12-28-12

Anna Claire vocabulary:

Flower: "booda" (no idea why!)
Again/another one/more: "nuh-gin" or "nuh-gee"

I've got my sweet Juliana laying here beside me--she's so precious, so warm and starting to show such personality!! Love that sweet baby!!

12-23-12

What a special Christmas this has been so far!! Here's some highlights!

I've been crafting! I've missed doing projects and wanting to make Christmas special and homemade has motivated me to make time for it! I made this wreath for the front door:

And mom and I made this nativity ornament from a Pinterest idea:

And this footprint plate with the girls feet! (Believe it or not Anna Claire was a LOT easier than Juliana--she kept wanting to curl those baby toes at the wrong time!)

And I finally started our ornament tradition--it's my goal that we buy an ornament to exchange for each member of the family and swap them the day after thanksgiving....here's to year #1!
My ornament that I bought myself: The Enterprise from Star Trek: TNG. There's nothing I love more to watch in bed than Star Trek and while Juliana has been so young, it's been almost all I've watched because I know it so well that it's mindless and I enjoy the familiarity of it. Happy endings help too! ;-)

Our family ornament for 2012:

Juliana's ornament:

Anna Claire's ornament: she absolutely LOVES "ki-ki" and wants to watch it ALL. THE. TIME. It's a phase and its cute--I want to remember it! :-)

Andy finished his Masters degree this year and we are very proud of that accomplishment! (Hence, the ornament!) (Anna Claire calls this ornament "daddy" and has already broken his head off! Thankful for superglue!)

Christmas really has been more meaningful with a family to celebrate with!!

12-22-12

Anna Claire is saying everything!! but here's some of her favorites as of now:

Mama or mommy
DadDY
Ride (wide)
Get down (Gi dwn)
Slide (side)
Play (pay)
Come sit
Choo choo or train (cheen)
Socks
Shoes
Its Pink (es pnk)
It's black (es blck)
It's blue (es blU)

12-21-12

Juliana wearing daddy's old onesie!

12-21-12

Juliana wearing daddy's old onesie!

12-23-12

What a special Christmas this has been so far!! Here's some highlights!

I've been crafting! I've missed doing projects and wanting to make Christmas special and homemade has motivated me to make time for it! I made this wreath for the front door:

And mom and I made this nativity ornament from a Pinterest idea:

And this footprint plate with the girls feet! (Believe it or not Anna Claire was a LOT easier than Juliana--she kept wanting to curl those baby toes at the wrong time!)

And I finally started our ornament tradition--it's my goal that we buy an ornament to exchange for each member of the family and swap them the day after thanksgiving....here's to year #1!
My ornament that I bought myself: The Enterprise from Star Trek: TNG. There's nothing I love more to watch in bed than Star Trek and while Juliana has been so young, it's been almost all I've watched because I know it so well that it's mindless and I enjoy the familiarity of it. Happy endings help too! ;-)

Our family ornament for 2012:

Juliana's ornament:

Anna Claire's ornament: she absolutely LOVES "ki-ki" and wants to watch it ALL. THE. TIME. It's a phase and its cute--I want to remember it! :-)

Andy finished his Masters degree this year and we are very proud of that accomplishment! (Hence, the ornament!) (Anna Claire calls this ornament "daddy" and has already broken his head off! Thankful for superglue!)

Christmas really has been more meaningful with a family to celebrate with!!

12-20-12

Juliana is growing so much and starting to develop her little personality!

She started officially sleeping through the night last week at 10.5 weeks (or so...). That's a great improvement for mom!! Anna Claire started at about 9 weeks (I think) so they are very close in age.....someone told me that babies need to get to 12 pounds in order to sleep through the night and for Juliana that's almost exactly on track! :-)

She's so precious--today she laughed for the first time--a barely there giggle that accompanied a humongous grin---so sweet!

