The Rucks

Happy Birthday Ev

2012-02-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

This LOOOONG overdue, but better late than never:) Everly turned 1 on January 16th. I cannot believe that she is one and that I don't have a baby anymore. It is definitely bitter sweet because she is just so darn cute right now, but I L-O-V-E-D the baby stage with her. Maybe it is because she has been the easiest baby, like sleeping 7 hours at a time by the time she was 3 weeks old kind of easy (sorry if I am bragging). OR maybe it is because I don't know that we are going to have any more kids so it is hard to imagine that my "baby" is no longer a baby. Everly is the sweetest little thing. I always say that she has a sensitive soul because you can practically just look at her the wrong way and she gets sad...bless her little heart. She is not walking yet, but manages to get around just fine. This girl could beat anyone in a crawling race I am sure:) I sometimes feel like I just chase her around all day. Everly loves her sister so much and already wants to do everything she does. It melts my heart to see them together.

Happy birthday to my sweet Everly. Man I love that girl!

Birthday dinner at Claim Jumper

Not so sure about the cake

This cake thing is serious business!

Oh Canada

2012-01-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

We made a trip to Jeremy's parent's house this past weekend. Julianna always gets so excited because she gets to ride on a ferry and watch movies in the car:) We enjoyed lots of family time with good food, some ice skating, and church. We also celebrated Everly's 1st birthday. I cannot believe that in a week she will be 1! To her delight, she got to taste cake for the first time, and though she had trouble eating her dinner that night, she surely did not have any trouble eating her cake:)

She L-O-V-E-D her cake

Seriously the most precious thing to see them skating together

A natural

So, so thankful

2011-12-26T20:07:00.000-08:00

I feel so thankful for so many things. Christmas once again reminded me of all that I have to be grateful for in my life. Though sometimes I have to choose to thankful amidst temper tantrums, poopy diapers, and laundry, this past weekend it was easy. Just look at these precious faces:)......

Santa...aka my dad...made a visit:) This was the best we could get

Every time Everly sat on Santa's lap, she clapped

Julianna on Santa's lap

Ooh I love that face!

The princess jewelry was a gift from a friend...this pretty much captures who Julianna is:)

Busy and blessed!

2011-11-28T10:22:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy, just like everyone else, with the holidays coming (and going). Lots of family time, CAKE, and laughter have been going on around here lately:)

The big 4 year old

Azteca!

Fancy Nancy birthday party

Everly's dedication morning

Grandpa and grandma

Dedication

4

2011-11-12T15:43:00.001-08:00

My BABY is 4. She clearly is not a baby anymore but, as you moms know, they will always be your baby. Julianna woke up this morning and the first thing I told her was that I was so excited that she wears big girl underwear to bed now (which was just recently accomplished), and she responded "well I am so excited that I am 4". It is ALL that we have been talking about lately so she knew that today was the day. She obviously wanted to wear her sleeping beauty dress and crown for her birthday outfit so we put that on and made blueberry pancakes with whipped cream for breakfast. Her and her daddy went to the library to get some new books so that I could have some time to get ready for her little birthday party with her friends. Julianna was full of energy today, and barely took time to breath. We ate cupcakes and ice cream sundaes, played pin the tail on the donkey, and opened presents. From all of the excitement/chaos :) by the time her party was almost over, she was in tears, completely exhausted and sooo ready for a nap. THANK YOU JESUS that she still naps:) After her nap she said that she wants to go to Azteca for her birthday dinner....a girl after my own heart. Then we will skype with grandma and grandpa in Canada and I imagine after that, she will be SO ready for bed! My little princess is 4, and I can hardly believe it.

Birthday girl

Daddy and his girls....this is the best we could get

Mommy and the birthday girl....best we could get:)

Birthday breakfast

Pin the tail on the donkey

Most of the kids

Blowing out her birthday candle

Almost 4 and 9 months!

