Stuff

Mom came over to visit Julia Friday night. She ended up doing more cleaning than anything, which was a huge help. John's brother and his wife are coming to stay with us for a couple of nights this week. It has inspired us to get some things done! I never really understood why my friends with kids always said it was so hard to get things like housework and laundry accomplished with a baby. Well, now I get it!
Julia got to get in her swing for the first time Friday! I love this picture because you can see Sue's (our rescued dog's) snout in the far left getting a sniff of Julia. She really liked the swing!

Julia still likes her toes and they taste really good with rice cereal on them! She has created a method to eating her cereal at night. It goes something like this....take a bite, suck her 2 fingers, take them out of her mouth, take a bite, suck her 2 fingers, take them out of her mouth.....and on and on! Every now and then she throws a toe in there for good measure.

Julia wants to put any and everything in her mouth. Her least favorite things to put in her mouth are the 2 toys we bought her that are specifically for that purpose. She really prefers her dress, which ends up soaking wet and her all time favorite, her 2 fingers. She is learning to "get things" with her hands. Today at lunch, she almost pulled my plate off the bar and into the floor. We are having to put things out of her reach.

A New Ride

John got a new to him ride today. We bought a 99 Blazer with about 97,000 miles on it. It was a Colony Shop vehicle and was used to travel from store to store until they recently went out of business. John bought his current truck new in 1993 and it has about 230,000 miles on it. It still drives really good, but it was beginning to fall apart. It's funny that he still doesn't want to get rid of it so we will probably just keep it. I think it is worth around $400.00...ha! We try to do like Dave Ramsey advises on money matters and pay for things with cash. We were able to do this and lets just hope it lasts at least a couple of years. Knowing John, he will probably still be driving it when Julia is 10!
Julia and I went for a good walk again today and ran into Kristen and Dana on the way. They walked with us and are seeing first hand Julia's strolling habits. She likes the first mile and a half and gets really cranky during the last mile. I have theorized that it is because the sun is hitting her in the face during the last mile, but today it was cloudy and she still cried at the same spot. Yesterday and today, Kristen picked her up and carried her for the last mile or so. She seems happy and content to be carried....who wouldn't? I wouldn't mind being carried myself by that point! I have had to carry her by myself which is quite the bicep and cardio workout while pushing the stroller too! Anyway, just another Julia quirk.
This sounds really silly, but she is learning to play too. We play a game where I lay beside her where we are facing eachother and she puts her hand close to my mouth. I make a noise and act like I am gobbling her hand. She smiles and laughs EVERY time. I make her put her hand in the same spot before I respond, so she is learning to do things over and over again to get a laugh. I am amazed at how absolutely brilliant she is. I am also amazed at how many times I will do something silly just to see that sweet little smile. I must have done that trick about 100 times today!

A Sweet First Mother's Day

Sunday was such a sweet day at my house! I woke up smiling. We took it easy, went for a stroll, and went to visit my Mom. I brought her a plant that will come back every year as a reminder of her first year as a grandmother. John and I had frosted mini wheats for lunch. He made up for it when he cooked my favorite meal on the grill which was salmon, veges, and a sweet potato. Yum! I try not to disgust any of my readers with mushy, husband details, but this one was worthy. Sunday night, I gave John a hug and told him thank you for my delicious dinner and since I never said it before, thanked him for my baby. His response was, "No, thank YOU. I never imagined how sweet she could be." This is coming from the same man who was adamantly against having a baby since the day that I met him. I am so glad that he changed his mind. He adores his baby girl and she brings us both so much JOY!

Shawnie sent the sweetest card to help me celebrate my First Mother's Day and Sarah gave me one too. Tara sent me the cutest mothers day card with Emmy's picture on it. I wish I could be half as thoughtful as they are! A lot of my friends and family sent well wishes for a happy mothers day. It was a very happy day for me and one that I will not soon forget.
I think it might be time to take down the pink ribbon that has been by my door since the day we came home with Julia. It is getting a little bit dusty!


This is the wind up sushi that Emmy Ruth (Tara) sent to Julia. Tara and I have joking for a long time about our daughters being the youngest to ever eat sushi. We both want to make sure that they love it early so that we will always have an excuse to get together and eat sushi.

A Weird Week...

This picture is one of John's masterpieces.....it is really beautiful out here in the country when everything is so green!


Yep, pictures! I got my camera back Wednesday after the guy that we thought may have had something to do with the reason that it was missing, showed up on my doorstep and handed it back. He picked up the wrong one and his nephew deleted all my pictures. He has been out of town for a while which is why it took exactly one week for him to return it. I will leave the rest to your imagination! I was so happy to have it back and couldn't believe my luck! John and I went to celebrate at Colby's after Mrs. Pat gave me a Colby's gift card this week for doing the Woodruff Electric health screenings. I always enjoy spending time with her and the very nice people at Woodruff.

John finished his first semester of college this week. He was almost like a kid when he finished his last final! We are anxiously awaiting grades that will be posted next week.

We are trying out alltell's internet service at home since Hughes Net has caused us such a headache. We have been without internet for a week at home, and it is time that we do something! Of course, as soon as we get Alltell hooked up, the phone ring and the Hughes Net service men are coming over to fix that internet service. Guess we will compare the two and decide from there. John needs it for his Computer Fundamentals internet class for Summer I.

We test drove a 1999 blazer today for John to drive. It would be like new for him....only 97,000 miles! His truck is a 1993 Nissan with 230,000 miles on it. He insists that he really likes his truck and doesn't need anything new. He is kind of going back and forth about this Blazer. I think we should buy it, but I am going to let him make the final decision. He is stuck at home with Julia all day unless we swap vehicles. His truck is not safe for her car seat because there is only a front seat, so we haven't put one in there yet. It would be nice for them to be able to go places during the day.....like maybe the grocery store! HA!

