May Firsts

Julia,

Among all the craziness of life bounding forward, don't think we haven't taken notice of you bounding forward too!

May has been filled with many firsts for you, and you've taken them like a champ. You've enjoyed them!

You went 'swimming' for the first time!

You went splashing for your first couple of times!

You swung for your first times!

..an activity for which you eventually had company!

It was so fun, that you didn't even mind doing it again!

And you and your brother upgraded to a side-by-side stroller!

Your First 3 or 4 teeth finally cut through! (3 on the bottom, one on top). (No picture is available yet)

...and...DRUM ROLL... you pulled yourself up to standing without any assistance from Mommy or Daddy (your first time pulling up on something that WASN'T Mommy or Daddy!) You were SO proud of yourself!

And you should be. With all these amazing firsts, that you handle with nothing but grace, a giggle and a smile, your Mommy and Daddy are proud of you too!

May your May of Firsts be only a prelude to many more firsts and, foremost, fun!

All Around the Mulberry Bush...

All around the mulberry bush, the Aidan chased the...mulberries...

Aidan, It's spring, and that means that our mulberry tree hanging over the deck is LOADED with berries. Or at least it tries to stay loaded with berries despite your best Pac-man-esque efforts.

It only took you a few days of the first berry falling to discover that YOU LOVED EATING BERRIES.

Many red faces, hands and knees later, you're still eating them faster than we can spray them off the deck. 

Last year you didn't notice them. But this year, you can get enough.

You even taught the dogs that they're yummy...and now you sometimes fight over them. But, there's plenty to go around, so mostly you share them.

I've climbed up in the tree to get you some fresh ones, of course.

And you even were able to pick some off the tree yourself!

But mostly, you crawl around the deck on all fours, chomping away as you go. The Aidan chases the mulberries. He thought it was all in fun...and he was right...except for the rapid response bowel and urinary response from said berries. But, a few accident and a heavily 'watered' bush at the end of the stairs, and we're no worse for the wear. No stains on this spring...but I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't have permanent mulberry stains on your knees!

Oh, and by the way, they're called "Cool Berries!"

7 Months Old

Julia, my dear, a few days ago you turned 7 months old. And 7 months old is apparently the time of your life!

You're a beautiful growing girl. It's amazing that so quickly you've grown from this:

To This!

Both beauties, of course, but it's just incredible how far you've come!

So, what does a 7 month old Julia do?

Well, she smiles:

She laughs:

She's contemplative too!

She tries very very hard to crawl, even if it means crawling off of a couch (which you haven't done, but tried very, very hard to do during our photo shoot):

She clearly doesn't mind if her brother crashes her photo shoot either:

She doesn't quite have teeth yet, but there's two suckers that have almost popped out. You can feel them, and see the ridges if you're up close. But, as evidence, there's no real sign of chompers yet.

She loves her Mama, and gets very excited when she's in the room.

She plays, and her favorite game is "Up Down" in which she tries to climb up on everybody to get to standing.

In fact, she even hangs out by standing up in the pack n' play, and can chill there for a happy, proud, long time.

She plays ball with her Daddy:

She eats pears and mango (popsicles) and spinach and avocado.

And chews on just about everything she can get her hands on.

She loves her family. And is quite happy being with everyone, but would much rather be down on the ground, working out how to get around.

Overall, a 7-month old Julia is just...a perfect little Julia! Okay, maybe not perfect. You don't quite sleep through the night, but we're working on that. Aside from that, little, one, you lead quite a life and make everyone you meet very happy...especially yourself!

We're so glad you're here, and so glad you're enjoying your 7th month even more than the previous 6 months. 

You are beautiful inside and out, and I can't wait to get home to see you and giggle with you again!