captain Julia

Somehow June has creeped in reminding me that her first birthday is right around the corner.  I still have some time to bask in the fact that she's not quite there yet, but last weekend I had one of those moments of recognizing that she's no longer a helpless infant:

We had an amazing weekend with our closest friends celebrating Jilly and Tommy's wedding in Rehoboth Beach, DE.  Between the service and the reception, we had a span of about 2 hours to hang out at the beach.   Once we were through with the wedding party photos I met Charles, my parents, and Julia on the boardwalk to give Julia her first taste of Funland - the place I used to love when I was little.  One of my earliest memories is riding the boats in a little yellow dress when I was about 4 years old.  Charles and I put Julia on one of the boats when the ride was stopped - the plan was to snap a few photos and move along, but the ride attendant asked for our ticket.  I politely told the attendant that she was "way to young" to ride, but she dismissed me and strapped Julia into the boat.  We decided to give it a shot, but proportioned ourselves around the little pool to make sure that she didn't throw herself overboard (this is not out of the realm of Julia's capabilities).   Well....the ride started and she LOVED it.  In fact, she confidently put her hand along side of the boat and kept the other hand on the steering wheel.  I attempted to yell her name as she came around, but she put her hand up as if to say "hold on mom, can't you see I'm cruising in my boat?" 

That was my moment. 

The moment that I assume every mother has where you can't help but acknowledge that they are growing and will not stay in these beautiful stages forever. In the 350-ish days that she has graced our lives she has learned so much and she is transitioning into toddler-hood already.

So, to celebrate the moment, we decided to move on to the Merry-go-Round where she can't help but depend on us to keep her safe and strapped in for a few more years :) 

And here are our other moments of mischief throughout the week:

And in random news:

If I were to get married again.  I would have a photobooth.  And if I were to have  photobooth, I would have this adorable chalkboard thought bubble by Red Velvet Art (she has a cool blog too w/ neat DIY projects!).  But my wedding was pretty great and my husband is even greater.  And so, I will have to buy it for my sister's wedding in October.  So there you go Kirstan...I'm already planning out what I will write for you in my *photo thoughts*. 

I should probably work on my speech instead :)