This was Joel's first look at his Christmas tree we put up in his room. He was so sweet! He smiled and giggled when Rob pointed out each ornament for him. It actually made me tear up! I think he is going to love all of the decorations. Now if I can just get everything put up.....Ho!Ho!Ho!

Thanksgiving and Holiday Parades....

Whew! What a week! We celebrated Joel's first Thanksgiving on Thursday with my side of the family in Wauseon. Grandma, PawPaw, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jason were there, as well as my Uncle Ted, Aunt Diane, and cousin Nick from Perrysburg. It was good to see them since we hadn't seen all of them since the baptism in May. They couldn't believe how much Joel has changed! Joel was fun that day and even took a brief nap in the pack and play, which was pretty amazing. He ate his turkey baby food and played in the high chair while everyone else ate. We are so incredibly thankful this year to have Joel in our family. The last 8+ months have flown by, and we love him more each and every day. The was truly the best Thanksgiving ever for us. Friday was the Archbold Parade of Lights, and Joel and I got to ride the float for the first time with Aunt Lisa. Joel was wearing the snowman snowsuit that Lisa and Jason gave him, and was supposed to be "Frosty". (Mom is the director of the Fulton County Red Cross and recruited us to ride!) It was SO cold! Joel fell asleep right before the parade started and was pretty cranky when he woke up. He spent most of the looooong parade in the Hummer with Daddy, Uncle Jason, and PawPaw because it was so cold. On Saturday night Wauseon had their parade. We went to that one too, and ate Thanksgiving leftovers at Mom and Dad's house before heading up to the parade. It was much warmer for that parade, and Joel was well rested. He was really cute! He sat up for the whole parade on my lap and seemed to really like all of the lights and the music. He didn't cry at all and was smiling a lot. He thinks he's famous! :0) After that parade we went back to the house for a little while before heading back to Defiance. Tomorrow we are having a "stay home and get something done" day. Joel needs to get back into his regular routine, and we have lots of Christmas preparation ahead! At some point we will need some groceries, but maybe I can put that off until Monday..........Good night!

The American Red Cross float for the Fulton County holiday parades. Notice that Joel is passed out cold! He fell asleep just before the parade started and was not happy when he woke up. Fortunately he enjoyed Wauseon's parade on Saturday more, and it wasn't so cold!

Freezing our buns off at the Archbold Parade of Lights! Boy was it cold! Joel spent most of the parade inside the vehicle instead of on the float because it was so cold. Wauseon's parade Saturday night was much warmer!

Too much Thanksgiving for one little boy! (Look at all his curls!)

Family picture.

Our Little Turkey!

I love this picture! This is Joel's outfit to ride on the American Red Cross float for the holiday parades this weekend. A grumpy snowman, maybe? Grandma and Aunt Lisa fixed the hat of this snowsuit so it would fit, and that made him a little happier. I hope the weather cooperates so we can enjoy the parades. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures!

Chillin' out with PawPaw watching the float being put together. (I thought this picture was funny because of the expressions on their faces. Don't they look the same? :0) )

After several attempts, this was the only picture I was able to get of Joel's two teeth. He's ornery and covers them with his tongue when I try to get him to smile!

So sweet! He really seems to like this Santa hat and doesn't get upset at all when I put it on him. I got his jammies at Children's Place. I thought they were appropriate! :0)

Playing with the Santa hat. One of my favorite pictures of him yet. Ho!Ho!Ho!

So cute....and a little bit of a ham, too!

Santa Round #2! We took Joel to Silver Belles Christmas Shoppe in Dundee on Saturday to see Santa. He did not smile, but didn't cry either. The Santa pictures weren't the greatest, but we got some other good shots of him. Our Christmas card will be really cute! :0)

Bonfire and Santa Claus!

We took Joel to the bonfire in the woods last weekend. He LOVED it! He loves being outside. He was really good all evening, and just sat staring at all the people and watching the fire. He dozed off for a little while, and was in a really good mood when he woke up. He has also gone Christmas shopping twice now, with mixed results. During the first trip he was really mellow and was pleasant and smiley all day. Yesterday he had a rougher time. He cried a lot on the way home and was generally pretty uncomfortable. I think it is because he is getting teeth again and he has a diaper rash that we were treating. He was still good for most of the day and was very cooperative about being loaded and unloaded out of the van. He got to sit up in the cart seats some, so he enjoyed that! He also got to see Santa yesterday for the first time! We were at the Bass Pro Shop and didn't know that Santa was there. Fortunately Joel had worn his Santa shirt in honor of the shopping day, so he was ready! He was a lot more reserved with Santa than I thought he would be. He didn't cry, but you could tell by the look on his face he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to cooperate. He is so adorable! Aunt Lisa took pictures with my camera that turned out better than the free one they took. Joel crashed HARD last night and slept for almost 11 hours. He also went right down for his nap this morning. I used Orajel on his teeth and he seems less bothered by them today. We'll see what happens when he wakes up! Enjoy the pictures...

Joel and Santa! He was a lot shyer than I thought he would be, but he didn't cry. When Santa first came up to him, he immediately grabbed and pulled hard on his beard, as predicted! And, yes, the beard was real! :0)

So perfect.

