And She's Off ...

It has happened – Julie has learned how to crawl this past week. She has been working on it for several weeks but couldn’t quite get the coordination down. Then last week something must have clicked. She is definitely going to keep me on my toes… and I think Arek and I need to do a little rearranging of things under 3 feet in our main room, which is also Julie’s main play area. She is so curious and wants to get into everything she sees. I love watching her grow and discover new things.

The other day she crawled under the kitchen chair and then couldn’t find her way out.

She is also working on pulling up on things:

Look Alikes?

Again, second post for the day (so scroll down if you want), but I was looking through my scrapbook today and found these two pictures of me as a baby. Everyone keeps telling me that Julie looks like me, so here are photos so you can be the judge:

Julie sleeping

me sleeping

one of my cheesy baby pictures

So, yay or nay? I don't have any baby pictures of Arek or I would have put one up of him, so you could compare

Belated Wishes

I know this is late but... Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! And not just moms, but all women, because there are so many wonderful women/mother-figures in my life. Just to mention a few: my amazing mom, my mother-in-law, my big sister (and little sisters too!), my grandmas and aunts, cousins, friends, and teachers. I am constantly in awe of the sweetness and overall greatness of all the women in my life. Hope you all had a wonderful mother's day!

This year was my first official mother's day. I just wanted to post 3 things that I love about being a mom.1. Holding Julie... from the first time to now, I never get tired of snuggling with my girl. I love it when she falls asleep on my shoulder, or when I read her a book while she sits on my lap. There is nothing better. 2. Watching Julie grow and learn and discover new things. The other day while I was doing dishes I could hear Julie laughing and jabbering away on the living room floor. When I went over there she was having conversations with her toys and pulling funny faces like this one. LOVE it!3. Sharing mommy experiences with other moms. This is a photo of my mom holding me on my first 4th of July (I was 9 months old, the same age Julie will be on her first 4th). I love hearing stories about other babies and kids and thinking how Julie is similar or different and also, in the older stages, how Julie will be at the age.

There are so many more things I love about being a mom, but there are 3 for you. Happy Mother's Day!

Studious Julie

*This is my second post this week (shocking, I know!) So if you haven't noticed already, in the post below are some snapshots from the family photos we had taken last weekend!* My little girl already loves books. I LOVE that she loves books, mainly because I love books, too. She loves to look at books by herself, she loves to be read to, and she loves to eat books, too. Mmm, mmm, good! She also loves her daddy’s school books, and tries to get her little hands on them whenever possible. This week is final’s week for Arek (Hurray!!!) and today is his last day of finals (he has two more exams), so last night he emptied all the notes out of one of his binders (from one of the classes he had already taken the final of) and let Julie play with it. She was delighted with this rare opportunity, as you can see by this snapshot below. Binders taste as yummy as books!

Here’s another random shot I took of my drooly girl during the evening: I think it is awesome, mostly because it makes her look like she has a huge head and a little body, which, in fact is just the reverse. Also, I love how blue her eyes look in this outfit, and the blue binder also helps make their color “pop”.

And, finally, Julie has entered the stage where she hates it when you take something away that she wants (like paper she has grabbed, or Arek’s books, or some other “no-no” item). She gets so angry and her face crumples into something like this:

Only this photo is of her being angry at me for taking pictures instead of picking her up and snuggling. Same expression though.

Family Photos!!!

On Saturday my family had a little photo shoot. We were going to go out to Antelope Island but it was too cold for little Julie, so we decided to take them around my parents' house! Lucky for us, my aunt (who was taking the pictures) was also willing to take pictures of mine and Arek's little family. So now we finally have some official family photos (for the first time since our engagement about 3 years ago!) Julie was such a trooper... she even kept her headband and bows on the entire time, which is a huge accomplishment for her! There are lots of pictures so scroll down! :)The whole family... last time we will be photographed all together for two years since Ben leaves for his mission in 2 weeks!Arek and Julie (who is wrapped in blankets to keep warm) laughing in between picturesSiblings, from right to left: Rachel, me, Ben, Dani, and Katherine

Julie is always trying to move now. BIG news: today she got from laying on her tummy to sitting up all on her own... TWICE :) We are so proud of herOur FamilyA bit of silly-nessOur family, pose 2... Julie loved the textured walls; she wouldn't take her hand off itJust because... a close-up of my beautiful Julie. Can't believe she is 7 months old now!