Nana and Poppa come to visit....

For Nana and Poppa's benefit, I am including all of the pictures from their visit on 6/12/04. Josh LOVES for N&P to visit, he is always in such a good mood. I don't know how they manage to always find him on his happiest days, but so far they have!
{{{{{{nana & papa}}}}}}}<--- Loves for N&P!

Houston.....we have a.....TOOTH!

See my tooth??? It came through on 7/9/04, one day after my 7 month b-day.


Yep, he finally got his first tooth and he has been biting less since then. Surprisingly they don't seem to bother him too much, he hasn't been chewing on anything he can get his hands on. I think his sleep was a bit off for awhile, he thought 3:00am was playtime and just when I was about to get serious with him, he did a 180 and slept through the night the past 3 nights 8-9 hours each time. I am crossing ALL my fingers and toes hoping it will stick for awhile, I am enjoying the extra rest!

We have stayed pretty close to home lately, been outside doing yardwork mostly. We started our yoga class again on Thursdays so we get to see babies on a regular basis. Our friend Erika and her baby Jaden came back from a 3 week trip so we got together for a walk at Pine Lake park this week. Cute park on the lake, we'll go back for some toe dipping next week. We have beach weekends planned for the last two weekends of the month.

Solids are going well, he is finally looking forward to eating when I bring out the bowl and spoon. Have added peas to his list of foods and they are going like gangbusters. He is definitely starting to be interested in the food on my plate, I gave him rice off my plate at lunch today and for the first time he didn't make the gaggy face, he actually wanted more.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'.......

Josh has been a busy boy! As you can see by the title, he is "rollin'" in more ways than one. We now put a baricade of pillows at the end of the carpet in the living room otherwise, who knows where he will end up. He is quite adept at rolling both directions, whichever suits his purpose. He has been known to get stuck under the futon, though, so we usually have to put pillows under there too.

We have a fun new hobby (baby yoga class doesn't start again until next month and music class is off for the summer, so we needed a new "Get out of the house" card to play), we went rollerskating on Tuesday! Yep, every Monday and Tuesday the roller rink has "Stroller Fitness" for 2 hours. So you put munchkin in the stoller, strap on the skates, and get your cardio in! I met up with 3 other moms and babies from a online message board. Someone was kind enough to start rounding up all the local women and putting us together, so as we were chatting, someone suggested the skating idea. It was great fun to meet the other moms that I had been talking too and gave Josh a chance to meet more babies. Most of us hadn't been skating since we were teenagers, so it was a good laugh. The funniest thing was that even though it was a rink I had never been to before, it SMELLED just like the rink in Everett used too! And pretty much looked the same too. I guess that look/smell is universal! I can't remember all the songs, but let's just say we skated to YMCA and 99 Red Balloons, so you can get an idea of the music we heard. We definitely plan on going back again next week, you can work up a sweat doing it and the babies loved the speed!

Did I mention that Josh had a great 6-month check up? He weighs 19lbs and is 27.5 inches (which explains why all of his sleepers are suddenly stretched to the max!) He has put on 3 pounds and grown about 3 inches in the past 2 months! He is a bit skeptical about the whole solid food thing but here is what he has tried so far and his verdict:

• Rice Cereal :)
• Multi-grain Cereal :)
• Bananas :( :( :(
• Apple Sauce :) :) :)
• Watermelon :)
• French Fry :

I've stewed the prunes already today, so those are next on the list....he just doesn't know it yet!
Oh, the picture in the grass was taken in the backyard under one of the fruit trees, he was playing with Lexi (Auntie Mick's cat) and having a blast outside. The had fun until Lexi decided to spar with him a bit and he got scared although Lexi didn't really do anything to him. He still doesn't quite know what to make of her.

I can't think of much else that has been going on. We got a new porch swing (YAY!) that Michael and I put together last weekend. Josh and I have story time out there most days and it is always a nice spot to sit and nurse him in the evenings. He likes to hang out on the swing with daddy too, they watch the leaves on the trees and Lexi most of the time.

Josh and Lexi under the fruit tree.

Help, Help, HELP!!

On the swing with daddy.

Daddy and Josh on the new swing.

Skatin' and rollin' with the babies.

Hey Josh.....whatcha doin' down there??

