Julia Goes to the Cape!

Julia recently spent a week on Cape Cod! It was great to spend time with the family: Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan, Aunt Julia, Aunt Pammy, Uncle Nick, Uncle Mike, and of course, puppies Pearl and Tucker!

We did a ton of fun things, including many days at the beach. Julia's first experience with the Atlantic was similar to her reaction to the Pacific- not a big fan of the water! But after four days at the beach, she finally came around. A little bit.

Pacific Toes

Julia was not exactly thrilled with her first visit to the beach. Everything was fine until she dipped her toes into the chilly Pacific. Not a big fan, yet. And the warm sand was little consolation after the injustice of the sea! She'll grow into a beach bunny. Mommy hopes. :)

Sorry about the quality of the video. The higher-quality video wouldn't upload to Blogger.

Julia's Trip to California

Julia went on her first plane ride following her baptism to visit all of her California family! She was an EXCEPTIONAL traveler! Despite a 15+ hour day out to the West Coast, she was all smiles and merriment. It was a blessing to have Grandma Cindy and Uncle Chris with us for the flight. The trip back was not quite so long, and she did well then, too.

Our time in Claremont, California was amazing. Julia got to meet all of Bill's family including Great-Grandma (GG) Bobbie, Uncle Scott, Uncle Ray, and Aunt Valerie. We also had a chance to meet many of Grandma Cindy's friends. They had heard all about Julia, and she didn't disappoint! Except for a minor naptime meltdown at Grandma's office, Julia was a super social butterfly.

We did some very fun things including a trip to Balboa Island (where Grandma Cindy spent summers with her grandma!), Crystal Cove beach, Laguna Beach, the Claremont 4th of July celebration, and we even went out to a few restaurants! We also got some good walks in around Grandma's neighborhood and in the Botanical Gardens in Julia's BOB stroller. And perhaps the biggest event of our trip was celebrating GG Bobbie's 93rd birthday!!!

All in all, we had a marvelous time. Julia can't wait to go back!

Julia's CA Trip- Part 1

Julia's CA Trip- Part 2

Playing on Grandma Cindy's Patio

During her trip to California, Jujubee enjoyed her morning playtime on Grandma Cindy's patio.

God Bless Julia!

Julia was baptized at St. Catherine of Sienna on Father's Day, June 21st. It was quite an event! She wore a beautiful Ulster linen family christening gown with gorgeous Celtic embroidery. None of these pictures do the gown justice, so a photo shoot is due soon to showcase the dress!

This will be once the dress is cleaned, however, since Julia made her mark (so to speak) on it in the middle of Father Martin's homily. Advised that we should be ready to continue with the baptismal sacrament as soon as the homily was over, we didn't dare leave the church to try and change her quickly. So, Bill tried his best to ignore the warm, wet, and stinky sensation occurring on his arm through his suit sleeve!

After the ceremony, we saw the full extent of Julia's damage, and we are grateful it doesn't show in any of the pictures!

We had a party at home following the baptism, and Jen Nitkowski made the fabulous cakes.

All in all, it was a GREAT day, and a special first Father's Day for Bill. A foreshadowing of things to come for him, perhaps....?

Julia's Christening Photos

A May/early June retrospective...

It's been a busy, busy couple of months in the Walkenbach household. Julia is growing in leaps and bounds! Here are some pictures of recent outings to Toughannock Falls, the Farmers' Market, and Ithaca Festival, along with pictures from around the house. We can't get enough of this wee one!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=o5fq326.8fyz01l2&x=0&y=-h93mz0&localeid=en_US

That's how she rolls!!!

Julia's been spending more and more time on her tummy, and as a result, her neck is getting SO strong! She's able to lift herself up and look around for minutes on end. What a change from the first few weeks when tummy time meant Julia lying face-down on her mat and turning her head to the side MAYBE one time- and that was to breathe! And now she's rolling from her belly to her back! What an accomplishment! You can see (hear) from the video how excited we are about this new development!

It's amazing how much she's grown. You might be able to tell from the video that she's learning her name, and she's really started to focus in on me and Bill when we speak to her. She even looks for us in the room when we're not right by her side. It's awesome and a little scary, too! I've been VERY conscious of what I do in front of her now! Trying to limit her (and my!) bad habits!

She's three months old today, June 6. What a ride it's been thus far. And so much more to come, but all in good time. We're loving each day with our new family member!

Julia's Workout

I checked out a Mommy-Baby yoga dvd out of the library, and JB really seemed to enjoy the workout. Here we are in the basement, making sure that Julia gets her reps in!

Bumbo!

Julia's hard work with her neck control is paying off! She has a new "Bumbo" chair to sit in while contemplating her feet- one of her favorite things to do!

Julia and her puppy, all Tucker-ed out..

After Julia's hike at Treman Park, she was exhausted. And so was Uncle Tucker, Grandma and Grandpa's puppy. Everyone slept well after such a busy day.