Time for a Fresh start

Diane surprised me again today with a whole new look for the blog, new title and everything to reflect that this is no longer just a Journey either to or with Julia, it has become oh so much more than that. Life is full now, fuller than I ever expected certainly and more than I could ever have dreamed of. Life is busy with TWO little girls now that will on occasion (as they have this week) try to drive their Mama right over the edge while at the same time trying to cuddle up for more hugs and loves. Oh it has been a week, but even through all of that.. Life is Beautiful. So thank you Diane for reminding me of that, I kind of needed that reminder this week.

It's also time to do something else that I have been putting off since Devyn joined us. It's time to archive this blog and start fresh. This hasn't been a Journey with Julia for awhile, since we met Devyn in October, though all of it has of course been part of Julia's journey as she struggles to find her role as big sister, it's also been our family, all of us, together. So thank you Diane for the gentle reminder and the sweet, sweet gift. You always manage to surprise me with my favorite pictures, and when I least expect it.

From now on, I will be posting at Life is Beautiful, because it is, it really, really is. So come on over there and check us out. The first post is a pretty special one to me.

**Sisters and Bows***

And "Flavor" and lunch. LOL. "Flavor" is what Julia has named her little purple bunny that came in her Easter basket...and NO she has never, ever seen or heard of "Flava Flav" or whatever the heck his name is. So where or why she came up with this name, who knows, but she is determined it IS his name. We found this afternoon that Devyn doesn't care for Pineapple at all. Julia loves it and has for some time, Devyn would pucker up at every bite and finally just insisted "NO More". Got some video I'll try to load at Dropshots later, for some reason I can't get Dropshots to work from the lap top. Very Annoying. So I'll have to wait until tonight when Daddy is home so I can have a few minutes on the PC.

We have had a rough few days here, Julia is just not sleeping at all at night anymore. I'm doing my best to keep her up today, not that she has napped for very long each day either, and just hope for the best tonight. Daddy and I both really need some sleep. She has always been up every couple of hours in the night but we just put her back to bed and she goes back to sleep til the next trip, well the last few nights she has just not been going back out. Even to getting up and wanting to play in her room, she has NEVER done this to this extreme before. She's had cycles where for a few days it would be rougher but then she would settle back into some semblance of a routine, this time it doesn't seem to be letting go. I'm sure it's worse because Daddy was gone last week, but I have to admit I expected the first part of the week to be rough, but it seems it has just gotten worse all week instead of better. I think we are going to have to make an appointment with the pediatrician and ask for a sleep study. She just doesn't seem to be winding down and relaxing like she should. Say some prayers if you are so inclined. They would be appreciated.

Okay, I just realized that Julia can not only sing the songs from "Barbie Diamond Castle" (yes, still a favorite movie) but she can quote lines now too.. goodness. She and Devyn will both sing the songs together, I think I just need to pick up the soundtrack and I won't have to see the movie so often. I really think they like the music from it more than they do the movie itself. Daddy will have a fit, he doesn't care for the songs, but they don't bother me, there are definitely worse things. LOL




This is getting her to try another bite of Pineapple, her reaction is not as obvious as the first few bites, but if you watch close you can see her start to pucker up. I think this was either the last or almost last bite of it I got her to take.

And this is her complete opposite reaction after a bite of her peanutbutter and fluff sandwich. She's an all or nothing kind of girl. Oh and yes, the pictures above, she was not thrilled at all with being asked to sit still long enough for a picture with her sister! Not that she didn't want HER picture taken, she just really didn't want to be next to Julia for it... oh my...

***Very first pigtails**

Devyn is constantly playing with her hair. Pulling her curls down to feel how long they are getting and she is fascinated by both my hair and Julia's. She will ever so gently run her fingers through our hair. So last night she came in the bathroom while I was doing Julia's hair and just watched in awe. I said "what? do you want me to do your hair like Sissy's?" her reply "Yeah!" LOL. So here you go, two of the tiniest pigtails ever. She kept them in long enough to go shopping and out to dinner, but took one out on the way home, so thankfully we got these few pictures before we left. :)

H@ppy Birthday Devyn!!

We kept things pretty simple for Devyn's birthday party tonight, but trust me, we still had a great time. Our neighbor came over and joined us for dinner with her girls, (McDonald's to keep things simple), then we did presents and finished off with cake and ice cream! Devyn's had a bit of a hard time settling down for sleep tonight(rare for her) from all the excitement I guess, but she seemed to have a good time. The cake was funny, she just wanted to reach for the whole thing instead of blowing out any candles and Mama had to quickly blow them out just before little miss reached for the flame. LOL. Inquisitive she most definitely is! She had a couple of favorite toys right away tonight, her Tinkerbell doll and her Ariel costume. Yes, Aunt, she is most definitely a princess in training!

She has had a rough couple of weeks with being sick and then rashes, but we hope that is all behind us and it barely slowed her down at all, even when she was sick. But still we all know it's no fun being sick. So glad she seems to be through it. Devyn has certainly come a long way in the short 2 months she's been home with us. Every day she is opening up more and saying a bit more. Her vocabulary is getting better by the minute it seems, and she seems to be settling in pretty good now. She has even consented to a few kisses from Julia and is definitely freer with them for Mama and Daddy now. Hugs,well I've even gotten a few of those this week, as with everything else, it must be HER idea. She is an independent little thing. We love her bunches.

More pics and videos are at Dropshots, you'll have to excuse any of Mama that leaked in, it was a very long day for Mama getting things ready, and Miss Julia barely slept at all last night, which of course means, neither did Mama and Daddy. Sure hope tonight is better.

At the Be@ch

Silly girl.





Doesn't she look like she is dancing with the waves?? That's how she looked to me:)









Kisses for Daddy and finding her reflection in his sunglasses.






Okay, so I know I take a lot of beach pictures, but hey if you lived here, wouldn't you?? Today was actually the first time we've taken Devyn all the way to the water. She did not know what to think! Man, she wasn't letting go of Daddy for anything there for awhile, but she was curious enough to keep checking it out. LOL. Julia on the other hand, this child was born to live at the beach. She absolutely loves the water and we will have to go back swimming with her soon. She wanted to take her dress off and just get in. We didn't let her of course. I think that she, like me, could just sit and watch the water for hours.

There was a storm moving in as we were leaving, couldn't resist a few shots of that either. :)

It took a little doing, but after a few tries, I got the rest of the photos loaded at Dropshots. Be sure to check them out. We were only at the beach for a little while, but any time there is always refreshing for all of us.

B@th time fun

I don't usually post bath pictures, but since this was the girls first bath together and there are a lot of bubbles, I'm going to make an exception and add just a couple. They definitely had a good time.