Trick or Treat....part 1!

Tonight was fun! We took Joel trick or treating tonight in Defiance. We went to four friend's places...and took until 8:30 to get home! Joel was really, really well behaved. I was happy about that because he took no nap again today. He was kind of droopy towards the end, but hardly fussed at all. He was such a cute little dragon/monster! I put his costume on early today and took some pictures with him and Bailey because I was afraid he would be too tired later. He was funny! He didn't seem to mind the costume at all. He did get pretty warm but didn't fuss. He got really upset in the car on the way home, but he was past due for both a bottle and bed so we couldn't really blame him. He is going to Wauseon on Saturday to trick or treat with Grandma, PawPaw, Great Grandma, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jason. Great Grandma will be surprised, since she hasn't seen him in a while. Hopefully he is as well behaved then as he was today. Happy Halloween!!

Heading out to trick or treat! I think Mommy was WAY more excited than Joel! :0) We tried to take Bailey with us, but she gets too worked up about the costumes and people roaming around.

Mommy and her cute little monster!

"What did she make YOU wear?"

What a sweet little monster!

Updates...

Joel is getting bigger and bigger every day! Yesterday we spent with my family in Wauseon, and he was really well behaved all day. I think he might have overdone it, because for the first time in weeks he did not go to sleep after his last bottle and screamed for over an hour before finally settling down around 11:15. He slept then until 8:30 this morning, so that was good. I think he is finally cutting a tooth! He was really cranky this morning and when he was chewing on my finger I felt something sharp, although you can't see any tooth yet. He is also getting really close to crawling. He gets up on his knees and then goes up on his toes. He was rocking back and forth tonight and actually did move forward, but I don't know how intentional it was! He got a bath and settled right down to sleep after his bottle tonight. Yeah!! I am excited about Halloween this week! Trick or treat in Defiance is Thursday and I am taking him to Wauseon to trick or treat at my parents' house and grandma's house. I got him a costume for $5 at Babies R Us yesterday. I hope he doesn't throw a fit about wearing it! More later.....

Joel, enjoying his first Halloween card from Grandma and PawPaw!

Shopping with Mommy and Grandma! Such a good boy!

Joel's new trick....he'll be crawling soon!

My two favorite Steelers fans! :0)

LOVE this outfit! The picture is sweet, except for the giant "drool bomb'! Oh well, that's what he looks like all day these days!

So darn adorable!

Joel's first successful attempt at sitting up alone in his tub. He was pretty proud of himself.....I love his big smile!

I ask you, does it get any cuter than that? :0)

Joel with his very first Halloween pumpkin!

I love fall!

Today was a beautiful (if a little chilly) day...finally after what seems like weeks of rain! This afternoon we went to Wauseon and my sister took some family pictures of us with the fall colors. Joel was, of course, adorable and really quite cooperative. The same can't be said for Miss Bailey, but she did well enough we got a few pictures with her in them. (I'm talking about the "cooperative" part....she is always adorable, too! :0) ) The pictures turned out really well. (Thanks, Aunt Lisa!). After the pictures we went to Mom and Dad's and ordered pizza and just hung out for a while. Joel got some quality time with Grandma and PawPaw, so that was good. Some of the pictures were taken in the woods. Joel LOVES being outside! Friday he went shopping with Mommy, Grandma, and Aunt Lisa in Fort Wayne. He was so comical....he was laughing and squealing through the whole mall! He has a loud, high-pitched scream that he does now when he is happy or excited. He keeps me entertained during the day, that's for sure. This week is pretty slow for us. I am going to an overnight scrapbook crop on Friday night, so Daddy, Joel and Bailey will be on their own. We'll see how Mom does with that! This is only the second night I will have spent away from him since he came home from the hospital. They will be fine, but that won't stop me from worrying! More later...

Sitting up!

Today Joel was able to sit up by himself for a couple of minutes! I was so proud! He had been sitting up for very short periods of time on the changing table, but today I sat him on the floor and he sat there for a couple of minutes on his own. He looks really confused while he is sitting up, because if he moves or reaches for anything he face-bombs into the blanket. I clapped and made a big deal about it, which made him smile! He's a bit of a show off! For my "bad Mommy" moment this week, I put him on our bed this afternoon while I was brushing my hair and, yes, he managed to roll off the bed onto the floor. Fortunately, he thought this was a funny trick, even though Mommy was crying. The boy will be the death of me yet! I'm sure he will have many more bumps and bruises along the way in life, and Mommy is going to have to toughen up! Not much seems to bother him, though, and he is content to wiggle and giggle and just check out his world. I feel like a bad mother, with this mishap and the whole "Houdini" thing, but that's how it goes I guess. As long as he's happy, we must be doing something right!

Buddies for life? Well, maybe someday....for now, mutual tolerance is a beautiful thing! :0)

Big Stuff!

Catching up...

