Doesn't he look like he is up to something? :0)

Mommy's Little Escape Artist!

Joel learned a new trick today...one that almost gave his mother a heart attack! I had set him in the bouncy chair in the living room while I went to the bathroom and to get dressed. I could hear him in there playing the music, so I thought he was fine. When I came back (less than 5 minutes later, I might add!) I couldn't find him! The seat was empty and he was nowhere I could see him. Since the chair is about three feet from the stairs to the basement, my heart about stopped beating, thinking that he had somehow gotten out and rolled down the stairs. I ran down to the basement...no sign of him. When I came back upstairs, I noticed that he was over between the recliner and the door to the three seasons room. Mommy was nearly hysterical, but Joel just smiled and laughed when I scooped him up. He must have slid out of the chair and rolled all the way across the room. How he did that without hitting his head on the coffee table I don't know. After I calmed down, I wanted to see this for myself, so I put him back in the chair and stepped out into the kitchen, out of his view. After about 5 minutes, sure enough, he scooted off the end of the chair and plopped on the floor in front of it (I took his picture because he looked so proud of himself!). After a few seconds, he started rolling away again. He is learning so much every day! He is certainly no longer the passive little bundle of joy who would lay on the floor cooing and amusing himself. He is moving a lot more, although he still doesn't sit up and isn't crawling yet. He has also learned the "raspberry" and how much fun it is to throw his toys off the high chair and scream until Mommy picks them up. (Or Bailey....he really isn't fussy!) He also likes these rice things called "Baby Mum Mums" that are supposed to help teach him to feed himself. They dissolve really quickly to keep him from choking. He is mastering those, and is trying to learn how to use his spoon, although he gags himself a lot with that. I'm so glad I'm able to be home with him every day to see him learn and figure things out. There is nothing I love more than going into his room when he wakes up from a nap and seeing him smile and coo when I talk to him. He is even starting to return affection a little bit...he will stroke your shoulder or your cheek if you hold him and talk softly to him. He also buries his head in your shoulder when he wants to snuggle. I love it! He has started spitting a lot, which I could do without but we are working on that. He's becoming a big boy!

Joel "Houdini" Foster admiring his handiwork!

Mommy's Little Escape Artist!

Joel in one of his several Buckeye outfits! This one is so cute....it says "Buckeye" across the butt!

Love those Daddy kisses!

This is how he looks after most meals now. He has perfected the "raspberry" thanks to PawPaw and makes a HUGE mess!

Welcome Fall!

Today we took Joel "pumpkin hunting" and to Toledo to go to Babies R Us and IHOP(guess where Daddy was most excited to go!) First we stopped at a roadside stand and took some pictures and got Joel his pumpkin. He was so cute! We set him in the pumpkins and he just patted them and grabbed the stems. He tried to lick them, but we stopped him before he could do that. Then we went to Johnson's Orchard to see some farm animals that Joel and I had seen with Grandma on Saturday. Joel was getting pretty sleepy, but he liked the animals, especially the chickens and the goat. That goat came right up to the fence and Joel never flinched or anything....he just stuck out his hand. He wasn't a fan of the cow, but the cow was disgusting and covered with flies so I couldn't blame him for that! We took some more pictures with the pumpkins there, but by the time we did that Joel was done. He fell asleep in the car on the way to the store, where we were checking on bigger car seats. Then we went to IHOP for dinner. Joel was well behaved for the most part, but PawPaw taught him the "raspberry" yesterday and he has been doing it non-stop ever since, which makes dinner a long (and messy) process. We finally got home around 8:30 and took a walk. After that, the boy was DONE with a capital "D". He was fussy and cranky and fell asleep during his 9:30 bottle. He is still sleeping, so hopefully he will sleep past 4:00am. He slept a little later this morning, so maybe he is through this little pattern he had developed. I hope so! More later...

Mommy's Little Pumpkin! (For some reason, he was really into licking the pumpkin. Gross!)

Joel liked the goat at the orchard, but his favorites were the chickens!

"I want THIS one!"

Daddy and Joel with the GIANT pumpkin! (Daddy was impressed...Joel was much more interested in the traffic going by!)

What a smile!

Our precious boy.

