The Speckled Frog

The Olive Dance

2007-08-23T10:18:00.001-06:00

The Olive Dance
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Oh, the Independence!

2007-06-06T14:46:00.001-06:00

I put my bandana on myself!
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Yesterday, Julia announced "I wanna go potty!" and she then proceeded to take her pants off by herself, go sit on the potty (with diaper on) inform us that she was done, and then put her pants back on all by herself! This is quite an impressive act given what stage her skill in this area was at just a couple weeks ago:

Because I don't have any pictures from last night to document this wonder, I give to you these pictures from a couple days ago of her wearing the bandana that she put on all by herself, too. Oh, and notice her lovely ponytail-holder bracelet!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2007-05-29T12:15:00.001-06:00

Like Mother, Like Daughter
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Julia has very important work to do on the internet. Just like her Mommy.

In case you're wondering, she went and got her laptop from the other room and put it on the table there and climbed up into that chair all by herself.

One of Julia Favorite Foods

2007-05-22T13:22:00.001-06:00

Drinking Salsa
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

She loves Salsa so much that she drinks it straight from the bowl!

I did it by myself!

2007-04-30T14:30:00.001-06:00

I did it by myself!
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Julia's been super interested in learning how to dress herself. The other night she sat down determined to teach herself how to put pants on.

Well, she got one leg on, I guess.

Went for a Drive

2007-04-30T10:51:00.001-06:00

going for a drive
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Now THIS is the way to travel! So much more fun than a regular old stroller. The car that Uncle Kirk and Aunt Sara gave Julia for Christmas finally got taken on a test drive down for some coffee (for Mamas) and crepes (for Julia). She had such a blast we'll definitely be taking the car out again!

Jumping Julia

2007-04-27T14:49:00.001-06:00

Jump!
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

She's been working on a "true" jump for quite a while now. It started as just a bending of her knees, then it was a bouncing up and down. Then she added going up on her toes after the dip. Finally she started getting one foot up. And then, just this week, both feet off the ground! She can actually get up about six or eight inches and she's SO PROUD of herself for this accomplishment. She just jumps and jumps and jumps around the house.

I think the next thing she's going to work on is skipping.

Julia's First Haircut

2007-04-27T14:32:00.001-06:00

What the %$*& is this about?
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

You wouldn't think she'd need one what with how curly her hair is. But the ends were all dry and damaged at that was making it really hard to comb out, so it was time for a snip snip. Good thing our friend was willing to come to our house last night and do this. And the bonus to Julia being so small? All the hair (except for 2 curls we just had to keep) went down the drain!

She was really patient while her hair was getting cut and didn't cry or pull away once.

Easter 2007

2007-04-09T11:45:00.000-06:00

We're not Christian, but we still celebrate Easter as a cultural thing as my parents were raised Mormon and we're soaked in a Christian society. So, Julia got an Easter basket (or wheelbarrow, whatever) yesterday. There was a potato head in it which she loved very much, especially the little set of glasses...

For the afternoon, we packed everyone up and headed out for Grandma and Grandpa's house where everyone was waiting for us to get there so the egg hunt could begin. At first Julia wasn't sure what the big deal was, and then she seemed a bit affronted that WE were expecting HER to pick up SOMEONE ELSE'S mess. (see top picture above). But then she discovered that there was salt water taffy (her favorite candy) in the eggs as well as cars and Care Bears and she got a bit more excited about picking up the eggs... she didn't get any better at finding them, though, and so the hunt mostly consisted of all the adults ranging around and laying eggs out on the grass in plain sight for her to toddle over and pick up and put in her basket (along with egg-shaped rocks). At the very end, Julia did find one egg all on her own under the climbing toy. She was so proud of herself!

you can click on the mosaic to see it bigger, or you can just go here and see the set I made the mosaic from.

Julia had a great Easter. Despite her severe allergies. And despite the rain. And despite the fact that she found out that mama will only let her have ONE piece of salt water taffy in her mouth at a time despite the fact that she CLEARLY demonstrated her ability to hold AT LEAST 3 in her mouth at once.

Kid Likes Ketchup

2007-04-09T11:14:00.001-06:00

Kid Likes Ketchup
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Asks for a hot dog, thows said hot dog away, just eats the ketchup. I think there's a pattern here...

Syrup for Breakfast

2007-04-09T11:14:00.000-06:00

Syrup for Breakfast
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

I asked her if she wanted French toast for breakfast and she said yes. Then when I gave it to her she tossed the slices aside and just went for the syrup. I should have just put the syrup into a bowl; it would have been easier for her to drink that way...

Favorite Activity Ever.

2007-04-09T10:57:00.000-06:00

Favorite Activity Ever.
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

This gives both Grandma and Grandpa heart attacks EVERY TIME. First she climbs up on the arm of the sofa and then she says "I wanna jump" and then she waits until you say "ok" and then she JUMPS off the arm onto the seat. Except her jump is more like a bounce down and then up and then a step off the arm onto the seat. Sometimes she slips off accidentally and thinks she's jumped. She can do this over and over and over and over all. day. long.

Piggies on her Piggies

2007-04-09T10:52:00.000-06:00

Piggies on her Piggies
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Kristin gave Julia a fancy-schmancy pedicure the other day.

Adios Adenoids!

2007-02-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

ready for surgery
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Julia's surgery was at 6 freakin' 30 in the freakin' morning. That's ok, though, better earlier than later since she couldn't have anything to eat.

We got there, a charming and loquacious child in tow. She, confronted with a ROOM full of boxes of tissues began to demonstrate to the other people waiting for surgery the one thing we do to her most often: the wiping and blowing of her nose, and the disposal of the tissues. One by one she would pull a tissue out of the box, hold it to her nose, blow into it (not producing anything because for once her sinuses are clear), crumple the tissue up, and walk clear across the waiting room to throw the tissue away. Repeat ad nauseum. But, it gave her something to do, and everyone waiting in the room was transfixed by her cuteness.

When they finally called us back, we were given a waaaay too large gown and socks to change her into. They also gave her some ruffies. I was glad about this, as we'd been warned that we would not be able to walk with her to the OR or be with her when she was put under the anesthesia. I was really worried about this. I had nightmares all night of my daughter screaming while scary masked people did horrible things to her. But by the time they came to take her, she was too out of it to care.

So, Kristin and I went back to the waiting room to wait. We got to hear talking heads talk unrelentingly about Anna Nicole Smith's tragic death. I'm sure they're grasping at anything not to have to talk about the dead in Iraq for a day.

Anyway, before it seemed time, there was a woman leading us back to a consultation room to get the doctor's instructions. When we were scheduling the surgery, we were told that we'd get to be in the first recovery room while she came out of anesthesia. Right before they took her from us they infomed us that no. No we would not be able to be there when she woke up, but that as soon as she did wake up they would bring her to us. We hadn't been in that consultation room for 1 minute before we could hear Julia SCREAMING SCREAMING SCREAMING. That scream that you never want to hear, a scream of pain and fear, a terrible wail for her mothers. We opened the consultation room door into the secondary recovery room. We pressed our faces to the glass window into the primary recovery room. We could hear our baby screaming. Kristin tried to get a nurse to help us, she looked at Kristin like Kristin was trying to kidnap a baby. Another nurse came out of the primary recovery room leading another patient, when she turned around to go back into the recovery room (where I was trying to go in so I could get my baby) Kristin addressed her. "I can hear my baby screaming." "What?" the nurse said, as if all of our eardrums weren't being pierced by Julia's cries. "Can you hear my baby screaming?" Kristin asked again. "I hear a baby screaming." She said in, snotty, reply. "I assure you that's my baby. She needs to be brought out to us or we need to go into her now!" "If that is your baby, she'll be brought out to you when she's ready to be released." And Nurse Hatchet pushed past me and shut the door to the recovery room in our faces.

Another nurse swept down on us to explain that the crying was just a result of the amnesia and all babies cried like that and she wasn't hurt and it wouldn't make a difference if we were there. I beg to differ. She might still have cried in my arms, but there is a difference between going through a difficult transition and crying like that surrounded by strangers and strange objects, and going through a difficult transition and crying like that while being held in the loving and safe arms of your mother. But just at that moment the doctor swept in with the results of the surgery and post-op instructions.

I didn't hear much. I heard that her adenoids were huge and definitely the source of her problems. And I heard that there was only fluid in one ear. But at that moment two nurses came through the recovery room doors with my screaming daughter in their arms, and I was up out of the chair and confronting them before anyone could stop me. "That's my baby, and I'll take her now." "The doctor wanted to speak with you first." "The doctor's in that room now." "Well, has he finished speaking with you yet?" "I don't care if he's finished with me or not, her other mother is with him, I'll be taking my daughter now!" and I practically ripped her from the nurse's arms. Her screams immediately subsided to whimpers and moans.

A few minutes of rocking and drinking apple juice while Kristin got the prescriptions filled, and we were on our way home. It was only 9 AM. I guess I could have gone back to work, but we were all exhausted, so we all went home and took long naps.

Right now she's cranky and irritable and she's slept more than she ever has, but it's not even as bad as when she's sick, so I think we're going to be fine.

Those nurses, though, I'll be thinking bad thoughts about them for weeks, now.

Julia's Favorite Christmas Present

2006-12-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Drummer Girl
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

At least for the moment. You can see her really getting into beating on the tongue drum Grandpa made her...

Hungry?

2006-12-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was packing my lunch I opened the cupboard where we keep Julia's fruit cups. She loves fruit cups. She toddled over and started playing with the canned foods and her fruit cups, then she got up and walked into the kitchen. When she returned she had one of her plastic forks from her utensil drawer. She then sat down, grabbed a fruit cup, and proceeded to try and stab through the plastic seal to get to the fruit inside.

I guess she was hungry. I let her take the fruit cup to daycare for breakfast.

Tales from Daycare

2006-12-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday A related a tale of wonder and stubbornness.

Julia has decided that she thinks it's funny to put a blanket over her head so she can't see and walk around like that. She keeps her hands out and just sort of staggers around laughing under her blanket. Apparently she ran into the entertainment center yesterday and got mad at it for being in her way. And then she stopped crying, threw the blanket back over her head, and toddled off in a different direction.

