Children's Museum and Birthday Party!

Yesterday (Saturday) Julia was quite the busybody. She went to the DuPage Children's Museum and explored all of the sights and sounds of the very fun yet very overstimulating place. She was pretty overwhelmed by it all right from the get-go, so needless to say, we did not stay very long.



Here she is exploring all of the interesting nooks and crannies the baby play area has to offer.



Saturday night we went to dada's cousin's baby's 1st birthday party. Here they are, slow-dancing the night away!



"Hey Julia, you're cute and all, but it's my birthday first!"

Grandma and Grandpa Q showing Julia pics of herself, which she appears to be curiously amused by.

It was quite an exciting day for the little miss!

The Houseys' House

A pic of Mama with Julia taken earlier today


Julia had a blast today on a playdate with the Housey kids, pictured below.



Gracie, age 3, Julia almost 1, Andrew age 3, and Will, age 5



Julia loved hangin' with the "older crowd"!



Here she is doing a bit of tunneling

Julia (looking amazed at some fabulous toy) with Shelley

Gracie as a caterpillar

Andrew as a caterpillar with Gracie in the background

What a fun playdate it was!

Julia's "In Shape"

Today, Julia and mama hung out at the Woodridge Library and Yorktown Mall. While the Woodridge Library has a fantastic children's department, unfortunately, we were the only ones there :( However, as you can see, the lack of socialization did not damper Julia's spirits whatsoever!



In fact, she decided to make the best of the situation and create her own group of friends to share a puzzle with.



"Mmm the textures of the shapes are deliciously fascinating."



"It's ok, Elmo. I know it's complicated, but I will help you finish it. It's all about the right fit..."

Random pic of her first spaghetti dinner the other night. Mmmmmmmm!

Little Orphan Annie

Check out Julia's post-bath hair!



It exactly resembles a wig mama had when she was "Little Orphan Annie" for halloween when she was 4 years old. Also, happy birthday Grandma Mary! Here are some pics from our celebration of her birthday at PF Chang's Saturday night (and some at home too):



Julia all dressed up!



Grandma Mary and Julia



Auntie Kim and Grandma Mary

Uncle Paul and Uncle Chris

So excited to celebrate!

The following are some pics of our official move from Julia's first official residence:

"What is going on, mama?"

Dada and Julia, taking a break from the packing

In other news, she officially said her first word on Sunday. Her first word is...."off"! She continues to say it in the context of the tv being "off" and the light or fan being "off". Too cute, says mama. Tooooo cute.

The Wait Is Over...

Finally new pics! Above is Julia yesterday



Mama and Julia yesterday



Great Auntie Alice and Julia today



Grandma Mary after work with Julia today

Julia is now almost 11 months old and says "ah?" to everything! She has an insatiable curiosity for life and is now easygoing and an absolute sweetheart.

C'iao for now, but more exciting blogs are sure to come!

In-Between Bouts of Fever...

Julia has been fighting an illness (or two in a row) for most of the past 11 days. Recently, it has taken a turn for the worst and last night her temp spiked up to a frightening 104.5. She was so hot that you could feel the heat from her body 6 or so inches away from it. Luckily, she was ok and it was not serious. If she still has a fever tomorrow we will be taking our 3rd trip to the doc to figure out once and for all what is going on with poor Julia. The following are pics taken during the periods in which the Tylenol seemed to be working in full force...



Julia's increasingly wavy hair



Julia and her Julia Cabbage Patch Kid (actually I think her given name is Frankie, ironically)



Julia and Frankie (maybe we should change her name...?)



Julia clapping for Obama during the Inauguration Ceremony (please excuse the makeshift "chair gate" and the tornado of clutter surrounding it)

Mama hopes Julia gets better by tomorrow!

Update

Mama is making an effort to keep up the blog, so here are a collection of pics taken since January 1st. Above, Julia is all bundled up on one of the very cold below-zero days. Mama had to put her in the jumper while she bundled herself up because Julia kept falling backwards on the floor!



Julia has learned some new tricks in the past few weeks. One of her favorite things to do now is to clap her hands. She is so proud she can do it herself!



Here she is doing "big girl"! She also shakes her head back and forth "no no no no no", but I have yet to capture that in action.



Julia riding in her music-mobile

Amy, Julia, and Megan

Julia in the hat and sweater that Erica hand-knitted for her for Christmas. She also got a Cabbage Patch Kid that has red hair and blue eyes just like Julia!

It's been a very busy and chaotic few weeks, but Julia always manages to squeeze in fun no matter the time or place. She began to crawl last Sunday (a week ago today), and now she is a little explorer, crawling all around the house and examining every little speck on the floor. Oh and today is her 10 month birthday! 2 months to go until official toddlerhood...