The Knisely Family

Caleb is Two!!

2011-11-14T21:58:00.000-05:00

Caleb turned 2 on November 1st! He had a party with some of his friends, and everyone had a great time! I didn't remember to take a lot of pictures, but here are a few.

The Birthday Boy-he tried to eat his candle...surprise, surprise! :)

Oliver, Josiah, Sawyer and Alex.

Caleb hanging with his buddy Sawyer. She just turned one in October. :)

Josiah, Oliver, and Basil eating hot dogs.

Josiah enjoying his cake.

Gianna checking out the construction hat.

The next weekend we drove over to Canton to spend the weekend with all of Nathan's family and celebrate an early Thanksgiving. But, we also had a birthday party for Caleb and Lucas (Nathan's brother-his birthday was on the 9th of Nov.) This is the amazing cake that Melissa had a friend of the family make for us. Caleb loved it, and Josiah did too. :)

I think we were singing happy birthday here, but it might be right after we were done...

Josiah and Caleb ate ALL of the little balls in the back of the truck-and it turned their tongues gross colors!

Enjoying picking apart the cake.

Caleb was so excited about holding this dog that he was trembling as I lifted it off the truck to give to him. We had to put it on a special plate and kept it for days. :)

Then the boys opened Caleb's presents. He is still okay with Josiah helping, we'll see if that's still the case next year... :)

Just a cute picture. :)

Caleb is doing great since having tubes put in his ears-he hasn't been sick since then and his speech has improved dramatically.

Josiah started a Mon/Wed/Fri 1/2 day program this Fall. He loves everything about it, and has made some great friends in his class.

I think that's all for now. Oh yeah, I'm 11 weeks pregnant, but that shouldn't be news to anyone... I have felt pretty crummy, but I am trying to be thankful in spite of it-because I know it could be much worse! And I also know that it should be coming to an end in the next few weeks. Yay! :)

Busy and loving it!

2011-04-27T23:48:00.000-04:00

Things have been pretty busy around here lately-but we love it that way! :) Here is a brief overview of some of the things we have been up to for the past few weeks.

Caleb getting a little too friendly with Sawyer-Clint and Alex's baby girl. :) The Casabella's moved up to Philly, from Louisville, in March to join the Trinity Core Team. All of the kids are smitten with Sawyer!

Josiah and Gianna observing Sawyer, observing them... Gianna is the daughter of some new friends here that have joined the Trinity Core Team. She is 2 months older than Caleb, and a very sweet girl. :)

Josiah loved squishing his cheeks together-probably because I was laughing so hard at him when he was doing it. :)

Typical brotherly love.

A fun Sunday afternoon playing basketball with friends. (Josiah thinks he is an adult...:)

And again...the brotherly "love". These boys just love to wrestle.

This year to prepare for Easter we did Resurrection Eggs and hung all of the items on this "tree". (You might be able to see the small donkey hanging on the left side, by Caleb's head) Each day we opened one egg that had a small item inside and a Scripture passage to read that reminded us of one part of the Easter story. From the Triumphal Entry, to Passover, to Praying in the Garden, to the Crucifixion, and then ended on day 12 with an empty egg to represent the Empty Tomb!! :) This was fun, and we'll be able to use this year after year. (I got this idea from here: http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/2011/04/be-intentional-easter.html I used most of the same items, all of the same Scripture passages, but then added the part of hanging the items on a tree-cause I liked having them out all the time so we could look back at the previous days' items and review the different parts of the story. :)

We rented this suit for an Easter Egg Hunt that Trinity church was going to host at a park last Saturday (which unfortunately got canceled due to rain). I talked Nathan into putting the suit on to get pictures with the boys (He is probably not going to be thrilled that I'm posting these...:)

Caleb was NOT a fan.

For some reason, it was much better if the suit was lifeless... Too funny. :)

The boys' Easter baskets. We have started giving each of them a book for each holiday, and writing on the back which holiday it was given to them. I think it will be so fun to look back at all the books they have gotten over the years from us. :)

Caleb had his 18 month pediatrician visit today. I will post his stats in the next few days...for now we can just say he's a big boy! :) But he has another ear infection, and is having serious eczema problems- we got an antibiotic for his ear infection and a steroid cream to help clear up the eczema patches. So we are praying that he is feeling much better very soon.

Out of the Heart products-an easy way to memorize Scripture :)

2011-04-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

I just happened across a blog-through a friend of a friend. This stay-at-home-mom of three makes little card packs-either with verses already on them, or blank to fill out your own verses, or whatever you want on there. I am super excited to get one of these-to use with Josiah and Caleb. So we can start working on memorizing Scripture.
If you know Josiah-he has a great memory-so I want to start utilizing his memory skills at a young age, and getting God's word into his heart and mind. :) And this is a great way to stay organized, and know exactly which verses you are working on at the time. I am so looking forward to using these cards!
If anyone is interested in these packs, you can find them at: http://outoftheheart.myshopify.com/pages/welcome

Isn't this one so cute? I would, of course, pick a more boy-ish one...but I just love the pink stripes! :)

So, go get one for yourself, your kids, or someone you love!

For the Birds!

2011-03-14T22:28:00.000-04:00

Today we put bird food in the bird feeders for the first time since last fall. The boys loved it, and of course made a mess. :)

Caleb wants to do everything that Josiah does-which is good of course, but also usually makes more of a mess and more work for me. But, I do my best to oblige him-most of the time. :)

You can see the wonderful mess they are making. Luckily for me-it's bird food, and we're outside!!

Josiah is shoveling all of the bird seed that was left on the driveway. Hopefully that will be the only kind of shoveling going on around here-until at least November. :)

Handsome boys! We are blessed to have two healthy boys-and we love 'em!

Caleb is all about feeding himself these days... Once again-great, but a lot more mess and a lot more work. :) But, I know he'll figure out how to eat a little bit better soon. And in the meantime, we'll get some great pictures out of it... If you are wondering, he is eating some pumpkin puree, that was leftover after I made some muffins-and he loved it!

We Love Rita's!!

2011-03-10T22:19:00.000-05:00

We picked up Rita's as a treat after dinner tonight-and I think these pictures speak for themselves...

He needed a change of scenery half way through. :) He loves sitting in the big chairs, instead of his highchair. He's definitely a climber.

Still a cutie, even with chocolate ice cream on his face. He's gonna be a charmer with those eyes and eyelashes. :)

Josiah didn't make it into any of the Rita's pictures in the kitchen, because he was upstairs checking on Papa. Who got Josiah's "new" (well, new to him-because he got this for Christmas from Uncle Lucas and Aunt Lynsey-but we have just now finally gotten it up and working...it was a mess to get it to work on our new Mac-but it's working now!:) computer system working. And as you can tell-he loves it!! :)

Concentrating!!

And last, but certainly not least, Caleb doing one of the boys' favorite things. Strumming on Papa's guitar. :)

Not too much else going on around here. Just the typical day-to-day stuff. We are in a really fun stage with both boys-and are so grateful for their fun, loving spirits.

Pediatrician visit-update on the boys

2011-03-04T23:15:00.000-05:00

So both boys had a pediatrician appt. today. I am so glad that Nathan was able to go with me-because those boys are a handful!! Caleb had his 15 month appt., even though he was 16 months on the 1st of March... And Josiah's 3 year old appt.

Here are the facts:

Josiah
   Height-36.5 inches (25th percentile)
   Weight-32 lbs. (25th-50th percentile) That seems like a broad range...but I didn't create the chart.
   BMI-19 The Dr. said this was a good number-I think 50th-75th percentile, but as we all know-it's because Josiah has a lot of muscles! :) (who knew they started checking this so young, I'm sure because of all the obesity in children these days...)
   BP-90/58 Which the nurse said was great. (again, who knew they checked this so young!?!?)

Caleb
   Height-31 1/4 inches (50th-75th percentile) I know-he is quickly catching up to Josiah, but the Dr. was quick to point out-that you can't really compare, because babies are measured laying down, and 3 year olds are measured standing up-so that changes things. :) And of course, we don't want to compare the boys, but it is hard not to!! :)
   Weight-23 lbs. 4 oz. (25th percentile) (And he eats SO much, but he never stops moving, so he is burning all of those calories!)

These boys couldn't be more opposite-in many more ways than just height and weight! But we couldn't love them more-so it all works out. :)

Josiah was so anxious and sad about the "pokes" he was going to have to get. He told every single person he saw at the office that he didn't want to get poked. :( And of course, he had to have 2 shots. But, he did great for them, and was very relieved when they were done.

Caleb cried a little more after his shots than Josiah, but that is typical. Plus, he had to get 3 shots, and a toe prick to check his iron levels. They are great-so we can stop giving him the iron drops. And we also found out that he has an ear infection!! I'm so glad we were there to find out! We got him some antibiotics, so hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.

Sorry, no new pictures, but I can leave you with a few old ones. :)

I love these suspenders on Caleb. :) Josiah wore them too-I think last Christmas or so...

A view from the back. :)

Josiah wanted me to take his picture-so he is posing for me. :)

Cheeeeeese!!!

Josiah's Third Birthday

2011-02-19T23:03:00.000-05:00

The Three Buddies- Basil, Oliver, and Josiah
Josiah had a Toy Story 3 party theme-hence the extra eye(s). We were all 3-eyed aliens from the "claw game" (does it have a name?). :)

I think Josiah was pulling one of the alien's eyeballs off in this picture...

Sharing with Aunt Leslie. :)

The ice cream cones were a bigger hit than the 3-eyed alien cake... Surprise, surprise!! :)

Caleb wants some... This might be the only picture of my mom-well her arm and lower half anyway, but she was there! She was taking a lot of these pictures, and she has acquired mad picture-avoidance skills. :) But, we were so glad my mom and sister were able to fly in for Josiah's birthday-he loved every minute of their visit.

One of Josiah's favorite gifts! Pappy and Grandma got Josiah a soccer goal set. It has stayed in our living room since we set it up, and we play everyday! :) (I don't know why it posted this comment like this...Saying that my computer skills are lacking, is an understatement... :()

Josiah's main gift from Nathan and me. A child-sized guitar. He specifically requested a RED guitar when we asked him about it a couple of weeks before his birthday. And he loves it! :) I look forward to watching Nathan teach Josiah how to play over the next few months and years. :)

And last, but certainly not least Sweet Jane-with her third eye. :)

Someday I'll figure out how to get the introduction to the pictures at the top of the post, rather than the bottom...but for now-here is the introduction. :) (remember-computer skills...lacking...) I am tired, and need to go to bed.

Josiah turned three years old last Saturday. I can hardly believe that Josiah is 3, but he is! He is such a blessing, and he brings so much joy to our lives. We thank God for him, and look forward to many, many more years of fun! He asks about a thousand questions a day, and comes up with the craziest ideas sometimes, but there is never a dull moment at our house. Today he asked me if, when he gets bigger, he could please, please, please pump the gas for me. I said sure! :) And then he said, "Like when I'm 4 or 5?" :)
His 3 year well-visit is next week, so I don't know how tall he is or what he weighs, but I'll try to update after I know.

A Fun Day!

2011-02-05T22:54:00.000-05:00

This morning a good friend (not pictured) invited me, the boys, and another friend-Bethan-over for lunch. She made a delicious turkey lasagna, salad, and dessert. It was so much fun, and did I mention, delicious!?! :)

And then when Nathan got off work tonight, we went to Qdoba for dinner and then to the YMCA to play basketball during open gym. The boys love it!

As you can tell, Caleb was really enjoying himself.

I love hanging out with my boys! :)

Short, but sweet

2011-01-31T23:01:00.000-05:00

Hope you enjoy!!

2 Crazy boys!

2011-01-27T23:19:00.001-05:00

I really tried to get some good pictures of the boys throughout the day today-and they proved once again that they are both all boy. Let me prove it to you... In this picture Josiah wanted to hold Caleb's hand.

Obviously Caleb wanted nothing to do with it, but you gotta give it to Josiah for being persistent.

Almost a good one... :)

Quickly turned into a wrestle mania match.

Caleb can't get enough of the camera.

Hugging brothers. I think Caleb cooperated a little better this time. :)

Cutie boy Caleb.

Who knows what he was doing here...besides being Caleb.

A very cute one of Josiah.

And a cute one of Caleb-just have to put the two pictures together... :)

Caleb loves to climb up into Josiah's chair and pretend to be a big boy.

And of course, Josiah couldn't be left out... We were in the middle of getting ready to go to the store-that's why Josiah is ready to go outside. And Caleb was being cute at the table, so I stopped and grabbed the camera. That's why Caleb is not ready. And that's why my house is almost always a wreck-because Caleb is very good at finding things to do (read destroy, dump out, tear down, etc...) when I am occupied with doing other things. :)

Things have been pretty boring around here lately-mostly because Josiah got a minor cold, then Caleb got a major cold, and now I have something-for which I am going to the doctor tomorrow.

We have gotten 15 inches of snow since yesterday morning, so Nathan has been spending a lot of time shoveling. And we have been spending a lot of time inside. We get out some, and we play outside some-but doing both of those things take a lot of work in the winter. :) We love the snow, but we are also looking forward to being able to play outside and walk to the park again. :)

Pictures and an update-long overdue!!

2011-01-06T23:17:00.001-05:00

These boys are becoming best friends! It is such a joy to watch them play together and to see that they both enjoy having a brother. I'm sure this will only increase as they get older.

Being silly...

These next several are from Christmas day. My parents were able to come in on Christmas Eve, and my brother and his girlfriend came in the day after Christmas. We had a time while they were here, and the boys enjoyed having more people to play with and read books to them.

Josiah LOVED Christmas this year! He was so into unwrapping presents and helping everyone else open theirs too! :)

The scene...only a little chaotic. :) But they were loving it!

Uncle Lucas and Aunt Lynsey gave Caleb this car, and he was more than happy to share it with Josiah. :) They love riding in this car-and it will be even more fun when it's warm enough outside to ride around out there. And Josiah got a bike from us, so they will be quite the pair!

Josiah just started swim lessons at the YMCA. As you can imagine-he LOVES them. :) This is him right before he left to go to them... I forgot to get a picture of him in his suit, but you can see his awesome water shoes. :)

And of course, Caleb cannot be left out. Anytime he sees me get the camera out, he instantly starts walking towards me... So that is why you see Josiah in the background. :)

Caleb just turned 14 months old. He is starting to attempt to say more and more words. He loves to wave and say, "Bah" for bye. He says "mah" for more-especially food. And he'll wave his finger and say, "no"-because I always wave my finger and say, "no touch" at things that he is not to touch or get into. :) It's cute.
He will be running here in the next few weeks, he can climb up into full sized chairs by himself, and loves standing on the couch or in a chair and looking out the window at whatever is outside. Our neighbors have a dog that they put on a chain often, so Caleb loves watching the dog and saying, "dah"-are you seeing a pattern with his talking? :) He needs to work on his ending consonants...
I don't think Caleb ever stops moving, playing, and getting into stuff-unless he is sick, then he just wants to be held. He is getting over his second virus so far this winter. He always starts feeling better on the day I finally decided to take him to the Dr. :) It definitely makes us thankful for good health.

Josiah will be 3 in February! I cannot believe he is almost 3, but then some days-it feels like he is 5. :) He pretty much never stops talking-definitely didn't get that from me! We think he is very smart, but of course, we are a little biased. He knows his alphabet, the sounds they make, he can count to 20, knows his colors, and can do the "hot dog" dance with the best of 'em (from Mickey Mouse:)
He wants to know why-about EVERYTHING, and never forgets anything! :) As I mentioned above-he just started swim lessons on Monday night, and we started counting down how many days until his next swim lesson-on Tuesday morning. :)

I could go on and on about my boys, but I'll stop. :) We had a great 2010, and are looking forward to an even better 2011. We have been staying busy with frequent visits to the library, YMCA, and the toy aisles of Toys R Us. :) We like the snow, but are looking forward to warmer days when we can return to our daily walks and trips to the park that we were so used to this summer and fall.

Trinity Church (the reason we moved to Philly-to help start a new church here with some friends from Louisville) has been steadily growing, especially over the past 5 or 6 weeks. We have been meeting on Tuesday nights to share a meal and go over basic doctrines and beliefs of the church. It has been amazing to see God work, and we can't wait to see what the future holds!!

