Friends

I met Debra when she was a customer at Jamba Juice while I was working. I was about 15 weeks pregnant and she was 16 or so. We talked about all the woes of pregnancy as we went through it together and then started spending time together with our little babes after they were a few months old. Even though I was behind in the weeks of pregnancy, since Juni came so early, she is actually a few weeks older than Colin. While on a walk with my friend Debra and Juni's friend Colin, Colin and Juni were singing their own songs in tune with each other and even held hands for part of the walk. Look at the difference in their limbs! :) Although they go through similar stages, they each know such different things. Colin calls animals by name while Juni says the noise they make. Colin says, "More please," while Juni shakes her head and says, "Yes," or, "No." It is fun to watch them together as they learn and grow.

Cuteness

My brain isn't thinking of much to say but, "Cute!" Her cuteness is out of control, so I thought I'd better share a little with you. I wish you all could see her moving and talking and changing.

Father's Day weekend

On Saturday we went cherry and strawberry picking in Brentwood. It was 105 degrees that day. We kept Juni in the shade 99% of the time, 1% reserved for photo opportunities ;), but it was still HOT! We were able to meet up with some friends from Zach's work afterwards and swim in their pool and have a BBQ. It was so nice to jump in the pool after being out in the orchards and fields. Juni was a super-trooper, like always, and had a blast picking the fruit, and popping it right into her mouth. She was so excited and made the "Oooooo!" sound quite often.

On Father's Day we woke up, went to the farmers' market and then spent some time calling Juniper's grandpas. The rest of the day we just ran some errands and had a nice dinner at home, but it was a great family weekend in the end. We got Juni some alphabet magnets to play with and she has gotten more than good use out of them already. Juni painted her Papa a picture and gave him some TMNT glasses that she likes very much. My superhero duo was in full effect.

14 months already...3 days ago

My boss took off a couple of weeks while she got married so I was working more than double my regular hours. Zach and I were passing in the night and wearing out quickly. Thankfully, my boss returned on Tuesday and life is returning to our old routine. She is currently trying to push some boulders through her gums, on the bottom, so that isn't making her feel too hot, but we are getting through it.

Juni is now saying shirt, tickle-tickle, I love you, Juicy, done, kiss, milk, wash, nose, uh-oh and she is repeating all kinds of words back to us (dirty socks, necklace) as she practices her sounds.

She can run and loves to be chased and caught. Thankfully, she hasn't started doing this outside, but only in the apartment. She and Juicy are becoming better friends each day. Juicy often lets her pet her, as long as Juni doesn't grab her tail. She now loves stacking her blocks and knocking them over, as well as shoving them in a basket one by one and then taking them all out one by one.

At swim, she is holding her breath for longer under the water and doing more actions independently. When released underwater near the stairs, she found the stairs and stood up on her own. As the water splashed over her face, she turned around to Papa, and looked at him, like, "What next, Papa?"

One of her favorite activities is talking on the phone. She goes and goes with with her own words in such seriousness. She gets very disappointed when all that's on the other end is a voicemail and then we hang up the phone. She would talk for hours most days, if we would let her.

She has also decided that most often she would prefer I not take her picture :( She went through a short phase like this before, so I'm hoping this too shall pass :)

From baby to...... toddler?! Sigh.

I kept telling myself since Juni's birthday that I had to stop calling her, "my baby," but I just couldn't do it. She still was, and still is, my baby. But, over this past week I've come to the realization that she is indeed a toddler now. 13 1/2 months, a baby no more.

She has been sleeping much better (knock on wood, please) throughout the night. She loves to walk around outside in her big girl tennis shoes. She is quick to comply when we ask her for a hug or a kiss. Now, instead of just pulling all the toys/diapers/etc. out of the basket, she now likes to put them all back in the basket! Yay! She is kicking her feet at swim and was under water for 7 seconds, no biggy, this last Saturday. Her hair is growing longer and thicker by the second. She says and points to her eyes and teeth.

We are enjoying every giggly moment of these precious weeks of transition. She is cuddling more than ever and I don't have a complaint to mention. My sweet baby....errrr, toddler :), continues to brighten my every day.

Lately

1) As Juni starts to eat more fun foods (spaghetti) we are using aprons to cover her, instead of bibs. This is her owl kid-size apron that we bought for her a few months back, for when she is ready to bake cupcakes with Mama :)

2) Papa was sick and coughing a lot, so he slept on the air mattress a few nights. Juni was so excited to come out and find him in the living room each morning. This is also where she perfected her "getting down from the bed all on her own" moves.

3) After Juni gets down from her chair she loves to look up in the seat and see if she missed anything. Even if she says she is 'all done' she still will eat whatever has fallen into her seat.

4) Juni's favorite part of tuna and noodles: sticking her finger through the noodle :)

5) Sunday morning breakfast.

6) Juni got a Build-A-Bear giftcard from my friend Cicely for her birthday. Sunday we drove to Walnut Creek so she could build her bear! I held her up at each station and she pointed to what she wanted and said, "This, this." We tried to show her other shoes besides the pink satin, rubber high heeled, little rosettes down the front.... but she knew what she wanted and every time we gave her a choice, she picked those again and again! She really did love them. She held her bear the whole way home and played with the shoes for most of the ride.

Juni earned a ribbon!

Yesterday at swim Juni earned her 1st ribbon! She has completed the first 5 goals. 1) Independently sit in shallow water 2) Go underwater 3 seconds 3) Reach, grab wall, independently hold for 3 seconds 4) Comfortable back float in 1st position (with assistance) 5) Kick legs in front float position We are so proud of her and her new-found comfort in the water. We are only half way through this 12 week session, so we are excited to see how far she will go. She has now graduated to Intermediate Aqua Babies.

Her 'most steps in a row' total is now up to 19. She takes more and more each day. She is so steady on her feet, but doesn't seem to have the urge to just get up and walk down the hallway yet. Soon enough, I am sure.

Our Mother's Day was quiet and peaceful. Last year we were in the thick of things with a brand new baby. It is amazing how far we have come. I clearly remember getting everything ready, rushing to Panera, swinging Juni while waiting for our food, swaying her while I shoved my sandwich in my mouth, and getting home as quick as we could to take a nap. Today, I had to go in to work for a store meeting at 6:30 this morning, but then spent the rest of the day relaxing, with a little fun cooking and baking in the mix. We didn't have any big plans, but we rented a movie and spent lots of time playing with Juni. She has grown into such a fun and playful girl.

The photo of her sleeping is another fun day at the zoo.