Our kid is definitely a character.

Officially a Toddler!!!

2006-11-02T22:52:00.000-07:00

Pigtails!

2006-10-25T08:25:00.000-06:00

Happy Girl
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

In this picture she's wearing her chicken costume, but the head's off so her pigtails are showing. She did not like the chicken head on.

In fact, this is the expression on her face when we make her wear the chicken head:

or, sometimes, this one:

And then, after we make her make that face for long enough, when we get home she gets us back by doing things like:

getting a bra out of the cupboard and running around the house in it (she has yet to do this when there's company, but I'm not putting it past her)
or

dumping an entire roll of toilet paper into the toilet. And then flushing.

Anyway, back to the ponytails. It was really hard to get her to hold still for them, and we got these elastics that are made out of silicone and are tangle-free, so with determination she can just pull them right on out. AND I don't know how to make a straight part to save my life, AND symmetry and evenness are overrated (or so I'm declaring), but I think they look pretty cute! And it's not so bad when she pulls the elastics out, because her hair just stays in the little bobbin shapes even without the elastics once her hair has dried in them (I put them in when her hair was wet -- easier to manage that way) so no can really tell that she's rid herself of the tyrranny of elasticy bands.

One last picture and then I'm done:

nya nya nya

2006-10-10T09:39:00.000-06:00

really putting some effort into it now
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Julia's weekend included rock climbing, learning to float, big bunny ears, a donkey and some goats, a black eye, a couple of cabins, suspcious dogs, plenty of hot water, and a lot teasing of the mamas.

Here are some highlights...

nya nya nya

2006-10-10T09:38:00.000-06:00

really putting some effort into it now
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Friends and Family...

2006-09-27T09:07:00.000-06:00

I give you...

A girl and her dog.

Enjoy!

Because Kristin hasn't blogged this yet, but I don't want the story lost

2006-09-27T08:55:00.000-06:00

If she ever blogs this, I'll take my version down...

Last friday Kristin picked Julia up from daycare early. One of the little boys there had given Julia one of those gold-foil chocolate coins. Kristin meant to take it away from her, but she must have been hiding it, because Kristin didn't see it and thought Julia had dropped it.

They start driving to Costco. After a few moments Julia starts laughing maniacally. Kristin turns to look at her and is appalled to see that Julia is COVERED in melted chocolate! She had bitten through the gold foil and discovered the (nicely melted from being in her hand) chocolate within. By the time they got to Costco, Julia had chocolate in her hair, all over her clothes, and smeared on every square inch of exposed skin. She hadn't even eaten the foil -- just sucked it clean.

She's a maniac for chocolate.

Almost walking.

2006-09-18T09:37:00.000-06:00

walking the hippo all over the place
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

She's got the strenght and endurance, she just needs some confidence and some work on her balance.

Look out world, she's nearly ready to tromp all over you!

Holy CRAP!

2006-09-05T11:37:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Kristin was in Julia's room, putting away a bunch of clothes that we bought for her to wear next summer (great sale at The Children's Place!). Julia was playing in the living room. Suddenly Julia appears in the doorway to her room, crawling fast. She crawls up to her diaper stacker and pulls out a diaper. She crawls over to Kristin and pulls up and hands Kristin the diaper. Kristin checked Julia's diaper, and sure enough, it was poopie.

I think she'll be potty trained by the time she is two. What do you think?

12 month well-child visit

2006-08-28T15:14:00.000-06:00

She's gotten bigger!

19 lbs and some change (Kristin says, "almost 20 lbs")
28 inches long

She's almost in the 30% for weight
10% for height
and 75% for head.

So, she's still a big headed baby. But all the cuter for it!

And the doctor said she can have all the cheese she wants. But we've been giving her too many formula bottles. Ooops, more water for now on!

She likes to freak her mama right out!

2006-08-28T09:58:00.000-06:00

Sunday Afternoon, Our House

It was a busy day in The Speckled Frog household. Kristin was at work trying to get ready for her first full week of school, practicum, and work. I was home trying to clean out the basement to get ready for the delivery of a futon as well as to get the office/spare bedroom ready to be made into an office for Kristin. Julia was busy getting everything out that I was putting away -- almost as quickly as I was putting away!

I decided to leave Julia downstairs for a moment while I ran the recycling to the bin. When I got upstairs I saw that our friend, John, was delivering some more sod (he's tearing all the sod out of his back yard just as we're putting sod IN our back yard. Recycled sod, how can you beat that?) so I said hi to him for a moment and then told him that Julia was downstairs so I needed to run. When I went back in the kitchen door, I thought I could hear Julia talking a bit too clearly for her being all the way downstairs. Then I turned toward the very steep staircase just in time to see her appear at the very top step. She was laughing at her success (and probably the stupified look on my face!) I was terrified and relieved all in one fell swoop. The stairs are steep and there's a sharp turn at the top, and at the bottom is a large, cement pillar that supports the house. If she had fallen she could have gone all the way down and cracked her skull or broken her neck on that pillar.

Who taught her how to climb stairs? We didn't think she could do that yet.

Dear lord, now we need to teach her how to go down them...

Phew! The First Birthday Party is Over.

2006-08-21T09:29:00.000-06:00

Birthday Girl
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

What with Aunt Kathy, Grandma Edna, and Norma, Alejandra, and Jose visiting for the weekend, Julia was too excited to do much napping. She wanted to go, go, go! So we were worried that she'd have a meltdown at her party, but she did fine. She is a party animal!

There were over 40 people at Julia's party on Saturday. She is a very lucky girl to have so many people love her so much that they would give up a Saturday afternoon to watch her smear cake all over herself!

Julia has been feeding herself for months, so she didn't get too, too dirty with the cake. She's got good aim. That, and she was soo tired that she didn't have the energy to thow a lot of cake around. This was a messy as she got. Which, while not a mess to sneer at, was nowhere near as messy as other 1 year olds I've seen.

After the cake we opened presents. Well, truthfully, there were so many presents that I began opening them while she was eating cake, just so people could see their presents opened and leave if they needed to. But after we got her cleaned off and dressed again, Julia joined in the present opening. She liked pulling off the ribbons best.

The party lasted about 4 hours, but finally the last guests (my parents) staggered home and we began wearily cleaning up. Julia, of course, slept through that part...

I'm glad we had the party, I'm glad that even though she was tired, Julia had a good time. But I'm also glad that we will never again have to throw a birthday party that big. From now on it'll be kids only (with their parents, of course).

For more Birthday Pictures, you can click here.

Happy Birthday, Bouncy Butt!

2006-08-18T09:30:00.000-06:00

Dear Julia:

Today, as of later this afternoon, we will have had you in our arms for an entire year. I was going to say that we will have had you for an entire year, but truthfully you've been with us far longer than that. We carried you in our hearts for 6 months, and then Mommie carried you in her body until you were pulled, screaming, from that safe place and given to the far more tenuous (but no less fiercely loving) cradle of our arms.

Before you were born, we already knew so many things about you. We knew that you were going to be tiny. We knew that you had adorable little fat rolls on your thighs. We knew that not much phased you. We would watch you in your private spa, your hands behind your head, your ankles crossed, just hanging out in there. (You have no idea how your extreme relaxation gave fits to the nurses trying to make certain that you were ok in there). We knew that you had a temper, and that it was slow to rise and quick to burn off. All of these things we looked forward to with great anticipation and love.

But it was the things that we didn't know, the things that you have been revealing to us over this last year, that has proven to be such an amazing delight. Your sense of humor, your ability to find the humor in everything around you, the fact that your ability to make jokes and tease has expressed itself from your earliest moments. It is rare that we can't distract you from a temper or an upset by doing something you would consider funny -- and you consider so very many things funny! It seems to you that this world was put here primarily to amuse you, and you are mightily amused.

I remember holding you in my arms when you were a few weeks old. You were sleeping. I was reading. And suddenly I heard a rich, fat chuckle. I looked down at you and you were chuckling in your sleep -- a little smile on your face. That sound was the loveliest thing I had heard in my entire life. And Mommie and I are so lucky that we get to hear that laugh many, many times a day. You are joy incarnate. You are a giggle made flesh.

But you are more than that, too. For there is this deep soulfullness within you, this ability to pierce through illusions. There are moments when I look at you and I know that you are not fooled by my attempts at perfection. These moments when you let us see that you will never have the wool pulled over your eyes also fill me with joy, even as they terrify me. Joy because life can be so hard for people, girls, who stand out, who don't fit the frames people would like to hang on them. You're going to need every bit of wisdom and wileyness and perception you've got to make it through this world whole. And that is also why I'm terrified, as well. Not because you will be wiley and stubborn and strong, but because you will have to be so to survive intact.

Today you made your very first long-distance phone call to your Auntie Kathy. Unfortunately, we didn't know that you'd made it. But there you go. So independent. You know that a phone is for talking, for saying hi, and you're determined to talk, talk, talk to as many people as possible. A few months ago your little toy phone was enough to satisfy this craving of yours. But now nothing but the real phone will do. When Mommy or I talk on the phone you reach for it, call out hi! or other words. When we put the phone to your ear you sit in stunned silence. We've been allowing you to play with the real phone, but that may have to stop, now that you've managed to place a long distance call.

This letter was going to be a welcome to toddlerhood, but in truth you've been a toddler now for months. Your babyhood is slipping away before our eyes, with each emphatic "No!" that explodes from your lips. I would be lying if I said I wasn't sad. But I would also be lying if I sad that sad is the main thing I feel. Mostly, I feel excited. Each unfolding of yours is a delight. And though I realize that I may not be able to say that for much longer, I also know that no matter how frustrated I become with your behavior over the next few decades, I wouldn't have it any other way.

And now you know, as if you didn't before, what big saps your mommies are. Please don't use it against us.

Happy Birthday, darling!
Mama

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 3

2006-08-09T15:15:00.000-06:00

water baby detail
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Even though Julia wasn't tagged by Noah, I decided that as we get to the end of her first year of life it just might be interesting to see what she'd say to the questions on this meme. So there you go. I am breaking my long-held rule that I will never write as if I were speaking for Julia.

Oh well, it's only the once. And I really do think she'll enjoy reading this when she gets older...