Alright, hopefully that caught us up for the past several weeks/months...and I can't promise to do better about posting in the future-because we all know how that usually pans out. But I will try! :)

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

2010-12-04T21:57:00.000-05:00

We have used Shutterfly for photo prints as well as picture books, and we have always been very pleased with the products. It is a great way to preserve family memories, and the site is so easy to use.
I love getting Christmas cards from all of our family and friends, and cards with pictures are always the best. This year, we are going to order our family Christmas cards from Shutterfly, and for writing this blog post, we will get 50 for free!! :)

I love this photo card because it lets you use so many pictures! You can see it here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

In addition to photo prints and books (and of course Christmas cards) they have a ton of other products that you can order-for yourself or to give as a gift.
I love these calendars: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars
And these thank you notes would be great to send out after Christmas! http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/thank-you-cards

I don't know for sure which card we will use yet, because we haven't even taken a Christmas picture yet... But we'll get there-and hopefully it will be before Christmas! :)

So go to Shutterfly.com and design something great for yourself or someone else this holiday season! And of course, be sure to send me a Christmas card! :)

Happy First Birthday Caleb!!!

2010-11-10T23:27:00.000-05:00

Caleb's First Birthday was November 1st, but we had his party on Saturday (Nov. 6th). We had a great time-here is the proof!

The Party-we had a great time celebrating with family and friends-some old and some new!!

Caleb and Jane-best buddies :)

The cake-Caleb liked it, and Josiah is much more concerned about when he is going to get his piece than what Caleb thinks about it. :) (I don't know why the Mac is not letting me do what I want with the pictures again, and I don't think you will be able to enlarge them either...I'll be sure to use our PC next time...)

Leslie was able to fly in from Des Moines for the weekend to celebrate with us-it was great to have her here!!

Leslie helping Josiah-who is helping Caleb open his presents. :)

The train cake-Leslie helped with this a lot!! Thanks Leslie :)

Oma and Opa came too-we enjoyed their visit and were such a big help as always!

He doesn't have his 1 year Dr. appointment until Friday-so I'll try to update his height and weight then. He is walking all over the place, and is a champion climber-trying to keep up with Josiah! He jabbers a lot, but doesn't really say any words-which is completely opposite from Josiah at the same age (but we're not comparing them!:). And he LOVES to eat-that boy can eat more than Josiah-it's amazing to watch really. He is such a joy and we love him so much!!

Trick or Treat

2010-10-28T22:12:00.000-04:00

Here are the two cutest Trick-or-Treaters out there... :)

In Josiah's words, he is a "cute little puppy dog" :)

And this is what I found when I got out of the van tonight...he had taken the pack of crackers from the front of the van before I put him in his seat-and I didn't think he would be able to get it open... :) I guess he's not allergic to peanut butter!

Sharing...yeah right!!

And then of course Josiah wanted me to take a picture of him with a cracker too... :) The pumpkin painted on his face is from a costume party thing we went to this evening-as you can imagine, it was fun!

Family Pictures from June

2010-10-07T16:07:00.001-04:00

The talented Brandon and Bethan Rogers took pictures of our family in June. Leslie thought up and organized this event. She wanted us to have some pictures of our family in Louisville, and we are so thankful for the resulting memories! :) (I'm not sure what I did right this time, but if you click on them, they will enlarge-so you can see them clearly.)

In current news, we are doing great! We are feeling more and more settled here in our new home. The weather has been fantastic, and both boys are at such fun ages.
Caleb is walking!! He still falls down a lot, but he can take 15 or 20 steps at a time-so I think that qualifies... I will try to get Nathan to post a video soon-either to this blog or onto Facebook. We can't believe he will be one year old on November 1st-he is such a joy, and he definitely keeps us on our toes. His new favorite thing is to open the door/drawer/cupboard and empty out the contents inside. I think safety locks might be in our near future...
Josiah has discovered the question, "Why?" and he's not afraid to use it... It's great, and exhausting! :) He is loving the "Halloween/harvest" season-just like his dad. :) We picked pumpkins last weekend, and was so excited to help his dad carve them. I will post pictures of the results soon-they turned out great (that's why his dad carved them, and not me:)!! He asks us almost everyday if he can go Trick-or-treating today-and we keep trying to explain it's not for a few more weeks. He still has a hard time understanding future events-beyond later today or tomorrow. And when you ask him what he is going to be for Halloween-he will tell you, "A cute little puppy dog". So that is what he is going to be. :) I have no idea where he came up with that-but we found a puppy dog costume at Old Navy (on sale) and so we just had to get it! And of course it's cute...
I think that's all for now-both my boys should be waking up any minute from their naps-so I better go.

Freddy Hill Farms

2010-09-17T16:21:00.000-04:00

Today we went to Freddy Hill Farms. It is about 25 minutes away, and a guy Nathan works with recommended it. They have 2 putt-putt golf courses, a "petting zoo"-even though you couldn't actually touch the animals, and they have cows-that are milked twice a day. They sell the milk in the store, and they use the cream to make their own ice cream! The chocolate milk gets a thumbs up from Josiah and me. :) The weather was perfect, Josiah loved it, and we had fun too. :) Here are a few pictures from the day.

Not a great picture, but I was taking it while holding him...:)

Nathan showing Josiah how it's done.

I think Josiah forgot the pointers he was given...

Waiting so patiently for his turn!

Caleb checking out the course-I think he approves.

Josiah is 2 1/2 years old and Caleb is 9 (1/2) months old :)

2010-08-20T21:07:00.000-04:00

Obviously this post is a little bit late. Caleb was 9 months old on the 1st and Josiah was 2 1/2 on the 12th. But, as usual-better late than never!

I don't know why this is the only picture that is putting my comment in the middle, but anyway...I love that boy and his adorable smile! :) He just got one of his top teeth, but you can't see it yet.

The boys had so much fun playing in this box. Who would have known... :) I love that Caleb has his hand on Josiah's back (and that Josiah isn't freaking out about that!:) Sometimes they play great together, but lately Josiah has not liked Caleb in his "personal space" most of the time...

Josiah being Josiah. :)

This picture should have been a little farther back...but it shows that Caleb is quickly gaining on Josiah in height. You can also almost see Josiah's new haircut... I decided to use Nathan's clippers and just clip the whole thing short. :) He loves it, and it looks really cute. Caleb needs a haircut...

I walked into the kitchen to get something, and when I came back this is what he looked like. I have no idea how he got his arm out of his shirt, but he was pretty happy about it. Like I said before, Caleb is a maniac.

We are doing great here in Philly. I can't believe it's already been 6 weeks! We are starting to feel mostly settled, and are excited that the Rogers are here, and the Chripczuks are moving up here this weekend!!
I will try to post Home Tour Part 2 soon, but as ALWAYS, I'm not promising anything... :)

Home Tour Part 1

2010-07-24T21:12:00.004-04:00

I am finally getting around to loading some pictures onto the computer. :) I haven't taken very many, because for awhile I didn't know where the camera was, and then once I got it out I discovered the memory card in it was full, so then I had to find a new one that had space on it. Anyway-here is a short tour of our new house in Philadelphia. I will have to post more soon because we haven't finished hanging stuff in Caleb's room or in our room...

This is the view when you walk into our front door. Caleb standing as always (he's a maniac:), the living room, and the dining room directly behind the living room-yes that is carpet in the DINING ROOM!!! Who thought that was a good idea!?!?!? We are waiting on an area rug for that space-to help cover the terrible green carpet. :) And the kitchen is around the corner to the right at the back of the dining room.

Ok-first you all have to pretend that our living room is spotlessly clean, and that it is always that way... :) I took this picture a few days ago (the reason it's messy and not cleaned up for the house tour:)-mostly because of Josiah-he decided that he wanted to wear Nathan's socks on his feet. They go almost to his knees, and this is Josiah's "cheese" face... :)
But anyway, this is the view from the dining room.

The maniac again.

This is the view from the couch. That door on the left side of the picture goes down to the basement-which is creepy, damp, and full of yucky spiders (and that's after I spent 5 hours vacuuming all the rafters one night)...needless to say-the only things down there are the washer and dryer, and Nathan's drumset. :) But, back to this picture. Down the hallway-on the right is Josiah's room, in the middle is the very small bathroom (and therefore not deserving of any space on this blog post:), and on the left is Caleb's room. Then across the hall from the bathroom is the door to the steps leading up to our bedroom. That doesn't make sense-but the stairs are pretty much on the other side of that wall with the pictures on it...

The very small kitchen. :) And once again-please pretend the kitchen is spotless and always stays that way! Josiah asked me to take more pictures of him, so that's why he's cheesin' again. :) Gotta love his smile! :)

Caleb showing off his standing skills once again. In the background you can see the giant step that leads out to our deck and backyard. They added the deck on after the house was built (in the 60s? I think?) so that's why it's up higher than the floor. The deck is a decent size, good for grilling and swimming in our baby pool. And the backyard is a pretty good size too. Underneath the deck is a garage. It is only one stall, and it is very small, but is good for storing stuff for now and will probably come in handy this winter once the snow starts.

This is the view from Josiah's bedroom door. His room is quite large, so we were able to put most of the toys in there-which is great, because now they are not in the living room! :) (I know that the curtains are hung upside down...that keeps more light out-those are all we had from our last place and we are trying to avoid buying more curtains right now:)

And this is the view from the "toy corner". Yes, Josiah still sleeps in a crib... :) This is where we read books-sometimes throughout the day, but mostly before bed at night.

And there you have it. Like I said, I will try to post pictures of Caleb's room and our room-if we ever "finish" them that is... Caleb's room is pretty small-just enough room for his crib, dresser, and rocker. And our room is huge-almost the size of the first floor of the house-so the computer, all of our bookshelves, and Nathan's guitar stuff is up there. There is also a small attic space up there-that is where we are storing all of our stuff since the basement is out of the question. :)

Playing at the park

2010-06-11T22:25:00.004-04:00

We are in Canton, OH visiting Nathan's family. Today we took the boys to the park and they had a great time. Melissa (my mother-in-law) took these pictures with her camera, and she is much better about uploading pictures to her computer than I am-so I'm using her computer to upload some of the pictures to my blog! Thanks Melissa!! :)

He loves the baby swings! :)

Josiah enjoyed most of the slides there...although he gets a little freaked out on the big slides, when he feels like he isn't in control of how fast he is going...

Nathan and Josiah had a great time with this game for a long time! Nathan would throw the blue bouncy ball at just the right time so it would hit Josiah's legs or the front of his swing and go flying. He loved it!

Pappy and Caleb. :)

Grandma and Josiah and Caleb. :) I kept trying to get Josiah to look at the camera (that Pappy was holding) and he kept saying "over there", so I kept saying "no over here" and he just kept repeating it. I think he was pointing at some kids playing or a dog or something, but he never did look at the camera... :)

7 Months Old

2010-06-01T22:28:00.002-04:00

Caleb is 7 months old today! I don't know how much he weighs, but he is 28 inches long!!

His bottom right front tooth broke through the gums on Friday. Bye, bye toothless grin... :) He is sitting up by himself for short periods, but still does best with the boppy pillow around him. He is rolling all over the place, and starting to get into everything that he can reach. It won't be long until we are really in trouble! :)

Caleb has added bananas, avocado, and squash to his food list. The only thing he wasn't thrilled about was the avocado-but I think it was because it was a little chunky-next time I'll have to put it into the blender instead of just smashing it with a spoon.

And the best news is that he is finally sleeping through the night!!! He goes to bed for the night between 8 and 9 and wakes up between 7 and 8! :) We have been waiting a long time for this, and are very thankful it has finally arrived. I feel like a new person, finally getting more than 4 or 5 hours of consecutive sleep. :)

Here are some recent pictures for your enjoyment!

He is about to outgrow his bouncy seat...:) He has the fluffiest hair-and it refuses to do anything but stick straight up!

Cute boy! :) His nose is getting an orange tint to it from too many sweet potatoes and squash...we'll be able to change it up a little more once he can eat a larger variety of foods...

Big boy Josiah eating a snack. This is the face he is making in almost all of his pictures recently-because he says "cheese" and that's what comes out-he doesn't really smile. :)

This food rocks mom!! And the mustache isn't too bad either.

Looking pretty cool-with Papa's hat and watch on. He wants to be just like his Papa-it is too cute!!

Was going to be called "Johnny Jumper" :)

2010-05-23T15:38:00.007-04:00

Just to show everyone (all three of you that read this blog...) that I can post more than one blog post a month-I tried to post a video for over 30 minutes last week. But I could not get the video to load for some reason...so I never posted it. Sorry folks-I will try to get Nathan to look at the video and see if he can get it to load soon-but no promises about how soon. :)

That's why the post is dated May 23rd-because that's when I tried to post it originally...

"Here is the video I promised a few weeks ago... :) Well, it's actually not the same video that I had referred to-I took a new, shorter video just now so that it would take less time to upload and you can see exactly what he looks like today. (If you can see anything amidst the jumping!)

Caleb is now also eating sweet potatoes, green beans, pears, and carrots-and loving all of them!"

6 Months Old

2010-05-11T16:37:00.006-04:00

Caleb turned 6 months old on May 1st. But we were in Michigan at my parents house-we were able to attend my Mom's graduation from grad. school!! :) So, that's my excuse this month for why I haven't posted sooner...:) I would have to run upstairs to find the paper with Caleb's exact numbers on it-but I think he weighed 16 lbs. 11 oz-40th percentile and I can't remember how long he was-but it was 75th percentile. :)

I will just post a few pictures, because Josiah just woke up and is talking in his bed and Caleb has lost all interest in his Johnny Jumper thingy. (I will post a cute video of him jumping soon-it's cute-he just figured out how to make it bounce. :)

Despite how the picture might look-he loves rice cereal! And just Saturday, we started sweet potatoes, which he also loves.

We went to "Dutch Village" while in MI. It is in Holland MI (about 40 min. from our house in Grand Rapids) and Josiah loved it! Here he is walking a llama while Aunt Leslie and Uncle Joe look on. :) (and my dad is behind Joe, but you can't really see him...and I'm on the left side-talking to a girl that worked there who was very excited to talk about the chicken she was holding and how it lays blue and green eggs-we saw them-they were indeed blue and green...)

April

2010-04-17T22:30:00.004-04:00

So my running pattern of one blog post per month is pretty sad...and I really would like to do better-but I'm not making any promises that I probably can't keep. :) But anyway, here are a few pictures from my mom's camera. I finally downloaded (or is it uploaded?) all 634 pictures from her camera onto the Mac-so I figured I could post at least a few of those! I have a few more recent pictures on our camera-but they aren't on the computer yet-so I'll save those for later (most likely May...:)

Easter toys from my Grandmother (their "GiGi") It is a bendy bunny rabbit-brought back memories of a Gumby that we had just like this when we were kids. Josiah sleeps with his and Caleb's in his bed every night...He likes them-and it's a good thing that Caleb is too young to know... (You'll notice the 28 stickers on his shirt...evidence that potty training is going very well!:)

Caleb got to taste his bunny rabbit for a few minutes before Josiah claimed it...

Easter egg hunt at our church after the service. Josiah loved it! I think he found about 50 eggs. :) I am sad that we didn't get Caleb in this picture-but I think my mom had him inside-because he was tired and it was very hot outside-and we didn't want him to get a sunburn on his baby skin. :)

Josiah lovin' this cupcake. It takes a lot of work to eat something that is almost the size of your head! :)

Just a cute picture of Caleb. He is looking different every day! His hair is finally starting to grow back in-much lighter than when he was born. His eyes are still a bright blue and his dimples are just as cute as ever. :) He is a happy baby, cooing and talking and squealing all day long. He is a drooling maching-I'm guessing teeth are working their way up through the gums-but nothing is poking through yet. He is rolling from his back to his front, and has even figured out how to do it while sleeping, with a swaddle blanket on! I have no idea how he does it, but he does-and then wakes up and cries because he hates being on his stomach! :) He is finally sleeping much, much better at night. Usually at least 6 hours, but often 7 or 8!! I'm slowly starting to feel normal again. :)

Josiah is talking up a storm-all day every day! Still not full sentences, but he is getting very close. His memory is amazing-and exhausting! :) He won't let you get away with anything-if you tell him something he will hold you to it. He loves to be outside, and loves to play with friends. He has fantastic manners, including telling others (especially mama and papa) when they need to say thank you, you're welcome, and sorry. :)

I think that's about it for now-if you all are lucky-you might get another update in a couple of weeks after Caleb's 6 month appointment! I can't believe my baby is almost 6 months old!!

