It has been a week since her first birthday and I am finally getting around to updating the blog. It has hard to believe that she is already a year old. This time last year we had a one week old. Amazing how things go so fast!
She is walking like a pro. Constantly moving. She is a pretty happy girl. She loves to explore everything. She claps her hands and dances. She is definitely a daddy’s girl. She lights up the second he comes home from work. She wants her mommy when she is tired or hungry.
The week before her birthday we had the winter store of 2011 in Georgia. We got about 6 or 7 inches of snow topped with a layer of ice. We were all stuck inside for four whole days. Julianne loved the snow so much she did not want to come inside. Unfortunately, we were not planning on a snow storm so we did not buy her proper snow attire.
We had a wonderful party with family and friends. Our theme was Winter ONEderland! Of course it was not planned for us to have snow on the ground for her party, but we did! We had a dessert bar of cupcakes, cake pops, peanut butter crackers dipped in white chocolate, sugar cookies, and chocolate dipped pretzels. We also had hot chocolate and melted snowflakes (water). It was a lot of fun!
Julianne, Monthly Updates
Whew. I missed a 10 month update and have almost missed the 11 month update. Since Julianne has started walking life is go go go! She never sits still. Constantly moving – up, down, around, and around. She keeps us on our toes!
She has been eating more and more table foods. She wants to eat what we are eating. Just the last few days she has been spitting pureed food at me. I think she is trying to tell me she is done with it.
One of her top teeth has broken the surface and the second one is coming soon. Mostly it hasn’t bothered her like the first two teeth. She has just been more grumpy then usual.
Looking forward to her birthday!
Julianne, Monthly Updates
Julianne is growing up so quickly. She is constantly on the move and wants to investigate everything. For a week or so she has been occasionally letting go of things and standing on her own without support. This weekend she actually took a few steps unassisted. This little girl is determined to get around on her own. She had her 9 month check up yesterday. She now weights in at about 19 1/2 lbs and is 27 1/2 inches tall.
Her first tooth showed up around 8 1/2 months and was quickly followed by her second tooth. It was a rough few weeks before they showed up. She was waking up screaming about 2 or 3 times a night. The doctor said yesterday that she can see one of her top teeth getting very close to breaking the surface.
We visited a local pumpkin patch last Saturday. The weather was beautiful and it wasn’t too crowded. We took a hay ride to the pumpkins. We picked out a small and medium pumpkin to take home.
Being the brave people we are… we decided to brave the crowds and go to the Wings Over Atlanta air show at Dobbins AFB. We got to the parking lot at about 8:45am, then waited in line for the bus, and arrived at the air field at about 10:30am. Julianne passed out cold on the bus and took about an hour and a half nap on me. Then she woke up from her nap and got to ride on daddy’s shoulders…
The airplanes didn’t phase her, which is what we were most worried about. We decided to head out before all the crowds did and had to miss the Blue Angels performance, maybe next time when she is a little older. She then fell asleep again on the bus ride back to the car and stayed asleep until we got home. She is such a good little girl!
Julianne, Monthly Updates
Julianne is on the move! She has been crawling for a few weeks now. She pulls up to stand on everything and seems to have no fear. She of course is drawn to objects she shouldn’t be climbing – like the TV stand, dining room furniture, kitchen cabinets, etc. She did learn how to pull herself up in her crib. It is cute when you go to get her in the morning and she is standing there waiting on you. At first it was hard because she wanted to stand in her crib instead of going to sleep. Shortly after learning to crawl, she started learning how to sit up on her own from the crawling position. She can also squat to sit from a standing position.
Still no signs of teeth. And she won’t let you check for teeth if you try.
We have tried finger foods here and there. She will put everything non-food related in her mouth, but if you put real food in front of her she’ll pick it up and throw it over the side of her highchair. We have mostly tried the Gerber Puffs. We tried soft cooked white potatoes and she tried a few, but most of it ended up in her lap. She still has a bottle about every three hours and eats three meals a day. She has learned how to drink from a sippy cup. She LOVES water and even drinking from a big cup. Watch out if you have a drink in your hand, she’ll grab it!
We are looking forward to visiting Grandma Applegate in October and then the whole Ryan family in November for Thanksgiving.
Julianne, Monthly Updates
Julianne turned 7 months on Sunday! She has started to get up on all fours and rock back and forth for a few weeks now, but hasn’t quite figured out the crawling thing. She’ll fall forward after getting up on all fours and then scoot herself around. Time to baby proof! She makes the funniest face now. She scrunches up her nose all the time! She still babbles and we keep repeating “mama” and “dada” hoping she’ll get the hint! No signs of teeth – yet. She has been waking up more frequently in the middle of the night screaming, so I think it might be coming. She has always chewed on things so I can’t accept that as a teething symptom.
We took her for her first swim on Sunday as well. Because she is my daughter (aka fair skin and burns easily), we lathered on the 70+ SPF sunscreen. Covered her from head to toe. She loved the water! We put her in a baby float and she was kicking her legs all over the place. She also wanted to drink the water and eat her float. We were outside for about 2 hours, as soon as we got in the car to go home she passed out asleep! She loves being outside.