3 Things That Scare Me
1) When Mama tries to play Monster with me and growls at me.
2) When I wake up in the middle of the night and no one is holding me.
3) Um, that’s it. I don’t scare easily at all. Even loud noises don’t bother me. Must have been all that sawing and hammering Grandpa and Mama were doing for such a long time!
3 People That Make Me Laugh
1) You.
2) Them.
3) Everyone I set my eyes on. Life is so amusing.
3 Things I Love
1) Balls.
2) Shutting doors.
3) My mamas.
Things I Hate
1) Waking up absolutely alone.
2) Falling asleep. Why why WHY do I have to take naps and sleep all night? There’s so many other things I could be filling my time with! So many other things to be explored. So many more kisses to give my mamas!
3) Wearing hats. Funny isn’t it, since my mamas make hats and I have a million of them?
3 Things I Don’t Understand
1) Why Oscar always gets up and moves away when I crawl over to him to touch his pretty fur. He doesn’t know that I pull hard; he’s never let me get hold once!
2) See #2 immediately above.
3) Why my mamas get so upset when I play with those bowls of water and little brown pellets. If they didn’t want me to play with them they shouldn’t have put them on the floor for me.
3 Things On My Desk/Table (or in my crib)
1) The pretty afghan that Auntie Lauri made for me.
2) My singing caterpillar.
3) A big rose made out of velvet
3 Things I’m Doing Right Now (I added more because she’s doing such cute things right now)
1) Crawling and pulling up on things.
2) Climbing on everything. I Must. Get. Up!
3) Singing with the radio.
4) Starting the music on my dinosaur or red car and then dancing.
5) Repeating every funny word I hear my mamas say over and over and over and then laughing.
6) Trying to figure out how to stand up on my own in the middle of the floor. I see my mamas do it all the time, but I just can’t quite figure out how they do it.
3 Things I Can Do
1) Play catch with other people.
2) Crawl all over the house without letting go of my ball. (Pad, pad, pad, THUNK. Pad, pad, pad, THUNK)
3) Surprise my mamas by telling them the new words I’m learning every day.
3 Ways to Describe My Personality
1) Easy going.
2) Quick to laughter.
3) Electrifying
3 Things I Can’t Do
1) Walk by myself.
2) Pet Oscar.
3) Climb up on the couch.
3 Things I Think You Should Listen To
1) My singing. I am so good!
2) Flutes.
3) My mamas’ heartbeats
3 Things I Think You Should Never Listen To
1) Anyone telling you no – unless you’re listening to how funny they sound.
2) Oscar and Oliver’s barking. They’re loud!
3) Any movie where people are talking quietly. If they were saying something important then they’d be saying it loud enough to hear it over my activity ball.
3 Absolute Favorite Foods
1) String Cheese
2) Nectarines
3) Chocolate ice cream
3 Things I’d Like to Learn
1) How to stand up without help.
2) How to climb anything.
3) How I can arrange my life so that I can be upside down as much as possible.
3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
1) Formula
2) Water
3) Grape flavored water (We juiced our grapes last year and canned the juice and will occasionally add some to water in a sippy cup at meals)

Babies I tag... I don't think any babies read this so I don't think I'll tag anyone!

She's a Cruiser!

2006-08-04T09:06:00.000-06:00

Look at that posture!
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

It's funny. Until I got involved in trying to conceive and started reading parenting magazines, the term "cruiser" meant something entirely different to me...

But, watch out, world! She's cruising! Nothing can stop her now! Err... except for a lack of furniture in her path. But no! For then she just drops to her knees and crawls, crawls, crawls, inexorably, to her destination. She is unstoppable. She MUST shut every. door. in the house! She must splash in the dog water! She must scatter dog food! She must throw her toys down the stairs! So much to do, so much territory to cover.

One year photos

2006-08-01T09:52:00.000-06:00

1 year standing
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Ok, we're still a couple of weeks away, but we wanted pictures to put in the birthday invitations...

Here are Julia's official One Year Old pictures. The sitting was exhausting. She's decided that she doesn't WANT to sit still for the photographer! But they turned out so cute. These will probably be the last KK pictures until Christmas, so we bought a bunch.

Growing up in leaps and bounds

2006-08-01T09:45:00.000-06:00

playing with the baby bottle
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

We're unclear if she was doing imaginary play, or if she was really hoping that something would come out of this baby bottle... hard to say what she was thinking, but it was sure cute!

Yesterday morning Julia woke up about 6. That was about a half hour before I needed to be up for work, so first I tried to see if she would snuggle with me. No go, she wanted down. So I put her on the living room floor and curled up to drowse on the loveseat. After a few minutes she had crawled to the loveseat and was trying to stand up. Our furniture is just a little too tall for her to pull herself up on, so I helped her stand up. And then she started trying to crawl up onto the loveseat with me. So I helped her up. And she pushed her way up through my arms so that she was laying against me with her head on my shoulder, gave a big sigh, and promptly fell asleep.

I guess she decided that she wanted to snuggle and drowse a little after all!

I'm behind on blogging

2006-08-01T09:33:00.000-06:00

Grandpa kisses
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Which is sad because we're rapidly approaching Julia's one year birthday...

We had a big family photo shoot last Monday (July 24th) and here are some of the best pictures...

Wordy

2006-07-13T14:44:00.000-06:00

Having a blast
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Well, we're sitting here at almost 11 months and I thought I'd take a moment to talk about Julia's verbal skills.

The girl talks up a storm. Words she says:
Mama
doggie
cat
hi
no
yes
ball
night-night
Grandpa
Grandma
Katie
num-num
Thank you (I'm counting this as one word, because I don't think she knows that it's a phrase)
Ducky
Ann (her caregiver's name)

Phrases that she uses:
Hi Mama
Hi Julia (we have no idea why she's saying this, but it's pretty clear)
No Doggie

It's that last one that cracks me up. Like they listen to her. It wasn't long ago that she didn't care if they took her crackers. Now she hides her food when they're around.

When we were camping she was sitting on her blanket, the dogs were pacing nearby -- restless because of the cooking food. I took her a tiny piece of bacon. When I handed it to her she told me Thank You (SO CUTE! that's the first time I heard her say it) and then very subtly hid it behind her back so Oliver wouldn't notice it. He didn't, and she got to eat it without being bothered, but not because of her hiding it. She's not that good! He didn't notice it because he was too busy begging from someone else. It's just funny that she's learned to be wary of them with food.

Hey! We try to make sure the dogs don't steal her food. But they're sneaky! Good thing they're gentle when they take food away from her...

Julia babbles all day long. She creates long strings of sounds that are inflected like sentences. We can hear questions and answers in her babbling. It's as if she's speaking another language entirely and has figured out that we will never learn her language, so she'll learn ours. It's cute. She'll say a whole request for something in her language. And then, painstakingly enunciate what she wants in ours. Too cute!

ETA: All day long yesterday Julia kept saying “Hi Julia” to everyone who came in the room. Over and over. Hi Julia. To her toys. To her mommies. To herself. We’re beginning to wonder if she doesn’t realize that Julia is her name. Maybe she thinks it means “person”. Weird. It sounds really cute, though.

Bye, Bye Baby Food

2006-06-29T13:46:00.000-06:00

Symbiosis
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Last night Kristin and I decided that we will be buying no more jars of baby food. Julia is absolutely uninterested in being spoon-fed. Absolutely.

Oh, sometimes she'll consent to letting us give her some oatmeal. Sometimes some fruit. But for the most part unless she's sticking it in her mouth herself, she wants nothing to do with it. This doesn't apply to bottles, of course, those she still wants us to hold for her. But since she only wants a bottle when she's going to sleep for naps or bed, I can see her point.

At this point in her life, Julia eats everything we do. She has 7 teeth now, and enjoys chewing just as much as she enjoys picking things up and sticking them in her mouth. So at dinner time, we simply take what we're eating on the grownup table and cut it up into pieces for her, toss it on her tray (no messing around with plates in our house) and let her at it.

She'll eat anything: Sushi. Pizza. Vindaloo. She loves grapes.
She doesn't care for watermelon. Oh, yes, and she HATES egg yolks. But that's it. 2 things we've found that she doesn't like, a half-million things that she does.

The only things we don't give her are nuts (not till she's 4, and then we'll do so very, very carefully), and bananas and blueberries. Both those last two give her a rash.

It is just so much fun to feed her. To put new things on her plate and watch her gobble them up. We're going to keep up with the diverse diet and continue to introduce as many new things as possible.

So, no more bottles of unappetizing mush for her!

Playing Pigs Ducks

2006-06-28T09:07:00.000-06:00

Eating Pigs
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

While we were on vacation in Manzanita, Julia's favorite game was called Pigs. See, there were three piglets and they rode on the belly of the mama pig and the game was to pick up all three pigs at once. This kept her entertained for hours, because as soon as she would drop a pig to pick up the third pig, she realized that she still had a pig to pick up. Eventually she decided that holding a pig in her mouth would count, so she tried that. Shortly after this discovery the Oz-dog ate one of her pigs, so the game was over.

Last night I was giving Julia a bath and in the tub were the equivalent to the pigs -- three ducklings riding on the back of a mama duck. Julia had taken two of the ducklings off the mama and the mama floated away. Then, while there were still two ducklings in her hand, the mama came floating back, right between Julia's legs. Without pausing Julia bent down and grabbed that final duckling in her mouth and then straightened, the duckling held firmly in her teeth and held and two fists, a duckling in each, up in the air. Ta Daaaaaaaa!

Relaxed baby

2006-06-26T10:50:00.000-06:00

Sleeping in the Swing
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

When she was in the womb, we would see on the ulltrasounds how she would lie there with her legs crossed and her arms behind her head...

just like this, in fact.

Some things are just ingrained.

Major Milestone

2006-06-23T15:15:00.000-06:00

Like a Shark Going in for the Kill
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

She CRAWLS!!!!! The older kids at her daycare were excited to announce for us on Wednesday that JULIA IS CRAWLING. Finally. They've all been crawling around on all fours to try to get her to get the idea of how to do it. But no, she was too content scooting around on her butt. And, really, we were happy that way. She can't go very far that way. She can still get into things we don't want her to get into -- the bookshelves and the magazine rack come to mind -- but she couldn't make it all the way to our railing-less stairs that way.

