I Love My Daddy!

I love my Daddy a lot. He's a busy guy, but I can tell his very favorite thing to do is hang out with me (especially when there's also a NASCAR race on!) My Daddy feeds me yummy things like sweet potatoes and Cheerios. He doesn't mind if I'm very messy. And even though Mommy says not to, Daddy lets me roll over to my tummy when he's changing my diaper. I really like to do that -- why doesn't Mommy understand! I can't see around me or grab what I want as well from my back! And Daddy doesn't know this, but when I roll over to my tummy a lot, it takes longer to change my diaper, and I love spending time with Daddy! My Daddy also plays with me. We play games like "where are my toys," "got your nose," and "who's that on the playmat." My Daddy is very funny. Sometimes Daddy and I need some downtime, though. He likes to lay on our big couch. I'm pretty small, so he lets me lay on him. He's very warm and snuggly to rest on.

I love when my Daddy comes home from work. I get so excited and can hardly wait for him to pick me up and play with me. We walk around, sometimes outside, and we play silly games and make silly faces that Mommy doesn't do. Daddy is also very good at burping me and picking out pretty clothes for me to wear. I've also noticed that Mommy is not so much fun when I wake her up early in the morning, but Daddy loves to have someone to talk to very early.

Weekend Fun

Friday evening we went over to a friend's house who has a little girl who is almost one. Lisa and I took our girls to the pool for a little late afternoon swim. Joanna really enjoys swimming, and Anna let her wear her swim hat -- so cute!

After the swim, we put the kids in the tub to rinse off the chlorine. This was Joanna's first bath with a friend!

We enjoyed dinner with our friends while the little ones "played." It was a very nice, relaxing evening!

Saturday morning, we headed over to Caleb's First birthday party. There was a lot of his family and all kinds of little ones. It was a really fun, easy-going party. Joanna had a very good time. It was funny to watch a little one playing with a toy, then along would come a crawler to grab the toy and crawl away, then would come a walker to take the toy and walk away. Luckily, there were plenty of toys!

We wouldn't let Joanna eat any cake, so her daddy ate the cupcake with her name on it! Caleb's mom is so thoughtful!We definitely enjoyed partying and special events this weekend! On Sunday, Joanna's friend Abby was baptized at church, and Joanna was really interested in that in the service. (Then, of course, she decided she wanted to talk all about it during the sermon!) It was really sweet that Abby was wearing the same outfit (different size) that Joanna wore for her baptism!

I never did get around to posting pictures of that day. Here we are after the service posing by the baptismal font. Joanna is so small! She was almost 3 mos, but I remember we had to buy a newborn outfit to fit her!Here is our family that was in for the weekend:

Nana and Popo, Aunt Kathryn, Uncle Andy and Christiana, Great Aunt Gail and Uncle Steve, Mamma and Pop, Great Grandma, Gran, Mommy and Daddy, and Joanna. Aren't we a good looking bunch?!

Sweet Potato Queen

Joanna had her very first veggie tonight. We gave her some sweet potato, and of course we took a little video! We've also had a very fun weekend so far, but I'll blog about it all later. For now, our Sweet Potato Queen...

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Chatting with Daddy

We took this video a few days ago or last week or something, and I forgot about it. It's so cute, though, so I'm sharing it with you all. Enjoy.

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Six Months Old Today!

Joanna is already 6 months old; I can't believe it! The last 2 or so have really flown by :) We had our 6 month well baby visit and shots at the doctor this morning. She did great of course, although I think Joanna is really feeling those shots today. She's been extra tired and fussy. Earlier, she was playing in the exersaucer and I could tell she really wanted to laugh at my jokes, but she was so tired/hurting/fussy that she couldn't. She's in her bed now, hopefully blissfully asleep. Here's Miss Band-Aid legs -- only 3 shots this time!

Joanna has now moved from being petite to being really petite. She fell off the bottom of the chart in weight. Her doctor was sure that one of us (Matt or me) must have been a small baby, but upon consultation with the grandmas, we discover that was not the case. We were not small babies. We have no idea where this petite thing came from. Oh well, she sure is cute! Here are her stats: 11lb 6.5oz, 24in long, head circum. is 16.75in. The doctor says her head is big in proportion to her body (for all those brains!). He listened to her murmur again, and we caught him up on the TCH visit. We are supposed to be working on sitting up (according to my mother, I was doing that at 4 1/2 mos!) and introducing solids. So we've got some lovely mashed up orange food in the cabinets ready for consumption. Yum. We've already started rice cereal, and Joanna is definitely a pro at this food thing; she likes "chewing." I'm definitely not looking forward to the coming diapers...

