Curly Straight

Julia turned one today. We had the official party yesterday and she had a grand old time.

She is such a sweet baby. She's one, but she's still a baby to me, even though she is getting so big and so agile.

In Las Vegas, on our vacation, she pulled herself up to standing the whole time. Here at home she's not so much into doing that. Fine with me, I don't want her to grow up too fast.

She's such a sweet little girl. She gets happy to see people she knows and will smile and laugh. People she doesn't know it takes a lot of effort to get her to crack a smile.

She knows what's going on and doesn't miss a beat.

We are so lucky to have her in our life. People say "enjoy that age, it goes by so fast" and it does, it's really true. I appreciate every moment I have with her sweet little self.

Happy First Birthday, Squee.

Suddenly, Julia is pulling herself to standing every single waking moment of every single day.

Like the guy at the grocery store said today, "she doesn't miss a beat." It's true, Julia is very aware of what's going on around and loves to take it all in.

I, of course, misplaced my cell phone, so I call it from the home phone. Don't hear it ringing so figure I will find it on one of the other floors.

Walk back into bedroom, see Julia reaching under the bed...no way, I'm thinking, there is no way she is going to pull out my cell phone.

Yup, sure enough, the little cutie patootie in all her one-year-old gloriousness, pulls out my cell phone and hands it to me.

Made my whole day.

I think one of the cutest things I have ever witnessed is Julia seeing three seagulls flying overhead.

She yelled with delight, and pointed, and yelled again!

I gave Julia her first "airplane" ride tonight, where I put her on my feet and pick her up into the air as I am laying down on the floor.

She loves it! Screeches, yells, smiles, happiness all around.

Trying to get stuff done around the house today, laundry galore, etc.

Making corned beef and mmm mmm does it smell good!

Letting Julia roam and crawl at will as I complete tasks in each room.

She is Destructo Girl.

First she got into the Tupperware cabinet and took out the majority of it; now she's in our bedroom, tearing apart the books and notebooks on the nightstand.

She's still damn cute though.

I am enjoying watching Julia crawl around with my Lancome juicy tube of lip gloss in her mouth.

She's very determined to keep it in there and if she does drop it, she stops everything, finds it, sticks it back into her mouth and resumes crawling.

Julia absolutely loves to put things on her head, sunglasses, shirts, pants, socks, underwear, anything that is fabric, she picks it up and puts it on her head. It slips down onto her neck, then usually onto the floor.

She drapes my Air Force belt around her neck and crawls around. She looks like she has a snake wrapped around her shoulders.

Julia, my dream baby, is a great sleeper. We put her down in her crib, her thumb goes into her mouth, her rainbow knit blankie goes up just under her chin and she usually settles right down. This, by the way, is the only time she sucks her thumb, when she sleeps.

When she wants something, she lets us know. She doesn't leave anything to be guessed. She yells until she gets what she wants. She drops her milk, she yells until it's picked up. TJ takes a toy from her, she yells until she gets it back, although sometimes she will be forgiving or will forget about it and will crawl very quickly, at least 100 mph to her next destination.

When she wakes up, I walk into her room and observe her crazy antics. She sees me, does a few flips of joy in the crib, then stands up and I pick her up. She looks in the mirror, and usually does the sign for cat. Sometimes I get a few pats on my back, sometimes an all out hug.

Today she very clearly does not want to leave her crib, she's pointing and yelling. I pick up her blankie and give it to her. She gives it a hug and a few pats and me a big smile.

Later on during the day, she crawls to her crib and is reaching in, trying to get the blankie. She cannot reach it, so I hand it to her. She places it on the floor and lays down and cuddles up on it.

It's love.

Julia is a hot commodity at TJ's daycare.

The upstairs teacher, who we walk by to get to TJ's classroom, LOVES her! She takes her from me sometimes and hangs out with her while TJ and I go downstairs. "This is my girlfriend," she says. If she doesn't hold her, she at least yells Julia!! Julia!! Hi Julia!! as we walk by.

Julia likes the attention. She gets a kick out of it.

She would be doing the beauty pageant wave and looking at me to see if I approve, if she knew what the beauty pageant wave was.

This has been going on for a few months now, so all the little kids in Miss Kathy's room are witness to the Julia love.

Now they have started their own Julia chants when I walk by with her. Two boy twins, in particular, will come to the door and yell Julia, Julia, Julia!!! as I walk by. Sometimes I stop and show her off, much to their 2-year-old delight. They yell louder and with glee when she is right in front of them.

