4 Months Old!

Joshua is four months old today. FOUR months old! FOUR!! He's a third of a year old. As my dad would say..."jumpin' up and down!" He's somewhere over 15 lbs and around 24 1/2 inches long and has rolls upon rolls upon rolls which are incredibly kissable! He's sleeping 7-9 hours at night and eats every 3 hours and naps anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours during the day.

His personality is developing each and every day and I think he is going to be quite the charmer. A regular chip off the old block. :) I saw a onesie in Gap a few months back that said "Charm courtesy of Dad". I'm sad I didn't buy it now because it would be so appropriate. Josh has Ben's laid back personality and easy smile. He is also quite a ham, which I'm told Ben was as well when he was young. Whenever I pull out the camera these days, Joshua breaks into a smile and stares at it. I know he's too young to know he should smile for the camera, but it sure seems like that's what he's doing. His temper, unfortunately, he gets from me I think. His fuse is a short one and if you push your luck, you're in for a world of hurt. Once he's poured out his wrath, though, he's just fine and acts like nothing ever happened. When he isn't the center of attention, he will do a fake laugh that sounds just like a cough. Then he looks around waiting for everyone to look at him and then smiles and laughs when they do. He loves the color red, loves trucks (& engine sounds in general), and loves his little stuffed lion.He loves to talk and "sing" to anyone who will listen and he is always ready to smile.

Nana & Joshua talking from Jamie on Vimeo.

He LOVES being outside and will stop crying as soon as we walk out on the deck. Taking walks is a favorite thing lately now that he can face out in the babyBjorn.

He loves his showers too. He loves being in the stream of water and will lean his face into it and come out smiling. He tries to "catch" the water too - extending his hands into the water to feel it hit him. He comes out looking like a little prune we keep him in there for so long! He has learned how to put his thumb in his mouth, but quickly replaces it with his whole fist because his skinny little thumb isn't very satisfying for him. He's getting stronger and stronger every day (there must be muscle under all those rolls!) and can balance his weight and stand without support for short periods of time when he's on your lap.

All in all, Joshua is a dream baby. He is happy 90% of the time, and when he's unhappy he usually has a good reason for it. We must've done something really right to get such a wonderful son. As Ben says on a daily basis, "I really love this parenthood thing!"

Weekend Activity

This weekend has been a busy one so far. On Friday, we spent the day out in Ben's neck of the woods. We went to visit some friends and introduce them to Joshua (Hi Bex & Dave!) and then we went to dinner with Grandpa. Josh got to see Grandpa's Harley and was really excited to sit on his first motorcycle! Yesterday we decided to head out to the Public Market in Rochester and Joshua loved it. It rained pretty hard for a little bit, but Josh slept in his stroller for most of it. When it stopped raining, Joshua woke up and I carried him in the babyBjorn. He smiled at all the strangers and talked to most of them as well! We came home with zucchini (some for eating, some for making zucchini bread!), fresh garlic, bread, whoopie pies & molasses cookies, brown eggs, black cherries & peaches too! We ended our trip by taking a tour of the Rohrbach Brewing Company. Mom & Ben came home with a growler of Red Wing Red Ale to share and Joshua came home with a greater knowledge of the brewing process.

So far, today has been full of naps, visiting with my Aunt Lisa & general all around relaxing. It's a nice way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. :)

Study Break for Auntie Diana!

"Auntie" Diana lives waaaaaayyy out in San Francisco. She and Auntie Jodi lived together in Buffalo and are best buddies. Anyway, Auntie Diana has requested more frequent updates because she uses Joshua as a distraction from studying. How can I refuse that request? Auntie Diana, I'll try to be better...but it's awfully hard to pull myself away from this face to update our website! I'm sure you understand. To help distract you from studying, here's a video of Joshua.

Josh & the monkey from Jamie on Vimeo.

I'll post more soon. Promise. Like on Monday (which is his 4 month birthday!). So check back then. :)

Back on the charts!

I measured Joshua's head yesterday because we felt like it was growing. Turns out it is!! He is back on the chart!!!!!!!!!!! Granted, he's between the 3rd and 10th percentile so he's still a little small, but he's back on the chart and bigger than the 2nd percentile measurement last month! I'll take that. Yay!!

