Happy Four-Month Birthday, Joshua!

Joshua is four months old today! He is a sweet child who loves to be held and will smile at anyone who smiles at him. It seems his goal is to be Mommy's center of attention every minute of every day -- a challenge when he is a second child! He is also teething like crazy, so we're not getting much uninterrupted sleep these days.

At his pediatrician's appointment this morning, he was pretty much 50th percentile all the way around (weight: 15 lbs, 9 oz.; length: 25" long; head circumference: 42 1/2 cm). But you wouldn't know it to look at him: He's a big boy!

Scenes of Summer, Part 1

A few of my favorite photos so far this summer:

Katie's attending a music class this summer.

Katie with her best friend Daniel, who will become a big brother about 9 hours from now!

Katie's first jacuzzi experience

This is what happens when you forget Katie's swim diapers. Look at that rear end!

Joshua meets my grandma for the first time

"Stuck!"

Katie and her good friend Sofia at the zoo.

We've been finding items lined up in rows around the house. Looks like Katie's got some of her mother's obsessive compulsiveness in her.

Katie, her cousins, and Uncle Jason being pulled by Grandpa.

Katie rides a camel at the zoo with Uncle Jamie.

My brother Stephen graduates from Army Reserves boot camp with his then-fiancee (now wife!) Lindsey at his side.

Speaking of which, congratulations to Stephen and Lindsey, who got married May 2! Here are just a few photos from their wedding and our trip to Seattle.

Joshua slept in my carry-on suitcase while we were in Seattle.

Mt. Ranier


Joshua had his own "First Flight" uniform for the plane rides, complete with aviator goggles, and he was coincidentally given a bear with a similar outfit!

The stewardesses were so impressed they took all of us up to the cockpit, where Joshua got to meet the pilot!

Lindsey and I with all the brothers.


My brother Daniel thought I was embarrassing myself by slow-dancing with Joshua at the reception, so he asked us to dance.

A Few Firsts This Week

Today: Joshua's first movie theatre experience, and Katie's first that she was aware of (she went along with me as a baby, but mostly slept through the movies back then). We saw "Curious George" as part of Regal Theatres' Free Family Film Festival this summer. Katie enjoyed the movie and was mostly content, esp. since I strapped her into her booster seat and plied her with snacks and drinks. Joshua slept most of the movie. Overall, a good experience.

Yesterday: Joshua's first eye appointment. We went in for Katie's eye checkup and were thrilled that the eye specialist was able to squeeze Joshua in as well. I felt too silly to schedule an appointment for him since I didn't know of anything wrong with him, but the doctor started checking Joshua's eyes without me even asking. What an answer to prayer, since John and I have been a bit paranoid about his vision after Katie's early eye problems. Apparently one of Joshua's eyes is in fact drifting a bit, but the doctor is hopeful that he'll simply outgrow it. In the meantime, we've scheduled another appointment for him a few months from now.

This weekend: The kids' first fireworks and parade. We were at the beach for the Fourth of July and enjoyed both a parade and fireworks. I find it hard to believe that we haven't taken Katie to fireworks before, but her first Fourth, when she was five weeks old, we were in the hospital realizing she had something very wrong with her eyes. And last year we just watched the fireworks on TV with our best friends (who are having their 2nd baby next Wednesday -- hooray!). I was tempted to watch them on TV again this year, especially since the Sesame Street Muppets were part of the Capitol celebration, but I'm glad we did them in person. The kids were great overall and Katie really enjoyed the music and lights.

Funny Katie Quotes

I got Katie out of her crib this morning and lifted her up high to show her how excited I was to see her. She said:

"I touch the stars!!!"

No idea where she learned that one from. :-)
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Another funny one: Last week we got pretend food to go with her newly-inherited kitchen set (thank you Marce!). Katie wouldn't stop sticking the plastic food in her mouth, and I kept telling her not to eat it. Her response? "It delicious!"

I had never heard her say that word either.
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Other favorites:
"Jean Jeans" -- her word for my brother Jason
"Mucus" -- her word for music, as when calling for the "Elmo Mucus" DVD
"G-Ma-Ma" -- her word for my mom's mom, when we tried to teach her "GGMa" for great-grandma
"Hap Birday!" -- what she says whenever she sees a candle

Wild for Water

Our local town square has water fountains for kids to run around in.

I've never seen anyone love water so much. Except me. And John. Wonder where she got it from? :-)

Happy Three-Month Birthday, Joshua!

On Monday he started lifting his head entirely up during tummy time. He's a big, strong boy!

Why We Annoyed an Entire Restaurant

We were at the Silver Diner a few weeks ago, trying to keep our kids happy as long as possible so we could spend a few more precious minutes with our dear friends (and mentor couple) Dave and Gloria, who were moving to Dallas.

As you know, the Silver Diner has a jukebox at every table, and song selections are played throughout the restaurant. We realized that the Sesame Street theme song was one of the jukebox options, and yes, we were the annoying people who played the song THREE TIMES IN A ROW because Katie was so funny everytime it played. Below is the third time it played, and you can hear another restaurant patron trying not to complain in the background. :-)

As Katie says at the end of the song, "Again?"