Fun! Fun! Fun!

Well we had a very Merry Christmas this year! As with Thanksgiving, there was a lot of traveling, but we got to see everyone and that was important to us. Joshua must have been a good boy because Santa as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins gave him nice goodies. Joshua even got into opening presents a little. Christmas morning he grabbed at some pretty paper. When he had a hold, Matt and I pulled the present thus "opening" the present. This was pretty cool until Joshua tried to eat the paper and discovered it is not tasty or soft! Afterwords he played with some of his toys which was awesome. He is growing and changing so fast! I got an extra special gift as Christmas Eve Joshua started saying "Mamamamama." I know right now it's just a sound, but I'll live in denial and say my super smart baby knows what he's doing and is trying to say "Mama." We celebrated Christmas with Matt's family a couple days after Christmas. This time Joshua curled up and completely slept through the opening of presents which is not a quiet event with all his cousins present. Grandottie made Joshua's stocking which had a non-naked bear on it (Mom and Dad asked that Joshua's wear have a hat so it would be dressed). A few hours later we went to visit Joshua's Granddaddy and once again, he slept through gift time. He was one worn out little boy, yet still a good sport about it.

He traveled pretty well both coming and going. I know we won't always be able to make the whirlwind trip, but it was special to spend Joshua's first Christmas with family. Joshua spent a lot of the trip showing off his newest skill of grabbing his toes. It makes him so happy to do this.

Merry Christmas

Joshua got to meet Santa for the first time. The wait was pretty long and Joshua had peaked about 30 minutes before it was our turn, but he still did really well. Santa said he could tell Joshua was a good boy. Joshua was a good sport with happy smiles for his picture.

We also went to have Joshua's 4 month pictures and Christmas pictures taken last week. I posted the link a couple posts ago, but here are some of the pictures we purchased.

I always like to give updates on how Joshua is changing so here are my latest observations. He is really starting to talk now. I mean he will look you in the eye and say with intensity "Booo-wah yahhhhh." I'm not sure what it means, but he's serious about it. Matt and I will put him in a swing or an excersaucer during dinner and he will chatter the whole time. Something else he's doing is he has started grabbing his feet while I'm changing him. It's actually a helpful trick so I'm pleased with it. Lastly, and this is my favorite, Joshua has become the snuggliest baby. He was always pretty cuddly, meaning you could rock him to sleep in your arms. But now when you hold him against your shoulder, instead of rigidly arching his back to look around and bobble his head, he will relax and hug you back. It's the same thing when sitting in a chair. He'll tuck his head under your chin and let you rock him for hours, rubbing his back.

Congratulations!

Last weekend Joshua's Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Chad were married. I carried Joshua down the aisle and held him through the wedding. He was a perfect baby. He was awake, but quiet during the ceremony. Everything went really well. Matt, Joshua and I are so happy for Steph and Chad. It was a great time for friends and family to get together.

The picture above is my little man all dressed up. His Aunt Dana made the beautiful outfit. She is super talented. I struggle with repairing buttons while she sews, smocks, and more. Here is a slideshow with some pictures from the wedding. Feel free to add pictures to it if you have them. (hint, hint - click on the slide show and you are prompted to add pics if you would like). We spent more time passing the baby or rather watching Joshua get passed around than taking pictures. He met so many people. It was great! We love you Steph and Chad!

4 months old

Joshua turned 4 months old last week (I'm a few days late posting this). He's gotten really good at holding up his head and will even push up on his arms to look around. He hasn't turned over yet, but he's awfully close. In fact he often sleeps on his side. He is a big time drooler. He will soak your entire shoulder! He's always chewing on his hands. I'd rather him chew a teether toy or a pacifier, but I can't keep his hands out of his mouth all the time. He had his 4 month pictures taken last week. Check the link on the right hand side of the page to view them. They are great! Joshua says "Merry Christmas!"

Joshua's Baptism

Joshua was baptized on Sunday. He is such a good baby! He didn't mind the pastor holding him or baptizing him with water. It was great that all his grandparents and two of his aunts were able to make it. An extra special memory that we'll always have is that Joshua was baptized in the same gown that his Daddy and his Grandottie wore when they were babies. Actually several babies across different generations in his family have worn that gown.
So what is Joshua up to these days? He still really enjoys his exersaucer. His reach is getting a little longer so he can reach more toys. We haven't actually installed any batteries so when he gets bored with th toys as they are we'll make them brand new with lights and sounds. A new game he enjoys is reaching up and pulling off his mommy's glasses at night or in the morning. I know I should discourage this, but he's so excited when he successfully pulls them off that I cheer right along with him. He also is talking more. He surprises Matt and me with new sounds all the time. He also has this amazing giggle that when he gets going is incredible. Matt and I love him soooo much!

The Power of Song 12

What a busy Thanksgiving weekend! Matt and I logged in over 1000 miles during the course of the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a great time visiting with friends and family all over the state and Joshua got to meet a lot of people too. You may be wondering about “Song 12.” It’s Joshua’s best party trick. You see, regardless of how fussy Joshua is, when we play song 12 from a children’s cd Joshua either goes to sleep or gets calm and still. I’m serious; this works more than 90% of the time. So what is this magical song? My Baby Bunting! I had never heard of it before, but now I know all the words by heart now.

For some useless trivia, my favorite song is song 4. I’m not sure what the name of the song is, but it’s about trains and a mommy rocking her baby to sleep. Anyway, my favorite line in the song goes “and mother dear, is the brave engineer…” It makes me go Awwww!

The crimson tide (and Joshua) have finished the regular season undefeated. Go Bama! Joshua also gets to quote Bear Bryant and mean it when he says “I ain’t never been nothin’ but a winner….”

**I have a slideshow of pictures from our trip that I haven't uploaded yet so checkback later for more pics.**