mmmmMaMa

This morning Juliet was crawling around the livingroom going mmmmMaMa, it was so precious!

Dinner with Meme and Popa

Last night we met Meme and Popa in Humble for dinner. A little side story to this, Meme and I had discussed dinner plans but never actually said which Pappa's we were going to. Well, they ended up in Jacinto City and Juliet and I were in Humble.... Should have discussed that minor point. O-Well we ended up working it out and had a really good time. Juliet was such a ham and entertained everyone. Her newest favorite game is I throw something on the floor and will lean over the highchair and stare at it until you pick it up for me. She has her Popa's number. She threw it on his side and not mine because she knows I put the toys back in the bag. He gives them back. She so loves her Meme and gave plenty of raspberry kisses and laughs to her. It was a nice dinner, hopefully it wont be so long between visits.

Juliet is winning

As I read about all these kids who go to bed on their own, without their pacis, in their own beds, I reflect to last night. I had given Juliet her cereal and she was well on her way to being asleep so I thought I would go lay her in her crib so she would put herself to sleep the rest of the way. Well that went over like a lead balloon. The second her head hit the sheet, she screamed and screamed. I waited thinking she would settle down, but NO... she started coughing. So I go pick her up and we go lay in our bed. By this time I notice she is so stuffy she can't breathe so we give her a little benedryl so she will not be congested and be able to sleep. Well that made her so mad she threw up on Jon. So now it is time for bath number two. We finally get her settled back down and put her to bed. I know that at some time she will have to go to bed on her own, but is it so wrong that I like that she wants to be with us? That she likes it when Mommy rocks her to sleep? That she likes to snuggle next to Daddy to go to sleep? What is the harm? She sleeps in her own bed at night, not with us. Sigh........

Standing and Bye-Bye

I know, I know, my titles are a bit strange. For the last 2 days Juliet has been letting go of us and standing on her own for about a second or two. She lets go.. stands there.. claps her hands then drops to her bottom. Then looks at you like, "Why didn't you catch me?" She has done it for Daddy and Mommy now so we have both gotten to see it. As for Bye-Bye, she makes all sorts of sounds that may be words, but aren't really. Like Mama and Dada and baba. But she says them out of context so they aren't really what she means. Late yesterday, my little parrot heard me say bye-bye and I heard her try to repeat it. I worked with her last night and this morning, but she didn't want to play with me. Too many new things. O-well, such is life!

What a Babydoll

Was exactly what the teachers at Primrose said about Juliet this morning. She was wonderful and did not have any problems with being in a strange classroom... as long as I was sitting on the floor with her playing. When I got up to leave, she freaked. It's ok though, the teacher picked her up and they went to look outside to distract her. It wasn't as hard on me as I thought it would be. It helps that she is such a social butterfly and doesn't have that MUCH stranger anxiety.

We made the first attempt with shoes last night, Tigger houseshoes, which she promptly pulled off, so this should be a fun thing to get used to.

Slight Setback

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!! Juliet was supposed to start school at Primrose on Monday but due to a viral infection it looks like Wednesday is going to be her first day. That gives me time to have her name put on her school bag. It is a black diaper bag with Primrose School on it. They only want you to use the bags they provide. There is nothing in the rules that say you can't alter it. Juliet is at home enjoying Mama before she and Papa leave on vacation to Natchitoches LA. Just looked up the B&B they are staying at NICE!!! Jon and I are trying to get back in the swing of things. It has been rough, especially since we got about 2 hours of sleep Sunday night. Juliet slept better last night so we did get some rest. Hope everyone is well.

Branson Trip - Day 5

The trip home was not as pleasant as the trip there. It seemed as if the kids, all three of them, had lost their minds. They did not want to ride in the car and made their displeasure known. We finally made it home safe and sound after 9 hours in the car. It was a fun vacation, but time to get back to the real world. Juliet starts her new daycare on Monday. Pray for us.