Almost forgot...

I forgot to update about Joel's doctor's appointment. I had to take him back to the clinic on Monday so they could do another nasal swab (which he did NOT appreciate, I might add!) because the doctor was concerned about possible allergies or a bacterial infection. They called with the results Monday afternoon, and there were no cells at all that caused concern! He apparently just had a virus. Good news there! I was worried that he might be allergic to Bailey (one of my "keep me up at night" nightmares), so this was a relief. He is scheduled for more shots on October 9, so hopefully we have no more doctor visits until then.

Simply adorable!

So silly!

Not the best picture, but it makes me smile!

So darn cute! His onsie says "worth the wait". Amen!

He's so strong! He gets up like this and wiggles his legs. He acts like he wants to crawl!

Yawn....

Is it morning yet? Joel is continuing to struggle with (hopefully) teething issues. He went to sleep, exhausted, at 10:00 last night, but was wide awake at 4:00am again, ready to go. I gave him a bottle and rocked him for a while before putting him in his swing to fall asleep. Unfortunately, he only cried. He really wants to be held ALL the time when he is like this. He never did fall back asleep, and Rob got up wih him again at 7:15. He took another bottle and fell asleep until 9:00, and was awake until 12:30, when he FINALLY fell asleep in the car. It is now almost 2:30 and he is still sleeping. He has missed a bottle, but that's okay. He was so cranky that he barely ate his baby food for lunch. (He still reaches in and pulls out the peas when you give those to him, even if you mix them with the sweet potatoes. Kind of cute, if you aren't the one cleaning him up!) I'm probably going to let him sleep for another hour or so if he will. I'm afraid if he sleeps too long this afternoon I am setting up another problem for tonight. Let's hope not....Mommy, Daddy, and Bailey need our beauty rest! More later...

Mr. Personality...

I continue to be amazed by how much Joel changes every day. His hair is really getting thicker (and blonder!) and he is developing his own personality more and more. He is generally a very happy little guy, and laughs and makes all sorts of happy noises. The last day or so he has been a little more demanding. I think he is getting a tooth, and he wants to be held all the time. Yesterday I held him for over two hours while he slept. I loved it, but it can't become a habit or I will never get anything done! Last night he woke up at 4:00 am and was awake for a couple of hours. I was up with him for about an hour and the rest of the time he was entertaining himself in his crib, which he is getting better at doing every day. He has been sleeping a lot during the day, which I again think is because he is bothered by his gums. We kept him awake longer tonight, so hopefully he sleeps better tonight. If not, Daddy is on deck! I love him more and more every day, and he is finally starting to show affection back a little bit. There is nothing better in the world than when he snuggles his head under my chin and strokes my cheek. I got him to belly laugh the other day...it was hilarious! Good night....

Mr. Social Butterfly...

Our son has quite the busy social life! Today I took him to Wauseon to see his grandparents and to hang out for the day. Before we could go, Joel had a follow up appointment at the Clinic with Dr. Foldvary, since the medicine he got for his cold/wheezing last week could only be taken for seven days without a recheck. Dr. Foldvary said he was doing well and that he is up to 18 pounds, 3 1/2 ounces! They took a nasal swab for some diagnostic tests to make sure it was just a virus, but Rob found out later while I was gone that they did not get a big enough sample (of snot? I find that hard to believe!) to do the test and we should follow up with their office on Monday or Urgent Care sooner if he gets worse. I really don't think it will be a problem. He is barely coughing anymore and the wheezing does seem better. He is sneezing some, but that is it. Anyway, we went and had lunch with PawPaw and Grandma and then went to visit Great Grandma. She really seems to enjoy seeing him and he was in a great mood while we were there. By the time we were ready to leave he was getting sleepy, so our timing was good. We were going to see Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jason today too, but Uncle Jason ended up having outpatient surgery for a back problem and we only got to see them for a few minutes. Then it was home to Daddy and Bailey. Joel was really tired by the time we got home and went to sleep fairly easily. Hopefully he'll be out for a while! Tomorrow we are staying home and then Sunday we are going to the Neuenschwander family reunion in Wauseon. Never a dull moment! Good night...

