Wheels and things

Joshua received a special gift from our neighbors yesterday, a new car! It is a little car that he can sit on and move around or stand up and push from behind. It has all sorts of buttons to push and storage in the seat! He loves it! Here he is riding it in the kitchen today...



Also, yesterday we had Ellie, Kim and Ryan over for birthday cake for Ellie. It was a fun evening and the babies were great. We caught a few photos of them smashing cake. Today, Grandma and Grandad brought over the family piano for us to borrow. We can wait to practice on it. Joshua was enjoying pressing the keys this evening.

He is sleeping now, tomorrow will be another busy day. We are planning to go to a birthday party and swim!

He did it!

Joshua put himself to sleep last night. We laid him down, he fussed for 5 minutes and then put himself to sleep. The night before we check on him once and he continued to fuss but then put himself to sleep before we went up for a 2nd time. Sleeping is going much better as well. He wakes up once (twice at most) and is sleeping longer.

Joshua is a much happier baby these days and so playful! His walking is improving overnight. He pulls up on everything and walks about halfway across a room before sitting down. I 'baby-proofed' the kitchen and living room so he is currently crawling, pulling up and walking around these two rooms while I write.

For the 4th of July we just stayed close to home. Maybe next year we will catch a few fireworks for Josh to see.

Mini Meet East 2006

We spent the weekend in Frederick at the Mini Meet East. Joshua was a great traveler. He really enjoyed the RC Car Race, which Jason won for his group, and the autocross. Here is a shot of Joshua trying to 'help' Jason with his rc mini...



The autocorss really wore Joshua out, maybe it was the heat, anyway, he finally tuckered out at the end of the races...



It was a really fun weekend and now Jason is picking out his own 'real' mini.

First Steps - Solo

Joshua took his first steps on his own tonight (he is about 8 1/2 months old). He let go of one of the tan chairs he was using to hold himself up and walked towards Jason. After that, we made him repeat his new trick over... and over... and over. We got a little video, too. Can you tell we are proud parents :-)?

Kissy Kissy

Joshua started making kissing sounds yesterday and did it non-stop! He hasn't really associated the word 'kiss' to the sound but it is still pretty cute. The sleeping is going well and now we can put Joshua in bed, let him cry for about 10 min and then lay him down and he will go to sleep. He was definitely getting too big to 'walk' to sleep like we had been doing. He will usually sleep at least a couple of hours before needing a bit of formula or potty then he will usually sleep for 5-7 hours. What a huge improvement! Naps are now twice a day for 1.5 hours each and they are pretty much to a schedule. He has one at 9am and the second at 1 or 2pm. The next step to remove the need for us to lay him down after he fusses for 10 minutes. I think it won't take long to make that change, he is almost there already!

Here is a cute photo of Joshua after a bath:



Isn't he adorable!!!

Sleep Tight

Joshua slept 7.5 hours last night! I guess I am jinxing his success by writing this but it is exciting. I hope that it will happen again tonight. He is waving and doing 'so big' all the time. We are excited to see what else he can do :-)

This morning we will be going for a walk with Ellie and Miss Kim. We have to get out of the house before the temperature spikes and makes the humidity unbearable.

Joshua has been eating all sorts of new things including lumpy oatmeal, pieces of watermelon, banana and potato and spoonfuls of spaghetti o's.

So Big!

Joshua made the 'so big' motion at lunch today after I asked, 'How big is Joshua'.



Joshua loves eating table food. He has had Tibetan food, beef stew and chicken pot pie. Today he ate little pieces of bananas and watermelon. He is such a big boy!

That's it! I am goin' to Aunt Trina and Uncle Josh's

Joshua is all packed and ready to go...



I wonder if the airline will take him?

Weight Check

Joshua went to the dr.'s today for a weight check and passed! He had not been gaining as well as the dr. had hoped for the last two visits so he was back in today. He weighed in at 19 pounds 13 ounces and 29 inches long. Yippee!



