When I was pregnant with Juliet, we found out that she was going to be a girl at the 20 week ultrasound. We were really excited that Sophia would have a sister to play with. I loved having a younger sister to share my childhood with. But, I could not envision what kind of little girl she would be. I could only imagine her being a little copy of Sophia. When she was born, however, we knew instantly that she was definitely her own little person.
One of my favorite things about Juliet is that she loves to snuggle. When she was a tiny baby, I carried her everywhere in a soft fleece sling. Even my mom carried her around the house in the sling when she visited! Now, Juliet continues to be so snugly. If I get on my knees and open-up my arms, Juliet comes walking right into my arms and gives me a huge hug. When Juliet wants some extra snuggles, she grabs a book and backs herself into a warm lap and quietly listens to the book.
Juliet is also our little "yes" girl. She is the only toddler that I know that learned to say "yes" before she learned to say "no." She nods her head down and says, "yes" when she wants something. She still does not say "no," instead shaking her head back and forth saying "ah-uh." I think that her learning to "yes" so early may be an indication of her current pleasant disposition and a predication of her future positive outlook on life.
Her greatest joy in her life is her big sister, Sophia. She is constantly by Sophia's side. Sophia does not mind one bit. She enjoys Juliet just as much and eggs-her-on to play fun and silly games with her. Their latest game is to crawl around on the floor chasing each other and laughing hysterically.
Juliet is our little climber. A few weeks ago she learned to climb the ladder on the slide on the swing-set. As brave as that is, she then sits on top of the slide waiting for assistance to go down. She loves to climb stairs, often pointing at stairs saying, "Uh? Uh? Uh? (Up? Up? Up?)." I have to watch her at all times because, while she can climb stairs with ease, she thinks she can down them just as well (she cannot!).
Juliet loves ducks. Her passion for ducks originated on Easter when White Bear Lake Grandma gave her a tiny little brown duck that quacks when you push its tummy. Juliet was smitten, and our search to find her a lovey has ended. Juliet sleeps with "Duck Duck" every night and drags him on many outings. When we are at Lake Harriet and Juliet sees a duck, she become almost hysterical, exclaiming, "Duck! duck! duck!" and pointing wildly.
We love our little Juliettie so much and cannot image our life without her.
