Josh's blog

Almost christmas!

2009-12-18T08:45:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Josh likes the Santa hat!

It's been a while, it seems that I'm getting worse and worse at remembering to blog--does anybody read this thing?

Here are some things that we've done recently that I've photographed.

First, we went up to Bumpa and Grammy's house to take a picture of Josh and Tobey playing in the Christmas trees. Of course it didn't work out that way exactly. We got there later than I'd hoped because of a later than planned nap, so we were losing natural light. Despite the conditions, I'm pleased with the result.

Josh and Bumpa playing with sticks.

Bumpa took a family shot. Tobey was on high alert because someone was there getting a tree and Dave was shooshing him and Josh was looking at him.

THIS is the kind of lighting I was hoping for...

One of the many shots of the back of Josh that I got.

One of the final contenders, however, we're not sporting enough tree.

The final one!

The next thing is quite amazing! Josh got to ride in a firetruck in the Festival of Lights parade in Rockland! It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was COLD. We ended up walking a lot more than I was expecting and I did not dress Josh or myself appropriately. Oh well, we lived to tell about it. It was a great experience, and I think the Madre for setting it up! Josh was so amazingly good too, after the parade Santa was there, and Josh was so well behaved and held my hand and walked a bit. It was around his bedtime by then, and he had had a snack, but not dinner, and he was sooooo good. Love my boy!

Josh and Bumpa, walking around before the parade, looking for Grammy and the firetruck.

IN the firetruck during the parade.

Afterward, Josh saw Santa--first time of the season. He was a little scared-but no tears!

Josh is two!

2009-11-09T10:40:00.002-05:00

I can't believe you're already two!

Almost two

2009-11-08T15:19:00.002-05:00

Lots of catching up to do, as usual! I seem to be so bad about updating the blog.

First off, is Halloween! Josh had a blast with the pumpkin. For a while we had the pumpkin on the counter and we carved it on Halloween eve. I traced the face first and suggested the triangle eyes, then I asked him about the nose and he thought for a minute and told me "square"--so it's a square! Not sure I've even seen a pumpkin with a square nose... oh well!

The finished product:

The next event was Grammy Ri's birthday, November 1st. We had dinner/cake/presents at our house. Josh loved the ice cream and cake, plus he had fun getting ready for his birthday. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures.

The next event is an unexpected one--it snowed! It's gone mostly now, but for a first snow so early in the season, I was surprised by the amount of snow.

It was November 6th

Josh was very excited to go out and "step in the snow", so right after breakfast, we got dressed and went out in the snow. Here's Josh in Mama's scarf. I told him to say "cheese" so I think he's trying to smile with that binky in his mouth.

Tasting the snow.

Tobey loves the first few storms!

Walking in the snow. Note the rain boots and lack of snowsuit and gloves! (I was not prepared for plowable snow on November 6th...)

Ta-da! Two days later, we have green grass! Gotta love Maine!

In the shady part of the lawn, Josh made a snowman with Daddy. He was very proud.

My cutie pie - 1 year, 364 days old.

Today, the day of his birthday party. He LOVED the balloons!

Isn't he adorable??

Playing in leaves

2009-10-18T09:50:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Josh and I played outside for a while (in the COLD!!!) He was being particularly adorable (considering that most of the day he was grumpy...) so I ran inside and got the camera and got some adorable shots.

Being tickled in the leaves.

Taking a breather.

Posing for mama.

Playing in the sandbox:

I don't know why I like this one so much. He has a very serious look on his face.

Funny face when mama says "Don't eat dirt!"

The Fire Station

2009-10-11T13:23:00.004-04:00

Friday night our town's fire department held an open house. Apparently they do every year during Fire Safety Week. We heard about it because Dave plays softball with 3/4 of the Fire Dept, heard that they were giving rides on a fire truck, games, etc... So we went and Josh had a blast!

"Driving" a fire truck.

More "driving". This is heaven to Josh!

As usual, he doesn't look at the camera all that much lately, but I thought this was a cute one. Every time the fire truck went by (they would give kids a couple trips around the parking lot) Josh would get all excited and screech "Fire Truck!"

All evening Josh was doing something funky with his tongue. Here's him in his fire hat, which he made me wear most of the evening.

Apple picking!

2009-10-06T19:50:00.002-04:00

Yes, I am late with these... I only did one measly post in September! It's horrible, however Josh has not been cooperating with looking at the camera. And posts without pictures are not so much fun.

Anyhow - "Aunta B" visited a couple weekends ago and we went apple-picking in Jefferson. Here are some highlights of our adventure:

He looks like he's pooping, but he wasn't! I think he was overwhelmed... or this might have been when he spotted the tractor that would take us for a hay ride to the orchard.

Taking the hay ride to the orchard.

Seriously enjoying one of about six apples.

Momma, Josh, and Aunt B

Momma, Josh, and Daddy

The highlight of the day - DRIVING the old, broken down tractor.

In other news, we went to Greg and Mindy's wedding over the weekend. So happy for them--they are just adorable. Uncle Dan was the Best Man, and (drumroll please) CUT HIS HAIR!!!!! Wow, Greg and Mindy, he must REALLY like you, because he wouldn't cut his hair for the Bartlett/Perry wedding...

Studmuffin Uncle Dan

Family pic

You've all been waiting...

2009-09-11T15:13:00.001-04:00

Josh didn't have much hair until after his first birthday. Here's a link to his first birthday, remember the fuzz on his head?? Well recently I've gotten comments about Josh's "mullet" and I will admit that when his hair is wet in the tub, it goes halfway down his back. I've known that I wanted to cut it before his second birthday, so I decided that I'd do it this week--I just needed to emotionally prepare myself. So, here a picture of the back of Josh's head (you have no idea how many of these I have--but this one's from this week):

And here's a profile from Wednesday (at Fort Knox):

He looks like such a big boy!

San Diego! (and some Maine too...)

2009-08-30T15:08:00.004-04:00

I finally downloaded all the pics from my camera. I had a bunch from San Diego, and a few from a beach trip with Josh before we left.

We'll start with San Diego--the place that I now want to move to.

The view from our room:

And it's like this ALL THE TIME! It was cloudy every morning, then it would burn off to the most perfect blue sky. I'm in love.

A jogger offered to take our picture:

Lovely sunset. I could live in San Diego--it's so beautiful!

Baseball stadium: (right across the street from our hotel)

And did I mention they are dog-friendly in SD?? There were lots of dogs (though usually smaller than Tobey...) and some restaurants even had water and doggy-biscuits near their entrances. Lots of little ones too, which made me miss Josh even more, so their kid-friendly too! What more can you ask for???

Thursday--our one day of relaxation--no work for me! We went to Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo. Here's one of the gardens in the park:

Gorgeous old buildings in the park:

The zoo!

Alrighty... back to Maine!

These are from a day at the beach with Josh from earlier this month (before San Diego):

Josh didn't even once touch the water. It was a nice warm day too! He was too busy making castles and throwing rocks in the ocean, and also he was fascinated by the sea weed. He's seen it before many times but it had never been quite as amusing.

Me and my little boy:

Thomas the Train!

2009-08-08T22:31:00.002-04:00

Today we went to Boothbay to see Thomas the Train - or as Josh says "Tom Tom"

There was so much to do. They had story telling, a hay maze, a train set area, live music, food, hay rides, a tractor ride (Josh was too small - darn!), and more things that I can't even think of! I'd have to say that the most entertaining part, perhaps even including the actual train ride, was an antique fire truck that the kids could play on. Josh LOVED the fire truck! Even while riding the Thomas train, he saw the fire truck across the field and shouted "Fire Truck!"

Driving the fire truck:

More driving:

There were a bunch of antique tractors in a barn (not part of the Thomas roadshow), he liked those a lot too!

Waiting for Thomas to come around so we could board:

It was a longer even than we thought it was going to be, poor little Joshy didn't get a morning nap and was on the go constantly, so by the time we were riding the Thomas train, he was sleepy. Amazingly, he didn't fall asleep in the car until we were about 3 minutes from our house.

One of these things...

2009-08-08T21:50:00.000-04:00

This was my only CSA pic this week!

Raspberries

2009-07-31T20:59:00.000-04:00

This is our fifth summer in this house and I have never noticed that we have a raspberry bush! Josh is a huge berry freak and picked it clean one night after dinner this week. He loves all berries. Earlier this summer, he had a blueberry addiction and would say "blue" or "bear-bear" when he wanted some. Recently I learned that "bear-bear" could also mean strawberries or raspberries too. Or even grapes. He saw some green grapes in the fridge and said "green bear-bears" and pointed to the grapes. He was just a little confused. He knows grapes for sure! We also had some Oreo truffles in the fridge and he called those "bear bears" too... I suppose anything round and one inch in diameter or less is a berry!

In other "Josh is amazing" news - he can count to 6! I don't think he completely understands the concept of numbers, but he can recite back up to six pretty consistently. Yes, there are times that he starts off "two, four, five, six, seven, one, two, one, two, one, two, three" He loves to count.

It's been a while (again!)

2009-07-24T12:44:00.004-04:00

I know, it's been WAY too long, again! I have lots of pictures, so I've uploaded a bunch and will share.

I hope we have some more beach days soon. It's RAINING again today.

Loves his tractor. He can't pedal yet, so we pull him around the yard.

Sometimes grumpy...

Tobey's still here too!

From the CSA... kohlrabi

The bounty of the farm

Julia hugged Josh, and Josh wasn't so psyched about it. Probably because Julia was in the cold kiddie pool.

He instantly knew how to eat corn on the cob!

He now eats at the table like a big boy.

ON the table. Surprised mama how fast he got up there. (oh yeah, the dining room is a different color now)

more from the bountiful farm.

I know....

2009-07-08T20:17:00.002-04:00

... it's been way too long since I've updated. I do have pics and stories, I just don't have time.

Here's a blast from the past! This is Josh last July. Look how small and rolly-poley he was!

Catching up

2009-06-20T14:20:00.008-04:00

Auntie B mentioned to me that I need to blog, so here it is! Actually, now is a really good time because I am at the laundromat (our dryer is still broken) and while I'm already multi-tasking by doing three loads of laundry in the time it would ordinarily take to do one, I'm super multi-tasking by blogging at the same time! Auntie B is right though, I am behind, but I feel like I'm behind with all things at home, but I think I can catch up this weekend.