We are alive and well....finally!

What can I say! We have been busy/sick/busy/tired/busy! As you can tell, I saved several entries for pictures below.....I have so many to share! Lots of fun stuff has been happening and of course, I have had the camera out.

In the meantime, let me see if I can fill you in on what has been going on. We are just a few days away from Josh being 6 months old! Can you believe it? I am shocked that the time has gone by so quickly. He has made huge leaps in development in the past two weeks....even just in the past 5 days, I can't believe how much he has changed. He can sit pretty much on his own now, I started propping him up with his boppy last week and today, he hasn't taken a tumble yet, he's doing a great job maintaining his balance. Of course, he has the added incentive of being able to access his toys much better from the upright position.

He is grabbing for things quite well now! I now have to eat with everything far away from him if he is in my arms....I was trying to eat a hamburger at lunch today and he grabbed a hold of the wrapper and wouldn't let go....most of the lettuce came tumbling out across the table, I was stuck with a big glob of bacon (yes....I know....bacon cheeseburgers are not good for anyone!!) sticking out of my mouth, trying to get us all detached. Things are going to be messy from here on out I can tell!

He is definitely interested in food now.....I gave him his first rice cereal last Saturday (dutifully photographed and videotaped, stay tuned!), we had that 4 days in a row and he is getting excited about it now. We had to skip it today, because he is a little ahem....shall we say....backed up :) So we are going to take it easy. He has had a couple of teething biscuits (that was his very first food actually, the happiness on his face convinced me to not wait any longer for the cereal) and of course, they are beyond messy, but he is such a happy camper when he has them.
We are past it now but we both had bad colds...his first major cold and for me....one that is finally leaving me after 3 weeks. It was so pathetic though, the morning he woke up coughing and you could tell it was in his chest. He had all 3 adults (momma, dadda, auntie mick) all standing around just staring at him and going "awwwww" and wincing everytime he coughed. He is much better now and raring to go.

Let's see, what else has happened? We finished our last Mommy and Baby Yoga class....I was very sad....I would have definitely liked to continue but the teacher is taking the summer off. So instead, we are taking Kindermusik classes on Thursdays now. He is the only non-crawler/walker in the class (except one 12 week old) so he has to stay pretty close to me, but he loves all the dancing and singing and especially all the other babies. A friend had raved about what a great teacher Miss Allison was and she was right, she is wonderful about engaging the babies and they know when she is focusing on them and you can't stop them from grinning until their faces almost crack! We are going to join up with some other mommies and friends in the fall and take the class with other babies that Josh sees on a regular basis. Baby buddies, it's always good to have them.

I know there is a ton more but the brain isn't fully engaged right now....so I'll add on later.
(Update....I couldn't resist adding a picture or two.....)

Oh Momma...does all food taste as good as cookies?


Brown concrete.....but hey, at least it is organic!



Momma just thought I was cute here...I thought I would give her a quick pose, maybe she will go away now!


Even babies have bad hair days...Yikes!


Oh my....I hang my head in shame....I cannot leave the house with this head of hair!

Walking on Sunshine.....

4/10/04 - We went walking on the trail by the Sammamish river. I am going to have to get him an umbrella stroller soon because he likes to see everything and as it is now, I end up carrying him and pushing the stroller.

I picked a bunch of dandelions and let him play with them. He immediately mushed them beyond recognition and throroughly enjoyed it. You'll see the end result in the last picture.

Resting beside the trail, he likes watching all the runners, bikers, kids, dogs, and miscellaneous go by!

Mommy is holding him in place and trying to take the picture....he just wants the camera!

Well, hellllloooo dandelion!

Food mama? Do I finally get food?

Darn, she just wants me to pose with it.

I didn't get a picture of him mashing a bunch of dandelions with his hands, but here you can see the end result, butter fingers!

Ommmmmm.....

Today was Josh's first yoga class! We went to a Mommy and Baby yoga class taught by the same instructor I had during my prenatal yoga classes, a great lady named Julie. We had a chance to reconnect with a few people that had been in our class previously, it was fun to see all these formerly pregnant mommies with their babies. It was a nice, laid back class. I don't think all of us were doing the poses at any one time, someone was either nursing, changing, or soothing a baby, but one way or another we all got in some yoga. Josh had a great time just hanging out on the mat beside me. Some of the poses I could lay him underneath me while I was on my hands and knees or in downward dog, he thought that was the greatest!

