As I mentioned, my Ask Julia mailbox was stuffed to the brim with questions this week. So let's get right to them. First up is Grandpa:
Cutie Pie, you demonstrated a trait over the weekend that you inherited from your mother's side of the family because your dad and grandparents can't twirl their tongues. When do you do it — when you are happy, mad, curious?
I actually forgot to mention this in yesterday's Yes I Can posting. I can twirl my tongue (which means Mom won that particular genetic face-off with Dad, who can't do that), which I started doing last weekend when Grandma and Grandpa visited. But I haven't really done it since. It was just a new facial expression I was learning how to make, and now I've already moved on to new ones.
My Aunt Paula wrote in with her weekly round of questions.
I have a idea for those strawberries that you have been trying. If you dip them in chocolate they would taste alot better. Talk to your parents about trying it.
That's a good idea, but I wouldn't even eat chocolate in that netting. Babcia and Dido tried putting bananas in there, but I had the same reaction. Sorry Mom and Dad, it's time for Plan B.
Are you getting a replacement for Flutterbug, or have you totally outgrown the changing table?
Flutterbug isn't coming back—the reason he left in the first place was that I will reach for and play with anything that's even remotely within my reach. I'm still using the changing table but it's harder and harder for Mom and Dad to change me on it because I'm a tough little girl to pin down.
How are the musics lesson going?
They aren't music lessons; it's kind of a music appreciation class, to get me used to hearing music and interacting with it. It's fun, though the last couple weeks have been rougher because I always want to crawl toward Lindsay, my teacher.
Two of my friends wrote in. Audrey also had a suggestion about the strawberries:
Your parents are messing up the whole “trying new foods” routine. They need to get with the program. Instead of encouraging you to each the strawberries in the safety bag, they should have taken the strawberries and pretended to eat them themselves. They need to say things like “Not for Julia” and “Baby doesn’t like this.” That’s the only way we take any interest in something new. If your parents are going to ENCOURAGE you to do something, it should be something naughty, like tearing up mommy’s important work papers. That way, you won’t have any interest in those things. Once they figure this out, you all can have a more meaningful relationship based on trickery and not really meaning what you say. Works for me.
It's funny you mention this. This week Mom and Dad kept telling me "No!" when I went toward the baseboard, which of course only makes me want to play with it even more. But for now, I'll stick to my current course of action: laughing everytime I hear "no" and then going back to whatever naughty thing I was doing.
Isabella had some interesting thoughts as well:
I figured it out! The word "no." It must be my middle name. Lately we've been playing this new game where Mom or Dad ask, "Where's Isabella?" As soon as I point to myself, they cheer and clap. So now that I'm hearing "Isabella no" (seemingly constantly!), that must be the more advanced version of the game. I used to just wag my finger when they said no, but I guess that wasn't right. Anyway, I thought I'd share that with you since I read in your blog that you were hearing "no" too. Hey, maybe it's your middle name too! How cool would that be if we had the same middle name!!! Gotta run...it's snowing outside and there's a sled with my name on it, "Isabella No."
This is another very interesting theory. But I'm going with the theory that they are actually saying "Julia know" — in other words, Julia, this is something that you should know about, so by all means continue exploring. Thanks Mom and Dad, I'll do exactly as you say!
Isabella wasn't the only one who got to go sledding this snowy weekend, but more on that later. And thanks for all the questions! Now that my mailbox is empty again, let's start refilling it!
