It's very hard to keep up with you these days! It doesn't seem that long ago that we were celebrating your first steps...but granted that was in August, and you've now been walking for over 6 months! Every time you leap forward- sometimes literally- it seems like you master your new steps immediately and they seem just like another tool in your belt. You're a natural. And, naturally, you've been growing by leaps and bounds since your first birthday.
I can't even begin to enumerate all the amazing things you do, because you do so many amazing things that it's hard to keep count! It's hard to not take some of these steps for granted because you just keep piling them on.
You climb. Whenever and wherever you can.
It started innocently enough with the slide.
And then assisted with some stairs.
But before Thanksgiving, and before we knew it, you were climbing up to the kitchen table.
And then the bathroom sink.
And the couch, and stairs unassisted, and whatever else you could find:
You have a sense of humor!
You talk: it started out with just Mama. But soon after you started saying "bubba" for Aidan and "gaga" for Dada. You love saying "Mimi" and "Yaya" and "Baba" and "Ba" ("pops" is a bit hard to say).
You started saying "ay-oooo" - which is hard to write, but it's very clearly- intonation wise and in usage- "thank you."
You say "Yo yo" for Joseph...and yogurt.
You say "bow wow" for dogs. But lately, you've gotten even better at saying "Do-jeee" (which is either "Toby" or "doggy." But, you also just call them "boys."
You LOVE "wah wah" (water)...love drinking it...love playing in it. Love everything about it.
You have your own distinct word for "Banana" and "watermelon." Though, I can't even begin to try type up how you say them.
You LOVE babies too. You hold dolls of all kind- some baby dolls, some spider-men, some shreks- and rock them and sing "baybee....baybee...baybee."
You also love living babies too. Every other child who's not Aidan is pretty much "baybee" to you. Asher is "baby." Brady...maybe you're saying "baydee"...but it's a close race.
And, recently, you started saying "Cheese!"
(you've been saying it for the food, but recently extrapolated it to other meanings)
And recently, you masted "Aidan"...and are putting it to good use. You wake up from naps calling his name, wanting to play. And you can also tell him what to do by name as well!
You also recently mastered my name: "Dah dee." You say it so properly that it just sometimes breaks my heart. One morning I was getting ready to go to work and I heard you asking her where I was: "mama.... daddy?"
I came out of the bathroom and you saw me: "DADDY!!!!" You wanted me to hold you, so I did and we cuddled for a few minutes. When it was time for me to go, I gave you back to Mommy, which is normally 100% a-okay. But this time, you cried: "Daddy...Daddy!"
I did go to work, and missed you so much, as I always do. But, as I always do as well, I came home to hear you talk to your "daddy" even more! You're so so active!
You run!
You wrestle!
You joke!
You reach, and bounce, and stack, and eat as good as any of the big kids!
You sing!
You are smart:
You love animals (stuffed and real):
And...you love, love, love.
And we all love you. You are growing so much, dear Julia, and we couldn't be more proud to be part of your life every day.
Julia, you are 16 weeks old now! And you sure do have a lot to say on the subject.
You'll talk to anyone who will listen!
Preston:
Pops:
Your Dear Parents:
You just have an awful lot to say for yourself, young lady! We get the general idea, but we don't fully know what you're talking about.
It's a shame too, because I bet you'd have a great story to tell about your latest adventure in growing up. A few weeks ago...wow has it already been weeks?...you spent your first nap and night in your crib!
We decided to try it again, and institute it as a more regular type thing, now that you're officially in the can-be-spoiled-and-pick-up-bad-habits-age-and-no-offense-but-we-don't-want-you-to-sleep-in-bed-with-us-forever phase. So, we're two nights in, and it's a little rough on everyone.
When you start crying in the middle of the night, we're at the point now where you're not hungry. You're just crying because you're awake. So we either let you cry it out and go back to bed (which works pretty well) or we come comfort you.
Aidan copes by sometimes waking up and trying to crawl in bed with us.
Or we find him with his blanket, hands and pillow up over his ears.
Now, for the most part, you're sleeping great! We're talking like maybe one or two crying bits a night, so we couldn't be more pleased with how you're doing in your own crib in your own (shared) room!
