Noe News is Good News

11 months old - It's just getting too hard...

... to take these pictures! Joselyn will not sit still!! She either wants to play with her elephant (which she LOVES LOVES LOVES KASEY!) or climb off the couch. I even tried to do pat-a-cake or itsy-bitsy spider with her and I seriously could not get a good shot. I probably could have done better with Adam's help but I am already 1 week behind and we weren't home at the same time until late tonight. So... which one is the best? You get to decide which one of these bad shots gets to be put in the monthly slide-show!

1. WAY up in the oven!

2. Um, I have a question...

3. Nice elephant

Yeah. And those were the GOOD ones.

Joselyn is such a happy baby! I am so blessed. Everyday someone asks me "Does she ALWAYS smile this much?" Yep. She does... always so smiley and friendly. She may not always let strangers hold her, but she will always gladly offer a smile or a wave followed by a "hi" or "bye"

Her biggest milestone this past month is definitely walking. I still have not gotten a video... my video camera is not in my possession at the moment. But Jos had made major progress in this past week. The first day she was taking 5-10 steps from one piece of furniture to another and now, 1 week later, she is walking in circles, drinking her bottle as she walks, dragging her blankeys around and carrying her toys from place to place. I thought it was about time to get her some shoes so she could walk outside but she can't walk with shoes, it's quite funny. Anyone have any advice to offer on the shoe situation? I have tried the flexible soles even, and they just don't do. Maybe Robeez? She looks too tiny to be walking and her little walk is so funny to watch... I will really try and get it on video soon!

Joselyn's vocabulary is expanding... she can now say most small words starting with B although they mostly sound alike. "Baby" = "Bay-ee", "Bird" = "Birrr", "Ball" = "Baa", "Bye" = "Bye" (she's good at that one!) She can also say mama, dada, hi, "all done"= "ah duh" and a few other words. She really tries to copy the short words we say.

She LOVES pat-a-cake and itsy-bitsy spider. This is another thing I just HAVE to catch on video because she can seriously do all the moves by memory! She even tries to sing and throws words in there at the right time like "dow..." for "down came the rain" or "bay" for "Mark it with a b". Nothing melts my heart more than seeing her do these two songs!

When I cuddle with her and she is laying her head on my shoulder, I sometimes pat her back - she has started to pat my back in return and it just makes me smile like crazy!

She is still pretty tiny for her age. In Utah, people kept on asking me if she was 7 months old. Funny thing is I was looking through some old pictures from when she was 2 months old and she is STILL wearing some of the same tops!! I couldn't believe it. I guess I was in such a rush to get her into her 3-6 month wardrobe that I kinda rushed it. She still wears a lot of 3-6 month sweaters, shirts and dresses but wears 6-9 month Jeans. The fact that she has NO HAIR probably doesn't help people know her age.

She definitely has a 'lovey' now... her Gymboree blankets. My own fault, I suppose, for providing so many so young but the good thing is she doesn't have a favorite. Any Gymboree blanket will do! Also, they are easily replaceable! I plan to cut them into large squares someday and making a huge quilt for her out of them. Wouldn't that be fun? If she falls and hits herself, all I have to do is get her blanket and put it up to her face. It calms her almost instantly. When she gets tired before bed or a nap OR just wants a little comfort she just bends over with her little bottom in the air and burries her face in her blanket.

It's hard for me to believe that in less than a month my baby is turning 1! I have already started planning her party and invitations were finished today. (hand made by me!) I plan to have a smallish party with family and friends who have been a part of her life in some big way. I can't wait for it! Planning has been so much fun!  I want everything to be a surprise though, so pictures of my progress won't be shown until after the party... sorry!! Ok, well, maybe I will post some pics of the invitations once they get sent out and recieved.

Seriously... We LOVE this little girl and she lights up our lives. All of you new mothers or mothers to be- you just wait! Every day I say to myself "I couldn't possibly love her more than I do today!" but the tomorrows always surprise me.

Life with a 10 month old means...