She beams.

there's not much cuter than a mullet in a ponytail.

My little chunk of love is one solid baby. She's still all baby, pretty much still completely bald, but with a patch of hair in the back. She has some hair. Sort of. Her eyelashes make up for any lack of hair though, they are long and fluttery and beautiful.

She loves pushing cars around as she crawls.

She has no desire to walk. Every now and then, she seems like she is going to stand up on her own in the middle of the floor, but then says Nope, and instead crawls as fast as she can to her next destination.

She eyes whatever anyone else is eating and will yell until she gets some of it.

Loves strawberries like nobody's business.

Does her own sign for shoes and banana, cat, dog, Mommy, Daddy. Has her own sounds for Dada, cat, dog, TJ, Mama every now and then. Definitely has a set of lungs and is not afraid to express herself.

One of my favorite heart-melting moments is when we are in the car and stopped at a red light or arrive at our destination. I turn to look at her and smile at her. Her face lights up and a big grin takes over her face. It's very sweet.

Julia has finally grasped sign language and does the following signs with finesse and precision:

cat
shoes
dog
milk
mommy
change
more (only a couple times)
up (possibly)

Maybe a couple of more. If we knew more, we would teach her more, but we only know the real basics...

Julia loves putting things over her head.

She will take any cloth item and drape it over her head, so it hangs around her neck and crawl around with it hanging on her. Sunglasses, too.

Yesterday, she just happened to do it with one of TJ's little scarves, and she greeted me at the door with a scarf around her neck, which was a very cute sight to see.

She picked up a jean fishing-style hat of mine and put it on her head, of course, it's giant for her and slid down over her eyes and essentially her entire face. This did not stop her from crawling 100 mph around the living room and the dining room. Unfortunately, the dining room table did stop her.

I see her crawling with a hat, completely covering her whole face, although by the time she was in my sight and it was apparent she was on a crash course, it was too late to stop her from bonking into the table.

She shook it off almost immediately, after shedding a few tears and a couple of wails.

Julia loves to push around trucks and cars as she crawls around the house. We bought her a little pink van. She doesn't love it yet, but I can tell it's going to be a favorite.

Julia is getting really great with her sign language.

She stopped doing the sign Cat for everything. Now she is partial to Shoes.

When I give her food, she does the sign for Hot, almost as though she is asking me a question. Does the sign, looks up at me. "Is it hot?" - if I say no, Julia, it's not hot,you can eat it, she proceeds on her merry eating way.

If I say yes, it's hot, she blows on it.

Julia's mullet is at least two inches long in the back. The top and sides very, very thin, mostly bald.

She pulls it off though.

Julia and I thoroughly enjoyed cheese enchiladas for lunch on the 5th of May.

So, poor Julia fell head first, fully clothed, into TJ's bath a couple of weeks ago. She seemed to be fine with it, until it was time for her to take a bath again.

She screams and cries like it was the end of the world when we give her a bath now. When it's time to put her into the tub, she clutches on with a ninja grip. Once her fingers are pried off, she stands up, holding on to the side of the tub and lets out cries that I haven't heard since she was an infant, all while looking up with pitiful eyes. "Help me, help me!"

I can't take it anymore, I feel so badly for the little girl, so three days ago, I decide that she is going into the bathtub every night, she has to get over this. Set up the cd player, play lullabies and give her a bottle of warm milk to try to calm her down and she hates it still...clutches, cries and screams.

The next night, I try to bribe her with chocolate. No go. Still with the clutching, cries and screams.

Tonight, I came up with the idea of bubbles. I blew bubbles into the air and made really happy noises. She still stood up in the water, on the side of the tub but I actually managed to get some giggles out of her, as she watched the bubbles float down and pop on her.

Tomorrow the Gazillion Bubble Machine is going to a new home. It's turning from an outside toy to a bathroom toy.

Hopefully all the sadness will subside and she will go back to happily splashing in the tub like she used to do, willingly, giggly and fun.

Julia has ablutophobia. Fear of bathing. Thanks google!

She has a swollen thumb and the doctor recommended x-ray. It's fine. Nothing.

While at the hospital, I show her the fish in the giant tank. A fountain with running water is nearby. She spots it right away and does the monkey clutch onto me, she must think it's a bathtub. The monkey clutch consists of her wrapping her legs around my body and her arms around my neck and shoulder area with a kung-fu grip that is seriously hard to release.

