Birthday Bash

Jules and Emmy had their 2nd birthday party this past weekend. The kids had a blast. We rented a bounce house for the kiddos and it was the highlight of the party. No need to plan games, etc. when you have that. Nichole and I decided to do a princess theme for the girls with pink and purple colors and Kim made her fabulous sugar cookies. She should sell them!!!
When we tried to get the girls to eat their cupcakes, they were more interested in when they could go back to the bounce house. Jules kept saying 'bouncy' 'bouncy'! I think we should rent a bounce house every year.
Jules got some great gifts - more Elmo toys. Some clothes, a blanket hand knitted by Gigi, a playhouse.... I think she'll be entertained for a while.
John Thomas seemed to enjoy his time too. He got carried around by Nichole's family which meant I could see to Jules and enjoy her party with her.
Lately she has become smitten with little boys; she held hands with one at her party when he walked her over to her cupcakes. Daddy is not sure how he feels about this! :)
Today she discovered the dust particles in the air in the bedroom as the sun was coming in through the blinds. She thought it was the funniest thing; trying to catch them - I think she thought they were little bugs. Sh even told the dust 'bye, bye' when we left the room.
John Thomas is getting big. He is starting to hold his head up on his own; laughing and having a little personality of his own. So fun to watch. He flipped over from his belly to his back a few times this week. He likes to be moving alot. I am wondering if he is going to be crawling earlier than Julia was.


A diva at the sandbox in her heels!





Here is a link to a slideshow of pics from the party.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=julesthemonkey0819&target=ALBUM&id=5374010173490415537&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ-6_P_N0a6ywwE&feat=email

How busy life with 2 can be

Hi all,
So I think I am starting to get the hang of two babies. Not that Julia is a baby anymore. I can't believe she is about to be 2. People always told me that your children grow up fast - now I really understand what they mean.

I know that I have not been good about posting in recent months - let's just say things got crazy and didn't seem to slow down any. There were just some things I had to let go for a bit. But hopefully things are settling down. After chairing a community event for the Junior League in July I resigned from that deciding that I didn't want my evenings filled with meetings, committees, etc. when I really just wanted to spend time with Jody and the kids or just sleep... :) That was keeping me busy for a while along with family visits so everyone could meet JOhn Thomas.

Jody and I are adjusting to having two - it's amazing how quickly you forget how time consuming the new baby stage is. But we love it. The first day I was at home with both kids by myself afer all the family had left - they started crying at the same time as we were trying to get out the door. Not sure what to do, I just started to sing 'My Favorite Things' which is one of Julia's favorites. Somehow I managed to get to the store with both kids in tow - my first outing with both. It seemed like a formidable task at the time to go to the store with both - now I cannot recall why I was making such an issue about it. I've pretty much decided that if there was ever a time 'to go with the flow' it is when you have two kids under 2. Plans shouldn't be made and if they are expect them to be broken. Don't make phone calls when they are both awake b/c someone will start screaming and don't even think about taking a shower in peace...and I've determined that 5:30 is the hour when everyone decided to fall apart b/c they are all hungry at the same time.
And don't ever think baby#2 will have an uninteruptted meal. I don;t think John Thomas has had more than a handful of nursing times go uninterrupted. But at the end of the day I would not trade this time for anything. I am very fortunate that I can be at home with them and enjoy this time that goes too quickly.

Julia is being a great big sister. She likes to give 'Johnny' (as she calls him) his paci and cover him with blankets when he is upset if I cannot get to him quickly. She really seems to enjoy having him around - we still try to ensure that she has one on one time with Mommy and Daddy too though. She is in swimming lessons and still goes to a gymnastics class on Saturday - some great time with Daddy.
This summer she has been enjoying spending time with her friends at the park and in the backyards...running around and getting tan. One of her friends - Holden - moved to Denver in May - she misses her - and I think the mommies miss each other - I know I miss my Chick fil A breakfasts with the moms - but we try to get together at least once every couple weeks by taking a little trip up the road. Jules still gets to see her friend Emily alot though. We are going to be having their 2nd b-day party together in the next couple weeks.


John Thomas is getting big - 3 months now - smiling at us and starting to coo and make all kinds of noises. He is a pretty good sleeper at night and I am working towards getting both kids on the same nap schedule. I am grateful that I can get them both to bed at about the same time. John Thomas seems happiest when he is naked as a bird - coos and giggles and kicks his feet. I think he'd prefer to stay that way if possible. Oh, the simple things that make babies happy.

We took a trip up to Frisco in July for a quick little get away. I am thankful that we are so close to the mountains and can enjoy a few days away like that - we relaxed and took some hikes. Just enjoyed the change of scenery.

I promise to be better about keeping up with the posts. Love to everyone!

John Thomas

Hi everyone! Well it really has been awhile since I posted last. To be honest it's hard to sit down at the computer with a toddler running around and then at night after she goes to bed it is honestly the last thing I want to do.
But, I wanted to share the 3D pics of John Thomas in a slideshow. There were 45 pictures so it is easiest to post this way. The umbilical cord was in his face so it was hard to get a good picture but I think we got some clear ones. It's funny, when we saw the 3D of Julia I knew from the moment that she looked like Jody. I am having a little more difficulty deciding about baby boy although he does have chubby cheeks like his daddy. Hope you enjoy! I promise to post more later!