Juliet One Year Old!

Can't believe I'm writing your ONE YEAR blog!! WHAT?! This year seriously flew by!! Juliet, you are so so so much fun. I just absolutely adore you. You are a homebody and prefer to be with mommy at all times. I love being wanted and I love your cuddles. Sometimes, though, it's a bit hard to leave you with someone else or to get things like making dinner done because you literally want to be attached to me at all times. But, I know one day you won't need me or want me as much, so I'm cherishing this stage of life with you. 

You can be quiet and hesitant in situations that aren't familiar to you. But at home, you are a bubble of laughs and joy. (I kind of love how you only open up around the people who you know love you and who actually know know you.) 

You are curious and on the move. You book it towards the stairs anytime the gate is open for a chance to climb up the stairs. You've become very quick with your walking. I think, in part, because you are motivated to catch up to and run away from Olivia. 

For the most part the two of you play well together. We have run into some of the "No! Mine!!" problems that come with siblings, but Olivia loves you so much and she often showers you with hugs, kisses, and "i love you"s. 

You've started to try to copy Olivia whenever she dresses up and will walk a pretty dress over to me, put it in my hands, and then babble until I dress you in it. I have to tie up the ends so that you don't trip since they're WAY too big for you, but once you are dressed up you seem quite content. 

Other games you enjoy are knocking over towers that mommy or Olivia build, climbing under blanket forts, bouncing lap games with mommy, being pushed in the Little Tikes baby car, being held upside down, and playing with shape sorters. 

Recently, over the past month and a half or so, you've started to engage when we read to you. You love turning the pages of books and seem to really enjoy books with flaps and texture books. You bring me books often throughout the day and love to sit on my lap and help turn the pages.  I read to you before bed each night too. Your favorite books seem to be: Llama Llama Valentines, That's Not My Bunny, A Little Piggies book that goes with the toe game, the Sandra Boynton Doggies book (you "bark" at the dogs and it cracks me up), Goodnight Moon (you wave goodnight to everything... adorable!), and Peek-a-boo Zoo. 

No bookshelves are safe from your path. You loveeeeeee to pull books off of them. I cannot count the  amount of time I spend each day putting books back on shelves from various bookcases. You haven't quite learned the concept of "helping" clean them up, though Olivia is a big helper in cleaning up your book messes too. 

 

Your hair has started to curl up in ringlets on the ends around the nape of your neck. I'm pretty confident you're going to have curly hair like your sister. 

At One Year Old you:

• Weigh 20 lbs and 10 oz (gaining a whole 12 pounds and four ounces since birth!)
• Measure 28.75 inches 
• Have 3 and a half teeth (two middle bottom ones, one front tooth, and a upper side tooth coming in)
• Wear size 3 diapers
• Wear size 12 month clothes and size 4.5 shoes
• Sleep through the night
• Are weaned (I weaned you right after your birthday)
• Favorite foods include any kind of carb, bottles with whole milk, and any kind of fruit pack like applesauces or baby food packs
• You say the words, "dada", "mama", and "baba"(bottle)
• Are still giving me at least two, 1hr naps a day!
• Nicknames include: JuJu, JuJu Bug, munchkin, nugget pie, sweetie, love bug, princess, princess-pie, idget

Juliet, you truly are such a joy. I cannot imagine life without you. What a blessing you are. You are cherished and SO loved. God certainly knew what he was doing by gifting us YOU. Happy ONE YEAR baby girl!

Juliet 11 Months!

Okay, how on earth are you a month away from being ONE? I cannot comprehend that. Where did this year go?!?

You have made leaps and bounds this past month and are starting to seem less and less "baby" and more and more "toddler" each passing day. Man, parenthood is such a weird tug and pull of wanting you to grow and achieve new milestones, while at the same time mourning you outgrowing sweet stages of life.

Without a doubt your biggest achievement this past month is that you started WALKING! Daddy got home from work, squatted down, stretched out his arms to you and you straight up walked into his chest for a cuddle. How special is it that we both got to witness your first steps!! Lolly was in town visiting and we happened to catch some of your first steps on camera! So proud of you, little one. Since then you have pretty much mastered the walking thing. Sometimes it still surprises me to see you come around the corner on two feet. Gosh, you are so stinkin' cute I can handle stand it.