This weekend he drove to Connecticutt for the first time to visit Aunt Jill and Aunt Tara. He did great! We went to see Jill perform on Friday evening and had a wonderful time out. Joshua did well for Grandma and Grandad babysitting. On Sunday we surprised Jill for her 30th birthday. Joshua had lots of time to play with cousin Stephanie. He did better towards the end of the trip but early in the visit every time Steph would squeal Joshua would lose it (cry). Such a sensitive child! Joshua also ate table food for pretty much the first time (mostly because I forgot his food!). So, Joshua's first food was Tibetan and he loved it. He is such a world traveler :-) He had a yogurt dish and a potato, avacado curry salad.

Happy 8th Month Birthday Joshua!

Joshua is eight months old today. In a few minutes we will be heading to CT for his first trip to Aunt Jill & Aunt Tara's house. We are going to see Aunt Jill perform tonight. Joshua is all over the house now crawling. Jason says that he is a 4x4 vehicle plowing through pillows, steps, toys and anything else in his way!

He is getting close to walking and often lets go of whatever he has pulled himself up on. Better get going...

Little fishie...

Joshua had his first dip in the pool yesterday and we are planning to go again today. He was a little bit concerned at first. We put him in slowly but was soon splashing and chattering along. We picked up a little floating device with a sunshade to put him in.



He now can move across the floor 'crawling'. He sticks one leg out to the side and folds the other underneath. It is quite a funny site but he can move! Now he is busy trying to get into things he shouldn't like the dog food bowls, climbing on the book case and dumping everything off the coffee table.

Have a great Memorial Day!

It won't be long now!

Joshua is really rocking and scooting now. I don't think it will be much longer until he is crawling. I wouldn't be surprised if I had to add an update tonight!

He is starting to gain weight again, too. It is nice to see those chunky thighs and chubby cheeks back. He takes formula during the day and mommy's milk at night. He has been eating a lot, too. His favorite foods are bananas and yogurt but he also eats oatmeal, sweet potatoes and pears. He only takes a few bites of peas and carrots but we are working on it.

Some more milestones...

Yay! Joshua can now get himself into a sitting position from either his tummy or his back. He also loves to stand up by himself by pulling up on anything in the vicinity (including the doggies!) I suppose we can't put off the baby-proofing any longer...

He also just started picking things up with his thumb and forefinger. Time to start some finger foods...

We'll try and get some more pictures posted this weekend :-)

A Day at Ladew

Joshua and Jason took me to Ladew Topiary Gardens today for Mother's Day. We spent the afternoon wondering around, smelling flowers and watching the leaves blow in the breeze. Joshua loved all the sights and sounds. He was tired but didn't fall asleep, he didn't want to miss anything!



When we returned home, Jason turned on music while I fed Josh YoBaby yogurt and Joshua bobbed his head along. It was hilarious! He also started waving. It is intermittent but I am sure he will pick up the frequency!

Happy 7th Month Birthday!

Joshua is 7 months old today. The past couple of weeks have been busy with firsts. First

• plane ride out to California
  
• meeting Jason's Aunts, Uncles and cousins
  
• drive longer than 1.5 hours and visit to Las Vegas
  
• walk around the inside of the pack n play
  

He now pulls himself up regularly and then just lets go. Litte dare devil. He is at a very fun age and we are enjoying the time.

2nd Tooth

Joshua cut his second tooth today in the afternoon. Grandma V. came over to help me pack by keeping Joshua occupied. They played together, napped and took a long walk with a stop at the playground. When daddy came home, Joshua pushed up to all fours for the first time. This is the first sign he has shown of crawling... won't be long now!

Happy Easter!

