle Bryan surprised Jules with Tad the Frog this week. He is quite the stuffed animal-he plays songs (If you're happy and you know it clap your hands, etc), music for dancing (salsa, disco among others), and you can squeeze his hands, feet and belly and he tells you 'That is my belly!' He is cute and educational-we love it! Thank you Uncle Bryan!

In other fun news, Jules decided to raid my dresser this morning and put on one of my shirts. Then she decided to grab J.D.'s wallet and of course, immediately pulled out his debit card! We are going to have to watch out for her when she is older!

October 5 - Hunger Strike

Amelia Peabody: she is our first baby and my first snuggle muffin. She's our lovable lab that loves giving kisses, fetching balls and snuggling. She is currently Julia's best buddy and partner in crime-food crime. She eats whatever Jules gives her...which is a bite if not more of whatever Jules is eating. She is currently on a strict diet since she was 84lb (!!) at her last checkup. Although she lives a wonderful, posh life of dog food, human snacks and sleeps on the love seat all day, the poor thing does suffer from UTI's. We are on our third this year alone. After an expensive trip to the vet last week, she went on antibiotics and HATES them so much she is now on a dry food and medication hunger strike. I couldn't even entice her to take the meds when they were slathered in peanut butter or cheese! I poured beef broth on her food this morning and couldn't trick her into eating it. Luckily she has a little extra fat on her so I know she will be okay! Of course, I'm sure if Julia tosses her some pasta tonight she'll have no problem eating it!

Otherwise...we had a great weekend. We went to the park, an arts festival, spent a few hours at Petsmart on Saturday (Julia loved all the dogs, cats, fish, rodents, etc), and had Jill and Julia over yesterday to play. Here are Jules and I yesterday wearing matching outfits (it wasn't planned, I swear!). How adorable is she? She is really turning into a little girl.(and notice she has a graham cracker in her hand...she loves those things!)

October 2 - Anatomy 1.0

Like most households with children-there is a lot of book reading, singing and dancing going on. Many of the books and songs focus on body parts and our little bean is quickly learning them! She now knows where her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, tummy/belly, hands and feet are. It is adorable! We asked her where stuff was yesterday before school and she was pointing it all out in front of the mirror. Fabulous!

October 1 - She can't get enough aqua!

Hey dad-can I help water the plants?

Do you mind if I stick my hand in the water?

Wow-this water is refreshing, I must get a taste.

Unbelievable. This is absolutely amazing. I think I need to bath myself in this water. (yes, I walked directly into the water stream)

Playing with water is so much fun!