Julia: “Daddy, tilt your head back and say ‘I love you soooooooo-oooooooooo much’”
Daddy: “Ok, I love you soooooooo much”
Julia: “No Daddy, longer”
Daddy: “I love you soooooooo-oooooooooo-oooooooooooo much”
Julia: “No Daddy, shorter and save some for later”
Haven’t posted here in a while as there was a glitch in the Stories section. It is fixed now, so lots of stories coming your way….
Julia and Mommy were having a conversation in the car and Julia asked Mommy to do something for her…
Mommy: Sweetie, I can’t stop the car right now because we are on the highway.
Julia: Mommy, are we on the highway or the low-way?
Just one day after having an awesome “Ariel” themed third birthday party…
Julia: Daddy, can I have another Ariel party?
Daddy: You know that you are my Little Princess, right?
Julia: No. Today I was your Little Princess. Tonight I am your Little Monkey.
(While running and screaming) Julia: I’m Saving The World!
Grandi: Just FYI: I could not stop singing the watermelon song this weekend…in a faux Julia voice…I even got sick of myself, but I love it!
Julia: Daddy, are you exercising?
Daddy: Yes Sweetie, I am using the eliptical machine. You cannot use this but maybe when you get to be an older girl you can.
Julia: Yes, when my belly is so big and strong like yours Daddy, then I will exercise.
Julia: Daddy, my breath hurts.
Day 1
Daddy: Look Julia, It’s a Motorcycle.
Day 2
Daddy: Look Julia, It’s a Motorcycle.
Day 3
Daddy: Look Julia, It’s a Motorcycle.
Day 4
Julia: Look Daddy, a Sodermichael.
Looking at a bullseye symbol…
Julia: Is that Target?
Who says marketing doesn’t work?
As Julia pours water on Daddy’s arm…
Julia: “I am getting your beard wet. Your arm beard.”
I suppose beard is better then fur.
Daddy: We are going to a BBQ at Grandma LAurie’s tomorrow and do you know who else will be there? Grandma Marcia.
Julia: Wow, I have 3 Grandmas… Grandma Laurie, Grandma Marcia and Bubbie.
Daddy: Bubbie will be there tomorrow too as well as Grandma Lily.
Julia: Wow, I have so many Grandmas. And Grandi too.
Julia: Why?
Mommy: Because I said So.
Julia: Soap?
Mommy: So.
Julia: Why?
Daddy: I was at work today.
Julia: Why?
Daddy: So I can make money.
Julia: Why?
Daddy: Juliaaaaaaaaaaa.
Julia: What did you do at work?
Daddy: Well, I did my work… and I went to the bank.
Julia: Why?
Daddy: To put some money in the bank.
Julia: Oh, like I put money in my bank. (Yes, she is talking about the place where she puts her change. She must have thought I went to where I keep my change)
Daddy: And I went to a deli for lunch.
Julia: You went to Aunt Ellie’s?
Daddy: No I went to a deli.
Julia: Oh, Aunt Ellie.
Daddy: Ha ha… no sweetie. A delicatessen. A place to get a sandwich. Aunt Ellie’s is too far to go for lunch.
Julia: Oh.
While giving Julia a bath, she decided to pour a bucket of water on Daddy’s arm….
Daddy: What are you doing Julia?
Julia: I am getting your fur wet.
Julia: Daddy, we stopped the ice cream man and I ate a Dora ice cream bar and it is all delicious in my belly.
Julia: Mommy, where are your long earrings?
Mommy: They are in the jewelry box.
Julia: Why?
Mommy: Because I wanted to wear these earrings.
Julia: Why?
Mommy: Because Daddy gave them to me.
Julia: Why?
Mommy: Because he loves me.
Julia: Oooooh.
Julia: Oh, look at that picture of you and Mommy.
Daddy: Yes, it is from a few years ago. We were at a friend’s wedding.
Julia: And someone took your beard.
Daddy: Ha ha, yes, I didn’t have a beard then.
Julia: Just on your chin.
Daddy: Yes, it was much smaller and mostly on my chin.
Julia (pointing to her chin): My chin.
Daddy: Yes, that is your chin, and it is never going to have hair.
Julia: Daddy, what princess is that on your shirt?
Daddy: It’s not a princess, sweetie, it’s a hula girl, from Hawaii. That is where Mommy & Daddy went on their honeymoon, which is a big vacation after you get married.
Julia: I wanna marry you Daddy.
Daddy: That is so sweet, but I am already married to Mommy, so I cannot marry you.
Julia: Ok, then I will marry Grandma or maybe Grandpa.
Daddy: Grandma is married to Grandpa so you cannot marry either of them. You can marry one of your friends, like William or maybe Chase.
Julia: Umm. I think I will marry William. And we will dance together.
Daddy: Julia, that is so cute that you want to marry William.
Julia: Yes, uh huh, and I will have long hair like Mommy, and I will wear a long dress and we will dance together.
This whole conversation happened at 10 PM last night as Julia was sitting on the potty and Daddy was sitting on the bathroom floor.
Julia: Mommy, at school I made pee pee on the potty and they didn’t give me M&M’s.
Daddy: We just want you to always be happy Julia.
Julia: I am always happy Daddy. Except for when I am sad and cry. Like when Will pushes me or when I fall off the couch or if I hurt my foot.
Daddy: Yes, of course, it is ok to be sad and cry sometimes.
Julia: I am always happy when you come home Daddy.
This convo seriously happened and I think I am still crying about 5 hours later.
Julia: Thanks Daddy.
