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!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Atchison's Journey blogspot. I hope you enjoy the amazing story of my two little miracles, Juliana and Aiden. They make me laugh every single day and even after almost 4 years, I am still amazed that they are mine! Blessings, Meredith