Going To The Chapel

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello little fellow!  Today is another road trip!  My college friend, Alicia, is getting married in Maiden, NC, so we're packing the car and getting ready to go!

We packed your things and bed (pack and play) while you were still sleeping this morning.  Once you woke up, we changed you and you ate a little breakfast with daddy.  Right before we left, a lady came to our door with a welcome tote bag from Falls River (the new subdivision we live in).  It had coupons and goodies inside!  We brought it back in the house so we could go through it once we're back in town.  

We hit the road around 9:45am.  We stopped in Mebane for an early lunch at Bojangles.  :-)  I took you out of the car seat so you could stretch, but you weren't hungry then, so you just played.  

We're staying at a Bed and Breakfast that's owned by Kevin's aunt and uncle (you remember Stephanie and Kevin .... your God-parents!).  :-)  So, once we got there, we all changed and got ready for the wedding.  You wore your tuxedo onesie again, combed your hair, and brushed your little erupting tooth.  ;-)  

The wedding was at 5pm, but we got to the church around 3pm so we could visit first.  You got to meet Alicia, Trina (her mom), Jason (the groom), Sherrill, and John Robert (Sherrill's husband) for the first time.  They all held you!  Of course, you already know Stephanie, Kevin, and Emily!  :-)

You got a little fussy before the wedding, so I gave you a bottle and rocked you to sleep in my arms.  I had to take you outside once the wedding started, but once you fell asleep, I came back in and we tip-toed to the balcony (I took my shoes off) to watch the ceremony.  The doors leading into the church from the narthex were already closed, but the balcony was the best seat in the house!  :-)

Afterward, we headed over to the reception!  That's when the party began!  You had another bottle and danced, clapped, and sang to songs.  ;-)  And, of course, everyone held you again!  You stayed awake during the whole reception, and we didn't get back to the Peacock Inn until around 10pm.  But, you still ate your 4 tablespoons of rice cereal and eventually went to bed with little fussing.  You've gotten better the last few nights with sleeping .... I hope that continues.  :-)

Well, tomorrow we'll head back to Raleigh at some point.  You had a lot of fun at the wedding!  

Sleep tight little Joshua!

I love you!  :-)

~Mommy

Forty Two Weeks

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello little one!  Today you are forty two weeks old!  Can you believe it?  I can't!  You have 10 weeks until your very first birthday!  :-)

Once again, you slept through the night!  Good job sweetie!  I gave you 4 tablespoons of solid food again last night with your formula.  I wonder if that's making a difference?  Hummmm ....

Well, just as I said yesterday .... today is Family Friday!  To start things off for Family Friday, you had a Daddy Morning .... I had an eye appointment at 8:30am this morning, so I left the house early to make it over there.  You stayed here with daddy, had breakfast, played with toys, did tummy time, and took a little nap.  After the eye doctor's appointment, I made a quick stop at Gigi's to pick up the rest of our framed photos.  We're going to try to place them around the new house and figure out where we want to hang things.  

The doctor's office dilated my eyes, so for the rest of the day daddy did all of the driving.  :-P  We ate lunch together when I got home (we made a pizza), and then we headed over to the mall.  We walked around for about an hour to stretch our legs (it was hot outside so we wanted to stay inside).  Also, we went over to Sears and ordered a washer and dryer set.  :-)  They should be delivered on monday, so after that we won't have to keep borrowing other people's machines.  :-P  

We got back home around mid-afternoon.  You played with your toys and did tummy time.  Daddy and I straightened some things around the house.  Then, for dinner, we went over to (Great) Uncle Laurence's house.  

You got to meet more family while there!  Your Great-Grandfather (my mommy's daddy), and his wife, from Tennessee are in town this weekend.  Since you, daddy, and I are heading to a wedding tomorrow, we went over to see them tonight.  You haven't been able to meet them until now, but they've sent you gifts in the mail and have seen photos of you!  We were able to visit for a few hours.   Everyone thought you were cute, and they took photos of you playing.  :-) Once it got late, we packed you up so we could get you to bed at a decent time.  We still needed to pack things for the wedding for tomorrow, so we put some things aside once you started to doze off.