2011-10-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

Julianna is well into preschool and having a blast. She is quite a social little thing and I so enjoy watching her interact with other kids....as long as she is not crying or bossing them around which tends to happen here and there:). If she is in a new place with children she doesn't know, I have seen her walk up to someone, introduce herself and ask them if they would like to play with her. She is very independent now, wanting to do everything herself. She really is changing from a toddler, to a little girl, and I have to admit that as great as it is to see her be a little more independent, it also makes me sad. Especially when I look back at pictures and see that not so long ago, she still looked so little. She is very impressionable and wants to copy EVERYTHING that Jeremy and I do. We are realizing that now we really have to watch everything we say and do around her, because even if she doesn't look like she is listening or observing, SHE IS:)

Sweet little Everly is just that. S-W-E-E-T. She loves to cuddle, and laughs at anything her sister does. She sucks her thumb, usually when she is tired, which is adorable, but I keep thinking that 3 or 4 years from now it won't be so cute:) She just cut her first tooth and is working on the second one, and even through that, her fussiness only includes an occasional grunt here and there. She is seriously such a joy, and dare I say it, easy baby:) I know things can change, but so far, so good which is making me want a 3rd...Jeremy?????

Cousins!

Preschool pumpkin farm trip

Julianna and Harper

My little thumb sucker

Goodbye Summer

2011-09-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

Goodbye summer. Fall is creeping up on us and I have to admit, I am looking forward to it. Don't get me wrong....I LOVE the sun and warmth, but I also love the changing of seasons with the cool mornings, changing of all of the leaves, and lattes! Julianna started preschool yesterday and I am pretty sure that I was more excited than her, and she was pretty excited:) She marched into her school, and as we walked past her old classroom I did get a little teary eyed. I can't believe my baby is in her second year of preschool already. She looked so big next to the little 2 year olds. It does go FAST!

So here's to a little more routine, those pumpkin spice lattes everyone talks about, and for everything that these fall months have to offer:)

Here's a little of what we have been up to lately...

Papa Dane and his girls

Julianna pulling Ella

I love this face

...and this one!

Slip n slide!

Beach time

Everly and mommy

Daddy and Jules

Julianna on her first day of preschool

Nap Anyone?

2011-08-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

Let's be honest. Being a mommy, the blessing that it is, is not always glamorous(to say the least:) ) Some days I am exhausted, don't feel well, low in the patience department, etc. I love my sweet babies to death, but they take ALOT of energy! The other day I was exhausted for some reason, and Everly was napping and Julianna wanted me to play with her outside. She wanted to race me. It's her newest thing. I told her I would and begged the Lord to give me strength to play with Julianna, because I did not know where that energy would come from if it wasn't from Him! In the back of my mind I am always aware that these precious days that my daughter wants to race me, or play with me outside will go quickly so I don't want to pass up on the opportunities to do so. Right after I asked the Lord for energy to do this race:), across the yard, unprovoked, Julianna looks up at me and spreads her arms wide and says "mommy, I love you so much". It melted my heart and definitely made playing with my daughter in that moment, exhaustion and all, worth it. So, we raced and Julianna (of course) beat me, and though I was still tired at least I was able to race with a smile on my face.

One proud mama

2011-08-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

The other night as we were tucking Julianna in for bed I told her that we were going to go to the gym in the morning and she asked if she could bring some money from her piggy bank to give to kids who don't have any money. I of course said yes. In the morning the first thing that she said to me was that she wanted to get money from her piggy bank so she could bring it with her to the gym. I pulled down her piggy bank and she took three dollars from it, although she wanted to take all of the money from it, and put it in her little box to take to the gym. We belong to the YMCA and there are kids who need scholarships for camps and other things, so they do accept donations. Julianna marched in and told the lady that she wanted to give some money to kids who didn't have any. The lady looked to me to make sure that it was ok to take her money, and I assured her that I wasn't going to say no to her, if she had chosen on her own, to do something like this. They were very impressed and took her picture and said that they were going to put it up to show that she was a donor. I know that I am bragging, but this is a proud moment in a mama's life that her 3 year old would think of others and their needs without me prompting her to. Love this girl:)

30

2011-08-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

I am 30. 30 is a big milestone. In contemplating my life and where I am at at 30, I have realized how incredibly blessed and happy I am. At 30 I am married to an AMAZING man who seriously thinks about mine and the girls' needs before his own. I have 2 stunning little ladies that I get to call mine...thank you Jesus. I get to spend everyday raising these beautiful girls. I am so blessed to be there through their tears, diaper changes, laughter, discoveries, and all of their firsts. I am exactly where I have always desired to be in life at this moment. 30 definitely isn't so bad:)

Everly 6 months

Julianna 3 1/2

30th birthday

The happenings

2011-07-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

We have been incredibly busy lately. Here are a few pictures of what we have been doing...