Last weekend we went to Andy's camp on Saturday after Josh's afternoon nap. It was sort of cloudy when we got there, but after a bit the sun came out and it was beautiful!

Josh made friends with Ryan, who he had fun calling a "geek." I wonder if he'll remember that the next time we see Ryan. Though I didn't get any pics, he loved standing knee-deep in the water, picking up a handful of rocks (in his hand, that's three), and throwing them as far as he could (about a foot). It was really adorable who much that entertained him. I'll for sure be able to get pics next time.

This one is from a week or two ago. The story is that about 3 weeks ago I was in Walmart getting a toy for a birthday party we were going to when Josh saw this truck. He threw a fit in Walmart and I was so embarrassed by Josh's screaming and crying that I let him hold the truck. I had planned to ditch it somewhere in the store when he wasn't looking. Every time I tried, an old lady would give me a look like "what a bad mother, that boy is so upset!" I bought it. Then my plan was to return it, because I didn't want him to learn that he could scream and cry and get what he wanted. It had been a couple weeks and one morning when I went to give Josh his banana, he said "truck" and pointed to where Dave had hid it on top of the hutch in the kitchen. I don't know how he even saw it, it was so high and I figured it'd been long enough that he wouldn't put two and two together to remember that I bought it because of his bad behavior, so I let him have it. He was instantly in love with it!

In other news, our CSA has begun and we got our first share of the "bounty of the farm." I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog or not, but last summer I learned about this CSA deal (community supported agriculture) where you sign up with a farm, give them payment up front, and all summer get a "share" of the bounty of the farm. We signed up with Hatchet Cove Farm in Warren. Once a week we'll go and pick up our veggies. I'm excited for a few reasons: 1) we'll get "new" veggies that we may like, that we'd never buy in the grocery store, 2) we'll eat healthier since we'll have the veggies on hand that we paid for months and months ago, so we'll be sure to eat them and make sure they are not wasted, 3) it's local and organic--both great things. We were both a little disappointed with the "bounty" of the farm this week, but we need to remind ourselves that it's June, and this isn't the peak of the season. However, goal #1 is completely working out because a few of the veggies that we got this week I have never bought in the grocery store. This week we got:
*broccoli (not a "bountiful" quantity, but very tasty nonetheless)
*swiss chard (trying it tonight in a fritatta)
*kale (made a soup with it today--it was quite tasty, even Josh thought so)
*Mesclun mix (Love it! Had a couple salads this week)
*arugula (never bought this, but it was good mixed in with the mesclun mix in a salad)

So far, not a scrap of our veggies have been wasted. It was also fun to look for new recipes that incorporate veggies that I'm not used to cooking with. I'm excited for the new, delicious veggies next week! I'll try to remember to take pics next time.

In our last bit of "catching up", I'll mention that Thursday was Dave's birthday! Happy Birthday, Honey!! At 32, he's aging so gracefully. Thursday evening, Dave's parent's came over for dinner. The Bartlett's will celebrate Dave's birthday with our family at their house tomorrow, when we'll also celebrate the fathers - Dave, my Padre, and my Grampa. It should be fun. Before that, Dave's parents will come to our house to have lunch with our family and Dave's Gramp will be coming too! Today is sure to be a busy day.

Outdoors at the grandparents

2009-06-07T15:23:00.007-04:00

Josh had a lovely Saturday and Sunday with the grandparents. Napping was not a strong point, but they said he was a good boy (of course they said that!). He had lots of fun playing with Grammy's new fountain, Bumpa's truck, the hose (he watered plants and the fountain) and he even got a ride on Bumpa's tractor! When I picked him up around 12:30 today, I had to get a few pics of him playing outdoor because it was so beautiful and Joshua is, of course, completely photogenic. Here's a sampling:

Funny face! I love it!

Memorial Day

2009-06-02T21:05:00.003-04:00

I'm late in posting this... so I'll be brief. We've had some busy weekends lately, which is good. Josh has been very curious, well behaved, and busy!

Here's Josh playing on the steps with his orange truck. This particular day, he had quite the attachment to the truck.

Here's our lovely chive plant:

Our apple tree, in full bloom:

Josh in the swing. He likes it for about three minutes at a time:

On Memorial Day, we went to Lake St George, which has a nice playground (who knew??) for a BBQ with Laura, Jeremi, Adam, Jill, Rob and Amanda and associated children. When we left our house it was a lovely day, warm, very little breeze. We got to the Lake and it was sunny but windy and chilly. Here's a pic of the lake:

I'm really bummed because I didn't get many pics at all... Here's one of Josh admiring Rob and Amanda's Radio Flyer wagon. (I need to get him one--it was so cool!!)

Time to blog

2009-05-24T15:28:00.004-04:00

Dave and Josh (and Tobey!!) are out and about this afternoon, leaving me home alone. The dishes are done, laundry is washing, and I have a few minutes, so I shall blog!

I have some updated pictures:

Here's Josh the other morning. His hair was crazy when he woke up and I happened to have the camera upstairs, so I ran and got it and got this shot. He's always to happy when he wakes up in the morning.

We went to the beach on Friday! Not to swim or sunbathe, just to play in the sand. We took Tobey and Daddy came down for lunch and we all had a picnic. It was a beautiful day! Almost too hot, definitely way above normal for May.

Since it was just me to rein in Josh and Tobey on the beach, I didn't even attempt to bring the camera down on the beach. But at lunch, with two adults, I managed to get some pics. Here's Josh getting ready for a stroll on the boardwalk after lunch. He was so tired!

Isn't it so cute? I really want to move to Rockland to live closer to this!

Josh is still in love with his sand box. Here's another of him playing in the sand.

We got Josh a pool on Saturday! It's not set up yet, but hopefully soon. It's big enough for Tobey to cool off some too.

New Pics

2009-05-12T20:57:00.001-04:00

Here's the school bus that Josh just LOVES!! Or as he calls it, the "cool us". It has been at his side since we got it on Friday.

This one is from Mother's Day. Josh was very lovey all day. This one is of him giving a "nosey" (which is an Eskimo kiss, his form of affection).

This one is Josh flipping out trying to get in my car. He has a little mohawk going on, you can sort of see it if you look closely.

This is my FAVORITE!! I wanted to get Josh a sandbox, one with a cover for sanitary reasons, and I had not found one locally, so Dave had started to look online. Well, no need! He found one at Walmart on his lunch break and brought it home on Monday. Right away we ran up to Grammy and Grampa's and bummed some sand off them. Dave filled it tonight. Josh loved it and wanted to keep playing all night! He loved it so much, he wouldn't even pose for the camera like usual. I can't wait until Friday so I can play all day in the sand with Josh!!

Eighteen months

2009-05-09T13:19:00.002-04:00

Today Josh is 18 months old! He's growing up so fast... Yesterday I took him shopping in Augusta and I won't lie--it was torture! At Kohl's, he was in the cart, then wanted out and screamed "up up up" until I took him out. Then he wanted to touch (eeeek!) the wheel of the cart. For a while he was walking next to the cart pushing it. That was good entertainment for him, but I couldn't stop and look at anything. At another point, I distracted him with a granola bar so I could shop, but I got nasty looks from the Kohl's employees. At Christmas Tree Shop, he say a school bus from 30 feet way and freaked out about it! He is so fascinated with anything with wheels, it's kinda scary. I put the bus in the cart and he flipped out (he couldn't see it). He cried and kicked and threw a fit until we got out to the car, where he sat in the car seat with the bus in his lap. (It's big! I'll try to get a pic.) Next time, I'll need to enlist reinforcements to go shopping!

Red Sox boys

2009-04-25T19:41:00.006-04:00

Today Dave and Josh sported their Ortiz Red Sox shirts. Josh's is a little big, but he has all summer to grow into it!

A week late...

2009-04-24T09:35:00.002-04:00

I learned something new from Emily's blog: how to make BIGGER pictures in blogger! So exciting! Here are some ADORABLE pics that were taken last week at Grammy and Grampa's house.

Josh has learned a lot of different body parts. Here's a few:
Head:

Ear:

Nose: (love that he's jamming his finger up there)

Mouth:

And my fave, tongue:

He's been imitating us so much lately. I sat down on the ground to get down to his perspective, and he sat down on the ground and was just as content as could be.

new pics

2009-04-17T20:28:00.005-04:00

Josh with a peep one night this week after dinner. He was not all that thrilled with it. He was however VERY thrilled with the chocolate covered marshmallow egg. Mmmmm, chocolate!

... so he gave the Peep to Tobey!

These are from today:

In the car. He LOVES to "drive" and play in the driver's seat. He's very persistent about it too!

Look at all the blue sky! What a gorgeous day!

Vote for Josh

2009-04-16T20:47:00.002-04:00

The radio station's contest is open - so get your emails ready!! All you need to do is send an email to win@wjbq.com with the number 0669 in the subject line (NOTHING else, no symbols like # or anything). So, let the voting begin. Vote now and vote often!!!! We'll win $1000 in furniture and a skybox to a Sea Dogs game on Mother's Day, hey you may even be invited!!

Here's a link the the radio station's website if you're interested or if you want to be 100% sure that Josh is the cutest baby ever.

So proud of myself...

2009-04-15T20:11:00.002-04:00

I need to give myself some props. It's been hard for me to be awake enough/motivated enough to work out much since Josh was born. I was motivated last fall, when Jeanne was kind enough to let me use her treadmill, then we had the mouse issue in the garage, then it was just too cold in the garage and we don't have room in the house for a treadmill. Anyway, recently, for about 3 weeks, I have been really good about using the treadmill and I feel fantastic. I haven't noticed much difference in how my clothes fit or anything, but I just feel better. It's a fantastic stress reliever.

Josh has been A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E lately! I have some cut video to share with you soon. The stage/age that he's at now is just the best. I have lots of cute stories that I promise I will post soon.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T19:41:00.001-04:00

This one is from last weekend when we were celebrating Uncle Dan's birthday. Josh was feeling a bit unsure.

This one is from Friday before the Doc visit.

Friday afternoon was beautiful! We went outside and played for a long time with Tobey. I kinda like this pic because Josh is content as can be just walking around, looking at the ground, occasionally picking up something and tossing it back down. The little explorer!

This one is from today, Easter. This is from lunch when Nana, Gramp, and great Gramp came over. This one was taken with a touch of a sugar high! (See the chocolate drip on his shirt?)

On another note, Photo #2 is our winner for Q baby Idol. I'm emailing it now....

New outfits!