So Big!

"So Big!" refers to Joshua as well as the size of this post. Lots have been happening so there's lots to update you with. Hold onto your hats...here we go! New York seems to agree with Josh...he loves being able to be outside all the time. The nights are nice and cool and we can take walks and the days haven't been too hot. It's quite different than Virginia. When he's crying or upset, we can walk out on the deck and he quiets right down.

Joshua has had lots of 'big boy' moments and lots more firsts since we've been in NY. Fourth of July weekend meant first picnics and family gatherings. On the 4th, we had a picnic at mom's house and my cousin, Kevin, brought over his new fancy schmancy camera. Ohhhh, how I love fancy schmancy cameras. Someday, I'll have one too. :) So Kev took lots of pictures of Joshua, here are some of my favorites -

(This is Joshua's angry face. It's hard not to laugh when he gives you that one!)

On the 6th, for the first time since Joshua was born, we got together with Ben's family for a picnic. We've gotten together with all of them individually, but never all together. Grampa & Gramma got lots of snuggle time with Joshua while he slept peacefully in their arms in Aunt Carly & Uncle Brian's yard.

Of course Cousin Timothy was there as well too! He showed Joshua how to eat Cheerios,ride nicely in a little red wagon & even ride an elephant!

(On a side note, the rocking elephant is a gift from my in-laws. Stephanie says that when she saw it, she had to get it for me. They gave it to me at the picnic. I L-O-V-E it and have named it Bindi. It's a solid piece of wood and it is absolutely amazing. I can't wait until Joshua is big enough to ride Bindi!)

Then it was time for a family photo shoot. Grampa wanted a picture with his two grandsons, but it was kind of tough to get them both to cooperate. First Joshua was sleeping, then he was eating. Then Timothy was sleeping and then eating. We finally accomplished some pictures toward the end of the day. Josh wasn't really interested in the whole deal, and Timothy was more interested in Joshua than in smiling for the camera. I finally got some ok shots, but this one is my favorite.

Then the two dads jumped in and we had all the Nodine men in one shot. Of course, then we had to have a picture of all the "kids" and their kids.We ended the day with some quality time with Uncle Brian & Auntie Kim and then it was time to head home.

The Tuesday after our picnic, Ben went out to work with his dad & brother for the day so Josh and I tagged along to spend some time with gramma. It was a nice quiet day and gramma was happy as a clam. Even Joshua's great grandmother (Granny) got some time with him.

This past weekend, the Nodine women held a shower for Joshua. It was so nice that they all got to meet him finally and he was smothered in kisses and love all afternoon. In addition to all the love Joshua got, he was also given lots of great gifts. Books, clothes, a great piggy bank, toys & a Bumbo seat. We tried out the Bumbo and Josh loves it for short periods of time. Carly, Steph, Kim...when you read this, will you please send me your pictures of the shower? I don't have any! :) Thanks!

Somewhere along the way, Joshua has decided he's big enough to sleep on his own. It started out with naptime. He was terribly fussy when I tried to hold him when it was time for a nap and so we just put him down on his tummy time blanket (which is actually my sister Gina's baby blanket made by my Grandma Sharp. Not a machine stitch on it, folks. ALL hand done!) He was out like a light a minute later.

He had still been sleeping with me (more like ON me) at night because I just wasn't ready to let him sleep on his tummy all night long. Our Dr. Crowley told me not to put him on his tummy to sleep until after he was 6 months old, but if I didn't start getting some sleep, I may not have made it until he was 6 months old! So last night, for the first time, Joshua slept on his own in the crib in our room. I fed him at 9:30pm, dressed him in his little terry sleep sack, put his lullaby cd on and laid him down on his tummy. He sang himself to sleep, and I cried. What if a fly flew into his little open mouth in the middle of the night and he choked and stopped breathing and I was too asleep to notice?! Silly, I know, but this is how my mind works. It goes to the worst, most impossible possibility (impossible possibility? Is that possible?) and then it taunts me with progressively worse thoughts. I finally fell asleep praying that Joshua's team of angels would stay awake and keep the flies away. Thankfully, there were no flies, only a lost pacifier incident at 2:30am. It was the only time he woke up all night. I was a different story! :) At 5:30am, Joshua woke up to eat. I've never been happier to see him!!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from us & our All American Boy! :)

Three months old!

