Velcro Baby

This is Julia's newest title/nickname. I don't know what happened, but suddenly this is what Julia becomes when we leave her! Usually it happens at the church nursery, occasionally at the Y nursery. Everyone reassures us that it is normal, part of typical development, but it is heart-wrenching to walk away from your wailing child after you've peeled her off your leg/lap/whatever she can grab!

Initially I was surprised and didn't connect her behavior with separation anxiety - I thought it had happened already and she seemed to do OK. I didn't realize it happens later, too. When we return to pick her up, the nursery workers tell us that she only cried for a few minutes thankfully. I think I felt bad longer! : ) Also, sometimes she'd cry when we returned like she had forgotten while she played, but then she remembers we were gone and really missed us.

Of course she misses us ... but it's so interesting to think what is going on for her. Just like when she was an infant, crying still is a major way to communicate. Julia seems to "talk" ALL THE TIME and I forget that she really cannot tell us many of her feelings as readily as I think she should.

Ahh, the wish for words ... yet other parents tell us we'll wish for the silent/non-verbal days! : )

Keeping the Feast

This is the name of a great book by Paula Butturini. It is non-fiction story about Paula's experience through her husband's journey of depression. I finished the book in early March and didn't write this post until April so I'm not remembering many details. However, it takes place in many countries, mostly in Italy. It involves wonderful descriptions of food and the connections to all kinds of memories, particularly childhood and family. The descriptions of how Paula lives with a depressed person really resonated with me as I recall living with PPD. It is HARD stuff! I've probably written this before, but I remember someone describing it as mild PPD and I think OMG how does someone live with major PPD! I believe it was mild, but it was difficult so I know how challenging it is for individuals who are struggling with depression every day for YEARS!

I am grateful for people who share their story as it helps others understand and cope.

Reading is Fundamental (and so is singing)

Thank you Dolly Parton.

Like so many kids in Tennessee Julia gets a book a month from the wonderful Imagination Library. Overall, I have been pleased - not enough board books but other than that its an amazing program. I've about a correlation between the size of home libraries and an individual's success further down the road. Well, I think we are seeing Julia's future.

Julia loves this book and she knows it by name...our name, "ABC Book". She starts her version of the ABC song as soon as she touches the book.  Her version of the song sounds a bit like the spanish alphabet and goes like "aahhh baaaayyyy deeeedaaa" before it sort of trails off into a hum. Seriously?!? She's been singing some version of the ABC song for a couple of months and it is in a large part due to this particular book, a Leap Frog music table and the fact that her dad cannot remember many words from any other kids song...

She's a wondefully engaged child and I am glad to be along for the ride.

Flirty Spice

That is Julia's newest nickname. We've noticed her flirty behavior before, but it really seems more prominent lately. Mostly it seems like she flirts with males more than females ... is that typical? The cutest thing is when she flirts with my brother. Joel has been staying with us the last few weeks. He's helping us organize and clean our basement in preparation of converting part of it into livable space for himself. Actually, it's a pretty nice area though the concrete floor and walls are chilly, but he's a guy and probably will be OK.

Anyway, Julia's flirtatious behavior is amusing to watch. She usually gets quite excited and waves at Johnders as soon as she descends the stairs; now she looks in the guest room and waves at Joel. It's quite adorable to watch. She truly enjoys looking at Joel, especially as she sees him playing with Johnders.

If you haven't looked at some of the recent photos on flickr, check them out. The ones our friend, Lisa Connor, the great photographer, took are incredible and show some of Julia's flirty qualities. : )

The First Cold/Fever

Julia inherited my constitution, or so it seems. She can eat anything without adverse effects, she's hot-natured, and she doesn't get sick. Of course, I have to throw in that studies show babies who are breastfed for their first year are less likely to get sick which makes the timing - 1 month after she weaned - of Julia's first cold interesting...

About 2 weeks ago she got really congested but it didn't seem to have much affect on her. We started with the humidifier and eucalyptus infused steam baths combined with J/A/S/O/N Cooling Mineral Gel Tea Tree Pain Reliever (essentially the same as Vicks Vaporub). The congestion seemed to clear up and then Tues night I put Julia to bed at 6pm and she slept until 8am, which was a little unusual - about 2 hours longer than normal. The morning progressed as usual but at lunch she was crankier than her usual "Feed me NOW!" cranky. She eat as much either. I put her down for a nap, she slept 2 hours but seemed tired still so I left her. She slept for another hour and woke up really hot to the touch. I took her temp with one of our thermometers. It read 103.1 but she wasn't acting that sick - she was a little slower than normal but happy and chatty and playful none-the-less. I didn't think to take it a 2nd reading. I laid her back down and she tried to doze off while I called Tara and Bonnie (left a message). I looked it up on the Internet and didn't see any reason to be alarmed and since I haven't gotten really sick in years I wasn't too worried. Tara got home, held Julia and she went back to sleep. B/c of all the sleeping I started to get nervous. We watched TV but I couldn't concentrate and I was hyper alert listening for her.

She woke up at 8:30pm and seemed much perkier. Her temp was closer to 100 so we brought her down for a dinner of oatmeal and milk. Then we gave her a bath and took her back to bed. She was quiet but I had horrible dreams all night.

This morning Julia woke up at her usual 6:40ish, her temp was 99.8 (which is apparently 98.8 orally) and she had some oats, banana and milk, as usual. I let her play a little in her room and laid her back down for a nap. She slept for 2 hours, her first morning nap in months.

Julia has given us no worries (other than the slow weight gain) in these past 14 months and I now have an idea of that knot in your gut when something is wrong and you can't do anything about it. This incident again reminds me of what a carefree baby I have; she's inquisitive, healthy and happy. I am also reminded that I am an extremely fortunate man.

Julia Sleeps

Julia Sleeps
Originally uploaded by bmitd67

A nap is a very important part of your day when you turn 14 months old

Julia's Food Manifesto

I, Julia, do hereby promise to follow the set of guidelines listed below as they pertain to my food and my eating habits. Obviously, I don't have a lot of control over this for a while to come but still I believe this needs to be said.

1. eat as local as possible as often as possible (farmer's market, CSA, garden)
   
2. eat organic as often as possible (some farms are organic and sustainable without being certified by USDA, all I have to is ask how they deal with bugs and weeds)
   
3. eat independent as often as possible (although I can make a statement by buying from larger companies, I think we should support your local restaurants, grocers and other merchants instead of the huge global companies)
   
4. avoid any foods processed more than standard kitchen cooking methods (I don't think I will be a raw food person so I will always eat food that has been processed to some degree but I don't want to buy stuff that's been cooked in some giant tubed warehouse, frozen, re-hydrated and whatever else they do to food in those giant processing plants)
   
5. read labels on the food I buy in order to ensure I am avoiding dangerous ingredients (if I don't know what it is I will find out before I buy)
6. read labels on the food I buy in order to ensure I am buying products produced as close to me as possible (there can be two similar items on the shelf, I can see that one came from Canada, China or some other foriegn land and one came from the US, I will choose the one that came from the US)
   
7. share what I know with as many people as I can (I will talk about the food I eat, I will write about the places I eat, etc)
   

There will be exceptions to these rules as I grow older - as a well rounded individual I know I will have to try foods that fall outside of these perimeters - but I will always be mindful of where my food comes from and how it was grown, manufactured or cooked. I want to live a long and healthy life and I want to do my part in making the world around me better and these guidelines are simple things I can do which I believe will have a positive impact.

Please join me in living healthy and eating in a sustainable, nutritious way.

Julia sneaks a peak on her 13th Monthiversary

Peek-A-Boo
Originally uploaded by bmitd67

Another month older and just possibly a little bit cuter.

2010 - A New Year in Parenting

So I retired the breast pump on Julia's first birthday.
That was an awesome feeling!

The rest of that week and the next one before Winter Break I still nursed her 2-4 times each day. Before I left for work, when I got home from work and at bedtime, and then sometimes if Julia woke at 1-2am. During the 2 weeks of Winter Break I was home and decided to drop the evening feeding and mostly she slept through the night so I was down to 2 feedings.

Now that it is 2010, I'm really ready to wean Julia for real!

Yesterday I didn't feed her in the morning before I left for work or when I got home. I fed her after dinner, then I went to a 6:30pm Zumba class at the Y while Jai gave her a bath and read book before she went to sleep at 7pm. She slept ALL night and I fed her this morning because I had a vicious knot in my right breast. However, I'm going to feed her at bedtime tonight and not tomorrow morning; eventually my body will adjust.

I think that will be the LAST nursing session to drop - she likes her bedtime one, very comforting. In the morning not nursing is easier because she wakes and gets solid foods.

2009 was the year of breastfeeding Julia & working, but not much else.

