Olivia- 5 months

Miss Olivia Grace turned 5 months old yesterday! She is growing beautifully! She weighs about 16 lbs. and is about 25 inches long. We call her our little teapot- short and stout. Her eyes are still the prettiest shade of blue and that gorgeous thick brown hair is growing longer. She doesn't have any teeth yet but she's definitely teething. She chews on anything that she can get her chubby little hands on! Especially her beloved Sophie the Giraffe.

She doesn't show much interest in rolling over either way but she can sit up all by herself for several minutes at a time. Olivia loves to squeal and "talk" to us- especially when she's playing in her exersaucer.

Olivia sleeps in about 5 hour stretches at night. She still wants to wake up to hang out with mommy at least once, usually twice during the night. But I don't mind- I enjoy the quiet snuggles with my smallest baby at night.

Happy 18 Months, Julianna!

Wow! It's so hard to believe that Julianna is eighteen months old. A year and a half. She's become such a little lady in the past 18 months. She's a toddler now with a growing personality. Her personality is sweet and sassy; just as I expected.

She can walk and run. But loves to be held and cuddled and carried around the house. She gives herself kisses in the mirror and says "JuJu!" She says bye bye and hey. Calls her daddy, "Josh!" probably because she hears her mommy say it so much. Her favorite animals is a dog and spots a dog immediately. Julianna eats what we eat and has a fondness for black beans, ham, cheese, strawberries, and blueberry muffins. She's fully aware of where to find the cookies in kitchen and goes to the pantry saying "eat! eat!" Julianna still hasn't had a hair cut and rocks the waterspout on a daily basis.

We're in love with this precious little girl. She makes us smile, laugh, and occasionally want to pull our hair out when she throws her food at dinner. She's amazing and she's ours.

Happy 18 months, little lady! We love you forever!

i love my family

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my little family? Well, I do. So much. Julianna has brightened our lives so much and she continues to amaze me each day! Love that little girl!

She's loving books right now (which makes her teacher mom very happy) and won't leave the house without a book. Every thrift store shopping trip results in Julianna leaving with the book of her choice. She chooses what she likes from the book shelf. She "reads" the book to herself and will give it to mommy or daddy to read to her as well.

She's also been a fantastic eater lately. A few months ago, I couldn't get her to eat anything and it was stressing me out! But now she'll eat pretty much anything I give her. She loves strawberries right now and anything with that she can dip into ranch dressing.

Julianna is also talking like crazy. She has so many words that she's using to help her communicate about what she wants. She asks to "eat eat" when she hungry, tells me "ni ni" when she's tired, and says "bye bye" and "hey" at the appropriate times. She's using less sign language now because she can say more words. She can say please and usually signs please while saying "peas".

She's our world. Enjoy a few pictures of our baby girl from the past few days:

the big O-N-E is coming soon!

Julianna will be celebrating her very first birthday in 3 weeks! This year has flow by! The past 11 months have been an exciting rollercoaster of love and learning. My entire mindset has changed. My priorities are in a different order. My desire to be a better person is much stronger. What an amazing and life changing experience being a mommy has been!

Julianna is currently experiencing her first ear infection. We took her to the park yesterday because the weather was gorgeous. She enjoyed the swings but after that she just wanted to go home. We was fussy, not eating as usual, and tired. After work today, I took her to the doctor and one of her ears is infected. She's had a cold for the past week so that's where it started from. Poor thing!

The doctor's office that will be doing the surgery on Julianna's eye called me last week but I have been dragging my feet about calling them back. Her eye has been goopy and watery since she was born. But in the past week, it's been completely fine. I want to give it a few more days before I schedule the surgery. I don't want to put her through surgery or even schedule it, if it's not necessary. I'm praying that we won't have to do it afterall.

In the past 2 weeks, Julianna has become much more interested in standing. She can't stand on her own but she'll pull up on about anything. She loved pulling herself up with her old bumbo seat and walking herself around it. I think we're headed in the right direction for walking. She's just taking her time just like I did. I didn't walk until I was about 14 months.

