Aiden Cracks Up

I love rocking my kiddos to sleep each night. Giggle boxes are bound to turn over come bedtime. Here's Aiden doing his absolute belly-laugh at his Mommy sneezing as I am rocking him before bed tonight! Hysterical!

What did you just call your brother???

This one just sprang out of the blue at dinner tonight. It was all I could do to maintain a straight face and get Juliana to say it again so I could get it on video. Enjoy!

All Ready for Sunday School

Juliana loves going to "Jungle Journey" at TSBC and Aiden loves his Sunday School class! Here they are all dressed up yesterday morning. Juliana loved wearing her first "big girl" headband!

Happy Birthday Aiden

Seems like yesterday you were making your grand enterance into the world and now here you are one year old. I said it then and I say it now..."I Love You More Than Anything!" Happy Birthday, Aiden!

The Princess Speaks - Words of Wisdom

Just say...
I stump my toe, "damn it", I mutter under my breath. I break a plate, yup, you know that I mumble...and the list goes on. Until a few says ago, I really jammed my toe...hurt so bad, I was rendered momentarily nonverbal. While I was sitting there trying not to cry, Juliana comes up to me and says, "Just say damn it, Mommy." You can bet I'm not mumbling anything anymore.

Just another day at Target...
"Mommy, I got boobs."
"No Juliana, you do not have boobs."
"Yes I do. Right here. I got boobs."
"Juliana, stop talking about boobs."
"Okay, I'll have boobs when I get bigger."
"Maybe. If you're lucky, you'll have boobs. If not, I'll buy you some for graduation."
"Okay, Mommy will buy me big boobs when I get bigger."
"Juliana....puh-leez stop talking about boobs."

The Confession
Juliana should have been Catholic instead of good ole Southern Baptist. She confesses everything, even stuff I don't really need to know, even stuff that didn't happen.
"I smacked Rylee." (no she didn't)
"I played in Mommy's room."
"I broke the tassle in Sister's room."
So last night, after talking on the phone with Grandma, Juliana says to me, "Mommy, I'm making you a priest." And I thought, "Good luck with that one, little girl!" But instead I said, "Oh really, how am I a priest?" "I confess it all to you, Mommy!" "Good, you better keep it that way, baby."

The Princess Speaks (again)

So I cleaned out Aiden's diaper genie yesterday. Perhaps it was a day or two overdue and had a bit of an odor....okay, so it was rank. I mean, come on though! I just opened a blame diaper pail...whaddya expect...roses??? But what I did not expect was my ever so linguistic 4-year-old to come running in there, curl up her nose, and say, "My house stinks like a bathroom!" and then chant it sing-song style the rest of the evening. I am so looking forward to her going to preschool and announcing THAT at circle time!!!

Surprise Papa...Its Your Juliana!!!

In a North Dakota airport a little girl gets off the plane, runs to her Papa and says, "Surprise Papa, its your Juliana!" And so the memory began...a Papa and his grandbaby...together.

With some friends, a rodeo, and a 4th of July barbeque, they play the weekend away.

But in the end, all the fun aside, it comes down to a little girl that says..."Look! I got my Papa!"

My Heart Aches

Juliana is in North Dakota with Grandma visiting her Papa for the next couple of days. Though I am thrilled they are getting to spend time together, my heart aches. The house is too quiet, I haven't tripped on a naked Barbie doll all day long, and there is no "Princess Milk" to be made. Ever missed someone so much it made your stomach clinch?

Summers Are For...Mommy Time!

I don't know who enjoys "Mommy Time" more, me or them. Juliana usually wants to cuddle up in my lap and watch tv while Aiden wants me to get in the floor and tussle with him. Either way...its all summer fun!

Monkey Boy

Check out the tushie! Is it not fitting for my "monkey boy" here???

A Boy's Best Friend Is His...DOG!

