December!

Hi JoeJoe!
Well, you hit the big 6 month milestone in a few days.  I can't believe it has been 6 months already.  On one hand, it seems like you have been in our lives forever and on the other, it seems like you were just born  and whisked away yesterday.  While you have a week before the official day, I can tell you that....
 - you have no teeth.  They are on their way but haven't poked thru yet
 - you are rolling over
 - you can sit up for a few seconds if properly positioned
 - you are eating some baby food
 - you are making lots of noises and one of your favorites is "mamamamamama."  While I know it is just a noise, I like it  :)  When you realize what it means, you will probably start calling me daddy too.
 - you are interacting more with Elijah and the kids at daycare.  Mary said your personality is starting to show.
 - you are getting happier.  Lots less fussy spells unless you are fighting sleep or hungry.  I can only speak for when you are with us.  You may be fussy with other people, like your poor Auntie Becky  :)
 - you are sleeping much better now that we separated you from Elijah.
 - you graduated from the formula study.  We are now on our own.  We go Monday for your allergy test and then we will make a plan for your future food  :)

So, let's see what we have been up to....
You did spend a day with Auntie Becky and she did say you were a bit fussy.  I am not sure why as you had a nap and you were happy.  You were happy as soon as we got back so maybe you are just a bit of a mama's boy.  :)

After Auntie Becky's, we got to go visit your GodDaddy Brandon.  I think he was so excited to see you.  Right when we got there, he took you from me to hold you.  We saw him several times and, to be honest, I think he is a proud peacock with you.  He really does light up when you are with him.  He is also really good with your brother.  Your dad & I were talking last night and we are both so excited at how good both Brandon & Brian are with you both.  I know we don't get to see them very often but you can see just how excited they are to spend time with you.  That makes us both very happy that all 3 of the Godparents were great choices.

You had your first experience of Cousin Night.  Well, I have to correct that because it is the newly-revised cousin night.  It is tame and kid-centric but we all enjoyed hanging out.  You were really good playing on your mat and being held.  But, you did conk out right in the middle for a nap.  :)  When we took photos, you LOVED sitting in the bucket.  It was quite comical to me that you would enjoy sitting like that.

We celebrated your FIRST Thanksgiving.  It was no big deal to you - another day, another shirt full of drool  :)  I think you liked all the activity but no food delights for you.  After our meal, we went to Auntie Sheila's and you were able to see Brandon again and you rocked your hat!  You didn't wear the Broncos outfit he got you but we will get a photo of you in it soon  :)

After Thanksgiving, you had us all to yourself on Friday.  Elijah went traveling with Auntie Val and you stayed with us.  Gramma Debbie came over to watch you while I worked.  She had a really rough day - you two napped on the love sac together for about 3 hours.  I heard you two talking then it got really quiet.  When I peeked in on you, you were both cuddled up on the love sac napping.  It was really weird to be alone with you in the house.  We are so used to the chaos of 2 boys.  It was so quiet and it reminded me of when Elijah was little.  You don't get a lot of that quiet, individual time so it was nice to spend it with you.  But, I do think you missed Elijah a little bit.  I think it was too quiet for you too.  When he got home, he was all excited to see you.

On Saturday, we went to our first wedding as parents.  I was so shocked to walk up to our table and see a place card for "Joseph Brigham."  My little baby had a place setting  :)  You really seemed to enjoy watching all the dancing and merriment.

We did family photos on Sunday.  You humored us for a few shots before you gave up to being fussy.  You slept all the way home!  We saw Santa but we were too tired to make you sit with him.  We have it scheduled to have dinner with him at the Zoo so I knew we could get your photo there.  Otherwise, we will haul you to Bass Pro and you can scream like your brother  :)

Other than that, buddy, you have just been hanging out.  You like to play with/in your toys more now.  We can leave you in them a bit longer, which is nice.  I had one night that your daddy was in with Elijah getting him to sleep and it was my job to get you to sleep.  I laid with you and we talked.  I was rubbing your head and cheek. I was smooching you up.  It was really one of those "quality time" moments that I hope I remember when you are screaming "NO" at me.  I really enjoyed just looking at you and hanging out with you.  We don't get enough of those quiet times.

