We Went to Blue Grass, Iowa, And Then...

This happened.

Then this.

Also, this bit of fun with her cousin Kaitlyn.

Blitz: Halloween

For Halloween this year, we had two costumes. The Saturday before we went to visit Juliette's Great-Grandma, who is recovering from heart surgery.

Ma, Granny and Jules

Ma has missed us while she was recovering in the hospital. But now that she's in the rehab center, visiting is much easier.

After visiting Ma, we went to Boo in the Zoo and met our friends Stephanie and Anthony, and their little girl Allie. We had fun checking out the animals and the other kids in costumes.

I Caught a Wild Pumpkin!

Stephanie, Butterfly Allie, Sheep Jules and Kathy.

And just to show you how much she prepared for her role, check this out:

On actual Halloween, we scrambled because we forgot to wash the sheep costume! She got it dirty playing with Allie, and it wasn't until Monday that we remembered it. Oops!

That's okay, though. We had a pseudo back-up.

Note Halloween Themed Socks

Presenting [a rather thirsty] Piglet!

Oh, yeah. Jules prefers drinking water out of one of these. It is clearly far superior to any sippy cup available. Sitting on Daddy's nightstand? Must be hers! And just before she takes a drink? "Num num num."

Seriously. Cute.

Apple Picking

Before anyone asks, Juliette has not started walking yet, however she is incredibly close.



Today, to celebrate Kathy's Birthday (which was on Wednesday this past week when the above video was taken), my side of the family got together and went apple picking, after which we had a nice picnic lunch with rhubarb pie.

We didn't get a ton of pictures, but I wanted to share these two with you and also this awesome short video.

So, wait, is an Empire Apple something grown for Darth Vader to eat? 'Cause that's wicked awesome.

For those keeping score at home, the Snugli that Juliette is strapped into here is the same one that Lydia was using just about a year ago when we went to a different apple orchard. Jules spent the tractor ride back from the orchard working on breaking through the skin of this apple to get to the good stuff inside.

Success! Sweet, Delicious Success!

Like anyone doubted she could do it. As I told her Granny, if she doesn't learn to do it on her own now, she may never learn. I don't care that she's only fourteen months old. Besides, she can do lots of other things. She's kind of fearless. Oh, don't believe me? Watch this:




Yeah. That's my fourteen month old daughter being ridiculously awesome.

August - The BUSIEST MONTH EVER

Jules, making way for Ducklings in Boston, August 5th, 2011

August was super busy for Kathy and I. The vacation at the start of the month was a welcome break, but after the rest of the month, we could sure use another vacation. Ugh.

But here we are, September 1st, and it's a new month and Jules is nearing her 13 month birthday. So I thought, since I didn't get a good update in on her actual birthday, I'd share some information with you.

"Working" on her laptop. Working = Dancing

Juliette loves to play and dance. Her favorite toys are the ones that play music. One of her birthday presents was a toy cell phone; most of the buttons just make regular phone noises and one plays a message that Kathy recorded for her, but her favorite buttons are the * and # buttons, the only two on the phone that play music. She will press one of those buttons and get to shimmyin' and shakin' like it's nobody's business!

Not taken by JJ Abrams

Juliette can say many many words these days, and does. Here's the list:

Picture!

Ball

Doll

Dad

Dadda

Hi

What's that?

Mom

Momma

Spoon

What's up?

Good.

Yes (I like this one)

No (d'oh!)

Kit (kitty)

Gen (gentle, when referring to the cat)

Book (though she does not pronounce the 'k,' she puts a 't' at the end)

Per (or Diaper depending on her mood)

Juice (anything in her sippy cup)

Light

Clock

Block

Boston

Water

Yeah (learned from Cousin Lydia, I think)

Bird (be it a bird, rabbit or squirrel)

Flower

Basketball (not kidding, she said it after hearing me say it once)

Cup

Down

Pants

Shirt (sounds like...something else)

Bear

Ba ba (Lamb or sheep, also what Sheepo says)

Bye bye

Shoe

Here (as in "here you go, I found this fuzz on the floor and I'm giving you four seconds to get it out of my hands before I eat it. Four-three-two-one nom nom.")