She wouldn't crawl for us all that night. But last night she was sitting on the living room floor with some scattered toys. And Kristin and I were talking and not paying too much attention when we noticed it. Her tentative crawling to wards a toy. She been getting in the crawling position for weeks now as part of her butt-scooting repertoire. But this was for real.

Of course, as soon as we started paying attention to her she stopped doing it. And as soon as I grabbed the camera she was all done. So, no pictures of the event. This picture is of her pulling up at the beach house on vacation.

Now, we've got to the the stairs guarded by rail and gate (and the rest of our house babyproofed) FAST!!!

Not too old for a milk-coma

2006-06-19T10:55:00.000-06:00

Not too old for a milk-coma
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

After swimming, after playing, after eating...

First Waterslide

2006-06-19T10:00:00.000-06:00

First Waterslide
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Aunt Sara rolled up her pants and got in Grandma and Grandpa's pool to help Julia down the slide.

Julia is a Genius

2006-05-16T08:54:00.000-06:00

Deep in Thought
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Every person thinks that their child is the smartest, cutest child out there. Well, I have to tell you that all of you are wrong. Because Julia is the smartest, cutest kid on the entire planet. And I have two stories to offer as (completely objective) proof. They both involve upon growling.

1) The daycare kids have taught Julia how to growl. Her little growl is rough and menacing and high-pitched, like a tiger cub or a wolf puppy. Some vicious infant animal. Paired as it is with her sparkling eyes and huge smile (which she thinks is "baring her teeth" like the older kids who taught her) the result is completely charming. And, of course, we had to have her demonstrate her new skill to Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa were appropriately charmed.

Later, when Grandpa and I took Julia to the store for the first of many part runs, Grandpa started working with Julia with saying "Grandpa". "Grandpa, Grrrandpa, Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrandpa" he said to her slowly, turning the first sound into the growl that she has so perfected. Immediately she stopped smiling at him and started thinking hard. "That's right," he told her, "you think about it and get back with me."

Later that night, when Julia had been fed and changed and was ready for bed, Kristin and Grandma brought Julia over to say goodnight to me and Grandpa. Grandpa wasn't really paying attention as he was focused on a recalcitrant coupling. Julia was not best pleased at Grandpa's lack of attention. "Grandpa!" she cried at him. We all looked at her. "Grandpa," she said again. "Hi!" And we all burst into congratulations and praise.

In truth, her word didn't sound as clear as I have just presented it. It was a growl, ended with her kissy sound, which sounds a little like "pa". But there was no doubt that "grrrrrrrrpa" was her very clear attempt to vocalize the word grandpa and that that word was very clearly directed toward her grandpa who was not paying as much attention to her as she thought he should.

So, my question. Why can she say Grandpa, but she won't even TRY to say Mama?

2) Last night it was just Julia and I, and I was trying to keep her up a bit past her bedtime to give Kristin more time to get home and see her. After Julia was dined and cleaned and changed and pajamaed we sat in the big club chair with her gigantic (it's longer than she is) "Sparkle Fun Book". We were having a great time, turning the big cardboard pages and trying to peel the foil off the pictures, when we came to a page with animals all over it. I started pointing to the animals and making animal sounds. I didn't Julia was paying much attention to me as she was poking at a piece of silver foil. But when I touched the tiger and growled she stopped fingering the foil. I touched the tiger again while growling. After a moment she slapped her hand over the tiger and she growled. Then she did it again. I praised her and touched the picture of the snake. I hissed as I touched it. Julia looked at me closely as I hissed. Then she touched the snake and blew air out through nearly-closed lips. It sounded more like an "f" than an "s", but it was a good estimation of the sound.

She's growing and expanding so fast. We can see the intellectual connections being made behind her eyes. It is a joy to accompany her on this journey.

Katie is Learning

2006-05-04T12:30:00.000-06:00

Grandpa and His Girls
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

I think we've mentioned before that Julia is only the second grandchild for my parents. Katie is 3 years older than Julia and has been the sole darling of the famiy's eye for that entire time. Her adjustment to sharing Grandma and Grandpa's attention has been occasionally fraught with pre-schooler trauma, but for the most part has been moving along smoothly.

A week or so ago my Mom watched Julia on a workday. Julia was running a slight fever and so couldn't go to A's, but Kristin had court and I had no more sick leave. My mother also watches Katie all day.

On this particular day my mother was happy to report that Katie and Julia got on famously, with Katie singing Julia songs and Julia trying to sing them back (Katie loves to sing, and anyone who will sing with her is her Favorite Person on the Planet -- unless someone comes by and offers to read Katie a book. And then the book-reader is the New Favorite Person on the Planet).

At one point in the day Julia was in her high chair with some toys and my mom needed to use the bathroom. She asked Katie to sing and play with Julia for a minute. Apparently my mom could hear the sounds of a baby's favorite game being played while she was in the bathroom. thunk and a toy would hit the floor. "Julia, you dropped your toy again." Katie would say as she picked it up. thunk again. And again Katie would pick it up and tell Julia to be more careful. This (of course) went on the entire time Mom was in the bathroom.

When mom came out, Katie went to her and said, "Grandma, I'm not going to pick up Julia's toys any more. She's doing it on purpose!"

And thus Katie was reacquainted with the gravity game. This time on the exasperated side.

On the Milestone Front...

2006-05-03T12:35:00.000-06:00

Drinking like a big girl...
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

I can't neglect to mention the most important milestone. Julia can now drink from a straw. Very important for her future Slurpee consumption!

This isn't a slurpee, though, it is a Jamba Juice, all frozen fruit and juice, no sherbet or yogurt or icecream. Kristin was feeding it to Julia one strawfull at a time. Doing the thing where you create a little vacuum dropper by putting one finger over the end of the straw. And then Julia, not content with the slow way that Kristin was dropping the nectar into her mouth, started sucking it out. So we stuck the straw back into the cup and let her have at it.

We couldn't be prouder if she'd mixed us up martinis with her own little hands.

Oh I am so behind with the blogging

2006-05-03T12:28:00.000-06:00

Super-Cute Bunny
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Here is a lovely picture of Julia on Easter for you to look at while I talk about locomotion.

Julia doesn't roll over. The doctor says she is completely capable of rolling over, she just doesn't want to. We think she may have rolled over a few times when we were out of the room, but as far as doing it in front of witnesses...

However, she IS mobile. She scoots. On her butt. It is as if the sheer force of her desire for a toy brings her closer to it with no visible effort expanded on her part. One moment she is 3 feet away from something, the next moment she is right next to it, shoving it in her mouth. It is amazing.

Occasionally, while stretching for something, she will fall on her face on the floor. This precipitates screaming, not because she's hurt, but because she's now on her stomach, the one place she hates to be. Normally the screaming is of such a degree and pitch that the mommies can't help but go and pick her up and place her where she wants to be. But last night we decided that frustration was good for her soul, and we let her cry.

And she picked herself back up. She got her legs underneath her, hung out in the crawling position for a few minutes and then pushed herself back into a sitting position! We are so proud of her!

She'll be crawling any day now. All without ever rolling over.

Tell me again...

2006-04-12T12:10:00.000-06:00

Paper Towel Toys 1
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

why we just spent $45 in toys for her when she has such a good time playing with garbage and paper towels?

Oh her way to talking

2006-04-03T09:24:00.000-06:00

Petting Oscar
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

What do you think of this? Lately Julia's favorite syllable is "Da!" Always said with the exclamation point. She practices saying this all the time. All day long, "da! da! da!"

Experts say that normally when there's a pet in the house a child's first words are related to those pets.

Oscar and Oliver are still a little uncertain about this new, hairless, puppy. They know they like to take her crackers. They know they like to lick her milky face. They know they like to chew her toys and bibs and (try to chew) her diapers and wipes. But other than that they really don't see a purpose to her existence. The screaming, the fur pulling, the attention hogging. It's rather funny, actually, the way they skirt around her... unless she's holding or dropping or covered in food, that is.

But, the other day, I was holding Julia on my lap and Oscar came up to a non eating, dropping, or covered in food Julia, and he looked deep into her eyes and sniffed her all over, gave a quick (hopeful) lick to her face, and then snorted and walked away. Julia leaned after him and I said to her, "doggie, doggie" and she said, carefully, "da"(no exclamation point this time.)

So... what do you think? Do you think she was trying to say doggie? She's said that syllable several times while looking at the dogs. Of course she's said that syllable several times looking at other things, too. But it sounds so careful and deliberate when she says it to the dogs, and so exclamatory and practice-like when she says it other times...

Not a Vessel; Not Clay

2006-03-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Julia lending a hand
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

I don't know what to say about this picture. I don't know how to capture my complex emotions. She had been watching my dad and I work on mudding and taping the sheetrock for nearly an hour. But one wonders exactly how much a baby absorbs. No, not that, one knows that babies absorb anything. One wonders at how much a baby can apply of what they absorb. How much they can apply, and how quickly. After all, how many times have I held her on my lap and patiently enunciated "mama, mmmmmama, mmmmmaaammmmmma" over and over, trying to get her to say it back? And how many times has she said it, or even tried to say it? None. She just looks at me with an amused look on her face and babbles baby words that have nothing, phonetically, to do with the two syllables ma and ma.

And then she does something like this. She watches her Mama and Grandpa smear mud on a wall, and the moment we put a mud-covered knife in her hand she reaches out and smears the mud on the wall. She knew exactly what one was to do with mud and a knife. And she did it. Carefully, unself-consciously, not trying to be cute or looking around for approval. As if she thought we were really expecting her to do her share of the work. As if she were equal in abilities and responsibility for the house. As if this were just another thing we were expecting her to learn and master at this age.

She doesn't yet say Mama*, she doesn't yet roll over. But she drywalls.

How much more is she pulling in? How much more am I, all unconscious to it, teaching her?

Already, at this young age, I have no control over what she learns. Even over what she learns from me.

The moment I was given another life to guide and control for a time, was the moment I began to learn how little control I really have.

