Hanging around the house...

Ok, this is something exciting for a mama (and the money pincher)!

My baby....18 months old (just about) has told us three times that she has "poop"!!

The potty has been "hanging out" in the kid's bathroom for a while...I wanted it to be seen and talked about as often as possible!

In just a couple weeks, we have gone from crying when sat on the potty to sitting on the potty (still clothed) and being happy about it!

Baby is leading her way to potty training!!

(at least this time, I know that I could have started earlier!)

an equation...

Seems like Julie is hard to please these days. Daddy says it happens when Mommy enters the situation!

Happy Julie + Mommy = fussy Julie :(

I am also having a hard time feeding you meals. You seem to enjoy a variety of foods at Minnieland, but if I offer such foods at home, it gets tossed on the floor.

Oh, well...even as much as I want you to eat what we are eating, it's normally yogurt for dinner!

Julie + happy = happy Mommy

Toy Story...

Julie has been playing with the Jessie doll that she got for her birthday. She enjoys hearing Jessie talk when the string is pulled and taking off/putting on her cowgirl hat. Julie has also been playing with Jesse's Woody doll.

When I talk about the dolls...I tell her to go get Woody and Jessie. She will try to say Woody and call the other doll "bubba"!

At 17 months...

What a smart girl!

Julie was sitting at a table at Minnieland...reading a book. When she saw that I was there to pick her up, she got up, returned the book to the library, then came to see me! I was so proud of her for putting away the book without being told!

Julie had a lollipop after dinnner. We were all in the living room hanging out and talking, with just the Christmas tree lights on. Julie walks to the kitchen and next thing I hear, is the trashcan close. She was done with her lollipop and threw the stick in the trash! Again, I was proud....because I hadn't told her to do it this time!

Throwing something in the trash is a big thing now...I think she's had 4 lollipops at home and after telling her to throw away the stick she would do it. But the story above...I didn't have to tell her!

My little princess

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Fall, fun, leaves!

She went down....all by herself!

Julie went down the twisty slide alone! Mommy carried her up the ladder, put her in the slide...and big brother was at the bottom waiting her arrival!

Mommy doesn't know exactly how she liked it...however she did not cry and she wanted to go again!

So that tells me that she liked it!

Learning at Minnieland!

Body parts...tongue, head, eyes, ears, and nose!

She even knows what the dog and cat says!

I will get this on video!

Breakfast of champions

Most mornings breakfast is a banana and a cereal bar!

And she is still signing/asking for more!

I just think this is a big breakfast (snack) for a 16 month old...before a breakfast at Minnieland!

Such a fun age...

Julie has a few new words in her vocabulary.

block, peek-boo, apple, block, and when someone says "one", she says "two".

We have the "Tickle Monster laughter kit"...it's a riot to see Julie with the monster hands...going to "get" Daddy and Jesse!

Just this week, Mommy noticed that the kids are playing more with each other these days. Mommy says, "it's kind of nice and disappointing at the same time". The bond that they are creating is one full of love!

a good 15 month checkup....

Julie weighs 23lbs, 4oz and is 30 inches tall.

Doctor Dalby said that 10-15 words is a lot for this age...

momma, dadda, bubba, turtle, ball, Leia, more, no, no way, etc

Have the tantrums started? Well of course they have...

It's funny, one day this week, Julie went to the pantry, picked out a box of cereal, sat in the middle of the floor and started trying to open the box. Mommy thought she would help things along...and puts some on Julie's food tray. Julie disapproves and swats the food onto the floor :) Guess Mommy should stop helping until I am asked to do so!

Julie loves to "give five". This certainly entertained her in the waiting room at the doctor's office. She even ventured away from Mommy and Daddy, and gave two other folks five.

Wonder who told me to do this?

It's not dinner unless....

one of the kids drops their spoon or fork!!

This started with Jesse...and continues at least once at every meal.

Julie is now starting to chime in!

The pointing and grunting continues....

However, she is finally saying "more"!!

She doesn't use it unless I say it first...but at least she's understanding me!

Pointing and grunting...

The other morning, Julie pointed, grunted and screamed for me to get her more cereal. Once I started moving toward the cereal box and reached in it...she applauded me with much happieness!!

