Silly Jilly: Me me me

"Me me me"...that's what Jillian says now when she wants to do something herself. This time, it was feeding herself "gogur" (for those of you who don't speak Jillian, that's yogurt).

Silly Jilly...your gogur face is the cutest face I've ever seen!

While Mommy was Away...

This past week, I had a work trip that I needed to take to McAllen for a program I advise called Aggies Reaching Out (ARO).  Julian and I have known about this trip since before we had the baby, because I take this trip annually.  I did not have to go last year since Jillian was so little.  But this year, it was time to go again.  We considered a few options, like having my mom come to help or potentially taking Jillian with me.  Ultimately, we decided on having Julian and Jillian spend a fun-filled Daddy-Daughter week together!

To keep everything running smoothly for them, I made lists...

...and left love notes...

...and laid out all of Jillian's outfits and pajamas (labeled by day, each with matching bows)...

...and I stocked the refrigerator with food (already prepared or easy to make).

And this is what happened while I was gone.  My sweet girl wore lots of dresses...with Yankees hats to accessorize (they watched a lot of baseball!).

Overall, Jillian was a happy girl and she and Julian did a great job this week while I was gone.  We get by with a little help from our friends, and so a big thank you to the Malnars and to Cary for helping with after school pick-up a few days!

Daddy makes me smile!!!

I got back on Friday and I could not get to Jillian fast enough!  I just missed her little face so much and it seemed like overnight, she had grown and was talking whole lot more!  

And wouldn't you know it, she says DADA so much more than she says MAMA!  Oh well, after the amazing job that Julian did watching our girl, loving on her, tending to her every need, all while keeping the house neat, and working hard at his job, she can say DADA all she wants.

Great job, DADA!!! We love you so much and hope that you enjoyed your Daddy-Daughter week!

And she's off!

Guess who is walking?!?! It's as if she waited for me to get back in town to start walking! Jillian has taken a few steps here and there, but she has not consistently walked liked she did today! Enjoy this video of our little walker!

Oh Silly Jilly, the little signs of you being a baby are starting to fade as you become our little toddler girl!

Camp Acosta Reunion BBQ

Julian finished the back yard just in time for a BBQ with our favorite students.  Camp Acosta had a BBQ Reunion at our house last Sunday! 

I don't think I have ever blogged about Camp before, so here is a little bit of back story.  In 2010, I was blessed to become a Namesake for Fish Camp 2010.  Here is a little bit about Fish Camp:

Fish Camp welcomes the Freshman class to Texas A&M each year with the purpose of giving them an opportunity to have fun, make friends, and learn more about life at Texas A&M. Fish Camp is led by Texas A&M students who are passionate about making the first year of college a success for the freshmen! 

Fish Camp is divided into seven sessions and within each session there are six camps. Each camp is named after an individual that has contributed to Texas A&M in a positive way. Fish Camp receives several hundred nominations for potential Namesakes every year. Being selected as a Fish Camp Namesake is considered an honor because Namesakes have the opportunity to interact with and impact not only 24 counselors and 2 co-chairs, but also up to 150 freshmen in their camp.

So I am the proud Namesake of Fish Camp 2010 Session A Yellow Camp Acosta!  Being a namesake has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career (and personal life, too).  I was honored to have a group of 2 co-chairs and 24 counselors bear my name as they provided an introduction to the Aggie Family for freshmen in my camp!

Even now, 2 years later, Julian and I still keep in contact with this amazing group of students.  They were a part of our Acosta family and the first to bear our name, even before we had Jillian!  Now, we keep in contact by sending emails almost daily and by having reunions.

Rockin' our Acosta tanks

It's always a good time when we see these guys!  They are so full of energy, they have the best stories, and they remind me of the true value of being a part of the Aggie family.  I hope they each know how blessed we are by having them in our lives.  And I hope they know that some day, I hope our daughter grows up to be just like them all in some way!

The Acostas with our co-chairs, Courtney and Austin

FOREVER I LOVE ACOSTA

DIY: Back Yard Patio - Part 3

Julian finished the back yard patio!  After pouring all the concrete and letting it dry, he painted all the slabs with grey paint.  This serves to seal in the concrete and help it look better.

And then he went through and put dirt in between each slab and filled in with sod.  

It took Julian all day Sunday and he was exhausted after clearing out the dirt and wood piles that were in our back yard.  But he finished it all in time for us to have a BBQ at our house (post coming soon). 

Julian, you did an amazing job with this outdoor project and I am so happy that we have such a fun place to spend our summer nights!  I love you so much and I am sure that others would agree that you did good!

Now let the back yard fun begin!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

And we're crossing another one off the list...we took Jillian to her FIRST EVER YANKEES GAME!

