Juniper is 11 months old! WHAT!?

June at 11 months:

• LOVES the bouncy chair
• new foods: chicken, cows milk (whoops- too soon), garbonzo beans, lemon, orange, plum
• 1st pig tails
• full on crawling
• full on waving
• full on dancing
• can get up on her knees
• LOVES books and tearing apart magazines
• pants at doggies (especially uncle evin's dog, buddy)
• will yell through the house and "talk" to you across the hall
• serious case of stranger danger (lower lip quivers if someone she doesn't know well is holding her)
• Gasping, then pinching her little lips into an "O" shape and pausing and looking around as if she's really shocked by something and wants to see if anyone else is surprised
• 1st clapping on october 6th 2014, after a show at Disneyland

A name and a blessing for Junie B

June's blessing day was the warmest, most beautiful day in December this year. We had a great day and an amazing turn out for a baby #3 blessing. (Sometimes I feel like the first baby gets the most attention and celebration. Then, with each consecutive child that is born in a family, the celebration and attention slowly reduces). But we were surrounded by so many friends and family that day, love and support we felt was overwhelming. 

At church that day, while Ryan was giving our baby a name and a blessing, he felt inspired to change her name. When we left the hospital, her legal name was Juniper Bea Williams. The "Bea" was for the letter B which for her grandmothers: Beth and Bobbi. But when we received her social security card in the mail, it hit me a little that it didn't quite look right. Maybe it was because that was the first time I saw her name typed out, or maybe it's because her first name is a little unique and I didn't think it was fair to ALSO give her a middle name that most people wouldn't quite know how to pronounce either. It also kind of looked like the name of the city we live in, which is Brea. I don't know, it just didn't sit right with me. I talked to Ryan about this a little and he agreed, but we didn't think we'd do anything about it. 

But during June's blessing Ryan felt prompted to say "The name by which she should be known by is 'Juniper Belle Williams...'" Down in my pew, with my head bowed and my eyes closed I smiled to myself. It was perfect. Belle is Ryan's grandmother's name (technically it's "Isabelita" but she goes by Belle). I love it so much. I love that it's a family name. I love that it's still the initial B like both her grandmothers. I love that it flows with her first name and often call her "Junie-Bell." And I get the feeling that someday she will love that it is the name of a Disney princess. 

I really love all my childrens' names but I'm pretty sure I love Juniper's the most. I love her full name. Juniper is an evergreen tree, a botanical name, just like mine. It's covered in beautiful periwinkle-blue berries and smells just like Christmas. With her middle name, I think of Christmas bells on an ever green tree and it reminds me of the year she was my newborn during the holidays. There's something magical about having a newborn during the holidays- bunkering down in our cozy home, cuddling my fresh new baby with the christmas tree lit up, it was all wonderful. But her nickname, "June," I love just as much. Not only is it the most adorable name out there, but it makes me think of summertime and sunshine. She is my earthy, all-seasons baby. 

 

 

9 Months with Juniper Belle

Juniper Belle at 9 months:

• first time at the Williams Family Beach House
• on the first night of the beach house, she slept her longest stretch of sleep! 11 1/2 hours! From 8:20pm to 7:50am! (kinda sad that it's not a normal occurrence after nine freakin months). I think it was because we were in a room that was pitch black, with a loud fan, the room was a little warmer than normal, and she slept on her tummy. I've been trying to recreate the situation ever since, but it hasn't quite worked out. 
• first tastes of: squash, oatmeal, peas, blueberries, raspberries, and ICE CREAM! (actually it was pineapple gelato that her aunt Celestial gave her when I wasn't looking. Wish I could have seen her face!)
• had her first hair cut by her (great) aunt Ruth! To be honest, I was a little nervous to cut the rat tail for a second. I don't know why, it was kinda gross. Maybe thought it might change the look of my sweet girl, but the minute it was cut off I could tell it was a good thing. It was long overdue. She should have had her first haircut when she was a week old.
• went on her first bike ride! It was just June, mommy and daddy. We rode along the Newport Beach boardwalk at dusk. Everyone coming toward us on the boardwalk lit up at the sight of her, some smiled, pointed, giggled or waved, like she was her own little parade. She LOVED it.
• has started DANCING!! It's more like bouncing up and down and waving her arms around. Sadly... it's usually to "Gangnam Style," which is Harvey's favorite dance party song, so she's been hearing it since she was in the womb. I guess I should have been putting classical music up to my belly. I hope she hasn't lost brain cells.
• she does this adorable thing where she leans in and goes forehead to forehead with me. She lingers there with this adorable genuine smile across her face like she's the happiest little baby in the world. I love it so much.
• has been "singing" this song where she sticks her tongue in & out and says "Labalabaladalabalada." It's my new favorite song and I get to listen to it on repeat all day long!
• she has been trying to get on all fours and rocks back & forth like she's going to crawl any day now! I'm a little nervous for her to start crawling so young (well, young for our family. Wendy and Harvey never really crawled, and were late walkers) but I'm excited too! I think crawling is adorable and intriguing because my older two never did it. But I'm nervous to have to keep the floor clean and free of choking hazards with two other kids who love things like legos and littlest petshop. 

