Ask Julia: 8/31/10

I asked you a couple weeks ago to send Henry and me questions, and only one person responded. Thankfully that person was Aunt Rebecca, who sent me a long list of questions. And now that I'm such a big girl, I decided it was time to debut our first-ever video version of Ask Julia:

Queen of the Castle

Ever since I heard that there was a castle right in Central Park, I couldn't wait to go see it. Last weekend, we finally went into the city to see Dad's friends Eric and Sara, and we all headed right for Belvedere Castle.

Dad took me up top (I brought along my new Woody and Jesse dolls — they're both from Toy Story for those of you who don't know), and we took a few pictures.




I have to say, I was a little disappointed. The inside of the castle wasn't anything like the ones in all the Disney films I watch. Where was the bed? Where were the rooms with all the fancy stuff? After a couple minutes, I was ready to go back down.

Henry didn't get to go up with us but he still enjoyed the view from down below.

Hands on

So I went for my 15-month checkup yesterday. I've grown to 32 inches (80th percentile) and 22 lbs. 12 oz. (25th percentile - yikes!), and the doctor also said I'm getting molars aplenty.

Mom and Dad didn't really get me anything for my birthday, because I discovered something new all on my own. Take a look (and don't worry, the video doesn't show any body parts it shouldn't).

Off the bedrails

After more than a year of sleeping in my big girl bed with bedrails, Dad decided it was time that I learned how to stay in bed without them. So two weeks ago, he took them off my bed, and lined the ground with pillows just in case I took a tumble while I was sleeping. And so far, I've done a great job staying put. I told Mom and Dad that I did fall out of bed one night and got right back in, but they aren't sure whether it really happened or I just made it up (and honestly, I don't even remember anymore what the truth is!).

That's not all: I'm also finally going to bed without pull-ups on. That isn't going quite as well so far — as every morning I've been waking up to find myself all wet — but I'm trying my best to change that because it's no fun to be all wet in your bed!

My second-favorite dentist

Last week I went for my very first dentist appointment (though thanks to Aunt Jess, it wasn't the first time a dentist has looked at my teeth). The photo above is of me in the waiting room. I was excited because the dentist's office was across the street from one of my favorite parks.

The hygenist, Diane, was very nice. She told me all about the different instruments and took pictures of me. Then she put these cool sunglasses on me while she counted my teeth so the light wouldn't bother me.


I got to pick the flavor of paste she used to clean my teeth (I chose cherry). I did so well — I guess a lot of first-timers get so scared that the hygenist is only able to count their teeth before they freak out; not me! — that I was able to pick a toy to take home. I chose a purple frog of course, and got toothbrushes and toothpaste too.


Wasn't I lucky! Then the dentist came and he was very nice too. Best of all: no cavities!

Topsy-turvy

Henry and I got so caught up in all our Wildwood blogging last week that we completely forgot about this cute photos from our pre-Wildwood stop at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Henry and I had a great time running around in the backyward, where Grandpa turned my world upside down:


We love taking a bath there because Grandma has the cutest bath towels for us:



Sorry we were a bit MIA this week, but we'll be back to a regular schedule next week. And be sure to send us questions so we can run an Ask Julia & Henry post before summer is done. See you next week!

People person

Sorry that Henry and I have been MIA this week. We've been taking a breather, so why not give us some blog material by sending questions our way? We haven't done an Ask Julia & Henry column all summer long!

I've known for a long time that my Dad works at some place called People but I never't really understand what that meant. But then last week, I finally looked through an issue of the magazine. Beautiful brides, Lady Gaga and a woman named Julia...where has this magazine been all my life?

Call of the Wildwood (everything else)

Julia and I have talked about the highlights of our Wildwood visit, but there are several other things worth mentioning too. I'll start out with the low point of the week: my trip to the Cape May urgent care center, where — big surprise! — I was diagnosed with another ear infection (I had been healthy for two whole months, which was definitely a record!). But let's move onto happier memories, like Lobster House in Cape May, where we ate several times.



