Julian's 18 Month Check Up

Finally attempting to catch up on our blog.....here are Julian's latest stats from his 18 month check up:

• Height- 32 1/2 inches. 50% percentile.
  
• Weight- 28 lbs 1 oz 75% percentile.
  
• Head Circumference- 18 3/4th inches. 50% percentile.

Since his last check up Julian has since stopped nursing. The last time he nursed was the saturday of Labor Day weekend. I remember it very clearly and I am so glad that I remember it. We had gone away the week prior to the Outer Banks for vacation and while we were there our nursing schedule was kind of off. Since we found out we were expecting again back in June, our nursing had cut back tremendously, partially because it hurt me to nurse so I was deliberately trying to cut back, but also because he was getting older. I knew that tandem nursing (that's when you nurse a newborn and a toddler at the same time) was and is not for me so I tried to cut back on nursing to see what would happen. When we got pregnant we were still nursing about 6 times a day. By the time we got to vacation at the end of August, we were only nursing once, maybe twice a day. I had a feeling that when I got to about 16 weeks pregnant that my supply would probably decrease but I didn't know. Luckily, Julian decided on his own and that last time he nursed will be etched in my mind forever. It was a beautiful moment and even though I am glad to have a bit of a break before doing it all over again with Baby Dos, I am so grateful that we were able to nurse for 16 months. I wouldn't give it up for anything!

Our sign language continues to grow and even though he signs a lot (I can't even count how many signs he knows now) , he has become a talking machine! He's putting lots of sounds together and has been coming up with new sound combinations every day. He is also recognizing his colors and his letters (particularly "J"), and he is starting to count in his own special way. He has started sitting on his potty but hasn't really done anything in it yet...and that's okay.

The big news of right now is that we are moving him into his big boy room! We had hoped to do it Christmas night but you know how things happen...it's just not ready yet, so for now he's been playing on his new bed and listening to his cd player in there and hopefully he can start sleeping in there on new year's.

So we're pretty much happy as clams in our house right now and looking forward to meeting Baby Dos in, oh, 8 weeks or so! Here's a recent pic of our big boy, J.

Arooooba

A few months ago Thad decided it was in our best interest to plan a caribbean vacation before baby dos arrives in February. I was a bit anxious about leaving for a whole week when I still had a lot to do to get ready for the baby but ultimately I gave in and I am so glad I did! We left the saturday after Thanksgiving (which was also Thad's birthday this year) and stayed at the Marriott Ocean Club, next door to the Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino where we got married in 2007. Thad found a fabulous deal to rent out a one bedroom time share there and we love this resort area so this worked out great. The flight was relatively uneventful other than Julian not taking a nap but he was so excited to play with the airplane phone, how could he possibly sleep?! We arrived in hot, sunny Aruba, got our rental car, and headed to the grocery store to stock up our fridge. We haven't been back since our wedding but once we were driving through downtown Oranjestad, it felt like we were just there. It's such a happy, wonderful island and we were really excited about our week vacation!

Right away Julian LOVED the beach and the resort. He loved being able to run around barefoot and in only a diaper (or nothing!) and he loved the food, too! He was talking up a storm and within a day of being there he was saying "beach" and "potty." He loved playing in the sand and once he figured out we could carry buckets of water up to the beach, he was even more excited!

For those of you who haven't been to Aruba, there are a TON of filipinos there. They came to work in either construction or on the cruise ships and never left so everywhere we went we met filipinos. We went in search of a filipino take away restaurant but it didn't work out.

There has been a lot of construction and development in Aruba since we were there last. TONS of restaurants and shops have gone up so we actually were able to try a new restaurant each night we ate out. Of course we returned to our favorite, Iguana Joe's, but it wasn't the same without the drinking....oh well. We went to Yemenja and it really turned out to be, in my humble opinion, our best meal we've ever had in Aruba. Period. Julian loved the blonde waitresses, too. :) Our last night there we went to Marandi, which has the same owner as Yemenja. We figured we just had to try it after our experience the night before and we were not let down. The food was spectacular, especially the dessert, and they even gave us bread to feed the fish off the side of the dock. The restaurant is supposed to be a large beach hut (palapa) and it's right on the water. Beautiful!

All in all it was a great vacation and it was so nice to take Julian there. Hopefully in 2011 we can go back with Baby Dos! Enjoy the photos and if you ever have a chance to go to Aruba, GO! You won't be disappointed!

Aruba 2009

Magic M&Ms

I didn't mean to bribe him to speak, it was more to keep him a little interested as we ran errands and bought him some new shoes but....

it only took him 17 1/2 months to say it, but two days ago Julian finally said, "mama."

Alleluia, he knows who I am! :)

"Nectar of Bliss"

I just got back from my prenatal yoga class and during the class the instructor used a fabulous phrase during meditation: "nectar of bliss." It got me thinking about this pregnancy and how it's been for me and I was shocked to realize that I am indeed more than half way to this baby's birth already. How did time fly so fast?!

I admit, I have had a harder time bonding to this baby/pregnancy than I did with Julian. With the first everything is so new and wonderful. "Sweet! I have heartburn!" This time around, between chasing around Julian and changing care providers at 24 weeks, it's been a lot more emotional and tiring than I expected and haven't basked in the 'wonder' of it as much this time. Physically, last time I don't remember having aches and pains this soon but then again, my body is a lot different now. While I've been doing very good with my diet (this time around I am not using pregnancy as an excuse to eat copious amounts of chocolate cake), I haven't been to yoga or water aerobics nearly as often as I did with Julian.

The biggest obstacle I've had in bonding with this pregnancy is the impending birth. Why am I so obsessed with the birth when it's still so early in the pregnancy? Well, sooner or later this baby is going to come out and after what happened with Julian, up until last week I was having a tremendous amount of anxiety about this baby's birth. Because I had a c-section with Julian, finding a care provider who will actually support me in an attempt of a vaginal birth after c-section (VBAC) has been tricky. Between the different methods of prenatal care offered in this country (obstetrical versus midwifery) and the varying information available for pregnant women, it's no wonder the rate of VBACs have fallen dramatically in the past 8 years. After interviewing multiple care providers (and leaving a practice that, we feel, totally wronged me) we have decided on a wonderful midwife to help us bring this baby into the world. Ever since we switched to her care, I have felt a major weight lift off of me and I am finally ready to embrace this baby and pregnancy, and between her and my amazing doula we have a supportive team to help us with our plan.