I have noticed that you are pretty darn funny when you are 1/2 asleep.  You will come home in your car seat and you are drowsy.  You will give me HUGE smiles then turn your head and nod off.  I really, really love those smiles!

Not much going on this weekend.  Daddy will be recovering from surgery and Elijah will be starting to be potty trained.  So, maybe me and you can escape and take a weekend road trip  :)

I will leave you with some scrapbook pages.

I guess I should have cropped this one a bit.  It looked like all the bubble strategically kept you relatively modest but the same can't be said for your brothers butt cheek  :)  Look how long your hair is getting again.  I can't believe how fast it has grown.  This was taken on 11/30.  It was a weird bath night - the tub got way too full while I was getting you guys undressed.  But, I think you liked floating a bit more  :)

Santa

Video From Santa...

Video from Santa

Photo Book

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It's been a month!

Hi JoeJoe!

I know you have 2nd child syndrome and your blog is not nearly as robust as your brother's, but I can't believe that it has been a month.  I am sad that we miss the day to day details that I was able to document for Elijah but it is hard being a mommy of two and recovering from back surgery  :)

You have changed so much this past month.  You are talking more and so much more interactive.  You are eating.  You rolled over for the first time this week (11/14).  You are playing more with your toys and your bouncy seats.  You are happier and becoming a bit more independent for a bit more length of time.  You are trying to hold your bottle and you can grab it and shove it in your mouth.  You can hold it for a few seconds but not for a long time.

You love to eat!!  We went from 1/4 tsp to full cans of baby food in like 2 days.  I think that is also because of Mary feeding you too.  It makes you happy at the dinner table to eat with us.  You talk, Elijah talks and we are (normally) a happy family for about 15 minutes.  Then, everyone scatters off.

Your sleeping declined a bit in this last month.  You were sleeping consistently through the night and started waking up again.  We don't know if it is because Elijah was waking you up or you were hungry. The last 2 nights, we moved you back in the pack & play and gave you cereal in your night time bottle.  You slept through both nights so I don't think we will change what works  :)  You are slowly letting go of the need to be swaddled to fall asleep.  It just depends on how tired you are.

You laugh so much now.  You are so ticklish.  You laugh at sounds, at tickles, at peek a boos.  You just like to laugh.  You still have some fussy times but those have mostly been reduced to two things - hunger or fighting sleep.  I was talking to you saying "Say mamamamama."  You were a stinker - you just laughed at me.  Seriously - both of my boys think it is funny to say mama.  Your daddy sure got a kick out of it!!

Because of mommy's surgery, you have been spending lots of time with your Mickelson cousins and Gramma Debbie.  I think you are getting good reports and you are showing them that you are happier now!

So, what did we do last month?  Well, our biggest news was that you got a hair cut (10/17)!  After seeing photos of you with bald sides and huge top, I whacked off some of the top.  Man, that was so hard on me.  My baby lost all of the hair he was so "known" for.  Each time someone would see you, the first thing they would say is "Look at all that hair."  And, I had to cut it off.  But, I confess it does look better now.

This photo makes me think of you saying "Mama, please fix my hair, the kids are making fun of me."

Now, you are happy baby sticking your tongue out at me!!

We went to Vala's for the first time.  Man, buddy, it was cold.  You and I cuddled up the whole time while Elijah and daddy played.  Next year, you are going to run around like a mad man.  But, I did enjoy my cuddle time with you.

For Halloween, you kind of got shafted.  We had you in your costume when we ran errands on Sunday and on Halloween day at daycare.  However, when we went trick or treating on Monday, you were in a sweat shirt and wrapped up in a blanket in the stroller  :)  Next year, watch out - you will be a wild man!

November has been kind of boring.  We are so tired - work, eat, play, bath, sleep.  So, not a ton to tell you except that you are changing and you are totally teething  :)  Drool all over and lots of chewing on fingers.

