You've Come A Long Way, Baby

Finally, Juliana's birthday post! Only five days late. I'm actually kind of proud of myself for being less than a week overdue with this. Small victories, right?

We Giddenses feel pretty lucky to have this little lady in our family. She came into the world two weeks early, so she's gone from looking like this:

to looking like this:

Most of us agree, she didn't look a thing like she does now when she was born. More so than Everett's did, her looks have really changed over the course of the last year. She has eight teeth and golden-colored hair. That's the best way to describe her hair color. It's not exactly blonde, it not exactly brown, it's just kind of...golden. Her eyes are currently a hazel-ish color, but they could be turning brown. It's really hard to tell. She crawls everywhere and cruises like a champ, but she's yet to take those first few steps into the walking world. Everett walked a week after his 1st birthday, so I'm waiting to see if Juliana follows suit. She's totally off the bottle - just decided she didn't like it anymore, so that's a relief for me. I tell you what, I can wean them off bottles like nobody's business but when it comes to pacifiers, I'm a total dunce.


In general, Juliana seems much more dramatic than Everett was at her age. I haven't decided if it's due to gender or personality. Case in point: We had her birthday "celebration" yesterday (it was just a cupcake). When Everett turned one he sat there calmly as we sang Happy Birthday and then promptly dug in with both hands. Here's Juliana as we were singing:

It's difficult to tell if all the thrashing about was due to the quality of singing or just being scared and dramatic. Nevertheless, she eventually settled down enough to eat her cupcake. I mean, eat the chocolate frosting. She didn't really touch the cake part of the cupcake. Which could have been a good thing since it was a beast getting all that chocolate frosting off her face and out of her nose and hair.

Probably my favorite picture of the day:

The end product of letting Juliana take control of her own cupcake eating?

For comparison's sake, here's Everett after he finished eating his cupcake on his first birthday:

Yep, Juliana's just more dramatic. In every way.

In other blogworthy ramblings, did any of you catch the premiere of "Privileged" on the CW? I stumbled upon it just as it was starting last Tuesday night and I think I'm hooked. It's fun and quirky and fashionably forward for sure. The lead is played by a girl that was on "Reba", if any of you ever saw that show (anyone? anyone?) and one of the girls played Effie in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2". "Privileged" kinda/sorta has the same vibe as "Gilmore Girls", where you have to be paying attention to catch all the fun things they say. As I currently watch only two shows faithfully ("The Office" and "Ugly Betty"), I think my tv-watching schedule can handle this fun little ditty every Tuesday night. If you didn't catch it last week, definitely try to scope it out tomorrow night. It comes on after the new 90210, which I've heard is abysmal and in no way reflects on the quality of this particular show. Check it out and let me know what you think.

One Whole Year!

Even though we're not at our house this week and I have no easy way of posting pictures on the blog, I had to at least mention on here that today is Juliana's 1st birthday! Yep, a year ago today we brought this incredibly fun and very loving little gal into the world. Our family is better for her being in it. She is wonderful and smiley and even though she may not be the best about going to people other than immediate family, she is awesome. We love her bunches and are thrilled at how much she has grown and learned over the past year. We sure love her!

Happy Birthday Juliana!

Looks of Distress

These pictures perfectly capture how my kids look once we're finishing up at the grocery store:

Everett wants out and Juliana just looks bored. Pretty typical outing for these two.

Funny how they look exactly how I feel. Grocery shopping with two kids is a marathon filled with phrases like, "No, no, no don't run!" "Everett, watch where you're going, please!" "We're almost finished!" "No, we're not getting that today!" "No, put that back, please!" "C'mon please. Keep up with me." "No, no, back in the buggy!" Interspersed with some crying or all around fussing. Oh how I look forward to grocery days!

Can Hardly Wait for October 24th

I don't know that I've ever admitted this on the blog before, but I'm a sucker for Disney Channel movies. I just can't get enough of them! Yes, they're cheesy/corny/silly, but they are so much fun to watch. I think I've always had a secret desire to actually BE in one of those movies. If only...

