New skills: eating and sitting!

I'm sorry it has been so long since I've posted! I'll just have to catch up a little at a time. We started Julia on rice cereal this week for her 6-month birthday and she loves it. We give her a spoon to play with while she eats and she lost it during one meal - see the photo for where it was hiding. She can sit so well by herself now and even play for a little while before toppling over. Hooray for back muscles!

Happy Halloweekend!

Jason carved the family pumpkin at YM last week. A squash with a geometric soul. Julia made her Halloween debut as a Formula 1 racer with her pit crew in tow. We flew to Chicago in time to catch Magnus in his skeleton suit - what a cutie! We celebrated Magnus' blessing and Jenni and Reid's Chicagoland tour and enjoyed spending a few precious days with our family.

Smiles!

Denise found a spunky new friend for Julia in the toy bin at Old Navy. We named the pig Olivia Dora. And here's a shot of Jason reading to Julia before the plane took off from Chicago. The man next to us said that he was grateful to see that parents are reading the same books he read to his kids 20 years ago. I read "Where's Spot" at least 100 times to Tristan...and now I'm making the rounds again with Julia, who is also quite fond of Sally's hunt. Unlike the flight to Chicago, which had a serious crying spell (Jason heard a passenger behind us say to his neighbor, "You're just going to have to get used to it, man"), the trip home was a dream, thank heavens.

With Denise at Matisse

Last week Julia and I went with Denise Doolan to see the Matisse cutouts at the National Gallery. The security guard told us that he wasn't supposed to voice any opinions about the art but he took great pride in showing off the cutouts and discussing their history. He said that he takes notes when the curators come through. I love the faces that Matisse painted in the middle of these cutouts - they convey a unique grace with such spare brushstrokes.

New trick!

Today, out of nowhere, Julia decided it was finally time to start lifting herself up on her elbows and rolling over. I couldn't believe it! Normally she fusses during "tummy time" and endures my cheerleading for a while until she feels she's given me enough of a show with a slight head raise. Last week I started rolling her over like a child on a grassy hill, so that she could try something new. Did this trigger something? Who knows. In any case, today was a quantum leap for Julia's physical tricks! I thought it was so fun that I put Julia on her tummy at least ten times in a row and she kept on rolling over. She is also super into "walking" - when she's supported, she'll step all over the place. It's so fun to see how mobile she wants to be!

West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful!

We spent this past weekend in a cabin near Berkeley Springs, WV, with Peter and Bethany. Having started "The Music Man" on Jason's birthday, we finished it in celebration of Peter's birthday and now we're all stuck with "Shipoopi" in our brains. Our cabin gave us a scenic view of the railroad, much to Jason's delight, inspiring visions of a hobo lifestyle dancing in his head. We enjoyed walking among the yellow and orange dashes of birch leaves and curling up with our books by the woodstove. Peter and Bethany played with Julia while Jason and I got to sleep in...such a luxury! What a beautiful weekend.

Fun with Jules

One of Julia's favorite books is "Barnyard Dance" (thanks for the recommendation, Cassidy!). She also loves another Boynton book, "One, Two, Three" - we discovered yesterday and again today that when we get to the page "Ten makes a celebration LOUD LOUD LOUD!" Julia just breaks into smiles and laughs - something about that page really strikes her as funny! Tristan, the lizard photo is for you. Now you need to teach Julia about the real deal. And thanks Jenni, for the cute pajamas, and Aunt Laura, for the smashing hot pink dress!