I knew it was going to happen, Julia is growing just as quickly as Emily did. The time has flown, and while I thought I was watching all of the time, she has grown and I didn’t notice. Here she is 8 weeks old and so much bigger.

Her face and other features are filling out. Julia has strong legs and kicks them really well. She also has a lot of control over her arms. She can hit her toy hanging from the car seat handle and I think she is doing it on purpose. She also likes to knock her pacifier out of her mouth. Then she will lick her hand or stick some part of it in her mouth and suck on it. It makes a pretty loud sucking sound. Unfortunately, it is not as satisfying as the pacifier and she fusses after a little while.

She holds her head up well and is looking around. She doesn’t like her tummy time and doesn’t usually do her neck ‘exercises’. She must take after me, I don’t like exercises either. She will turn her head when she hears a familiar voice and when she knows that she is going to eat she gets excited. I still wonder what she is looking at half of the time as she focus on odd things, but she is alert and looking around. She doesn’t like her swing as much as Emily did, but she loves the bouncy seat. This is great because it allows me to get my shower and to keep her happy.

We took the girls to see a local outdoor train display after church on Sunday. The collection included a number of trains depicting different eras of East Tennessee train history and some actual train equipment including the crossing sign and pump car. There was a train hauling lumber to a mill, one hauling coal from a mine, a Southern engine pulling passenger cars, a CSX engine pulling container cars, a Chessie train, a UT Volunteer train, a marine life transport train, and I’m sure some others that I can’t remember.

The day was cool and we were all bundled up. The train exhibit was inside of a tent so it was a lot more comfortable inside. Emily enjoyed her freedom while exploring around the equipment and train set. She wasn’t very interested in posing for photos, so Mommy had to settle with ‘action’ photos. Emily was very tempted to touch the trains as they ran by us, but she resisted.

Julia enjoyed the activity from the front pack that Daddy wore. Daddy tucked her tiny feet into his coat to help keep her warm. At this point she likes to lay her face up against the person carrying her and go to sleep. I can’t imagine anything sweeter. This is how she spent the whole event.

After exploring the trains and equipment we took a cold stroll in the gardens. Emily followed Daddy for a while, but then decided that we needed to take a different trail. After that she picked the paths.

We were happy to warm up in the car on our way home as Emily took her afternoon nap in the car with Julia. We are hoping that this display will become a yearly tradition so that we can pass on Mommy and Grandpa’s love of trains on to our girls.

I took Julia for her 6 week checkup. We had postponed the one month appointment because of insurance issues. It all worked out because at the time of the appointment Julia was just getting over a stomach virus and we could combine a well visit and a sick visit. Julia had just run her course with the illness and had no additional complications. Her weight at the visit was 8 lbs. 3 oz., height of 20 1/2 inches, and head size of 14 1/8 inches. I was pleased with her weight especially considering that she had a day of illness where she hadn’t eaten much. Over the 6 weeks she has increase her weight by 1 lb. 6 oz. and grown an inch longer. The doctor was pleased with where she was at. She balances out between the 15th and 25th percentile. Julia didn’t appreciate the shot that she got or having to lie on the cold table. Her next checkup will be at 2 months.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice for a Sister!

Wow – It is Julia’s One Month Birthday today! I know everyone always says it, but I can’t believe that we have had her for one month now. I know for all the changes that our family has undergone in this last month so much has changed for Julia too. I guess we are all in this together.

We love her and are so grateful to God for giving us such a great gift!

The girls had some supervised play on Daddy’s lap.

Today Emily was pointing at different features on Julia’s face and named a few of them for me. I guess she was showing off. While I was proud that she knew the names, I was most glad that she pointed at Julia’s eye and didn’t poke it. Who knew that they second kid was going to be such a good educational tool.

Julia’s milestone for today is that she finally lost her umbilical cord. Tub baths for Julia now!!