Meet "Sophie". Sophie was originally my mother's puppy until Juliana claimed her. Now Sophie has claimed Aiden. I don't know which is funnier...Aiden and Sophie playing Hide 'n Seek or when Aiden slaps Sophie and Sophie raises a paw and smacks him back! Today I caught myself saying, "Aiden, Sophie...no, no. Nice hands...I mean PAWS!"

A Sibling Summer

This summer has really been something special so far. With Juliana being 4 and Aiden at 10 months, they have really bonded and become such great playmates for eachother. Juliana says, "I want my baby bruver to come play with me"and Aiden cries for Juliana to get on the floor with him. They love playing "kitchen" together, banging on the copper shoe bin by the front door, and playing "keep away" with Juliana's Barbies...all ingredients for a perfect summer!

Ready...Set...Go!!!

Yesterday Morning: I had just poured my second cup of morning coffee when I turned around to see my precious baby, Aiden, doing this...

Of course I grabbed my camera and snapped away but a small part of me was momentarily sad. My sweet little baby has taken yet another step toward being a big boy and not needing his "ma-ma-ma" as much as he did just yesterday.

Now then...all self-reflection aside, look at the GRIN on this child's face!!! He is seriously proud of himself! Check out the video below...

Do You Believe In DISNEY?

Juliana believes...I mean truly BELIEVES...in fairies, pixie dust, mermaids at the bottom of the ocean, and magic carpets. So as we headed off to Disneyworld, she had it all planned out check-list style with her eyes the size of plates and her heart full of wonder. Grandma kept Baby Aiden and off we went for 5 days!

Juliana loved her first parade! Here she is cheering with the best of them. She was just so happy...Disneyworld truly is the "Happiest Place On Earth". I look at this and "my heart runneth over".

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Aiden's Antics

"Noogie-Noogie"...this is Aiden's latest game. I simply say, "Aiden, wanna play Noogie-Noogie?" and begin shaking my head from side to side and Aiden immediately places his forehead against mine and begins shaking his head back 'n forth too. Such fun!

"Nuh-Nuh-Nuh"...Aiden's going for the electrical cord. "No, No, No Aiden." Aiden sits back on his cute little tushie, looks at me and says, "Nuh, Nuh, Nuh," while shaking his head and then head backs for the cord with a big ole grin on his face. "Aiden, No, No, No." Repeat sequence, over, and over, and over.

"Rub My Head"...a few weeks ago I was rubbing Aiden's head while he was having a cracker-snack, just loving on him. So when I stopped, Aiden reached up and patted his own head and grabbed my hand, pulling it toward him. If that wasn't saying "Don't stop, Mom!" I don't know what is. Even now, Aiden regularly pats his head and grabs my hand...Yup, Sir Aiden is needing his head rubbed!

The Princess Speaks

"WE'RE GONNA STARVE!!!" Juliana announces sing-song style from the backseat as my mother and I go back 'n forth over where to eat dinner last night. I laughed all the way to Outback!

A Walk In The Park

Awwwww....I got my BFF!

Having a drink with my buddy Michael

Two CUTE little tushies!

Aiden's Latest Fascination

Yup...its a rubber hose. What in the world???

All in the Name of Love

Juliana and Michael are big buddies. They both adore eachother...to the point of injury. Here's a pic of Juliana's chin after she fell out of her chair at the mall today because she was in such a race to get to go potty with Michael. Note to Juliana: make sure your feet aren't caught in the back of the chair next time. Poor Michael was so worried about his friend that he cried with her. Got to love 'em though...Michael calls Juliana "My Girl" and she calls him "My Michael"...awwww.

Juliana Jammin' to the Doodle-Bops

Don't ya wish we could all let loose and dance like this???

My Juliana-Shake

I can't tell you how many folks have asked me why I call Juliana "My Juliana-Shake". Well, I agree that its not your typical term of endearment, but it means something to us. When I adopted Juliana at 9 months old and we were still in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, Juliana and I liked to dance together. I would sing James Brown's "I Feel Good" and we'd boogie-woogie. Her favorite part was when I held her arms and shook her a bit. She's squeal at the top of her lungs and throw her head back and erupt with laughter. So one day after just giving her a bottle, my mother commented that I was "making a milkshake" as we were dancing together. So from there on out "Juliana-Shake" became her pet name. So here we are near 4 years later...she's still "My Juliana-Shake" and we're still shaking our booties together.