Daddy: Shirley
Julia: That’s not my name. My name is Julia.
Awesome!
Julia: My favorite color is red.
Grandma Laurie: I thought that your favorite color was purple.
Julia: I thought my favorite color is red.
Julia: I closed the door so Allie cannot get the pink ball. That’s the Deal!
Daddy: Let’s go downstairs… put Pinky back in the crib.
Julia: Can I just sit for one minute and hold her?
Daddy: You’re so smart Julia. Mommy is so smart and Daddy is so smart… that is why you are so smart.
Julia: That makes my heart feel better.
Julia (after watching Daddy kiss Mommy): Awww so cute!
Julia: Mommy works at a school, Daddy works in the city, Aunt Amanda works in the city.
Julia: I’m not a baby… I’m a big girl now.
Julia: I have such long long hair.
Julia (while looking at Mommy): She looks beautiful in that dress.
While listening to music in the car…
Julia: What’s this one?
Mommy: Elmo’s World (which Julia has beard about 3 billion times)
Julia: Oooh, We love this one!
Daddy: Alexa (best babysitter ever) is coming over tonight sweetie.
Later on…
Mommy: Mom and Dad are going out tonight.
Julia: Tan I Tum? (Can I Come)
Mommy: No Sweetie.
One Week Later…
Daddy: Alexa is coming over tonight.
Julia: Oh, I can’t tum.
Julia: (After brushing Mommy’s hair) “Oooh, you look so beauuuuuuuutiful Mommy”
Julia: “I have an idea. Let’s read one book downstairs”
Julia: “Wanna come play with me Daddy?”
Julia: (After hearing Aunt Ilene flush the toilet) “Bye bye Ilene’s pee pee”
Julia: “Excuse me Elmo” (as Julia brushes past him)
Hello Everyone.
As you can see from previous entries to this stories section, I am not very good at updating this section. I do not consider myself a blogger. I do update the main photo section of this site about twice a week so maybe I am a photo-blogger. Every once in a while I do feel that there is something I need to write here and now is one of those times. About a week ago, Julia started to have a little cough. Nothing that we worried about as she didn’t seem sick in any way. Last Sunday Julia woke up with a 101.5 fever, so to be safe, we canceled on going to Amanda’s 4th birthday party. The next morning, Julia woke up with a 103.5 fever. Mommy called the Dr and took Julia in for a 2:15 pm appointment. At this appointment the Dr diagnosed Julia with Walking Pneumonia and prescribed some antibiotics.
Later that afternoon, Julia’s fever jumped to 104.5, so Mommy gave her Motrin. After 2 hours her fever dropped to 103.5 and an hour later when I put her to bed, her fever was down to 102.5. Clearly Julia’s fever was headed in the right direction. Around 10 pm, I looked in her video monitor as I tend to do every once in a while. This time was different. I immediately saw that something was wrong and I said to Mommy that Julia was moving funny and that I thought she was seizing. We both darted up the stairs to find that she was in fact having a seizure. Mommy noticed a bit of frothing around her mouth while I noticed that Julia’s eyes had rolled in the back of her head. I quickly dialed 911 and told them that my baby was seizing and that I couldn’t tell if she was breathing. I explained everything in my frantic panicked voice and the 911 voice told me to get some towels wet with cool (not cold) water. He told me to place them in Julia’s armpits, back of neck and crotch. Very very soon afterwards the North Merrick Fire Department and Paramedics arrived. They took control of the situation and even though Julia was no longer seizing, they wanted to rush us to the closest hospital - Nassau University, as Julia was now grunting and in a catatonic state. Our sweet little puppy Allie was so frightened that she hid under the kitchen table. She sensed our panic and fears. I must admit that this was the scariest moment of my life and just writing this out has me near tears.
In the ambulance Julia called out for Mommy but quickly went back to her catatonic grunting state. The EMS gave Julia oxygen which quickly stopped the grunting. The North Merrick Volunteer EMS did all they could until we got to the hospital and I must praise them & the N Merrick FD. Once we arrived at the hospital (10:30 pm) Julia woke up and proceeded to cry. Even with ice packs all over her, the Drs measured a 104.7 fever in Julia. The Nassau University Hospital doctors did everything right and gave all of the correct antibiotics, etc, but I must say (and I mean no disrespect to anyone) that they did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to make Emily and I feel any more comfortable with the situation. They explained that Julia had full Bilateral Pneumonia (both lungs). They said that she had a Febrile Seizure and they took blood, xrays, etc. Not happy with the explanations I was getting, I called the emergency number for our pediatrician, Pediatric Healthcare of Long Island. The late night operator connected me to a Dr Fink of Winthrop Hospital in Mineola. Dr Fink spoke to the Nassau University Dr and confirmed for me that she was doing all of the correct procedures, tests and antibiotics. He also made me feel a billion times better by explaining Febrile Seizures in a way that the Nassau Unversity doctors could not.
Dr Fink continually used the work harmless. He explained that when a child between 6 month and 6 years of age has a very high fever or a rapid spike in fever it can trigger a Febrile Seizure. These seizures have no affect on development and do not lead to epilepsy or anything worse. My insane rambling fears of Julia’s brain frying were not a possibility. Dr Fink calmed Mommy and I. He talked with us for a long time and he continued to call back about 4 or 5 times during the night to have long in depth chats to help calm us. He explained that there are kids that have this many times in their life and kids that have this only once. He explained that in the 35 years that he had been examining kids, he had seen a bunch that had Febrile Seizures and he had probably seen even more kids that had them but never knew it. Many many kids probably have this in the night and just wake from it and cry and the parents never truly know. In truth, Febrile Seizures happen to 1 out of every 25 kids. It is usually familial but in some cases like ours, we do not think we ever had them when we were kids. Or did we?
