Things That Go Bump

Apparently being a baby is a full contact sport! Over the past couple of days Juliann has had a few causalities while crawling. This past weekend she was trying to get her favorite toy, a little yellow ball, that rolled away and face planted onto the hardwood floor. Even the carpet has left its mark. She's also trying to pull up in her crib and repeatedly hits her forehead on the side of the crib in her attempts to stand. The latest bump happened at her sitter's Wednesday. She crawled to a bookshelf filled with toys and when she tried reaching for one...bonk! She now has a purple bruise on her forehead. Although it looks bad, she seems no worse for wear.

Welcome Baby Kate!

My friend, Mary Kyle, had her little girl this past Wednesday after 20 hours of labor. :( She's truly a rock star compared to my 3 hours with Juliann. Jennifer Kate was born on her due date and was a little over 8 pounds. We went to visit the newest addition over the weekend and baby Kate is absolutely precious! It's been over 7 months since I've held a newborn and for a fleeting moment, made me want another one! The moment the words left my mouth, Jules fell over and started crying, causing me to quickly reevaluate my thought. One is enough for now, thanks! Here are some pics of our visit!

Jules and David

baby Kate in mommy's and daddy's arms

Messy Baby!

The other night I was trying to make dinner and put Jules in her high chair while I worked. She played and chewed on her spoon for a bit but started getting restless. I wanted to get dinner in the oven before I fed her and tried talking to her while I worked. Her cute talking turned to whining which turned in to crying and quickly escalated to screaming and beating on her high chair table. Apparently she was hungry and she wanted to eat NOW! I debated about whether I should stop and feed her, but realized if I did, we wouldn't be ready to eat dinner until well after 8pm. I needed 10 more minutes to finish but knew she wouldn't wait. So I compromised! I quickly mixed together some milk and rice cereal, put it in one of her little bowls, and let her have at it! I knew she'd be a mess and that I'd have to give her a bath, but I also knew I'd have time for that once dinner was in the oven! Minutes after giving her the food, she was covered! For a moment I regretted my decision but she was having so much fun that I knew it was worth it. I ran to get the camera to capture her attempt at eating on her own.

As soon as she was finished, I gave her some purred veggies and then it was bath time! She's been showering with us for a while, but now that she's able to sit up on her own, we tried the bath tub for the first time. She had a blast!

And She's Off...

Ignoring the fact that my daughter is dressed in the EXACT same outfit as the last pictures I posted, you need to check out the video from today. Jules has been trying to really crawl for the last few days and I think she's finally getting the hang of it. I know I'm going to be wishing she'd just sit still before too long, but I love (as evident by my cheers in the video) that she's learning something so huge! Go Jules go!

Romp and Roll

We went to a preview class not too far from us on Friday. While the class looked to be fun, Jules and I were the ONLY people there besides the instructor for the first 20 minutes. Imagine singing with a strange man in his mid to late forties to The Wheels on the Bus. I mean, I never minded singing with my kids at school-they all thought I had a great voice. And Jules certainly can't complain about my singing at this point in time. But there is comfort in numbers and I was all alone. Although another mother came midway through the class, I decided it was a no go at this particular location.

A friend had enrolled her daughter at one about 15 minutes away and it was well worth the drive today. Juliann got to interact with 6 other babies all about her age and she was all smiles during this class. It is definitely worth the $ as a fun way for her to explore and work on her motor development (aka crawling) and a chance for me to meet some other mothers. I left there today much happier, with one exception. The songs are addictive. I've been singing (to the tune of Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush) "this is the way the babies bounce, the babies bounce, the babies bounce, this is the way the babies bounce here at romp and roll" all freakin afternoon. The next two verses include mommies and daddies and I swear there are a dozen more songs stuck in my head!!!! And I know its only going to get worse as the weeks go by (its a 12 week class) because they repeat the same songs throughout each class! I'm going to be singing these songs in my sleep...

Mover and Shaker

Juliann doesn't sit still. She's constantly moving, even at night. I put her to sleep in the middle of the crib on her back and when we go in to her room in the morning she's at one end of the crib on her tummy. Yesterday I put her down to play with her toys on a few blankets on the carpet in the living room. I went into the kitchen to refill my water bottle and when I returned, she had squirmed her way to the hardwood floor. Notice I did not use the word crawl. She's not exactly crawling yet, although she would like to be! I'm sure it would be much easier than what she is doing now! It goes something like this: get on all fours, rock back and forth, push up to sitting, then roll to one side, slide (usually backwards), and repeat. It's quite amusing to watch! You can tell that she's becoming increasingly frustrated because it takes her so long to get from point A to point B. It'll come though. I'll probably be wishing for this squirming back in a few months when she's into everything! Here are some pictures of her attempts at crawling.

And this one is just plain cute so I had to share! Notice the letters are finally up above her crib-yay!

A Few More Firsts

We finally broke down and bought Jules a high chair. The bumbo seat is great but she's getting bigger and making too much of a mess in the bumbo. It was time for something bigger and better. She had dinner in it tonight and loved it!

We've also introduced a sippy cup and the first few times wanted me to hold it like a bottle. She didn't understand or know how to hold onto the handles. I've shown her how to put her hands around the side but the minute she gets it in her mouth lets go and it either falls or I continue holding it for her. Tonight I gave her the sippy cup to play with while I made dinner. To my surprise, she figured out how to hold on to both handles and get it in her mouth! I helped show her how to tilt it up and she was able to drink from it! Yay for learning more new things!

Labor Day Weekend

Juliann was decked out in orange and blue for her first UVa football weekend. She looked cute and was ready to root for the WaHoos, but because of the heat she didn't go to the game. Instead she hung out with grandma and grandpa Ellington around C'ville before heading to Lexington. David and I tailgated with some friends before the game and by halftime felt like we had been swimming due to the location of our seats-not an ounce of shade the whole game. We were VERY glad we didn't have Jules. Playing USC, we knew we weren't going to win so we headed out a little before the end of the game so that we could get to Lexington in time to see Jules again before she went to sleep.

We stayed in Lexington until Sunday evening and spent the Labor Day Holiday doing some much needed stuff around the house before heading to the pool for a bit. Then some of our friends came over for an impromptu cook-out and to enjoy our awesome new screened porch. It's taken a year and a half to build, but its been completely worth it! A crew came out this morning to start our patio and it should be done before this weekend! I'll post pictures of it when its complete.

Hope everyone has a nice start to their school year. When I hear my teacher friends talk about school I do miss it and working with them, but I know once I start up my part time job as an SOL tutor in October I'll be wishing for more time home with her. Although its been weird not having school on the brain, I'm really enjoying my time home with Jules!