So Much Joanna

Thursday after Mother's Day Out, Joanna had a little trouble taking a nap (as in she wouldn't), so she and I caught some zzz's together. Here is a slightly blurry close-up of her sleeping face next to me.

Joanna's new favorite toy is this plastic giraffe. It's neck fits perfectly in her hand and she can wave it around. She will hold on to it for long periods of time. She has even taken a couple of naps with it. Since I uploaded these pictures, we took a walk over to Uncle Mark's house. On the way, we noticed the giraffe was no longer in the stroller. Uh oh. Luckily, we took the same way home and found it safe and sound on the greenbelt. My visions of it splattered in the road were dashed. Of course, I don't think Joanna would actually miss it yet, she just likes it a lot.

Sunday morning, we went through a couple of wardrobe changes to find something autumnal to wear. I put this sweet little dress that she has worn before over a long-sleeved onsie, and poof -- it moved from summer to fall. Wow. Joanna got so many complements on how dressed up she was -- so cute! I think she looks very old in this picture. She of course isn't actually walking, but she'll stand pretty well with someone holding on to her. And now, I will leave you with a short video clip of Joanna waving.

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Words but No Pictures

Today has been one of those long kinds of days -- not too terrible, but long. First of all, I must confess that I usually use Joanna as an alarm clock these days. Meaning, I don't usually get up until she does! So, when I heard the loud honk from across the street this morning at 6:50am, I was still in my PJs. Nonetheless, as soon as I heard the second honk and the sound of my baby waking up (too early), I marched outside, barefooted and hair sticking up to confront the noisemaker. She was pretty rude. And lazy. I asked her very nicely if she could please not do that. She responded by saying that she really didn't have a choice if the kid she was picking up wasn't waiting on her. I informed her of my 7 month old baby who was now up for the day, very early, and maybe she could call this kid? (Or maybe she or her son could get OUT of the car to knock on the door...) Now, I understand the honking thing and being late for school and carpools -- I've been there. I may have even been the running late one, but honking at 6:50 is just too early. So there.

So then I drive to work (having had time to put on makeup, fix my hair, nurse Joanna, feed Joanna baby food, fold laundry...) remembering that the A/C in the van doesn't work and I've got to figure out what I'm going to do about that. I get almost to church and then realize that I've forgotten Joanna's afternoon bottle for mother's day out. It's in my fridge. I decide to go ahead and drop Joanna off and get a little work done and head home later for the bottle. On my way home, sweating with the windows down, I start to hear a little knocking/clanking/rattling noise coming from the engine compartment. I'm thinking maybe it's related to the air conditioner not working. What do I know? Same noise on the way back, culminating in the parking lot to a very loud rattling/knocking/whoa did something just fall out of the engine compartment? kind of noise that can be heard across the parking lot. Just ask Carolyn Dickerson. I deliver the bottle to Joanna's teacher then head back to the sweatmobile, hoping to make it to the service station. I really do not want to pay for a tow truck. It actually drove very well the few miles to the shop. I catch a ride back to the church from a very sweet kid who talked my ear off about cars. My very wonderful mother-in-law picked us up after mother's day out, so no, we're not still at the church. If you want to know how much it costs to replace an air compressor (cause that's what was broken and causing the no A/C and the very loud noise), I will tell you. But I'm not going to type it here. It would take too long. So now we have a decision to make: spend the money and get it fixed, drive it as is, or trade the sucker in. Ahhhh!!!

And the smallest of the day's dramas is that Joanna wouldn't take an afternoon nap for me today. I'm tired and I'm going to bed now.

Mmmmm.... dinner

Joanna's cousin Katie turned 15 today, so we joined Katie and her friend and Mamma and Pop at Oriental Gardens (yum!) for dinner this evening. Joanna did so well! I was actually able to put her in the high chair with my jacket behind her (she is very small, you know) and she was pretty stable. She ate cheerios while the rest of us had yummy chinese food (poor child). I had to take pictures of her in the high chair because she just looked so cute. Her head came up above the table only about 3 inches or so, but it was enough for her to check out what everyone was doing. She really enjoyed eating out with her family.

After dinner, she held onto Mamma's hand as we walked out of the restaurant. On a side note, I guess I really haven't worn much jewelry lately (purely out of laziness), but I put on this pretty sturdy cross necklace today. Joanna was crazy about it. She was holding onto that thing or chewing on it whenever possible. When I'm not wearing a necklace, she usually grabs ahold of a chunk of hair at the back of my head to hold on to as we walk around. I usually carry her like I am in the picture, so I guess she needs to steady herself a little. Sometimes I put her on my hip, but she only comes up to my armpit so it's kind-of awkward, and it puts her level with, um... lunch, so I think that confuses her a bit. Okay, that's all I'm babbling about for now!

