My first hair cut!

So, my plan had always been to let Joshua's hair grow for a while, thinking maybe it would curl up like mine did when I was little. However, his hair has continued to remain very straight and it was growing into his eyes in the front. Plus, the mullet in the back was deniable no longer, and as much as I love my little Kentucky Waterfall, with his "party in the back" look, I just couldn't wait anymore. So, a week before Christmas, we went to get Joshua's first hair cut.

The wind that afternoon showcased the shaggy mop

in all its glory

Precious little clippings of my baby's hair

(and, of course, I saved some)

I sat in Daddy's lap and did a pretty good job

while the lady was using scissors...

but I was NOT having any of those clippers!

My first little boy hair cut!

(And as his mommy, I know I'm a little biased,

but I just think he looks so grown up now...

where did my little baby boy go?!)

Living up to my name

I've called Joshua "my little Monkey" for a while now, and I guess he's decided to live up to the name. Apparently walking and running aren't enough excitement for the little guy...so now he has to CLIMB!

Just hanging out with Daddy's brush

(if we ask Joshua to brush his hair, he smiles

and runs the brush along his hair--too cute!)

Oh, I didn't mention where I was hanging out, did I?

See, what I do is climb into the basket and use that

as a step to get up on the end table...

the view is way better from up here.

And, as you can see, I am quite proud of myself!
Mommy, on the other hand, fears where this is headed...
and hopes I don't decide that the kitchen table,
countertops, or the refrigerator are new goals for things to climb next!

Thanksgiving (better late than never!)

Being the slack photographer that I am, I am indebted to my wonderful Aunt Sydney for emailing me these pictures she took at our Thanksgiving gathering. My mom hosts all of our family each Thanksgiving, so we have lots of good food and good company! As I had a little monkey to keep an eye on, I didn't take a single picture--thankfully my aunt was kind enough to share the pictures she took!

Playing with Grandma

Pat a cake, pat a cake, baker's man...

Tickle monster!

Say "I love Grandma!"

Hey there, Grandpa...I'm just cruising around, checking out the crowd.

Great-grandpa was able to visit from Arkansas

Uncle Paul reading me one of my favorite truck books

Uncle Erik teaching me how to "smile" for the camera

Mommy reading me that truck book again...anyone noticing a theme? :)

Big smiles!

Superman!

Playing with Shawn's dog Lucy--she's a much better fit for me than Emma!

She loves to give me kisses

And I had a great time playing with her!

Little Man's Photo Shoot

So, when they were handing out talents in the premortal world, I apparently got "couponing," while a lot of my friends got much more creative and awesome abilities :) Take my good friend, Sarah, for instance. Not only is she super-sweet, smart, funny, and beautiful, she is also a great photographer! If you live anywhere near the Triangle, you should definitely check her out: elainebellaphotography.com

So, not only is Sarah all of the great things I listed above, she is also incredibly kind and generous. She took time on a Saturday morning in November to take some really great pictures of Joshua for us, and we love them! Here are some of my favorites:

Joshua is OBSESSED with books! Here he's enjoying "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

(funny side story: whenever I get to the page about the caterpillar building a cocoon and staying inside, Joshua gets REALLY excited because he knows the butterfly page is coming--super cute)

I love how he looks like a little man here!

He's so stinkin' precious, I could just kiss him forever!

These pictures were taken right before Joshua started walking full-time. And the low-rise pants are because Joshua's a little on the skinny side, and all of his pants that fit his height are a little too big around the waist. And I figured that the shoestring belt he's been rocking recently would look a little tacky in his pictures :)

Baby + overalls = almost too cute to handle

Seriously, I would dress him in overalls every day if I could :)

This is what Joshua does when we say "Superman!"

Oh man, that smile is just about the sweetest thing in the world! The only thing that makes me happier is the smile plus a kiss from my little man (if you ask for "kisses," he'll lean forward and put his lips to yours...melts my heart every single time!)

Sarah, thank you again for sharing your time and talent with us--we are so grateful to have these precious pictures of our little man to remind us of this sweet time in his life!

Christmas with a toddler

We put up our Christmas decorations yesterday (WAY earlier than we usually do, but if it didn't get done now, it wasn't going to ever get done).

Do you like our tree?

