Ahhhhhhhh...choo

I think Julian's already better at numbers than I am. Well, I guess I can count to 10 without missing a few numbers, but to hear him do it sounds so much more impressive. A week or so ago, I swear he counted to 10 and only missed 3 and 8, but now he's just doing the 1-2-3-4 or 5-6-7 or 9-10, but not together. He will call out 6s and Ws when he sees them, and he's starting to string together words more. "Biiiiig truck" or "milk please mommy." "Ready set go" is one of his favorites right now, too. As you can tell from the video, he's added "casa" to his short list of Spanish words.

The cutest thing right now might be his fake sneezes that he'll draw out over several seconds and then look at us because he knows his antics make us laugh. Or maybe the cutest thing is that he'll chime in and say "me too" anytime Ian or I says that or if we say we love you or miss you.

He also tinkled, which is the perfect words for his three little drops of pee, in the potty for the first time today.

Playing hard, learning lots

Julian is amazing us these days with his curiosity and developmental skills. No matter how many times your kid does something new, the newness never gets tiring.

He opened the screen door to walk in the house today and then turned around and closed it behind him. Ian said he was pouring his juice from one cup to another and saying "juice," then drinking it and saying "nice." He held on the end of Shiva's leash and repeated "good girl" on a walk today. You ask him his name, he says "Juli." Ask him to play guitar, and he rocks out with an air guitar that would rival any at the Alamo Drafthouse competition.

Did I tell ya about my girl Ruby?

Our adventurous weekend in Houston offered its own learning opportunities. He got to see elephants, turtles, lions and the lot at the Houston Zoo (the monkeys! the birds! it was enough to make a kid's head explode), and he even went to his first beer tasting. Well, he stuck with root beer while Erin and I hit the St. Arnold's sauce. Some Montrose shopping meant he got to run in and out of dressing rooms while mommy was only half clothed. It was hot as hell, but he stuck out one final destination for me: the Menil Collection, where the two of us quietly perused the cool, quiet galleries, taking in the powerful and moving works. He finally fell asleep in the Rothko Chapel and slept most of the way home.

Add to that nap, which was his only one the WHOLE WEEKEND, a full day yesterday with Dad and Corey on the Greenbelt and Barton Springs and an evening of kickball, he was tuckered out enough to sleep until 9 this morning.

I took a few photos and videos of this weekend that I'll hopefully post later this week. Sorry I've been so neglectful to La Vie Dansante. Relish Austin has taken over my life a little, including a column tomorrow about cooking in bulk and freezing food and this video about how to make a great margarita, but I'm starting to really get into food blogging. Happy reading (and eating!)...

Julian has a song for you

And here's a video to file under "General Cuteness"



He's picking up new words each day, "meat" being a popular one these days. He's getting pickier, or at least went through a pretty picky phase last week. We'll see if it continues.

Bought a little potty for him to play with this week. The concept of excrement is confusing him, but he's interested enough that we thought it would be fun for him to be exposed to a mini toilet.

He's be 18 months in a few days. Can hardly believe it.

Ruby + Mangos = One Happy Julian

Julian's such a freakin' delight to have around. He's a happy child, whose few tantrums don't seem to affect the true nature of who he is. He figured out how to say "Ruby" and "mango" today. Ian's got him saying something that could be discerned as "yellow," and I swear the kid told me my necklace was "pretty." In baby talk, of course. Anyway, here's a few of his new words, plus the crazy happy spinning dance we should all do when sometime elevates our spirits.

No biting, Julian

Julian's been growing and changing a lot these past few weeks. When I got back from New York, he was giving high-fives. Then, Ian got him to start saying "yes," which really sounds more like "jes." Only now is he getting the hang of what it actually means. He still calls most four-legged creatures "do" and both mom and dad "da." Ian and I have a theory that he does know "mama," but that he'll only use it around Ian. It's a case of "mama" being The Name That We Do Not Speak in my presence. He points to himself when you ask where the baby is and claps whenever he hears applause. He's backing himself off the bed and furniture, but isn't quite crawling on top. No back teeth just yet, but I know they are on their way.

His teeth have been a little bit of an issue this week. We've been watching Ruby while Sarah's at school and Aaron's at work, and Julian has taken to biting Ruby on
occasion. I've only caught him once, but I know it's happened a few times, either at their house or ours. My first real instance of feeling guilty for my child's behavior.

But something I'm not feeling guilty about is shutting down the milk factory. It wasn't as much a decision as I thought it would be. I pumped when I was in New York, but when I got back, Julian just wasn't as interested. He and Ian had been getting along fine with just cow's milk. I fed him once or twice when I got home from the trip, but then just stopped. Breastfeeding has been easier to let go of than I thought it would be. The bond that it helped form between Julian and me is still there. He got all that goodness from the milk. I feel really good about the whole experience, almost enough to forget the milk letdown (ouch!) or the leaking or the biting or the unique feeling of being a milk factory. Almost.

That's all I can think of right now that's new with Julian. He's waking up around 7:30 these days and still taking two naps, but I've heard they may start to drop one of those right about now. But then how will mommy take two naps a day?

_______________________________________________


Totally unrelated note: I have a query for you, Southwest Missouri readers. Do you remember a compliation/sampler album that Z 95.5 came out with in the mid-1990s. from KTOZ 95.5 FM? It was Z 95.5 then (now it's Alice 95.5), and was a killer radio station, wasn't it? (Cue Rachel rolling her eyes.) In my memory it really showcased the alternative scene way back then. And in junior high, one of the DJs came by a career fair and gave out these sampler CDs with everything from Desperately Wanting by Better than Ezra to Counting Blues Cars by Dishwalla to If God was One of Us by Joan Osbourne and artists such as Geggy Tah and Everclear. Now, I could be mixing us some of the artists on the playlist, but you get the idea. And I'm thinking/hoping you got one of these albums, too. I lost mine some years ago and would do anything to at least figure out what songs were on it so I make my own playlist. One of the songs I know for sure was on it is Love Songs by Fleming and John, which I present to you for this St. Valentine's Day. (Oh, and if you know anything about that album, give me a shout, or at least verify that I'm not crazy and it did exist.)




Tell me that story again, the one that has no ending.