2009-04-11T14:50:00.000-04:00

It seems like I've been on a new clothes-buying frenzy for Josh lately. Here's a sampling of his spring/summer wardrobe:

An Ortiz Red Sox shirt that I got today. Dave has one too!

Socks... it's hard to find socks that will stay on his feet. Hopefully these will do the trick.

I got this tee at Children's Place. It's a 3T, so I think it's too big. But it may work for the end of the summer or in the fall with a sweatshirt. I hope so! I bought three in this size!!

Love these shorts from Children's Place. They look just like something Dave would wear.

I got this one today at TJ Maxx. The matching hat sold me!

I LOVED the orange plaid. I don't have a shirt yet to match, but I'm thinking a navy polo would look pretty darn cute.

This one I got at Walmart for only $7!! The shirt was $3.50 and the shorts were $3.50--what a bargain! The pic's a little blurry, but the shirt is a orange and earthy/sage/olive/taupe stripe and and the shorts are an earthy/sage/olive/taupe color too. For $7, you can't beat it.

Checkup

2009-04-10T10:15:00.000-04:00

So, I'm a bad mom. Josh was supposed to have his last checkup on December 26. The doctors office sent me a note about a week before saying to call and re-schedule. Well..... things were busy, etc, etc... Finally a couple weeks ago I re-scheduled for today. A few months behind schedule. Oh well, no excuses. At least he's been healthy! If he'd been sick I definitely would have re-scheduled sooner.

I told Josh he was going to see the doctor and he said "Doc!" So cute! He's saying sooooo much more. I need to be very careful about what I say around him.

Here are the stats:
32" tall
26 lbs, 3oz

I thought he seemed kinda big and tall for his age, but for 17 months old, according to the CDC growth chart, he's right in the 50th percentile, so just about average.

Where he is WAY above average is vocabulary. The doc asked if he was talking much, I said yes. He said how many words? I said lots! So he clarified "5 or 6?" and I said "no, more like 30 or 40" and he said "Wow!" Keep in mind that this doc does not show much excitement for anything. He seemed quite impressed.

One thing that we have to work on is vitamins. We'll be buying some this weekend.

He got a new book too! It's about fish--he LOVES fish! We need a bigger house so we can get a fish tank for him. He loved Adam and Jill's a couple weekends ago.

Josh had three shots too, one in his right shoulder, two in his left. The first one wasn't too bad but he cried for his second and third ones. Mama didn't cry! I just snuggled my lil darling until he was over the shots.

Q Baby Idol

2009-04-05T19:38:00.006-04:00

The Portland radio station is having their Q-baby contest again. Last year I submitted this picture and, alas, Josh did not win! How could that be? He is OBVIOUSLY the cutest baby out there. The parameters are that the baby must be under two years old as of 4/1/09, so he fits that one! So, I need your help. Please help me choose which picture to submit. Here are your choices:

A:

B:

If you have any other pics that come to mind, please let me know!

Josh with Bunnies!

2009-04-04T13:24:00.001-04:00

For those of you who could not see the picture of Josh with the bunnies from the photographer's website, here is a scan of it! Isn't he adorable?!?!?

April Fool's

2009-04-01T19:55:00.002-04:00

Ahhhh, it was two years ago today that we couldn't stand keeping our little secret that we were expecting a little babe and we told our parents that they would soon be grandparents. It's hard for me to believe that was only two years ago! I was so disappointed--both sets of parents said "they knew it" and were not surprised at all. We were going for shock and awe! Oh well... maybe next time!

Josh's "thing" lately has been going outside... I think I mentioned that already. He just can't get enough of it! Our house is even more full of dirt and all of our door handles are suddenly sticky. Someday I will look back at this with fondness.

On tap for this weekend, is to get rid of some of Josh's tiny-baby things and make some room in the garage. On an positive note, I have used the treadmill a couple of times this week (as I write this I am drenched in sweat--yum!) though Dave not been able to park his car in the garage because the treadmill is in the garage.... We need a bigger house!

Some pics from this past weekend

2009-03-30T20:31:00.001-04:00

Saturday, Josh and I went out to lunch and visited with Grandpa's sisters Sandy and Patty (Aunt Sandy and Aunt Patty to me...) and my Aunt Sue and of course Grammy Ri! We went to Cody's in Rockport.

Josh, being a ham!

He looks a little grumpy here, but I swear, he was very good! He LOVED the crayons. His first experience with them. He may have nibbled on them a bit. Don't worry, Mel Q, he wasn't scared by them! ;) I need to buy him some of those special Crayola toddler crayons. Also, Sarah, Josh's cousin, in the background.

I love this one because of his little finger pointing. I can almost hear him saying "tree!"

My Grampa and his sisters Patty and Sandy.

We also visited a MANSION in the making--seriously, the largest house I've ever seen. I think Dana said it was almost 13,000 (yes, thirteen THOUSAND) square feet. It was a bit over the top. Josh had a blast running through it.

In other super-exciting news, I felt Josh's gums tonight because he wouldn't open his mouth so I could see and he has TWO new top teeth! I'm not sure if they're molars, they don't feel far enough back to be molars... but they are not the next ones closest to the front either... I should be able to tell better once they come in more. They just broke through his gums.

Photo shoot!

2009-03-22T13:19:00.002-04:00

Friday Josh and I had a little photo shoot. The light in my bedroom was perfect! I can't wait until it warms up so we can have photo shoots outside again!

I did them all in b&w because he didn't have the most adorable outfit on, plus the comforter he was rolling on is purple, not exactly the most masculine color.... b&w fixes all that!

Josh has always loved his "green blankie" at nap time and bed time, but lately, he's been dragging it around with him everywhere! He loves it so much! He'll smush his face into it and inhale deeply. I think the scent comforts him so I'm very afraid to wash the blanket. So, ya, this blanket has not been washed except for once before he was born. Now that he's dragging it around everywhere, I'm very, very tempted to wash it. The fear still outweighs the grossed-out factor.

This one has the green blanket:

I love this kid!

Mission accomplished!

2009-03-21T09:01:00.001-04:00

As I was hoping yesterday, I was able to get some photos! Mostly because Josh and I stayed home yesterday....

Here's our yard last Sunday:
(I didn't take one specifically of the yard, so kinda peek around Josh)

... and yesterday:

Only five days difference--quite the progress has been made! As a side note, there is so much dirt in our house. It seems that no amount of cleaning can keep up with it... Tis the season, maybe by June some sense of order will be restored.

We only played shoe-less on the deck for a few minutes. Look at the blue sky! Josh LOVES to be outside! Later I did take Tobey for a walk and Josh in his new three-wheeled stroller. It was a tad nippy, and challenging mostly because Tobey gets so excited he does not want to listen to commands.

I did get some nice indoor shots. I played around with the manual settings on my DSLR camera, plus we had some nice light upstairs in the morning, which all led to some good pics. I'll save some really good ones for later, but here's one of Josh hiding behind his rocking chair. It's one of his favorite places to hide!

Spring!

2009-03-20T09:01:00.002-04:00

Happy First Day of Spring everyone! We all have spring fever in the Perry house, so here's hoping for NO MORE SNOW!

Hopefully I'll have some lovely pictures to share later today. We have beautiful blue sky here this morning (Josh is having a quick cap nap). Josh and I plan on just hanging out here today.

Update

2009-03-15T19:45:00.000-04:00

Okay, it's been WAYYYYYY too long since I've posted an update. There have been some crazy busy times in our house. My apologies, here are some adorable Joshy pics to soothe you.

Josh has a bit of a temper! Don't have a clue where that comes from.... One minute he'll be very upset...

...and the next be all smiles! These pictures were literally taken 7 seconds apart! That's how fast it can turn--in either direction.

Last weekend, Josh had his pictures taken with real bunnies! Here's a link to the photographer's website. I don't *love* any of them. I'm not really into props and there were giant plastic Easter eggs, watering can, baskets, big stuffed animal bunny, PLUS the real bunnies. In my artistic opinion, I think Josh and a little bunny all alone with a white background or maybe in some realistic-looking faux grass would have been the best. But what do I know, I don't make a living taking photos! Though you'd never know with the amount of pictures I take! Anyway, I haven't decided what I will order for sure. I like Josh's expression in the ones toward the end, but the silly stuffed bunny is right behind him, and it makes him look like he has bunny ears!

This pic below was Josh after his photo session, playing and being a ham.

This one was today! It was kinda sorta warm (for March anyway...) and Josh was loving play time on the deck. Yesterday, Grammy Ri, Josh and I went shopping and got a new three-wheeler jogging stroller so tonight Josh, Daddy, Tobey and I broke the new stroller in on the dirt (mud) road. He loved it! Maybe Momma will be able to lose some "baby weight" this summer. Don't hold your breathe waiting for me to jog though!

My little baby is growing up! Every day he is more and more like a little boy instead of a baby... It's sad in a way, but very rewarding in another way.

New Rule in the Perry House

2009-02-28T14:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted, so I have to start off with some pics of Josh on Valentine's Day morning when he was being so cute and flirting with the camera.

And now, down to business: the New Rule in our house. Last week after dinner one night, Josh got down out of his high chair and hid behind the high chair. Normally when he "hides" he's either a) playing or b) pooping. When I took him in the bathroom to put him in the tub, there was no poop. After a few minutes in the tub, I noticed a floater! So I grab the camera and get the shot below, which turned out blurry, but you can get the idea, there's poop and Josh is upset (that quivering lip!). A couple nights later, he pooped in the tub again! So the New Rule was instituted: Josh must poop before a bath.

This pic below was from last weekend. I vacuumed, which Josh hates, and Dave and Josh stayed downstairs. Josh cuddled with Dave the whole time. He NEVER cuddles that long! It was very cute.

Another item that Josh loves lately is the plunger. Every time I put it in the closet in the bathroom, he protests then grabs it and drags in around. I had to grab a couple pics of him yesterday.

leaps and bounds

2009-02-16T21:03:00.004-05:00

Josh has been growing by leaps and bounds lately. Everything is so interesting to him: looking at dinner in the over (below), letting the water out of the tub, choosing a book to read. He is very interactive, and I don't know if he's advanced, or if it's normal for kids in his age group--but either way I'm so proud! It's so rewarding to see your child grow and know that you're making a difference in his life. It's also good to know that someday so amount of normalcy may return to my life...

