Happy Father's Day!

Aww.... these two melt my heart.

Happy Father's Day!

(Jillian's shirt says, "Daddy Loves Me")   :) 

Support and Prayers for the Souza Family!

I got a call from a friend today because she needed help setting up a blog for a sweet little girl named Taylor.  Taylor is 3 years old, and was diagnosed yesterday with an aggressive form of leukemia.  

Please, use this LINK to visit their site, and let them know you are thinking about them during this difficult time!  www.lovingtaylor.blogspot.com

If you have the means, donate to the family- Taylor's Mom is already taking a leave of absence from her job, and with a minimum of a 12 week hospital stay, this will be difficult on the family. 

Pass this information on, post an entry on your blog, send a mass email!  Spread the word, and help this family in any way you can!

Thanks for your help!

Nancy 

Pony Ride!

There is a great farm/park about 15 minutes from our house that has pony rides, a train, a carousel, lots of animals, and a HUGE playground.  We went there today and although Jillian was slow to warm up, she ended up really enjoying her pony ride!  On the way home she said, "That pony was so nice and slow!"  :)

We also saw a peacock and a llama (which are animals featured in two of her favorite books) so she was pretty happy about that.

Isn't she a crack up in that huge helmet???

Jillian's First Ballet Class!

Today was Jillian's first ballet class at our local Community Center.  She really, really liked it.  She "got a stamp!!!" on her hand, and thought her teacher was very nice.  At the end of class she gave me a kiss and said, "Thank you for ballet class!"  What a sweet baby!  (Oops, I mean, what a sweet "big girl"...  Jillian ALWAYS corrects us now when we call her a baby.  I was even on the phone making her "2 year well-baby" appointment with our pediatrician and she said, "BIG GIRL appointment!"  My mistake.)  ;)

I had to take a few photos of her outside afterward, because parents were not allowed in the room while they were dancing, or near the window (TORTURE!!!).  The teacher said we could, "take photos/video until our hearts were content on the last day of class".  Oh boy.  I guess we'll wait.  So, in 8 weeks, look forward to some video of Jillian showing off her ballet moves. :)

Vote for RYAN!!!

So, Ryan has made the top 30 for a contest with PEOPLE magazine.  It's called, "All-Stars Among Us" and is a tribute to those who do good things for their community.  In order to make it to the next phase, he needs votes!  

Here is what you need to do:

#1- Visit the site at:

www.peopleallstars.com or click this LINK.   

#2- Click on the logo for the Washington Nationals 

(it's in the bottom right hand corner).  

#3- Click VOTE FOR ME under the photo of Ryan!  

Voting ends June 24th, and you can vote more than once so... Happy Clicking!  Oh, and pass this info on to friends and family, post this request on your blog... spread the word!!!  :)

Jillian 'making' cupcakes

Okay, a small disclaimer:  this video (due to it's length- 3 minutes) may be one of those that Ryan and I (and Grandparents!) find adorable, and everyone else thinks is a little bit boring.  So, proceed with that knowledge if you choose!  If you visit our blog directly (at www.kulesfamily.blogspot.com) you can click on the video and easily view it from there!  Have a great weekend!

Jillian tries Peanut Butter!

The rule on feeding Peanuts to your kids is widely debated.  For us, it was recommended we wait to introduce Jillian to all nuts until she was at least 2 years old.  A lot of people only wait until the age of 1, but since I have a mild walnut allergy, we took it slow.

So...  Today was the big day.  We wanted to give it to her in the morning on a weekday in case she had any problems so it would be easy to bring her in to the doctor if necessary.

Jillian ate the 1st 1/4 of her PB&J quickly and said, "I like it!" but when Ryan and I stopped watching for her reaction, she smooshed the next 1/4 and rejected the other two squares.  Oh well.  So it was not a Jillian favorite right off the bat.

More importantly, when checking her out for a rash or any other problems throughout the day, she came up clean.

So- I guess we are a peanut friendly house again.  Until September anyway when Liv enters the picture!