This is the envelope the IRS was kind enough to include in our inquisition packet. Standard letter size.

This is the information they requested. Maybe if I shove real hard...

I think we have an athlete in the making. Julianna new favorite shoes are her tennis shoes. Furthermore, we went to watch my cousin play Volleyball at a tournament and Julianna was very upset that she could not join in. My final proof to my hypothesis is, we are not big TV watchers around our house. We mostly watch sporting events. Julianna plopped herself down in front of the TV last week, pointed at the screen (which was off) and asked for 'ball'.

I don't have any new photographs, but I thought I would give everyone an update on our week. Yesterday, Julianna went to Mom's Day Out wearing her pearls and her truck watch. She insisted on both of them herself. Today we went to the fire station and she got to touch the trucks and sit on them. We will go again and I will get pictures. Right now she is keeping herself awake. She has decided that she does not want to be rocked to sleep and we have gone to rocking her for a while, then into the crib she goes. It can be anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour before she is out. I dread her moving into a big bed, one she can get out of to keep herself awake.

I think this photo pretty much says it all.

This is going to be three posts all rolled into one.

The pictures are our new tennis outfit. Thanks, Aunt Penny and our two-bottle a day habit.


1. It is all in vain

This morning, Julianna insisted on reading a book after breakfast. But not any book would do. It had to be "I Love Trucks". Afterwards, we went for a walk in her pink stroller, wearing her pink shorts and pink floral top, with a baby doll. Our first stop? The road construction about two blocks from here so she could watch the big trucks move dirt. At least she doesn't object to wearing a dress...

2. When did that happen?

The kids at Mom's Day Out eat lunch there and the parents are suppose to make them a sack lunch. As I was getting her ready on Tuesday, I realized that she never eats a cold meal around here. Every time she sits down, at least a portion is hot off the stove. Even her sandwiches are grilled cheese. When did I become that mommy?



3. Sometimes, all you can do is shake your head.

Julianna is becoming quite the little helper. She will pick up plates in the morning and help unload the dishwasher. She is not so fond of loading, and will sometimes be busily taking dirty dishes out while we are loading others in. She has also learned to toss clothes into the washing machine. She thinks it is a great game because she gets to throw stuff. This week, I took a load of clean ones out of the dryer and put them in a basket on the floor, put wet ones in the dryer and then began putting another load in the washer. I was busy loading, when suddenly clean clothes from the basket come flying into the washer. She's a good shot and all but one sock went in.

Today is September 11. Like everyone else, I remember where I was six years ago today, what I was doing, what I felt, but I honestly did not remember that today was a day of significance until I was on my way to lunch and saw a sign on a business about remembering. Six years and the day I thought I would never forget has been forgotten. It is a sad commentary.

Today was an exciting day in our life. Today Julianna started Mom's Day Out. I spent the time sewing. Above is my machines and a pile of fabric. I finished two dresses, although one was just doing the seams of a bishop, so it did not take long. I started on a third. I managed to wait all the way to 12:08 before I could not stand it any more and had to go pick her up. I was ready to pick her up before I left the parking lot, but I persevered. We will both adjust.

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.

Julianna had her dedication yesterday. The dress got finished on Saturday night, but not at midnight, so I had plenty of time to spare. I'm going to get some formal photos done in the dress.
Julianna has finally learned "no". Sigh. It is not her favorite word and half the time she does not use it in proper context. All in good time, I suppose. Mostly we are just thrilled that she is using words at all. She tried a sentence this week. It was "garble, garble cracker". This was progress over her usually which is "cracker" in continually increasing tones. Hopefully we will soon be saying "I would like a cracker please, mommy" (I can at least dream).