Here's the Diehl

We visited the Diehls in PA this week. Julia did great on the car ride. It was the first time we've driven more than 30 minutes. She loved visiting with her grandparents. Pop even got down on the floor for some play time.

Julia at bathtime!

You can pick your friends. You can pick your nose. But you can't pick your grandma's berries? Wait, that's not right. Grandma went strawberry picking with us last week. It was great fun except with all the rain we've been having the berries aren't very big. At least they taste good. Julia will get to eat some next year. This year she settled for sitting in grandma's lap or or carseat and watching while we work.

Hope today is a great day for Daddy, Grandpa, and Pop.

We hear that dinner time is a great place to talk to your kids. It's family time! We're already getting that done well. Bella isn't too thrilled to not be included though. She is the reason the camera keeps getting nudged while we play with Julia.

We got our new stroller. Who would have thought that would be so exciting. Brian was thrilled to be up early on a Saturday morning to put it together. Of course, it started to rain as soon as he was done, so our walk was delayed. But the stroller is great. No more fighting with the evil uneven sidewalk.

It's great to have Julia being so much more interactive. She's got all sorts of tricks now. But is sure does wear her out. I would never usually post something with such poor quality, but it's just too good to miss. Enjoy.

Even though she just weighed 11 pounds at her two month checkup, Julia still is swimming in 0-3 month clothing. This is her first pair of overalls. Maybe they'll fit in the fall.

Hooray! We are now taking a bath without crying. Next step: graduate to the actual bathtub from the sink.

Julia really has learned to soothe herself and become a good, relaxed sleeper.

Julia has really started to "see" things. She definitely recognizes people (mainly mom and dad). I think she has invisible friends on the walls...she smiles a lot while staring at them. I do hear that babies can see ghosts and angels...so maybe she has some new friends! She also has started recognizing Bella. Which is the beginning of a beautiful friendship and so fun to watch.

Such a big girl in the Bumbo seat, helping mommy with breakfast. Cereal is pretty easy!

"Ummmm....HELLOOOOO. Remember when you used to take MY picture all the time? I can still make a great pose!" We know, we still love you Bella.

Look! A smile and a little hand grasping a toy. Thanks Aunt Paula, Uncle Dave and Alex and Anna for the Viennese toy. It's nice and soft so Julia doesn't bop herself in the head with it.

Can you believe how cute this face is?

Growing up, I was obsessed with the movie Flashdance. Whenever I put Julia in her legwarmers, I can't help but get that movie in my head. They are just too cute. They don't help our dress from riding up though. We'll have to add a leotard.

Brian made great strides this past weekend and took Julia for a walk in the baby bjorn. Julia absolutely loved it and I think Brian did too. I loved that she konked out for a bit. Bella is still a bit confused. I'm sure she would love to ride in a carrier like that. I told her maybe we can get one of those baskets or bike trailers and she can have a ride in that. Personally, I think Bella would be great if we strapped her up to a radio flier wagon. We could all go for a ride!

We went into the office at the Zoo today to meet everyone. After getting passed around to various friends, our good friend Michelle was brave enough to join in the fun. Needless to say, as soon as Julia got into Michelle's arms, she started crying. The funny of this story is that Michelle is not baby crazy like the rest of the office. We promised Julia that Michelle would not eat her and passed her off to the next person. That seemed to calm her down. Fortunately, no permanent damage was done....to Michelle. And Julia was just fine too, but a little over stimulated.

Grandma took us to the outlets. We learned that if you can't find what you're looking for, you should just get really upset and cry about it. Then Grandma will carry you around and tell you all the things she'll buy you when you get older.

PLEASE stop taking my picture.

Julia is smiling! I cannot capture it on film. But that's ok, because no camera can relay how adorable her little grins are. We hope you can see them in person soon.

Julia vs. the play mat. Round one.

Well. It was a great day and Brian came home  and saw Julia looking so cute. So we posed for some photos. Julia is doing this crazy boxing thing with her arms all the time now. And our neighbor was telling me how her husband just taught their daughter, Ruby, "show me your guns". Which, of course, means show me your awesome arm muscles. Brian thought this was hilarious and wants to teach it to Julia. With her busy arms, it will be no time before she gets the hang of it.  When she's in my arms, though, we just like to snuggle.