Poor little girl.

Julia is now 14 months, almost 15 months old.

She's the world's fastest crawler. She can stand and walk holding onto a toy, she can pull herself up and cruise around on furniture.

She could totally walk if she wants to, but she would rather hold onto our hands or our pants.

Today when I went to get her after working out, Carissa in the daycare said that she took two steps by herself. She was using a toy to support her as she took steps and Carissa took it away to see what happened and it sounded like Julia seemed surprised but she took a couple of steps!

No indication of her doing it at home. Wonder what else she does when we are not looking. She probably has parties, is driving, writing, talking, doing yoga, etc. Until we walk into the room, then all activity ceases, except for superfast crawling, eating, and signing.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the incredible snuggly hugs and cuddles that I get when I hold her that I wish I could bottle.

Julia is not standing on her own or walking yet.

She totally could, but she really chooses not to.

She has the grocery cart walker thing and instead of walking with it, which she can do - I have seen her - she pushes it around, crawling on her knees.

Julia did the sign and said the word "more" yesterday!

At least twice.

Julia is definitely saying more words now.

More, cat, dog, dada, TJ, what's that...some easier to understand than others.

My absolute favorite is her saying "more" in her little tiny voice, with an emphasis on the mmmmm just completely melts my heart.

I'll give her more of whatever she wants.

Julia is sleeping and I can hear what's happening from the monitor.

I hear a noise in her room, it's loud and steady and rhythmic. I cannot figure out what it is. Is there a cat trying to get out? No, I know that sound and that's not it. Pipes banging? No. What can it be?

I finally figure it out, it's her sucking her thumb! No wonder she has a blister on it.

She's now 1 year and 3 months old.

She has her top four teeth and has for a while.

Right now she has FOUR more teeth coming in.

Two more on the top, one more BIG one on the bottom that has already popped through and one more where I just noticed a little white dot today.

John says that Julia laughing the baby laugh anymore. It's true! She has a little chuckle that just warms your heart.

Julia is getting closer to walking, but as far as standing up by herself, it's not her thing. She can do it, because I take her and hold her up, then let go. She laughs and laughs, a cute little chuckle, (as if to say "are you doing this game with me again?!") and immediately plops herself down on the floor.

Then climbs up on the couch to look out the window. Then climbs down and crawls to the rocking chair. Climbs up into it, opens a book and reads it. Then turns around and climbs down and crawls to her next destination.

Then does a few cartwheels on the way to her highchair. I made that part up, but I can tell that she can totally do it, she just doesn't want to.

I predict within a week.

While at the condo, Julia stood up on her own for about 10 seconds yesterday, after I propped her up and took away my arms. She swayed, but stayed up. Until she realized "Oh my gosh, how are these boneless rubber bands known as my legs going to hold me up?! I don't think so!" and boom! back onto the bum.

Julia has decided not to walk quite yet.

She can hold onto the smallest littlest piece of your smallest finger and will walk around the entire house. As soon as you let go, she - very obviously consciously - sits down on the floor.

She can stand up by herself and will do it, until she realizes it. Then boom! does she goes, sitting on the floor.

She started doing this crazy crawl, where her bum is way up and her legs are straight, kind of like downward dog, but while moving.

I am not going to predict, but I'm hoping she'll be walking soon...

Julia can crawl backwards.

So, 4th of July. We went to a friend's house for typical bbq. Really good burgers, corn on the cob, salads, etc. Julia loves corn on the cob, apparently. Ate some sitting in my lap.

Today is a beautiful day, all day long. If we don't eat outside on the screened-in porch, it's like breaking a law, it's so nice out.

John is finishing grilling and puts the chicken and the corn on the cob on the tray, and places it on the table, inside the screened-in porch, where the kids and I are sitting. Julia to my left, TJ to my right.

Julia spots the tray of food and starts yelling "more! more! more! more! more!" and climbs up from her chair, onto the table and starts to crawl across the table to get to the corn on the cob.

So the little girl is still not officially walking. Or even really close to it, really. I do believe she is stubborn, because she can walk around fine holding the tiniest little sliver of my finger. Or pushing the plastic shopping cart with her baby finger and nothing else (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration). She's smart, too, talking a ton, saying sentences even!, and knows at least 25 signs. She loves to look at books and play with her toys, but the walking thing, she's just going to do it on her own schedule and once she starts, look out!

