Corsicana Fun

Swimming fun with cousins, Lacey, and Aunt Sharon

Lillian loves touching Joseph's head!


Our week is coming to an end here at mom and dad's. We have actually been here a little over a week and I'm sad but also happy to get home. Joseph needs back on his home schedule. He only slept a full night here once (and I think that was because I had wine before bed) So I am really looking forwards to sleeping at home and hopefully him sleeping through the night again. I can also tell he misses his Dada, when Joey spoke with him on the phone he had a huge smile. Joseph is also beginning to eat more each day, so I need to get home and get him more variety of foods going along with more finger foods so he can develop his pincer grasp (nope still doesn't have it). We have had such a fun time with cousins Lucy and Lily. And Gigi and Teetoe have been so nice, even during loud cries at night. We will be back to visit just for the weekend in August. Plus Gigi and Teetoe will be visiting us real soon in Houston.

I had to mention Lucille's funny comments this past week.
When I was getting Joseph's dinner ready one night she asked what it was. I told her it was oatmeal, millet, wheat germ and tofu. She said "What!! He's going to eat it with his TOES?!
Also while nursing Lucille said "He looks SO cute when he's eating that titty."
Also while nursing "Why are you milking Baby Joey?"
Gotta love a 4 year old!

Joseph's Greats

Great Grampy
Great Great Uncle Jody
Great Great Aunt Eileen
Great Memaw
This week we were able to visit some special family members in the Waco area. We went to West Rest Haven nursing home and visited with Uncle Jody, Memaw, and Aunt Eileen. Then we headed out to the country to Grampy's house. Lacey and the girls went too and we ate at Chikfila so the girls could play in the indoor playground. It was a hot but nice day to see family.

Happy 3rd Birthday Lillian!

Lillian turns 3 on August 11th but since we are in town for the week Lacey decided to have her party early so we could be there! It was held at a spray park at the YMCA here in Corsicana. Joseph has really had fun with his cousins this week and I know he will be lonely without Lucy half an inch from his face, or Lily trying to "pet" him, hold him, or squeeze his head. He loves being around other children. Uncle Russell took him out to get him in the water and I think he had an ok time!

Joseph's 1st wedding

Matt and Michael Anne

The Ladies man

Uncle Roger babysitting Victoria and Joey

Congratulations Michael Anne and Matt! We were so excited to take Joseph to his 1st wedding in Waco. We had been invited to two other weddings but it was when Joseph was ill, so he just made it to his first wedding at 9 mths! As you can see in the pictures, he was quite the ladies man and he even participated in the wedding march with momma and Daddy. He was a really good wedding baby: )He wouldn't nurse all night because of all the excitement and when I finally made him he barfed all over my wedding outfit. Daddy took good care of him while Momma danced the night away with family and friends. We needed a trailer for all the baby stuff we brought, but we only used the walker, he didn't sleep in the pack and play like we thought. And he slept all the way back to Corsicana. It was a fun night and I'm glad we went!

Look what Joseph does NOT like

We tried to take Joey JR on a ride, but he wanted nothing to do with TeeToes Polaris. So we gotta break this boy in, he has to like the Polaris!! We love riding on it. SO maybe next time we will try again and he won't be so scared.

9 month check up

Reaching for flowers

Meeting Dada with his new hair style
Trying to drink water from the tray

This morning we took a trip to see our Pedi. Here are our stats!
Weight: 20 lbs, 56%
Height: 30, 97% (that's my tall boy!!)
Head Cir: 46, 78%

He had a growth spurt between 6 and 9 months and grew taller : ) The Dr wanted to know his milestones and if he was "Patacaking" Well, the answer was no, but he does know:
How to turn the pages in a book
The words "Gina, ball, throw the ball, eat, drink, jump, kiss"
he can crawl, pull up and stand
hit two toys together
he can sing "la la la"
he started pointing his little finger at things
He is ticklish on his feet, back, and sides

I got just a little in trouble because I'm not giving him finger foods yet. I told her I'm scared he'll choke! I told her he doesn't have the pincer grasp yet, and she said he needs to practice with finger foods!! So I guess I will introduce finger foods! The dr did OK all my homemade foods I'm giving him, plus all the enhancers (nutritional yeast, flax seed, tofu...ect)

Two really mean (ok not really) nurses came in and took his blood : ( To check for anemia. I helped hold him down and they stuck his little vein in his arm. He screamed and turned bright red, but he was fine afterwards. He was already in a bad mood because he was tired. Needless to say he crashed right when we got into the car.

Joseph also woke Tuesday with a green snot nose. Dr said if it's that way in a week to bring him back that it might turn into an ear infection or sinus infection. I pray not since we are about to go visit Gigi and Teetoe for a week!

This past month we also saw Dr.Roy the ENT. I didn't post about it because nothing new was discussed. We will head back down next month and then at a year when we will start weaning him off the med.

I cannot believe he is 9 mths old!! I have already starting thinking about his Birthday party in October!

Funny fall-over

Happy 9 months Joseph!

Food!

