Moments I don't want to forget...

Lately when Juni is excited or happy, she skips around and she sings, "It's a happy day and I feel okay!" She made it up, as far as we know, and it always comes out when she is so happy she just can't contain herself, along with reaching her hands to the sky and stretching and wiggling her fingers as if the energy is spilling out of her. Times this might come out: When getting to go outside and play bubbles or go to the park, when eating pizza or chocolate chip pancakes with sausage or bacon, when going to Walgreen's.

The day after Christmas she slumped over with a sad face and buried her head in her hands. After asking her what was wrong, she told me, "I just want to see my family. I want them to get on an airplane and come here right now, but they're not." So sad. :(

Our kitchen is big enough here that we've been able to move her play kitchen back to the kitchen area instead of in her room and she has been loving it. She makes us all kinds of food and smoothies. The other day she brought me a "smoothie" and said, "Don't worry Mama, it doesn't have butter in it, so you can have it." She understands more about MSPI than people I have explained it to 27 times. Love her.

I thought I had pictures of this, but I think we've just used the video camera so far....
Her new love is playing her ukelele while Papa plays his guitar. She sings songs she knows and makes up new ones with lyrics about her day, her toys, and her family. Now, nearly every night after books, we spend a few minutes singing and playing.

We have a tree in our back yard that dropped sticks all over the place that were a couple of feet long. Juni decided these made the perfect wings and we have spend countless afternoons playing birdies. She decides what store we will fly to and then what we will buy when we get there. We frequent Walgreen's, Costco, Target, and a restaurant. Stopping here and there, in the yard, to "buy" what we need and then fly home again. There are gardeners who come every other Monday and clean up the yard, etc. Last Monday we almost panicked because they picked up, and took away, all the "wings!" Thankfully there were some stuck behind some ladders that Juni found and we tucked away in storage so we can continue to be birdies for as long as we want. I can't wait to see where her imagination takes us next.

Post Christmas planting. Yes, we do live in California.

This past weekend we planted some herbs in little pots and some bulbs to watch for in the spring. Juni had SO much fun digging in the dirt and watering, and Mama and Papa did too!

...and of course a snack on the couch before nap :) My little big girl. :)

Christmas!

Sorry for the overload of pics, but everyone wants to see Juni with what they got her, right??!!? And, she is awfully darn cute! :) We started opening presents the night before Christmas Eve, just one each :) and then a few Christmas Eve and took our time Christmas day. We took time to stop and play along the way and just enjoy our family time. Christmas evening we went to "Christmas Tree Lane," a well decorated block in Alameda, and walked up and down with Juni letting her enjoy the decorations at each and every house. Her favorite was a machine the blew out piles of bubbles to look like it was snowing.

 cookie making the weekend before Christmas

 peanut butter balls

 rice crispie treats

 enjoying the fruits of her labor

 kangaroo calico critters

 she put them all "in her pouch" just like mama kangaroo

 A bunny puzzle from Uncle Nels

 Mama is so excited for her so soft pajamas that she wanted

 A dolly; now we must stop everything to go put her to bed. She is very tired!

 trying to figure out her acordian

 Shapes! Now we must stop everything for over an hour and play :)

 Her traditional snow globe from Mama and Papa :)

 A suitcase; now we must stop and fill it with toys! :)

 Strawberry Shortcake puzzles

 Her Ariel doll from Mama

 Making Juicy out of shapes

 Of course, Ariel must play shapes too!

December Fun

 Posing for a picture, again, by the tree at Town Center, per her request :)

 zipping all by herself these days

 Gosh, I love her hair, and despite her dislike of all ponytails, she doesn't mind the braid and even leaves it in most of the day!