She has taken one step that I have seen, so I know she can do it.

But she is really into that boom thing. She stands, she claps, she sits down and says boom. It's turned into a game.

Now she is starting to finally stand on her own. I was watching her tonight, she stands up, claps, goes back down, repeats about 10 times. Stands up for a good amount of time, too, about 10 seconds or so.

On her last go, she stood up, signed the sign for "stand" and then sat back down. I thought that was pretty great.

John and I tried to come up with a list the other night of the signs that Julia does at 16 months. She does most of these signs - I starred the ones she recognizes but doesn't do yet.

Here's what we could remember:

blanket
more
eat
baby
airplane
milk
stand
up
dog
cat
mommy
daddy
thank you*
good*
please*
music*
change
banana*
bath
bed/sleep
book*
all done
fish
friend*
head
hot
hug
shoes (one of her favorites)
socks*
telephone
wait*
water
where*

It's not a secret that Julia loves her food. She takes her eating very seriously, as my mom says. (I love that!)

Every time she takes a bite or a sip of something, she looks up at me with joy in her eyes and says "mmmmmmmmmm."

It's so cute.

We had a big talk with TJ about sleeping late on Saturdays and how if he wakes up, and we are still asleep, he should continue to rest. It worked! He is still asleep. Julia, however, who has been known to sleep until 8:30 on certain days - usually when we have to be somewhere at 8 - set her wake up call for 6:15 this morning.

This morning...

John and TJ were still sleeping and I was hanging out with Julia, listening to Jason Mraz Radio with my baby snuggled up on my chest. The sun was shining. It was a lovely way to start the day.

Have to leave here in about 15 minutes to get to Little Gym. Of course Julia didn't sleep this morning. She's in her crib right now, making cooing noises. Cute noises, they really are, but I wish it were her sleeping noises instead.

10 minutes later. Have to leave now. Of course, now she's asleep.

I was at USAF yesterday, but I heard that Julia took 2 steps on her own yesterday.

17 months, world's fastest crawler.

She stands strongly now, but feels most comfortable when her hands are touching solid matter, a chair, the couch, my leg.

She has started a new way to get around, by walking on her knees. It is a funny sight.

Julia is so funny, she crawls, crabwalks, kneel-walks around the living room, checking out everything - she loves looking at books, and playing with whatever TJ has out.

One of my favorite things she does is disappear around the corner, where we keep a basket full of hats.

She goes into the little alcove, and appears, a minute or two later, wearing a hat.

The fun is seeing which one it will be - Mommy or Daddy's winter hat, a red plastic Fire Chief hat at a jaunty angle, an Air Force hat, TJ's Big Bird baseball cap on backwards.

It's always a surprise and it is always very cute.

She loves the hats.

Julia walks!

We came home from vacation and heard from Mimi that Julia is walking...I had actually seen her take about 7 steps the day before we left. She didn't really show us Friday night, but today, she's motoring all over the place like an expert.

She does it so well, I'm pretty sure she was practicing while we weren't looking.

Mimi thinks that if Julia goes down to sleep, and doesn't fall asleep immediately, she's not ready for sleep. She also likes to get Julia up the minute she makes a peep. I am completely different, I let her lay there and talk for a while before she goes to sleep. And she usually does go to sleep. I also give her a few minutes to wake up before I go in and get her.

Since we have been back from vacation, it's taking some adjusting for Julia to get used to not getting picked up right away if she talks when I put her down for a nap.

She rolls around in her crib, talking and sometimes yelling "Mama, Mama" for a few minutes. I don't go in and get her. Sometimes it gets louder. Sometimes, as a true last resort, she starts yelling "Miiiiiiimmmmmmmiiiiiii!!!!!" - it's very smart of her. Doesn't get her anywhere with me, but I understand her point.

Julia is such a love.

I wish we knew more sign language because all of it we have taught her, she loves to use.

Everytime she sees a cat, or her milk, or a dog she tells us, by saying the word in her own little language (dog sounds like dooooeee), and using the sign repeatedly. It's so cute.

She talks now. She has never had a problem letting you know how she feels, through her actions, expressions, now words. She likes to say No! and shake her head when I ask her if she wants to go lie down with her beloved rainbow blankie. Dada! She'll yell, when John gets home. Mama! when she sees me, or wants me. She even says TJ, but it doesn't quite sound like that. I know what she's talking about though.

