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!