Josiah's First Food

Josiah's First Food

Haircut!

A Feisty Five Months

Yesterday we noticed that Josiah has been part of the family for five months already. Something else funny I noticed is that while much of this post could be dedicated to Josiah's lack of sleeping this past month (naps, during the night, he really doesn't want much to do with it), most of the cute pictures I have taken of him are of him sleeping. Ironic.

We've been valiantly trying to get him on a napping schedule, and for the most part, it seems to have taken the past 10 days or so. He gets a morning nap, an early afternoon nap, and usually sneaks in a snooze during his early evening feeding. Then bedtime is between 7:30 and 8:00pm. However, on days like yesterday, when he accidentally fell asleep in the car for 15 minutes, he was convinced he had already taken his afternoon nap and spent naptime screaming. He's still waking up 2-3 times per night for food.

I think he weighs about 16 pounds now (judging by the tried and true parent weighing on the scale with the baby, parent weighing on the scale without the baby - what? I still weigh that?! - and then subtracting).

He had his first haircut this past month, and he has been experimenting with sitting in the Bumbo chair. He likes it pretty well for the most part. He is a much bigger fan of jumping in the Jumparoo.

He's an affectionate little fellow, frequently trying to give me big slobbery kisses. He also loves to laugh and smile, and people watch.

I

what every mom loves to hear

Michaela (from upstairs): "I've got a boogie!"

Me (coming up the stairs): "You've got a boogie? Where?"

Michaela: "Not anymore."

Great. Be careful where you walk.

Fantastic Four (Months)

 The rumor is out that Josiah celebrated his 4 month-a-versary with a trip to the doc. It's true. Our doctor said she thought Josiah and Michaela looked alike, which kind of surprised me, but she amended it by saying at least you can tell they're brother and sister.



Vital stats:
14 lbs., 14 ozs
26.25 inches long
several immunizations,
  which this tough guy took like a champ


His weight gain has calmed down a little, as he's now back in the 50th percentile. However they had the nurse remeasure him because he measured at the 93rd percentile for height. They only adjusted him a slight 1/4 inch so he really just is tall. All other systems are go.


Likes: at 4 months, Josiah is getting the hang of bouncing in the Jumparoo. He can really get going. He likes being held, having his diaper changed, his sister, being tickled before he gets his jammies on at bedtime, watching TV (obviously we try to not let him), and watching water come out of the faucet (or in a glass).

Dislikes: being put down, being put in his carseat, vitamin D, socks


Take it or leave it: baths, tummy time, having fingernails clipped

Cake, Upside Down

Some people have wish lists on Amazon.com.  I have a different kind of wish list. It's more of a wish pile, actually.  It's made up of recipes I have ripped out of newspapers, magazines, and taken from the free display stands at Williams Sonoma. The various dishes (homemade pork empanadas, bread that is a rip-off from Macaroni Grill, Bourbon Caramel Banana Creme Pie, seared haddock with citrus and avocado oil) embody the hopes and dreams I have for, mostly, more time.  Some take more time to create, others promise they'll be so simple and delicious to prepare, I will be given more time as a result.  I also see a desire to expose my family to more ethnic tastes, indulge myself in sweets, and alternatively, eat more healthily. Like many wish lists, these recipes have remained largely in the realm of the imagined.

Today, though, I finally made the cake that I have been really planning to make since we had my father-in-law in town on Monday. Turns out every day ran out of time. But today, Michaela was napping, and I thought that I could do most of it (ha, ha) while holding Josiah in the crook of my left arm. A little drool in the glaze never hurt anyone.  Well, the cake is still in the oven so I can't describe the results (possibly a good thing), but one thing I know for sure. This ripped out page won't stay in the wish pile, nor will it migrate to the recipe box. It may be absolutely delicious (I hope so) but it is heading directly for the trash.  At this stage of my life, any recipe that requires 3 mixing bowls, a saucepan, various whisks, electric beaters, pastry brush and vegetable peeler, making my own caramel (what? I thought it came out of a squeeze bottle!), cutting a circle of parchment paper on which I have traced the bottom of the pan, is just too much!! I had decided this before I got to the part about folding in the egg whites. And I just realized I forgot to set the timer to tell me when to "rotate the cake halfway through the baking time."  Really?  So, on second thought, after all this work the results had better be tasty - though I'm haunted by the fact that my caramel sauce became hardened the minute I poured it in the cake pan. It may be a crunchy pear upside down cake.