She doesn't like seeing people cry. She'll drop everything to comfort Thomas if he is crying. She pats his back and tries to make him happy. It's so heartwarming.

Julia likes the outdoors. She likes the grass and the sky and seeing airplanes go by. Walks are a good time for her, she kicks back in her stroller, usually with a cup of pretzels or crackers and her milk.

She walks all around, still crawls as well.

She's a wonderful sleeper and mostly a good napper.

Needless to say, she loves her food.

She's gentle with the animals, she really loves seeing her pets. It gets her excited.

She likes to talk on the phone and usually yells "Bye!" for a few minutes after I hang up with someone.

She makes a funny, funny sound, it sounds like she is saying the letter W again and again, it is so cute and funny.

We are so blessed to have such a sweet little 1 1/2 year old - a smart, happy, funny, kind, loving girl in our lives.

TJ has a bad habit of sometimes getting too close to people's faces.

With his blanket, which he flops all around, his hand, or sometimes his face. It is a phase, it will pass. Julia, however, doesn't know this.

He got too close to her face once too many times and CHOMP. She bit him right on the nose. He was crying and crying and she just walked away with her stumbling steps, got onto her red Mickey Mouse plane, with this very serious, "Yes, I am a badass baby, DO NOT mess with me" look and took a few steps backwards on it.

So, I'm a talker. I talk on the phone pretty much all the time. In the car, I am usually catching up with friends or relatives or other acquaintances. Julia, my girl, does not like this. She wants in on the action.

When I hang up and say bye to the person, she yells "bye!"

Now, she's getting more into it, because she sees TJ talking to people on my phone sometimes, so I'm thinking she feels slighted if she doesn't get to speak.

In the car, she yells "more, more, more, more!" until I hand the phone to her.

"Hi!" She'll say, then maybe yell out "Mimi" or "Daddy" - while still holding onto the phone, which she then refuses to give back to me.

Today, she spoke to my sister and Mimi, both who, when she said "Hi!" answered with "Hi TJ!"

Julia loves her little outfits. She takes her clothes out of the drawers, then puts them back in.

Today she was walking around with a bathing suit on top of her head.

Sunglasses? Loves 'em. Usually puts them on some cockeyed way, or upside down. She leaves them on, too, whether they are mine, hers, or TJ's.

She digs shoes. Today she came up to me with just one Dora sneaker. I couldn't find the other one, so I told her "go find two shoes" - she came back to me with a pair of black patent leathers and they complete her outfit in a perfect way.

Hats are definitely a favorite. Today she dug through her hat drawer until she found just the right pink hat with ABC embroidered on it. It looks super cute with her green sleeveless dress.

She's not so into the barrettes yet, although a hairband or two has made its way to her little bald head. She's getting more hair now, especially in the back, it's probably about 4 inches long. The top, still not so much.

Julia has that new-learning-how-to-walk walk.

She kind of stumbles around, but definitely gets where she needs to go, and is getting more stable on her feet.

Today is the first day I let her walk from car to the place of errand. In this case, it is the post office.

It is so cute. She holds onto my hand, and her little body walks beside me, clad in pink pants with red hearts and a pink tie dye shirt on top. The step up to the curb is too much for her the first time, but she masters it the second time trying.

She loves to try to open the door, but her little 23 pounds just isn't enough. She makes sure it is closed on the way out, by giving it an extra push with her tiny little hands.

The older gentleman in the car next to us wants to get involved in the fun and chats with us a little. Julia looks at me and says "who's that?"

She's practically asleep by the time we make the 5-minute drive home.

Big day.

Julia loves asking "what's that?"

She looks through magazines like Parents and Time and points at pictures - "what's that?" then onto the next one - "what's that?"

Repeat 100 times for each magazine. When she recognizes something, mostly dogs and babies, she lets you know.

Today at the oil change place, she was pursuing through the Subaru accessories catalog. "That's a rear cargo mat, honey. That? That's a remote engine starter." All really important things to know at 18-months-old.

Her favorite book is one from Auntie KK, it's called Baby Words. It has a theme on each page - food, baby toys, etc.

She takes my hand and guides my finger to each of the pictures and says "what's that?"

As soon as I say the word, she moves onto the next one. Multiple times per page.

It's a good read.

Looking at the Victoria's Secret website on my laptop.

Julia is looking at the hot model on the front page and saying "Mama, Mama."

