Playtime!

Joshua, it's playtime!Martha got Joshua this jumpster for the doorway between the kitchen and living room. He hasn't figured out the whole jumping thing, but he really likes "standing up" and twirling around in it. He also likes banging his rattle against the tray. He's still a little small for it, so I have to cram blankets in all around him to help him fit.

David got this picture. He had Joshua on his back near the laptop, and Joshua rolled right over onto his belly to look at the laptop screen. He just started doing this roll a few days ago--we couldn't believe it! I thought we'd have another month or so until he could roll from his back to his belly...guess Little Man proved me wrong! What's next? Walking next week?

Tubby time!

If I haven't mentioned this before (only a million times), the bathtub is Joshua's favorite place in the whole wide world. He gets to sit in the warm water, kick his legs and splash water everywhere, and smile and flirt with his girlfriend Farrah (this is what we've named the faucet). Here's a few recent pictures:

"Mmm...these fingers sure are tasty"

"I see that camera...you can't fool me"

"I don't think I can open my eyes ANY wider"

"Chillin' in the bathtub AKA my throne"

I cannot WAIT to get this little guy to the pool and the beach...I believe we have a little fish on our hands :)

Time with family and new achievements

Joshua smiling & laughing at my dad's funny faces and noises

We went down to visit my parents over the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend and had a wonderful time! My dad was able to find a foam mattress for Joshua's Pack&Play, which helped him sleep SO much better in it than our first attempt at it! Joshua thinks my dad is hillarious, with all his funny faces and noises, and Joshua just chattered to him like crazy!

My mom definitely got plenty of sugar from her favorite little guy and was quick to volunteer to hold him whenever she could. We had lots of yummy food (Mom made some of our favorites: baked potato soup and grilled cheese, barbeque pork ribs for David, and country fried steak and mashed potatoes--YUM!) and watched a few good movies. Best of all, though, was spending time with my mom and dad, who I just love more and more as time goes by. I've always been close to them, but I feel like we have become even closer since Joshua's birth. They are the best parents I could ever hope to have, and they are wonderful grandparents to little Joshua. Add in Bernie and Martha, and Joshua is one lucky and loved little guy!

My mom and Joshua, right before we left to come back home...Mom is thinking, "Do you REALLY have to go?"

Like I said in our last post, this little guy likes to roll over from his tummy to his back. In the past few days, he's started propping up on his arms and stretching out his neck and looking around at the room. Now, he's put the two together...so he'll prop up, and roll right over. This makes it tough to get a picture of him propped up, though, since as soon as I snap the picture, he's on his way over. Here are a few pictures pieced together from different rolls to give you the idea:



A few comments on the above pictures:

*Joshua is at one of those stages where he's too big for one size of clothing and too little for another size. His 3 month outfits are stretching at the neck and keeping his legs a little constrained, and the 6 month outfits are too long in the sleeves (hence, the rolled sleeves in the pictures) and too long in the legs/big in the feet. He doesn't seem to mind, though, so we've moved up into the 6 month outfits.

*Joshua's favorite food at the moment, other than milk, is his hand. He loves the fingers, the thumb, and the whole darn thing, just depending on his mood. In these pictures, he was obviously favoring his first two fingers. I always ask him if he's enjoying his "finger food" or his "knuckle sandwiches" when he's sucking or gnawing on his hand.

What a fun time, watching Joshua grow and learn new things each day. His smiles and chatter just melt my heart--he has quite the personality! And if he starts to get sad or somethings startles him, his bottom lip pokes out and his little eyes start to water, and it is hard not to laugh, because it is such an adorable face. And bath time each night is a blast--Joshua's favorite activity! He just kicks and splashes and laughs and smiles. David and I joke that one of his best friends is the faucet in the tub, because Joshua just stares at it and smiles at it throughout the bath--we make up conversations between the two of them for fun :) I'm hoping one of these nights to remember to take the camera upstairs to get some pictures at "tubby time."

