5.24.2010

Dental Hygienist

Some of you may know that I post a monthly picture of Julianna on Facebook. I'm planning to print these pictures as 8"x8" enlargements to put in her baby book as monthly dividers, so each month I try to either represent the current holiday, a monthly theme or some milestone that Julianna has crossed. I decided May should be dedicated to Julianna's two new teeth (and the third and fourth that are on their way).
Julianna wants you to know that she EARNED those two teeth. She's not just a drama queen and those are not crocodile tears.
You do see them, right, the 'not crocodile' tears? Because her mom obviously can't. In the midst of a 101 degree fever, excruciating gum pain and the risk of starvation from only being able to tolerate teething biscuits, her MOM was TAKING PICTURES of her.
The audacity!
So, back to those monthly pictures. After all that hard work from teething, you better learn how to take care of those baby pearly whites. So Here's a lesson from the world's youngest dental hygienist.
Does she have your full attention?
Ok, you start with a toothbrush and toothpaste. They look like this.
And these are the bristles.
And you use them like this.
And you have to brush for a LONG time (this is for demonstration purposes only. When you only have two teeth you can just do some quick chomping).
And that's it! Your teeth are brushed and your breath smells delicious! Mwah!!

Looking For A Reaction.

This scrunchy nose has become a favorite game of Julianna's. It's pretty difficult not to smile when she scrunches it up and and then "snorts". And the more we laugh, the more excited she gets. Scrunch, snort! Scrunch, snort! (Ok, maybe we do encourage it just a bit... all three of us snorting away at the dinner table.)
I guess baby snorts aren't too bad. But the other day while I was in the camera shop, Julianna was sitting on the floor playing by herself quite nicely, when she looked up at the sales lady and growled at her. I didn't miss the opportunity to explain that she learned it from her father. But the very brave sales lady brushed it off saying a little growling never hurt anyone, "...especially when it's done with those cute little smiling eyes".

I guess the next time we read Jules her animal book, we better skip the bear page and stick with the kittens and puppies.

5.10.2010

I'm a MOM?!

Mother's Day breakfast: Eggs, orange juice, coffee, and Belgian waffles with banana and syrup all prepared by the hubby. Yum!
I still kind of can't believe I'm a MOM. I called my Mom on Mother's Day to wish her a happy day, and then I thought about the warm fuzzy feeling I get when I think of her because of the hundreds of school projects and papers she helped me with, the elaborate Birthday parties she threw for me, the many "Mommy looks" she gave me, the million times she has prepared food for me or driven me somewhere, the countless hours we have talked on the phone and the certainty she has given me that she will always be there. And then I realized, that someday, I will be all that for my little one. It's pretty crazy.
And also pretty awesome. Thank you Mom for teaching me how to be all that. And thank you to my hubby for giving me a beautiful little girl to be all that for.

8 month old horse.

Our little Jules is quite the hearty eater. Ever since she realized there is more to the menu than milk and rice cereal, she's been happy. We started with the Baby Mum-mums to get her used to using her hands, and since then, we've been experimenting with a few other finger foods. She now can pick up and shove into her mouth: bits of toast (sometimes several bits at one time), banana chunks, blueberry halves and Cheerios. The baby food jars are a staple, for sure, her favs being sweet potatoes and vegetable turkey (those are the two I always pack in the bag when we are "eating out" because I know there won't be a fuss). But I've been trying my best to branch out and offer her a variety of new things lately. Her current favorite is Yo Baby yogurt and her not so favorite, but a work in progress, is avocado (sometimes if some banana is mixed in, it is acceptable).

When we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Grandpa kept asking if Jules had a hole in her foot, because there surely wasn't room in her stomach for all that she was eating. And she's kept that pace up even at home.

Lately, she's been eating huge breakfasts. Just the other day she had 6 raspberries followed by a bowl of oatmeal mixed with applesauce, formula and a dash of cinnamon. Sound filling? Evidently not, because she started fussing for more and ate an entire large banana. Time to wash your hands and face, Babygirl? No? Time to devour a whole piece of toast! Let me tell ya, Buddha Belly was an understatement at that point! As Matt pointed out, that's the size of an adult breakfast.

Jules does seem to have an aversion to non-food related things being put into her mouth. This has been good so far, because we haven't had to worry about her chewing on non-baby friendly things. But it also means that she won't have anything to do with teething rings, and a sippy cup? Heck no! Why would anyone put such a thing into their mouth?! So we've moved straight to a glass. It works well, actually, because I can see how much she's getting. We do hear the teeth clank on the rim, and we get some sputtering when too much is gulped down. But so far, Jules thinks it's all pretty funny.
So we just keep practicing while it's still fun and games.We're anxious for her nine month check-up so we can see what she weighs. Her face has filled out and her arms and legs are getting chubby. I can't wait until Summer when I can put her in skirts and t-shirts and gobble on her extremities.