Cereal

We tried cereal in a bowl this week with pretty good success. She liked it so much the first day, she asked for it the next morning! Such a big girl!!

steve-o (note the cheerio stuck to her face)

so proud of her new skills

Book?

Lots of phone pics lately as I was too lazy to charge the camera battery...this one comes from Joey's phone one night. She likes to get in her chair (she asks for a "boost"), get a blanket, and then read her books. It's adorable!

officially a mom

This came out of my jacket pocket....motherhood, I have arrived!

Disney World!

She knows her Disney :-) Whenever the Disney castle comes on before Nemo or Toy Story or Cars (yeah, sounds like we watch a lot of tv, but she knows her animals and can say her letters, so I feel like we're ok!) she raises her hands and says, "Disney World" (which at this point is more like "Deeeeeee"). It's super cute. Somestimes it's one hand, sometimes it's two...

Wine & Cheese...year 6!

Wine & Cheese 2011 Menu

Spicy Cheese Fondue

Swiss Cheese Fondue

Cocktail Weenies & Kielbasa

Assorted Breads and Crackers

Baked Brie w/apricot jam

Blue Cheese & Ricotta Dip w/fresh dill, server in a bread bowl

Cheesy Cucumbers (WISH I had a pic, they looked cool!)

Turkey, Bacon, Pepper Jack on Whole Grain Wraps

Ham & Swiss on Tomato Basil Wraps

Veggie Tacos on a Spinach (?? it was green!) Wrap

Pesto and Cream Cheese Baguettes

Boursin & Crackers

Cheez-its :-)

The food was a great success and the turnout was good too...we had about 15 people and a few other people who wanted to be there :-) People were able to try some new wines, which was also nice. I must be getting old because I only had two glasses!

So now that we're now old pros we have so much fun we don't take as many pictures, but here are a few...

this one is off my phone camera...you can see some of the food

i can't compete with march madness...

Lindsey, Kristine, Laura...right after Lindsey realized she was the only person not wearing green :-)Laura, me, Lindsey
daddy and mamma the aftermath

Happy St. Pat's Day

This was my afternoon at work, delivered by my boss...best day of the year! (To be fair, I also tried some Guinness, not as bad as I thought...)

somewhat top ten

Ok, this isn't a traditional "Top Ten" list, but there are so many things that I have been wanting to blog about and just haven't had the time to organize it all how I want, so it's going to come in the form of a long rant...aka jaclyn style...



1. Sick. We've spent a lot of the last few weeks sick...luckily not Joey, but Juliette and I went back and forth. She got sick around Valentine's Day, I got sick the next few weeks, and then it went back to her. She had a fever that stuck around for a while, but she is a really good "sick" kid so we're lucky (as usual). It's just nice to have her healthy and happy again!

2. Busy Busy Busy. That's my life. Sometimes I think about slowing down, but then I realize that that just isn't me. I don't know if I ever could/will slow down. In my latest effort to not slow down, I have decided to sell Lia Sophia jewelry. Why? I don't know...I like the jewelry, and usually I am more of a buyer, but for a few nights work a month I could cover Juliette's activity fees :-) And parties are fun...so if you have any interest in having one, let me know!

3. New York. That's right, Joey and I are taking our first non-Juliette trip next month! We're super excited, but I will admit that when I clicked the button to purchase our airline tickets I got a little teary! Juliette is going to have a nice little vacation of her own with Gramma and Papa.

4. Crafts. There are SO many things that I want to do/make!! My current random thing I would like to make is a step stool for Juliette. Oh, I know it would be cheaper and easier to buy it...

5. Party. Yes, I am already thinking of Juliette's Birthday Party...I mean, hello, it's her GOLDEN birthday! Too bad she won't remember it, but I am excited to see all her little friends together and more interaction between the kids! (ok, my kid. last year people with older kids had some interaction, but now Juliette will be able to walk around and play too!)

6. Joey. I love him. I really think we have done a good job of having date nights (thanks mom and dad) and keeping some "us" time during our first years of parenting. We are also doing little things for each other and just always smiling. It's so fun to still be like that! I just love him.

7. Joey. This one is in reference to him as a daddy. Man, this is so fun for me to watch.

8. Baby Fever. April 2012 people...haha. I have lots of friends preggo and it's getting me excited. Hopefully round two won't be so hard for us :-)

9. Words! Ahhh, she has so many words right now and they are just extra cute when she says them! It is SO FUN to watch her learn more words, understand more things, and just communicate. She is getting so big! And so smart...not like, "oh my kid is a genius", because I know all kids learn words, but it's just fun watching her learn and be proud.

10. Emotional. I guarantee you I am not preggo right now, but for the last few months I have been super emotional. I can't watch any show with any parental undertone with out wondering, "What would I do?" or, "What is Juliette going to do in this situation?" and then crying thinking about how difficult life really can be! I can't even sing "Happy Birthday" at kids parties because I want to cry (out of happiness). This parenting is going to be a lot of tears...good and bad!!

Jackson's Birthday Party

On Saturday we went to Jackson's 3rd birthday party at the Como Zoo. It was a cool place for a birthday party- especially in the winter! This was Juliette's first birthday party that was not for a relative or one of my friend's kids! Jackson is a little boy from daycare who is super cute :-)

Juliette looking interested in the porcupine

watching the kids BE porcupines

enjoying a dinosaur (just trust me) shaped PBJloving her juice box!

hehehe Joey in a kiddie chair

just like daddy...

Joey sent me these pics while I was at work...just so cute!

PIGTAILS

My dream has been achieved...Juliette in pigtails. My new dream...keep them in longer than 5 minutes :-)

aaaachoooo

Brent and Kristine watched Juliette while Joey and I went to the Wild game on Sunday night. Juliette was a bit under the weather and must have passed it on to Antie K, which apparently is hilarious!!

Presents, presents...everywhere!!

Juliette has been the recipient of a lot of fun gifts lately...I am just gonna put them all in this post and share! I would put a pic of her enjoying each gift, but it's past midnight and I want to get this post done!!

Gramma and Papa came back from NYC with gifts!!

Combining both loves...DW and New York

and ridiculously spoling this girl...i was well into my 20s before i even knew what burberry was...

I found this on clearance at old navy...17, duh, had to buy it...winner!

(like the Charlie Sheen reference there...haha...once i typed "duh" it just came to me)
Minnie barrettes from her friend Emily (thank you went in the mail today, finally, so I could post a pic)...now if i can just get her to keep them in!!

and a gift with a twist...Karen came back from DW and got something for the all the daycare kids, and Juliette got a princess wallet, which I think is so awesome. the dollar is from tom, her husband, who coached me when I was a kid and I have coached with him for my share of summers. anyway, when Karen was handing the wallet to Juliette as we were leaving she laughed and said, "but there's not any money in it." So Tom got out a dollar, put it in the wallet and said, "don't say Tom never gave you anything!" Thanks, Tom!