Everly and mommy

Off to a BBQ

The kiddos

Jer and Everly on the 4th of July

The girls on the 4th

Ethan's first birthday

Grandma and Julianna baking cookies

...I love my life:)

Father's Day

2011-06-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

I have the most amazing dad's in my life anyone could ever ask for. My father in law is one of the kindest, gentlest, most caring men I have ever known. My own dad is one of the funniest, and loving men I have ever known, and Jeremy is the most amazing, loving, funny, perfect-for-me-and-my-girls man I could ever want. We are blessed girls in this household! Happy father's day all you dads! We love you:)

We tried many times to get a family picture....this is the best we got. Sorry Ev:)

Jer and his girls father's day 2011

Life

2011-06-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

Life is good. I of course love my children so much no matter what, but lately I am overwhelmed by the love that I have for these little gals. Julianna is at such a fun age and understands so much. We are able to go have a Starbucks together (I know it seems a little young to get her started), we paint our nails, we cook together, we dance together, and we laugh so much together. She is my best little bud and I enjoy her so much. Everly is seriously the SWEETEST baby you could ever get your hands on. She just hangs out most of the time with big smiles. I often times will turn on our video monitor just to see her sleep. I just can't get enough!

How did I get so blessed???

2011-05-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day Morning

Julianna 3 and a half

Everly 3 and a half months

Girls

2011-03-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

People always told me when I was pregnant with Julianna that girls are so much fun. I always figured that it would be fun to have girls, but nothing prepared me for the reality. Julianna is hilarious! (she likes to say that things are "hilarious" all the time). I stopped the other day and just watched her as she was doing something silly and thought to myself, I love having a little girl who loves puddles, dirt, and toy cars, as much as she loves wearing a "fancy" dress (as she puts it) everyday, nail polish, lipgloss, and being a little drama queen. I am not kidding when I say that she can make herself cry on the spot. She is so nurturing and loving, and always tells me that she loves me and I am so grateful for the relationship that we have already. When I found out that we were having Everly, I was so excited to have more of the dirt, dresses, and drama that we already have in our household and looked forward to the relationship that Julianna and Everly would have some day. I didn't think that there would be much in the way of relationship so early on but Julianna LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Everly. She wants to wake her up every morning, help me put her down for naps, and kiss and hug her every night before bed. She often will hold her hand while watching a show or sitting on my bed and talks to her all of the time. And it is not completely one sided. Everly's face lights up when she sees Julianna. She smiles at her, and follows her with her eyes. I cannot wait to see their relationship unfold as they get older and pray that they will be the best of friends as they grow up...with maybe a few years of bickering in between:) Boy am I blessed!

The Girls

Holding hands while Julianna watches her morning show

This is how Julianna really feels about Everly

My Valentines

2011-02-18T08:03:00.001-08:00

If you know me, you know that I LOVE Valentine's day. I love everything about it. The cheesy cards, flowers, candy, dinner, dessert. The excuse to decorate the dinner table with hearts and candles. I love it even more now that I have my two girls. Jeremy and I were able to go out to dinner this year because a lovely friend offered to babysit which was such a treat seeing as how I thought it would be quite awhile to be able to go on a date WITHOUT kids now that we have two. Growing up, my mom always made Valentine's day a special occasion for our whole family. She would block off the dining room so we couldn't see it until dinner time and would decorate the table with candy, candles, hearts, special plates and napkins, and usually a little gift at each of our plates. She would make a special dinner which usually included crab legs and I would get soooo excited anticipating our Valentine's dinner all day. Because of all of this excitement of Valentine's day growing up I still get excited for this day that so many consider silly. Each year since we have had kids we have done a special dinner with the table decorated. The last couple of years we have done it with the rest of the family and kids as well. I look forward to continuing this tradition with our girls as they get older ( since usually no one wants to babysit on Valentine's day anyways:)). I am so thankful for my 3 Valentines!

She's Here!