This past weekend Matt and I finally finished sanding, priming, and painting the cubbies for Joanna's room. I actually feel like her room is basically done -- we like it in there. Here are the cubbies, complete with toys and books and stuff:

Tagged!

The Rules: 1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts. 2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. 3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!) 4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. 5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So Theresa tagged me today, and I'm not sure there ARE 8 random/interesting things about me, but here goes. This is also a test of who reads my blog since I'll know if you don't email your list!

1. I am a huge Trekkie, and have even been to a couple of Star Trek conventions. I'm a "second generation" trekker; my mom and dad watched the original series -- I grew up on Next Generation and Voyager.

2. I hate infomercials, but sometimes find myself watching one when I'm up at 4:00am, and Star Trek isn't on. I need someone to explain to me why there is no normal television on from like 2-5am. Don't they know there are babies out there who need to eat!

3. I'm an avid reader; I can always find time to read. Sure, my bathroom is gross and needs cleaning, but I read the latest Harry Potter in under 2 days.

4. I firmly believe that the coldest place in the world is Houston in the summer. Why exactly do I need to bring a jacket and a pair of socks everywhere I go when it's 100 degrees outside?

5. I like doing laundry. It's absolutely mindless work. There's something soothing about sorting clothes, putting them in the washer, transferring them to the dryer, and folding them. I'm sure I'd have a different opinion if I had to head to the river and beat my clothes on rocks.

6. I have a roach-phobia. If I'm by myself and I come across a dead roach, I leave until someone comes to take care of it. If I'm by myself and I come across a live roach, I run away until someone comes to take care of it. I did manage to put a heavy bowl over one that was in my daughter's room, so I guess I can be brave for her.

7. My favorite thing to eat since my daughter was born is cornbread and milk. For several weeks after she was born, that is practically all I ate. Now, I just have it every now and then -- I don't know why.

8. Lastly, I swore I would never blog. I was sure I would dred keeping up with it, and I would fizzle out in a little while. However, I LOVE to blog. AND I love it when people comment on my sweet Joanna updates (hint, hint).

So, the following people are tagged: Mom (Rose), Mom (Joann), Grandma, Matt, Kathryn, Kathy, Laura, and ummm anyone else who wants to! If you don't blog, just email me; if you don't know my email address, shame on you!

Joanna has a lot to say

Last week when Amy and Abby came over to visit, Abby took a little nap. While she was napping, Amy got a chance to catch up with Joanna. Here is a bit of their conversation:

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Adventures in Eating, New Friends, and So Much More

We decided on Friday to give Joanna her first taste of rice cereal. I'm not sure she's a big fan...yet. She did really good, though. I think she understands the eating thing. (Spoon goes in mouth, "chew," make face, repeat). She was really excited about the spoon -- what a great toy! After she got over that new exciting thing, we managed to pour a few spoonfuls into Joanna's mouth. At first, she seemed to really study it; as we tried a few more, she really started to make faces. She even gave some shudders. It's like she was thinking, "What did you guys do to the milk? It tastes funny."
Joanna has a new baby girl friend, Bella, that we got to meet on Friday. I remember everyone saying this when Joanna was born, but you really do forget how small newborns are! Bella is about the same size Joanna was, but I really can't believe it! She is sooooo precious, and her mommy let me hold on to her for a while, so I got my newborn baby fix.
We had our church directory picture taken yesterday. This was our first experience with Joanna and professional pictures. We were very impressed with the photographer -- he defintely knows how to keep little ones engaged. He even managed to get a sweet one of Joanna in the midst of a crying jag -- Wow. Here we are in the hallway all dressed up for the photo.

Joanna's friend Anna let us borrow this exersaucer for a while, and it's a big hit. Joanna can turn all the way around in it, and she loves chewing on everything!

Cheerios

Joanna has actually made a cameo in another blog video, but here is her first starring role. This is also my first attempt at including a video clip on the blog. Here goes.