• Barely getting a good 10 month old photo with an elephant (this requires quick fingers on the camera)
• Sweeping the kitchen floor at LEAST 3 times a day
• Giving your baby a mini-bath at LEAST 3 times a day on top of her REAL bath before bed
• Sometimes not having enough time to take a shower
• Cleaning baby off at least 10 times a day
• Vacuuming the floors at least twice a day
• Keeping the fridge and cupboards stocked full for your baby's (big) little tummy
• Being on your feet most of the day chasing after the little thing
• Dealing with stains on all of her cute clothes
• Lots of hugs and kisses after a tumble
• Reading lots of baby books
• Playing with lots of baby toys
• All of your own stuff being eaten, torn or slobbered on (my Martha Stewart and Real Simple magazines, my Jeep keys, my iphone... etc etc)
• Laughing and smiling all day
• Enjoying the most sweetest love you can ever give or receive!

Happy 10 months Joselyn Love!

Outtakes:

 

And last but not least, the slide show:

9 months old

Can you believe it? 3 more months and this little girly is 1 year old! It's hard for me to believe how fast she has grown and continues to grow and learn. I've been amazed at how much I love this girl more and more everyday. Never thought I was capable of such love... never knew it existed! And at this stage in her life, she is more lovable than ever with her sweet friendly personality.

• We are no longer able to feed her baby food. Too bland for her tastes. She likes anything adults eat... even if it has a little kick! She wants to feed herself although she can't quite handle a spoon.
• She copies everything we do now...actions, noises whatever. She figures it all out somehow. She loves to save, blow kisses, and especially clap. She claps for everything. She can do patty-cake and even rolls her hands
• She is very friendly and cheerful. This is something I am loving because she wasn't always been this way... she used to be timid and clingy and well, kinda whiny. But she has grown out of that. Now we could leave her with just about anyone with no problems at all. Couldn't be more blessed with that. 
• She is JUST ABOUT sleeping through the night (unlike her uncomfortable pregnant mother) and wakes up only once most nights... she wakes up at 5 almost every morning for her pacifier and then goes back to sleep again until 6 to eat. Back to sleep after that and then up again at 7 to play. She is in between 3-4 naps a day, and goes to bed at 8. We have a very good sleep routine that consists of a bath, 2 books and 5 minutes of cuddle/rock time. By then she is drowsy enough to be put to bed without much of a fuss. (the bad thing about a routine is that she now has a hard time falling asleep anywhere else which didn't used to be the case)
• She is all over the place and into everything. She crawls and cruises everywhere and pretty proud of herself. She does the lunge walk thing where she lunges towards things and moves her feet at the same time although she is still quite chicken and probably a few months away from real walking.
• She recognizes places and things and some words. She knows when we pull up to Adam's parents' house or my parents' house and gets excited. She recognizes Adams Jeep when he pulls up after work and knows what NO, DON'T and UH-OH means... although she almost ALWAYS doesn't listen. She looks at us with a mischievous look and does things anyway.
• She is definitely growing! She is finally starting to fit into some of her 6-12 month clothes although most are still too big, especially pants. She is also getting much larger than her elephant friend. 

8 Months old today!

Our little Jos Jos is now 8 months old!
 
It's getting harder and harder to take these monthly pictures because Joselyn doesn't want to sit still! it takes a quick finger to capture a photo such as this. Anyway, this past month has brought a lot of laughter and happiness into our home. Joselyn gets cuter and cuter by the second and we just adore her. She is definitely growing - although quite slowly. She's probably not much past 15 lbs right now - maybe 16 - so she is still easy to carry around. Here are a few accomplishments and such over the past month:

• Eats pretty much whatever is put in front of her - in fact she loves food so much we can't eat in front of her EVER without having to share
• Holds up her own bottle
• Cruises (walks around holding onto furniture)
• Pulls herself up onto furniture, people or toys
• Drags herself around with her arms using her left leg to propel herself (ALMOST crawling... we think any day now because she is starting to start out on her hands and knees)
• AS OF TODAY- can get to seated position from being on her stomach
• Still does NOT sleep through the night. She wakes up about 3 times every night (almost exactly every 3 hours - which is funny because that's how i used to feed her at night - lesson learned) although I pretty much just have to walk in and put her paci in to get her back to sleep
• Waves hi and bye to everyone and every moving thing (including dogs and ducks) and even tries to say buh-buh and hi (I know she doesn't know what it means, but she just likes to mimic us)
• Is very smiley and friendly to strangers as long as they don't try to take her away from mommy or daddy. She's getting better though
• Loves(d) to dance to music. She won't do it anymore! It lasted a few days though.
• Doesn't like to be alone - loves people to much. She's not much of an independant player
• Screams at the top of her lungs for no apparent reason or when she's excited (like when Daddy comes home or she sees a little kid) We love to have screaming contests with her too. Adam and I will scream back when she screams. Someday we'll teach her it's not appropriate but right now she doesn't know any better so what can we do but join in on the fun?
• She loves her Gymboree blankets - we've tried to give her other blankets but she just doesn't seem to like them as much.
• Loves to read books. This is one of the best ways to get her to calm down and be quiet and still. Her favorites are "Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See" and "Big Little" or "Quiet Loud". If it's any other book she usually loses interest very fast.
• Is afraid of balloons

Oh one of these days I'm gonna have to stop these updates because she is getting more and more complicated!! She learns something new pretty much every day. I guess that's what happens when babies grow up, huh? Just look how far she's come!

Yes, we 'accidentally' skipped the 7 month elephant picture... but honestly, she wasn't much different from when she was 6 months. She had some sickness going on and didn't end up gaining much weight.

 

Here are a few more recent highlights of the past month:

 

 

Our baby is 1/2 year old!!

As I was taking Joselyn's monthly picture today, I asked her why she was growing up so fast and this is how she replied:

("I dunno?") - (look at her little toe on the left... doesn't that make you laugh?)

Then she gave me a smile

Growing up so fast but still so tiny, Joselyn still fits into some of her 0-3 month shirts/jackets! I tried to put her into some 6-12 month clothes (because they're supposed to fit a 6 month old, right?) but as you can tell the shirt is a little too big... I let her wear it anyway since it has her favorite elephants on it!

Here are a few fun things Joselyn has been up to:
*Now that she can roll over from back to tummy and tummy to back, she likes to roll accross the living room floor. She's going places now!
*She still loves to mimic everyone around her... her new favorite thing to do it slapping her hands on our ottoman.
*She LOVE LOVE LOVES to talk! Get her in the right mood and she will babble away... and throw in a few screams
*She never was much of a cuddler, but she loves to be cuddled now. I love it that she will just let me (only me) just hold her sometimes
*She loves her baby food! She usually will eat about 1/2 a jar a night. When it comes to APPLESAUCE, though, she will eat the whole jar and beg for more! That girl takes after her mommy! We gave her peaches for the first time today, and although she liked it, she thought they were sour. Look at that little sour face! Adam and I were laughing out heads off!

*She is starting to get a little stranger anxiety. She'll usually smile at anyone, but only wants to be held by mommy or daddy.
*She still loves her daddy. We still wait for him to get home every day that we can, and she now gets excited as soon as he gets out of his Jeep. I think she will soon start getting excited when she sees the Jeep pull in!
*She will be getting her sleep-through-the-night training this month!!! Without fail!
*She suffered her first ear infection - poor little thing is still on medication.
*She went swimming for the first time and LOVED it!
*She is a master at sitting up now. She'll still topple over every once in a while but she's pretty much a pro.

Joselyn just gets sweeter and sweeter. She is so full of love. I honestly do not know how so much love fits into a little person. We are truly lucky to have her in our family!

5 months sure does fly!

We were worried there for a few days... we couldn't find our little good sleeper/good eater girl. Instead her routine was totally out of whack, she wouldn't sleep well (in fact she was waking up at least 10 times a night for one reason or another - SO unlike her) and was on a little bit of a nursing strike all at the same time. We were quite worried. Then 2 days ago, we found her. She's back! At least for now... she only woke up once on Monday and only twice yesterday... to nurse. Whew! It really threw me for a loop and had me concerned. Thanks to all my supportive friends and family who reassured me that it was probably just a growth spurt! It turns out you were all right! And I think when I picked her up this morning it felt she had grown 5 inches and gained a few pounds overnight. Hmmmm.... Well, here is our little 5 month old Joselyn!

Look how she's grown over the last 5 months!

A few things you should know about our 5 monther:
-We think she is following in the footsteps of her mother in liking elephants... at least that's what you'd think because she loves to blow raspberries/blow through her lips and imitate the sounds that elephants make! It's really her favorite thing to do. When she wakes up in the morning, she'll play and make those silly sounds to let us know she is awake. It cracks us up.
-She is still wearing some 0-3 month clothes! She is so skinny that a pair of 3-6 month jeans are very loose on her hips. Yet the 0-3 month jeans fit her around her waist but are high waters. what to do...
-She is starting to sit on her own, as long as she is supported by her hands. She can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes before toppling over.

-She is NOT walking yet! Not even close, by the way.
-She is getting to be very aware of mommy. She's usually ok when someone is holding her as long as she likes them and I am not in the room. But once she sees me she usually whines because she wants me... and when I put her to sleep she will be fine in her crib until she realizes I am leaving her. I have to go in about 5 times to tell her I love her and am not leaving her forever. So sweet, yet... I don't think I need to finish that sentence.
- She just continues to amaze us with her sweet personality... very friendly and smiley  as long as she's not tired  or hungry
-She has a NICE set of lungs. This girl can SCREAM, and I can hear her accross the church building when she does. (my mom takes her while I am in primary teaching singing to the kids). Then again, we kind of knew that when she was born. Even her pediatrician called her fiesty!
-She grabs EVERYTHING in sight. Watch out hair! No more dangly earrings for me... and keep on eye on all your belongings if you are within her reach.
-She likes to take her pacifier out of her mouth and put it back in. Sometimes it gets stuck in her hands and she gets angry. Other times she successfully puts it back in... and sometimes it is upside down or sideways. But she doesn't care as long as it's in her mouth!
-When we feed her bottles she likes to help hold on to it.
-She likes to scratch things with her fingers. Almost like that's how she feels things and tests them out. Maybe, too, because it makes noises.

One thing is for sure... I think we're REALLY going to enjoy her this month. She is getting more loveable by the nano-second.

3 months old!!!

(note for you know who you are: I put socks on right after I took this picture!)

I can't believe that our little Joselyn is already 3 months old today!! She is growing super fast. Her little personality is definitely starting to show and she is getting smarter and stronger everyday. She is now holding up her head consistantly while on her belly, will try and lift her head when on her back, is ABOUT to roll over, smiles A LOT, is about to laugh, says ah-goo, ah-boo, ah-ghii, ah-gah, and other random baby words, is starting to bat at objects, loves sucking on her hands, doesn't cry in her carseat (well, she will when she is put in, but stops once she has her blanket) and sleeps in her crib. She is definitely maturing... I can usually put her in her crib drowsy and she will go right to sleep now. That's been kind of nice. She still doesns't sleep all the way through the night but she is making progress. Instead of sleeping from 6-12, she is sleeping from about 10-3, then 3-6. When I feed her at 3 she usually goes RIGHT back to sleep without me having to rock her. I don't feel sleep deprived and I am grateful for that. That doesn't go without saying she DOES have her difficult nights. We are discovering a few things about her... she LOVES being held, loves looking around at different things, and LOVES her blankets against her face! It's so cute. We don't have a DR appointment until next month so we don't know her height or weight, but I'm guessing she weighs at least 12 pounds.

Adam and I are amazed everyday by Joselyn. We can't believe someone so little and young is so smart and aware. She gives us unconditional love despite our many mistakes as parents. We feel so blessed to have her in our lives. We are also amazed how different she is than when she was a newborn. She is like a different person. I'm starting to feel the pangs of seeing a child grow up... it's hard because I already miss the younger Joselyn... and those moments will never be relived. I'm so glad I've done my best to treasure every second with her.

Click here for the progression!

Joselyn and her elephant friend

Today Joselyn received a fun surprise in the mail!! A big pink elephant from Kasey!!

Joselyn wanted to sit next to her new friend, so we let her. But I don't think Jos liked the fact that we were taking pictures and making such a big deal about their new friendship. ;^) Thanks Kasey for the really thoughtful gift!!