Halloween

Halloween started off really well. R and I each had a big pumpkin to carve, and we had a little pumpkin for Julia. Little Miss enjoyed helping to clean the seeds and guts out of the pumpkins; she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. In fact, she loved it. She did get quite peeved when she wasn't allowed to work with any of the sharp implements to carve the pumpkins.

Then, our friend and neighbor, Elizabeth (Julia's Tia), came up to go trick-or-treating with Julia and me. R stayed home to man the door at home. Julia was very shy at the first house, and afterwards, we ran into some older neighborhood kids dressed in scary masks. After that, Julia was even less interested in the second house. By the third house, she flat out refused to play along. She wanted to hold tightly to me, and she became more and more terrified.

Elizabeth recommended we head to her house to visit, as Julia is very comfortable there and could see "Uncle" Mark. It took Julia a little while to warm up, but going to Elizabeth and Mark's house was a great move. She was soon hippity-hopping around (video to come soon) and doing her best to impress their teenaged son. After our visit, it was clear that we should go straight home instead of visiting more houses.

I think it was a combination of seeing the scary costumes and being out in the dark, but trick-or-treating was not fun for Julia this year. As R put her to bed, she talked to him about the "scary monsters." I was concerned she would have nightmares, but she slept through the night. The next morning, she was back to her happy self.

Papa's pumpkin

Julia with Mommy's pumpkin

Julia with Mommy's pumpkin

Kangaroos like lollipops.

Julia and her baby

Julia and Mommy

Papa's Technique...

...for putting shoes on a toddler.

Papa puts shoes on a toddler.

Papa puts shoes on a toddler.

Papa puts shoes on a toddler.

Moon Bounce Madness

Julia and I were on our way to grocery to buy pumpkins for carving. We happened to pass a church that had pumpkins on sale half price, plus a moon bounce. To say that Julia had fun in the moon bounce is an extreme understatement - I don't known when I've seen her have such fun! These pictures are quite blurry, but they start to capture her sheer glee.


















Picking a pumpkin

Stella's Birthday Party & The Pumpkin Patch

Julia and I headed to a local farm and pumpkin patch to help Stella celebrate her 3rd birthday. It was a perfect, crisp fall day. Julia got to check out her first campfire, but she didn't like the smoke one bit! She also rejected her first s'more, protesting when I tried to mess up a perfectly good piece of chocolate. She'd like the chocolate plain, thank you. The party was capped off with a sing-along featuring Stella's dad playing the guitar. We had a great time.



After the party, Julia and I explored the farm a bit on our own, and we saw pigs, a calf, turkeys, ducks, chickens, and a few goats. Julia was very polite to the other kids and didn't gloat that her Grandma & Grandpa live on a *real* farm.



Then, we were off to the pumpkin patch where Julia tried to lift and carry very big pumpkins. She eventually settled for sitting on a pumpkin and posing for pictures for her camera-happy mother.

Port Credit (and Toronto) trip

R's Canadian business partner's daughter got married in September, and we were invited to the wedding. Luckily, happily, my Mom was able to go with us. This enabled us to go to the wedding without Little Miss AND most importantly, we got to spend some time with Grandma. Oma and Opa also attended the wedding, so lucky Julia got to see three of her grandparents in one weekend.

We also enjoyed Port Credit's Blues and Jazz Festival. The festival was within walking distance of our hotel. The weather was beautiful, and we also enjoyed some time on the swings and at the playground.

The wedding was great fun. The wedding ceremony itself was very traditional, but the reception was unique and full of personal touches. The reception was held at restored movie theater where the seats have been removed to form an event space. The reception also featured a photobooth and a Bollywood-style first dance by the entire wedding party. The food, music, and flowers at the wedding were wonderful. Because the bride's family is Italo-Canadian, and the groom is from an Irish family, I learned the term (and found out I was a) mangiacake.

On Sunday, we enjoyed some sightseeing in Toronto and celebrated Grandma's birthday with a lunch in the Distillery District.

This trip marked Julia's first international trip, earning her a stamp in her brand new passport!


Julia, at the beginning of our journey


Grandma and Julia start their visit on the airplane


The view of Toronto from our Port Credit hotel room


Julia having fun


Grandma enjoying the swing, too


Our little family


Wheeeeeeee!


Julia and her balloon at the music festival


The site of the reception


Enjoying a playground nearby the hotel


Oma & Grandma enjoying the park


A little time for sightseeing in Toronto

Julia Stats: 2 Years

Height: 38 1/2 in (completely off the charts, even a bit high for her own growth chart)
Weight: 28 lbs 1/2 oz (~70%)
Head Circumference: 19 1/2 in (~90%)

Julia's height measurement was even higher than I've come to expect, so I asked the nurse to measure her a second time. Yep, it was 38 1/2 inches!

Today's appointment was tough. I was mentally prepared that Julia would be getting one shot - the flu vaccine. The doctor checked J's chart and said that she still needed to get the HIB vaccine. Next, the doctor informed me that she wanted to do a blood draw to test for anemia. (A blood draw?!.....on my sweet little girl?!...NOOOOOO!) Finally, relating to Julia's daycare, the doctor determined Julia needed a TB test.

She watched as the nurse gave her the 2 shots and the TB test. She didn't look happy, of course, but she did not cry. (!!!) I tried to remain calm for her sake, but it is excruciating to see someone poke needles in (and cause pain to) your baby. We had to go downstairs to the lab for the blood draw, and I had a fleeting desire to take Julia out the front door to go home. Instead, I was a grown-up and took the child downstairs for the blood draw.