Tomorrow we head to Maiden, NC for a wedding!  Sleep tight my little Joshua!  :-)

I love you!  :-)

~Mommy

Quick Power Outage

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello cutie!  Well, you slept through the night!  Woo hoo!  Last night, I gave you 4 tablespoons of barley and 5 ounces of formula.  You fell asleep around 9(ish)pm on me.  When I put you down in your bed, you screamed.  Daddy played with you for a little bit and you played with a rattle and calmed down.  You eventually fell asleep on your own around 9:30(ish)pm.  You started stirring after 6am this morning, but you didn't fully wake up until 7am!  Wow!  By the way, daddy and I fell asleep immediately after you because we were so tired from the previous night!  :-P

Penny was here with you today.  You two went to the park (at the end of the road really close to the house) and you played in the baby swings.  :-)  You apparently really like to swing.  :-)  You also did a lot of floor play time, tummy time, and you took a few naps.  

Daddy had a soccer meeting (he's on the board) tonight, so he had to leave the house before I could get home from work.  So, Mimi came over early and watched you for a little bit until I got home.  Once I got home, the three of us met Grandpa Mike out for dinner.  I brought your new chair cover and you sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time during dinner!  :-)  We attached little toys to it for you to play with.  

We had some bad thunderstorms this evening.  The power flickered in the restaurant a few times.  We all got rained on going back to the car!  When we got back home, I noticed that we had a power outage here.  The time on the stove was blinking.  We got home late, and daddy came home from his meeting about 30 minutes after us.  

Tonight, you played with your toys and did tummy time on the bed.  :-)  Tomorrow, daddy has off, so it's "Family Friday!"  Yippie!

Sleep tight little one!

I love you!  :-)

~Mommy

Separation Anxiety

Dearest Joshua David~

I'm afraid you have developed something that we need to find a way to cure .... separation anxiety.  You will not go to sleep, or stay asleep, without help from daddy or me holding you.  We put you in your bed at midnight this morning (you had fallen asleep on daddy), and then you immediately started to scream!  I held you until 1:44am .... you were sleeping soundly .... I put you back in your bed and you started to scream again!  You would NOT sleep without someone there!  I put you in your crib and you screamed from 2-3am.  We also had given you a bottle and changed you, so you weren't hungry or wet .... but you still screamed!  I finally couldn't take it anymore and picked you up at 3am.  You fell asleep around 3:30am.  Daddy and I both had to wake up at 6am for work today.  You were a "bad" boy this morning, and daddy and I were so tired at work!

You, on the other hand, did a lot of napping with Penny today!  Here's what you all did:

8am:  sleeping - fell asleep by yourself on the floor

10:20am:  walk to the park- you like the swing and met a new friend named Madeline

11am:  floor time and turned over from front to back

11:45am:  sleeping - fell asleep by yourself on the floor

3:45pm:  sleeping - fell asleep by yourself on the floor

4:15pm:  outside - hot and humid

4:40pm:  floor time

I got home late from work this evening.  Daddy made dinner and we ate together while you played.  This evening, you played with your toys and did tummy time.  I gave you 4 tablespoons of barley this evening around 9pm with your formula to see if that would help you sleep through the night better.  I guess we'll see!  

Tomorrow you'll be with Penny again!  Continue to save those cute smiles and precious kisses for me!

Sleep tight (daddy and I are tired!).  :-P

I love you!  :-)

~Mommy

Coffee And Headache

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello little precious!  Well, you were a tad of a "bad" little boy this morning.  You woke up screaming at 4am from your bed.  :-P  Daddy changed you and we gave you a bottle.  Then, you won't go back to sleep when we put you in your bed.  You continued to fuss and wanted to be held the whole time.  If we put you down, you would scream .... if we held you, you'd calm down.  :-P  Daddy ended up holding you on him so you could sleep and didn't put you back in your bed until 6am .... when his alarm went off for work!  Daddy was groggy all day (and in need of coffee) and I had a headache all day.  We need to see what we can do to help you with your sleeping .... for everyone's sake.  :-P

After your morning cry fest, you played a lot and did your tummy time. You took a very small nap in the morning while I cleaned your bottles and did the dishes.  

