Prayer

So lately Julianne has been very good about folding her arms and closing her eyes for prayers. She even starts mumbling a little gibberish in her own prayer voice. At the dinner table Kurt usually grabs my hand to say the prayer from across the dinner table. That is just something we have always done. Well Jules picked up on it last week and so we have all been holding hands to bless the food.

At Grammy and Papa's house last Sunday we knelt for a prayer and Julianne walked over to them and grabbed each of their hands for the prayer and closed her eyes. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. She stayed there for a good two minutes trying so hard to be reverent and keep her eyes closed. I looked over at Kurt during this whole maneuver and we almost burst out laughing. It is amazing what kids at such a young age pick up on. This experience made me want to be a little better in my everyday actions around my little girl. She is mimicking my every move. I love being a mom and witnessing Julianne's daily growth and development. This just had to be documented so I would never forget her sweet little prayers at 17 months.

New Recipe & 18 Month Stats

Just tried this recipe from this fabulous website and it was delicious! You must try it if you like pina coladas!

Today we met up with fun friends at Coronado Beach to fly kites, hang out, eat lunch and enjoy the beautiful California weather. What could be better?

Below is for documentation purposes (might be boring for non-family members to read)

Julianne also turned 18 months old yesterday. Where has the time gone? She is my bestest little friend and I am so grateful to have her following me around everyday. She is learning so much these days and starting to mimic a lot of words we say. One of her favorites (unfortunately) is "NO" she also says "Mon" which means "c'mon", "shoe", "daddy, mommy, more, thank you, bye bye, hi, Pooh (winnie the) and I'm sure other words I can't think of right now (it's getting late). She knows where the candy bowl is and always walks over to the counter and reaches up and says "mo". (It's not always filled with candy but for holidays I usually have some favorites in there. She has also been known to bring her little truck over to the counter and tries to stand on it to reach the candy. She was born with a sweet tooth just like her mama and daddy.

She is quite the climber, always climbing on tables, chairs, up into her highchair, trying to do pull-ups on the kitchen counter and all over the place at the park. She loves the swings at the park, and playing in the sand at the beach. She reads herself books with animals in it and says all of the animal sounds. At church I was asked by a girl in my ward where "all the chaos was" when Julianne was home sick with Kurt. I told her and then explained she will be in nursery next week and won't be running around the halls for three hours anymore. The girl replied, "I bet they aren't ready for all her energy in there". This made me laugh because this girl only sees Julianne at church and can tell she gives us a run for our money.

Her favorite foods are blueberries, strawberries, broccoli, frozen fruits, plain wheat bread, rice/beans, pb&j's, multigrain pancakes, ice cream, milk, orange juice, and dried cranberries. She loves eating by herself with toothpicks, spoons and of course her chubby little fingers.

She is very dramatic and has been known to throw herself on the floor when she doesn't get what she wants. (where could she have learned that???)

She has several signature dance moves. And she loves playing dress up and spinning in circles. My favorite!

She was really sick with "pneumonia-like" symptoms for all of last week. It was so sad to see my sweet little girl with 103 degree fevers, no appetite for food or drink, and just not her usual energetic self. (However, I did enjoy the extra snuggles). She has been on antibiotics twice a day (of which she Hates it with a capital H) but we are almost done! During our visit to urgent care Sunday night she had to have her temperature taken (in an uncomfortable place) and afterwards we got up to leave and although she was not feeling well she still told the nurse "thank you" and "bye bye" and blew her a kiss. It was the sweetest thing and almost made me cry. I have been blessed with the best combination of sweet, sassy, energetic and independent.

Also, just a side note, I can NEVER take good pictures of Julianne because she is constantly on the move! I need to discover ways to be quicker or to not let her know the camera is around. Her face is too cute not to be documented:) (in my unbiased opinion)

This was our attempt at getting a current picture of her not moving and with a smile -

Mermaid Run

We needed an excuse for Alyssa to come visit so about a month ago we signed up for a half marathon here in San Diego. Our training consisted of a few long Saturday runs and a few runs during the week to prepare. Although we may not have had enough mileage on our legs to do our VERY best, we definitely met our goal of finishing under 2 hours and just under 9 minute miles. This was our first race (besides turkey trots) together and hopefully not our last!