One week from tomorrow and this little guy is 4 months old!

New friends and new games

The above picture is thanks to Sarah, as I realized 10 minutes after we left the house that I forgot my camera. Good grief!

David, Joshua, and I met Devin, Sarah, and Delainey at the Olive Garden for dinner on Saturday. The babies definitely got lots of attention from other diners and the waitstaff. This picture pretty much shows the dynamic between Joshua and Delainey. She's 2 1/2 months older than Joshua, and very interested in other babies. She kept trying to reach out and touch him--it was adorable. Joshua, on the other hand, didn't seem to even notice that she was there. We'll have to work on his inter-baby skills, as the only people he really seems to notice and care much about are his mommy and daddy and his grandparents. I'm sure over the next few months we'll see this change!

We had a great time with Sarah and Devin, and it was great to see Delainey in person. I joked that this was the second time the 2 babies had met, but just the first time "on the outside." We had dinner at the Olive Garden with Sarah and Devin last January, and they shared that they were expecting. I had just found out that morning that I was expecting too!


David and Joshua have a new favorite game. David will lay down on the carpet and put Joshua on his tummy. David then makes outrageous and loud laughing noises and Joshua thinks it is the funniest thing he's ever heard. He smiles and coos and squeals right back at David, and they just go back and forth like this. It is adorable! Here's a picture of Joshua's reaction:
We're going down to Havelock to spend the 3-day weekend with my family, and we're very much looking forward to it. My mom has heard Joshua's "talking" over the phone and can't wait to see it in person!

I'm trying, I promise!

Bernie and Joshua on Christmas Eve, both smiling at Aunt Erin

I really am trying to post more often, but before I realize it, weeks have passed since my last post! There are two things to blame for this:

1. I am notoriously bad about taking pictures. I will let an entire day full of photo opportunities go by without a single shot (as evidenced by my lack of pictures from 2 days with the Isgetts and 3 days with my family over the holidays)! Part of this is because I'm having so much fun with Joshua that I don't think to stop and take a picture. The other part of this is that I've ALWAYS been bad about thinking to take pictures. David loves to remind me that our honeymoon photos are still on a disposable camera somewhere that never got developed. The past 3 months with Joshua have already been a vast improvement on this, but I'm resolving to try and do better.

2. Between feeding and playing with Joshua when he's awake, and trying to cook, clean, organize, coupon, etc. while he's napping, it's bedtime before I know it! I'm thoroughly impressed with my friends like Sarah who have numerous blog posts a week, full of great pictures and updates. I need to discover her secret on finding the time! I'll ask her at our Olive Garden birthday dinner on Saturday...where I'll hopefully remember to bring my camera and actually take pictures. Joshua and Delainey finally meet!


Some cute shots from the past few days...

Joshua absolutely LOVES Freddie the Frog, a gift from Grandma. Freddie is soft and just the right size for holding, and Joshua apparently finds him a great conversation partner, as he chatters to him quite often.

A lucky shot where I was actualy able to catch a smile on camera. For a baby who smiles all the time, I have very few shots of him actually doing it! I blame this mainly on his fascination with all things electronic. Whenever he sees the camera, he immediatey stops smiling and starts trying to figure it out. I tricked him here and held the camera down low and got him to look at my face instead :)
This one just cracked me up, as his face is a clear illustration of my previous point. It is like he's thinking, "What is that shiny silver thing Mommy keeps pointing at me?"
Baby updates: My clever little guy discovered how to roll over from his tummy to his back on his 3-month birthday. I thought this wasn't coming for another month or so! Each time he does it, he seems so proud of himself, and quite amused too.

Also, this little guy is a TALKER. Holy cow! Especially when he first gets up from a nap! He will just go and go, like he's telling us all about his dreams and what he plans to do between now and his next nap. He has this adorable squeal that I think is his favorite sound to make. Our "conversations" are a highlight of my days!