Julian and Jillian outside the Ballpark in Arlington

Now if only our teams would win when we go see them, that would be great...I digress...

Last week, we had the opportunity to go up to Dallas to see a Yankees/Rangers game.  It was a gorgeous day in Arlington.  We got to the park a little early and watched batting practice.  We had great seats that were in left field, about 3 rows back.

Jillian was pretty clueless about the game going on.  She just had a great time people watching and climbing up and down in the seats.  We were very fortunate that all the people who were sitting around us kept their language in check and kept commenting on how cute she was. 

Yes, even the Ranger fans had to admit that she was still the cutest baby there with her little Yankees shirt!

Once the game started, we all had a great time taking in the sights and sounds of the game.  It was a lot of fun and Jillian was a great baby throughout the entire game.  We would take her to walk around every once in awhile or she would just sit in our laps, clapping when we would clap for the Yanks!

Mommy, I want my wow-wow to watch the game too!

We had such a great time in Dallas, even if it was a quick trip...and even though the Yankees didn't win this one.  There is still a long season ahead, with many more ups and downs.  We still had a great time "AT THE OLD BALL GAMMMMMMMMMMME!"

A quick, but sad follow up...

We are deeply saddened by the news of Mariano Rivera injury.  He is truly the Greatest Closer of All Time.  Last night was rough in the Casa de Acosta as we watched the Yanks let another opportunity to win slip away.  But the loss paled in comparison to the thought that Mo went down with a potential career-ending injury.  Julian and I had the privilege to watch Mariano play at Yankee Stadium in 2009.  I pray for his physical and emotional recovery, that the Yanks find strength in their bullpen, but most of all, I pray that we have not seen Mo's last pitch!

Happy 15 Months, Jillian!

Happy 15 months, Jilly Bear!  It has been 3 months since the last update, and so I thought I would update everyone on all the new fun things about little Miss Jillian!

Hi everybody! Long time no see!

Jillian is: a handful, y'all!!!  We have decided to start taking away her binky to where she only gets it at night after bath as she is getting ready for bed, and then we take it away at breakfast.  Sometimes, she gets it back at nap time, but other times, she has to make do with only her "wow wow." I can honestly say that we have seen more of "crabby patty," fit-throwing Jilly.  Just have to keep telling myself "This, too, shall pass!"

Jillian is also on the verge of walking.  She has taken a few steps here and there, but she is not completely walking yet.  I know any day now, she is going to gain and maintain the confidence to walk.  And then she'll be even more of a handful!!!

I'm getting so big!!!

Jillian does: lots of fun stuff.  They are doing a great job at her school teaching her fun songs that she likes to sing and dance to.  She also loves FaceTime with our family that lives far away.  She will go up to the iPad and push the button for FaceTime.  I ask her if she want to talk to cousin Lauren, and she says yes! 

I love reading books, especially my Abby book!

Jillian eats: mainly stuff with cheese, like quesadillas and mac n cheese.  She also really loves beans...like a good little (half) Mexican girl!  She is a little bit of a picky eater, but with parents like me and Julian, I am not surprised about this at all.

Clearly I don't sit still for pictures these days

Jillian says: lots of cute stuff.  She babbles often, but there are a few words she is great at: bow (which she says FIRST thing in the morning so that you put a bow in her hair) bye, hi, more (as in, give me more food), bubbles, no no no, wow wow (her stuffed animal Lady dog), and baby.  She has started saying the names of some of her friends at school (A-cus for Atticus, Rara for Clara, and a few others).  And one of her absolute favorite words right now is "Abby."  She just LOVES Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street...reading her Abby book, brushing her teeth with her Abby toothpaste, eating out of her Abby bowl, and watching videos of Abby on YouTube!

But my personal favorite thing is that in the past month, she has started saying mama and dada intentionally and often.  My heart seriously melted the first time she said "mama" after I had gotten home from work late one Monday night.  It made my long day completely worth it and I really paused to think about how I had waited my whole life for someone to call me that!!!  And much to Julian's delight, 3 days later she started saying "dada" too.  :)

Best.Words.Ever. Now if only she said mama and dada as often as she says Abby...

It's time to get down and play, Mama!

Jillian has: only 5 teeth, but there is one more coming in on the bottom.  I guess this is a good thing because we never get "incident report forms" saying Jilly bit someone...even though we get them often to say that she got bit by another kid :(

Yay yay yay

Jillian will: forever and always light up our lives.  She is honestly the best thing that ever happen to Julian and me.  It is absolutely amazing to watch her learn and grow.  We cherish every moment with her and eagerly anticipate what the next day holds in store as we love on our Jilly Bear!

Happy 15 months, Jillian!

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:)