The photo is from a super-sweet evening where Julia was all about her Daddy. She pulled him up from his chair to dance with her. They danced for a long time together!

Julia deserves a praise-filled update because of her reaction to changes that occurred a week ago. First, we retired the pacifiers. We bundled all of them together and talked about the need to say good-bye to them. We thanked them for being helpful to us and then they went away. She has asked for them and has been reminded that we said good-bye to them. She doesn’t ask again at that time for them. We went several days without any additional requests until we were in the car on Sunday and she was beyond exhaustion and asked for it. As sad as it is to tell her no, she has been so great about giving them up. She has taken every nap and gone on to sleep at night without them.

Second, we retired daily milk bottles. Mama completely mis-read Julia’s love for milk. I did not think Julia would take milk from a sippy cup, but I also thought she would quit asking for milk too. She gives us really sad faces when she asks for milk and gets it in a sippy cup. She keeps asking for the milk and then only drinks two sips before abandoning the cup. We have increased the amount of yogurt and cheese in her diet to keep dairy and some healthy fat in her life. I do not know how long she is going to hold out on this, but the Mama is determined to not go back to a bottle despite her desire for Julia to drink milk.

Lastly, on Thursday, Julia’s crib side came off her bed. We were dreading the things that come with this piece of freedom, but so far so good. Every night, Julia has gone to bed and stayed in bed, with the exception of trying to follow Emily out of the room when Emily disobediently got out of bed. Amazingly, the girls have left each other alone at night. They are still taking their mid-afternoon naps in different rooms, though. I know Julia is a bit naive about what she could do, but I could not have hoped for a better acceptance of the rules that are associated with her new found freedom!

Our baby is growing up quickly these days! We are so proud of you Julia!