Julia is FOUR months old!

HOLY SMOKES!! Where does the time go?!?! Yesterday Julia turned four months old. We were trying to figure out what she'd like to do for her birthday. She couldn't have any special food treats. We joked that she'd probably love a visit to the lighting/ceiling fan section of any store since they're her favourite things to stare at. Julia continues to love the JollyJumper. These three pictures were taken today after her visit to the doctor.
I'm pretty impressed that Julia can squeeze out a smile because she got a pretty huge needle jabbed in her thigh today. She got two actually, but only cried (a tiny bit) for the second one. What a trooper!
The next photo shows Julia in the puppy dog sleeper that Meghan bought her. She's so cuddly and, fortunately for us, loves to be held.

As of today Julia weighs 12lbs 8 oz. She's a lean machine! She falls in the 25th percentile for weight right now; which is the same percentile as her last appointment at 2 months old.
Her height however, is a different story. She falls in the 90th percentile. Our girl is tall and thin!

People often remark to us that Julia is "very alert." Since she's our first baby, we don't really know the difference. We do know that Julia loves to look around and have "conversations" with people. She's getting pretty good at picking objects up and putting them in her mouth. The day when we have to baby-proof our house is soon approaching. That's going to be a mammoth task for us clutter-monkeys!

Hanging out on Daddy's lap. It's only her favourite place in the universe...
Since Julia loves so much to stand up, we started putting her in the Exersaucer. However, she's so slender that she could almost slip right through the leg hole. So we padded her up with tea towels to support her. Over the last few days Julia has gotten strong enough to be in the Exersaucer without tea towels! You can see the tea towels poking out in this picture though:
Here we have Julia cheering Daddy up when he's home sick. She brings us so much happiness that it's hard to feel rotten when she's around; even while fighting the nastiest of bugs!

Jolly Jumpin' Julia

When this kid sets out to jump around she means business! She goes at it so hard that she wears the skin right off her baby toe; and doesn't complain one bit! Here's a little video of Julia rockin' out. Her face is pretty much a blur from the jumps. Haha!

The Final Days Of Summer

Julia is getting some good mileage out of her little green hat this weekend because there were some cool moments. Our little one went to her first wedding. Despite being a bit of a grump right before the ceremony, she did not cry once.
Our friends Matt ("Ace") and Sarah got married in front of the tractor you see below:
Julia with her hoser daddy:
The morning after the wedding. No worse for wear:
We squeezed in as much time at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival as we could. Here we are heading out on Sunday for some final music morsels:


A big THANK YOU to Vanessa who gave Julia these great leg warmers. Now that the weather is cooling off Julia is wearing them quite a bit. You were right Vern, they're awesome!! (and rather cute too!)The earth lost a special soul this weekend: Abbey McDermott aka Abinder Doggiewall/Abner/Abnitohr and so on. She was 15 years old; not bad eh?! I hope that Abbey can chase all the sticks she wants and eat unlimited treats for the rest of eternity! She was a great girl and we sure are going to miss her.

A Little Green Gnome-Pixie-Elfling!

Julia is sleeping in her car seat after a lovely lunch with Winnie, Colleen and Rowan. Mark took some pictures of Julia so we can share them with you. She's so cute in green! Auntie Patsy knit her the little green sweater. I'm going to be sad when she outgrows it!
Here we are "standing" on our front steps:
Her eyes are bluer than either of ours!
What does this face mean?!
Before we know it the leaves will be in full-swing colour-changing mode!! But for now I'm going to appreciate and enjoy the lush greenness of summer.

First Day is a Big Day!

Well yesterday was my first day home in Fredericton with Julia alone. It's strange to have everyone back at work! Coming home on Friday it was so easy to just melt into summer mode again with Mark. The weather was lovely and it just seemed like an extension of summer. But then Monday morning arrived and the reality of maternity leave hit me. This reality, however is a wonderful, amazing experience.

I feel so so lucky to have 15 months with Julia without having to even think about work. The only thing I would change would be to have my EI wages topped up by my employer so that they match my regular salary. I don't think it's fair to parents who take parental leave that they should have to suffer any financial penalty! We are nurturing future members of society!