Joshua's first Easter was a wonderful day spent with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents. We attended church in the morning at my parent's church and then went back to Grandma & Grandad's house for Easter dinner. He ate bananas for the first time yesterday and had them again today this morning. He also ate more than a tablespoon of food tonight (sweet potatoes & oatmeal with peas for desert, yum!) a first! It must be that tooth that cut through yesterday :-)



Yesterday, Joshua enjoyed a day of shopping with Aunt Amy, Aunt Stephanie (my cousin), little Stephanie, Lily, Great Aunt Betty & Nanny. He tooled around in the umbrella stroller we are borrowing from friends and fell asleep in it. He did great with being passed around and meeting new people. We were so proud of him!

Good Friday

Today, Joshua met his Great Aunt Betty and Uncle George as well as his cousins, Stephanie, Kurt and Lily. Dispite Uncle George's best efforts, Joshua screamed at him for the entire drive to get ice cream. He apparently took right to Stephanie, and she entertained him on the ride home. He even let her hold him :-) Tio Omar showed Joshie all around Bomboys Candy Shop and introduced him to raspberry ice cream which he liked very much.

Pulling Up

Joshua hit another milestone yesterday, he pulled himself up. We had just finished a nice walk with Kim and Ellie and were enjoying the sunny 70 degree day in the backyard on a blanket. The stroller was parked near the blanket. Josh was sitting and reached forward, grabbed the wheel of the stroller and stood up. Now all he wants to do is sit or stand, no more laying down for this little one!

Joshua also had his 6 month checkup yesterday morning. He is now 17.5 inches long and 18 lbs 2 oz. He received several vaccinations.

We are getting ready for our trip next week. If you didn't receive the email about our plans for Cali, please give me a call or send me an email, I'll fill you in on the details.

Baptism

Yesterday was Joshua's baptism. It was attended by his Grandma V., Grandad, Tia Amy, Tio Omar, Dylan, Stephanie, Aunt Jill, Godfather Chris, Godmother Carie and family friends Richard & Donna with their children. The service was wonderful. Pastor Fritz had the children bless the font during the children's time, he incorporated baptism into the sermon and then there was the ceremony after the sermon. The congregation welcomed and blessed Joshua as we walked around the church so it was a very special time.



This week Joshua has been sitting up on his own for extended periods of time. He can rebalance himself if he is leaning over too far. He also started pulling himself up in the pack n play so he is no longer safe in there alone.

We are going out for a walk now since it is a beautiful day out. I hope to get on and write more later.

Long time no hear!

Wow! It has been two weeks since we posted... sorry for the delay.

Jason was out of town last weekend but Joshua and I survived. Joshua loves seeing daddy come home every time. He is really warming up to people (other than mommy) now. Looks like he is starting to get over the 'stranger anxiety' that he has been suffering from. The trick we found was to have whomever was holding him ignore him until he makes gestures to interact. Seems to be working.

He is rolling back to front and front to back now and likes to be on his tummy. He now sleeps on his side or his tummy because he puts himself in those positions. Sleep is no longer still, he moves all around these days but on an upside, he is starting to sleep longer. I think a lot of his sleep problem for the past two months had to do with the terrible rash that he had. We are working on fixing that and everyone seems happier.

We have been working on oatmeal, the sippy cup and sweet potatoes. He likes the sweet potatoes the best. We just started those last night.

Today, we all spent a good deal of time outside working on the yard. Still more to do. Josh likes to be outside when he can see mommy and daddy. So, we put him in his jumper to play along side of us.

Next weekend is his baptism. We are really looking forward to that. It will be during church service on Sunday.

Friday & Saturday

Friday, was a beautiful day of almost 80F. We took a nice walk with Ellie and Kim to the swings.





On Saturday, Jason, Joshua and I got ourselves going early and headed to the National Aquarium in Baltimore with Ryan, Kim and Ellie. We had a blast. Joshua loved the fish, sharks, birds, frogs and all the people we saw. After the Aquarium, we ate at 5 Brothers Burgers & Fries then headed home. It was a great day and Joshua did a very well. When we returned home, Stephanie & Harry had us over for more burgers and brats with beer. Josh, still in a good mood, wooed the hosts then after a fight, fell asleep for the night.

Happy 5 Month Birthday!