Your becoming more capable with your hands. You wave "bye bye" with some consistency now. You love to turn the pages on books and open and close the flaps. You love to find a hairbrush and "brush" your own hair. (A few times I've let you brush my hair, but a couple of hard smacks in the head has put a pause on that activity - ouch! 😝)

Speaking of brushing hair, your hair is long enough to put into a tiny, hair-fountain, ponytail. Oh em gee.... again, SO cute! So fair you don't pull on it or take the bow out, yay!

Now that you're walking you're having a lot of fun exploring and getting into things. You love to play in the shoe basket, open the cabinet door and play with the pots and pans, and LOVE when you find the bathroom door open, taking the opportunity to play with the toilet paper!

Olivia started school this past month, so two mornings a week it's just you and me, sweet girl! We are both enjoying the time together just the two of us! You are so cute and chill, so often Olivia steamrolls over you and steals (or demands) attention... so it's been so great to have a dedicated time to focus just on YOU! 

You got to meet your great grandma on Daddy's side, GiGi, for the first time this past month too. Daddy's Aunt Diana and GiGi visited with us one night. How cool is it that you have two living great-grandmas? So special!

I'm not sure why, but you love being upside down. When you're sitting in our laps you like to fling yourself backwards and laugh and laugh and laugh.

Gah, you're so sweet and cute. I'm loving this age. I love getting to know you more and more. We are so fortunate to be your parents. I'm so in love with you!! Happy 11 months!!

Juliet 10 Months!

Juliet! You're ten months old! Holy cow, little one! How are we coming up on a whole year?!? You are so much fun! I know I've said this before, but I am loving this age with you, cutie pie!

You are such a joy. Your personality seems to be relaxed, easy going, and down to go with the flow. You still favor mommy and daddy, but are warming up to other people the more time you spend with them. You adore daddy! "Dada" is the only word you say. Though you use "dada" for many things, you definitely seem to know that that is Daddy's name too. When he comes home from work you crawl to him or lean out of my arms and reach for him and exclaim, "dada, dada, dada, dada" over and over.

Separation anxiety has kicked in and you cry if you realize mommy is leaving you. You don't like being put to bed and have had a string of days where you cry relentlessly unless we are in the room with you. To help ease you, your crib is filled with pacis and some lovies. When I go in to get you in the morning or to pick you up from naps, you are holding as many pacis as you can. It's pretty cute.

You love to get and give hugs. I remember when Olivia was old enough to start hugging back and I remembered thinking I hope I always remember the feeling of her grabbing back. Now I get to cement the memory and feeling of your cuddles too. You are such a cuddler and I LOVE it!!! I honestly think that this is one of my favorite baby things ever. I love it when we cuddle, you resting your head against my shoulder and holding onto me so tightly. Awwwww I just adore it SO much, sweet thing!!

You have two bottom teeth and don't seem to be in any hurry to get more. I keep thinking you must be cutting new teeth because of all the drool, but you're still all gums besides the two cute bottom teeth!

You're pretty close to walking, I think! You can stand and balance on your own and sure are speedy furniture cruising. You have learned how to clap and love to dance. Sometimes we have "dance parties" and I'll dance around with you and Olivia. You raise up your arm and wave it around. I love it and find it adorable. ☺️

Girl, you love to eat! You are all about your carbs and applesauce! You may often be known to finish off Olivia's dinner. I mean, I don't really blame you. You come by your love of food honestly.

Time is going by too fast with you, nugget pie. I love you to pieces and we just think we are the luckiest people in the world to be blessed with YOU as our baby girl!!! Happy 10 months, bugaloo!

Juliet 9 Months!

JuJu Bug!!! Your 9th month of life flew by and I was very tardy in writing your blog post this month. I usually get pretty inspired by the photos I take and can't wait to get them up and write about your cuteness and current achievements. This month, however, you are a little one very much on the move!! We are certainly celebrating your accomplishment in the mobility department, however, it made taking photos very difficult! 

You have mastered crawling and are fast! Not only are you zipping around to and fro but you are taking after your big sister and are wanting to, and attempting to, climb everything. You can climb the whole staircase unassisted (with daddy right behind you of course) and giggle the whole way up - usually with helpful cheers and "you can do it Baby!" from Olivia. You are still furniture cruising and have started to wobble around using the walker toy. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jared thankfully let us borrow their foldable baby pin and it has been quite a lifesaver for me while we struggle to re-babyproof everything now that you're officially on the move!

We've been letting you eat more table foods which you seem to really enjoy! I'm also enjoying the ease of sharing our meals with you. No more homemade baby food takes a chore off my to-do list (even though I was of course happy to do it for you). You devour any carbs we offer you first, though to be honest, you don't discriminate too much. I think you like to eat! Get it girl! 