2011-01-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

Sweet little Everly has arrived and we are all so in love. She (so far) is an easy baby as she pretty much just sleeps, and wakes up to eat and look around for a little while, and then goes back to sleep. She was born on January 16th at 7:10 pm after checking into the hospital at noon on that day, so it was a relatively short labor. Her birth was an amazingly calm, and joy filled experience (after the epidural of course:) ). She came into this world very alert with her big eyes not shutting for at least 6 hours. She has her sister's eyes, which makes mama happy because of course, I think Julianna has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.

Julianna has done a wonderful job being a big sister, giving Everly kisses, and hugs. It is so heartwarming to seeing our TWO little girls together, and more fulfilling than I thought I would feel at this point.

I feel beyond blessed to have two healthy and perfect little girls, and a husband that I could not imagine life without. The first morning at home, I woke up to a sleeping baby on my chest, and hearing the most adorable three year old voice belting out "Jesus Loves Me" from her bedroom. Does it get any better than that?!

The things she says

2011-01-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

I wanted to write about a few of the things that my sweet, innocent, beautiful daughter has figured out in the whole 3 years she has been on this earth, so that I won't forget. I love this little girl with all of my heart and she continually makes me laugh....especially when I am not supposed to. Quite awhile ago we were trying to get out the door and I wanted her to put a jacket on. She clearly did not want to and proceeded to run into the bathroom, slam the door and scream "I am never coming out of here!" Seriously, I have no idea where she learned that from. I haven't done that in years:)

Another thing we have been having some trouble with are words that aren't necessarily bad words, but words you don't want your child repeating over and over. "Poop" has been one of those words and we have explained to her that the only time we say that word is when we are in the bathroom. The other night she started saying "poo" so we reminded her that we can talk about that when we are in the bathroom. She explained to us that she was actually talking about winnie the pooh, (while giggling). She knew full well what she was doing...she was working the system! Jer and I tried to turn our heads and laugh so she wouldn't see us.

Last night Jer asked Julianna to help him clean up her toys so she could go and take a bath. I was upstairs getting the bath ready. She then said to her dad "oh I think I heard mommy call me" (which she did not). She then yelled up the stairs, "What mom? What's that mom!" She was fully trying to get out of cleaning up her toys. Oh my....

This little stinker is only 3 and already she is figuring so many things out, like how to manipulate the system. She knows she is funny as when she says these things she giggles at herself. I am a little worried at what we have in store for us as she gets older since she is clearly one smart cookie!

SNOW!!!

2010-11-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

All I have to say is I-LOVE-THE-SNOW! I am a bit surprised it came so early this year, but if this is a sign of what our winter has in store for us, I am looking forward to it. The other day Julianna and I were stranded at home, which I must admit, I thought I would go stir crazy, but we had such a great snow day together. We read books, played with her dolls, played with stickers, played in the snow, drank hot chocolate, and made dinner together. I asked her that morning what she wanted to do for the day and jokingly suggested that maybe we should shave our legs and paint our nails to which she promptly replied "mommy, I am not old enough to do that". Of course I know she is not old enough to shave her legs, but the fact that she knows that made me laugh. Here are some pictures of our time in the snow!

Happy birthday Julianna!

2010-11-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Julianna's 3rd birthday this past weekend. I cannot believe that my baby girl is three already. She seems so grown up, and is a smart, funny, silly, beautiful, sweet little girl and believe me, I am proud to be her mama! On her actual birthday, before we came downstairs to eat her heart birthday pancake with whipped cream, she had to put on her crown, clip on earrings, and cinderella necklace. She is very much into to dressing up and princesses. We celebrated Thursday with two of her friends that have birthdays the same week, then again on Friday for her actual birthday, and yet again on Saturday for her little party. Needless to say, she woke up Sunday morning asking if it was her birthday again. She dressed like a princess all three of the days that we celebrated, and even now is wearing a crown:) I love this little princess with all of my heart and I am beginning to understand now when everyone says it goes so fast so I had better enjoy every second. I am enjoying Julianna (and her "princess" ways) so much and I am so proud of who she is becoming. Happy birthday baby girl!

Family picture at her little party

At a princess party with her friends Kaya and Lily and the "real" princess

Eating her birthday breakfast

Singing happy birthday to her

Trick or Treat!

