A special tweet

I've made one small addition to the blog, which you can see in the top right hand corner. I just joined Twitter! But you don't need to join Twitter yourself to follow me, because my posts (or "tweets," as they are called) will appear right here on the blog in the new Julia's Twitter Updates box.

As opposed to my blog postings, my "tweets" will be comprised of actual things I've said at some point that day. Sometimes I'm chatting away nonstop, and saying every little thing that pops into my head, while other times I make my point in just a few words. So you'll have to keep an eye on my Twitter feed!

Ask Julia: 3/30/09

Wow, I don't think I've had this many questions since Ask Julia was first launched! This batch is courtesy of Aunt Paula:

Thanks for sharing your recent videos. I really like the one of you at your friend's birthday party with the slide. You seemed to really enjoy them. Now that I have officially retired from all amusement park rides, do you think that your mom might pick up my slack?
Do you think that she might try some of the mini roller coasters?
That would be a no. Mom hates those rides. If she really loved me she'd suck it up and ride with me, but she won't. It's all I can do to get her on the carousel when Dad's not around. But I don't believe you're completely retired anyway, Aunt Paula. If Dad takes me out to Cedar Point, I think I can convince you to go on Top Thrill Dragster with me!

In the video with Nia, you seemed to share the ball with her at times. Do you think that you are getting better at sharing?
That's another big no. If Dad had kept filming for a bit, you would have seen me sobbing because Nia touched my chalk. The nerve of her!

Now to the BIG questions about your soon to be here BROTHER:
I think that you will really enjoy showing him how to do things. Do you think that you will help change his diaper?
I think I will like watching his diaper get changed, the same way I like watching people in the bathroom. I'm very curious about everything that happens in there (not curious enough to try it myself, however!).

I remember when your parents were waitng for your much anticipated arrival, that they called you Vera Jr.? What do they call your brother? Jason Jr.?
They tried Jason Jr. and it didn't really stick. For the most part, we just call him Brother or Baby Brother.

I think that we should have a little contest to pick the name of your brother. What do you think?
Umm....

I have a few suggestions. First, do you know if your parents are going to keep up with the intials JML?
They haven't told me anything, but I don't think so.

If so, here we go. What about: Jarret Michael, Jonathan Matthew, Jared Mark.
Or if we go with the V's for your mom: Victor Henry, Vincent Harold, Vladimir Horace
What do you think of these names. Am I getting close?
I have no idea. Mom and Dad haven't said a word to me. It's not that I can't keep a secret, it's that I don't even know what a secret is. As for my opinion about those names, check out the video below.

I think that you should ask on your blog for suggestions, and we could have a little fun. What do you think?
I know that Mom and Dad won't like that at all because just like they did when I was born, they don't want to open the floor to suggestions. They've picked a name (whatever it is), and they are sticking to it! But that doesn't mean I don't have some very strong opinions. Dad asked me a couple of the names you mentioned above, and here's how I reacted and what name I came up with:



So there you have it. I think that's going to be a very long birth certificate!

Taryn's playroom

Last week I showed off my new playroom, and over the weekend I visited another great playroom at Taryn's house. It was huge, with plenty of room to run around in. But there were lots of cool toys there too, like a huge kitchen (when are Mom and Dad going to take the hint and get me one of those) and several toys that I have at home like the Cozy Coupe. Taryn isn't walking yet, so I had the run of the place. Just the way I like it!



Did you hear how I reacted when Mom asked if she could hold Taryn, and when Taryn was trying to play with my toys? Yes, technically they were hers, but if I touch it, then it becomes mine! I hope my brother was listening, because he needs to learn that I don't share with anybody!

My TMZ moment with Nia

I've mentioned this before, but during the week I have this whole other life with Bobbi and Dido that Mom and Dad don't know anything about. Especially when it comes to playdates with my friend Nia. Dad was working from home this morning when Nia came over to play. Because she bursts into tears at the sight of any man who's not her dad (with the exception of Dido, whom she likes), Dad had to stay out of sight so as not to trigger a meltdown. But when we were playing in the backyard, he hid on the back porch and shot this cute (though quiet) video of us playing. Very sneaky, Dad. You should work for TMZ!

Ask Julia: 3/23/09

I know I'm a few days late on producing Part 2 of the Ask Julia mailbag, but I had another one of my temper tantrums (who says the "terrible twos" don't start until you turn 2?) and time just got away from me. Aunt Rebecca had a bunch a questions for me, so let's get right to them:

Now that baseball season is soon approaching, I have a few questions for you.
1. What do you feel the Yankees' best moves were in this off season? Have they done enough to take them to the playoffs this year?
To tell you the truth, we're a little mad at the Yankees right now. They moved to a new stadium this year and now that they've squeezed in so many more luxury seats (which, by the way, no one can afford), Dad's seats got moved far, far away. So it will take a little time for us to get over the team's shoddy treatment of us and starting enjoying the team again.

