...and we have a walker!

Few things bring to mind the peace that encompassed our house during the first few weeks of Julia's life like the quiet moments in her nursery. One of my great friends here in Massachusetts made Julia a CD of simple songs that I played over and over again as Charles and I prepared the space for Julia, rocked her during those long initial days, and fed her in the wee hours of the night. On that CD are my all time favorites - Rosie Thomas, Ben Harper, Shane & Shane, and James Taylor to name a few. So when I found out that we would be seeing James Taylor live on the 4th of July I was ecstatic. I am easy to please - bring me anywhere in an open space with live music on a nice night and I am one happy individual! Add to that the atmosphere of the Berkshires, some wine and cheese, my family, and some good friends - it was the makings of a perfect night.

  Music has always been an important part of my family.  It's in my bones and I'm pretty sure that I've passed this along to my child.  Certain music has a powerful way of taking me to certain places in my life, memories that almost come alive as the song unfolds.  The words of James Taylor's lullaby signify Julia's newborn phase...

Goodnight you moonlight ladies,

Rock-a-bye sweet baby James,

Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose,

Won't you let me go down in my dreams,

And rock-a-bye sweet baby James.

So James Taylor sings this song as Charles and I take a short little stroll with Julia - we reiminiced about "this time last year" and how great this year has been.  As we basked in this sweet moment, I looked down at Julia and she promptly grabbed my face and bit my lip as hard as she could. 
Lesson of the night:  Julia's latest goal in life is to assure that although there are great moments to be had, she is our reminder that her feisty and loud personality is stamped on each one of them.

Our James Taylor trip was all in all a great success.  It was one of many highlights of our great week of vacation that included honing in on our new kitchen design/plans, hiking Bash Bish Falls, daily servings of ice cream, and JULIA's FIRST steps, which occured on our 3rd wedding anniversary.  She had been close in the weeks leading up to this, but this was 100% on her own.  Check out the video to see who she chooses to walk to...

Since that moment 1 week ago, Julia hasn't stopped.  In fact, as I write this, she is proudly carrying a box of cake mix from room to room and banging it on each piece of furniture.  In these HOT HOT days, we have some great fun in the non-airconditioned Gray household :)