Julia's Weblog

Welcome to Julia's Weblog

Julia Christine Maecker was born Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at 12:41 a.m.  She was 7 lbs, 12 oz (3.5 kg), and 20.5 inches (52 cm) long.  Look here for occasional posts on her milestones, but mainly for pictures in the photo albums.  Enjoy!

Julia turns three!

Well, actually she turned three in May, so this is very late.  Her birthday was one long, fun day:  presents in the morning, then some outside play while Grandma visited, then lunch, a nap, birthday party in the park, and finally dinner at Chevy's.

Not long after Julia's birthday, I started back to work full-time, and Julia began going to preschool full days.  Fortunately, she loves it so it wasn't a hard transition for her.  For me it was a little bittersweet, but o.k.  It helps that Julia is really excited to see me each evening when I pick her up.

In July, we moved into a new house.  The highlights of the house for Julia are the tire swing, play structure, and hummingbird window in her room.  I guess those are highlights for me too.

One of the latest and cutest pictures is of Julia at the Luau at grandma's house.  Upon seeing the hula dancers, she had to strip off her shirt and shoes, and dance (with me of course..."come on daddy!").  She was actually pretty good at it.

What is Julia into now?  She really likes bike-riding and the OCEAN.  Her other grandma is visiting this week and they're going to Monterey while I'm working in Dallas.  It will be Julia's first visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  She tells me she will see sea otters, whales, and penguins, and swim through the ocean; she's been so excited she could hardly sleep.  Too bad I'll miss it.

Julia at 2 1/2 Years

Our little girl is now a preschooler!  She goes to school each weekday morning, and tells me that it's lots of fun.  We've also been fortunate to have visits from Julia's grandmas and from her cousin and aunts in Germany, who've helped out with Julia when I've been out of town for consulting.  For Halloween, Julia was a bumble bee.  She got to like trick-or-treating very quickly!  See the new pictures in her latest album.

This blog is about Julia, not politics, but since I made an earlier plea for peace on these pages, I can only say now:  The winds of change are blowing!  Heather experienced election night first hand at the Obama rally in Chicago, while I took Julia to a neighbor's party.  It was definitely a memorable night.  Anyway, I pray that Julia will live to see a more compassionate world than the one we've lived in these past several years...even if it's going to be a long and difficult process.

Grandma comes to Palo Alto

Julia has been blessed to have her grandma, Irma, come to live by us in Palo Alto.  We go to see her most afternoons, and often walk to a nearby park together.  See the pictures of them together in the newest album.

Julia turns two!

Well, our baby is now a two year-old! We celebrated with presents, followed by a party with pizza and cake, then (after a nap of course), dinner at Chevy's (Julia's favorite restaurant--or is it our favorite because she likes it so much?). And we were treated to a visit from Julia's uncle Norb and Aunt Barb. Of course, there are photos...including a few random ones from Easter until now.

Julia is learning words and phrases so fast now that we really have to watch what we say! Favorite Julia quotes from the last 6 months:

"The moon, it's a ball" (accurate description, since it was a full moon)
"Mommy a go bye-bye?" (followed by, "She come back?" and then, "Soon?")

Of course she has her dumb and silly sayings as well. When shown a picture of herself and asked who it is, she often says, "You!". I guess the first person/second person thing will take a little while. Pineapple is "eye-apple" and any sort of berries or grapes are "bears" in Julia-speak. And she's fascinated by the concept of hot and cold, but she seems very unsure of it...she usually asks, "Is hot? Is cold?"; when told that it is neither, she concludes, "Is nice!".

Julia with Isabelle

The visit from our cousin Isabelle is over now, but for three months we travelled, showed her around, and took her to the "best" (read: family-friendly) restaurants. And Julia made a great new friend! Even when Isabelle watched her all day on several occasions, Julia was happy as can be. See the pictures in the latest two albums for some of our adventures.

Julia at 18 months

One and a half years have gone by like a flash, and our baby has grown and matured in so many ways! Her hair is getting longer and lighter, she not only walks but runs, and says more than a dozen words. She's starting to have little conversations with us, pointing things out and answering our questions with "yeah" or "no". Staying home with her is the greatest treat I've ever experienced, a luxury that I'm savoring while I can. It's all the more special now that our cousin Isabelle from Germany is staying with us for a few months. These are days I'll remember for a long time to come.

Our Thanksgiving trip back East was also a great time for Julia, as she met and played with several of her cousins. Of course, there are pictures in the latest album.

Julia goes to Europe!

In September, Julia made her first international trip, to visit relatives in Germany. She had a great time with dogs, gardens, and relatives. Shortly after returning home from Europe, Daddy quit his job to stay home with Julia full-time, as Mommy returned to work. Lots of changes in one month, but now things have settled down. See a happy Julia at the park and at home, carrying her favorite video, in the latest photo album. Pictures from Germany are in the 2007 06-09 album.

Julia at 15 months

Julia is now more than 15 months old, and a lot has happened since her birthday. The biggest change...she's walking everywhere now! Her walking skills really developed at 14 months, when we went to Michigan for a bit of a family reunion. There she met more relatives, including both grandmas, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was great to see her completely absorbed with playing on the beach, and splashing in the water with me. She is a water-lover.

In June and July, we also had visits from her grandparents in Maryland, and her aunt and uncle in Arizona. Julia liked them all. Next month Julia will see one more set of relatives, when we travel to Germany. We'll post on that for sure, but in the meantime, some pictures from Julia's recent adventures have been added, including her baptism (finally!). Enjoy!

Julia is one year old!