When I go to a different page, she says "Bye Mama."

Hey, I'll take it.

Julia and I are upstairs. She spots the laundry basket with the clean clothes and pulls out a pair of my socks. White with pink and purple. Argyle.

She cries until I take her socks off and puts mine on her feet. Happy now.

Wears them at Chelo's underneath her pink sneakers.

Julia is a really good natured baby. It doesn't take much to make her happy.

Case in point.

She finds a small, speckled rock. Throws it. It lands. She laughs.

Crawls over to where it lands.

Picks it up. Throws it. It hits another rock and makes a different sound than before. She laughs.

She walks over this time.

Repeat about ten times.

Her laughs are just precious.

She's easy to please.

She was also very happy the other day in the Hess Gas Station - due to the inflatable beach balls, fish and various other summer items decorating the ceiling, which she also found so truly delightful.

A cool fall day.

Julia is wearing a blue long sleeve soft velvety shirt and a pair of pink satin shiny sweatpants, which are too long for her and cause some trouble when walking since they are essentially little slippery pads underneath her.

When I change her diaper, I try to change her pants into a pair of brown leggings. She wants nothing to do with them and won't put her legs through. I pick another pair of pants. Light green jeans with pink embrodiery on the pocket. No go. She's keeping her legs out of them and shaking her head "no" - she doesn't want them.

I hold up the original pink satin ones. "These Julia?" - she nods, smiles, and lets me put them on her.

Julia calls her stroller her ride.

She shouts out "ride, ride, ride, ride" when she sees it.

Julia calls the following a ride: strollers and shopping carts and those little plastic cars that kids do the Fred Flintstone walk in.

She has a special sign that she made up herself for bicycle.

She says most of the words that we taught her as baby sign language.

A swing to her is a whee. Love that. When apple picking, we walked by one, she was determined to get on it. We bypassed it, she turned around and tried to march her way to it, yelling "whee, whee, whee, whee!" the whole time.

A bad night's sleep, due to a terrible diaper rash

plus

no nap this morning because of music class

plus

blankie going into the washing machine

equals

a very unhappy little girl.

Julia just yells out "no!" when she sees the dogs. I'm sure that what she mostly hears me say to them.

So Julia loves seeing the crossing guard as we drop TJ off at school.

HI! She'll yell to her from really far away.

BYE! When we are leaving.

Unless there's a dog or a baby nearby. To Julia, a dog and a baby are much more interesting than a crossing guard.

TJ sees striped lines where we parked. "That's a little crossing guard," he tells me.

"No, I tell him, that's not a crossing guard, it's a crosswalk.The crossing guard wears yellow and helps us cross the street. I don't know what her name is."

"Maybe her name is Yellow," TJ decides.

Julia figured out running today.

She's really good at it.

<3

So, apparently Julia has decided it's time to potty train herself.

When TJ and I were at swimming lessons tonight, John and Julia were at home. She is already in her pjs, ready for bed and she starts crying and wants her pjs off. When he takes off her pjs, she walks into the bathroom, points at the potty and says "pee."

John puts her on the potty ring and she pees on the potty! He celebrated and praised her immensely. See where it goes from here.

Julia definitely knows what's going on.

One of my favorite things that she does is answer questions.

Mama: Julia, do you want to eat crackers?
Julia: No.
Mama: banana?
Julia: No
Mama: pretzels?
Julia: no
Mama: toast

Julia then gives these slow, thoughtful nods of her head, that go way up and end up way down with her chin way down by her chest. Really gets the point across.

Julia started calling me Mommy today, rather than Mama.

Although I bet the MaaaaaaMaaaaa will definitely still be in play for a while.

Julia is walking around with a calculator which she thinks is a phone.

She's holding it up to her ear and saying "Hi!"

She also held it up to both Amadeus and Georgia's ears and said "Hi!" just like I do when I want her to speak on the phone to someone.

Squee is still the cutest little thing around.

She's a total giggle monster. She laughs at almost everything.

She absolutely loves telling you what things are and making the sound effect. "Dog. Woof woof woof."

Something falls, she says "boom!" and then gives a big tinkling laugh.

She stumbles all around, now, really fast.

She knows what you're talking about. If you ask her where her shoes are, she will walk into her room and get them out of her basket of shoes and put them on. She wears TJ's new fuzzy, size large slippers, which look like boats on her little feet.