This week I was so nervous because I wasn't feeling the baby move all that much. I know my placenta is posterior so I knew at least I should be able to feel his movements on my belly but I was hoping to feel more. Last night, however, he started moving tons and tonight at yoga I think he was doing the yoga with me! He especially loved child's pose.

With each breath I take and each beat of my heart, this baby is growing. What an amazing sensation! Inside me is a nectar of bliss that not only is nourishing my soul and bringing me joy but is also growing a life that was sprung from the love between me and my soul mate and best friend. I look forward to falling in love all over again. I look forward to holding his hand, smelling his skin, and knowing that this tiny being could destroy me with a smile. He is mine and I am his and together we shall spread our ecstasy. This is truly my Heaven.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our little lion. For Halloween we celebrated by attending a friend's birthday party in the morning (complete with pumpkin carving) and then in the afternoon we had a parade here in the neighborhood before the rain. It was great and we are looking forward to next year!

So far behind!

I'll let the photos tell the tale....been crazy busy lately....but we finally have some time to breathe before the holidays! Hope everyone is doing well!

Visiting the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk

Playing at the splash park in Arlington

Visiting University of Rochester (daddy's alma mater)

Playing with streamers at music class

First concert- Rocknoceros!

Baby Dos, coming at you February 20

A sign of things to come?

Something interesting happened tonight. Julian was playing with my water bottle when he paused, put it down, and squatted. Thad said to him, "are you pooping" to which Julian replied with a sign for "potty." We thought it was just coincidence but about 2 seconds later we could smell what he did....so, does this mean our kid is gearing up for potty training?! Or was it a fluke? Crazy.

Our trip to the Outer Banks

Technically this isn’t our first family vacation but it’s definitely our first one with Julian being so active! We decided that we couldn’t wait until Thanksgiving for a possible trip to Aruba so we looked into houses and three weeks later there we were in our little oceanside cottage in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. If you don’t know where this is, it’s in the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina. You can see the Wright Brothers Memorial from our window.

Day 1-
The drive from Fairfax is about 5 hours but considering how bad beach traffic has been this summer (HORRIBLE), we left the house at 7:00am on Saturday hoping to pull into our cottage by 2pm, optimistically. Thad was driving and we pulled into the parking lot at 11:45am, even after a leisurely breakfast in Williamsburg. Bam! After a quick bite at The Good Life Gourmet and a stop at Food Lion for some supplies, we checked in and unpacked for the week.

Our friends, Jessica, James, and Jack arrived around 5:30pm for a long weekend with us. Jessica and James were in our Bradley class and their son, Jack, is 5 weeks older than Julian. She is due in December with their second and her friendship has been fantastic (and priceless) as we navigate this crazy parenting thing together. We ate dinner at the American Pie Pizza and Homemade Ice Cream (somewhat disappointing, I expected something better for a small $25 pie) and relaxed at the house for the evening. Not a bad start to our vacation!!

Day 2-
We woke up bright and early with the kids and were able to have breakfast and coffee and still hit the beach by 8:45am. Unfortunately the biting black flies also hit the beach by 8:45 and after a quick run to Rite Aid for some bug repellent, we had a fantastic time playing in the sunshine. It was very hot and sunny and the boys were having a blast!

We ate lunch at the house and returned to the beach after naps for some late afternoon –fly-free beach time. Dinner was a smorgasbord of corn (much to Julian’s excitement!), shrimp, chicken, salad, green beans, and watermelon. Yummy! Needless to say after a day of sunshine and running around, the boys slept soundly and so did mommies and daddies.

Day 3-
Poop. The clouds rolled in but we were able to go for a walk on the beach before Jessica and gang left to go back to DC. James bought this fantastic $6 kite that was SOARING with the gusty winds. Unfortunately, by lunch time the clouds opened up and it rained the rest of the day. I went on a mission during Julian’s nap to acquire some sweatshirts and long sleeves as we weren’t prepared for the yucky, cold weather.

The highlight of our day was dinner at this wonderful restaurant- the Outer Banks Brewery and Restaurant. It was ranked #2 in Kill Devil Hills on Yelp.com so we decided to come check it out. It didn't hurt to learn that this is the first wind powered brewery in the United States! With a homemade cream soda for me and a microbrew for Thad, we thoroughly enjoyed our dinners. Julian loved the fried ravioli, I had a corn and mushroom risotto with bacon and seared scallops, and Thad had the filet with a demi-glaze sauce, topped with crabmeat and asparagus. Outstanding! For dessert we shared a homemade carrot cake with a caramel sauce on the side. No, we don’t have giant bellies; we ate it a few hours later back at the cottage. As for the weather, I’m glad we packed some DVDs.

Day 4-
We decided to go to the aquarium first thing in the morning if it was raining in the hope of having a clear afternoon….what luck! After breakfast we headed south to Roanoke Island to visit the North Carolina Aquarium. We grabbed a coffee at a local coffee house, The Front Porch Café, and visited old town Manteo before the aquarium. What a cute place! Roanoke Island is one of the first English settlements in the new world, and even if it didn't survive, there is a lot of history on this island.

If you ever get a chance to visit the area, definitely go to the aquarium! It is FANTASTIC. Julian LOVED running around and trying to kiss the different fish through the glass, and he loved touching the starfish. We even saw some river otters and a shark, but I don’t think Julian could quite get just how big that shark really was compared to everything else. It was a great indoor activity but when we got out of the building, we noticed the clouds were starting to lift so we headed home for some beach time.

The sun played peek-a-boo for a few hours but by the time Julian was up from his nap it was out so we ran out to the beach to play. Downside is that it was very, very windy and poor Julian was having a hard time with the loud, strong wind. We got to see some kite surfers and dig for some shells before it was just too chilly to be out anymore.

For dinner we went to Mama Kwan’s, a tiki bar/restaurant in Kill Devil Hills, and it was ranked #4 on Yelp.com. It was delicious! Unfortunately Julian didn’t want any of our food (we really have a fickle toddler on our hands, folks!) but we thought it was great. We started with ‘Thai Money Bags,’ a fried bundle of cellophane noodles, ginger, and other veggies, with pickled cucumbers. For our entrees Thad got the pork dish (which tasted a lot like Korean BBQ), and I had the coconut shrimp. If you like tropical food with an Asian twist, this is the place for you! They play great music which inspired Julian to dance all over the restaurant. His particular favorite that night was "Rock the Casbah."