Yuck (usually 5-7 seconds after "here")

Relaxin' done RIGHT

In the past few weeks, Juliette has learned that the kitty is super soft, and that she'll let you experience this softness if you're very gentle. Jules has always been curious about Amethyst, and would laugh whenever she'd walk into the room. They have been playing together since Jules was able to sit up, with Amethyst rubbing Juliette's back and Jules laughing and grabbing for her. For a while, they played with balls together; Juliette would roll a ball across the floor to Amethyst, who would sometimes roll it right back. But recently, this started (see above). ADORABLE CITY.

Dad, if you make me listen to ONE MORE obscure indie-pop album from the last decade...

We went on a road trip to Nebraska for the weekend two weeks after Juliette's Birthday. We got to see cousins.

Cousins don't stand still when asked.

We saw others as well...

Grandpa

Aunt Kristie

Aunt Lori

Grandma

Also there but, oddly not pictured: Aunt Lisa, Aunt Carissa, Uncle Steve and soon-to-be Uncle Justin.

The weekend had to end, though...

Daddy Knew where his Towel Was. I'm counting upside down.

On the drive back, the sun was in Juliette's eyes. But we fixed that.

After a month like this, we just like to sit back and relax with a good book.

Or maybe, considering the heat, a cool soda would be good.

Ode to Sodie, Bo-de-o-dodie! Auntie Mo, hold me more often so I can get more of this SUGAR WATER YUM!

Oh, yeah, Juliette learned how to drink from a straw. Also how to use the Tupperware shape sorter.

Also, this mad adorableness.

I'm getting verbal updates from Kathy as I blog, so: Juliette learned how to build a small stack of blocks. She "cooks" her animals. She got a farm animal puzzle and a set of utensils and pans for her play kitchen, and she put the pig, cow and chicken into a frying pan and stirred them around with a spatula. That's my girl! Though, really, you should be grillin' all that, unless of course it's ground beef, chicken breast for pasta and bacon. Oh man...I'm so hungry right now...

While sitting with Poppy at his piano the other day, she watched his fingers intently and mimicked what he was doing. Do we have a musical prodigy on our hands? Do we have active imaginations? Maybe. But a musical prodigy wouldn't be a terrible thing. Prodigies tend to land recording contracts and end up on the Tonight Show at age 11 and...wait...do I want that? No...but I wouldn't mind her being musical (see above, re: dancing).

Stairs are no longer an obstacle but an out and out danger, at least as far as going up is concerned (we tend to not let her hang out around the top of unblocked steps, the experts frown on that). Get her at the bottom of a staircase, and up she'll go. She can manage it all on her own, but every time I've seen her do it I've seen it happen from half an inch away. Strange thing, though; when I've seen other kiddos learn stairs, they tend to crawl up on their hands and knees. Jules is using her hands, but is putting her foot on the next step and pushing herself up that way. With her whole leg. You know, the way people who have been climbing stairs long enough to really know what they're doing do. Like, people who aren't only thrice the height of one step. It's an awe-inspiring and nerve-wracking sight for a parent.

Standing is now an all the time thing. Standing in bed? Check. Standing at the picture window waving goodbye to daddy in the mornings? Check. Standing freely in the middle of the room and laughing at the sheer miracle that is one years' progress? Check. She still crawls between places where she stands, but that won't last much longer because...

This week, she took two steps. Not concurrently, but still. Her consecutive total may be one, but her cumulative total number of steps taken without assistance comes to two. So we've got that going for us.

Kathy informs me that's probably enough for now. I guess. But first, one more picture. Ready?

Juliette, on her birthday. And she totally knows it.

Happy 4th!

We had a busy busy weekend, the four of us here at the house of StL HD.  Friday evening we hosted a game night. Friends came, bearing food for a pot luck, and it wasn't until Juliette went to bed that people began acknowledging the fact that there were other people besides a baby around. After dinner, Kathy and I (and nine other people) busted out The Game of Things which, if you've never played, you need to. It kept us entertained for hours and hours. Amethyst, meanwhile, hid in our room.

Saturday, we played all morning. After lunch and a nap, we picked up some flowers for our new backyard garden. After dinner, Amethyst slept on our bed, and we put Juliette to bed and planted the flowers, finishing just as the light faded completely. This is all a part of the basement project that happened in April; the workers took out the sidewalk which ran from our driveway to our backyard patio, regraded soil so it sloped away from the house and also installed a sump-pump in the basement to keep it from flooding, a problem we've had for a few years but which got much worse this year. The garden we're putting in will help keep the soil sloped the right direction and also provide a little help against water entering the basement.