At about midnight the doctors at Nassau University told us that they wanted to admit Julia so she could get fluids and treat the pneumonia. I said NO FREAKIN’ WAY and demanded a transfer to Dr Fink at Winthrop Hospital. At about 3:30 am, an ambulance arrived to transfer us from one hospital to another. Once at Winthrop, Julia was quickly wisked into her own private room because she was contagious. Soon after arrival Julia’s fever started to shoot up. She was burning up and had a terrible case of the chills. We knew she wasn’t starting to seize again as she’d stop shaking when we held on to one of her limbs but we feared that she would start to seize. Her fever shot up to 105 degrees but thankfully we didn’t have another seizure on our hands. Eventually Julia calmed a bit and allowed Mommy and I to get about 45 minutes to an Hour of sleep. The next day was filled with fevers and coughs. Dr Goldstein from Pediatric Healthcare-LI came by and reiterated everything that Dr Fink had said the night before. Harmless. No developmental issues. No frying brains. Tuesday night we slept but not well.
By Wednesday we were ready to get out of the hospital. Julia was keeping her fever down and Dr Lanzilotta of Pediatric Healthcare-LI got Winthrop to discharge us. By Thursday, Julia was feeling better but still not herself. The fevers were under control but her cough seemed to get worse and Julia’s immunity was down. We cancelled on the baby naming, anniversary party and 35th birthday party that we were supposed to attend to that following weekend and we also canceled camp for the upcoming week.
Remember earlier how I said that Allie was hiding under the table. Well, even though I came home to walk her and friends came by to let her out a few times, Allie persisted to eat nothing while we were in the hospital because she was so worried. The problem with this is that Allie has low blood sugar. So, the week from hell continued on Thursday night when Allie had a seizure. She has had a few in the past but none in the last year, since we found out she was low blood sugar. Yuck.
Everyone is ok now. Mommy and I have agreed to be very proactive with fevers and we will try to lower her temperature at first sign of a fever. I will still not be “ok” if Julia has another seizure but at least remembering the word “harmless” should help. If you read all of this, I encourage you to read a little more on Febrile Seizures as you can never be to sure that your kid will not have one.
Thank you very much to Grandpa Lenny and Grandma Laurie for helping us immensely that night. Thanks to all of the family that came by to visit us. Thanks to Elisa, Andy & Will for letting Allie out a few times. And, or course, thanks to our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc for all of the thoughts, prayers, cards, flowers, letters, emails, calls, messages, Facebook comments, Tweets, etc. We love you all. Lastly, I must thank and praise the North Merrick Fire Department who happened to be having a meeting at the time Julia Seized. Every member of the department was in when the call that a baby was seizing came through. The Chief immediately hopped in a vehicle and headed our way. One minute later the call was updated to be a baby possibly not breathing. At that point every member of the North Merrick FD got in cars and came over to help. Literally within 2 minutes, there was about 30 cars on our street of people there to help. Along with the N. Merrick FD, the N.Merrick/Bellmore Volunteer Ambulance, the doctors and nurses at Winthrop, Dr Fink from Withrop, and Drs Goldstein and Lanzilotta form Pediatric Healthcare-LI all showed me why they are our true heroes in this world. Thank you all.
Wow… it’s been a while…
Ok, so I am not good at blogging. I try to post photos as often as possible and quite often I forget to write some of the great stories here. Well, in truth, I also am always doing other things on the web. Some might say that I am a Facebook addict or that I am obsessed with Flickr. Both of those things are true, but I also read many of my friend’s blogs or check on my friend’s baby websites… 1, 2, 3 or my friend’s parenting website. I also have been busy with my fantasy football website now that football season started. Also, not to blame the wife, but she has been pretty busy with the computer lately as she has been creating an awesome digital baby photo album. Really great site that makes fantastic books.
Ok, enough excuses…how about some stories……
So, about a week ago, I came home and Emily was on the floor with Julia playing with Julia’s Melissa & Doug wooden animal puzzle. The thing that was different this time was that Emily would say the name of an animal and after scanning the board for about 10 seconds, Julia would pull out the correct animal. It was amazing to watch. Julia was able to grab them and put them back into the puzzle when prompted to do so as well. Since that time, Julia has gotten even better at this and she can now pick the correct animals out of the puzzle just by us giving her the animal sound. Pretty amazing.
Just the other day, Aunt Amanda taught Julia to say Apple with relative ease. That was amazing but what is more amazing is that Just by seeing an apple now prompts Julia to say the word apple. She fully recognizes apples and can process getting the word out.
Funny story here… Last night Julia was eating chicken, peas and carrots. Emily asked Julia where the peas were and Julia pointed at the peas. Next, Emily asked where the carrots were and Julia correctly pointed to the carrots. Lastly, Emily asked where the chicken was and Julia proceeded to make the sounds of a chicken
Last lil story is that every night when I walk in the door from work, Julia now says “Hi Dada” or “Hi Daddy”. It is the sweetest thing ever. The first time I heard it, I nearly died. So amazing.
Julia is at such a great age right now. 13 months is a a fantastic time. Julia is way more mobile than ever before. She still isn’t walking but that doesn’t stop her. She crawls so freakin fast and I would happily put her in a race with anyone else’s baby. Julia will leave them in the dust. She cruises along the couch, table, etc as well. Often she lets go to clap or do something. That usually lasts a few seconds before se realizes that she isn’t holding on. Also, her personality is really coming out. She recognizes items and people much more often. It is amazing to see.
