4 months old!

This picture of Julia taken on her 4 month birthday cracks me up! Her blue eyes are so wide. We still are not exactly sure who she looks like???

Wow....Julia was 4 months old this Saturday. We celebrated her birthday in a big way by not leaving the house all day long. It was so nice. Mom came over Friday night and entertained Julia while I sewed for a little while. I think it was among the first time that Julia had been around Mom when she wasn't crying. She was very sweet and fun and I am glad Mom got to see her that way. John went to a wedding in Marion Friday night, so it was just the girls at home. We miss him when he is gone and are so happy to see him when he returns! Sunday, Julia and I went to Wal Mart and to Novie's birthday party at her house. Novie had a princess party and was dressed up so cute for the party. Her Dad just recently was sent to Iraq....it made me really sad to think of him missing his daughter's birthday party! I try to make an effort to take Julia places where she can be around other people and get a change of environment every now and then. However, she had other plans at the party and really wanted to be taking a nap. She proved it to me by crying almost the entire time we were there. I am learning very quickly that your children don't always do exactly like you want them to! I learned too to not to interfere with nap time!
Julia is doing much better at eating her rice cereal. I am amazed that she has learned to eat in just one weeks time. She is eating about 4 or 5 tablespoons of the cereal that is about the consistency of apple sauce. I am really not sure how much of it she actually gets down. She still sucks her left index finger between every bite. I think it helps her to swallow.
This picture is of Julia with her 2nd cousins, Hayden and Hunter. They live in Little Rock and their grandmother is my mom's sister, Aunt Billie Sue. I love their Mom, Dana. She and I spent some time together this summer and had a blast. These boys are sweethearts and I am glad that Julia got to meet them.

Sleeping.......oh, sleeping!

Dr. Beth gave us the okay to sleep through the night without waking Julia up for a feeding. Our new sleeping schedule is working out great. She eats and goes to sleep around 9:30 pm and wakes up at 6:30 to be fed again. I get to feed her and cuddle with her first thing in the morning before I get ready for work. Then, she goes back to sleep and sleeps until around 9:30 or so. John gets to sleep in and she is in such a good mood when she wakes up at 9:30. He says she almost jumps out of the bed when she sees him! She is very sweet most every day with him and he is loving every minute of being home with her. Last night, he went to Memphis and was upset at the thought of not being back before she went to sleep. It is very sweet to see them bonding. Julia is a momma and daddy's girl and most of the time, is not too crazy about being held by anyone else. The only exception is Sarah, who comes over and plays with her and holds her often.
So, it is great to get a full night's sleep again. Hopefully, we can stay on this schedule for a while.

Another favorite!

Easter Sunday

Easter was so much more fun this year with Julia. Having her adds a little spark to the holidays that was missing without her. We had lunch and spent the day at my house with Mom, Dad, Sarah, and Aunt Jane. Julia was a little bit more fussy than usual and didn't really want to let anyone other than John and I hold her. We have got to figure out a way to get her used to other people! The Easter bunny was good to Julia this year. I am using the same basket for her that was mine when I was growing up. I debated buying her a new one, but decided to recycle instead. Granny Jean made Julia a quilt out of the fabrics that were left over from her room. It turned out really pretty and I know Julia will treasure it!These are the Oprah socks that Julia got from Aunt Jane. They are so cozy and perfect for the little Oprah fan.

This picture of Julia is so funny. I think she had had enough! She wanted her fancy dress off and wanted to be LEFT ALONE. She looks like she is so mad with her fists balled up!

We are always happy to have our Aunt Jane come and celebrate holidays with us. We have a very small family so we have to stick together. Aunt Jane is always so much fun!

Supporting Local Rice Farmers

Julia had her first rice cereal Friday night after Dr. Beth gave us the okay. She said that the cereal would teach her how to eat and that she may not get any of it down. Julia thought the spoon in her mouth was really weird. If she swallowed any of it, it was only because she was sucking her finger with the cereal all over it. As you can see, she did not really love the whole concept, but we will continue the learning process. However, she does love her index finger on her left hand. She has spent the last 2 weeks or so figuring it out. She uses her right hand to steady her left hand. John and I think that is pretty brilliant.

I was off for Good Friday and Julia, Shawnie and I went for a stroll. This is my favorite neighborhood to walk through because of all the decorations that a lady who lives here puts out for the holidays on Eldridge Court. I know Julia will love this when she gets a little older.

Aunt Shawnie and Julia

Friday was also Julia's four month check-up and shots. She weighed 13 pounds and 3 ounces and is 26 inches tall. She doesn't seem to be too bothered by the shots and didn't run a fever or have any noticeable side effects. Dr. Beth said she was doing great and told me not to worry about her size. She is in the 50th percentile, which is fine.

Julia getting ready to go and have her picture made with the Easter Bunny!

Julia getting pinched on St. Patrick's Day for not wearing green! It's really hard to find any green in a closet and room full of pink!

Meeting of the strollers in the neighborhood. This is Evan, my friend Ambre's son who is almost one. I had to grab those precious feet! This was Julia's first time to meet sweet Evan.

This picture cracks me up of Sol peering over the side of his stroller to see Julia!

Easter thoughts.....

