101225 Kitchen

We woke up at Grammy and Pop-pop's house in RI on Christmas morning. Julia's aunties and uncles thought she was ready for some cooking experience. Thus, they outfitted her with a kitchen and food. We are looking forward to hours of winter fun back home in Ithaca!

Early Christmas!

Christmas came a little bit early to the Walkenbach house! By the time the holidays are over, Julia's going to be a present-pro! Here's the video, in two parts, of Julia's first encounter with gifts under the tree during Christmas 2010. :)

Uncle Chris Reads Frosty!!!

Uncle Chris sent a wonderful early Christmas present to Julia last week! He recorded "Frosty the Snowman," and Julia has a tough time putting the book down, she loves it so much! Thank you, Uncle Chris!!!

Art at Grammy's House

We visited Grammy and Poppop in RI for Thanksgiving. Julia accessed her inner artist during the visit. She enjoys crayons and dough. :) And Tucker was a pretty good apprentice.

A Penguin Halloween

Here's our penguin on Halloween! I made the mistake of thinking Julia wasn't ready to go trick-or-treating. She was definitely interested. When kids came to the door, she asked to go with them. Every time. Didn't matter who they were. Next year, we'll know better!

101017 At Treman Park

During Grandma's October visit to Ithaca we spent a lovely afternoon at our favorite swimming hole- but no swimming this time of year!

101017 Cornell Plantations

Grandma Cindy and Uncle Chris came to Ithaca in October. We had great fun walking at the Cornell Plantations and showing off the fall foliage to our West Coast family!!!

101008 Rehearsal Dinner

Julia had a ball at Auntie Julia and Uncle Mike's rehearsal dinner on Cape Cod back in October. She had lots of fun with her extended family and managed to develop a taste for lobster.

1010202 ABCs

Julia's been working on her ABCs. Actually, she loves watching the LeapFrog Letter Factory DVD. Something's surely sinking in, though!

100909 MOST

We spent a fun day at the Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse back in October. The mirrors were a hit!

100906 Sciencenter.m4v

We spent Labor Day at the Sciencenter here in Ithaca. It was only the first or second time we spent the day there, but it became a favorite go-to place for Bill and Jujubee during the fall when Mommy was in class.

100906 Dancing in the Dark.m4v

At last, I've figured out how to add more videos to the Blogger site! Here's a bit from early September when Julia was rocking out in the living room. Loves her shades!

100828 Bunnies at the Fair.m4v

Julia visited the NY State Fair this summer with GRammy and Pop-pop. Her favorite exhibit was the "Poultry, Pigeons, Rabbits, and Cavies." A cavy is apparently part of a group of South American rodents, of which the domesticated guinea pig is one. All of these animals, rows upon rows of cage upon cage, were there for showing. We saw some prize winners, and many were for sale. Alas, Julia did not return home with a pet from the Fair. We'll have to visit them again next year. I think she may already be looking forward to her next visit.

100828 Quack at the Fair

Julia also enjoyed the ducks at the Fair. She seemed to know their language.

100823 Spaghetti Supper

Dinner and a show...

100816 Julia & Lincoln with the Ball Chute

Our friend Lincoln came over to play for a bit. He and Julia, as is their custom, were interested in the same toy despite the many choices. They navigated this shared play pretty well! And then Julia noticed the camera, and you'll see what that means...

100814 Swimming at Treman

Robert Treman State Park has been one of our favorite places to go this summer. There's a super playground and swimming at the base of the falls. We don't let Julia explore quite that far yet, but Daddy bravely let Julia explore the wading area on her own...as he followed closely behind, of course. The water was always chillier than we would have liked, but it didn't faze JB!

100808 Pop pop in Julia's Pool

Pop pop couldn't resist playing in Julia's pool at the Cape. Julia loved the company!

100704 4th of July

We had a wonderful family bbq at Grandma's house in California. We had all of the entertainment that we could handle with Julia's recurrent laughs. She's becoming quite the ham- loves her an audience!

At Grandma's Pool in CA

Grandma Cindy brought us to her pool during our visit to CA. Julia's clearly a water baby!

Summer Re-Cap

It's been a fun and busy summer- so much so that we haven't had time to update the blog! Since it's Labor Day and we'll soon be embarking on more autumnal adventures, we'll say a fond farewell to July and August with ALL of these videos!

First, here are some of the pictures from the summer...click on the photo to see the rest of the Shutterfly album!


July 2010


August 2010


August 2010 - Part II

Abigael!

Abby and her mom and dad came to visit! Julia was thrilled to see her friend. From the pictures, it looks like she can't quite believe it's really Abigael! The girls enjoyed playing together and having a snack. It's hard to believe how big they've gotten since playdate #1!

Memorial Day at Treman Park

We spent a lovely afternoon at Robert Treman Park during Memorial Day weekend. Julia loved splashing in the pool at the base of the waterfall. She certainly didn't mind going into deeper water, either. The girl loves to wade around!

And thank you, Grandma Cindy, for the super swimsuit! The little tee-shirt top keeps our fair girl from getting too much sun, and the little skirt is too cute. We should probably buy stock in baby sunscreen. We go through enough of it!

Jujubee's June 2010...

