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.**

Another Discovery

Joshua has discovered his feet! Recently he has been eying his feet, particularly his toes when his socks come off. Then yesterday he reached down and grabbed a foot and had this amazing look on his face that said "Wow! These are mine too? I can't wait to play with them!" So far there have been no toes in the mouth, he's merely content catching a foot with his hand.

Joshua had a great time with his Grandma and Grandpa over the weekend. They came down to visit him... oh, and wish his Mommy a happy birthday. He stayed with them on Friday while mommy and daddy were at work. It was so much fun!
Also this weekend Daddy put together Joshua's exersaucer. He's really enjoyed all the bright colors and toys on it. It's a little big for him, but as long as there's a blanket behind him, he's good to play.

We're looking forward to Thanksgiving ans seeing all the family. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

What a Ham!

Last week I went to the daycare to pick up Joshua and when I got to the door I heard the teacher cheering "Go Josh, Go Josh..." When I opened the door I saw that he was sitting in the middle of a circle of babies kicking and laughing in a bouncer. Joshua's the youngest baby in his class and the only non-mobile one so the only way he could hang with the other kids is to be in a bouncer or excersaucer. He was loving the attention and the other babies were intrigued by the "baby" and were clapping for him. It was sweet.

Whoa, check out those toes!

Also last week I found out he is big enough to sit in an excersaucer and loves playing with the toys so next on daddy's to do list is to assemble the excersaucer. Lately at home we've added Bumbo w/ tray playtime to practise holding up that noggin. He's definitely getting stronger. This past week Joshua's been sucking his left thumb so he must not be too particular. Of course he's also sucked a sore onto his right hand so maybe he's just trading off til it's better. I've got so many great pictures of my baby boy. I have misplaced my USB cable so as soon as I find it (or borrow one) I'll upload pictures.

This is Joshua's camera face. He was previously smiling sweetly, then saw the camera...

3 months old

Joshua is 3 months old today! Our growing boy weights about 13 pounds. He has really good head control, can turn onto his side when lying on his back, and will briefly bear weight on his legs if you "stand him up." This latest trick started the end of last week (Thursday with Matt and Friday with me). Joshua thinks it's a really fun game to stand and then fall. He just giggles outloud. It is super cute. Matt and I will try to capture it on video. The problem is that as soon as Joshua sees a camera he clams up and stares that the camera with a serious expression. Another trick Josua has learned is rotating in his crib. He usually wakes up about 180 degrees from where you left him. And he still loves sucking his thumb at night, though he still looks pretty awkward finding it. Also over the weekend I gave hime some colorful toy keys to play with and he gripped them in his hands and shook them. He's never really played with anything before so it was great! He enjoyed watching Alabama beat LSU, or rather being held while Mommy and Daddy watched the game. It's fun to say that in Joshua's lifetime, Alabama has never lost a game.

We survived!

Here is a picture of Joshua on his first day of "school"

It has been a very big week. Joshua started day care and Mommy went back to work. It was scary and there were tears -- of course I'm talking about Mommy, not Joshua. Matt and I really like the day care. We were on a waiting list for a long time so it's good that his spot opened up just in time. Counting Joshua, there are 6 infants in the class with our baby boy being the youngest. We found out some good news. I knew there was another Joshua in the class and when I paid his tuition, I saw "Joshua Cheatum" on the sign in roster and asked if the other Joshua in the class had a last name of Cheatum. The person said yes, I guess not realizing who I was. Anyway I freaked out that there was a Cheatum and a Chatham in the room because I didn't want them to confuse bottles, diapers, etc. until I found out it was actually a really bad misspelling of our name. Lastly work is keeping me really busy so I don't have time to dwell on not being with Joshua and that makes my day fly by. Also the daycare is so close to work that I can go feed him at lunch everyday. It's the best part of my day!


Joshua is getting much better at sleeping through the night. I can thank this in part due to him discovering his hands and right thumb. I finally got a picture of him sucking on his thumb which I have attached for your enjoyment. Something else Joshua is working on is trying out new sounds. Sometimes out of the blue he'll chuckle loudly at nothing and then he's back to being quiet. It's cute and hilarious!

Happy Birthday/ Happy Halloween!

This pumpkin wants to wish his daddy, "Happy Birthday! Happy Halloween!"