Joshy story time! So, Sunday morning he's chilling around Tobey's water bowl, looking like he'd like to step in the bowl. I warn him, tell him no, try to entice him towards something other than the water bowl. Then he steps in it! And instantly cries like a shark has his foot. Of course we grab the camera, like good parents! He was freaking out, so the pics aren't great.

Then he realizes that I have the camera and he's all "cheese!" Notice his eyes look like they have fresh tears. He LOVES the camera. He knows that I want him to smile when I bring it out.

In a very sad note, the last little bit of a baby shower gift that I loved is gone... this lovely Thymes Sweetleaf baby wash. It smells SOOOO GOOD! I may have to buy some more... It lasted a long, long time--probably about 13 of Josh's 15 months. I was very stingy with it though...

And one more related item--the original child, our first born, Tobey. Like the rest of us, he is ready for Spring. Look at his pink nose and long hair! He's like "give me a haircut and let me run outside in the green, green grass!" Poor Tobester, just a couple more months (hopefully!).

Developments

2009-02-12T19:06:00.002-05:00

Josh has been so darling this week. So far in his life, he seems to go from happy to grumpy in these ebbs and flows. He was recently in a grumpy state for a few weeks and now it's back to Happy Josh.

New this week:
*high-fived Dave
*entertained with winking ;)
*becoming much better at following directions (handing something to Dave when asked)

Busy weekend upcoming, play date on Saturday, hopefully something romantic Saturday night--Valentines Day!, can't remember but seems like something for Sunday, and Monday I have the day off for President's Day.

Bump!

2009-02-07T08:58:00.000-05:00

Thursday evening, apparently right before Dave and I got home from work, Josh fell in the living room and bumped his head. He had this HUGE goose-egg and a laceration on his forehead. I took the pic above this morning--it's gotten a lot better since Thursday night! But you wouldn't believe all the people that gave me dirty looks in the grocery store yesterday, like, Child-beater!

It's a good thing that Grammy and Grampa taught Josh the word "bump" last weekend! Except they were referring to bumps on the road...

Weekend

2009-02-02T19:40:00.000-05:00

This is a bit of a mixed post. These first two pics are from 1/22. Josh was being so cute and I wanted to get a few pics of him. I loved his red "quarterback" tee and my initial thought was that I could make some nice little Valentines, however Josh had other plans....

Most of the pics are like the one above: not looking at the camera.

Then this one, he's almost looking at the camera, but not really.

Alas, after many attempts at a nice pic, I gave up.

On to this past weekend--my birthday weekend. I had the best surprise EVER! BETHANY! She drove all the way from NH to come celebrate my birthday. I was so surprised and delighted! Bethany, I only wish you got to play with Josh a bit more.... we'll have to make a visit to see you soon.

Josh and Auntie B

I make chocolate covered strawberries, my first attempt ever. YUM-O!

Video, attempt #2

2009-01-31T11:35:00.000-05:00

January 09

B-day

2009-01-31T10:42:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was my birthday--the big 2-8. Josh and I went to Rockland to run some errands and visit Dave for lunch. On the way home, Josh fell asleep (and as it turns out, this was pretty much ALL of him napping for the day--UGH!). Sleeping baby is still my favorite! I was really happy that I have the new lil camera in my purse to capture this moment.

Video

2009-01-31T10:35:00.002-05:00

This was a test from the other night--I wanted to see how the video function on the new lil-camera worked. Here's Josh, eating dinner (see how much he loved spinich??). He waves, claps, and passes gas! I gotta say that LIVE, the fart was much louder, but you can hear it if you listen closely.

EDITORS NOTE: Oh, pooey! It didn't upload as a video... and for a minute there I was so excited that it uploaded VERY fast... I will try this again sometime...

Weekend pics

2009-01-27T19:21:00.001-05:00

I just love this one--no idea why.

Josh playing with Grampa Padre. Playing with the blind cord... that's safe! Don't worry, he was supervised the entire time.

Love the serious face!

New camera!

2009-01-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

Our new camera came last night! The battery needed to be charged, but this morning it was ready to go! Here's one of Josh from this morning. It's going to take some getting used to. Since I've been using the DSLR for so long, I'm used to having to play around with the settings to get the perfect exposure, and with this, there's very little of that with this camera! That means less control over the final pic too, which is okay most of the time anyway.

I have today off from work, I have an appointment that I need to go to this morning, then this afternoon I plan on going to get my license renewed (it expires in 8 days!). I plan on playing with the camera all day!

Blog-o-versary!

2009-01-20T20:03:00.003-05:00

Happy blog-o-versary to myself! Realized today that I let that pass without a special post.... Can't imagine how that would happen in my calm, methodical life! I'm not feeling so well tonight, so the celebration will have to wait for another time...

Busy these days...

2009-01-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

Things are busy these days! The weekend was a whirlwind. Friday, Josh and I went to Portland with Melissa. Saturday, Dave, Josh and I went to Yarmouth because Tori who I work with was getting rid of her lil boy's race car bed and gave it to us. Josh is too small for it right now, but it's ready for him in the garage. After that, we went to South Portland to Chucky Cheese. Then Saturday night, Dave had a man-date with the boys to go out to Chinese and bowl, so Josh and I stayed in. He was very tired anyway, and I got to have some time to myself--a rarity! Sunday it snowed all day, so we hung around the house most of the day.

Today, I had the day off from work, so Josh and I hung out at home and got an amazing amount of things done. We did laundry, dishes, cleaned the bathroom, steamed most of the floors, and put laundry away. I was so proud of my best accomplishment of the day: making soup. I thought if I put some toys on the floor in the kitchen that would entertain Josh long enough to make soup. Not so much. As soon as I started chopping veggies, he was tugging at me to pick him up. Being a mommy-genious, I thought, he wants to watch what I'm doing, so I moved his high chair into the kitchen, put some small toys in the tray, and he watched me make soup. He just wanted to see what I was doing, not necessarily be held, which is what my mind automatically thinks when he tugs on me. This is a revalation to me! We had a really good day and I felt more productive than I usually do when it's just me and Josh at home. Now if I could figure out how to vaccuum with him....

Here are some really cute pictures of Josh from the other morning before work. He was just being so adorable, I had to grab the camera! I never do that before work...

He's puckering up for a big kiss!

The same morning... eating a banana chunk and flirting:

I finally ordered the tiny camera that I wanted for Christmas! I really wanted it in red, but it's been out of stock soooooo long that I have grown impatient and ordered the baby blue one. I LOVE my DSLR, I love do the little "photo shoots" with Josh, and I would like to buy some other equipment to make my photos even better (lights, backdrop, reflector, lens kit...), but for everyday snapshot-type photos, I'm really looking forward to using the tiny little super-portable Kodak.

BIG update

2009-01-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

I have a lot of pictures to post!

This is Josh last weekend. We were finishing putting the Christmas stuff away when Dave put Tobey's elf hat on Josh. He was cute!

Monday night Dave's parents came over for dinner. I made a blueberry pie. The thing I was most proud of was the depth of field control on my camera. Not bad for an indoor pic with no natural light! The pie wasn't too bad either...

Yesterday I scrapped! I was supposed to Saturday with Melissa and her mom. That didn't work out, but I watched them scrap for a while and I was so inspired! Here's a Christmas layout that I did.

And another Christmas layout. I just realized that it's kinda blurry. You get the idea.

One that Melissa did for me for Josh's birthday, so all I had to do was plunk the pictures in it-- Love that!

Josh and Daddy Sunday afternoon. Dave looks drunk, doesn't he?

Happy Josh! This one was intended to show that his right eye appears to be pink and has some crusty stuff in his eyelashes. I called the doc's office yesterday, a Sunday, and basically they blew me off. It was Saturday afternoon that I noticed the first signs of something unusual, but he could have gotten some food in it and caused some irritation, so I waited it out. But by Sunday morning, it was worse. Anyway, as of bedtime last night, it was looking better, though not normal yet.

Hair cut

2009-01-02T21:28:00.001-05:00

Josh had all this wispy hair around his ears and I've been toying with the idea for a while now of trimming it. In this pic from about a week ago you can see it around his left ear. Well, I've come to the realization that it's not getting any shorter! I also think that a little trim could promote thicker hair coming in. Over the past couple of months, I'd say since September or so, his hair has been growing in more and more. But it still seems that it's s-l-o-w-l-y coming in.

So on Sunday evening, I cut just a little bit around his ears! It's amazing that now, without those few little blond, wispy hairs can make, he can appear so much older! He's losing his "baby-ness".

and 'cuz he's so cute--here's one from tonight when he first got in the tub (though, obviously I had not washed his face yet!) He loves bathtime!

I also have the cutest video to add to the blog, but I haven't even downloaded it to my computer yet. In it, Josh shows off so many of his new cute baby tricks. He says some words (I can't remember which ones exactly), claps his hands, and shakes his head "no". At first he was shaking his head "yes" but as soon as he learned "no" he has not stopped with the "no"! The hand-clapping is new--he started it by doing it on his own, but we've reinforced it by singing "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" and he even knows all the right places to clap in the song. He's also doing fabulous with his walking and talking. Some of his favorite new words are "kix" (as in the cereal), cheers (we were toasting each other with our toast), and cheese. He also does this really cute thing where he walks/crawls for the stairs then pauses, yells "da!" and then waits for Dave to look at him before scurrying up the stairs. Ahh, so many heart-warming moments lately... I could go on and on for hours. I love this kid!

More Christmas pics

2008-12-26T22:35:00.000-05:00

Josh staring at the fan.

Josh and Grammy Ri

Josh with food (chocolate I believe) on his face.

Daniel's "unique" wrapping technique (magic marker on Walmart bag).

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T19:50:00.002-05:00

Family photo--thanks, Dave, for remembering how to use the delay on the camera.

Tobey loves Christmas! And his bone from Grammy!

Josh loves Grammy's tree--and Grammy Ri and Grampa Padre.

Tobey in front of the tree.

We had a really great Christmas! We must begin with Christmas Eve at Aunt Leslie's house, where Josh was a little tired, but happy because he was the center of attention. Then Christmas morning we opened a few things here at our house, then went up to Grammy Ri and Grampa Padre's house and brought Tobey. Uncle Dan and Grampa Burnell came up to spend some time with us too. We had a lovely meal (lobster stew and ham) and opened gifts together. By the time we were done with that, it was 2:30 and Josh had not had his after-lunch nap--YIKES! And he refused to nap in Grammy's crib. So we rushed home to get Josh in his bed to nap. We were supposed to be at Dave's parents at 4, but Josh didn't get up until 5, so we rushed over there for more gifts and some sandwiches. All in all, a great day!

