little black journal

Some of my earliest, fondest memories are of family camping trips in the Colorado woods.  Drinking Tang and building campfires and hanging out along the river, playing with worms while my dad and brother fished nearby.  And so I was pretty thrilled when Shane (warily) agreed to book a weekend at Beckler River Campground with our friends.  We were doing it!  Becoming a camping family!  Jules was going to love it!  We would go on beautiful hikes and eat delicious meals cooked on a camp stove and spend our nights snuggled warmly together, snoozing soundly in the great outdoors!  My mind swirled with exclamation points.  Shane bought us a big new tent and I made a grocery list that included marshmallows and graham crackers – we were due to head toward Skykomish on Friday morning.

And then…

I checked the forecast.  RAIN.  So. much. rain.  Dang, I was bummed.  More than bummed, actually – I was a wreck.  In the wake of the Orlando shootings, I was desperately needing a breath, a chance to get away and soul-share with some of my nearest and dearest and to rejoice in the beauty of summer in the PNW.  We were on the verge of begrudgingly taking a literal rain check, but regrouped with the gang and decided we’d try our luck at a campground further south with a slightly better forecast.  Shane stayed true to character as the skeptic, but he decided to go with the flow after watching me weep over the thought of throwing in the towel (seriously, folks, I was a mess).  We would give it a go.  Owhi Campground for the win!

And then…

Juliette woke up Friday morning grumpy and complaining that her ear hurt, so I called her doc right away and got her in for a 10 am consult.  The pediatrician said it looked like she had the beginning of an ear infection.  We could still head out for the weekend, but it was suggested that we pick up a round of antibiotics for Juliette, to nip any chances of fever and full-fledged infection in the bud.  I cleverly had the doctor call in the prescription to Costco in Issaquah, so that they’d have it ready and waiting for us as we swung by on the road to Cle Elum.  We could still make camp by noon and have our pick of the first-come first-serve sites!

And then…

Three hours later, the prescription was finally ready – the Costco pharmacy was insanely slow and held us hostage in Issaquah way past our target departure time.  But hey, at least we’d be landing at Owhi about the same time as everyone else – we’d be together to pick a spot or form another back-up plan if things were full!

And then…

Nance texted – she was sick.  Really sick.  Their clan was out.  Brian was stuck at work.  They wouldn’t make it till evening.   Josh and Jess weren’t coming until Saturday.  And the weather forecast was looking gloomier by the minute.  If not for Juliette chanting “I want to go caaaaaaamping!” from the backseat, we might have high-tailed it back to Seattle and let her overdose on Daniel Tiger while I sulked and Shane very secretly breathed a sigh of relief.  But we pressed on and rolled up to Owhi, 40 minutes north of Cle Elum, in time to snag the last of the lakefront sites.  We pitched our gigantic new tent, rolled out our sleeping bags, and settled into our camp chairs.  Shane poured me a cup of wine, Jules slurped on her apple cider, and I patted myself on the back for my pig-headedness optimistic persistence.  Things were looking up.

The Hickory’s joined us just in time for dinner.  Juliette and Stella haven’t spent much time together recently, but they took to each other immediately and within minutes had claimed this log as their special spot, as I heard Stella ask, “Juliette, wanna go to our spot and play dinosaurs?”

Eden is the sweetest little photo-bomber ever.

We chowed down on bratwursts and veggies and then pulled out the marshmallows for dessert.  Juliette’s first toasted mallow!  Oh, the wonders of burnt sugar!

We felt the pitter-patter of raindrops as we were cleaning up and headed to our respective tents for bed.  Juliette was pretty excited to crawl into her new purple sleeping bag and do books with Mom and Dad.  So excited, in fact, that she tossed and turned until 10:30 pm.  At least, that’s what Shane tells me – I was out cold by 8:45!

There was one midnight rearranging of sleeping pads and blankets, but for the most part, we slept soundly until 7 am, at which point Juliette’s eyes popped right open and she exclaimed, “I wanna see Stella!”  We piled on coats and hats (it was cooooold) and made our way outside to join the Hickory’s for oatmeal and coffee.  In the rain.  Thank goodness they brought their pop-up canopy.