By lunch time, my headache had gotten stronger, so I was relieved when you took a longer nap .... I took one too!  :-)

Mimi came over after going to the gym this afternoon.  She fed you and then took some more of our laundry.  

Oh, you finished your container of peas!  You have one more though that we can open later.  :-)

We made a quick trip to the grocery store after Mimi left, so we could get things to make a pizza tonight!  The original plan was to make the dough this morning, but I was too tired after your morning wake up call!  Daddy liked the pizza though, so it must have been a success!  :-)

After dinner, daddy cleaned the litter box while I gave you a bath.  :-)  I think your cradle cap is looking better.  

This evening, you played with your toys and did more tummy time on the bed.  You eventually fell asleep on the bed.  Tomorrow, I head back to work, so Penny will be here to play with you.  Save some smiles and kisses for me!

Sleep tight little one!

I love you!  :-)

~Mommy

Rolled!!

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello little man!  What an exciting day you had!

In the morning, you took two naps.  I held you both times and watched a little television show online on the laptop.  

You had a good visit with Eliza today for your physical therapy appointment.  We talked more about the possibility of placing you in a helmet to try to correct the flat area on your scalp.  I'm still going to wait until your SICC (Special Infant Care Clinic) appointment on August 10th.  I'm sure the neonatologists will have an opinion as well.  :-P

Here's the big news .... YOU ROLLED TODAY!!  Woo hoo!  It was during your appointment and we were practicing rolling.  You were playing on your back and rolled over to your right side onto your tummy!  You did it three times during your appointment!  The rest of the day I tried to record you rolling .... but then you didn't!  :-P  I called your daddy after the appointment to let him know that you rolled! Once daddy got home, I put you down so you could roll for him.  Daddy went upstairs to change .... and then you rolled!!  He missed it!  So, for the next hour I tried to get you to roll and you just played with your feet!  :-P  So, daddy never got to see you roll today.  But, after dinner, he still took us out for ice cream to celebrate!  Well, you fell asleep in the car, so daddy and I got ice cream.  ;-)

This afternoon you and I went for a walk.  We only walked for 20 minutes because it got hot really fast.  

You fell asleep on me at one point, after a bottle, so I took a picture of your little teeth (while you were sleeping) and sent it to my coworkers.  They are so excited about your little chompers!  :-)

You ate peas for the first time today!  You didn't eat them as fast as the other veggies, but you still ate them.  :-)  Once you finished, I called your Gigi to let her know (since she doesn't like peas!).  She laughed and said "Ew!" when I mentioned peas.  ;-)

Oh, we cooked dinner this evening. I think we're getting better at cooking.  Daddy seems to like it!  :-)

This evening you played more with your toys and did tummy time.  :-)

Sleep tight little angel!

I love you so very much!  :-)

~Mommy

Yummy!

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello little miracle!  You slept well again last night.  After you had some breakfast, and played for a little bit, you took another nap .... and daddy and I fell back asleep as well!  Ha!  The three of us were just lazy this morning.  :-P

Today we had some cooler weather .... maybe from all the rain yesterday.  It was nice, so we got out and walked around a few stores.  We ate lunch out, and then walked around the mall and Target.  You were the only person to get anything though (well, daddy bought a coffee)!  We got you a shopping cart/high chair cover .... since you're able to sit up a little better.  Also, we bought some baby monitors.  I tested them this morning, so we have one receiver in our bedroom and one downstairs.  You'll probably still be in our room for a while, but we went ahead and got the monitors just in case. 

You ate more green beans today.  You finished them all up, so you can try peas tomorrow!  Your Gigi hates peas!  You got green beans all over when you were eating.  It was funny, so daddy took a photo.  :-)

I washed your scalp when we got back home.  Your cradle cap is looking better.  :-)  You had lots of play time with toys and tummy time this afternoon and evening.  Daddy and I organized the upstairs while you played on the bed and in your crib (depending on which room we were working in).  The house is looking better, though we still have things to do.  Slowly but surely we'll get things done.  :-)

Oh, you were playing on your tummy today and kept pulling on one of your toys and "fell" over to your side while pulling on the toys.  :-P  Do we count that as a roll?  Hummm .... the jury's still out on that one.  ;-)  

Sleep tight my little Joshua!  :-)

I love you very much!  

~Mommy