Branson Trip - Day 4

We started out our last full day in Branson with the girls minus Juliet going to get Manis and Pedis. It was relaxing, so not worth the price, but relaxing none the less. It poured down rain all night and most of the morning, but we did not let that stop us. We went into Branson and did the old timey photos, which are posted at www.flickr.com.lauraclements. We had so much fun! We took the kids swimming again, Juliet acts like she is in the pool everyday, has no fear and even dunks her own head. Sullivan and Madison love being in the pool. Went back to the cabin and cooked burgers then everyone but Juliet and me went to watch Cowboy Clay, the singing cowboy from the carriage ride and apparently he let Sullivan come up on stage and sing with him. What a way to end the vacation.

Branson Trip - Day 3

After finally figuring out that Juliet was waking up at night because she was cold, I have switched her to a different blanket and she is sleeping better. We started out the morning with the guys off to play golf and Madison and Sullivan off to fish in a kid tournament. They didn't catch anything, but hopefully had a little fun. Me, I got to bait hooks and cast lines. Then while Madison and Sullivan went to ride pony's, Juliet and I took a nap, she was such a happy camper after an hour and a half nap. We went to the park to let the kids play and realized that this resort has no swings. What kind of place caters to families and doesn't have swings? By this time Jon and Darrell were back, we ate lunch, played Ticket to Ride then the Clements Sr. family went on a wagon ride while the Jr. family went into Branson to Wally World. Came home ate dinner then off to bed. Love to all!

Juliet Claps Her Hands

For the past few weeks / months Juliet had been clapping her hands with one hand open and one hand closed into a fist. Well this week, she has started opening both hands and clapping. She is so proud of herself. It is another one of her copycat things she does.

Branson Trip - Day 2

We started out day 2 on the Branson Scenic Railway. This is an actual train that takes you on a 40 mile round trip through the Ozark mountains. http://www.bransontrain.com/ . Mr. Sullivan is a train nut. We sat in a dome car that sat you high above the ground and were able to see all the scenery as it went by. Juliet started out with her face pressed up against the glass. We were glad she was such a trooper. We had lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ. You can tell we are getting above the Mason/Dixon Line because no matter what they say, that wasn't BBQ. We are still fighting Miss Juliet's ears. Sigh We went swimming in the heated pool last night. I blew up Juliet's float and off she went like she had been in water every day of her life. She was such a trooper and even dunked her own head. Madison and Sullivan are little fishes. They love the water. We came back to the cabin for steaks and fries and an early night for the kids. Fishing in the morning! Love to all

Branson Trip - Day 1

We started out for Branson this morning at 9:45 from Frisco. This is awesome considering there were 4 adults and 3 kids that we were running only 45 minutes behind. After 4-5 false starts we were off! Juliet was such a trooper, she only wanted to stop when she wanted a diaper change. Around hour 7 she was really cranky though. Who could blame her, 8 hours in a car will make anyone cranky. Our first stop was the A&W / KFC in Oklahoma. Juliet's 1st state other than TX. Then we had to stop in Arkansas for snacks. Juliet's 2nd state. The roads in Arkansas are narrow and windy and we got caught in a huge rain storm. Then it was on to Missouri to The Big Cedar Lodge. It is a beautiful resort in the Ozarks. Juliet's 3rd state. We are settling in for the night, Juliet is fed and everyone is deciding on dinner. It has been a long day for everyone. Tomorrow we are going in to Branson to ride a train and sight see!

ROTFL

Rolling on the floor laughing! Last night Jon took feed Juliet duty while I cooked dinner. Well needless to say she was covered in sweet potatoes and turkey by the time they were done. She has this wonderful habit of turning her head about the time you try to put food in her mouth, well some slid off the spoon onto her tummy and diaper. So what does she do, smears it all over her tummy and rubs it into the diaper. Of course Jon's expressions was "gross child." She laughed over it and Mommy got a good laugh too. Then during clean up Dada goes to wash her hand and she steals the paper towel. We have one smart cookie on our hands! We are slowly getting ready for vacation. Juliet's new luggage came in, thanks Mama and Papa! Check out flickr for pictures of her with it! Who knew packing was such a chore. Love to all