Scary Weekend.
Saturday morning Julia pulled up on her little drum set as she often does and she fell down, as she sometimes does. This time was different, however, as Julia came up with a bloody mouth. Emily and I sprung into action and tried to sooth Julia. Ice stopped the crying but not the bleeding. After a short while we decided a trip to the doctor was in order. When the doctor touched Julia’s mouth, the cut reopened and started bleeding again. The Dr felt that stitches were the next step for us. A quick ride over to South Nassau along with a plastic surgeon rushing us through triage and registration led to two tiny stitches in the frenulum (aka f. labii superioris) skin between the upper lip and the upper gums. While this whole experience was a nightmare, I must say the Julia handled it like a pro. Soon after the the very quick stitching, Julia started smiling again and regained her cute little swagger. Our doctor, the plastic surgeon and South Nassau were all amazing, we just hope that this is the first… and the last… YEAH RIGHT!…. time something like this happens.
Not a Good Blogger.
Ok, So I am good at posting the photos on Julia’s site but I don’t update the “Stories” section enough. Sorry about that. Since my last post Julia has continued to grow at a crazy rate. She is so amazingly smart. She says “Dada” when she looks at me. True, she says “Dada” when she looks at lots of things, but I am taking that one for me! Julia can use sign language to say “more” and she does lots of talking/babbling all of the time. She pulls up on everything and is good at transferring between two objects close together. Julia is just now starting to cruise along the couch. When prompted, Julia can touch her head, nose, eyes, mouth, feet and more. She can even recognize when you say “Touch MY nose (mouth, head, etc)”, and she will do it. Julia now eats with a fork and she now eats big girl foods including grilled cheese and fruits. I promise to try to update more often, but getting the photos posted will always be my priority number one.
Slooooooowly Posting More Photos
I know, I know, I am behind in my postings. Please forgive me. I have been working day and night designing Julia’s first birthday invite. The good news is that I finished this AM, sent if off to the printer and soon enough, you may just receive one in your mail box. Posting to the website will resume tomorrow as Daddy is going to see Tom Petty perform tonight.
Daddy’s Day
Today was my first fathers day with Julia and unfortunately all plans went bye-bye as Julia was sick with a lil fever. She is teething like mad and she slept most of the day. Of course, I am not upset as every day feels like fathers day to me. Hopefully she’ll get better soon.
Julia is wondering if it is a Triple Crown Weekend
Just last night as Julia was falling asleep she was talking to herself and wondering aloud if Big Brown can pull out the third and final piece of the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes this weekend. I don’t think she realized that we were able to hear her through the monitor. Although the sound coming from the monitor was slightly fuzzy, I clearly heard, “Big Brown”, “Belmont”, “Diaper”, “Allie” and “TripCra”, which I took to be Triple Crown. I am not sure where Julia heard about the big horse race or if maybe she thinks Allie is running in it. I suspect that her buddy William told her about it, as I think he is trying to get Julia interested in horses so he can take her on a date HERE.
Julia Makes the Boys Cry
Julia has a thing for screaming. She likes to scream often and it usually sounds like something you’d hear in a horror slasher movie. We don’t mind and actually think it is funny, as she usually has a ginormous smile on while screaming. So, yesterday Emily was in CVS with Julia and, of course, this was the perfect time for a scream. A little boy, about 18 months old, was nearby and Julia frightened him so much that he started to cry. Of course, Emily felt bad, but both she and the llittle boy’s mom couldn’t help but laugh at the situation.
No Mo Helmet
Julia is officially done with the helmet. Maybe that prayer from the priest yesterday helped. Maybe it was the fact that we aggresively kept her in it and didn’t allow her too long a break. Maybe it is just that Julia is the best and whatever she tries to do, she succeeds. Photo Proof of the before-after helmet can be seen HERE.
Blessed Be She
While visiting her Bubbie yesterday, Julia sat outside with Emily, Grandma Laurie and Bubbie. There must have been some kinda mass or service going on as a preiest walked by. When he saw Julia he stopped and looked at her. He inquired about her helmet and then proceeded to bless her and make the sign of the cross on her. Everyone was a bit surprised but laughed afterwards that a blessing is a blessing no matter what your religion is.
Memorial Weekend Reflections
We had an amazing weekend. Packed as always, but still fun. Friday started off great as Julia and Mommy stopped by Grandpa Lenny’s school. I got out of work early and we took Julia to the park so she could swing with her buddy William. On Saturday, we did a bunch of errands and then Grandma Marcia came by to hang with Julia for a bit. Video of them dancing together will be on this site soon. Grandma Marcia also babysat for us Saturday night as Emily and I went into the city to meet up with Lisa & Mike and Chrissy & Chris. We all went to an amazing dinner at Stanton Social which I highly recommend to everyone. It was a great Tapas place that was not only fun, but really yummy. If you go, def get the Potato and Goat Cheese Pierogies. Trust me! Sunday brought us Ethan’s birthday party and my now famous hot pepper story (see below). On Monday, we met with the Rabbi to discuss Julia’s hebrew name and then we had Aunt Jessica, Grandpa Bob and Grandi come to visit. As I said earlier, super busy but super fun weekend. It was also amazing to have so many days with Julia. She is getting so much bigger everyday. She now really rocks back and forth while on all fours. She moves her eknee or one hand but still hasn’t put together the crawl. She is really close though. Julia waves regularly, talks a ton and now eats just about anything taht we are daring enough to feed her (grilled cheese). Julia also looks as if she has changed a little bit. Maybe she is less of a baby and more of an infant now. Or maybe it is the reverse of that. Whatever it is, she seems more aware and more focused. This weekend she grabbed and played with two toys at once. That has to be some kind of milestone. Julia is also so amazing and content to play with whatever toy we give her. Sometimes I feel like she hums to the music in the car and I could swear that this weekend she said Allie (or really Aaa-Yee). I know, I know, I am rushing here along. Cannot help it. She is just so delicious!
