What Happened to May?

May went by in a blaze of being too busy, growing too much, and having too much fun.

Also, I've been neglecting all of my blogging duties something terrible for about two months or so, and it stops NOW.

I'd give you all a run down of what has happened in the last two months if I could remember everything, but I can't so I won't. But some highlights:

Jules had her 9 month check-up and it went great. She weighed 17 pounds, 10 ounces, which put her in the 30th percentile for weight. Not exactly awesome, but we have to remember that she has my genes, and I weighed 127 pounds when I graduated from high school ten years ago but stood at six foot three. And speaking of height, she came in at 27 1/2 inches, average height for a girl her age. Though, shortly after the check-up, I can assure you she gained a pound or two and then grew a couple inches.

Mother's Day came and went, with Jules treating Kathy to a little bit of sleeping in, followed by dinner at Granny and Poppy's that evening. That little girl sure loves her momma.

June started, and with it came a little bit of a jump in the mobility of our little girl. She doesn't crawl in the traditional sense: she more army crawls, which seems to be more efficient. Anyway, she's not so much into crawling as she's into pulling herself up and standing, something which for about a week made going to bed incredibly difficult. Turns out, since she found out she could do it, and realized it was easy to do in the crib, she wanted to do it all the time, but didn't know how to get back down without falling at first, so, that was a week of going in and helping her back down, soothing her, etc. She's over it now.

We went to the Botanical Gardens and took family pictures of ourselves and of our friends Beth and Joel and their 6 month old Garrett. We also met with Stephanie and Anthony, new friends who have a beautiful little girl named Allie. Jules had fun playing with both of them and, while I am unsure about that Garrett character and want to know just what his intention are with my daughter, I know we'll be seeing more of them soon.

Father's Day came, and Jules got me a great gift: a pair of $25 Groupons to The Book House, with the stipulation that I spend some of that on books I can read to her. And while I maintain that in fact I can read Jennifer Eagan's A Visit From the Goon Squad to her, certain themes and motifs and words within the book itself have raised the question should I read it to her, so I'll be going back soon to pick up some good children's books.

I promise, more frequent posts in the future. I wish I had a slew of pictures to share with you. And it must be my lucky day, because I actually do have such a slew!

Jules getting ready for a road trip

Easter Sunday in NE

9 Months old and that hair just sticks straight up

She Pinned Me. Again.

Jules and her friend Naomi at the Zoo

The Penguins Were, Apparently, Awesome

Mother's Day Morning, after Momma got up.

This is the wrapping paper Jules "designed" for Granny's present.

Pre-pulling herself up.

Crawling...ish.

Jules' first donut.

Cuteness Factor 10.8

Jules loves curry chicken w/Chickpeas, lentils and rice

Walking through Forest Park

Auntie Angela at Bark in the Park

Chillin' with her feet up on a stroll

Not content just looking at art, Juliette poses for a picture which is now considered a postmodern statement on the modernist interpretation of classical art.

One of the best parts of spring is eating outside!

Auntie Heather's hat looks good, eh?

Spending time with Granny and Ma (Great Grandma McGrath).

She figured out the sippy cup. Next up, blogger, then world domination.

Also, standing has been figured out.

This hat is even bigger than the last one!

Jules and Daddy sliding at the Childrens' Garden at the Botanical Gardens

Ten month pictures at Mo Bot

More Mo Bot

And More Mo Bot

Family Pictures at Mo Bot!

Blazing through nap time.

This is our photo essay about how babies flirt, starring Juliette and Garrett.

She first notices him playing on the ground.

He approaches her, and she remains aloof.

Their hands touch.

He caresses her hair (NOTE: at this point, I was about to show him my non-existent shotgun collection).

He steals her hair bow.

He tries to explain to her how it works, to show he's smart.

They hold hands, and smile.

Just like Daddy, she likes to sit up in bed.

They were playing Hide and Seek.

Juliette won.

STOP GROWING UP!!

Ah, there. That's better. How sweet is this, by the way?

In 'n Out Day

Today was a special day for our family, but it was also a hard day.

Readers of my writing blog may know that last year, before Juliette arrived, our family had to say goodbye to our feline friend Acrodyl. Don't ask about the name, it's a long story. Sufficed to say, he was a great cat to our family and an unmitigated terror to the rest of humanity. So last year, on April 28th, we decided that rather than chance him attacking a baby he was afraid of, we'd have him put down. It was the right decision, we know, but that didn't make it any easier. I hated that day more than anything that happened last year.

