Julia can't wait for Olivia

Julia can't wait to play with her new cousin and was very excited when she learned it would be a girl! Just watch....

Congrats to Dave and Christy on the upcoming addition to your family. We are so excited for Oliva to arrive!

Julia's first trip to Michigan

It's been a couple weeks since we were home and I know I took too long to post about it. We have been busy around here and I finally have a minute. Julia was awesome on her first plane ride. We couldn't have been happier. She slept pretty much the whole time and was only fussy when it got way too hot in the cabin, but we were all pretty fussy at that point. Julia was very excited to meet all of her Great-Grandparents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. She had fun driving around Kalamazoo with me and maybe someday she will be a Bronco! I was very proud of her and how well she did throughout the whole weekend she was a little angel. Since we have been back in Florida things have been cooling down and Julia has been able to take a couple quick walks with her Mom and she loves the fresh air and the sunshine. She is fascinated by light wherever it is. She has been spending more time in the tub splashing and getting ready for her first swim lessons. Hopefully I can teach her to kick since she seems to have inherited my feet. She has been talking more and more and she smiles and laughs when we talk back to her. She has also recently gotten some new friends - Zebra and Giraffe toys for her swing. She is tickled pink and she has long conversations with them while she is in her swing. That's about all for now. She has her 2 month checkup complete with shots on Thursday and we will keep you all up to speed on how she is feeling. We hope to see you all again very soon.

Love John

Happy one month Julia!

How the time has flown by. Our little girl is already one month old! We all have been doing very well and Julia is only waking up once at night to eat. Kathy tells me every day how lucky we are to have such a good baby. We finally were able to get some pictures with the whole family to add to the pictures that Kath and Julia took when I got called to work. We are having more and more fun everyday. Today we got up early and I made french toast for breakfast to celebrate Julia's big 1/12! Then we were off to church where she danced during the songs and slept during the sermon just like her daddy..... Julia has been spending more and more time on her tummy, she has even rolled over a couple times. Kathy and I have been brushing up on our baby songs. She seems to respond very well to our voices and our songs do a good job of calming her down when she is tired. That's about all for today. We love you, and can't wait to see you soon
John

Baptism Announcement

Hey All,

Wanted to send out an official reminder/notice for Julia's baptism. It will be August 29th during the 9am service at Trinity Lutheran Church (where Kathy and I were married). We will have a party/gathering after church at Grandma & Grandpa Ortiz's home. We are keeping the party small so we are inviting Julia's Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. We will celebrate with pizza and cake. Unfortunately, we have time for just a short visit as our plane leaves at 3pm from the Grand Rapids airport - but we hope to take advantage of as much time together as possible on Sunday. We are hoping that by keeping this visit short, that we will be able to come home around Christmas time to visit again.

John & Kathy

Julia the Soccer Player

Julia is doing great at home. She loves swinging in her swing, eating, dancing, and listening to her lullaby CD. She is doing well after her frenumectomy and has had a much easier time eating. As you will see in the video in the next post, Julia is a very blessed little girl. She has so many shoes and clothes - that she won't need another outfit until after she is 2 years old! If you are looking for a present for this "Hard to Shop For Gal" she would love donations to either her college fund or to a picture fund for professional pictures to send to all her fans (and family too!). Speaking of pictures, we will be taking our first professional family photos tomorrow - so stay tuned for another update very soon! Also, birth announcements and copies of Julia's first pictures went out in the mail yesterday so keep an eye out for those!
Kathy has been doing well also and working very hard. After only a week and a half off of work, she went back to work last week. She is still working part time from the home office and was glad to get back to a regular schedule. We did end up back at the Doctor's office this week for Kathy as she was having some problems with her c-section incision. She had a small procedure at the office to help and is doing really well after that. We have a follow-up appointment on Friday to make sure that everything is going to be alright. Please keep my strong wife in your prayers this week.
Kathy and Julia will spend their first night alone on Friday when I head to Guatemala for an overnight trip. The girls plan on spending the day in pajamas, watching movies, and enjoying their first mommy-daughter sleep-over.
Love you all and thank you for your support.
John

Announcing the arrival of Julia Elizabeth Low

Hi everyone I know this post is WAY overdue, but we have been real busy as you can imagine. We welcomed Julia Elizabeth Low into the world on July 15Th and she was a happy healthy 7lb 11oz 19.5in baby.

Julia is now 16 days old and is such a sweetheart. She has been sleeping really well at night and allowing us to get some much needed rest. When she is awake she is wide-eyed and very curious. We love talking, singing, and playing with her. She is becoming an expert at tummy time and is holding her head up nicely! She is most comfortable with her legs crossed, puts her pinkie up while nursing, and she uses her "Germ Catcher" when she sneezes - such a little lady already!
Grandma Ortiz came to help us get things started and we really appreciate her help. We also appreciate all the help and support we have received from our family so far away. Thank you everyone!
Julia had her first "procedure" yesterday. Grandma noticed that she was very "tongue-tied" and she had her tongue clipped (frenumectomy) by an older doctor who was very sweet. This will hopefully help her Mommy's milk supply and prevent speech delays or other problems. Kathy says I was very brave as I held Julia while the procedure was done.

Please enjoy the pictures and the videos, because we have enjoyed taking them . There will be many more to follow so stay tuned.

We love you all,

John

Feet!

These pictures are from her last ultrasound. She was all feet and REFUSED to show her face (no matter how much shaking and prompting from the tech). The one thing we know for sure - she has her daddies' feet. Hopefully they won't be quite as large (do they sell high heels in a size 15?) but her 2nd toe is longer than her big toe. Those aren't my feet!
Babies sure can make you busy - even before they come! We have a CPR/Safety class tonight, then I have an appointment with her pediatrician tomorrow morning, one with my doctor on Thursday, and then the ultrasound next Tuesday! Watch for more ultrasound pictures next week.
41 days until her EDD (estimated due date).