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Hot Stuff In the Winter

Just look at the heat radiating off that kid!
Ok, so it's been a week since I've posted anything. Man, time flies by quickly! Things are great here in Freddy. Yesterday Julia had a crawling breakthrough. Up until now she's been moving backward but has finally figured out that if she reaches forward and pulls she can go straight ahead. She still seems to prefer to 'walk' but we're trying to get her to be more independent and move on her own. She's a pro at grabbing your two hands and then lifting herself into a standing position so she can 'walk' around. It's quite the sight but it makes it pretty difficult to do anything else.
Last fall my mom gave us an extraordinary quilt that she made for us. My aunt Patsy and grandma Julia also helped out which makes it even more special. It really is beautiful and suits our love of nature to a T. I took a picture of Julia sitting on it yesterday afternoon.

Speaking of yesterday afternoon. Here's a pic of us yesterday before heading out for some snowy adventures. It's also the first picture I've posted where you can see Julia's little teeth.
Grandma Margaret's talents are multi-fold. Julia is now big enough to fit this cute little sweater that was knit before she was even born. Here are some poses for you to enjoy.

I suspect that the days of the exersaucer are near an end. Now that Julia has caught on to her mobility potential she much prefers to just play on the floor of where we happen to be. Here's a shot of a happy girl. It might be the last one that we get in the ol' exersaucer.
Lastly, I leave you with a photo of Julia "Rocky Balboa" Bray. She's got some scratches on her face from her very own claws, I mean, nails.

Winter Days...

All things considered it's been pretty mild so far this winter. I keep hoping for a snow day for Mark but it hasn't snowed in over two weeks. Here is a picture of Julia in the snow in front of our house two weeks ago:

Two snow bunnies. Or should I say Snow Hosers?Here's a photo of Julia and I at a friend's house on Friday the 15th.
Mark and I have started Latin Dance classes with some friends (a humbling experience). Julia stayed with her cousins and had a great time. She's a funny little one. Apparently she cried less than 10 minutes which is great for her. She wasn't crying when we arrived to pick her up but burst into tears the minute she saw us. Silly kid!
Here's a picture from some point over the last week of Julia getting down to the serious business of playing:
Miss Julia is all about standing up these days. Most of her playtime is spent trying to stand up. The tricky part is that she hasn't figured out how to sit back down, nor does she have the balance to stay standing. She needs to be watched constantly and quite often someone needs to be nearby to redirect her inevitable falls.
Standing up in her crib. Today she had both naps in her crib. This is a first! Unfortunately the fire alarm went off during her morning nap and she woke up prematurely. We're making progress though!

Waterbaby

Yesterday (Saturday) Julia started her first swimming class. We'll start off with a picture of her waiting to leave the house. She was all ready with her little swimsuit on under her clothes. Julia and Mark ready to get in the pool. Despite being such a lean kid, she didn't seem to get cold. No shivers or blue lips.

The highlight of the class for Julia was chasing around floating toys.

This next picture doesn't do justice to the scene. Julia was doing one of her crazy jump-fiestas a la invisible jolly jumper.
Julia was sad to get out of the pool, but she'll be back next week. We're going to teach her how to dive. Haha.

Cuba Part II

Here are some more pictures from Cuba! We are back in the swing of things here in Freddy Beach and our trip seems like a long ago dream.
Julia on Christmas day:
Not very happy to be walking along the beach: Happy kiddo:
Just lounging around:
Christmas eve dinner. A dress code was in effect and we saw some folks get turned away for having sand on their feet. Julia passed the test.
In Havana. Julia was looking at something and didn't want to turn around for the picture. You can see the bald ring around her head. We often get asked if she's had a hat on.
My favourite - Julia is the worlds tiniest lifeguard on duty:

Cuba - Christmas 2009

Julia was a veteran traveler on the flight to Cuba. It seemed that she either smiled or slept. A stranger came up to us as we exited the plane and told us that Julia was the best baby he had ever flown with. Awww...
Julia was happy to be somewhere new to explore:
Meghan joined us from Victoria in the wee hours of the night. Her flight was postponed and it seemed like FOREVER until her sunny face lit up the hotel. But sure enough, she arrived in the wee hours of the night full of funny stories about her journey. The best Christmas gift ever: to be together with family.
We won the weather lottery and wasted no time taking advantage of the climate. Cuba in the winter is downright awesome! Nothing too extreme, just good ol' sunshine and warmth.
Julia loved the beach and being outside all the time. I thought we'd have a harder time trying to get her to not eat the sand, but it wasn't an issue at all. The trickiest thing was keeping her in the shade. Our little vampire baby! Neither Mark nor I came home with much of a tan as a result.
Grandma Margaret and Meghan at the beach. We'd take turns bring down icy orange drinks. They were awesome thirst quenchers. Julia had just recently figured out how to suck from a straw so several drinks became Julia-fied: sticky fingers and spilled all over.

Julia LOVED the Christmas tree in the lobby of the resort. She was always happy to brought over to it.

Christmas morning started off great for Julia - her first candy cane. Oh no wait, it was her second. Grandpa Dennis activated her sweet tooth with a trinity of candy cane, freezy pop and Dr. Pepper. When Julia figures out that her grandparents will indulge her sugar cravings, she's going to take full advantage of them. We spent Christmas day snorkeling at a coral reef and swimming in caves. It was incredible!
Here we are arriving for a Christmas evening present-opening bonanza: Opening presents:

More beach fun with Meghan:
Exploring the city with Daddy:

Cubans LOVE CHERISH and ADORE babies. We had read that Cuba is a very child-friendly country, but we were not prepared for the baby-worship that ensued. We were constantly approached by people who wanted to meet Julia. Men, women, young, old - everyone, it seemed, was interested in her. The most bizarre encounter was a stranger who took out his cell phone and started scrolling through pictures; which isn't all that rare as Cubans are often proud to show off pictures of their kids. However, this guy showed us a picture of JULIA taken several days earlier and we didn't even know it. He was so excited to show us our daughter. Her blue eyes were particularly popular. We made many friends thanks to Julia, who loved the Cuban people as much as they did her. She never cried when they held her!
The next photo shows Julia with a new friend at a market.
Julia and Nanu at the Hotel Barlovento:

Julia and I enjoying a meal together:

More beach time.
All tuckered out...
Julia posing in a hanging chair:
Boxing day was also Grandma Margaret's birthday. We celebrated by going to Havana!
Julia waking up to the hustle and bustle of the city:
The restaurant where we ate lunch and were entertained by a Cuban band that played "Smoke on the Water" Cuban-styles. We thought of our friend Arden who loves the song.
Julia at the rum museum. No taste tests for her!

The sun is setting after a long day:

Meghan being kind to one of the street doggies. She bent down to pet every single dog she met.

We couldn't leave Cuba without a ride in a coco taxi.
Here we have Julia exploring some new tastes. She tried lots of new food in Cuba.Julia left her mark on the mirror in our room. She loves to be held by her dad and look in the mirror and make silly faces and sounds. I took this picture on our last day and you can see her finger marks and even a full footprint.
All dressed and ready to head back to the great white north, here is a final picture of the gang before heading to the airport:
Farewell Cuba! We're looking forward to coming back!