We celebrated Julia's birthday with presents and cake (which she wasn't interested in eating). She loved her first baby doll, her animal farm and garage, and other nice presents from Grandmas and Aunties. She has a cold, but the fun of the presents made her feel better for awhile. Then we napped (a lot), took a short walk, and played some more with the new toys. It was great for me to spend the day at home with her. She is now sooo big. Heather takes her to the park most every day, and she loves to play in the sand, sometimes for a couple of hours! Her other love is animals, and her first trip to the zoo (Happy Hollow in San Jose) was a great time for her and her "boyfriend", Cristos. See all the photos in the latest album.

Julia at 10 months

Jullia is now 30 inches (76 cm) long and nearly 22 pounds (9.9 kg). I used to say that I can't imagine her much bigger than 30 inches, but of course this stage will soon pass, too. Julia eats 3-4 meals a day plus breastfeeding snacks. She says "hi", waves, and babbles. When she's excited, she shrieks and waves her arms. She's definitely a chaotropic agent, usually dismantling, scattering, and breaking things up rather than ordering, stacking, or putting things together.

Julia at 8 months

Julia's skills are really starting to develop now...crawling, manipulating objects, pulling herself up, and taking steps with our help. She plays with us with balls, and is very interactive. It seems like she keeps getting more and more cute, and the latest photos are always the best. Still, part of me wants to freeze everything here and not let this stage pass by just yet. I'm told we'll feel that way at every stage (except maybe some of her teenage years). One stage that Heather wishes would pass is the incessant-breastfeeding-at-night stage....oh well!

Julia's first Christmas

After all her recent travels, we decided to spend Juia's first Christmas at home, and it was wonderful. Very relaxing, and the most excited we've seen Julia in a long time, when she was playing with her new toys. She also attracted the interest of an older boy (Cristos)--see the photos in her latest album.

Julia at 6 months

Rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots, and now green beans have been added to Julia's diet, and she likes all of them (except the rice cereal).  She can make a mess with all of them, too! Unfortunately, they haven't lengthened her sleep cycles yet.  She's getting very good with her hands, and she's becoming fond of the cats--and learning how to pet them gently.  See the new pictures, including her first Halloween.  Next week she'll travel to Grandma's in Fort Wayne for Thanksgiving.

Julia at 5 months

Well, it seems that Julia has grown SO fast. She's now in the 80th-90th percentile for both height and weight, and she looks as big as some 12-18 month old toddlers we've met! In fact, she is acting more like a toddler and less like an infant; she can sit on her own (or with a little help), she plays with toys, laughs and giggles, and she wants to put everything in her mouth. Hard to believe she got this big just on breastmilk. Of course, solid food will be coming soon, especially since she's been feeding more and more frequently, including at night. Everyone says she should start going longer stretches between feedings, but she says she wants to feed every hour or two! Hopefully solid food will help her sleep....

Julia's Travels

In August, we took Julia for a SURPRISE visit to her grandma in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  It was her first plane trip, and a wonderful time for everyone.  She was generally good on the trip, particularly traveling through the airport where there was so much to see.  Eventually she got tired of the car seat, though....

This month, we took Julia to Michigan to see her aunt Barb and uncle Norb at their lake cottage, and Grandma made the trip up from Fort Wayne to meet us.  We had a great time, and Julia, now a seasoned traveler, hardly made a peep on the plane.  Pictures from both trips are posted in the latest photo album.

Today Julia sat up unassisted for several minutes on the bed, a first for her.  She was really happy with her accomplishment, until eventually she realized that sitting by herself meant not being held by Mommy or Daddy.  She cried to be held, and while picking her up, I realized that this is the first of many milestones that will both thrill us and slowly separate us.

Julia at four months

Today it is four months since Julia was born.  Tomorrow it will be five years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  I wish that our daughter didn't have to live in a world where unthinkable terrorist acts are routinely planned and often carried out; or where a war, started under false pretenses and with no foreseeable end, is accepted and continues unabated.  The irony, that this war also serves to fuel further acts of terrorism, does not make it any easier to bear.  Worst of all, I can't even say with honesty to our daughter, "This world, and this war, are not my fault."  Because, although we as individuals don't control the world, we can, of course, change it.  Looking at our daughter grow, I can only think that such change cannot come fast enough.

Julia likes me to sing her to sleep.  Among the songs I sing are The Byrds' "Turn, Turn, Turn", which ends:  "A time for peace, I swear it's not too late."  And the Elvis Costello song, whose title says it all:  "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?"  What indeed.

Julia at three months

At three months, Julia continues to get more interactive, smiling, giggling, and making sounds with us.  She can sit up and stand with a little assistance, and she really enjoys standing, "dancing", and "flying" (being lifted up).  She's intrigued by new people, and looks to be a ham.  Her dramatic abilities are also considerable!  She's outgrown her newborn-to-three month clothes, and now wears 3-6 month sizes.  And she has a wardrobe full of them!

Julia at two months

Today is Julia's two month birthday! See the new photo album for her latest pictures. There are lots of changes to note from last month, starting with the fact that she's getting BIGGER! Along with growing, she is starting to sleep for periods of 3-4 hours at night, at least sometimes. She is also starting to tolerate her car seat, stroller, and naps by herself for longer than ever. She really likes her swing. She also loves to babble with us, kicking her legs, smiling, and making sounds while she studies our faces. I think she'll be an early talker.

Julia at one month

Yesterday Julia was one month old!  She can now track objects with her eyes, and she spends more time interacting with us.  She loves to nurse, and to be held (and bounced or jiggled) by us, all the time!  See her second photo album for pictures of her starting at one month.