So I knew that this year, April 28th would be tough. And it was; not a day has gone by that I don't miss his goodnight cuddles, his morning routine of relentlessly knocking stuff off my nightstand until I fed him, the way he kneaded my shoes when I'd get home, his loud bedtime purrs, the way he cared for his younger sister Amethyst. It was a cold winter, and we missed his warm body on the bed. So of course today was hard.

But, Juliette's early arrival had an amazing effect today, 38 weeks after the day she was born.

Kathy carried Jules to the 38th week mark exactly, meaning that today, 38 weeks later, is Juliette's "In 'n Out" Day!

No Elliot, that's NOT what we mean.

The In 'n Out Day celebrates the day when we've had Jules in our arms as long as she was in utero. After today, all we get are days numbered beyond those days of anticipation and worrisome fretting. And it's amazing that this milestone fell on today. It made this day much easier to bear.

I will admit to crying today. I was driving home and listening to the new Fleet Foxes album and remembering Acrodyl's little foibles (the cute ones stand out a lot more than the bad ones a year later, which is the way I wanted it) and I got choked up. I immediately, upon walking into the house, gathered the entire family (Amethyst included) into a big group cuddle.

Speaking of Amethyst, she's kind of the greatest cat ever. As much as I know she misses having another cat around, she's absolutely wonderful with Juliette and it makes me happy to know that every time they interact, I don't have to worry about Amethyst doing something terrible to Juliette. Not that we just let them play willy-nilly while Kathy and I down bottles of wine, I mean, we keep an eye on things, but so far, regardless of how much Jules might at times grab at tufts of fur or pull on Amethyst's tail, the cat just takes it or walks away.

What, you want proof, and also you want to see Juliette because you don't come to this blog to see five year old pictures of me stuffing my face with fast food?

Okay, here you go.

8 Months

Whoa, it's been a while. Looks like I need a little...Endust.

Sorry about that folks. We've had a very busy month, as usual. We took a trip to Columbia, MO to visit a friend from out of town. We stopped for lunch at Shakespeare's Pizza while there. Jules has teeth coming in. And we're getting some work done on the house soon; our basement leaks when it rains and so we're getting that fixed.

Also, Kathy and Jules will be heading up to visit Kathy's folks for a week starting next Sunday. I'll be meeting them the following Friday. This has the double purpose of Kathy helping her parents get ready for summer while getting Jules out of the house during loud construction projects.

And now, a flurry of pictures for your enjoyment.

The day of our Columbia Road Trip, it snowed.

This is called a 'blabla' doll and Jules loves it for lunch.

Amethyst goes outside maybe three times a year, always for a good brushing.

This girl has some attitude.

I want to eat this. Can I?

No, we did not throw those flowers over her just for the picture...

I love my weekends for moments like this.

Okay, so she was getting a bit cranky because it was nap time.

But we got her to a happy place.

She also tried to eat this one, too.

Post-nap happiness.

Sweet profile!

She loves her mama.

She and I were both fascinated by the gazing ball.

The sun was setting and it made the duck look like it was in a war film.

My daughter likes The Beatles. She once fell asleep in my warms while I sang "Let it Be."

Jules and Kathy bonding.

Chillin' on the tree ring, bein' all cute.

Wow

Tonight, as Kathy and I were heading into the dining room for dinner, Kathy was holding Juliette and I walked beside them. Jules started babbling, as she often does. "Ba brrr nng brrrrrrrr." And then she looked at me, giggled, rocked back and forth, and opened her mouth again.

"Da da da da da dadda dadda dadda dadda."

And my heart melted. But, you know, the good kind of melting, not the kind where you have to call the hospital.

It's a bit of a stretch to say that she's said her first word, I think. But maybe. Just maybe.

We tried to get video of it, but she won't do it when the camera is on. Seriously, we tried to take video of her and it wasn't until we turned the camera off that she started again. So we turned it back on, and she stopped until it was off again. But believe me. It happened. Ask Kathy.

Jules TV - Episode 8: Follow the Leader

So in the last two days, Jules has gotten really good at looking at what people around her are doing and then trying to do the same thing. So below, I give you two examples, one from Friday night (3/11) and one from this afternoon 3/12).

Friday Night:



This afternoon:



Also, today we went to a play date with a lot of other kiddos. Mom and Jules hung out with all the other moms and babies, while I joined the two other fathers who were there in the basement. We played first person shooter video games on X-Box 360 which are totally NOT my favorite types of games. I think that may have been the only type of games they had, though, so I toughed it out. Next time, maybe I'll play with the kids instead.

Jules getting ready to head out

After the play date, lunch and a nap, we went for a nice walk.

I'm the headless Argyle-Clad Person

Another good and busy day for Jules! Tomorrow, we of course have to adjust our schedules to accommodate the start of Daylight Savings Time. Boo hiss.

How cute is too cute?