Sadly, on your 9 month birthday you had Roseola. Poor girl. You became increasingly fussy, had no appetite and started running a fever. It is the absolute WORST when your baby isn't feeling well and there isn't much I can do! We happened to have your 9 month well visit when you were sick so I was glad to take you in and have you checked out. The doctor said it was probably teething but *might* be Roseola but we wouldn't know until day 5 when you'd break out in a rash. And perfectly on schedule, your fever broke and you broke out in a full body rash on day 5. Luckily, by then you were feeling much better and your appetite was coming back.

Sick eyes at the Doctor's office 😢

You celebrated your first 4th of July! We had a pretty low-key day which was nice. A couple of friends came over and Daddy grilled some food for everyone. We followed that up with some pool time with Uncle Jason and Catherine.

You're super cuddly these days and I LOVE it!! You grab on with your arms and your legs and often rest your head on our shoulders. It's the sweetest!

The extra cuddles you give help lessen the blow of the sleep regression you've developed. You're back to consistently waking up at least one time a night now. But those cuddles you give when I pick you up out of the crib sure help!

You and Olivia are starting to be able to play together more. It's so fun to watch y'all interact. I think the fact that you are more mobile has helped your interactions. 

Love you so much precious, precious girl!! These nine months have flown by (wayyyyy faster than the nine months you were in my tummy!) and they have been such a blessing because YOU have been here!!! Happy 9 months sweet, Juju Bug!

Juliet 8 Months!

JuJu! You are 8 months! WHAT?! So biggie!! I am loving this stage with you!! You are happy and loving life and are so easy! I feel like you're really coming into your personality and are becoming more and more expressive. 

We spent some extended time with both sides of the family recently, and you're visibly much more comfortable around everyone. You give more smiles and giggles now that you previously reserved mostly for mommy, daddy, and Olivia. 

Physically you're growin' growin' growin'! You've moved up to size 3 diapers and are almost out of 6-9 month clothes. You have plenty of hair (much more than your sister did at your age) and your eyes are still such a strikingly beautiful shade of blue. Strangers often comment on how pretty your eyes are. 

You are on the move! I wouldn't say you're technically crawling just yet, because you haven't figured out how to get those knees up under you and move forward. You have, however, pretty much mastered the army crawl and are fast! Just yesterday I set you down in the living room, ran to the garage to grab something, and when I came back you were already two rooms over and by the front door. You looked pretty pleased with yourself when I scooped you up. 

Your teeth have finally popped through your gums and you have two tiny bottom front teeth. With the appearance of teeth we've started giving you banana and sweet potato teethers, puffs, and yogurt bites. You're a big fan of food and I love watching you attempt to grab puffs and put them in your mouth. Gah, you're stinkin' cute, baby girl! This month we added butternut squash, apples, pears, and purple sweet potato to your diet. You weren't a fan of apples or pears (just like Olivia!) until we mixed them with banana and then you didn't seem to mind in the least!

You've started to make more intentional sounds. You can make a pffffffft noise with your lips and you  crack yourself up. Recently you've also started to say, "dada" and "mama". 

When I was pregnant with you I had so many people and strangers "warn" me about how "dangerous" it was to have a toddler around a baby. I grew increasingly worried about how Olivia and you would get along. However, it is one of my biggest joys in life to watch how well you and Olivia interact together. You adore Olivia and she loves you so much. Olivia lights up when she greets you in the morning and will often give you hugs and kisses and tell you "I love you, JuJu" out of nowhere.  Now that you're sitting up and can move on your own and now that your motor skills are getting better and better, you two can play together more effectively. I love watching y'all play together. Oh em gee. My heart. 

You're still a great napper (hooray!) and give me good morning and afternoon naps, usually an hour and half to two hours long each. We had you sleeping through the night, but that kind of got reset on our Leeper family vacation. The past week you've been determined to get up between 5:30am-6:30am and I'm not appreciating that so much. But you generally wake up so happy and chatty that I can't help but happily scoop you up. 

We took you to Hilton Head Island for the first time this past month. Mommy has been vacationing there since she was a baby and I love that you got to experience it too! (Thanks for the vacay and continuing traditions, Lolly and G-Daddy!!)

Sweet girlie girl, these have been the best 8 months with you. Daddy, Olivia, and I are so happy you're part of the family. Thank you for enriching our lives and bringing so much sweetness and joy with you wherever you go. Happy 8 Months munchkin!!