Day 5-
The weather in the morning was the best we got all day, and luckily we took advantage of it by spending the morning on the beach. The sun started to disappear around 10am so we got in the car and went souvenir hunting until lunch and then relaxed at the house for a while. It wasn’t raining but it was very, very windy so after Julian woke up we took a drive down to the Bodie Island Lighthouse and explored the island some more. We got an early dinner and headed home.

With the unexpectedly chilly weather, and the forecast for more rain, we decided to come home a day early. We were supposed to come back home on Friday but since it was forecasted to rain all the way to tuesday, the figured we'd just head home. All in all, it was a great first trip to the beach and we hope to make this an annual event for our family. The beach is such an easy, fun, and cheap thing to do with kids! They can scream as loud as they want, run as fast as they want, and dig as deep as they want and it doesn't make a difference! Next year will be very different with two kids to pack for, but that's a whole other issue. Hope you enjoy the pics!

OBX 2009

Julian's first hair cut

It was time! His long and wispy hair was getting out of control and daddy did a little maintenance.

  

Our growing family

There are few truly magical moments throughout life that stick to you and make you feel like all is well in the world. This morning we had one of those moments.

Thad and I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I laid back on the the table, and Connie, the nurse practitioner, put the monitor on my belly. She barely had it on my belly when we heard it: the heart beat of our new baby. We've been looking forward to this day since a few weeks ago when we got that positive test so that we could comfortably start telling one and all that yes, our family is growing and that Julian will be a big brother sometime around February 20th, 2010.

It's an incredible feeling knowing that we're about to do it all over again. Julian amazes me each day with the things he learns and does, and I am so excited that he will be a big brother. I am very excited for Thad to become a father again, as he has been the most amazing father to Julian and I just know his cup will runeth over having another baby in our family.

I'm feeling alright, not perfect, but each day is a definite improvement from the last. I am definitely showing (if you haven't seen the pictures from my high school reunion, well, it's pretty obvious) and after hearing the baby's heartbeat this morning I am less sad about the loss of my waistline and more excited about the road ahead.

So that's our news for now! More updates to come, I'm sure. :)

Paige, the Conclusion.

Maybe 'conclusion' isn't the right word, but it certainly feels appropriate after everything that's been going on. For those of you following what's going on with Paige, this morning I brought her back to the breeder. Lori was incredibly understanding and I am so glad that she already has ideas of a home for Paige, after a period of adjustment at Lori's of course. After the last posting I put about Paige, we kind of left the subject hanging for a while and figured we'd talk about it at another time. She had been behaving wonderfully and we haven't had any problems, so we were being optimistic that we'd 'turned a new leaf' and she'd sta with us.

Last night, however, things changed. Part of our concern about her staying here is the obvious agitation she has when kids are around. The noise, chaos, movement, something about it all makes her uneasy. Last night after dinner we were playing in the living room and Julian was standing next to her, holding his ball, and speaking loudly (because really, how may toddlers know not to yell when they talk?) and she snapped at him and tried to bite. I ran across the room, pinned her down, and just looked at Thad in total shock. He was speechless. Did that really just happen?! At that point it wasn't even a question of if but when and I called Lori right away to tell her what happened. We scheduled to bring her this morning and Lori totally understood that we no longer felt comfortable with her in the house.

It has been an emotional 18 hours here but we know this is for the best. It still doesn't make me feel any better, part of me feels like I failed her in finding a way for her to be comfortable here, but I know I can't go down that road without going crazy.

Anyways, we'll miss you Paigey-roo and I hope you are happy wherever you end up. You'll always be our sweet little girl!

Walking and Talking

After the past couple posts that weren't so happy so I thought a fun posting about what's going on with Julian would be nice.

Talking. I know we've spoken about Signing Time before but I didn't realize just how much it would help our communication with Julian. We started watching the DVD with Julian when he was 5 months old but over the past 2 weeks his signs he finally has done more than, well, "More." While he recognizes a lot more than he does, here are the signs he's been doing:
-More
-Hat
-Cracker
-Dog
-Horse
-Airplane
-Car

Walking. FINALLY he took more than 2 steps in a row! Yesterday he actually walked across the living room to go between grandma and daddy (and, I admit, Pirate's Booty was involved). Today, he was a walking machine, even eventually doing downward dog and looking between his legs at me. Enjoy the chubby legs!

Rock a bye, baby

To my dear friends who tell me, at 11:30 in the morning, that you just woke up, I don't even know what to say to you. Sure, it's no surprise that with parenthood comes the long and sordid fantasies of sleeping past 7 am, and while at some point it was a luxury to spend all day in my pajamas, it just isn't the same when it's out of necessity now rather than a luxury.

Truthfully, I've become quite used to the lack of sleep, or at least shorter sleep patterns. My body naturally wakes me up still every 2-3 hours and if I get more than 6 hours of sleep in a night I am groggy the next day. My issue right now is Julian's sleep. A couple of weeks before he turned one, his naps went to crap. He used to be such a consistent 2-nap-a-day baby, giving me enough time in the mornings to get in a workout and do some laundry, and some time in the afternoon to start dinner and possibly work on my blog. (Side note: for those of you moms who also maintain a blog, how the hell do you do it so frequently?! I feel like I never have time to write anymore and I see you guys update your blogs all the time. When do you do it?!) Ever since that fateful week in May, his naps are erratic at best. Some days I get one, some days I get two, and when they are going to happen no one knows. I know he has been dealing with getting his molars out and has been starting to walk, but doesn't there come a point where his body just NEEDS SLEEP? Right now we get about 9 hours of sleep a night, if that. Period.

Yes, I nurse him down for his naps. Yes, I am trying to stop doing this. At night, Thad sways/rocks him to sleep and yes, this too is something I'd like to change. He's getting to a point where sleep is a battle and I positively dread anything to do with it anymore. Naps? We get in the car. I thought I knew Fairfax very well in my 17 years of living here but I've learned even more about it in the past month. Transfers from the car to the crib? Just forget about it. I might as well just take him out of the car and turn on some dance music because that's about how awake he is once my hand touches the seatbelt.

I have no clue what to do. I had no idea that sleep could be SO consuming. When to sleep, where to sleep, what to wear to sleep, eating before/after sleep....good grief. It's a wonder that we do anything else during the day other than obsess about sleep.