2010-11-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

This was not the first year that Julianna dressed up for halloween, but it was the first year that she was able to go trick-or-treating. She got to go with some of her little friends, and let me tell you...she LOVED the idea of going house to house yelling "trick or treat!" and getting candy in return. In fact, she is enjoying some nerds as we speak. Jeremy decided that he was going to dress up as well, which doesn't surprise me, but was a little embarrassing as he was the only adult dressed up:) Here are a few pictures from the night:

Justus (tiger), Alaina (princess), Julianna (Sleeping Beauty), Ben (Spiderman)

Sleeping Beauty and Creepy the Clown

Morning Cartoons

2010-10-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

Typical attire for morning cartoons......

First Day of Preschool

2010-09-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

On her way in

So excited!

Julianna's first day of preschool was (pretty much) a success! She ate a big breakfast, put on her new school clothes, got her backpack, and we were on our way to preschool. Initially she only wanted to sit on my lap when we got there. Then, slowly she moved to the carpet were all of the other kids were sitting, and I made my escape when she was listening to her teacher. As soon as she realized I was gone, she lost it. I was able to watch it all through the one way window outside her classroom. She cried for about 3 minutes, and then she was fine! I of course was begging God to help her calm down as I was feeling like the worst mom ever, and she did...Thank God! I picked her up and asked her to tell me all about her first day, and it was the most ADORABLE thing to hear her try and explain everything she did. I pretty much knew she painted due to the blue paint above her mouth, but she also told me she made a necklace, sang songs, and had a snack. I know there was more to her day, but I think she did a pretty good job telling me about it. I cannot believe how big she is already and that she is already in preschool.

Day #2 on Wednesday and we are looking forward to it!

It's a.......

2010-08-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

...GIRL!!!! Julianna got her wish...well, more like she got her demand. She was very certain that she was going to have a baby sister and not a baby brother even when we tried explaining to her that there was a good possibility she was getting a brother. But, we no longer have to have this conversation as we went to the ultrasound and the tech said she could say with good certainty that it is a girl. I think that I am already in the "nesting" phase as I have already gone through all of Julianna's old clothes and hung them in the baby's closet and put some in her dresser, I have bought and painted a dresser, had a garage sale to get rid of a lot of JUNK, cleaned vents that haven't been cleaned in a few years, and there are many more things on my list. We are so thrilled to be adding another little girl to our family and NO, she will not be playing hockey! (sorry Jer)

21 Weeks Prego

Summer Fun

2010-08-13T14:35:00.001-07:00

We have been having a very nice and BUSY summer with our sweet little girl. Julianna sure keeps us on our toes, and I keep saying it, but this is my favorite age so far. She is stinkin' hilarious and talks like she is 20. Many things that come out of her mouth are things that I say and it is very interesting hearing how you sound through a 2 and a half year old's mouth:) The other day she told me "not talk to her that way", and she told her daddy that he was "not listening to her" (in a very stern, motherly voice). I actually find it very hard not to laugh even when she is being sassy, so I have to reign it in often.

I have been pretty bad at taking pictures lately but here are a few recent ones:

On daddy's birthday

Helping mommy make the cake

At the Ruck family reunion in the pool

World's cutest bike rider

2010-06-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

I have never seen a cuter little bike rider, if I must say so myself:) Julianna loves to go ride her princess bike, with her princess helmet, and her diva shades....what have I created!!!????

Choo Choo

2010-05-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Julianna's friend Nathaniel's 3rd birthday party. Julianna decorated cookies, went on a train ride, and had cake. It was so much fun for all three of us:) For the train ride the kids got a conductor hat and scarf for the full effect and it was adorable. What fun times we have ahead of us with this sweet little girl of ours.

Ella has arrived

2010-05-22T16:59:00.001-07:00

Ella finally made her grand appearance on May 15th, after a LOOONG day. She is perfect and I think that I have gone to visit her every day since her birth just to hold her. Julianna likes to see her initially and then she is off doing "toddler" things. It is so neat watching my little sister being a mommy, because she is such a natural and I am pretty sure that she will teach me some things along the way. We are so in love and so excited to get to know little Ella. Here are a few pictures from the hospital:

Julianna and Ella

Such a happy big cousin

The Proud Daddy

Gone Fishin'

2010-04-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

Julianna went fishing today with daddy, Papa Daryl, Uncle Kevin, and Ben today for the first time and she had a blast. Going fishing was all that she could talk about today, and she did not take a nap because I am pretty sure that she was way too excited about fishing to fall asleep. I am fairly certain that she was the cutest fisher on the lake:)

My Easter Baby

2010-04-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

My beautiful little girl all ready for Easter church. Love, love, love her!

