Who could resist?

Finally.... I baked something that this little guy will eat!  Who can resist a home-made, fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie!  Well, I guess Joseph couldn't!  Hooray!  He will finally eat a cookie!  And of course they are even better when ooewy gooewy chocolate also gets all over your fingers and lips!  Sophia has had lots of practice with these warm cookies, so the amount of "leftover" chocolate on her face was much less compared to Joseph's!  Too cute!  

Also, we had to snap a few pictures of our little gangster in his hooded jacket!  

Charming!

He is sweet, cute as can be, charming, huggable and so innocent......UNTIL you put food in front of him! Our little guy has become quite the picky eater. I am desperately trying to get this little boy to EAT! If it does not involve macaroni and cheese (Kraft, of course, because my home-made version just doesn't taste the same) bananas or maple flavored oatmeal with lots of butter and cinnamon and sugar....then it usually ends up on the floor OR in Willie's mouth!

Well... at everyone's advice.....I continue to attempt to "offer a variety, " because this, of course, is "JUST A STAGE!!!" So today's lunch consisted of toasted turkey and cheese with lots of butter and cut into tiny little finger-size bites, applesauce, baby food green beans (We must keep Gerber in business), and hot dogs peeled and sliced into tiny "choke-proof" pieces. I know... I know... this sounds like an awful lot for a 12 month old....but of course he eats ONLY one or two bites of each before deciding it is not appetizing enough! After much of today's lunch ended up on the floor (which was cleaned thoroughly just yesterday), I gave it one last attempt by trying to offer some pieces of a babybel cheese! He has to like cheese with all the macaroni he eats...right? Well...maybe not. He found it much more entertaining to rub the cheese onto his nose and laugh, laugh, laugh! Some of it did finally make it to his mouth.... before the remainder fed the floor!! Needless to say.... after today's clean-up, I was almost late picking up Sophia. Some day we will miss these days, right???

Lofty Goals

"Dear God,

Please help Barack Obama be a good man and help mommy learn the recipe for french fries and ketchup. Amen"

....Sophia's dinner prayer tonight!
Our country was hopeful today....and so was our Sophia!

Soooo close!

Well, Joseph had his one year doctor's appointment this afternoon. Though I always dread doctor's visits (because of the number of shots they always have to get), we were hopeful that the doctor would give us the go ahead to turn his car seat forward facing.....BUT he's still not 20 lbs yet!!! He's sooo close... 19 pounds and 14.2 ounces! If I could just get him to eat my sugar cookies! He's still a tiny little thing, but growing. He's between the 10-25% for weight and height, measuring 28 1/2 inches in length. He did grow an inch in the last 3 months!

He got three shots today.... 1st Hep A vaccine, 1st chicken pox and the one for ear infections. Poor guy! He cried so hard. He was fussy anyway ( I think he is teething). Dr. Stuppy agreed when she saw how he was chewing on anything and everything he could find, but she didn't see much swelling in his mouth. Well, that doesn't say much, because before his first tooth popped, the doctor said she didn't see any signs, and the next day I saw it poking through!!! You never know!
Anyway, it was a good appointment overall. Thank you Big Sister Sophia....for laying next to him when he got all of his shots.

A Roaring Good Time

We celebrated Joseph's first birthday (the day after his actual birthday) on Saturday January 10th! We had a lion party because we thought it was fitting for our little guy who really can "roar!" What a fun, fun day full of excitement, family, cake, and surprises! We surprised Joseph with our gift to him, a "ball pit" in the morning! I loved seeing his excitement as well as Sophia's ( we figured she might like it a little bit too!!!) He was pretty thrilled at all of the colorful balls, but found it was more fun to climb in and out of the "pit." He was pretty exhausted after playing in that for a while, but after a good AM nap and lunch (of course....mac and cheese, his favorite!) he was ready for his party!

I think he knew the day was about him...I loved watching him stand at the dining room window with Sophia and "wait" for his guests to arrive! And boy was he overwhelmed when they did! As we were waiting for the last few to arrive, we noticed he had already found a spot in front of his presents and was beginning to "unwrap" one. What a lucky boy...he got so many special things.... a spaceship from Thea, a fun "Hummer" like push car from Yiayia and Pappou and probably his most favorite.... a red race car selected especially for him by his big sister Sophia. He learned quickly how to push it, ride it and manipulate the buttons to make the songs play! The songs get pretty repetitive but I LOVE watching him start dancing as soon as the music plays! I had to lure him to the table with pirate booty in order to get him in his chair for the cutting of the cake. It was hard to take him away from his fun new toys! He enjoyed his cake and the ice cream felt good on his toothers....(he is STILL teething...poor guy!)

He took a great PM nap and of course was ready to go for round two in the afternoon! We spent the rest of the day playing! Such a fun day....so amazing to see how he has grown from such a tiny little thing to this (still tiny) little mover! There is always so much excitement in his eyes! Hope your day was as sweet as you...little Joe! We love you!

So Many Reasons

Happy Birthday sweet little Joseph! When I think of you.... I can't help but think of a book Sophia and I love to read together about reasons for kisses. It starts off... "There are so many reasons to kiss you, little one...."

There are so many reasons to kiss you, Joseph...
1. For the way you smile at everyone you meet
2. Because you are so incredibly huggable and you give me the best hugs...holding on so tight
3. For the way you reach your arms out to your daddy as if to say "I love you"
4. For the way you go to Sophia when she is supposed to be in the "corner" (sometimes even for hurting you) so that you can console her and make her feel better
5. For your playful spirit
6. For the way you lay on your Willie
7. For the way you pull on my pant leg just to let me know you are there
8. For the way you let me rock you to sleep every night and before every nap
9. For the cute way you dance when we turn on music at dinner
10. For the smile you give me the second you wake up every morning!

I love you so much sweet boy. Happy First Birthday!


Who would have thought that we would be able to play outside on your birthday at the beginning of January! I think God purposely gave us a beautiful day today because something so amazing happened to us a year ago today! I loved playing with you and Sophia outside today in the middle of winter.

Your big #1 party is tomorrow! I can't wait. Sleep tight, little one!

Christmas 2008

I'm always a little sad to say good-bye to the month of December...the presents are unwrapped, the tree is down, and the decorations are tucked back in their boxes. So much excitement and preparation goes into getting ready for the Christmas season, and it seems to be over in the blink of an eye. It was an exciting Christmas at our house as we celebrated Joseph's 1st Christmas...and of course Sophia's excitement for Santa's arrival made it even more momentous. Sophia was thrilled to see her pink princess bike under the tree, and Joseph was thrilled to have so many boxes to sit on and push around! What a silly little guy! His zoom and play garage seemed to be his favorite treat from Santa.

Though the holiday has come and gone...the pictures keep the memories close at heart. Hope you enjoy the slideshow of how we celebrated with our families this year.... Christmas Eve with my family, Christmas day with Brett's parents, and of course I baked the traditional dime cake for the New Year! Congratulations Anna! She picked the piece that had the lucky dime! Happy 2009!