Joel and his Great-Grandma. He was really talking a lot and was really entertaining during our visit.

Joel's first ride on the Gator with PawPaw, Grandma, and Huck. Huck still doesn't know what to think of him....plus, I'm pretty sure he was in his seat!

Isn't he cute? This is his bathrobe that he got when he was born. He was in a really good mood, so he even tolerated the hood! :0)

Out cold!

I might have gone a little overboard with dressing him for the walk on a cooler evening! He looks like Nanuk of the North! :0)

Joel loves his exerciser! He plays in it for quite a while at a time these days. Busy, busy, busy!

And for my next trick...

Joel never fails to keep us hopping, that's for sure! Today when I got back from the store he was still napping, so I decided to peek in at him. When I went in his room he was still sleeping....only he had somehow managed to get his face in between the bumper pad and the crib rail. I was too freaked out to take his picture, and had to get Rob to see what his son had done. We were able to move him without waking him up, but he did it again before his nap was over. I guess the bumper pad has to go. He seems to be getting better with his cold. He is still coughing some but his wheezing seems less and his mood is a little better. We were all stir crazy this morning so we put his Bumbo seat in his stroller and took a walk. Joel really seemed to enjoy the ride and did not cry once. Maybe he was ready for some fresh air, too? Rob continues to feel tired and have coughing fits, but I am feeling better. Neither one of us has a tremendous amount of energy. Hopefully that gets better. Of course, I'm sure Rob will have enough energy when the OSU game starts in an hour or so! Maybe we should have a review of our conversations about his ballgame demeanor when the baby is around! :0) Go Bucks.....

Go Steelers...and Buckeyes!

Not sure what this face is about...

Bathing beauty!

Still fascinated by the ceiling fan! I thought it was a sweet picture.

A case of the YUCKS!!!

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later and it did. Joel has been coughing and wheezing a little bit lately, so I took him to the doctor yesterday morning just to make sure it wasn't the dreaded RSV. It wasn't, but he got two prescriptions for cough and wheezing. Then when Rob got home from work HE felt awful and had a runny nose and was coughing a lot. I had woken up yesterday with a sore throat, but it went away and I thought I was fine. WRONG! Last night was awful. Thank God Joel seems to be reacting well to his medicine and he slept from 10:00pm until 7:30am with very minimal coughing. Rob slept some, but I was awake all night except from 3:00-4:00 with a stuffed up nose, horrible headache, and a temperature of 100 degrees. It was miserable to say the least. Rob even called in sick to work today, and I can't even remember the last time he did that. He probably would have just taken some medicine and gone in, but we didn't think it was such a good idea for an exhausted, feverish mama to take care of the baby all day. Joel has been such a good boy today and has been pretty cooperative with his sluggish parents. Bailey is so confused! She laid by me on the bed most of the day but occasionally she would get up, go out and look at Rob, then come back in and lay down. Hopefully everyone feels better tomorrow. If not, I think we may load up the van and haul everyone in to the clinic. Let's hope not.... (By the way...at the doctor yesterday, Joel weighed 17 pounds, 14 ounces. The doctor said he is doing really well with his slowing weight gain and that he is right where the doctor wants him to be. Yeah!)

Big weekend, cranky baby blues.....

This has been a big couple of days for Joel! First, he turned 6 months old on Friday and had a marathon picture session at Sears. Friday night we decided to let him sleep rather than wake him up for his 12:00 midnight bottle, just to see how he would do. He slept from 10:00 until 7:00 the next morning! He did the same thing last night, but tonight is not looking good. He has been really, really cranky all day and nothing seems to make him happy. He is in his crib crying right now. He has to be exhausted, since he only took two naps for about half an hour apiece today. His eyes are heavy and he is having a hard time holding his head up, but he fights it so hard. Hopefully he falls asleep soon and is able to sleep for a while. At this point I wouldn't even mind feeding him again at midnight if he gets a little rest. We think he might be getting a tooth, but the Orajel did not seem to help matters. He may just be tired from all his activity lately. On Saturday morning he went to Abel and Jenny's house for a couple of hours while Rob and I went to Bryan to test drive a van (hated the van, by the way!). After we got home, I took him to Wauseon to go to the fair with Grandma, Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Jason. He was such a good boy! He was fascinated by all the activity, but seemed really jumpy with all the noise. I took him on the merry-go-round. It was funny because his legs were too short to straddle the horse so he had to ride side-saddle. He seemed to enjoy it, but the problem was that we had to wait a while for the ride to start and the ride right next to the merry-go-round made really loud, sudden noises that scared him. We got some cute pictures, though! He really couldn't see much at the baby animal barn, and he was getting hot and tired. He was too little to ride the live ponies...maybe next year. He fell asleep while I was holding him and actually stayed asleep when I laid him in the stroller. He was exhausted! Last night he slept from 10:00 until about 6:30 this morning. Oddly enough, he has been really sleepy today along with being grumpy. Tomorrow should be a nice quiet day, so maybe he can rest a little bit and regroup. More later, good night....

