There are no pictures in this post

because I am lazy!
A few things:

• I'm wondering why sippy cups are the exact perfect size to get stuck in the garbage disposal side of the sink. Luckily, I have a trained sippy cup remover (my mom) living in the house.
• I mailed our completed tax return to the IRS today!!!!!!! I don't have to think about taxes again (hopefully, anyway) until next year!!
• Joanna has either grown just recently or gotten really good at stretching. There are new things all around the house that she can reach now. A new stage of baby-proofing has begun!
• I have Joanna's birthday invitations ready to mail out next week. I'm so excited!
• Baby Daze (huge baby/child resale extraveganza) is at our church this week. I volunteered Tuesday night just organizing and labeling stuff as it came in. About every 5 seconds I saw something that Joanna must have! I get to shop tomorrow; I'm excited, and I'm going to try to be very good. :)
• A few friends of mine are expecting, and I'm excited thinking of the new tiny babies on their way!
• Poor Matt has a wisdom tooth poking through, and it has caused pain and an infection. He will go downtown on Friday to the fancy oral surgeon to have it looked at. His regular oral surgeon won't touch it because it's got a nerve too close. The last thing we need is a Matt with facial paralysis. Although I'm sure he'd still be cute. :)
• Joanna actually has a pair of jeans with a snap and zipper. It has elastic, too, but if I really want to, I can unsnap and zip her jeans for a diaper change. How cute!

More 11 months pictures, eating, good friends, and a dog

I always like to have a bit of a "photo shoot" when Joanna gets another month older. Here she is outside. At 8 months I put her in this chair, and she was barely sitting. Now she is pulling up and standing!

Look at those eyes!

Sweet face

This is what a wave looks like on the still camera:

Later that day, Joanna decided she would like to feed herself her veggies and cereal for dinner. I let her try. It was quite messy, but I think she actually consumed some of it. In addition to this, I've also seen her do a couple of other things that seem almost like pretend, where she's mimicking us. She holds the phone up to her ear and says hello, and she pretends to drink out of an empty cup. It is soooooo cute.

On a totally random note, I saw this on my way to work on Thursday and couldn't resist taking a picture while I was at the stoplight. I know it's not that unusual, but it just seemed so funny to me -- look closely at this guys backpack.

Yesterday Joanna's friend Anna and her mom came over for play day. The girls had a great time! They ate lunch, played with toys, and Anna showed Joanna how much fun it is to play in the crib! Anna is giving Joanna a hug here -- such good friends! Here is a video of their fun in the bed:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

11 Months Old Today!!

Joanna is 11 months old, and this seems so huge to me. For a couple of weeks I'll say, "she's 11 months" when people ask. Then for about a week I'll say, "she's 11 and a half months." Then I will say "She's almost 1!" Oh my goodness!! I can't believe it. (Okay, I can, but wow!!) Here is a picture I shot this morning -- does she look older? So, because I'm the type that likes to obsess over things for a long time, longer than is really necessary, we are preparing for the big 1st birthday. It still seems kind of far off, but with Valentine's Day and Matt and my anniversary in between now and then, I know it will go very quickly. I'm not going to tell you what we're planning; you have to come and see for yourself. We're going to try to keep things small and simple, but Joanna is soooo popular..... :)

Anyway, I'm sure I will be posting more on the party prep as it comes along.

Here are some recent pictures that I haven't posted. They're kind of random. I think it is very amazing that this rose can grown in MY yard in January.

A new development: Joanna is now a meat eater. She's had chicken (shown above) which she really likes, and hamburger, which I'm not sure she really likes.

Here are the surfers we saw in Galveston when it was like 40 something degrees outside. Brrrrrr.

Last night we had home group and Joanna and her friend Bella had the same PJs on. I couldn't resist taking a picture! So cute!Yes, I know it looks like Joanna is pulling hair here, and actually she probably is seeing as how Bella starting crying about 5 seconds after this. Sorry, Bella! Joanna just thinks you have beautiful hair!

Joanna has six teeth...

...and so much more.
I decided I would devote a post to things about Joanna. Some are unique, some are interesting, some are normal, they are all Joanna.

• We call her "Noodle." I really don't know why, exactly.
• She is really petite. I think she's about 15 pounds. She wears size 2 diapers and size 9 month clothes. Although pretty much all of her 6 month stuff still fits fine, too. :)
• She actually really likes rice cereal, even plain.
• She doesn't sit; she sort of squats with her knees in front of her and her bottom on or between her feet. Apparently her Gran sat this way as a child, too.
• I think her favorite food these days is shredded cheese. Although Cheerios and bananas are quite high on the list, too.
• Joanna LOVES the bathtub. She lays on her tummy and crawls up and down it. It's like a water park or something.
• She goes to bed pretty early -- 7pm.
• She loves the cold weather and the wind blowing in her face.
• Her favorite toys are not toys. They are magazines and wallets and Christmas bows and flashlights and coasters and socks.
• Her favorite animal is a giraffe. She has giraffe lovies and toys and clothes.
• Her favorite colors are yellow and bright orange.
• She is a very good listener and studier.
• Her first word was "Hello," and she says it all the time.
• She is brilliant. An example: This morning I handed her a clean diaper to play with while I changed her. I told her it was a diaper. She said "di..pu." Then I said "That's right, a diaper!" And she looked at me and said, "diaper." Plain as day. I swear.
• When she falls, she falls straight back, like a board, no crumpling involved. Ouch.
• She will be 11 months old tomorrow!! Oh my goodness!

I hope you enjoyed these tidbits about Joanna. She is so fabulous, and I love her!!

Are we crazy?

Well, maybe, but we sure had fun. My mom, Joanna, and I headed to Galveston for the day on Friday. The idea behind this weird plan was to have "Christmas" with Gran since she wasn't around on December 25th. Mom and I have enjoyed going to Galveston in the winter before; it's less crowded, and there's still fun things to do. Friday happened to be a particularly cold, rainy, and windy day, but none of us suffered any lasting harm. Before you take a look at the pictures, please understand that I brought two hats for Joanna, but she wouldn't keep either on. And, we really weren't outside that long. And she didn't get sick or too cold or anything. So don't anybody gripe at me, okay?

First up, a ferry ride:

Waiting in the carseat with Giraffe lovey.

The front seat is much more fun!

So chilly outside, but Joanna loved it!

Gran loves to feed the seagulls.

Back inside the car and ready to drive.

If you look closely, you can see two tiny dark spots that are dolphin fins. Apparantly dolphins don't understand the delay on the digital camera. They jumped, but not long enough for my camera.

Next some yummy seafood!!!

Joanna mostly got her same old fare brought from home, but Gran did keep slipping her french fries.

The Beach!

We actually saw surfers in the water. They looked so cold. We just stepped out of the car long enough for a few pictures.

And of course, Gran fed a few more seagulls.

We also did a little shopping before heading home. I got Joanna a Galveston onesie to commemorate the occasion. Mom and I got chocolate. Yum.

First Word!!! Also, swinging and luxurious baths

We've officially moved Joanna's bathtime to the big bathtub. Till now, we've been bathing her in the kitchen sink. It's really easy on the back, but she was ready for a little room to spread out. She loves the big tub! She crawls around and slides and plays with her toys. I think this might be Joanna's first naked appearance on the blog:

Lisa and Anna invited us to the park with them this week, and I took a few shots while we were there.

Joanna swinging. Good friends. Anna and her mommy.

Here's a video with a little swinging then the first word!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I think it is the perfect first word, I mean, what's the first thing you say when you meet people? Hello! Isn't she brilliant?!

Sweet Abby Friend

First up: Some recent pictures of Joanna:
I love this one -- She's covered in food...and look at those teeth!

Another one from Christmas time:I don't know why, I just think it's precious!

Monday morning I got an unexpected call from my friend Amy, who needed to bring her little Abby over because she was soooo sick (Amy, not Abby). Joanna and I were very glad to be able to help, and we had a lot of fun! I was very impressed and thankful that the girls have a really similar schedule. They ate at the same time, slept at the same time (well, Abby slept a nice, long time, and Joanna slept her standard 25 minutes), and mostly were not fussy at the same time. 4:00 brought two babies who wanted to be held, so I felt very strong! It was really fun to watch the girls play. Unfortunately I discovered that Joanna is kind of a bully. She really wanted to pull Abby's hair and poke her eyes out. I of course didn't let her (okay, she might of pulled a little hair). Abby was so sweet and mostly didn't cry when her hair was pulled. I also discovered that Abby plays better than Joanna (or differently, anyway). She was really content to sit on the floor, surrounded by toys and press buttons, flip pages, and dance to the music. Here is something that many of you may have heard. It is the "Toddler Creed;" it works for babies, too.

If I want it, it's mine. If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine. If I take it away from you, it's mine. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine. If it's mine, it will never belong to anybody else, no matter what. If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine. If it looks just like mine, it's mine.

I think this is how Joanna felt. Abby was pretty cool with it, but Joanna only wanted to play with what Abby was playing with, even if she previously NEVER played with that toy. Well, enough with the babbling, here are some pictures of our day!

Playing so sweetly.

Same socks!Getting ready for a walk.
You wouldn't think I would have a double stroller, would ya?
Stopping at the gazebo for a Kodak moment.
Lunchtime! First course: toys!



A little later in the day -- getting tired...

**An amendment to the previous information**

I must say that Joanna is not actually a bully. She just loves Abby so much and thinks her hair and eyes are so beautiful that she needs to touch them. My husband was worried that I was painting Joanna in a bad light! Don't worry -- Joanna is very sweet and not mean.