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

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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!

North Carolina State Fair!

We missed the fair last year (for the first time in years) because of a certain Little Man's arrival. So we've been looking forward to the fair this year for quite a while! Daddy took off a few hours of work and Grandma came up to accompany us. Here are a few shots of Daddy and Joshua with the PBS characters (disclaimer: David is wearing an NC State shirt that my mom got him for his birthday since that's where he went to school; have no fear: we are a Tar Heel family all the way!)

I found this one quite fitting since I call Joshua my little monkey :)

Joshua kept wanting to pet Big Bird

Maybe he's trying to figure out what Curious George is looking at?

He's clearly losing interest...

And he's done.


Joshua enjoyed looking at all the animals: we saw cows, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigs, rabbits, and ponies. His look of interest:

Needless to say, Joshua was not content to be held or pushed in the stroller forever. So we had to find a little grassy area where he could play:

And Grandma is "sneaking up" on Joshua here (one of their favorite games), so that explains the smiles:

And we had to get some walking practice in with Grandma too:

We had a great time! And we definitely learned for the future that going on a weekday morning is the perfect time. We got there a little before 9:00am, got great parking, and there were no big crowds. When we were leaving around noon, there were a lot of people coming in, so we timed it just right! And Joshua took a 3 hr 15 minute nap when we got home, so he must have had a good time too :)

Bundled up baby

Seriously...could he get any cuter?!

Okay, he got me...even cuter :)

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We love going on walks in our neighborhood in the mornings after breakfast, and since it has been so chilly recently, I've had to get Joshua all bundled up so that he'll stay warm. I've always been a big fan of hooded zip-up jackets, but seeing them on Little Man brings them to a whole different level of adorable. He's been pretty good about keeping his mittens on, which surprised me--his little hands get so cold without them. As he's growing into a larger clothing size, I'm reminded how blessed we are to have such wonderful and generous friends. Thanks to their hand-me-downs, we have almost nothing to purchase for Joshua for at least another year...and, of course, grandmas fill in with new outfits too :)

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We are LOVING fall! We're going to the State Fair on Friday and our ward is having a pig-pickin' and trunk-or-treat on Saturday evening. As we're approaching the holidays, our calendar is getting busier and busier, but it is filled with lots of fun things! It is so exciting to see Joshua join in all of our fun family traditions, making them even better and more memorable :)

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Oh, and a side note: do all babies find the strangest things absolutely hillarious? David was reading a book to Joshua the other night, and when he pointed to the chair, he said, "Chair...sit!" and Joshua giggled. This, of course, encouraged David to say it again, making Joshua laugh even harder...this cycle repeated itself until Joshua was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. So, when I was pushing Joshua in the swing at the park today, I thought about this and said, "Chair...sit!" to him again--he totally remembered, and just threw his head back and let out those wonderful deep belly baby laughs. I couldn't help but laugh in response...so there we were: "Chair...sit!", Joshua laughing, and me laughing...over and over again.

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Such sweet and precious moments that I don't ever want to forget.

Happy first birthday!

Here is Joshua on the morning of his first birthday, toothbrush and scrunchi in hand, and eating Kix at breakfast time :) What's that you say, Mommy? Is it really my birthday?

I am officially a year old--woo hoo!

We had Joshua's birthday party on Saturday night, and I don't think he really knew what to do! There were so many family members there and lots of food and talking and laughing, and I think it was a little overwhelming for him. When we turned off the kitchen light, sang "Happy Birthday," and brought him his cupcake with lit candle, he was more concerned than excited, as evidenced by the picture below:

He also wasn't too excited about the chocolate frosting:


But what he did enjoy was demolishing the cupcake and making quite a mess! (Notice David in the background with wet wipes)


Today we went in for Joshua's 12 month appointment. I was really surprised to find out that he's only weighing 19lbs 12oz (10%), especially since he was 19lbs at his 9 month appointment! The doctor said it is pretty common for their weight gain to slow, especially if they're really active (which this little monkey definitely is!). He's 30 inches long (55%), so he's definitely getting taller--I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is a sign that he'll take after his daddy in height and not his mommy!


Joshua had to get 4 shots and a finger stick today, so it was rough for a couple of minutes, but a few snuggles got him all calmed down.

Little Man was in an amazingly good mood (considering the shots) when we got home, so he played the little camera ham for his mommy:

Here's what our little one year old is up to these days:

Crawling all over the place

Crusing along all the furniture, cabinets, walls...

Clapping when we clap or say "Yea!"

Lots of "talking"

Walking behind his push toy

Imitating faces we make

"Reading" his books (turning the pages, looking at the pictures)

Eating all sorts of different foods (especially off Mommy's plate!)

Feeding himself Cheerios, Kix, crackers, baby cookies

Crawling up the stairs like a pro

Enjoying the park

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can think of right now.

We sure love our little one year old!