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