It's 8:10 and he has been crying. It's hard. We both want to help and stay with him until he falls asleep but he doesn't seem to stay asleep once we leave the room.

I'm so sorry that everything I've been posting lately hasn't been very happy, but I guess sometimes it's not always sunshine and daisies. I mean, we *did* have a fantastic weekend celebrating the 4th, other than the sleep issue. We went to the new Chick-Fil-A in Fairfax for it's grand opening, we went to a birthday party of one of Julian's baby pals, we went to the neighborhood pool for the bigh independence day bash. Grandma is back from New Zealand, too, so we've been spending a lot of time with her this weekend as well as finally putting more steps together to walk across the room! It's been a very exciting few weeks but still, I just have to know his sleep will get better.

"This too shall pass." Right?

Dog Daze

I always wanted a dog. My father's response to our repeated demands for a dog was always, "there are only 24 hours in a day. When do you expect to take care of a dog?" He was an eternal pragmatist, that's for sure. I decided that when I was in a place to get my own dog, I would, and after I bought my house in June 2004 and Thad moved in October 2005, we decided to get some animals together. Thad is a cat person and I am a dog person so the compromise was 1 dog and 1 cat. Simple, right?

We adopted the cats from Cat Castle Rescue in Fairfax Station. We visited Neville, aka 'The Cat Lady' and foster mom to our cats, with the assumption of only adopting one of the gray fur balls we saw online. Once we saw them, however, we fell madly in love with the two roving furry kittens and we decided to keep the brother/sister pair together.

As far as the dog goes, we did a lot of research on what would be the best breed for our lifestyles and allergies (truth be told, I'm quite allergic to animals) and we decided on the Tibetan Terrier. It's a sweet, companion breed that doesn't eat a lot, doesn't need a lot of exercise, and ultimately just wants to be loved (sounds like me except for the eating part!). We found a local breeder, Lori, who had a 6-month old show dog that she needed to place in a home since she was having some personal issues and wasn't going to be able to show him after all. We visited him and he had me at the first sniff. I love this dog.

Fast forward a year after getting all the animals in Fall 2005. Thad and I were just engaged/married and knowing that we wanted to start a family sooner rather than later, we thought that getting a second dog would be a great idea to help with Scout. He's incredibly attached to me and we thought that if had a playmate, he would feel less "left out" once the baby came. We called the breeder and she luckily had a girl dog, the exact same age as Scout, that she needed to place in a home. She had been a return to Lori as the first owner didn't think she was "affectionate enough" and after talking with Lori about her, we decided to bring Scout to meet her and see if sparks flew. We brought him to her farm and sure enough, within minutes the two were running around like they were long time friends, and so entered Paige into our lives in December 2005.

The first 6 months were rough. She hadn't been house broken before and it took a lot of work to get her to stop peeing all over the house. We also were trying to figure out her best situations- crate, no crate, when to eat, when to walk, etc. We thought she'd just "fit" right into our already very regimented day with Scout but it didn't seem to work out that easily. Scout, also, never really took well to having her around. They haven't become the 'best of buds' we were hoping they would, nor do they seem to have an attachment to each other. If anything, I think Scout preferred being on his own and Paige was confused about another change of home. Tibetans don't have that strong pack mentality that a lot of other breeds do.

She is an incredibly sweet dog, though. Very playful, likes to eat, and loves to chase the cats. We thought this situation was going to be great for when the baby came but unfortunately it hasn't worked out the way we hoped. Scout is still incredibly attached to me, if not has become more so since Julian was born. While Scout has become much more tolerant of Julian, letting Julian climb on him and pet him and touch his nose, Paige still runs in the opposite direction if Julian approaches her. Neither dog has ever shown any sort of aggression towards him, if anything, it's total indifference on her part.

Since Julian was born we have had so many visits to the vet I can't even count, not to mention trips to the doggy ER all because of Paige. She will get into any food that's left out while we are gone, and this was NEVER an issue before Julian arrived. We have come home to find trash all over the house, Thad's work bag pulled apart with the food inside eaten and the papers shredded, Julian's books shredded, and the worst one- Julian's diaper bag (which was on the kitchen table when we left) was opened, and his used diaper pulled out, along with his lunch bag eaten through and all its contents destroyed/eaten including 1/2 a cup of raisins. Thad took the dogs to the doggy ER where they had their tummies pumped and the results confirmed our worst fears: Scout had an empty stomach, and Paige had EVERYTHING in hers.

When we leave the house now, here is my process for leaving:
1. Pack our diaper bag and put it by the front door
2. Get 2 treats for the dogs for when we leave the house
3. Put away all of Julian's toys so nothing can be chewed on or swallowed
4. Put up the baby gate at the kitchen, put the water bowl in the dining room, and move the trash can away from the gate.
5. Take out the dogs to pee
6. Give dogs their treat
7. Hit the road

Is this normal for any of you with dogs and children? I feel like I have to factor in like 30 extra minutes just to get out the door, forget the prep work it takes to be that ready. My fears are what happens when I have another child and I am trying to get me, plus Julian, plus a newborn, out the door? And what about when Julian has more toys? It's only a matter of time that Paige chews up one of his figurines and then it's another trip to the ER.

We've tried everything. We've tried adding a walk for the dogs, new chew toys, hiding treats to play games, doing more obedience, playing more outside, and taking them for runs. None of it seems to matter...when we leave, we have no idea what state the house will be in when we get home.

Last night, after cleaning up diarrhea/vomit for the third time, Thad and I sat down on the foot of our bed and discussed the future of these dogs in our home. Maybe our story here doesn't do a good enough job of encompassing just how hard it has been for us to the point where we are seriously considering finding Paige, maybe even the both of them, a new home, but I assure you, as a devoted dog owner I am at my wit's end and I am starting to resent the dogs for it. It used to be such a loving, two-way relationship where we gave to each other just how much we got back but lately, it just seems like all I do is give-give-give to these dogs. I'm on empty.

I love Scout and Paige and I just want them to be happy. They deserve a home where they get the attention they want without any of the hazards of life with little children. What now?

Planes, planes, everywhere!

Our good friends, the Ingledews, have been visiting the past couple weeks and today we visited the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Dulles, VA. I have never visited and drive past it all the time so we decided to check it out. We met our British pals when my father was stationed at the Naval Aviation Supply Office (now the Naval Inventory Control Point) and my father sponsored Vic since he was a visiting officer from the British Royal Air Force. It was 1990 when we met, if I'm not mistaken, and we have kept in touch ever since. We even got out there to visit a few years ago for Christmas.