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First Swim!

Joanna had her very first swim today. She joined her veteran swimmer friends Abby, Aidan, Anna, Caleb, and Riley for a playdate at the pool. She definitely enjoyed it, even though she was pretty ready for a nap when we got there. The pool we went to is very neat and very kid-friendly. Joanna and I enjoyed wading in the water and talking with our friends -- a good way to spend a hot morning. Joanna just wore her regular diaper under her swimsuit, and it did a very good job of soaking up all the pool water! Unfortunately, they don't make swim diapers in Joanna's size; the smallest would slip right off of her. I guess Huggies doesn't cater to the petite.

Ready to head to the pool in her super cute swim suit from Aunt Mary. It fit just perfectly!

Giving Mom a sweet smile before we hit the water.

Very tired after the swim.

After the swim we headed to Kim's house for lunch and to let the kiddos play. Joanna took about a 3 minute nap in the car, but later she let me rock her to sleep for a little longer rest. She had fun watching the big kids play and chewing on some of Caleb's toys. We had a pretty tired afternoon once we got home, but I think she did great today! Being out in the sun is hard work; even Mommy is tired. I think I'm going to shower the clorine out of my hair before it turns green and hit the sack. (Or maybe I'll fold laundry, finish up my work for the week, pick up the living room...)

Friends

Well, my grandmother got on to me today for not blogging, and I realized it has been almost a week since I posted! (Thanks, Grandma!) So Sunday I intended to bring Joanna to the nursery, play for a few minutes, then leave her. But they were kind of getting slammed with fussy babies so I decided to stay and help out. I'm not sure how much help I was, but it was fun to hold some other babies. I have to tell you, my arms are definitely spoiled with my petite girl. Some of those other babies were heavy! Joanna was good enough to share my lap with another little 5 month old girl. I'm not saying I'd like to have twins or anything, but it was fun to hold those two little girls!

On Wednesday my friend Amy came over with Abby, almost 3 mos, and we had a little playdate. The girls were so cute on the playmat. They held hands, and Abby really got to kicking on Joanna's kick-mat. Joanna really wanted to play with Abby's hair and ear. Don't ask me why.

Joanna decided it would be fun to have Abby back over that evening for a slumber party. It was Abby's daddy's birthday, so we watched their sweet girl while Amy and Josh caught a movie. She arrived asleep and stayed that way for an hour and a half! Finally, Joanna hollered enough to wake Abby up (Joanna was impatient with her daddy getting her pajamas on). Joanna went to bed just as Abby woke up from her late nap. I got to give Abby a bottle; I haven't given a baby a bottle in forever. It was fun -- she's a good bottle drinker. Matt and I passed her back a forth a little (of course we didn't want to put her down!) while we had dinner, and she was asleep again on my legs when Amy and Josh came to pick her up. So the girls didn't actually get to party at their slumber party, but we had fun!

Abby asleep on my legs (I hope she slept okay that night!)

We've also been very lucky to have Gran hanging around with us. Joanna loves her gran these days; she's fun. Hmmmm.... where shall we fly tomorrow, Joanna?

Playdate

This actually wasn't our first playdate, but it was our first one since Joanna was about 4 or 5 weeks old. So, first playdate that Joanna actually played! On Thursday (our second day off of full-time work), Joanna got to play with her friends Aidan (1 year), Caleb (11 mo), Riley (~8mo), and Abby (2 1/2 mo). We met at Aidan's house, and he was very kind to share all of his toys. Joanna got to play on his Baby Einstein playmat, which she loved. She is very fond of playmats these days.

She also got to try out an exersaucer, and that was a new fun way to play. I think she enjoyed looking around from it at all the kiddos.

We decided to be adventurous and try to take a picture of all 5 babies. Three of them are pretty stationary, but getting the walkers to join them was pretty funny! In the end, we managed to snap a few of all the kids, but of course not everyone was looking toward the camera at the same time. Go figure...

The boys headed off to Aidan's room to play tackle or something, so the girls "played" peacefully for a few minutes. Mostly Riley looked down at Abby and Joanna, telling them all about life to come, and Joanna tried to chew on Abby's knee. Abby got so excited, she fell asleep.

Abby and Joanna: Playmat Pals


It was definitely a fun day, and Joanna and I can't wait for more playdates to come!