Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Ride 'em, Cowgirl

Julia is loving her new (well, used) toy. She's not content to just ride and bounce around on the zebra; she mixes things up with riding side-saddle and doing some stunt moves.

New Toy

New Toy

New toy

New toy

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Rainy Morning

What does a mother-daughter duo on a rainy weekend morning when they want to let Papa sleep in? First, breakfast out, including socializing with the other diners. Lots of waving and blowing kisses (mostly from Julia). Next up, to the book store to play with the train table, run around, and read books.

Then, to the craft store for new stickers. Killing two birds with one stone, Mom got her exercise by running to catch up with the tot, while picking up the books and merchandise to replace them on the shelves. Gleeful giggling from Julia. Other shoppers either grinned from ear-to-ear or rolled their eyes, depending on how they feel about rambunctious toddlers.

Finally, home for a nap for both girls.

Julia

Julia

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Hello, Poison Control

Yesterday evening, as I got ready for book club, I tried to keep one eye on Julia and one eye on the mirror as I combed my hair and applied make-up. She was opening R's drawers in the bathroom. She typically takes the items out one at a time and places them on the step to the tub. I looked away for approximately two seconds, and when I looked back - to my horror - she had taken the cap off of R's deodorant and was tasting it. (!!!)

Her inquisitive expression quickly turned to a grimace, and she made it very clear she wanted that stuff off of her tongue. I didn't think she had ingested any until I heard a bit of burbling and gurgling. I took her straight to the toilet, and she experienced an unfortunate milestone: her first vomit. Surprisingly, she and I were both pretty calm during the incident. I took her downstairs and called Poison Control. (They are so nice and helpful! I programmed the number into my phone.) The woman at Poison Control said she was in no danger, but it likely tasted REALLY BAD. I gave Julia some water and a little while later, her dinner. She went back to being her normal, happy self. Unfazed.

Her breath still smelled a little like Brut.

It's time to take the babyproofing to the next level.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful time with Oma and Opa, but we had to cut our fun short as R was sick. Our festivities got Julia off her schedule, and she skipped her nap. She went to bed at 6:30 pm, and I was asleep less than ten minutes later.

Easter

Julia's Easter dress this year was the tulip dress lent to her by the Charron girls. (Note the new bunny from Oma & Opa.)
Easter

Julia's Dutch grandparents loved the tulip dress!
Easter

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Easter Egg Hunt

I hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for our playgroup today, and consequently, I'm too tired to write much. It was adorable to see the kids in their bunny ears (for the 5 seconds they would wear them) and walking around with their little baskets and eggs. What fun!

A few pictures of the Egg Hunt:

Julia

Toddler Squat

Julia


...and one of Julia and her good buddy, Abbie:

J & A

Monday, April 06, 2009

Thank You for the Books, Tia!

Julia and our friend, Elizabeth (Tia to Julia), have a wonderful, symbiotic relationship. Elizabeth enjoys Julia - and buying her cute books, and Julia loves Tia - and the books. Elizabeth surprised us this weekend with a visit and some new books.

Here is Julia, enjoying her gifts:
New Books from Tia

New Books from Tia


New Books from Tia

New Books from Tia

Spring Weather!

This weekend's great weather meant one thing: playground time! Instead of going to any of the big playgrounds in the area, we went to our neighborhood playground. Although we can't walk to it - more about the busy roads than the distance - it is just a very short car ride away.

Julia loved the swings and slides as usual. This time, she also had fun on the teeter-totter and merry-go-round. Julia was a bit too fearless on the merry-go-round, so I had my full attention on her to make sure she was holding on (so there are no pictures of that). She had a great time and didn't want to leave.

Playground

Playground

Playground

While we were there, I reminisced about August of '07 when Charlie, Kylelyn and Scott came to visit. It was two weeks before Julia was born, and Scott was about the age Julia is now. Kylelyn and I took Scott to this same playground. I knew I would take my child to this playground one day, but it seemed so far in the future. How time flies!

Here are some pictures of Scott during that Aug '07 visit. (It's been far too long since we've seen our nephew, and we miss him. We can't wait to meet Meredith!)

Scott

Wheeeeee

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Bobert!

