Pulling up!

Lots of posts about Julia lately; she is developing so quickly!  Today I walked into the living room and found her like this:

Yesterday saying Mama, today pulling to a stand; will she be walking tomorrow?

Baby's first word is . . .

Mama!

I attempted to put Julia down for a nap this morning.  As she was crying in the other room, suddenly the boys and I heard an intelligible sound.  Andrew said, "Mommy, Julia just said Mama!  She can talk!"

She has been practicing her new word all day.  I am impressed with my daughter.  She can not only sit up, crawl, and pull up to her knees, but can say one word, and all at six months.  She is definitely the most advanced baby I've had.  And look at this: she can even help with the laundry!

I am very proud of my little girl.  Hearing her call for me by name is very endearing.  Good job, Julia!

Tire Swing

Jimmy came home early from work the other day and made an temporary tire swing for the boys. They had a blast, especially Stephen.

More Brotherly Love

I came into the living room after breakfast this morning to find the boys quietly reading together on the chair.  I wish they were this easy all the time!

Brotherly Love

The boys love their little sister.

I am going to miss this...

On Friday the children and I had a great time at the beach.  It was actually one of the best outings we've had.  We started off digging in the sand.  I let them bring a large truck each, along with all the sand toys, which made for a crowded stroller on the way down, but lots of fun once we got there.

Sitting on the sand by the water on a cool, sunny day is the ultimate relaxation.  I have spent many mornings doing this these last six years while we've lived in this house.  I am really going to miss the beach when we move.

After digging, the boys engaged in one of their favorite activities, throwing rocks into the water.  The horseshoe crabs were ashore, and we watched them creep along in their slow, clumsy way.

We went on a little beach rock climbing adventure after digging in the sand.  Andrew, the cautious one, surprised me by climbing like a little monkey over the rocks.  There have been a few times when I've looked at Andrew and thought, "Now he is really in his element."  The first was when we went hiking.  I often think it when he is watching trucks.  I certainly thought it as I watched him climb over the rocks.  It was easy for him and so much fun.

Stephen did not have the same success on the rocks so I don't have any pictures of him.  Maybe later this summer when he is bigger.

Julia and I made it up the rocks.  This is an urban beach.  Behind us is the sidewalk and a very busy road.  I have trained the kids well when it comes to traffic.

Julia had so much fun that she fell asleep immediately.  This was also her first ride in the double stroller.  I've been carrying her in the sling with the two boys in the stroller.  Andrew walked to the beach this time, and the two young ones shared the stroller.  Things went pretty well, though Andrew was tired by the time we got home.  It was about a half mile walk, in addition to the walking on sand and climbing on rocks.

I am going to get to the beach as much as I can in the next weeks.  I will greatly miss it this summer!

Baby's First Food

Having turned six months this week, Julia had her first taste of solid foods today.  I've started all my babies on mashed banana instead of the usual rice cereal, because rice cereal just tastes gross.  I don't want to feed my baby something I wouldn't eat myself.

As you can see from the pictures, Julia enjoyed the experience.  Andrew was sitting next to her and wanted me to take a picture of him eating too.

Baby's First Haircut

Yesterday at the beach I met a mom who is a hairdresser.  Julia was starting to sport a baby mini-mullet.  The other mom suggested I cut it in the back a little to even it out.  So today we broke out the scissors and gave it a trim.  Afterwards she had her first blow-dry.  Andrew actually took some of these pictures.

Before:

During (taken by Andrew):

After:

I tried to layer it a little in the back to hide the thin spot babies get from the early months of constant recline.  I also trimmed the bangs so she can wear them down or swept to the side.  What do you think?  Leave me some comments.

Beach Baby

Julia's first trip the the beach yesterday!  She enjoyed it, especially the eating sand part.  I found some sand in her diaper this morning.  Is that good for the digestive tract?

Summer Baby

Julia enjoying the beautiful weather at the park.

Chocolate PB Sandwiches

I have been cooking/baking a lot lately.  We recently made chocolate snickerdoodles, which are a basic snickerdoodle recipe with 1/2 cup cocoa powder substituted for 1/2 cup flour.  Andrew shaped the dough into balls and Stephen rolled them in cinnamon sugar .  After they were baked, I spread peanut butter between two cookies to make a sandwich.  Delicious!

Popcorn for Snack

The kids and I often have popcorn for our afternoon snack.  No, we don't make the carcinogenic microwave version.  We make our popcorn on the stovetop.  It is best to use a very heavy pan or dutch oven with a lid; I use my deep cast iron skillet.  Simply add 1-2 Tbsp oil, 1/4-1/2 cup corn kernels, set heat to medium, place lid slightly ajar, and enjoy the popping sounds.  If you take the lid off during popping, the kids enjoy seeing the popping corn fly into the air.  I top popcorn with lots of salt and sometimes a little sugar.  It is a delicious, healthy snack that's also fun to eat.

Dark Chocolate

I love dark chocolate.    I think it deserves a place in everyone's diet, even if they are on a diet.  Breakfast is my favorite time of day to enjoy it.  Lately I've been making a dark chocolate dip for strawberries and bananas for my breakfast.  It is basically a buttercream frosting recipe with much less sugar:

1 tsp butter, melted

3 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp powdered sugar

few grains salt

few drops vanilla

1 1/2 tsp half & half

Melt butter, stir in cocoa, sugar, and salt, and then add liquids.  Enjoy with your favorite fruit.  You can add more sugar if you don't like it quite so dark.

Julia's New Room

Julia has long outgrown her bassinet, and when she started trying to pull up to a stand in it, I decided it was time to move her to the crib.  Yesterday the boys and I set up her new room.  We've just been using this room as storage, but having it as a bedroom really makes the house feel bigger.  Not surprisingly.  There still are some book boxes in the corner of the room.  We won't have these in her room at the new apartment (which is still unfound, in case you were wondering.  Our new move-out date is June 1.).  So here is a photo:

Jimmy scored this beautiful rug for her.  It is from Williams Sonoma and in good condition.  It's in my favorite color and extremely plush.  This is one of two similar rugs he scored; the other will go in our bedroom.  Thanks, Jimmy!

I am excited for Julia to finally use her crib.  I spent a lot of time picking it out and really like it.  She looks excited about it too.

Last night was her first in the crib.  She slept from 7:00pm til 5:30am.  We all woke this morning unusually refreshed.  Now I just need to get over missing my girl in the bassinet right next to me.