Winter Winter go away! Feb 2009

We are sick of winter here at the Julius household. Greta and I feel trapped in the house and are always looking for new things to do. This past week her music class started up again so that's a plus. It has been bitter cold out (except for this weekend) and as easy as it sounds to stay in...we just had to get out. Here are a few places we escaped to...

The Mall Play Area... aka...Germ haven!

Chucky Cheese....just to play!!!

Toast to a New Year!

Jason and I had a wonderful New Years this year. Our friends Chip and Tracy were married that night so we had the perfect chance for a night out! The wedding was in Grand Rapids at the Amway plus we stayed the night. My mom was able to stay at our home to watch Greta, which they both enjoyed. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a huge New Years bash! We both needed that time to relax and unwind for a night and it was GREAT. Here are a few pictures of our night and Greta's night. :)

Merry Christmas!!

This Christmas we had my some of my family over in the morning which worked out great! Greta loved the tree, mostly loved pulling the ornaments off and playing with the train set. We first ate some breakfast and then opened gifts - so fun! Greta was a little overwhelmed but did great. Around 2pm we headed over to Jason's parents for more gifts and dinner. Greta loved her table and chairs, school bus and loads of other gifts. Oh, her dollhouse was a hit and her new tricycle will be loved when she gets the hang of it. It's strange to look at photos from last Christmas and compare them to this year....it reminds me how fast time goes by and to cherish everyday!

Gobble Gobble Nov 2008

We had Thanksgiving at our house this year. My mom, step-dad and Jason's mom and dad came over to share the day. I think everything went great! Food turned out, Greta wasn't too crabby and everyone got along. Jason was hoping Greta would eat some mashed potatoes this year but she refused (like always). She had chicken enchiladas instead - she goes through these weird food stages where she will eat the same thing for weeks at a time and won't touch anything else. Anyway, the day was wonderful and the company even better!

Up Up and AWAY!

Greta and I took a trip to Denver to visit my friend Nicki. This was Greta's second airplane ride and for the most part she did great! We left on a Saturday and returned on Tuesday so this gave us a few days to adapt to a new house and the dreaded time change. The outbound flight Greta did fabulous...better then I'd ever dreamed. The return flight had it's challenges...for example she threw her "bink" and it landed 2 rows back in a man's lap....Nice! We got through it with unlimited amounts of m'n'ms and other treats.

Nicki has two kids...Sydney who's almost 3 and Owen who's 7months. As you can imagine we didn't venture out - the drive to Nicki's from the airport (3 car seats in the backseat) was enough to make the circus come calling.

We had a great time - the weather was high 70's so it was a nice change from Michigan. Greta and I hope to do this once a year...if the Robbin's family allows it!!!

ROAR of the Lion! Oct 31, 2008

This Halloween was much different from last. Greta is now old enough to go trick-or-treating and enjoy some of the goodies! We first had Grandma Shosten and Great Granny over to see our little lion all dressed up. Greta held her little pumpkin basket out and was rewarded with a new slinky and a box of goldfish crackers.

Now it was off to Grandpa Schamper's house to see what he had in store. Greta cruised around like any other day - except this day she had drawn on whiskers and a big furry costume - this didn't seem to bother her.

Next on the agenda was Nonna and Poppy's to meet daddy and surprise them with her costume. We like to make people wait to see what she'll be - this is more fun! By the look on their faces they were more then pleased with the out-come. Greta hustled around - in and out of doorways and down hallways. She was surprised with Cookies and cute wind up cars which were a huge huge hit!

It was time to head home for dinner and then a wagon ride trick-or-treating. After dinner we re-applied whiskers and headed out in our neighborhood. When we returned Greta had just as much fun watching kids come to our door (and eat her treats) - she thought it was great that we had so many "visitors"!

I cook - I eat - I clean Oct 2008

We made cupcakes awhile back and had fun frosting them. Greta was more into feeding me (and herself) the frosting then actually decorating them. She has this way about her with food. She wants to see us eat it first (which is her giving me a bite...bite after bite after bite) and then she MIGHT also take one. I sometimes think she thinks I'm tricking her into eating something horrible.....(she thinks horrible is fruits/veggies) and wants to see me swallow first - what a funny little lady!

On a later date she was gobbling up her yogurt during lunch and took some time in between to put a spoonful on her head. I first grabbed the mirror (i keep a locker mirror on the fridge - she loves loves loves to look at herself when she walks by) to show her what she did. She thought this was great and laughed at herself. I secondly grabbed the camera to capture it.

On yet a later date I was cleaning the floor and she was (as always) very interested in what I was doing. I gave her the "swiffer" and let her take part. Hey, anything she can do to help I'm game for. I was able to shorten the handle to make it perfect for her. She also "mopped" the sofa table and the carpet.....what a helper huh?!
We are having the best time with her - she makes us laugh everyday (over and over again!)