Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Julia at 12 Months

Despite not having posted a single thing in over 8 months, I do think about my little blog from time to time and how I really have zero time to write what has been happening in my life even though I do want to write something so that I can look back years from now and remember what it was like when my kids were little. So here I am. Julia turned one on January 16. She started walking the week of Thanksgiving, so she was getting around really well at her party. We had our families over for finger foods, cake, and ice cream, after Julia's nap. She loved her little slice of carrot cake and ate it all up! She received a stuffed owl pillow that I made to match her nursery, a cloth doll, a giraffe heating pad stuffed animal, a pull along puppy, funds to open a savings account, and a ball/block run that is kind of like a marble run/plinko game combo.

Julia has consistently woken up twice during the night for months now. We have hit a wall and she just will not make any progress in the sleep department! She is weaned during the day and only nurses during the night. Her favorite foods are pretty much anything, but she especially loves grapes, raisins, and spaghetti. She babbles constantly, but only says a few words like Da-da, uh-oh, yeah, hi, yay, and no. She finally said "mom-mom" the other day, but won't say it again! Stinker! Despite her limited vocabulary, she is great at communicating what she wants and shows that she understands what we say to her. If I ask her if she wants to eat a snack, she heads straight for the kitchen. She leans, grunts, and points to what she wants and refuses to use correct sign language and instead has invented her own sign for "more". Her favorite activities are baths, swinging, playing with dolls, and playing in the kitchen cabinets. She loves her big sisters and is interacting with her more and more all the time. It is an answer to prayer that they have grown to love each other. I'm praying that it continues and lasts a lifetime! Julia loves "patting the Bible" while you sing "The B-I-B-L-E". In the church nursery, there is a basket full of little New Testaments that they pass out to the kids while they sing that song and she goes for it immediately when you take her to the nursery and starts patting the Bibles. She dances and enjoys music and singing and loves sitting on my lap and banging on the piano when I try to practice. I pretty much practice in vain because she screams if I put her on the floor and don't let her sit on my lap to "play". She can almost run now and walks very quickly. She can climb the stairs to Alex's office in probably 20 seconds or less. She is super fast! She usually just takes one nap a day and is ready for bed around 7. She wakes up like clockwork as soon as my head hits the pillow (around 11:30 pm) and again usually between 1 and 3 a.m. and wakes up anywhere from 6:45 to 7:45 most mornings. She weighs 19 pounds and is 29 inches tall. 18 month pants are usually too long on her, but we make them work. She adores her family and has a really sweet relationship with all of us. I think I am her favorite person, but Daddy and big sis are close seconds.

This past year has flown by even faster than Natalie's first year and I am afraid that I haven't documented it very well. In true second-child form, I haven't taken as many pictures and obviously didn't write as many monthly updates. But Julia is still so special to us and we treasure every day with her. She has taught me so much about perseverance, flexibility, unconditional love, and my own weaknesses. Mothering two littles is a whole new ball game, but I think I have found my "groove" and don't quite feel like I am still in survival mode. With just Natalie, I used to get bored with the same old routine every single day, but now with two kids, there isn't time to be bored. And I like that. I look forward to watching my girls grow up and grow closer to one another. We have come a long way in just a year! Here's to many new adventures ahead!

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