Halloween pics and more

So, it's been a while since I updated, but we had a crazy October...as you can see by our many pictures. Joshua is almost 8 months old, and he is rolling everywhere. He loves to sit up and play, and usually doesn't fall unless he plans to. At Mom's-Day-Out, they said he is like a new baby now that he can sit up, play and watch all the other kids. He's starting to say da-da all the time. Andy swears he knows what he's talking about, but if he does, he thinks the dog is his daddy :).

We officially put our house on the market a couple weeks ago. With Andy's new job at UK, we would like to be back in Lexington. We've been looking around at houses, and even made one offer on one in my parent's neighborhood that was older but had a very good price for the size and the large lot. Someone else had an offer before us, so we're waiting till the end of November to see if that person can get financing. We have looked at others, and we'll just see what the Lord might have in store for us. We're glad to be in no hurry.

First is a picture of Joshua's new friend Cora Leigh Waddell. Our good friends Erin & Jeremy welcomed her back in September, and we've visited a couple of times since. We traveled to Auburn, Alabama the third weekend in October for the UK/Auburn football game. We stayed with Amy Cole's parents along with Brian, Amy & Caroline. We had so much fun getting to fellowship with them and Amy's family, who made us feel so welcome. But it may be a while before they invite us back, since we brought the Cats enough luck to beat Auburn for the first time in 40+ years. Andy was excited, but I felt bad for Brian, Amy and the rest of the crushed city.

Then, the next weekend, we traveled to Owensboro for Andy's 10 year high school reunion. We showed off our Tigger Halloween costume to Mimi, Pops, Grandmommy & Mamaw. They--not so surprisingly--thought he was the cutest little Tigger they had ever seen :). He also got a pumpkin full of baby goodies from his Mimi. No candy yet, but several baby toys were a fun surprise.

There's a picture of Joshua trying to chew on my Dad's wallet. He knows just where to look for the cash. We visited Shannon, Mark, George & Teresa at the Glancy's creek house. They were glad to finally all be able to come to Kentucky together, and we enjoyed getting the boys together.

We had a fun Halloween weekend. We went to the Eric & Joni Beth's new house for dinner Friday night. I was glad to finally get to see it. Saturday, we went to the Lafayette to see Grandpa and Johnny, and we trick-or-treated at Grammie's. Next year, he'll be glad to get his hands in her giant candy stash :). Then, while Andy and Eric went to the UK football game, Joshua and I headed to Chris & Julie's for our final Halloween stop.

Sunday afternoon, we went to Mom & Dad's, and Dad gave him his first haircut! I can't believe he already needs one, but it was starting to grow over his ears, and he was getting a little baby mullet in the back.

Greg & Marci brought little Emerson over for dinner last week. It was good to catch up with them. It's amazing to think he's already almost three months old...and growing quickly.

And finally, there's a picture of Joshua helping me with the laundry this morning :)

7 Months Old...and a trip to Holden Beach

Joshua is 7 months old tomorrow! We can't believe it's been that long, but he is (still) at a really fun age. He is still mostly stationary, though he can roll across the floor if given enough time. He's happy in his exersaucer and still fits in his bouncy seat (though he won't be in that too much longer). He can sit up now, which makes playing on the floor much more fun for him and us.

We just returned from Joshua's first trip to Holden Beach. Joshua, myself, my mom, aunt Beth and uncle David, Grandpa, Chris, Julie, their 7-week-old miniature Dotson puppy Molly, and Shannon and George Sloan all spent last week enjoying nice weather and time at the beach. In October, it's not swimming weather, but it was nice to just relax, let the babies do as they pleased, and get some time with family and friends. We ate out almost every night and played games after the boys were in bed. George and Joshua (and puppy Molly when she wasn't making messes on the floor) were the hit of the party, and there was lots of willing hands to help out in any way. George and Shannon definitely got more of the beach experience than Joshua and I since he could crawl around in the sand. I'm not a huge fan of sand or salt water myself, so Joshua and I both just watched. It was certainly a different beach trip with the babies.

Also on our trip, Grammie bought Joshua his Halloween costume. He will be going as Tigger, since he loves his Jumpster and the costume came in his size. He also has two other Halloween shirts, and here are some pictures of all three outfits. Mimi got him the black shirt and babies first halloween bib. We've also had to break out his winter clothes for the colder weather...and because the 3-6 month summer stuff just doesn't fit like it used to :)

We arrived back late Saturday afternoon just in time to meet Andy at the Sunday School social at Grace & Morgan's house. Most of the spring babies were in attendance as well as some of the older siblings. The kids had a blast, but it was also a different experience with everyone focused on the little ones and the party wrapping up much earlier than it used to.

We'll be in Auburn, Alabama this weekend for the UK football game, and the following weekend we'll be in Owensboro for Andy's 10 year high school reunion, so we'll post pictures of those as I get time.

Trip to Knoxville...and more

Last weekend, we went to Knoxville for Andy's cousin Kim's wedding. It was beautiful. They tried to stay with the low-key theme, but there was still a lot of work done by Kim, Kelly and Barby at both the reception on Saturday evening at Kelly's house and at the wedding Sunday afternoon, and the finished product was well worth it. We certainly pray God's blessings on Kim and Jay and their new life as husband and wife!

