Sometimes it is hard to decide what you want to do – play or sleep. While Emily was napping, Julia was playing with Emily’s giant lego blocks. She had so much fun playing with them she decided to take a quick nap. How cute is this? Well, cute enough for me to snap some photos and then move her to a safe, dark, quiet location. I didn’t want her to roll onto a block in her sleep.

I took Julia for her 9 month checkup today. She is actually almost 10 months, but that is what happens with vacations and busy doctor offices. She was really good and only gave the doctor a hard time when he tried to look in her mouth. He came up with the same observation that I had – no teeth yet. As soon as I sat her back on the exam table she clapped and giggled. The giggling stopped for the flu shot, but even after that she was quick to calm down.

The doctor and I discussed allergies, given a reaction she had to either yogurt or strawberries. He said to wait on strawberries until one year and try yogurt again at any point. Other things still on the do-not-eat-yet list are nuts, egg, wheat, and chocolate. Too bad for her, those are some of my favorite foods. Her next visit will be at 12 months.

At this visit she weighed 15 lbs 3.5 oz. This is a 1 lb 7.5 oz increase since the 6 month visit. She also measured 27 1/4 inches long, an increase of an inch and a quarter. She has fallen to the 3rd percentile for weight and 25 percentile for length. The doctor said it was common for kids to have periods of faster growth followed by slower growth. In general, Julia is smaller than Emily was at this point Given the weight loss that Emily had between her 9 and 12 month visit I’m betting that Julia will catch up in compairson.

No really funny stories from this visit, but our nurse’s name was Emily which was interesting for our Emily who came for the visit. Emily not only snagged a sticker today, but a measuring tape for her doctor kit. There are perks for hanging out with your sister.

A classic photo of a Daddy with his child, both taking a nap together. Our lives have been ordered in a way that Robby just doesn’t get to take naps with baby Julia like he got to with baby Emily. So when I caught this moment together I had to take a photo. It appears that Robby makes a pretty good foot rest along with someone fun to cuddle with. These are such sweet moments.

Things have been changing this week at our house. Emily moved into her big girl bed, which at this point is her crib transitioned to a day bed. Emily helped Robby to transfer it over and enjoyed some playtime under the bed. Her first nap was not much of a nap, but it did give Robby an hour and half break from her being under foot. Her first night had the drama of her rolling out of the bed once. We were ready for that possibilty with a bank of pillows to pad her fall. She was upset from the fall, but wasn’t hurt. She managed to stay in her bed the second night just fine. I will miss the freedom of knowing she is in a safe place while I am doing chores, but she can’t stay in the crib forever.

Julia is changing every day. She intereacts with the world so much more. You can read such delight and desire on her face. If you are holding something that she wants she tries her hardest to get it. Things in Emily’s hands are really intersting. She will move across the floor to get to what she wants or just to be near Emily. Today, I was watching her floor movement and can report that she is officially crawling. She had been rolling and pulling herself places with her forarms, but today I saw the knee bend and foot kick that propells her forward. She is so delighted with herself. When I was watching her, she crawled about a foot then turned on her side to me and waved at me. It was like she was saying, “Hi Mommy, see my new trick.”

Emily really enjoyed her flotation devices when swimming!

Today, we ran some errands in the car and Emily got to eat several snacks while we traveled. The first snack was a bag of pretzels. I watched in the rear view mirror as she figured out that the salty crumbly remains of the bottom of the bag were quite yummy. She would dig her finger into the pool of crumbs and them put them in her mouth. She did it over and over with joy. Later, when I got the bag out for the trash I found that she had eaten all of the crumbs.

Later, we got a popcorn snack for the trip home. Luckily, I split the bag with her because part way through her portion she poured all of the popcorn out of the bag onto her lap. Again, I got the front row view of the whole event throughthe rear view mirror. I don’t know if she started it on purpose, but I know she finished pouring it out on purpose. She just looked at the pile for a little while. Then she picked up a few and alternately put them back in the bag and ate them. It was pretty slow going and she became upset at the mess she made. I pulled over and helped her clean it up when I had an opportunity. I’m hoping she learned that pouring it out was fun, but sitting in it for a little while wasn’t fun.

While in Miami, we went to watch the sun go down over Miami from Biscayne Bay. We played in the sand and Emily got in the water for a few minutes. Emily’s legs were sensitive to the saltwater that evening so she wasn’t interested in staying for long. But after a quick wash in the restroom she was ready to explore the beach.

This beach didn’t have tons of great sea shells, but it did have enough that Emily had success in finding them herself. We gave her a cup to put them in as she collected them. She enjoyed her treasures. Luckily for us, she didn’t want to keep all of them. She allowed her collection to be cut down to three to take with us.

Julia enjoyed her second trip to the beach. Her first trip a couple of months ago was mostly spent wrapped up in a blanket because of a cool breeze. Summer doesn’t have very many cool breezes to worry about. She loved just sitting on the blanket trying to grab the sand. As soon as she had sand in her hands she would try to eat it. She didn’t understand why I didn’t like that game.

It’s great to have Grandparents who live at cool destinations like by the beach. Thanks for taking us out to see the ocean!

Julia is a huge mama’s girl. Her mom is very thankful that during this trip Julia was happy to spend more time than usual away from her mom. Grandma got lots of Julia time!

Grandma took Emily down to get her legs wet. The bay side beach got deep pretty quick for someone who is only three feet tall. Emily enjoyed just walking down the bike/walking path that followed the beach. I think she would have kept going if I hadn’t made her turn and come back. Perhaps she really enjoyed the absolute freedom I was giving her – we walked where she wanted to and at her pace.

I was privileged to introduce Emily to her first ice cream truck while we were out at the beach. What a cool concept for a kid – big truck that plays music and also gives out ice cream! I got a chocolate soft serve cone for us to share. I loved the mustache and beard that was left after the cone was gone. Classic!