It was a GREAT day to visit since it was rainy out and the museum wasn't very crowded at all. If you have a walking toddler that desperately wants to just GO, take them to this museum. It's the PERFECT location for kids!

Grandpa Vic had a great time pushing the stroller around the museum and Grandma Sue had a lot of fun trying to get Julian to laugh. Julian really loved the planes, too. What a day!

One Year Check Up

Woo! We made it! We returned to the peds for Julian's check up and for some blood work. We are still waiting for the results but I had them do an allergy panel for him since he had a reaction to both eggs and strawberries and I'd rather know before I give him anymore. Anyways, without further ado, here are his current stats:

• Height- 30 3/8 inches. 75% percentile. Look, folks. Of course he's going to look really tall when I'm holding him. When Thad holds him he looks like an actual baby.
  
• Weight- 23 lbs 11 oz 70% percentile. He's slowed down quite a bit despite eating everything in sight these days.
  
• Head Circumference- 18 1/8 inches. 50% percentile. Put him next to daddy and they have the exact same head shape. It's crazy.

No, he's not walking yet. He'll walk if I hold his hands although the past couple of days he has refused to do even that. He likes pushing his toys or walker across the floor, but when it comes to actually trying to WALK, heck no, he'd rather crawl. When I was at a friend's house a couple weeks ago for a play date, he did take 2 steps and I about fell over. He raised his hands up in the air and was so proud of himself! Thad's mom comes back from New Zealand in exactly two weeks and I was hoping he'd be walking by then so he could walk to her at the airport but I don't think that's going to happen. Only time will tell, right? I keep telling myself that he's a big boy and his legs have to be quite strong to hold him up...but I don't think that argument really holds any water.

In true Filipino fashion, this kid likes to EAT. Favorites? Grapes and cheese. He loves them so much that we have taken to referring to them as "G" or "C" if he is around so as not to make him too excited. He loves noodles, bread, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese....so basically anything starchy and heavy. That's my boy! He does love his sweet potatoes, carrots, and pineapple, though, and he loves salmon. The more flavorful the food, the better!! He loved some curried cabbage I was eating as well as some gyro meat. Go figure.

He is also a talking machine! Endless baby babble interspersed with actual words makes for very entertaining days. Following words/phrases spoken by Julian:
-Mama
-Dada
-Dog/Doggy
-Cat/kitty
-Touch it (says this when he points to things he wants to touch, like the leaves on trees, or possibly our glasses)
-Glasses
-Brian (as in 'Uncle Brian')
-fountain
-cheese
-more
-shirt
-what is it?
-what's this?
-sun
-turtle
-horsey
-birdie
-some
-danger
-dirty
-truck
-train
Now, I can't guarantee that you'd understand him when he says these words, but we sure do and it's just great. Amazingly, he does not know how to say "no." Included in this list are words that he may have only said once or twice but quite clearly.

Part of our night time routine since he was about 5 months old is the viewing of a "Signing Time" DVD. It has been WONDERFUL. He currently signs "More," "Milk," "Dog," "All Done," "Hat," and has done "Fish" but not consistently like the others. He definitely recognizes more signs than he can do which has been very helpful in asking him what he needs/wants.

He also is a tidy boy. He loves to brush his hair, brush his teeth, and put toys away. Oh, and shut doors. And open doors. And drawers.

He continues to awe us everyday and we are just so excited for the next steps in his development between having clearer words and walking. We're so lucky!

Happy Birthday, Julian!!

Wow! A year is passed and our little dude turned one this past saturday. We had a blow-out bash at Ratcliffe Park in Fairfax City where the park was over-run with kiddies- and parents chasing after them. My mom and aunt brought some yummy pancit and lumpia and there were enough blue and green cupcakes to make everyone look, well, painted. It was a deliciously fun day and despite Julian's crankiness (due to 4 teeth erupting at the same time), he was a trooper and enjoyed the festivities as well. Here is a picture of Julian trying the green frosting! Thanks to everyone for coming out and helping us celebrate our son's first year on planet earth. It was a great day!!

Oh, cats.

Almost exactly one year after Julian was born, our cats are finally warming up. Today, Fitz let Julian pet him while Fitz was draped over the table. Does this mean the apocalypse is coming? Silly cats.

Excursions!!

When I was pregnant, I've had dreams of taking my son to museums, parks, and zoos. It's been a dream to be able to experience places like that with him and the last couple weeks are exactly what I needed. When he was a newborn and it was so hard sometimes just to leave the house, it was very hard to imagine that someday I would actually be able to go on day trips without it being so scary and hard.

With the nice weather, my play group, the 'Bradley Babes,' have decided to make weekly field trips with the kids. A couple tuesdays ago, we checked out the Butterfly Exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. We are incredibly lucky to live so close to world-renowned museums, I would miss this terribly if we ever leave this area. This specific exhibit is free on tuesdays so my friends and I got there early to get our timed entry tickets (it's a small exhibit so they have to let people in in waves). We bopped around the museum for a while (Julian LOVED the bones exhibit, who knew?!) but by the time we finally got into the Butterfly Exhibit he fell asleep on me and wasn't able to enjoy the butterflies. Too bad...a reason to go back! After the exhibit my friends and I headed to the Navy Memorial Plaza downtown to let the kids play around the fountain and crawl around. It was such a gorgeous day, we didn't want to leave quite yet! Here are the pictures for that day...it was so much fun!

Butterfly Exhibit

A few days later, we met my friend and her son, Laura and Miles, at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, VA to check out the baby animals that were born this spring. Despite it being a cool day, we still had a great time seeing the baby piglets and riding the tractor pull. Julian was such a trooper despite being incredibly tired. Frying Pan Farm Park is modelled after the original dairy farm from the early 1900s. Did you know that Fairfax County was the largest producer of dairy in the entire state of Virginia in the 1920s? Anyways, it was a very fun day and here are a few pictures from that day.

A few days after this trip, we visited the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. We are so lucky to have such wonderful parks so close to home! We brought a picnic lunch then strolled around the park to see the various plants. There is a huge pond with big carp and turtles, but Julian was so tired that he fell asleep once we settled in by the pond. Go figure. Again, another reason to go back! He did enjoy seeing all the trees and flowers, though, before passing out. Here he is checking out the ducks.