Today we took things easy since I was sick... but we did get outside to enjoy the sunshine. It was in the low 60's today. A regular heat wave!!

Joshua had a good 5 month birthday and is now in bed. Be sure to check on the pictures from today on Flickr.

Updates

Joshua has figured out how to use the jumper now and loves to spend time in it. The dogs often walk over to see what he is up to, he gets excited and jumps and they get banged in the head.

He is rolling all around now. Diaper changes have become more interesting because of this. But it is fun to see him pulling his legs up and flipping over at will.

He is grabbing everything he sees these days. Nothing is safe!

Over the weekend we drove to the 'burg for Aunt Jo's birthday dinner. We had a nice long walk with Grandad and Mr. Mark. He loves walks! He was most disagreeable however when we tried to pass him around.

On Monday, we went for a walk with Kim and Ellie and swang on the swings at the playground for the first time. He loved it and ended up falling asleep to the gently swinging.

Today, we met CarolAnn and Abby at the mall to visit and then drove to see Mary, Amelia and Rebecca at their house. He did pretty well but his naps were all messed up and he became very grumpy by the end of the day.

Several people have said, 'He's teething' so that may be the case. We'll see when the teeth come through!

Just the usual

Nothing much new is going on. We are still working on sleep. This weekend Joshua decided he no longer liked the crib and has been waking up 5-15 min after we put him down until we decide to bring him into bed with us. Then he sleeps for 2 hours. He went to the dr yesterday to have a diaper rash checked out. Seems the little whipper snapper has sensitive skin and a rash that just wouldn't go away. Things are looking a bit better today after following the dr's recommendations. He weighed in at 18 pounds yesterday.

I look this photo yesterday. He loves chewing on this cup. He also likes his rings and a big plastic safety pin rattle.

Playing in the Snow

Joshua had a long playtime with Grandma and Papa via our video chat. Since we had a good snow last night (about 10-12 inches) we bundled the bambino up in his bear bunting and tossed him in the snow. He was curious and sneezed a lot since it was so bright. We kept the event short since it was time for his nap but we did get pictures which I will post later.

Feb 10

Today Joshua had another babysitting session with our neighbor. He gave her a bit of a hard time. Lots of hollaring as soon as I left. I suppose this will get better.

4 Month Birthday

Joshua turned 4 months old today. He went in this morning for his 4 month checkup. His weight is 17.5 pounds (95th percentile) and height 26.5 inches (90th percentile). He had his next round of vaccinations and did very well.

He has learned to blow raspberries and has been entertaining himself with this new trick. After the dr. appointment, Joshua enjoyed a visit from Miss Kim and Ellie.

Busy Bee

After Joshua's big roll-over last week he has only done it one more time. And, to Jason's disappointment, that time wasn't in front of him! I think everyone thinks I dreamed Joshua rolling over BUT... I have evidence on video :-)

Last week, we had a nice visit from Grandma Vasbinder and also Aunt Jo. We are working on the sleeping still. He had 4 nights of 5, 4, 3.5, 3.5 long stretches but then last night was another 1-2 hour night. I think that what we are learning from 'the no-cry sleep solution' is working but there will always be fluctuations. We have started back working on IPT again. I needed to get Joshua sleeping longer again before I went back to the potty time. So today we begain again and have had a good deal of success. We are still working on eating. I trying feeding him the rice cereal 1-2 times a day. So far we have yet to get a full ounce in him in a day but we will keep practicing!

This week Joshua will turn 4 months old and have his 4-month dr checkup on Thursday.

Sitting UP and Baby Sitting

Joshua sat up on his own for the first time yesterday evening. Jason had him sitting on the island (I think I would have chosen a lower location... but Daddy was right there the whole time) and he was just sittin' holding his rings, which he loves.

Today, he went to Ellianna's house while I went to work. Kim watched both the little ones. When I came back, both he and Ellie were sleeping on Kim and Ellianna had her arm around Josh, how sweet! Kim said he did pretty well and that babies just played together and entertained each other.

