Silliness on Tuesday

Me: AAAACCKKK!

Julia: What mommy?

Me: There’s a lizard on our couch

Julia: What? What Mommy?

Me: There’s a lizard on our couch

Julia: Why?

Good question.  But it provided us all with a good laugh as Andrew chased the lizard all over and around the couch and family room before finally catching it and releasing him back outside.

Wish I had a picture or a video would be even better but you’ll just have to use your imagination… the lizard was FAST. And even left us with his tail (which moved for an impressive 3-5 minutes after he lost it).

Growing Up

Yesterday was a day of surprises mostly having to do with personal grooming (Julia’s not mine).  First, she actually suggested that we should take a shower.  Meaning she and I should take a shower together.  She had done this with Daddy over the weekend and really enjoyed it so I said sure.  Then, once we were in the shower, she used her soap and washed herself all over and then after watching Mommy, decided that she would wash her hair.  And she did.  She did a pretty good job too.  I helped a little with the back and with the rinsing but overall it was an good independent effort!  This was quite surprising because she hates getting her hair washed – usually there is crying and screaming and you would think someone was torturing her with sharp implements but she happily scrubbed and then stood under the shower and rinsed.  Wow. 

Then after the shower, she needed her toenails painted. Check. And then while I was drying my hair she decided she’d like to try that too!  That was a bigger surprise than her washing her hair.  The hair dryer routine usually goes something like this: first I have to warn her that I’m going to use it; then we count down to when I turn it on; and finally she stands on the opposite side of the room until I am finished and she feels it is safe to come near me again.  So when she sat on my lap and let me dry her entire head I was beyond shocked.  And also starting to realize that my baby is turning into a little girl.

On the Green

Julia had her first golf lesson with Ampa Herb while we were in Charlottesville this weekend.  Here’s a glimpse of her practicing her putting.

Self Portrait

Julia has been playing with the camera a lot and I’ve been impressed with several of her photos.  This is a self portrait and I love the expression.

Boy, oh Boy!

So there are changes coming our way!  Some are big:

a new baby boy

a new home

Some are smaller:

getting used to seeing blue amidst all the pink

having a toddler who is completely potty-trained, “rides” a bike, and has reached the infamous “why” stage

anticipating another period of little sleep

new neighborhood, new neighbors, and friends

living in the heart of Red Sox Nation (difficult for one of us)

But we are looking forward to all of them… except maybe the lack of sleep… but even that is tempered by knowing that this time around we will have family close by and that there is a dim light at the end of the tunnel (Julia sleeps until at least 5:00am most days! :) ).

We’ve been talking to Julia about what is going on and what will be happening over the next few weeks and months and she seems to have some interest and comprehension.  She talks frequently about “the baby in Mommy’s tummy” and she loves seeing the “pictures” of the baby on the screen during our sonograms.  The doctors always give her at least one printout of the pictures and she is quick to make sure that we know it is her’s while she is exclaiming over how cute the “little, tiny baby” is.  It’s adorable to watch.

BUT, I do think this little boy is going to have his work cut out for him.  We took some pictures the other day (to start a series of “tummy shots” for the pregnancy) and Julia was already trying to give the baby a shove! 

No, actually, she was just feeling Mommy’s tummy.  She’s been great with the pregnancy and while I am not under any illusions that adding another member to our family will be an easy transition, I do think that she will be a wonderful and loving big sister.  She may be a bit bossy but, hey, that’s what big sisters are for!

We started this blog right before Julia was born as a place to share news and pictures about her and our life as parents with our friends and family.  We are excited to continue to do that and now also share our joys, as well as trials and tribulations, of becoming and being a family of four!  So stay tuned!

Berry-licious

We needed to vacate our house for a few hours yesterday afternoon because of the open house so we decided to do something different and head a little to the west to do some raspberry picking.  Raspberries have been, by far, Julia’s favorite fruit this summer.  She has been known to eat entire pints in the relatively short time it takes to go through our local farmer’s market.  So she was excited about going berry picking.  It was a super hot day and the raspberries were near the end of the crop but we managed to pick two pints (three if you count all the ones Julia ate… okay, I ate some too!).  Julia was really good at spotting them hiding under leaves and inside the bushes and now has had good practice for the real picking that will happen when we visit Grandpa Rick and Grandma Lesley’s raspberry patch in a couple of weeks!

We also picked peaches for the first time.  It’s very early in the peach season so there was only one variety that was ripe – Sentry peaches.  They are pretty good, although a little too sweet for me as I like my peaches/nectarines to have a little sour and a little sweet.  I think they’ll be good for baking though.  And we did learn how to identify a ripe peach.  It is by the color – they should be dark red on at least one half. 

“Do it myself!”

That is the new refrain around our house.  Things that are included in Julia’s “doing it myself” list are:

• using the remote control for the tv
• putting on and taking off socks (although there usually is a concession that some help is needed)
• pouring cereal, milk, juice, etc.
• turning on the water to wash hands (the satisfaction on her face when she realized yesterday that she could reach the faucet while standing on the stool was priceless!)
• cutting her sandwich or buttering toast
• watering the plants
• opening doors and pushing elevator buttons

The things that are apparently NOT on Julia’s “do it myself” list include:

• cleaning up her toys
• putting laundry in the basket
• sweeping/wiping up the cereal, milk, juice, water, peanut butter, jelly, etc. from the counters, cabinet doors, door handles, and floors
• closing doors

Kidding aside, it is amazing what she is able to accomplish with her little hands and BIG energy!  Yesterday she surprised me again by doing this all by herself:

Yup, a pony ride… and she absolutely loved it.  Andrew’s comment when he got home and we were telling him about it was “that’s going to be an expensive hobby!” Only one ride in and he’s already budgeting for the pony.  Yes, she’s a Daddy’s girl!