Happy Half Birthday To You- Part Julie

Today was Julie's half birthday celebration (and the actual 1/2 birthday). After we (Peter and I) helped Anna and Dan pack their movie truck, we started the celebrations-- making a cake, reading books, playing, swimming, and having LOTS of fun!


(excuse the dress, she spilled a bucket of water RIGHT before we were going to do presents)

Happy 18 months baby girl!!!!

I Scream, You Scream

We all Scream for Ice Cream.

Friday evening was Matt, Kayla and Julie's first ice cream from an icecream truck. In prior years, we've called it a music truck (isn't it nice that they drive around playing nice music for everyone)... but Matt and Kayla have caught on, and so it was time for a special treat. Kayla posed nicely, and then promptly decided she didn't quite like her icecream... oh well-- daddy enjoyed it!

Beach Buddies

"All for fun, and fun for all!"

Osh-Sha and Ju-Dee

Sasha (osh-sha) and Julie (Ju-dee) have been buddies since they were teeny-tiny. Only a month apart it's been so much fun seeing them grow up, and become friends! This morning, Sasha came over to play with Julie and they were SO cute together. They kept saying "hi" to each other, pushed a stroller together (each had one hand on the stroller and they were holding hands), playing with the ball popper, and reading books. Aren't they the cutest?

Mission Accomplished.

After many desperate attempts over past 11 months (give or take)-- Julie finally drank toilet water today, proving that if you set your mind to a goal, you can accomplish it.

I walked into the bathroom, and saw her with a bath cup full of water-- the only type of water she can reach. Yeah, too gross for a picture- she went straight into the bath (and got a good tooth brushing as well). Thankfully, she's already on antibiotic's for a sinus infection... lets hope that covers any toilet bowl germs as well!


Mom of the year? I think not!



For what it's worth, I was making Kayla's bed with Kayla and Matt had left the bathroom door open (a HUGE no, no in our house, for obvious reasons!) at least he had flushed.

Thanks to Jani

Janet bought Kayla her first nightgown a few years ago (and a couple since then). Since I'm a boring (read: cheap) PJ buyer, she tries to make up for my deficiency. Anyway, she showed up with Julie's first nightgown a few weeks ago, and both the girls were very excited. Thanks Jani, you're the best!

All Dressed Up...

...with nowhere to go.

Worth Repeating and Reading

Heidi posted the links to these articles that are a great read for transracial families. I highly recommend them :)


http://harlowmonkey.typepad.com/harlows_monkey/2008/06/race-matters-wh.html

http://www.antiracistparent.com/2008/06/16/ask-arp-is-my-wife-making-too-much-of-our-adopted-childs-race/

Grandpa and Grandma with the munchkins

Well, grandma and grandpa sat very nice, and smiled the whole time (although they did turn away a couple times to see what exactly the kids were doing)... the kids couldn't seem to keep their hands out of their mouths (boys!) or good smiles on their face. You get the feel of what we were trying to capture...