What was I thinking?

I'm going to have to go off the grid for a bit while I make twelve tutus for Caroline's birthday party. I thought it would take about 30 minutes each -- HAHAHAHAHA! More like 3 hours each. So you know what I'll be doing in all my spare time the next 13 days. This would be what you might call "biting off more than I can chew."

To sleep, perchance to dream?

Julia really is a fairly good sleeper. Well, all I have to compare her to is Caroline, who quite possibly might have been the worst sleeper ever. She had to be rocked or swung to sleep every night, and we usually got her to take naps by driving her around in the car. Julia, on the other hand, can go to sleep on her own and doesn't like to be rocked to sleep. She fusses for a little bit, rubs her face into the bed, usually scooches her head into a corner of the crib, and then goes to sleep. (After which I go into her room, scoot her back into the middle of the crib, and turn her head a little bit to the side . . . makes me feel a little better knowing there is some space for her to get some air!) She can nap for a good long while except, if I leave her door unattended, I find this:



Caught in the act! Of course I have tried to explain to Caroline that JuJu cannot sleep if she climbs into the crib too, and I have told her to stay out of the baby's room while she's napping, but you can see what good that does. So now, if Caroline even takes a step in the direction of Julia's room, I immediately start with the "Do not go into your sister's room!" To which Caroline innocently replies, "I'll not get into the crib, Mama." (Yes, she really says "I'll not" -- I have no idea why she says that instead of "I won't," and I don't know where she heard it, but it's cute to hear that come out of a three-year-old's mouth.) She continues, "I'm just going to check on the baby." Yeah right kid, I'm not as dumb as I look. But who can resist some sisterly love:


As for Caroline herself these days, she still has a hard time going to sleep most nights. Now she's queen of procrastination ("Wait! I need some water! Please just one more little story? Come open my door just a little more!") Usually Jason handles the bedtime for her b/c I'm feeding Julia. But when it's up to me, I just tell her that she can talk to her animals as much as she wants as long as she does not come out of her room. I know that she'll go to sleep eventually. You can lead a horse to the bed but you can't make him go to sleep, so to speak. Anyway, my philosophy led to this scene one night:

At least Bobo the sheep, Dora, Winnie the Pooh, and her baby are comfortable. Apparently no one requires a pillow or covers. Hey, it's a hot summer this year.

Julia - Seven and a half months (yeah, yeah, I missed the seven-month mark)

So June had lots going on for us and was such a crazy month I missed taking that seven-month picture. I was a little sad that I didn't get it accomplished, but we are all happier when we have a busy schedule (every morning Caroline asks me, "Where are we goin' today, Mommy?") and I try to enjoy the moments as they come and impress them on my heart, even if I don't get as many pictures as I would like. So here are some pictures of Julia at seven and a half months:

I put this last one in because that's the way Jujy rolls now -- not ever in one place for long, always ready to crawl off! She made a few tentative crawling moves at 7 months 1 week old, and in the last week or so she has really figured out how to move! She is really good about entertaining herself now (if she is not hungry or tired) -- one afternoon she played happily on the floor with her toys for a whole hour and a half. But once I stepped out of the room to put some laundry in the dryer and start a new load in the washing machine, she started crawling off down the hallway looking for me. She wants to be where the action is, I guess!

I also just love her little shoes that she's wearing. I like Robeez because they are so flexible (good for little feet that are learning to stand and walk), nearly impossible to kick off, washable, and just so darn cute! I almost got her some with a little brunette princess on them (like her), but I could not resist these butterfly ones. I remember her big sister in Robeez too and cannot believe how fast time flies.

Julia's had a busy time since she turned seven months old. She started to get to a sitting position on her own (without the tripod for support), went to her first Vacation Bible School, went down the slide at the park for the first time, and started to crawl! She laughs and squeals and just observes things all the time. I think it might be a little hard on Caroline because she has started to talk baby talk quite a bit, and she's quick to say "Look at me!" if Julia gets cheered for something. Sometimes she feels generous and shares with Julia, but more often if she sees Julia holding something of hers, she runs over and takes it away. I am trying hard to give her attention and recognize the things she does too, but I think these are the beginnings of some natural sibling rivalry that I won't be able to praise away. Oh well, my sister & I once had a swordfight with hot curling irons, so I know a thing or two about sibling rivalry. And we turned out fine.

Julia - 6 months (a month and a half ago, I know)

So I saw this done on other people's blogs and I wanted to try it for Julia too -- taking a picture of her each month to show how she grows throughout her first year. I got on the bandwagon too late, however, and I missed the first half of the year. So I just started at six months and here she is back in May, six months old:



May was the month when things started to pick up for JuJu. She finally started to stay sitting up by herself once placed in a sitting position (albeit like a frog or a tripod, leaning on her hands between her legs for support) at 6 months 1 week. A few days later she started rocking back and forth on all fours, along with lots of squealing and drooling! I introduced fruits this month, but she doesn't want any part of that. I remember that Caroline liked the vegs better too. JuJu was getting pretty long for the baby tub, so she got to graduate to the big bathtub:


She also started grabbing everything in sight. Sometimes I sit her on the counter in her Bumbo as I get ready in the mornings if she gets too fussy on the floor, and she immediately starts knocking down everything on the countertop. Sit her at the table, and she's going for your plate, cup, food -- whatever she can get her little hands on. That's how we got this picture:

What a good little helper already!

Caroline had a full month too with her dance recital and the end of gymnastics, preschool choir, and Mission Friends for the year. We went to the lake with our young adult Sunday school department, and Caroline got rides on a boat AND a Sea Doo! Julia put her swimsuit on too and took a dip for the first time in her little life. And that was our May!