Anna Claire is sick today--not surprising considering everyone and their sister is sick at church. Add to that the fact that she sucks her thumb and touches EVERYTHING all the time, and well.... I feel so sorry for her though....she didn't nap for coughing and ended up falling asleep on me at 7:15....precious girl.....

12-17-12

Today Anna Claire said "Jesus" for the first time--how precious it sounds to hear our Lord's name on her lips even if she doesn't understand yet!

In other news Juliana is sleeping through the night--it's been a week so I think I can consider it official and not just a fluke! Yay!!

12-14-12

At Juliana's doctor appt today--she weighed 12 lbs and two ounces and was 22.5 inches long! She's growing!! We are doing an alternative vaccine schedule with her as well, so she only got her Rotavirus and Pertussis combo vaccine today. Vaccines make me sooooo nervous! Lord, please take care of my baby girl!!

Fun with Dad tonight - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! She drew on herself, so he did the same in kind!

12-13-12

Oh my! How full my heart is sometimes...I just love my family! Anna Claire is at the sweetest age --or maybe she is just able to express herself, and it makes me so proud to see what a loving disposition and kind nature she has. I have prayed for this very thing since both my girls were in the womb....so thankful that God hears our prayers!

Juliana is growing and changing--she started cooing--yesterday was the first major day that she did it a lot....cute! She's fattening up nicely and is soooo sweet when she gives you a big gummy grin!

Anna Claire is doing lots of new fun things---she's learning her colors, although she isn't 100% accurate! She loves to say "that blck!" Or "that pnk!" (She says it very short and blocky, hardly any vowel sound at all yet--adorable!)

She's tried to sing the line "everybody wants to be a cat" from The Aristocats after watching the movie. :-)

Andy took her to a youth basketball game Tuesday night and she came home saying, "yay!!! Get da ball!" Over and over again and clapping!! She was impressed!

She is STILL telling us about where the "Anna" (ant) bit her on the finger back in like, October, except now she will add "ow" to the mix and will pretend to stamp the ground or one fist into the other hand and we will say "squish that ant!"

Christmas really feels nice this year. The tree is pretty and I decorated the mantel---I made a footprint plate of the girls feet and am working on a wreath for the front door. We have watched Frosty with Anna Claire and Rudolph -- afterwards we had some plush toys of Rudolph and Clarice and she was VERY excited and immediately wanted to make him fly! She had to take them to church and then to bed with her! Got mad when I wouldn't let her play with them while she ate dinner! Haha! Such special memories!

12-09-12

I think I've got Christmas covered! At least for Andy and the girls. We decided we would try the gold, frankincense, myrrh idea--where you get each person one thing they want, one thing they need and one thing to help them grow spiritually and tie it to the gifts that were given to Jesus. I'm really excited about doing it this way--not only does it give us boundaries and keep us from going crazy, but it also helps us buy gifts with a purpose.

This year is a real trial period for Anna Claire because she's not totally aware of how things go yet, but next year she will really understand and I'm glad to be "trying this out" this year so we get the hang of it!

I bought Andy a pair of sperry style shoes for work (NEED), an iRig guitar thing for his iPhone (want) and a subscription to Tabletalk, his favorite devotional magazine that we haven't subscribed to in a while (spiritual growth).

For Anna Claire we got her some new hair bows (need), a doll toy (want) and a set of foundation memory verse cards (spiritual).

Juliana gets a Little People Nativity set that she is loaning to Anna Claire this year! :-)

I've also picked up an otterbox, some candy and a keyring finder for Andy's stocking and a veggie tales singalong DVD and some ring lollipops for Anna Claire's stocking.

I'm happy with my purchases and how much I've spent--we really didn't go overboard at all. It will, of course, be harder when the girls are older.

Tonight is the children's musical at church--hard to believe my little Anna Claire will get to participate next year! She sat through most of the program but then got antsy--but she loved the music!

Today is my birthday--I feel incredibly blessed. I love my family, I get to have the best job ever (even if it is tough sometimes!) and I have a wonderful church family and finally some friendships. Life is sweet for the most part. I find myself quite content! :-)

12-08-12

Yummy birthday lunch with my precious family at Longhorn!

