Yesterday when we went to dress Julie after her nap, we could not find one of her shoes anywhere. One of them was where I had left it, by her closet, but the other was nowhere to be seen. This morning we conducted a thorough search in the closet, under the toddler bed, behind the door, but still no shoe. All I could figure was that Julie had carried the other one off somewhere and left it where me might never find it. Well, I was partially correct. She did carry it off somewhere, but I did eventually find it! The missing shoe made its appearance as I was emptying the laundry bag into the washer this morning. There, amidst the dark-colored clothes, was the missing shoe. I guess I should keep this in mind when I can't find my keys one day!!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
An Indoor Day
We spent most of today indoors since the weather was not so nice. In fact, right now we are experiencing an ice storm. The "tappety tap" of the ice particles hitting the windows sounds a lot like exploding kernels of popcorn in the microwave. I can't wait to see what it looks like outside in the morning! Here are some pictures from our indoor day.
Julie stringing beads on a pipe cleaner.
Julie and Daddy taking "phone calls."
Hmmmmm, what happened to Daddy here?
Mommy and Julie wrestling on the floor.
Larry got us silly hats to wear when we run the Shamrock Shuffle 8K at the end of March. Aren't they fun?
Cat in the hat!
My good looking hubby with really green looking eyes (click picture to enlarge).
Double decker!
I wonder what fun tomorrow will bring?
By Leaps and Bounds
This March 2006 video clip shows Julie taking some of her very first steps on her own. What a little baby she was! (I just love the way this clip ends...)
This clip from today shows Julie's new jumping skill. On Thursday she got brave enough to jump off of her step without holding my hand. We are so excited to see her make such progress! (Notice the similar ending to the clip. Some things don't change!)
Friday, February 23, 2007
Cosley Zoo Classes
Julie and I went to two classes at Cosley Zoo recently. They were both wonderful! The first one was all about animal food. After talking about what animals eat, the kids got to go around to different stations and look at a picture of an animal wile reaching into a bag to discover a sample of its food. After that, the kids got to meet a real live animal! The teacher held out a handful of fresh fruits and veggies and asked the kids what kind of animal might eat this food. As the kids were guessing, Julie reached out and ate a piece of the food! I have no idea what she ate, but at least it was real people-food too! The food turned out to be for a turtle, which we got to pet and observe. After meeting the turtle, the kids made a bird feeder craft, which you can see below. When spring comes, we will hang Julie's feeder outside our window and see what birdies come to visit us! After the craft, the kids participated in a flannel board reading of the Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Finally, they got to feed the ducks a handful of food. I really need to bring my camera with us next time.
At our second Cosley class, the topic was animal eyes. The stations each had a picture of an animal covered by a flap, all except its eye. It was fun to lift the flap to see each animal. Then we got to meet an animal with pink eyes...a bunny! Julie was very gentle in petting Sophie the bunny. The craft was decorating a mask. Julie chose to make an owl mask, as you can see below. After story reading, the kids got to meet a big snake in a tank! Julie was fascinated by him. We really like Cosley Zoo time!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Our 32 Month Old Culinary Expert
Julie is 32 months old today. That's 2 years and 8 months, wow! As proof of her growing independence, Julie decided to add some variety to her lunch. Maybe Mommy should hold off on giving her orange slices until after she finishes her soup next time!
You can also see the stye she has on her left lower eyelid. We went to the doctor this morning and got a prescription to help it heal. Just when I think we've reached a kind of stability regarding her health, some other weird thing happens. I had no idea that there were so many ailments that such a little person could experience!
Julie Goes to "Work"
Since Julie loves to play with Mommy's and Daddy's computers, Daddy got her one of her own to "work" on! It's about 50/50 whether she uses the mouse like a real mouse or like a telephone :-)
Contemplating the letters on her floor mat. See her new shoes? They're a size 7!!!!
Every good worker needs some cool shades. These actually belong to one of our friends whom we met for dinner Saturday night.
Happy Valentine's Day
For Valentine's Day, I used an idea from Family Fun magazine and made this bouquet of white chocolate-covered strawberry "roses" on dyed skewers. The greenery is made of parsley. It was a lot of fun to make and even more fun to eat! Family Fun is full of such great ideas, especially for kids who are around 8-10 years old. Apparently, it's full of good ideas for grown-ups too! 
Icicles!
These icicles formed on the edge of our neighbor's roof. They were very impressive! Today I keep hearing thuds as they fall to the ground due to slightly warmer temps. 
Our Biggest Storm Yet
Well, I'm finally being proven wrong. I've lived in Illinois for about 3.5 years, during which time I've been very vocal about the mild nature of the winters. We had no snow days during the 2 years I taught here. Any snow we did have melted quickly, leaving brown grass as the most common winter scene. This winter, however, reminds me of those back home in New York! It's been amazing! Of course, this week the temps are supposed to climb up near 50 degrees, so the snow will melt once again. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset about warmer weather at all! Julie and I will VERY much enjoy getting out of the house more than just to run to the car. Here are pictures from our biggest snow storm yet.
Julie and the snow in our front yard. Look how tall it is compared to her!
Julie sitting at the bottom of the snow pile the plow left behind. Wow!
Trying to climb Snow Mountain!
Playing Catch-up!
It's been too long since I posted last. I got a little paralyzed waiting to see if we might get a referral call last week, but it didn't happen. We're fine with waiting a bit longer, and I'm honestly just relieved that the agony of not knowing if the phone would ring is over for now. Here are some pictures from the last few months!
Julie and Daddy:
Julie on her Sit-n-Spin:
Julie "painting:"
In the bathtub pretending to go swimming. We tried to take her to the Wheaton College pool but it was closed. She was so disappointed that we tried to make it up to her at home!
Playing at McDonald's with a friend:
