Okay, before I write about our fantastic trip to Raleigh, I must admit that I had the hardest time deciding on which photos to post for this entry-we took so many awesome pictures! That being said..
Julia experienced a lot of firsts this trip:
*first airplane ride (she did great!)
*first trip out of state
*first time seeing beautiful fall leaves in vibrant colors
*first time as a birthday party guest (she was hoping for a cupcake..maybe next year!)
*first time meeting a lot of special people in her life: Great Grandpa, Grandma Cook, Uncle Greg, Aunt Jill, cousin Victoria, Uncle Jason, Rachel, the Thompsons (she also got to visit with Uncles Brian, Craig and Chris again)
As for me, I had a big first too-my first time breastfeeding in public (airport, plane, middle of shopping center). Luckily, it went well and I didn't flash anyone (not that I know of, anyway). It was also the first time J.D. and I traveled with a baby and I think we did great (we've had a lot of practice with the pooches).
Our vacation was a lot of fun (special thanks to Greg and Jill for being excellent hosts). Victoria had a great baptism and a super fun 1st b-day party. She had a great turn out for the party and received lots of fun presents, including a giant pink pony from Uncle Brian! She also started her (baby bling) jewelry collection with a beautiful cross from Grandma Cook, a charm from Grandma Thompson and a diamond necklace from Uncle Chris. Most impressive of all though, Victoria ate every bite of her chocolate birthday cupcake. Yummy!
Oh-and for the title of this post, my adorable niece likes to say 'giggle giggle' while she crawls around her house (and into the fridge!) at amazing speeds (for such a tiny little girl).
Fab news everyone. After 11 months on the waiting list, we got word that Julia secured a spot at Baby Gator Daycare (we got on the list the day we found out we were pregnant). She is the newest member of the Tiny Gator class, we are so excited! J.D. and I went to our first 'parent-teacher conference' the other day and everything went great. She can start full-time as early as the 17th, but we are trying to push it back as long as possible and will be 'easing' her (and us) into it (i.e. Grandma Yamo is coming the week of the 17th to watch our little Julia-Bean and J.D. will watch her the short Thanksgiving week, plus Aunt Katherine and Grandma Yamo will be here in December to help out).
Some fun facts about the Tiny Gator class:
*top rated daycare in the area
*6 infants with a 3:1 ratio
*I know one of the teachers from book club, she has years of experience teaching in a Montessori school and is SUPER nice
*they teach sign language *focus on educational development*no assigned drop off/pick up times, which means she can go for a full time, 1/2 day or an hour if we want
*J.D. and I can stop in anytime for snuggle time!
Julia Elise - as of today, she is (officially speaking) the youngest member of the Gator Nation-go Gators!
Grandpa Cook came to visit his newest grandbaby Halloween weekend (all the way from Montana!) and we were all thrilled to see him. He arrived with his adorable german shepherd Beebee, who got along great with Amelia and Guinness (she was initially a little shy, but after a million 'welcome kisses' from Amelia, she was one of the family). Speaking of Amelia, she absolutely fell in love with Grandpa-she barely left his side the entire time he was here. She would have snuggled with him at night if we let her go into his room!
So, growing up I often heard how my dad loves babies and kids. I was so excited to see him with Julia, he was amazing with her. They snuggled, took walks and played airplane (Julia's first time, she loved it). But best of all, Grandpa read Jules a bunch of books and she sat snuggled in his arms listening, it was so adorable. It was a fabulous weekend, we all wished Grandpa could have stayed longer.
It was early Thursday morning when I heard our little Julia-Bean crying delicately. I waited a few minutes to see if she would put herself to sleep, but the poor thing got louder and louder. As I made my way into her room, what did I see? Julia at the far end of the crib, face down, with her little legs dangling out of the crib. Our little tyke not only moved from the center of the crib to the end, but she rolled over! I played with her today and she rolled 
over again. It is seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen. She bends her arms and brings them close to her chest and then swings her right leg around to propel her body over her left shoulder. She can't roll from stomach to back yet but I'm sure that is only a matter of time (she hates being on her stomach, so she has incentive). She is also fascinated by her little hands. I thought she 'found' her hands months ago but she is really mesmerized by them now. We went for a long walk yesterday and she spent the whole time staring at her fingers, linking and unlinking them.