Here are some pictures from Jujubee's June. We went to RI for Auntie Julia's bridal shower and spent a few days on Cape Cod. Jujubee LOVES the beach! Especially the water. We might need to get her a little life jacket for unexpected runs into the ocean. She has little regard for the powerful sea. :)

JUNE 2010 Photos

Silly with her spoon

Julia's getting pretty good using her spoon for cereal, soup, yogurt, and other such things. You might not see that from this video, though.

May Pictures

Here are some photos from May 2010, including some from Mothers' Day Brunch at the Statler. What a treat! Thanks, Bill & Jujubee!!!

MAY 2010 PICS

Spring Playtime

Here's a (long) video of Julia playing in the backyard. She has a new stroller for her "baby," and it's a pretty good substitute for pushing her own stroller- which she loves to do at the most inopportune times. And she loves "more" w/Daddy. He created a bit of a monster when he started tossing her in the air to play. She can't get enough of it now!

And her cutey-patootie outfit, complete with matching hat, is from Grandma's friend Nancy. Thank you, Nancy! We get a ton of compliments when we're out and about town!

Julia's Squinty Smile

Julia's gotten the idea that she has to squint her eyes when she smiles. It's pretty goofy! Here's a short clip from our trip from Ithaca to RI for a visit in May.

Julia, Poppop, and Tucker

Julia likes helping her Poppop take Tucker for a walk. She's not terribly attentive to holding the leash, though.

Haddon Family Visit

The Haddon Family came all of the way from Maine to visit Ithaca in late April. Henry made quite an impression on Julia- and vice-versa! It was great to spend time with such dear friends with such nice weather.

Doing laps...

Take her out to the ballgame...

Julia celebrated a successful Ivy Basbeall weekend with a spin around the bases at Hoy Field. Well, maybe she was trying to run them- she was distracted by a couple of things. And she was not much help with the tarps.

Happy Easter!!!

We celebrated Easter with Grandma Cindy during her visit to Ithaca. She came all of the way from CA to spend time with her precious girl Julia Barbara. JB clearly enjoyed having Grandma's attention! Thank you for the beautiful Easter bonnet, Grandma Cindy; and thank you for the beautiful Easter dress Grandma Judy and Auntie Julia!!!

PICTURES FROM APRIL

Beach time

After a rocky start with the beach last summer, Julia's on-board this year. She LOVED the sand, chasing seagulls, and the waves when we visited Midtown Beach in Palm Beach, FL.

Pool party!

Getting ready for a dip in the pool...

Spring Break!

Julia thoroughly enjoyed her trip to FL during spring break. She was such a good sport hanging out at the pool, the beach, and the zoo. While traveling with a one year old was a trial and a half, the chance to get away to warmer temps was WELL worth it- for both of us!

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Opening Day at CU Baseball!

Jujubee had a blast at Cornell's first game of the season. The Big Red split with Binghamton, and Julia got a taste of freedom running in the field.

Julia's Birthday Photos

Julia and I took a brief trip to RI where we celebrated the big 1st birthday with my family. As you can see from the photos, it was a spectacular trip!

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Birthday Tutus

Julia and her puppy pal Pearl both received beautiful pink tutus for their respective March birthdays. What are the chances?!? Here's a bit of video with the "girls" in their birthday finery.

Happy 1st Birthday to Julia!!!

A whole YEAR! Wow! Well done, Julia. Here's a clip from Julia's first experience with birthday cake. Granted, if was very much past her bedtime. She'll have plenty of opportunities to develop a sweet tooth. We're not worried. :)

Julia and Lincoln

Julia and Lincoln had a play date not too long ago. Julia was an excellent hostess, encouraging Lincoln to use her beloved Jumperoo. She even showed him how to do it. He graciously accepted the "help."

Our Funny Valentine!

Julia was well-prepared for Valentine's Day thanks to Aunties Pam & Julia and Grandma Judy. She even had some accessories to share with her dear friend Abigael. The girls know how to pose!

Loooong time, no posting!

WOW! We are slackers in the blogosphere! I can't believe we let a whole 6 weeks go by without a single post to the blog. My apologies to all of the Julia-watchers out there! Luckily, we have plenty of pictures and video to put up, and now I have a moment or two to get a few of them here. I'll do my best to go chronologically, but things may get a bit mixed up!

Julia is now a full ONE YEAR OLD! It's hard to believe that such a feat is possible. Of course, when I think back to all of those hours, days, weeks, and months, it feels like a lifetime. And it was! Julia's lifetime thus far. :)

She's walking and talking (kind of) and definitely exploring the world around her. She loves her finger foods and feeding herself, Elmo, and all manner of playing. She is especially fond of musical instruments and books.

All in all, Julia is great company. She's a happy, lovable, fiercely independent baby on her way to toddlerhood, if she's not there already! I miss parts of her baby-ness, but the little girl she's becoming is a sweetheart.

Now what was it that I did before she came along???? I can't recall...

Here are some photos from the past few months. Videos are on the way!

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First Steps!

Julia's starting to make some moves on her own! Here's a clip of her first solo mission. The fun begins for mommy and daddy!

More scooting!

Scooting!

Julia had a blast scooting around Grandma Cindy's backyard during our visit in January. Here she is with Gram and Aunt Val, tearing it up!

Sharing Cheerios

Julia learned about sharing during our visit to RI in early January. Tucker was pretty psyched about that!