A Family Stroll

Today was a bad day for naps... but we did get a nice stroll in around the neighborhood. We bundled Joshua up, well not too much, it was about 50 F! Very warm for January. He fell asleep towards the end of the walk. Afterwards, we let him sleep in the stroller while we enjoyed the warm afternoon on the front steps. He woke up and we tried a little feeding again. He likes to help move the spoon into his mouth. Check out the photos to the right, there are more on flickr.

first bites

Joshua had his first taste of solid food yesterday. After dinner we fed him a bit of rice cereal mixed with my milk. I am not sure how much actually ended up in his stomach. He was wearing most of the cereal on his bib when we were finished but I think all in all the event went rather well. We will try again today. Jason took video so maybe we can get that up for everyone to see, soon.

Rolling Over

Joshua grabbed his feet and rolled over today!

Here he is after he did it the first time.

The weekend

Joshua had a busy weekend with Grandma and Grandad Vasbinder out for a visit. They arrived on Friday evening and we all went to Pennsylvania on Saturday to enjoy lunch at a brewery there. Sunday, G & G joined Joshua and I at church. I think he wants to join the choir! He has good lungs. Grandma thinks he is going to play the bagpipes ;-) Monday, Joshua and Grandma spent lots of time together while, Grandad and I worked on the room in the basement. Jason was working on Uncle Josh's software.



The swaddling is continuing to work and has helped us to establish a bit of a schedule. He has a night time routine that begins at 7:30pm with a bath, pj's and then snuggling/nursing time. We put him down, swaddle him and turn on his music. Then he usually wakes once within the hour and just wants a bit of help getting back to sleep. He wakes about 4-5 times in the night. He has been waking in the morning about 7-7:30pm. Then he takes a morning nap, a noon-time nap and a longer afternoon nap. As long as we are at home, I swaddle him and put him in his crib to sleep. If we are out it is either the carseat or the sling. The routine has been great and I hope it continues for at least a little while.



He is really beginning to respond to Jason. Daddy plays silly games with Joshua's legs and makes funny faces at him. He squeals with delight and I think is beginning to giggle!

Nap Time

So, the past several days have been an effort to move Joshua towards better sleeping patterns. Up until recently we allowed Joshua to fall asleep in our arms, while nursing or just go to bed when we did (with us). But this was benefiting no one. So, on Sunday we began the battle to put Joshua to bed without a major event. It has been trying but today I may have found something. I don't want to get too excited but he has now gone done for two naps and one bedtime without screaming for one hour before hand (the routine of the past 5 days) Today, I swaddled him tight enough so that he couldn't wiggle free. He took two naps in his crib (very unusual) and is now down for the night, in his crib. He fussed a little but since (I guess) he couldn't squim and thrash, he fell asleep. I hope this is a new trend, my ears could use a break ...

New Routines

This has been quite a weekend with Joshua. On the upside, he began sitting forward while in his swing yesterday. The swing was in the seat position, not the recline, and he was leaning into the tray. Won't be long before he is sitting on his own!

We had started to get into a pattern of Joshua going to bed around 7:30pm-8:00 that was interrupted by New Years but he got back into it early in the week. Then Thursday and Friday he decided to fight sleeping so he screamed until nearly midnight and then woke up for his usually nightly feedings and got up for the day around 6:00-6:30. Needless to say, everyone was tired and no one was happy. He finally went down on Saturday for a 3.5 hour nap in the late afternoon. Jason and I scoured the books, magazines and even internet support groups for help on sleeping, sleep routines, bedtime, ect. We decided to really try a bedtime routine on Saturday and stick to it.

Joshua knew we were up to something. We changed him and laid him in his co-sleeper at 9:30pm. As soon as he hit that bed, he started screaming. Jason read him two bedtime stories through the screaming and turned on his lullabye music. He continued to scream. Jason played peek-a-boo with him until he started to settle down. Then on one peek, Jason ducked below the bed so Josh couldn't see him, we both snuck out and Joshua feel asleep. He did his night time routine of feedings and woke at 8:30, not bad.

