Julia Turns One!

Our baby girl turned the Big 1 on May 30th. This past year has brought its ups and downs as we adjust to parenthood, but one thing is for sure: Julia, you have your daddy and I wrapped around your little finger! Though you were quite mellow for the first 6 - 8 months of your life, your personality has burst through with constant smiles, talking, laughing, and squealing. You bring us such joy. We love your curiosity, your snuggles, your wet kisses, the sound of your voice, your gorgeous blue eyes, the little curls at the nape of your neck, and well pretty much every other thing about you. You make us smile and laugh all the time, and we are so proud of you. You are such a precious gift from our Lord!

From our perspective, there are only a few things that are still little about Julia. One of those is her tiny precious feet. She's just now in a Size 3 sneaker-style shoe, but her sandals are still a wee Size 2 with room to spare! But for the most part, she seems like such a big girl to us. She:

• Walks like a champ


• Points to everything in sight


• Wants nothing to do with jar food


• Often demands to feed herself the table food


• Loves to eat with a fork, and enjoys sharing with others:
  
  
  


• "Swims" underwater for 5-6 seconds (she actually does kick her legs - like a frog):

• Absolutely loves being in the pool


• Enjoys crawling up the stairs


• Remains fascinated with books. You can put a bucket of books in front of her and it will keep her entertained for a solid 20 minutes as she flips through them. When mommy or daddy sits down with some books, she comes running for us to read to her:
  
  



• Dances as soon as she hears music (even a store's background music that Jarret and I don't initially notice)


• Is ticklish under her arms and will try to hold them down so you can't get her:

• Loves kicking balls and is actually pretty good at it


• Tries to get to the toilet paper roll when we're not looking or if we forget to close the door:
  
  



• Has discovered how to throw a tantrum


• Squeals and tries to run away when daddy gets her, but absolutely delights in this little game. This is so sweet for me (Katie) because she dives into my chest if I'm sitting or attaches herself to my legs if I'm standing. It was also particularly funny when she was younger, as in the following video, because she wasn't quite good at standing up or running away though she was trying so hard!:

• Loves pushing the button to open/close the garage


• Is mesmerized by the occasional Baby Einstein video we play for her


• Explores every possible cabinet and drawer.

In celebration of the big day, we threw Julia a party at the park with her family and friends. We are so blessed by everyone in her life who has loved, encouraged, and helped us so greatly over this past year-plus.

Julia in her new ride:




Next up: Cake smashing! Well not really. She was quite gentle with it at first, picking off the icing bit by bit. But after a good 10 minutes, the whole cupcake had made it to either her belly or her lap. Suffice it to say the girl enjoyed her sweet treat, and she thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention as everyone sang to her and clapped for her!

The first bite:

Clapping with everyone else whenever they clapped for her:


Hooray-ing for herself:

It tastes better if you rub it together in your hands really well:

Smash it in there girl!:

The grandmothers cleaning her off:

The After Party (family came to the house to open gifts):

"Hooray for presents for me!"

Diggin' in

Excited over the new walking shoes mommy and daddy bought her, or simply high on all the sugar from the cupcake?

Happy Birthday Baby Girl. You are DEARLY loved.