She made up her own sign language for her Dora shoes. "Doe-doe" she says and points out her pointer finger.

She calls Elmo - Ai-ya.

Julia's sleep habits are perfect. She goes to bed by 7 pm and wakes up around 6:30 am. or a little later. Sometimes she pretends she's hungry, by making the Eat sign when it's time for bed, but she gets over it fast, cuddles up in her blankie and goes to sleep. She likes to brush her teeth and all you have to do to make her open her mouth is stick out your tongue. Curl it, and she is yours forever.

Reading is a big part of her life. She will bring you a book and have you read it to her, while she points out different things and says "da da da" (that means "what is that?") until you tell her, then she'll move onto the next thing.

If she is looking at a book and I don't answer her questions right away, she gets louder and louder until I answer her. "Mama. Mama. MAMA. MAMA. MAAAAAMMMMMAAAAA. MMMMMAAAAMMMMMMMAAAAA. MOOOOOMMMMMMMY." she yells it! Until I answer her, then she's fine. It's pretty comical. Sometimes I ignore her on purpose to see how loud she gets.

Really pretty loud, I gotta say.

She has the eating thing down, she still loves to eat lots. Not saying "mo" as much anymore. Miss that.

Getting a little temper. Will make herself flat on the floor and cry when things aren't going her way. We learned to ignore it and she usually gets over it. If she's like that, chances are she's tired.

Julia has the softest, most kissable, chewable cheeks in all of the land.

Poor little Julia had to go to the doctor today.

As soon as we get called out of the waiting room, the memory of the H1N1 shot comes back to her and she starts crying. "No more boo boo," she says, holding her leg.

"No, no," I assure her, "no boo boo. They are just going to look at your thumb."

Doctor comes in. "No boo boo," she tells Julia, "just need to look at that thumb."

She's not sure about it, so consults with another doctor. Talk of scapels and 18 gauge needles ensue.

They try once. Miss the infected part, just blood, can't culture that. Julia is not happy. Slice again. Julia crying and crying, screaming. Not happy.

As we get into the car, she's whimpering still.

Figure McDonalds will be a quick and easy lunch - just around the corner. Put her in the chair, not a high chair, just a regular chair, with her food.

I'm right here, I figure.

Not even halfway through the french fries, BOOM. Face plant onto the hard floor.

Crying and crying.

Get in the car. Get home. Sit down. She comes up to me to give me a kiss, but falters and smashes her face into my knee.

Looks at me and laughs, as to say "what else can possibly go wrong today, mama?"

Julia plays the harmonica like no other 20 month old can.

Julia is so into brushing her teeth.

She found one of the electric kid's toothbrush - Pooh Bear style - and loves it.

She brushed her teeth for about 10 minutes this morning. She comes up to me with the toothbrush, says "help Mama" and makes the sign for help until I turn it on for her.

Now she is walking around with the Tigger one saying "TJ" (sounds like TT) at the stairs, because she wants him to use it.

I have a problem with Julia.

She wants to eat my Vanilla Birthday Cake lipgloss from philosophy.

I really don't blame her. It is delicious.

Whenever I take it out to put it on, she yells "eat, eat, eat, eat" until I put it away. Then she yells "eat, eat, eat, eat" even louder.

Do not mess with Julia's oreo cookie.

Georgia snatched one out of her hand and Julia was not happy, which is an understatement.

Poor Julia. She has to put up with my freezing, cold, icicle hands when I change her diaper. She is not happy with that. Maybe it will be a good incentive for potty training.

My little Squee loves Elmo, and all things Sesame for that matter.

She loves her two shirts - the red one with I-ya (Elmo) on it and the blue one with Cookie Monster on it and would wear them every day if I let her. Or actually, if she saw them. I don't think listens to my fashion advice.

I want to clothe her in all Sesame Street character clothes, all the time. I am pretty sure nothing would make her (or me) happier.

Watching Julia eat her very first Fluffernutter sandwich today was a true joy.

When my one-year-old daughter arrives home, she takes her coat off and puts it away.

I find that to be a beautiful thing.

Julia just brought me a bowl of plastic food with a fork and a spoon from her new kitchen playset.

I am not sure if I should eat the lemon, the banana, the lettuce, the mushroom or one of the two hot dogs first.

She's always been a good sleeper, my Julia.