Two Spicy Weekend Stories.
Over this Memorial weekend, two funny stories occured both involving Grandma Laurie. Julia wasn’t technically involved in either of these but she was there for both events so it is fitting that the story should be told here. Someday I will have to do more of a “Tabor Family” website, but until that day, this is where I will post my stories. Ok, first story comes from Sunday. After going to Ethan’s birthday party, we went to Grandma’s house for a visit and a BBQ dinner. Grandma Laurie and Aunt Amanda planned a yummy dinner of squewered veggies, chicken, shrimp and of course, tofu for Daddy. Grandma Laurie also bought a few hot peppers knowing my love of spicy foods. Everything was grilled to a delicious perfection. About a third of the way through the dinner, I remembered these hot peppers and I grabbed a yummy looking orange one. I cut it in half and popped it in my mouth. Let me stop the story for a second and explain that I love to eat jalepeno peppers and really anything with the chipotle flavor. My thinking here was that this was just going to be a yummy spicy treat. Never did I assume that I needed to take a tiny piece and test the pepper. Stupid me. Within about 5 seconds, I spit the pepper out of my mouth as I immediately feel as if I swallowed fire. My whole mouth instantly turned numb and with each breathe in, I feel as if I am singing my insides. I look for a drink and all that is in front of me is a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and that does not seem like the answer. I guess that my bright red face and tear streaming out of my eyes game me away as Emily immediately passed me her glass of iced tea. Afer downing that in seconds, I practically scream “WATER!” and Emily raced back with some which was gone before she could blink. Aunt Amanda was next with more water but nothing seemed to do the trick. I ate bread as I remember reading that when eating spicy Indian food, bread is the way to cool down the flavors. Didn’t help. I still had taste buds and the tofu was still delicious but I didn’t lose the fire for about and hour and I didn’t get full feeling back in my mouth for a few hours. Amanda took a tiny piece of each pepper and touched them to her tongue. She agreed that most were hot, but when she touched the orange one, her whole tongue was instantly numb. Thanks to a little research from family friend Ellen, I later learned that this little devil was acually the famed Orange Habanero and it is one of the spiciest chili peppers in the world. It is most often used as a flavor and not eaten. This is the pepper that they make super strong hot sauce with. On the Hot Pepper Scale this is the fifth strongest pepper ever. Again, my own fault for not sampling it first.
The second “spicy” story is that the next day, on Monday, Emily, Julia and I were traveling to see the Rabbi to discuss Julia’s hebrew name. When I got off the highway exit for the temple, I had to cut over three lanes of traffic so I was taking my time on the exit. For those of you that have been to Grandma Laurie and Granda Lenny’s house, you know the exit that I am talking about. After a few minutes, I saw my opening, and at the same time, someone from behind me honked. Annoyed at someone’s impatiece, I yelled out a nasty comment to the driver behind me. Than all of a sudden Emily started hysterically laughing as she told me that it was her Mom (Grandma Laurie) honking to say hello, and not to hurry me out of the lane. Obviously this made us all laugh afterwards.
Crawling is Just Minutes Away
So funny how fast things change. A few weeks ago, Julia started rolling around on the floor. Now she is unstoppable in her rolling. Last weekend, she got up on her knees for just a fleeting moment. One week later, she was not only up on her knees every two seconds, but she is also aggresively rocking back and forth. Julia will truly be crawling any minute now. I was fairly convinced that she would walk before crawl, but that just goes to show you that you can never guess what’ll happen!
Emily’s First Mother’s Day
Emily’s first Mother’s Day was very sweet and surreal at the same time. Mother’s Day and Father’s day is for our parents, not for us. When did we grow up? It is all strange and wonderful at the same time. Swim class was cancelled but that didn’t stop Julia and I from swimming. Then we had some family over to help us celebrate. Pics of this coming soon! All in all it was a nice day for Emily and I know she felt relaxed. Julia bought her some Mommy & Baby books to read together as well as a “Beary Special Mom” bear and I sent some beautiful roses. It also happened to be Julia’s 9 month birthday making the day even more special. Also, I read a very good editorial in the NY Times about Mother’s Day. It’s a worthy read….
Cousin Cuteness Pt 2
Yesterday, Aunt Ilene and Cousin Noah came by to hang out with Emily & Julia (and Allie too) which of course gave us some very cute photos and video. I hadn’t seen Noah for a whie and I am amazed at how big he got and how much he is talking now. I picked up a pizza on the way home so that we could all have some dinner together. When I walked into the house, I saw Emily, Julia, Ilene and Noah all sitting at the kitchen table. Noah yelled out, “Hi, Uncle Seth.” I truly almost dropped the pizza. It was such an unbelievable moment. If my brain is a DVR, then it was one of those moments where you see something on TV and hit the record button after the fact (knowing that it will tape what you just saw even though we’re past it) because it is something that I will want to watch about 100 more times and possibly save forever. I had a great time that night with my daughter and my nephew but it is that initial moment that i keep going back to. Such a beautiful scene that I will remember forever. “Hi, Uncle Seth.” I love it! Noah has grown into such a lil man and he is so sweet and gentle with both Julia and Allie. Julia couldn’t take her eyes off of him and quite often smiled and laughed along with him. These two cousins will definitely be close growing up and they will truly be freinds for life.