Happy 1st Mother's Day!!

What a great day!! Thad really pampered me and trust me, I enjoyed every minute of it! We slept in a bit (Julian luckily slept until 6am...wow, a vast improvement from our regular 4:45am wake up call) and then we got breakfast at our 2nd favorite breakfast place, First Watch, with my mom and my brother. After eating everything in sight, we went home and I got to do some gardening while Thad played with Julian. After a quick trip to Home Depot, Thad cleaned the house with Julian on his back and I took a nice shower (anything longer then 3 minutes is luxurious!). We spent the afternoon playing with Julian and watching "The Sandlot" and then we went to a nice dinner at Lebanese Taverna. Other than getting a flat tire on the way home, it was a beautiful day! A girl could get used to that. Here is a picture of Thad being all domestic.....

Caution: Clothing can harm you.

So apparently this is not something new nor does there seem to be an easy solution. We noticed lately that Julian scratches and scratches at the back of his neck area. We thought that maybe he was just itchy or that maybe he had dry skin but the itching was pretty specific to the back of his neck. I remember reading an article way-back-when about chemical burns being caused by the "tagless" tag on infant clothing so I decided to dig around and see if maybe this is what was causing Julian's scratching. Sure enough, this is it!

Gotta love the blogosphere and being able to find all this information. I found this one blog, Mom's Journal, and her daughter's rash looked exactly as Julian's did. He was wearing Gerber onesies almost exclusively as his base layer and this is what this little girl used to wear too. We stopped wearing them 2 days ago and his back is almost totally healed and he hasn't scratched all day.

It's not only Gerber, but also Carter's, Circo, and BabyGap. I just don't understand how the clothing companies can get away with this? I also hate that I'm not entirely sure what my options are to find safe clothing for Julian as clothes with tags (hard to find as 'tagless' is becoming the industry standard with infant/children's clothing) make him itch, too.

Here is the original article I read a few months ago about this issue. If anyone has comments or recommendations on how to get around this, please let me know! I hate the idea of having to tape all his clothing but if that's what has to happen, well, so be it as long as my little guy stops itching!

Happy Easter!

What a great weekend we had!!! We are finally getting caught up with things around here (basement is done, all we have to do is hang things up on the walls again) and we were able (finally) to have a very enjoyable weekend of relaxation and friends without sickness or whirring fans. Our dear friend, Eve, moved to Delaware to work for a firm last year and we haven't seen her in ages. She came down for the day yesterday and we were able to visit! Julian was curiously watching her as he ate his raisins but eventually warmed up and was very friendly. Mama Yost was also able to come and hang out! What a lovely saturday!

This morning we had a wonderful brunch and were joined by Terri, Brian, and our friends, the Doughertys. Argia and I met a few months ago at a random wednesday morning Stroller Strides class in Alexandria, hit it off right away (I was wearing TNT clothing and she was a former participant/Campaign Manager), and the rest is history. Her son, Inaki, was born 10 days after Julian and it has been wonderful having another like-minded mommy to bop around with and share this crazy mommyhood journey together. Her husband, Keegan, joined us, too, for brunch, followed by a trip to the swings, and eventually we made our way to a neighborhood easter egg hunt.


Personally, the whole idea of the Easter Bunny kind of freaks me out....big bunny man handing out hidden chocolate eggs? Something isn't right about this, but still, we couldn't resist going to the hunt and see the mayhem of children running around looking and possibly grabbing a photo op with a lonely egg. Inaki was a trooper, smiling and playing with the egg. Julian, on the otherhand, didn't want any part of it and well, I think this picture speaks volumes as to how he felt about the whole thing.


We are so very fortunate to have great friends and family nearby. What a wonderful weekend and we hope you all had great Easters on your end, wherever you may be. We are really excited for next year when Julian will hopefully want to participate in the egg hunt.

Happy Easter!!

If it's not one thing, then....

It has been BANANAS around the Lurie household now for a few weeks so if you are wondering why I've basically fallen off the face of the earth, here's why...

1- Terri left her job in Maryland and within 2 weeks of her quitting she moved in with us. Not that she had a lot of stuff with her but the move was my catalyst to do some major house purging that I had meant to do before Julian was born but never really got around to doing it. Thank God for Freecycle because I was able to clean out a lot....of course it wasn't just unloading junk but I ended up taking a trip to the dump to get rid of paint as well as fixing the insulation in my storage area. Woo to projects that grow...

2- She moved in and we get all settled and of course I come down with a nasty head cold that Thad and Julian are both now trying to get over. Really, is there anything more sad than seeing a sick baby?! Anyways, we've gone through enough Kleenex in the past week to pad a moon bounce and I don't see an end in sight yet.

3- And of course, once I am finally feeling a little better, today the main pressure valve for our water intake pipe decided to burst and spray water all over our laundry room which then flooded and seeped water throughout the surrounding areas, including Terri's room, the hallway, and the basement living area. Fantastic!! I am dreading going into the laundry room....

So that's what's going on over here. Oh, and Thad and I just signed up for a Team in Training event TOGETHER, so please, can we pile more onto our plates?! :)

Julian's Voyage of Self Discovery

No, this isn't about spiritual enlightenment....it's about Julian's inevitable discovery of...."down there." A couple nights ago during his bath we realized that while we bathed him, he would get this silly grin on his face with a far away look and while we giggled, we didn't think much of it. Until now he really hasn't made any attempt to grab down there when we changed his diapers, nor do his constant falls on the floor seem to hurt him in any way. Well last night I took off his diaper and his hands went STRAIGHT there! While he sat in the bath tub no longer do Mr. Rubber Ducky and the bubble thing keep his attention....all he wants to do is grab. Himself. A lot.

I guess we have this to look forward to? Wee, boys. :)

First trip to the cabin

Jack and my mom have a cabin in Elkins, WV where they go at least every other weekend. It is about 33 acres of gorgeous rolling hillls and forest and it is really a nice place to escape, even if it's only for a few days. Last time we went there was last March for a mini-getaway before Julian's birth and I have been looking forward to taking Julian there ever since he was born. The dogs LOVE going there as they can bound and run off-leash to their hearts content and Scout can do some major deer and wild turkey watching. He still hasn't seen the bears yet and I wonder what he'll do when he does...