2010 is the year of reading books with Julia and getting my body back in lean, mean, fighting shape. My goal is to lose 20 pounds by June and tone some of this flabby flesh! My friend Pauline's wedding on June 13 is a good time frame - 5 months. Then hopefully we're going to tennis camp after the nuptials. : ) I'd like to play in the tennis league this spring also - so I can be ready for camp.

Jai writes about the discoveries and wonders of Julia which makes sense because he is home with her most of the time. I enjoy reading his reflections - I see some of what I miss and am reminded of the funny & interesting things I witness too. Hopefully I will write more about the new phases of parenting Julia as I transition into different roles.

The job of a 13 month old...

Julia has a new job.

She still maintains hours as the household comedienne and noisemaker but she has recently become an interior decorator.

Her style? I would say she's a deconstructionist. She obviously thinks book cases are crap because she empties them on a daily basis. Sometimes she looks at the books but most often she just pulls the book off the shelf and tosses it to the floor. Then she's standing in the middle of a pile of books with a "what are you gonna do about it?" look.

Her other most recent strength is rearranging furniture. Today she started pulling her "music table" to the middle of the kitchen. Today after dinner she moved a couple of chairs from the corner of the room to the head of the table.

As with all things she is very serious about these things, but she is also having a blast!

Learning it all

I've had a lot of fun objectively watching Julia grow and learn. I never thought it could actually be fun but it is. Well, I never actually thought about it at all until Julia came along.

She's mobile now and more confident in that skill so she takes off down the hall and goes in this room and that one, squats to investigate whatever catches her eye, picks it up, drops it, leaves it, and comes back later to pick it up like its brand new. She smiles when she recognizes things...Johnders still gets the biggest reception in the house. A couple of weeks ago she started pointing. At first it looked like she was just pointing for the sake of pointing or pointing at the things she recognizes. Tara and I slowly started to realize that she was also pointing at things with the intention of learning what they were. She points at photos (Aunt Susie and some of our Christmas cards are her favorites) and moving objects, she points at people and stationary objects (her pointing isn't the most accurate somethings so it is hard to tell what she's after). Sometimes I wonder if I make things too complicated. For example, she pointed at a christmas package over and over so I started telling her more details about it; "it is green" or "it has stars" or whatever instead of repeating "bag" over and over. Who knows what she's actually thinking but she definitely wants information about everything around her. Most recently she started pointing at food especially the food she wants to eat! Again, her fingers aren't too accurate so it takes a lot of quizzing from Tara and me and waiting for Julia to react.

Today I noticed her reaction being a little more insistent than before and the accompanying dialogue (from her point of view) is something like:

"No, daddy. I'm pointing at THAT one." "No, not THAT one. THAT one!"

She's working hard to get the words out but they aren't quite there yet.

Today I saw a smile of accomplishment. Julia is working on the function of a spoon. She took her spoon from me and started digging in one of the cup holders on her high chair. Made sense to me so I put some food on the spoon and guided it to her mouth and at some point while digging for "cheerios" I saw a smile come over her face. It was, to me, a smile of recognition, an "aha" smile. She made the connection between the bowl, the food, the spoon and her mouth. It is those smiles and the moments of concentration when for example she studies the door hinge and then moves the door back and forth when I am dumbstruck with wonder and pride.

Julia, keep up the good work. I'm enjoying watching you do it.

Christmas 2009

This family does such a low-key holiday celebration its not even funny.

No tree, no lights, very few gifts. Just time with family and friends, a trip to Edgehill UMC for Christmas Eve service and that's about it. Of course, things are changing now that Julia is in the mix. Last year she was only a couple of weeks old and we were so exhausted and confused nothing else mattered. This year we have an alert, curious and vocal toddler who makes all of the regular things very different.

Tara and I have debated about christmas trees since we first got married. We want to do the most ecologically responsible thing which has translated into no tree and that's ok for now but I believe next year we will have a little girl who wants something more festive. I saw some options this year that I think I can pull together in time for next year but we all know wanting to do and doing are two different things. Gifts are in the same category. We want to do what is the most responsible thing but I like giving gifts and Tara likes receiving them so we have a dilemma. I had started compiling gifts for Tara months ago, nothing big, just practical things so most of that was already taken care of but what about Julia.

Then of course, you have to add to the mix that I have no income. Tara is essentially buying the gifts for everybody so how do I make that work? Oh well, I need to get that book started so I can generate my own income.

How did Christmas turn out? Wonderfully.