Gibsons!

2010-04-02T18:40:00.001-07:00

We went to Gibsons a couple of weekends ago to visit Jeremy's parents and brother Jason. It had been 6 MONTHS since we had seen grandpa and grandma because they were in Africa serving at an orphanage....we are so proud of them:).... It was so nice for Julianna to get to see her grandpa and grandma Ruck after all of that time! Julianna did great on the car ride up (thank you dvd player and Elmo). She of course loved riding the ferry over as well as getting reacquainted with their dog Sky. We went to the beach and looked for shells, fed the ducks, and went to the park. She had a full weekend and so much fun. We are looking forward to the next trip up!

Julianna feeding the ducks

Walking to feed the ducks with grandpa and grandma

Wearing grandpa's helmet

On the ferry

Daddy and Julianna at the beach

Tea Party With Daddy

2010-04-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

As I was doing the dishes after dinner tonight, I couldn't help but overhear Julianna and her daddy having a tea party in the other room. I quickly ran and grabbed the camera because, seriously, these are moments I don't want to forget. Jeremy is the BEST dad ever!

Bunny Ears and Backpacks

2010-02-19T14:29:00.000-08:00

This is what my life has come to...and I LOVE it. Being a mommy to Julianna brings more joy to my life than I could have ever imagined. Julianna is 2 years and 3 months old and I did not realize that so much adorableness could be packed into such a tiny body. Even when it is 6am, and I am NOT ready to be up for the day, and I here her calling, "I need my mommy" it melts my heart. I am already having moments of "my baby is growing up so fast and pretty soon she won't want anything to do with me", so I am trying to enjoy every moment that I have with her.

She's got moves!

2010-01-24T17:15:00.000-08:00

Julianna LOVES to sing and dance and I am not quite sure where she learned her moves from but I am secretly thinking that she may have gotten them from Jeremy:)

Oh Joy

2010-01-18T07:52:00.001-08:00

As I sat on the couch on Saturday evening watching my husband and Julianna play, I couldn't help but get teary eyed.....as a mother so often does......just out of the joy of Julianna and Jeremy playing. Julianna scream-laughed over and over as her and Jer played a little game with Mr Potato head (which, by the way is her FAVORITE toy). It brought such joy to my heart to see my amazing husband having as much, or maybe even more fun, than Julianna. These "happy tear" moments only continue to increase and get better as the days go on.

Here are a few recent pictures of Julianna:

Julianna wearing a dress that grandma and grandpa Ruck sent from Africa

Jer putting lipgloss on Julianna because she went potty in the big girl potty:)

Ben and Jules playing the drums at Christmas

She is getting so big!

Jesus Loves Me

2009-12-30T07:38:00.000-08:00

Julianna loves to sing. She does exactly like mama does and when a song comes on the radio that she doesn't know, she still tries to sing the song... it is quite funny. Lately she has been singing Jesus Loves Me. She sings it to her babies, in the car, or even in the costco check out line to the checker. I love this girl!

P.S. Jeremy named Julianna's other baby Cindy:)

Santa Clause

2009-12-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

We went to see Santa Clause this morning for the third time in Julianna's life. The first year she was only about 5 weeks old so she slept through the picture. Last year and this year were about the same as she panicked the minute we tried to put her on Santa's lap. This year it was a family Santa picture so I wasn't able to snap any pictures of my own:) We even tried promising her a Starbucks vanilla milk if she would sit on his lap but she didn't bite. However she still held us to that promise after Santa:) We had some fun walking around the mall afterwards as well. I wonder if she will like Santa next year????

Getting ready for Santa

Family picture

So cute....Daddy and Julianna walking through the mall

Playing at the mall playground

Vanilla milk...obviously quite satisfied:)

Tea for 3!