Yeah, so does Joshua. Hence, the baby gate protection :)

This is why Mommy usually takes her showers before Joshua gets up:

Mommy, why did you put this hair tie here? Now I can't cause even more destruction.

What? Is this a problem?

Do you like what I've done with the place?

The aftermath of Hurricane Joshie

And instead of reorganizing, I just threw it all back in the baskets, because I'm sure this won't be the last time Hurricane Joshie strikes.

Just monkeying around!

Just a few shots of Joshua's recent silliness:

Do you like my Tupperware hat, Mommy? And these coasters make great toys...

Cheesin' it up with my college friend Annie :)

This is a REGULAR occurrence in our kitchen. I think part of it is to get my attention when I'm making dinner, but it is mostly just his desire to take the most difficult route to get somewhere. And please take note of the little book he's traveling with...he is RARELY to be found without one in hand! It took him quite a while to get un-stuck, but he finally did it. And for anyone wondering why I didn't just help him out, he is ALL BOY! He wants to do almost everything on his own, and gets very annoyed if we step in to help. If he wants/needs our help, he lets us know...otherwise, hands off, Mommy!

Myrtle Beach

Joshua and I joined Grandma for a weekend trip down to Myrtle Beach. We had absolutely GORGEOUS weather, especially considering the time of year! You can see a little bit of the rainbow that greeted us when we first arrived:

Now, considering that my parents live pretty darn close to the beach in North Carolina, you may be surprised to learn that this was Joshua's first time experiencing the ocean. He's been down to the river a million times, but we've just never made the trip to the beach before now. He liked the sand and looking at the ocean, but when I held his hands and walked with him up to the water's edge, and a small wave met his feet, he FLIPPED OUT. The water was pretty cold, and I think he was surprised by that, since his baths (which he loves) are always warm. Nothing would calm him down, and every time another wave headed our way (even though I was holding him by now), he would cry harder and harder. Oh well...I guess we should have gotten him down to the beach during the warm summer!

Joshua loves eating at restaurants. He enjoys watching all the people (and clapping for them, because he knows it gets a "Oh my goodness, isn't he adorable?" reaction from them) and he likes eating off the grown-ups' plates.

He has also recently developed an affinity for putting his fingers up his nose...and my nose.

So, we were at Broadway at the Beach on Halloween, and there were SO many people there with their kids, trick-or-treating at all of the shops. When we went to get ice cream at Cold Stone, this adorable little girl in a teddy bear costume came up to Joshua and tried to swipe the Kit Kat that he had been given on our way into the ice cream shop. It was hillarious, because they did kind of a tug-of-war with it, not because Joshua even eats chocolate candy, but because he thought she wanted to play with him.

David's little sister Erin had a window friend as a little girl (she's talk to her reflection in the window), and Joshua has discovered his mirror friend. We have mirrors in our own house, of course, but he's never been as obsessed as he was with the mirror in our bathroom. As soon as we'd get back to the room after any outing, the first place he'd go would be the bathroom to check on his "friend." While it may look like he's praying to the mirror baby here, he's actually applauding him, which is what he does whenever he really likes something. I wonder if he'll miss his friend, or if he'll find him again in one of our mirrors at home.

While the first ocean experience wasn't the best ever, the first heated indoor pool experience was a BIG hit! Joshua "swam" with Grandma for almost an hour, kicking his little legs and splashing both of them in the face, which he thought was hillarious. He also loved getting loud and hearing his voice echo, and since we were there in the morning and no one else was there, we let him just have a ball. This funny face is after getting a face full of water :)

Joshua also likes to "play the drums" on any hard surface he can find, so the side of the pool worked great for that.

We had a really great time and look forward to going back again soon--I'm pretty sure that's what Joshua probably wished for as Grandma helped him toss a coin into the fountain :)

I've got a couple of short videos to post from our trip, but my computer is acting up, so they'll have to wait...but they're super-cute!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...

***

SUPERMAN!

Since Joshua refuses to wear anything on his head (the only exception being the hood on his jacket), we had to figure out a Halloween costume that didn't have a hat or head gear. Grandma came across this adorable Superman outfit--complete with cape--and with a little hair mousse, we have our own little SuperJosh!

Saturday evening was our ward's pig pickin' and trunk-or-treat.

My hero!


And here is Daddy's idea of a fun time when
Joshua has the leftover mousse in his hair!



Superman and punk rocker all in one night!