Josh's Christmas List

Josh is starting to get better at letting us know what he wants. If I'm not careful, sometimes he'll try to lunge right out of my arms and dive into the kitchen sink to play with the water. He's a smart boy who is very determined to get what he wants. That being said, here is Josh's wish list for Christmas (in his words exactly)....

12 Get-out-of-napping-FREE cards

11 "SINGING TREES" from the Phoenix Zoo Lights show

10 more sharp TEETH so I can bite Mommy while she's nursing and laugh up at her when she gets mad about it

9 good TOYS so we can play that game where I drop them on the ground and watch Mommy pick them up over and over again

8 pieces of PAPER to crumple up and chew on (preferably church programs so I can make lots of noise during Sacrament meeting)

7 baby SPOONS to throw on the floor so Mommy doesn't have to wash the same one ten times each feeding

6 tickets to SPORTING EVENTS of any kind -- I love hearing the loud noises and watching all the funny people!

5 ounces of WATER -- not in a bottle, ONLY from Mommy's drinking glass so I can spill it all down my front side and make funny slurping noises with the glass


4 giant MIRRORS to surround me all day long
3 working TV REMOTES to eat (expensive cell phones are also acceptable)

2 short LEASHES so Mommy and Daddy can't get more than five feet away from me at any time

1 personal COMPUTER so I can practice banging on the keys like Daddy does without being interrupted

And zero more outfits -- I prefer to be NAKED whenever possible

Is that too much to ask?

You can never have too many mashed carrots

We have recently started feeding Josh baby food. Whenever we introduce a new food to him, it's always interesting to see if he'll actually like it or if he'll make funny faces and shake his head away from the spoon. We started out with peas (which he wasn't crazy about) and then moved to green beans (which he tolerated, then liked). Tonight, however, we had a breakthrough. We gave the boy carrots, and man alive, he could NOT get enough! He ate the whole jar of them in one sitting and got really impatient and panicky between bites, like it was the absolute worst thing we could do as parents to take this magnificent new flavor away from him even for a few moments! We were so excited at his excitement that we had a little celebration at the end (which conveniently distracted him from realizing that the carrots were all gone). If you want a good laugh, click here to see a video of tonight.

Baby Teeth!

Today was one of those days where I just couldn't put the camera down. Josh was being way too cute. I don't know where he learned all the funny faces he makes. I actually got some pictures that show his first two little teeth! Here are some brag-shots:

Accenture Christmas Party

On Saturday night, Matt and I got all gussied up for his work Christmas party at a fancy hotel in Phoenix. Accenture has hundreds of employees in this area, but many times the employees work more with clients than with each other. That's kind of how consulting works. So when we went to this party, we didn't run into a single person we knew. Nonetheless, we had a great time. It's always fun to eat fancy food for free and watch lots of successful, intimidating people get a little tipsy and make fools of themselves on the dance floor. :)

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for babysitting!

A Loooooong Catch-up Post

November has been a busy month! Josh is growing and learning new tricks every day. I need to write them down so I don't forget too much, and so he doesn't grow up and accuse me of being a lousy mom who didn't cherish every moment of his childhood. Time to play catch-up.

With the weather cooling down, Josh absolutely loves to take walks. It's a quick fix any time he's in a cranky mood. Sometimes we'll walk across the park to the bus stop and meet Matt on his way home from work.

Here is Josh getting ready to go on one of many family walks to the grocery store. He is at the point where he has "favorite toys", this giraffe being one of them. Josh will stick the whole head in his mouth and suck on it til the entire thing is soggy with slobber. Mmmm.

This picture has a funny explanation. I set Josh on the couch for a minute while I changed the laundry. When I came back, he had somehow put this ball on his head and was sitting there like he was wondering what the heck happened! I laughed out loud at that one.

What a little stud-muffin! I was so excited when I saw this handsome little number at the mall. I intended to make it Josh's Christmas outfit, but it was way to cute to sit in his closet for two months. All he's missing are the baby penny loafers.

Just a little FYI -- in the past month, my boy has found his feet, learned to roll over, and can almost sit up on his own. He gets so excited when he figures out something new!

He is starting to get interested in books, especially the ones with pictures of babies in them. He talks to them the same way he talks to his reflection in the mirror.

Sometimes he'd rather eat the cardboard than read. I can't blame him -- I feel that way myself sometimes with my independent study classes.

Josh sure loves his Aunt Michelle.

Josh celebrated his grandpa's birthday by pinning him in a living room wrestling match. The boy is unstoppable.

Always curious. My cell phone fascinates him.

This is what I woke up to the other day. He just makes my heart melt! Josh started sleeping in his crib a week ago andI've been going through emotional withdrawal. At first, I would wake up every hour wondering if he was still breathing in the other room. Just look at him -- can you blame me for missing the little guy in my bed?

My dad flew me out to Redding for a week to surprise my mom with her grandbaby. We had a great time, but Josh definitely missed his daddy. Sorry for the blurry pictures -- these are from the camera on my phone, and the baby is such a wiggler that it's hard to get a clear photo.

All bundled up with Grandma while we miniature golf with the family. He loves to be outside so much that it seems the temperature doesn't bother him!

Matt made us send lots of pictures to him every day so he wouldn't be surprised when Josh came home all grown up.

This is perhaps the most adorable little onesie ever! My mom bought it for him in Redding. I can't look at it without smiling! Good grief, isn't he a perfect little Charlie Brown?

This is the day Josh cut his first tooth! It happened to be on Sunday, which would have made for a hard day at church if I didn't have so many helpers. We went to Matt's family's ward becuase Andrew was home for Thanksgiving and his mom and I played a piano duet in Sacrament meeting. It has been a hard couple of days for the little guy, as his second tooth came in right after. My little boy is growing up!