Bathing beauty!

Hanging out with PawPaw's camo hat at the bonfire.

Another shot...poor baby!

Poor baby! Joel had to get another shot today from the Visiting Nurses for RSV prevention. Dr. Foldvary's office applied for the medicine for him since he was a preemie and the shot is supposed to protect his lungs from that disease. He has to get the shot once a month for five months, and the nurses come to our house to do it. Unfortunately, he did not do as well as he did with the H1N1 shot. The poor boy probably feels like a pin cushion these days! He cried and cried after this shot, and holding and rocking him didn't seem to help. He eventually did settle down, but not until he broke his mother's heart! He seems fine this evening and went to bed right on time with no fever or anything, so I think he is fine. Yesterday we went Christmas shopping with my sister. He was a trooper! (I told Rob he did better than Rob would have if he had gone with us! :0) ) He was smiley and laughing almost all day, and liked all the attention he got from the clerks and the other shoppers. He can sit up in the cart seats now, so he thinks he is pretty big stuff! He slept no more than 45 minutes all day long, and really only fussed at the last store we went to. He slept well last night and woke up chipper this morning. I think we need to go shopping more often! He is really fun these days. He is making funny faces with his mouth and is very "talkative"....he is almost always making some kind of noise! He has recently started grabbing Rob's ear and pulling hard on it when he is holding him. I told Rob he gets no sympathy from me....Joel has been pulling my hair for months! Tomorrow night is the bonfire in Dad's woods. Joel loves to be outside and has liked going to the woods before, so hopefully he will be fun. More later...

Such a brave boy!

Okay, we both survived Joel's H1N1 shot earlier today. The place was a zoo. They had appointments booked every TWO MINUTES....the place was packed. If he didn't have the flu before that he probably does now! :0) He was smiley and giggly right up until the nurse poked him. He was so sweet! He stopped giggling, gave her "the lip" and then turned his head to look at me, cried for two seconds, and then was over it! He was laughing again by the time we left the office! Of course, they didn't tell me that he has to come back in a month for a second shot. This poor kid is going to look like a pin cushion at the rate he is going. Anyway, the shot must have made him sleepy, because he crashed hard for three hours after we got home. I thought he would be up all night, but he fell asleep with his 9:00 bottle as usual. Rob says it is his night to get up with him if he wakes up....I hope he sleeps all night for his sake! Joel went out to dinner with us tonight for our anniversary. The waitress told us that he was the best baby she had ever seen at the restaurant. He never made an unhappy sound! Of course, we already knew that....:0) More later....

Eight months old and Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy!

Joel is 8 months old today, which is also Rob and my 14th wedding anniversary! Joel was up early this morning so I took his bear pictures bright and early. It really is becoming a two-person job! It was a little easier since he can sit up on his own, but he was still wiggly and not too sure about the bear. I took 26 pictures and only a handful turned out. The one of him sucking his thumb is cute. Shortly after that picture he decided he was ready for his bottle and the cooperation stopped! I can't believe he is eight months old already. The last month was a big one...he learned to sit up on his own and got two teeth! He is back to napping in the morning now, so Mom gets a little time to get things done. I'm a little nervous because I am taking him by myself to get the H1N1 shot at the Health Department this afternoon. I hope we are making the right decision; I'm just a little uncertain because the shot is new. I just hope it works and he doesn't get sick. More later....

Eight months old!

What an ornery little angel!

Trick or Treat, Part 2...and teeth!

Joel had his second round of Halloween fun on Saturday night when I took him to Wauseon to trick or treat with my family.(Rob went to the Ohio State game. Go Bucks!) We took him to see Great Grandma and then we sat on my sister's in-laws front porch to watch the kids and pass out candy (by the way...I have NEVER seen that many trick or treaters! It was amazing!) Unfortunately, Joel fell asleep before the first trick or treater arrived and woke up just after the last one left! It was REALLY cold, and his Grandma held him and had him wrapped in lots of snuggly blankets. Add a bottle, and he was out! I would say his first Halloween was a good one! Also, he continues to work on trying to crawl and also is getting better at sitting up for longer periods of time. Plus, he finally got two teeth this week! They are in the front on the bottom. He didn't seem particularly fussy, so maybe he won't have a hard time getting the rest of his teeth. Of course, he still drools like crazy, but at least he has something to show for it! I tried to take a picture of his teeth, but they are so little and he gets so mad when you mess with his lip that it didn't work. He has really been comical the last few days. He "talks" almost all the time, and has started trying to mimic us when we make noises. He purses his lips and makes an "oooooo" sound. He is so cute! Tonight before Rob got home I took him for a walk and had him wear his snowsuit for the first time. It was cold and a little windy, and his hands had gotten really cold the night before, so I wanted to avoid that. The snowsuit is adorable! He didn't fuss much, but I don't think he likes it because his hands are covered up. He fell asleep in the stroller after a while, so the walk was successful! More later....(I noticed that the pictures are posted backwards. Sorry!)

Our beautiful boy.

Joel in his new snowsuit! I love the look on his face!

Sleepy head! No candy for him!

My little blue-eyed monster!

Trick or Treat in Wauseon....before he fell asleep!

A future career? Joel helping Deb at the Hearing Aid Center.