Eden looks thrilled to be in her full-on winter gear in the middle of June, doesn’t she?

These girls are for-reals thrilled, though – ain’t no rain gonna get them down!

Thank goodness for the ridiculously large tent Shane splurged on at REI – it turned out to be a pretty great play space!

The rain showed no signs of letting up, so we all decided to drive into Roslyn to find a dry place to grab a warm beverage and plan out the rest of our day.  We found refuge at the Red Bird Cafe, thankful for their good coffee and cell reception (Owhi is off the grid) and their kids’ area, where the girls whiled away the morning playing in the little pretend kitchen.  Three hours later, as the woman behind the counter began to wonder if we were ever leaving, the rain let up and we ventured out into the streets of Roslyn.  FREEEEEDOM!

The break in the rain was short-lived, so we decided to drive down to Ellensburg and spend the afternoon at the movies – I’d been wanting to take Juliette to Finding Dory, anyway.

And then…

The dang movie was sold out.  Gah!  We got back in the car and headed toward camp, a little defeated, but consoled by the fact that time in the car was time out of the rain.  The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing around camp, venturing down nearby trails with the kids when the rain let up and then ducking back under the canopy when it started to pour.

The Howells made their entrance before dinner, Josh in shorts on his mountain bike and little baby A snuggled into her puffy red rain suit.

We ate dinner in the drizzle and did our best to keep the campfire going.  It really started coming down just as I was about to settle into my camp chair for a cup of wine and a s’more.  I looked up at the sky and dramatically shouted, “Whyyyyyy???!!!”, at which point we all just laughed.  Turns out there’s a special kind of camaraderie that comes with camping in the rain – come hell or high (high) water, we were going to make the most of the weekend.

We all turned in early that night – Jules drifted off without much trouble and Shane and I capitalized on the opportunity to catch up on some reading.  The rain continued throughout the night but proved to be a pretty soothing soundtrack, as Jules didn’t move a muscle until morning.  We left the cocoon of our sleeping bags at Juliette’s urging and layered up again (38 degrees out there!) to join the group for breakfast just as the skies began to clear.  And wow, did they clear!  By 9 am we were peeling off jackets and taking turns on Brian’s paddle board.

THIS.  This is what I had been waiting for.  I paddled out into the middle of Cooper Lake and just let myself drift for awhile.  Thanks, PNW, for coming through in a clutch.

We slowly packed up camp, letting the kids romp in the empty tents as we trekked sleeping bags and coolers up to the cars.

The weekend certainly wasn’t ideal as far as weather goes, but I’m still glad we pressed on.  We got to catch up with friends we’ve seen far too little of over the past year.  Jules had a total blast.  And after enduring the elements without crying or freezing or checking into a hotel, I’d say we’ve officially earned our badge as a camping family!  Already lookin’ forward to next time.

We’re due, aren’t we?  I’ve only got another one or two of these in me before my little babe turns THREE.

While Juliette still loves to be wrapped up in her towel after her bath and snuggled to the tune of Rock-A-Bye, Baby, she’s daily planting her feet more firmly in big kid ground.  She doesn’t sit in my lap for bedtime books anymore and insists on a silly game where I try to sit in her lap before we each settle into our respective sides of the glider.  And last week, when I started in on Harold and the Purple Crayon, she said, “No, no, no, Mommy!  I read to you!”  She’s got her own version of Barnyard Dance and needs only minor prompting for The Itsy Bitsy Snowman.

(Who looks more ready for bed in this picture?!)

It might be a stretch to say she’s really reading, but she’s super-interested in letters these days.  She tackled lower-case characters last month and seems quite pleased with her progress (b, d, and h are all mixed up, but we’ll get there).  p.s. No reason to be concerned about her forehead – band-aids are just her new favorite accessory.

Her mouth runs a mile a minute, and while we’re dealing with much-too-much whining and repetitive questioning (“What is this is, Mommy?  What is that is, Mommy?  I neeeeeeed it!”), the random stuff that comes out of her mouth is pretty good.  Like when we drive past some woods and she says ever-so-hopefully, “Maybe there’s some goats in those bushes?  You tink so, Mommy?”  Or when she throws open the bathroom door and yells, “DADDY!  ARE YOU GOING POOP?!”  (Privacy is nothing but a distant memory.)