2. What are your thoughts on A-Rod? No, I'm not interested in his divorce or friendship with Madonna. I'm talking about his use of 'roids. Should hi stats be put in the same category as those of McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds? And why have all those Yankee players' names been associated with steroids with hardly an mention of the Red Sox players? It's been said that 4 out of 5 players have used steroids, so why were the Red Sox names left out of the Mitchell report?
All I have to say about A-Rod is that he's a bigger baby, and has less street smarts, than either me or my still-unborn baby brother. And he lies about effectively as I do when I insist that I don't have a dirty diaper even though anyone with a nose in a 10-foot radius knows the truth.
But you raise a good point. Even Red Sox fans would agree that with everything going on in baseball back before testing, there's no way that those self-proclaimed "idiots" on the Red Sox team that won the World Series in 2004 were all drug-free. This whole thing is going to get much uglier as more names inevitably come out.

3. You looked adorable in your Minnie Mouse dress. Do you have the high heels to match?
No high heels, but I just got some matching boots for the raincoat and umbrella that I got from the Disney Store that same day.

4. Tell us about your new bedroom.
There's not much to say because there's no furniture yet (Mom, Dad and I started to look for a bed and desk this past weekend) and the closet isn't finished yet (that will happen next week, now that the closet lady came and designed a terrific closet system for me). But it's painted purple and has a gorgeous chandelier. I think I'm going to love it.

5. Are you excited about the impending arrival of your new brother? What tricks are you planning to teach him?
I like rubbing Mom's tummy, where my brother is, and I try to touch him through Mom's belly button but it doesn't seem to be working. The only trick I can think of right now is how to crawl out of the crib, but I'm still learning that one myself. Give me another week or two, and I should be able to get myself all the way over the railing.

6. How many teeth do you have now? How long before you get your first visit with a dentist, other than Aunt Jessica?
I have too many teeth to count. They go all the way to the back of my mouth, though there are still some gaps in there. Mom says maybe in another year I'll start visiting a dentist. Until then, I love brushing my teeth. Mom or Dad puts some toothpaste on the toothbrush and brushes a bit to get me started, then I start gnawing away all by myself. I'll have to take a video sometime.

7. How tall are you now, how much do you weigh, and what sizes are you wearing now?
I don't have a height and weight update since my doctor's appointments are so infrequent these days. The last time I went, back in December, I was 27 lbs. 7 oz. amd 35 inches tall. As for size, I just recently moved into size 3T after being in 2T pretty much since last summer. It's by far the longest I've remained in one size since I've been born.

8. Preschool. Is it in your future? Where and when?
It sure is. I'll be starting nursery school in the fall. Right now I'm signed up for five days a week (from 9 to 12), in the hopes that it will make things easier for Bobbi and Dido as they juggle two kids.

9. Have you see the Easter bunny hopping around, or is it still too cold there? we saw him hopping by our house and we told him your address so he can come visit you.
It's still pretty cold here. In fact, it snowed again on Friday! But I'm aware that Easter is on its way. Mom is already talking about coloring eggs and she gave me lots of plastic eggs to play with over the weekend (I made sure to throw them everywhere during one of my tantrums).

10. What's the best advice you can give your brother when he arrives?
That's simple: just don't touch any of my stuff, and don't infringe on any of my time with Mom and Dad, and we'll get along just fine.

Whew! Thanks for all the questions, Aunt Rebecca. If there's any questions she missed, send them my way and I'll answer them soon.

Ask Julia: 3/19/09

I guess last week's guilt trip worked, because you sent in tons of questions! So we're going to split this mailbag into two parts. Today I'll answer the questions that came in from Grandpa; tomorrow I'll tackle the long list that Aunt Rebecca sent. Here goes.

You have mentioned that your parents have been telling you about baby brother coming soon. Have they been telling you that you will have to be sharing with him, like for instance, this blog?
In case you haven't heard, I don't share very well. That might explain why Dad keeps saying to me, "Wait until June!" As for the blog, all I can say is that if my brother thinks he'll be contributing to this blog, he's got another thing coming! If that means Dad has to find a new website address so he can create a new blog for both me and the baby, so be it.

Now that your parents' favorite groups have new releases, Line on the Horizon from U2 and Working on a Dream from Bruce Springsteen, are you going to allow those to be placed on rotation on the iPod, or will it continue to be only your favorite English and Ukrainian tunes? Are you going to let them see the acts on the expected tours, or will the only shows they can go to continue to be at Sesame Place?
I already listen to Bruce in the car. In fact, his CD is the only one I'll (occasionally) allow aside from the same "Wheels on the Bus" CD that has driven my parents insane. I haven't heard the new U2 album although I know Mom loves it.

