DOVE FAMILY

Those of you who know Julia know how shy she can get.  Many times she won't even look at you, talk to you or even give you a high-five. She will just look at you with her big brown eyes and wait for mom or dad to talk on her behalf.  Sometimes if you ask her about food she will nod her head for yes or shake her head for no (a girl has to eat)....but most of the time she won't talk to you if she doesn't really know you.   She is very selective on who she talks to and she isnt doing it because she is a snoot...it just takes her a bit longer to gain your trust. However, once you have Julia's trust, she becomes your best friend immediately.  She is kind of like her Mamma in that manner....it's all about trust.  This school year was a big growth year for her.  Dave and I along with her teachers were very skeptic about her standing infront of so many people at gradtuaion, introducing herself and saying her name and having to sing songs infront of people 30 people she doesn't know.   She practiced each night saying her name, practiced her courtsey and practiced her smile. She even got some encouraging words from her big brother "It's no big deal Julia, all you have to do is say your name and courtesy then you can go to lunch!"(remember Matthew's graduation??)

 The big graduation day came and she did wonderfully!  She sang so loud and I can't say it enough- we are so so produd of her for gaining the confidence and strength to do this infront of so many people.   After graduation, we took her, Lola and Grammy to the mall for some retail therapy where she wore her gradutation cap proudly and ate up all the attention from on-lookers and other shoppers.  Her lunch pick was Cheesecake Factory and boy was it yummy!  With ended the afternoon with the Oreo Extreme Cheesecake. 

She is doing more growing this year as she will attend summer camp with Matthew- which is very different from daycare.  All this growth, confidence and learning is just the stepping stones to Kindergarten, grade school, middle school, high school and college....life!  Such a beautiful and sweet girl, independent, funny, has a huge personality, loyal to those she trusts and we are so proud of her!

Her teacher just put her cap on and she is waiting patiently to line up

She just processed into the pavillion and found her name on the floor.

Receiving her "diploma" from the daycare center's owner

Proud Lola and Grammy

Proud Mamma and Daddy- yes Matthew is missing as he had to go to school

Oh yea- its my graduation, I want Cheesecake Factory woot woot!

Lights out baby-- exhausted, tired and full of sugar from the Oreo Cheesecake

I had to commemorate this special day with a picture-- this was my mom's very first baseball game here in the U.S.!  It was a HOT day and the game was really long- much longer than some of the other games we went to but mom did great and I think she had a good time- at least that's what she told us...We intend to take her to her first Major League Baseball game very soon!

I have always loved the Orioles.  I remember going to watch them play at memorial Stadium so so long ago....I couldn't wait to take the kids to their very first Orioles game at Camden yards.  One night after work, Dave surprised us all with tickets to the game.  Who cares if it was a school/work night- we were going to an O's game!  The kids were jumping for joy and they were hustling to get their shoes on, go potty and grab their O's gear!

It was a great game, great seats and we had so much fun.  Both kids wanted to stay until the end of course and although it was a super late night for a weeknight- we had a blast.  We met some great people while eating our dinner, we even had some Nationals fans sitting in our section.  We can't wait to go back!

My favorite picture- classic Camden Yards entrance....

PLEASE?  I know that its 9:00 on a school night but can I have some ice cream?  PRETTY PLEASE?!

This was taken around the 8th inning...it was a late night!

The sun started to set right before the game.   Trying to get some batting practice balls!

Julia sticking with gymnastics was a big deal for us.  I know she is only 4 years old and she has no clue what she wants to do or be when she grows up...but she has tried both soccer and ballet and disliked them both very much.  She cried at every practice and game for soccer.  She cried while dribbling the ball, she cried when she got her uniform and she really didn't care about the trophy.  Ballet was the same- more crying although the tutu and shoes were absolutely adorable- she was not happy about ballet.  She kind of liked Rolly POllies- but not really.

When she came home from daycare and asked if we could sign her up for gymnastics we were very skeptical at first.  We didn't want to spend anymore money on an activity that she hated, didn't want to attend or attend and cry at for the whole 45 minutes!  However, she continued to talk about it, she promised she would do it and here we were....6 months later!   She did cry for the first 5 minutes of her first gymnastics class but ever since then it has been smooth sailing. She looks forward to going to class, she is excited about all the new things she learns and the best thing- she is happy and wants to go back!  Her brother was so proud of her becuase he knew the fear Julia had about trying new things and he was there supporting her, clapping and cheering for her at each event.

At the end of this session, her teachers hosted an Olympics event.  Parents are allowed to enter the gym and watch their children complete different routines on different apparatus'.  It was amazing to see how much she grew in just 6 months, her skills, her fear was gone and she gained so much confidence.  Who knows what she will want to do next Fall, she may evn hate gymnastics next year, she may want to try dance, she may want to try pottery, art or music.  Whatever it is we will support her all the way..