Joshua is 3 months old! I know I keep saying how fast he's growing up, but it really is amazing. It's going to fast for me.

In the past week, Joshua has grown by leaps and bounds and his personality is really starting to shine. He is laughing on a regular basis, sometimes he even laughs a fake laugh just to get you to smile at him. He responds to our smiles with big, gummy grins & little giggles and he recognizes us from across the room. He's so strong and his coordination is getting much, much better. He's able to grasp things that he wants with a lot of concentration and very calculated movements and loves to stand on my lap and jump! He's amazing and wonderful and we are so blessed to call him ours.

Josh's 3 month birthday started off with a photo shoot. Auntie Jodi bought Joshua an Army "uniform" and we just had to take a few pictures for Tio. PsyOp Charlie joined in for the fun as well. (We didn't position him like this...he grabbed Charlie on his own!)

Aunt Carly, Uncle Brian & cousin Timmy came over to visit last night. Both Uncle Brian & Timothy were wearing camo shorts...everyone matched! Timmy held Joshua's hand, stroked his face & was extremely gentle with him. He's going to be such a good friend for Josh. :) I can't wait to see these two interact in the coming years.

Timothy even let Josh try on his sunglasses. We're totally going to Children's Place this week to see if they have anymore!

Home Sweet Home

We all made it safe & sound. We are officially New Yorkers again (some for the first time!). So far everything has been really good. My mom is happy as a clam having Joshua to snuggle with everyday. Joshua is changing day by day and is a source of constant delight for everyone. He is getting more and more vocal and is smiling all the time. Today he really laughed. Not just a little chuckle, but an all out belly laugh.

Daddy making Josh laugh from Jamie on Vimeo.

Josh still isn't a big fan of tummy time -

but now that we have a carpeted floor to play on, he's getting better at it. He is also discovering that he controls his hands and spends lots of time contemplating them. He's also able to hold things for short periods of time! He's getting better at reaching for things he wants, and he is really good at putting his hand on your lips so you can kiss his hand. I think spending all this time with family is going to be a good thing for him. :)

Our last post from Virginia...

Tonight is our last night as a family in Virginia. Tomorrow, Joshua, Aunt Jodi and I will drive to New York and Ben will follow on Monday morning. It's going to be hard to leave Virginia. This place will always hold dear memories for us. It is the place where our son was born & spent the first three months of his life. Three very difficult months, but three months I wouldn't give up for all the world. It will also hold wonderful memories for us because of the friends we've made here. Making friends has been especially important for me. Staying at home was a wonderful experience for me, but it was quite lonely until I made friends. Kristen & Niki were my first friends in Virginia and they will always be very dear to me. They made me really love where we lived. I looked forward to their invitations to walk or to go to lunch or just to get together more than they'll ever know. They will remain dear friends for life and I can't wait for them to come visit us in NY!! It's amazing to me to be able to look back and see God's hand in everything we've gone through. Becoming friends with Kristen was instrumental in Joshua's diagnosis & treatment. Let me explain...Kristen chose a pediatric group for her daughter, Savannah, and I went to her for a recommendation when I was pregnant. It was through that recommendation that we got involved with Dr. Crowley. She happened to be the doctor on rotation for the group at our hospital when Joshua was born and it was her keen eye that first saw something that needed to be followed up on. She will always hold a very special place in our hearts because of that. I truly believe that without her concern over the size of Joshua's head we would never have gotten the CMV diagnosis and Joshua may not ever have had the early intervention that has been so important. I never felt rushed in her office. It always felt like she would spend all day with you if you needed it. When we were in the hospital, her office called to check on us multiple times. It really made us feel that Joshua wasn't just a name on a chart for them. It felt like he was really important to them. Maybe I'm a cynic, but I think that genuine concern like that is the exception rather than the rule these days. I will never be able to put into words how highly we think of our Dr. Crowley & nurse Leslie.


I feel like this post is really disjointed, but I can't seem to find a way to make it more coherent. I'll just end by saying thank you to everyone who has played a part in our life in the last 14 months. We love you.