This weekend, we made the switch to whole milk and no bottles. So far, so good! She doesn't seem to miss formula or bottles. She takes her whole milk like a champ in a sippy cup. Woo hoo! I was worried that taking away the bottle completely would be difficult but she has transitioned wonderfully!

In other news, Josh is on a business trip to El Salvador this week. I really dislike when he has to travel. I don't mind doing things around the house myself but I just miss having an adult companion to talk to in the evening. I already miss him because I know it will be several days before I get to see him again. I guess you have to take the good with the bad when it comes to jobs. Part of me is just jealous that he gets to travel without me. I want to travel!

It's time to really get going with Julianna's party. We're having the party at the Dream Center at church. The space is free (which is awesome) and it's large enough for a crowd. The theme of the party is ladybugs. I decided on ladybugs because we've always called Julianna, "Ju Ju Bug". The colors are pink and lime green (the same as my baby shower). I am so excited for everyone to come celebrate this special occasion with us!

Julianna is 4 months old today!

My sweet baby girl is 4 months old today! Time has seriously flown by. She's is growing and changing everyday.

Julianna is smiling, giggling, and reacting to noises. She hasn't had any solids at all, not even cereal yet. She eats 4-5 oz every 2-3 hours. She's a piggy! (I call her Princess Piggles) She goes for her 4 month shots on Monday so the pedi may recommend cereal since she's eating so much, so often. She can support her head pretty well but not for very long. She hasn't rolled over yet. Julianna tries but seems to always get stuck on her side--when that happens she's done with trying and fusses to be picked up. I think she's between 12 and 14 pounds now but we'll find out for sure on Monday.

her giggles have turned to laughter!

Little Julianna not only can giggle now... she can laugh! I didn't realize the difference between giggles and laughs until yesterday!

She's gotten so much bigger and I was curious about how much she weighed now. So I got on the scale and weighed myself. Then Josh handed to her to see how much my weight went up while I was holding her. It went up 13-14 pounds! Of course, that isn't exact but she's definitely gaining weight! Once I had read the scale, I held her up and told her that she was a little piggy. Josh was laughing and all of the sudden she started imitating his laugh! We're talking a full belly laugh here. It was the most hilarious thing... I loved it! We got her to do 2 more times after that. We will be capturing this on video asap!

shake it girl!

Josh recorded this video of Julianna on Saturday night while I was at the concert. This was the first time she's ever held and shaken her rattle by herself. Baby is doing big girl stuff!

what's happening...

Just checking in to update on what's been happening around the Soto house. First of all, it's been incredibly HOT here so I've very glad that I found a good indoor workout. I'm not taking little Julianna out in 95 degree + humid weather. I started the Jillian Michael's DVD this week and so far, so good. You can keep up with my weightloss journal on my other blog: http://hotmommysoto.blogspot.com/.

A week from today will be Josh's last day at his current job. He is soooo ready for a change of scenery. I'm thankful that he won't have to work in this heat all summer long. It's already been really tough on him.

I'll be going on my first girls night out since Julianna was born on Saturday evening! Brittney and her mom invited me and our friend Heather to go to the Rascal Flatts (with Kellie Pickler and Chris Young) concert in Charlotte on Saturday. I'm so excited!!

Little Julianna is changing and doing new things everyday! This morning she was staring hard at herself in the mirror above her playmat. She couldn't get enough of herself! She was also trying to roll over from her back to her tummy. And then this afternoon, she had an obsession with lifting her dress up... not sure if this is a good obsession but it's cute at 3 months old!

3 months old today!

HAPPY 3 MONTHS to Julianna Hope!

