Mr. Sunshine

• Every time someone would give Julian a compliment (ex:"I like your shirt, Julian!") I'd say "Julian, can you say thank you? She gave you a compliment!" I didn't do this too long before he just started saying thank you on his own when someone gives him a compliment! Amazing to me that he understands they are giving him a compliment:)
• He's really good about "please" and "thank you" most of the time. He usually does it without prompt nowadays.
• For Julian, everything has to be just so. Perhaps it started when he was as young as 8 months when he'd say "uh oh!" whenever he'd see trash on the ground...like he knew it wasn't supposed to be there (or something on the ground at the house, for that matter). For example, when we leave the neighborhood park, he insists that we close the gate before walking away, or he will let me know he disapproves! If I open the fridge while he's in his highchair and walk over ot give him something without closing the fridge, he adamantly says "close the door!" (And Mommy says "close the door, please!" haha!) Last week we went to wash his hands in his bathroom sink. In the sink lay an outfit of Ella Grace's I was soaking since she got a little mess on it. He absolutely would not wash his hands until the outfit was out of the sink.
• Tonight he said his prayers so well! When I reminded him to thank Heavenly Father for our family, he said "for mama and dada and El-Bwace and Boo Boo." I love that he always includes his baby sister without prompt.
• Last week for Family Home Evening we learned about feelings and emotions. We practiced happy faces, sad faces, mad faces, surprised faces, shy faces, silly faces, etc. All week we've been saying "Julian, show me your best ____ face!" and he'd do it! Really well! So cute! Yesterday he was watching Thomas and Thomas had an angry look on his face and Julian turned to me and said "Thomas is mad" and made a mad face while saying it! (The narrator didn't say that either!)
• I love how he pretends to read! He's been doing that for a while now. But he'll pick up a familiar book and recite the words in the book that he knows and remembers on each page. It's amazing.
• I love when he asks me so sweetly and longingly when he's in the tub "Mommy, get in da bah-dub pool?" I was about to say no the other day because I was putting away clothes, when the words "it won't be like this for long" came to my head. Then I got right in. Sorry folks...no pictures of this one. ;) (Stace and I listened to that song last night while holding Ella Grace...I bawled & Daddy got all teary-eyed...ah, I don't want them to grow up!)
• Ever since he was teeny tiny & we established a bedtime routine with him, we've read a story after bath, then read a verse from the scriptures & then prayer and songs. Lately after I close the bedtime storybook I say "ok! now it's scripture power time!" and I sing the song as I turn to the verse. This week when I've said "ok it's scripture power time!" Julian says "yay!" and seems all excited. It's so cute! haha:) We're now reading about 3 verses a night, and we're reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning. We used to just pick a verse anywhere in any of the books of scripture.
• He is obsessed with his busy bags! I know I've mentioned that since baby girl was born, he's watched TV more than I ever would have allowed before (which was...like, pretty much none...my how the turn tables-- Office reference. Anyway.) I've been so pleased this week because we've hardly watched any TV...we've just played lots with our new busy bags (and lots outside)! He loves them! This also had much to do with the fact that Ella Grace now loves her swing:)

not a busy bag, but similar...it's made of felt!

• Right after saying he hasn't watched barely any TV this week, I'm gonna mention a couple times where he did! Today he watched my one free Living Scriptures DVD the company sent me. I thought it was cute how he looked all reverent and attentive as he watched about Nephi and Lehi's "Journey to the Promised Land."
• This kid still LOVES his fruits and veggies. The other night we had broccoli with chicken and rice, and he just wanted more and more broccoli! You'd think he'd be so skinny. Not the case:) He's still a bit of a chunky monkey for his age, but he really has thinned out. I'm excited to go to his two year check up to find out his stats next month. (I can't believe he'll be TWO in a few short weeks!)

• He is still OB.SESSED. with trains. And I still LOVE how he says "ho! ho!" when scooting his little makeshift trains along the ground.
• He also loves his Moe's! (Perhaps it's because in the womb he was made up almost entirely of it?) Any time we drive by a Moe's he says enthusiastically "it's Moe's time!"

he sure loves his Aunt Candace!

• I LOVE that he's recently started sitting like this in his carseat.
  My friend Mary Ann's little boy Riley always sits like this. I remember I thought it was pretty near the cutest thing I'd ever seen when I first saw Riley doing it. I secretly hoped one day I would have a cute little boy who would do such a cute thing in his car seat...yay!
• A lot of times he points to letters and says what they are. So far I've mainly taught him upper case, so I was delighted today when he pointed to a lowercase "e" in the phrase "We Believe" (where are the letters were different colors) and said "green e! blue e! pink e!" about all the different e's he saw. Proud mama.
• We went to the temple and SeaWorld the weekend before Halloween. Being that "I Love to See the Temple" has been on his favorite song list for several months now, we were really excited to show it to him now that he comprehends a little bit more what it is (he knows that the "angel Moroni is at de top uh de temple.") His face was priceless as we drove up to it and said "look Julian! It's the temple! Do you see Moroni?" It's a classic Julian face that we desperately need a picture of: his mouth drops open and he stares in wonder. That's what he did when we pulled up to the temple. So sweet.
• He loves his friend Camila! "Pilla" as he affectionately refers to her for some unknown reason:) These two have so much fun together!
  
• We've been slowly introducing potty training to him. He's quite enthusiastic about sitting on the potty when given the promise of a Thomas sticker if he goes in it. Hasn't happened yet, but when it does you better believe there'll be dancing!