Josiah is 2, Caleb is 4 months, and just a few pictures!!

2010-03-12T21:35:00.003-05:00

So, I'm way overdue for Josiah's 2 year old post, Caleb's 4 month old post, and just posting recent pictures in general...

I don't have the pictures from Josiah's party on the computer yet, so I'll have to do another post on his party soon. But, I can post his statistics, and what he is up to these days. :)

Weight-28lbs. 13 oz.-- which is the 50th percentile
Height-34 inches-- which is exactly between the 25th and 50th percentiles
This is a huge improvement-since he was in the 5th percentile for the first 6 months of his life!!
Josiah LOVES basketball!! Nathan has taken him to the Seminary gym a few times, and he has a blast!!

Josiah is a very smart boy! (In my un-biased opinion of course!:) So, I have to brag on him for a little bit. The pediatrician said Josiah was smart too! :) He passed all of the developmental tests for a 2 and a half year old, except for 2 of them. I would guess that the number of words he knows is over 100, maybe way higher than that... He knows most of his colors, most of his shapes, and can count to 4 (it was 1,2, 5 for a long time, but he has figured it out and dropped 5 for some reason. :) He is also starting to connect words together-usually just 2 or 3 at a time, but we think he is on the verge of a huge developmental breakthrough. He is connecting actions with emotions-which I think is very insightful. He knows that when he disobeys that it makes us sad, and that when he obeys we are happy! :) He also understands that it makes someone sad when he is unkind (like when he throws his stuffed animals on the ground-they are sad...:).

Josiah is also potty training right now. He is doing great! He has had a few accidents, but for the most part has stayed dry. I am ready to have just one child in diapers again! :)

Sorry the picture is sideways, I turned it after I uploaded it-but it didn't stay for some reason... But this is Josiah potty training. :) He has "big boy underwear" on but you can't see it. You can see the potty chair in the background and you can see the stack of clean underwear on the bench next to him. We were ready! :) And he was excited because he got to pick out the underwear-he picked a "Cars" (the movie) pack and a Sesame Street. :) The other motivator for going on the potty is that he gets to pick out a few stickers after everytime he goes-seems to be working so far...

Now I'll brag on Caleb for a little while. :)
Weight- 14 lbs. 13 oz.-- which is the 50th percentile
Height- 26 inches-- which is the 90th percentile

That's one LONG boy! :)

Caleb has been rolling from his front to his back since the day after he turned 4 months old, and he rolled from his back to his front on Wednesday. That is the only time he has gotten all the way on to his belly, but he has gotten very close several other times.

Just hanging out on his playmat.

Caleb is a very smiley baby! He is usually in a good mood, and loves to "talk", coo, and blow raspberries. It is very easy to get a reaction out of him, and he will laugh if you try hard enough. :)

I told you he was a smiley baby!! :) He was sitting in his bumbo seat-he is starting to sit up pretty well-not on his own, but with support.

He is finally starting to sleep much better at night. He usually sleeps from about 8:30 or 9 until about 3:30 or 4, wakes to eat, and then sleeps until somewhere between 7 and 8:30. I really can't complain about that! Of course, I am looking forward to the day that he drops that early morning feeding, but it will come in due time... :)

We are so thankful for these precious boys! They are such a joy in our lives and we are blessed to be their parents!

Caleb is Three Months Old, and a few pictures...

2010-02-04T22:10:00.004-05:00

Caleb was three months old on February 1st. And in typical mom-of-two style we are a few days late with the post... :) My go to phrase these days is "better late than never-right?" :) So, without further ado, here's "the post".

Of course I have no statistics to report-because we don't have a Dr. appointment this month, and I have not gotten around to weighing him or measuring his length yet-but I will get to it-hopefully before the week is out, and will do my best to update this post at that time... :)

One new development is that on Tuesday, Caleb rolled from his stomach to his back!! :) I was pretty surprised. Mostly because he doesn't spend much time on his belly (I know that he is supposed to-but with a (nearly) two-year-old running around and throwing full-sized basketballs around the living room-it just isn't the safest environment for lots of tummy time). But anyway, he has been doing it often, and we are excited!
He is also smiling and cooing a lot. It is so fun to get a big toothless smile out of him!

But, what you all are here for really are the pictures anyway-so here they are!!

Josiah coloring...still working on learning that markers are just for paper.

Josiah nursing his dinosaur. He actually lifted up his shirt, but you can't really tell. :)

Sweet Caleb-his eyelashes just keep getting longer!

Caleb fell asleep in the (pink:) boppy in the basement. And slept there for like 2 hours! Angel-baby...

Caleb's three-month picture. I can't believe how old he looks!

Starting the roll-over. And an adorable look on his face! :)

Roll-part 2.

Roll-part 3. And he's starting to cry-because he was not happy on his belly.

Like I said-angel baby. :)

Finally!!

2010-01-13T14:19:00.006-05:00

Don't worry-we are all still alive! :) I just don't have as much free time as I used to... But here are some pictures of the boys.
This boy has some hair! :) I was showing off his curl after his bath.

I don't remember why I took this picture...but he's a cutie!

Opening presents-I think he got as many as everyone else combined! :) He got a lot of books, some clothes, and a few toys... (Have I mentioned before that he LOVES books?)

Caleb is trying to maintain his composure-he was ecstatic about presents...

Josiah is "helping" us make divinity-a candy we make every Christmas. I think he liked it.

Josiah is helping me break in my new boots...and he is holding his new favorite friend-Pooh Bear (although when he says it, it sounds a lot like poo poo...)

Josiah wants to be just like Pappy!

This one is for my brother, Adam. (He went to Calvin College) The funny thing about this is that this suit isn't from my brother. :) When I taught preschool, one of the families graciously gave us a lot of their son's clothing and shoes that he had outgrown (since we had found out we were having a boy when he was in my class). We were looking through the clothes and I found this. The dad went to Calvin-like 20 years ago!! So, I said-I had to take this one. :)

He's not upset about wearing all of those layers-really-he was just mad that I made him stand still for a picture. :)

Happy to be out in the snow! He loved playing in the snow-even though he could hardly move. :)

I helped him make his first snow angel. :) I don't think he really got it...

And of course, when you come in from playing outside, you MUST have hot chocolate with whipped topping!! Don't worry-I drank 90% of this. :) But he did scoop off most of the whipped topping for himself.

No matter where I put this pumpkin costume, Josiah always seems to find it...:) He wore it in the fall of 2008 for Halloween-when he was 8 months old...he loves it...and the hat fit his head a little better back then. :)

Ladies, don't get too jealous of those eyelashes!! :) They really are that long and curly.

Sweet little Caleb sleeping-all snuggled up in his swaddle blanket. :) And don't be disturbed-the red mark by his ear is because he spit his paci out after he fell asleep and it fell down next to his face (he sleeps propped on his side)-so it's just a mark from the paci pushing on his face for an hour and a half...:)

6 weeks and 22 months:)

2009-12-12T13:59:00.003-05:00

This sweet boy will be 6 weeks old tomorrow! He weighed 10 lbs. 11 oz. on Wednesday (he was 7 lbs. 12 oz. when he was born)-so he has gained almost 3 lbs. since he was born!!

And this sweet boy is 22 months old today! I don't know how much he weighs-but it's a lot. :)

Things are going great in the Knisely home! Nathan is done with classes for the semester-which is great for all of us! :) The boys are good. Caleb is starting to sleep a little bit longer at night, and hopefully that will continue to lengthen. And Josiah has decided he wants to potty train himself... :) We were at a friend's house yesterday-and Josiah decided that he wanted to use their potty chair-twice! :) And then he used his potty chair once last night and twice so far today. :) He might be getting big boy underwear for Christmas!!

Caleb is One Month Old!

2009-12-02T13:41:00.004-05:00

Caleb had his one month pediatrician visit today. And he's doing great!!!

Weight- 9 lbs. 11 oz. - 50th percentile
Height- 22 inches - 75th percentile!!!! (I think Josiah was in the 5th percentile for both of these statistics...)
Head-38cm - 50th percentile

Everything else looks good as well. He got one shot, and cried for a few seconds, but then was fine. :)

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks-I will try to do better about posting pictures from now on...but things have been a little crazy lately. :)

On our way home from the hospital.

Josiah meets Caleb for the first time. He was not allowed to come to the hospital at all. The Hospital has a new rule this winter that no one under 18 was allowed on the floor at all-not even siblings-because of the H1N1 flu.

Caleb and Grandma.

Caleb and Pappy.

Josiah was sharing his toys with the baby... :)

Just being cute. :)

Josiah's latest obsession is water. He will stay at the sink (usually standing on a chair in front of the sink, not actually in the sink...) and play for 20-30 minutes at a time. I hope our water bill is not too high because of this. :)

Caleb's first tub bath-he cried some, but seemed to like it for the most part.

Caleb and Opa. Caleb is modeling the santa suit that my Aunt Anita gave him. He's ready for Christmas!!

Josiah is "helping" Oma make biscuits.

Baby Caleb!!!

2009-11-02T23:28:00.005-05:00

Caleb Timothy Knisely
Sunday, November 1st, 2009
10:00 am
7 lbs. 12 oz.
20 1/2 in. long
We are praising God for a safe delivery,
and healthy baby boy!!
We can't wait for his big brother to meet him-tomorrow
Josiah is gonna love you so much!!
We love you son!

Thanks so much to our good friend Brandon Rogers (bbrogers.com is his photography site) for taking these pictures-they are amazing!! :)

Cowboy Josiah

2009-10-21T20:35:00.003-04:00

We took Josiah to the zoo on Sunday-he was the cutest cowboy there. They do a Halloween thing every year, and we wanted to go early in the month seeing as I'm due the week after Halloween. We didn't get any pictures at the zoo-because it was crazy busy and we were kind of hurrying through so we could get Josiah home at a decent hour. But here are the pics from home before we left. :)

Quick post with pictures:)

2009-10-08T14:09:00.003-04:00

Loving his puffs. :)

Rockin' the Brown's Jacket!

Enjoying some Nutella and peanut butter toast for breakfast. :) What can I say-chocolate is good!

Mowing the grass. This is one of his new favorite pasttimes-we found this lawnmower set out at the end of someone's driveway when we were taking a walk one night-to be picked up by the trash-but it's in great shape-so we adopted it! :)

Isn't he adorable in Papa's hat!?!?! :) Thankfully it's still (a little) too big...

Part 3 because I'm too lazy to upload new pictures:)

2009-09-12T15:20:00.003-04:00

Just chillin...
Got some leaves :)
Umm-a little help here?!?!
Is this supposed to be fun?
Can't this thing go any faster???

Pictures Part 2

2009-09-02T21:01:00.004-04:00

The second installment of pictures for your viewing pleasure! :)

If only Josiah were smiling...

I am not sure what we were being so serious about here. :)

Running away...again.

Family Pictures

2009-09-01T15:33:00.005-04:00

Nathan is laughing because Josiah wouldn't walk across this bench-I guess because it was too narrow-so he crawled the whole way across... :)
Two best lookin' guys I know! :)

He looks very mischievous here. :)
He would walk along the bench if Nathan was holding his hand. :) And was quite happy to do so.

Here are just a few of the many pictures we had taken 2 weeks ago. Brandon and Bethan Rogers (bbrogers.com) took them for us at a nearby park. I will post some more when I get another chance-but right now-Josiah is very much done with snack and does not want to sit in his highchair any longer...:)

You can get just a little bit of an idea of how big my belly is...I was just over 28 weeks when they were taken. :) I might think about posting a better picture of how big my belly is sometime soon-but that means I would have to take one first...

We got a (second) crib and a double stroller at a big consignment sale on Sunday, so I decided we are "officially" ready for the baby-although another 8 or 9 weeks would be preferable! :)

Just a Boy and his Backpack :)

2009-08-16T13:41:00.003-04:00

(and his toothbrush)

18 months old!!!

2009-08-12T21:44:00.007-04:00

I can't believe it's here! Josiah's ped. appt. was today too-and it went well. He only got 1 shot, which wasn't too bad. He passed all of the developmental checks with flying colors! And his new word for the day was "doctor". Of course it doesn't come out exactly correct-but it sounds close enough to know what he is saying. :) Also on Monday he decided to say "mailman", once again-not as clearly as you or I would say it-but you know what he is trying to say.

Josiah is slowly inching up on the growth chart for his height-and we are thankful for that! He is 31 1/2 inches tall-which is at the 25th percentile.

Josiah is also quickly gaining (sorry for the puns...:) on the growth chart for his weight. He was 25.5 lbs. which is just under the 50th percentile. And since that is so much higher than his height percentile the Dr. told us to cut back on his cheese intake...:) lol-but of course he does eat a lot of cheese-so I couldn't argue, and we will do our best to cut back on it. :)

Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure!

This little pumpkin (the one in Josiah's hand-not Josiah:) grew in our garden this summer. We planted carrots, green beans, grape tomatoes and regular sized tomatoes, red peppers, and cucumbers. Notice I did not mention that we planted pumpkins-because we didn't... The cucumber plants have produced so far: 2 small pumpkins like the one Josiah is holding, 4 cucumbers, and 3 bowling ball sized regular pumpkins... I have no idea how that happened-I'm assuming that the seeds got mixed in together into the cucumber pouch.

Josiah's 18 months old "comparison picture". Notice those adorable dimples! :) Nathan and I do not have dimples, but his Aunt Leslie and his Oma have dimples, so he must have gotten them from them.
Here is Josiah's 2 month old comparison picture-so compare away!! :) I can't believe how big he has gotten!

And I just loved this picture. This is what he did when I said, "Smile so I can take your picture!" Love it...

Reading books and Boots!

2009-08-10T20:22:00.003-04:00

Just a few cute pictures from around the house today. :) I know-everyone is in shock to have another blog post to read already!! Don't get used to it...
We go to the library almost every Monday-to get new books. Josiah loves to read-and we read through his books probably two or three times a day. :) So, we are ready for new books every week! Here he is sitting on his little stool/seat that Uncle Lucas and Aunt Lynsey got for him. This is his new place to sit-to put his shoes and socks on, to read a book, and anything else he can do while sitting down. :)

Examining what the children are doing on this page. He is all about copying right now-what you say and what you do. Which can be so cute, or can be a little embarrassing when out in public and he decides to laugh like the lady cutting his hair, or cough like the man at the grocery store, or pretend cry like the little kid having a fit at the library...:)

We were playing in Josiah's room today, and I was putting away his clean clothes-and he found his hand-me-down winter boots in the closet. So, of course-he wanted to wear them...They are a little big still, but that didn't matter. :)

A better look at the boots. :) Don't you just think this is the cutest little boy ever?!?! I can only say that for a few more months...so I'll get it out while I can. :)

We're Back!!! :)

2009-08-05T14:51:00.010-04:00

I know, I know, it's been FOREVER!!! My only excuse is that our laptop is still out of commission...but I am giving in and downloading pictures onto our desktop. I do what I can to appease the need to see Josiah!! :)

I don't have a ton of time-since Josiah will probably be waking up from his nap in the next little bit, but I'll see what I can do! All but the last picture are from our vacation in July. We went to Kure Beach, North Carolina. As you will see-Josiah had a blast at the beach!

He LOVED the sand...and that is an understatement. He was always covered in sand, and even ate it if it just happened to be coating his pretzel because he dropped it...

Just chillin in the hole that Nathan dug in the sand.

"Behold! The ocean!"

Apparently the alligator didn't taste as good as he was anticipating. (Maybe because it was covered in sand...)

There was a really neat aquarium nearby-that we went to one morning. That is a blowfish, and yes, it was as big as it looks! Josiah was very fascinated by all of the creatures at the aquarium. All but the "scary" scuba man that came up to the glass and tried to say hi... he cried and ran away from that...:)

Checking out the fish with Papa.

