Christmas!!!

Seth and I had a very busy couple of days! We spent Christmas Eve with Seth's family and had a wonderful night! We had a fabulous dinner and went to church together! It was also a pretty great night because Josiah decided to start crawling like crazy when we got home from church that night. I honestly thought he wasn't going to crawl before he walked, but I was wrong. He is crawling everywhere now and pulling himself up on things at a little over nine months old. ( I put his age in there for my future records on the approximate dates J did things...remember, I do not write this stuff on paper..I know...bad mommy! Anyway, we had a lovely Christmas Eve!

This Christmas was also the first time that Seth and I had our own little gift opening time with the newest member of our family. We expected Josiah to rip into his presents, but he really wasn't that interested. He was more interested in watching Sasha Marie walk around the house. We think he will end up liking the bounce and spin pony toy, but we will have to see.

Later that day on Christmas, our family went to my Uncle Ron and Aunt Julie's home which is always a blast for me because I get to see my cousins that I barely see all year. We had a great time! Josiah was crawling around and eating mommy's mashed potatoes and creamed peas...maybe a little too many...daddy had to reap the consequences of those food choices when he changed his diaper! After going to my aunt and uncle's home, we went out to mom and dad's for our final festivity. Mom had made us white chocolate popcorn and it was amazing! I always enjoy the time I spend with my parents...if only Trisha could have been there...keep praying on that one in 2009. Here are more pics from Christmas...

Nine month pics with Shellie!

Oh, I totally forgot to add that baby J had pics taken by Shellie Benson again a couple of weeks ago for his nine month birthday. I wanted to add a couple because I LOVED them so much! I think he just keeps getting more and more handsome! He was pretty good but started to melt down after a half hour or so! Here are a few of the pics...

Another milestone...

So I know everyone is expecting me to say that J is finally crawling...not so much! He does crawl if I entice him with a remote controlled car that he tries to chase after! However, he is not what I would call an expert crawler. Well anyway, today he was at my mom's house because this mommy had to get some sleep after working third shift and she said that he pulled himself up as if he had been doing it his entire life. I was sort of sad that I missed it, but he repeated the action for me at home tonight!!! Sorry...I didn't get it on video...yet!!!!!!!!!!! Mom and I both think there is a strong possiblity that J is going to walk before he crawls. He is already starting to cruise down some of the furniture. I just can not get over how amazing it is to watch somebody do things for the first time and the pride you feel for them at those moments! I love you my sweet, precious baby J and love all the memories our family has already made! You are a sweetheart!

Josiah check-up and Operation Sippy Cup

I took J to see Dr. Maini yesterday and everything went well. He was 22.8 pounds, which was down from what we had him weighed at on our home scale. He was still in the 75th percentile for weight. He was about 29 inches tall, which was the 80th percentile. His head circumference was 18.5, which is 90th percentile...he has a large head! Dr. Maini said that he was doing everything appropriately for his age except that he was not using a sippy cup. I have tried and tried and tried to get this child to take his sippy (have several different kinds of them) and he adamantly refuses. This morning, I realized I had to be firm so before I gave him anything to eat, I just gave him the sippy cup...in return I received dirty looks followed by him dropping it on the floor...over and over and over again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is just the beginning of Operation Sippy Cup..I will post any updates on our progress! :)

Little Josiah on his nine month birthday!

An emotional morning

Today my Josiah is nine months old! I am soooo proud of this little guy and feel extraordinarily blessed every second I get to be with him (even if he is whiny, fussy, and obstinant). This morning we did our usual morning routine...eating, playing, trying to crawl ,etc. Josiah and I even had a mommy/son dance to Pachabel's "Canon in D." We did not do this intentionally, but it happened to be on and when we hear music, we dance. As I swirled him around the room, I began to cry. I kept thinking about how quickly these past nine months have gone and how it will seem like tomorrow that he will walk, then talk, then go to school for the first time, then drive, then go to college, and then get married. I know it sounds so silly, but I held him closer just because I know that times flies so fast and soon he won't need his mommy as much. My prayer for that little boy is that he will always love his mama as much as he does right now and that he will always know that his daddy and I only want the best for him and will be here no matter what. I thank God for blessing us with this beautiful child. I know I don't deserve something so wonderful, but I am certainly grateful! :) Happy nine months my love...mommy and daddy love you with everything that is inside of them!

P.S. We have our nine month appt today...I will post again later with J's stats and a pic!

The first snow of the season and Josiah's first snow EVER!!!!

As much as I hate the winter time, I always enjoy the first snow! This year was especially exciting because it was josiah's first time to see snow in his nearly nine months of life! The sad thing is that he seemed VERY disinterested! I took a couple of pics of him in it today (don't worry-it took literally 30 seconds) when I picked him up from my mom and dad's house after work! I will post a couple of shots! Enjoy!

Josiah's first Thanksgiving!

Well, I am a little behind on my blogging! Josiah has been requiring a lot of mommy's attention (nothing new really), but I am now sitting down to post some of J's "firsts". Anyway, last Thursday we celebrated Josiah's first Thanksgiving at Mimi and Pap's house. He really enjoyed seeing everyone. Seth's U. Jerry and A. Sandy were in from Georgia and they were able to see how the little guy has grown! They saw him last when he was only 4 weeks old!!! It was great to have them home.