The moment I try to set up a silly little photo-op to showcase how cute my daughter is, is the moment she reminds me that she isn't a passive vessel with no volition over what information sticks with her and what she does with that information, but a thinking, rationing, evaluating human being, who chooses what she learns and when she exhibits that knowledge. She is not just instincts and impulses; she is capable of decisive action.

She is not clay; she is a partner.

Now if I can only keep that in mind when she looks at me blankly while I'm encouraging her to roll over or call me "Mama".

Jumping Julia

2006-03-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Mid-Jump
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

After weeks of hanging listlessly in her jumper, or twirling on her toes, Julia has finally gotten the idea that JUMPING is what one does in a jumper.

It is just so gosh darn cute to watch her jump jump jump her little tiny hops around in circles, laughing and giggling all the while. She looks like a little ballerina. Or a frog.

Another milestone smashed through

2006-03-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Eating Cheerios
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

I mentioned in an earlier post that Julia hasn't quite gotten the hang of putting cheerios in her mouth. Well, Sunday breakfast consisted of Peaches and cheerios, and I am proud to report that Julia finally managed to get cheerios into her mouth! She grabbed them by the fistful and shoved her whole fist into her mouth. So, I guess she still needs to work on the delicate pinching move to pick them up one by one (she can pick them up one at a time, but manages to flip them out of her grasp before they end up in her mouth) but I have no doubt that she'll manage that move in no time...

What Ostara Sent Us

2006-03-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

016020257_04
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Julia's Auntie sent us her Easter dress, so we were able to get her pictures taken. This is what my mother, Kristin and Julia were up to while my dad and I were knocking down walls.

For more fuzzy-bunny adorableness (including a beautiful one of Julia's little feet and my mother holding Julia's hand) go here.

Prepare yourself for Sugar Shock.

Feeding Frenzy

2006-03-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

Are you really going to let me try this myself?
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

One of the things we've been working on here in the Frog Pond is self-feeding. That way Kristin and I are one step closer to being able to resume our couch-potato lives without interruptions for baby. In fact, soon SHE'LL be able to bring food to US! yeah. Cheetos on the couch, bring it on!

Anyway. That's for later. For now we're just working on trying to keep the food in the general vicinity of her mouth. To that end, we bought these cute little Gerber Dippers. They're ridged little stick things that the babyfood clings too so Julia doesn't have to worry about keeping the spoon the right side up. This is just to get her in the habit of using a utensil.

Yeah. Maybe we should have worked on her (non-existent) skill at getting cheerios into her mouth first. Oh well, hind sight is always 20/20.

When I first put the bowl in front of her and placed the dipper in her hand, she seemed a bit unsure. As if it were a cruel joke.

Then, she started getting into it. Really getting her hands and dipper in there.

During all this, I continued to feed her with a spoon AND help her get the dipper from her mouth to the bowl. We made a HUGE mess, but had a blast!

Then, because not only had we not gotten messy enough, but we also had not yet had dessert, I put some frozen berries into a mesh bag for munching on. Actually, that's a misstatement. I had put the frozen berries in the bag when we started. MEANWHILE, they melted while we played with the yellow gunk. So they were quite drippy by dessert time.
Julia wasn't exactly certain what to do with this bag... but eventually she discovered that it made a nice paint brush.

Finally, because Julia is a girl who doesn't really like to be covered with gunk, she let me know in no uncertain terms that she was ready to get out.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the message. So she had to get a bit firmer.
Not to worry, though. I did eventually get her out and in the bath where her equanimity was restored.
I guess we should stick with working on picking up cheerios.

That's right, just a little closer...

2006-03-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

Can I bite your camera?
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Like Sunny from the Series of Unfortunate Events, Julia's great love in life these days is to bite anything and everything she can get her hands on. This day I was close enough to her with the camera that she was pretty darn sure that I was finally going to concede to her wishes and let her chew on the big black thing that I'm always pointing at her...

She is nothing but happy to comply

2006-03-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

The terrible two
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

I asked her to show me her teeth so I could take a picture of them and the obligingly pulled her lower lip down for me!

I just have to tell you that the first tooth? It was easy. Eeeeeeeeeeeasyyyyyyyyyyy. Smooth as butter. We noticed a bump and a day later there was the tooth. The second tooth? The second tooth was a bully. A week of tears and pain and no appetite and fevers and fussiness and drugs. Wonderful wonderful drugs. Oh yeah, and Julia got some tylenol and motrin and anbesol, too.

But it's finally in and just in case you were wondering, those suckers are sharp! She used to pull my finger into her mouth and gum it and it was so cute! Now she pulls my finger into her mouth and bites HARD. It's not so cute anymore. But you know what is cute? The sound she makes scraping those teeth against a zwieback toast or an arrowroot cookie.

Scritch, scritch, scritch and a determined little look just makes my heart melt. Melt I tell you. Just like the arrowroot cookie. I'm a gooey mess all over the floor.

Accidental Picture

2006-03-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Accidental Picture
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Messing around with the digital camera, Kristin and I managed (somehow) to take this absolutely beautiful portrait of Julia while standing like a hundred feet away from her. This is Julia on March 11th, 2006. No, she doesn't normally look this sad. But I don't like to think of this as sad; I like to think of it as soulful.

The sad thing is that we have yet to capture for posterity her truly pouty look where her lower lip juts out and she just looks so cute you can't help but give her anything she wants...

sleeping with the lovey

2006-03-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

sleeping with the lovey
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

It's been a mystery exactly HOW A, Julia's caregiver, has been managing to put her down for naps. We were pretty sure that our nighttime routine of Kenny Logan, 20 minutes of fast rocking with a bottle in a completely dark room, several false lay-downs a binkie and a completely silent house wasn't happening at A's place. On the weekends all we've been lucky to get is 30 to 45 minutes, but A reports naps of upwards of 3 hours in the afternoon.

So, we decided to ask her. Turns out she puts Julia down while still awake by putting a soft blanket up against her cheek. That's it. No rocking. No binkie. No problems.

Well, we had been giving her a hard time because she's still wiping her kindergartener's butt even though he wipes all by himself at school. She claims he won't wipe at home. We didn't want this to turn into something like that. If she goes down so easily at daycare then by golly she's going down easy for us!

So Kristin went and bought 2 loveys. One to use and one spare. And last night in the midst of extreme orneriness brought about by tremendous teething we put her down, fully awake, with the lovey up by her face.

And silence reigned.

Even when the dogs started barking I heard Julia start crying and then within moments fade back to sleep.

We LOVE the lovey.

I hope my telling you about it doesn't jinx the loveyness.

Playing with the big kids

2006-03-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

Fishing
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Sunday Kristin, Julia, and I took dinner over to our friends who just had their second little one. Their daughter, Big Sis, is getting closer to three years old. She is so excited to be a big sister, and I can see a difference in her self presentation already. She's helpful and bossy and paternalistic. It's so cute.

Anyway, she wanted to play a game and asked me to play this fishing game with her. Julia was sitting on the floor and when she showed an intersest in the game Big Sis handed her a fishing pole and we all sat and tried to play it together. Julia had such a great time. She really loves playing with older kids. We think it's because she's got older kids surrounding her at her care-provider's place. All those older kids playing with her and talking to her and singing to her and just generally loving her company. They're helping our little girl grow up a bit faster than she would on her own. And she loves them for it.

Can I have a cookie?

2006-03-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Self feeding
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

After reading that at her age Julia should be able to feed herself a cracker, we realized that we had never given her a chance to self-feed. So, zip out to the store and buy Arrowroot cookies and teething biscuits. Julia loves them both. She loves putting them in her mouth and gumming, gumming, gumming. And she loves taking them out of her mouth and "painting" with the sludge created. *sigh* I guess now is when it starts to get messy. WHAT HAVE WE DONE!

Besides the mess, only hard thing about this stage of development is going to be to keep me away from those yummy arrowroot cookies (hey, I had to try them, didn't I? For quality control).

Julia's changing eating habits

2006-02-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

sippy cup
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Right now, Julia eats:

Sweet potatoes
Pears
Peas
Carrots
Apricots
Prunes
Peaches
Green Beans
Apples
Mangos
Papaya
Avocado
Oatmeal
Rice
Squash
Broccoli
Edamame
Tofu
Miso
Goat Cheese
Chili
Dhal
Ice Cream

The one thing we've tried with her that we think she may be sensitive to is bananas. They seem to give her a stuffy nose.

Right now, if she sees a person drinking from a glass, she immediately eschews her bottle and demands a glass of her own. But she still doesn't have the concept of sipping from the sippy cup. So we're giving it to her sans valve. It's messier that way, but less so than a regular cup. Now, if only she'll hold it herself!

Surprise Pic

2006-02-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

so darn happy
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

This morning when I plugged the digi in to retreive a picture I found this and 2 other oh-so-cute pictures of Julia from this morning on there. Kristin had to have taken them, cause Oliver doesn't know how to focus and Oscar only takes pictures of himself.

New Tooth

2006-02-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

New Tooth, originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Look, look, look at Julia's new tooth! I finally got her to show it off for the camera. We think there's another one coming up right next to the current one (closer to the center) so soon we should have two. To celebrate, I gave her homemade chili the other day. She LOVED it.

In other news, Julia had her 6 month well baby check. She is 15 lbs 9.5 oz (hanging steady at the 25th percentile for weight) 23.5 inches (also hanging steady at the 3rd percentile for height) and her head is 16 inches in circumference (I can't remember what percentile that is right now.) So she is still short and (relatively) chubby with a (again, relatively) big head.

And oh, my goodness, but is she a talker! The doctor was amused by how much she had to tell him at her visit. I expect her to start using a few words within the next couple of months. At this point her first word will likely be related to our dogs rather than Mama or Mommie -- since we spend so much of our freakin' time trying to keep dogs' tongues away from her face and dogs' teeth away from her toys (chewed toy count so far: 9).

First tooth

2006-02-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

Invisible new tooth
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

This morning I took a look at Julia's swollen tooth bud and discovered that sometime over the night the tooth had erupted. There are no longer gums over the top surface of the tooth! This teething thing is a piece of cake! No crying, no fever, no drooling, no diarrhea, no orneriness! Just a swollen spot, a lot of chewing, and a tooth.