I saw Catherine Zeta Jones last night on 13th street and 9th Avenue. She was filming her new movie at the Soho House which is where I was heading for a screening.
All Things Julia.
Just thinking about some of the more famous Julia’s out there and I came up with:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Seinfeld fame.
Julia Sweeney who made her name on Saturday Night Live but I remember her more as Raquel of Monster Joe’s Trucks in Pulp Fiction
The superb chef Julia Child
Actress Julia Stiles who was in a number of things, but none better than the Jason Bourne Trilogy
Actress Julia Ormond
Does Raul Julia count? He played a mean Gomez Adams.
John Lennon’s mom was named Julia which may explain the famous Beatles song Julia. I used this song in my “Welcome to the World Julia” video.
Annie Lennox and The Eurithmics also had a song Julia which was after a character named Julia is George Orwells famous novel “1984”.
In 1977 there was a movie named Julia starring Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Fonda.
In 2004 Annette Benning starred in and was nominated for Best Actress for Being Julia, a fantastic movie.
Julia was a TV show on NBC from 1968 to 1971.
I found that one online. I also found out that:
Julia Grant was the First Lady of the US when her hubby Ulysses Grant became our 18th President.
Grandma Laurie and Grandpa Len will enjoy hearing that there is a young German violinist named Julia Fischer.
There is also complex dynamic math information named The Julia Set.
If you have more Julia info, please forward it my way and I will add it to this list.
Starting to Crawl?
Julia is still doing her “roll around the room” way of transportation as well as her “push myself backwards” method of getting places. Her legs are getting stronger everyday and just as I was convinced that she’d walk befor she crawled, she did the unthinkable yesterday. About 5 or 6 times she was on her belly and she pulled her knees in and was up on all fours. If that keeps up, I imagine that we’ll see some rocking back and forth and then some crawling. Very exciting!
Thank You Grandma Marcia.
Thanks for babysitting last night Grandma Marcia. It allowed Emily and I to get out for a few hours, have a great dinner and then see Aunt Amanda’s Dance Show.
Max and Chris came by with the whole crew today and the first thing that Max asked is if he can use our computer. Then he immediately asked if he can take photos like last time. I had forgotten that the last time he visited, we played around for a while with Mac Photobooth taking tons of pics of ourselves. Well, Max took hundreds of shots today and if you click HERE, you can see some of the better one.
Julia’s New Best Friend.
In case your didn’t notice in the pictures, Julia loves her newest toy. It is a doll of the newest Sesame Street character Abby Cadabby. She is truly blowing up. That’s So Magic!
Videos!
I know that I am overdue for more videos. Here is my latest called “Julia Loves To Eat”. I should have some more up by end of week. Until then, click here to watch all of the older videos.
Weekend Details
After turning 8 months old on Friday, Julia went to her first birthday party on Saturday as Rebecca turned one. Julia had a blast and even sat on Elmo’s lap. At some point around the time of this party, Juia’s runny nose turned into a full cold and the rest of the weekend involved wiping her nose quite often. We had to miss our cherished swim class on Sunday AM, leaving us now with only 3 classes left. Aunt Amanda and Grandma Laurie came by on Sunday which brought a smile to Julia’s face. We also started feeding Julia more solid foods. In addition to her Gerber Graduate Finger Foods, we started with bread, cottage cheese and banana. Soon we will try some american cheese and soon enough we wil know if Julia is a cheese-aholic like her daddy.
The Queen of Rolling is Now Belly Powered!
Julia loves to roll around the living room but lately she has been stopping on her tummy and lifting both her legs and arms off the ground. While doing this, she is balancing on her belly. Photo proof of this will be on the site as soon as I can get a pic of it. Also, Julia has started pushing herself backwards while on her tummy. Emily says that this is the start of crawling, which is so exciting. For a while there, we thought that she would walk before she crawled. Apparently that is quite common. Our own Dr said that crawling isn’t even considered a necessary milestone anymore.
Eight Months Goes Fast
Julia just had her 8 month appointment and she is now 27” long putting her in the 75th percentile. She only weighs 16.1 lbs which is only the 25th percentile. These two stats combined prove that she Julia will in fact be a Supermodel. Tall and skinny.
Julia is getting so big! Within the last week, she has really started speaking a ton. Lots of “Ya ya ya, ma, ma, ma, ba, ba.” She also started reaching both arms up to us when we go to pick her up. Also, she turned over in her sleep and slept on her belly three nights last week. Julia now rolls from back to tummy way more often. In fact, at this point she can pretty much roll across a room. Julia now reaches for toys when she wants them. This was especially helpful in swim class as they encourage the kiddies to reach out for a plastic fish. Until this last weekend Julia refused to do it. This last Sunday, J was all of the reaching. She also did some kicking and a weird sorta breaststroke maneuver. Emily is coming to class this Sunday to take pics. Hope she doesn’t get mad at me when I dunk Julia under. Julia is also now taking the Gerber finger foods off her tray and feeding them to herself. This was absolutely the cutest thing ever. At first she would take one in her fist and pretty much shove the whole fist in her mouth to get at the food. Slowly over the last few days Julia has gotten much better and now she hardly needs to shove the whole fist in her mouth. Julia also had the pleasure of meeting her Great Aunt Alma and Great Uncle Pat. Julia felt very comfortable with them and she even had a cute playful feeding interaction with Great Uncle Pat. Video proof of many of the things listed above will be on the site soon. As for now, I go back to battling the insurance company again to try to get the helmet covered. Next step is an outside arbitration hearing. Fun fun fun.