12-07-12

Anna Claire will NOT leave her socks on in the car!! Wants to smell her feet and say "shoo!"

12-3-12

Anna Claire got her own iPad for Christmas and is so smart on it!! Tonight she was able to initiate a video call to my mom ALL BY HERSELF! She knew all the steps by memory!! Smarty pants!

12-2-12 - Juliana's Dedication

Juliana was dedicated tonight. It was a sweet ceremony and she looked beautiful. There were five babies altogether to be dedicated this time. I think she was next to youngest. Anna Claire didn't do so hot--no nap meant that she was pretty I'll...so she got up there with us and started crying for nana (who was on the second row)! :-) hah! So we had to let the little squirt down to run to Nana to keep from making a scene!

We dressed matching though so that we could go ahead and do our Christmas photo at the same time--I think it worked well!

It was so sweet though--Anna Claire paid me the highest compliment--I walked out in my dress to get Nana to button the top button on the back and Anna Claire said "pretty, mama!!"

So sweet!!

11-28-12

Anna Claire with her friends: Autumn Clark and Emma McDaniel.  She just loves the "big girls!"

11-15-12

Staying very busy with two girls! Blessed busy though!!

I am clear per the doc to lift Anna Claire which is a wonderful thing--I've missed picking the squirt up. :-). She has such a sweet disposition and I'm proud of how she is coming along with her manners and treating Juliana. :-)

Juliana is doing better with her sleeping overall, although she still hates her bassinet. Last night she slept in the carseat and did great. Didn't make me feel like parent of the year though!! You just want to see your baby sleep soundly and happily in their own space, but that's just not a reality yet. I remind myself that she is still very young--just six weeks today. (We didn't start Babywise with Anna Claire until she was nine weeks old.)

Juliana is really filling out though and becoming more beautiful daily. :-) I am enjoying getting to know her personality and seeing those first sweet smiles!

Tuesday night I gave the girls their first bath together (Juliana in her infant tub of course) and it went marvelously....Anna Claire shared her toys with Juliana, and helped me wash her belly, and then....she decided to pour a bottle of bubble bath that is now empty that she had filled with water Monday night on her belly....COLD water!! Juliana screamed of course, so then Anna Claire screamed when Andy poured a bit of it on her to tell her why she shouldn't do that. Always something around our house! :-) Overall, I still consider the bath a success though!

11-9-12 - Naughty or nice?

I was determined to get a picture of the girls together in their "Big Sister/Little Sister" shirts that Aunt Carol made for them.....unfortunately Anna Claire wants NOTHING to do with being photographed with her sister at the moment......this is the result.  I was seriously annoyed.....until I posted it on Facebook.  The 74 "likes" and 21 comments all telling me how hilarious it was changed my perspective.  Ya know, I think I actually DO like this picture......

(Donna Granberry says this should be our Christmas card photo with caption: "Naughty or Nice?" HAHA!)

11-08-12

Things are going great!! Couldn't have said that even a couple of days ago, but much progress has been made!!

Mom left Saturday which was very sad for me. So wish we lived closer....but only if we could move Bethel closer to Jax....it's a rare and wonderful place and I know that!

Juliana was a dreadful sleeper and very gassy (so we thought) up until Monday.....at that point I decided to start Babywise and boy is she a different baby!! We started feeding on a schedule Monday morning and last night she only woke once to nurse between 9:45 and 6:30!! Yay! Not much progress with sleeping in her bassinet and today was the first day I tried to let her cry it out and learn to self soothe in the bassinet. VERY HARD to hear her cry!! But after about ten minutes shed settled down and was resting. I don't want her to attach to a pacifier because she isn't very good at keeping it in and then she wakes when it falls out. Anna Claire could never hold it well either...

