Julia’s 3rd birthday was at the Little Gym in Randolph, NJ. She had her new friends from school and her friends from Mendham. They played in the gym and had a great time. Julia took a few classes at Little Gym and her favorite instructor Miss. Kristen, loved her…she worked Julia’s party which made her very happy, she was so pleased with herself and her gymnastic abilities. After they played they sat in the big party room at a huge u-shaped table. Julia sat in the center, surrounded by her friends. The grin on her face when they sang happy birthday was so beautiful, she was filled with love and happiness. I will never forget that moment…she was enormously happy.

Practically, every morning Julia would come in our bed and lay her body on top of mine. It was a wonderful way to start the day and something that I miss most. She would be silly and meow, or kiss me in her special Julia way, forehead, chin, cheek, cheek and nose… After she had enough of a cuddle she would sneak between me and Ted and wait for the tickles from Daddy…Emmy and Will would follow in shortly and our family would fill our bed.

Julia loved looking pretty and cared about her clothes. Emmy dressed her a lot and I loved watching them. Julia loved presenting herself to us…it was the start of the day for the sisters. She wasn’t fussy but didn’t like hair bows, they interfered with her hair twisting that she did while sucking her thumb. She kept up with Emmy and Will but would sometimes settle on the couch and comfort herself this way. Her favorite show was Dragon Tales…she loved that show sooo much and would dance when they danced and sing when they sang. Dora the Explorer was a favorite too and as she watched it I’d hear her yell “swiper, no swiping!” very, very loudly! The characters were real to her. She loved hot dogs and chicken nuggets, pizza, frozen peas, strawberries, melon, pasta and havarti with dill!! White grape juice was her favorite and she loved ice cream, she would end up wearing a lot of it.

Julia loved to do somersaults around the house and she had mastered the skill at a very young age. She loved the “sit and spin”, swinging and swimming with her floaties on…we had a lot of happy times with the kids in the pool.

Julia was a happy, social, out-going girl. Not much made her mad and when it did she would give you the biggest “IT’S NOT FAIR!”, so we remember that life sometimes isn’t fair and that you have to make the best of what you are dealt. Julia would sometimes sneak off and find a piece of candy to eat under the sofa end-table only for me to find, an hour, or a day later, a wrapper or two or three…it always made me smile, and still does, to know that she had, for herself, a little happy moment that was hers that day…she’s with us, in her way, on any day at any time.