June is 8 MONTHS OLD!! WHAT!?

June at 8 months:

• Has figured out how to roll from her back to her tummy and now rolls ALL OVER the place! Seriously, if I take my eye off her for two seconds she's across the room. My older two children were late when it comes to mobility, late rollers, sitters, crawlers AND walkers. But I think June is going to break the mold. I wouldn't mind if all my kids were late in that department...
• Sounds insignificant, but can pick up her pacifier and put it back in her mouth (thanks to our new favorite pacifier, the wubbanub. #googleit). I don't know why it's so cute to watch her pick the little stuffed animal up and shake her head back and forth with her mouth wide open until she finds the binki and latches on, but it is. And now I'm not constantly putting it back in or making my older children do it for me.
• NEW FOODS: prunes, carrots, & peaches
• Sitting up! Unassisted... and raaaarely flopping over anymore
• First time on a swing. It was at the park in Brea by the Plunge Pool after the older kids' swimming lessons. The poor thing kept flopping forward but she still loved it!
• 1st 4th of July!
• 1st road trip: Las Vegas, Utah, Idaho. She was a ROCK STAR in her carseat. The happiest out of all my little road trippers. We learned her limit when we tried to barge it straight home from Idaho all in one day and hit 4th of July weekend Vegas traffic. Eleven and a half hours. My June is happy as a clam in the carseat, facing backwards and staring at the blank nothingness of a seat for eleven and a half hours. The older two lose it after 5 minutes if they don't have a dvd player in their face. But my sweet, dream baby lasted eleven and a half hours before letting us know she was done. It took us twelve to get home so... not too bad.
• First hair cut! Took June to aunt Ruthy to finally cut the mullet/rat-tail off. Honestly, I was a little nervous. I know those whispy, Gollum hairs were sparse and always out of control, but I was used to her little face surrounded by a crazy mane. But we did it and she still looks like herself, only a little cuter (if that's possible). 

*My babe and my baby... LOVE these two!

June in June

June at 7 months:

• 18.5 pounds
• 1st "SOLID" foods: rice cereal, avocado, sweet potatoes, bananas - loved every thing she's tasted
• moved out of her bassinet in mommy & daddy's room into a big girl crib in Wendy's room. She did great with the transition and loves her new bed!
• First trip to the temple! We went to the San Diego temple for our cousin, Alyssa's wedding.
• Is now reaching out for people when they go to hold her... probably my FAVORITE milestone this month
• On June's first memorial day, 5/26/14, she went swimming for the first time. She wore a hot pink with white polka dot swimsuit that matched Wendy's and kicked and splashed in the cool water for as long as I let her.

*love the baby rolls and the little glimpse of her congenital mullet in this photo :)

HAPPY half BIRTHDAY JUNIPER!

In her sixth month, June:

• experienced her 1st Easter! She had no clue what was going on, slept through most of it, and received some small gifts from the Easter bunny that he grabbed out of her stash of belongings just to save face in front of her older siblings. 
• 1st time in the bumbo chair. She wasn't so sure about it. She got all "back-archey" pretty soon. My kids are late sitter-uppers, late crawlers, and late walkers, so I think the sensation was very foreign to her, but I think it might help her in the process of becoming a sitter. Harvey was SO excited. It was like he realized for the first time that he has another potential playmate in the house. He sat close to her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, talking in a high pitch to her the whole time (...maybe that's why she didn't love it so much). We've used it a lot more and she's slowly starting to love it. A little.
• month full of holiday celebrations: Wendy, Harvey & Daddy's birthdays, Cinco de Mayo and Mother's day!
• Has become very grabby. She'll grab anything within reach and immediately attempt to stick whatever it is in her mouth.
• She has discovered her pudgy feet- they're her new favorite things to grab and put in he r mouth, which sounds absolutely disgusting but it's the most adorable thing. I know it sounds gross but I really love when she does that. 
• My new favorite thing to do is to stand June up on my lap and kiss her chubby cheeks. They're SO soft and kissable! Sometimes, I just leave my lips on her cheek, breath her in and she nuzzles into to me. It's the best thing.

Sorry for going overboard, these were all just SO cute that I couldn't narrow it down. I think six 6 month photos is fitting. FUN FACT: from May 14th 2014 to June 13th 2014 our family's lucky number is 3! Check it out, for EXACTLY 30 days:

Mom is 30 years old

Dad is 33 years old

Wendy is 3+3 years old

Harvey is 3 years old

June is 3+3 months old

Is your mind sufficiently blown?! Mine is. Que the twilight zone theme song. Three is our lucky number this month... Maybe I should buy a lotto ticket or something.

*this little girl is seriously all cheeks and eyelashes! And here's the picture to prove it :)