Independence Day

We had a fun, relaxing Independence Day this year.  We got some things done around the house and then packed up our things and headed up to Shauna's house. We BBQ'd some good grub including steak, watermelon, corn on the cob and chips.  I made an awesome American Flag cake, to which all the kids asked who's birthday it was!  Chase and I ran to a fireworks stand nearby to get some goods.  When it got close to dark, we all migrated out front and started up the show! We had a kit of a bunch of the small stuff and then we had some fun aerials also.  Juliet was afraid of some of them, but definitely did better than she did with the professional show we went to at Taylorsville Days.  The kids had a great time and so did we.  Happy birthday America! I am so grateful for the founding fathers that  had the courage, with God on their side, to create this free land.  God bless America!

We got pictures done of all the cousins in their 4th of July clothing.

Sleep Training

Someone refused to take more than a 30 minute nap today :)

After Juliet's pediatrician suggested we work on the way we get her to sleep at night, we decided to start sleep training.  It's such a hard thing to listen to your baby scream and cry for you and not respond or comfort her.  I know every parent has to go through it and all my friends and family have been telling me to do it for a while now, but it's still tough.  So after I fed her a bottle, gave her a pacifier, and laid her in her bed with her blankie, I kissed her goodnight and walked away.  She cried about 20 minutes the first night, which I know is awesome compared to what some other parents have to experience, but it was still so hard!  The second night, it was about 2 minutes or less.  The third night she fell asleep in the car on the way home from 4th of July fireworks and stayed asleep.  The 4th and 5th nights, about 2 minutes.  We were also told to just let her cry if she wakes up in the middle of the night, which she usually does every night.  Boy, I was glad to hear that! She has woken up a few nights over this past week and it has been so nice to just be able to stay in bed and go back to sleep.  She usually goes back to sleep within 5 minutes or so.  I never realized she would go back to sleep if I didn't go in there to put her pacifier back in or rock her back to sleep!  So I would say we are doing pretty good.  Hopefully it will continue to go this well because it sure is working for us!

All About Juliet

Juliet is 9 months old now, and I realized I haven't been writing down all the fun and cute things she does and the fun things about her.  So here goes!

• She weighs 18lbs 9oz (44%)
• She is 28 in. long (69%)
• She wears anywhere from 3 month to 12 month clothes.  3 month pants are way too short, but she can still wear the onesies.  She has too many clothes for her own good.
• She has 4 teeth, 2 on top, 2 on bottom.  Her 5th one cut through on bottom when she turned 9 months and there is another bump on the top where one is trying to come through.  She doesn't get fussy when new teeth cut through. She has learned how to grind them together and makes a cute face when she does it.

• She is very good about having her hair done because she has been doing it all her life.  She will leave bows in, but will pull headbands off by the evening.
• She loves to clap when something makes her happy.
• She has learned to wave and will wave to anyone that will wave to her.  It is honestly the cutest thing ever!
• She is learning to blow kisses.  When her binkie comes out, she smacks her lips to imitate a kissing noise.  At a different time, she will put her hand to her mouth over and over.   She doesn't quite put them together yet, but she will also hum when she puts her hand to her mouth because she thinks that's funny when Mom does it to her.  She went to Stake Conference with our old neighbors, The Oylers, a few weeks ago.  As Carli was walking her through the halls of the church, she would stop at the pictures of Jesus for Juliet to look at.  Each time she got to a picture, Juliet would put her hand up to her mouth over and over, as if to blow Jesus a kiss.  What a sweet little angel.
• She likes to stick her tongue out like a dog.  It's so cute and little!
• She has traveled a lot in her life already.  She has been to Arizona, California, Washington,D.C., Virginia, British Columbia, Alaska, Washington
• She is very ticklish and giggles a lot when she is tickled.
• She loves to be thrown in the air, but doesn't like to be dropped from up high.  She always kicks her legs off to the right when she is thrown.
• She likes to sit and play with her toys, but only if mom or dad is close by. Her favorite toys are rattles, followed by wipes in a close 2nd.  She will play with a wipe for a very long time. She also loves water bottles, plastic bags, and balloons (all great baby toys, right?).

• She doesn't like to hold anyone's hand - she likes to keep her independence with them.
• She spits/blows raspberries with her tongue a lot!
• She will put her forehead to your forehead and look you in the eyes when she's sleepy.  She also likes to rub/feel textures or touch your face when she's sleepy.
• She is very attached to her binkie.  It brings her a lot of comfort.
• She spit up a lot until 8 months.  She could not go anywhere without a burp cloth. Now it is just little bits every once in a while.
• She loves to eat!  She is eating 2-3 jars of baby food per day and a few 5 oz bottles.  She is not a fan of peas & green beans, but loves everything else.  She is learning to use a sippy cup.
• When she gets super excited, she tenses up her whole body.
• She likes to sit. She pretty much hates to be on her tummy, and prefers to not lay on her back also if there's toys to be played with.  She is getting close to crawling, but doesn't have much of a desire.  She is very proud when you stand her up and let her hold on to furniture.  She is always trying to do it herself, but so far she can only do it in her crib.
• When she is laying down and is happy, she will kick both feet way up in air and slam them down over and over again.
• She sleeps from about 9pm - 7am, eats a bottle, and then sleeps until 9am.  Some days, she isn't tired until 11pm or midnight.  She is a cat-napper; she will take a couple 20 minutes naps throughout the day and usually one longer 1 1/2-2 1/2 hour nap in the late afternoon.

• She is always happy to see anyone! She is a very happy baby as long as someone is around!
• She babbles the sounds "ma ma ma ma", "da da da da", and "ba ba ba ba".  When Dad opens the back door of the car to get her out, she always says "Dah-Dee?" He loves it!
• She goes to the gym with Mom several times a week and sits on her blanket and plays with toys.  She loves when people come say hi to her.  Most people are amazed at how well behaved she is and that she will just sit there and play.
• She loves to play peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake, and especially loves it when we look up to the ceiling and pop our head down and yell "baby!" at her.  She thinks it is the funniest thing!
• The first two things people notice about her is her long dark hair and her big eyes.  A lot of people tell us she should be a baby model.
• She is scared of loud noises.  During her first fireworks show, she was mesmerized by the first ones that were quiet and then got very scared and screamed when they started making noise.  Dad was able to get her to fall asleep after only a few minutes and she slept through the rest of them.

• She loves animals, but will only pet slow moving ones.
• She grabs at everything! She pulls things off shelves at the store and grabs clothing tags while we're shopping.  She always likes to hold something we are buying at the grocery store.
• She loves to swim and take baths - she is a true water baby.

• She is a very happy baby that loves to laugh and we just adore her.