Juliana is sweet and beautiful though--I love how her little arms and legs are fattening up--so cute!! Her eyes are very blue! She favors Anna Claire but definitely has her own look. It's so hard to tell when they are this small who they look most like. :-)

Anna Claire is staying with Gail Christensen this week and next while I am not allowed to pick her up. She's been acting so big--just walks in like she owns the joint. I love, love my big girl!

11-4-12

11-3-12

Anna Claire fell asleep ON THE BIKE before they ever made it to the park! So he brought her home and put her to bed. They are just now heading back to the park to play! Haha!

 Mom came over this weekend and we felt crafty, so this is what we made:

Fun little project!

10-31-12

Tonight we had our Fall Festival.  HUGE turnout - almost 800 people! WOW!  Anna Claire seemed a bit freaked out by the crowd and wasn't her usual bubbly self.  She was ADORABLE though as a little ladybug.  Her legs looked SO CUTE in tights and a little poof skirt.  Juliana was my little baby mouse.  Slept the whole time - SUCH a sweetie!  It was the first time she's been to church since she was born for any length of time, and everyone made a huge fuss over her.  I tried to keep her covered in the stroller, for her own good..... ;)  They love her, but kids have germs and she's very little still....

Check out some pics:

10-30-12 - Trip to Aplin Farms and our first Corn Maze

Mom kept Juliana today and we took a little jaunt over to Aplin Farms to tour the farm and see the animals and walk through the corn maze - which admittedly, was more daunting than expected!!

10-29-12

A couple of days ago Anna Claire saw a school bus go by and said "cheese!"

She is loving wearing a jacket--calls it her "jack" and doesn't want to take it off!

Juliana is growing and is such a pretty little baby. She slept in mostly four hour sessions last night, which is a big deal for her. She would've slept perfectly, I think, except she is still fighting some nasal congestion. :-( poor baby. She is the gassiest thing though!

Mom vacuumed yesterday and Juliana twisted that little head to look toward the noise so quickly! I was amazed!

Anna Claire helped give Juliana a bottle yesterday with Nana--it was cute. :-). She also helped give her a bath on Friday, which was cute too! She rubbed soap on Juliana's little body.

Visited with Ms. Keitha for a weigh in:

10-28-12

Took Anna Claire to a pumpkin carving party last night while mom kept Juliana. She wasn't a bit interested in the pumpkins (which she calls "ball balls") but she loved seeing the people and eating! Had some ice cream punch and wore a milk mustache for a while! Cute, sweet girl!

Andy and I carved our first pumpkin in ten years of marriage!

10-22-12

10-18-12

Went to dr today and Juliana has grown! She is up to 7 lbs 9 oz and her jaundice is much better. Yay for that! She is filling out--you can tell that her face is fuller and her little legs are thicker. So sweet--love to see my baby growing! She's still almost a full pound smaller than Anna Clare was when she was born, but hey, we will get there! :-)

Can't believe tht mom had been here two weeks already. I dread her leaving, even though I know we will be fine. Wish we lived closer. Nothing would hold me back from moving back home except that we have the BEST church family EVER and Andy loves his job. Jobs like this don't come everyday and I am so grateful!

Anna Claire is talking so well --her speech is really taking off. There's no way I could list all the words she's saying or repeating (she's a little monkey these days), but here's a few of the extra cute ones:

Ants: "an-ya"
"Ow!"
On: "on-ya"
Chicken nugget: "chi-nut"
Fry: "fy"
"Go wide" -- wants to go ride the bicycle with Andy to the park

She says "meego" a LOT, in various situations and we have NO IDEA what it means. It's obviously an action word because she expects something to happen when she says it, and she will often point to things and say it. Can't make a connection yet though. :-)

She's taken to shrieking lately when she doesn't get her way, and even squealing meanly at people when she wants to be left alone. Makes me sad because these people care about her and have been so kind, but I know it's a phase like every other. We just continue to correct her. I don't know if it has to do with having less attention from me, or jealousy over Juliana, or what, but I've been struggling with a bit of self doubt and guilt about it. :-(

Emotions are still haywire. Stupid hormones. Hoping not to have to go on meds this time, but don't enjoy being an emotional wreck either. Have doctor appointment today so we will see what he says....

