New Words

Julianne is surprising us almost daily with new words. This morning on my way to drop her off before heading downtown she said the word "Dangerous" when asked why she should not cross the street by herself. Yesterday she told me she was, "dyin for some water." She is pretty dramatic, like her mom AND dad. She loves fruity gum, but still calls it, "gung." Her favorite song remains, "Big Girls Don't Cry." She loves to dance and run. We went to Mexican last night and they had live music - she was up on the stage dancing with the other little kids and doing the Chicken Dance and the "YMCA." The singer said her name on the microphone a few times saying, "Here comes my little friend, Julianne!"

Greater things are yet to be done in this City

This is a cool song that was created by an Irish band called Bluetree while they were leading a worship in a brothel on a mission trip in Thailand. Several months later they did a gig with Chris Tomlin in Belfast, Ireland and his guitarist heard it and Tomlin recorded the song. Anyways, it can apply to any city or any person and it is just inspiring. With all of the talk of the economy and depressing world news and negative stories on NPR, I need some happiness and inspiration and hope. Justin has it on his I Pod and we listened to it all weekend. I also think of Justin's mission trip to Juarez when I hear this song. Jenny and Ryan are on a mission trip in South TX/Mexico this week. I believe they are buidling houses, painting, and doing Habitat for Humanity type stuff. Where would the world be without the church and all of its love for humanity? What could be wrong with serving humanity and serving others? You don't hear many atheists talking about serving the poor or feeding the hungry or doing much of anything that adds value to a world we will not be in for very long. I want to get more involved somewhere, somehow at some point soon. Ok, sorry for getting deep. This is really nothing, but I won't bore you.

Thanks to Andy and Lauren for coming out for a great dinner (yummy apps and dessert - thank you!) and time spent together. We know it is a trek to the Hoodlands. At least you got to see Julianne slide down the Alligator slide at the pool. Oh and this morning she goes, "Where Dwight go?"

A cute note on Jules - Tonight Julianne rubbed my back when I laid down with her and she said, "night night sweetheart."

Here is the link to the song if you need a little something to get you through the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSKXA3HJJd8&feature=related

Enjoying my new house and Leo

Mimi and Papa

Well, because we live near Mimi and Papa, they don't often get posts about them or recaps of times spent with them because time spent with them is more or less "Julianne work related" such as dropping Julianne off, switching her from car to car at a gas station in between Spring and the Woodlands, trying to figure out the weekly schedule, getting reports on her naps, eating habits, accomplishments, etc. so in honor of them and all the help they give us, I wanted to dedicate this post to my parents.

I cannot thank them enough for all they do for us and for Julianne. When Julianne arrives at 9507 Arcade on Mondays and Fridays - she is in for a treat. Mimi usually has either a craft or project planned for the day which have resulted in wonderful handprint/footprint pieces of art for Mother's Day, Father's Day and the like. On other days, Kali and Madison come over or a play date is planned with another grandmother for Julianne to get some kid interaction. Today she went to a splashpark! Mimi tells lots of stories, plays games, sings songs, and reads books. Papa is her outdoor playmate and takes Julianne to pick tomoatoes in his garden, go on wagon rides, or to the park to feed the ducks. Since it is so hot right now, they are going to the indoor playgrounds at Chick-Fil-A and McDonald's quite a bit. Recently, Julianne shouted to another child that got too close to Papa, "MY PAPA!" Of course this made him feel like the king of the world. There is also a sandbox and a splash pool and a fan that mists water on the back patio that is quite popular with Julianne. The other treat is popsicles! A popsicle on the back porch is just about the best thing a girl could ask for in this summer heat. She has also been to the Zoo and the world renowned Children's Museum - what a lucky girl!

Anyways words cannot describe the selflessness of my folks from helping me with laundry when I am backed up, to letting Julianne spend the night when we need some sleep, to showing up with an item I forgot to pick up at the store, to feeding, diapering, and even clothing our child never asking for a dime in return. With our hectic schedules and insane busy lifestyles and me only working part-time, we could not do it without their help - emotionally, financially, or phsycially. Thank you guys!!!

Santa Fe

We had a great trip to Santa FE, NM Memorial Day weekend to celebrate Nana's 80th birthday. We surprised Nana in the Georgia O'Keefe museum as she looked at artwork - she started crying with delight as various family members popped out from around corners of the museum. The weather was actually chilly and a nice change from the heat here. We had several nice meals that consisted of chasing Julianne around, but what else can you expect from a high energy, very active 2 year old? The great thing was that 2 of the venues were outdoors - one with a huge courtyard and one at a country club overlooking the mountains and these were perfect for little ones!

Summertime

Well, my mom has been horrible about updating the blog due to the move and her new job, but she will be more regular now. We had Maddie and Mackenzie over for some summertime splashing. Some people think Maddie and I look alike! The funniest thing we did was to pretend that our big pretzel sticks were dog bones and we put them in our mouth and barked. It sure is hot down here, but the pool and the hose help tremendously! Oh, and popsicles too!