11 Months!

Hi everyone!

It's been a very exciting month for us Tullys!  We are moving to NJ in 3 days and mom and dad have been busy packing.  I'm pretty excited, and have been told that I'm going to have a little more room to play.  Sounds good to me! 

I've been a very good girl this month; I've been sleeping great at night, taking decent naps, trying new foods (I love quinoa)! and just generally being a delight (or so I'm told).

With the Olympics happening in Sochi this month, I decided to spend January, my 11th month, practicing for a few events of my own:

1. Product Removal

I've been honing my skills at removing things from where they belong, and placing them on the floor.  Here is me taking the books off the shelf.  My strategy for bringing home the gold is to start with the biggest heaviest ones, and then remove the little ones as quickly as possible.  I leave them on the floor before going into my room ...

Once I'm in my room, I have a go at the bookshelf in there, and then move along to the dresser drawers.  My strategy here is to start with the bottom drawer, move on to the middle two, and go back to the bottom.  I leave everything on the floor here, as well, so that my hard work is visible to everyone.

2.  Walking

With my walker, of course! I love to walk with my walker, or by holding on to walls, ledges, chairs, couches, etc.  I've been told that I have great form, but that my fear of letting go and walking on my own is holding me back from a lot of freedom!  And I love freedom.  Maybe when I turn one in a few weeks, I'll let loose and start to motor around on my own.

3. Laundry

I'm no Mimi when it comes to laundry (she's taken home the gold since the 70s), but I do love some laundry.  I love sorting, smelling and putting dangerous chemicals very close to my mouth. The washing machine is an amazing invention and I love to spend time watching it go around!

4. Reading

You can see my appetite for books has not diminished despite the fact that I finally have some toys to play with!  I love turning the pages and feeling the different textures in some of my books.  I am a pretty fast flipper and think this is where I can really lead the team.

5.  Babbling

I have been learning so many new words!  I always say HI DADA to anyone who enters the apartment, and sometimes to no one in particular.  I now say AGUA when I want my cup of water, which my non-Spanish speaking parents took a little while to catch onto.  I continue to say MAMA and occasionally MIMI.  My new favorite word is BABY, which is just in time, because apparently we're getting a new one, due August 12th.  

Signing off from NYC, my home for 11.5 months!

Love,

Gillian

Here is a link to my 11 month photo shoot!

Peekaboo!

Hi guys! 

Just thought you might like to see one of my new tricks!

love,

gillian

My First Haircut!

Hi all,

I'm feeling a little bit lighter today- and no, I haven't been doing pilates.  I got a haircut people!

Here's me at Gymboree with Gloria, my stylist.  She set me up in this nice Jeep Wrangler with some cartoons from the 1950s.  Once I had my bagel I was good to go- Gloria tidied me up without incident.  See below!

I think after seeing the before and after shots (below), you'll agree that this was a much needed operation.

Before

After!

Stay warm out there!

love,

gillian

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone!

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had as exciting a night as I did.  Mom and Dad had Aunt Megs and Uncle Tim over last night and they had a pretty wild night that culminated in a 10pm bedtime for everyone but me (I tucked in at 7).

I just returned from a week at Mimi and Papa's in Florida.  Big thanks to Uncle Tim for surrendering his closet to me (not for my clothes THIS TIME, but for me and my crib) and really thanks to everyone for waiting on me hand and foot!  I had so much fun with everyone down there and loved playing with my new toys and the best appliances in America (great microwave and washer/dryer! Love my appliances!!)

The sun didn't come out much, which was fine for me given my complexion, but made the week a little less exciting for mom.  Here are some pics of me on the beach and pool:

This hat stayed on my head long enough to snap a pic and then had to be removed. I do not like headgear!

I stayed in this hut for 32 seconds. Too far from the action.

Mom had several parenting fails this holiday season, and she wanted to come clean 'for the record'.  Here they are in no particular order:

1. She waited until Christmas Eve at 4pm to take me to meet Santa, and the line was so long that we were told that Santa went home at 6, whether or not there were still kids on line. We could "wait at our own risk".  Silver Lining: I did get to see this Santa, who was taped to the door of the mall California Pizza Kitchen.   I touched his beard and felt very satisfied with our mission.

2.  She didn't order enough Christmas cards. No excuses.  Sorry, they were so cute!

3.  She didn't take any family pictures on Christmas morning or New Year's Eve.  

4.  While she is in FULL confession mode, she also wanted me to pass along that she didn't wrap some of my gifts, and quite honestly, decided to keep one or two of them on the backburner until I get tired of some of my other new toys.  Good to know, Mom!!

5.  This falls outside parenting, but she did have ice cream for dessert 8 nights in a row.  I think we can all agree when I say, NO COMMENT.

Here's to a 2014 that is filled with lots of fun, forgiveable parenting fails, and of course, good health and cheer.  Love you all!

Gillian

Christmas 2013

Hi everyone,

Merry Christmas!

What a busy month it's been!

My first Christmas happened in our apartment on the 21st of December, when all of my Tully grandparents, aunts and uncles came to visit!  We had so much fun, and I was so happy to see everyone.  It really felt like Christmas... maybe because I got so many great gifts!  Here's me surrounded by all of my new toys and clothes:

Then, we made the voyage down to Florida to spend some time with Mimi, papa and Uncle Tim.  One of my favorite new toys is this walker:

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2014!  I'll send some Florida pics soon!

love,
Gillian

9 Months and Gobble, Gobble!

Hi everyone!

Happy Birthday to me, 9 months old!

What a busy month I've had!

I have been crawling and pulling myself up to stand like it's my job. I will grab onto anything and hoist myself up: cribs, dishwashers, bathtub ledges, body parts, sharp things that my parents should childproof, but haven't, etc.   We celebrated Mom and Mimi's birthday with a 5pm dinner reservation a few weeks ago.  I also made my first voyage to Boston for Thanksgiving, where I got to visit my grandparents' houses for the first time!

I loved playing the piano, and thankfully, it looks like the apple has fallen very far from the tree when it comes to inheriting my mother's lackluster piano skills.

I LOVED pressing my face up against the glass of Grandma's front door.  I'll be getting her some windex for Christmas.

This little house thing was pretty nifty; I loved crawling through the front door, stopping to read some books, and crawling back.

 On a slightly more traumatic note, MIMI had the great idea to give me a lemon the other day.  I'll let the video speak for itself, but I'm pretty sure I'll be talking to my therapist about this in thirty years.

Overall, life is pretty good.  I love books, standing, drinking from my water bottle, cheese and fruit.  I don't like sitting still, being chained into my high chair, or lemons.

Here is a link to all of my pics, and I'll post the link to Shutterfly later!

lots of love,
gillian

New Tricks!

Hi everyone,

What a great month! I have to tell you, it's been off to the races since I got my crawling legs.  I love exploring the apartment, and the sound of my little palms slapping the floor as I roam around, calling out "mamamama" is music to mama's ears.

When I'm not crawling around, I can be seen flipping through some of my books.  I love to read out loud!

Here is another new trick that I picked up this month:

love,
gillian