So last night when I put her down, I could tell something was not right when she was still crying 15 minutes later. I settled down TJ into bed and went into Julia's room. I find a crying baby, standing up, wearing just a diaper. The dark blue snowman fuzzy footed pjs I had dressed her in are in a heap on the floor by her crib where the hamper is usually located.

She's pointing at her dresser yelling "I-ya" (Elmo). Unfortunately, all her Elmo clothes are in the wash. I find her a fuzzy pink pair of heart pajamas and top it off with a Little Mermaid nightgown and that seems to satisfy her.

Once she has on the right outfit, she sleeps through the night.

Why doesn't she like to take naps anymore?

Naps are so good. For everyone involved.

Julia often exclaims "Yeehaw" when she places a hat on her head.

Tonight was the first night out that Julia sat in a booster seat instead of a high chair.

Also the first night she stood in front of and jammed out to a guitar player playing Pink Floyd, while wearing pink rubber rain boots on the wrong feet.

My little girl is getting so big.

Of couse, she's still little. So little that when she sits in my lap, and her legs are straight out to the side, just her two feet hang over my legs. And just barely.

And thank the Lord, she loves sitting in my lap. She's a cuddly girl.

She's speaking very well now, a ton of words.

My favorite, I would have to say is "ham" - every now and then when you ask her what she wants to eat, she says "ham." Which I find hilarious just because it's funny that a one-year-old asks for ham. I also absolutely love the way she pronounces it. Haaaahhm.

Excuse me. lovely, could you please pass the haaaahm.

It's really quite cute.

She doesn't like to be in the dark so she will lead you to the light switch, point to the ceiling and exclaim "Yight, yight!" until you turn on the light.

She also puts words together. "Goodnight, TJ. Goodnight, Mommy. Goodnight, Daddy."

Oh and can she dance. Put on Jingle Bells and she twirls and twirls and twirls around until it ends and then she asks for more. No More Pie from Music Together is another favorite. The first song from the Let's Make Music cd from Sesame Street Live causes excited yelling while looking up at the ceiling. "AAAaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" as she is bending way back, looking straight up. Every time.

Her hair is still way longer in the back than the front, she wants nothing to do with ponytails or barrettes, the only addition she likes to it is when she wipes her sticky maple syrup hands in it. Thank goodness for No More Tangles. It works wonders for maple syrup in her thin little hair.

She has the softest, cutest, little hands. She grabs yours and leads you where she wants to go. "That way," she'll say and pull you in that direction. "Read book."

She chants "DVD, DVD, DVD" when she wants to watch one.

She still has quite an affinity for Elmo and often when she is crying, we will find her naked in the crib. The only thing that settles her down is Elmo anything, pajamas, shirts, pants, etc. It's no fun when they are in the wash. Sometimes she'll settle for Dora, or a giraffe, but Elmo is definitely the main man for her.

A fabulous part of the day is getting her in the morning, the hugs are spectacular. Her head on my shoulder makes everything right in the world. Sometimes a morning kiss, with an accompanying "mah" noise. Really, what better way to start off a day.

I love my Squee.

Making a practice cake for Julia's 2nd bday party.

It's not as easy as one would think. Precision handling is required, just to get the cake out of the pan. I already cracked the eyes. He looks like Hungover Elmo.

It did say on the Wilton website to cut off the center part of the bottom of the cake, which I ignored. I'll do it tomorrow or when I make the real one.

Now I am going to mix the frosting with the colors. But first I have to figure out where to do it, I guess I have to put it on the cake board and decorate it on that. Cake board. Who knew? Thank goodness the lady in Michael's told me what to buy or I would have been totally lost.

Mixing the frosting with the coloring is fun, except for the red is not red, it's just pink. I added orange and it's looking like we are going to have salmon colored Elmo.

The food coloring is all over my hands and quite possibly my teeth, because those little buggers are hard to get open.

It is hard to get the frosting into the bag correctly. Not only do you have to do some crazy stuff with a plastic coupler, you are not supposed to put too much frosting into the bag. I just tried to make some practice stars on Elmo and I know why. The frosting comes out of the top.

Not sure if I'm cut out for this cake making business, but will definitely follow through with the cake and hopefully the birthday girl will appreciate the salmon colored, hungover Elmo cake. Hey, it's made with love.

The Elmo cake was a hit.

It was beautiful in its own way. Julia said "Elmo Cake!" with excitement when she saw it, which made it all worth the effort.

My little Squee is 2 years old tomorrow!