2009-12-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Julianna went to her first tea party this morning. She has had many "firsts", but this is her "first" on the list of girly things that I am going to get to experience with my daughter. We got together with Julianna's friends Lily, and Kaya ( and my friends Chelle, and Darla:) ) to celebrate birthdays since the girls were all born within a week of each other. Chelle graciously invited us over to her house and set up a Christmas tea party that would be any little girl's dream. She served them hot chocolate with marshmellows, cinnamon rolls, and m&m's, and let me tell you...Julianna was in HEAVEN as she not only finished her hot chocolate with marshmellows and made a good dent in her huge cinnamon roll, but attempted to finish off Kaya's hot chocolate and marshmellows as well. The girls also did a gift exchange and Julianna got a tutu that she did not want to take off. I hope that this becomes a tradidtion that we get to do with the girls every year because this tea party was so much fun!

The Cute tableJulianna's place setting

Julianna thoroughly enjoying herselfLily, Kaya, and Julianna

Oh the things she says

2009-11-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

Julianna is always saying something that cracks me up so I figured I needed to write some of them down before I forget them. Here goes.

"mama, I yuv you"
me: "Julianna, are you my girlfriend?" Julianna: "Nope. I'm a crazy chick"
"Daddy, don't say that"
"Daddy, don't do that"
me: "Julianna, do you have a poopy diaper?" Julianna: "Nope. Its just a peepee one" (she says that EVERY time )
"Lets be reasonable"
"I do not want it. I want a pink one". (when I gave her a gold purse. Since when does she have an opinion about the color of purse she prefers?)
"Mommy, I want to hold Jesus" (refering to the little willow tree sculpture of a mom holding a baby)
"I'm scared. Mommy will you protect me?"
"Oh my gosh. I dropped my juice"
"Jesus, help me"

All of this at the ripe old age of 2, which is why these all make me smile. It just amazes me what she retains and what comes out of her mouth. This girl is hilarious!

My baby turns 2!!!!!

2009-11-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

Julianna eating her cupcake

Singing happy birthday

Opening a present from a good friend

Birthday lunch at Red Robin with grandma and grandpa, stuffing icecream into her mouth

Julianna is now OFFICIALLY not a baby anymore, which makes me somewhat sad but also so excited for what and who she is developing into. She definately has a mind of her own, and is NOT afraid to speak it. She is such a love when she wants to be and if she thinks mommy is sad or hurt she will walk right up to me, look me in the eyes, and very clearly ask "mommy, are you ok" with the most empathetic little voice you have ever heard. She communicates what she wants or feels very easily which is incredibly nice and helpful when taking care of a toddler. She will tell me that she "loves me with all of her heart", and well, I love her with all of my heart too, as does so many others :) She is such a joy, full of laughter and silliness and we cannot wait for what is next to come!

Pumpkin Farm

2009-10-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

We went to the pumpkin farm that is down the road from us this past weekend and to our surprise there wasn't just pumpkins. Julianna had a blast feeding the ducks and chickens and seeing the pigs, goats, bunnies, turtles, and geese. She kept telling them to not come out of there cages. :) Once we finally got to the pumpkin patch she wasn't all that interested in the pumpkins and wanted to go back to see all of the animals. It was so much...I think Jeremy and I had as much fun as Julianna and will definately go back to that particular one next year.

Wild chick

2009-10-07T07:47:00.001-07:00

This is a typical night after Jeremy gets home from work. LOVE IT!

Chucky Cheese

2009-09-24T14:17:00.001-07:00

My brother and sister in law are in Mexico right now so my mom, sister, and I are sharing Ben this week and he has stayed the night at my house the last couple of nights. My 2 favorite things that he said to me these last few days are "its yummy to my tummy", when I gave him his breakfast, and "I am SO happy", again, when I gave him his breakfast. What a joy he is. My mom and I took Ben and Julianna to Chucky Cheese's yesterday and it is completely different from what I remember. They had a blast...and my mom and I had some fun too. Here are a few pictures from the morning.

Just Because

2009-09-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

I love this age because Julianna can, and does, do things "just because" she feels like it. Because she is so dang cute, and not even 2, she can get away with wearing a birthday hat when it isn't her birthday while eating dinner and getting ready for a bath, and she can wear a halloween fairy costume when it is not halloween:) I teared up...like I seem to do many times a day...when I was upstairs and I see her little body coming up the stairs with a purse on her shoulder and her birthday hat on. These days are the greatest!

