18 Months

Joshua is a year-and-a-half old today! Our little man is growing up so quickly - both physically and intellectually. It is fun to watch him take in everything around him. Kids are so impressionable! His toys are starting to become actual objects of learning rather than grenades. He is putting much more thought into how things work and function. His favorite activities right now are stacking anything and everything, flipping through books (not necesarily reading them), walking between the furniture, dancing to music and sing-alongs, poking Makayla's eyes and wiping her spit-up, playing with his balls, and taking things out of a box and putting them back in (over and over again). We can't wait until Makayla is a little older, and can actually play with Joshua. We can already tell that those two are going to be best buds! Joshua is such a fun little guy to be around. His smile and dimples are contagious, and he makes us laugh everyday. He melts our hearts with those big blue eyes of his, and wraps us around his finger a little more with each new day. He's definitely a mama's boy (which I love), but he's also the first one to greet Andrew at the door screaming, "Dada," in an excited voice. A year-and-a-half already...we love you, JAG...

 

Funny for the day

Andrew and I found this blog post to be pretty funny in light of our current situation. If anything, it will give you a good laugh if you have kids:

11 Step Program For Those Thinking of Having Kids

New Photos

New links to photo albums have been added at the bottom right of the page.
Enjoy!

So close to walking

Here is proof that Joshua knows how to walk. Now, if only he would venture away from the furniture and go for it. We keep telling ourselves it will happen soon enough. Is it bad that I love watching this video not only for the walking aspect, but also for the face plant into the couch? Listen to how we all gasp when he hits the couch, but try to play it off so that it wouldn't scar him!

1 Month

On Friday, Makayla turned one month old. Mom and Dad celebrated by going out on their first (much needed) post-baby date. After dinner, we picked up a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, and celebrated the milestone. We did this with Joshua, so we figured we'd carry on the tradition. Okay, so it's really just an excuse to have cake ; )

How is our little girl, you ask?! In some ways she takes after her brother, but she's so different in many other ways. She spits up like Joshua did; unfortunately, it seems to bother her a little more. She is a pretty needy baby thus far, and is only happy if she's asleep or being held in my swaddle wrap (Moby). I think much of it has to do with the reflux and some tummy issues. She does okay at night, giving us a good 4-5 hour stretch of sleep at the beginning of the night, but then struggles to fall back asleep because of being uncomfortable. We're hoping she'll start to outgrow some of these issues during the second month. When she is happy, she's full of funny expressions and heart-melting gassy smiles. I think we'll keep her!

Joshua loves his sissy, but we're still trying to keep the two somewhat separated as Joshua has had a cold since the day she came home from the hospital. I'm looking forward to Joshua loving on Makayla once cold season has passed, and she's a little more in the clear.

That pretty much sums up the past month. Andrew and I both agree that this first month flew by so quickly. One minute we were taking her home from the hospital, and the next minute we were buying a one-month old cake. We're kind of slacking in taking pictures, but here are a few of our little girl:

M-I-C-K-E-Y...

Joshua was infatuated with his Mickey Mouse Valentines' Day card. I'm pretty sure we heard this song at least 100 times that night.

Gigi and Grandpa Visit

Grandpa and Gigi (Andrew's parents) came to visit for a week and half. I was beyond spoiled while they were here, and am missing the extra pairs of hands now that they are gone. They gave extra one-on-one attention to Joshua, which was a huge blessing to our little guy since he's had to share the spotlight with his new sister. He soaked up the cuddling, book reading, and desserts that Grandpa and Gigi lavished upon him. It was also fun to introduce them to their new granddaughter. Below are some pictures of our week together as a family.

Joshua had his first visit to the Golden Arches. Check out the mini fry carton that held only 4 or 5 fries.

He looks so cute in this outfit

Check out these "guns"

He plays in this Costco box for hours

We went to the Aquarium, and Joshua loved it...

We took the entire family, both sets of grandparents included, to a Lobo basketball game (Makayla's first!). This picture of all of dressed in our Lobo red makes me smile: