Julia Turns Two!

As with many of my recent posts, they're a good 1-2 weeks behind the actual date of the event. Sorry!

On Saturday May 29th (the day before Julia's actual birthday), we celebrated her turning two with a small party at our house with just immediate family. She had balloons, presents, a Dora cake, and her cousins to play with so it was just about everything this little two-year-old could ask for.

A few pictures before heading out to the backyard for swimming and slip n slide:






This was our first time to use a sunscreen stick for Julia's face, and you would have thought that in itself was a birthday gift. She was fascinated with applying it to her face and to the face of anyone else who would let her:




The main event was outdoors. We set up Julia's inflatable pool, her slip n slide (an early BD present from us), and her new soccer goal (another BD present from us) for the kids. We had a tent and a fan for the adults to keep us cool!




She has a real soccer ball somewhere in the backyard. Not sure why they were using this one...



I know we did a separate post of Julia's trial run on the slip n slide two days before her birthday, but Jarret got some awesome close-ups on her birthday that we had to post.






Cake time! Complete with her favorite friends Dora and Boots...





Time to open presents. She got so many wonderful gifts!

She loves watching daddy mow the lawn. Now she has her very own so she can help...

A new baby doll, including a bag with everything a baby could possibly need so Julia can take care of her...

A Dora fishing pole, as seen in the previous Memorial Day post...

Nap mat for Mother's Day Out next year. Currently just for playing around or for watching a show on TV...

As of late, she's become just as interested in Diego (if not more so) than she is in Dora. To that end, she got her first Diego DVD which she instantly became obsessed with.

And a Diego train set...

Her very own laptop. This thing is actually really cool. You hook it up to the real computer so you can customize the laptop with Julia's name, some "emails" to her from family (you can pick from "Daddy", "Grammy", "Gran", etc so it's the actual people in her life), some songs of your choosing, etc.

Julia, you are extremely verbal and we're amazed at the full conversations we can carry on with you (and that we sometimes hear you carrying on with your dolls, animals, or plastic Dora/Diego figures). Some of our favorite things you've said lately:

• When you want to turn off the radio or a CD, you say "I want turn off." Well, it turns out that to get Jarret or me to stop singing you say the same thing. You'll walk up to us and put your palm over our mouths and say, "I want turn off!"


• A couple of months ago, you picked up my "oh my gosh" phrase. Although I have tried very hard not to say OMG anymore, I will still hear you repeat it every once in a while. Only, you've modified it to, "Oh (pause) my (pause) goshy."


• When we sneeze, you say to us in an extremely animated high pitched voice, "Gaw BESS you Mommy!" or "Gaw BESS you Daddy!" (= "God bless you"). We badly want this on video because describing it doesn't begin to capture the sincerity and enthusiasm of how you say it.


• Over the last couple of months, you will come up to us at random times and wave while saying, "Bye! See you later." The week after your birthday, I asked you where you were going and at all of two years old you popped out with, "I go with Diego to Rescue Center to save animals." Well, alrighty then. Have fun! And clearly, I need to not show you your new Diego video so often, so matter how much you beg for it.


• After you get out of time out, we go through the process of having you explain why you were in time out, you saying you're sorry, us saying we forgive you, and then giving hugs and kisses. Apparently we tell you that it's sweet when you give us kisses: This past week when I got you out of time out, you initiated kissing me on the cheek. Then you patted my cheek and said, "Ah, that's sweet."


• A couple of weeks ago, Jarret slipped and you asked him in a very concerned voice, "You okay baby?"


• Many mornings I'll describe to you our plans for the day, and you often respond with a "Sounds fun!"


• If you're ready to go somewhere and one of us is sitting down, you'll look at us and say, "Come on Mommy (with a hand extended out toward us), Let's GO (with a dramatic point in the direction you want to go)!" Along the same lines, sometimes you'll come grab our arm if we're laying or sitting down and say, "Come on Mommy, get up!"


• Instead of responding with a "yes" to a question we pose, you respond with either "yeah" or "kay" (which just recently morphed into a true "okay"). As of late though, you often responds with an enthusiastic "Oh yeah!" instead of just "yeah."


• A few weeks ago, my car wouldn't start. You announced to me, with a concerned expression and shaking of your head, "Car not wuhking. It bwoken." (= "Car not working. It's broken.) For whatever reason, this little phrase of yours has been so cute to us:
  
  

At the age of two, you:

• Could count to twelve. You could name some of your teens, but not in order.


• Were able to identify nearly all of your letters, both upper and lower case. You could kind of sing-say your ABCs, but you would typically miss the letters HIJK. In general, you really don't sing though. You more so just speak your songs.


• Are still a very picky eater. Gran says you are just like your daddy was: We can't even convince you to try certain things; instead you dismiss many foods based solely on their appearance.


• Weigh 24 - 24.5 pounds and wear a size 5 shoe. Your shirts are all the age-appropriate size, but I can still fit you in some 6-12 month shorts because your waist is so teeny. Buying you pants is already becoming frustrating, just like it was for myself throughout life. Sorry pumpkin!


• Are a fish! You absolutely love being in and around the water, and you jump off the boat's swim platform into the lake again and again without any hesitation. You also went wakeboarding with daddy for the first time the day after you turned 2.


• Are obsessed with all things Dora and Diego. You ask to read their books and watch their videos constantly. You have a couple of Dora and Diego dolls which you carry around with you, and you talk to them as if they're your real friends. I constantly hear you saying, "Look Dora! I did ..." or "Look Diego! That's a ..." You carry on full conversations with them.


• Love to "drive" our cars. You eagerly say, "I want drive!" and proceed to climb into the driver's seat of our cars. You like to do the blinkers, turn up the radio, open and close the garage door, and try to steer the car. Some days you even wait in the front yard for daddy to come home from work, and then climb into his lap to drive his car around back. Note: Our alley is on the side of our house so she isn't driving too far!


• Are such a mommy's girl and want to be with me all the time. You love goofing around with daddy and he can get you to laugh like no one else can, but you still struggle with the transition of him coming home after work and many nights you won't let him put you to bed because you want me. I know the day is coming that you will be a total daddy's girl, so I'm trying to be patient with the clinginess and enjoy it while you still prefer me.


• Have stoppped holding hands with us when we pray. You saw a family praying in one of your books and they each hand their hands in a traditional prayer position in front of their faces. So now you put your palms together and put your hands right up to your nose to pray. You also can't figure out how to close your eyes! If we say close your eyes, it's so obvious that you're trying really hard but you can only close them for 1-2 seconds. It's so funny. You still have yet to say anything in your prayers other than "Amen", but we can't wait to hear what you say to God once you do start talking to Him!

We love you so very much Julia. Happy Birthday sweet girl!