And someone else was pleased this morning too...which made someone else very pleased!
This morning at around 7:30 am, your Mom heard a bit of crying. Then some Aidan talking. Then some Julia giggles.
She ran into yours and Aidan's room and found Aidan in your crib, right next to you, giving you a kiss. You were giggling and laughing and talking to him. Generally excited to see him!
Everyone was very happy with this situation, except for me and your Mom!
Of course, we trust that Aidan would never intentionally hurt you, but he's only (almost) 3, and can't really be trusted to provide infant care. That reminds me...are you still an infant? Or are you now officially a baby? I'll have to look into this later. Plus, how did he even manage to climb into your crib...must have been some serious acrobatics and climbing and risk-taking to get in there...so who knows how he landed safely without hurting you. But, it's clear that he did it well, and that you weren't hurt.
Your Mom lifted him out of the crib. And Aidan told her why he had decided to get in the crib with you in the first place. Three simple words:
"Julia Needs Kiss."
And he knew he was the man for the job.
Now, that line is very close to my favorite part of the story, but my absolute favorite part is your reaction to the whole thing.
According to your Mom, who witnessed the whole thing, you were happy as a clam to have your brother in the crib with you. You were giggling and smiling and just all-around happy to see him.
Just imagine the story, though, if we could only understand your language. What a story that would be!
Needless to say, Week 16 was the week you began to sleep in your shared room. In your crib. With your brother (in his own bed). Week 16 is also the week that we rearranged your shared room to try to discourage climbing and kissing.
Week 16 is off to a good start. I can't wait to hear what you have to say today!
Bright and Early one Thursday morning. No, scratch that, dark and early one Thursday morning, your Mom and I left Aidan at home with Mimi and Pops and we headed off for the hospital. The day was 10/11/12, and it was your birthday, little miss Julia Sekina!
Our lives were about to change forever. But, we weren't nervous. Your birthday had arrived without any major incident, and your mother was ready for you to be out of her belly and in her arms. I was ready too.
Just because your birth was a planned c-section, and we weren't running around like headless chickens like we were with Aidan, please know that your birthday was full to the brim with excitement. And we got to enjoy it too, because we knew what was coming: our little girl.
So, at 5:15 am, we parked the car and walked into the hospital.
Your Mom got admitted, hooked up to a lot of machines, given a few drugs and prepped for surgery. I got some cool blue scrubs to put on. Everyone was in such good spirits for 5 in the morning!
Around 7 am they wheeled your Mommy back into the operating room, and a few minutes later came to get me. What happened next was incredible. I sat by your Mom's side while the surgeons worked and at 7:48 am, JULIA SEKINA WEINSTEIN, you were born!
Dr. Bertrand, brought you around the curtain for a brief second so we could see you. He said "Hey Holly, look what I've got!"
I was amazed at how beautiful you were. And look, you had already stopped crying and were already smiling.
They weighed you and measured you: 7 lbs 13 oz. and was 20.5 inches tall.
They called me over to the warming/weighing/cleaning station, and I quickly ran up to meet you in person.
I peered at your beautiful face and swore I could've recognized you from your sonograms.
You had a little brown hair on the top of your head and a pretty good amount of long-ish hair around the nape of your neck. You had long fingers and toes. I shouted this out to your mother, since she couldn't see you yet.
You were a beautiful newborn and at first you cried, like all newborns do, but then you calmed down. And you really haven't cried too much since (knock on wood)!
You were just so precious and at peace.
Of course, they had to get the obligatory 'next to the scale' shot, in which it dawned on me: you and Aidan LOOK like siblings. I mean...take a look:
Julia:
Aidan:
See any similarities? Don't worry, we definitely agree that you came out a LOT more beautiful than your dear brother, but then again, he and your mother were in labor for 20 hours before they operated.
But, you guys do look like siblings. It's almost uncanny at some angles. That said, you are your own person, rocking your own very mature-for-a-newborn look. You are beautiful, and serene.
We shared a moment before you were ready to meet your Mom. I talked to you...
We held hands...