7 months old and out and about

My daughter is the cutest, most brilliant 7 month old around. (I know you're all thinking... duh, of course she is!) Joanna is 7 months old today -- that sounds so old; I can't believe it! She's scootching, talking, and playing peek-a-boo (yes, that's right, I said peek-a-boo). I knew some of you would be skeptical when I announced this new facet of brillance, so we have video proof. Today we were at Target strolling around, and Matt thought Joanna was a little cold so I tossed her blanket over and she and Daddy started playing the game. Notice in the video that Joanna is all the work pulling the blanket up and putting it down -- Matt's just playing along. Do I have a genius daughter, or what! Apparantly Matt and Joanna played this game this morning at home, too. I may have been asleep or something...

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On the way home from Target we decided to stop in to Sears for a few important home-owning things. Joanna was asleep, and since she's still so small (and cute) we were able to just transfer her carseat to the stroller so she could continue her nap for a few more minutes. I've caught a picture of her holding on to this toy before, but it was with the other hand. I just think it is so precious that she fell asleep like this!

Chatting with Mommy

Because of the high demand, I shot a little video of Joanna chatting with me today so you could hear the D sounds she is making. And, if you listen very closely, you may be able to pick up an episode of Star Trek in the background. Lucky you.

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More Birthdays, scootching, food, and adada

We had a very nice weekend. On Friday Joanna and I had the playgroup over. I considered it field testing for future baby-proofing needs. Our TV console is very open, so I decided to just unplug everything from the wall instead of having to redirect 2 walkers and a crawler. The kiddos LOVED pushing the buttons and turning the knobs on all the equipment, even if it didn't do anything! Joanna's cubbies full of toys were a big hit, too. The kids just loved wandering around the house picking things up and putting things down. It was very fun. Joanna slept through part of it, but enjoyed watching the big kids run around and playing with Abby on the floor.

On Saturday we had a birthday party at 4:00pm. I was a little worried that Joanna would either sleep through the start of it or be fussy and need sleep. But she must have known what was coming because she took a huge early afternoon nap in preparation -- go Joanna! The birthday party was for our friend Jacob, who was turning 3 -- this was Joanna's first "big kid" party to go to. Joanna had a great time laying on the floor, chewing on her toys, and watching the big kids run around and play games. One game they played was with a big parachute; the birthday boy is in the middle. Here's Joanna. Maybe she's thinking, "I wonder if I can get my blanket to do that cool parachute thing?" Joanna got a neat party favor box with a balloon attached to it that she thought was very pretty. It had some goodies that were very yummy for Mommy and Daddy as well as a book that Joanna can eat, and some yellow play-doh that I get to play with until Joanna gets to the stage where she stops putting everything in her mouth -- yea! I love play-doh!

At church on Sunday, we put Joanna in the nursery for a while, but she didn't get a good nap so she was very sad until I came and fed her. I know it's not so great for whoever's got her, but I LOVE Joanna's reaction when I come and get her! She smiles and her whole body shakes; the joys of motherhood! So anyway, for some bizarre reason, the baby situation in the nursery was very light; at the 11:00 service, only Joanna and her friend Abby were in the crib room -- unbelieveable! I'm working on uploading and clipping a video I took. The plan is to show you the first part where Joanna is pulling herself, and the last part where you can see how far she turned around and scootched in just a couple of minutes. If I can't get it cropped, or I'm too lazy, you might just have to watch the whole 3 1/2 minutes. Deal with it, okay. So the video took forever to upload, and I'm tired, so you don't get the cropped version: Here's the full, unedited Joanna video.

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Today was the emergence of "adadada." I sure was hoping it would be "mamamama," but alas, it was not. Joanna loves saying "adadada." I think Matt likes it, too. This may be our first really recognizable vowel. She's definitely said H: "hi," and perhaps a G, but that was pretty soft. The D is very clear.

Yesterday my mom watched Joanna while Matt and I had a date at Kroger -- whoo hoo! When we came home, Joanna was eating Cheerios whole. I'd still been breaking them into tiny pieces because, well, she's very little and has no teeth. But whole Cheerios are not a problem for Joanna, she gums them and gets them down. We're working on picking them up now. She can get them into her hand, but then wants to get them off her fingers; it's pretty funny. She hasn't figured out how to put the Cheerio in her mouth. If I hold on in my fingers, though, she grabs my hand and guides it into her mouth. It's pretty cute.

Joanna also got her first fruit today, sort of. I was eating an apple and let Joanna have a taste. Well, she grabbed that thing and starting sucking. Peas: fine, carrots: okay, sweet potatos: pretty good, apples: ohmygoodnessgraciousthesearedelicious!

On the move...almost

Here is a sweet video of Miss Joanna. She really wants to move. Her back-end is cooperating, but she can't quite get the whole body going. Take a look...