Anyway, it should come as no surprise that I liked the High School Musical movies. The songs are great and the dancing and acting just make me laugh. So I was totally stoked to find this little gem when I was perusing through YouTube earlier today. Mark your calendars now for High School Musical 3: Senior Year hits theaters on October 24th! That's right folks, none of this premiering on the Disney Channel stuff anymore. This is big time. Anyway I could convince some of you to join me at the theater??

It's Great to Turn 28 on August 8th, 2008!

I read this morning that the Chinese consider 8 to be a very lucky number. Today is Will's 28th birthday, so if you did the math, you'd know that he was born on 08-08-80. When he turned 8 years old, his mom got the local paper to do a story on him. The headline read something like, "Local boy turns 8 on 8/8/88". As I am not nearly as thorough in my birthday giving to get Will in the paper, he'll have to settle for being mentioned on the family blog. That's almost the same thing, right?

There is so much I could say about Will, but as I tend to get overly sappy and sentimental when it comes to Will (especially when I'm talking about him on the blog), I'll try to keep this light-hearted and fun. And in keeping with the whole "eight is lucky" idea, here are...

Eight Reasons Why Will is Lucky:

1) He has a son who thinks he is the coolest, strongest dad around and a daughter whose face lights up all excited-like whenever he walks into a room.

2) He does GREAT impressions. Much to the constant delight of his wife. I'm forever asking Will to repeat funny things in funny ways and I've been known to still laugh and giggle at things Will has said a good week or two after he's said them.

3) He's 6'3". He's always able to see over folks, doesn't have to stand on his tip-toes to reach things and is the first to know where it rains.

4) He has a wife who doesn't mind if he owns guns, goes shooting/hunting, watches Ultimate Fighting or has "dude time".

5) He makes friends easily and well. People love Will.

6) He drives aggressively and never seems to get into or cause an accident.

7) He's been everywhere, driven every kind of car, gone to every concert and eat at every cool restaurant. I'm serious. Whenever I mention something I'd like to do, go or eat, he'll usually say, "You've never done/gone/eaten there? I have..." And of course, all of his stories are LONG before he ever met me. Coincidentally.

8) He always knows the correct words to songs, so he spares himself the embarrassment of belting out the wrong words at the top of his lungs only to discover that he has them completely wrong. Trust me, it's embarrassing.

So, in the words of Will's Primary kids:

You've had a birthday, shout Hooray!

We want to sing to you today.

One year older and wiser too.

Happy Birthday! To you!

Playing Catch Up

I realized earlier today that I have things I've been meaning to share, so this will be a fairly random post. You've been warned. Continue reading at your own attention span's risk.

We've been having some really good times lately - in every way - familially, couple-ly, financially, Will's job-ily, emotionally, etc. Things finally feel like they're starting to turn in our favor and it's exciting. Will's starting to do well at work and I'm so proud of him. And the kids! Oh, the kids. They are doing really well. Juliana is full of personality and I really love to see her and Everett play together. We have a morning routine that we all seem to enjoy. It goes a little like this:

1) Juliana begins to cry, signalling she is finished with her morning nap and would we please come and get her already.

2) Everett gasps excitedly, "Jew-i-ya's awake! Jew-i-ya's awake!" At which point we both stomp very noisily up the stairs all the while Everett's yelling, "We're coming Jew-i-ya, we're coming!"

3) Everett busts open the door and we see Juliana standing in her crib, smiling at us, usually with some form of very fine bedhead.

4) Next comes any combination of changing J's poopy diaper (she's like clockwork), getting her dressed, and/or getting Everett dressed.

5) Everett promptly goes into the closet (where their toy box is stored), drags it to the center of the floor and proceeds to completely dump it out.

6) Inevitably, the first toy Juliana reaches for is, of course, the one toy Everett wants to play with, so he takes it from her and she begins to fuss.

7) With my amazing Mom skills, diaster is averted as I somehow convince Everett that he really wants to play with a different toy, Juliana is pacified and playtime resumes.

8) I put the gate up at the top of the stairs and enjoy a relatively fuss-free shower. I can then get dressed all the while the kids are STILL PLAYING WITH THEIR TOYS AND EACH OTHER! Does this sound like close to heaven to anyone else?