I've included some pictures of Josh during tummy time....now you may not think that is such a special time, but with babies sleeping mostly on their backs these days, you actually have to spend time every day (ok, most days!) getting them used to being on their tummies. It is usually an unhappy battle, so when you find something they like to play with while on their tummies and they happily spend time there, mommies tend to get excited and take pictures! Besides, this is one of his favorite toys right now, it plays several classical tunes and each instrument lights up as it plays. Soon he'll figure out that you can pull all the characters out of their spots and creat chaos :)



If I hold my fingers right here it keeps playing the song over and over and over and over and over and over....cool huh?


I like it so much I can't help drooling.


Am I done with tummy time yet Mama?

Tip Toe Through The Tulips.....

Here are the Tulip pictures (4/11/04)....we just stopped by one of the free fields that you could walk through, although you were not supposed to walk between the rows. Hmmm...how on earth did we get those pictures of everyone posing in the MIDDLE of the tulips. We got in trouble a few times. At one point, Maddie was so excited about the pink tulips she went skipping merrily down the row, and went skipping, and went skipping.....we thought she wasn't going to stop until she reached the other side! Auntie Michele and her friend, Cameron, were also with us, but I don't seem to have a picture of them...I'll have to remedy that. Anyhow, next time we'll visit some of the formal gardens that have an entry fee, some of the pictures of the designs and landscaping with tulips that I saw from those locations looked great. Next year, next year!

Comments from original journal:
Misty, these are great! I love the pictures of Josh, you, Heather, and the girls....beautiful! What a great site this is....I'm putting it in my favorites. You're looking wonderful and happy. Mommyhood agrees with you! Blessings, Annie Comment from annieob84 - 5/4/04 8:35 PM

Thanks Annie! I love it when Josh has a chance to spend time with his cousins. We are planning some fun activities with the girls this summer....guess what that means....more pictures! :) So nice to hear from you! Take care and keep checking back.Comment from mistyinsammamish - 6/3/04 10:16 PM

Josh's first visit (and mine too!) to the Tulips in La Conner, he looks skeptical.


Misty and Josh - I pulled him out of the stroller to take pictures, he is thrilled.


Auntie Heather!

Cousin Katelyn (Katie)!

Cousin Miranda!

Cousin Madeline (Maddie)! Her FAVORITE color is PINK PINK PINK...she was in heaven with the pink tulips.

Purple Tulips!

Purple, yellow, red tulips!

Purple, pink tulips!

RED Tulips!

One of the girls asked what happened to the tulips here, Cameron said, that's where they bury the people that walk in the rows!

His face says it all....he is done with the flowers and the sun!

Time flies.....

My goodness....time is just whizzing by and I have all these new pictures to get posted! Let's see what has been happening....Josh was a bit sick about 2 weeks ago, he ended up getting a cold along with me. Fortunately, it was short-lived for both of us and the battle of me, him and the snot-sucker (or booger-catcher, or whatever it is that you call that thing that you use to clear their noses!) ended quickly.

He had his 4 month check up on April 8th and is doing great, chugging along at 16 pounds and 11 ounces! They want them to double their birth weight by 6 months and he beat that at the 4 month mark, way to go baby! We started putting him in his exersaucer (don't know what else to call it, you'll see the pics) last week and he is slowly getting used to it. He enjoys it more each day as his coordination gets better and he is able to actual get a hold of things. Of course, my living room has become that thing I have always dreaded, kiddie-land! Between the swing, the bouncy chair, the exersaucer, and the car seat it is getting a little ridiculous. Sooner or later he has to outgrown at least one of them!

We had a chance to go up and visit the tulips fields in La Connor last Sunday, my first visit after living here all of these years! Josh pretty much slept the afternoon away, we pulled him out for a few photo ops but didn't get the best ones, I'll still include a few pics though. Tulip link.

Before I was born

If you didn't get a chance to see these before, here are Josh's ultrasound pictures when he was just 27 weeks old! These pictures were taken in September, 3 months before he was born....do you recognize him? :)