Over the weekend, I was busy downstairs, and I needed R's help, so I was calling to him upstairs, "Robert! Robert!" Little Miss decided she liked the sounds of it, and she started mimicking me. She has trouble with her R's at times, so it came out, "Bobert! Bobert!" The last couple of days, she'll put on a little grin, and call out, "Bobert! Bobert!" I don't know if she connects it with Papa, but she certainly has fun saying it.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Mullet No More

With Robert's help, I cut Julia's hair tonight. Her hair had gotten quite long in the back, and the most apt description I had heard was when Laura said that she had Carol Brady hair. Robert said she had a mullet, and it was looking shaggy.

So, we planned to cut it a bit in the back after her bath tonight. She sat in my lap, and Robert tried to distract her. As I made the first cut, she turned her head, and I cut more than I intended. Now, all the little curls on the back of her head are gone. (I don't know how I'm going to face our babysitter, Karina, tomorrow morning; she loves Julia's hair!) The cut is not bad at all - I just hope some little curls grow back soon.

Hopefully, the hair on the sides now has a chance to catch up with the hair in the back.

In Her Shoes

Julia & Mom's shoes

In Mom's shoes

Mommy's shoes

Occasionally, it's In His Shoes.

Papa's shoes

Julia at 18 months

I'm writing about life with Julia as an 18 (almost 19) month old so I can remember the details of this time. I also write so that Julia will know what a delight she was as a child. R doesn't favor these text-heavy entries, because he says my blog audience just wants pictures of Julia. I'll be back to pictures soon!

Sleeping Beauty
Speaking of Julia's naps, she dropped from two naps to one in early to mid-January. I remember this, because Oma and Opa kept her the weekend before Inauguration, and the nap situation wasn't clear-cut at that point. She dropped her afternoon nap, but she still wanted to nap fairly early in the morning (~10:30 or so). This made for a grumpy baby in the late afternoon, and gradually over the last two months, we have pushed the single nap back to 11:30 or 12 (occasionally later if we have playgroup). The naps last 2-2.5 hours.

Julia's Entourage
Julia has a number of dolls and stuffed animals and a select few favorites have made it into her inner circle. We have 6 "babies" that she sleeps with every night: Baby, Dolly, Gus, Molly, Tiger, & Bear. When she wakes in the morning, she calls each by name, as she wants them all to come with us when we leave the room. Usually, I ask her to pick a baby or two to take with her. We have been known to carry around 6 babies plus Julia; she's a little Angelina Jolie. She enjoys feeding the babies, covering them with blankets, and kissing and hugging them. As part of our nightly ritual, we kiss each baby and put each in the crib. Julia goes in the crib last.

When we go to other little girls' houses and they have baby dolls, Julia immediately goes straight to the dolls. She assumes they are hers, and it is difficult to convince her otherwise.

Girly Girl
Julia is into necklaces (and all girly accessories.) On the days that I work, I typically wear a necklace. When I get home, Julia begins shouting "Kai-key! kai-key!" (her word for necklace). She searches my neck for the necklace and insists that I put the necklace on her. Then, proudly walks around wearing the necklace with a big grin on her face. In addition to her necklaces, she also loves purses. She likes to load her little purse (a gift from Grandma) with toys, put it in the crook of her arm, and carry it around. She usually goes to the door, opens it, and says "Goodbye!" I guess she is mimicking me when I leave in the mornings. At times, she prances around with sunglasses on the top of her head, the purse on her arm, Baby in the crook of her arm, and a cell phone in her hand. So funny!

Little Daredevil
The girly-girl also has a daredevil side. She enjoys climbing on everything - chairs, tables, our ottoman, and in some cases, jumping off....scaring us to death. She doesn't seem afraid...ever, except for one thing: she does not like it when dogs bark or growl, especially Jake. It upsets her. She's not fearful of new people or places. She also likes the tallest slides on the playground. The short toddler slides don't do it for her.

Little Miss Independent
Julia has a stubborn and independent streak. She is in very much of a "I want to do it MYSELF" stage. She wants to hold her own fork and spoon, brush her own teeth, walk up and down the stairs unassisted, sit in chairs by herself, etc. She currently enjoys opening and closing doors, drawers, and cabinets. She likes exploring the contents of the doors, drawers, and cabinets, usually leaving chaos in her wake.

Temper, Temper
Like most kids her age, Julia is prone to have tantrums when she doesn't get her way; she has a strong will and knows what she wants. It's helpful to me to talk to the other moms in our playgroup and find out that the other kids are doing the same things. When she has a tantrum, I remind myself is the age, not that she is being bad. Her tantrums involve very expressive foot stomping.

