"P-p-p-p-p-p San P-p-p-p-p-p-p Diego"

In the spirit of school starting, I started working with Julianne on her letters and the sounds they make.  It's slow going, as anticipated.  She hasn't made the connection yet between letters and their sounds...clearly I need to try a different tactic than the one I'm using.  Just now in the car she was singing "P-p-p-p-p-p-p Orange P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p Cat".  She really likes the sound "P" makes.

So almost a month ago now, we went to San Diego for Jeff and Emily's NCT Wedding.  NCT is the National Comedy Theatre - it's a professional improv company.  That's where Jeff and Emily met AND where Bret met the two of them about 5 years ago.

This is a photo from last November when Jeff and Emily came to visit before Kasiah was born.  We had chili for dinner.  Mmmmmm.

We love those two SOOOOOO much and are incredibly excited for their wedding next month (they are getting married on the MOST PERFECT DAY OF THE YEAR!). You can ask Bret, it has been my most favorite day of the year forever - and it's not even a holiday. It's just the day that I think sounds perfect. September 24. Isn't it lovely? We had some other friends - Mikey and Kaitlyn - who were married on that day six years ago and I secretly hoped Julianne would arrive on that day three years ago. LOVE IT.

Speaking of weddings, here is Julianne in my tiara and veil that my mom happened on a few weeks ago:

I admit to being annoyed that she wouldn't look at the camera.  We can try again in a few years!

Anyway, I digress.  San Diego.

Bret had some chores to do the day we arrived, so I took the girls to Sea World.

We met Elmo:

Bret was quick about getting business taken care of and joined us for some revelry!

Some advice: Don't do Sea World on a weekend.  They were in line for 45 minutes for this ride!

The morning before the NCT Wedding, Emily joined us at Juji's favorite park for some swinging.  Naturally, I didn't get a single picture of Em!

We let Bret have the afternoon off to attend the Wedding with his buds and not have to worry about corralling the kids.  He didn't get any photos because I took the camera (oops!).  I asked Juji if she wanted to go to the beach or Sea World again, and she chose Sea World.

Her mind was blown by Shamu.

It was an awesome, totally exhausting trip!

Make-Believe School

Having kids makes you think of the strangest things.  Next month Julianne turns 3 so I started looking into preschools. And then it hit me -

If we send Julianne to preschool this year, the way it works out she will not even be 18 years old when she goes off to college.   

That doesn't work for us.

Oh dear, a September baby.  What a mess. 

My husband and I have thought a lot about this.  We have toured schools.  We have asked friends what they did and have gotten a myriad of responses. Thankfully, we are both on the same page and have come up with a plan that works for our family.

Julianne will not be attending preschool until next year (2012/2013), when she is 3 almost 4.  That means she will start kinder at 5 almost 6 and when we send her off to college she will be 18 almost 19.  Catch all that? That sits much better with us.  

So what do we do with our precocious almost 3 year old who is eager to learn in the mean time? Activities.  I'm going to take what we did last year and add to it - most likely with dance and music. I am also adding "make-believe school" to our game repertoire. If anyone has other ideas, let me know. 

Julianne with her backpack

This little one loves her sissy being home, so I know this decision works for her, too!

Julianne with her notebook to practice letters, numbers and drawing

Adorable

Julianne and Kasiah looking rather ridiculous.

Weather

This is our usual view...

This is what it looks like when Hemet (the other side of this mountain) is being rained on...

Pretty rad!

Happy Birthday, Auntie Katie!

My little sister is 21 today!  Yee-haw!

We hope you have a magical day, Buggie.  We love your sunny disposition, kind heart, valley girl accent, blonde hair, speeding torpedos and sense of style. But most of all, we love how you have touched our lives and inspired us all to be better people.  

Love you like a rit-roo,

Bret, Laura, Juji and Siah Boo-Boo Chicken

Growing!

This is a photo taken yesterday of Kasiah at the park.  She's had some pretty big changes in the last week.  First off, she is a fast crawler.  I set her down in the living room the other day only to hear her quickly follow me back to the playroom.  I never invested in gates with Juji, but am seriously considering it with this one.  Her favorite position is standing.  She crawls to the sofa, pulls her self up and WALKS along it.  She isn't even 8 months!  I *know* she is gearing up to walk soon because her newest thing is to pull herself up and let go - to see how long she can stand on her own.  Lord have mercy.

Kasiah is also exploring how words sound on her tongue.  She says "mamamamama" and "dadadada" and other goo-goo-gaa-gaa sounds.  Bret and I agree that in order to count as her first word, she must know what she is saying.  This morning he tried to claim she called him "dada" but I don't buy it. Obviously "mama" will be her first word, right?

I just asked Bret if there was anything else to mention about Kasiah and he said what a sunny little love she is.  And he's totally right.  This child is sunshine, joy and sweetness.  

And then there's Julianne, the firecracker.

Julianne, aka Missy Bossy Boots and Stinker-Stinker is one clever almost-three-year-old.  Her imagination is exploding - as is her vocabulary - and she has a real thirst for knowledge.  My most favorite thing about Miss J, though, is the love she has for animals.  She's so kind to all creatures and genuinely loves to be around them.  Her kindess extends to her sister, too.  They cuddle as they sleep and play so well together...I hope it lasts forever!