She doesn’t go anywhere without Purple Baby anymore – PB comes to church with us and waits patiently in the car all day while Juliette’s in school and loves to ride along in the bike trailer (Jules is not sharing that Kombucha, though!).

But who’s an even better playmate than Purple Baby?  Her buddy N, of course.

Grandpa had an overnight layover in Seattle a couple of weeks ago en route to the East Coast – Jules was more than willing to show him the ropes at the neighborhood playground.

This picture is a couple of months old, but I just came across it on my phone and feel compelled to share it…

I guess she’s still got some baby-ness left in her, huh?

Happy 33 months, sunshine!  You’re da best.

June has brought her A-game this year, kicking off the month with a solid six days of sunshine.  Shane had Friday off and suggested a family hike in the mountains – I wasn’t sure I was up for a long trek, but when I saw him throw Juliette’s bike in the trunk, I figured we were in for some pretty mild terrain.  We made a pitstop at the bakery for sustenance, and then found ourselves nestled among the Cascades at the Gold Creek Pond trailhead just one hour later.  The “trail” was flat and paved and the perfect place for Jules to practice her cruising.

And Gold Creek Pond was a glistening turquoise lake, clear and serene and all kinds of lovely.

We found a patch of grass and a shady picnic table where we could have a snack and then dip our toes in the freezing water.

I love baseball cap weather…

Our mile-long loop left us all parched, so we hopped over to Dru Bru for beer and ginger ale.  Cheers, kiddo!

After a solid family nap in the afternoon, we met up with some friends at Jefferson Park for a taco picnic and a romp in the splash pad.  This picture makes it hard to believe that summer hasn’t officially begun:

We spent Saturday morning down by Lake Washington, sunning and paddleboarding.  It took some major negotiating to pry Juliette off this thing – had to promise the kid treats and a trip to the plant store (she loves Lowe’s these days).

Sunday was hot, hot, hot, so we headed to the mountains again, this time to check out Franklin Falls.

Shane wanted to save his shoulders and asked Jules to walk the first part of the trail.  She made it…0.1 miles before begging to get up in the backpack!

I’ve been on a couple of waterfall hikes that end with an anti-climatic trickle over some rocks.  Not the case here!  This baby was roaring.

Juliette wasn’t a fan of the cold falls-spray and spent our time down there nuzzled into my chest.  There are worse things, I guess…

We plowed through the crowds back toward our car, scoring a sweet little spot near the river to stop and refuel with strawberries and pretzels.

And we found ourselves back at Lake Washington on Sunday evening, eating pizza with Jack and La Verne while the kids ran circles around us.

These ring-around-the-rosy pics would make the best flip book ever!

Ahhhh…June.  So far, so good!

May was good to us.  A little hectic at times, but chock-full of joy.  Outside of the trips to Whidbey and the mountains and Portland, there was a lot of good stuff happening close to home.

There were backyard BBQs and post-dinner walks with buddies…

There was one glorious 80-degree day at the beach:

There were a couple of pretty great bicycle Sundays at Lake Washington Boulevard with our crew:

There were some very productive afternoons in the yard with my little helper:

And there was the celebration of buddy N’s third birthday this past Friday, with cake and balloons and a wild rumpus at Wiggleworks!

(photo by La Verne)

And then, because that kid is a party animal, a second celebration on Memorial Day for Mr. N, complete with a Snoqualmie steam engine ride and pizza and cupcakes and giggles, oh my!

June, you’ve got some big shoes to fill.

Trips to Portland are fewer and farther between since we had Juliette, but it feels like every time we go down there, we think, “What took us so long?!”  We made it to Mitch’s house around lunchtime on Friday, after an easy (although not altogether quiet) drive.  As soon as we walked in the door, Morgan grabbed Juliette’s hand and said, “Do you want to come play in my room?”  And with that, they were gone!  The girls spent the next hour trading baby dolls back and forth while Shane and I ate a peaceful lunch and caught up with Mitch.  This cousins thing is money.

Elise came home from school a couple of hours later and we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the yard, cardboard sledding and testing the range of the rope swing.

