Hurricane Irene

We survived Hurricane Irene without having a newborn!  I have been wanting Two Potato to make an appearance at any time, but I had a serious conversation with him and explained that he was NOT to make an appearance during the hurricane.  We lost power at 7am on Sunday (the day of the hurricane) and got power back 3 days later on Tuesday evening.  So far he is a very good listener, because I also requested that he not arrive until power was restored.  

The day of the storm John and I got excited to finally play board games with Julia, we got out all our age appropriate games (Cooties, Enchanted Forest, Candyland, Kerplunk, and Memory).  While Julia loved playing these games (with her own rules), by 11am the day of the storm we had finished all 5 games.  We knew at this point it was going to be a long couple of days.

Julia was asking to watch a video and I kept trying to reason with her that we couldn't watch any videos because of the hurricane and no electricity.  Finally, she just looked at me and said "Mommy, I don't know what you are saying to me".  To my surprise, Julia never really noticed the power was out and never noticed when it came back on.

Puddle Jumping after the Storm (38 weeks pregnant)

I also recently realized, that I took lots of pregnancy pictures when I was pregnant with Julia, but not many with Two Potato.  Here's one from our 7 year wedding anniversary, at 29 weeks pregnant with Two Potato.

29 Weeks Pregnant

Lake Junaluska

We had a wonderful time at our annual Rybolt Family vacation at Lake Junaluska in the mountains of North Carolina. Julia had an excellent time and basically spent her entire time following Ella around.

Ella was told she could use her 'traveller's points' (that she gained for being a good listener etc on vacation) to buy a toy at the general store. John and I decided not to use this system with Julia and not to buy her a toy.... until we overheard Ella saying "Julia, at the general store you can use your traveller's points to get a toy, maybe two toys". Later that day Julia wasn't being a good listener and Ella said "Julia, if you aren't a good listener I will take away your points and there will be no toys at the general store".

Family Photo at 33 Weeks Pregnant

4th of July

Over 4th of July we had an excellent time at Nana's house in Maine. Julia did not like the waves but was happy to play on the beach and especially loved the 4th of July parade since she got 2 stickers and a lollipop!

Work Hard, Play Hard

John had to work from home when Julia was recovering from a high fever, but they both got plenty of work done together.

John and Julia hard at work

Measuring and Pouring at the Science Center

Playing at the Mystic Aquarium

Weddings Galore

This summer we had lots of weddings to keep us busy. Julia came to Atlanta to one of the weddings with us, then was lucky enough to stay with her cousins Ella and Jack for the other two.

I don't think Julia even noticed we were gone, she had so much fun at Lisa and Rob's that she continually asks to go back (on a daily basis). Overall I say that Julia is fearless, but we have discovered 2 things that she is scared of, hand-dryers in public restrooms and her 'toddling' cousin Jack. Both weekends she would see Jack coming into the room and yell "NO JACKIE, NOOOO". She learned that 14 month olds like to grab toys, pull hair, and push. I don't think she realizes that very soon she will have a little brother, just like Jack.

Ella and Julia with their brand new Build-A-Bears

Roasting Marshmellows at Molly and Stacey's House

Our New Family Photo at Molly and Stacey's Wedding in Atlanta (24 weeks pregnant)

'Grown-up' Photo at Ronnie and Abby's wedding at Canandaigua Lake, NY (26 weeks pregnant)

Congratulations to Molly and Stacey, Ronnie and Abby, and Sarah and Jordan, we had a great time enjoying your special day!

The Boss

I'm starting to think that Julia will be the boss around here (just like I was as a child) and she runs a tight ship.

Yesterday during dinner I was chewing my food and started talking to John. Julia interrupted and said "Mommy, Mommy, chew food, swallow, then say excuse me Daddy". The same night we were playing outside and suddenly we couldn't use her red wagon because it was in time out (I still don't know what the red wagon did wrong!).

Her stuffed animal, Cookie Monster, can't catch a break either. He keeps being put in time out for hours. When I suggest we take him out of time out to play with him Julia's response is "No, Cookie Monster in time out, he not nice with Elmo".

Big Girl Bed

Julia is officially in her new big girl room, with a big girl bed. Once she saw the big girl bed there was no turning back. I thought it would be weeks of transition since she was switching beds and rooms. The very first night we had the bed she cried when we put her in her crib (we didn't have the bed rails yet). The first week was a little difficult because she would get up all the time out of bed and come out of her room instead of falling asleep.

The first morning she came proudly out of her room, clearly ready for the day, complete with a drum.

Maybe she had a hard night of partying?

Big Girls also carry their own luggage in the airport. But watch out she is a 'crazy driver' and kept bumping in the walls with the carseat.