Christmas Eve is all about the family tradition of Bonnie's Soup/Cider open house and Christmas Eve service at Edgehill. The day always proves to be entertaining. Bonnie makes a bunch of soups and some cider, guests bring desserts, breads and musical instruments. Bonnie's very eclectic group of friends, neighbors and acquaintances come and go until it is time for church. This year it was all about the bright-eyed Julia considering she was small and newborn at last year's party. She was so much more interesting and interested this year.

There were lots of people so she didn't get to show off her toddler skills too much at Grandma Bonnie's house so she waited till we got to Edgehill. There she very quickly found her walking legs and proceeded to move toward every candle she could find. It is amazing how quickly she can move on her two wobbly legs! Julia slithered back and forth from me to Tara to Mike to Bonnie and anybody in between until Tara decided she needed to keep still. During Christmas Eve service Judi Hoffman, pastor of Edgehill, has the kids gather around her while she reads a story instead of a traditional sermon. Tara held Julia and this little girl is something else. I know kids learn to speak by listening and I do believe that Julia is learning very well. I see this in church almost every time I go. She squawks or bleeps when Judi pauses - Julia's timing is on the money almost every time - it always illicits a chuckle out of her family. Christmas Eve story time was no exception. It was a fun day!

Christmas Day was even more low-key. Bonnie and Buddy came over with some soup leftovers. We ate lunch and hung out and then ate an early dinner before Bonnie & Buddy left. Julia spent the night in her "new" Christmas footed sleeper and thus ended Christmas 2009.

So, what about loot? You want to know what Julia got for Christmas. Well like I said we are not living high on the hog nor do we put a lot of stock in toys and things - I am already attached to too much stuff and I don't want to pass that "package" on to Julia.

She got some good stuff. She got some big, soft blocks with numbers and animals on them, the Santa Claus footed sleeper I already mentioned. She got a cute outfit from my godmother and the architect of this relationship, Aunt Libby, and I broke down and bought her a djembe. It is a tiny little thing that she was scared of for about a day or so, even though she was with me when we went to the store to buy it.

Julia doesn't really know what's going on but I hope we can guide her towards an understanding that Christmas is about balancing the sharing (sharing love and time and energy) with the receiving (receiving goodwill and tokens of love).

What did you do on your birthday?

Julia had a pretty busy birthday (Dec 9th). The day started as most, food and a nap. After that nap I took Julia to the library to get her library card! Although, I don't expect to use it much for a couple of years, Julia is now an official Nashville Public Library patron.

Then came another milestone. We returned the rented breast pump (see blue box in photo). Tara pumped at work this entire semester as well as last May/June. She breastfed Julia (primary source of nutrition) for 1 full year! I am impressed by and proud of her.

Among some of the gifts Julia got for her birthday is this big ol' car seat. She was busting out of the old one, which is a surprise b/c she's still got a ways to go before she reaches the weight limit but she's long. Tara and I gave her safer passage as a birthday gift. She likes it b/c she is up higher and she isn't cramped.

There are more stories and pictures to come but I wanted to get at least one up.

I'm ONE year old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!

Ninja Baby

I might have mentioned this before but I believe Julia has the potential to become a spy or maybe a ninja.

The way bedtime works is Tara feeds Julia and Julia goes to sleep. After Tara pumps the last time of the night she goes to bed and at some point after that I go to bed. When I go upstairs I brush my teeth, check on Julia and go to bed, in that order. For quite awhile Julia would wake (loudly - not necessarily crying but obviously awake) at the same time I headed up. I would change her diaper and Tara would feed her. Recently Julia has slept through some nights so I usually look in on her but its dark so I have to use a flashlight. Last night I came out of the shower and it was absolutely quiet but when I got over to the crib Julia was standing there waiting.

Standing in the dark, not making a peep.

If I had not gone over to the crib I would not have know she was up. She would have said something - she's done that before - but you would think a hungry baby, or at least one who is awake in the middle of the night would at least grunt and groan a little when a parent walks past their bed. Not Julia, she was stone silent.

So, if she doesn't become an engineer she might become a ninja.

Babblish and Other Great Things a 10-11 month old Does!

Babblish - combination of the words babbling and English (I'm so clever!)

It sounds like Chinese (Cantonese to be more specific) and we wish someone could translate. It all sounds so interesting. We encourage her with "Yeah" and "Really" and "How interesting" though we have NO idea what she is saying! : )

the constant laughing - us and Julia - it's a circle of giggles!
Julia is one happy baby!

clapping her hands - she's got it down now

patting our backs or shoulders or arm - very cute and comforting

Walking Fun!