Julianne, Monthly Updates
I can’t believe it has already been half a year! She seems to be doing new things everyday. She can roll from front to back and back to front. She can sit on her own, when placed there. She hasn’t figured out how to sit up on her own yet. She has started to travel more when placed on the floor to play. She is “talking” more these days. Making all sorts of funny sounds and blowing bubbles. She smacks her lips together like she is trying to blow kisses.
She had her 6 month check up on Wednesday. She is now 16.5 lbs and 24 3/4 inches. I think she might be a short girl like her mommy. Poor thing was tired and hungry while waiting for the doctor.
Sleeping has gotten much better since we stopped swaddling. Bedtime is now 7pm and she is usually asleep by 7:45pm. She loves sleeping on her tummy now. She usually plays or talks to herself for a few minutes in her crib and then falls asleep. We are still using a pacifier for naps and night time. I hope that isn’t going to be a very hard habit to break one day. I had to put a bummer on her crib because she kept getting her feet stuck and would scream at the top of her lungs. It has also helped keep the pacifier in the crib since she likes to grab it and toss it around.
She now eats 3 solid meals a day. Oatmeal with fruit for breakfast, vegetable for lunch, and rice cereal and vegetable for dinner. So far we haven’t found a food that she doesn’t like. However, we learned she prefers her bananas cold. She is still breastfed for the time being. I am still going back and forth on how long I want to continue.
Julianne, Monthly Updates
Julianne turned 5 months old yesterday. She enjoys standing more than sitting. We might have an early walker on our hands. (Gotta baby proof the house!) This weekend she rolled over on her own for the first time. The last two days she has been doing it more frequently. However, she hasn’t figured out how to roll back.
Because of this we have had to stop swaddling her for bedtime. Our plan was to wait until Josh got back from training this weekend, but Julianne had other plans. I swaddled her like normal on Monday night and she just kept screaming. It was time to stop. She enjoys sleeping on her side and I think she was frustrated that she couldn’t turn in her swaddle. This morning I found her sleeping on her tummy when I went in to wake her up.
She is a very happy baby. I love hearing her giggles! One day we’ll get it on video. We are still trying solid foods. She hasn’t taken to the spoon just yet. We have tried rice cereal, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes.
Julianne, Monthly Updates
Julianne took her first trip to Louisiana. It was nice, but it was hard on her. She met a TON of family. Including her Great MawMaw Betty & PawPaw Hulos and Great MawMaw Geraldine. She met her Great Aunts and Uncles and her second cousins.
Sanders Family
Robertson Family
I ended up getting tonsillitis the day before we left. Being sick plus a unhappy Julianne, made for a long car ride home. Poor Josh had two crying girls in the back seat.
Julianne, Monthly Updates
It has been a busy few weeks! Julianne turned 3 months old on April 15th and my maternity leave came to a close. I wish it could have lasted forever. She has been a perfect little angel with Grandma Rose during the week. She has settled in to a daytime routine for the most part, her nights are another story. She has been waking up frequently throughout the night, not hungry, just awake. Josh has been wonderful in helping during the night so I can get sleep. He falls back asleep much easier than I do!
She is eating her hands constantly. She even tries to get her whole fist in her mouth. She is grabbing at things more and more. The amount of drool that comes out of her mouth is crazy! She smiles a lot! I can not wait to hear her giggles.
I have started my second week back at work. I went down to a 30 hour work week. The days go by quickly right now. So far getting out of the house in the morning has been fairly easy. I get everything together the night before so it makes our mornings easier. My favorite part of our mornings is when she wakes up she always has the biggest smiles! So far she is a morning person like her momma. Daddy also gets to see her smiles before leaving for work.
I am looking forward to her 4 month checkup and finding out how much she now weighs and if we can start solids soon! She is growing so quickly!
Julianne, Monthly Updates
These 2 months have flown by! She grows more every day. She is making more noises now. I could just watch her and play with her for hours. She has found her hands and loves to suck on them now. She instantly calms down when we lay her on the changing table. She likes tummy time on the bobby pillow and is getting better at lifting her head. She already has good head control when we hold her.
Our evenings are getting better – with the exception of getting used to the time change. She tends to go to sleep anywhere between 9pm and 10pm. Then wakes up to eat sometime between 2am and 4pm. It usually takes about an hour to eat and get her to fall back asleep. Depending on when she woke up during the night, she is up again between 6am and 8am. Those are the usually nights. Last night, however, she slept from 10pm to 5am. I feel great today!
We have made the switch to bottle fed breast milk so I can get used to how things will be when I go back to work. We still occasionally nurse in the late evenings if she needs a snack before bed. It makes me feel less stressed to know exactly how much she is eating. I keep track on how much I pump and how much she eats. I am building a freezer stash since she is currently eating less than I pump on a daily basis.
We have our 2 month check up tomorrow. I can’t wait to find out how much she weighs. Not looking forward to the multiple shots she is getting tomorrow. Thankfully, Josh will be going with us.
Julianne, Monthly Updates