Books and Music
Julia continues to love books, and she can request some of her favorites by name ("Gossie," "Ollie," "BooBoo," "Mother," (Are Your My Mother?), "LaLa" (Moo, Baa, LaLaLa). She also loves music, and she loves to make her babies dance to the music. One of her favorite songs is "If You're Happy and You Know It." She requests this song by pointing at the CD and yells "Happy! Happy!"

This age is so much fun, and she seems to learn things new every day!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Julia stats: 18 months

Height: 34 3/4 in (97%+) off the charts but on her growth curve
Weight: 24 lbs 10 oz (55%)
Head Circumference: 18 7/8 in (90%)

She had one shot today, the Hep A, but she did not cry or even whimper. She simply gave the nurse a dirty look.

Her Father's Daughter

I was watching American Idol on the DVR while folding laundry Saturday morning. Julia walked over to me, took the remote, turned off American Idol, and turned on Meet the Press.

It was very funny even though she didn't do it intentionally.....or did she?

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Words

Julia's a chatterbox, and it is a combination of Julia's own language, English and a bit of Spanish. It won't be long before there is some Dutch thrown in there, I'm sure.

Here are the words she uses often these days:

apple
agua
arm
baaaa (sheep)
baby
ball
balloon "ball-oou"
banana "nana"
bath
bear
bed
book
BooBoo
bye-bye
chair
cheese
cookie
cow
diaper
Dolly
ears
elbow
Ena (Karina)
eyes
eyebrows
glasses
good girl
Gossie
Grandma
grapes "gapes"
Gus
hair
happy
hat
hi
house
I dunno
Jakey
Julia "Ju-aah"
Katlyne
kai-key (necklace)
keys
Mama
mas (more)
meow
mess
Mommy
mooo
mouse
mouth
nails (nail clippers)
nice
night-night
neigh
no
nose
numa-numa (food)
Ollie
Oma
Opa
ous (out, off, or down)
pajamas "namas"
Papa
pee-pee
poopy
potty
puppy
purse
Riley "iley"
quack-quack
shoes
sleep "seep"
stickers
tail
te amo (I love you)
teeth (teeth or toothbrush)
Tia
tiger
toes
uh-oh
vamos (let's go)
yummy

Thursday, February 19, 2009

New Hat

Thanks to Susan for the adorable hat! She designed and made it herself. I smile everytime I see Julia in it.

Thank you, Susan!

New Hat!

Studio 9flights Hat by Susan

The Three of Us

Things are busy, so I just have time for a quick post. Nicole took this picture on a Sunday outing to the playground. I hesitate to call it a family picture, as Jake is not in it, but it's nice to have a picture with the three of us. I'm usually behind the camera.

You can tell Jake was with us that day though; I have a tennis ball in my pocket in the picture!

At the playground

Sunday, February 01, 2009

A Reprieve from the COLD

This week, we've had snow, freezing rain, ice, and cold cold cold weather. Today, nature gave us the gift of a sunny, moderate, beautiful day. Kara came in from Atlanta, and we took Julia to Clemyjontri. Julia ran, climbed, ran, jumped, climbed, ran, slid and ran. She had a great time and didn't want to leave!

Julia at Clemyjontri

Julia at Clemyjontri

Julia at Clemyjontri

Julia at Clemyjontri

Friday, January 30, 2009

Shopgirl

We went shopping for new shoes for Julia (her feet are a half size bigger - 6 1/2), and we walked through Bloomingdales to get back to the car. Julia stopped to do some hat shopping.

Julia likes the hats.
Julia shops for hats.

Julia likes the hats.
Julia shops for hats.

Julia likes the hats.
Julia shops for hats.

She had such a good time that it was difficult to get her out of the store.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Tooth Watch 2009: Three Molars at Once

She has molars coming in! As she and I were playing this morning, I noticed something on Julia's bottom left gum. I felt around, and yep...she has a bottom left, upper left, and upper right molar breaking through. It makes sense: she's had her hands in her mouth frequently, and she likes to chew on a soft rubber spoon. Here's hoping it continues to be pain-free for her (....and her parents).

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Girly-Girl

For her first birthday back in August, Aunt Lulu (aka my sister, Leigh) sent Julia an adorable, uber-girly tutu, ballet slippers, birthday shirt, and tiara. She has worn them on various occasions, but I finally got a picture of her in the tutu and slippers.