Posing on a giant frog on the way out of the aquarium. I think his face is so cute in this one. :)

Down by the boardwalk, there was an outdoor arcade of sorts. Of course Josiah wanted to drive-he is obsessed with driving. Every time we put him in the back seat-to get in his carseat to go somewhere-he does his best to climb into the front seat before we can stop him. If he makes he, he proceeds to "drive" the car-for as long as you will let him, or until you physically pick him up and put him in his carseat-while he throws a temper tantrum... Ah the joys of a toddler! :)

Also at the boardwalk there was a carnival. I don't know if it's always there-or was just stopping through that area while we were there-but Josiah was so interested in the carousel that we decided to let him ride. I wasn't sure how he would react, but just like pretty much everything-he loved it. :) If you can't tell, it was really hot outside, and his hair is plastered to his head with sweat-which of course never bothers him in the least. :)

This picture is classic! Josiah wanted to wear one of Nathan's shirts-which dragged on the floor. And he is holding Nathan's phone-only because it has an "app." or whatever it is called on it-that scrolls through pictures of animals, says the name, and the sound it makes. He thinks it's great-plus it allows him to hold the sacred cell phone-with which he is obsessed.

Well, Josiah just woke up-so I gotta go! :) Hope that was enough to get you all through the week! :)

Boring post with no pictures...

2009-06-09T13:51:00.003-04:00

I had been doing so well on posting updates and pictures. That was until our laptop spontaneously decided to stop working... So, until we get it looked at, and hopefully fixed-I will probably not post any new pictures. I don't really want to load any pics off of our camera onto our desktop computer-since then they wouldn't be in my wonderful organization system on the laptop, and could possibly get missed or forgotten when I (optimistically speaking) go to order prints of my pictures.

Just wanted to let everyone know-because I know you all are sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to see what Josiah will get into next. :)

He has started calling Nathan "Papa"-we have no idea why or where this came from-but it is adorably cute, and there is no telling him "no, it's Dada". Because he would keep doing it anyway-and plus it's cute-so why correct him? :) I think that's all for now.

Oh yeah-he has his first pseudo-black eye... It's not very bad, and it's not very black, but there is a tiny little cut and it is swollen just a little bit. He was playing (roughly as always) and fell and hit his eye on a plastic container. He only cried for about 20 seconds, and I didn't see any mark or blood so I didn't think he had gotten hurt. But a little later, I saw the cut and the swelling. But it didn't seem to be bothering him at all-so we just left it alone. :) What can I say-he's a boy and he's tough! :) I tried to take a picture of it-but you can't see it very well, and of course I can't post it for the reasons given above...

Just some more pictures. :)

2009-05-26T16:36:00.005-04:00

Can you tell my new picture organization system is working!?!? :) I am so happy about it! I still have to catch up on printing any of these pictures-since about....October-but at least they are stored on the computer and not just on the camera's memory card.

Things are going well for us lately. Nathan is back home (from an 8 day trip to Tacoma Washington for a Church Planter's training of sorts) and we are so glad! We enjoyed a relaxing day yesterday-as he had the day off. We did some much needed yardwork and cleaned up the house a little bit.

Our ultrasound appointment is scheduled for 4 weeks from today. This is when Nathan and I (and everyone else shortly after us) will be finding out if baby #2 is a boy or a girl! We are very excited, and of course the OCD-planner in me can't wait! :) I have still been having headaches...and am sad to share that the medicine I got from the Dr. last week is not helping. I think most of it can be contributed to the allergy weather we "enjoy" most of the year in Louisville-but is especially terrible in the late Spring. I am going to try to call back this week and see if she can give me something else to try. :)

So here are some recent pictures of the handsome boy!

Just playing in the kitchen. The rubber protectant cover on my cell phone kind of fell apart, so Josiah adopted it after Nathan got me a new one. :) For some reason he loves it. And of course, what isn't fun about a funnel?

My wonderful anniversary present from Nathan (a few days early:)! If you can't tell it's an ottoman/storage unit, and it is taking the place of our coffee table in the living room. I like it because it's a little smaller and much more child-friendly.
Josiah has also adopted it as his own-what's new? His basket of books fits in there perfectly and some blankets are in there too. So he helped himself to climbing inside, sitting on the blankets, and reading a book to himself. :) He loves this book because there is a dog on almost every page. :)

A close up of one of Josiah's new favorite spots.

Enjoying part of a chocolate cupcake that the neighbor girls brought over for us today! :) He loved it-if you can't tell...

The Little Man

2009-05-21T13:52:00.001-04:00

This is one of Josiah's favorite things to do now. Sit in the rocker or on the couch by himself. :) He usually asks for a book to read while he is sitting there.

Once again-spaghetti is good, and eating is always fun!

This is another of Josiah's favorite things-torturing Chewie. He will chase Chewie with something-his blankets, Chewie's bed, anything really-and then let him get it and try to take it away from him. Chewie likes it too-most of the time. :)

Again, sitting on the couch by himself. Just being cute! :)

Dr. Appointment Update

2009-05-18T20:42:00.003-04:00

I had an OB appointment today-so I thought I would share how it went. :) There isn't a lot to report-which is a good thing, but anyway-here we go.

I am 15 weeks and 3 days. I have gained just under a pound since my last appointment (4 weeks ago)-which is exactly what they want you to gain-a pound a month until 20 weeks...
My blood pressure was 120/60-which is good. And the baby's heartbeat was good too.

I asked her about something for my headaches and she gave me a prescription for Fioricet. Which I am very glad about. :) I waited to take it until tonight since one of the possible side effects was tiredness-and I wanted to be sure to be able to keep up with Josiah until he went to bed. But it seems to be working already-and I'm very thankful for that.

That is all the news to report. Oh yeah-we get to have our ultrasound next time we go to the Dr.! :) I have to wait almost 5 weeks-since the Dr. wants me to be 20 weeks, I guess it is supposed to be more accurate for measurements and stuff... Anyway-I'm still very excited-because we are going to find out the sex of baby #2!!

Well, I know all that info. was a little boring (except for my mom and probably my m-i-l too! :) And of course, for some reason my pictures will not load...so it's gonna have to end as a boring post... Hopefully it will work tomorrow.

Josiah's newest thing is that he has learned to shake his head "no". It's so cute! :) He still doesn't say the actual word-but we aren't pushing for that at all-so no problem. :)

15 Months Old!

2009-05-12T20:23:00.003-04:00

Josiah is 15 months old today. So, that also means that Josiah got to go to the Pediatrician today!

Here are his stats:
Height-30 inches/15th percentile
Weight-23.3 lbs./ 25th percentile :) (Did I mention this boy loves to eat?)
Head circumference-48 cm/ 75th percentile!! (Thanks Knisely genes!!)

He is doing great developmentally, he is right where he should be. And he only screamed for about 15 seconds after his two shots. :(

Then we had a great rest of the day. We went to the park and took a walk to see the ducks and then played on the playground. And after his 3 hour and 10 minute nap (woohoo!!)-which I woke him up from so he would go back to sleep tonight, he went swimming with the neighbor girls in our little pool.

Here are a few pictures from the past few days. :)

Sweet boy! :) He is learning to eat with a spoon-hence the yogurt all over his face. :)

Chunky boy! :) I didn't know if I would ever be able to use that adjective to describe him. :) He is just sayin' hey (Kentucky style!)

Josiah loves Chewie's dog bed almost as much as Chewie does...he often lays in it or sits in it-to relax...?

He loved the water coming out of the spigot (is that a real word, and is that how you spell it?) It was running all over him, and splashing in his face-and it was about 40 degree water! He Loved it! I know the red sandals are so dorky! :) But I don't want his other sandals to get wet-so this is it... And plus his cuteness makes up for it-right?!?!

And of course, since he is a boy, he found some dirt to play in before coming inside! So, we got to go directly to the bathtub. :) He had a blast! Gotta love that face! :)

Pictures!

2009-05-05T14:33:00.008-04:00

So I FINALLY uploaded and organized the last 6 months worth of pictures! :) And am now stocked and ready to give an update in pictures!

March Pictures:
Josiah loves to climb...and he has no fear (which can be good and bad... :)

Josiah is in our front coat closet...it's not big, and as you can see-it's quite cluttered and crowded. But he found it exciting nonetheless.

Look ma-no hands!

LOL-Josiah loved this...he found a short elastic band (like a bungee cord) and he kept trying to put it on his head. He also loves to put his blanket on his head-so I combined the two-it stayed like that for about 5 seconds. :)

This is the first time Josiah figured out a "real straw". :) I can't blame him... Smoothie King is the best! Don't worry-that is my cup-and he only drank some of it-but he loved it!

April Pictures:
Nathan and I took Josiah to the zoo-and as you can imagine, he was enthralled! This is the penguin exhibit. He didn't mind that the room stinks terribly, but he was very fascinated with how they swam and he could see them underwater. :)

Of course he loved the tiger exhibit too.

Again practicing his climbing skills. :) It is a good thing he is short-he can only climb a few things right now! We are gonna be in trouble when he gets taller! :) But he is getting much better at figuring out how to get down from things safely-so that helps a lot-before he would just dive off the side--that usually did not have a good outcome.

Easter morning! He didn't know what to do with it all! :) He didn't eat all of the candy-but he did have some-I think I mentioned in my last blog-that he loves it!

I think I have also mentioned before that this boy loves to eat! :) I think spaghetti is the culprit this time... we are working on him not rubbing his hands through his entire head of (not very much) hair during mealtimes...but it is just so tempting!

May Pictures:
Again...climbing. You can just tell that he is so pleased with himself! :) Don't mind the potty chair pieces thrown all over the floor in the background... We haven't started potty training yet-but are hoping to start in the next couple of months. We might be in trouble-since he thinks they are toys right now!

Keeping busy...taking all of the boxed items (and one shoe?) out of the cupboard and placing them on the grill box. :) He is allowed to play with the things on those bottom two shelves-but I was surprised that this is what he decided to do with those things.

Just chillaxin'. He did this on his own-I think it's so cute! :)

And last, but not least-Josiah's new Finding Nemo swim trunks-that Opa and Oma sent! I made the mistake of opening the package during lunch...he just had to see the trunks and then put them on his head! I think he knew he was supposed to wear them, and that was the best he could do at the time. :) He sat with them on his head for at least 5 minutes...

Well there you have it! The last two months in pictures. :) Hopefully I will stay on top of my picture storing system and will be able to post pictures more than every 2 months... But don't cross your fingers!

Roar Like A Lion!

2009-04-18T14:47:00.003-04:00

Here it is! :) Enjoy!!

Short update, and pictures and/or video to come soon! :)

2009-04-17T23:11:00.003-04:00

I have about 5 minutes to update, since I should be in bed already...

Josiah turned 14 months on Sunday! It is so fun to watch him grow and develop. I don't know what his weight and height are right now, but I think he is pushing 22 or 23 pounds. He is walking like a champ, and still eats almost as much as I do in a day! (Which is a lot)

His newest thing is "roaring like a lion". It is so cute! I am going to do my best to post a video of him roaring in the next day or two.

Also, sorry for the boring post with no pictures...honestly I am so overwhelmed by our lack of uploading, storing, and printing of pictures that I have avoided it all together recently. I am still taking pictures-just not doing anything with them. That is my excuse... That's all I've got. :)

We had a great Easter-Josiah loves candy...gotta go to bed. :)

Oh and I'm 11 weeks pregnant today-the Dr. visit went great, heartbeat sounds great-all is well!

Long overdue post...

2009-03-23T16:36:00.002-04:00

I know it has been way too long since I have posted any pictures or news...

There are two exciting things to report.

1.) Josiah is walking!! :) He is so cute. He gets a huge smile on his face as he walks. He is still toddling, but is falling down less and less often and I think he will be running in the next month or two. :)

2.) We are expecting baby #2! I think most of you that read my blog already know this. But, I wanted to share my ultrasound picture. Of course you can't tell what anything is-I was only 6 weeks and 4 days when they did it. But, you can see the "sac" of some sort above the baby's body. That sac is feeding the baby until the placenta forms. I am not sure when this happens... We also got to hear the heartbeat-always fun! My due date was pushed back a couple of weeks from what I had initially figured, and is now set for November 6th. We are very excited, and a little anxious of course. Josiah will be almost 21 months when this baby is born-so of course that will bring about some unique challenges. But, we know God's timing is perfect and are looking forward to celebrating a new brother or sister for Josiah.

Pictures of Josiah's birthday weekend

2009-02-24T13:10:00.008-05:00

I know it has been over a week since Josiah's birthday, but it has been a crazy week. My parents were in town until Tuesday and then we left on Thursday for Ohio, for my mother-in-law's birthday. And we got back from Ohio at 11pm on Sunday. I have spent the last two days unpacking and attempting to get caught up on laundry. :)

Also, Josiah's one year pediatrician visit was yesterday. He got his MMR shot, resulting in a little bit of a crankypants since then. :) The Dr. said Josiah looks great. He is slowly edging up on the percentile charts. He weighs 20 lbs. 13 oz and is 28 1/2 inches long. That puts him just above the 10th percentile for both. But he said he looks healthy and happy-so again no worries there. He is above average in his speaking skills, and right where he should be for everything else developmentally. He is not a true walker yet, but he is taking 5 and 6 steps at a time. He is getting very close, and I think he will be completely walking within the next week or two.

Even though he can't walk yet, he is already an accomplished climber. He pushed his tonka truck up to the couch, climbed into the bed of the truck and then onto the hood of the truck, then climbed up onto the couch. Then he turned around and sat down, so proud of himself! That would be great, if he knew how to get down from the couch with the same finesse. And this morning, I walked into the living room and found him on his hands and knees on top of his music table... He stepped onto the xylophone next to it first, and then climbed up... I guess I am going to have to teach him how to get down from things safely, since I don't think I will be able to stop him from climbing. If any of you have heard the stories about Leslie and me as babies-you'll understand! :)

Here are just a few pictures from Josiah's birthday, and I will try to post more recent pictures soon.

On Friday night, we had Josiah's family party. My dad, mom, Leslie, and Joe were there. We were trying to get him to blow out the candle-since we had been working on blowing for a couple of weeks. Well, let's just say the flame was a little too distracting... So Mom helped him out.

Nathan and I got Josiah some finger puppets-he was interested in them...for about 3 seconds. :) Then he tried to eat them.

This is the wonderful Tonka truck referred to in my climbing story above. Joe and Leslie got it for him-and he loves it! He pushes it around, climbs into it, and uses it as a step stool occasionally.

This is the dragon cake that Leslie and I made for his party on Saturday. It turned out well, but it never looks quite as good as the picture... :) It sure did taste good though!

Josiah opening presents at his party. He did quite well sitting for so long, but he was entertained by all the kids on the floor around him. :) Can you see his cute "My first birthday" shirt?!?! His Oma got that for him (well she got two different ones actually-cause he had to have one for his actual birthday and one for his party! :)

Awesomest (I promise that's a word) picture ever! Josiah and Uncle Joe are making the same face! :) They are standing in a tunnel, turned on it's end... Nathan and I got this for Josiah at IKEA, and Josiah really likes crawling through it... and adults like it too! :)

Cute pic with Oma-that better not be donut he is putting into his mouth! :)

Playing drums with Dad. Josiah is going to be the youngest professional drummer ever born! :) Just Kidding, but he really does love playing the drums-he'll sit there for 20 minutes sometimes and just keep banging those drums. Thanks to Opa and Oma for getting him some real headphones to protect his baby eardrums from the loud noise! His second favorite thing is to watch his dad play drums-and that gets a little loud!

Josiah's first cake eating experience. :) He ate a little bit of it, but wasn't in love with it like I thought he would be. Ice Cream-forget it-he took one small bite and then turned his head away! I guess he is going to be more like his dad in the sweets department. Probably not a bad thing at all! :)

So, I was only going to post a few-but he is just so cute I couldn't pick just a few... :) Enjoy!

Hi/Lo Thursday

2009-02-19T15:43:00.003-05:00

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and for a chance to win $100.

Our High this week was Josiah's one year birthday and party. We also loved that his Opa and Oma got to visit for several days and were able to be here for his party.

Our Low this week is that Josiah has a cold/cough. It's nothing major but it does make him a little cranky during the day, and he doesn't nap as well either. I really can't complain-we have had a healthy winter as a whole and are grateful for that!

