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.

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

Occasionally, it's In His 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!

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?

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

New Hat

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

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!

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!

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 shops for hats.

Julia shops for hats.

Julia shops for hats.

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

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).

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.

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!

Having fun

Slide!

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.

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!

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.

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.

Loving the swings

With Tia

On the playground

Where's Julia?