The Mueller Tribune

Hi Everyone! Well it has been a little over 2 years since I have even looked at this site. Boy have things changed. I was just reading the last update and my excitement for how smart the girls were as they quickly approached the 2 year mark. As you can see from the photo, the girls are in school now.

They are in Preschool 3s now. They absolutely LOVE school. I hope they continue this love as I did when I was growing up. The girls will be 4 years old soon. I feel like they know more than I did at their age. They can count to 20 (sometimes up to 10 in Spanish), they know all of their colors and shapes (octagon anyone?) and Juls knows all of her letters. They both can draw the first letter of their names and Juls is learning how to draw other letters: H, I, T. They know a lot of animals and little details about them. They are constantly asking questions.

They are just your regular Chatty Cathy dolls now. Its none stop. Their vocabulary will make you think they are much older than they actually are. They make me laugh every day. Their memory is incredible. They NEVER forget anything. They will also rat you out in a heart beat lol.

They have been participating in gymnastics for the last 2 years and they also have done soccer this past summer. They really enjoy gymnastics and are constantly doing forward rolls whenever they can. Juls will also occasionally do a handstand on the couch.

They have wonderful imaginations and are constantly playing restaurant, dressing up, making up stories with their dolls and toys. These girls are endless balls of energy and I wouldn't want it any other way. Need some entertainment? They can entertain you for hours. Be prepared to feel exhausted haha

It's been quite a busy summer, which is why I haven't been able to keep up with the website. As the girls quickly approach the 2 year mark, they continue to amaze us with their abilities and personalities. I am just in awe as to how smart Juliana is. She understands the simplest commands, whether it's to stay where she is or to go throw something away. Olivia continues to play pretend and is eager to get those around her to join in.

The both know how funny they are and will continue to do things to make any adult around them laugh. Both girls absolutely LOVE to read, which I am so thrilled about. It helps that they are around an almost 3 year old several times a week, because they learn from him. My girls are obsessed with the alphabet. They may only know a few letters, and pretty much call all other letters "A, B, E, O" but they are just fascinated by them.  

They girls are also big helpers around the house. Every week when I bring home groceries, they will help unload the bags and put items away. (Let's see how long this lasts haha)

We are so blessed to have these two girls. Hearing from everyone that meets them about how happy our girls are just makes us so proud. Our girls love to meet people, and definitely love being the center of attention (wonder where they get that from lol).

Recently in the past few weeks, Ive noticed the girls have learned how to play "pretend." I wasn't sure how early this imagination type skill would develop but I realized my girls have begun. It usually involves their kitchen set. Besides the usual stirring with a spoon in a bowl, they would pretend there was food there and they would bring the spoon to their mouth and pretend to eat. It's really beyond cute. They would even share with me on the occasion. They also have begun walking their little bath toys along the tub edge as if these little toys were actually walking. Childhood can be so much fun.

As the girls approach 9 months tomorrow they still continue to amaze us. Olivia is all over the place with the crawling. She also is able to pull herself up and is contanstly exploring this "new world" of hers. Juliana is very content in simply rolling where she needs to go or scooting on her tooshie. They are just constantly happy about everything. They crack us up. I can't believe 1 year is this close.

As you know we took the girls to the beach for the first time. New things can be overwhelming for babies. I can honestly say my girls behaved well, slept well and ate well. That had the occasional temper tantrum but nothing miserable or out of the ordinary. They swam in pools, played on the beach and went on the boardwalk with us at night. On Sunday evening our whole group went to dinner at a nice italian restaurant and I can honestly say I was impressed with the girls' exceptional behavior. Besides the occasional "talking" they did, they behaved so well and mostly kept to themselves and played. This was our first "real" restaurant outing with them. They even sat in highchairs (such big girls!). I don't count previous outings to Z Burger and Red Robin (girls stayed in their stroller and/or car seats at those locations). I am blessed to have such good babies.

Olivia has finally joined her sister and couldn't have been prouder. Momma has two sitting babies on her hands. 

So excited to say that Juliana was able to sit up for the first time last night and actually stay put!!!  The look on her face was priceless. She had her binkie in her mouth and once she realized she was doing it without my hand on her back she dropped the binkie and smiled from ear to ear.

The girls were baptized today at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Perry Hall. The ceremony was during mass and the girls did so well. They weren't bothered by the water and they never fussed during service. I couldn't be prouder.

I am thrilled to announce that the godparents for my girls are as follows:

Olivia
Lisa Mueller (Eric's sister)
Tom Mueller (Eric's brother)

Juliana
Sandy Biscotti (my aunt)
Matt Chmielewski (my best friend of 26 years) 

Juls and Liv are back to their normal happy-go-lucky selves, just in time for father's day this weekend :) I am looking forward to celebrating.

I have some really exciting news! Juliana sat up on her own today...twice!!!! It wasn't for a long period of time but she did it. I had her sitting next to me on the couch, facing towards me, my hand on her back. I slowly moved my hand away and Juls stayed put! She eventually fell over but we did it again and she again stayed put. Unfortunately it wasn't long enough to get out the camera. 

We have gradually started introducing the girls to more and more public situations (also known as "potential embarrassing parent moments"). We've done parties, restaurants, church and I even took them to the dentist with me. They amaze us by how well they behave each time. They take their surroundings in and rarely cause a scene. Mommy and Daddy appreciate this very much. Most parents can't even say they have one child that's good and we can say we have two 5 month old angels.

So now that Olivia can roll over -- she decided to keep rolling yesterday. She went from back to belly to back. She probably would have kept going if she didn't roll right into her sister.

Now that Liv mastered the back to belly roll she never wants to stop. She even refuses to sleep on her back, always on her side. She will even try and roll in a reclined rocking bed (as portrayed in this picture). Olivia is nutty.🙃

I took the girls to visit my grandparents today. My pop is currently staying at a rehab center for numerous health issues. Well just seeing his face light up when he saw the girls come in his room was the best feeling. The joy a baby can bring to anyone is just the right medicine he needed. Its always a neat thing when someone can say their great grandparents will still alive when they were born. 

So last night Juliana was laying on the couch next to me, just relaxing. Lately, she has been taken out her binkie with her own hand and just holding it. Well last night she would take it out of her mouth and then try and put it back in. She would pull it further away and then bring it back to see if she could find her mouth. More times than not she was able to find her mouth. Mommy has a smart cookie on her hands!!😀

Olivia finally rolled over. She went from back to belly. Hopefully she will soon be able to roll the other way :) I was glad her father was able to witness it (I wasn't home) since he missed Juliana's first time rolls.