Last time we were in Portland, Juliette was happy to play the part of the baby.  Now it’s, “Come sit on my lap, Elise!!!”

We ate dinner at the house and then took the kids out for frozen yogurt in Multnomah Village.  Nothin’ like an up-past-bedtime sugar high…

Saturday was cool and damp, so we opted for a morning indoors at OMSI, bouncing from the giant sand box to the turtles to the earthquake house.

When we got home, Morgan and Elise offered to put Juliette down for a nap.  I’ll give you one guess as to how well that went.

But finally, once the cousins were sent upstairs and I let Juliette climb into our bed, she slept.  As did I!  We woke up refreshed and ready to hit the hot tub.

We closed the day out with a trip to the library and playground, followed by dinner at the neighborhood Mexican joint.  Not a shabby Saturday!

Sunday morning was quiet and lazy, perfect for coffee-sipping and lounging indoors (until the kids started climbing the walls, at which point we headed up the street to do our coffee-sipping at Starbucks).  Kathryn and Morgan went out to run some errands while Elise enjoyed some solo time with her little cuz.

Elise is really into the Harry Potter audio books right now, but quickly learned that Juliette isn’t the most attentive listening companion…

So out to the trampoline we went!

We closed out our visit with what has become our traditional living room dance party.  The grownups and Elise pooped out after a couple of Miley Cyrus songs, but Jules and Morgan rocked out to what felt like Billboard’s entire Top 40 Pop.

One last snuggle for the road as I prepared for that familiar ache of missing my nieces…

See you sooner rather than later, Jarrells!

Ten years ago today, Shane and I said our I do’s.  Wowsers!  Either I’m getting old, or we were just a couple of kids when we got hitched.  Maybe both.

We dropped Juliette off at daycare yesterday and played hooky from work so that we could pay homage to ten years with a kid-free day of marital bliss.  We kicked off the celebration with breakfast at London Plane and probably said more to each other at that meal than we have in the span of the past few weeks. Juliette is insistent on playing a central part in all of our conversations lately (talk to ME, daddy!), and while I love an adorable toddler tale, it limits our subject matter.  It took Shane and I a few minutes to find our footing on grown-up ground, but soon enough we were laughing and then I was soul-baring with tears in my eyes and then we were laughing again, giddy with each other’s undivided attention.  The bill came and we just let it sit there for 20 minutes while we talked some more and I savored another refill of coffee.

We left the restaurant hand-in-hand and thought about going grand with a day of indoor rock-climbing or outdoor exploring, but at 10 am we found ourselves back at home, in our pajamas, spreading blankets out on the living room floor and queuing up a movie.  Talk about bliss!  After we’d vegged and dozed and thoroughly recharged, we visited the Frye art museum to check out their Young Blood exhibit (go see it!) and popped into the Chop Shop for happy hour bubbly cocktails, toasting to ten years past and decades to come.  It was a decidedly quiet day, not quite the trip to Paris I’d envisioned years ago for our milestone anniversary, but still, it was perfect.

Our friend Steve, best man at our wedding, has been holding onto our written vows since our wedding day and sent them to us in the mail this week.  As Shane and I held the wrinkled pieces of paper in our hands today and re-read the promises that were made a decade ago by a couple of starry-eyed twenty-somethings, we smiled at all the ways we’ve both fallen short of and exceeded our wildest dreams.  We’ve done good.  And we’ve done…not so good, sometimes hurling hurtful words when the going got tough or falling into the roommate rut when the going got slow.  But we’re in this for the long haul, Shane and I.  We’ll keep relishing in the joys, doing our best to band together when life feels hard or just incredibly mundane.  I imagine some day we’ll look back and think, “Ten years?  We were just getting started.”  And then we’ll take another bite our Nutella crepe as the lights of Paris glimmer on the Seine.  😉

Ahhhhh weekends: a precious time to recharge and reconnect after a long week.

Riiiiiiight.

Juliette woke up at 5:45 on Saturday morning.  I think she was in time-out twice before 7 am.  Shane and I had made grand plans for a fun family hike in the mountains that day, but when I came out to join them in the car, I found Jules laying on the floor of the back seat, scowl on her face and arms stubbornly crossed, and Shane on the verge of losing his shit.  We almost called it a day.  At 7:45.

