When we look at the photos from China, we are always saying how much different Julianna looks. I thought it would be fun today to dress her in an outfit we had photographed her in before just to show the difference. First,you will notice that she is a whole lot less cooperative with photographs. I could not get a good photo without her playing. Second, the outfit is now about two inches too short. Third, she is steady on her feet and does not have a wide based gait. She looks like a little girl now and not a baby.

The things we find when mommy is on the phone...

This photograph came from Love Without Boundaries

They provided formula to Julianna's orphanage. It was taken November, 2006. I just think it is adorable.

I feel somewhat obligated to make at least one post about the US Open, which started Monday. I've blogged about the other three tennis slams that it feels like I should mention the one that is played in our own country. I guess all I can say right now is, I'm grateful it is played in a time zone close to mine and that some of the best matches are night games, which in my new world translates to after "baby is asleep matches".

Julianna is learning a new word this month--Audit, as in this is your friendly IRS calling. I suppose it is good that she is learning about life's little realities at such a young age. Fortunately, we have had practice in paperchasing, so finding all those little receipts should not be a huge issue. At least we don't have to certify and authenticate every single one.

We are working toward another milestone--dressing ourself. It was her idea. She grabbed a pair of shorts I was folding and proceeded to try and put them on unassisted. She can already do her shoes by herself. We still have to do the straps.

She has learned where her umbilicus is. Still working on patella.

Today was one of those really fun days in mommy-hood. Julianna has starting saying two word sentences. Right now it is always "Bye, bye (object)", but it is a discernible sentence. Today, she colored with crayons without once trying to eat them, she asked to finger paint, she stacked blocks (and knocked them down, which is apparently more fun), she pointed to five body parts, she pointed to almost all the animals on her animal picture and, best of all, we read four books before bedtime. Actually reading, all the way through, and one had more than three or four words per page. Last week she could not do any of this, but suddenly, she hits a ton of milestones in one day. Next up on the agenda is learning patella and umbilicus. And maybe our colors.

Blogging everyday is just hard work.

Our little girl is one and a half inches taller than she was on gotcha day. The first casualty of growth was shoes. It is sort of bittersweet to have her not fit the cute tiny shoes anymore. She is starting to look so much like a little girl and not like a baby.

While we are taking this nostalgia tour, Julianna and I are watching a video of Journey, live in concert from the Escape tour (1981). My very first concert experience was Journey. Ah, the memories. True to form, Julianna dances to the upbeat, rocking songs and completely ignores the slow ballads. I think her career as a concert cellist is in danger.

The word of the week is "lawnmower".

We headed up to Tennessee this week to spend some time with Phillip's family. We took a grand total of five pictures the whole time. It was a very pleasant trip. Julianna took her first boat ride. She seemed to enjoy it and wanted to get on the boat when they went out a second time. She swam a little, but this is not one of her favorite activities. She likes her feet on the ground when she is in the water, but this is not easy in a lake. She has learned to sign peach and thoroughly enjoyed eating them.

We also made a trip to the adoption clinic at UAB. They thought she was not quite where she should be, having been home for four months and want her to start some interventions. We will go back in six months for a check up. She has, however, grown an inch and gained 2.5 lbs since coming home from China.

Now I have to brag on how smart she is again. When we were doing the last minute load up and saying our goodbyes, I put Julianna in the front seat. She pulled down the safety belt and was trying to insert the tab into the catch.


Don't call the social worker. I did not let her ride here. She rides in her car seat.

This is going to be a post about how smart Julianna is. Right now she is sort of letting me watch tennis. She occasionally will go to the TV and point at the tennis balls and say "ball". But what really surprised me was when she watched a service point and then pick up her racket, took it to the TV and pointed at the one on the TV. Maybe I can enroll her in tennis lessons...

She has a great memory. When we are out walking, she remembers every house that we have seen an animal at and will start calling out the name before we reach the house--cat, cat, dog, dog. What amazes me is that we have seen the pets at most of the houses only once, but she remembers.

She is trying nearly every word she hears. She almost did a two word sentence last night. She said bye, bye dada, once, but then returned to say them each a couple of times and switching. Hopefully soon.

Every time I see her on the bike like this, I think she looks like she is ready to jump a Harley and tour the country.

It has been a strange day around our house. Julianna has suddenly decided that she does not like to have her diaper changed. She cries and whines all the way to the changing table, then sits quietly on the table. I guess she is exerting some toddler power. The other strange thing today involved Miss Kitty. She needed a bath and for the first time Julianna complained about the separation. She does not even play with her all that much during the day, but was very upset that I took her out of the crib and put her in the washer. It was just so weird. Right now she is wailing like a banshee for no apparent reason. Ah, the joys of toddlers.

This weekend we loaded up and headed to Wisconsin. We had important business there. Our mustard supply was dwindling.
Fortunately, there is a wonderful place to restock.
You can find mustards from all over the world there. It would be somewhat embarrassing to admit to the number of mustard bottles in our refrigerator. I will say, however, that there is not a single bottle of plain ol' French's anywhere in our house.
The witticism is free.
With the man himself, the Maestro of Mustard, our hero, our icon Barry Levenson.
With the local royalty, her majesty, the Duchess of Mustard.

If you have not had enough of the punnys, hop on over to the official web site, and start exploring the world of mustard.


http://www.mustardweb.com/index.htm

I have not taken any new pictures this week. Totally without excuse.

Julianna has picked up a new word--"poo poo". It was really strange to hear her say it and to use it in proper context. It is not one that I have really been working on her learning, I just say it when I'm changing her diaper or to explain the purpose of toilets. Yesterday, she starting saying poo poo, and guess what, she needed a new diaper. She did it again today. She is starting to notice when she needs a new diaper and is starting to request changes. She is also not real excited about wearing diapers anymore. I had to put her in a pull up yesterday because she flat out refused the regular diaper. I'm hoping this signals the beginning of toilet training, but she is still quite young so I'm not going to pressure her about it. I'm just going to enjoy hearing about her adventures rather than smelling them. That was really bad. I think I'll send myself to time out.