That's my boat...

Last weekend we went to my parents house in Springfield and my sister drove up with her two kids as well. I couldn't believe that Julia was already big enough to play in this yellow boat that Andrew loves...and she felt like such a big girl sitting in it. I actually had a better video of her sitting in the boat, but I figured I should put this one in to prove that we actually do dress our child on occasion...

Hot-lanta...

So in June we met up with our friends Josh and Tonya from Starr, Mississippi...they were vacationing with their two kids in Atlanta so we drove down to meet them for a quick overnight trip. Tonya, Cara and I got pedicures (while Julia apparently threw a rare but rather unholy fit in a Ruby Tuesdays while with Daddy, Josh and Eli) and then we all went out to dinner...where all of the kids behaved pretty well and we had a good time. We then retired to our hotel room where we all sipped a $12 drink from the hotel bar and went to bed early (our weekend junkets are a little different now with an infant). It was great to see them and we always enjoy watching Julia experience new things...even if she'll forget them by the next day ( =

So we put in a pool...

and even though David and I can't swim laps in it, Julia was thrilled. Actually, her Grandma Roof bought her this little pool after seeing what a water baby she is and this was her first dip. She was fascinated by all of the animals on the pool and spent as much time trying to touch them as she did splashing.

Julia at the splashpad

This morning I had to do a lot of paperwork and then Julia and I had to drive to Lenoir City to get a Judge to sign an Order. She was so good all day that after her dinner I took her over to Carl Cowan park for a walk in her stroller. Once we got there and did a loop around the trail, the water at the splashpad looked so good...so I put a swim diaper on Julia and took her in ( = Our little water baby LOVED the splash pad and really enjoyed both the water and watching all of the "big" kids play. I figured out that I could take a few pictures of her in the splashpad if I went back to the car for her little umbrella stroller...and Julia thought it was great fun to sit in her stroller and play in the water. I think we'll be making many, many trips there this summer ( =

I can sit all by myself...

Shortly after we got back from Pittsburgh, Julia starting sitting on her own for a few seconds at a time...until May 28th when she was steady enough to stay up long enough to reach for a toy and grab it. By the next day, she was happily playing with her toys on the floor for up to thirty minutes at a time. It's so strange how quickly they catch on!

Julia has a new cousin!

On Wednesday, May 21, 2008, Julia's aunt Tracy and Uncle Darrell had a beautiful baby girl named Olivia Carolyn May Land. She was 6 lbs 14 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. Mom and Grandma Roof rode down to meet her while Julia stayed with her daddy. After her long trip to Pittsburgh, Julia was happy to be home and to see her daddy again.

Olivia is doing great and her brother Andrew is adjusting to sharing his mom and dad's attention. Grandma Roof is staying with them for a week to help out and I'm sure they'll appreciate the extra pair of hands. We're all looking forward to future family vacations since all of the kids will be so close together in age...Andrew is 20 months old, Julia is 6 months old on the 30th and Olivia is brand new ( =

Julia in her jumparoo...

A sad goodbye...

Sadly, my Aunt Maryellen passed away suddenly on Saturday, May 17, 2008. I was torn because I wanted to be in Georgia when my new baby niece was born (Tracy said I could be in the room and watch!) but it was important to be with the family at the funeral, especially to be there for my mother. So Julia and I headed up to Pittsburgh and Julia was an angel baby in the car. We left at 6:00 a.m. and made it all the way to Pittsburgh with just one stop for breakfast. Julia wolfed down her cereal and (almost) an entire banana and was content for the rest of the trip.

We found out when we got there that the viewing would be Thursday and the funeral would be Friday, so we would be in PA for almost a whole week. Although the circumstances were sad, it was nice to see all of the relatives and for all of them to see our baby girl. Julia did great and was her chatty, smiley self all week. She really seemed to enjoy meeting all of her great aunts and uncles and cousins...especially since I don't think she was put down for longer than two minutes all week.

Mom rode back to Tennessee with Julia and me so that we could drop her off with David while we made our way down to Georgia for the happy part of our trip--to see baby Olivia Carolyn May Land, born on May 21, 2008 ( =

Julia eating bananas...

Julia's first "solid" food was mashed bananas...this is a video of her second time eating them. She really seemed to like them and it's fun watching her reaction when she tries something new.

Our first family Easter...

Every holiday is SO much more fun with a child--even if she's too young to care about all the fuss. I had a great time putting together Julia's Easter basket (and one for David and me!) and of course, I loved shopping for her Easter dress for church. We had so much to be thankful for this year and I really enjoyed Easter like I haven't done since I was a kid myself.

Bubbles!

Julia's always loved her bathtime...here she's taking a bubble bath at grandma's house and was so upset when we took her out to dry her off that she screamed until we got her pjs on.

Family Photo...

Julia's daycare teacher, Ms. Sveta, asked us to bring in a family photo of the three of us for a Valentine's project she was doing. We realized we didn't have one of all three of us, except for when Julia was just a day or two old! So we quickly took this picture to give to Sveta and even though we don't look our best, I actually like the photo pretty well.

6-7 week pictures...

Here are some pictures of Julia taken around the middle of January...I took some of them just to keep on my camera so I could look at them whenever I wanted while I was in Arizona ) = It was a great trip and I really enjoyed seeing my brother, sister-in-law, and my nieces but I missed Julia SO much.

More Baby Shower Pics...

Welcome Baby Shower!

Well, even though Julia came very unexpectedly (or at least much sooner than we ever thought!), my friends Jodi, Papi, and Elizabeth were fabulous and threw us a baby shower anyway. It was so wonderful, and the best part was that everyone got to meet the baby since she was a guest at her own shower ( = It was so nice to get together with everyone to celebrate her birth and welcome her into our family and circle of friends.