Of course, Mommy is telling her to say "more please".

Later on that weekend, she said "mo" and tonight, she got my attention, then used the sign for "more". Mommy likes this!!

Beautiful weekend to be outside....

Bubba went to a birthday party...and brought this home!

A helium balloon.

A helium balloon is like gold around the Blankenship house. Julie holds on to it for dear life. The other night, she ate dinner with it's string/ribbon in one hand. And that same night, she would have taken a bath with it, but Mommy said no on this one.

I would like to get a photo of her with the balloon...however, it's out of sight (for now).

Julie's latest...

Little lady is now calling...."bubba"!

Last week, Jesse went to stay at the farm for a couple of days when he was sick. While he was gone, Julie was calling, "Bubba?"...as if to ask where he was!!

Julie must think that the dog food is a part of a healthy menu. She always seems to get a piece before we realize that she is quiet and in the kitchen when the dogfood is on the floor!

And heaven forbid us take the dog food (or anything else) away from you...you get so mad!!

Anything that we do that is not acceptable in your eyes, you certainly let us know! A couple of times, you have you arched your back which made you bump yourself into the wall or the corner of the toy box that's in your room. You do seem to get over things pretty quickly. :)

And wow, you are walking all over the place now! Seriously, you went from taking 2-3steps and falling down, to walking across the room! You gained the confidence that was needed and am truly impressed with yourself!

Block head

Photo shoots...

Guess what baby finally did?!

A Sunday morning photoshoot + Daddy = a few steps

Julie is certainly a good sport in her attempts to walk! She stands up, gets her feet together, takes a step, then falls on her butt. She immediately gets up and repeats the process!!

She took her first steps to Daddy!

Breakfast...

Gave Julie banana and grapes this morning before Minnieland. I had to run back upstairs to finish getting ready, so Daddy was downstairs with the kids.

Julie was acting like she wanted more grapes, but then had a fit once Rob picked up the bag of grapes to give her more. He then picked up the banana...and she yelled "Nana!"

Julie-Boolie, please stand up!

Who: Julie-boolie
What: Stands up
When: Minnieland-afternoon pick up
Where: Koala classroom
Why: Well, because she was ready! It was quite obvious that this wasn't her first time doing so! Mommy was talking with Ms Antoinette, then looked back at Julie to find her standing!!!

I give it two weeks; she will be taking her first steps...

Talking...

Little lady isn't saying much that we can understand, however she is certainly talking!!

Recently, she was sitting outside the toy closet, when she started grunting and pointing! She clearly wanted someone to open the door so that she could play!

She's trying us....

Julie-boolie loves the bathtub. However, she now likes to stand up... She will sit down when she is told to, but then as soon as you turn your head, she pulls up to stand again (and smiles).

Little stinker....

Water Country USA

We all had a blast at Water Country...even baby, Julie!

Who went: GaGa, Uncle Tom, Amanda, Quincy, Jesse, and Mommy. Daddy joined us in the afternoon after the the first day of band camp was over. PaPa stayed home with Grace who was on an antibiotic where she couldn't be in the sun :(

Julie enjoyed playing on the sidelines in the water...and cried when we took her out.

Quincy and Amanda took Julie down a kiddie twisty slide. She didn't cry, but wasn't quite sure what was going on. By the third time, Amanda said that Julie giggled!

Setting the scene....

It was after dinner, mommy was still cleaning up. Daddy had taken Jesse upstairs to start his bath.

Julie was hanging out with Mommy. All of a sudden, Mommy noticed that it was pretty quiet downstairs.

Guess where I found her...half way up the stairs!!

I want some too!!

Va-cay....NH, NC

A small blessing

Julie has taken a liking to the Leap Frog's Fridge Farm. She is able to remove the animal pieces and likes to hide them in random places. It makes Mommy smile when she finds an animal in the frying pan cabinet or in the pantry.

Mommy screams....

Stop throwing your milk!!

Daddy's day out...

Gotta love having the summers off! Mommy was a bit jealous that everyone went to the zoo without her!

1 year checkup

In this corner, we have Julie-Boolie Blankenship, 1-year old, weighing in at 22lbs, 2oz. and is 28 and 7/8 inches tall!