He took a nap in his co-sleeper at 10:30, one in the car at 1pm and a long one starting around 3:30-5:15 with me. So again tonight we started our bedtime routine. He fell asleep while eating but at 9pm we went up, changed him and laid him in his crib. Mind you, he was already sleeping when we did this. But, he woke up and screamed until 10:15. That was when Jason, despite valiant efforts, gave up. He lasted longer than I would have!! When I went in for my turn, Joshua had worked himself hungry so I fed him, he fell asleep and I put him to bed. He is still asleep, now and I am off to bed.

We will try again tomorrow. But to our credit (mostly Jason's) we didn't leave the bedroom, we didn't turn on the lights and we stuck to our guns that it was bedtime. So, maybe Joshua will learn.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve, we had a few people over. Including, Kim, Ryan and Ellianna. Here are Josh and Ellianna holding hands!



Joshua has started breaking into a routine. If we can get him to bed around 7:30-8:00 for the night he will sleep until about 7:00-7:30 in the morning (with eating breaks of course). He is still fighting sleep but it usually happens when he is overly tired. Mornings consist of naked time, reading and playing. Afternoons are for naps and evenings are for snuggling, more playing and toting him around the house while I cook. We have also started practising E.C. and are having fun with it. Joshua seems to like it, too. Although we have a long way to go, I am starting to recognize the signs that he needs to go and catching him before it is time. For more info on this, check out the website Natural Infant Hygiene

Here's another photo from flickr:



He's starting to look like a little boy!

Photos

I have posted 53 new photos on flickr. You can access them by clicking on any of the pictures in the column to the right of this paragraph... Enjoy!

Christmas

Joshua had a wonderful Christmas. He loved the time spent with Aunt Trina and Uncle Josh. In the beginning, he would only go to them for 5-10 minutes at a time. But, after a couple of days, he was very comfortable and only came to me for eating and changing needs. He took naps with them and played.

On Friday, we all went to my parent's house for the weekend. Aunt Jill and Aunt Tara were there and Aunt Amy, Tio Omar, Dylan and Stephanie came, too. We had a fun weekend of eating, sleeping, playing and opening lots and lots of presents! Christmas morning with 13 people is quite an adventure!! Santa figured out where everyone was and made sure there were presents for everyone. Joshua received many clothes, toys, a bond and a stroller.

On Monday, before going home and before the 3 hour 'packing-the-car' event, we took Joshua for a walk in his new stroller. He was quite comfortable and slept for most of the trip. He woke up just as we were arriving home. He is looking forward to many, many more walks. I liked how smooth of a ride he had and my back liked not having to carry Bruiser for a little while.

Now, we are home and getting back into our daily routine. Joshua had a tough time with naps as he didn't want to miss a thing! Makes for a not so agreeable baby. But, last night, he slept from 10:30-5:45. Oh, and I don't want to forget, he had two highlights. Last Wednesday, he grasped and held on to a toy for the first time and yesterday, he squealed with pleasure for the first time. It is so fun to see him developing every day.

visit

Joshua has been having a lot of fun with Aunt Trina and Uncle Josh. We have a ton of picture but just haven't posted them... not too helpful, eh? There are 3 new ones on flickr. One with him playing with his new puppets from his Auntie and Uncle. He loves them! Especially the camel and the tarantula. We are planning to go to Philadelphia or Brandywine Valley (near Philly) today. More to come...

Movies!

Ok, I finally got some movies compressed - but not edited, so you are hereby forewarned... The easiest way to get them is to just use your browser's mechanism for "Downloading the linked file", I didn't use embedded QuickTime...

Without further ado, here they are


Reading to Joshua... About 5 MB.


Josh hanging out with Dad... Around 11 MB.


Josh gets a bath! Very cute. Around 27 MB.


Joshua's first playing session! Very long, and possibly boring to someone other than his parents ;-). Around 38 MB.