Julia and I had her picture made with the Easter bunny this weekend. She didn't seem to mind sitting on his/her lap, but I know she will someday! We have been strolling often and she loves every minute of it. Most of the time, she will take the opportunity to take a quick nap. Strolling is a win/win situation because its also good for my mental health. Usually, I get to see friends along the way and catch up on all of Wynne's most juicy gossip. We also had lunch Saturday with my friend Susanne who I used to work with. She has moved from Forrest City to Little Rock and has a great job. It was so good to see her....I miss her!
I am working on some curtain panels for my latest sewing project. I am making 14 panels! Sewing takes a lot more time with Julia around and I have to do it in spurts. I have 4 panels down and only 10 to go.
Book club was Monday night and we had a good discussion about The Senator's wife. This month we are reading Alice Sebold's new book, The Almost Moon. I have read Lovely Bones and Lucky by her in the past. John and I also watched, or tried to watch, this year's Best Picture, No Country for Old Men. It was terrible to me and I couldn't believe it won Best Picture. Too gory for me...I didn't even finish the entire movie!
Tomorrow is a bake sale at work. I am going to bake some Easter cupcakes tonight. Julia likes to sit in her seat on top of the bar while I am in the kitchen. It vibrates and sings what John calls funeral music, but she seems to be entertained by it. She is getting to be so much fun lately. She actually slept through the night last night. From 10 until I woke her at 6:30. She didn't have a good nap yesterday, so that might have been why. It was really nice not to have to wake up at 4 to feed her! I even slept through the storms last night.

Julia, Shawnie and I went for her first neighborhood stroll yesterday. We walked about 2 miles and stopped about 10 times to see people along the way. Julia LOVED it! The only time she would start to grunt was when I stopped the stroller. My girl likes to be on the move.

The first visitor was Petee, the dog.

Julia liked to look at all the kids playing at the park. She told me she couldn't WAIT to be able to play there!

Julia met a future friend, Kaitlyn. Her mom Jennifer is a friend of mine.

Then we saw Kristen and Tiffany. Everybody wanted to hold Julia. I think she wanted to get back in the stroller and get moving! She was very happy to see Tiffany who lives close to Houston now.

Next, we saw Julia's good friend Sol. Sol parents were strolling to his grandparent's house to cook dinner on the grill. Julia thought Sol's baby Ban sunglasses were too cool and insisted that I find her a pair immediately!

Low and behold, Kristen and Tiffany helped some magically appear and they gave them to Julia! She didn't like them as much as she thought she would once we got them on.At the end of the stroll, Julia cried because she was so sad that it was over. She wants to go again very soon!

Our view from the living/dining room.


Julia sucking her thumb in her sleep. She has been doing a lot of that lately!

It is so weird to think that it was snowing last week. John took Julia for a stroll yesterday down the levee and she loved it. I brought the stroller inside while Mom was over to stroll her around the living room and she wasn't having it. John and I watched "Into the Wild" over a 2 night period. I read the book and still loved the movie, which is rare. I am usually disappointed that the movie is never as good as the book. I finished The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller for book club. It was a great book too and lots of things to discuss. Sue Miller writes about some quirky things. I read it over the weekend in about 2 days. I couldn't put it down. Julia was good to let me indulge.

Snowed in and loving every minute of it!

It snowed somewhere between 4 and 6 inches Friday. I left work a few minutes early and didn't leave the house until Sunday afternoon. John built a fire Friday night and it was so cozy! We all curled up on the couch and watched it snow. We decided we had a little bit of cabin fever when Sunday rolled around and that what we really needed was a sushi fix. We headed to Jonesboro and ate a Fugi's. YUM! I could eat sushi every day. John still won't admit to liking it, but he always eats half of mine! Julia met a friend at the restaurant...a little boy who kept staring at her. I am sure it was because she is so absolutely gorgeous.
We went to Target after that. John and I decided at dinner that Julia really didn't need an Easter basket this year since she was so little and all. However, after going down the Easter aisle, she has one of everything. John picked out an expensive Baby Einstein toy that speaks French. He asked her if she liked it and she smiled. So, in the basket it went. We are both a couple of suckers!

Julia and I tried on her Easter dress today and she looks so pretty in it!

Julia kicking her toy that John rigged up for her to play with.

Julia's first snow....in March! I think she was trying to get a bite of it!

Julia staring at her favorite toy with her Granny. It sings nursery rhymes and she is absoluted intrigued by it.

Today, when I went home for lunch, John had videotaped Julia's activity for the morning and let me watch it. I thought this was really thoughtful since I miss all of the fun when I am at work. He had rigged one of her toys so that she could kick it from her Baby Pompison seat. She loved it! John said she kicked the dangling toys for 30 minutes! I have a large grant that I am working on at work...an 80 pager that has been such a challenge. I will be so relieved when it is turned in on March 18. Basically, I am sitting at my computer all day and writing a proposal for a diabetes education center. Needless to say, I am so happy when I get to go home and see Julia. She is the bright spot in my day and I am sad when she goes to sleep at night.
Yesterday, it snowed and John took Julia outside to experience it. I am not sure if she loved it at this point, but she will soon!

Nail Hell

Those fingernails!!!! Julia has 3 scratches on her face, all from nails. She tries really hard to suck her fist, fingers, or thumb and she scratches her face in the process. For the first time, Julia has been waking up around 4 am for a feeding without me setting my alarm to wake her up first. It works out pretty good because I wake up to feed her and then go back to sleep for about 2 hours before it is time for me to wake up for work. She goes right back to sleep and wakes up again between 8 and 9 for the day. Great hours, if you ask me!
I made it through my first full week back at work last week. It made me really appreicate being at home with Julia for 2 whole days on Saturday and Sunday. We didn't do much except lay around which was really nice. Mom and Dad came over for a visit Saturday. Dad fell asleep holding Julia in the rocking chair that made a great photo opp. Julia is starting to repeat vowel sounds and mimic mouth movements. I think we must have said a-e-i-o-u at least a million times this weekend. She is starting to look at the pictures of the books that I am reading to her and I am sure that she pays very close attention to the storyline as well. I was thinking of all the names that we have for her and thought I would list some of my favorites:

Little Miss Missy

Baby Doll Baby

Sugar Bear

Sweetheart/Sweetpea

Julia-bug

Julia Petulia