Frankenstein Walks
Originally uploaded by bmitd67

Tara captured this great display of the Zombie/Frankenstein walk - ADORABLE! An amused and proud Tara can be heard in the background.

Tara's sidebar: Julia is wearing a romper my college friend, Christine's daughter, Amelia, gave us. It looks like a dress because we should have put her in it many weeks ago! Julia doesn't weigh much, but she's long and lean as we call her. Most of her tops are like the 3/4 length look and her pants look like capris.

I am going to a consignment sale this weekend - just in time for some new threads! : )

P.S. We have some child-proofing to do - procrastinate much!

Modern Family

The best NEW show ever!

You know I'm addicted to TV... therefore I know good TV.
"Modern Family" is a combination of "The Office" and "Arrested Development". That alone should make you watch it because those are 2 funny shows.

Some of my other favorite new TV shows are "The Good Wife" and "Glee." Even Jai likes Glee and he hates musicals so you know that says a lot. We LOVE Glee!

Another great show is "Mad Men" (just finished 3rd season). Great writing, art direction, costumes, acting of course. Catch seasons 1-2 on DVD if you don't watch it.

Favorite line from last week's "The Office" -
Kevin: "he lives on Sesame Street, dumb ass!"

If you don't watch TV, you need to watch these 4 shows plus "The Office" of course.

ENJOY! Happy TV watching!

Pumping Countdown

I have less than a month left!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!

2 full weeks of work, then 2 days of Thanksgiving Break week, then 2 days of Julia's birthday week.

I cannot wait to retire that pump!

Ironically the rental pump is due to be returned on December 9. So appropriate!!
The home pump is getting put away, too!
: )

Grateful Journal

I named this post many months ago, but didn't write any comments. It was a thought I didn't want to forget... that is what I resort to now.

During my P.P.D. period, one of the ideas was to write daily in a grateful journal. I started in March; it was wonderfully therapeutic to identify good elements in my day. It helped me make the big & overwhelming seem manageable and positive. Occasionally I read past entries and one common theme is how frequently I mention Jai.

Julia too of course!

Jai is the best husband/partner and friend. He truly has been a rock, especially the past few months. He doesn't get any more rest than me. Jai continues to cook our meals, clean, grocery shop, care for Julia while I'm at work. Sometimes it seems like a lot more compared to me working and feeding Julia. Yet it takes a lot of energy to produce milk & feed/pump for Julia.

That is how we organize our family/life responsibilities right now.

I am grateful for many wonderful things in my life!

The Lactivist

Lactation Activist - pretty clever.

That's me. It has been my focus for the past 11 months! I'm slightly obsessed I know. I laughed when I read the word "lactivist" on the back of a book, Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay. It's a perfect term to describe my slightly militant stance on BFing. It's actually a pretty funny book about new motherhood until you realize the author is an alcoholic. The title is a hint obviously!

Anyway, I find that I talk about breastfeeding A LOT. For example, we were at dinner with friends a couple of months ago. Jai put his hand on my leg as I kind of ranted about something related to BFing. However, it is really important ... and here I go again!

That is one of the reasons I enjoy my monthly La Leche League meeting and attend faithfully. It is a supportive environment with women (and their children) committed to BFing. Maybe it makes me feel superior, but mainly I'm proud of my accomplishment. Growing a baby is an amazing feat and feeding a baby is also an incredible ability. I also like to support other women who want to BF their child. Don't get me wrong - I'll be glad to stop this part of my relationship with Julia. I'm looking forward to not having something growing inside of me or attached to me in that way. I need some space! I'm looking forward to doing other activities with Julia - playing with balls and reading to her for example.

I had a funny experience last weekend with a newer mom (11 week old baby). She mentioned how hard BFing is and how it can push you to the edge and you cannot understand if you've never experienced it. I said "yeah, I know it's difficult." It was a weird situation and chalked it up to her new mom hormones, but I wish I had said "I know you've been feeding your baby for 11 weeks and it is hard, but I've been doing it for 11 months."

I know the EDGE. Been there - done that!
: )

My friend got engaged!

I know this blog is about our family, but friends are family, too. This is one of my best friends from college, Pauline, my tennis camp buddy. We also were DJs together (parties & campus radio station) at college & we each visited the other when we lived in Asia in 1994 (me in Thailand, P in Hong Kong).

She got engaged last weekend to her boyfriend, Andy.

YEAH! I am so happy for her. She deserves the most happiness!

