Well it’s been awhile since I have written.I haven’t had the brain to be able to type anything these days. I’ve been in strict survival mode as my baby has become a toddler and I have tried to keep up with two toddlers. As both kids seem to need to press the power key, delete or Page Down, it's been pretty impossible to post anything. In fact, I've been wrestling off Ezzy as I try to finish this post. However, since Julia just had her first birthday yesterday, I felt I should blog about it. We had her party a couple days ago and I was so touched by all the people who came to celebrate and I am so grateful for everyone’s great gifts!! Wow! I can’t believe I have a one year old and a two year old! It sounds much more crazy saying it that way, than saying I have an almost three year old haha. What can I say? I’m slightly insane.. 
I can’t believe how time has flown and all the wonderful things Julia has experienced her first year of life. Oh how I love my beautiful little thumb sucker. I have been warned by countless people about how it will ruin her teeth and whatnot, but I figure, with my genes, she’s already done for, so I might as well get a little peace haha. Not to mention, I haven’t really been successful at any attempts to stop her thumbsucking since she does it in her sleep as well. If she can end up in my bed without me waking up ( I somehow manage to get out of bed, walk to her crib and bring her into bed without remembering…) there’s no way I can monitor her thumbsucking. 
She is a very tactile baby and always has one thumb in her mouth and her other hand holding her pigtail or, if she’s on my back being carried, she’ll try to rip enough hair off my head to get a handful. It’s particularly painful if my hair is in a ponytail. When she’s sleepy, she becomes very snuggly and cuddly. I love when she loops her arm around my neck and rests her head on my shoulder. She started walking just before she turned 11 months and was taking steps at 8.5 months. She’s always on the go! She is a lot like Esmond was at her age in the sense that she always loves to be leaving the house. As soon as a door opens, she runs to get through it. And if it closes before she escapes, she’s devastated. She loves playing in the backyard and climbing everything she possibly can. Right now, her favourite thing to climb is a kids slide that is about 3.5 feet tall. She’ll climb up the slide with her sticky hands and feet and just sit or stand at the top of it. She likes to give me regular heart attacks. There’s definitely no boredom in this house! She has just started signing for milk or “leche” as I call it and it’s so fun to see her start communicating in more than just shrieks. She is amazing at sitting still and letting me do her hair as long as she has a toy or something exciting to play with. I love that she puts up with my need to style her hair whenever we go out. What a trooper!
Food has been another love for Julia. As long as she is hungry she’ll eat almost anything. There are few things she doesn’t like, but I can’t really remember off the top of my head what those are. I can give her half a banana and she eats it all up just fine. It’s amazing how fast she can eat things. I tend to check her highchair regularly to make sure her food isn’t smashed down one of the sides, but I rarely find food unless it’s tiny bits of food.
Food has been another love for Julia. As long as she is hungry she’ll eat almost anything. There are few things she doesn’t like, but I can’t really remember off the top of my head what those are. I can give her half a banana and she eats it all up just fine. It’s amazing how fast she can eat things. I tend to check her highchair regularly to make sure her food isn’t smashed down one of the sides, but I rarely find food unless it’s tiny bits of food. 
It has been fun the last few weeks to see that Steven can now put Julia to sleep. It warms my heart to see her cuddle with him and fall asleep. Steven is such a wonderful father. And it’s been so much fun to see their relationship bloom. It's so comforting to know that she trusts and loves her Daddy.
She’s started teething again and I think it’s particularly painful this time since it’s the molars coming in and they’re a lot bigger. Julia is really handling it like a champ and only fusses a little, but it makes me sad to see her in pain.
What a spunky little girl Jules is turning out to be. She is VERY determined and if you get in her way, she’ll let you know by her signature screech. She also will punish you if you stand by and do nothing to defend her. For example, Esmond stole her toy and she ran over to me crying and bit my arm. A few hours later, he said she couldn’t have a cracker and she ran over to me and bit my leg… What is that?? I’m still a little unsure about how to go about this one… Poor Esmond has no idea what to do either as he just stands in shock and cries when she bites him. I’m glad he hasn’t developed the need to retaliate immediately and I usually have enough time to whisk him away from her. As Esmond never bit anyone, it’s proving to be quite the learning curve for me. It must really feel like her only defense as she never really hits or kicks. Well, I sure do love my little girl and as I review this last year that I’ve had with her, I can’t believe it’s only been a year and at the same time, I feel like I’m living life in fast forward. It really is true that the older you get, the younger everyone seems. All the more reason to enjoy every moment!
