Recent Photos

After months of being in her car seat while we shop, Julia finally gets to sit in the cart like a big girl.  This was her first time to ride in a shopping cart and she loved being able to see all around her.  I couldn't get her attention in this picture because there was too much going on in the parking lot. 

Playing in the front yard - so much fun to watch the cars and people go by.

Daddy decided, since it was his turn for bath duty, that Julia should sit in the big tub since she is such a big girl.  She didn't know what to think of it and just looked at the water around her feet.  She didn't even reach for the cute bath toy. 

We took Julia to her first baseball game to see the Round Rock Express (minor league team for the Astros).

Julia was a big help to Daddy when he had to assemble the new vacuum cleaner.  Here she is trying to get close to him to see what he is doing.  How cute that she crawled out of her left pajama pant leg.  :)

Julia's first Easter.  After church, we went to lunch with our friends, Richard and Kassy.  Julia thinks Richard is funny, which is why she is laughing in this picture.  Click on this picture to enlarge it and see her two bottom teeth!

Kyle was collecting trash one morning last week and put Julia in this bag and carried her around the house.  She thought it was lots of fun.

Of course, Julia loves magazines.  She usually isn't allowed to play with them because she destroys them and usually finds a piece to chew and dissolve in her mouth.  But I let her go at it this time for fun.  This is another good shot of her teeth.

Houston Visit

Just catching up on some pictures...We spent the last weekend in March in Houston for Dad/Papaw's birthday.  It was a fun weekend for us all.

Julia was so excited to see Mamaw and Papaw!  Plus, while we were waiting for a table at the restaurant she was the center of attention and had lots of people tell her hello.

Julia really enjoyed this wooden rocker, which her Mamaw sat in as a baby too!  Melanie's Uncle Mike recently refinished it and it looks as good as new.

A good group of family and friends came for dinner to celebrate Dad's birthday.  Upon Dad's request Mom made feijoada, Brazil's national dish, which she learned to make while living in Rio de Janeiro.  It is a delicious and hearty black bean stew filled with pork chops, sausage, and ribs - served with white rice, kale, and oranges.  

Julia enjoyed her food too!

Beautiful wild flowers growing in the backyard.

Julia sat on Papaw's tractor, but was more interested in watching Acie and Abbie run around the yard.  I'm sure she'll love riding on the tractor when she gets a little older.

Julia: 7 Months

These are some of our favorites from Julia's recent photo session with our friend, Sarah Havard, the photographer who also took Julia's birth announcement pictures. Sarah posted some on her blog, along with some from her newborn session as a comparison. It is amazing how much Julia has changed. Enjoy!

Recent Videos

Julia loves Acie and Abbie. She smiles and kicks her legs when she sees them.

A couple of weeks ago Julia started making these shrieks. This time I think she was telling me she wanted out of her swing. I'm happy she moved onto different sounds after about 2 days.

Into everything!


She loves to be tickled!

Bluebonnets in Brenham

Recent Photos

Looking at flash cards with Daddy.

Enjoying the tray attachment on her swing.

Sitting up!

She loves sitting in the high chair at restaurants.

Naked baby! (almost)

Bad bed-head after a nap. The wispy hair that is sticking up is what is left of the hair she was born with, which turned light.

Watching a not-so-great Texas A&M basketball game with Daddy.

We used to keep the front side of Julia's crib in the down position to make getting her in and out easier. Not anymore, after I found her like this after a nap. Yikes!

Sweet baby...sleeping with her bottom in the air and using her crib bumper as a pillow.

Just chillin' in her car seat.

A new face she has been making for us lately.

Potty Training

I have debated about whether the topic of this post is appropriate for the blog, but with some persuasion have decided to share - not because I want to boast but because I want to spread the word to others.

We are potty training Julia!

Long before Julia was born, a dear friend of mine told me about Infant Potty Training and urged me to do it with Julia. She knew from experience with her son that it was easy and it worked. Unfortunately, other circumstances caused her to put it on hold for a few months, but when she resumed it her baby was older and refused to cooperate. Countless times she has said how much she regretted her decision to stop, since she is now dealing with the trials and frustration of potty training a 2-year old boy.

I was reluctant and a little skeptical about the concept. Babies can't control when they go to the bathroom, I thought. I wanted to read a book or something to learn exactly what to do, and she just kept telling me all that was necessary was to follow a few basic steps. So when Julia was almost 4 months old, I put her on a little potty and out come #1 and #2!! It worked - I was amazed and ecstatic!

Here is a photo of her first time on the potty.

Now, almost 11 weeks later, she is still doing great with it. She even uses standard toilets when we are in a public restroom or at a friend's house. She urinates in the potty almost every time we take her, and in all this time I have only changed 3 "dirty" diapers! So not only am I not cleaning up messy, dirty diapers, but there have been zero "blowouts", which we were dealing with regularly before. Also, we have already noticed a decrease in diapers and wipes - an added bonus.

I don't know much about the rest of the process - how to get her from here to being fully potty trained, but I read somewhere to expect that when started early, most babies reach that point by about 15 months. That means we can expect to save about 1 year supply of diapers and wipes, estimated at over $1,o00. We already seem to be making progress as far as her communicating her needs. Twice in the past week she has been fussy for no apparent reason, so I took her to the potty and lo and behold - she needed to poop!

So, for those of you who are interested in knowing more details about how to do it - either for your own child or to tell someone else, instructions are in the post below.