Happy One Year Birthday Josiah!!!

2009-02-12T22:52:00.005-05:00

It is late, so I'm only going to do a short post tonight. I will try to post more soon...

Josiah has had a wonderful birthday today. Aunt Leslie brought donuts by on her way to work. Josiah didn't eat any donuts, but he did get to see his aunt!!:) Then he ate breakfast and played with his toys. Then he took a good nap. Then he ate lunch, played, and went for a walk with his Oma. Took another good nap. Then he ate a snack, played, and then ate dinner. Then Aunt Leslie, Opa, and Oma babysat while Nathan and I went to Community Group. Then he went to bed! The perfect day in the life of a one year old!

That is a pretty good summary of every day for him! Sleep, eat, play, sleep, eat, play, sleep, eat, play, eat, play, eat and then go to bed! :)

It is amazing to think back to one year ago today! Josiah was just beginning his life on this earth, and we didn't even have a clue what we were in for. :) But, this has honestly been such a wonderful year. It is amazing what kinds of things a little boy can teach to others without even trying. The Lord has used Josiah in our lives to teach us love, patience, selflessness, dependence on Him, and so many other things. We are so grateful that God chose Josiah for us and that He chose us for Josiah. What a big responsibility, and blessing at the same time! We continue to pray for wisdom and guidance to raise Josiah well, and we know that God's grace is the only reason we will ever come close to accomplishing this.

We are also grateful for each of you that have loved on us and Josiah over the past year-you all are a blessing! :)

Well, I will close with a couple of pictures from today.
Aunt Leslie arrived just as I was waking up. :) Good timing!

Breakfast! But we were mean and didn't share the donuts...

Napping in style! With his feet up and his face covered-perfect!

Lunch-his first time trying Whole Milk! He did much better than I had anticipated. But he does have an evil smile on his face... who knows what he's thinking! :)

Our musician Josiah

2009-01-20T11:47:00.003-05:00

Here is a cute video of Josiah. I keep trying to teach him how to play the xylophone with the little drumstick that comes with it. But, I didn't think he fully understood what he was supposed to do, until I walked into the kitchen and then heard the xylophone. I walked back into the living room-and this is what I saw. :) He might not be using the drumstick, be he definitely got the idea! And at the end you can hear one of his favorite words. :)

A few firsts (for me not Josiah)

2009-01-13T15:15:00.003-05:00

-First time I have changed anything with the layout on my blog-in at least 9 months. :)
-First time since Josiah was born (or maybe even since I got pregnant) that I have blogged on something other than him. (Well I have talked about other things than him in a blog post, but I don't think I have ever not mentioned him at all in a blog.) Of course-now I have mentioned him...
-I am virtually certain this is the first time I have blogged two days in a row-ever!
-Okay-so there were only three firsts...I can't think of any more...

So, since I am not blogging about Josiah, I thought I would ask a question to all 4 of you that read my blog. :)

You may or may not knowthat this May will be our 5th Wedding Anniversary! We are thinking about splurging and doing something a little more extravagant than the typical dinner or bed and breakfast in order to celebrate. The problem is that we don't have any really good ideas of what to do or where to go.

So, my question is: where is the best place you have ever been and why was it so great? And another question, do you have any suggestions of a great place for us to go?

And since I am not blogging about Josiah I wanted to include a non-Josiah picture-which is also very rare! This is from a wedding in the summer of 2007. I was pregnant with Josiah, but no one knew it yet! (okay so I can't help but mention Josiah...)

I think this is probably one of the best pictures of the two of us. :)

11 months old!

2009-01-12T15:54:00.005-05:00

It's that time again...a monthly birthday update.

Josiah weighs 20 lbs. on the dot! Which is still between the 10th and 25th percentile. I did not measure his length yet, but hopefully I will remember to do that this evening.

Josiah's new word is cracker-well it sounds more like "ra-ra" but he knows that it means cracker. I think it might be one of his favorite snacks.

Josiah took a couple of steps on Saturday!!! It was due to the insistent prompting of Aunt Leslie, but they were steps none-the-less. :) Leslie was holding Josiah's hands while he was standing. I was sitting a few feet away, and she started him walking and then let go of his hands-he took probably 2 steps, two or three different times. I know that he still has a ways to go before he is really walking, but it was so fun to see him start to get the idea. Nathan was sitting in the room, but was working on something, and was never looking directly at Josiah when he took the steps... :) So, he was there, but didn't actually see the steps. He saw Josiah try several times, but usually he just sat down or leaned forward to get to my hands without taking any steps.

I know that walking is just around the corner, so we are trying to prepare(although I don't think you can really be completely prepared for a walking toddler!). We have a baby gate for the stairs, and I just bought some baby locks for some of the cabinets. And I'm sure we will be making more changes as we discover what else he can get into and destroy as he walks around our house! :)

Only one more month-until his first birthday-which I can hardly believe! Here are the most recent pictures I have.
This is one of the cupboards that Josiah is allowed to play in-he can only reach the bottom two shelves (for now!) and so he pulls out every can and box on those shelves and then tries to eat them. I realized after I took the picture, that I did not wipe all the spaghetti sauce off of his face after lunch. But I did realize it wasn't worth the fight to wipe it then-so it stayed until dinner time. :)

Josiah playing in his cloth diaper...I think he likes the feel of the plastic pants! :) (or maybe he is just being a typical boy...)

Let me explain this picture... I was trying to cook dinner, and Josiah would not leave me alone-he kept fussing and trying to pull up on my legs-which is not good when standing at the stove. So, I let him get into the ziploc drawer. What I didn't think he would figure out, was how to pull the ziplocs out of the box... Oh well, it bought me almost 10 minutes-because then he figured out that he could push the bags along the rug in addition to just eating them!

And then, of course, since I can't make dinner in 10 minutes, I also let him get into the pots and pans cupboard. He proceeded to pull out all of the pots and climb into the cupboard. This bought me at least 10 more minutes. :)

He was so proud of himself, and I thought he was just so cute!

"Huh?" This is another picture where I think he looks like a big boy :)

Wearing a cute sweater that he got for Christmas from his great-aunt and uncle. He is being a typical boy-throwing his toys instead of playing with them nicely...

Just another cute one, while playing with his music table.

If you look closely the back wheels of his walker are at his waist. He was walking, hit the wall and decided to keep walking... which made the walker tip up and get stuck on his thunder thighs. He didn't know what to do for a minute. But I think he ended up just sitting down and it came off. :)

This shirt came with the striped sweater above. But I thought it was so cute, I had him wear it separately. He looked like a little lumberjack! :)

Recent happenings and pictures

2009-01-05T15:02:00.010-05:00

I know it has been forever since I have posted any news or pictures. But, since we moved on December 7th, we have gone through several rounds of fleas, minor electrocutions, a power outage for 5 hours with a sick baby, mice, and lots more... Oh yeah, and I forgot to add that our desktop computer's power supply died thanks to a surge of electricity when our power came back on. So, we are using the laptop for now, and waiting on a new power supply to arrive in the mail any day. But, we are done with most of that (hopefully) and things are starting to settle down.

My parents and brother came to visit December 25th through 31st. And Nathan's parents came to visit December 30th through January 4th. We greatly enjoyed getting to see everyone over the holidays and are looking forward to seeing them all again soon.

In spite of the recent mishaps/setbacks we are doing great, thankful to be alive and healthy, and ready to get back to normal life and blogging somewhat regularly...maybe. :)

Josiah is great! Like I mentioned above, he was sick for quite some time. He had a low-grade fever, diarrhea, a terrible cough, and the runniest nose I have ever seen on a child (including 4 years of Preschoolers!). We went to the pediatrician and he said it was just a basic cold and that the "best medicine is time." I wanted to ask him if he wanted to get up with Josiah every hour all night long when he woke himself up from coughing...but I held my tongue. Each day seemed a little better, and with saline nose drops, a humidifier, and baby Vick's Vapor rub-he is much better now.

Josiah now has 5 teeth, and I think a few more are working their way through the gums. Josiah is doing a few new things, and has started to say some words. He stands up and pushes anything that will slide on the floor. He particularly likes boxes, but toys, chairs, shoes, or anything that slides will do. He "waves" but it isn't with his hand or his arm it is with his fingers. He takes the fingers on his right hand and kind of rubs them together. It is the funniest thing and is so cute. We can't figure out why he does that instead of waving his hand, but it is too cute-so we just do it right back! He also says "Bah" instead of bye while he is waving. But a lot of times he ends up waving and saying bah as soon as we turn around to leave or are already headed up the stairs to his bedroom. :)

He is also saying mama, dada, ball-without the ll sound, dog-without the g sound, and tries to say Chewie, but it kinda sounds like "sh". He loves to clap his hands and will also clap his feet together when you tell him to. He LOVES music. Anytime you turn music on he gets a huge grin, claps his hands, and has just started to sway from side to side wherever he is.

I think that's pretty much it for now. He loves his new toys he got for Christmas, and stays busy playing with them, eating them, and pushing them around the room.

I cannot believe that Josiah will be 1 in only 5 weeks. This year has been the fastest year of my life. It has been filled with so much change, adjustment, joy, fun, difficulty, love, and growth. We thank God for the grace He has shown to us through all of it, and will continue to look to Him for the strength to raise Josiah the best that we know how.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year! Here are some recent pictures. I don't have any from Christmas with my parents or in-laws since they had their cameras out a lot more than I did. But, here is what I have! :)

Josiah's first Thanksgiving. We spent it with the Knisely's in Canton, Ohio. He really enjoyed the turkey. :)

Melissa has a child size rocking chair in her living room. Josiah was thoroughly enjoying playing in it-with his dad nearby to keep him from laughing himself out of the chair! :)

Josiah never ceases to amaze me-he can fit into the tiniest spaces, and of course can not crawl backwards to get himself out. I don't know if you can tell in the picture-but he has wedged himself between a chair and the wall-trying to get at the cords that he is not supposed to touch!

This is not the most flattering picture of Josiah, but it shows how much he loves to sit on his dad's shoulders. I think Nathan was also singing or something similar-which Josiah also loves!

I think that Josiah looks likes a big boy in this picture. I don't know if it's the cute big boy pj's or what... That is his toy/play corner in our new living room.

Josiah's first experience with spaghetti and sauce. He has always had just plain noodles before, but as you can tell he really likes it with the sauce! I think he may have eaten an adult-sized portion... :)

What a cute little boy!

So, I know this picture is really gross, but I had to include it and share the story. :) I had finished feeding Josiah and gave him some cheerios to occupy him while I did the dishes. I turned around after finishing and saw this. At first, I thought he had spit up, but it is directly below his chair, so I knew it couldn't be puke. Then I looked at the underside of his right leg-and there was a stain down his pant leg and on his sock. Somehow his diarrhea had shot out of his cloth diaper, down his pant leg and onto the floor. It was everywhere! :)

Josiah's First Christmas. This was on Christmas day, which was just Nathan, Josiah and me.

"Hmm...Let me think about that for a minute!"

I forgot I do have a picture from Christmas with my parents, Adam, Leslie, and Joe. This is Josiah's other hand-me-down "Baby's First Christmas" outfit. I like the hat! Josiah likes the puzzle piece!

The annual tradition of making divinity at Christmas. Leslie is taking her turn stirring-it has to be stirred for like 10 minutes by hand after it has been cooked. It didn't really turn out too great this year, but there's always next year!

This picture is from today. Josiah is getting so big! He was trying to push the box, but as you can see it was up against the trash can. So, I put it down on it's side and he pushed it all over the kitchen.

Also from today. Just a cute one of his face-just ignore the snot dried under his nose. If you have ever watched me wipe his nose-you will understand why I leave it there sometimes. He screams and wails, and sometimes it just isn't worth it! :)

That's all for now!

Play Ball!!

2008-12-19T10:10:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to get around to taping this and posting it for at least a week... So here it is, I hope everyone enjoys it! And for anyone interested Josiah is 27.5 inches long. :)

10 months old....a few days late

2008-12-15T10:53:00.003-05:00

Josiah turned 10 months old on Friday. I know I am a few days behind-but I have several good excuses. Like moving, and fleas, and moving, and fleas.... let's just say-we hope the fleas are gone for good!

I don't have time to post pictures right now, but I will try to do that tomorrow or Wednesday.

I did go weigh Josiah on Friday and he was 19 lbs. 8.8 oz!!! That is the 25th percentile on the charts online. I have not measured his length yet, but will also try to do that soon. For the baby book, not that most of you really care to know! :)

Josiah is truly a joy! He is crawling everywhere, and seems to be adjusting to the layout of our duplex. He still loves to eat and sleep. He is nursing 3 times a day, eating at least 3 times a day, napping twice a day for 1.5-2 hours and sleeping about 12 hours at night.

We are getting settled, but of course, it is a very slow process. We laid down padding and carpet in half of the basement last night. It was an all day project, but we are very happy with the result! So, now we can begin unpacking and organizing all of the boxes that we were not able to get to due to the basement being in complete disarray.

First Haircut, 4 teeth, and pictures

2008-12-02T15:41:00.009-05:00

Nathan gave Josiah his first official haircut just over a week and a half ago. He was getting little "tails" on the sides, on the back of his head-and he was about to have his 9 month old pictures taken. So, Nathan did a great job of trimming it up for him-you will see in the progression of the pictures-that he was happy at first, ambivalent next, and then very upset after that! :)

I think he just likes the fact that he looks like Superman here. :)

"Ummm...dad, you're interrupting my Cheerio inhalation!"

You would have thought that Nathan accidentally cut his ear off-but he didn't! :)

Josiah is just a happy boy, that loves to eat, play, crawl, and pull up on anything and everything he can get to-here are a few examples...

He loves to pull up on the computer chair, until it spins and he falls down. Only to get up and try it again... Stubborn little boy-I mean determined and persistent!!

His walker just tipped over while he was using it-he doesn't seem to be bothered too much. :)

Again-Cheerio inhalation-one of his favorite pastimes.

Super cute one of his smile. I think Aunt Leslie took these of him in the brown outfit-while she was babysitting!

Standing again-pushing it backwards-it makes more sense that way-then he can play with the toys on the front and walk at the same time!

His favorite toys are usually things that are not really his toys...this is an icing tube for cake decorating-which he proceeded to sit on the next day and crush with his amazing weight-somewhere around 19 lbs. by now. :) He also loves all of the boxes (seen in the background) sitting around our house. They are the perfect height for him to pull up on.

Umm-I think I had a moment of weakness in the midst of changing his clothes/diaper/one sock-he likes to scream while he is being changed now-and I probably gave up and let him crawl away before I was even close to being done! :) I don't think he minds...

In other news...

Josiah got his top two front teeth over this past week. He hasn't been too fussy as a result, just a few shorter naps and a couple of mornings of waking up before 7-which I cannot complain about!

We are moving on Sunday-so the packing and painting craziness will be over then. Then the unpacking and settling in craziness begins! Oh well, it will be worth it when it's over-we are excited about our new place! I am definitely decorating for Christmas within the first week of being moved in-it doesn't feel like December without the decorations up!

I ran upstairs really quickly this morning to grab some diapers, and came down to Josiah kneeling on the second stair...Thanks for teaching my son how to do that Pappy! :) I knew that it was just a matter of time-he has been trying to climb the stairs for a couple of weeks now-but they were too high until now. That just means I either have to get the baby gates out and start using them, or I can NEVER leave Josiah alone again. :) I think baby gates are in order.

Nothing else for now. We had a great time in Canton last week with Pappy, Grandma, and Aunt Rachel! I will try to post some pictures from the visit soon. We are beginning to count down until Opa and Oma come for Christmas!

Learning to Walk!

2008-11-21T17:13:00.003-05:00

Josiah is learning to walk! He gets better at it everyday, and we love to watch him learn! :) Here is just a short video to show you his progress.

Josiah has both of his bottom front teeth now, and one of his top front teeth is working on breaking through the gums.

Not too much else is new. We are looking forward to seeing Pappy and Grandma in Ohio next week for Thanksgiving! :)

9 Months Old!

2008-11-12T15:16:00.006-05:00

Here is a video from today-to show how good he is getting at crawling and pulling up to standing-there is also a good shot of his two bottom teeth! :) Enjoy!