Julie's motor skills have definitely developed since her 9 month appointment...

Three days before her appointment, Julie finally pulled herself to a standing position!! Mommy knew the doctor was going to ask if she had...and was hoping that she could say that Julie has done this!

At 12 months, Julie can say a few words...mama, dadda, Leia (it's mostly the "L" sound, but every dog is that word that she is saying! She can also say her versions of cookie, turtle, and thank you.

Julie is still a great sleeper, however, she dislikes bed time. She kindly lets us know by fussing when the blinds are closed and when we sit in the glider chair. She arches her back strongly.

She is finally spitting out the foods that don't suit her tastebuds. This is making it super hard to find things that she will eat. I hope you don't ever stop loving mommy's chicken noodle soup!

Julie knows that a brush is used to brush hair, tries to put shoes on her feet, and can feed a bottle to her baby doll. It's amazing that she knows to do these things! Julie loves playing in big brother, Jesse's room. And loves seeing him bounce here and there and all around the square.

Smash the cake....

Mommy had GaGa make a 3rd birthday cake...so that we could have this photo session!

This little girl...stole Mommy's heart, well, at least some of it!

Leia thinks, "score, here's one more person that likes playing with me!

Strawberry Shortcake--

Not just any ole...smooch!

On the way home from Nags Head, Julie mimicked me as if she was kissing her hand to blow me a kiss!

Mommy totally loves seeing Julie do new things!

Me & my mommy

Something to celebrate!

Baby girl is not so much of a baby anymore!

We celebrated the 1st birthday at the beach with Grammy & Bah. Julie enjoyed a slice of pizza for dinner and then some icecream cake!

Moving on up!

Not to the east side, but to whole milk!

Mommy is happy to soon be detached from the pump!

We have also moved on to the sippy cup....full time. And cold milk.

I think baby is starting to dislike bed time...eventhough she's tired. She throws that head back and lets me know that she's unhappy. Mommy holds baby tight till she finally gives in...and relaxes her head on my shoulder.

Bucket baby

Julie's 9 month photo...another one that's entering the blog late!

I'll fix the whiteness later!

The latest...and greatest!

Julie boolie is finally calling Da-da!!

I really think she is saying her version of "thank you" and "dog" too!

Julie's such a joy to be around these days... She's usually all smiles, unless you make her mad. She can arch her back and scream...but it usually only lasts for about 20 seconds then she's over it.

Julie is a human garbage disposal when we are sitting at the dinner table! This past weekend at a family reunion, she ate carrot soufle, corn pudding, barbeque, green beans, watermelon and chocolate pie.

Mommy started giving Julie 2% mixed in with her breast milk this past weekend...so far so good. With that being said, Mommy is deceasing the number of times that she is pumping for milk. Mommy is ready to have her body back...and especially since it's bathing suit season!

Getting around pretty good....

Baby girl is crawling pretty good. She's still not the speed of lightning, but at least we can sit her down in the living room and she will crawl into the kitchen to where we are!

Hurry up and walk little girl...it's hard to keep the floors clean!

Just keep swimming...my little Nemos

Mommy was brave and took both kids to the pool! And we had a great time!

Jesse was in the life jacket, so he was floating around and happy! Julie enjoyed splashing in the big bathtub--while she was in Mommy's arms!

We will go back to the pool....:)

Mommy learned something new...about baby.

Julie had a rough time settling down for the night. Mommy rubbed Julie's belly/back to see if she could help soothe.

Take note: Julie never used a pacifier. And we nipped the thumb sucking in the bud as soon as she started it. Next she went on to sucking her bottom lip...for soothing.

And now...I noticed that she fingers through her hair. She grabs the hair at the root, then gently pulls and lets it go.

I talked to one of my friends who stills pulls her hair the same way....at 30 years old! (I enjoyed our walk today...and am so happy that you and Ted are adding to your family!)

The top four...

Looks like Julie decided to get all of her teeth at the same time...

Julie's doing pretty good with the pains of teething. There's been a little extra fussiness, but who's to say that it's because of the teeth!?

Cookouts...

Let Freedom Ring....