This is me trying to take a picture of it, but it's still pretty small. She pulled her lip back over it at the last second, and then wouldn't keep her tongue off of it so I could photograph it. Oh well, I have a feelign we're going to be seeing a lot of that tooth in the future, no its no big deal that it's being a bit shy right now.

Well, we're working on it.

2006-02-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

Sharing
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Here is proof that Julia can share. Sort of. Not that sharing is super important at this age. But still, it always pays to be polite, no?

Right now this ball is Julia's favorite toy, so the fact that she handed it over even for a second makes my heart go pitter-pat.

Well, she is an only child...

2006-02-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

Julia 'tuding it up
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

At least for now.

Over the weekend we took Julia to Summer's birthday. There were two other children there, Summer & Merr's little boy, Camden, and the 1 year old son of some other friends of ours. Normally Julia really enjoys being around the boys. She laughs at their rough play, she babbles back at them when they talk to her, she smiles at them as they take her toys away.* But this weekend something changed. She had been playing with a ring of plastic keys. This time, instead of it being stolen, she threw it and started gumming on some other toy. Well, the boys picked up the keys and took them to an adult, and the adult started shaking the keys for the boys. Well, Julia heard those keys rattle, and her head whips around and she zeros in on those keys and starts screaming. She wanted those keys back, and she wanted them back immediately!

I guess we need to work on the concept of sharing a little earlier than we expected.

*wouldn't you know it, a whole room of toys for toddlers, and the boys are only interested in the handful of infant toys we bring for Julia!

Through the looking glass

2006-02-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

Through the looking glass
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Just the second before I snapped this she was smiling and blowing raspberries at herself in the mirror. Just as I took this picture she looked at me. Still, it's just too cute not to share!

Valentine's Day

2006-02-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

Flower Power
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

We took Julia out to sushi for Valentine's day. Ok, we didn't really feed her sushi, she got rice cereal with tropical fruits. And edamame. And tofu from our miso soups. And she LOVED it all. And while she was there, entertaining herself while her mommies ate their sushi, she showed us a new trick. That flower thing hanging from her car seat has a pull string that buzzes (like a bee) when you pull it. She knows this, and even just a few days ago she would try and try to pull the thing to get it to buzz. She would frustrated she would start yelling at the poor toy, while pulling with all her little might.

Well, at dinner Tuesday, she reached up casually, crinkled the crinkly petals, and then oh-so-nonchalantly yanked the flower down and set the thing to a'buzzin. The whole while grinning up a pride-storm at us.

Obviously she's been practicing when we're not around.

Sleep -- lovely, lovely sleep

2006-02-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Julia sleeping (all by herself!)
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Ok, I haven't wanted to blog about it for fear of jinxing it. But Julia is now sleeping in her crib! All by herself! For most of the night! And she'll even fall asleep on her own sometimes! Can you tell how excited I am by this? We're actually getting an average of 7 hours sleep (up from the average of 3 hours as of early December). The key to this blissful state? Her nursing pillow. It cradles her as if she were in our arms, allowing our arms to be elsewhere. I know that eventually I will mourn the loss of those all-night cuddle fests, but right now I'm too busy catching up on months of lost sleep.

However

2006-02-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

Drinking from mommie's glass
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

She is getting pretty good at drinking from a glass. And by "pretty good" I mean: opens her mouth wide and chomps down repeatedly on the edge of the glass while letting most of the water dribble out of the corners of her mouth and the rest backwash back into the cup but swallowing just enough to make her think that she's actually accomplished something. Yeah, she's "pretty good" all right.

you wanna re-think that?

2006-02-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

I need to work on this spoon-thing a bit more
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

AFter seeing how confidently and masterfully she manages to whack herself right between the eyes with her spoon, would you still think it's a good idea to let her try to feed herself?

I didn't think so.

Of course, maybe a smaller spoon would help.

I think it's about time you let me feed myself

2006-02-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

I think it's about time you let me feed myself,
originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Doesn't she just look so confident and ready to conquer the world one dish of rice cereal and peaches at a time? After looking deep into those determined eyes wouldn't YOU want to let her feed herself?

More solidy solids

2006-02-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

avocado goatee,
originally uploaded by Temmerling.

This past week Kristin and I have upped the solids quotient. Thursday I gave her avocado mashed with a fork. I left little chunks in the mix -- small enough that she wouldn't choke, but large enough that she would notice them. At first she wasn't exactly sure what to do with the harder pieces, so she swallowed the softer mush and pushed the chunks out with her tongue, where after a few bites they began to look like a little goatee (I didn't wipe them off right away because I thought they looked cute). By the end of the feeding session, though, she was gumming like a champ!

face to face

2006-02-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

face to face,
originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Julia's been doing this thing where as she falls asleep she reaches her hand out and when her little fist hits a face she opens her hand up and pets the face a little bit and then rests her palm on the face until she falls asleep and the little hand slips down. Sometimes she'll start fussing without coming completely awake, and do the hand thing, and the moment she rests her hand on my face she relaxes and falls back into a peaceful sleep.

We were over at Mom and Dad's so Dad could do our taxes. Mom was witnessing this behavior and I explained that we feel this is the way Julia reassures herself that we are still here even though her eyes are closed -- we take it as a sign that she is deeply bonded to us and that she is developing object permanence. She knows us by the feel of our faces -- she doesn't let her hand linger on others' faces when she's sleeping in someone else's arms -- she wakes up and cries. I also had my hand cupping Julia's face as she was drifting to sleep -- this is one of the easiest ways for us to get her to relax and fall asleep. Even if we're not holding her, we can place our hand on the side of her face and she will quiet. we discovered this trick when thinking about how when she was in the womb the ultrasound technicians always had a difficult time getting pictures of her face because she kept it pressed into the placenta. We figured that having her face cushioned and caressed was something innately comforting to her and tried that ourselves and found it to be true.

My mom sat there quietly for a moment and then said: You two are such great parents. You're doing such a good job with her, she is obviously a very happy and secure baby.

At the end of the day, I still want my parents' approval. I'm glad that I have it.

The Unbearable Cuteness of Being

2006-01-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

Rosy Cheeks
Originally uploaded by Temmerling.

I have posted for your viewing pleasure the results of yesterday's 12 hour photo frenzy that included taking pictures at home as well as at Kiddie Kandids. Various flavors of cuteness abound. But my favorite is this one. It's a bittersweet favor because she looks so grown up here. She could not have been posed like this at any earlier moment in her life. This is the very first of many (I'm certain) pictures of her in this pose. And here is a hint of the change to come in her smile. I'm not certain when babies lose their huge, gummy, whole-face smile, but lose it they do (most of them) and in this picture is a hint of the different smile to come. Hopefully not a self-conscious smile, but a smile that looks less like laughter and more like posing. Beautiful, yes, adorable -- cheek-munching even -- but changed. Older. So I love this picture, both because she looks so cute in it AND because I delight in her growing. But still it pangs a little.

You can see the rest of the pictures at my photostream (find it by cliking on the Flickr thingie in the sidebar). The one of her sitting at the little desk is also particularly cute.

She Sits!

2006-01-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

First Solo Bath in the Big Tub #2,
originally uploaded by Temmerling.

Ok, so she's been sitting for about 3 weeks now. So shoot me, I'm behind in the whole picture-taking/blogging thing. Oh well. More pictures of her first solo bath in the big tub here

Yet more pictures of Julia eating

2006-01-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

All I can say is: Boy, Julia sure hates peas.

Just kidding. She loves them, but that look was just so precious I had to capture it. Here's a picture of her sucking them off her fingers in between spoonfulls.

And here she is eschewing the spoon altogether and just feeding herself. I'm not kidding. For about 5 minutes she refused the spoon and would only suck her food off her bib. A little gross, thank goodness the impulse passed.

And finally, here's just another funny picture of her in her Bumbo Seat. I call this shot "Bodiless Baby".

Return of the Big Headed Baby

2005-12-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's update the stats for all 1 of you eagerly awaiting. Julia had her 4 month check-up on Friday (shots for Christmas, what fun!) and she weighs 13lbs 2 oz. She is now 21.5 inches long. She has more than doubled her birthweight but only gotten 4.5 inches longer. So, she's still chubby and short. She's a little cherub. She's a little cherub with a big head. I think it's because she's so smart (see post below for examples). She is still in the 3% for length, and the 25% for weight, but now her head is in the 75%. 75% of babies have smaller heads than she. And most of those are longer and weigh more. I must say, she hauls her humoungous head around wonderfully. And it's such a cute head. I'm so glad it's big, it's just absolutely perfect.

Caution: One Could Slip on all the Sap Around Here

2005-12-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

(The pictures look all digitized and funky, but you can still see them. If you want them to look clear, all you have to do is click on them.)

I don't know if I've spoken enough about how blessed my life has become lately. And here is where I reach a blank space in my mind. I, the writer, the woman who has words for everything, can find no way to express this -- oh, please Goddess, let me find a better term... no, no I can't right now, oh I can't -- profound love I feel for my daughter. And as I write that I can see/hear/taste every sappy book and Hallmark Card on Motherhood (notice the capital M) that was ever placed in my path. Next I'm going to tell you all what lessons she has taught me. How I'm such a better person now. Well, I'm not. I'm still depressive/depressing, occasionally effervescent, quite often lazy, and very judgmental in my heart toward people with missing teeth. So you can see that I am definitely not a better person. Julia has not been pulling her weight in ridding me of all these personality flaws. Really, I do think she could try a little harder, don't you?

She's just so damn cheerful.

Over the last two weeks she completed her transition from Newborn to Baby. She sits. She plays with her toys. She talks at us. I know I've been blogging about how she's begun to do these things, and she has, but in between her spouts of doing them, she was spending most of her time sleeping and eating and excreting and generally acting like a vague newborn. Now all the vagueness is gone. She reaches for things. She's begun to understand our words. Yesterday she was fussy and Kristin asked her if she would like to go to her momma (me) and Julia stopped fussing at her sentence and I walked over and she held up her hands to me. She reached for me. And she laughed when I picked her up. She's so responsive to the world all the time. Everything fills her with delight. She is a child who is unafraid of anything new. She opens her eyes in the morning, smiles, and laughs "Bring it on!" People keep warning us that soon she will develop object permanence and stranger anxiety, and oh though I do hope she develops some sense of caution, I also hope that she retains her open good-naturedness and her willingness to explore independently.

