Julian at One Year

First Birthday Cake

Dear Julian -

Before you and Luca came into our family, I don't think your dad and I had any real clue about how much goes on in the first year of a boy's life.  You have been transformed from a sweet, screechy, curled up newborn to an equally sweet, mobile person over the course of just 12 months.  

Things are different for you than they were for your brother.  You have eaten more dirt in a day than Luca ever ate in a year.  Everything goes in the mouth and I'm not always close enough to catch you before you grin up at me with a brown, gritty smile.  Your world is noisier and your mother less patient than the first go around, but all of this will make you who you are.  And who you are is perfect.

You give the best hugs.  They feel like gifts.  You have so many teeth!  And those pretty blue eyes in your big Allen head get you noticed every day.  You're stealthy and a little impish, capable of humor and ferocity.  You have entertaining habits, like smushing yourself into pillows and down comforters - a practice that dad has dubbed "murgling."  Every dog, cat, squirrel, and bird captivates you and elicits some window banging to get their attention.  

You and your brother crack each other up and pick on each other and couldn't do without one another.  You are never happier than when you first see him in the morning, but you are also never happier than when you have time without him in the house so that you can play with all the toys he won't usually let you get near.  

We can't imagine a day without you, little Ju Ju Bee.  Happy first birthday!

Love Mommy, Daddy & Luca

Looks yummy, right?

Brrr!

Bathtime shenanigans

Meditations on Mommy's Coffee Cup

Non-Winter

We're singing a very different tune this February as compared to last, as this year has been strangely absent of winter up here in the Great White North.  As a matter of fact, the Luminary Loppet had to be moved to a nearby park due to the thin ice on Lake of the Isles. Thin ice? February?

The last week has offered a couple of warm days with some rare snow, so we've been doing our best to get our winter fix in before this place becomes Oklahoma.

Snow Bros (Note: Luca inexplicably named this guy "Cornhucker")




Sledding without a Sled (Note: this snow heap is not a sign of winter, as it was made by a snow machine for some unknown purpose)

LTR for MVP!

Hi Backers,

Tom here.  I just wanted you to know that I hope your girls are feeling better.  FYI, your sick kids and canceled Super Bowl party left us watching the game at home, where bold statements and logically sound bets were placed.



So basically, watching at home was just like watching at your place.

Julian at 9 Months

Once again, we're a bit overdue for a JR post and are rushing to get the 9-month recap up before our little cherub rounds the 10-month corner.  My maternal guilt at this lag prompts the following:

Dear Future Julian:

Please do not take any delay in blog posts, deficit of photos and videos, etc. as an indication of lack of love or interest on the part of your parents.  We adore you and your sweet face and hysterical personality.  And we're very, very busy keeping your brother from loving you into the next county.

Love, Mommy 

Julian at 9 Months

We have another bruiser in the house!  Julian has made up for his lower birth weight and now tips the scales at 21 lb 8 oz, putting him in the 75-90% range.  Heightwise, he's middle of the road at 28 1/4 inches (50%). But the head...oh yes, the head is an Allen head.  At the doctor's office, the nurse returned for a 2nd measurement after charting the first one and finding that it was potentially alarming.  She settled on a 19" head circumference, putting him above the 98th percentile.  

Julian's bucket of tricks is suddenly quite impressive.  He's gone from occasionally pulling himself up from sitting (which is advanced, according to his doctor) to getting up and down with ease and cruising around any infant height furniture in his purview.  Admittedly, he has the distinct advantage of some show-stoppingly strong thighs.  Still, his dedication is admirable.

He's also added crawling to his repertoire, which has added a little something to our days as we frenetically run around the house trying to clear the floor of all the dangerous detritus that accumulates there - magnetic marbles, petrified bran muffin chunks, paper clips.  He's got great crawling style and clearly loves being able to cover more ground.

Recently Julian has also started waving and doing the "so big" thing, both of which delight him to no end.  He hasn't figured out how to clap his own two hands together, but thinks that clapping one of his hands to one of yours is a neat way to pass a minute here and there.  We're waiting for him to figure out that sleeping through the night is just as fun, but in his defense he falls asleep like a peach and we're confident he'll get there eventually.  In the meantime, his sweet face is more than ample payment for the occasional sleepless nights.

Christmas

We greatly enjoyed this Christmas, Julian's first ever.  Though this one will go on record as a brown holiday season with barely a speck of snow on the ground, we found ourselves with an abundance of festive spirit.  Luca could barely sleep on Christmas eve and so slept in much later than we anticipated, leaving the rest of us to a quiet morning waiting for the engine in our Christmas train to wake up.  Once he awoke he tore through all the presents (his, Julian's, and ours) and loved every single one.  Santa came through with a Batmobile for Luca and a block train for Julian, plus a few other treasures.  All in all, this was a wonderful Christmas season with lots of time for baking and spending time together - a perfect end to 2011.

Happy Christmas

Baking with mom is most fun when a hammer is involved.

Thanks, Santa.  These toys are delicious.