When I Grow Up

J: Mommy when I grow up I am going to be a princess. I will be Princess Belle.

M: Oh, so when we go to Disney World you want to want to get a Belle costume.

J: No, I will still be little then so I will be Cinderella

I'm not sure what this means, but apparently Belle is a more mature princess.

Random Happenings

I love Juliana's summer childcare program. It is at the same school she attends during the year so she is around familiar teachers and kids. But the best part is how much they play outside which is what summer should be all about for children. They have creative time to draw and color and play with toys, but spend the majority of the day outside. On hot days, they set-up pools and sprinklers and play in the water. But Juliana's current favorite thing at the school is the sandbox - apparently she spends entire days in it. I'm glad that she loves it so much, but I don't love that she comes home with sand in her hair and we can never get it all out and the bathtub has a sandy residue each night...sand caught in the bath toys, washcloths, shoes, clothes, bath mat... I do not love sand in my house.

My mom bought some size 4 shirts from Target this past week for Juliana. 4, not 4T, size 4 as in the department where you buy clothes for older children...how did this happen?

Recently Juliana has been fascinated by rocks; not just any rocks - small, round, smooth rocks. She comes home from school with a new one almost everyday and sneaks as many as possible into her room (they are really fun to step on when walking down the hall in the dark, in the middle of the night to feed a baby). At a softball game this past weekend, she spent the entire time looking through the dirt for small rocks and found some she was quite proud to show everyone.

One morning last week:
J: Is it my wake-up time?
M: Yes, time to get up
J: ok, then it is also my rock's wake-up time, and my rock is thirsty, let's get a cup of water for it
M: Rocks don't drink out of cups, they are supposed to live outside and they get all of their water from the rain
Juliana proceeded downstairs and outside and left her rock to live in the basil and parsley pot. Tuesday night she went outside, found her rock and announced that it had gotten bigger from the rain.

Last Night
M: I think these PJs are getting too small for you
J: Actually Mommy, I'm getting bigger and the PJs are staying the same size

This Morning
J: I don't like when it storms
M: The rain waters the plants and helps them grow
J: rain, rain, go away, come again no other day...and people can water their own plants

4th of July Festivites

Juliana had a busy holiday weekend. It started with the annual 3rd of July party at Aunt Natalae's house in a new holiday dress.


Saturday, Daddy took her to Forest Hills 63rd Annual Community Day (one of the many things we love about Forest Hills). She fed goats at the petting zoo, rode a pony for the first time, played in the park, and rode the train ride.

She took a long nap in the afternoon so she could stay up late. G took her to the Monroeville fireworks.

Want More Pictures?

Do you have a toddler/preschooler who is no longer happy to participate in photo shoots, or simply turns away when the camera comes out because she has had her pictures taken thousands of times in her short life? Here's how to fix it - have another baby. Now whenever I am taking pictures of the boys, she comes running - "I want to be in the picture!"

Note: this does not guarantee that she will smile or even look at the camera, especially if The BackYardigans is on TV.

The Marrying Game

Juliana told Scott about one of her favorite games that they play at school - The Marrying Game. Here is her description of how you play:

1 - Catch a boy
2 - Give him a kiss
3 - Then you are married

Scott was of course appalled that she was trying to kiss a boy and went on to explain that she shouldn't be kissing boys...I was reminded by my own childhood. When my brother was 4 or 5, my friends and I married him to their little sister. We dressed them up and had a complete ceremony in our backyard. I think that there are some Polaroids of the happy couple, I will have to look for those.

Kennywood - June 2009

We went to Kennywood today - the weather was beautiful and the park was not crowded - short lines for most of the rides. The boys were with us, but their only ride was in the stroller. Juliana went on a few rides in Kiddyland and was bored...she is into the big rides now. The Paratrouper, Kangaroo, and Whip are favorites from last year. Last year she was so excited for a big rollercoaster but did not enjoy the Jack Rabbit. This time she loved it! She wanted to go on a water ride so Scott took her on the Raging Rapids...she did not love that. The best part of the ride was that the water washed the chocolate ice cream out of her hair.

Exercise

Scott started a new exercise program this week and Juliana is fascinated (let's not focus on the fact that our child is memerized by exercise occuring in our home)...

She has joined Scott for bits and pieces when he has been exercising and she is home. Standing moves are particularly entertaining as she transitions from the correct position to a wild dancing frenzy.