Several weeks ago I took the What Kind of Freaky Mother Are You test. The test informed me that I was the Punk Rock Momma who delights in her children's independent spirits. I've never had an internet test be so accurate (though I don't really care for punk music itself). As Julia begins asserting her personality she is showing herself to be both cuddly/loving and independent. She knows what she wants and she's not afraid to ask for it. When she was three months old she told us in no uncertain terms that she was ready for solid foods, but we held off until her 4 month birthday (the earliest doctors say you can give a child solids) to begin feeding her cereal. Now we've started her on Sweet Potatoes and she can't get enough of them. When it's meal time she hollers at us if we pause too long in between spoonfuls. But the hollering isn't angry, she's not throwing tantrums, she's just reminding us of her needs. Another example: the other night I brought her to bed with us to try to make her night feedings a little easier. In the middle of the night she began hollering. I tried feeding her and she ate a couple of ounces and then again, she hollered. She got louder and louder, more emphatic until she was crying and we got up from the bed. I took her back into the living room and said her name firmly. She stopped crying when she heard her name and looked around, noticed that we were in the living room and smiled. I put her in her swing and turned it on. She laughed once and fell asleep and slept through the rest of the night. That's pretty clear. No more co-sleeping for Julia.

She's also decided no more breastfeeding. When Kristin's milk supply dropped enough that Julia began getting most of her nutrients from bottles of formula, we had thought that Kristin was done with breastfeeding. But several times a day, even when she wasn't hungry, Julia insisted on nursing. Kristin was happy to oblige and nursed Julia every time she requested it. This last week, however, Julia has decided to wean herself. She is still cuddly, still likes to be held close to the chest and skin to skin, but wants her face out where she can see what's going on. She's a girl who knows what she wants and she's very effective at communicating her needs in ways other than crying. For Julia, crying is a method of last resort. She prefers to talk things out.

I say over and over, to anyone who will listen, that I don't know how we ended up with such a cheerful baby. My first reaction to almost anything is sorrow and anxiety. Hers is laughter. Though I'm not yet becoming a cheerful person in her company, I am learning how to act cheerful. And what's that old saying? Fake it till you make it? Oh, I'm faking it all right, baby. I just might make it, too. Oh look, I did end up writing a Hallmark card. Damn.

unhappy milestone (and something maybe happy)

2005-12-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to say that it appears Julia has her first cold. The poor thing is all stuffed up and this morning began a phlegmy little cough. She's such a cheerful baby, though, that she's remained in relatively good spirits about the whole thing, she's just been getting tired more easily, and since she really doesn't like to fall asleep, she's been a bit crankier than usual around her normal sleepy times.

Kristin is also sick, which makes me the only non-mucusy one in the whole household.

On another, related (I'm sure) note. Last night we realized that if WE are cold in our house, then our baby is probably cold. Yeah, we're brilliant over here. And it dimly occurred to us that her reverting to wanting to be held all night might have something to do with said chillyness. So last night we dressed for bed in: a onesie, socks, a heavy cotton nightgown, a long-sleeved sleep sac with the sleeves pulled over her hands, a hat, a receiving blanket, and a partridge. Have you ever seen the movie "A Christmas Story"? She looked just like the little kid in the snowsuit. Yes, we realize that the partridge might have been a bit much, but he just looked so left out sitting in his pear tree all alone... and yes, we know that overheating and excess cloth around the baby are sids risks, but it's not like we were covering her in a down comforter on a waterbed, and besides, she sleeps propped upright in her swing. Anyway, I finally got her to sleep around 10 PM and she slept all the way until...

4:15 am! and then she woke to drink 2 oz and go right back to sleep. I was back in bed by 4:30! Woo hoo! And I had to wake her at 7:00 because we thought I would be taking her to A's, but then she had the cough and we decided that I would stay home from work with her so she can rest and hopefully start back on the mend. So then I regretted waking her, cause I could have slept in! Oh well, now she's down for a nap, so I can tell that she is definitely not feeling well, because she slipped off without even a minor struggle.

Let's hope that it was the bundling and not the virus that helped her (mostly) sleep through the night!

Great Day

2005-12-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

Julia had a wonderful day yesterday getting her pictures taken and then spending the rest of the day with Grandma and Katie and then Grandpa. We picked up a very happy and very tired baby last night.

New developments...

Julia has started drooling like crazy and biting on everything. Feeding has gotten to be an adventure since she just gnaws on the nipple (both of the bottle and of the mommie) a big part of the time. We were thinking that she must be teething, but it seems a little early and she doesn't seem in pain yet. But grandma stuck her fingers in there yesterday and says she can feel where a tooth might be working its way up, so it looks like she really is teething. Of course, it might take a while before the tooth breaks through. Still, we're going to pick up some baby orajel and throw her teethers in the fridge.

And, Grandpa says that Julia buzzed her lips at him last night. This is pretty cool, because though she is very vocal, she's primarily stuck to vowels and restricted her consonants to back-of-the-mouth velar, uvular, and glottal sounds, (g's and trilled r's and a lot of sounds that English doesn't utilize) and hasn't really used her lips or the front of her tongue and mouth to make any noises yet (though I keep demonstrating the ba, sound -- one of the easiest labial noises to make). So we're hoping that this signifies great babbling to come.

Finally, she has figured out that if she kicks the arch of her Baby Einstein play mat the singing star will turn on. So that's exactly what she's been doing. No inefficient squirming around for her! Nosiree, she sticks one leg out and with an economy of movement prized in dancers and boxers, kicks the arch to get the star started again and then relaxes into singing along...

So, here are some of the pictures from yesterday's photo shoot. We got some really cute ones of Katie and Julia together, but since I don't have Katie's parents' permission to post pictures of her, you'll just have to imagine them...

getting so big

2005-11-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken by our friend Heather. She is awesome!
We had a horrible picture experience at Target. DON'T go get pictures there. Do not. Trust us. We were warned and did not heed the warning. We regret it.
So, lately Julia has been trying to kiss her mommies. We give her big kisses on her cheeks and she turns her head and mouths our cheeks back and then laughs. This is not just the rooting reflex. She stopped doing that a long time ago. This is new and just so darned cute you wouldn't believe it. I think the cutest part of it is just that she gets such a big kick out of it herself. She is starting to develop a very quirky sense of humor.

Kiddie Kandids

2005-10-29T22:29:00.000-06:00

So, we braved the Halloween Picture Frenzy and got Julia's picture taken professionally today.

First, the obligatory chili pepper picture:

The the "pretty" picture:

And finally:

The Costanza picture!

last week's pics (finally)

2005-10-29T18:07:00.000-06:00

Ok, here are some of the pictures we took last week...

(oh! and Julia responds to her name now...)

One of her in her new Bumbo Seat

And, finally a picture of Kristin with Julia

Attack of the Big-Headed Baby

2005-10-26T08:36:00.000-06:00

Julia had her 2 month appointment yesterday and we are happy to report that in almost most instances she actually has grown!

She has doubled in weight but only added about three inches in length. She is now 10lbs and some change. And 20 inches long.

That puts her in the 25% for weight and less than 3% for height. So, she's short and chubby. Just as she should be.

But her head. Oh her head.

It's in the 50th percentile.

She has a big head.

I just keep telling myself that it's just that she's so damn smart. She's trying so hard to talk to us that her head is swelling from the effort. It is not that she has a freakishly large head. Even though the kiddie kandids portrait we had taken a little over a week ago made her look like an alien baby. One of those gigantic aliens with the huge brussel-sprout heads and big eyes. It must have just been a bad picture. I'm sure that's it.

We took more pictures over the weekend, but I forgot the disk this morning. So... new pictures this evening or tomorrow, I promise!

Kristin's first day back to work

2005-10-21T18:37:00.000-06:00

Wednesday was my first day back to work, and I had to leave Julia with her grandmother all day. It was really difficult for both Trista and I; however, I think it may have been most difficult for Katie. Katie is Trista's 3 year old niece, and she is not accustomed to sharing Grandma's attention and affection.

Katie: Grandma, I think you need to put that baby down.

Grandma: I can't put the baby down right now. Why don't you go get your baby. You can sit next to me and rock your baby while I take care of Julia.
(Katie gets her doll, rocks her for a while, sings to her and pats her head)

Katie then walks to her Easybake oven, throws her baby inside and says, "I think I'm going to bake this baby."

She's Interactive

2005-10-12T10:24:00.000-06:00

For the most part, Julia's like a beautiful little snuggly little squeaky little lump. I love her. But she's kinda lumpish. At least she was till about a week ago. Since she was born, in the rare moments when she was awake, not hungry, and not suffering from gas or laboring to poop, I've been working with her on sticking her tongue out. I would stick my tongue out at her and try to get her to reciprocate. This endeavor has met with mixed success.
But the other day, I was holding her and she was awake and aware and happy. She looked at me and I saw this expression cross her face. It was the look of someone who has just had a thought cross their mind. She gets this look, and then she sticks her tongue out at me! I got excited and stuck my tongue out at her and then she gets really excited and starts waving her hands around and kicking her feet and opens her eyes really big and sticks her tongue out again. (can you hear how excited I am through my italics?) Anyway, we did this a few more times and then Oscar barked and she looked at him and forgot about the whole thing. And I couldn't get her to do it again.
So, I was beginning to think I had dreamed the whole interactive thing. But then my mom came over to bring Julia's first Halloween costume (a pumpkin, look for pics later) and while she was holding Julia and cooing at her, Julia becan cooing back. They sat and cooed at each other for a few minutes and it was so cute I wanted to cry. Later, I tried it myself and Julia and I had a very deep conversation that lasted for several minutes. She has quite a unique perspective on our country's current Administration and its Supreme Court choices.
She is just growing up so fast. Before I know it she will be all independent, sleeping in her own crib, feeding herself, sitting upright all by herself...

at least for longer than the 5 seconds it took to take this picture.