So yesterday was a big day because after school, once Mark was home, Julia rolled over for the first time. She rolled over from her tummy to her back. I must confess that I am guilty of not giving Julia as much tummy time as is recommended - simply because she usually HATES IT!! I've been trying to do more of it and it paid off yesterday when Julia rolled over. Here's a picture of the little one post-roll over:For well over a month now Julia's favourite thing to do is stand up. She absolutely LOVES it!! We've been lucky enough to borrow a Jolly Jumper from some friends and it's no surprise that it's her new favourite pastime. The minute she's in the Jolly Jumper she starts to jump around like a little leprechaun. She's TOO CUTE!!!! Here's a picture I took of Julia this morning:

Toronto Part III

Julia is now sleeping at home in Fredericton and our visit to Toronto seems like a dream. Julia had a wonderful time and was loved by all. What a wonderful little traveler she is: always waking up in a new environment and always happy to go along for a new adventure.
One of the highlights for sure was hanging out with Meghan. Julia certainly misses out by living so far away from Meghan who makes her home in Victoria, BC. Whenever Julia was sitting in her little green chair or in her stroller Meghan would pick her up and say that she "can't not pick her up!" No protests from little Ju-B, that's for sure.
Here we have four generations! Mitochondrial DNA all the way!Looking like a little toothless fisherman, Julia enjoyed all of her sink baths! Three arms in the sink (none of which are mine)?? Everyone loves to bathe the little one. What could be cuter than getting all dried off and cozy after a bath?
The four McDermott siblings reunited with the newest member of the clan. Ariel and Aidan are so gentle with Julia. She is going to love spending time with them as she gets older and they, I'm sure, spoil her to bits and let her get away with murder. Can you believe the leaves in the background are already changing?
Speaking of McDermotts, Julia got to meet Amanda during a sunny September afternoon. A familiar sight during our days in the mega-city, Julia asleep in Grandma's arms. She fits so well there these days and often couldn't resist falling asleep. We were sad to leave all of our amazing friends and family in Toronto, but waiting for us in Fredericton was our much-missed Daddy-Extraordinaire. It was so wonderful to be reunited with him and to spend a lovely weekend together before reluctantly letting him go back to work.

Toronto Part II

Julia is a natural city girl! She has adjusted just fine to the hustle and bustle going on around her. That being said, she HATES traffic jams, just like her Daddy.
Julia was so excited that her auntie Meghan was flying in that she woke up at 5:30am to go and pick her up at the airport. Here is a picture of the three of us when Meghan was fresh out of the baggage claim area:
Julia went to the C.N.E. for the first time. She loved all of the sights and sounds. We got stopped a zillion times by Julia-admirers, but Julia is always happy to chat with a stranger.

Here's Julia with Grandma at the Ex:

Even though the rest of us were all played out, Julia was still going stong at the Ex. Here she is at the end of the day with Samantha:
The weather has been gorgeous the entire time we've been home. Here we have Julia and Grandma in the kiddie pool together. Julia is a natural water-baby and loved splashing in the pool.

Auntie Patsy and Grandma Julia came over for a visit:

Grandma Julia didn't even have her purse off before taking Julia into her arms. Two Julias enjoying a summer afternoon together on the deck:

Julia Jr. smiling at her Grandma Julia:

Julia and Sophie spent and afternoon together! What a difference 4 months makes - Sophie is able to do so much! It's amazing to think that by Christmastime Julia will be so much more of a little person. The girls were adorable together:

Julia's First Visit to Toronto

We have arrived in Toronto! Julia was amazing on the plane -she didn't cry during take-off or landing! Here's a photo of Grandma Margaret meeting us at the airport. Julia slept during the whole affair. Daddy doesn't call her Chuckles Wigglebum for nothing! Check out this smile:

Julia being exceptionally snuggly with Nanu:

Julia, busy checking the city out. I wonder what she's thinking...

Smiling during a conversation with Nanu:

BATH TIME!! No matter where, Julia loves it! In Toronto, her bathtub has been the kitchen sink.

Post-bath dry off and Julia is putting on a show:

Watering the garden with Grandma:
Hanging out with Grandma:
The little pumpkin is all played out: