Just a Few Julie Details

November 1, 2016

I've been thinking how during Julie's first year, I have all these details written down of all the things she was doing and had done. It's a great record of her progress, but it's just not manageable forever and so I didn't do these updates since she turned "1". I feel like I'm going to forget some of the things that she's been up to, and when all of these things happened now. So I figured I should do a quick "Julie update" on what she's doing these days!

At School
Julie does pretty great at school. They tell me she does well just about every day. Though sometimes nap time isn't the best, she eats well and usually sleeps pretty well and plays great too. She likes doing the art projects, I'm sure. They are messy, why wouldn't she? ;) She had a few incidents throughout the year where she was getting bit. She would stick her fingers in someone's mouth and they would chomp. Can't blame them there. Every once and awhile, more recently, she was getting bit for no apparent reason, and lately she's started biting herself when she gets really mad and frustrated. I hope we can curb that, not a good habit! She's not the best at sharing, but hopefully we can work on that. Her FAVORITE time at daycare, at least that I can see, is mealtime! She sometimes gets mad when we drop her off, but if they are starting breakfast, don't even worry about it. Wish she was that excited about it at home! Though she's gotten sick more than I would like, I know it's good for her immune system. And she's done so well with school, I'm definitely glad she's going there.

Sing-Song
Julie loves to sing songs. She's really good at a few specifically. She can do her WHOLE "ABCs" and can sing all of "Twinkle Twinkle". There are others she does okay, such as "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and she's getting the hang of "Rock-a-bye Baby" and "You are My Sunshine" (which we sing a lot when I rock her before bedtime). There are a ton more that she likes... she always gets excited to hear "Hot Diggity Dog" after Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and "Ponytail" from Badanamu on YouTube. She loves me to sing the "Teddy Bear" song from Badanamu also, and often requests the "Titten Song" (Three Little Kittens, also the Badanamu version) but I think that's mostly because I have to 'meow' in every verse.

Favorite Things
Julie likes to color, although she gets distracted easily (and sometimes gets them taken away when she won't stop chewing on her crayons!). She watches a few shows. I pretty much only put on Disney Junior, and her faves are "Doc McStuffins", "Sophia the First", and definitely "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". She also likes "PJ Masks" but thankfully not as much. That show irritates me. We watch "My Little Pony" sometimes too. One thing I love about Jules is she's not TOO attached to any one toy or blanket, though she loves snuggling with the one Auntie made her for when she was born at bedtime. It's kind of nice because there aren't any freak outs when something isn't available. She'll get mad but she deals with it pretty quickly when we say 'no' for whatever reason. She really likes Bartleby, the big pink unicorn, to play with in her bed sometimes. Lately she's been sleeping with her seal, Martin. He's good for cuddles at bedtime. Ping Pong the sloth is enjoyable but not as popular as he once was. Minnie Mouse had an uptick time playtime but is back to normal. She probably just has too many to focus on!

Photos
Since I've started feeling better toward my second trimester, I finally got back to taking photos. Jules is not super cooperative like she used to be. It's just like she's used to me pointing my camera (or my phone) at her all the time and she's over it. She'll smile sometimes, but you have to work for it! I'm sure she'll come around again eventually... probably when I'm taking photos of Baby Sister every week ;)

Our Routine
Julie has lots of things that we do every day. I love our waking up and bedtime routines a lot. Usually I get to wake her up in the morning. I actually get kind of crabby if Mike does it instead. I go in and talk to her. Sometimes she'll keep rolling over and not want to get up but she's usually pretty pleasant about it. She DOES get mad when I go to change her diaper though. However, we've been working on potty training and lately, instead of me asking her if she wants to go on the potty, she'll ask to go on the potty when she first wakes up. Good sign! After that, we get dressed and brush our teeth. She does NOT like that like she used to, but after some cajoling, I can usually pull it off. Sometimes a song helps, but not always! Daddy usually takes her to school, although lately I've been doing it more often. At night, she crabs when I suggest putting on jammies. But eventually I can con her into it. Sometimes we go on the potty (she's really pretty good at that, just not at letting us know when she has to go, yet), and we do LOTS of cheers when she does it. If she does, we get to wipe and flush, but ONLY if she goes! No rewards for trying, although I always thank her for trying. After that, brush the teeth (more crabbing), and kisses for Daddy (sometimes crabbing), and then we go rock in the rocking chair. We sing requested songs and cuddle. Sometimes I tickle her face or scratch her back but she doesn't need it. She tells me when she wants me to put her in the crib. Then she always wants me to pat her butt for awhile. Sometimes I have to come back a few times for hug requests. Once and awhile it's a kiss. She's getting into stalling techniques but she always goes to bed like a good girl soon enough.

Coming Soon
Since Baby Sister is coming in the next three months, we talk to her about it a little bit. I don't think she knows much about it though. She will ask to see and pat my belly sometimes. I think she even felt her kick once, although I'm sure she didn't notice. Because of this new addition, we're talking about getting her a "big girl" bed. I don't love the idea but it's going to have to happen. I want to let her decide to sleep in it herself, and I'm not sure how long that will take so we'll probably need to get it soon and start working on that. I bet she'll do fine. She's all about trying things like that. Keeping her IN bed is more of a concern! Anyway, we'll be changing her bedroom up too, so hopefully that goes well. I'm not sure what she'll think of the baby when she comes. I hope she loves her, but I know it will be a little hard because she's used to all of the attention. And she definitely isn't going to like sharing all her old things (or at least the ones she remembers). I think Santa will be bringing her a few baby caring-for items this Christmas to help with the process. God, give me patience. I'll need it!

Hopefully I caught lots of Julie's nuances here! I will need to do it more often. I'm sure she'll sneak into a lot of the weekly updates when the new little miss arrives too. I just don't want to forget any of these little things. It's so sad watching her grow up, even though it is exciting!