Pigtails

Juliana is 2

Juliana has wanted to wear her purple birthday dress since we first hung it in the closet - she has asked to wear it almost every day. So she was very excited that today was the day. We took a lot of pictures this morning - many with a pouty or crying birthday girl...here are some of the happy ones.

Saturday Fall Activities

Saturday started with a trip to the Pumpkin Farm in the morning and then it was home for a nap (just Juliana - mommy had to put her new table and chairs together). Then we went to Nat's house for the annual meadow party - the meadow party of 2003 is when Scott and I were officially "fixed-up". Here are some pictures from the day.

A Quick Photo Shoot

These pictures are from earlier in the week - I set the tripod up for a quick photo shoot; Juliana was full of personality that morning!

Soup is a Finger Food

Juliana generally uses a fork or spoon when she eats. On this occasion she was eating soup, and decided to use her hands instead of the soup spoon. She made a bit of a mess, but managed to get quite a bit in her mouth as well.

More from Kennywood

A few more pictures from our Sept visit to Kennywood. Flying by on the Whip and sitting quietly at the end of the ride; riding the Little Phantom coaster; hanging out with Papa, and riding the Tiger. All day she wanted to ride the Tiger on the big Merry-Go-Round. Finally - the 5th time, the Tiger was free and then she went back on for a 6th time and rode the Tiger again with Daddy.

Self-Portrait

Instead of taking all of her birthday pictures in the same dress (which is so beautiful - but that photo shoot will have to wait until next Sunday) - I want to have pictures of her is all sorts of outfits for her birthday. Since attempting lots of clothing changes and photos with a toddler is most likely not going to result in great pictures, I am stretching her birthday photo shoot throughout the week. I will do one big post on her birthday with all of the pictures.

Today, I set the tripod up in the front yard so I could take some pictures of Juliana and I together. After a few pictures, Juliana wanted to use the remote for the camera. So this is her first self-portrait...not the traditional "hold-the-camera-at-arms-length", instead high tech with the tripod-mounted camera and remote...

Why Wear Slippers When You Have Sparkle Shoes

Learning her name and Negiotiations

Juliana is finally able to pronounce her name. Now that she can say her full first name - Juliana - I decided that she should learn the rest of her name. If you ask her what her name is now, she will answer "Ana Gace". Or occasionally "Ann Gace Conny" - not bad.


The art of negotiating. We have a set group of toys that live in her crib so that when she wakes up in the morning she can entertain herself until it is officially time to get up. Since she sleeps with her baby doll (covered up next to her) we keep Bitty's bottles in the crib as well. Most mornings she is feeding Bitty when I come to get her.


This morning she was jumping - another favorite early morning activity - when I went to get her. When I reached in to pick her up she grabbed Bitty and then yelled, "bottles". I stated that we didn't need the bottles because it was time to get ready for shcool. She stopped and looked and me; then slowly raised one finger and smiled, saying "1 bottle". She asked so nicely and it seemed like a reasonable request, so 1 bottle came out of the crib with Bitty.

We went to Kennywood this past Saturday and she had so much fun! A total of 7 rides on the big Merry-Go-Round. Nana, Papa, Nonni, Mommy and Daddy all took turns going on the Merry-Go-Round. Here's one picture, more coming soon.