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I finally got Juliana to the doctor for her nine month checkup. Our gal is tipping the scales at 21.5 pounds (around the 75th percentile) and measuring 30 inches long (around the 95th percentile). I so, so, so hope she gets a lot of her dad's height. I always wanted to be 5'7", just like my 7th grade Social Studies teacher, Mrs. Brantley. She seemed so tall and beautiful that I knew if I could only be 5'7" just like her, oh how my life would be complete. Little did I know that 7th grade would be the last time I grew vertically. And here I am, eternally stuck at 5'5". If my daughter could grow to be at least 5'7" I think I could die a happy woman.

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We finally got a booster seat for Juliana and it is so cute to have both the kids sitting at the table. Juliana has shunned baby food like a bad habit, so she is now the queen of bananas, egg whites, cheese, applesauce, strawberries, olives, bread, mini-Nilla wafers, goldfish, pb and j's, cucumbers, pancakes and bagels. I'd forgotten just how messy little ones first learning to self-feed can be. Yes, there's always quite a mess after she finishes eating. And unfortunately, it's not all just on the floor.

And though they don't look like it, they do actually enjoy being at the table together.
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One of the things I love about Will is how hands-on he is as a dad. He tries things with both the kids that I either don't think about or think will be too much of a pain. Like baking with Everett. A couple of weeks ago Will decided that he and Everett would bake some chocolate chip cookies together. Once Everett figured out what was going on he was THRILLED to help Dad. Will let Everett measure and stir and it's seriously all Everett can talk about. "I make cookies with Dad." Repeated about 50 times a day. Every day. I'm not kidding.

But it was really cute and so fun to see Everett get so excited about something. Baking cookies with Dad is now their own thing, which I am more than happy to relinquish to Will.

This is the smile of a little boy so excited he couldn't/wouldn't go to sleep until 10 o'clock that night. Joy!

Everett must have enjoyed the cooking baking experience so much so that later that week as we were driving in the car and stopped at a red light, he spotted a "really BIG cookie". Keeping dreaming son!

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I got a new swimsuit! After being inspired by how cute my friend, Kim, looked in her Modbe suit, I got online and got one for myself. I got this top, but I paired it with a red bottom. It came in the mail today and I'll admit, I was a little nervous about how it would fit. But nervous I needn't be! Because it is cute and sassy - just like any gal likes to feel in her swimsuit. So thank you Kim for getting a Modbe suit and posting a picture on your blog. And thank you Modbe for designing and selling cute swimsuits. I couldn't have looked halfway decent in a swimsuit without you!
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And finally, I just have to say that Will is pretty awesome. Unknown to most, Will is a fan of the theater. He acted some in high school (in addition to playing football, wrestling and playing the cello in orchestra. I know, my own modern-day Renaissance man, right?) and actually won Best Actor in State his senior year. Anyway, we went to a couple of musicals when we were dating and engaged, but since we've been married we just haven't been able to enjoy the arts as much as we would've liked.

When Wicked came here a couple of years ago we weren't able to go. I decided to read the book, that maybe that would satisfy my desire, but let me tell you, it didn't. I just didn't get that book. It was weird. And long. And a little boring. But I've heard the musical is a million times better. So ever since we missed it the first time, I've been dying to see it. Also, Will's birthday is next Friday and we were talking about what he might like to do to celebrate.

So imagine my surprise when he came home today and told me that not only would we be going to Wicked in October (YES!), but we were going to celebrate his birthday by going to Les Miserables in September (double YES!). Seriously - YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Will, it's true, you are pretty awesome.

Memories, Like the Corner of my Mind

I've seen this on Emma's, Christina's and Christianne's blog and thought it was so cute! Please indulge me, if you have a moment. Also, I know some of you know Will better, so feel free to leave a Will memory. Whichever you'd like...


