Trend Alert! Harajuku Lovers!

Dear Junebug,

Good thing Gwen Stefani decided to have babies because it inspired her amazing Harajuku Lovers line for babies and we loves it. Our friend Alyea got us some very cool HL gear and you wear it all the time.

XO

Mommy

Play Date!

Dear Junebug,

Your friend Matthew aka Mateo came over for a visit today. He's a little older than you so I'm not sure the two of you are into the same things just yet. He was obsessed with your ball pit though which was very cute. Come back soon, Mateo!

XO

Mommy

P.S. you looked very cute in your little Splendid outfit and Baby Gap mary janes. Good call!

First Christmas...

Dear Junebug,

We had a wonderful first Christmas filled with family, friends and God's incredible blessings. Gifts came pouring in for you and all of us adults gave up our presents in order to help some needy families which felt like the greatest gift of all. Someday I hope you will learn that giving to others is often more rewarding than receiving but for now I think it's wonderful to see you learning about the fun of Christmas and enjoying tons of presents that are all for you. Mommy was off of work for almost two weeks so we were able to spend some good quality time together. I will never forget this time... you are such an amazing baby... so much fun to be around.

XO

Mommy

Leonardo the Monster

Dear Junebug,

Already you are proving to be a fearless child as you will take on any monster that gets in your way. Case in point is one of your favorite victims, Leonardo the Monster. I brought him home for you and he's been a great companion. I feel bad for him though because he's got this blue tongue sticking out and you love to bite it. You also chew on his tail and gnaw on his horns. I'm not quite sure whether you are trying to hurt him or if you are just showing him affection because that's similar to how you treat Mommy and I know you love Mommy! I've got the bite marks all over my face and arms to prove it!

XO

Me

Paging Dr. K!

Q: Junebug insists on sucking on a soap and water soaked wash cloth when she gets her bath every night. Is this hazardous to her?

A: not dangerous - just icky

State of the Union: 8 Months

Height: 26 3/4

Weight: 17 lbs. 4 1/2 oz.

gained 12 ounces and 1/2 inch in one month

currently in the 40%

Activities: sleeping great, playing with dog, bouncing in her bouncy chair, standing up while holding on to things, standing up and screaming in her crib, learning to wave, eating three meals a day, rolling around, not crawling.

Carly Cakes.

Dear Junebug,

When Lola passed away your Daddy and I were devastated. Someday you'll understand how special the unconditional love of a dog is for a human being. We rescued Lola when she was 9 months old because her owner had died and she had no one to care for her. I couldn't help but feel like there was another rottweiler out there that needed to be saved so I went looking on the Los Angeles Rottweiler Rescue website. I realized finding a dog that fit our household was not going to be easy. We have you now and that makes the dynamic of our home a lot different than when we got Lola. We spent 2 years training Lola and breaking her of some bad habits. When she was a puppy I think people hit her in the face and it made her scared of a lot of things. Anyway - all the dogs on the website had "issues" so I decided to fill out an application requesting a puppy figuring it would take months maybe years to find just the right rottweiler to fill this void in our home and in our hearts. Daddy was shocked that I had done that and told me he wasn't ready but within a week he realized it was too hard not having a doggie around so we prayed and hoped. One week later I got an email from the rescue, someone called "grandmadoggie", saying they got our application and loved it. They had a 16 month old puppy that was not advertised on the website. She had just been given up by her family because they were a victim of the economic crisis and were forced out of their home. They could no longer care for their dog. Grandmadoggie explained that the reason they called is that this dog had been raised with 5 children between the ages of 5 months and 5 years and would be safe to be with you. The dog sounded perfect! Then she said she had one warning... she said the dog wasn't "pretty". I told her that wasn't important to us and that we'd drive out to see her. So we packed up the car and our family of 3 took the long drive out to Yucaipa (don't ask me where that is). When we got there we were blown away - she was BEAUTIFUL! We named her Carly Cakes and just like that we became a family of four again. Carly loves you and gives you kisses every day. At first you were shocked and cried... Lola was never affectionate like that so I'm sure it was different. But now you love it and pet her and scream and screech at her all day long. I love that you and Carly will get to grow up together. Carly is 90 pounds of crazy, dumb, silly puppy and she's causing lots of havoc around here but pretty soon she'll calm down and Mommy and Daddy will get some sanity. She's not much of a guard dog either but for some reason I feel safer with her around and I know when she's laying in the doorway of your nursery like Lola used to, you feel it too.

XO

Mommy

Judah's Big Top!

Dear Junebug,

Your friend Judah turned 1! Judah's Mommy, your Auntie Ali, put on a circus spectacular to celebrate the occasion. No detail was spared. The whole front yard was transformed into a circus tent, Mommys and Daddys put clown noses on, chili dogs and birthday cake was enjoyed by all. We even got to come home with a goldfish although Daddy wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility so our friend Sheryl adopted the fish and put it in her pond. You got to play with lots of kids in the bouncy ball pit which was awesome. Mommy is fixing up a little ball pit of your own because you loved it so much! Judah was in great spirits and was the hit of the party. But I gotta say, a close second was those pink patten leather baby bloch ballerina flats you were sporting. I mean..... ridiculous.

XO

Mommy