Bedtime Stories with Grandma

My mom is visiting for a couple days which means she gets to spend lots of time with her favorite little lady, Jessica. After dinner tonight, both changed into polka dot jammies and then Jessi sat in Grandma's (or Mama is what she says) lap and Jessi shared some of her favorite books. I have a feeling that there will be many more bedtime stories with Grandma.

18 Month Pictures

This afternoon Jessica got all dressed up for her 18 month pictures. The only reason she had 18 month pictures is because I forgot to get one year old pictures. Actually, I didn't forget...it just wasn't a good time for pictures because she was having a lot of ear infections and ending up getting tubes shortly after turning one. I thought that putting her in front of blinking lights for photos might not be the best idea. She really didn't want to get her picture taken today either and passed sitting next to a cute big bear for photos. She did take quite a few good pictures which we took home on a DVD. Here is one casual photo and I've also posted a dressed up one on the right.

Something New

Monday was the start of something new - Jessica had her first day in the 2-year old room. She moved up with one of her little friends, but had to leave one friend behind. The three divas will be together again soon! She cried a little the first day, but as soon as I was out of sight the crying stopped. Boy was she exhausted the first day. The second day she went straight to her new teacher. Today Joey dropped her off and she shied away from one teacher and went to another teacher (the one with the cookies). She seems to have adjusted well which makes since because most of the kiddos were once in her 1-year old class.

This morning we also got another glimpse of Baby Esquivel. He/she had the hiccups for a while which was cute and then he/she just layed there chilling waving its hand in front of its face. It was cool to see the little flutter of the heartbeat (which was at 167). All is well with Baby Esquivel!

Looking forward to more new somethings...

Hello

On Saturday we went to get new cell phones. Jessica had a good time dancing to the music in the store and running around. The guy assisting us thought she was cute and gave her a new toy. You guessed it...her very first cell phone. Its pink, it flips open just like my old one, and there is a fake message on the display. It's one of the ones they use on display until the real phones arrive. She carries it around pretending to talk to someone or pretending to text. You would think that Joey and I are on our phones all the time by the way she plays with it, but we are not. Talk to you later!

Rain Puddles

Jessica was actually awake last weekend when a small storm blew through. We watched from the back door as the sprinkles started and quickly became sheets of rain. Five minutes later the rain was gone leaving puddles to play in! As soon as I splashed in a puddle, she copied me. What fun!

Illinois Trip

Jessica and I took a brief vacation to Illinois in early August. We flew up with Amy & Cameron, which was nice especially because the kids somewhat entertained each other handing things back and forth. Thank you Aunt Joan and Uncle Chuck for letting us stay with you. Auntie always has lots of toys to play with!

Jess & Cameron liked playing with each other and with their other cousins, Blake and Brandon. It was nice to be able to play outside barefoot and to sit on the porch in the middle of the day without melting. Jess liked spotting birds from Auntie's sun room and even spotted a hummingbird before I did one morning. Too bad she was asleep when the bunnies hopped by. We didn't make it to the pool, but the kids did get to splash water in two big tupperware bowls outside. Auntie trimmed Jessica's bangs so now her hair isn't in her eyes and she looks a bit older.

Sunday was the annual Chalkey Family Reunion. Fr. Chalkey gave mass in the park. Jessica chased balls, played on the playground, tried to hit a pinata, ate some good food and most of all met a lot of new family. We had a nice time, but were tired after spending most of the day outside.

Jess and I flew back by ourself two days later. She was more fussy than the the previous flight and took a three hour nap when we got home. She was so happy to be home and to see Ellee, Daddy, and Aunt Jen.

Fun with Mama Lipa and Papa Sus

Joey's parents visited us at the end of July. She spent one whole day with just them - what fun! I'm sure they read several books together, played with toys, danced, and ran around. They always make yummy food which Jessica devours. Grandpa Sus tried something new - swinging Jessi up over his shoulder, which she seemed to enjoy. She also like getting tickled by Papa Sus and back and foot massages from Mama Lipa. Jessica loves spending time with her Mama Lipa and Grandpa Sus and can't wait to see them again!