What I'm feeling as a mother right now

2005-10-12T08:19:00.000-06:00

besides exhaustion, I mean.

Mainly I waver between amazement, guilt, and a burning, piercing hunger I've decided to call a new form of love (but which could also be related to the fact that I'm on a diet right now.)

But let's talk about guilt. I'm prone to guilt anyway. Let's just say I'm predisposed to feel guilty about anything and everything. War in the Middle East? I'm sure it was something I said. Famine and drought? Darn it, I knew I shouldn't have thrown that uneaten food away the same night I took an extra-long bath. Non-stop rain and flooding? My depression is calling the clouds. You heard it here first, folks: In terms of misery, I'm all powerful.

But since I've become a mother (really, since Kristin got pregnant) the guilt has increased. I'm beginning to understand why mothers load such guilt trips upon their children: they're so full of guilt themselves, there's no where else for it to go, it must overflow onto their children.

A short list of what I feel guilty about on a regular basis:

Going to work
Not wanting to go to work
Not working enough
Not holding her enough while she's so squeaky and snuggly
Being happy that she's beginning to like to sit in her swing and thus does not need to be held 24/7
Letting the poem that's been buzzing around my head for the last few days make me distracted and crazy.
Taking the time to get the poem out of my head and into my computer
Not being independently wealthy
Not using cloth diapers
Not really wanting to use cloth diapers
Wishing she would sleep in her crib for at least 6 hours at night
Not scrapbooking

There are uncounted other things which are eluding me at the moment (and by the way, I feel guilty over the forgetting of which because I think that maybe I'm not paying close enough attention to every aspect of this amazingly fleeting time). It's enough to make one crazy.

Last night I was home alone with Julia, and she was sleeping in her swing and I was cooking dinner (Aloo Gobi only with eggplant instead of the gobi because though the gobi was fine in the fridge, the eggplant was about to turn bad and mushy and needed to be used right away) and I kept thinking that I was hearing her cry and every time I left the kitchen and cooking noises behind to listen, I couldn't hear anything. Then Kristin came home and the baby really had been crying, just coincidentally stopping her wails everytime I tried to listen. I'm a bad mommy. Then, when I added the eggplant to the pan of sauteeing spices, the resulting cloud of spice vapor that even the opening of the windows refused to budge (in fact, the chill from the opened windows seemed to serve to make the vapors thicker) sent all three of us into a coughing and sneezing fit. For the next hour, every little cough and sneeze coming from the swing in the living room felt like an arrow to the gut nailing down my new resolution to begin to like my food bland. The arrows felt a bit like the piercing hunger-love, but the points have differently shaped barbs.

Music hath powers to soothe the savage baby

2005-10-12T08:08:00.000-06:00

The two lullabies that are working best to calm Julia down during acid bm's and other infant annoyances are both rounds. The first is one I heard on a tape but of course, not only can I not remember the name, but I can't remember who was on the tape -- some sort of women's chorus: many voices all in harmony. The second is a silly little round I used to sing with my classes at the daycare I used to work for.
I don't know when or where I learned it. Imagine both sung in a breathy falsetto.

1)
When each child is born
the morning star rises
and sings to the universe
who we are.

When each child is born
the morning star rises
and sings to the universe
who we are.

We are our grandmother's prayers
We are our grandmother's dreamings
We are the breath of our ancestors
We are the spirit of love.

2)
A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
goolie goolie goolie goolie goolie
ram sam sam

a ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
goolie goolie goolie goolie goolie
ram sam sam

a rassi, a rassi
goolie goolie goolie goolie goolie
ram sam sam

a rassi, a rassi
goolie goolie goolie goolie goolie
ram sam sam

You asked for it... more and more pics!

2005-10-10T22:03:00.000-06:00

Ok, Kristin posted the pictures below, and I just want to point out that though Julia has been smiling for a few weeks now, we have only recently managed to capture them on film. Now we just need to get her laugh on video. Yes, she ha begun to laugh when awake! It's quite a cute little chuckle (chortle?) And let me tell you, she has quite a sense of humor. Anyway, here are a few more pictures from this weekend's photo frenzy.

Finally more pictures

2005-10-10T21:41:00.000-06:00

at least she'll be easy to potty train

2005-09-22T20:38:00.000-06:00

One thing unique about Julia is her intolerance of messes. Of her own messes. As soon as she starts pooping, she starts crying. You'd think her poop is combustible -- that its contact with oxygen sparks a chemical reaction resulting in green (they must be green) flames hotter than the sun scorching the tender nether regions of our precious babe. At least, that's what her screaming says. Science says otherwise. But the scientific community is not composed of 2 severly-sleep-deprived mommies justtrying to find some peace. So, though we try to hold her off at least until she's finished filling the diaper, we average about 2 diapers per caustic BM.

So, this night as I'm holding her, she starts the butt-burning wail, and I try, I try so hard to hold out till she's finished. Because it's not like she likes the process of changing her diaper, either. Really, she's miserable either way, so if I can put her off till she's finished I'm no worse a mommy than I was and I only have to deal with poop once. (And for those of you who are whispering infant potty training -- where you hold the baby over the toilet when they need to evacuate their bowels, I'm telling you it doesn't work, the poop just runs down her leg, believe me, I've tried)
Ok, where was I, oh yeah, she's trying to communicate the fact that the poop is dissolving the skin on her butt. Finally, I can take no more. I take her into the nursery and pull her diaper off and am confronted by a sea of dark green. It was everywhere! There was no way I was going to get all of that off with wipes. It was time for the hose. I ran her a bath in the kitchen sink, plopped her in and immediately realized what a bad idea that was when the water turned into poopy soup from the poop on her butt. Then the soup got chunks when she decided to finish evacuating her bowels. I had to reach my hand through the poop soup and pull the plug, then use the dish sprayer to hose her down. But the fianl result was worth it, because she was clean and happy and sweet-smelling, and amenable to photographs. So, for those who stayed with me through this disgusting story, you are rewarded.

1 month old

2005-09-19T14:51:00.000-06:00

Last night we decided to mix it up a bit and do something wacky to celebrate Julia's one month birthday... you'll never guess what we did...

we...

put her in the cutest outfit that would fit and took her picture. (Pay particular attention to the adorable matching moccassins, they're Kristin's favorite part of the outfit.) Alright, so that's not exactly an unexpected way for us to celebrate the moment. Ok, we take a lot of picures. Still, yay!

Our lighting situation is not the greatest right now, so the full length picture looks a bit washed out, but here are the best of the bunch, and in only one of the pictures does she look scared. Really, our daughter does not live in fear. I think it must be the flash.

My favorite is this one with the pacifier as big as her head shoved into her mouth. We've had a rough week, so that's been a pretty common sight lately and I thought I should immortalize the moment, particularly since she hasn't really liked the pacifier before.

bath time

2005-09-19T14:44:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, we finally got brave enough to try to take Julia into the bath with an adult. So, Kristin drew a bath and we got Julia undressed and in with her mommie. Julia's not sure yet whether or not she likes baths in her infant tub, but she sure loves to take a bath in the big tub! It's like being back in the womb, complete with the freedom to pee at will into the warm water. I took lots of pictures of her first big-tub bath, but this is the only one that can't be considered pornographic...

Three Weeks

2005-09-12T22:12:00.000-06:00

Here is our three week old baby, all dressed up and ready to go for her first hike with the dogs.

2 weeks old

2005-09-04T22:38:00.000-06:00

Ok, as promised, more pictures. These are in celebration of her two week's birthday. My favirite is the one where she's holding her hand up in front of the camera. She looks like a totally drunk star getting tired of being hounded by the paparazzi. Next thing you know, she's going to have one of her goons confiscate the camera...

Julia and the Giant Ladybug

2005-09-03T15:13:00.000-06:00

Julia stayed awake after one of her afternoon feedings a day or so ago, so we decided to try her in her Baby Einstein play gym, where she was attacked by a giant ladybug!

2 week check-up

2005-09-02T18:19:00.000-06:00

Julia now weighs 6 lbs and 1 1/4 oz. Way to go Julia! She's been gaining about an oz a day and the doctor says that's perfect.

She has also grown a full inch since her birth. I knew she looked bigger. At this rate she may fit her newborn clothes in about a month.

Finally, we were told that Julia is in the 3rd percentile for height and weight, but is perfectly healthy. We need to watch her weight gain carefully since she doesn't have a lot of space to slip up, but with as healthy as she is, her doctor is not worried at all.

I will post some more pictures soon.

the first milestone?

2005-09-02T18:13:00.000-06:00

Julia shed her very first real tears yesterday while she was expressing her emotions over being put in her swing. I cooed over the little streams of liquid pouring out of her eyes and down her cheeks and then switched the swing from back and forth to side to side and walked away. She quieted and we were able to eat dinner with BOTH HANDS.

Other things Julia did yesterday:

Sat in her bouncy chair without crying for 20 minutes.

Played in her Baby Einstein gym for 15 minutes and reached (ok, it may have been accidental) for the hanging ladybug.

Kicked the hanging toys that activate the bouncy chair's music and lights.

Slept on her own (without us holding her) for about 2 hours.

She's getting much better at this being physically seperated from her mommies. Which makes us happy since we didn't want to force her before she was ready into the cold, cruel world of moving through empty space without being surrounded by your mommie. It looks like she will be moving into that world all on her own sooner than we thought.

One week Old

2005-08-26T08:14:00.000-06:00

We managed to take some pictures of Julia on her 1 week birthday. I'll post our favories below. We're trying to decide which one we'll use for the birth announcement, so, please, weigh in!

#1

#2

#3

#4

Look, Ma, Two Hands!

2005-08-25T16:53:00.000-06:00

Do you hear that? Of course you don't. Because "that" is silence and, as such, does not make a sound.

Do you see this? I'm typing with two hands.

How, you might ask, are you using two hands while enjoying the sound of silence?

The wonder of a sling. We are actually getting things done around the house this afternoon while actually listing to our own music. Thanks to the wonder of the womb-like qualities of denim...

Praise the lord.

Amen.

day 3 of life

2005-08-23T23:37:00.000-06:00

These pictures were taken by our friend Winston Smith. He has a blog at http://stateshift.blogspot.com