I'm a Daddy again; and it's incredible. And as you held on to my finger at that peaceful moment, I fell in love again.
In a matter of minutes, you were mostly clean, diapered, weighed, measured, swaddled and bundled, and ready to go meet your Mommy. Boy was she glad to see you.
She looked at you, and you at her. And soon enough, they sewed your Mommy back up and the three of us were back to the real world.
By this point we had already noticed how chill you were: a mostly calm, quiet and snuggly little baby who was hungry already (and latched on and began nursing within 20 minutes of being born) and didn't mind being held and was happy enough just to sleep in someone's arms...
Which was perfect timing, because shortly after you were born, your family started arrived. You met your Yaya:
Your Baba...
And Aunt Sham and Uncle Sock:
You also got to spend even more time with your Daddy and Mommy:
Everyone loved your long fingers and toes. Perhaps you'll play the bass or piano or harp, if you want to.
Everyone was aslo taken aback with how peaceful you were. This serenity was a trend that would continue. 'Sekina' means 'serenity'...it seems we named you well. Your brother's name 'Aidan' means 'little fire' and he was a much more...active newborn.
Speaking of the little fire, soon enough, we had been admitted into our hospital room- a nice corner room, #419. And Uncle BJ and Aunt Kari (who just so happened to be at the same hospital to find out that they were having a baby BOY! (who will be your little friend..how cool!) arrived to meet you! Simultaneously, Mimi, Pops and your big brother finally got to meet you. It was epic. We knew Mimi and Pops would be in love with you, but tthere's just no telling how a toddler's going to act sometime. Aidan saw me first and ran to me saying "Daddy" and gave me a big hug. Then he and I went into the hospital room. He saw Momy and said "Hi Mommy!" Then he saw what Mommy was holding. He crawled into the hospital bed right next to you and your Mommy and said "Hi, Baby!" (Mommy whispered, "this is Julia!")
He accepted this on face value and said "Hi Julia!"
He thought a moment and said "Hold it!" (this too would be a trend that would continue).
It was love at first site. Aidan said "my Julia!" and cried when he had to let you go. Don't worry, he would get to hold you again. Very soon.
Suddenly our little trio was a full quartet...a family of four (plus two dogs, more on them later). You know how sometimes you never know what you were missing until you have it right in front of you? Well, that's the feeling I got when the four of us finally got together.
You were very nice to your big brother and got HIM a present on your birthday. He was very thankful for his new WALTER!!! Aidan also really liked the bagels that Yaya had brought for me to munch on. In fact, Aidan liked the bagels so much that he probably thought the hospital was a sister/bagel emporium, where they just hand out sisters and bagels to every old joe who comes in. Every subsequent visit, Aidan would walk into the room and, after greeting you, say "Bagel please!"
You got to meet your Uncle BJ and Aunt Kari:
And Mimi and Pops as well. They all fell in love instantly.
Then it was big brother's turn again, and he LOVED every second of it. Hopefully you did too: you got nuzzled, kissed, embraced, sung to, kissed again, squeezed (gently), and kissed again. It was an amazing moment.
You also got to meet your Uncle Joe, who was skiddish to hold you at first...
...but finally got used to holding you. And I think he kind of liked it.
Finally, it was nap time for your mother, you and me. You got plenty more skin-on-skin time bonding with your Mommy.
You and I even got to enjoy some (doctor recommended!) skin-on-skin time as your mother slept. It was a very peaceful afternoon, bonding with you laying on my chest, feeling your heart beat, hearing your breathing, and soaking in that you were actually here, after all that time. You, Julia, had arrived: a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, so lovely, and serene; that's a lot to contemplate. I'm a daddy again, and now a daddy to a little boy and a little girl. I don't want to let either of you down an will always try my hardest to be the best daddy I can be.
On the day you were born, as Aidan and Mimi and Pops were leaving, you went to your first doctors appointment. Aidan ran to the nursery window to watch you, and sing 'happy birthday' to you. He was SO excited that you were finally here!
Over the next few days, Yaya, Baba, Mimi and Pops and your brother, Aidan, returned for more time with you. They just wanted to hold you, marvel at your pretty fingers, long toes, cute smile, tiny bit of black hair... and keep us company too.
