Julian's baptism

On Sunday April 17th, we baptized Julian. We have been attending the perfect church for us, and finally scheduled it. We had picked Tommy and Becky as his Godparents before he was born. They are the best Godparents to him, as they love him almost as much as we do!
Anyway, they bought Julian the MOST precious suit, and Becky and I planned the party. We decided I would make lasagne because it is Becky's favorite. I also made spinach stuffed raviolis with alfredo sauce, bread, and a cesar salad. It was yummmy!
The service at the church was absolutely perfect. Julian did so well and let the pastors pour water on him and did so without any tears. The service was so touching and went exactly how I had hoped. We really appreciate the overwhelming love that was given to Julian on his special day.

Julian is saying "more " words

Julian has really taken off in his language. He understands so many words. I can ask him to go get a specific toy and he will go get it. He is now using more words. His new current favorite words are "more" and "up". I have been trying to get him to say more at every meal time and he is using it consistently. I give him just a tiny amount of food so that he has to tell me that he wants more. It has worked like a charm! This video is his first taste of ice cream. He kept asking for more, so I had Steve grab the camera so we could get it on video. such a smart chunka baby! Enjoy!

Bedtime routine: bath,prayers, and goodnight kisses

Everyone who knows us well, knows we have a bedtime routine. The kids bathe together, we all say prayers together in Bella's room, we each give kisses, and Bella goes mimis in her bed, and Julian goes off to his bed. Here are some photos I captured of the kids being so sweet to each other during the bedtime routine...

Park Day with the girls and one lil man

This past weekend, Anthem had a Kids day with a carnival, pony rides, easter egg hunt, etc. Saturday was a rainy and cold day, so we were stuck in the house the entire day. So, we thought Sunday would be a perfect day to get out and enjoy the day. It was a perfect day with 70 degree weather and plenty of sunshine. Me, Bella, and Julian invited the Cox ladies and Jen to join us. We all drove down there together and had the BEST time! The carnival was very cool, but we didnt put the kids on any of the rides. We decided to try and get Delia and Bella to go on a pony ride. I got Bella on, no problem. However, Delia was understandably frightened which in turn scared Bella. We then went to the huge food and beverage area. We had all kinds of yummy food including fried oreos, roasted corn on the cob, fried chinese noodles, and of course some beer :) The girls had so much fun running around in the grass while Julian enjoyed crawling around and eating. We then took a train ride around the park and by this time the 3 kids and us 3 women were absolutely exhausted. It was such a good time out with the girls and one lil man!

Guiliana's 3rd Birthday

On April 2nd, we celebrated our best pal Guiliana's 3rd party at the Tortora family home. The party was princess themed so all the girls dressed as their favorite princess. Bella wore her Tinkerbell dress, even though Tink is technically a fairy. The girls made their own bracelets and played outside. Happy Birthday Gules, we love you! It was a good time and Bella really enjoyed herself....

Julian is 9 months old!

I know I've said over 100 times, but Wow Julian is growing so fast!! He had his 9 month check-up and doing well. He is a whopping 24 pounds and in the 94th percentile. He is 29 inches long and 80th percentile for height. Dr. Rampley did a thorough check up and all is well with him.
Julian continues to be very very active. He is now pulling himself up every chance he gets. He even pulls himself up in his crib, which makes me very nervous because his crib is already as far down as it goes. He is getting in to everything and anything. He loves to explore and make a mess. He is very much a boy and SO VERY different than Bella at this age. While both are very active, he definitely takes the cake. He is cruising along the couch and anything else he can use.
His understanding of language is growing by the minute. If you say "kiss" to him, he will lean over and plant one on you :) If you say (with no visual cues)"clap clap" he will do the cutest thing where he rubs his hands together trying so hard to resemble a clap. It really is adorable! He knows Mommy, Daddy, and Bella. If you ask 'where is daddy?", will look at Eric. He also knows the words car and ball and can pick them out of his toys if I ask him to. He definitely understands the word "No" because sometimes when you say it to him, he will give a pouty face or make a loud squeal out of frustration. He will also shake his head no if you say "no no". Stinker!
He does not have the interest that Bella did in books, but will sit for a short period of time to look through one. I try and remind myself as much as possible that he's a boy so he has different interests than Bella.
He is happy 90% of the time. He is most happy when Mommy is with him or holding him, but he will go to almost everybody with no real separation anxiety.
He is doing great with table foods and has just about loved everything that I have given him. Last night, I made spinach stuffed raviolis, and he ate all of it!
He loves playing with Bella and she cracks him up. He has just started to get annoyed with her at times. If she is in his face too much, he will reach out and push her face away or swat his little hand.
He loves to sleep, eat , and get in to mischief! He is such a happy boy and such a joy to be around that you can't help but smile when he's around.

TAKING THE STUFFING OUT OF THE TREE

GOT IN TO THE DOG BOWL AND DRENCHED HIMSELF AND THE TILE!