Aiden - 9 months, Juliana - 4 years

"I love my baby BRUVER!"




Juliana...making Mama proud by "sitting pretty". Aiden...wanting his pacie back!

Aiden on the Go!

Catch me if you can!!! PS - Don't I look stylin' in my new caps?

I got MY Ed

Ed and Betty Coon are family friends...more family than friends. And putting it mildly, Juliana adores Ed, or "My Ed" as she fondly calls him. Well Juliana, we think he's pretty great too!

Splish-Splash

Splish-Splash Aiden's taking a bath!!!

Son...did you just???

I knew Aiden has got some hefty stomach muscles. Trying to change that boy's diaper is about like trying to dress a cat! But when I looked over into the den just a moment ago, I was dumb-founded. Aiden is doing a sit-up ("Look Mom, no hands!") with his toy basket on top of him! I grabbed my camera and managed to get this shot as he was almost up. This child is looking (and acting!) more and more like my father, Robert, every single day!

Eyes of Wonder

I hate bugs. I mean, I truly despise them! In fact, the Orkin man and I are on a first-name basis. So when Juliana recently became fascinated with Mayflies, I secretly cringed on the inside as I faked my own excitment about her new discovery on the outside. But then she asks the unspeakable... "Mommy, I want one. Got get it for me, please." Phobias or no, you can bet I launched myself into a Mayfly-catching mission right then and there . So there I am trooping myself up and down our bushes (with my skin just absolutely crawling, mind you) trying to catch a blame bug! The look of wonder in Juliana's eyes as I handed her the gummie-bear jar with her very own Mayfly in it made every heebie-jeebie worth while. (should have washed the jar out first though...was kinda sticky in there for the poor guy...whoops!)

Gammaw's Special Talent

"Gammaw", as Juliana calls her, has got a special talent. Doesn't matter how riled-up one of the kids are, doesn't matter if they just woke up from a nap...the minute she gets ahold of one of them, they're out like a light! These two rascals sure do love their Gammaw!!!

All I Ever Wanted Was You...

Orange Beach '09

My dear friend, Brooke, and I farmed out the kids and took off to Orange Beach for my birthday this year. We had a great time sleeping late, sitting on the beach, and shopping!

"Mommy, Barbie's hair is all wet!"

In the Atchison house, we are always learning something new. On this day, when Juliana was 3 years old, we learned that you can put 11 Barbies, 2 My Little Ponies, and 2 cardboard books in the potty before it will overflow. Juliana headed straight to the bath after this incident. She looks so precious in hair-rollers!

Here's Aiden just yesterday playing in his bouncer. Such a HAPPY baby!

Aiden's Adventure

Seriously...the ultrasound technician might as well of said I was having a puppy that day when she typed "b-o-y" when I was 5 months pregnant. As soon as Aiden made his grand enterance on July 29, 2008 at 9:04 pm all was clear though. He's my little Prince Charming. I've never known an 8 month old that could belly laugh like he can.

Juliana's Journey

"Once upon a time in a far away land there lived a little baby girl. And her name was....Juliana. Well Juliana had a problem. She needed a mommy. Well, there was a mommy and she had a problem. She needed a baby. So Mommy got on the airplane and flew all the way to Kazakhstan. Then she went to the Baby House and she saw a little baby. And the baby's name was...Juliana. Mommy got all excited and screamed, "That's my baby! That's my Juliana!" So Mommy scooped up Juliana and brought her home. And they lived together happily...ever...after. The End "

As simple as that story may be, it is Juliana's fairytale that she loves for me to tell her. And it is my fairytale as well...she's my dream come true, my happily ever after. The 9month old baby in the orphanage is a 4 year old princess now, complete with Barbies, tiaras, and a spit-fire personality!