We drove down Saturday morning and back Sunday evening, so it was a quick trip. Joshua did well adjusting to the changing schedule, etc., as he usually does. I ended up with a stomach bug starting Sunday morning, but felt better by Monday. Other than that, we could not have asked for a better weekend and time with family.

There are also some other pictures from our lives that we thought you'd enjoy. We had Joshua's 6-month birthday dinner at Outback with my parents, Chris, Julie and Nathan. We've visited Grandpa and Dandy at the Lafayette, and we went to dinner at Brian & Amy's house. And, our little boy is just a super cute 6-month old baby. We've slowed a little on the picture taking, but sometimes, I just can't resist :)

6 Month Checkup

Andy and I took Joshua to his 6 month appointment this morning. Dr. Gillespie said he was very healthy and that his ear infection had cleared up. He also said that his congestion was probably related to teething. Joshua was 27 1/4 inches (76%), weighed 16 lbs. 13 oz (35%) and his head measured 44cm (56%), so we were very pleased all around. We will go back for his 9 month checkup in December.

6 months old

Today is Joshua's 6 month birthday. We cannot believe he's been around half a year, but it has been amazing. He has grown and changed and gets more fun everyday.

We had so much fun last weekend when Denny and Lee and family came to the lake for Labor Day weekend. We were glad they got to get away for a few days and spend some quality time with Joshua, since they hadn't seen him since Destin back in mid-July. We had some good lake time, though the water was a little cool. Joshua again got a great nap on the dock. I was a little concerned that he might be fussy or not sleep well, since he was diagnosed with a double ear infection on Friday afternoon. But, he seemed to do fine. He's now been on medicine quite a few days and seems to be feeling better, though I'm sure they'll check it out tomorrow at his 6 month doctor's visit.

On Labor Day, Joshua and I headed north and west to visit Shannon, Mark and George for a few days. It was great to get to relax and enjoy a little slower pace of life for a few days. The boys sort of played together...but it mostly included either grabbing each other's faces or stealing each others toys. We certainly expect they'll have more fun together in future years, but Shannon and I certainly had a good visit. George is all over the place, so it was sort of a preview of things to come for me. Our visit included walks in their neighborhood, a visit to the zoo, and a walk down around the riverfront...which reminded me a lot of Owensboro's riverfront. We also went out to lunch with Mark on Wednesday, since he didn't go into work until 5:00pm. He is doing his first year of residency in Emergency Medicine, so his schedule is very busy.

Our most exciting development is that Joshua officially got his first tooth this week. It popped through in the middle of his lower gum. We've not had too much trouble out of him, so we feel very blessed. He has been a bit congested the last few weeks, and I'm wondering if it might be related to the tooth. I guess we'll get to ask the doctor tomorrow. Other baby happenings include rolling all over the place, sort of sitting up (though only for a minute or so before toppling over), and finding his feet :) He still smiles like crazy and is such a great baby.

So Much Fun

Here are a few pictures from the last several weeks. Our biggest excitement is his Jumpster. It's a little harness, for lack of a better term, that we hook to the doorway where he can bounce. It's sort of the baby version of a trampoline. He LOVES it. No matter if he is fussy, happy, sleepy, if we put him in the Jumpster, he will smile and bounce. He definitely prefers to jump on his left leg, which we find amusing. I think it might be easier balance wise to just use one leg and not both. Either way, it is really cute!

He's also playing on the floor more and reaching for more things. Here is a picture of him playing with a really soft car/plane toy that Kristin Goad brought him from Europe. It's a favorite because it's wide enough to stay on his stomach...at least for a minute of two. As his hands improve, I have to keep all items clear of his Bumbo seat when we're in the kitchen, or they will end up in his little hands before I can catch him. We also took a short video of him playing on the floor. He is as wiggly as ever!

Here are some picture from his improptu 5 month birthday party at T.G.I. Friday's. We got quite the crowd for just a few hours of notice. It was also my Aunt Beth's real birthday, so we gave her extra time with a cute baby for her big day :).

We officially celebrated her birthday at the lake. Of course we took the Jumpster. He also played cards with us. He had his own deck that he chewed up one at a time while we played :). After trying to get him to nap in the pack-in-play that morning with little success, he ended up sleeping for over 2 1/2 hours in his bouncy seat on the dock. I guess the lake is relaxing for just about everyone.

This morning, we checked the video monitor around 7:30 to find him still asleep. (Yes, he wakes up and plays in his crib in the mornings until we come get him...because he is just the best baby :). I checked him a few times and around 8:15 (much later than he normally sleeps), I saw an arm move...but then I couldn't see his hand anymore. We figured out that he had somehow slid under his crib protector. It was still tied to the crib rails, but he had worked his way underneath it. We had to take the camera up and capture it. If he sleeps till 8:30 covered up, maybe it's time to giv him a blanket?

5 months old

Joshua is 5 months old today, and we had his second set of baby pictures made this afternoon. Here are a few, but you can see them all at www.babyboophotography.com, click proofing, password waldroup (all lower case), enter an email address. He is too cute!