10-16-12

I'm wearing non-maternity clothes for the first time today and it feels great!  I'm twelve pounds down so far in twelve days - I know a lot of it is fluid, but I'm happy about it nonetheless.  Funny how much your self-esteem rises with a shower, a bit of makeup and some "real" clothes. ;)

Anna Claire tried to say "Juliana" today - it was so sweet - sounded more like "Junia," but it was precious!  She's such a sweet girl, even in the midst of teething.  Wish those silly two-year old molars would get in so she would feel better!

Mom has been so incredibly helpful.  I know we COULD do it alone, but she has made these first couple of weeks so much easier.  We've actually been able to enjoy having a new baby and Anna Claire is thriving as well.  Such a blessing.  I just wish there was something I could do to show my appreciation to her.  It's kind of like God's grace.  There's nothing I can do to adequately say "thanks"....that's not always easy for me to accept.  I think Mom is tired today though, but she wouldn't admit it for the world. 

10-16-12 - Juliana meets the Tuesday Morning crew

I stopped by the Tuesday Morning Bible Study group this morning to let them meet Juliana.  They are all such precious women and so dear to me!  They fawned over Juliana and thoroughly enjoyed meeting her!

Here's Courtney - Anna Claire's SS teacher - with her.  Courtney is so good with my Anna Claire, and she was so excited to meet Juliana!

10-12-12

Went to get newborn pics made of sweet Juliana today. She was beautiful and did great! Anna Claire didn't appreciate being contained though and def was not in the mood to pose!!

But I got pooped on. :-)

Guess it was my turn because Anna Claire tee-teed on Andy in her newborn session. :-)

He says we are even now, but I think I got the worse end of that deal!! Haha!

10-06-12

My precious Juliana.  Mama loves you. So glad you are part of our family.

10-04-12 - Juliana is born!

Today was another one of the happiest days of our lives - our sweet baby Juliana joined our family this morning at 7:32 a.m.!  We are both so proud and happy!  Pawpaw and Nana and MaMa Betty were here to welcome her and to celebrate with us!  Nana will be here for the remainder of the month to help us adjust to life with two children and to help ease the transition for Anna Claire - we are very grateful.

I had to be at the hospital at 5:15 this morning, which was rough, but I have been so tired of having to get up four times a night to go to the bathroom, having no energy, and just generally feeling like dirt that I was wayyy ready!  I did have a minor meltdown once they got through prepping me for surgery and all - just nerves about the procedure and the heightened emotions and all.  Andy was so sweet, so loving.  He's really the very best of men.

Juliana's birth was super-smooth, no problems whatsoever during delivery.  She didn't scream like Anna Claire did though, that's for sure!  Wonder if that will be a first sign of differences in personality? :) haha!  She's beautiful - lighter hair that Anna Claire and much smaller - 7 lbs and 19 1/4 inches long.  But very healthy - 9 out of 10 on the apgar scale, which was fabulous.  Passed her hearing tests without a blip and nursed well right off the bat.

Anna Claire hasn't shown the first bit of interest.  Doesn't surprise me with so many visitors around to entertain her!

We are a very happy family!

10-04-12 - Juliana's birthweight guessing game

These were the guesses for Juliana's birthweight:

6.9-PawPaw
7.0-Mama
7.4-Nani
7.5-Rhonda
8.0-Andy

Looks like Mama won the day! :-)

9-30-12

Anna Claire apparently didn't want to have a pajama shirt on last night!! Got in there to get her this morning and no shirt on!! Haha!!

9-28-12

Anna Claire been bike riding with Daddy and he's been pointing out dogs and cats along their trail---today ac said meow AND ruff for the first time!

9-12-12

Ac is talking up a storm! Starting to try to say new words almost daily. Also starting to mimic. Said eggo today, butterfly and pumpkin yesterday, kitty "Kiki" the day before....