 My little lovie got sicker than sick the week before Christmas. She puked :( and coughed :( and got chills :( and had a fever :( and watery puffy eyes :( It was the first time she was sick and laid on the couch with a blanket like a big kid. She's growing up.

 chugga chugga choo choooooo! at the park

hanging out in the tree at the park

Papa's Birthday, 32 and getting more handsome every minute

I made Papa a "safe" (soy/dairy/egg/beef/stonefruit free) cake and it was pretty delicious :) We celebrated on the Saturday before, since we both had to work that Monday, by opening his gifts and going to see Frozen in the theater, seeing our friend Hannah's performance, and eating at a Mexican restaurant. It was a great family day, and then we had his cake on his actual birthday. Juni got him the movie Planes, so they had fun snuggle time on the couch watching that movie too.

Growing Baby

 

 

 33 weeks

34 weeks

 35 weeks

All baby "stuff" is complete except for packing the hospital bag, which will happen this week, once laundry is done. :)

All the clothes are put away, the bed is in place, and the diapers and cleaned and in baskets ready for use.

I am really feeling great considering I am at 35 weeks (the end, haha). My reflux has come back and is honestly out of control this past week, but I don't feel like that is much to complain about. Juni is starting to talk about the things she will do with baby sister. She has talked about how when baby sister is in her car seat she will look at her, hold her hand, and sing songs to her. Melt. My. Heart. 

We are a bit nervous about where Juni will go, depending on what time I go into labor and how long it will take, but it is just one of those things we'll have to deal with as it happens. I wish we had even just one family member close by, but we don't, so we'll make it work with what we have. 

As I start to picture our life as a family of four, I know it will be different, but I am thankful for what I learned with Juni and thankful I will be more brave to venture out, even just to the park a block and a half away. I can feel the changes coming! :)

Back in action in Alameda

 Waking up to a sea of boxes after a couple of rough days I made a decision that day to just play with Juni and not worry about anything else.

 Juni wishing on a candle when our friends, Annie and Kevin, had their baby boy Odin

 After traveling over daylight savings weekend, Juni's schedule was so out-of-whack. We had quite a few napless days that were driving Mama and Juni both crazy. We tried to do fun things to make it through the day, including making chocolate cake :)

 Bubbles! Especially on those napless days, bubble baths would give us all our sanity back. Juni would be overcome with calm and peace in those bubbles and sometimes stay in there for an hour and a half. It was so nice to find a way to help her feel better, and get us all through the early evening.

 If Mama or Papa are in the kitchen, Juni wants to be on the step-stool to help. She loves my peanut butter and banana bagels in the morning.... well, she loves to eat all the banana off of them :)

 After discovering these Wiki Sticks, our whole family really enjoyed the creative play of making them into animals, glasses, tornadoes, and everything else we could think up.

 Juni in with all the kids at Hannah's sister Maya's little artist birthday party

 being rambunctious with Papa

 bubble beards :)

 no luck at nap time, but passed out on the couch at dinner time :)

 With Juni's hair always being so long, I always want to do fun things with it, but she NEVER wants me to. This rare rainy day, I convinced her it would be good to have her hair back so it didn't get so wet and stuck all over the place.

 dressed for puddle jumping, in her new giraffe hat Grandma Susie made her

 It never really storms here and only rains for a few weeks in the winter, but usually not much water accumulates. The week here, it rained hard a couple of days in a row, so I took Juni out in search of puddles, and boy did we find some. There was an old parking lot with slopes that created 10 foot long puddles that went up over her knees. Her fleece pants and coat stayed pretty dry and she was in HEAVEN. I don't know how long we were out that day, but I don't think we stopped giggling the entire time.

 Mama and Juni in the shower, finding our peace :)

 cat woman in action

 Our landlords' cat, Duke, and Juicy have made friends. Juicy doesn't usually respond to other animals in any kind of positive way, but she and Duke will sit and watch each other for hours.

Infant practice with baby Odin and Annie

 SO happy!

 Sigh, I love this girl.

Zach's boss sent him home with this shopping cart that his granddaughter had outgrown. Juni had fun taking it on a walk.

 At last, 10 years later, we have a place for our hammock stand! Hooray! Juni loves, and is slightly terrified, to be in it alone as it can be a little tippy, but she really relaxes when she is in it with me.