Funny boy!

Our son cracks us up! We really have found ourselves being more and more entertained by Joel's behavior the last couple of weeks. Boy, does he have his own little personality! The other night he was lying on the floor on his blanket and there was a Michael Jackson video retrospective on TV. He was kicking his feet and waving his arms and making all sorts of loud noises. Once the commercials came on, he quit moving, stuck out his bottom lip, and started whining. Once the music came back on he was ready to move! I tried to video tape him, but I didn't have much success. He has also learned to pull off the washcloth we use to cover him up to avoid "accidents" while changing his diaper. He pulls it off, tosses it above his head, and smiles a great big grin. We just fall in love with him more every day. It has only been not quite four months and we can't remember life without him. He looked so cute in his carrier tonight. He was pretty contented until we put him back in the stroller. Can't figure out what is going on with that, as he used to fall asleep on our walks and now he just screams. Live and learn I guess! More later...

We tried Joel's carrier tonight for the first time in hopes that we can use it to go to the Mud Hens on Friday. Joel loved it and didn't cry during the walk while Rob used it. Mommy and Daddy were a little less impressed....we might not have had it on tight enough. It should work well if we can figure out how to get it tightened correctly. Daddy just hopes he doesn't have to walk very far.....

GO BUCKS!!!!!

Sweet days of summer...

Joel continues to keep us entertained on these hot summer nights. He is really developing and changing almost daily. He "talks" almost non-stop now, and really smiles a lot. His eye contact is improving and he continues to do well lifting his head and torso off the blanket. He is in a phase right now where he seems to hate our nightly walks and cries (okay, screams) the whole time. That is fairly distressing to Mom and Dad (and Bailey!) who just want to relax. Hopefully this phase passes quickly! Mom had her first night away from Joel since we came home from Dayton this past week. I went with Lisa and two of her friends from work to Amish Country overnight to celebrate her birthday. It was fun, but I was happy to come home and hug my boys (and Bailey, too!). Rob said that Joel managed to wiggle himself out of his car seat when it was sitting on the floor in the living room. Rob had left him there sleeping and Joel somehow ended up on the floor. Apparently he was pretty pleased with himself about that! It is amazing watching his progress as he gets a little older. He's not quite four months old and has just made wonderful progress. He weighs almost 14 pounds now, which the doctor says is good. He is still not even in the 50th percentile for full term infants his age, but is catching up nicely. I took him to the doctor last week because I thought he had a seizure. It had happened a couple of times in the last few weeks and I was really worried. Dr. Foldvary is great. He said that it is very unlikely that Joel had a seizure and thought that he instead had a "Morrow (sp.?) Reflex" which is quite common in preemies due to their touchy nervous system. He assures us that Joel will grow out of it and will eventually stop thrashing and being so restless with his arms and legs. We should notice a difference in the next 4-6 weeks. More to come later...

What a big boy! (Okay, we cheated and Grandma propped him up for the picture, but he did seem to like it!)

Joel's sweet smile.

It's never too early to enjoy a good book! :0)

Joel and his "Gilligan" hat! I LOVE this hat...he looks so cute! I have to fold the brim so that he can see. He is not a big fan, but I think he is getting used to humoring his Mama!

A Father's Day miracle!

Happy Father's Day! Last night was a good one for Joel...he slept from about 1:00am-7:00am! He was awake a couple of times but I just watched him on the monitor and he went back to sleep both times. He wasn't crying, just "talking" a lot. Yeah! Hopefully this continues but I'm not counting on it! We went to church this morning for Father's Day and are cooking out tonight. A nice quiet celebration for Rob's first Father's Day with Joel. Enjoy the pictures!

He's growing up too fast!

Bailey, Mommy and Joel.

Rob and his TWO babies on Father's Day! (This is as close as Bailey would get to them!)

Daddy's first Father's Day.

His baseball hat finally fits! (Now it's almost too small!)

Sad news...

I just found out on the internet that the little boy who was in the NICU room with Joel died. Little Joshua died May 19. I really thought there was hope for him when he left the hospital. Please keep baby Joshua and his family in your prayers. They are very nice people. Now I have to go hug my son...

Ramblings....

It's been a while since I wrote anything, so I tried to catch up with some pictures. Our beautiful baby boy continues to grow and change and remains the center of our world (much to Bailey's annoyance!). He is 15 weeks old now and, as of Tuesday the 16th, 13 pounds, 22 1/4 inches long! He is starting to show his personality more and more. He is smiling a lot and cooing when we talk to him. He loves lying on the floor and watching the ballgame with Dad and playing with his rattle and texture blanket. He is quickly outgrowing his 0-3 month outfits and is firmly in his 3 month clothes. He's even already in size 2 diapers! He looks huge to us, but the doctor's office continues to assure us that he is doing well and that he isn't even in the 50th percentile yet for full-term babies his age. He went to his first Father's Day get together with my side of the family, and will be going to his first MudHens game on July 3. We'll see how he does with the fireworks after the game....if he can stay awake! He continues to have some issues with sleeping through the night, but is making progress. Tonight was the first time that he was awake for our whole walk, gurgling and making happy noises (mostly happy, anyway!) the whole time. He's really strong and holds his head up and pushes off with his legs a lot. I was looking at the old blog stuff earlier tonight and commented to Rob that it seems like a lifetime ago when we were at the hospital with him. It was been a wonderful, amazing, and exhausting three months, but we wouldn't change it for anything! On to new adventures......

Awww!! Mr. Bright Eyes

Cute!

Joel and his cousin Sarah who came to help take care of him for a week.

What a big boy...lifting his head!

That's what I call seriously sleepy!

Joel demonstrating one of his newest skills: holding his own rattle!

The "Happy Birthday Lisa and Rob/Happy Father's Day" party at Mom and Dad's. Joel was cranky all night because of a nasty diaper rash, but he was still adorable!

HILARIOUS!!!

Joel, Bailey and Daddy on Daddy's 41st birthday. I LOVE the look on Joel's face!

Three months old today!

Today is Joel's "official" three month birthday! Of course, I had to set up the famous bear shot. He was really cooperative and sat there for a long time while I took lots of shots trying to get a good one. I actually caught his little half-smile on camera! He is certainly one loved and adored little boy. We can't imagine life without him, that's for sure!

Three months old....I LOVE his smile!

Three Month Photo Shoot

Whew! We survived the big photo shoot this morning, but barely! The pictures are awesome....the photographer was a genius. Joel cried the WHOLE TIME and was generally miserable. It was really, really hot in there and he had just woken up. I am going to post a couple of the best pictures. I'm glad that is over and that it was successful! Did I mention that we have one beautiful baby boy? :0)

Wish me luck...

Hello all! Joel turns three months old on the 4th, and I am taking him to Sears to get his pictures taken on Wednesday. Wish me luck! We were going to try and schedule it when Rob could go along, but there wasn't any good option. Joel has been REALLY cranky for the last couple of days, so if his mood doesn't improve the photo session should be fun. I'm having a hard time finding something for him to wear, but like Rob said, it doesn't matter what he wears, he'll be cute in anything! I'm more concerned about him screaming through the whole appointment....think of me Wednesday at 10:00! Good night...