Julianna Clay

Happy Girl

Today I caught Julianna's smile on camera for the first time.  Each day we place Julianna in her crib on her tummy for about 20 - 30 minutes.  She loves this tummy time.  Each day she gets a little stronger and has started grasping for some of the small rattles we have laying nearby.  Her favorite so far is 'Henry the Hedgehog', pictured below.  Just had to share with everyone her sweet smiling face!

Julianna’s First Car Ride

Today we were finally discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health for mom and baby.  For Eric and I it was so exciting because it meant getting to take our little girl home and begin our new life together with a little one.  For Julianna the prospects of being fastened into a car seat and placed in a very bright car for a 40 minute ride home seemed a bit too daunting.  When we first placed her in the car she was not a happy camper.  Not at all.  I had purchased a sweet sun hat for her to help keep the sunshine levels lower but she was so upset that I could barely get the hat to stay on her head.  As we proceeded towards home I reminded Eric of the Big Head Todd and the Monsters CD "Riviera" that I had been playing in the car for the last several months.  I had listened to it so many times that I just knew Julianna would also recognize it and know she was "ok" too.  So Eric started the CD with our most favorite song of all "Julianna" and within just a few seconds our little girl was calm, cool and entertained.

When I was pregnant I constantly talked to her and hoped she was listening and could hear.  It's so cool to finally see that theory put to the test as she turned from very unhappy Julianna to chilled out baby in a just a few seconds.

Here are some pics from our car ride home.