Joey Jr LOVES:
Sweet potatoes
Mangos
Pears
Plain Yogurt

Joey Jr LIKES:
Green Beans
Yellow Summer Squash
Papaya
Cantaloupe
Broccoli
Prune Juice
Tofu
Egg Yolk
Super Porridge w/brown rice, millet, oatmeal
White Potatoes
Banana

Joey Jr does NOT like:
Carrots
Avocado
Kiwi
Peaches
His vitamin drops

I sneak nutritional yeast, tofu, vitamin drops, flax seed, and wheat germ into his foods daily for the extra vitamins and protein. I also serve his LOVE foods in between bites of his NOT like foods. That usually tricks him into eating it all. He will eat an occasional peach slice on his own, but does not like it pureed. Avocado was his 1st food so I was sad when he stopped liking it. Avocado is so good for a baby-healthy fats for brain development! He could eat sweet potatoes and mangoes all day long if I let him. He will probably turn orange soon. I mix his nasty tasting vitamin drops (Poly-Vi-Sol) into mangoes and he takes them every time. He turns 9 mths on Sunday. So next month I will be introducing legumes into his super porridge, spinach, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and maybe cooked onion. I am still abiding by the Super Baby Food book. According to that book he is still a little behind on the amount of food he is eating, but he still nurses up to 5 times a day.

We go to the doctor on Thursday for his 9 mth check up! He will have blood work to check iron levels and I'll post his stats!

All About Moms-Support Group

Joseph and BobbieLynn
Today was our last day to attend the mom's support group. We've been going since Joseph was 4 months old. We officially graduated! I would suggest this group to ANY new mother. It is held at Memorial Hermann every Monday from 10am-11:30am, free of charge. You do not have to give birth at Memorial Hermann to attend. The moms meet behind the lactation center in the resource room. It is mothers with babies aged from newborn until crawling age (around 9 mths) who sit around and talk about everything baby! BobbieLynn is the nurse who facilitates these meetings and she is WONDERFUL!! We started going once Joseph was over his illness. I felt like I had SO much built up inside from my birth, to his illness, and I was ready to talk!! Since that first meeting, I have shared my horrible birth story to many nurses and compared stories with other new mothers. I've also shared our awful experiences with Joseph and trying to get him diagnosed correctly when he was having such breathing difficulty. My healing process from the birth has been a very tough road and somedays I would just cry to BobbieLynn and she would listen and then help me as best as she could. In the group when I would share our story about Joseph and his misdiagnoses, I really wanted to reach out to the new mothers and let them know that WE know our baby and it is ok sometimes to think a doctor is wrong. With everything Joey and I have gone through during the last 8 mths, I believe by me talking to others about our experiences has helped me a lot. We will definitely miss mom's group every Monday, but I know there are bigger things out there for us since now my Joseph is crawling EVERYWHERE!!!

Watching that stuff fall from the sky

Thingy Basket

So when I want to get on the computer during the day or I'm trying to get ready, and baby isn't napping, I try to find him something to keep him occupied. He is slowly loosing interest in his exersaucer. I occasionally check this web site for great ideas. So when I saw the post about the thingy basket, I was excited to make Joseph one! I of course cleaned every item I found for it and he always plays with it supervised. Here is what our thingy basket includes:
toothbrush
flashlight
2 sets of keys
rosary made of rope
yarn
pool ball
a patch
hair comb
old phone
broken baby monitor (like a walkie talkie)
photo album with family/friends pics
empty oatmeal cylinder
sometimes our nice camera case makes it in the basket because he loves the zippers

Preggy Friends

Ashley Jacque Daicia

Three of my good friends are expecting! I am so excited that Joey Jr will have some more playmates.

Ashley and Steve are due with their 2nd little blessing of a BOY! His name is Logan Jack and he will come via c-section sometime in October probably. Logan will be welcomed by big brother Brycen.

Jacque and Martin are having a GIRL!! She is due August 30th and this is their 1st baby! We can't wait to meet her!

Daicia and Matt are due with their 2nd little ?? Yep they are not finding out the sex of the baby. It is so fun that way, that's what we did with baby Joey. Daicia's baby will be welcomed by a big sister! She is due August 1st.

The Nesting Mother

Me, Michelle, Daicia, Jacque, mom Birdie cupcakes "Graham cupcakes with Key Lime frosting" I made
Bird Nests Michelle made
Along with my mom and two close friends, we hosted a baby shower for a dear friend of ours. I chose the theme "Nesting Mother" because this mamma likes her birdies! It was a nice little shower and mom-to-be got lots of great cloth diapering gifts!

God Bless America!

Happy July 4th!
Last year when I was pregnant we went to The Woodlands 4th of July parade with Steve, Ashley, and Brycen. So this year when Ashley mentioned it again we were excited to take baby Joey to his first parade! It's funny cause last year I was preggy and this year Ashley is! We didn't get there early enough for front row seats, but at least we were pretty much in the shade the whole time. We heard sirens, loud marching bands, and saw lots of people and kiddos! Joseph wasn't scared of the noises at all. He enjoyed watching Brycen and his balloon and he even chilled in his stroller some. I think this will be a nice tradition each year!

What is Joseph up to these days?

Crawling after Gina
He smashes his face into anything and everything that is soft
He is learning about Jesus

He is enjoying crawling around his room checking every little thing out
He gets up on his knees and acts like he wants to stand up

He pulls over all his over-the-head toys (and he thinks it's great)