Good thing, too, considering our Sunday. We went over to Granny and Poppy's house in the morning for waffles. Auntie Mo showed up with cousins Madeline and Lydia and we played for a little bit until Jules started getting sleepy. Our plan was to go home and put her down for a nap while one of us picked up some mulch for the garden, but since she fell asleep in the car, we decided to just take her with. She slept through about half of our trip to the store, and when we got home we ate lunch and went down for a nap. While she napped, Kathy and I considered planting the extra plants we had picked up with the mulch. I consulted the weather and together, we decided better to get them in the ground before a giant rain storm than after it; we finished just in time before a storm blew in.

The storm put a tiny kink in our plans, because we were supposed to have a cookout with some of the families from Kathy's MoBap Mom's group. Fortunately, Jet's mom (he is the baby who hosted the event) sent out an e-mail telling everyone she had a big finished basement and we could still all come over. So, we huddled under our giant umbrella and rushed to the car with a fruit pizza in tow and made the cross-town trek. So. Many. Babies. Jet took his first steps while everyone was watching! Not to be outdone, Nolan (recently turned one) took his first steps. Jules was watching and, I assure you, taking notes. When we got home, Amethyst was laying on the living room rug.

This morning, we woke up and checked the weather; it looked like it was going to hold, and stay somewhat cool, so we went to the Webster Groves parade. This parade is special for me because I participated in the parade at least five times. Once as a Cub Scout, riding my bicycle behind a truck (loaded with a giant super-soaker) and four times as a member of the WGHS Marching Statesmen Drumline. Yes, I was a band geek. Granted, it's been ten years (yikes) since I graduated from high school, but I still like to see the band. Also, some people I hadn't seen in years said they would be there, and some of them have kiddos just about Juliette's age, so I figured she might like to meet some new friends.

So there we were, waiting for the parade to start.

My First Parade!

Jules was excited and so well behaved! She kept looking around, watching all the people walking by. We kept telling her every time a police officer would ride by on a motorcycle "that's the parade! That's all!" She wasn't buying it.

Quit Joking, Mom and Dad!

We had to wait a while for the parade to start.

Let me smudge the lens!

So long, in fact, that it started raining. Hard. But only for a little bit. Lucky for us, Kathy remembered the big umbrella.

Sure, we're dry, but what about the people in the parade?

We had to wait a long time.

There is going to be a parade today, right? Because Daddy's going back to work tomorrow.

Finally, the parade started, and that's when Juliette really let her patriotic side show.

Watch me wave this flag: I'm so good at it!

There were marching bands, Girl Scouts on horses, Boy Scouts on bicycles, fire trucks, Corvettes, Mustangs, more Corvettes, gymnasts, Lions Clubs, County Executive Charlie Dooley, and three girls riding shovels while  a fourth walked behind them banging two halves of coconuts together.

After the parade, we took a short walk to find our friends. For some unfathomable reason, we didn't take any pictures of Juliette with baby Claire or baby Stella. However, Stella's mom Amy (whom I have known since I was thirteen), took a few pictures of the family, including this one.

Thanks Amy for the Photo!

That's Nicole, Claire's mom, with her back to us, and behind her is Claire and her dad Josh. In the middle is my old friend and my 2000 Senior Prom date Jackie. Jules is looking awful hot and tired at this point, and shortly after this was taken, she fell asleep in Kathy's arms. So, we headed back to the car and to home.

Once we got home, we put Juliette to bed and once again set to work in the garden, this time laying the mulch down in our front tree ring. A sweaty hour later, I took my fourth shower of the weekend and, all refreshed, got Jules up from her nap and played with her for the rest of the day! Until Granny and Poppy came over for dinner, then she was all about playing with them. Not that I'm complaining; it's awesome that Juliette gets to have this time with her grandparents. And my parents are very good at being grandparents, so Jules loves spending time with them.

After dinner (and a little bit more playing), it was bed time. Those of us still awake retired to the basement to watch Up, which my parents hadn't seen. And can you believe that neither of them shed a tear during that first eleven minutes? I know what's going to happen, and still, every time, waterworks. Even Amethyst, watching from the stairs, cried a little.

It was a busy weekend, and sadly devoid of fireworks. However, since our neighbors all seem to love shooting off their own fireworks, we get a kind of panoramic amateur display every year. I'm happy to report that Juliette has been sleeping through the fireworks all weekend, including tonight's escalations. Good thing, too, since Amethyst seems to be going crazy.

Happy 4th every body!

Our First Road Trip!

