"Miss Independent, Miss Self Sufficient"- words previously made famous by American Idol Kelly Clarkson, now our bean's theme song. I swear-she turned two and she is a new child. I mentioned earlier that we are in the process of toilet training [we were calling it potty training but she says "toilet" so now it's 'toilet training']. Anyhoo-she does not want us in the bathroom with her. She goes in, shuts the door [in our face most of the time and tells us to leave her alone], opens the lid, climbs up on her own, "attempts" to wipe....we have to manhandle our way into the bathroom to help her! 
She also walks up and down the stairs by herself (we do not let her walk down alone, we walk in front of her in case she falls). The funniest is at night-we went through a rough stage in late July where she wanted to fall asleep holding our hands. If we left the room when she was still awake she would scream bloody murder. Fast forward to the present....after we finish reading [her current favorites are 'Cool Dog School Dog', 'Pinkalicious', 'Purplicious', 'Goldilicious' and 'Grumpy Cat'] she tells me to get out of her room-"Go mommy, go." She's now in a full-side bed and sometimes I just want to lay there for a minute, but she does not want me there. Little stinker! She also RUNS into school every day and doesn't even look back at me to say good-bye. J.D. and I will look at her and kind-of sing 'Miss Independent' and she parrots right back to us (with a head shake and little dance) "Miss Independent!" 
Otherwise, life has been busy for the Houston Yamo's. We've had numerous playdates with Hannah, Emma and Sarah. Julia's new 'big girl' bed was delivered on Friday, so she is now in a full size bed (with a new nightstand, the new dresser is on backorder and will here at the end of October). She loves her 'big girl bed.' We're in the process of quoting contractors for our master bathroom renovation..and of course preparing for Baby Bean! Hard to believe he could be here literally any day now!
And...also fabulous, is that the weather has cooled down the last few days. When I say 'cool', I mean a low of 65 at night and a high of 80 during the day, which is fall-esque weather for TX. It is simply beautiful outside! We even went to the park the other day for the first time since the spring (it is too hot to go in the summer, she'd burn her legs on the slide and swings). Life is good!
Today is officially the first day of the fall, yeah! I love seeing all the pumpkins at the stores and fall decorations. This is without question, my favorite time of year. The holidays, the leaves, the food, now..if the weather would just cool down a tad it would be perfect! So, a few people have asked me about all the polls I post. What can I say-I'm slightly poll obsessed.... I think they are fun and I love seeing the results. For those of you interested in my replies (a few of you have asked), I'll try to remember the ones I've done recently:
*Juice for toddlers: I don't give Julia juice (I don't think she needs the sugar), but J.D. does (he thinks I'm crazy). She's not a huge juice drinker so she usually has a sip and then moves on to water or milk.
*Belly shot: show it off! While we don't always feel glamorous when we're pregnant, it is a beautiful, special time in our life, so why not? For the haters out there...just avert your eyes!
*Favorite cleaning product: I think I clicked on Windex-but I also LOVE the "cleaning power of OxyClean" [oxy really gets out almost every stain]. My laundry detergent, carpet cleaner and bathroom cleaner all have oxy.
*Sleeping through the night: Julia slept through the night at 8 months.
*Mommy or Momma: I prefer 'mommy' although the bean calls me both.
*Christmas Shopping: I've already started!
And here is a gorgeous photo of my brother and his family at Lake Champlain. How beautiful is my niece and how handsome is Andrew? I am so excited to see them for Thanksgiving!
Vladimir Boris-has a nice ring to it, don't you think? I really love the eastern European flare. It has a strength to it that other names just don't carry. Okay, I kid, I kid. I actually think Vladimir is a cool name but way too unique (for me anyway). The poor guy would definitely have a hard time spelling (and pronouncing) his name in kindergarten.
For those of you who got excited by the title of this post....did you really think I would post his name on a blog!?! You will all find out when the little tyke pops out. In positive news, J.D. and I are finally talking about his name (he is referred to as 'the boy' currently) and we have our list narrowed down to 9. I'm sure some of you can't believe we haven't chosen a name yet...but that's how we roll! We didn't decide on "Julia" until a week or so before she was born. Anyway, ONE of the name submissions so far is part of our list. Our lips are sealed as to which one. For those of you who still haven't submitted a name, go for it. You never know, you might just guess one of the other eight!!
Hello everyone! It's been awhile since my last update, so I'll jump right in....our Labor Day weekend was filled with bbq's and playdates. Julia and Hannah played Friday night, we went to the Radford's Saturday for a bbq (the girls had a great time again), Sunday we went to one of J.D.'s coworker's house for a cookout and pool party (Julia was in the pool for hours insisting J.D. throw her up in the air..poor guy almost threw out his back) and Monday we went to Emma and Sarah's house where the trio had a fab time. Overall, very busy but a great time all around.