But I'll just chalk it up to the school of life, and enjoy another item on my wish list. Josiah is contentedly cooing on his play mat and talking to Mr. Cow, and Michaela is reading to herself from the Little House toddler book series. At the same time. Miracles do happen.

Inaugural Jump



After months and months... dare I say years?... of hiding away in a bedroom closet, the Jumparoo made its reappearance today. What is a "Jumparoo"? you may ask. Well, it's a treat for the senses, mostly the senses of infants who can wiggle a little but not a lot. If they could wiggle too much, they might try to get away from the repetitive music it can play when turned on. Michaela loved jumping around in it when she was little, but she didn't start using it until she was 4 and a half months old, and she still couldn't quite touch the ground with her little feet so we had to put a phone book underneath her.

But Josiah has really seemed to enjoy sitting upright and looking around, and his head control is good, so I thought we would assemble the Jumparoo and give it a try. Turns out... why yes indeed!... his little toes already touch the ground!  He really seemed to enjoy sitting up and exploring the colorful items within his sphere of influence. It bought me 30 minutes to make lunches for the rest of the family and then to eat my own. I'd call that a raging success. Thank you great-grandpa Puckett for the Jumparoo - the gift that keeps on giving!



Proof of his toes touching the carpet



Three Thriving Months!

It is thanks to trying to get Josiah on a napping schedule (you know, where one naps more than a few minutes in their own crib) that I am able to go on this blogging extravaganza. Now that Josiah is 3 months, I am trying to monitor his sleeping and waking time so that I can figure out when to best put him down for naps on a schedule. It really kind of confused things this morning when he slept in until about 9:40. I REALLY want him to get into the habit of napping at the same time Michaela does. However, I refuse to complain too much since he is doing such a great job at sleeping at night. He goes down about 8:00 or 8:15 and then sleeps until 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning with only one, or two, nighttime awakenings. It's almost like he's not the same baby that gave us those nightmarish first couple of weeks, sleep-wise, that is. And possibly he's not. Folks at church tell us that he looks different every time they see him.

He continues to grow, though I haven't weighed him lately, he seems to have the cutest little baby chunk, which our skinny-minnie daughter never did. His hair also keeps growing at a rapid rate, though it's rubbing off in the back and on the sides. He tolerates "tummy time" a lot better than Michaela ever did. He seems to want to propel himself forward, using his feet and legs (booty up in the air), but he doesn't move his hands or arms, so he ends up doing a face plant. We think it's pretty amusing, but he does not seem to agree. He's getting quite enjoyable to be around, with a laugh when his tummy is tickled, and big grins for almost anyone who will give him the time of day. He's also discovered his tongue, sticking the tip out and gumming it for entertainment. He is also able to maneuver blankets into his mouth to be sucked on/chewed on. His world is growing bigger by the day!

Here are Michaela and Josiah, both at 3 months:

Breaking in a New Year

In what we have happily been able to declare tradition - we rang out 2011 and toasted 2012 with our good friends the Morgans and the Sargents. This year it was our year to host the festivities, so we munched on appetizer-like goodies and tried to keep the kids from causing anyone else bodily harm until it was time for them to go to bed. We had the brilliant idea of putting Lily down in Michaela's room on the extra bed, but when Sarah went in to soothe Lily, Michaela was pretty sure that Sarah was there to chat with her about the day, so no one was getting any sleep. They went forward with the pack'n'play in the separate room plan. Maybe next year, girls, you'll get your slumber party. Isaiah slept like a champ on our guest bed, undisturbed by the games going on below.

Last year we had a picture of Travis and Kalina with all the kids -- ditto for this year.
I'm guessing they don't really want 4 kids?

Like I always suspected of adults when I was a kid, we waited until the kids were asleep to have the real fun - playing games and eating brownie sundaes. Thanks to a pot of caffeinated coffee (for most of them, who weren't pregnant or nursing) our group stayed up until midnight and beyond (barely beyond.) We shared the ups and downs we've experienced in this past year, and remembered again that always God is good. It is with hope and excitement that we look forward to the experiences of 2012.

A sneaky 30th birthday

I would be remiss in my chronicling of family events if I didn't draw attention to the fact that my wonderful husband recently celebrated a birthday. I think he was probably just trying to sneak it in before the end of the year without any fanfare. But it is with pleasure I announce that Adam has left his roaring 20's behind and joined the 30-year-old club. We celebrated with his family coming down to visit and going out to dinner at ClaimJumper's, with the classic German Chocolate birthday cake, and a marathon game of Cities and Knights (Settlers of Catan). Happy Birthday!!!

You know you're getting old when the candles have to stand for decades, not years!