Josiah is 9 months old today! He is such a joy, and we thank God for the blessing that he is in our lives. His Pediatrician visit went well. He has graduated to the 10th percentile in both height and weight!! :) He is 27 inches long and weighs 18 lbs. 6 oz. The Pediatrician said he looked great and he was very impressed that Josiah sleeps 11-12 hours straight at night! We are very thankful for it too! He also kept commenting on how active and energetic Josiah was while he was being examined-and it's only going to get more fun once he learns to walk!

He eats pretty much anything we give him-which is still somewhat limited, but there is a ton that he can eat. He is over baby food-and is all about the finger food. I still try to get him to eat some of the baby food, to make sure he is getting those nutrients and vitamins... The only things he won't eat are green beans and peas-and of course his dad says-"I can't blame him-peas are gross!" :). He loves cheese and yogurt, and is always happy with puffs or cheerios.

He did not have to get any shots-which I was surprised and thankful for, but he did have to get his finger pricked and blood collected in a little tube. They needed it to test his hemoglobin and lead levels. That was an adventure!! He wasn't too happy about the prick and the squeezing of his finger, but it was more upsetting to him to have someone holding his hand and both his mom and dad holding him still on the table... They need to figure out a better way of collecting blood than just squeezing the end of a baby's finger for 5 minutes. I am pretty sure that using a needle and drawing it out like they do for adults would have been better. Maybe a little bit more painful, but at least it would have been over in less than a minute.

The adventure started when I began feeling really hot... So, I took off my jacket-that didn't help at all. So, I sat down-that didn't help either. Nathan asked if I was going to be okay-and I said "I'm not sure." That's when Nathan got the clue that we were in trouble. :) I put my head down between my knees. And then the next thing I knew I woke up on the floor with the pediatrician putting my legs up on a chair... Fainting is definitely one of the weirdest experiences ever-but I am starting to get used to it unfortunately.

So, I had already fainted- I knew that the very next thing to do was to ask for a trash can. Nathan grabbed one just in time for me to vomit... :) Sorry, for the details-anyway-I am fine now and glad it is over. And now I know for future reference-to sit down and don't watch anytime that Josiah is having blood drawn. I didn't think I would have a hard time with it-it has never bothered me to watch him get a shot, but I think the blood did it in for me. I am so glad that Nathan was there-to catch me from hitting the floor, and to sit with me until I felt better. The nurses were great-and they took turns loving on Josiah in the hallway until we were ready to leave. He didn't even know what to think! But he loved the attention and the nurses loved him of course!

The other news is that we are moving! We have found a duplex with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, an unfinished basement, and fenced-in backyard to rent! We are very excited, but also a little stressed as we are moving in less than 3 weeks, and Nathan has a 15 page paper to write and finals coming up just after that. He is also very busy with the Church Planting Residency at church, and of course with working full time too! So-there is much to be done in very little time-and we are also hoping to paint some of the rooms there before we move! So-you all can keep us in your prayers-that we don't lose it before it's all said and done! :)

And now the fun part!

His "9 month comparison picture." Appreciate the fresh drool/spit-up down the front of his shirt!

He doesn't care that he is naked, or that the towel is covering his eyes-he just wants to crawl!!

That's better! :) He has a very mischievous look on his face!

Just another cute picture of him all bundled up after a walk. Isn't he a cute lion?

Hey there! :)

Even though I said I had given up on getting a picture of his teeth, I didn't (I'm too stubborn:). They are still a little hard to see-but they are there-I promise!

He is fascinated with our shoes, and the stairs. :)

Standing with no problem! "Look mom-no fingers!" :)

"Can we read this book Mom, Please!!!" Who could resist that-so we read that book and the one he had already pulled out and put on the floor. Twice actually. :)

And then there were two!

2008-11-03T19:26:00.007-05:00

I was told that teeth come in pairs, and it is proving true for Josiah. His other bottom tooth has pushed through the gums and is coming up! I didn't think it would happen so fast, I haven't even succeeded in getting a picture of the first tooth yet-and there is already another one! :)

He is pulling up on everything now, and really wants to walk-but still has to figure out that balancing thing. Other than that, nothing new. Here are a few recent pictures, and then a few pics from our camping trip to Red River Gorge. It was beautiful and we had a great time!

I took Josiah for a walk, and it was a little cold. But, he still seemed to enjoy it! :)

One of my attempts at taking a picture of Josiah's first tooth. It is actually the best shot, but you can't see the tooth! I have probably taken 20 or 25 pictures trying to get a good one, but I have given up-it makes Josiah so mad! :)

Josiah's first trip to the zoo! Doesn't he look thrilled!

We went to the zoo on Halloween, so we had to take a few pictures with the costume on!

This is Josiah with Nora Kate Wainright. We went to the zoo with Nora and her mom, Kristyn-so we had to get a picture of the two little pumpkins together! :) Adorable!

I had to get one of him standing! :) In his socks none-the-less!

Another attempt at taking a picture of Josiah's tooth. No tooth, but a cute picture anyway!

Just a couple of weeks ago, he was kneeling in front of this, now he is holding on with one hand. :)

One of my last attempts at capturing the tooth on film-you can see how happy he is about it...

And just a cute picture of his little feet! :) Not so little anymore-he is already wearing a size 3 baby shoe!

Some of the beautiful fall leaves at the Gorge.

Another view while hiking.

The group hiking.

Nathan and me at one of the lookout spots.

Tooth!!

2008-10-31T09:13:00.002-04:00

I don't have time to post pictures right now, but I will try to do that very soon! Josiah has a tooth! Well he has lots of teeth, but one of them is now visible above the gums. It is really cute, but also looks kinda weird to me-since I am so used to seeing him without any teeth. :) I have been trying for two days now to get a picture of it-but as soon as I get his lip pulled down and the camera ready, he either turns his head or pushes my fingers away with his hand... So, I will keep trying and will post a picture if I ever get one!

Josiah is also pulling up to standing on his own. He loves to stand and would prefer to do it all day. That is fine until he forgets that he has to keep holding on to stay standing. He lets go and then falls down and then proceeds to cry because he hit his head on something. He gets over it, stops crying, and then stands up again. :) I guess he will learn eventually, and get a lot of bumps in the meantime!

Those are the two biggest developments to report on. He is still eating great, and his list of foods continues to grow. He is getting faster at crawling, and his goal in life is to chase Chewie down.

Nathan and I are going camping with our Community Group from church tomorrow night. We are leaving Josiah with Leslie and Joe (my sister and her husband). This will be the first night I have been away from him since he was born! I am not worried, but it will be a little weird to be gone from him. And really nice not to have to wake up at 6:15 on Sunday morning with him! (Now that I think of it is might be more like 5:15 because of Daylight Savings Time-Sorry Leslie!) I'll have to post pictures of the beautiful Fall leaves in the Red River Gorge after we get back.

8 Month Old Weight Update

2008-10-15T09:51:00.003-04:00

On Monday Josiah weighed 17 lbs. 7.4 oz. Which online is between the 10th and 25th percentile! He definitely seems to be getting chunkier as time goes by. His length is always harder to tell, but I think he is about 26 and 1/2 inches long. Which is between the 5th and 10th percentile.

We tried green beans for the first time on Monday, and he hates them! I will try them a few more times just to see if he changes his mind. They say it can take multiple exposures to a food before accepting it...we'll see about that!

We are thankful that we did not have any shots this month, but I will be taking him in to get a flu shot in a week and a half. It will be worth the crying and fussiness if it keeps him from getting the flu this winter/sickness season. :)
Here are just a few more pictures, mostly from the same times as the last pictures, but different faces...
Always eating something...

I think he was laughing at Nathan. :)

He wasn't sure how he felt about this at first, but then he seemed to like it...until his faced turned red...

Playing in mama's lap.

8 Months Old and Remembering Namaw!

2008-10-11T21:44:00.008-04:00

I wrote this yesterday-but waited until today-Sunday October 12th-to post, but I guess since I actually wrote it yesterday-it says that the post was on the 11th...oh well...

Josiah is 8 Months old today-it was also a year ago today that we found out that we were having a boy! Of course I already "knew" it was a boy, but the ultrasound confirmed my huntch. :)

Today is also the one year anniversary of my Namaw going to be with Jesus! We are sad that she is gone, but we rejoice in the confidence we have of knowing that she is with her Savior and is no longer in any pain! :)

I do not know exactly how much Josiah weighs, but I plan to take him to the Nursing Station on Monday and find out. I also have not measured his length yet, but I will update Monday or Tuesday with both of those things. Still no teeth! But I know they will come soon enough. And I am in no rush, since I am still nursing.

Josiah is now crawling! He was just barely starting to move before we left for Michigan last Thursday, but over the course of last weekend he learned how to get to where he wants to go. It is still a slow crawl, but it is definitely crawling! :) We now face the challenge of deciding whether to babyproof everything in the house, or if we are going to try to teach him "no" and that certain things are "off limits"... I guess it will depend on how much he is trying to get into stuff and how much patience I have! :)

Josiah also loves to stand, but is nowhere close to standing up on his own. If we put our hands out he will grab them and pull straight up to standing, but he has yet to push up or pull up to standing on his own. That is just fine with us-because of course, soon after standing is cruising, and then walking!

He is still sleeping great! He's still taking taking 2 naps, usually 1 and a half to 2 hours long. And is sleeping between 11 and 12 hours at night. We are so thankful to have a good sleeper (thanks to the Knisely genes, the Goforth genes have NOTHING to do with the sleeping!)

Josiah loves to eat now-which is so different than two months ago. I am still making his baby food, and I enjoy it. Plus he is able to have a lot more variety this way. He really loves avocado, peas, and carrots, and his "puffs", wheat noodles, and bread. And he likes banana, squash, sweet potato, peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, and oatmeal. And he doesn't really like, but will eat, mango, plum, corn and rice cereal. The next two things on my list to make are green beans and pumpkin.

He are the most recent pictures!
His latest thing is pulling off his socks-and then putting them in his mouth. :)

Josiah trying whole wheat noodles-he really liked them!

Just being cute!

When we were in Grand Rapids we went to Robinette's Apple Haus. They have the best apple cider-made in the store from the apples they grow in their orchard! We brought Josiah's pumpkin outfit-the pictures turned out so cute! The man you see in the background is Mr. Robinette. When he saw us, he asked if he could take a picture too-since Josiah is so cute-and he said that the picture would be framed and hung in the restaurant soon! :) My son is famous!

Our little punkin'!!!

Another cute one! :)
Hanging out on the veranda on my parents' hammock. He didn't know what to think of it at first, but then he seemed to like it.

Practicing his crawling skills after his bath. One of his favorite "toys" is the wipes box. He will lift it above his head when he is laying on his back, and suck on the corner. Who needs toys when you have wipes?

This is from yesterday. It is hard to tell in the picture, but he was sitting on top of his feet, trying to pull up to standing on his table. He couldn't quite get a good grip on anything in order to pull himself up. :)

Weight update and more pics

2008-09-30T15:43:00.005-04:00

Strongest baby ever born...
Yet again managed to roll under the futon-he is like 1 1/2 feet back there-without a diaper on of course...
"Enjoying" his peas and carrots!
"What?!?! It was good!"
Practicing with his spoon-yes it is pink, it brings out his feminine side! (Actually it just came in a set of four... :)

I went and weighed Josiah yesterday. He now weighs 17 lbs. 1 oz. :) I was very happy about that, because that is over 3/4 and oz. a day-which is a high daily gain considering his age and how active he is. He really has started eating his solids very well, so I think that is contributing to his gain.

Those are some relatively recent pictures, from early last week. Nathan took the camera with him to Washington D.C. this past weekend, so I did not take any pictures. I took a couple of videos, but was unable to load one when I tried Sunday night. I will try again soon, and see if I can get it to work.

It is finally starting to cool down here-which we are very excited about! We love the Fall-cool weather, changing leaves, apple cider, picking pumpkins, etc...

Learning to Crawl

2008-09-23T20:24:00.004-04:00

Here is a short video from this evening. Josiah really wants to be mobile, but he just can't quite figure out how to move his arms while he is up on his hands and knees... :) I know he will be there soon, so I'm enjoying that he only rolls around for now.

Not much news other than that...we were out of power for 6 days this past week. This was caused by 75 mile-per-hour winds left over from Hurricane Ike. We didn't get any thunder/lightning or even any rain, but boy did we get wind! Over 300,000 people in Louisville were without power after the wind tore through the city. But, thankfully Derek and Amy graciously let us stay with them-so we were just fine! Plus, my fridge and freezer needed a good cleaning out!

Tim and Melissa came to visit this past weekend, and we had a very good visit with them! We were glad they were still able to come down, despite them having lost their power for 2 days. Plus were staying at Derek and Amy's, where they also stayed. But they definitely got to see a lot more of Josiah because of it! :) They bought him a Leap Frog activity table while they were here-and he loves it! It lays on the ground right now, and it will be raised up off the ground once he starts pulling up on things.

It does not feel like Fall outside...sad...we are ready for cooler weather!

7 Months Old!!!

2008-09-12T21:26:00.007-04:00

Of course everyone should have expected a post today-since Josiah is 7 months old today! :) And to celebrate-I took the time to upload a TON of pictures! So you all enjoy!

Josiah weighs 16 lbs. 2.4 oz. Which again, as usual, is great! He is still gaining half an ounce a day, even though he is much more active. I'm sure eating solids is helping that a lot. We have started plums and acorn squash since my last post-and he likes both of those so far! :) The list of things he likes is getting longer-so that is always a good thing.

We did our best to measure Josiah's length today. We think he is right at 26 inches, or almost there anyway. :) For his weight he is in the 7th percentile, and for his height he is in the 8th percentile. So, his percentiles are still low, but we are not concerned about that at all. He is gaining weight as he should be, and he is a happy little boy!

I like this quote that I found on www.infantrefluxdisease.com "The growth percentiles by themselves don't say much. What really matters is the velocity of growth. A normal velocity of growth means the child's growth points will closely parallel the percentile line above it on the chart. They usually don't worry about insufficient (or excessive) growth until a child's growth velocity has crossed at least two percentile lines (e.g., from above the 90th to below the 50th percentile)." So we're gonna go with that! He has stayed very consistent in his growth and weight gain. :)

I don't think there is really anything new to report since I posted on Tuesday. He has been "talking" more the last day or two-and making more distinct sounds like "goo" and "ba" so that is good because until now it has mostly just been coos and squeals with the occasional "word" thrown in.

Wearing his Browns hat from Uncle Lucas and Aunt Lynsey. :) It's still a little big, but should fit in the next month or two-just in time for football season!
He tends to end up like this a lot! Exactly how he gets under there is a mystery to me...and of course he usually can't get himself out! :)
One of his new favorite sleeping positions. :) On his belly with his arms and legs tucked in. Although lately-he usually rolls/squirms/scoots into a corner and turns his head facing the bumper...
He LOVES his bouncy seat. Actually we borrowed it from a friend-we are so glad to be using it-it is one of his favorite things!
This picture is much better than a few weeks ago! He has squash and rice cereal all over his face. He doesn't mind it there, and he hates me wiping his face, so I just let it run all over until he is completely done. That way I only torture him with the washcloth one time! :)
Drinking from his sippy cup. :) He loves it-and attacks it with great vigor...a picture will have to suffice for now, but I will try to take some video soon!
What can I say-he loves to be naked! As soon as I get his diaper off, he rolls away. :) He also likes to suck on the feet of his pj's-even when they are not on his feet!
Sucking on his plastic diaper cover...he puts everything in his mouth...he doesn't care if it's gross or not!
Sitting up all on his own! :) Once again-toy in the mouth.
What!?!?!
Practicing his racing skills at a young age. What can I say-he is athletic! A neighbor has three boys, and her youngest is three years old now, so they passed this rocking airplane along to us! :) I think he will like it more when he is a little bit older!
Under the futon-again... :)
His 7 month old growth comparison picture. He did not want to sit still...I guess that is indicative of his age and growth! :)

That's all for now-I hope everyone liked looking at pictures of the cutest baby ever born! :)

Rolling Video and current news

2008-09-09T20:42:00.005-04:00

If I have succeeded, here is a video from today of Josiah rolling over. I tried to upload a much longer, better video from this afternoon, but it was taking FOREVER...so I am attempting to upload a much shorter video from this evening. But it is still cute, and still shows Josiah rolling. I hope you all enjoy it! :)

I know it has been forever since I have posted any news or pictures. I will try to post some recent pictures either tonight, if I have time, or tomorrow if I don't get to it tonight.

