The Topsy Tail: Revisited

At an activity with the young women in my church ward, I was reminded the "Topsy Tail." It's been a while since I employed the simple pony tail enhancement on my own hair. (I still remember the infomercial and how excited I was to learn I could do it without the fancy tool.) So I was playing around with simple, keep my hair out of my face, hairstyles at home when I realized it may just be the answer to my hair-woes with Julia. She hates to get her hair done, and I think, "What's the point? She'll scream bloody-murder while I wet it and pull it up, only for it to be disheveled when she wakes up from her nap." Here's where the topsy tail is a lifesaver. Yes, she fusses while I put it up (I think she'll get used to the routine in time), but after less than a minute of agony, we have a hairstyle that will last through the nap and even overnight! This is really a breakthrough because I am trying to avoid bangs with her so we have to pull those shorter hairs out of her eyes somehow. Voila! Thank you, topsy tail.

Julia thought this was a pretty great idea:

wanted: double stroller advice

So I guess we are in the market for a double stroller. I have been researching online quite a bit (I am a big reader of customer reviews) and can't seem to find one that I love. The double strollers of my dreams, I am afraid, doesn't exist. It would be: single wide, jogging, two seats, and infant-seat compatible while still allowing room for the toddler in the second seat. Too good to be true? I think so. Unless you people have seen something that I haven't!? (The closest thing to it is the pricey Phil and Ted's Sport Buggy. Can't fit a car seat while using double seat on bottom. Well, I read one review that said she jimmy-rigged it to work. Hmmmm. Anyway, very pricey, like I said. But quite an ingenious design.)

If any one you love a double stroller you have, even if it doesn't match my dream-stroller description, please tell me about it. Thanks!

P.S. Running stroller aside, I am kind of considering a sit and stand double stroller. The Joovy one I am looking at doesn't have a second seat, just the bench or stand option. I'm not sure if this would fulfill all our strolling needs. What if Julia just hops off all the time? And what if she wants to rest her back and head on longer outings? (she's never been a big stroller-napper, though.)

a little brother

According to an ultrasound performed yesterday, Julia can expect a brother in May. Jonny and I are thrilled, and a little nervous, since all we know is little girls! (One little girl, to be more accurate.) Now, to figure out the right name. Boys are tough. I had a girl one all ready to go (Lucy) but we haven't pinned down a boy name and probably won't for some time. In the meantime, we'll see if we can't get a little blue going on around here. Julia's pink and green nursey probably won't cut it for this little guy.

Oh yeah, Christmas happened...

I was so enjoying the relaxing holiday that I never took the time to post. So, for those interested, here are a few slide shows with captions to recap our fun Christmas festivities. Happy 2009!

"Good times never seemed so good..."

Jonny, Neil, and I had a great weekend together. Okay, Neil was only there for a part of it, but all of it was awesome.

On Friday afternoon Jonny and I dropped Julia and her gear off to spend the night with Matt, Cortnie, and Jack while we braved the weather and headed up to Salt Lake City. (Thanks again for the extended babysitting! Julia loves you all, we are sure.) We checked into the Marriott, bundled up, and walked around Temple Square for a very short time (we couldn't really see the lights because of the falling snow!), and enjoyed dinner at the Garden Restaurant. Then we walked over to the Delta Center (I know it has a new name, but the original is faster and easier to say) to see 67-year-old Neil Diamond put on an incredible concert. I will admit, I didn't think the concert would be so energized when he came out and sang a mellow song to start it out. But he really got rockin' and entertained the crowd of all ages. He has quite a lot of energy at his age, and after decades of performing. Even from the second to back row, we loved the concert. He sang nearly every song I was hoping to hear (especially "Play Me") and a few new ones that were true to his timeless style. Thanks, Neil!

Here he is singing "Sweet Caroline," naturally a big crowd-pleaser. Um, never mind. It is taking days to upload - if it ever even will! So, a few pictures of Neil from afar will have to suffice. Just make sure you catch him in concert next time he's close by, you won't be sorry.


Here is a video of Julia singing "Crunchy Granola Suite." It's a strange song that makes even less sense to me after looking up the lyrics. (Em remember singing Neil Diamond's "Porcupine Pie" in elementary school? It reminds me a little of that one.) Anyway, it is on his greatest hits CD that I've been listening to for weeks, in preparation for the concert. Julia loves to sing to the "Deedlee-deet-deet" part. Check it out, though it is a little hard to hear since she is tired after a fun night with Cortnie!




Okay, one more video of Julia and "Crunchy Granola Sweet." Here she is, fully energized, singing and dancing to it in the kitchen. A third generation Neil Diamond fan?

Julia's latest words

Julia (18 and 1/2 months) suddenly seems to be adding a lot of words to her vocabulary. For a while it was "ball, duck, ma ma, wa wa, nummy nummy" and a few select animal sounds. Here are the latest:


-"Noooooo!" (VERY often these days)
-"Hullo" and "Ba-bye"
-"Sigh" (outside)
-"Baby Dedus" (Baby Jesus)
-"Blaaa!" (when getting dirty diaper changed)
-"Djoo" (shoes, she now says the "ooh" sound in shoe and moo- big improvement!)
-"Boo" (boots, her favorite kind of shoes to wear)
-"Sah" (socks)
-"Juze" (juice)
-"Sheeze" (cheese)
-"Teece" (teeth, when she wants to brush)
-"Buh" (book)
-"Baa" (bath)
-"Bah" (block)
-"Arah" (Hurrah in "The Ants go Marching")
-"Ma ma ma, Da da da" (She actually says these to the correct parent now)
-"Oooooh" (when looking at lighted tree or anything really pretty)
-"Weee!" (when going down a slide or doing anything fun)
-"Ho ho ho" (surprised me with this one when I showed her a Santa ornament! I think Jonny was saying it to her at the store when they saw Santa or something.)
-Most all animal sounds, but the new favorite is "Neeeee" (neigh)
-A few names, "Bulah" (Allyson's friend Bella!), "Unta Ta" (Uncle Todd who gives her a treat and says his name every time he sees her - which is several times a week since preschool is at his house), and an occasional "Di-din" (sounds like Jillian and/or Jordan)
-She also "sings" a lot, babbling in a somewhat melodic way
-Oh, she knows quite a few signs too (bath, water, eat, milk, book, sleep, finished, points to all body parts, etc). We are working on being better about signing with her.