Our tree at night

2008-12-21T14:14:00.000-05:00

This first pic is Josh looking at our tree with the lights off in the dining room. We used the "night" setting on the camera. Look how his eyes light up! He LOVES the Christmas tree!

I thought this pic came out the coolest. Don't look too closely and see the blemish in our wall.... There are lots of tiny, time-consuming, cosmetic "projects" left to do in that room. Anyone wanna babysit? ;)

Our tree

2008-12-20T10:48:00.001-05:00

This is our tree this year. It's in our dining room since our living room is overrun with Josh's toys. I'll try to get a night-time pic up because it has blue lights (as usual) and they are really pretty.

Josh absolutely LOVES the tree. He loves to stand next to it and pull off all the ornaments, so I've had to strategically place the non-breakable ones near the bottom and the delicate ones near the top. Josh is so in love with the tree, I wonder if he thinks it's a permanent feature of the dining room. He's going to be disappointed when it's removed next weekend.....

Thanksgiving revisited

2008-12-14T19:14:00.006-05:00

Ya, so I'm a little behind the ball here... but here are some adorable photos from Thanksgiving day. I bought this cute t-shirt that says "little" then has a turkey. Too cute!

First, I'd like to explain Josh has been so gosh darn wiggly that it's been difficult to get a decent pic of him. It also hurts that our daytime lighting has been crap. Here's a fine example:

Then the boy finds the lens cap way too interesting to look at the camera.. I love the "studying" look.

Then he wiggles around the couch some more...

Paparazzi: no more photos, please...

Finally, a clear shot of the adorable shirt and adorable boy (ignore messy house in the background!)

As for the details of our Thanksgiving, we went to Dave's parents house for lunch, where we had the usual turkey feast. Dave and I made mashed potatoes and blueberry pie. Josh did surprising well. In fact, since Thanksgiving, Josh has been a much better all around. Anyway, we ate lots of mashed potatoes, carrots, maybe just a little turkey (by mistake--as an aside, the boy does not like meat. Which is just weird because he is so much like his dad, and his dad would live on meat only if he could.) Someone gave him some cranberry jelly, and that was it, all he wanted. Then when it came to be dessert time, he had some blueberry pie and even though he was wearing a bib, he managed to get blueberry EVERYWHERE! I washed his shirt when we got home, but it was very much stained. So we go home, Josh takes a nap, I think I may have taken a little one too.... Then I go to Thomaston to pick up Gigi and her friend Irene, while Dave says home and waits for Josh to wake up. Amazing, we both arrived and the Madre/Padre's at the same time. There we had a very similar meal, Josh ate most of the same things (I was much more careful about making sure he'd eaten enough "real" food before digging into cranberry jelly....) He also enjoyed pie with Daddy, I believe it was Boston Creme. It was a long day, and I hope Christmas is more relaxing.

11 days!

2008-12-14T08:55:00.002-05:00

Eleven days til Christmas! It's been a while since I've posted. I've been SICK. Like sinus pressure, congestion, sneezing, sore throat, headache, body aches, fever, tired, drugged-up on Sudafed SICK. And all this has evolved into a cough. I hate to miss any work because I work four days a week, so if I miss another day, it's 25% of my week, which is a big chunk and makes it more difficult to recover, nevertheless, I was becoming useless at work as the days went on, so I had to come home early a couple days.

We have a tree up! This is progress above last year. Last year, Josh was only 6 weeks old at Christmas, so there was no way that I had any Christmas spirit beforehand. I'm trying harder this year. Our tree is up. I've been trying to get Josh to say Christmas-y words. He loves the tree and it sounds like he's trying to say "tree". He is all smiles when I say "Merry Christmas". Yesterday I finally decorated the tree and he thought that was pretty cool. He liked pulling the decorations off and chewing on them.

Though I've been sick, I have been taking a few pictures... I'll try to get them posted this week, though I'll be busing wrapping--one of my favorite Christmas chores. Today we have Dave's family Christmas party to go to. So stay tuned!

Christmas Card Photo Unveiled

2008-11-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

Here are some photos from our Christmas card photo shoot, which was 11/11, two days after Josh's birthday. Out of 156 photos, here are my faves:

I love this one, the lighting is perfect.

Isn't he so cute?

Big smiles!

And the winner is:

Quickie

2008-11-27T20:18:00.002-05:00

Just a quickie post. Here's what's on my mind now:

1) Mouse Kill: our mouse count is up to 5, and now one of our traps is missing!! Hopefully it will be found with another one stuck to it.... In the meantime, I still fear our garage and my car.

2) Josh is getting more teeth--Molars! I believe one on the top right and one on the top left. He is very drooly and has been irritable. Monday night he did not sleep well at all. It was probably the worst night of sleep in his existence. That's saying something! He didn't sleep from 2am-6am. Then I absolutely had to get up at 6:30 so I could make it to work.

3) Our house is a disaster. I desperately need to clean. If you drop by unannounced, please be warned. I'm working on it!

4) Sunday I have a scrap date with Melissa! Since Josh has been born, I have not had the time/space to scrap. But several weeks ago, Melissa and I scheduled this date so we could each get some scrapping done. I have soooooo much Josh material, I should have a very productive day.

...

1326) Christmas! Ahhh, as you can see, it IS on my list, just not anywhere near the top. Note to self: Christmas is four weeks away, need to re-prioritize.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I certainly did. I have so much to be thankful for.

Teaser

2008-11-25T19:00:00.001-05:00

Stay tuned later this week. The Christmas card photo that some of you have seen will officially be unveiled on Friday!

STEPS!

2008-11-22T14:29:00.002-05:00

ALERT ALERT!! My little bundle of joy has taken his first steps!! He took two upstairs with Dave after a diaper change then took two more downstairs that I saw. He's having a cranky day, so we'll see if I can manage to get some video of this new phenomenon.

In other news, I took Josh to have his first "professional" portraits taken yesterday. I can't say that the people at Sears have a better camera or better style than I do, but they do have a nice white backdrop and some fancy lighting, neither of which I have. If you'd like to see them, let me know and I can share them via email.

Something else fantabulous that happened last night: We all went out (Dave, me, Josh, Tobes) to get some groceries, pick up a prescription, have dinner, etc. On our way home, our car decided not to work. So we were stranded and Dave's parents came to the rescue! We still don't know for sure what the problem is, but Dave has done a little research and has a few things to look into.

Appalled

2008-11-15T18:45:00.000-05:00

I am so appalled. Last weekend we bought four mousetraps. No we have none. That is because we (well, Dave) has caught FOUR MICE in these traps in our garage. Two of the four were in the trunk of my car. ICK!! Tomorrow we're off to get a few more....

Another appalling item from today: Josh was extremely irritable this morning. Right before lunch I realized he hadn't did his business for the morning. At lunch I fed him some fruit and some juice to try to loosen things up. After lunch he had his usual nap. After the nap he had a huge poopy diaper and was much happier for an hour or so... Dave almost threw up when I opened up Josh's diaper. (Note: Graphic detail ahead!!!!!) It looked like undigested alphabet soup. Except Josh has never eaten alphabet soup.

What fun!

2008-11-11T19:36:00.002-05:00

Today Dave and I had the day off from work. We did some shopping, went out on the town. Sounds more fun that it really is when you have a one year old in tow. We bought some "props" for our Christmas card--and though I won't share the final product (partially because I haven't completely decided...), I will send this photo of my sweet baby.

One!

2008-11-10T19:57:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was Josh's birthday. All weekend was Joshy-party central. Saturday afternoon was the "friends" party will ALL the children--lemme tell you, I love all the kids that were here like they're my own, but man, I am so glad I only have one!! Sunday afternoon was the "family" party, which was a little lower-key but still our midget-sized house was full.

Cupcakes! One of the few words Josh can say--though he's adding new words nearly every day!! Ironically, he learned to say it before his party, I think because I call him "cupcake" sometimes. Or it could be because he tends to say "cup cup" versus "cup" or "truck truck" versus "truck" so when he was saying "cup cup" I reinforced it with "cupcake" Anywho, I thought cupcakes would be easier than a cake. We also had those cute little ice cream cups. I think in my day they came with a wooden spoon.

Eating his cupcake.

My favorite gift--possibly ever. This is the sweater that my Nana was working on when she passed away. My Aunt Patti finished it for her.

Party animal.

With Uncle Daniel in his party hat. Notice the adorable one-use-only shirt I got him.

Happy Halloween, and Happy Birthday Grammy Ri!

2008-11-02T19:40:00.002-05:00

What a busy weekend we've had! Friday was Halloween. Josh was a Dinosaur. We made a few visits on Friday, and the grandparents all came over to see the "star" in his costume. Don't mind my messy house....

Saturday we took the family for a trip to Augusta to get some size 4 diapers. They look huge! The 3's still fit him, but some days when Josh drinks a lot (he's such a lush... hahaha) he can soak through them in no time at all--well, realistically, about an hour. We still have some size 3's, but we're trying out the 4's tonight.

Saturday evening, Dave and I had a much-needed night without baby (not that we don't love him, it's just nice to know that he's well taken care of by someone else once in a while).

Today, we did our usual grocery run and came home to cook and clean. I was doing just that when I heard an crazy loud crash, looked up and there was a car going sideways in front of door. Two kids were going too fast and hit a telephone pole right next to our house on the other side of our "spare" driveway. It freaked me out! I've never had to call 911, but I did today. There were only the two boys in the car and they were walking around, but one was covered in blood. He was wearing his seat belt but his head hit the windshield. He was crawling out of the passenger side window when I rushed outside. I was stunned, I didn't really know what to do. I told the boy he could come in my house and wash his face. He ended up going to the hospital (I can only assume he had glass all through his face--there was so much blood!!) He came over this evening and to thanked us--which I thought was really sweet. But since this is Josh's blog, I'll tell you about what he was doing. He loved all the commotion. It was cold out so I kept him inside but I let him look out the window (and bang on the window). He loved it when the fire truck pulled up. "Truck, truck, truck" which sounds more like "uck uck uck". Here are a couple of pics:

Then tonight was Madre/Grammy Ri's birthday party, even though yesterday was her birthday. I won't say her age! :) She'll thank me for that. It was very nice to see Mom and Dad and Daniel. We'll be able to get together again soon too for Josh's party and then Dad's birthday and then Thanksgiving! It's a month of family gatherings.

