Julia's Smile

I have wanted to get a picture of Julia's big smile for some time now, but last weekend was the first time I was able to capture one! She loves being outside and looks so cute in her Bumbo.

- JKE

New Toys!

New Toy #1: Her hand
She found her hand within the last couple weeks and absolutely loves chewing on it.

New Toy #2: Bumbo! We tried this for the first time just a couple days ago, and she did great. So dad decided to take a photo session with her sitting up.

New Toy #3: TV

She's mesmerized by the bright lights, I suppose. We try not to face her toward the TV, but once she turns toward the TV and notices it, she's locked on target. I'm in trouble though...she's already watching football with her daddy!

And favorite activity...bathtime!

- Katie

The Last Few Weeks

It's been several weeks since we gave updates on our fam, and much has happened. Sorry for the lengthy update, but it's hard to find extra time now that I'm working!

1. Our pediatrician's standard practice is to send all breech babies to get a hip sonogram. Julia's first sono at 1 month old showed just a slight deviation from what it should've been. The pediatrician thought the problem would correct itself, and sure enough, her 2nd sonogram a couple weeks ago showed that everything was just as it should be!

2. I went back to work the first week in August. I cried when I left her, and I cried when I picked her up because I was so stinkin' excited to see her. But once at work, I've really done okay these last few weeks. How?? Grandparents are watching her, and they are loving on her like crazy! Plus, I was nearly certain that I'd only have to work for a short period of time...and that's indeed the case. Recently, my company agreed to let me become a 1099 contractor. Part-time work isn't possible because we consult on a project-by-project basis. So being a contractor will allow me to stay home with Baby Girl until my company calls and asks if I can commit to do an entire project (usually no more than 3 weeks in duration, and I can do much of the work from home). What a praise! We've been praying over this for months, so we're really excited. The transition from full time to contractor will happen sometime during September.

Here are some pics of her playing with Grammy & smiling at Papa (my parents) while they've been keeping her. Man, does this make Jarret & I jealous!

Here are some professional pics that Gran (Jarret's mom) had taken of our precious girl! Thanks Gran!!

3. Julia loves being outside, and loves sitting with us while we swing her. Daddy, I think she might need a couple more months before she's ready to swing on her own...

4. VACATION! Julia took her first vacation, as we traveled down to Lake Palestine for 4 days with Jarret's family. Jarret's mom Beverly knows the yummy junk food that each of us likes, and so we ate and ate and ate. When we weren't eating, we enjoyed Rummikub, boating, zipping around on the jet skis, or sitting on the deck in the October-like weather.

* A special shout-out to Julia's 7-year-old cousin Kendall. You know we love you dearly, and we have NO idea how we failed to get any pics of you. Kendall is SUCH a sweetheart with Julia and holds her any chance she gets!

Aunt Erin and Julia's youngest cousin, Jacob

Jacob giving Julia kisses

Poppy getting some sweet snuggle time

The car ride home

5. Nate & Melissa's work dinner celebration (aka co-ed Baby Shower) for Pierson. We cannot wait to meet him!

Baby Lily Biebighauser!

Last Saturday, Julia took her first road trip to Wichita Falls so that we could visit Baby Lily and the Biebighauser family. We arrived at the same time that their friend Kristen did as well. Kristen's baby, Julia, and Lily were all in the exact same outfit - entirely unplanned. How wild!

The matching duo and their moms

Julia 1o weeks and Lily 8 days

What a chunk!!

Grace (2 1/2 years old) kept trying to comfort Julia instead of looking at the camera.

Grace is such a character. She talks so much better than she should at her age, which makes it really fun to play with her. It's so awesome when you're just sitting there eating lunch and she looks up to say, "I love you Aunt Katie. I love you Uncle J." Precious.

Julia "Talks"

We are so excited and proud to hear our baby girl make such sweet noises! She has just started to "talk" to us in the last few days. It is so much fun to see her learning and changing every day.

-Jarret