Our 1 Year Old!

Joshua has been 1 for a week now & he's really grown up in the past few days!
-He is standing on his own & taking a few steps here and there.
-He is starting to use a spoon by himself.
-He ate his first peanut butter & jelly sandwich today and loved it!
-He is having fun playing with other kids.
What a big boy!


Joshua likes wearing shoes, especially other people's shoes.


He still loves swinging as much as he ever did. He cries unless I am pushing him as high and fast as I can!


Joshua had an ice cream cone at McDonald's on his birthday, which he thoroughly enjoyed! He also went down a big kid's tube slide all by himself. I was a little nervous for him, but he wanted to follow a big kid & go down on his own, and he did great!

Little Snow Man

Joshua got all bundled up for his first adventure outside in the snow, which was a walk to the store since Mama wasn't about to drive. :-)


He was pretty excited to go out into the snowy world, but later...


...he decided that snow is much more enjoyable when viewed from inside a warm house. I agree, Joshy!


Joshua was not at all interested in touching the snow or crawling close to it.


Joshua's expression in this picture is very telling of his overall impression of snow. It was really beautiful while it lasted. It all melted just a few days after it arrived.

Everyday Joshua

This is one of my favorite expressions: the tight-lipped smile.

He crawls on his hands & knees now, but still resorts to army crawling when he wants to go fast.

We love playing hide-and-go-seek around the couch.

"WHUH!" That is probably what Joshua is saying in this picture. He is really quite talkative!

He is just so cute!

Joshua is a great stander, but he definitely likes holding on to something.

Even though he is such a big baby, Joshua still loves his swing!

He looks so grown up in this picture! I think it's the polo shirt.

What a wild-looking kid!

Joshy does a great job sitting on his own now. Here he is playing with his newfound friend the broom. What a terrible "toy!"

Joshua loves removing our shoes from the shoe rack.
Here's my favorite smile again!

A Happy Halloween!

Joshua's first Halloween was definitely a happy one! We started the festivities early in the month with a trip to the pumpkin patch. Joshua had a great time discovering the pumpkins. He especially enjoyed their dirty spots.


We all dressed up for a Halloween party at UW for med students & their families. Joshua was a tiger, Ryan was a tree, & I was a tree hugger... and a tiger hugger too of course!


Joshua went Trunk-or-Treating at the church and collected some of "his" favorite candies. We did let him have this mini-Twix until we realized that he had opened the package & was siphoning out chocolate. Lucky boy!


On Halloween night, we had a great dinner with friends for which I carried on the family tradition of making a jack-o-lantern cake. Thanks Mom!

A Few New Things

Teeth! Joshua has 2 bottom teeth & 4 more coming in on the top.


Standing! Joshua is standing up on everything he can get his hands on.


Getting so big! Joshua is overflowing in his swing.


Playing! Joshua is really interested in toys & everything else now.


Super cute smiles! This isn't really new, but every smile is still so great.


Looking handsome like Daddy!

Joshy Copying his Daddy

A Few of Joshua's Favorite Things

Wearing only a diaper
(Kermit also gives a big thumbs up to the idea that less is more when it comes to clothing.)


Chewing on paper towel rolls & playing underneath the jumperoo


Grabbing the newly added dangling toys on his jumperoo


Having bubbles in the bathtub


Eating watermelon in his mesh food holder


Standing and bouncing in his jumperoo


Getting all his books out


Being inside the laundry basket


Playing peek-a-boo


Hanging out in the storage basket of his snap-n-go stroller

EAT PLAY NAP

Someone recently asked me what a typical day is like with Baby Joshua. I explained that we cycle through a sequence of eat, play, & nap at least 3 times every day, which doesn't sound very exciting but it is! Here are some examples of each phase of our day.

PLAY
Playing peek-a-boo with a ribbon

Playing with toys

Looking for the magical waterfall that comes out of the spout

"Swimming" in the wading pool at Green Lake

Looking cute in a sun hat

Admiring the big, bright lights at Daddy's soccer game

Learning how to cruise around on the floor

Checking out his new shoes like Daddy's (Thank you eBay. These were only $0.99!)

Rolling over in the bathtub (Fun for Joshy, scary for Mama.)

Hanging out in the cart & holding a pole at Home Depot

Gearing up for his first boat ride

Observing the world through a laundry basket

Practicing his instrument, the turtle

EAT

Eating pureed prunes & making a mess

Eating a "rice rusk" all by himself (Anyone know what a cuttlebone is? It looks a lot like a rice rusk.)

NAP

Sleeping like an X

Peeking over the top of the crib to see if anyone is around or if he really should go to sleep

Pulling the crib bumper down to see out (He even untied the securing straps himself.)

Just waking up

Chillaxing in the crib after a good nap