Poor Baby J

So we have gone from a double ear infection to adding a nasty wet cough and runny nose. Poor precious baby. She hates having her nose wiped and with her sneezing and drooling we are wiping her face all the time. Her little eyes are so heavy but she still smiles and talks to us, she also used Mommy as a jungle gym all day. You can tell she feels bad, but it doesn't slow her down. We did get food and milk in her today and have 4 doses of medicine down. We will access the situation in the morning to see if she will go to school or not tomorrow. Check out the pictures of her with her new backpack and playing with the vaccum. Love to all! Laura Jon and Juliet

Not one but both

Ears have really bad infections! We had to meet Mama and Papa in Crosby at 6 this morning and ended up at the doctors office at 8:30 because she couldn't keep anything down. Apparently when you have a bad earache, the pressure can make you sick. So now we have ear drops and nasty chalky medicine. Well grape chalky medicine. We are taking it easy this weekend and she already seems to be doing better.

Copycat

Juliet started this precious thing where she opens and closes her mouth like she is talking but nothing is coming out. It makes a little popping sound when she does it. Video to be uploaded later. Well, we can do it and she will start doing it with us. It is precious. Also this morning she started her "cough" thing again, so I coughed, and what did she do, she copied me every time I did it. Sigh, our little girl is growing up and becoming SILLY!

Big Decisions Today

As I sit here listening to Juliet do anything but go to sleep at 9:30, aka scream. I roll my eyes at the parenting articles. "Put your child down awake, it helps them sleep longer and learn to put themselves to sleep." Yeah RIGHT! Mine hates being awake and alone. I can hear my mother now, "Go pick that baby up and rock her." I am about ready to, although apparently turning her over and giving her a paci and frog seemed to help, although her paci was in her hand and she was on all fours with her eyes closed crying... Go figure! Today we decided that we are going to take Juliet out of the Kids R Kids daycare and put her in the Primrose School in Fallcreek. As you know we have been having some issues with the staff at KRK, starting with the bleeding diaper rash incident to not paying attention to her foods and giving her the same foods all day. Primrose was our first choice, but with a year waiting list, we were forced to make an alternative choice and were very pleased with the Infant room at KRK, just have not had the best of luck in the next level. So, after we return from Branson, Juliet will start at Primrose which is a pre-school, not a daycare with structured learning and teaching. We can't wait for vacation! Love to all! Laura, Jon and Juliet Claire

Bubble Bath

While in Target last week picking up a set of blocks for Mama's house, I picked up Juliet some bubble bath. We tried it tonight and did not get the reaction we were expecting. She usually loves to sit in the water and play with the water coming out of the faucet. Tonight was different. When we tried to sit her in the water she screamed. Did not know what to do with the bubbles and did not want to sit in them. Once she did get sitting she was more interested in trying to pick the bubbles off her hands than play in the water. Our go forward with no fear child, did not like change in her bath water. We did get some cute pictures of her sitting in the bubbles.

The Weekend

Happy Birthday Aunt Rhonda! Happy 1st Birthday Becket Wild! We had an awesome weekend. While the munchkin ran the grandparents ragged in Liberty, Dada and I along with Mrs. Jessica and Mr. John went to Shakespeare in the Park at Miller Outdoor Theater and saw Twelfth Night. It was alot of fun. Saturday I went and picked up pictures from the Woodlands and ran into the Bammel's. I have not seen Julia in a long time and it was wonderful to see friends. I just wish I would have had Juliet so she could have met her, but that just makes it a reason to get together again. I picked Juliet up a hoodie beach towel and me a swim suit and a new skirt and shirt. I picked up Juliet just in time to go to Becket's first birthday party. We had so much fun at the party. Mrs. Shannon did a wonderful job on the party. Sunday we went shopping for picture frames and sheets, we scored on the frames but not the sheets. In case you are interested, Macy's in Humble is back open and really nice inside, but not like you remember it. Everything is moved around. Juliet fought us going to sleep tonight. We are all exhausted now. I did get ahold of Amanda Key, www.amandakey.com, and got Juliet a spot for Santa pics, I know August, at Adair and Co. I think Juliet will do better if she is not surrounded by screaming kids for pics.