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!

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 :)

***

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 :)

***

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 :)

***

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.

***

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!