In other fun news, Emma and Sarah got a new ragdoll kitten this past weekend that they named Mia. We went over to meet her this past Sunday and Julia LOVED her. Mia was very social and let all the girls handle her. I couldn't believe how soft she was.
Oh-fun, fun, fun...Julia sings all the time now. ALL THE TIME!! Her current favorites are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Happy Birthday. It is beyond adorable. Two is such a fun age!!
Julia had her 2yr check up this morning and here are her latest stats:
*27lb [25th-50th percentile]
*34 1/4" tall [50th-75th percentile..I've read that if you double their height at age 2 that will be their adult height..if that's the case, she'll be over 5'8"..hmm..seems tall for a female in our family]
In other fun bean news:
*she is almost completely poop trained on the toilet and announced this morning she doesn't want to wear diapers anymore because she is a "big girl"
*she picks out her own clothes almost every day (her favorite shirt is a green floral one from Jill and Julia that she just got for her birthday)
*she puts on her own skirts, pants and shoes
*her favorite shoes are a pair of white crocs that used to be Hannah's - she calls them "Hannah's shoes"
*she walks up and down the stairs by herself (we are always with her just in case she falls)
*she prefers to use the front door at our house (even though the back door is closer to the garage)
*she tells us exactly what books she wants to read at night (her current favorites are all dog themed)
*she prefers to eat meals at her little table
*she drinks out of regular cups now at home and she reminds J.D. and I to use "both hands" when we are drinking! (we only use sippy cups if we are out running errands)
*while she went through a real 'daddy phase' recently, I'm back in her good graces - I brush my teeth with her and read with her every night
*she says 'please', 'excuse me' and 'thank you' without being prompted (most of the time)
*she has started calling herself 'Julia' instead of 'Jules' (there is a new girl in her class named Jewl, which is what prompted the change)
*she likes wild hair (she doesn't like to get her hair washed, combed, always pulls out pony tales, pig tales and forget about barrettes or headbands..they stay in for a few minutes)
*she tells us 'Baby Brother is coming soon'
*she is excited about Halloween...although she has no idea what it is!
*she LOVES Amelia and is constantly hugging, kissing and laying on her
Of course-with all of these fabulous developments, there are some fabulous tantrums, but overall, she is TONS of fun right now.
"Miss Independent, Miss Self Sufficient"- words previously made famous by American Idol Kelly Clarkson, now our bean's theme song. I swear-she turned two and she is a new child. I mentioned earlier that we are in the process of toilet training [we were calling it potty training but she says "toilet" so now it's 'toilet training']. Anyhoo-she does not want us in the bathroom with her. She goes in, shuts the door [in our face most of the time and tells us to leave her alone], opens the lid, climbs up on her own, "attempts" to wipe....we have to manhandle our way into the bathroom to help her! 
She also walks up and down the stairs by herself (we do not let her walk down alone, we walk in front of her in case she falls). The funniest is at night-we went through a rough stage in late July where she wanted to fall asleep holding our hands. If we left the room when she was still awake she would scream bloody murder. Fast forward to the present....after we finish reading [her current favorites are 'Cool Dog School Dog', 'Pinkalicious', 'Purplicious', 'Goldilicious' and 'Grumpy Cat'] she tells me to get out of her room-"Go mommy, go." She's now in a full-side bed and sometimes I just want to lay there for a minute, but she does not want me there. Little stinker! She also RUNS into school every day and doesn't even look back at me to say good-bye. J.D. and I will look at her and kind-of sing 'Miss Independent' and she parrots right back to us (with a head shake and little dance) "Miss Independent!" 
Otherwise, life has been busy for the Houston Yamo's. We've had numerous playdates with Hannah, Emma and Sarah. Julia's new 'big girl' bed was delivered on Friday, so she is now in a full size bed (with a new nightstand, the new dresser is on backorder and will here at the end of October). She loves her 'big girl bed.' We're in the process of quoting contractors for our master bathroom renovation..and of course preparing for Baby Bean! Hard to believe he could be here literally any day now!
And...also fabulous, is that the weather has cooled down the last few days. When I say 'cool', I mean a low of 65 at night and a high of 80 during the day, which is fall-esque weather for TX. It is simply beautiful outside! We even went to the park the other day for the first time since the spring (it is too hot to go in the summer, she'd burn her legs on the slide and swings). Life is good!
