Goggles

Lizzie went to her little friend's Little Mermaid Birthday Pool Party and enjoyed one of the last warm days of the summer season. The swimming, cake, presents, and food was all very exciting, but I think Lizzie's favorite part of the evening was when she found her friend's pair of goggles on the side of the pool.

She ran over to Dave and screamed, "Look Daddy!!! Glasses!!" She was even more pleased when he put them on her. It was very suprising but she actually kept those silly looking goggles on for a reeeally long time! We had to pry them away from her when it was time to go home.
Dave and I got alot of laughs just looking at her. Maybe we should buy her a pair to wear around the house. I'm sure it would keep us all amused!

Our Family

Currently, there is not a single person in our family who is attending school. Despite this, September still seems like the starting point of a new year, a new beginning. It seemed like a great time to get some family portraits done (thanks Jamie!)


This past year has really been somethin...to say the least. We bought a house, a dental practice, and brought a new little person into our family. These are all high stress events but highly rewarding as well!

We may not be starting school this year, but I'm looking forward to spending another great year with my sweet little family! The past year has been all about change, transition, stress, work, and progression. I can't wait to reap the rewards of that, this year, enjoying a little stability, adjusting, and settling into our new circumstances and family dynamic!

Julie's Baby Blessing

Julie had her baby blessing this past Sunday! It was great to have the family and friends present for this special day, especially my parents from out of town!


Julie looked so precious in her blessing dress- the same dress my mom made for me to wear as a baby, then Lizzie, and now Julie!

Julie- you're a true blessing to our little family! We love you so much!

The Advocate

Julie is lucky to have a big sister who is so interested in her and her needs. Not to say that Lizzie never displays jealous behavior, but for the most part Lizzie is Julie's advocate.
For instance, when Julie is laying on the floor while I'm cooking, Liz will alert me when Julie spits up. The first time this happened, Liz didn't know the term "spit up" so she said, "Uh oh! Baby Julie spilled in the mouth!!"

Every time Julie makes a peep Lizzie will say, "Uh oh! Baby Julie crying!" or "Uh oh! Baby Julie poopy diapy! She's my continual 24/7 Julie status update..."Baby Julie happy!" "Baby Julie smiling!" "Baby Julie sleeping in the bed!"

Her favorite time to interact with Julie is when she's in her bouncy seat. Most mornings she'll lean on the seat with her sister and say, "Good morning baby Julie! Huggies!" Then the smothering will begin.

I'm still trying to work on discouraging the "Identifying Facial Features" game. Its a kid classic- Liz will point and name parts of the face like "ears, nose, mouth"... Its the naming and touching of the "eye" combined with Julie's lack of eyelid reflexes thats most troubling.

Smiles for Grandpa

It was so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa here in town! It was Grandpa's first time meeting little Julie and she loved him! She would stare and stare then give him plenty of smiles and coos. It was a short visit, but we had a great time and the kids especially loved Grandma/Grandpa time of course!

Big Girl

Lizzie is 22 months old going on 22 yrs! She's talking in full sentences and insists on doing everything herself. The desire for independence is strong in this one. Dave and I have really had to step up our game to match Lizzie's increasing skills in the continual battle for control! We've found that we can no longer TELL her to do something...leads to her refusing and trying to push our buttons by doing things like putting her finger in her nose. She'll respond really well though if we ask her to do something with an additional clause like, "Do you want to clean your room and then we will play a game with Lenny?" She'll then run around her room throwing all the toys in the basket and have the room spotless in less than a minute.

The other day I gave Liz a complex set of directions, "Will you go get the white burp cloth for Julie? Its in Julie's room on top of the rocking chair. Then bring it to Mama please!" (wasnt sure if she even knew what a burp cloth was) She continued playing like she didn't understand. So I said, "Go get it fast and I'll play the ABC game with you!" After that she flew out of the room and was back with the burp cloth in about two seconds.

Liz loooves to wear my shoes around the house and she says, "Mama's shoes are too big!" over and over then laughs.

Lizzie: You are right. Mama's shoes are too big for you. Someday, though, that won't be true. You'll be all grown up, probably faster than I'd like.

But, for now you're still my little one year old and i like it that way!

1 Month

Julie is 1 month old!! One month plus a week to be exact! This post is a week later than I wanted it to be, not a big deal, but I am realizing that I will never be able to match my perfectly timed and never ending supply of pictures that I took of Lizzie as a newborn. Its just harder to get the camera out and get cute shots of Julie with Lizzie dancing around for my attention! Thank goodness for nap time, or I may have never gotten around to recording in time lil one month old Julie! Babies change so quickly! She's already so much bigger!

Developmental Updates:

She's smiling!! I can usually get a smile out of her when I've been out of her view for a little while and I come back and make cooing happy noises at her! Daddy doesn't get nearly as many smiles, but he can coax it out of her with a lot of work when she's in the right mood! I'm enjoying the favoritism while it lasts...she'll soon discover what a fun guy daddy is and then it will be over for me!

She enjoys looking at mobiles, toys, and moving objects.

She makes cute little cooing noises when she's really happy!

She slept through the night! (last night it was 9 hours but usually its 6-7 hrs) What a sweetie!

She still sleeps alot during the day, too. Her favorite time to be awake, alert, and more smiley is usually around 7-8 pm.

And...

She takes a binky now! I am a big fan of the binky. I like knowing that I can eventually get rid of it when she becomes too old for it (unlike a thumb!)

Julie is a great little baby who is so mellow and very patient/tolerant. She's a minimal crier and even puts up with all of Lizzie's affectionate hugs (imagine a bear mauling). She's a fun little girl to have around!