D is for Don't Grow Up So Fast!

Well, I have been promising some 'teething' and 'rolling' videos, but Joseph seems to always know when the camera is on and refuses to roll when I'm filming. It will happen eventually. In the meantime, here's a picture of him trying to eat one of the stuffed birds in his jumper.


Actually, it might not be teething as much as it is that he wants to start eating regular food now. I'll check with the pediatrician next week about it.

Now that Joe can roll, he refuses to stay on his back when we put him to sleep. He likes to sleep on his tummy or side. Luckily, the whole "back to sleep / sids" thing is irrelevant once babies can hold their heads up and roll around.


Since he's now sleeping in his crib every night, we decided to sell his bassinet. It's the first of his belongings that we've used and sold, so it made me a little sentimental. It didn't make sense to keep it, though. Joe could barely fit into it! Still, I look back over the past 3 and a half months and wonder where the time has gone.


Speaking of sentimental, I found all of my "ABC" wallpaper border from when I was little. Joe Daddy hung it up in Joey's room and I can't believe how surreal it is to think that I used to look up at these same letters every day growing up and now my son looks up at them!


Joe Daddy also used some picture editing software to create a special panel for Joe. My ABC wallpaper has officially been modernized. :)


A couple of days ago while giving Joe a bath, I saw him reach out and try to grab the water! What a cutie pie. We recorded it so you could see. Consider it Joey's way of waving to you. :)

The Charmer

Monday, Uncle J defended his dissertation (CONGRATS DR. UNCLE J!), so Joe Daddy and I took Joseph to day care for the first time. I was nervous, but I didn't need to be, because Joey charmed the socks off of everyone there. Apparently he even laughed during his diaper changes. I dropped him off at 9am and when I came to pick him up at 3pm he was all spread out in his crib doing his "vacation sleep pose". He clearly had a good time.


They told me to bring him back anytime because he was "such a wonderful baby!" I think that I'm probably going to send him there one day a week until he's 1 and then two days a week until he is 2, etc. I think it would be good for him to be around other kids his age sometimes and for Joe Momma to have a break too. We'll see.

Joey is now rolling from his back to his belly AND from his belly to his back. He's mobile! We're starting to figure out how to baby proof the apartment because it won't be long until he is into everything. Besides rolling, we have a suspicion that he's teething too. It seems a little early, but suddenly he is drooling a ton, somewhat fussier and constantly has his hands in his mouth. Video of these things is forthcoming, I promise! Joey says, "Hi!"

I Wish Joe Would Cheer Up

My Yankee Doodle Boy

For the 4th of July (and Joey's three month birthday!), a holiday-dressed-Joe and his momma and daddy went to a very large indoor outlet mall just outside of Philadelphia. It was our first "trip" since our little guy was born and even though we were gone for about six hours, Joe did great! He actually slept a lot of the time. We made use of a Gap giftcard, took a set of photobooth pictures, grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby Sonic and came home to watch fireworks on PBS.






Joe also had his three month doctor's appointment this week where we learned that he is now 17lbs and still off the charts in weight/height/head circumference, although he's the same amount off the charts as he's been his whole life, so no worries. He got the shots that we postponed at his two month checkup, polio and Prevnar (strep/pneumococcal). Prevnar is supposed to cover meningitis, blood infections and even seven strains of ear infection! As always, Joe took everything like a champ. He's a trooper!

I realized how giant Joe really is when I went to pick up some baby clothes from a lady on freecycle. She had a 9 month old daughter who was 15lbs. She sat next to Joe and then slowly scooted over to him and played with his feet and cooed at him. It was the strangest thing to see! Joey was two pounds heavier than her, but six months younger!


Joseph has started sleeping for longer stretches at night (6 hours!) and has started playing with a new jumper/exersaucer now that he has great head control. Also, he recently learned to roll over from back to belly. More on all that next time!

So Happy Together

I remember getting a book called, "The Happiest Baby on the Block" at some point while I was pregnant, but I never read it. It turns out I didn't need to read it, because Joe would naturally be the happiest baby in the whole entire world!


We took our first adventure to the park this past week and although Joe was asleep at first, he woke up after a little while, so we tried out the swing. As usual, Joey tried something new and loved every second of it.



One downer to this week was that one of our best friends moved to DC. J was the first person to visit us in the hospital and the second person to get to hold Joe (after M). Over the past few months, Joe has grown attached to Uncle J and loves to play with him. Luckily, he's only moving about 3 hours away, so he should be able to come visit often. Still, we're going to miss the days of having him only a couple blocks away from us. :(


Ending on an up note, we got another box of clothes/gifts from one of Joe Daddy's Aunts. Joe Daddy was very excited that Joe finally has some Pitt State gear. Joe looks pretty happy about it too.


I love my Joseph! He is so social and happy. He's even sleeping through the night now! I look forward to this weekend -- we've got a cute 4th of July outfit for him to wear and we're thinking of (maybe) going to the shore.


Joe says, "I can't wait to see you in person!"

Happy Father's Day!

I got this book for Joe Daddy as a Father's Day present. It's about a Dad bear and his cub having a day full of adventures together. At the end of the book, the cub falls asleep as the Dad bear pats him on the head. Joe had been fussing for an hour or so, but as soon as Joe Daddy started reading, he calmed down and looked right at the book. As the story progressed, Joe slowly started nodding off. At the end of the book, Joe Daddy patted Joe on the head and Joe drifted right to sleep. It was the sweetest thing in the world and it reminded me that although I can't catch every special memory on camera, I can keep those moments in my heart.


Also, today's the day to give my dad a shout-out up in heaven! Dad, I remember one of the last things you said to me was, "I really hope you find someone great, because you really deserve it." Well, it's a shame you never got to meet my "Catholic friend" that I always told you about, because Joe Daddy was definitely the 'someone great' that you had in mind.


Also, my dad would be so happy to know that I got all the materials together to send in for Joseph's Cherokee Tribal membership and CDIB card. I thought about my dad alot as I filled in the "ancestry chart" from Archilla (on the Dawes Rolls) to Wilson to my dad to me... and now to Joe. I think it takes a few months to process, but as soon as the approval comes back making Joe the newest member of the Cherokee Tribe, we'll have a little ceremony at home and (of course) I'll be sure to take lots of pictures for the blog.
(That's "Happy Father's Day" in Cherokee.)
-

Bumbo, Peekaboo and the Triple Nipple

Joe and his Daddy were getting sad that there haven't been any updates (see above) so we're back! My apologies for the lag.

Joe had another set of pictures taken when Mrs D visited and here are a couple of my favorites!



The last picture shows Joseph sitting in his Bumbo chair. Originally manufactured in South Africa, you can now purchase them at Target. It's become a part of Joe's "daily exercise routine" along with his tummy time surfboard and his rainforest gym. Disclaimer: Never use a Bumbo without constant supervision. Babies have sometimes arched their backs and flipped the Bumbo over backwards, which can be a huge deal if the Bumbo is sitting on a table or other raised surface (causing the baby to possibly fall). But with supervision, the Bumbo is a fun and helpful way for babies to learn to sit up!



Joe Daddy called me into the other room a few days ago and informed me that besides holding and grabbing at things, Joe plays peekaboo now!



Finally, it seems that I failed to mention one thing that we learned at Joey's 2-month doctor's visit. It appears that our Joseph has three nipples! I remember Carrie Underwood saying she had three nipples when she was on American Idol, but that's about all I know about the tripnip. Anybody else know anything? I'm sure it's not a big deal, but it is pretty funny.



Sorry it took so long for this update. I'll do it again soon!