A Beautiful Day to Play Outside...

This afternoon was so nice and sunny that I took Joel out in the front yard and let him crawl around for a little bit. He LOVED it! He really likes being outside and was fascinated by the grass and the little landscaping stones. I took a bunch of pictures (surprise!) of him just sitting in the grass. Some of them are really cute. Also this afternoon I was watching a videotape of "Baby Joel" and he was really interested. The first four or five times Rob's voice was on there, Joel would smile and chatter. He did say "DaDa" a couple of times, too! He sat there with me for probably 15 solid minutes watching the tape and laughing. I kept pointing out "baby" and "Daddy" and "Bailey". He would point randomly at the images and laugh. He is changing a lot and starting to interact more and more with what we say and do. Right now he is yelling in his highchair, so I need to go see what that is all about! More later...

His pensive, sensitive look!

All smiles!

Bang! Bang!! BANG!!!

This morning, after both being up with Joel from 3:45-4:45, Rob and I were woken up by a series of loud bangs on the bedroom wall. It sounded like the house was falling down! I went in there to rescue my boy, and found him using his monkey rattle to pound on the walls and the crib. Boy was he FURIOUS when I took the rattle away! He has quite a temper, and he turned it loose on his Mama this morning! Fortunately he calmed down quickly and we moved on. He has been taking nice long naps in the mornings, but not much in the afternoons. He is sleeping right now, so I am getting a few things done. Hopefully he wakes up less grumpy than this morning! More later...

Little Mister Blue Eyes!

Someone from our church made this horse for Joel. He made so many cute faces when Rob set him on it! I have to stain it, so I will try and post a better picture once that is done. I love this boy! :0)

Awww!

Spring Days...

Joel and I are continuing to enjoy these nicer days now that the weather is warming up. He is growing and maturing a little bit every day. He is definitely at a fun age right now...exploring, chattering, and generally being constantly on the move! We have bought a 2006 Honda Odyssey mini-van, and have turned Joel's car seat around so that he faces front. He really likes that a lot! He is much more willing to get into his seat and loves to look out the window and chatter. He also makes "singing" noises when the radio is on, which is really funny! The bad thing is that he also enjoys tossing his toys up toward Mommy, and then gets mad when he can't get them back. He'll figure it out soon enough. He still is not walking but is getting very close. If he would just let go of the furniture I think he would be fine. Today I stopped at a garage sale and found a zebra ride-on toy that he had played with at a friend's house. He completely loves that thing! He tried to get on it by himself and tends to fall off a lot, but that doesn't stop him from trying! He sticks his face right in the zebra's face and makes funny noises. Then he laughs at himself, which just cracks me up! He is such a wonderful little boy. I really thought I would miss the baby stage more than I do. He is so much fun now that his personality is coming out. We'll see what tomorrow brings....

This is the ride-on toy we got at a garage sale today. He played with this thing for half an hour straight this afternoon. It bounces and plays music, and some of the little toys spin around. It seems like it will become a favorite!

I LOVE the look on his face! He has so many expressions....he's comical!

Birthday shirt from Uncle Jerry and Aunt Sherry.

Deosn't he look a lot older in this one? He got his ballcap for Easter.

Mad. Mad... MAD!!!!

Lovin' the red plaid shorts.

Mutiny!

There is a mutiny at the Foster house! Mr. Joel has decided that, as long as he is grumpy about his teeth, he will not cooperate with diaper changes or getting dressed! He puts up such a fight these days to get his pants changed. We go to great lengths to try and entertain him and get his to relax. I'm sure a hidden camera would make us look pretty goofy sometimes! He is getting three teeth at once and is not feeling the best. Fortunately he responds well to infants' ibuprofen at nap time and bedtime. He is getting his rest at least. My favorite news is that he has started "blowing kisses". He doesn't pucker up, but he will put his open hand in front of his mouth and do all the motions. It is so cute! He is getting so big. He can now reach all of the drawers and the lower kitchen cabinets without any problem. He loves taking everything out and throwing it on the floor! He also definitely has a temper when he hears the dreaded "No!". He also loves opening and closing doors....especially the front door...over and over and over again. It does give him something to do and keeps him busy! This weekend Joel's Aunt Sherry and Uncle Jerry are coming to visit, so he will have some different people to entertain. I have more pictures to post later, so I will try and get to that tonight. More later...

A Big Day...Scrambled Eggs and Flip-Flops!

Mommy made Joel scrambled eggs for the first time today. He LOVED them, but what a mess! His smile was worth it, though! :0)

Doesn't he look excited about his new flip-flops? :0)

Handsome boy!

Joel's first Easter eggs!

13 month bear picture

All smiles!

Workin' those Elmo glasses!

Happy Easter!

This is what Joel looks like without curly hair!

This face makes me laugh!

What a smile!

Catching up....

It's been a while since I've posted anything. We've been busy with Mr. Joel and life in general. We had a good Easter. We had dinner with my family last night after a full day of van shopping. The Easter bunny came a little early for Joel there! He got some really cute clothes and a "Waterwheel PlayTable", among other treats. This morning we got up and got ready for church. Joel fell asleep about 10 minutes into the service, so he was really good! After church we went to WalMart and then came home. We took another bear picture, because today is his 13-month birthday. I was planning on stopping that at 12 months, but in case I change my mind I wanted the picture. You never know! We got Joel an Elmo Easter basket with a couple little toys, a ball cap, and Elmo glasses. We colored some eggs this afternoon (okay, I colored the eggs, but I thought it was going to be a group effort!). Joel could have cared less, but he did like rolling the eggs around his highchair tray once they were done! He was probably too young to enjoy it...better luck next year! :0) I noticed tonight that he has another tooth on top, so that could explain his recent crankiness and troubles napping. He did not nap today other than church and was DEFINITELY ready for bed at 8:30. He fell asleep about two minutes into his bottle and has been sleeping since. He has been doing better sleeping all night, so hopefully that continues tonight. He did also take two small steps today, but he was touching the wall. So far no independent steps. That's okay...he's growing up fast enough! Other than that, we have just been hanging out and loving on Joel and Bailey. Vacation is coming up, and I'm sure we'll have lots to report after that! More later.....