Wednesday, June 30, 2010

julianna and ginny


girls afternoon out

Julianna is wearing another new outfit today. She has sooooo many cute clothes thanks to hand-me-downs and baby shower gifts... and her mommy's bad shopping habit. After we took these pics, we met Charity for lunch at San Felipe for some girl time. Julianna fought her sleep but eventually passed out in my arms at the table. Then we went over to Burke's Outlet to buy a fitted crib sheet. I picked that out then Charity spotted this super cute pink polka-dotted giraffe. So I showed it to Julianna, she grabbed for it, then stuck it in her mouth so needless to say we had to purchase it. Her slobber was allllll over that thing! That was the first time she's ever reached for or grabbed a stuffed animal. Her new giraffe's name is Ginny. I think they'll be friends for a long time!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

got my shades on

Before Julianna was born, I bought her a pair of sunglasses at Target. I don't leave the house without mine because my eyes are so sensitive to sunlight so I had to get her some. Well, she got to try them on for the first time today. They are still a little big but they're soooo adorable on her. She's rockin' these shades!

i love coupons!


all of these groceries were $30.02. oh, how i LOVE coupons!!
lowes foods: total savings of $12.50
harris teeter: total savings $52.74

Monday, June 28, 2010

happy 2 year anniversary, mom and dad from JuJu!

thank you for making me exactly one year ago today!

shake it girl!

Josh recorded this video of Julianna on Saturday night while I was at the concert. This was the first time she's ever held and shaken her rattle by herself. Baby is doing big girl stuff!

walkin' down memory lane...

Josh's dad posted the picture above on facebook. It's Josh's dad with him and his twin brother after they were born almost 26 years ago. I think it's one of the most precious pictures I've ever seen of the three of them together. The picture below is the three of them in January 2009.

happy 2 year anniversary to us!

Today, Josh and I celebrate two years of marriage. I'm so blessed to be married to a wonderful, hard-working, loving, amazing husband. Julianna is so lucky to have him as her father! Happy 2 Year Anniversary to us!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

mommy's first girls night out

Brittney's mom got FREE tickets to the Rascal Flatts concert so Brittney, her mom, Heather, and I went to the concert last night. We had a GREAT time singing along and dancing! Chris Young opened up followed by Kellie Pickler and then Rascal Flatts took the stage.





Friday, June 25, 2010

coupon savings!!

i got all if this...







for $1.76 (+ tax)!!!!

i love shopping with coupons. here's how i got my savings:

tide 64 loads: 10.94 x 2 = $21.88

pampers 72 count wipes: 1.97 x 4 = $7.88

subtotal: $29.76

-2.00 off coupon for pampers wipes x 4

(now here's where the savings get even better)

-10.00 off coupon for crest whitestrips x 2

(you can use those coupons for proctor & gamble brand items that are over $10! this always works in the wal-mart self-checkout line!!!)

-$28.00 for a total of $1.76 (+ tax) for 4 packs of wipes and 2 bottles of laundry detergent!

i call that shopping trip a SUCCESS! oh, how i love coupons!

love this world


Thursday, June 24, 2010

what's happening...


Just checking in to update on what's been happening around the Soto house. First of all, it's been incredibly HOT here so I've very glad that I found a good indoor workout. I'm not taking little Julianna out in 95 degree + humid weather. I started the Jillian Michael's DVD this week and so far, so good. You can keep up with my weightloss journal on my other blog: http://hotmommysoto.blogspot.com/.

A week from today will be Josh's last day at his current job. He is soooo ready for a change of scenery. I'm thankful that he won't have to work in this heat all summer long. It's already been really tough on him.

I'll be going on my first girls night out since Julianna was born on Saturday evening! Brittney and her mom invited me and our friend Heather to go to the Rascal Flatts (with Kellie Pickler and Chris Young) concert in Charlotte on Saturday. I'm so excited!!

Little Julianna is changing and doing new things everyday! This morning she was staring hard at herself in the mirror above her playmat. She couldn't get enough of herself! She was also trying to roll over from her back to her tummy. And then this afternoon, she had an obsession with lifting her dress up... not sure if this is a good obsession but it's cute at 3 months old!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Josh's First Father's Day

We had a busy weekend! We helped out at my family's store on Saturday morning and then we went to Dylan's 1st birthday party. It was fun watching him tear into his presents and enjoy his cake. He's such a cutie! We also celebrated Josh's very first Father's Day yesterday. I am so thankful to have Josh as the father of my daughter. He's a GREAT daddy! Julianna gave Josh a beautiful smile right before church (see picture below). Overall, we had a great weekend!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

her hair is falling out!

Well, our little Julianna is FINALLY losing some of that hair that has covered her arms and back since she was born. She's starting to look like like a furry little monkey baby and more like a little girl! While I was drying her off after her bath last night, the hair was just coming right off as I wiped her skin with the towel (wish the hair on my legs would do that--I could save so much time shaving). The hair on her head is thinning out too. She has a few bald spots but I have a feeling that when it comes back it, it'll be even darker since Josh and I both have such dark hair.

