Sicky Sick

February 29, 2016

Julie was supposed to have Spirit Week at daycare last week, and though we participated for two days, we were part of the mini outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease that went through the toddler rooms. Julie was very lucky and only got a couple spots on her hands and face (nothing in her mouth) and didn't seem bothered at all. Mommy, on the other hand, got some very itchy spots on her hands and feet (but none anywhere near my face, thank goodness!) and didn't feel good for a few days. Daddy avoided it entirely and now we are all back to normal. Despite that, I still wanted to share the two days of Spirit Week that we were able to participate in! We'll try again soon ;)

^Day 1 was animal day, so Julie wore her cat shirt. It's been messy from daycare before, so it worked nicely.

^She did not wear the ears, but they looked cute for a photo ;)

^Day two would end this way for me ;) You can't see it but it was Favorite Team day so Jules has on her Byron Center Bulldogs shirt behind her owl.

Valentine's Day

February 12 & 14, 2016

I haven't posted a lot of Julie stuff lately. Not doing the weekly updates really kind of makes me sad, but it does lighten the load a little bit. However, the newer posts I will be having will show how big my little lady is getting! After our vacation, we've been weaning her off her bottle. I seriously expected that to be MUCH harder. She barely even noticed when we immediately had her down to two per day. And last weekend, she hasn't had ANY (not since Thursday anyway) with no trouble whatsoever. She has become a bit emotional this past weekend, but she STILL has a cold and probably has noticed a change, even though she isn't sure what it is. Love her so much, that little scamp ;)

Anyway, this past week was Valentine's Day. They had a little party at daycare. It was on Friday, but since Julie is part of the toddler class, we were able to bring her in to participate. It was nothing too exciting, just a few valentines and some red fruits with whipped cream. Julie promptly ate the whipped cream (and a few of the fruits) and then dumped the rest on her lap and the floor. Silly girl. She then was off and running because you can't keep her still for long! It was fun and cute to see her having some fun at school.

On Sunday before church, we gave Jules her gift. I'm probably not going to make this a habit, but it was a good excuse to get something cute for her. We gave her a stuffed narwhal and "The Princess and the Frog" on DVD. It was on at Grandma and Grandpa's last weekend and she seemed to be amused so I got her a copy. It's a good excuse to buy the cute cartoons they crank out these days ;)

^At school with all her friends!

^Big girl at the table eating all her fruits (not really).

^Very proud of herself for finding this heart.

^Ripping up her present!

^The Princess and the Frog

^A lovely narwhal.

Sint Maarten - Part Two

January 24 to January 26, 2016

More fun time from Sint Maarten!!!

Day Four

Ricky and Sally's wedding was on our fourth day. Sunday just seemed a bit more warm than the rest of the days, but maybe I was just imagining it. I left everyone around 11:30, they went out doing some shopping and such. I took a few detail photos around the resort for awhile, waiting to meet the girls for lunch. We were going to go to the buffet but it was still closed so we went to the Palm Grill. I had their nachos, which are amazing. Also a virgin daiquiri, since I was working, after all! That was fun, and then we went upstairs for everyone to get ready. As usual, that took longer than anticipated. I did finally talk the guys into being ready for photos. Then we had the wedding around 4:45pm. It was really windy at the gazebo, but it was a little cloudy, so perfect, in my book! We had to hurry for wedding party and couple photos (and sneak the girls in there at the end) since the sun was setting fast. We managed to get it done and then headed up to the reception. Mike, Julie, Mom, and Kara all met me there. We had dinner together at least, although I was distracted with wedding things of course. Having nothing to bounce flash off of isn't my favorite but it was a perfect night on top of the pavilion so I won't complain.

The wedding was over at 9pm, but most people went back to the bar to hang out. I changed out of my photo dress and got into something MUCH more comfortable. Kara had taken Julie down awhile before the wedding was over, but the rest of us hung out with the people from Harrison and Florida for quite a few hours. We finally had to leave the resort (they sure shut down early!) and then went to the Sky Bar down the road a bit. Mike and Ricky kindly fetched me a hamburger since I was starving. I felt bad because it took them a long time. But I kept myself busy chatting with Jake Stocking and Jesse Walraven, mostly. I had to beg Mike to finally go home around 1pm but that was just a bit easier this time, thankfully ;)

(On a sidenote, it was super cute when Sally and Ricky's son hung out with Julie. They didn't interact a whole lot but every time he saw her, he wanted to give her a kiss. Mostly she wouldn't let him, but one time the second time they met, she finally did let him smooch her. So adorable!!! They kind of played at the reception but mostly did their own thing ;)

Day Five

Our last full day came far too soon! It was a good time to relax, so we did a bit of that. Mom stayed with Julie for some resting (the night out was too fun for her ;) and Kara wanted to get a few more hours of beach time in, so Mike and I took a cab to Simpson Bay to shop a little and get some lunch. We ended up grabbing a couple of souvenirs and stopped at Skip Jack's for lunch. There was a BIG tanks of BIG lobsters and a great view of the lagoon where a bunch of yachts were parked (is that the right term for yachts? haha). It was a decent lunch but we were still hungry getting back so we went with everyone else to the Palm Grill. I had their nachos again (YUM!) and Julie tried the broccoli soup which she loved! It was a late lunch and after, Mom and Mike took Jules to play in the sand for awhile and gave me a chance to read my book while the sunset behind me for a bit. It was very fun. They all went to get ice cream without me though! I guess Julie had her first taste of mint chocolate chip and loved it so much that she would cry whenever Daddy would take a bite of it!

The late lunch was a good thing because we made very late reservations for The Point restaurant since it was our last chance to eat there. 9pm was a bit too late for Julie, though she did pretty good. She was dancing to the band at the Palm Grill while we were waiting, which was super cute. And finally, we did get in for dinner, but I had to take her right up to bed after we ate. Pretty good food, though, so I won't complain too much ;) Bed felt good though after the last couple late nights!

Day Six

Thankfully there were no more early flights when it was finally time to leave St. Maarten. Though we didn't do too much on our last day, we did have time for breakfast and lunch. We also managed to get over by the airport to see a few planes coming and going. We didn't stay too long for any real big ones so they wouldn't hurt Julie's ears. Plus it was hot and sunny so we made it quick. We did a few more photos at the resort after we checked out and went to lunch. I had the nachos again and Julie got some chocolate ice cream for a snack :) Not as good as the mint, I guess, but still pretty good!

The flights weren't too bad. Julie did good on the first one, even though it was so late in taking off. She would NOT sleep for us, though we tried. We ran out of bottles though, which was a big issue before we left. I'm pretty sure everyone thought we sucked but oh well. We had to go through customs and immigration when we got to Charlotte, and on top of our plane being a little late, we really did almost miss our connection to GRR. Thankfully, we made it and the last little plane got Julie to sleep (with a bottle I had time to run and get water for even though we had to rush through the airport!) and we made it home in one piece! The best part may have been the 11pm pizza we got from Peppino's on the drive home. A great end even if we did have to see snow again!