Julianna is 3 months old. It's so hard to believe that my little lucky charm was born 3 months ago! Time flies when you're having so much fun! She found her feet this week and she thought they we're just the coolest thing. The three of us were headed to Greensboro to do some shopping and Josh saw her staring down. She watched her feet and got really excited when she kicked them. It was adorable!

I had to go to work today. I'm working on the third grade curriculum for 3 days. It's good to get back into teaching related activities (+ the extra money is nice). I've missed it and it's much better now because we I get done--I get to see my Julianna! I'm thrilled that I have a career that I love (most of the time) and I also have the BEST job in the world, being a mommy! Life is good!

As for the good news I was referring to last week, it's official and I can really announce it. Josh got a new job! He's going to the director of safety for Unifi, Inc. This job means a lot of things-- better pay, more "normal" work hours, indoors, and more time with family! We are so thankful that God answered our prayers. Josh put in his 2-week notice at his current job today and he'll begin at Unifi on July 7. Now, we can relax!

ready for some sun and sand

julianna and i visited nana for a few hours on tuesday and we had a great time! juju even posed for a pretty picture:
we've also been prepping for our beach trip. we're leaving on saturday and staying until wednesday afternoon. i'm so excited for julianna's first beach trip! the family rented a beach house for the week! myself, josh, julianna, maw maw & paw paw spaugh, dustin, shandi, dylan, adam, tonda (& baby in the oven), alyssa, johnnie, crystal, lexi, harmony, ashley, derrick, and trent we'll be spending some quality time together... at myrtle beach!!! i ordered a little outdoor cabana that protects her from UV rays online. it should be here today... let's hope it arrives before departure. julianna also has a cute little swimsuit to show off her beach body in!

now it's time for errands!

10 weeks old (+ 1 day)

On Tuesday, Julianna and I went out to run a few errands. We stopped at the natural foods store then Staples to see Josh's mom. A lady came up to us and I was saying how adorable Julianna is. Then she said something about her being about 4 weeks old. I told her that she was actually 10 weeks old. I always seem to forget that she is a tiny 2 month old due to having a low birth weight and being born 3 weeks early. She just seems so big to me compared to how small she was when she was born! She was only 5.8 at birth and now she's over 9 lbs.

She may be small but there's no doubt she's developing like a 2 month old. Here's what she likes and has been doing lately:

1. She enjoys sitting in her Bumbo seat, especially when mommy or daddy is sitting right in front of her.

2. She has great head and neck control. She enjoys looking all around the room.

3. She enjoys kisses. A lot!

4. Speaking of kisses, when you kiss her she smiles and if you're lucky, she'll lick you too!

5. She licks her lips frequently.

6. She enjoys playing on her play mat. She reaches for her toys, bats at them, kicks her feet like crazy, and stares at her pretty self in the mirror above the mat.

7. She "talks" to the fish in the mobile over her swing.

8. She still grunts a lot too. She was grunting the first time I ever held her.

Josh and I are really enjoying being parents and every moment with our precious Julianna. She even sorta giggled at Josh this morning and waved. Well, it could have just been a coincidence that her arm raised in the air when Josh said bye to her but it was cute nonetheless!

first road trip... South Carolina to visit the Soto's

julianna completed her very first road trip this weekend! we went down to south carolina to visit josh's dad, stepmom, josh's sister and her boyfriend, and josh's great grandmother who was visiting from Puerto Rico. julianna did great in the car. she slept all of the way there and all the way back. she also had a longest sleep session. 10pm to 6am!!! mommy was very excited!

ashley brought juju 2 cute outfits. she's such a good auntie! josh's stepmom bought julianna a swing to have at their house, a few new outfits, and a bumbo seat. i've been wanting to get julianna a bumbo seat for a few weeks now. she has been doing soooo good with holding her head up so i wanted to get a bumbo to help her strengthen her neck muscles. she's sitting in the bumbo for the first time in the video below. this video will definitely embarrass her in the future. she made "cookie dough" while she was in the bumbo!

and more pictures from our trip:

2 months old (and one day)

Julianna turned 2 months old yesterday!