Saturday in Central Park
Today we came in NYC to hang with Aunt Amanda and go for a walk in Central Park. It was a beautiful chilly day and Julia loved her first trip to this famous park. Pictures of this event will be up soon and we all look forward to many more visits to the park including seeing the zoo, Strawberry Fields, Bethesda Fountain and Daddy’s fave, the Alice in Wonderland statue.
Balco Baby
Julia has a small diaper rash and her doctor prescribed two creams to clear it up. They are the “Cream” and the “Clear”. I kid you not. I couldn’t make that up if I tried. For those of you unfamiliar with the whole Balco scandal and what the “Cream” and the “Clear” did to people, then feel free to examine some photos of Barry Bonds. This is before Balco and this is after.
Swim Class is the Best
Julia and Daddy too a swim class this morning at the Mid Island Y. We will continue to do it every Sunday for the next 7 weeks. Both of us enjoying it a ton and at one point Daddy even dunked Julia under the water. She definitely had fun and hopefully she will continue to do so as it would be great to put her in the pool this summer. We are taking the class with good friends Scott and Isabel. There are a few pictures posted on the mail page of Julia in her bathing suit. Soon, Mommy will come to one of the classes and get some “in-action” pics.
This was a fantastic weekend for a number of reasons and I thought that I would share some of them with you.
–It was a three-day weekend and three days with Emily and Julia were just amazing. Three-day weekends seem to be rare these days.
–Julia keeps laughing and laughing. In fact on Saturday I had her laughing for about an hour straight. It was amazing and it was probably the best Daddy-Daughter time that we have had so far.
–Julia cut a tooth.
–Julia can now recognize her own name… or can she?
–I posted a Valentine’s Day video and another video questioning whether Julia will be a Veggie or a Meat Lover.
–Julia drank a little water from a sippy cup.
–We went to go visit Ilene, Paul & Noah in NJ and Julia was captivated by Noah. She watched everything he was doing and laughed often. It is clear that they will be close cousins. Emily led them both in a song. A very funny moment came when Julia was playing in Noah’s old excersaucer and she was basically running with her little legs in the bottom. Emily said “Hey Julia, where are you running to?” and Noah replied “treadmill”.
–Julia sucked on a slice of an apple. A real apple. Not baby food. So cool!
–Julia’s smile kepps getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.
Possibly the best weekend ever.
Julia First Celeb Sighting
Wow, I cannot believe that I forgot to post this. We went to New Jersey a few weeks ago to visit Julia’s good buddy Michael and while driving there Emily spotted a celeb driving next to us. It was none other than Geraldo. Emily and I weren’t 100% sure that it was him but Julia seemed pretty convinced. Next up, Julia is hoping to see Sally Jessy Rafael or Phil Donahue. Julia also noted that she’d really like to meet Peter Griffin. So far, I don’t have the heart to tell her he isn’t real.
Julia Hits the Trifecta
This is one of those gross stories that all parents have been a part of at one point or another so, If you don’t like that sort of thing then STOP reading this now. While I was out running a few errand today Emily fed Julia. After the feeding, Julia did an especially large spit up all of her clothes (and some on Emily’s clothes too). Not to long after that, Julia decided to make a doodie, however this was no ordinary doodie. In fact it was more of a Super Doodie that happened to leak out the legs of the diaper and went all over Julia’s outfit. At this point Emily decided that a bath would be a smart thing but first she took Julia upstairs to take off the dirty clothes and get a new towel, washcloth, etc. While carrying Julia downstairs to put her in the bath, Julia completed the trifecta by peeing on Emily (and it was a lot of pee). Not one of Emily’s favorite moments, but it makes a great story. Emily often says that this kind of thing always happens when I am out, however, I remind you guys of a little story (prob one of the first links in this Stories section) where Emily was out and Julia decided to spit up her food into my mouth, eyes, nose, etc. That was a fun one as well!
The Best Smile Ever
The past two days in a row, I have worked late and I missed seeing my little lady before she went to bed. Since I leave for work before she gets up, it has been two full days that I have only seen her sleeping. This had me especially depressed this AM, and maybe Julia sensed it because when I went into her room this (as I do every morning), I didn’t find her sleeping. Instead, I found her wide awake and looking up at me. She gave me one of the biggest and brightest smiles I have ever seen. It was one of those smiles where the whole face, including the eyes, seems to light up and glow. I wordlessly creeped out of her room, feeling great and wanting to cry with joy. After speaking to Emily later in the day, I found out that Julia must have gone back to sleep as she didn’t wake Emily up until her normal feeding time. Could that be the best morning ever for me?
The Best Use of Two Hands
We had a Lazy Sunday morning today as Emily, Julia and I all ended up relaxing in bed this AM. At one point, Julia (who was in between Emily and I) decided to stick her right hand in Emily’s mouth. The next thing I knew, she looked at me and stuck her left hand in my mouth. So there we were, with hands in our mouths and Julia had a nice big smile on her face. Too bad there was no one there to snap a photo.