Josiah is doing great! He is eating much better than he was before-thankfully. There are still a few foods he does not like, but he will tolerate pretty much anything that we have tried so far. His favorite purees are definitely pears, apples, and peaches. He is also a big fan of the "puffs"-they look basically like corn puffs but are shaped like stars. They melt almost instantly in your mouth, and his happen to be banana flavored... :) He also likes carrots, peas, and yellow squash. He is not a big fan of yams, bananas, or rice cereal. :) And he is a champ at drinking from a sippy cup with a straw-I'll have to try to post a video of that soon-it is so cute!

Josiah loves sleeping on his belly...we flipped him over for the first few nights, if we found him on his stomach. But, he just kept rolling back over in his sleep, so we gave up! :) He has really good head control and turns his head from side to side while on his belly, so I am not too worried about that. He is sleeping about 11 hours at night, and two naps during the day. His naps have really varied lately. Sometimes they are 3 hours long and sometimes 45 minutes long. But I can't complain-and the 3 hour naps really are great!

Nathan is staying busy with work, class, and his church-planting internship. He is really enjoying the internship and feels like he is learning a lot. But, of course, he probably spends at least 10 hours a week reading-either for class or for the internship! The reading is beneficial too, but not as fun as the hands-on practical stuff. :) He has also recently taken up mountain biking! He really enjoys being active, and it is definitely a full-body workout. He has come home with some pretty good battle wounds, but nothing serious...yet! :)

I enjoy staying at home, although it is much more difficult than I ever could have imagined! But, for me, it is worth getting to spend all day loving on and spending time with the best little boy I could ever ask for! God sure knew what He was doing when He gave us Josiah! He is a blessing and a joy to be around. I have learned more about myself during the past 7 months than I would have ever thought a baby could teach a person. I never realized how selfish I can be, and how greatly sleep (or the lack of sleep) affects my moods! :)

I had two teeth pulled last week. I had put off this necessary surgery for years, and was greatly dreading it! It went much better than I had anticipated, but I'm also definitely glad it is over. :) I had one stitch, but they took it out today. I am in no pain, and my mouth is healing great! Word to the wise-get put to sleep-it's great to wake up and the worst part be over with. :) Who wants to hear all that stuff they are doing to you anyways?!?!

We are looking forward to a visit from Pappy and Grandma next week, and we are planning our first trip with Josiah to Grand Rapids at the beginning of October to see Opa and Oma. We sure hate not getting to see all the grandparents more often, but are so thankful that we do get visits every two months or so. And we are thankful that they are close enough to visit as often as they do-and at least they are not across the country from us!

Rolling over and food update

2008-08-25T13:37:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we had Josiah's 6 month pictures taken at JCPenney. They turned out really cute! I am pretty sure they will be available to view online in about two weeks, so I'll post the viewing information then.

While we were there, Josiah was laying on his back, and he rolled all the way over onto his stomach! That is the first time he has rolled all the way over without any help or pulling on anything to get himself over. It was exciting, and I was happy that Nathan and I were both there to see it. :) Then last night, Nathan went in to check on Josiah in his crib, and he was sleeping on his stomach! :) We rolled him over, because the Ped. said to if we find him on his belly...it woke him up for a minute, but he fell right back to sleep. And then today he is rolling all over the living room-like a pro!! For now, he has only perfected rolling to the right, so he will slowly roll from front to back over and over again until he hits something then he starts whining...so we move him back to the middle of the room and he does it again!

It is great, but like I have said before-I am really realizing how much our lives are gonna change as he grows! I knew that before, but it is really hitting home now. :) I can't just put him down to play on a blanket and walk away for a minute anymore. I am afraid he is going to roll into something and hurt himself. The living room is mostly baby-proofed, but his bouncy jumper thing has metal poles on the bottom, and that is what he would probably get the most hurt from. That or the metal frame of the futon. Anyway, I will just have to be more vigilant when he is on the floor, and he will probably start spending a little more of his playtime in his pack-n-play, since I know he will be safe in there.

On to eating...it is slowly getting better, but it is going to be a slow process. So far we have tried: plain rice cereal, sweet potatoes, peaches, bananas, and pears-and he has not really seemed to like any of them. Today he took his pears with much less fuss and resistance than usual. So, I am hoping that he is learning to like them, and just get used to the idea of mushing and swallowing food. We will try another new food tomorrow and see if he likes that as well.

Parents Visit...finally posting pictures

2008-08-22T10:05:00.004-04:00

So my parents have been gone for almost 10 days now, and I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures. :) That is pretty typical for me these days though.

Josiah has mastered turning onto his belly-as long as there is something next to him to pull on! :) He still has to figure out how to do it by himself, but we know that he knows how to do it-so we aren't too concerned about this one...

Josiah has been taking great naps (usually 2 hours long!), but has been waking up some during the night. Either he is seriously teething, going through a growth spurt, or a combination of both. Last night he woke up at midnight, but after some Tylenol and nursing went right back to sleep. He didn't wake up again until 8-so I guess I really can't complain. It's just that he usually sleeps from 8pm until almost 8am-so I have been spoiled! :) But, he usually just wakes up for a few nights in a row and then goes back to sleeping as usual...so it's just a matter of having patience for these few nights.

Josiah is also sitting up great-supported by his hands...but not unsupported yet. But, he gets better at it each day, so we know it will come soon. Crawling is in the more distant future, but he is spending more time on his belly than he used to-he used to automatically roll onto his back-so hopefully he will get the urge to move forward soon. :) But, we are not rushing that-because we know it is the easiest now. He stays where we put him, except for the rolling from side to side that often makes him go in a circle. :)

Now onto the pictures...Of course my mom isn't in any of them, because she is either the one taking the pictures, or somehow finds a way to avoid being in any of them! But she did go swimming with us-I promise!
Staying cool in the sun! :)
Working on his tan...in the shade
Swimming lessons from Opa :) Josiah can now do the backstroke and butterfly stroke-by himself! He would give Phelps a run for his money for sure-all 1 million dollars!
His "6 month comparison picture" I can't believe how big he is getting!
Family Portrait-of course it wasn't planned-as you can tell by our non-coordinating clothes! :) I don't know what we were looking at, but obviously not the camera.
Josiah's 6-month birthday party. :) He got some fun stuff from his Opa and Oma and his Uncle Joe and Aunt Leslie.
Just a cute picture of Josiah hanging out with his daddy. :) He loves his daddy-and cranes his body to look for him anytime he hears his voice! :)

Eating Adventures!

2008-08-13T16:49:00.003-04:00

So last night was Josiah's first experience with Rice Cereal. After last night's meal, I would have said that he loved it-and that he actually ate some of it. I know a lot ended up on his bib, his hands, and his chin-but he actually seemed to be swallowing some of it! But, we tried the rice cereal again this morning, and he hated it! It was like night and day difference! My only explanation could be that last night we fed him before his last feeding of the day, and this morning I tried to feed him after he had already eaten-like an hour before... So, maybe he was really hungry last night, and was full this morning? But, other than that-I have no idea why his reactions were so different. I will post pics from last night and this morning-and you can see for yourself what I am talking about! :) We are going to try again in a few minutes when Josiah wakes up,-before he eats-from his currently going on 3 hour and 12 minutes nap!!! I don't think he has ever slept this long before...but I am not complaining. We'll see what he thinks of the rice cereal tonight, but I'm not holding my breath. :) We just have to wait about 3 or 4 days before introducing one new pureed veggie or fruit, so then we can mix the cereal in with it, and hopefully he will be more interested in eating it then!

We had a great long-weekend visit from my parents! I will post some of those pictures tomorrow or Friday-I am going to go check on Josiah again-to make sure he is still breathing...

Yesterday's experience:
Josiah eagerly "swallowing" the rice cereal. He was even grabbing my hands and pulling it towards his mouth!
Look mom! I finished it all!

This morning's experience:
But, I don't like it... :(
Do I have to eat this?!?!? After a few spoonfuls he started turning his head away and pushing the spoon away, so we quit trying. :) (That is my dad attempting to feed him.)

6 Months Old!!

2008-08-12T14:34:00.003-04:00

Josiah is 6 months old today!!! It is so amazing that Josiah has been a blessing to us for 6 months already! His pediatrician appointment went well, but we are glad it is over!

According to their scale Josiah weighs 14 lbs. 5 oz.-which is 10th percentile. But, we took him to the Nursing Station yesterday and he weighed 14 lbs. 15 oz...so that is a big difference-and of course we don't know which scale is accurate, but the one at the ped. office is manual and the one at the Nursing Station is digital. So, I tend to think the digital one is probably more accurate... :) And the nurse measured him at 25 inches-which could be accurate, but I think he is longer than that...:) His length, if 25 inches, is in the 5th percentile. His shots went well, although he always screams so pitifully afterwards. He fell asleep in the car on the way home and has been sleeping ever since. He usually naps really well after getting his shots, so hopefully he will be feeling a lot better after he wakes up.

Josiah is going to get his first "meal" of solid food tonight, although solid-is definitely a generous word to describe the rice cereal that we will be attempting to serve him. :) I will try to post pictures of the experience tomorrow. I know he is ready for solids, because he stares at us every time we eat, and puts everything into his mouth. The pediatrician said he can tell that his teeth are about to come through on the bottom, because his gums are a little swollen. :) We have been waiting for those teeth for a long time!

Everything else is going great for us. Josiah is sleeping 11 to 12 hours at night and napping 2-3 times a day for anywhere from 1 to 2 and 1/2 hours.

Nathan started his internship at Sojourn this week, classes at Seminary start next week, and work is going well for him. I am happy to be staying home, caring for our precious boy and watching him grow and change every day. Life is good-thank you Lord!

Ped. Visit yesterday

2008-08-03T12:58:00.003-04:00

So...Josiah is healthy and eating well! The Dr. thinks he might be teething...which I have suspected for awhile-and that is making him a little bit fussier. Also, Josiah has a little bit of a stuffy nose, so that could be making the nursing more difficult. But in about 15 minutes of nursing he had transferred 7 ounces of milk-so there is no need to worry that he is not eating enough!

I was glad for the good report and to know he is just getting much more efficient at nursing. He has been eating better today, after a night with the humidifier and nasal drops several different times. So, hopefully the teething will not cause too much fussiness, but I can't complain-because he is still pretty happy for the most part. He is still sleeping great at night, and napping pretty well during the day.
What do you want?!?!
Eating his cup after bath time. :)
Hello! I know I'm cute! :)

Yet another weight check....and some pictures-Finally!!

2008-08-01T21:19:00.009-04:00

So, I know it's been forever since I have posted...but better late than never right!??! Today Josiah weighed 14 lbs. 12 oz. Which is 5 ounces more than last week, which is still a very good gain. :)

We are going to the pediatrician tomorrow because Josiah has been a bit fussier than normal and has not been nursing very well. So, the lactation consultant wants to see him, to rule out an ear infection or anything else that might be causing both problems. Hopefully they can figure something out, cause I really want my happy-go-lucky baby back!

Here are some of the most recent pictures of Josiah....
Josiah with his great-grandma Jarrett (Nathan's mom's mom)
Happy Boy!
Uncle Lucas decided that Josiah should try out for the parallel rings in the gymnastics category for the Olympics, so he is training with him. He actually did hold on without support a couple of times! :)
His first swinging experience! This was the most emotion we got out of him the entire time we were at the park! He still seems to just observe and take everything in...
This was more like his typical response to everything while we were at the park.
Pure, raw emotion-what can I say! He is on the Tractor mounted on a giant spring-I have no idea what those things are called-you can see a partial one in the background... He loves to suck on his fingers...I think they are chocolate flavored. Or baby puke flavored maybe.
So...not the most flattering picture of precious Josiah...but I thought it was great-look how chubby he looks, sitting up all propped! :) He loves to be upright...although he is getting pretty good at sitting up on his own-propped on his hands, he is not quite able to do it on his own yet. We are working on it!
A close-up of his faux-hawk after Aunt Leslie and I took him to the pool. (Look very closely!) :) What a stud!
Sorry, I don't know how to turn the picture-but he looks like such a big boy with his jeans on so I had to include it! Of course his cloth diaper also makes his jeans look like an old man! :)
Again-very excited about being at the park! Thanks Aunt Leslie for the cute bib! :) He drooled all over it!
Sorry again for the sideways picture. But you get the idea-this is his favorite way to sleep...with his face COMPLETELY covered. It can be a blanket, or just a burp cloth, or anything really as long as it covers his face... If I move it off his face-so he won't suffocate, he wakes up just enough to move it back over his face and falls back asleep. After checking on him every 2 minutes, I decided he would never actually sleep if I kept doing it-so I just left it, and felt his chest to make sure he was still breathing every so often... But, again, I do not do this at night-I would be too paranoid. Silly Boy! Also notice his cankles and bithighs! Love it!

That is all for now-hopefully that helps to make up for how long it has been since I have posted any pictures...and I'll try to do better...Although that phrase sounds vaguely familiar. :)

Friday's Weight Check

2008-07-20T11:41:00.003-04:00

On Friday Josiah weighed 14 lbs. 5 oz. So he is still gaining weight like he should be. Josiah's newest development is that he is beginning to get the idea of crawling, although he has definitely not even nearly mastered it yet. He has figured out how to get his knees up under him to lift his backside off the ground. He has kind of figured out how to move his left arm, but has not figured out how to move his right arm...so if he really gets going, he moves in a perfect circle. :) He does not do it very often, because every time you put him on his stomach, he almost immediately rolls onto his back. But, if he will stay on his stomach, he usually ends up moving at least a few inches. I know that is not much, but it is still something. And it at least shows me that he is moving in the direction of being mobile-which means life as we know it will soon end! :)

Yesterday was my first attempt at making baby food. I think it was successful, but we'll really see how successful I was if he eats it, and likes it. At this point, we are still waiting until he is 6 months old to start solids, but I figured I would start making the food now and just freeze it. That way once he does start eating, I will be a little bit ahead of the game. I made yellow squash puree-sounds delicious right?!?! :) I plan on making carrot puree today or tomorrow and freezing that as well. I am making it in large batches and freezing it in individual serving sizes. That way I will be able to give him a variety of foods throughout a given week without having to make all of them each week. This is the plan anyway, we'll see how it all plays out once he starts eating!

Everything else is going great. Josiah is still sleeping great, he will wake up once or twice in the night every so often, but not consistently. He is also napping pretty well, most days anyway.

Here is just one picture for now..I'll try to post more recent ones soon-but as always they are still just on the memory card and not in the computer.

5 Months Old!!

2008-07-13T01:14:00.003-04:00

Josiah is 5 months old today! I weighed him yesterday and he weighs 14 pounds! I also tried to measure him, and got about 26 inches. According to a website that will calculate the percentiles, his weight is between the 5th and 10th percentile, and his height is between 25th and 50th percentile!!!! I hope that his height is accurate, because that percentile would be great for him, since he was in the 5th percentile at his 4 month appointment. We'll see what the pediatrician measures him at when he is 6 months old....

Josiah has been fantastic so far-traveling from Louisville and being here in Canton! He got fussy a few times in the car, but the first time it was because he woke up from a nap and was hungry, the next time he just needed to be out of his carseat, laying on a blanket for about 15 minutes to stretch and then was good to go again, and the third time was because he was hungry again. But other than that, he was really good. He just sat in his carseat and looked around, played with his toys, or napped.