After a discussion with the nurse about whether the finger stick or needle to arm would be less painful, we finally decided on the needle in arm option. It would be quicker, and the finger stick would require a great deal of finger squeezing to get the amount of blood needed. So, J sat in my lap, and she watched the needle go in. I tried so hard to get her to look at the technician's necklace, to look away! That tough little kid did not even cry.

"Hug a Mannequin"

Of all Julia's little quirks, perhaps the most quirky is her interest in hugging mannequins at stores. It all started before Julia was really talking. I took her to Old Navy for a shopping trip, and she got very excited when she saw the mannequins. She started saying, "Hug! Hug!" So, I took her to the little girl mannequin, and Julia gave her a big hug.

Every trip to a store thereafter, she was insistent upon hugging the mannequins (even the ones with no heads). It's never a quick errand to shop with a toddler, but all this hugging really slowed us down. I think "mannequin" was Julia's first three syllable word. Now, she announces (or demands), "Hug a mannequin!"

I think the funniest moment was when we were in Toronto and giving my mother a driving tour. We were driving down a major shopping street, and Julia spotted some mannequins in a store window. She perked right up, and exclaimed, "Want to hug a mannequin!"

Here are a few pictures from a shopping trip after Julia's first day of "school," when I realized how few clothes she had that still fit.

Julia Says...

Here are some of the more amusing things said by our almost 2 year old in recent weeks. (I'm not sure where she gets some of this!)

~~~
When she drops something, "Whoopsie-Daisies!"

~~~
"Sure does!"
This one started in the last week. Sometimes she uses "sure does!" correctly and other times not.

Me (cleaning Julia's ears): "Does that feel nice?"
J: "Sure does!"

Me: "Julia, is your dinner yummy?"
J: "Sure does!"

~~~
Playing with Karina, the babysitter:
Julia picks up a flyswatter and says to Karina, "Want to play tennis?"

~~~
Me: "Julia, please come here."
J continues playing with her toys.
Me: "Julia, come here."
J: "No, Mommy, I'm busy."

~~~
Julia has become accustomed to hearing that she is cute or pretty when I get her dressed. On occasion, she will remark, "I so cute!!" after I get her dressed.

I got some of the same treatment, too. Sunday, we were getting ready to go to the pool, and I put on my bathing suit. Julia smiled broadly and said, "Mommy's so cute!"

~~~
A couple of months ago, Julia was using the potty all the time, except nap and bedtime. Then, some of the novelty and excitement about using the potty wore off. A few weeks ago, I noticed she was using her diaper while playing with her toys.

Me: "Julia, do you need to go to the potty?"
J: "Nah, I use diaper."

Luckily, things have gotten a bit back on track with her using the potty.

~~~
Lying on Jake's bed in her room, "I want to 'elax." (relax)

~~~
I bought a digital recorder, and I have tried to record Julia talking. She gets one look at the recorder, and the only recording I get is this, "I want DAT!! It's MINE!!"

~~~
A couple of times recently, when taking Julia's picture:

Me: "Say Cheese"
J: "Cheeeese.....and crackers!"

~~~
Julia is very clear on what she likes and doesn't like. If there is something she doesn't want to do, eat, or wear: "I don't like it!!!"

~~~
She is also very independent, and we hear, "Do it 'SELF!" quite often.

A Tale of Two Grandfathers

Looking back over our pictures from the summer, it's pretty remarkable the two different worlds of Julia's grandfathers. Grandpa lives on a farm, wearing overalls, tending to his cows and other animals. Opa lives in a golf community in the mountains and spends his days playing golf, playing tennis, and going to water aerobics. Both grandfathers adore Little Miss, and she enjoys exploring both the farm and the mountains with them.

I thought these two pictures summed it up. One of Julia's favorite activities was riding on the Mule with Grandpa, and while in Highlands, she loved riding the golf cart with Opa. (She finally stopped calling it the "mule.")





Lucky girl.

To the Grocery

Our local grocery recently got little kid-sized shopping carts, and Julia loves them. She takes her grocery shopping very seriously. I'll point things out that we need to buy - or hand her things from the high shelves - for her cart.

Julia does not stick to the list; she likes to make some of her own purchasing decisions. I try to go along behind her and put away the unwanted items. Occasionally, I miss one or two. The surprise WeightWatchers snack cakes she picked out were actually quite tasty.

Julia using her own cart makes the experience fun for both of us, but this is not the way to do grocery shopping if one is in a hurry!

Naked

For the last two nights, Julia has had a simple request, "I want to be naked." She says it just like that with that clarity (with the "to be" and everything). It's been quite a negotiating process to get her in her diaper and her pajamas. Tonight, I ended up reading three stories to a naked toddler before wrangling her into her pajamas.

First Salon Haircut

Julia's hair tends to form a mullet (short in front, long in back) if it goes unchecked, and I have done one major cut to keep the mullet at bay. After that, I have trimmed her bangs, and Oma trimmed her bangs while we were in Highlands.

I thought it might be time to give a salon (well, Hair Cuttery) cut a try. Julia was very good and still during her haircut. I did have to show her pictures on the camera to get her to look down for an extended period, while the stylist worked on the back. Julia was quite pleased with the lollipop treat at the end of the cut. Since Papa was out of town, we shared a Girls Night Out dinner at a nearby restaurant.

The haircut didn't look discernibly different from the haircut I gave her, so we may go back to home cuts (or try somewhere else next time). It was still a fun outing.