You & your brother hanging out in the morning watching cartoons.

You still love bath time.  I have started sitting you up for a bit outside of your sling and also letting you float on your back.  You just love the water but you SCREAM while getting dressed!

I love this photo because of the look on your face - like you are saying "Who the heck are you and why are you screaming at me?"  :)


I love it when Elijah holds your hand.  He will put his arm around you or hold your hand.  He does love you so much but sometimes it comes out as too much excitement and rough.


We went out to dinner (11/8) and I got a piece of watermelon. I checked it carefully for seeds and thought it might feel good on your gums.  You freaked out.  You were slamming it in your mouth. You were sucking like crazy.  If I tried to pull it out, you would slam it back in.  You provided entertainment for me and your dad  :)

These are photos on your 5 month birthday!!  You were such a happy camper

Just hanging out after bath and before bed. (11/12)

Your first time in the table walker (11/15).  You made a full lap around but it took about 15 minutes!  It was so fun to watch you.  You thought you were hot stuff

An old picture of you.  At the time, it was one of my favorites but look how different you look!

Some Disney Photos:








Our Minnesota photos:



Our October calendar

Catch Up

Hi Joey,
2 weeks have gone by and I am a slacker on your blog.  Gosh, you are so much fun.  You are "talking" so much.  You will just lay there and talk & talk & talk.  You smile so much now!  When you smile, it lights up the whole room!  I love your dimples and cheeks.

You are reaching for my hands.  You are reaching for your toys.  But, what melts my heart the most is that you are starting to see Elijah.  You actually look at him.  You smile at him while he comes towards you.  I hope that you will always look at him with such love!

You had your formula appointment and your 4 month check up.  You are well over 17 pounds now!  You got your shots and were not a happy camper.

We also went on a road trip to Minnesota and you did so great in the car.  I was so worried about you fussing and you didn't fuss at all.  I guess you have outgrown your fussy stage!  You were able to meet your cousin Brian.  You were great at the soccer game - no fussing at all.  I was so proud of you.

Last night, you hung out with Auntie Val and Great Gramma.  Mommy and daddy went on a date.  I got a good report that you were very happy and playful.  I get so nervous when we leave you that I am going to get a bad report.  But, you were good and I was so happy because I want everyone to see how happy you really are.

We are hoping to go to Vala's this week and get some great fall pictures.  Then, at the end of the week, mommy is going to have surgery.  I am not nervous but I do get nervous with any worst case scenarios and leaving you.  I should be home and recovered by Saturday.  However, I can't lift you or your brother for several weeks.  That is going to be so hard for me because I love lifting you & giving you smooches. I will just have to have your daddy give you to me  :)

I love, love, love this photo of you!  We took all sorts of photos in Minnesota and it just happened to be your 4 month birthday.

We were all so happy to get this really cool photo of all the great grandbabies!

I love getting photos of you & your brother.

All of your itsy bitsy spider photos.

Some Disney photos

I love your face looking at Pooh!

Over Great Gramma's rocking the pink toga  :)  I am so sad that your hair is going away.  You still have some on top but the sides and back are really gone.  It is so hard because you had so much hair and now it is like a whole different Joey.

You flirting with the nurses at your formula appointment.

On the slide.  You love the slide.  I say "Ready? 1..2...3.." and you smile.  As you go down, you get a scared look on your face but you smile at the end.  It makes your hair stand on end.  :)

Weekend

Hi Joejoe,
We had a busy weekend!  Saturday, we finally got your talking on video.  You were so darn funny kiddo!

Then, we went to the zoo for the morning.  You didn't care about that too much.  You just hung out in the stroller and then the sling.  This is you on the skyfari ride.  You also did go on the slide a couple of times.

Today, daddy is in KC and Elijah is over Gramma's so we are spending the day together.  It has been so nice just being able to focus on you and spend time with you.  You make me smile buddy!  We went and got your Halloween photos taken.  Later, we are going to go to the gym.

Other misc photos & scrapbook pages