Thursday, July 24, 2008

First Teeth!!!!!



Surprise.....Not only did Joseph get his 1st tooth.... he got his 2nd tooth at the same time! For two good months Jo Jo has been chewing on everything in sight. Last week at our 6 month well check, our pediatrician told me she didn't even think his gums were swollen. I couldn't believe it... I thought for sure those teeth had to be coming soon! I guess we were right and the doctor was wrong...because today Brett discovered not one, but 2 teeth poking through! Hooray! We are so excited for him...maybe once these come in, his little toothers won't hurt so much! I tried to get some pictures, but as you can see, the new little guys are at their earliest stages...just peeking through the gums! Congratulations Jo Jo!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Cleaning and Scrubbing Can Wait till Tomorrow...


"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow, for babies grow up I've learned to my sorrow. So, quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep..."

I remember reading this over and over on a tiny plaque my mother had in our old house. It seems like it has been the perfect week to post it. The last few weeks have brought about many firsts....Joseph's first time in the high chair, Joseph's first taste of baby food, Joseph's first time in the "bigger" baby bathtub, Sophia's first time to have a friend over (without her mommy), etc. All of these firsts have meant change.. Feeding and nap times have been random.... Sometimes there have been no naps at all. So, I feel like order has been lacking in my life lately. If there aren't regularly scheduled nap times, then when does the laundry get done, when is dinner made, when can I finally clean the oven so it doesn't smell like burnt quiche crust every time I turn it on????? I have been sooo worried about when I will get all of these things done. But today I realized just like the saying says, that these mundane every day chores will always be around, but I will never have a second chance to relive this time with Sophia and Joseph.



Joseph had his 6 month well visit at the doctor today. I can't believe he is already 6 months and that it was almost four years ago that I was taking Sophia to this appointment. When I looked at her health book to see what she had weighed at this age, I stopped to think about how quickly she transformed from a "baby" to the little girl she is now. It seems like yesterday. She is already talking about kindergarten and telling me that we need to get her a lunch box for when she is old enough to eat lunch at school. And as she says... "We need to buy me a new bike" (2 wheel). I will only have one chance to buy her her first lunch box and her first bike....but many chances to clean the oven and wash the floors. I have to keep reminding myself of this and put things into perspective. Someday I will miss these hectic times because I know they won't last forever.

Sweet little "Jo Jo," as Sophia calls him was excellent for his doctor's visit today even though he had FOUR shots. What a trooper. He struggles still with his bottles and reflex, but SMILES the rest of the time! He is now eating some rice cereal at breakfast, some veggies and milk at lunch, and veggies, fruit, meat and milk at dinner (with bottles in between of course). He LOVES LOVES his baby food Maybe he is taking after me....he is only in the 5th percentile for height! He weighs 15 pounds; 8.7 ounces and is 25 inches in length. He is a little thing with a BIG personality.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Happy Half Birthday Joseph!!!


It sounds so cliche...."where did the time go?" But truly, I can NOT believe our little Joe is already 6 months old. It seems like yesterday that Brett and I were frantically packing our bags so we could get to Iowa in time for Joseph's birth. We were full of excitement, but soooo nervous. In fact we were an hour or so into our drive before we realized we had not asked what hospital we were headed for. We were ecstatic when we received a phone call along the way and learned that the birthmother had given birth to a healthy 6 lb baby boy. We had prayed for so many months for this call, and yet when we finally arrived at the hospital late that evening, we were both overcome by nervousness...I remember knocking on the hospital room door with sweaty palms and butterflies in my stomach. With the whole adoption process we had so many ups and downs and we felt like many of our prayers weren't being answered. But when I saw Joseph for the first time... I realized he was the reason for those unanswered prayers. He was the one God chose for us.

We are in love with his personality. He is the sweetest thing....smiles at EVERYONE, especially his big sister and his daddy! Even though he has tummy aches, reflux, etc.... he still smiles, smiles, smiles! I think he likes to put me to the test. Anyone who knows me, knows how I love to rely on schedules and routines. Well this little guy has thrown me for a loop! He likes to keep me guessing about what he is going to do next. Miss Sophia was very consistent about her naps and feedings, but Joseph likes to keep things interesting. I know God gave me him for a reason...he is just what I need. Like Brett always reminds me, "I need to change it up a bit!"

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

A new calling!



Sophia and I visited Fire Station #3 this week! I think we may have a future firefighter in the works...ha, ha! She had a ball sitting in the trucks and trying on their gear. It was super nice of the firefighters to give us such a wonderful tour! We even saw where they slept. Grand Finale: A firefighter slid down the pole for us to see!

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy Birthday America!




We celebrated the 4th this year at Yiayia and Pappou's! Sophia was pretty excited about the holiday this year and even made me change my clothes in the morning so that I had on the appropriate 4th of July colors. We baked red, white, and blue star cookies the day before upon her request. Angela tried to teach Sophia that the 4th of July was the day that we celebrate America's birthday....she explained to her that America is 232 years old, but every time we asked her later in the day how old America was, she would say "8!" She had fun playing with her little golf clubs and making her own rules to the game. She is pretty good....must take after her Pappou. Yiayia and Pappou made hamburgers and hot dogs and then we all piled in Thea's Eos and drove to a good spot to see the Leawood fireworks. Sophia was insistent that we bring her lawn chair! And she even brought her American flag balloon to wave in the air. She enjoyed the fireworks much more this year (last year they were a bit loud and scary), but kept asking if they would be over soon. It was a late night for her, but she had a great time. I am so sad I don't have a picture of Joseph.....Brett offered to take him home and give him his bottle so I could watch the fireworks with Sophia. So I guess Joseph will have to wait till next year to see his first fireworks. He did enjoy his dinner at Yiayia's, though. It was the first time he ate baby food sweet potatoes....and boy did he love them!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Finally Asleep!



We have always been very lucky when it comes to Sophia's sleeping habits. We established a good bedtime routine from early on...bath, story, prayers and bed. When she moved to her big girl bed, we put railings up (to prevent any falls) and instructed her that she had to stay in her bed at night ( our biggest fear was that she might try to come down the stairs which are an unforgiving hardwood). I was amazed that she never tried to get out of bed. But for the last 6 months or so, we often hear the pitter patter of little feet and an occasional "thump"as Sophia jumps out of bed to get another baby, look at a book, or even peek on brother Joseph. A few weeks ago, Sophia discovered that if she opened her shutters she could see the downstairs laundry room window from her window. She told me one morning that she had seen me ironing the night before. So the next night (of course I was doing laundry) I peeked out the laundry window and up at her room....sure enough I could see the shutters were slightly opened. I couldn't see her face...but I always waved a blew her a kiss...just in case she was watching. Well, this went on for a few nights. Last week, however, I heard lots of noise upstairs for much longer than usual, and then for a while it was quiet. I thought she had fallen asleep until we heard this horrible shrieking. Brett offered to go up and check on her as I was finally just sitting down before I had to feed Joseph his last feeding of the day. When Brett checked on her and asked her what was wrong, she said " Mommy was not doing laundry tonight!" She had worked herself into such a tizzy....all because mommy was not in the laundry room that night! I guess this fitful night is reason enough for me to not slack on my laundry duties!!! :)