One more pic... during my shopping day in Kittery with Mom last weekend, I bought Josh a "birthday present" which I use quotations because I buy something for the boy nearly daily, ya know, usually just to meet his basic needs, but hey, I spend a lot of money on this kid. And he's turning ONE so I feel that I really don't need to buy him a gift.... Anyway, I bought him a winter coat because A) he needed one, B) I could hold off on giving it to him for a couple weeks, and C) I had a coupon. We tried it on him to see how it fit. This was his reaction:

He loved it.

New photos!

2008-10-26T09:00:00.002-04:00

Thursday night, eating spaghetti for the first time. He wasn't impressed at first, but we persisted and he ended up eating quite a bit. He got plenty on himself!

Okay, so I tried to have a photo-shoot in the leaves Friday... was NOT successful at all. This one (the white blob off to the left is Tobey) is probably one of the better ones because he doesn't look horrified and is not crying.

Here's the horrified look. Can you see how cute it would have been if he wasn't being a cranky-pants?

So I tried to lay him in the leaves. He didn't like that much either, as you can see.

Almost one!

2008-10-21T19:30:00.001-04:00

Josh is almost one now--just a couple of weeks to go! I think his party will be more of a celebration for me and Dave. "Yay, we made it through a year!!"

There have been noticeable changes to his attitude lately. Most of the time he is the most delightful, charming little guy ever, but at the flip of a switch he can get very upset. Tonight the switch flipped when he didn't get Cheerios for dinner (yep, he did end up eating mostly Cheerios and applesauce after many attempts at more nutritious foods...). Then he flipped back to charming and delightful we he knew it was bedtime--he was very happy to manage his way upstairs to play before bed.

That leads me into his physical accomplishments of late. He has completely mastered going up the stairs (don't worry, he's always completely supervised). Usually he laughs the whole way up. Tonight I was sitting on the floor and he was standing, propping himself up by holding on to my shoulder when he pushed off and was standing in the middle of his room. He stood for a moment without holding on to anything, which he's done before, so it's not miraculous, however, he turned and kinda stepped/leaned into Tobey, who was right there (that part is the new feat). Tobey thought Josh was trying to scratch his bum and kinda pushed back towards Josh. Josh fell on the floor, laughed, got up, and repeated the sequence a couple more times. Too funny!

AND he has verbal accomplishments too!!! Last night, Dave put Josh's bib on, which had a truck on it. Dave said "vroom" and Josh reciprocated "vroom" Dave and I were exclaiming about this when Josh said "Dada" very clearly. He usually says "dadadadadadada" in a mumbly way. Really, most of what he says is a mumble. It sounds like he's made up his own language. Too cute. Once in a while, things that sound like English words come out, and that's what we try to focus on and encourage.

This past weekend was quite busy. Friday I worked from home in the morning, then Josh and I visited Grammy, who was home on her last day of vacation. Friday night we visited with Adam and Jill and Peter. Saturday was Nana's burial. Saturday afternoon we visited with Melissa and crew. Saturday evening I went to Lori's Freedom Party. Sunday I cleaned, grocery-shopped and cooked.

Big weekend this weekend (and the next few weekends, actually). Sadly, it's Tuesday, and I'm already nervous about how I'm going to get everything done that I need to, much less the things I'd like to! On Saturday, Mom and I are going to do some early Christmas shopping (come on, it's only 2 months away) in Kittery. Shop til you drop! I've got to make sure I get some things for Josh's birthday party!!!!!!!

Melissa worked on my hair last night. We're going to do another layer of color over what she did last night, then it will be perfect and I will post a pic. I also need to download random pics of Josh I've taken this month, though I will admit, there are not many. And there are no "photo shoots" like I like to do with him. I really wanted to do one in the leaves but I think they may be a little too crumbly and brown at this point.... we'll see, maybe Friday??

Memories

2008-10-15T19:30:00.001-04:00

I've learned a lot since the loss of my Nana and I've feeling a bit introspective, so give me a moment here. When you lose someone that you love, someone that is such a big part of who you, how you became the person you are, is very difficult. I feel like I've been through this a couple times now, and it doesn't get easier but the processing of accepting what has happened comes faster. I've come to realize that time is so precious because you never know how much time you have to share with your family and extended family and friends. You must savor those moments because you never know when if that hug or "love you" will be the last one.

Here's some things that I want to make sure that Josh knows about Nana:
*She loved her family more than anything.
*Excellent cook--especially rolls and bread
*Crafty, skilled knitter and did ceramics too
*Loved photos--always had one of those disposable cameras with her
*Thoughtful, always knew the right things to say
*Proud of the family she raised: her children & grandchildren & (though she was just getting to know them, she was proud to have great-grandchildren)
*Supportive, though she'd share her opinion
*Worked hard to make Christmas special every year

I love this picture--Dad had it on his blog. It's so typical of a family get-together with my parents house. Ladies hanging out in the kitchen, men in the living room watching golf. It's silly I suppose since neither Josh or Nana is looking at the camera and the kitchen isn't perfectly straightened up, but it feels warm and homey to me, typical of a Sunday afternoon. I'm upset that those gatherings will never be the same, yet want to make sure that their new versions happen often to make new fond family memories for Josh.

Eleven months

2008-10-09T08:48:00.000-04:00

This is the day we've all been dreading since Sunday, but it is here so I thought I'd send some cheer. Here's Josh this morning eating O's and last night in the tub.

Farewell, Nana

2008-10-05T19:28:00.003-04:00

Josh's Great Nana, my Nana, passed away today completely unexpectedly. I still don't believe it. I saw her two weeks ago as we celebrated my Great Grandmother's (Gigi's) 86th birthday. I am thankful that Josh got to spend nearly 11 months with his Great Grandma and regret that he will never know her as the wonderful person that I did.

It's been a while...

2008-10-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

...a quick update...

Wow, I just realized that it's been almost two weeks since I've posted! Things are constantly in motion here. Josh has two new teeth on top, bringing the total to four. He's been more experimental with food. We've been trying to get him to eat what we eat, which is a work in progress. He now takes a 6-ounce bottle instead of a 4-ounce. He LOVES to eat apples. He's been expressing his wants more and more, and he'll let us know if he's not getting something he wants. It leads to a mini baby tantrum, which is kinda cute at this age, but I fear will get old fast. We've been trying not to give in to his every whim, which I know is the right thing to do, but not always the easiest thing to do. Last weekend, Josh spent the night Saturday night with Grammy Ri and Grandpa Padre--his first overnight without Mom or Dad. He did fine. It was harder on Dave and me than on Josh. Josh also has a word: car. He's says it in an old-time-Mainer type of way: "caaa" but he says it when a car goes by our house, so I know he is putting two and two together. Sometimes he says "caaa caaa caaa caaa caaa" So cute! I'll see if I can get some video this weekend. His other love of the moment is a toothbrush. I think he likes the feeling on his gums.

More to come....

This weekend: apple orchard

2008-09-21T19:20:00.001-04:00

This weekend we (Dave, Josh and I) visited Auntie B at her new house in NH. It was so wonderful to visit with Auntie B & I wish it could have lasted a few days longer!

Here are some pics from our Saturday afternoon visit to an apple orchard:

Josh sits among the apples on the ground.

Josh, Dave, and me.

Auntie B, me and Josh.

Josh wraps his fingers around an apple (he ate the whole thing too!)

Posed on a pumpkin from the patch. (Notice he will not put down that apple!)

Lounging in the pumpkin patch, still unwilling to give up his apple (with a bit stuck to his nose).

We can't wait to hang out with Auntie B again soon!!!!!! Or eat another apple...

Latest Stats

2008-09-19T18:56:00.000-04:00

Today Josh had his 9 month checkup (yes, he's TEN months, one week, and three days old...)

21 pounds, 14 ounces
28 3/4 inches long
2 shots! (Mama didn't cry at all, Josh only cried for a moment)

So busy....

2008-09-18T20:14:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a while (bad momma!) and even worse, I have not taken any pics of Josh in 2 weeks!! A sin! I have no explanation other than I have been crazy busy. And it's not letting up... Tomorrow I'm taking Tobey to the vet (Josh in tow--should be interesting) then at 1pm Josh is going to the doc for his 9month check up (yes, I do realize that he's almost 10.5 months, but does the doc????). Stay tuned for height/weight updates to be posted soon. Okay, so that's tomorrow. THEN bright and early Saturday, we're heading to NH to visit Aunt B and her new house!! We're so excited, haven't seen Aunt B in months, since April I believe, and haven't had an overnight visit since Josh was 7 weeks old. Wait until she sees how big he is!! I will take my camera and hopefully get some great photos. That's my short and sweet update!

What a deal!

2008-09-12T15:30:00.000-04:00

This morning Josh and I went out and got a few essentials at the grocery store, then decided to hit the baby consignment store. I got so many bargains, I am psyched! I got 2 long-sleeve shirts and 5 pairs of pants for $20!! Yesterday I came home and Josh was in a outfit that was much too small for him. It was so cold and all he has in his dresser right now is shorts and short-sleeve tees. Stay tuned for pics of the new duds. They're in the dryer right now, so they may be worn tomorrow, depending on the forecast.

Vacation, part five: trip to the pool

2008-09-09T21:09:00.000-04:00

Josh's first trip to a swimming pool!

playing with Grandpa in the pool.

Grammy Ri and Grandpa Padre in the pool.

making the "motor boat" sound

Grandpa teaching Josh how to blow bubbles

Wee!!

The tongue! Josh was very interested in sticking his tongue out and playing with his tongue all week!

Doing a pull up. Beautiful eyelashes.

Happy baby!

Splashing and laughing

Can't get enough fingers in his mouth.

My favorite picture out of all 527.

Vacation, part four: from the road

2008-09-08T19:52:00.000-04:00

I neglected to take photos on the way down, but on the way I remembered to! Here are some snippets from the 16-hour trip home:

The National Monument in Washington, DC. "Edith" the name of my parents GPS took us through DC on the way home. I'm glad she did! On one other family vacation, we stopped in Washington DC at 3am--it was not a pretty sight. Plus I had no interest or appreciation for history at that time in my life. I'd love to plan a vacation to visit all of the historic places in DC when Josh is a little older and McCain and Palin are in office (or just Palin if McCain kicks the bucket...)

This one was on the way home. My long-distance vision is becoming so bad that I thought the sign said "Perry Blvd" in "Devon" (Connecticut). Oooops, it's FERRY Blvd. My bad. Hey, it's still cool that there is a Devon, Ct.