We pressed on, though, as the thought of shuttering ourselves indoors with our little monster was hardly anything to look forward to.  We sweet-talked Jules into her car seat, put on some music, handed her an apple and a couple of books, and just north of Seattle it seemed the toddler tides were turning.  We all sang along to “Ho Hey” and decided it was going to be a great day (Lord have mercy, please make this a great day!).

We arrived at the Heather Lake trailhead around 9 am and loaded up our backpacks – I carried snacks, water, and sunscreen while Shane hauled the kid (I got the better end of the deal, for sure).

The trail was a little more rugged than we anticipated, but Shane channeled his inner mule and plowed right on ahead.

Oh, and look who came along for the ride – three Rust boys!  And a dog with a gimp leg!  (That’s Dexter, their weekend dog-sitting charge.)

Juliette has no idea how good she has it.  Actually, judging from that face, maybe she does.

I had my qualms about setting out on a five-mile hike with three kids and a gimpy dog, but the boys scrambled over the rocks like little mountain goats, chattering happily as I struggled to catch my breath.

PLEASE let that be the light at the end of the tunnel!

And…voila.

We sat on the shore of Heather Lake and dipped our toes in the freezing cold water, thankful for our long trek’s stunning pay-off.

Once we’d hydrated, we set out for the short loop around the lake.  It was an easy walk and the perfect place to let Juliette do some “hiking” of her own.

The kids were stoked about the patches of snow along the trail.  A snowball fight in May – who’d a thought?!

Juliette spent much of the day yelling, “Gryffin!  Hold my hand!”  He was so sweet to oblige.

We found a shady spot on the water’s edge to stop and eat lunch.  Juliette snuggled into my lap and I marveled at how lucky we are to live in the PNW.

Soon enough, it was time to hit the long dusty trail back to the car.  These two make hiking looking so fun.  And deceptively easy.

Juliette started getting antsy toward the end, so we pulled her out for the last half mile and let her grab her own walking stick.  Ok, actually Shane lost his balance and she kind of fell out, but thankfully, no one was hurt.  I tell you, we’re a bunch of troopers.

MADE IT!  It was a long, exhausting day with a touch-and-go start, but a grand success in the end.  Kudos to Shane for upping the adventure ante – he always seems to know just how far to push us.

For Mother’s Day, I asked for nothing more than rest.  Juliette obliged and didn’t stir until 8:30 on Sunday (penance for the previous morning’s obscenely early wake-up).  Shane took her downstairs while I slowly rolled out of bed and I came down to find the two of them busy in the kitchen, Shane at the stove and Jules at the coffee grinder.

Shane served me perfectly crispy bacon and just-gooey-enough poached eggs with my fresh-brewed coffee and then Juliette and I piled blankets and pillows on the living room floor so that we could snuggle up with a movie.  Once we’d sufficiently vegged, we headed out for an easy family bike ride.  We drove over to Marymoor Park and then hopped on the Sammamish River Trail.

I’m getting on board with this bike thing.  Particularly when it involves biking toward french fries and beer – Redhook, here we come!

It was so serene out there, all gray and green, cool but not cold.

We rolled up to the brewery just in time to beat the lunch rush.  Juliette was a lovely little dining companion and could hardly believe her luck when Shane told her that our next stop was for ice cream.  Mother’s Day was suddenly right up there with Christmas on her list of favorite holidays!

French fry high?

Shane had read good things about Shug’s, a fancy new ice cream parlor in downtown Seattle, and it did not disappoint.  I recommend a scoop of the blueberry.  And a scoop of the coffee.

And oh my word, the cookies and cream!

I’m so thankful I get to be this kid’s mama.  No doubt, it’s not all smiles and snuggles, but my word, she’s amazing.

I sneaked away in the afternoon for a pedicure and coffee with La Verne and made it home for a mellow dinner and goodnight kisses.  Shane fell asleep at 8:00 and I finished out season 6 of Gilmore Girls.  Ahhhhh…weekends: they really can be so, so good.