My cousins came up from Norfolk to go skiing at Snowshoe and my brother came out, as well, to hang out for the weekend so it ended up being a nice family weekend away. Julian did GREAT. The drive out was smooth (he slept almost the entire time) and he loved the fresh mountain air. The first night was a bit rough (unusual environment, I suppose) and he ended up waking us up a lot but otherwise he liked it. He also LOVED all the attention from his aunts and uncles! My mom went straight to the cabin after 10 days in Hawaii so she really enjoyed spending some quality time with Julian, too.

Here are the pictures from the weekend. Let me know if you ever want to go out there with us! It really is beautiful. And despite popular belief of 'rustic West Virginia cabins,' the cabin does not have an outhouse. :)

Cabin Weekend

9 month check up

Gee it's been forever since I've been able to write! I can't believe how fast our little guy is growing and I am just in awe each day of how amazing he is. Yesterday while I was driving back from getting some Starbucks, I glanced in my rear-view mirror to see how he was doing and he was trying to catch the sunlight in his hand. Could he be any cuter?!

This past monday he had his 9 month check up! Here are his stats:

• Height- 29 2/1 inches. He is in the 75% percentile for height and has grown 8 inches total since his birth.
• Weight- 22 lbs 9 oz. He has slowed down quite a bit with his weight gain as he is in the 80% percentile for weight now and has gained just under 14 lbs or so since his birth. Despite leaning out a bit and growing upwards, he still has those adorable chunky thighs.
  
• Head Circumference- 17 3/4 inches. He is in the 50% percentile for his noggin.
  

Onto some more updates...

Julian loves to move!! He has been army crawling now for a while and while it doesn't seem like the most efficient way to get around, he certainly can motor. He is interested in just about everything that isn't safe for him (stairs and cords) and has a bizarre love of the vacuum. He loves to push things around and make them roll (his favorite thing to roll around is his high chair) and he loves knocking down block towers. He is pulling up to standing now and we think he isn't too far from walking. He doesn't understand why he isn't moving forward when he's standing, though...I've been trying to explain to him that he has to MOVE to go forward but he'll get there. We realize that the days of sitting down and playing quietly with our son are long behind us and I think I should have invested in some bubble wrap and put it all over the house. I can't wait until he's walking and we can go for walks in this warm weather!

Eating solids keeps mealtime very interesting for sure. His favorites are: sweet potatoes, rice krispies, sweet potatoes, corn puffs, sweet potatoes, sippy cup of water, and sweet potatoes. I had grave concern that he would be turning orange with how much sweet potatoes he eats but as of yet he's still pretty normal colored. Some days he eats a ton, others he could care less about the solids and would rather smash hisc cereal with his spoon. He definitely would prefer to feed himself than let me or Thad feed him and he gets a proud smile on his face when he feeds himself his breakfast yogurt. This past week was the first time we tried some cottage cheese (hated it, made him barf), cubed chicken (loved it), and those bizarre chicken sausages from Gerber Graduates (hated it so much he spit it out on me). While we're out to dinner we always try to give him some of our food and he LOVES salmon and barbecue sauce (not together). Thad gave him a taste of his BBQ sauce and Julian loved it so much he was squealing with delight! Mmm...BBQ.

I had no idea, though, that stubborness would start so soon! He's become much more, um, vocal when we do something he doesn't want to do. He has decided that he's too cool for diaper changes and I really just need to let him play with the computer cord because that's what he wants to do. He is great about recognizing signs (mainly "more" and "milk" and "all done") but he would rather fight me than try and communicate right now. Ahh, preparations for those terrible 2's! Thank God I worked in preschool for a while because I know what to expect (hopefully)......

Thanks for reading! We're certainly loving life right now with Julian and we are just so excited for the many more firsts that are coming up this summer with him. Hope you all are doing well and if you're ever around and want some Julian loving, definitely give me a buzz!

Here is a family picture from last weekend's trip to the cabin.

Reality Check

I had a plan. I thought now that Julian is older and his days are relatively consistent, I could train. The year we got pregnant, I had done a season with with Team in Training that spring with the triathlon program and then I was the Hike Leader for the summer Hike for Discovery (now Team in Training Hike) program. I really enjoyed being so involved with the Society and it really bummed me out that I took the year off last year (despite the break being caused by having a child). I love the camaraderie and the passion that surrounds the Society, its mission, and its volunteers, so I thought this year would be the year of my return. Besides, it's not like blood cancers took a year off, too....

So back in November I applied to be a team captain for the upcoming season for the Philadelphia Triathlon (race is end of June). I was selected and I was super duper excited to be getting back "on the saddle," so to speak. We had some recruitment meetings this past month and this coming saturday is kick off for the new season. I can handle it, right?

Wrong. Oh so wrong. I am a firm believer in following your gut and when I received an email from my campaign manager this week asking for my bio for the welcome packet and informing us of a friendly table decoration competition for saturday's kick-off, I had a minor panic attack and the rest of the day I was unusually anxious. "Why," I wondered, "do I feel this way?" So I thought about it all day and I realized that I just wasn't/am not ready for the commitment that Team in Training requires. Some days I can barely get in a shower- what more if I am supposed to help fellow participants as well as get in a 1-2 hour training daily? What about my weekends? What about my 2+ practices with my group per week?

Unfortunately, time won't multiply for me and I realized that whatever I do is at the expense of something else. The pressure of training and fundraising is too much right now and I feel incredibly guilty backing out of this upcoming season. I had a talk with my campaign manager and while she is totally understanding of my situation, I hate backing out on a commitment that I already made. If I signed the paper and said I'd do it, I want to be able to do it. Even though I think I have incredibly valid reasons for not participating this season, I still can't help feeling like a failure. A failure to the Society and to the cause. A failure to my fellow participants that YES it's possible to train and fundraise despite life's crazy schedule. A failure to Julian that mommy made a commitment that she just cannot uphold right now. A failure to the people that would benefit from the funds raised.

Yesterday we received news on Thad's friend, Hanna, lost her battle on tuesday. Hanna had been battling Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia since this past fall when she had a recurrence of her disease. She was fortunate enough to have a second bone marrow transplant (the first had put her into remission) and she and her husband were going into and through her treatment with high hopes for recovery. While I never met Hanna face to face, I had emailed with her and I looked forward to her email updates. Hanna was 32. She will be sorely missed.

Despite the things I'll be missing, I know what I'm trading it for right now. I know that triathlon will always be there and Team in Training will be there as long as blood cancers need to be cured. I'll rejoin when I can. Until then, I'll focus on the little dude asleep upstairs.