Josh, upset. "Why, mommy, have we been in the car so long?? Please take me OUT OF THIS CAR SEAT!!!!"

Not from vacation.... but still really cute:

This past weekend, Saturday actually, it was cousin Sarah's first birthday party. I had to wake Josh up from a nap (shocking!! I've NEVER had to do this!!). When I went in his room and this is how I found him, sideways, on his belly, feet crossed, cuddling with his green blanket, pacifier not far from his mouth. The pic is fuzzy, but I don't believe I've had the opportunity to take a picture of my sweet baby sleeping since he was a tiny baby, like when age is counted in weeks, not months.

Vacation, part three: Hog Wild Smokehouse

2008-09-06T21:10:00.004-04:00

In response to Mel Q's comment "18 alligator bites"....

We visited a smokehouse. Dave was very excited to try a southern smokehouse and did plenty of research before we left for VA. He decided on Hog Wild, which had delicious food, but was not completely what I was expecting as far as atmosphere, etc. One of the appetizers was Gator Bites,; of course, Dave had to try them. I tried one--my first stab at gator--so I can attest that they were chewy (don't know if all gator is chewy...) and the four of us concluded that the flavor was a cross between crab and chicken. There is the story of the Gator Bites!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Grandpa Padre took at pic at Hog Wild, and the gator bites where even on our table!! Take a look at his blog here. Notice Dave, he ordered a pitcher of beer...

Vacation, part two: by the numbers

2008-09-03T19:25:00.004-04:00

9 days, including travel days
90 degrees most days (a HUMID 90 degrees)
$44 in tolls (estimated, round trip)
1 ruined clutch in my car :(
17 hours from ME to VA
16 hours from VA to ME
1770 miles altogether
3-bedroom, 3.5-bath cottage
1 new tooth for Josh
3 ships at Jamestown plantation that were built in Maine
$2 bottle of vodka from the liquor store in NH
1 lizard on our porch
5 hours of sleep (average, per night--issues with Josh and our hard-as-a-rock bed)
3 trips to the pool
18 alligator bites at the smokehouse
526 digital photos
5 visits to Target (yes, almost daily!!)
5 poopy diapers from Josh the day we returned to Maine (not that he was holding back in VA, but he must have been more relaxed at home)

Countless memories

Vacation, part one

2008-09-01T19:15:00.000-04:00

We got back from Virginia late last night, just before midnight. So many stories to tell, so little time..... Here's a few photos to get me started.

A look at our condo:

King's Creek Plantation looked straight out of Wisteria Lane--mucho picturesque

Winner of the funniest face photo:

We went to the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach. Here Josh and Dave are looking at a model of a sea turtle.

A family photo! One of 2 from our whole trip. This one is from our journey to Jamestown, the sight of where Captain John Smith landed in America back in 1607. They put up a monument and that is behind us. Back in high school when you're forced to learn history, I was not interested. I was a wonderful student in most every other subject but I just could not get into history. As I get older, I appreciate it much more and I learned so much from our trip to Jamestown. I hope we can teach Josh to learn history at a younger age. If he has Dave's interest in history, he'll be much better off!

This one is from "Jamestown settlement" which is a colonial reconstruction, where they demonstrate how colonial life was like back in the day. The coolest thing was finding "Godspeed" a boat which was made in Rockport, Maine. More to come on this....

I have lots of other photos to share, stay tuned!

Glad I was missed

2008-08-16T20:30:00.006-04:00

I've been in Chicago most of the week. I left the house at 4:30am Monday and Dave and Josh picked me up a little after 4pm Thursday afternoon. I missed my boys (all three of them: Josh, Dave and Tobey) so much! Every time I saw a baby throughout my trip--and it seemed like everywhere I turned I saw them--it just made me want to hug Josh and that's exactly what I wanted to do when I saw him in the car. So what does he do when he sees me? He cried.

All of the males made it through the week just fine and I did too. My trip was good, but getting there sucked. It's a long, long story, but the gist is that I was supposed to arrive in Chicago around 11:30am on Monday and I didn't get there until 9:30pm.

Josh LOVES blueberries. He loves to feed himself, so I thought I'd try blueberries out on him. Last Sunday, he must have eaten a cup of them in one sitting! I got some pics of him eating them today.

He's been laughing at himself lately. So cute! See all his teeth (well except the one on top).

Dave mowed the lawn today and while he was finishing it up, Josh and I went outside to chill out. Josh was being completely adorable: (photos are unedited)

Aren't his eyelashes amazing??

Smiling at Daddy.

Isn't he just beautiful? I certainly think so!

Next up: our vaca to Virginia. We leave next weekend. I can't wait!!

He's growing too quickly!

2008-08-07T20:15:00.002-04:00

I have WAY too much development to report on:

1) He is CRAWLING! Okay, not completely new since I reported this earlier in the week.... but still, it's a new feat for the babe. It's amazing the progress he's made in the past couple of days.

2) He was kneeling in his crib this morning, bashing the rail of the crib to hear the noise it makes.

3) He pulled himself up to standing tonight! He was crawling around in his room, noticed the rocking chair, and it was like I could read his mind. "I'd like to stand next to that!" And he did.

4) He got a new tooth. It's on the top, his first one on the top. This one is different because it isn't coming in a set like all the others, plus it's not the one directly in the middle, it would be the one next to the "front" tooth on the left.

5) He's not as interested in nursing as he was and I think he's weaning himself. I suppose that's a good thing. He'll be able to drink cows milk soon. Oh, wait he already is! Moo! And on that note, I'd like to add that I've been walking at lunch and I enjoy it very much. I love to listen to my MP3 player and walk around the lovely Camden neighborhoods that I could never afford to live in. Can you say Chestnut Street?? Good times.

I'm so proud of my little boy and his recent accomplishments! But it does seem that he's growing too quickly and that I'm not savoring it enough. He's becoming more and more a "toddler" and less and less a baby. Maybe I will put myself through this again for another baby.... Then again, maybe not!

Peek-a-boo, I see you

2008-08-03T19:36:00.004-04:00

This weekend was full of fun new stuff, despite our crappy summer weather. This month I have not gotten many good photos of Josh because of the lack of light.

Food-wise, Josh tried canned peas (no salt or sugar added). He loves to feed himself. Tonight he had mashed potato. He was quite full and not eating as well, so I put some potato on his tray and he was trying to pick it up and put it in his mouth. I'm looking for more ideas of things he can self-feed. I tested him out to see if he'd try to use his spoon to feed himself--no luck yet.

Josh walked! Well, while holding on to the couch anyway... I plopped him down to see if he'd hold himself up and he made his way over my big ol' feet to the other end of the couch. Amazing! Once he was at the end of the couch he was getting fussy, I thought because his legs were tired or something. Dave grabbed his hands and Josh kept walking! He was fussy because he hadn't made it to his destination yet. Silly baby!

Okay, so he kinda walked but he DID, in fact, crawl today. He was upstairs in his room on the floor. He'd been awake from a nap for about 10 minutes, had been scooting around, happy as could be. Then he made it across his floor, about 3 feet, in the proper crawling formation. I tried to get video of crawling later this afternoon, but Josh only wanted to scoot.

Peek-a-boo is becoming a favorite game. After his bath tonight, he was laying on his changing table pulling the towel over his head and I'd say "where's Josh?" then he'd uncover his head. He was giggling, quite amused with himself, then he covered his head and I ducked. He uncovered himself and I heard no giggling. I poked my head up just enough so he could see me and he started LAUGHING SO HARD! He makes me so happy.

Josh and Mama

2008-07-29T19:45:00.003-04:00

I don't have many pictures of Josh and I together, so Saturday morning when Josh and I were all alone at home, I took a bunch of pictures of the both of us. He's completely photogenic--me, not so much...

Our baby is testing his mobility BIG TIME. Tonight he was hanging on to the couch with no support from us and walked with very little support from the couch to Dave. He's sooooooo close to crawling too. He gets up in the position, rocks back a forth, picks up a knee or hand but can't get the coordination right and then gives up by dropping to his belly and scooting around to get where he wants to be.

I also tried Josh on "number 3" baby foods. They're just a bit lumpier. The first one I tried was pasta stars with veggies. The pasta stars were very soft and there were peas in there--Josh was not a big fan. Monday, Nana Joan tried to finish the jar and was successful. We're progressing toward the goal of Josh eating the same things we eat.

Landscaping

2008-07-24T19:32:00.000-04:00

Our weekend, summarized

2008-07-22T19:53:00.004-04:00

I've been naughty again, forgetting to post about Josh. Well, forgetting probably isn't the right word... more like way too busy! I didn't even take one photo of Josh last week--isn't that crazy?!?! So unlike me. This past weekend was very busy. Friday during the day I cleaned and did laundry and in the evening we went to Wiscasset to pick up our Volvo. The Volvo place there wanted to do all this expensive work it--needless to say, Dave is going to do the work himself and save us a ton (hmmm, well actually, it would be a few tons!). Saturday, we borrowed the Padre's truck and went to the transfer station, returned bottles, got some plants and dirt and mulch for landscaping. All that time, Josh hung out with Grammy Ri and Grampa Padre. Of course he didn't nap much. It was very hot if you recall, so we went to the lake and went swimming. Even though he was very tired, Josh was a sport and went skinny dipping. He took a two-hour nap when we got home. Sunday, Melissa came over in the morning and trimmed my hair and did a fabulous job as always. Then we went to the grocery store. I did a bunch of cooking, including ruining a cake (ugh, sooooo not a good cook. I'd settle for being adequate, but I'm not even sure that I am that.) We did the landscaping as a family, but I mostly entertained Josh and Tobey. Then we had dinner, Josh had a bath and went to bed and I DID help a little bit with planting 3 small plants and mulching. I took some pics and hopefully will have some time to post them this week.

Joshy updates: Josh is amazing, of course! He is sooooo close to crawling. Maybe I can get some video. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. He manages to get around little by scooting. He is also still working on some new teeth and is a little irritable sometimes. He loves to go outside. We visited our goat-neighbors on Sunday and he was quite entertained by them. Our neighbors brought over some green beans which I cooked Sunday (I didn't screw those up!) which I food processed for Josh. He gagged and cried when I fed them to him. So no lumpy foods yet, he likes the jarred baby food still. We also had to lower his crib because he was mobile and strong enough to make his way to the opposite end of his crib and pull down his mobile. It has bunnies hanging from it and I was worried that he'd choke himself.