Julianna is now officially in size 0-3 months. She's outgrown all of her newborn clothes. Our little peanut is getting big(ger)!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

3 months old today!

HAPPY 3 MONTHS to Julianna Hope!

Julianna is 3 months old. It's so hard to believe that my little lucky charm was born 3 months ago! Time flies when you're having so much fun! She found her feet this week and she thought they we're just the coolest thing. The three of us were headed to Greensboro to do some shopping and Josh saw her staring down. She watched her feet and got really excited when she kicked them. It was adorable!

I had to go to work today. I'm working on the third grade curriculum for 3 days. It's good to get back into teaching related activities (+ the extra money is nice). I've missed it and it's much better now because we I get done--I get to see my Julianna! I'm thrilled that I have a career that I love (most of the time) and I also have the BEST job in the world, being a mommy! Life is good!

As for the good news I was referring to last week, it's official and I can really announce it. Josh got a new job! He's going to the director of safety for Unifi, Inc. This job means a lot of things-- better pay, more "normal" work hours, indoors, and more time with family! We are so thankful that God answered our prayers. Josh put in his 2-week notice at his current job today and he'll begin at Unifi on July 7. Now, we can relax!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

a day with the mini sotos

yesterday, i spent the day with not one, but two mini sotos! it was definitely an exciting day. i'm so used to being just with julianna and i didn't realize how calm my house is with just a 3 month old. add a 1 year old to the picture and that equals a lot more excitement! we talked, we laughed, we danced, we ate, we slept (a little bit), and they cried. when shandi came to pick up her micro mini monster (dylan) she brought me lots of formula samples. she's an awesome sister-in-law!! thank you, shandi!!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

video from the changing table

what we're up to and pictures

Hi there! Life has been pretty exciting even after our beach trip! I can't say exactly what happened ('cause I'm not sure who's reading this) but GOD ANSWERED OUR PRAYERS! We are so incredibly thankful! I'm so proud of my husband!

I also went to my first day back to school yesterday. No kids there but it was the last teacher workday. I had so much paperwork, organizing, cleaning, etc. to do. I was there from 7:30am-4pm and still didn't quite finish everything. I'll have to take the little one with me on Monday to wrap everything up. So Josh got to play "Mr. Mom" while I was at school and he has decided that he could never be a stay-at-home daddy. I told him it was a lot of work! I couldn't be a full-time stay-at-home mom either. I have throughly enjoyed being at home with Julianna but I felt so much excitement when I came home yesterday. It made me appreciate my time with her so much more. It will be hard to go back to work in August but I know I can do it. I'll have something to look forward to at the end of everyday--seeing my beautiful daughter! (and my amazing husband, of course)
Enjoy some Soto pictures now. The pictures of just Julianna are from Thursday when I was singing the Star Spangled Banner to her. She really loved it! She's going to be a patriotic baby girl!


Thursday, June 10, 2010

back from the beach

Josh, Julianna, and I made it safely back home last night from our amazing beach trip with the family. We rented a HUGE condo in North Myrtle Beach. It had 7 bedrooms and 5 and half bathrooms, 2 living rooms, dining room, kitchen, laundry room... the works! It was very nice! It was really fun getting together with all of Josh's family for vacation.

Julianna had a great time too! She went on the beach and in the water for the very first time. It was so hot that Julianna only stayed for about 30 minutes on Sunday, 30 minutes on Monday, and 30 minutes on Tuesday. She had her very own little sun protection tent.



On the first night there, Ashley's boyfriend Derrick proposed on the beach!!! What an awesome way to start vacation! Josh and I are so happy for Ashley and Derrick. Also, Dylan turned one year old on Tuesday! He also took many steps on Wednesday right before we left. Such excitement!!

We had an amazing trip and just didn't want it to end but the real world was calling! Also, enjoy the video below of Julianna's first serenade!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

photo fun








strawberry kool-aid waffles

josh mixed a strawberry kool-aid packet and chocolate sprinkles in the waffle batter this morning:
now off to the beach we go!!!!

Friday, June 4, 2010

apparently juju is a baseball fan

josh and i met up with our friends, john and amanda to take julianna to her very first baseball game. we went to see the copperheads play at mccrary park. before we left for the game, i was worried that taking her with us was going to be a diaster. pretty much every night between 7pm and 9pm, julianna has her colicky time and nothing will soothe her. this was the time when we would be at the game so i just knew she was going to fuss the whole time. well, i was wrong!!!

i don't believe she let out one cry the entire time we were there (6:40pm-9:40pm)! she was very content- either sleeping or looking around. she must have enjoyed the loud music and all of the other sounds around her. so we'll probably be going to another game soon. we all had a great time... even though the copperheads lost.




now we've got to run errands and finish packing 'cause we're going to the beach tomorrow!!!!