J enjoyed some mashed potatoes from the dinner, but wasn't able to have anything else...yes, we are still toothless. He showed everyone his newest talents...waving bye-bye and pre-crawling! It was a great day!!!

It is time for a little Josiah update! He is REALLY trying to crawl...goes backwards in a quick manner now and is increasingly frustrated about it. Every great once and awhile he goes forward, but not as much as he would like! Enough about the crawling update...J can also wave bye-bye. Is it consistent? No. He always picks up new things and doesn't repeat them. This morning I said bye-bye to him while he was in my mom's arms and he put his hand out to wave every time we said bye-bye...granted he was waving backwards, but the point is, he was getting the concept. The fact that I get to see him learn new things every day never gets old. I am completely taken by this little boy and love him more and more each day.

P.S. I am entering J in the cutest baby contest through the Journal Star so it is time for all of you to get your vote on....:)

Josiah's first haircut!

I know, I know, I should be fixing my last blog before writing a new one, but I am sure that my beloved friend Amy will help me fix it when we work together next...thanks in advance doll! Anyway, we had another milestone today. J has been looking scruffy lately so I finally broke down and took him to my Grams's home to have her trim his hair. He was pretty good for the most part, but at the end, he started to fight. He made it through and even let grams rock him to sleep after the whole ordeal!

P.S. Seth wants everyone to know that you shouldn't give a baby prunes twice in one day....yeah, it's pretty bad! :)

Okay, so no matter what I did, I couldn't get my last writing to post correctly...it was too slow and wouldn't let me correct it. :(

My baby is eight months old!!!

Well, Josiah was officially eight months old yesterday! I have no idea where the time has gone. What I do know is that this little boy has healed me in so many ways. He has brought a great amount of happiness into my life and I feel very blessed! I thank God for him every day. At night, I find myself (as well as his daddy) peeking into his crib just to watch him sleep. He is the most amazing little man and has quite the personality already. He growls at us and laughs at himself and us all of the time. In fact, the other day, Seth and I were playing with him and he started to purposely shiver and laugh. This, in turn, made Seth and I laugh, which made him keep doing it. I am realizing that he is a ham just like his mommy!!!He is also beginning to rock back and forth on all fours, which means crawling in in our near future....oh my....he will soon be even more mobile!!!! Anyway, I decided to post some pics of J the past eight months in honor of his special day. I know, I know....this is boring to my readers, but I have decided that this blog is for me. I have not been as good as I would have liked at charting J.'s "firsts" and such, so I think this is the best avenue for me expressing my feelings about being a mommy. I am hoping that I will continue this so I can look back on it always! So here we go...I am posting some of my faves...thus far!

March 2008...the journey begins!!! Look how little and PERFECT he is!!!

April 2008-J is 1 month old and very alert for his age. He was so strong and able to hold his head up pretty well.

May 2008 (2 months)- Josiah had his baby dedication at Riverside Community Church on May 11. It was a truly special day for our family (it was also my firstMother's Day and J was 2 months old). We made a promise to God that we would raise our son with the Lord's guidance. It was a day we will never forget. Pastor John said a prayer over him and our wonderful families gathered in a circle around our family to lift us up in prayer. We were all very emotional! I pray that God will be with Seth and me as we raise our precious son! Aside from this special moment, we began to see J do mor things. He followed objects that we placed in front of him and he was smiling and making sounds for the first time. He was also beginning to move around more!

June 2008 (3 months) Josiah was very active during this month...he was able to laugh out loud and even rolled over a couple of times! Mommy was so proud of him...wish I could put that video on here, but for some reason I can't get them to upload!

July 2008 ( 4 months) Josiah began to take solids this month! At his four month appt, the doctor gave him clearance to start and he was a great eater right away! He also began talking/babbling lots more this month!

August 2008 (5 months)- Josiah started sitting up a little by the end of this month with either the support of mommy/daddy or his beloved boppy! He is eating more and more different fruits and veggies. Squash was and still is one of his faves. He also loved bananas! He became more loving this month and would give his version of a sloppy, wet kiss!

September 2008 ( 6 months) J became more mobile this month. He was an "independent sitter" and seemed so much bigger. He still was eating like a trooper. He loved all of the fruits/veggies that mommy had pureed for him. He also would start to move around a lot and roll more when on his tummy! This was also the month we learned that Josiah would soon be a cousin...in April!

October 2008 ( 7 months)- Josiah was sitting up and rolling everywhere during this month. He was talking constantly...still saying da da all the time, and an occasional ma ma (how does that happen?) He was a darling monkey for Halloween and is showing that he, like King Josiah, is very strong! I don't know if there has ever been a little boy that was more loved (unless you have your own of course:)).

November 2008 ( 8 MONTHS!!!!!) So where is my little guy today??? We are getting so close to crawling. He is now lifting his belly and rocking!!!! It will be any day now! J also went on his first road trip this month and did very well! We went to Charleston to see Aunt Bets for her birthday! The pics of him in his costume with her and his Mimi and Pap are from that visit!

Josiah's favorite toy is mommy's cell phone so this month's pic is him and his celly!!! :)