Joel has been a busy boy lately! Last Friday he went to the doctor for his next round of shots. He has a rash on his neck that he got cream for and the nurse practitioner we see said that he is doing really well. He got his first flu shot and will need to go back again in a month to get the other part, since they only give babies his size 1/2 of the dose at a time. He will also get the H1N1 shot, if and when they become available here. He weighs 18 pounds, 2 ounces, and is 26 1/4 inches long. (He weighs a little less than the last time he was seen, but she thinks that is because he was sick then and they don't make you strip off their clothes to get weighed when they are sick. Today he was weighed in only his diaper, so this is more accurate.) He is in the 40th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for his height. He is doing great! He got four shots and an oral vaccine today. He cried a little but really did well (better than Mommy!). Friday afternoon we went to Toledo with Grandma looking for a winter coat for him, since the one I bought is too small already. We finally found one, but it wasn't easy! He was in such a good mood all day, despite getting his shots and not talking a nap. He slept all night Friday night and did not seem to have a reaction to his shots. On our way to pick up Grandma, we stopped to see Aunt Lisa at work in Archbold. She gave Joel a froggy sleeper she had bought for Christmas because she was afraid it would be too small by then and he needed some jammies. It's really cute! It has frogs on the feet. Joel has other jammies with animal feet, but for some reason he really likes to chew on the froggy feet! He's too funny! Yesterday we went to a wedding in Bryan for someone I used to work with. He wore the suspenders outfit, which was completely adorable! He did well for the most part, and even got to "dance" with my friend Lindsey's little boy, Carter. Today we got up and went to church and to lunch. Joel slept during church for a few minutes, and just fell asleep again about 15 minutes ago. He's been doing well with his naps and sleeping all night, so we are thankful for that. Daddy is at Urgent Care right now because he got into something when he was tearing out some weeds and is miserable, with lots of itching and a nasty rash. Hopefully he gets a shot or something and feels better. He's been very careful about holding the baby, and neither one of us seems to have any itching issues. Let's hope that continues! More later...

The froggy jammies from Aunt Lisa.

My handsome boys at the wedding reception.

This outfit is absolutely adorable! He looked so cute! I was hoping he could still wear this one for his 9 month pictures in December, but I doubt it. The shirt was a little snug around the neck. I hope he can stil wear it, though. One of my favorites, that's for sure!

Amazing....

I found these four pictures from when we were in the hospital on an old card in a different camera. It is amazing to me how tiny he really was and what progress he has made in such a short amount of time. Looking at these pictures is bittersweet. He isn't our little tiny baby anymore, but knowing that he is healthy and developing well makes up for that. We wouldn't trade him for anything!

Joel getting his footprints done.

Fingers crossed....

I almost hesitate to say anything, but Joel has slept through the whole night (9+ hours!) three nights in a row now! I don't want to jinx it, but hopefully we are back on track. He has even been taking decent afternoon naps again, so that gives Mommy time to do laundry, scrapbook, and just relax a little bit. Life is good!

Go Steelers!

Another busy day...

Today was Joel's 7 month birthday, so of course we had to take the monthly "bear" photo. It was challenging, to say the least! (see below) I took the picture first thing in the morning when Joel had just woken up. Apparently he had a LOT of energy to burn....and he used it on the bear! Thank goodness I was only planning to take these pictures until his first birthday. The poor bear might not make it! For lunch we went to Wauseon to the American Red Cross chicken dinner, mostly so that Grandma could show Joel off to her friends. Aunt Lisa, Uncle Jason, and PawPaw were there, too, so we got to see them. After Mr. Social Butterfly got done entertaining everyone, we went with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jason to the woods to scope it out for the bonfire in November. Joel loves being outside....he smiled and laughed the whole time we were in the woods and fell asleep immediately when we left. He is definitely becoming more active, alert, and mobile these days. He slept for quite a while when we got home, and was wide awake for the start of the "very important" (says Daddy!) Pittsburgh Steelers game. Unfortunately he conked out midway through the first quarter, but he did get to wear his Steelers cap before he fell asleep! He brings us so much joy and is so much fun we can't imagine life without him. More later...

Two good results....7 months old!

What happened during this month's "bear" shoot...

I love my son!

I'm feeling nostalgic today or something, but I keep finding myself just staring at Joel and noticing everything about him and how he is changing and growing. I looked through some of the old blogs tonight and it seems a lifetime ago that he was so tiny. Some days it seems like a long time ago, and some days it feels like we just met him yesterday. He is doing so many new things and seems so much more alert than he was then. Can he get any cuter? :0) I cleaned out his drawers again today to get rid of things he can't wear anymore. He sat in his bouncy chair and watched me for about an hour. Then he threw a fit, but I'm choosing to ignore that! We went and bought him another car seat tonight because he is getting too big for the one he has had right along. :0( This seat holds up to 100 pounds, so I think we'll be safe! He has started spitting A LOT, which is not only gross but messy. I'm not sure how to work on stopping that behavior, but I need to figure something out. Just hanging out, loving the boy and waiting for what comes next! More later...