Family Vacation

Splish-splash in my beach pool!
A couple weeks ago we had a family vacation at the beach with Matt's family. We had a wonderful time and I am just now posting the pictures. The beach, pool,and weather was great. Even better was the company. We hope we can do it again next year! Fun with Mommy!
Fun with Daddy!
Fun with Jerry Pop!
All this Fun wore me out!

Happy Anniversary Part 2

After leaving Atlanta, Matt and I headed to North Carolina to visit the Biltmore Estate. We stayed at a cute bed and breakfast, enjoyed the cooler temperatures, and explored the Biltmore. The first night we went to the Biltmore winery where we had a great time tasting the different wines. After making some purchases we has dinner at a bistro by the winery. The meal itself was wonderful, though our order was lost and we were there a really long time. As a result the dinner and drinks were on the house.The next day we toured the house, had lunch in the stable and visited the gardens. We took tons of pictures. We decided the drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, or Hwy 74 home which took us through the mountains. We also passed by the Nantahala and Ocoee Rivers and watched some rafting. We finished our trip in Huntsville which is where Joshua was at. During our trip, Joshua met up with his Grandottie and Jerry Pop who watched him in Huntsville. He had fun playing with them. Thanks so much for taking care of our little man! While we were away, Joshua started saying a new word, "Go!" He also drank from a straw for the first time. Wow!

Happy Anniversary! Part 1

Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy! Matt and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary with a trip. It was quite a milestone because it was the first time we took a trip without Joshua. Actually he was there for the first part of the trip before his grandparents lovingly ran off with him. The three of us left Tuesday after work to head to Atlanta. After a stay in Montgomery we went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was really cool to see Joshua interact with the fish! He watched the fish, he banged on the glass, he slept... overall an exciting day!
That evening Grandma and Aunt Elaine met us outside Atlanta and took him back to Bham. He had a great time visiting with Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma, and his aunts and uncle. Mommy and Daddy were really sad to be separated from our little man at first, but still had a great time. Thanks for keeping our sweet baby boy!

It's official...

We’ve got a toddler! Joshua has been able to stand unassisted for a little while now. He’s even been able to go from sitting to standing without pulling up on anything. However, every time he’s tried taking steps, he would lose his balance and fall down. Until today. He took two steps…and stayed up! He then took two or three more steps, stood up for a while, then fell down. Mommy and Daddy cheered and clapped. He may not have realized why we were clapping, but Joshua clapped too! His world is about to get bigger, and Mommy and Daddy are about to get more exercise, whether we want it or not.

11 months old!

Joshua is 11 months old today. I can't believe he'll be 1 next month. That means we'll start counting is years! He is a perfect little boy and Mommy and Daddy love him so much. At daycare they told me that they love to hear him laugh because it's a full belly laugh and makes everyone else in the room happy. Here is a list of what my little button has been up to lately.

1. Joshua still loves cheesy poofs and may turn into one at the rate he's eating them
2. Joshua is standing up well
3. Joshua is sooo close to walking. He'll boldly take a step and fall down, but he's working on it.
4. Joshua says mama, dada, and uh-oh! He actually uses uh-oh appropriately which is too cute!
5. Joshua has figured out how to make his toys play music, specifically he's mastered his star stacker which has a button to play music and a button to stop. If Joshua turns the music on and then Mommy turns it off, he scoots right back to his toy and turns it on.
6. Joshua has started using a sippy cup - sortof. He holds it correctly but just pretends to drink.
7. Joshua is much more interactive with the dogs. He loves crawling to them and petting and poking them. They love hovering under his high chair while he eats.

8. Joshua is much more vocal. He clicks his tongue, squeals, and babbles in his own language. He also mimics well.
9. Joshua shakes his head back and forth when he's eating. Most of the time he means "No, I don't want anymore." but sometimes I think it means "The world looks cool when I shake my head!"

10. Joshua still enjoys playing "bump the noggin" especially with his Daddy.
11. Joshua has played in the pool and enjoyed it.

On the road again...

Joshua had a big weekend over the 4th of July. We drove to Birmingham on Friday where we had lunch with Mommy's family. Then we went over to cousin Alec's 9th birthday. Joshua encountered stairs for the first time and actually climbed some. He was so proud. He also got to show off his unique crawling style. He played with his cousins and got hugs and kisses from all of Daddy's family. That evening we drove to Huntsville where we stayed with Grandottie and Jerry Pop. Joshua played hard and enjoyed a sink bath. Saturday afternoon we drove to Hueytown to visit Grandaddy. Joshua enjoyed climbing the step between the den and the kitchen over and over and over... Sunday we went to Uncle Jason and Aunt Morgan's house and swan in the pool. Gracie was very sweet to share her toys and play with Joshua. It was a great weekend!