Today he was the perfect "textbook" baby! He woke up at 7:30 and ate, then went down for his nap from 9:30 until 11:30, woke up and ate. Then we went to Nathan's aunt's wedding. I stood with him at the door for most of it. He never cried or fussed, but he was making noise while sucking on one of his toys, so I stood in the back and if he started to get loud, I could walk away from the door into the hallway so the "audience" was not disturbed by him. He did great for being held, and not having anything to play with for about 30 minutes. Then we visited with people for a little bit, and when he started to get fussy at about 1:30 we took him into the baby nursery and laid him down in one of the cribs. He "talked" and chewed on his fists for about 15 or 20 minutes and then fell asleep. He slept until 3:30, we took him home and he ate at 4. Then he napped from 6 until 7, played for a little bit, and then ate at 8 and went to bed! I was such a proud mama-that he was able to still follow his "schedule" even though we were in completely different places than he is used to. I am so grateful that he is a very easy baby, and I try to really appreciate all of the things he is able to do, and not take them for granted!

Anyway, I just had to brag on him for a little bit. :) The wedding was great, and it has been great for all of Nathan's family to get to see Josiah.

I have been truly blessed by God with a wonderful, loving husband and a sweet, healthy baby boy.

G Diaper tutorial and a few pictures of Josiah!

2008-07-10T21:41:00.010-04:00

This post is for my friend Molly. She is trying out all different kinds of cloth diapers, and she is having trouble getting the gdiapers not to leak, so I am posting pictures and explaining how I do it. So, to everyone else, just ignore this post! :) Although if I have a minute when I am done, I'll post a couple pictures of Josiah at the end! :)

Fold the diaper in half...(probably knew that part already.:)
Then fold both sides in, on the same side-they are on the underside in this picture. Pull them in pretty tight, so it isn't too wide for the plastic liner. If it hangs over the sides it will leak for sure.
Then tuck it inside the plastic liner. For some reason, they seem to leak less when I put the frayed/hemmed side in the front (towards the long tabs) and the folded end in the back. I also put the folded under flaps down. Make sure that it fills the whole liner, if there is space in the front or back it will also leak.
Then I put it on Josiah, and loosely velcro both sides, I do that so I can tighten each side without fighting to keep it on him. Then take one velcro tab and pull it tight, then do the other one-it almost seems too tight, but it has to be tight enough to "seal" in the pee and poo. :) Then, the most important step: pull the diaper away from his leg, and reach in to the liner-push it in, so you can tell it is between the cloth diaper and his thigh. You want the plastic liner right in the crack of his upper leg-that is the part that really keeps it from leaking.
Molly-I know that was way oversimplified, but I didn't want to skip any steps, assuming you were doing it already and that be the reason they are leaking for you. Let me know if you have any other questions, or if any of it doesn't make sense. :) Good luck!

Alright-now what everyone else cares about (and Molly too:)
Josiah at a July 6th cookout with friends. A belated 4th celebration. Laying next to him is Mortimer the Moose, Josiah's favorite friend and chew toy. Although he was quite careless to lay him on his back with all four legs hanging to the sides... I doubt he is very comfortable!
Josiah laying on his playmat, just being cute. :) His hair is still thin, but it is finally starting to grow in!
This is Josiah's new favorite sleeping position. Don't worry all moms and CPS (child protective services) people reading! I only let him fall asleep with the blanket over his face, and then I move it down so he can breathe. But, for some reason he always pulls it up over his face before he falls asleep. But, he almost never even fusses if he has his blankie, so I gave in and let him do it. Also note-he does not sleep with a blanket at night-not even to fall asleep. There is nothing in his crib, not even a pacifier, so there are no suffocation dangers. :)

Happy 4th of July!!

2008-07-04T15:02:00.005-04:00

We hope that everyone is having a great Independence Day! We have just been relaxing at the house most of the day since Nathan is off from work. We are going to grill out at Joe and Leslie's for dinner tonight. :)

I know it has been forever since I posted last, well actually just over a week, but I feel like there isn't too much news to report. The most exciting thing that has happened this week, is that Josiah has started sleeping from 8:30 or 9pm until 8am!!! This is great news, but has not directly affected the amount of sleep I am getting because my body still wakes me up at least once, usually twice (and sometimes more) in the night to go to the bathroom...sad, but hopefully someday in the future I will sleep for more than 5 or 6 straight hours! I am considering adult diapers, but somehow don't think that would help, since I would still wake up, it would just prevent me from having to actually get out of bed...and that just gets a little messy! I am already changing enough diapers as it is.
Josiah is so much fun to be around! He is almost always happy, and now that usually includes huge-dimpled smiles and often a laugh or coo. :) It is so fun to watch him develop, grow, and learn. We are anxious for him to start sitting up on his own, rolling over from his back to his stomach and then for him to start crawling, but we are also fully aware that our lives will be way crazier once he is mobile. So, we are trying to enjoy him in his current stage-of just laying on his back, rolling from his stomach to his back, and rolling onto his side from his back.
Still no teeth, or any indication that they are cutting through. But, he is definitely a drooling machine, and everything that he can get his hands on go directly into his mouth. He is reaching for and grabbing onto everything he can get at, and luckily since he is not mobile it is usually only the things we put within arm's reach. :) We are still in control for a little longer!!
He typically naps 2-3 times a day, usually ranging from an hour to two hours and 15 minutes, but usually for about and hour and a half. We have not started solids yet, but he is definitely interested in what we are eating now. I still think we will hold off until he is 6 months, but of course we'll just see how it goes. I have ambitiously decided to try and make his baby food, but again-we'll see how it goes. I have not tried it yet, and that might make a difference. :) I'll have to update on that matter once I have experience to speak from...
Well, Josiah just woke up, so I better be off!
This is my failed attempt at watching T.V. and not letting Josiah watch... If it is even remotely within his range of sight, he wants to watch. So, it looks like I will be watching a lot less t.v. as he gets more able to find what he is looking for. :)

Swaddle Free!!! and weight gain report

2008-06-25T16:03:00.004-04:00

Josiah has been swaddle free for two nights in a row!! :) I decided to try and see if Josiah would sleep through the night without his "swaddle me" blanket on, since he has been pulling his arms out almost as soon as I put it on him. Monday night he slept from about 9:30 until 6-he woke up twice between those two times, but went back to sleep on his own. Then, last night he slept from about 8:15 until 6:15!! And he only woke up one time, and feel back asleep on his own. This is very exciting for me, because he had been waking up a few times a night, and I was having to go in and help him fall back asleep, usually just by picking him up and calming him down, but every once in awhile by feeding him.
I went and weighed Josiah at the Nursing Station today-he weighed 13 lbs. 4 oz. before I fed him, then I fed him and he weighed 13 lbs. 10 oz. So that is also great news! It is good for me to know that he is eating about 6 ounces at his feedings-then I know how much to give him when I pump and give him a bottle.
He is growing and changing so much every day. He is cooing and "talking" so much more than he was even a week or two ago. He still has not figured out how to turn from his back to his stomach, but he is very good at getting onto his side-so I know he is going to figure out the rest of it pretty soon.
He loves his daddy!-anytime Josiah hears Nathan's voice, he stops what he is doing and looks to find his dad. Even when he is nursing, he will stop and look around until he can find Nathan. :)
Of course, I don't have any new pictures to post...all of our memory cards are full and we have to dump them all onto the computer before I can take any new ones-hopefully that will be done soon, so we can start taking pics again soon. :) But my parents were in town this weekend to visit-and they took lots. I just have to get them from my mom before I can post any.

4 Months Old!!

2008-06-12T23:03:00.005-04:00

Josiah is 4 months old today!!! :) Although with that comes four shots, which are not so much fun. He screamed through each one and cried for about 3 or 4 minutes after that and then proceeded to fall asleep in his carseat on the ride home and slept for over 2 hours. So, that was good. He was a little bit fussy tonight and had a 100.6 temperature. We gave him some Tylenol and put him to bed, and he is sleeping soundly right now. I will check his temp. again in the morning and if it is 101 or higher I will call the pediatrician, but I know that a low grade fever is normal with vaccinations, so I am not worrying. :)
On to happier things...Josiah weighs 12 lbs. 11 oz!! He is finally on the percentile charts-coming in right at the 10th percentile for weight!!! That is a milestone, since he had such difficulty gaining weight for the first few months of life. His length is 23 inches-according to the nurse. But, I am pretty sure he is longer than that, and should have asked the dr. to remeasure, but I did not. I tried to measure him when he was 3 months old, and got somewhere around 23 or 24 inches. While that could have been way off, I'm hoping that she was just off today. For his height he is still below the 5th percentile, but I am going to try to measure him tomorrow and see if I can't get a better length. :)
We have decided to wait until Josiah is at least 6 months old to start solids. The pediatrician said there really is no reason to start them now, especially since he is still solely breastfed-he is getting everything he needs from me. And Josiah seems completely satisfied on breastmilk, so I'm not gonna worry about that right now. :)
I think that is pretty much all there is to report, except that he said I should get allergy testing done...since I react when I eat certain fruits and vegetables, he said that is dangerous for me... So my child's pediatrician told me to go to the Dr. :) I really was asking to know if I should be concerned that Josiah might be allergic to those same foods and what I should do about it-he said not to be concerned for him, unless he reacts once we do give him those foods, but that I should get tested myself to know whether or not I need to carry an epi-pen! That is kinda scary, so I think I will take his advice and make an appointment.
We took Josiah swimming yesterday, I will post two pictures here for tonight, but all of the pictures are posted on Nathan's facebook page. He seemed to enjoy it fine, although I'm not sure he knew what was going on really-he just kind of sat there and looked around. :) We probably enjoyed watching him more than he enjoyed doing it. But I think that is probably the case with most things for babies until they are at least 6 or 7 months old.
Josiah went through about a week where he was waking up a couple of times during the night, but the past two nights has slept at least 7 hours straight. So, hopefully he will continue that pattern. He seems to be working on some teeth, he is a constant fountain of drool and is always chewing on his fists or anything he can get into his mouth. But, I can't see or feel anything in his gums, so it may just be a new fascination with things being in his mouth. Only time will tell I guess. :)
The two best looking men I know! :)
Josiah enjoying his Baby Float Toy- or us enjoying him in his Baby Float Toy rather. :)

Some new pictures

2008-06-08T22:58:00.009-04:00

It is past my bedtime, so I'm only going to post a few pictures tonight. These are taken by Melissa, my mother-in-law, from their visit to Louisville this weekend.:) I will post more soon...

"Huh? What did you say?" :)

Family Portrait....

Tim was always very good at getting Josiah to smile and laugh-this one is super cute! :)

Taking a nap with mommy.

Tim making Josiah laugh again. :) Like I said, he was good at it!

Weight check!

2008-06-06T18:30:00.003-04:00

Josiah weighs 12 lbs. 5.8 oz. :) That means he gained 8 ounces this week-which is over an ounce a day!! That also means that his new schedule is working out great-yay! He has been doing really well on his 3 and 1/2 hour feeding schedule, and it allows him to take longer naps and to go to bed earlier. A couple of times for his nap he has slept for 2 hours and 15 or 20 minutes-which is great for me because I can get a lot of stuff done around the house. :) He also wakes up in a great mood when he sleeps that well. No pictures today, I'm not on my computer at home...but I will try to get new pictures posted soon. I know I keep saying that, but I really will try this week. :)

Soooo big! :) (Relatively speaking of course)

2008-05-30T22:35:00.009-04:00

So Josiah weighs a whopping 11 lb. 12.7 oz!!! I was very excited-that he has gained 10.5 ounces this week! :) Since he gained so much weight this week, we have decided to try and switch Josiah from a 3 hour feeding schedule to a 3 1/2 hour feeding schedule. There are two reasons for this. 1.) So that I don't spend 5-6 hours of my day breastfeeding and 2.) So that Josiah can start going to bed earlier. As of right now, his last feeding of the night usually starts between 9 and 9:30, so he is in bed anywhere from 9:30 to 10:30. This means that I am not getting to bed until almost midnight many nights. That is not acceptable! :) So, hopefully his last feeding can be somewhere between 8 and 8:30 and be in bed as soon as he is done eating. He has been waking up pretty consistently between 5am and 7am, and I'm hoping he continues to sleep that long, but will be getting more sleep since he is going to bed earlier. :)
I am going to try this new schedule for a week and weigh him again next Friday. And if his weight gain is good, I'll keep doing it. But of course, if it is not good, we will go back to a 3 hour schedule for awhile longer.
Josiah will be four months old on June 12th! We will go back to the pediatrician for his shots, and to discuss the option of starting rice cereal and then pureed fruits and veggies... I am debating if I want to start the food so he will gain weight faster and need to breastfeed less, or if I want to hold off on the food to save money and, from what I hear, a lot of extra time feeding. I'll keep everyone posted, since I know you all are sitting on the edge of your seats in anticipation.

Here is a short walk down memory lane for everyone, since Nathan uploaded all the new pictures to a picture website, but not to the folder on the computer and I don't know where to find them. :)

Josiah is at 10 weeks gestation in this ultrasound-amazing!
This is our Christmas picture, I am 7 months pregnant-although you can't really see my belly you can tell by the swelling in my face. :)

I am not positive how many weeks pregnant I am here, but I think it is probably close to 37 or 38. (I was 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant when I delivered Josiah.) It is very weird to see my belly so big, I don't remember feeling like it was that big, but I do remember being VERY ready to not be pregnant anymore. :)

Here is where it all began-I think this is before I had received my epidural (best invention ever!) and was trying to rest despite contractions, which actually were not as bad as I had anticipated. And although I might have had one of the easiest labor and deliveries ever, I'm glad it's over. :)

And there he is!!! :) I'm pretty sure he is the cutest baby that has ever been born!

Still Gaining :)

2008-05-23T18:15:00.002-04:00

Josiah weighs 11 lbs. 2.1 oz. So that is 3.5 oz, which is about 1/2 an ounce a day for this week. That is okay, but not great. We will have to work on getting full feedings this week and make sure that the weight gain is better at next week's check.
Josiah is changing so much. I have a hard time seeing it since I see him everyday, but anytime someone else sees him-like on a weekly basis they say that he looks so different and seems so much more alert. Josiah is all smiles now-and he has dimples! He got those from his Oma. He is so cute when he smiles. :)
We enjoyed having Opa, Oma, and Josiah's great-grandpa here this past weekend-and they were a great help with Camden and Josiah on Monday and Tuesday. We are looking forward to Pappy and Grandma's visit coming up in two more weeks as well.
I still have to upload his most recent pictures, but I will try to do that some time this weekend. (Or get Nathan to do it, since he will be home all weekend and is off on Monday for Memorial Day-Yay!)

Friday's weight check

2008-05-19T11:20:00.003-04:00

My parents have been in town all weekend, so I haven't had a chance to update about Josiah's weight gain. On Friday Josiah weighed 10 lb. 14.7 oz.! I think that puts him right at the 5th percentile, or somewhere around there. So, like last time, he is gaining an ounce a day. We are very excited that he finally seems to be catching up for his slow weight gain early on. :)
He is smiling all the time, and cooing if he gets really excited. And he gets more alert every day-he loves to just be help upright and look around at everything, taking it all in-getting smart. :) That's all for now, he's not sitting up or anything yet, just still rolling over from his stomach to his back. He tries to get from his back to his stomach, but can just get to his side and stops there.

3 Months Old!!!

2008-05-12T19:48:00.007-04:00

Josiah is three months old today! It is hard to believe he has been with us for three months now. He is such a blessing and we love him so much! :) I had to wake him up again this morning to eat-it was 7:15! :) Here are some pictures I just took of him-he was doing an aerobics routine on the changing table, and then he is in his "swaddle me" blanket getting ready for his nap. Enjoy! :)

Another week, another weight check

2008-05-10T12:24:00.004-04:00

We went and had Josiah weighed again yesterday. He weighed 10lb 7.2 oz. Again-a very good weight check at having gained just under an ounce a day! Yesterday I put Josiah to bed at about 10:15 and I had to wake him up at 8am to feed him!!!! It was very exciting! Of course he woke up at 6am this morning to eat, but still that means he is sleeping 8 hours consistently. :) And the night before last-I didn't wake up even once to go to the bathroom! :) So maybe it won't be true for the rest of my life, but I did wake up once last night, so who knows...maybe Thursday night was just an exception! :)
Anyway, enough about my bathroom-in-the-middle-of-the-night habits, here is another picture of Josiah. He is not too happy about me making him do tummy time when he is tired. But that is what got him to scoot across the whole blanket behind him-because he was mad. I am a mean mommy I know. :) Opa and Oma are coming to visit at the end of next week, and we are excited to see them!