Julianne is a big swimmer, too.  We have spent many a summer day frolicking in our pathetic little pool or my mom and dad's gorgeous backyard retreat! Dad has even been enticed to join the rest of us, which is big news let me tell you. We've been lucky enough to see lots of Uncle Daisy and Auntie Tatie this summer, both whom have had a tremendous positive impact on Juji.  They take her swinging and listen to her stories and encourage her to think about new and exciting things.  Danny and Kristine aren't to be forgotten, either!  We skype with them regularly - I can't wait to see how the kids react when we finally see them in person again.  I think I'm going to video record it next year.

So basically the girls are growing marvelously and we have been so lucky to have this summer together. And I still have lots and lots of posts to write about activities we did the last few weeks!  I better get to it.

Books and Puzzles!

Now that summer is nearly over (well, the heat isn't - but summer break is!) I've spent some time reflecting on our most treasured activities.  The first thing that comes to mind is books.

I've read some really outstanding stories in the past two months.  The first was a book written by a friend of a friend and I gasped when I saw it on the bookshelf at the library.

What I liked about this book: This girl can write.  I've been sitting her for five minutes considering what to say about this book.  She's a master storyteller, that's for sure.  "The Tiger's Wife" is about a young doctor and her grandfather, but it's also about war.  It's about chaos.  It's quite possibly one of the smartest books I've read in awhile, very insightful about human suffering.  But it's not a sad book.  Lord, just google the title and read a review.  I enjoyed it, and that's what matters!

What I liked about this book: First off, it's actually a series.  Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay.  To me, it was Harry Potter meets Ender's Game meets Brave New World meets The Giver.  If you liked any of those books (or all of them!) you won't regret picking up this series.  My tip - check out all three at once from the library!  They are one day reads (even for my husband!).

What I liked about this book: Maeve Binchy is my favorite author if all time. Her book "Circle of Friends" was made into a movie and "The Glass Lake" is my number one book. This one does not disappoint!  This story (like most of her others) takes place in Ireland and is about people, their relationships and how they make life work in the face of hardship.  Heartwarming, engaging, genuine, this book is a hot cup of cocoa for the soul.

For younger audiences, Julianne recommends:

All of the "Llama, Llama" books are great.  They discuss, in a way that kids can relate to, everyday challenges.  In "Llama Llama Red Pajama" baby Llama is afraid of the dark.  Other stories explore being mad and bored at the grocery store and the first day of school.

One if our newest favorite things to do as a couple is puzzles!  We put the girls to bed and get to work.

The idea was, when we were done we would mount it for our room - which is an ocean theme.  This puzzle took over our dining table for WEEKS, and when we were finally done we found that one piece was missing (do you see it?).

I hate to blame Juji, but I'm pretty sure she had something to do with it.

Adventures at Moomaw's Farm

I know you are all curious as to how Julianne's grapes turned out.  In a word: delicious. yummy. juicy. sweet. PERFECT!

In fact, the grapes were such a hit that they are already gone.  We ate every.last.one.  Oh dear.  I think next up are oranges (my parents grow two types that are ready at different times of year) and then POMEGRANATES!  Oh happy day!  I live for November when the pommies are perfectly ripened.  

Continuing along in the vein of farm-like activities, my dad arranged a pretty cool outing for us a couple of weeks ago (I'm a bit behind on the blog!) with family friends Andy and Connie.   Connie is an adorable Southern Belle with a delightful accent and a real love of animals.  She and Andy have bunnies, birds and dogs!  

This is their Flemish Rabbit, Boomer:

And their menagerie of birds and bunnies:

Did I mention Andy is a falconer? They are *such* interesting people!

Boomer was an enormous rabbit, and Kasiah was not at all thrilled with him.  It seemed as though she thought there was something really wrong with "the baby that was furry, with big ears."  Julianne made fast friends with Corky, the little rescue rabbit above.

It was a lovely outing, and when we got home we all laid down.  Isn't this cute?

Bret starts back at school this coming Monday, and I have a feeling these girls are really going to miss having him around.  I know I will.

Have we introduced you to Minnie Pearl yet?

Moomaw was getting her hair done earlier this year when someone came in with photos of this little dear - she needed to find a new home.  My mom fell in love and brought Minnie Pearl home with her.

As it turns out, she is a good addition to the family.  She is a food thief, but we forgive her bad manners because she is so cute.

Minnie Pearl and Jack

I'm trying to think of a way to seamlessly flow to the next topic, but I've got nothing.  The girls want my attention and Bret says he can give me only a few more minutes, so here is the important thing I MUST tell you all.

I saw Harry Potter 7, Part 2 in the theatre!!!  It was AMAZING!  My sister took me.  We went on a date to Target, got some Taco Bell and hit up the Regal Cinemas Hemet.  As we were purchasing our tickets the lady said, "There will be captions during this showing, will that bother you?"  UM, YES!  I hate to be a brat, but I hadn't been to the movies in THREE YEARS.  So we went to the San Jacinto theatre instead - there were no captions and the movie was brilliant. We had some time to kill beforehand, so Katie and I hit up WalMart and ended up bringing an armload of presents home with us for Julianne and Kasiah.

Here is Julianne in her Tinker Belle shirt:

I love my husband, but that date will be hard to top.  Love you, Katie!

And my time is up.