Have fun, and hopefully we won't overuse the Godfather's bandwidth.

2 month check up

Joshua weighed in at 14 lbs 9 oz and 25.25 inches long. The dr said he was, 'Off the charts', 'The size of a 4 month old!'. He received three shots of vaccines today and did well. After the appointment I was nursing him and had not put his clothes back on yet. I did cover the appropriate area but he peed and it looked like I wet MY pants. Guess I didn't have him covered the right way!

Reading

This photo was taken last Sunday while visiting Grandma V.'s house after church. Joshua loves to read.

Happy Birthday!

Joshua is 2 months old today. We will take his picture later by the Christmas tree. Last night we had a fire in the fireplace. Joshua liked that. He fell asleep in my arms while I rocked and read to him. It was picture-perfect.

Oh Poop!

Joshua managed to surprise Jason, Grandma V. and me yesterday. He pooped while Grandma was holding him. She was standing and had him upright when to everyone's surprise his hard work came dripping out his pant leg, ewww!! Only wish we had saved a shot of that for posterity.

Joshua has begun having new wonderful routines including sleeping 4-5 hours a night and taking a long nap in the middle of the day. That said, he still has screaming fits 1-2 times a week and likes to fight sleep. But I am feeling a bit more human now that he is sleeping more soundly at night.

Dinner with the Andreen's

Yesterday, Joshua had two highlights. First, he enjoyed a long walk in the beautiful weather with Kim and Ellianna. He rode in the front carrier facing forward and taking in all the new sights. Later, Ryan, Kim and Ellie returned for dinner. Both little ones behaved fairly well during dinner and then they played on the floor together afterwards. Ellie was so sweet and stroked Joshua's head when he started crying! She is 5 months old tomorrow and Josh will be 2 months next Wednesday.

Playtime!

What a cutie!! Joshua just yesterday started reallly playing on his little floor gym. He smiles and bats at the toys hanging down and then they move and make noise. He gets all excited and starts moving his arms and legs. He coos and chortles at them too. It is great!

Thanksgiving

Joshua has had a busy few days here. On Wednesday evening he went to Ron and Christine's house for dinner. I don't know that he will be invited back however, he screamed his way through dinner and the rest of the evening until just before we left at 10:30pm.



Thursday was Thanksgiving and after getting up slowly, we made our way to Grandma and Grandad Vasbinder's house for dinner. We arrived early and enjoyed just hanging out and helping where we could. Great Grandma held Joshua until just before dinner when he decided to wake up. Luckily, Thursday was nothing like Wednesday and he only cried a little.



Friday, Joshua got up with me to go shopping. Just couldn't resist those Black Friday sales!! We only hit one store and were home by lunchtime. It wasn't too bad except for the weather. It was 23 degrees outside!!



Friday evening, we went to dinner with Carie, Joshua's Godmother. He slept through that meal giving us a nice dinnere where we both were able to sit and enjoy!

Saturday and Sunday were lazy days. But, on Saturday, Joshua did enjoy a conversation with Grandma and Grandpa Owens through video chat.

Christmas shopping

Joshua went Christmas shopping with Mommy yesterday. He picked out a couple items for himself, including these super cute shoes from Old Navy.

On the way to Grandma's House

On Saturday Joshua packed his bags (toys, diapers, several changes of clothes) and headed over to Grandma and Grandad's house to have his first visit without Mommy and Daddy. Mom and Dad went to see Goblet of Fire, their first outing without the little munchkin. Here he is in his new overalls all ready to go!



While at Grandma's, Joshua enjoyed a visit from Mom Beam. They snuggled until Mommy returned home from the movies...



Later that day, Aunt Amy and the gang joined everyone at Grandma's for an early Thanksgiving dinner.