Daddy and Joel....getting ready for the first OSU game of the season. Daddy stayed home and watched the game with Marty while Mommy took Joel to the fair.

Woo Hoo! I'm at the fair!!!

All the fair fun tires a fella out!

Joel and Mommy on the merry-go-round. Mommy had a little trouble at first holding him with both hands and keeping her balance, but we did fine eventually!

First merry-go-round ride ever!

Kickin' back with a drink at the fair!

In the food tent at the Fulton County fair. No fair treats for him, though!

Oops....I almost forgot the bear picture for this month! It is becoming more and more challenging to get a good shot the older Joel gets. He is much more interested in pulling the bear's nose and trying to scoot off the couch than he is in smiling for Mommy! I took 14 pictures today and this is the only one that turned out at all! Next month should be interesting!

Where have six months gone?

Wow....it doesn't seem possible that Joel can be six months old already! He had a big day today. He got his pictures taken at Sears this morning. We were the only appointment they had scheduled today, so they took tons of pictures (52, to be exact!). We were there for 2 1/2 hours! Rob went along for the first time and seemed to enjoy the whole process. Joel was much happier this time than last time. He was a little tearful, but he was really tired because his sleep schedule was a little off and he should have been sleeping during the appointment. I posted several of the poses that we liked the best. Adorable! Joel has been really, really tired tonight and has been a little whiny. He is sleeping right now, getting ready for his big day tomorrow! He is going to Abel and Jenny Quintero's house in the morning while we go van shopping and then I am taking him to Wauseon to go to the fair with Grandma, PawPaw, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jason. I'm hoping he gets to ride a pony, but we'll see. I know I'm kind of a dork, but I was watching him sleep a little bit ago and got pretty emotional. The last six months have flown by and we love him so much it is hard to remember a time we were without him. We are just going to keep loving him every day and continue to do the best we can to be the best parents we can be. He deserves it! Good night...

Adorable! He was cracking himself up!

Happy Birthday, Joel!

Today is Joel's 6 month birthday! We can't believe it! He has a busy couple of days coming up. Sears pictures today at 10:00, "bear" pictures this afternoon, and the Fulton County Fair tomorrow! Hopefully he does okay there and it isn't too crowded. I'm hoping there is enough activity to keep his attention that he doesn't fuss so much about the stroller. We'll see! I plan to post pictures from Sears later this afternoon and, of course, his monthly bear picture. It should be interesting...Daddy is going along for the pictures and Joel has just now (8:50) fallen back to sleep after his 7:00 bottle. Hopefully he wakes up in a good mood or it could be a looooong morning! More later.....

Okay, I admit it....he does look a little silly in the hat! But, still adorable!!

The BUMBO seat! We got this from my friend Cory for Joel to use to get used to sitting up. He does pretty well....if he is in the mood! If not, he arches his back until he pops off the tray and then kind of lifts himself out of it. We used it in the stroller the other night with some success. We looked weird but it worked for a while!

My two ornery babies! They like to gang up on me with the crying and whinig. It really is like having two babies. Bailey will lay around all morning while Joel is sleeping and as soon as he wakes up and I am doing something with him she suddenly needs my undivided attention! She does now come into his room and lay beside his crib. She was also pretty interested in him in the exerciser yesterday. They were entertaining each other!

One of my favorite pictures yet! I love his goofy little smile!