I don't think my little ears could handle a rock concert, but I'm definitely planning on going back to Sesame Place this summer (Mom and Dad can come too, if they want). I hear things every once in a while about other appearances by Sesame Street characters in the area—shows with names like Elmo Live!—and if I ever get solid info about that you can be sure I'll demand to be taken there too!

Look for part 2 tomorrow!

Best cellar

So the basement had been off-limits to me for a few weeks while the contractors were down there doing who knows what. Mom and Dad had said something about my toys going down there, but I didn't really understand what they were talking about until over the weekend, when they unveiled...my new playroom!


They put in lots of shelves to organize my stuff. All my toys are down there, and my books too!


I love it, and I'm sure you will too. Here's a video of my reaction. First I'm running around the house trying to find where all my toys went, then Mom and Dad take me downstairs.



Doesn't it look great? I'm very excited to finally have my own playroom!

What "Wood" Julia do? Slide!

I've been to some fun birthday parties in my time, but this one takes the cake! My pal Audrey turned 3 last week and she invited me out to Long Island to attend her birthday party. Get this: it was at a place called Wood Kingdom, which sells backyard playground equipment, and they have a whole room with tons of slides and bouncy castles. It's like they could read my mind or something!

Even before the party officially started, I was running around having fun in the "model" area, where they actually sell the playground equipment. I even bumped into Elmo, who was entertaining at the birthday party right before Audrey's.



Then it was finally time for the official party. I had fun on all the slides, but my favorite by far was the slide that was part of one of the inflatable castles, so it combined two of my loves. I went down so fast...what a thrill!




Roller coasters, here I come! Then it was time for pizza and cake. How did they know exactly what I wanted to eat?



The pictures are great, but to truly appreciate what a great day I have, you have to see me in action. And look for cameos by Audrey, her brother Carl and a friend of ours named Nemo!



Thanks so much Audrey for inviting me! Mom and Dad: the bar has officially been raised. I can't wait to see what big events you come up with for my birthday in May (and no, the arrival of my little brother doesn't count!).

Ask Julia: 3/13/09

My mailbox has been pretty empty over the past few months. If Aunt Paula didn't write me, we'd never have a new Ask Julia column. So it's a good thing she sent a few questions my way. Here they are:

I enjoyed hearing you play the harmonica. You did a good job. Do you like the harmonica or the guitar the best? Do you still play on the piano?
Thanks! I only played the harmonica that one time. I'm sure I sound better on the harmonica than on the guitar, but the piano is still my instrument of choice. I play on my piano a couple of times each day.

I like your new hair cut. You look so grown up. Can Bobbi still put it in a ponytail for you?
Yes, she does put it in a ponytail from time to time. We'll have to try pigtails sometime soon!

How is your new bedroom coming along? I bet that it will be very nice.
It's been painted a pretty shade a purple, but it's still very bare. Mom and Dad need to order a bed and other furniture for me. And they need to have someone come in and finish off the inside of my closet so I can start moving all my clothes in there.

That's it for this week. As always, I'll go through the motions and ask for more questions, but we all know that if you haven't been writing me recently, you're probably not going to start now. Maybe my baby brother will inspire some of you to start writing again....

A touch of Glamour

A couple weeks ago, you saw me playing with a Shape-O Toy, which my Dad used to play with as a kid. Now it's time for me to travel back in time and play with one of Mom's old toys. Mom gave me her old Glamour Gals, which are like tiny-sized Barbies. Take a look:



Since this video was taken, all the Glamour Gals seem to have disappeared. I wonder if that has something to do with the fact that I accidentally broke a few of their legs and torsos?

The next best thing to raiding the fridge...

...is going through everything on the outside of it. From Mom and Dad's "save the date" wedding magnet (which shows them as little kids) to party invitations to my baby brother's sonograms, if it's on the refrigerator, then you can bet I want to get my hands on it! And if you look closely, you might see me hard at work at filling up my diaper.

Disney designs

I can't believe it's the weekend already. It's been another strange weeks where I've had to spend a couple of nights at Bobbi and Dido's because of the paint fumes from the contractor work. I hear that Mom and Dad are taking me to the mall tomorrow. I sure hope there's a Disney Store there, because I've been able to sucker them into getting me lots of stuff there lately. First Dad bought me those Mickey and Minnie dolls two weeks ago, and then last week Mom took me by herself and we went on a huge shopping spree. Check out all the cool stuff I got:



It's a matching Daisy Duck raincoat and umbrella!



The only thing missing is the rainboots, which I hear Mom already ordered for me!



And look, it's a Minnie Mouse dress! I look just like my doll now.



For some odd reason I was fixated on the diaper wipes and kept cleaning myself with them.

And here's a video of me modeling all my new Disney Store fashions.



Have a great weekend!

If I'm happy and I know it...

Just me and my harmonica

Step aside, Bob Dylan! At Isabella's birthday party over the weekend, I picked up a new skill. Take a look: