February 21 - Sticker Craze

Happy Sunday bean followers. Are you enjoying your weekend? Ours has been fab. Friday night I went to a candle party with a new friend in town and met a lot of fun people. I'm starting a book club here and met some fellow book lovers, so that was very exciting!

Yesterday, J.D., Julia, Amelia and I went to our neighborhood park to check out the play area and we all had a great time. Jules loved the swings while Amelia loved chasing the tennis ball. Later in the day, Hannah and Tammy came over and again it was fun for all. The girls are so adorable together. Hannah loves to sing and Julia loves to dance so they are a match made in heaven. They were running around the house holding hands, dancing and giggling. They also had a great time playing with stickers-wow, it is crazy how much they LOVE stickers!

Today, the bean, pooch and I went to yet another play area (a new play scape behind the elementary school near our house). Amelia ended up rolling around/laying in a mud pit at one point then tried to follow some boy scouts into the school (where they were holding a big meeting) so needless to say, it was not a mundane trip! Julia had an amazing time going down all the slides and best of all-we met some new friends! Right before we left a couple came with a 1.5 yr old named Iris and they live right around the corner from us. I see play dates in our future!

February 18 - Potty Time

Okay-let me start off by saying there are certain words in the English language that I don't care for and 'potty' is one of them. Unfortunately, 'toilet' is another one so I've been testing out 'potty training', 'toilet training' and 'using the bathroom' but let's face it-none of them really roll off the tongue. I guess we're going to go with 'potty training' since that is what they say at school.

So in the bean's new classroom, the kids range from 18mon to 24mon. There are a few little potty's/toilet's and the teachers train the kids when they are ready. They don't force it on any of the kids and over the last week or so, Jules has started to take more interest in the potty and has sat on it a few times. Well-the other night when we were home, she grabbed J.D.'s hand and pulled him into the bathroom and pointed to the toilet. He asked if she had to go and she said 'yes' so we put her up there. She was a tad freaked out because it was an adult sized seat and we ended up putting her down after a few seconds. But she pooped about 2 min later! So...amazingly, it seems like she is grasping the concept of potty training. This is very exciting..because when I say changing her diaper is like wrestling an alligator, I am not exaggerating. It gets more difficult by the day. The little bean does not want to stop playing and I was getting concerned she'd be a late bloomer (concerning potty training, which is apparently how I was as a child).

February 10 - Hannah, Hannah

Greetings bean fans! I am still searching for my usb cable. I've decided to just buy a new one this weekend so I can start uploading photos. I am sure you are all going into 'Julia Withdrawal' without your weekly dose of dimpled cuteness. Luckily, my wonderful sister-in-law posted a photo of the bean on her blog so I am copying it here. This photo was taken a few weeks ago when she was staying with Grandma Yamo. As you all know, our little bean LOVES cats and all she wanted to do was snuggle with old man K.C. That included hugging and snuggling with him in his cat bed. Beyond adorable!!

In other news, Julia is spending more time with her 2.5 yr old friend Hannah, and they are really cute together. Sometimes they hold hands and run around. It is enough to make any one's heart melt. We have a little table that they eat at together....I will get a photo soon and post it!! Julia also loves to say 'Hannah Hannah Hannah' and chants it all the time. Her other favorites now include nodding her head yes or no and saying 'no.' She also loves her monkey themed bathroom and has been attempting to do a forward roll (without our prompting).

Oh-I forgot to mention that we did a mom-tot gymnastics class this past weekend and the bean L-O-V-E-D it. She especially loved the beam and wanted to walk across it the whole time. I'm probably going to sign up for weekly classes so I'll try to get some photos.

And how adorable are my niece and nephew (Victoria and Andrew)? Jules and I plan to fly out sometime in the next few months to visit. I am so excited to see them both (and of course, psyched to see Greg and Jill too). I can't wait to pinch Andrew's chubby little cheeks! And see the girls play together. I really hope we are able to get together a few times a year so the kids grow up as cousins and more importantly, friends.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

February 1 - Wallpaper Fun

The Yamo family is completely unpacked (woo hoo!) and we are finally settled in. We have a new fridge, new water heater and best of all.....Internet access. Life is good! We're looking at paint samples and started stripping wallpaper this past weekend. There is wallpaper in the kitchen and bathrooms. We decided to start in the master bathroom and luckily the outer layer peels off easily but the glue is a chore to scrape off. Let's just say my arms are getting in a great workout!

In bean news, she LOVES the new house, especially the staircase. Any chance she gets she zooms up the stairs. We have to watch her like a hawk! She also loves to run around the backyard and loves all the space in her room. We went to Ikea yesterday and she fell in love with the little kids tent (above). Right now it is in our family room (I'm still amazing we have enough space for something like this) and she loves to dance in it!

Julia is also becoming fast friends with Hannah, our good friend's daughter. Hannah is 2.5 yr old and adorable. It is amazing how active the girls are together. I have some cute photos of them together and I'll post them once I find the cable to download photos from the camera.

Well-off to pick up the bean from her new Montessori school-hope you are all having a great Monday!