Delightfully squealing

2008-07-12T16:42:00.005-04:00

Listen to him laugh!! After reading a new book to him, I was peeling the price sticker off the back of it and Josh started laughing so hard. I jumped into action and grabbed the video camera (which I've been realizing that I do not use enough...) He just thought the sticker was the funniest thing ever. I wish it didn't take so long to upload these videos!! This one is short (under 90 seconds) and it took the better part of an hour to upload!

Breakfast

2008-07-12T10:19:00.000-04:00

Love these photos!

2008-07-11T09:45:00.001-04:00

Fourth of July commentary

2008-07-08T20:16:00.000-04:00

So I wanted to make sure that I blog about Josh's fourth of July. We had a BBQ here at our house. It started at 3pm (kinda weird time--that was all Dave). Turns out Josh was due for a nap at 3pm. At about 2:50 I put him down hoping that he'd fall asleep before people got here. Didn't happen. Adam, Jill, and Peter arrived and Josh could hear us--well, I have to believe he could here us, because I could hear him crying! He wasn't going to nap just yet, so I got him up and kept watching for sleepy signs, which never happened. He was happy enough though, paci in mouth most of the time, which I usually don't let him do, but hey, it's the fourth of July, I'll let him do what he likes. Other people arrived: Rob, Amanda, and Julia, Melissa, Iverie, and Kineo--and much later Laura, Zach, and Jeremi's brother Josh from Conn. Josh didn't sleep until everyone left around 9pm. And he still managed to get up at the typical time Sunday morning. But back to our festivities.... Josh was held by just about everyone. He LOVED Julia's big, pink ball. No fireworks or parades this year--maybe next year--definitely the year after!!

I love this one with Tobey running in the background. Tobey had lots of fun! Melissa brought Hunter so Tobes and Hunter could play.

Sunday we went to the lake - See pics from last post. We first got there and Tobey RAN into the lake, no holding back. Josh thought that it was the funniest thing ever when he saw all the splashing Tobey was doing. He was laughing so hard. They I tested Josh's feet in the lake. That he wasn't so sure about. Josh and I were wading around and Dave took Josh and dunked his whole body (except his head) in the water. Josh cried. I think it was too cold. After a few minutes he got used to it and was happy. The thing that was so amazing to me was how much water that diaper sucked up! It must have weighed 3lbs easily! Note to self: buy "little swimmers" for next time.

Eczema/dry skin update: I've been baby-oiling his head once a week with this yummy Burt's Bees apricot baby oil.... so good... ah-hem, right before his bath, plus using the Burt's Bees shampoo bar at bath time, then using the Target-brand Eucerin and Thymes organic baby lotion that smells sooooo yummy. With all that, its finally better and at this point, manageable.

Saturday I got some great photos of Josh outside. I will share those another time.... I told myself I'd do a quick recap and only blog until 8pm... now 8:16. Oooops

First trip to the lake

2008-07-06T19:55:00.001-04:00

New Teeth Pics

2008-07-02T19:44:00.002-04:00

So we go outside because my camera takes awesome pics outside in natural light.

Josh is happy as can be: adorable, smiley, charming... but I wasn't getting a good shot of the new teeth, so Dave set him down on the deck...

... he must have been feeling clingy because he started crying immediately...

... the crying, however, made for some nice "teeth" shots. See the new ones popping up beside the two botton front ones?

... poor baby, I'll pick you up now!

And notice the outfit. Dave is still on vaca and dressing the babe in the AM--'nuff said.

This just in

2008-07-01T19:00:00.002-04:00

GREAT NEWS! Two more teeth have arrived! The bottom two to the left and right on the front bottom two came through overnight. Let's hope this brings more sleep for Mama. Except he's still working on those top front two... sleep is overrated.

In other positive news, our wagon sale went through and Dave picked up our used-but-new-to-us Volvo wagon. It's the perfect Tobey mobile. I'm mucho excited about taking the entire fam (pup included) to the breakwater and over to the lake for a picnic. YAY!! I'm thinking that in the winter I may have to bum the wagon off Dave because it's all wheel drive, has a "winter" setting, and has heated leather seats.

Can you guess who dressed Josh this morning?

2008-06-30T20:34:00.000-04:00

Daddy clone! Complete with Red Sox hat, "baseball" themed polo and khaki shorts!
Josh definitely LOVES having Daddy on vaca this week.

On the go

2008-06-29T17:20:00.002-04:00

Friday:
Josh wore the CUTEST outfit on Friday. I had to go to Bangor to do about an hours worth of work and since it was Friday and I had no daycare, Josh came too. He was very good. We worked a little, then we did a little shopping.

I believe this outfit was from Auntie Melissa from the baby shower. I love his toes in this one.

Saturday:
Dave, Josh and I went to Auburn to look at a wagon. Looks like we'll be getting it this week! We have a verbal contract with the dude selling it. More details to come.

He looks so tired because it was 7am on Saturday morning.

Today:
Grammy Ri, Josh and I went to Megan's bridal shower. Josh was very well behaved and it was a lovely shower. Josh's nap schedule was totally screwed with, so he's napping now and has been since 3:30.... (it's 5:20!). I think I may go wake him up.

More this weekend:
1. More teeth are coming--the ones either side of the bottom two he already has, plus the top ones are still coming in too.
2. The weather has been sooooo gray and yucky--not good for taking pictures.
3. Dave got a great head start to the landscaping project while Josh and I were out at the bridal shower. Hope to have pics of that soon.

What a week!

2008-06-21T15:45:00.000-04:00

Well, its the weekend--hardly time to rest though! Yesterday, Josh and I went to Augusta to get an oil change and to look for some toys. Daddy thinks that Josh needs more toys... we didn't find any. Josh was tired the whole time we were out and about. At Christmas Tree Shop, we were checking out and the clerk said to Josh "you look starved" Too funny!

Dave's b-day was Wednesday--Happy 31st honey!! Unfortunately, during the week it's so hard to celebrate. Things are just too crazy. Dave's parents came over for dinner and cake but it was hardly relaxing. Last weekend we celebrated with my parents along with Father's Day.

The sun was shining brightly this morning here in Waldoboro, so I ran outside with Josh and Tobey to get some new photos. My camera takes way better photos without the flash, but you need enough light to not use the flash.... it's been so gloomy that hasn't been an option. Not today though. We took a family walk this afternoon too--Tobey LOVED it!

Scrub a dub dub - Friday night in the tub.

Outside this morning.

Reaching for the camera.

Deep in thought---the "concentration" face.

He tried to eat the dandelion.

New pics for June

2008-06-13T20:20:00.000-04:00

From last weekend - chewing on a cracker

This month is just flying by! I haven't posted a photo yet this month, and worse yet, I haven't taken nearly enough photos. I will share what I have taken.

Josh has been very temperamental. Don't know if it's his teeth (I think he's working on the top two) or just a stage, but he'll go from completely happy to very grumpy at the drop of a hat.

Also, he's not napping well. Don't really want to go into my theory there, but I'll just say that I'm working on it.

Do you know of any treatments for eczema? I may have to take Josh back to the doc because I'm pretty sure that's one of his problems...

This morning - just woke up, very cuddly

Mr. Serious

Daddy's boy - notice the remote between his legs

Tobey chillin after playing outside

Happy Josh

2008-06-05T19:17:00.002-04:00

The past couple of nights Josh has gone to bed so well Tonight he was so cute, giggling at himself and us despite that he only took 2 hours of naps today. I feel so lucky to have such an adorable little boy and I'm so thankful that he's a part of our family. Just had to share.

So proud of MYSELF

2008-05-30T11:45:00.000-04:00

Josh had his 6-month check-up this morning. Here are the latest stats:

19lbs 3ozs
26.25 inches
3 immunizations

I've never felt like the height/length measurement was all that accurate... but the weight certainly is. He's a heavy little bugger.

And the best part was that I DIDN'T CRY!! This is the first set of shots that I didn't shed a tear for. Josh, like usual (see March 28....) had his big crocodile tears and beet red face. By the time we left the doc's office he was back to normal.

Dave will be back from Canada today!! I can't wait. Last night was a little rough. Tobey misses his daddy. Josh couldn't sleep because of constipation. It was such a pleasant evening for me!

Ferberizing

2008-05-28T12:29:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update: The Ferberizing is going well. Josh cried for 45 minutes last night then slept from 7:15pm to 4am. Forty-five minutes of crying is a bit much for me... I wanted so badly to run upstairs and rescue him. But I know this is best for him in the long run. Dave is in Montreal until Friday afternoon and I think Josh could sense that I was nervous about being alone. Small successes! We'll see how tonight goes.

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T10:43:00.002-04:00

Happy Memorial Day, Internet people! Here are some plain old adorable pics of my baby from yesterday and today. For those of you "from away" or that are Mainers currently not in Maine, it was a beautiful day yesterday and today is quite nice too.

Out in the front yard yesterday.

His outfit says "Little Hero, To the Rescue"

Joshua, Tobey, and me cuddling. Notice that I got all dressed up for the pic... lol. Tobey has been more clingy than normal. He misses Token.

Josh this morning in the cutest little outfit from Auntie Bethany (HI Auntie Bethany!! Hope you're feeling better!!) It's the first time he's worn shorts, or overalls for that matter. It's finally warm enough!!

My little dimple boy.

On the sleep front, I'd like to report that so far (*fingers crossed*) the Ferberizing is going well. We bought Ferber's book Saturday along with one called Bedtime Sucks. Yesterday Josh slept from 12:30pm (afternoon) until 3pm when I decided I'd better get him up or he wouldn't sleep at all at night. He made it until 6pm then he was just too sleepy and I had to put him to bed. We did the abbreviated bedtime routine. He cried for a while, longer than I like for him too, but he was fast asleep by 6:45pm. He woke up around 11pm but I let him fuss a little and he fell back asleep. He didn't wake up to eat until 5am, ath which time he was incredibly happy! I remember waking up a couple other times, but just for a minute or two. Overall, I'd say it was a success. In fact, right now he's napping and he has been since just before 10am.

To do list

2008-05-24T10:32:00.004-04:00

1) Get Josh to sleep more than 3 hours at a time at night. Inspired by old post by dooce. Purchase Ferber and Weissbluth books.

2) Replace area rug in living room. Do Pilates

3) Clean. Token is gone.