Also play acting with dolls a bit more. She got a hold of a doll yesterday, chattered away for a good couple of minutes, grabbed a little bag that was nearby and chatters some more but with "bye bye" and "mama" interjected. Then she waves and left the room with the doll. :-)

Apparently is over her phase where she was being so mean to her daddy. They are best buds again. :-). They've discovered SpongeBob together recently and have been taking massive bubble baths. Today she cried for him when he went back into the church office-"dada sit, dada sit!!" (she wanted him to sit in the car and go with us!)

8-30-12

We are having a blast on vacation this week! We are at a house on Lake Eufaula that one of our church families own and have graciously allowed us to borrow! It's been wonderful to just relax! Especially this late in the pregnancy, when I'm already exhausted and easily fatigued! I've cross stitched and even worked a puzzle, couldn't tell you when I last did that! Haven't cross stitched since AC was born! :-)

Weather has been just okay, since Hurricane Isaac nearly missed us, but even though it's been cloudy, we've played in the water, gone on lots of paddle boat rides with daddy, watched movies galore and just chilled out! We've cooked here to save money, but I've kept it very simple so as to not have a lot of extra cleanup to do. I look forward to improving in this department---need to get better about planning for enough food and snacks so we don't have to run to the store repeatedly-haha!

Just as a note of interest, check me out at about the same age as Anna Claire is - look at our body shape.....

Man, is she built just like me, or what?! Hilarious!

(Yeah, Brandon and Dara are pretty hilarious in that photo also!)

More pics of our fun week!

8-23-12

I'm so overdue for an update!! Anna Claire has been learning and developing mentally SO much! It's like an intellectual growth spurt!

Ever since we got home from Jax in July though she's been SUPER clingy to me. For WEEKS she's been mean to her daddy, not wanting him to do anything for her at all. It's been pretty rough, honestly. She's just now starting to come out of it. I'm so thankful! I don't know if it had something to do with him being gone two separate weeks or what....not fun for any of us though.

Having to start disciplining her more than we were though. She's smarter now, so there is more for her to get into! The more she learns the more creative ways she finds to test us! Haha!! Andy had to pop her little hand at Piccadilly the other day for standing up in her chair and turning around. A
few min later she started to do it again and he told her to sit down. She replied, "no, no ow dada!" of course then we bust out laughing. She's so unexpected!

AC is learning to try to manipulate us---before bed if we tell her it's time to go night night she will say "I sit! I sit!" (she knows that if she sits still with one of us on the couch that she usually gets to stay up a few more minutes...) :-)

I kept Ian Gluck last Friday night which was interesting. He has learned to shove and kick and tried some of those tactics with Anna Claire. Although she is 6 months younger, she didn't let him bully her!! Unfortunately she just responded in kind....not sure whether to cheer her on or scold her for being bad. Especially when last night at church she was extremely aggressive with Autumn Clark--usually its the other way around but I had to severely scold her and make her give Autumn a kiss after I caught her trying to grab her face and push her in order to take her toy....oh the joys of two year olds! :-)

Still our precious girl--she loves to cuddle and thinks that when she wakes up the first order of the day is to cuddle on Mom's bed and watch Disney Jr!

8-2-12

Baby Juliana is about 3 lbs 4 oz according to the ultrasound today--perfectly on track!

Spent morning with daddy--went to radio shack and ate Chick-Fil-A. It was fun. AC is pushing her boundaries but I think it's normal stretching behavior for her age....she will definitely have some adjustment to learn when Juliana comes!

7-31-12

AC is a smartie--can point to all the areas of the face: nose, eyes, ears, cheek, forehead, chin--I am impressed! She has said eyes and ear though.

She is string words together-go get mama, go eat, go side (outside or inside depending on situation)--love hearing her little Sweet voice.

Going through a MAJOR mommy attachment phase. Disheartening for Andy and exhausting for me. But she is such a cuddle bunny.