Mom and Dad came to cheer us on and help Kurt with the babies. We had such a great weekend! Although I am happy the race is over I wish everyone didn't have to leave already! Here are a few highlights from the weekend: Phillipi's, shopping, matching shirts for the race, Lexi and Jules playing together in the crib, Jules playing peekaboo with Lexi, lounging around the beach house, the Race, taking silly sister photos after the race, Robertos tacos, Seaport Village, laughing with my sis, Grandma and Grandpa spending quality time with grand babies, Kurt catering to my every need because of my exhaustion after the race, Las Olas, going to church with my fam, people thinking Alyssa was me at church, Valentine exchanges, getting roses from Kurt, seeing the Townsends, eating lunch at the park by the beach, Alyssa forgetting her iPod and Dad coming to the rescue, Dad finding us at mile 9 to brighten our spirits, running with Alyssa, beautiful weather. Looking forward to having the whole Heap Clan together (except for Brad) in three weeks for Spring Break!

Weekend with Grandma Heap - in bullet points
*Shopped on Cedros in Solana Beach
*Lunch twice at Board and Brew
*Ran 10 miles in preparation for a 1/2 marathon
*Beach day at Coronado
* Dinner in Old Town
*I fell down concrete stairs in high heels on our way to church - lovely bruises/scrapes to show for it
*Strolled down Del Mar Beach at sunset
*Talked politics - Go Mitt!!
*Played Sequence - I let mom win :)
*Learned how to use my pressure cooker that I have had for almost 5 years
*Delicious lava cakes from Trader Joe's
*Julianne entertained us non-stop
*Tricked Jules into drinking veggie juice by putting a sock on her bottle
*Park with Jules
*Seaport Village
*Rode on Merry-go-round - Julianne waved and blew a kiss every time she came around. So cute!
*Kurt worked late Friday so me, mom and Jules went to CPK
*Looking forward to seeing Mom, Dad, Alyssa, and Lexi in less than two weeks!!!

Time to update!

Some little cutie loved Santa this year. On our way to the mall we almost turned around several times because number one it was raining; number two it was late; and number three Jules was already asleep! We thought 'what the heck' she is all dressed up and there is only one week til Christmas. . . 'let's take our chances'. So we carried her all around the outdoor mall in Mission Valley looking for Santa Claus. As soon as we found him she woke up, sat on his lap, gave us a big smile, blew him kisses and said "bye bye". Twenty dollars later we have this picture to prove that we took her to see Santa this year.

For documentation purposes - Julianne at 13 months.

I am envious of those with photography skills. These are my two new favorite pictures of our little Jules. Thank you Tiffany (elizajphotography) for capturing our little girl so perfectly!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving beginning with a surprise. Julianne and I surprised my parents on Monday night along with Uncle Greg and Aunt Jessie. The confused looks on their faces were priceless. We enjoyed spending a few days with cousins shopping, eating and having lots of fun before turkey day. Kurt joined us Wednesday night and we were so happy to see him! Thanksgiving Alyssa and I ran the 1st annual Gilbert 10k Turkey Trot. I am ecstatic to say that we were the first finishers for the 10k!!!! We ran together the entire time and even had a sprinting competition at the end. (I was begging her to stay right by me and not leave me in the dust). They announced us as the winners and our grand prize is free admission to next year's run. Just so you know, the race doesn't cost a thing and there were only about 5 other 10k runners:)

Thanksgiving was delish over at Grandma and Grandpa Heap's home. We had a full house with lots of cousins we don't get to see very often. The hi-light for me was definitely Aunt Denise's raspberry cheesecake! There was no break between lunch and dessert because everyone was too nervous they wouldn't get a slice:)

Friday I was able to meet up with several high school friends for breakfast! I feel so blessed and lucky to have so many close friends that have known me since elementary school. There is nothing like meeting up with old friends. Kurt had his high school reunion Friday night so we sped back to California just in time! We met up with Phliip and Brittney and Clayton and Diana and had a great time visiting with and meeting all of Kurt's old high school flames. haha I'm kidding, I did get to meet some great people and it wasn't too awkward. Tacos were calling our names by the end of the night (10:00 - we must be getting old) and we found the tastiest taco truck in Pasadena. I begged Kurt to go back there on Saturday and to my disappointment they were not there! Saturday we hit up the La Canada farmers market, went to the park, watched football, took naps and felt completely rejuvenated. We headed back down to San Diego, stopping in Huntington for some shopping, and were happy to be together with our little family.

This was just the break we needed to enjoy time with family, friends and lots of time with Julianne.