Today, Joshua made his way to church for the first time. Everyone was so excited to meet him! When he arrived he was awake but quiet. He fell asleep part way through the service and never screamed once! What a good boy.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

On Tuesday, Joshua went to visit Grandma, Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa. Over lunch he met Mrs. Debbie Morrison and while visiting Great Grandma & Grandpa he also met their friend Kay. He was very polite and slept (instead of screaming) the whole time. He and Grandpa shared a few guy moments on the couch after he woke from his nap...



On Wednesday, Joshua met his Aunt Jo for the first time when she came into town. He liked the way she held him just right...



On Thursday, Joshua had a laid back day of reading, napping and eating. In the afternoon, he enjoyed a visit from Miss Kim and Ellie.

Joshua had been having longer periods of alert/play time and has been enjoying his swing. He also likes to lay on the changing table and look around. He held on to his caterpillar toy for the first time tonight. He is starting to establish a bit of a routine and generally has a period of awakefulness in the morning followed by a light nap. When he wakes up he is usually alert until mid afternoon when he takes another nap. Then he fusses in the evening and goes to bed between 8 and 11pm.

Photos at Flickr...

Don't forget to check out our photos at http://www.flickr.com. We often put more pictures up there than we post here. Just click on the pictures on the right of the page and it should take you there. I don't think it makes you login - but registration is free anyway...

A little under the weather

Joshua has stuffy nose that started Friday morning. We are not sure if it is from the fire we had in the fireplace Thursday or a cold. He has not been around anyone sick that we know of. In any case, he is making lots of frowning faces and snargling sounds.



Yesterday, Grandma and Grandad V. came over and we all went for a hike along the Susquehanna river. Joshua enjoyed the hike through closed eyelids. He does like being outside and walking and is always calm when doing so.

Happy Birthday!

Joshua found his hands tonight and was touching them together and playing with them :-) He is one month old today! Happy birthday, Joshua!

Reading Lessons

Tuesday was a busy day for Joshua. He and Mommy went to the breast feeding support group in the morning. His weight yesterday was 13 lbs, 1 oz. Then Joshie tooled around Walmart in the front carrier while Mommy shopped. When Jason returned home from work, he read Harry Potter to Joshua (since he was in a good mood and not screaming). Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Monday, Monday

Joshua had a good day today (even though he is suffering from the evening fussies now). He let Mommy take a shower this morning, while he rocked in his rocker. Then he read several books, the baby animals was his favorite. In the afternoon, he took a walk in his front carrier up to see Miss Kim and Ellianna. Both Ellie and Josh napped and ate while the Mommies visited. He took a long 2 hour nap in the afternoon. When Daddy got home the photoshoot began. Here are a few of the best ones:

Another Drs. Appt.

Joshua visited the dr. again on Friday for a re-check of one of his screening tests. The nurse also weighed him...12 lbs, 8 oz. He has gained about 1 lb a week! No wonder he eats all the time!

More sleeping and errands

Unfortunately, Tuesday night's sleep was not as successful as Monday's and Joshie was up every hour on the hour. However, we still had a fun day with Grandma V.



In the morning, we planted mums outside. Joshua loves the front carrier so he helped by quietly hanging out in the carrier. Joshua also loves reading and Grandma read him a story while he touched the pages.



We ran a couple of errands to Target & Gabriel Bros (clothes store) where Josh received the attention of the pharmacist and cashier. Everyone is always amazed at his size and alertness compared to his age.

Grandma went home in the afternoon and Mommy & Daddy spent the later part of the evening soothing Joshie. He did sleep from 11pm-3am and then from 4am-6am which was a huge accomplishment. We won't get too excited about it though as the trend is not likely to continue.

Right now, he is sleeping, grunting and squeaking while I type.

Visit from Grandma V.

Last night Joshie was soothed back to sleep with head-rubbing... a first!

Today, we went for a walk and Josh subsequently screamed himself to sleep while grandma changed his diapers. We then took a small errand trip which Josh slept through---all in all a pretty low key day. The only highlight was our car seat adventure: it seems as though Josh has already outgrown the car seat (either that or I can't adjust the straps properly). Either way, we had to install our other seat instead.

Dad was at work. How fun.