My parents and Sarah came over Thursday night to visit Julia. She is still having trouble sharing her environment with others. She cried alot while they were here, but one second later, she can turn around and throw out a huge smile. She is an interesting case! We did get to go on a stroll yesterday afternoon too. I was not quite ready to give them up, so I decided to try again. She did great......and I guess that was because she slept the whole way!

This girl loves her bed! She gets fussy at night while I am giving her a nighttime bottle and when I lay her down, she smiles really big! She rolls over on her side, puts her two fingers in her mouth and pretty much goes right to sleep.

This is Julia at Colby's sucking on her shoe. I told her not to do this in public, but she insists. She would be much happier if we would just take off her shoe and let her get to her toes. We try to save those picturesque moments for the privacy of our own home.John went to Wal Mart and was supposed to be buying dog food. Instead, he came home with a teething ring and another stuffed teething toy. Julia likes to hold the ring but hasn't quite figured it out just yet. Everyday, John exposed Julia to some type of music that he plays or listens to with her. This week, she got to spend a lot of time listening to him play his mandolin. I hope that she gets his love for music and his talents. If not, it won't be because she wasn't exposed!

Poor Granny.....

After looking forward to our stroll all day, Julia and I ventured out yesterday afternoon for a long leisurely walk. She started crying about 2 minutes into it, and didn't stop until we finished, even after I cut it short. I even had to stop at the park and hold her for a few minutes to calm her down! Everyone that we pass that is outside just looks at us with pity. I decided that I was either going to call off the strolls or wait until later and let her try to get a nap in. Those kind of walks aren't good for either of our mental health statuses!
After our walk, John and I had to come to my office to take his macroeconomics final exam because our internet is out at home. It was a two hour test and we had 45 seconds to spare when we finished! I say we because I help him all that I can. We think we aced it and are so proud! He says that macro has been one of those classes that has caused him to be in a constant state of panic all semester! I remember those days and remember how good it feels to be finished with a class like that. My Mom came to our house and kept Julia while we were testing. Usually, Mom sugarcoats the report that she gives and says that Julia was fine, but she didn't sugarcoat last night too much. Julia obviously cried a lot and refused to take her bottle both times Mom tried to feed her. We think she is happier in her own home, but it proved not to help much last night! Of course, when we got home, I picked her up and she laid her head on my shoulder and grinned at mom. She is such the Momma and Daddy's girl! We have to help her get out of this because noone wants to be around a crying baby....no matter how cute they are!
Worrys me, but I guess she is just expressing herself the way that she knows how. In the meantime though......poor Granny!

I Would Love to Share Some Pictures......

I would love to post some pictures but my digital camera was stolen last week. Right out of my own house. Three local guys came to fix my satellite internet and decided to swipe my camera. John and I looked EVERYWHERE and have second guessed ourselves about a million times. Finally, I decided we needed to let it go and not spend anymore energy on worrying about it. However, I am so irritated!

We had a great, slow weekend. The weather was great. Julia and I went for a stroll Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was much warmer than Saturday and I think I dressed Julia way too warm. The sun was in her eyes and she cried the entire 2.5 miles. People just look and stare at us with this helpless look on their face. I just smile and wave. Finally, when we only had about a half mile left, a lady stopped me and wanted me to come in and ask me a sewing question. I figured Julia would appreciate the break, so I picked her up out of her stroller and took her in. She screamed so loud the entire time we were in there that I couldn't ever hear the woman telling me measurements or anything else! I decided to take all of her clothes off because maybe she was too hot. I ended up carrying her in her diaper and pushing the stroller for the remaining trip. We were quite the site......wish I had my camera so that I could have captured it.

Julia is such a sweetheart. She puts anything and everything in her mouth. Her toes are still her favorite thing to put in her mouth, so we take her footed pajamas off often so that she can get to them. She is an awesome sleeper at night and usually goes to bed around 9:30 and wakes up somewhere between 8 and 9. Her naps during the day are not always so predictable. Yesterday, I think she took about 5 10-15 minute naps. She eats her rice cereal at night and has a bottle during the day. We will start her on regular food when she is 6 months.....wow, only about 3 weeks away! She is not an aggressive eater and could quite possibly, do without food for a while. She must take after her Dad with her eating habits! She is such a joy and I am not sure what we ever did without her!

The Sweetest Sound and Rolling Over....

John told me that Julia rolled from her tummy to her back and then back again Tuesday while they were at home playing. I had to see it for myself and so yesterday, I put her on her tummy and she, very methodically, put her leg out for some leverage and rolled over. It was a very smooth manuever and she seemed to know exactly what she was doing. I didn't see her roll from her back to her tummy, so I will have to take John's word for it for now. It's funny how there are all of these milestones and I have felt so much pressure to make sure that Julia is where she is "supposed" to be. She is right on time with this new trick! Of course when we pulled out the video camera to capture this magical moment again on camera, she threw a huge hissy fit, screamed her little lungs out, and refused to perform!
My new favorite are the sounds that she is making. She sings while she is in her carseat and there is not a sweeter sound!
Yesterday, John had to go register for his summer classes. He is taking 2 classes each 5 week summer term and will have a full load. This is his last week of classes and final week is next week. I never though my husband would be finishing his first semester of college. It has been great for all of us, but Julia gets the best part! She gets to stay at home with her Dad all day. The second summer term, he is going to have to take one day class that will last 2 hours 4 days a week. We will have to get creative and start thinking about what to do with Julia for these few hours. I knew he would eventually have to take some day classes and I am not looking forward to it. Hopefully, we can work out something that will make us all happy.