Baby Juliana is moving like crazy--I can't wait to meet her! AC is very interested in my belly but doesn't understand what it entails. I talk to her about her baby sister often though.

Took Joey for a walk today and AC held his leash. She thought she was a big shot.

7-28-12

My old friend, Leah and her husband, Michael and their two kids came to visit us this week.  We have had a great time together.  Hannah Rose is about ten months older than Anna Claire, but they play really well together and enjoyed their time together!  Samuel is a cutie at six months!  Would be great to see each other a bit more often, but in the meantime, we will enjoy what we get!

The girls together! 

7-15-12

First time wearing swimmies! When I tried to put them on her she screamed bloody murder, but then time Andy acted like he was going to wear them and said "mine" and she was all for it! (for a few minutes at least!)

She is saying "bear" (mom and dads dog) - its so cute--like "beh!!" and she says it so bossy! :-)

Talking lots and lots more all of a sudden!! Saying apple, bear, snowman, sit among others that I can't think of right now.

She's so loving--loves to touch--shes going through a phase where she wants to touch my nose with her hand when I hold her and she sucks her thumb. It started out sweet because it was a gentle stroking, but now she grabs my nose and cuts off all breathing! Working on switching to the ear!! I love her so much and am so thankful that she's so attached to me! :-)

7-14-12

I love how my baby girl loves me---she comes up to me with her thumb in her mouth, ready to be picked up. So I sit her beside me in her favorite spot on the couch and she sits and lets me rub her little leg and drifts right off to sleep! Precious girl!!!

7-10-12

Anna Claire and I are visiting my folks this week while Andy is away at Student Life youth camp.  We miss him terribly, but it's been a great visit so far.  We came over Sunday morning early - Anna Claire traveled well, and we only had to stop twice to let her run - once in Tallahassee at Walmart and another to eat lunch in Lake City.  She is such a good girl.

Yesterday we just bummed around the house mostly, went to town just long enough to let mom show her off to her coworkers, then ate lunch, ran to Fleming Island to buy something from Craigslist (angelcare monitor for $20 - YAY!) and then headed home.  Baby slept a long time and then played outside.  She loves to chase the dog and throw the tennis ball to him.  She even shook her little finger at him and said, "no, no, no" when he went under the camper (Mom had just told HER no about going under the camper!)  So cute!

She's talking up a storm.....learning a new word almost every day!  Yesterday she said "apple" and "balloon" for the first time.  Today she told the dog to "Get!" She's so much fun and growing so much!  My baby is definitely not a tiny baby anymore. 

Today we went to the beach - it's Anna Claire's second trip and she enjoyed it tremendously.  She laid down in the very shallow surf and let the water run up to her neck - even when it got in her mouth she was okay - she's a toughie! 

We jumped waves and played in the water.  She played in the sand and picked up shells.  It was a wonderful day!

Then she was tired and slept all the way home!

Baby Juliana (probably the new baby's name, although she still doesn't have a middle name) is SO active!  Even more so than I remember Anna Claire being!  Anna Claire moved a lot at night, but I feel Juliana all day long if I am still!  Can't wait to meet my second bundle of joy!  I just hope that Anna Claire doesn't feel left out or neglected.  She's such a darling and I couldn't possibly love her more - I just don't know how to communicate that to a two year old who will be suddenly sharing her parents attentions with a very needy newborn.....

Tonight I ran Anna Claire over to see Laurie and Richard and Aunt Leslie.  Dylan and Emily were there and Anna Claire LOVED playing with them.  I think they all jumped for thirty minutes at least! :)  It's neat to see her playing with cousins.  I loved being with Dara and Brandon so much in the summertime, and even Jonathan  during the school year that I very much want her to have that experience. 

7-3-12

Laying in bed last listening to ac talk on the monitor....."two, ahhhh......GO!" means one, two go!

7-1-12

Me and my girl at church.

Baby girl had her first PB&J today and LOVED it!!