In Love

2009-07-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

I am so in love with my little missy moo...yes that is what I call her sometimes and the other day she was pushing her car backwards saying "back up missy moo, back up missy moo". I laughed so hard I think some tears may have flown:) She never ceases to amaze me in her ability to talk, repeat EVERYTHING I say, and make me smile every single day. Here are some recent pictures. Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

We went to my parent's cabin over on lake Entiat for the 4th this year, and had such a relaxing, fun time! Julianna spent much of her time in the pool since the 95 degree weather made it nearly impossible to not want to get wet! As you can see, Julianna was very patriotic this year:) We had so much fun and can't wait to do some more boating and swimming. Ahhhhhh summer!

Happy Birthday

2009-06-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

Julianna likes to sing now. Often Jeremy and I will stand outside of her bedroom in the mornings and listen to her attempting to sing, among other things:) Lately she likes to sing happy birthday. I can only assume it is because we just celebrated her cousin Ben's birthday in May. She usually claps after she is done, although she does not in this video. It is so funny. Enjoy!

Our little genius

2009-06-02T07:41:00.001-07:00

Julianna is seriously the smartest 1 and a half year old there is. We have a poster of all of the presidents and yesterday is the first time she looked at it. I pointed out President Lincoln a couple of times and now whenever we tell her to show us Lincoln, out of all of the presidents up to Bush, she points to Lincoln. What a genious (says mommy) :) She seems to be growing up so quickly, and surprises me everyday with what she knows!

Here's just a cute picture of her and her daddy from the other day...don't you just want to kiss her?!

Driving already!

2009-05-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

We went to my parent's cabin for memorial day weekend and had a blast. Julianna decided that she wanted to drive the boat and the jet ski...I have to admit, I was a little nervous but she did a good job:)

The Pool

2009-05-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend was amazing with the sunshine! We spent a lot of time outside, bbqing and playing in the sun. We didn't think Julianna could have more fun, until our neighbor gave us a pool for her. She couldn't get enough! I think my favorite part is her bikini though! Could she be any cuter?!

The beard

2009-05-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

The Canucks lost and are out of the playoffs. No one felt the pain more than my husband. Not 15 minutes later was he in the bathroom shaving off his playoff beard ...Thank the Lord! He wanted me to take pictures of the process which oddly enough, was quite the process:)

Mother's day

2009-05-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a fabulous mother's day weekend. Jeremy's mom and dad came down from Canada for the weekend and Jason and Graham joined us late Saturday night. It is always so nice getting to spend some time with them. I spent Saturday afternoon with Trudy picking out a plant for our backyard, and getting manicures. What a LOVELY Saturday afternoon spent with a wonderful mother! Saturday Jer and I were able to have a date night since grandma and grandpa wanted to babysit, so we went to Azul's. Julianna had such a nice time as well, and even said her first sentence...I know, we get so excited over the littlest things:) She heard her grandma coming down the stairs and she said "I wanna see her". Grandpa Dane and I were very impressed. We ended the weekend with church and brunch at The Maltby Cafe with the Rucks and the Funstons which did not dissappoint as usual! Family time, manicure's, yummy food.....it doen't get much better than that!

Fix it!

2009-04-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Julianna's new thing is that she wants to get "cozy". She will ask Jeremy to read and then say "cozy. cozy", and proceed to get a blanket and then read the book. She also likes people to "fix" things as you will see in this clip. So cute!

Joining the craze

2009-04-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

Ok , so I decided to get on the bandwagon and blog... It seems to be the new craze so I wanted to join in on the fun!
Julianna is 17 months and is FULL of life. She has recently realized she has her own free will so it has been interesting, to say the least, to see her exercise that will :) She has a vocabulary that surprises most people that come across her....She tries to say I love you but it sounds more like lalalu....it still melts our hearts though. Jeremy is crazy about her and is seriously the best dad ever! Well, as well as my own:) He often takes her outside and they look for bugs and play with sticks. She now wants me to look for spiders with her. I told her that mommy doesn't look for spiders. I have no idea where she got this fascination because her dad EXTREMELY dislikes spiders.
Everyday brings a new word, a new discovery, or a new experience, and we are LOVING it!