This past weekend, we loaded up the car with enough stuff for a two month adventure and pointed ourselves North. Or rather, it just seemed like it was enough for two months' time. I guess that's what happens when you travel with a child. Two people travelling alone for three days? A bag of clothes and a container of snacks for the car. Travelling with baby? Two bags of clothes, diaper bag, bassinet, car seat, dangly toys to keep kid interested, blankets, hats...the list goes on.

To be fair, we also packed up a bunch of clothes that Juliette has rather suddenly grown out of. Seriously, little girl...when did you start getting so big?

Anyway...so the three of us piled into the car and headed to Bluegrass, Iowa (a suburb of Davenport) to visit family on Kathy's side. We don't get to see them much, since her family is fairly well spread out. She's one of ten kids, and the rest of the family lives in Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and Colorado. But we try to get together once a year for the purpose of awarding a new champion with the Family Classic Trophy.

Seriously, the competition has been fierce and bitter in past games, and this year was no exception. But before I get to that, I have to tell you that Juliette's world was thrown into outer orbit this weekend when it comes to aunts, uncles and cousins.

See, Jules only has one aunt and one uncle on my side of the family, and they're here in town. And that one local set comes with a pair of cousins, Madeline and Lydia. Pretty manageable for a three month old little girl. But get together with Kathy's family (and they weren't even all there, we were missing two on a trip to Paris for their fifteenth anniversary and one couldn't get away from work) and suddenly, it's relative overload. But, Jules seemed to enjoy it. She got to see Grandma and Grandpa again, which she enjoyed.

Grandpa got fuzzy since last we saw him

She also got to see Aunt Lisa again, along with Aunt Lori and her boyfriend Justin. But then came the wave of cousins.

Morgan takes a swing at the Pinata

First up, we've got the oldest, Morgan. She's 8. Here, you see Uncle Jeff protecting himself from Morgan's powerful lust for candy.

Kaitlyn's refrain: "Can I hold her?"

Kaitlyn LOVED Jules. She kept asking to hold her every five minutes, oblivious to the fact that everybody else wanted to hold her, too.

Andrew took the 2010 Family Classic Win, and, thus, gets the trophy for the year.

Andrew won the competition this year, so obviously it wasn't for cutest new little girl. He's pretty happy, though, so I can't take that away from him.

Jake also wanted some candy

Andrew's younger brother Jake got into the Pinata action as well. Here he is venting his frustration on having to stare at the trophy for the next year knowing he couldn't pull out the win. Or, he really really wanted some candy.

Madison also liked to hold Juliette

Morgan's younger sister Madison was a big fan of Juliette as well. At this point, I think Jules was getting a little tired of all the cameras. But we still had lots of pictures to take...

Max: the man with a million costumes

Kathy and I finally got to meet our newest nephew, Max. His parents kept vanishing upstairs with him, only to bring him down in a new costume. My favorite? The jailbird/pumpkin (sadly, I did not get a picture of it). It was a pumpkin costume, but the legs and arms were black and white striped. Escaped Pumpkin!

Of course, we had to get a picture with all the grandkids gathered around Grandma and Grandpa.

The whole gang

The red shirts most of the kids are wearing are from when Kathy and her siblings were young. There are numerous family pictures with all the kids wearing these shirts. Juliette got to bring her #10 shirt home!

But let's not forget that while in Davenport, we had some serious business to attend to.

"Trick or Treat, Smell our Feet. No, Really, They're disgusting after walking all over the neighborhood."

Well, okay, we had some other serious business to attend to as well as the Family Classic, but it was Halloween, and the kids needed their sugar fix. It looks like here we have a Minnesota Twin, two princesses, a Power Ranger (I think?) and, in the background, Madison is a Rock Star. And what about our little girl?

Kathy and I went as new parents too tired to come up with actual costumes.

Jules went as a Sweet Pea! Because she is.

Now, to the competition.

Per the usual, there was a lot of boasting and trash talk beforehand, not least of which came from this guy:

Steve: "There's no way you're going to win, you shouldn't even try."

Well, okay, maybe he wasn't trash talking Juliette, but Uncle Steve did spend most of the competition claiming that his skills were the superior, that he would carry the day, and that others (most notably myself as I was sitting nearby) had best polish up on their game if they wanted to even stand a chance.

For the record, the game was Bingo Blackout.

Allow me to repeat that: Steve was talking trash about our skills at a random game of chance.

Okay, now that you've let that sink in...