Love,
Joshua

The Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday I took Joshua to the "Pumpkin Patch." I say this with quotes because apparently Monday was the last day for this particular pumpkin patch and the pumpkins were then given away for free. So when I showed up on Tuesday with a friend and her baby we saw scattered hay and some picked over, slightly rotten, cracked pumpkins. Well I couldn't let Joshua miss his first opportunity for pumpkin pictures so with the help of my friend, we gathered all the pumpkins that were salvageable (five), rearranged a bale of hay, and were ready to go. As you can see the pictures came out great and next year, I'll go earlier! Joshua is wearing his Halloween costume in some of the pictures. He is the cutest little pumpkin. He wanted to tell his Grandottie "Thanks! You're the best!" for making such a wonderful pumpkin.
Here is Joshua with his little buddy Chet. The challenge here was trying to get a picture where they were both sitting up. Chet would slide left so we'd straighten him up, them Joshua would slide right so we'd straighten him up, and so on and so on. They are some really cute boys. Below are a couple pics of one sleepy pumpkin!
Joshua is showing that even an unhappy pumpkin is still adorable.

Another Discovery!

Joshua has discovered his thumbs, specifically his right one, which will work at night when he's spit out his paci and is looking for something to soothe him. He has done this the past two nights. His technique really needs some work, but it's exciting that he's finding ways to calm himself instead of crying for his mommy to put his paci back in his mouth. So far he will suck on his right thumb, but the angle is really awkward and occasionally a finger will be caught in there with his mouth. Joshua started sleeping in his room last week. Overall the transition has been great! I think Matt and I spend more time watching him sleep on the monitor than we did when he was in our room! He usually gets up once a night, though sometimes it's twice at night.

As you can see, Joshua is getting better at holding up his head. We've been working on his tummy time to build strength. He also is very interested in that baby in the mirror that smiles at him.

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with another mommy so we can take our boys to the pumpkin patch for some fall pictures. I'll post some when I get home. Joshua will be wearing his Halloween costume, made by his very own Grandottie, so you'll have to check back and look at them. This last picture shows Joshua with Mommy right after his bath.

Family Photo

Matt, Joshua, and I enjoyed a nice weekend. There was some exciting (though nail biting at times) football on Saturday and a cold front came through bringing "football" weather. Joshua, my growing boy, has moved up a level in the restraints on his carseat. This past week he also has been taking baths in his baby tub instead of washcloth baths. I think he likes the extra water. He slept through church, although whenever the music began he would startle and throw his arms up over his head. It not only amused Matt and me, but the people behind us as well. Lastly Joshua slept really good last night! I put him to bed at 9:30 and he ended up wetting his pajamas and sleep sack so he got a costume change about 10:30, but then he fall asleep and didn't wake up until 5:30. Good boy!

What a big week!

Joshua has been busy since the last post. We spent last week in Birmingham. He got to meet many of our friends and family. We were in town for a Tool and Gadget Party for Joshua's Aunt Steph and Uncle Chad. We had lunch with Erin and her daughter Sarah Katherine who is one month younger than Joshua. Erin and I had fun dressing the babies up in our team colors! Joshua got to spend time with his Grandottie and JerryPop as well as his Grandaddy. His cousin Grace enjoyed petting his head and kissing his head. Also his Aunts Celeste and Elaine had a birthday dinner and gathering which was fun. Unfortunately Joshua did not get to meet the Tiltons this trip, but is looking forward to Thanksgiving and is glad that cousin Alec is feeling better now.

Here is what is new with Joshua: Joshua is smiling more and making more noises. He also likes to hold his right ear with his right hand when nursing. He traveled well in the car to and from Birmingham. He'd fall asleep after 20 minutes in the car and I had to wake him up after 3 hours driving because Mommy needed a stop. He's getting good at holding his head up. He flails his arms more and smacks himself in the face, but it never seems to bother him. He also kicks his legs like crazy to get stronger everyday.

Joshua went for his 2 month checkup Tuesday. Mommy and Daddy were sad because Joshua had to get 5 shots and an oral vaccine, but a few shots is better than the disease. The nurse was fast and he did really well. He smiled at the doctor and showed off his ability to hold up his head. It was funny because the doctor said Joshua would get more vocal over the next couple months and right when he said that, Joshua gave him a loud "ooohhr." He weighed 11lbs 14oz and was 24in long. That's quite a bit of growing over the last 2 months.