I love an occasion to get together with my Wellesley friends, their partners and children. There are so many of us now. I also look forward to seeing Pauline's parents and sister and probably some of my other friends' parents. 2010 is going to be a busy year since we all turn 40 too. We have a plan to celebrate that event together - not sure how, we're still brainstorming, hopefully a spa somewhere, WITHOUT children or spouses. : )

Congratulations, Pauline and Andy!

P.S. They're moving to Memphis in August 2010!!!

Wow! What a week or two!

I have never been so tired in my life.

As you all saw, I welcomed Aunt Susie back home with footsteps. I'd been working at it for awhile and I thought that was the perfect time to show it off. And you know what? That was just the beginning of a world wind couple of weeks that lead up to a momentous monthiversary, my 11th month, my last monthiversary before we start celebrating my birthday!!!!!! YEEAAAHHH, MEEEE!

So what else? Well, Grandma Bonnie married Poppy (Grandpa Buddy) on Halloween. It was so much fun, we had to go to back and forth to a dorm room on Scarritt's campus. I was an honored guest so Mom and I were escorted into the big Whitman Chapel. It's a lot like "the chapel" (All Saints) at Sewanee, which I visited a couple of weeks ago. There aren't photos of my first Halloween because Dad's hard drive crashed before he could upload them to Flickr. Hopefully somebody else has some to post, I looked cute. I got to meet all sorts of people but it was weird because they didn't look like normal people, they were all different colors and wearing funny clothes and hats and wings! We danced in a big circle outside and I got to eat at the big people table.

Speaking of food I am really exploring big people food. We went to an Indian restaurant the night before the wedding and I ate some rice and some Spinach Paneer. I didn't think much about it but most of the adults were surprised that I was eating the spicy spinach. Dad and I didn't think it was so spicy. I eat a lot of oat bran and soy yogurt but recently dad introduced me to sweet potato and butternut squash (I like orange food - carrots are pretty good too) but you know what I really, REALLY love? Soy Milk. Yup, like my Mom and my cousin, LJ, I love me some soy milk. I sit there with my sippy cup and guzzle it down. I tried drinking it standing up once but I feel and it didn't feel so good when my butt hit the ground and I had a mouthful of milk.

So everybody knows I'm walking but you know what I really like to do and I'm not sure why? I like to carry stuff while I walk. If I'm in my room I love to carry my bunny rabbit and maybe a book or some blocks. When I'm downstairs its all about the yogurt containers. If those things are within eyesight I will waddle over and do my best to grab them. Then I must pull every magazine or book (especially really big ones) off the shelf. Its really fun.

Well, now I've caught you up to where I am at this 11th month celebration.

I think I'll start talking in big people English soon.

The Frankenstein Walk

The past few weeks/months have been so much fun, watching Julia move around her surroundings, first her crib and Pack-N-Play, holding onto the sides and getting her "sea legs" and becoming more steady.

Soon Julia started letting go more often and shifting from side to side. Then she begin to cruise on the ground, especially liking to walk around the coffee table in the living room ... easy to hold onto whenever she needed.

Then 2 weeks ago she took her first steps and off she went! At first she'd walk a few steps and then drop down to crawl - seemed faster I guess. Now she walks more before going to the crawl. Julia gains more confidence in her independent skills each day. She still walks kind of stilted - reminds us of Frankenstein.

Also she LOVES to hold items in her hand(s) while moving upright or crawling. In the video of her "first" walking she has a "play bowl" in her hand . Usually it is the yogurt containers or lamb blanket or rattle bunny rabbit. Anything she can grab and then WALK!

It's adorable - like everything Julia does.

Modified Still Insane Daily Schedule

As with everything with a baby, once I get used to a routine, then the baby changes it! : ) That is hard for me, I like consistency, not a fan of change; however, that is my life now.

Actually I started this post in Sept. and finished it in Nov.
Obviously, my life ran away from me! Work will be busy always and when I get home, the same applies. I want to spend time with Julia & Jai, too. She's lots of fun now - really always! Once she goes to bed, then I get ready for the next day.

Now that Julia eats food, we eat dinner together. Occasionally she stares at our food. We speculate that she wonders when she'll get to eat salad and ground turkey. Julia loves her food - banana is still her favorite & soy yogurt. Now she adores oats! I believe oats are my saving grace - she started sleeping 10-11 hours at night recently. She goes to sleep at 7p & wakes around 6:30am. It's quite lovely!

Again some of this is temporary. Pumping at work ends soon. December 8 is the ONE year end zone - my ultimate goal! If Julia wants to continue to breastfeed, we'll do it when I'm home - hopefully 1-2 times a day.