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Also, yesterday was Joanna's first day of Mother's Day Out. I think she did great (or the teachers are lying to me!). She's been pretty tired/fussy since then, but it could be a coincidence as my child is often tired/fussy. She has really wanted to be held a lot. Often, she'll play on the floor for a little while, scootching around chewing on toys, and I can wander around the house getting things done. For the past couple of days, though she doesn't want me out of her sight. She's weird, but I love her! Take a look at this sweet picture of Joanna in the bumbo chair at Mother's Day Out:

What could be greater? Kiddos to look at and toys to play with!

Birthdays -- clarification

In the previous post, I had birthdays in the title, but had neglected to actually write anything about a birthday...oops. Baby brain. Well, this weekend we went to Anna's first birthday party. It was Joanna's first girl party to go to, and we had fun!

After church on Sunday I wanted to change Joanna out of her dress, which is very cute but hard to wear, and I pulled this train outfit out of her closet. I know it's a "boy" outfit, but it's trains, and it's so cute! I think she almost looks like she's standing up against a wall in this picture.

Yum, sweet potatoes! Joanna loves to grab the spoon and lick it clean. She's so efficient.

Monday morning I found these Morning Glories wrapped around a rose plant in my yard. Apparently Morning Glories are a weed, but since this rose plant has actually never yielded a rose, I don't care. And no, I didn't actually know these were Morning Glories; my mom told me.

Toes, Birthdays, and Scootching

Joanna is officially scootching. At first, she just rolled around and ended up wherever, but I am actually seeing purposeful, directional movement from her. If she sees a toy (or trash or whatever) that she wants, she propels her body toward it. It's pretty cool. I predict Joanna will crawl before she sits up. I'm allowed to change my mind, though. We have a decent-sized carpeted area in our living room, and I also put a comforter down for a little extra padding, but Joanna always seems to end up on the hard floor. I think she likes it, though. She glides a little more smoothly there! In this picture, I had layed her down on her playmat... Joanna has also found her toes. She plays with them and puts them in her mouth. Here she is washing down some peas with a little toe jam. I'll leave you with a sweet picture of my family:

This is not a nature blog

And yet, here is another picture of a creature, also spotted by my mother. This little snail was on my garage door, and if I'm not mistaken, is there still. I think the brown shell is very pretty. You can't really tell, but this snail is a good 1 - 1 1/2 inches tall. I'm not sure I've ever seen one like this around here.

In other news... We had parent orientation for Mother's Day Out (MDO) this evening. Gran was available to watch the sleeping Joanna, so Matt and I both got to go. It was very informative, and we got to officially meet Joanna's teachers. They are two very sweet ladies who I can tell are truly excited to meet the little ones. Joanna and I will go on Thursday to "meet and greet" the teachers and see the room and chat and whatever else. I've been on the teacher side of this but never the parent side before! MDO starts next Thursday for us, and I think Joanna will really enjoy it! She will be the youngest in her class; the oldest is 13 months, so she'll have a lot to learn from all her new friends. The teachers are so wonderful about working with the parents (um... me) and all of our issues. Since I'm planning to use to the time Joanna is in MDO to get my work at the church done, I will be able to feed Joanna myself instead of packing a bottle (for one feeding at least) which will really simplify things for me! I've been a little anxious, but am now really getting excited about school for Joanna. This will be the most she and I have been apart ever (excluding those glorious long sleeping stretches!), but I know it will be good for us.

Unfortunately, I've been so busy taking pictures of creatures in my front yard, that I have no adorable pictures of Joanna to leave you. You'll just have to use your imagination!

In My Bathrobe

Joanna was taking a nap. I decided to hop in the shower. My mom came home from a run, and when I finished my shower, she says, "Jess, I need you to take a picture of something in the front yard." "Can you take the picture?" I say. "I tried, but it came out blurry twice." "Okay, can I get dressed, or is it going to change?" "Well, it might leave." (You see, I know what my mother likes to take pictures of.) So I put on my bathrobe and headed outside with my hair wrapped in a towel to take a picture of this cicada that had just shed its skin or whatever. So here it is for you all to enjoy. Though I'm not a particular fan of insects, this was pretty cool looking.

Peas, Pop, and Pretty dresses

Two veggies down, many more to come! Joanna likes peas; they're nice and green, she says. We stopped in to visit Mamma and Pop a couple of times this weekend. Joanna would look at Pop, then Mamma, then Pop, like a tennis match. It was really funny! Here's Joanna having a chat with Pop. We're always finding "new" things in the closet that Joanna can wear. I really like to try things on Joanna, because the sizes vary so much between brands...and it gives me an excuse to play dress-up! We pulled out this sweet dress from Aunt Kim that is the perfect fit, so I put it on her for church. It is so cute! Joanna got all kinds of complements on how stylin' she was yesterday!

Today we're just hanging around the house for Labor Day. Matt's at work, but Gran is around here somewhere. I don't think Joanna got the memo that it was a holiday, though -- we're supposed to sleep LATE on holidays!