1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Pulling a Load

Ugh, seriously. When Everett insisted on lugging Juliana around in his red wagon, I honestly didn't think either of them would enjoy it, but much to my surprise, he got quite a workout (she's HEAVY) and she seemed content to let him fling her about.Have I mentioned before how much I love having two kids merely for entertainment purposes? It's so nice to have Everett want to lug Juliana around in the wagon since I have no intention of doing so. I prefer to think of my attitude as helping Everett become independent as well as helping the kids learn to play together, and not indicitive of laziness on my part at all.
This picture is priceless. Kind of like, "Mom, I'm supposed to be enjoying this, right?" Yes, darling girl, enjoy it and just keep that death grip on the sides. I promise I'll come to your rescue if it looks like your brother is going to pop that wagon up on two wheels!

PTC Forever!

When Will and I first got married, we moved into a ward* that had mostly older families or grandparent type folks. There just weren't a ton of young, married couples or young families. So for us young people, we formed a unique bond. We had fun living so close to such good people and really shared a part of our lives with them. Over the three years we lived in that ward some couples moved in and then out, but we really enjoyed everyone. Last year was a banner year for five of us in that we all were pregnant and gave birth within just over two months of each other. We have all since moved out of the ward boundaries and since the Hutchisons are moving to Chicago next month, we decided one last get together was in order.

The Fishs hosted the shindig and it was so fun to have the five babies together. I wish I could find the picture of all of us pregnant together, but seeing our little ones crawl around, each with their own personality and look, was priceless. Plus, Everett and his pal, Jacob, had fun being rambunctious older boys of the group.

And now for picture overload...

Channy and darling Annabelle

Natalie and cutie Blaine

Joe, the Grill Master

And his daughter, Annabelle, the Bow Master.

This party was great because in addition to tons of cute kids, we ate food,

Chatted

and enjoyed the summer heat

All while chaos ran supreme around us. It's interesting to note how having kids makes you just figure out how to converse with adults above the noise and distractions around you.

Jesse's mini-me, Blaine, really enjoyed being pushed around by Logan.

And here all the September babies. Juliana was born on the 10th, Blaine on the 11th and Lydia on the 18th. (Juliana was in need of a nap, whereas Lydia had just woken up. Pretty much explains the difference in expression.)

The September born with Nicholas, who just turned one. Again, it's not hard to tell which two need some shut eye.

And here they are! All the babies born between July 5th and September 18th of last year. Everett was a trooper and is posing with them with the real purpose being to restrain Juliana from getting away. To say that she was not a happy camper is an understatement.
And there they go...
Thanks again everyone for good times and cute kids. We'll miss you Hutchisons when you leave - your Chicago door is always open, right? (wink, wink)

*A ward is the name for a congregation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I'm Probably Right?

Everett and I were outside talking the other day and he pointed to an annoying little gnat/bug and asked me, "What's that?" I told him I didn't know, but that I thought it was a bug. He looked at the bug again, then back to me and said, "You pro-bly ight" (He really struggles with that "r" sound). I looked at him surprised and said, "I'm probably right?" "Yeah, you pro-bly ight, Mommy."

So rest assured, when it comes to identifying bugs, take it from Everett - I'm probably right.

(This is how Everett spent his 4th of July afternoon. Barefoot, shirtless and running around in the dirt picking up sticks. Does that kid know the true meaning of 4th of July celebrating or what?)

A Family First

I knew it would happen eventually, but I was thinking more along the lines of elementary school-aged or later. So color me surprised when, at the tender ages of 9 months and 2 and 1/2 years old, we in the Giddens household would reach the day when Juliana made the big mess and Everett was the one to clean it up. In our house, it's usually Everett making all the big messes.

That little stinker got into the pantry and promptly pulled down the Sam's Club purchase of granola bars. Trust me, she had a blast taking them out one by one.
And of course, once the damage was done she high-tailed it out of there faster than I could say, "Juliana! Did you make that mess?"

Enter older brother who saw the mess and was appalled enough to do something about it. He was just as meticulous putting them back in the box as she had been taking them out.
Just so I didn't faint in disbelief, Everett brought the box over to prove that all the bars were in fact, back in the box.

But what two year old can resist the call of 35 individually wrapped granola bars just asking to be tossed onto the floor? Yeah, apparently not this one...