Our walk from the hotel to the boardwalk led us past a playground, and sometimes we stopped and played there.


And while we visited the shops in Cape May, I played in the same fountain that Julia had fun with last year.


Julia and I had a habit of passing out in the stroller right around dinnertime.


Other times, I passed out in the car.


The last thing we did during our trip was go out with Babcia and Dido while Mom and Dad were packing up. Babcia, Julia and I fed the seagulls (mostly Julia and Babcia, since I kept running away from the seagulls).




Here's a video of the odds and ends from Wildwood that we didn't touch on earlier in the week:



And that's a wrap on our wonderful week in Wildwood. We had such a terrific time, but it was nice to finally get home. And I'm feeling much better now. See you next week!

Call of the Wildwood (boardwalk)

You can't go on the rides without going on the boardwalk, so we spent lots of time there too during our time at Wildwood. Our hotel was in Wildwood Crest, and each day Mom and Dad would push Henry and me in the stroller as we walked to the boardwalk (they ended up walking several miles each day!).

Every day, Henry and I made sure that we stopped to play on the beach balls that are part of the big Wildwood sign on the boardwalk.




One thing that Henry and I (especially Henry) were fascinated by was the tram cars that drove up and down the boardwalk (and announced their arrival with an endless loop of "Watch the tram car, please!"). One day we even went on it ourselves!




While Dad, Henry and I like the rides best on the boardwalk, Mom has always been a big fan of the boardwalk games, so we played a few of those too. One night we played several water games...


And Mom won a few stuffed animals for me and Henry! Thanks Mom!

Just like last year, Mom and Dad also rented a bike one morning so we could all ride on the boardwalk, which was also lots of fun. Henry was too little last year, but this year he sat right in front with me!




And of course we have a video too showing the fun we had on the boardwalk. Be sure to notice how much Henry loved watching the Monster Truck rides, and our shrill squeals coming home after another amazing night on the boardwalk (Henry squealed a lot last week!):



And we're still not done yet! Check back tomorrow for our big Wildwood wrapup.

Call of the Wildwood (beach)

The rides were definitely the best part of our trip, but Julia and I also loved spending time each morning at the beach. I didn't like getting too close to the ocean (when I did, the water came rushing in - all one and a half inches of it - and knocked me down), but I sure loved walking near it.





I surprised Mom and Dad by not trying to eat any sand during the trip, though I did enjoy chowing down on blueberries at the beach.


And before long each day, the excitement of being on the beach would catch up with me and I'd have to take a nap.





And Julia also had a great time too, playing in the sand.


She also played with the tiny pool that Grandma brought (it was technically for me, but Julia used it more).








This was the first year that Julia finally started to enjoy going into the ocean as well. She had a blast "jumping" over the waves with Mom and Dad. Maybe next year I'll be ready to do that too!

After we got back from the beach each day, we'd also spend some time in the pool. Mom and Dad brought along the float that Julia used when she was really little, and I loved being in it just as much as she used to!


So now we've covered the rides and the beach. What's next? Tune in tomorrow.

Call of the Wildwood (rides)

Henry and I have so much to tell you about our Wildwood trip — the beach, the boardwalk, the food... — but let's start with the best part: the rides! Every night of our vacation we'd go on rides. Some of them I went on by myself, some of them Henry and I went on with Dad and on a few of them, Henry and I went all by ourselves. Mom and Dad weren't sure that Henry would stay in his seat if only I was around, but Henry was really good on the boats with me.



There was another boat ride on the second pier, and we went on that one too.


We also spent some time on a car ride.


Dad joined us for a few rides, like the elephants...


And the train.


Then I went solo on a few rides, like the swings...


And the trucks...


And the elephant.


To get the full effect of just how much fun we had on the rides, take a look at this video: