And to start with, we just got word that our professional 6-month photos are up! Wesley Spencer has opened a studio on 12th Street called Firelight Studios, and he and his wife were great with Joshua.
Go to www.thefirelight.com and click on Main Site. Then, click on “proofing” and enter sixpence for the password.
Hope you like! I didn’t realize how over-animated I was, trying to get Joshua more animated than he was. Oh well. Just focus on Joshua and Matthew. I think they turned out great :-)
As usual, I have some catching up to do. So, here's a rundown of the last month. I'm picking up where we left off, with shots from mid-April through mid-May. Enjoy!
Joshua's First Easter
Joshua likes to make holiday cards for the Grandparents, and Easter was no exception. He donned his Easter duds, which were a gift from one of Granna's friends, and he received his Easter basket a little early. The camera came out, and the rest is history.
Granna (Matt's mom) calls Joshua her little lamb, so we had to find a cute little lamb for him. And the stacking cups have been a huge hit, too. He's learned that he can make lots of noise when he bangs them together! At the time, Joshua was about 5 1/2 months old and still working on his balance while sitting up. Sooo, we have a few "whoops!" shots included.
For Easter, Matthew, Joshua, and I went to my parents' church. He stayed awake through service, playing in his Granddad's lap. I knew he was a little distracting when our friend (Mark R.) who was giving the sermon called out, "Bill, this is the first time I've gotten to see you hold your grandson. That's great!" I was sorry that Joshua distracted Mark, but nobody seemed to mind. It's a good thing Mark loves children. And we really appreciated his sermon, too. It reminded Matt and me of history and insights that Terry G. had taught us. Good stuff!
My parents took us out for lunch after church. So, Joshua got some more "people time", flirting with the waitress. Oh, and the waitresses love to flirt back, let me tell you!
Grandma also created a little Easter photo shoot with Joshua, where he played with his Tonka Truck Easter basket full of eggs and donned yet another cute outfit. It's a good thing Joshua tolerates us so well...
More Earth Day Adventures
Earth Day was 1 day before Joshua's 6-month birthday. I couldn't resist the $2 brand new onesie to celebrate Earth Day. And it turns out Joshie looks good in green :-)
Here are some pics from the day, including Joshua's backyard adventures with his dad.
6-Month Checkup
Dr. T. gave Joshua an A+ at his 6-month checkup! His strength and development continues to impress us all. He's still in the same percentages as he was before. At 15 pounds 4 ounces, he's a lightweight for his age and comes in at the 10-25% mark. He's 26 inches long, which keeps him in the 25-50% for height. And his head circumference is also at the 25-50% mark. Our assignments now are to baby-proof the house, introduce the sippy cup, lather him in Eucerin to help combat eczema (poor thing), feed solids 2-3 times a day, and hold on tight 'cause the crawling stage is about to start!
As our luck would have it, the power was out at the hospital. They blew a fuse during the construction work. I really feel for everyone who has to work at the hospital through all of the chaos. If it isn't their power, it's their phones, it seems. And sometimes, it's both. Fortunately, Dr. T's waiting room had lights for the first 15 minutes that we were there, and we were privileged to then wait in the exam room that had an external window.
As usual, Joshua was oblivious to the inconveniences. We just stared out the window and watched it rain until the "mean old nurse with the needles" came in and stuck our baby. (The nurse isn't mean or old, but you gotta think she's Joshua's least favorite person in the world.) Joshua was a trooper, and just cried for a minute. He calmed down faster this time than he had in previous visits. Still, every time he gets shots, it breaks our hearts.
Joshua's First Trip to Dumplin's on Mommy's Birthday
Ah, Dumplin's...my favorite birthday spot...they give a free slice of cake (your choice) on your special day, and boy is it tasty!Dumplin's was also Granny's favorite lunch spot, and we met there just about every week for "Granny's Day Out". Since Joshua's arrival and Granny's departure, though, I had not returned to Dumplin's until my birthday.
Matthew was taking a final, so he could not join us, but my parents brought Joshua to celebrate my birthday lunch. My parents surprised me with a platter by Wayne Bates. It's awesome, of course. And as you can see, Joshua is a fan of Wayne's, too!
Joshua's Favorite Foods
No Mc-D's for this little boy! It's organic or homegrown, as much as possible. I've been roasting, steaming, blending and freezing. And it turns out Joshua has quite an appetite! (Wonder where he gets that.) He hasn't shown a true dislike to anything, maybe with the exception of rice cereal. Rice cereal just doesn't have the same appeal as Bunny Luv carrots or veggies from Granddad's garden.
Joshua's already showing those good independent feeding signs - grabbing the spoon and shoving it into his mouth, reaching for the bowl, finger painting with his food...in his hair, in his eyes, on his clothes... It's LOTS of fun!
Here's a list of his favorite foods to date:
- Carrots
- Purple Hull Peas
- Green Peas
- Sweet Potatoes
- Butternut Squash
- Avocado
- Bananas
- Pears
- Lady Peas
- White Potatoes
- Rice cereal
- Oatmeal cereal
Joshua's First Conversation
I didn't think a 6-month old could have a conversation, but I swear this happened late one night while I was trying to get Joshua to fall asleep and he was (as usual) resisting.
Joshua: "Da-Da"
Beth: "Daddy went to bed. It's time to go to sleep."
Joshua: "Ma-Ma"
Beth: "Mommy's right here. It's time to go to sleep."
Joshua: "Uh-uh."
Beth: "ha ha ha ... oh, boy, we're in trouble..."
Joshua's Favorite Toy
Matt's friends, Dave and Donna, sent us some GREAT toys, including a soft block of farm animals by Neurosmith that makes sounds when each panel is hit. On first hit, is says the animal's name. On second hit, it makes the animal's sound. On third hit, it plays a cute little ditty.
Turns out that Joshua loves this toy and will do whatever he needs to do to get it. So, I used it as motivation for tummy time. He outsmarted me. (No remarks, please.) The block was out of his reach, but he had a wooden teething ring within reach. You could see the wheels turning in that little head of his. He grabbed the wooden ring and used it to hit the block and nudge it towards himself. With a few nudges, he had the block close enough to grab it, and never had to squirm.
I told this story to my dad, knowing he would be proud. Oh boy, he was proud! My dad smiled real big and exclaimed about the ring, "He used it as a tool!!" Within seconds, Dad had swooped up Joshua and was patting him, saying, "That's my little engineer!"
I wish the third photo wasn't so fuzzy, but here are some pics of Joshua with his favorite toy, sitting in his favorite position.
More 6-Month Photos
I'm so far behind that I have even more photos to post. Some of these are from my mom's camera. There are a few of my brother, "Uncle Jeffie". Joshua is still getting used to Uncle Jeffie (the bearded man). He doesn't pout quite so fast when he sees Jeff, but he's not ready to be held, yet. I'm sorry, Jeffie. He'll get there.
Trees - and what I call "the opposite of Earth Day"
We had a couple of trees removed. One was dying and proving risky to the power lines and shed. Another was by the driveway, which we hope to widen. So, we called in the crew, and the trees came down. Matt was happier about it than I was. Here's some of his shots from the big event.
Posing for Mother's Day Cards
Joshua enjoyed making Mother's Day cards for his grandmothers to celebrate their first year of actually being grandmothers! He made cards with his handprints and some of the pictures in this album. He's really quite a ham when the camera comes out now. It was hard to choose which pictures to print and use on the cards, so we'll just show the rest here. The grandmothers were mighty impressed with his artistic ability. 6 months old and already a master with scissors and glue! :-)
Joshua's First Mother's Day / Baby Dedication at FBC
My first Mother's Day! I gotta say, it was a nice feeling to finally be able to stand up at church when all the mothers were being recognized. We also participated in the baby dedication at First Baptist. Granny would have been so proud that we were in a Baptist church for Joshua's dedication. My parents joined us for the service, which made it special to me as well. Matthew surprised me with sweet cards and great gifts - a Willow Tree figurine of a little boy holding a golden heart, and a gift certificate for a pedicure...ah, pampering! It really was a sweet day.
Okay, that's all for the past month. Tune in next month. All right, maybe I'll post before another whole month goes by. Maybe.
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