Julian

Today is actually Ava's 5th birthday (what? I have a 5-year-old??), so I realize it's highly inappropriate to post something about Julian. However, since I have been a sloth in recent months, I figure something inappropriate is better than nothing at all, so here goes. And really, I am just compelled to post something about J because he has changed so much in the past few months. I keep looking at him at breakfast (OK, I'm not usually up when he has breakfast, Adrian does that, so maybe dinner is better) and thinking "hold on buster, let me get a good look at you, where'd you put my baby?" In just a few months he has lost all his baby pudge, stopped wearing diapers (except at night -- the fact that he woke up dripping with pee probably suggests that diaper-free bedtime was a bit premature), and started talking about things and in ways that shock me. Like he uses conditional ... and past tense ... and talks about feelings ... and tells me everything he did that day: "First I had breakfast, den I went to cool and had nack, den I payed outside, den I missed you [awww], den mama came, den we had bulle and den we went home." (Oh, and he asks why every 2 seconds, but since that's not pleasant I haven't included it above.) When you still expect your kid to speak in short staccato sentences a la "mama-milk-now" this kind of thing blows you away. About a month ago, Ava looked at me and said "Mom, I can't talk because Julian just keeps talking!" And you know if Ava a.k.a Chatty Pants can't get a word in then Julian must really be talking a lot.

Julian moving out of babyhood has happened right as ALL of my women friends in town (no hyperbole, I swear. Here is the list of friends who have recently had or will have babies: Traci, Karin, Gen, Merel, Sandy, Anastacia (twins!), and Monique) have gotten pregnant or have recently had a baby. Being surrounded by all this babyness has made my own jump from being a mom of a little girl and a baby boy to a little girl and a little boy more real and bittersweet. It's certainly shocked me into realizing I could give away all the baby stuff that's been hanging around -- high chair, changing table, bibs, swim diapers -- since we won't be going down the baby road on purpose again.