Shane has been working long, stressful hours lately and I’ve had a few work-related evening commitments over the past couple of weeks, leaving our schedules uncomfortably full.  I’m feeling mired in the logistics of the day to day: “If I drop off Jules on Monday and Wednesday and pick her up on Wednesday and Thursday, can you do the rest?  And how about leftovers for dinner on Monday, takeout on Tuesday, and takeout leftovers on Wednesday?”

We’re making it work, but by last weekend Shane and I found ourselves desperately in need of some quality family R&R.  An island getaway, perhaps?  Maui sounded nice.  The flight did not.  Whidbey it is, then!  On the ferry we went!

It’s a short ferry ride from Mukilteo to Clinton, but Jules made the most of it, jetting from one end of the boat to the other.  And back again.

Serenity!

We breakfasted at Useless Bay Coffee Company - bacon and eggs taste so much better when eaten on a sunny patio.

Jules was enamored with this glass sculpture garden next door.  I wasn’t sure I should let her pet the glass turtle, as she’s not the gentlest kid on the block, but we made it through with zero casualties.

Bellies full, we drove over to Ebey’s Landing for a family hike.  The sky was as blue as I’ve ever seen it, the fields popping with yellow and green.

Some friends gave this backpack to us a few months ago – I was skeptical as to whether Jules would fit in it, or whether Shane could handle 38 pounds of toddler on his shoulders, but apparently she did and he could!

I know, it’s not Hawaii, but dang, PNW!  Way to bring your A-game!

Juliette was a champ throughout the duration of the two-mile trail down to the beach, happily snacking and singing from her perch.  Shane was an all-out super-hero, “grimacing with grace” as his shoulders bore the burden of his daughter’s contentedness.

Finally!  The promised land!

The beach baby rears her pretty head:

We slowly made our way back toward the car, and then just flopped down in the warm sand for 30 minutes to eat pretzels and play with rocks.  I could have sat here all afternoon.

Jules could have happily hung at the beach all day as well, until she heard mention of a trip into town to get some ice cream, at which point she was all too eager to hit the road.  

It was 2:30 by the time we left Coupeville, which is past Juliette’s regular naptime, so we crossed our fingers that she’d catch some Z’s on the car ride home.  Sure enough, 2 minutes into our drive, this happened:

It is incredibly satisfying when a day trip with a toddler goes even better than you’d hoped – we were rolling the dice when we set out for a full-day ordeal.  But it was just what we all needed, active but leisurely, sunny and warm and tantrum-free.  Family reboot complete!

A smorgasboard of photos from the past couple of weeks:

One of my very favorite kids turned six last week and we celebrated with pizza and popsicles at the park.  I remember when this sweet boy was just a little roly-poly of a thing – now he’s SIX, all grown-up and super-cool.

Still awfully sweet, though…

Most of the attendees were boys in the 6-10 year range and Jules couldn’t quite keep up, but she was pretty thrilled to watch from the sidelines and get a glimpse of future shenanigans.

Don’t even think about it, kiddo!  Too high, too high!

Best to stick with frolicking in the grass with her pint-sized buddy!

Love you, Z!  It’s such a pleasure to watch you grow.

Shane, Jules, and I spent a sunny Sunday morning hanging out at Lake Union, watching the boats and sea planes go by.

Girl knows how to accessorize!

And then a sunny Sunday evening at Seward Park – suddenly beach weather is upon us!

These two were giddy with the promise of summer on the horizon (it’s a distant horizon, but still very exciting!).

I’m loving these longer daylight hours – we can push Juliette’s bedtime back a bit on the evenings we want to take a spin around the block after dinner.  She’s slowly getting the hang of her balance bike, although it seems she usually decides she’s done riding once we’ve reached the farthest point from home.  Of course.

We checked out Montlake Playground on Friday with our buddies – Juliette was quick to set up shop in the “kitchen” and make me a sausage with chocolate.

This.  Kid’s.  Smile.

Little O turns three tomorrow and we celebrated with him on Saturday morning at a Top Pot Caspar Babypants concert.  He is Caspar’s biggest fan and bopped along to every single song.

Jules was not so impressed with the music, but the donut with sprinkles was a major hit.  Points to Shane for not complaining once through the whole thing – this is decidedly not his scene!

