My photo log tells me I’m due for another update on Jules, so here’s the latest and greatest on little Miss Sunshine:
Sunshine schmunshine, huh? Â For the record, 20 seconds later, she looked like this:
Moody as ever, but we’re rolling with it and relishing the highs, of which there are many.
Our conversations are reaching new levels of sophistication and I’m loving the updates I get from Juliette at the end of the school day.  “O brought a robot to school for show and share, and N drinks all his milk, so he has strong bones!”  After she gives us the highlight reel, she often wants to know how Shane’s or my day went and is increasingly curious about our jobs.  She’s starting to make sense of what we do and is solidifying her own hopes and dreams:  “Mommy makes buildings, Daddy works on computers, and when I grow up I’m going to wear Pull-Ups!”  The other day, as we were driving home from school, she said so sweetly from the backseat, “Mommy?  I like talking to you.”  And when she tires of talking to me, she just picks up her phone and calls a friend (usually Jack), gabbing in all kinds of gibberish:
As her vocabulary has expanded, she’s started demanding more specificity from Shane and me. When I say, “Look at that bird!”, she responds with, “Actually…it’s a crow!”  When I say she’s two, she says, “Actually…I’m two and a half.”  Next thing I know, she’ll be rolling her eyes and muttering, “Duh, Mom…”  Gah!  My big kid!  A few nights ago I pulled out the duck towel she used as a baby in a desperate attempt at a flashback.  It hardly covers her bottom now.  But I think she liked the cool breeze on her cheeks.
She continues to have endless amounts of energy and is always finding creative ways to expend said energy.  Shane predicts this game will end in disaster.  I’m in the “she’ll learn her limits somehow” camp.
Skateboarding with her big buddies G and Z is another new favorite pastime – she wasn’t the least bit deterred when the skateboard slipped out from under her feet and landed her rump-first on the concrete.  She’s sturdy, that kid.
(No, I did not let her roll off that step on her belly – I’m not that easy going!)
Shane was swept up in the Warriors craze and has a definite case of NBA fever.  Juliette likes to snuggle up with him on the couch and catch a game, but she loves to head outside with her dad to “dribble”.
Her athletic endeavors leave her with quite an appetite – she’s a solid eater and is chowing down on her veggies these days without too much coaxing.  Anything sweet set within an arm’s reach of her disappears in a flash, though;  I try to limit the indulgences and keep cookies and candy and juice in the “extra-special treat†category, but it sure is fun to see her eyes light up over a lollipop. Shane and I were ordering a pizza the other night and when I asked Juliette what kind of toppings she wanted, she shouted, “Syrup!â€. When I suggested pepperoni, she said, “No, I want brown pizza!†(brown is her code word for chocolate). Chocolate pizza with syrup…I’m getting flashes of that scene in Elf where Will Ferrell tops his spaghetti with M&Ms and crumbled Pop Tarts.  For the record, this precious cherry-chocolate macaron lasted all of seven seconds:
She’s still the girl of a hundred different faces and is bound and determined to master the wink.  Don’t hurt yourself, kid!
Her “scared face”, donned whenever she hears a loud noise, is pretty great as well.
Have I mentioned that I’m completely stumped over how to tame this hair? Â There aren’t enough bobby pins in the world.
And a couple of random goodies from the photo reel:
Happy…31 months?! Â I asked Juliette the other day if she was still my baby and she replied, “No, I’m a KID!” Â Indeed.