Cheers!

Joshua has been trying to pull up on lots of things recently, so I thought I'd snap a couple of pictures this morning when he was in action:

Mom, are you seeing this?

Pretty cool, huh?

Admit it...you're impressed.

And Joshua just had to toast his accomplishments:

Actually, I just really liked the cup Mommy was eating Cheerios from.

Who needs toys when I can play with ceramic mugs?

Father's Day Weekend

My parents came up to spend Father's Day weekend with us, and it was great to be with my own dad and also celebrate David's first Father's Day since Joshua's birth. My mom bought Joshua an inflatable wading pool that we put on the back deck. He loves the water, and the pool was a big hit. His favorite thing to do was crawl to the edge and pull up on the side to look out over the yard. David joined Joshua in the pool for some splashing and fun! And the cute swimming trunks with alligators came from my oldest niece Sydney--isn't he a cutie?

I also took a few pictures on Sunday morning before church:

I thought he was just adorable in this new outfit :)

A day at the park

David's brother Jeff sent us one of his old cameras to use for a few months to try and get some better pictures of Joshua. Our little camera takes a while to snap the picture, so we often miss the best picture opportunities of Joshua smiling and in motion. Here are a few pictures from a trip to Lake Benson park a few weeks ago:

For the first few minutes on the swings, Joshua was completely terrified. After he got used to it, he had a blast!

Look at those long eyelashes--I love them! Joshua was looking at the water in the lake, and watching a little girl who was splashing and playing in the shallow part of the water. He loves watching other babies and little children. There just seems to be a special connection between little people.

Joshua and his favorite playmate: Daddy! When David comes home from work in the evenings, you'd think a rock star just came through the door. Joshua gets so excited and can't wait to play with Daddy. When I hear the garage door open, I start to sing the Primary song "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home." Nobody can make Joshua's face light up like his Daddy!

Music man

Joshua has decided to become our little Renaissance Man and is eager to develop talents that his mommy and daddy don't have...like being musical. And by being musical, I mean crawling all over this little xylophone piano a friend gave us. He'll bang on it every now and then, but he much prefers to use it as a jungle gym.

And if "playing" it normally wasn't enough, he decided to show off and make a little music backwards :)

While he may not be a music man, he is definitely quite the explorer. I can't keep him contained in one room to save my life! But I wouldn't trade my little commando-crawler for anything :)

Around the house

Joshua is really enjoying the increased mobility that crawling allows--he has been doing lots of exploring! His new favorite place is the corner of our living room where an air vent blows cold air up from the floor. He loves to let the air blow on his face and through his hair. He also likes banging the blinds on the door leading to the deck. He's definitely all boy!

You can see the air blowing his hair up in the front here--he just babbles and laughs when it happens.

Joshua has also developed a fascination for the laundry basket. He loves the warm clothes fresh out of the dryer and he loves all the little openings in the basket that he can stick his fingers through.

He's helping me find a little joy in the mundane task of folding the clothes :)

Where's Joshie?

One of Joshua's favorite games to play is Peek-a-boo. I cover my face with my hands and say, "Where's Joshie? Where's Joshie?" When I uncover my face, I smile brightly and say, "Pee-pie! Pee-pie!" And he just smiles and laughs, waiting for me to do it again.

*Side note: If you're wondering, like my sweet husband was, why on earth I say "Pee-pie," it is because that's what my mom said to me when I was little and we played the game. Like mother, like daughter. If my mom did it, then it must be right :)

Back to my story...

Joshua and I were reading board books on the living room floor before his afternoon nap, and I left him alone for a minute to refill my water bottle in the kitchen. When I came back into the room, there were the books on the floor...but where was Joshua? Apparently he decided to play his own version of peek-a-boo.

Where's Joshie? Where's Joshie?

Pee-pie!

Look who is 8 months old today!

How do you think Joshua decided to start off his 8 month celebration?

With a little music? Nope. Take another guess.

With a nice massage?
Uh-uh. Try again.
Making his mommy laugh when she came to get him this morning?
How'd you guess?!

How on earth he was able to manage this, I'll never know. My biggest question is at what point during the night or morning did this happen? It could not be comfortable to sleep like that!
What a cutie, though...silly, but just so stinkin' cute!


Happy 8 months, Joshua!!