A sign of things to come?

Today in the car Julian was becoming cranky and I didn't want him to fall asleep (to ensure a good nap at home) so I gave him the XM remote to play with. I didn't think his playing around would impact my listening choice (seeing as he's looking in the opposite direction and all) but it did and I went from listening to Ray Charles to Rob & Big Punisher. Anyone remember that song from 1998, "Still not a player?" After Julian's nonstop flirting on tuesday at our play date with Eve, Sophia, and Cate, I am concerned that I am going to have a real ladies' man on my hands!

"I'm not a player I just crush a lot....." Oh boy.

Eve, Julian, and Sophia watching the snow...and no, we didn't put his hand there.

YES WE CAN!

This house has been buzzing with excitement ever since that fateful election night back in November. Oh the hope....here's a pic of me and Julian after we went to the polls, if you haven't seen it already:

Despite this being a blog and the perfect venue for speaking my mind on the current political and economic situation in our nation, I think it's pretty obvious how I feel by the picture above and leave it at that.

We watched the Inauguration coverage from sun up to sun down (and then some) and I am still in awe of everything. I cried during his speech and while I am still wary of politicians in general, I know in my heart of hearts that Obama stands for something completely different. And with that, I will leave you with a little obamacon.me that my friend, Amanda, made on Inauguration day.

Yes we can, folks, yes we can.

Our other children

Last night while I was rocking Julian to sleep I realized that all this talk of Julian on here, where are our other kids?!

Our cats, Trillian and Fitzchivlary (both named after literary characters), are great with Julian. At first they were very curious with him (I'm sure it was because of the milk smell) and now they are indifferent but tolerant of his squeals and grabby hands. Julian LOVES the cats. Any time there are cats in a book, he smiles at them. He even knows 'cat' in sign language- at least, he recognizes when we do it. The past few days he'll look at the cats and say "c c c." This is a good sign.

Trillian (above) and Fitz in a box.what is it about cats and boxes?

Scout and Paige have been very patient with Julian. Julian will wiggle across the floor just to pull on their hair and thankfully, they are tolerant of him. Unfortunately, we had a rough year with their health- multiple ear infections, tummy issues, etc.- but overall, I think as Julian gets older the dogs will enjoy playing with him. Sure, they are quite jealous of the attention, and when Julian is asleep Scout is attached to my hip, but I think they'll get along swimmingly with him.

Scout playing with Julian & the doggies enjoying a treat

Thank you, family!!!

The year before last we were really considering relocating out of the DC area. We still are but we're not nearly as driven because we realize just how lucky we are to have our families nearby to help.

This past weekend both Thad and I were sick with the flu (Thad more sick than me as he was battling food poisoning as well) and it was quite difficult taking care of a baby who refuses to take the bottle (trust me, we've tried everything and we decided to just live with it and move on). My brother came by to keep an eye on Julian while I took a nap and my mom came by to help put Julian to sleep and get some food/drinks for us. Terri came and also took care of Julian (and us!) so we could get some extra shut eye.

We are SO grateful for our family! Thank you for helping us and taking care of the little guy.

'I'm gonna get there....'

The past couple weeks have been tremendous in Julian's development! It's been even better because Thad has been off from work and he's been able to witness it all with me first hand. Oh, I can't even imagine things getting any better (or us falling more in love with this little guy) but each day is just so much better than the day before. We are so blessed with such a happy baby!

First off, we FINALLY got a tooth! It popped through yesterday and I can feel the edge of it when he chews on my finger. We were beginning to think that it was never going to come up as it as been hanging out under his gums forever.

Secondly, this kid won't shut UP (just like his mama!). He talks and talks and talks. He's always the most chatty first thing in the morning (I hear this is common with babies?) and his favorite sounds are, "la la la la," and "da da da da." Or just "da da" when he wants Thad. I have been constantly following Julian around saying "ma ma ma ma" but to no avail. I know it'll happen eventually but for now, da da is his favorite! There are also bunches of other sounds and Thad swears the other morning he said, "boob" and this morning he said "kitty." Maybe we should start following him around with a tape recorder so we can capture some of it for those of you far away!

Third, in proud tradition of a military family, Julian is army crawling! He will scoot himself across the floor on Mission Retrieve Remote. Why do babies love remotes? We have no clue but he will apparently scale mountains (or crawl across the living room) to get it. He'll pooch that little tush up in the sky and push with his feet while he propels himself forward with his arms. We better start nailing things down now.....he will get up on all fours and rock back and forth and he is very close to figuring out how to coordinate his knees and hands in order to move forward. I think a project this weekend is get the baby gates up on the first floor.

That's it for now! In parting, here's a pic of Julian playing one of his favorite games: peekaboo!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

When Julian was born and we were having those many sleepless and frantic nights trying to figure everything out, I remember having a calm moment and Thad saying, "I am really looking forward to the holidays. Julian will be older, hopefully we'll be more settled by then, and we'll be celebrating our first Christmas with him." It seemed then that the time would never come, but low and behold, time has that very tricky habit of flying by and we rapidly fell upon Julian's first holiday season.

We never made it to see Santa (our attempts were repeatedly smashed) so we'll attempt again next season. He did love the lights of the Christmas tree and wanted to grab all the ornaments that he could. I have a feeling next year we'll have a gate or something around the tree to hold back curious 17-month olds. My friend, Amanda, came over with her daughter, Bryce, to take some Christmas shots of Julian. Here are a couple of my favorites:


We had Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's house as is the tradition and then had Christmas morning at our house, complete with monkey bread and mimosas. Julian loved tearing the wrapping paper (even unwrapped one of his gifts) and sitting in the empty boxes. At dinner we discovered Julian will say "mmmm" if he eats something yummy (in this case, it was a taste of whipped cream that got him). He's such a ham, he did it every time and we laughed! As long as we responded, boy did he work the crowd. :)

New Year's Eve was spent here at home with Brian and our friend, Melisa, who came down from New York (she says she came to see us but I think it was to escape the crowds!) and we had a big, nice dinner, watched a movie, and actually stayed up until the ball dropped! Granted, we forgot about the bubbly in the fridge, but the three bottles of wine before it was probably plenty enough.....Julian went to bed around 8 PM and we were able to celebrate like adults. Woo!

Here's the album of the Christmas festivities. Enjoy! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and hope 2009 will be just as exciting and fun as 2008!

Julian's First Christmas