The Ducote Family: Happy Birthday, Julia!!

It is so hard to believe that Julia is 2!! In one way it seems like we were just celebrating her first birthday, but in another, she seems so grown up all of a sudden, especially since the arrival of Charlotte. Her birthday fell on Thursday, but Rich was out of town so we actually pretended that her birthday wasn't until Sunday when we celebrated with my family (she'll never know until one day when she can read this!) I had to take a few picutres of her though on her real birthday though just to have them...

She knocked her head at my parent's house a few days prior which left a pretty good black and blue mark (as evident in the pictures) and she would often point to it and say, "Nani Poppa"

Sweet Julia!! She has such a fun personality...and when I say fun, I really mean it! We think that she is our funniest child yet, especially at her young age. She is just so silly! One of her most recent favorite things to do is to play "guess which hand" where she hides something behind her back in her hand and she says, "guess hand" and then of course always transfers it to the opposite hand that you choose and cracks up laughing. Whenever she is naked she always will bend her bottom over and start singing, "naked booty, naked booty" with this adorable little shake. She also is very sweet and I love how when I sing her goodnight song to her she will rub my back, too, and is always very concerned if someone hurts themselves. She gives great hugs and I love that when I will tell her tighter she really does squeeze tighter. She has a feisty side to her though, too, and is definitely learning to get upset if she doesn't get her way. She has started hitting just about everyone...not often but if you do something that she doesn't like she won't hold back (although I am pretty sure she hasn't touched Daddy yet!) And, she has a pretty good arm for a 2 year old and will throw things, too.

She is also a very active 2 year old and LOVES to jump. She is constantly jumping off the couch, bed, rocks, basically whatever she can find!

She is talking a LOT although not all of it is very clear. Those that are around her regularly totally understand her but to a stranger it is definitely gibberish. For words that our tough for her she keeps her mouth closed and just hums/grunts them, our favorite is her saying her name which she keeps her lips closed and says "mm mmm" She always "says" it the same ways so we know what she is saying and it is just so cute. The 'j' must be tough for her because she won't say "Joseph" either still and still calls him "brother" or "buu buu" which is starting to kind of stick and I have found myself referring to him as brother a few times now. She definitely knows how to get her point across though and can communicate what she wants/needs easily.

She continues to be a great sleeper!! She goes right to sleep (although there was about a week recently where she would cry every time we put her down, but we would just put her in and within 2 minutes or less she was quiet, but thankfully that was short lived) and sleeps normally from 7:00ish to 7:00ish. She naps for normally a little over 2 hours and even with the new school schedule she is totally flexible and it doesn't seem to phase her if I put her down for a nap at 11:00 or 1:30 depending on if I need to bring her to pick up Joseph or Ella.

She has gotten pickier about her food and is known for putting the food she doesn't want to eat in her cup holder in her tray (or throw it on the ground.) She loves her snacks though and constantly throughout the day says, "hun-gee". Rich has started calling her "meatball"-she is definitely solid!

At her two year appointment she weighed 27 pounds, 9 ounces putting her in the 60th percentile and was 2 feet, 9 inches tall which is the 30th percentile, which means that her BMI was in the 83rd percentile so the doctor did say to make sure she isn't snacking too often and getting lots of activity throughout the day! Everything else at her doctor's appointment checked out great and we are so thankful that she is healthy and thriving!

She was so excited to have her car seat turned forward!! We were laughing because the first car ride she just had this big grin on her face, staring out the window the entire time!

We celebrated on Sunday, September 11th at my parent's house in the afternoon. The guys all took the kids swimming and then we had dinner and cake together.

Showing off Sydney's clip on earrrings that Syd let her wear since she was the birthday girl.

Lots of help from her siblings and cousins with her birthday gifts!

Hugs for everyone after opening her presents.

Enjoying her birthday ice cream cake that Aunt Lindsay made for her.

This picture is a great snapshot of who Julia is right now-happy with her big smile, independent with picking out her own outfits and a little bit of crazy wearing Charlotte's sweater! We love all of her!!