Girly girl

Girly girl

Climbing into the chair

Girly girl

Friday, January 23, 2009

Cow!

Julia's fascination (bordering on obsession) with cows continues...

A Place to Play

Winter has been tough, because it's been too cold to let Julia play outside. I've been taking her to an indoor kid's play gym; Julia has a great deal of toddler energy and gets a bit of cabin fever at home. This has been a great way to enable her to run and play. She loves it!

Yippee!
Having fun

Wheeee!
Slide!

Friday, January 09, 2009

Updated Stats

Julia and I returned to the pediatrician's office for a check of her weight, as she had lost weight between her 12 and 15 month check-ups. We assumed that the loss was due to a cold right before her 15 month appointment, but it still made me a bit nervous that she was off her growth curve.

Today, we had good news! Julia has gained some weight and is back on her growth curve:

Weight: 23 lbs 10 oz
Height: 34 in

The doctor also measured her height, and since it seemed extra tall, she checked it a second time. It came out 34 in both times. I am still skeptical that she is a full 34 in tall, so R checked it at home with the measuring tape. He got a number closer to 33 in, but it was just a quick measure. So, we don't know what her exact height is. The short answer: she's a tall kid.

Julia got two shots today: the Chickenpox Vaccine and the DTaP. We are still waiting on the HIB, as there is a nationwide shortage. Julia did not cry when she got the shots, but she did cry out in indignation: "AHHH!!!" (It sounded like baby talk for: "What in the heck did you just do? That hurt!!")

I am also proud to report that *I* did not cry during Julia's shots; it was touch and go for a minute there.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Fun New Toy

Julia received a great new toy from Aunt Kylelyn and Uncle Charlie. She literally squealed with delight the first few times she played with it. We have played with the Ball Popper at friends' houses, but Julia enjoys having one of her own!

Julia & the Popper

Julia & Popper

Julia & Popper

Julia & Popper

Monday, December 29, 2008

Tooth Watch 2008: The Eighth Tooth, Finally

We haven't seen a new tooth emerge since #7 popped up in September. I am happy to report that #8 is starting to break through. It is lower right incisor.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

A Winter Trip to the Playground

There was some warm weather over the holiday break. Our friend and neighbor, Elizabeth, joined us for a trip to the playground. Julia was thrilled to be outside playing and had a great time with Elizabeth.

Julia
Loving the swings

Elizabeth & Julia
With Tia

Julia
On the playground

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Where's Julia?

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Chatty Girl

Julia is quite chatty. Many times she will look at me and earnestly explain something to me with not a word in English. She even talks with her hands which is quite cute. She's been saying Daddy, Papa, Mama, and Opa for a long time. At the end of summer, she added Baby. Baby was her favorite word for months, used to refer to her two dolls.

Here's a current list of her words:

Agua (she uses this for both milk and water)
Baby
Book
Daddy
Cow (new word this week)
Jake-y
Mama
Night-Night
Papa
Opa
Uh-oh

A couple of her own words:
Numa-Numa ("I'm hungry" or "This is yummy")
Ca-Ca (I have no idea what she means when she says this.)

I have heard her say the following, but she doesn't say them often:
Bye-Bye
Dog
Cat

She is currently obsessed with books. I tried to get her interested when she was younger, but all she wanted to do was put them in her mouth. Now, she wants to look at books constantly. Even when she was sick last week: it was 3 am, she was feverish and congested. She pointed at the bookshelf and said, "Boo-ah, Boo-ah."

Julia stats: 15 months

Weight: 22 lbs 3 oz (50th%)
Height: 32 1/2 in (97%)
Head Circumference: 18 1/2 in

See Annabelle's 15 month stats.

Only one shot today - the MMR vaccine. She was also scheduled for both the Chickenpox and HIB vaccinations, but they are out of the Chickenpox vaccine. They are so low on the HIB vaccine that they are only giving it to babies younger than a year. She'll get both the missing vaccinations on her next appointment, assuming they are available.

Julia has lost weight since her last check-up, so we are scheduled to go back in a month for another check of her weight. The doctor is not too concerned now, but if the weight doesn't start going in the right direction, she will be. Julia is getting over an illness, so I assume that is the cause of her weight loss. She didn't lose her appetite during her illness, but perhaps she was eating less. Typically, she has an amazing appetite and eats near adult-sized portions.