Fun at Gymboree
Yesterday we gave Julia her first real food, Oatmeal. At first she was a little weirded out from it, but we think she liked it as she ate the whole bowl and smiled throughout. Later in the day, I went to Gymboree with Julia and Emily, which was so much fun. Julia realy seemed to gravitate towrds all of the activities. She loved the bubbles, the parachute and, of course, Gymbo the clown. One funny moment came when it was relaxing massage time. It is a quiet time with soft music and dimmed lights. Julia felt that this would be a good time to try to chat it up with the other babies and she proceeded to talk as loud as possible while trying to distract the others. Is it possible that we have the class clown on our hands here?
The Archives Are FIXED!!!
Some of you may have noticed recently that the archive section of Julia’s website was mysteriously missing. After fearing that a Y2K bug had time traveled to New Years 2008, we were assured that there was no reason to worry by our good friend and web developer Aram David. Shortly after he was brought into the fold, Aram did a little investigation and ironed out the issue. Is this a good time to mention that Aram is a fantastic web designer and if you click his name above, you can see his site and possibly have him build one for you as well?
Great Momemnt Between Julia and Daddy
There was a really nice moment the other day when I was reading Julia a book and she decided that it was a good time to explore my face. She took one hand and ran her fingers through my beard. She then pulled on it a little before deciding to touch my lips, cheek, my nose and eventually she finished her exploration by sticking her finger in my nostril and pulling me forward. The whole interaction wasn’t very long but it was very sweet in the way she was exploring.
Guess Who Was Sick This Weekend!!!
Seth? Emily? Julia? Allie? If you guessed Allie, you were wrong (Although she was very exhausted all weekend). Seth, Emily and Julia were all sick at some point this weekend. Thankfully, Julia had it the least. Nevertheless, we still felt bad for her and we certainly had our hands full taking care of her while we felt like crap. Click here to see a fun way that we took care of Julia while we were sick.
We’ve Got Laughs!
Ok, so there have only been a few laughs but this past Friday night, Aunt Ellen was able to get a few laughs out of Julia with her funny voices. We tried all weekend to duplicate the feat and finally on Sunday, Emily got a laugh. We will keep trying, as her laugh is like gold to us. Hopefully you all will get to see and hear it soon as I will post a video as soon as I can get a laugh recorded.
Eager Anticipation
We don’t want to rush Julia along in any way, however, we get so excited when we see changes in her. Obviously we see her growing and gaining weight, but we also have been noticing increased neck strength and a clear focus on the person talking to her. If you look at the most recent photos posted, you’ll see that when Julia is in a picture with someone else, she is usually looking right at them. It is amazing. She is also fully licking and sucking on her hands. It is only a matter of time before she finds her thumbs. The thing that we are most eagerly anticipating though is her laugh. We have had a few smiling chuckles but no outright laughter. We know that it isn’t far away and soon she will be laughing alongside her buddy William.
Lazy Sunday was the Best!!!
Just wanted to leave a comment saying that I know that having a child will forever change my sleeping patterns and I am cool with that. It is all worthwhile though. Who needs sleep when you have a beautiful little baby? Taking all of this into account, this past Sunday, after the AM feeding, Emily brought Julia into our bed so we all could take in a relaxing morning. While it was semi-scary having Julia in bed with us, it was also the best morning that I have had in my recent memory. All three of us woke up refreshed and it will be dearly remembered on some of the more exhausting weekend days. Click here to see pics of this glorious event. BTW, it was a good thing that we had that AM because Sunday turned into a very busy day with a ton of visitors.
Gross Out Weekend!!!
It all began on Saturday when Emily was out doing some errands. I had just fed Julia with a bottle and soon after she finished, she looked up into my eyes and proceeded to projectile vomit all over my face, including in my mouth, up my nose and in my eyes. I was covered in the icky partially digested milk. Yuck! I quickly got Julia onto her changing table before round two of the vomiting began. I changed my shirt, changed Julia’s clothes, cleaned up the milk & got some mouthwash, all just in time for Em to get home.
Sunday brought some interesting fun as well. While at the Merrick elementary school picnic (Click here to see pics) we were having a blast until Julia decided to take a monster poop. The ass-plosion couldn’t be contained in just her diaper so it traveled up her back. Her beautiful outfit had to be changed, and wouldn’t you know it… somehow this was the one thing we forgot to bring. After much worrying, a little arguing and a lot of discussion, Joanne Nallan came to the rescue with a beautiful baby gift for Julia. In this gift was a slightly large outfit that fit “perfectly” for today. Thank you so much Joanne! Also, thanks to Robin, Jamie, Denise & Jodi for calming down these first time parents!
Gross weekend, yes, but I guarantee you’ll never catch us again without a second outfit.
We just wanted to take a moment to say a few “Thank Yous.” Certainly we thank all friends and family for their good wishes, gifts and love. but there are a few people that helped us with crucial tasks. While in the hospital Andy Siegel helped us immensely with Allie. He must have taken her out over 100 times. He also fed her and gave her some playtime. Meanwhile, his son William was only one month old and home with mama, Elisa. All of us, especially Allie, thank you. Also, a number of times, Grandpa Len Fischer came to hang with his grand-dog-ter. Sometimes he brought Allie’s cousin Coco and other times he just brought his love and play skills. Thank you so much for the help Len. Lastly, we need to send a big thank you to Aram David, who not only created this beautiful site for Julia, but he also worked through countless revisions and tweaks. His skills and creativity as a web designer are truly amazing and we feel very lucky to have had his help. For more examples of his skill, feel free to click the links below:
To start off this little “Stories” section, we thought that we would post the email that we sent out regarding the birth of Julia as well as some of your amazing responses. If we didn’t include your response, please don’t be upset. We literally got hundreds of responses. Click here to see them.