Your brother is truly infatuated with you. He calls you "my Julia!" And wanted to "hold it!" (meaning you) every time he came to visit. He talked about you when he was away from you. You can see his excitement proudly on display in every picture and video. Granted, he is two and a half and did get bored of the hospital, especially when we told him he couldn't hit all the buttons on the machines that were keeping Mommy alive. So I had to get creative, with the help of your grandfathers and some ingenuity from your Mom. But more on that later. The point is: look at these pictures and tell me that's not love.
I'm so proud, as your father, to see the two of you hit if off so well. I want the best for you, and I only hope that you two can be the good friends that great siblings can be. You're off to a great start; and I think you're in good hands when your brother has your back.
You got to meet Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Michelle and Brady as well, and Uncle BJ and Aunt Kari and Aunt Sham also visited again multiple times! It's possible Brady may have a crush on you too (he apparently talked about you when they got home..."Joo-la-la"
In a sea of wonderful visits from our wonderful family and friends, our 4-night, 5-day stay in the hospital seemed to fly by. But as we were there, it seemed like a wonderful -albeit freezing cold- escape from reality. A cold little cocoon where your mother, you and I were just encased (with occasional visitors) getting to know each other, falling in love with you and watching you grow.
And grow you did! You grew and changed so much from the moment you arrived to the moment that we left the hospital. You were beautiful when you were born, and even more beautiful with each passing day; a lot of this has to be attributed to your teamwork with your mom. Your mother's milk came in so fast with such volume that you couldn't drink it all. So your Mom had to start pumping to just relieve the excess pressure. She filled so many bottles that the nurses said your Mom could have fed the entire floor! But that milk is yours, and soon enough you and your mother figured out the perfect rhythm. Most babies lose up to a pound off their birth weight in the hospital; you lost a few ounces and then regained that and then some! By the time we left the hospital you'd almost already regained your birth weight...only 3 oz shy! Dr. Accordino said that was incredible! We are very proud of you!
Don't worry, we brought all 25 bottles of milk home and froze them, so you could enjoy them later.
In the hospital, you also passed your hearing test with flying colors and had super low jaundice scores. Soon enough, you were ready to go home. And following your lead, we were ready to go home too. So we dressed you up really pretty, got the car seat and on Monday, we left the hospital and headed home to start our new life as a family.
Although I was a bit more eager to leave the hospital than your mother, I now sometimes wish we could be back there again for a quiet, innocent nap with you in my arms and an order of the hospital's delicious chicken tenders being delivered to our room and unlimited supply of apple juice, pudding and Italian ices. Such perfect moments of fatherhood and motherhood that seem so special just an elevator ride up from where you were born. Something mythical about those days, with the filtered light pouring in through the windows and the whole world not really mattering, unless it took place in room 419.
But, those momentary wishes to be back at your birth are fleeting. Nostalgia is nice, but life at home with you is the future...it's exciting. There are infinite such precious moments to be had with you, and we had to leave hospital to get started on them...plus that hospital bill would have been astronomical. And each of those moments is ten times sweeter in our own home, where you will learn to talk, and crawl and walk. Each of those hospital moments, forever etched into my memory are soon upgraded with the calm, warm reality of home, where you, me, Aidan, Mommy, Preston and Toby can all be together sometimes in loud moments, sometimes in chaos, and precious moments of quiet, always in harmony...always in love...together, as a family.
As I write this you are already 2 and a half weeks old, and the hospital seems like ages ago. We've already shared so many moments as a family, some hilarious, some that made us want to cry, all of them amazing. Some have been caught on film, others just exist as memories, others are gone in the ether already. But they all now involve you. It seems like you've been here forever already. I hardly remember life before you, and I wouldn't want to go back to it anyway. You've improved our lives, enhanced them exponentially, Julia.
I'm so proud to be your Papa. Thank you for making me a Daddy for the second time.
I love you.
I'm gonna watch you shine.
Gonna watch you grow.
Gonna read the signs, so you'll always know.
As long as one and one is two,
There will never be a father loves his daughter more than I love you.
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