We also had our 2 month well baby check:

-She's 20.5 inches long.

-She weighs 8 lbs. 14 oz. (birth weight 5 lbs. 8 oz.)

The doctor checked her out and said she's looks GREAT! A mommy loves to hear that! Then aunt Shandi came in to do those dreaded, awful, yucky 2 month shots...

Julianna only cried right when she gave her the shot but during that brief moment her face was as red as a strawberry. I didn't cry! I think I was so focused on making sure she knew everything was okay and that I was there--I didn't have time to think about it hurting her.

She got her cute little Bugs Bunny band-aids and we were done!

I had to go help my dad out at Ready Mart #1 so nana (my mom) came over to take care of little Julianna. This was the first time nana had watched Julianna. Maw maw (Josh's mom) watched her for a little while on Friday night so that Josh and I could go to the movies. We saw "The Back Up Plan"... and it made me miss being pregnant! I miss pregnancy. It's so special to feel those little kicks and flutters. However, I do not miss the morning sickness!

Then of course, we had her 2 month mini-photo shoot last night:

4 weeks

julianna is 4 weeks old today... so she's been brightening up our lives for 4 weeks! my favorite thing she does so far is when she practices her facial expressions while she's sleeping. she smiles pretty, she pouts by sticking out her lower lip, and she scrunches her forehead to frown. it's too cute!

since josh is out of town this week, we made him a video last night:

photo time:

resting with mommy

mommy's babies: julianna, maggie, and toby

on our way to winston to see daddy

sweet dreamin'

rolling over?!

since about a week old, julianna has been rolling over on her tummy time mat. i know it seems crazy... i thought it was crazy, too. josh saw it happen first. i thought he was joking around because i never saw her do it. but on sunday morning, i saw her do it twice! josh lays her down on her tummy and she uses her legs and feet to roll herself over onto her back. amazing! josh is trying to capture the moment on video but of course the little stinker won't perform on film!

all about us... the soto's :)

i have some time to update because miss julianna is down for a nap. we'll see how long that lasts! she's not a big fan of sleeping in her bassinet but she's been doing better the last few days. speaking of things she doesn't like... julianna doesn't like:

-bath time...well, she's okay until it's time to get dressed. even with a robe and a towel she screams. she just shivers. josh refuses to give her a bath. he won't do it because the first time we tried it was a disaster. she was screaming at the top of her lungs and josh was convinced that he was hurting her. so mommy gives the baths now. i think i just need to put a heater close to us when we're dressing. maybe that will help.

-diaper/clothing changes... she wiggles so much! those sleepers with all of the buttons drive me crazy myself... especially at 3am! i love the zippers!

-slow parents... she gets extremely fussy if josh or i take too long to get her bottle ready. i guess that's probably something most parents deal with... an impatient baby!

but julianna LOVES:

-falling asleep on our chest. after she's burped, she always falls asleep.

-riding in the car. she is the most calm and peaceful when we're driving down a bumpy road.

-being held and cuddled.

-going outside and to soak up the sunshine.

we sent out her birth announcements friday. i included the picture of her laying by the window enjoying the sunshine. she loved the warmth of the sun! i need to make a few more announcements so that i can send them to family/friends that i didn't have an address for. my grandmother is in the hospital and i wasn't sure where to send to but i'm sure she'd love to see what her great grand daughter looks like.

we've been taking julianna out and about more often now. we're getting used to getting everything ready for her. except today i completely lost my mind and left the house without the diaper bag and had to come back home for it. julianna went to see her daddy at work today. we brought him lunch right before he had to leave to catch his plane. he's in denver, colorado for the week. i wish he was here with us!

we were super productive around the house yesterday. we got all of our spring cleaning done. the biggest task was the garage and josh did a great job. both of our cars will fit in there again. woo hoo!

julianna will be one month old on wednesday... time is already flying!