Shane is bound and determined to make a biking family out of us, so he borrowed Nancy’s bike for me on Saturday afternoon and corralled Jules and me over to Seward Park for a short ride.  Truth be told, I would have preferred to tuck myself into the bike trailer with Juliette and her books, but still, it was fun.

The mid-ride stop for snacks by the water was a plus.

Yesterday was rainy and gray – we spent a lot of time cuddled up inside with hot tea and Finding Nemo.  Juliette and I did venture out for a quick run up to Jefferson Park - I haven’t jogged with the stroller in awhile and barely made it up the hill with old bag of books.  As I huffed and puffed, she called back, “What’s wrong, Mommy?”  I said, “You’re so heavy, baby!”  She sighed dramatically and said, “I know!  I’m so tired!”  Life is rough, huh, kid?

My photo log tells me I’m due for another update on Jules, so here’s the latest and greatest on little Miss Sunshine:

Sunshine schmunshine, huh?  For the record, 20 seconds later, she looked like this:

Moody as ever, but we’re rolling with it and relishing the highs, of which there are many.

Our conversations are reaching new levels of sophistication and I’m loving the updates I get from Juliette at the end of the school day.  “O brought a robot to school for show and share, and N drinks all his milk, so he has strong bones!”  After she gives us the highlight reel, she often wants to know how Shane’s or my day went and is increasingly curious about our jobs.  She’s starting to make sense of what we do and is solidifying her own hopes and dreams:  “Mommy makes buildings, Daddy works on computers, and when I grow up I’m going to wear Pull-Ups!”  The other day, as we were driving home from school, she said so sweetly from the backseat, “Mommy?  I like talking to you.”  And when she tires of talking to me, she just picks up her phone and calls a friend (usually Jack), gabbing in all kinds of gibberish:

As her vocabulary has expanded, she’s started demanding more specificity from Shane and me.  When I say, “Look at that bird!”, she responds with, “Actually…it’s a crow!”  When I say she’s two, she says, “Actually…I’m two and a half.”  Next thing I know, she’ll be rolling her eyes and muttering, “Duh, Mom…”  Gah!  My big kid!  A few nights ago I pulled out the duck towel she used as a baby in a desperate attempt at a flashback.  It hardly covers her bottom now.  But I think she liked the cool breeze on her cheeks.

She continues to have endless amounts of energy and is always finding creative ways to expend said energy.  Shane predicts this game will end in disaster.  I’m in the “she’ll learn her limits somehow” camp.

Skateboarding with her big buddies G and Z is another new favorite pastime – she wasn’t the least bit deterred when the skateboard slipped out from under her feet and landed her rump-first on the concrete.  She’s sturdy, that kid.

(No, I did not let her roll off that step on her belly – I’m not that easy going!)

Shane was swept up in the Warriors craze and has a definite case of NBA fever.  Juliette likes to snuggle up with him on the couch and catch a game, but she loves to head outside with her dad to “dribble”.

Her athletic endeavors leave her with quite an appetite – she’s a solid eater and is chowing down on her veggies these days without too much coaxing.  Anything sweet set within an arm’s reach of her disappears in a flash, though;  I try to limit the indulgences and keep cookies and candy and juice in the “extra-special treat” category, but it sure is fun to see her eyes light up over a lollipop.  Shane and I were ordering a pizza the other night and when I asked Juliette what kind of toppings she wanted, she shouted, “Syrup!”.  When I suggested pepperoni, she said, “No, I want brown pizza!” (brown is her code word for chocolate).  Chocolate pizza with syrup…I’m getting flashes of that scene in Elf where Will Ferrell tops his spaghetti with M&Ms and crumbled Pop Tarts.  For the record, this precious cherry-chocolate macaron lasted all of seven seconds:

She’s still the girl of a hundred different faces and is bound and determined to master the wink.  Don’t hurt yourself, kid!

Her “scared face”, donned whenever she hears a loud noise, is pretty great as well.

Have I mentioned that I’m completely stumped over how to tame this hair?  There aren’t enough bobby pins in the world.

And a couple of random goodies from the photo reel:

Happy…31 months?!  I asked Juliette the other day if she was still my baby and she replied, “No, I’m a KID!”  Indeed.