I guess there's no suspense left, as you already saw that Andrew carried the day, leaving Steve only slightly deflated (there's always next year). We got the past winners all together for a group photo afterwards.

The Winners, past and present

Back row: Jeff (2005 Lawn Olympics), Joe (2003 Bowling), Elliot (2004 Baseball Penny Bet), Dave (2008 Reading R.T. Rybak's Mind); Middle Row: Kathy (2001 Biggest Fish), Adrienne (2007 Rock/Paper/Scissor Challenge), Lance (2006 Diet Coke & Mentos Shoot-out); Front Row: Morgan (2002 Star Attraction), Andrew (2010 Bingo Blackout, Current Champ) Note: No competition was held in 2009. We went to Puerto Rico for Joe and Shelley's wedding. Everybody won.

I would just like to point out that I hold the record for least amount of time in the family before winning the Family Classic Trophy. Less than a week after Kathy and I got married, we held the 2004 competition and I won. Granted, I took part in the 2003 Bowling tournament, but I was roundly pummeled due to my complete lack of bowling skills.

After the competition, it was time to bring out the Piñata.

Lance poses with the Piñata 

The kids all had a good time giving this thing some good solid hits. Even Juliette.

Uncle Dan watches as Jules takes a swing

Okay, so she needed a little help, but that's to be expected.

All in all, it was a great trip! Thanks to Uncle Dave and Aunt Ninfa for hosting, thanks to Aunt Kristie for reserving a block of hotel rooms, and Happy Birthday to Aunt Carissa! Juliette loved getting to know all of you a little better, and can't wait to see you all again (plus the three that were missing; Paul, Jen and Erica).

That was fun, but I'm ready to go home now

Jules handled the travel portion of the trip up very well; she fell asleep when she got in the car, woke up briefly when we stopped to get gas and use the restroom, but then fell right back asleep and stayed that way until we got to the hotel. A diaper change and a meal later, she fell asleep again! On the way back, though, she was a little more active. We had to stop to feed her twice, and the second time she had been crying for a little bit because we couldn't find a good place to stop. But all in all, she was a perfect little travel companion. Like her parents, though, when the trip is over, she's just anxious to get home.

Well Behaved and a Fan of Dad

If you happen to be a reader of my writing blog then you are well aware that this past Tuesday I read from my novel-in-progress at an open mic night. Many friends came to support me, but the biggest support of all came in the form of my family.

That's right, even though it was at a brewpub and I read after 8 PM, my wife and twelve week old baby came. Note: I am the only one in the family who partook of the beer.

Juliette was so well behaved! She slept through almost every reader until I stood up. Then, she was wide awake and paying rapt attention. Afterwards, she was a little fussy but not too loud, then fell back asleep after a brief walk out of the room.

I wish I had some pictures to share with you on this one, but oh well.

It was awesome to have her there. I hope she comes to many more.

The Patch

After celebrating Lydia and Mo's birthdays on Saturday, we went out to Eckert's Orchard to pick some apples and get a pumpkin. So we woke up early, got Jules dressed up for the occasion, and headed first to Granny and Poppy's.

Juliette dons farm attire.

We met up with Mo, Lydia and Maddy, piled into two separate cars, and headed across the river.

First thing we did when we got there was point out the new Country Store, which my uncle Dennis designed.

(Editor's note: Juliette wanted me at this moment to tell you all "Luowuaoul. Buweh. Hnk! Ungi." That is all).

First, we stood in line for a while.

A really long while.

Even Lydia got kinda tired.

I assure you, that is a yawn.

Finally, we got on the tractor. Jules was so excited, she almost woke up.

So close to waking up

Kathy got some good cuddles in, though.

At the first stop, we hopped off and grabbed some Granny Smith apples.

She held it long enough for Kathy to get a bite.

All this talk about Granny Smith made Juliette want to see her real Granny.

Granny doesn't look like an apple...

We loaded ourselves back onto the wagon and went to the pumpkin patch.

Mo and Lydia at the Pumpkin Patch

Jules picked out our pumpkin for us.

Lydia found something she thought would be good for carrying the pumpkin home in, but it had to stay at the farm.

"Our pumpkin would TOTALLY fit inside this milk crate!"

And then, a short ride later, Juliette found the perfect pumpkin for her.

Somewhere in this bin is the perfect one...

There we go.

Afterwards, we had lunch and then made the long trek back home.

It was a tiring day, no doubt. But it was a great new fall tradition!