Progress Report

We just wanted to give you an update on how we are doing with our weight-loss journey. Although we had stepped off of the scales for a while, things are still moving in the right direction.

Total Pounds Lost:

Chris- 30

Jenn- 20

I also need to say that I have lost a total of 18 inches, which I think I am happier with than the weight! Thanks to those who have continued to encourage us and ask us how we are doing. We will check back in soon. Summer is a good motivator!

Today

Today was so wonderful! Not because anything incredible happened, but it was just enjoyable. I often find these days that Chris works to be long, as he is gone from 8 am until 9 pm. Sometimes in the mornings I feel overwhelmed, especially if we have nothing planned or no company scheduled. I decided not to take the car today, because I am very behind on work reports, and I am calling like crazy for the fundraiser at Chris' work. So, during Josiah's naps, I used the time well. While he was awake, we just had fun together. We visited the local park. Josiah went on the swing, the slide, and the 'bouncy thing'. He also loves to play in the grass/eat the grass...

Here are some snapshots of our day:

Trying to figure out how it works...

Watching Shadows- Everything is so new to him, and it is so much fun to watch him explore!

Josiah started off sitting in the grass, then he fell over, and rolled in it with sheer delight, and, of course, tried to eat it. I love the joy on his face as he is rolling. It made me want to join him...thankfully no one was around to take pictures of that!!

Unfortunately, bedtime tonight was not quite as nice as the day.

Maybe he had a tummy ache from all of the grass!

Not Much New!

Well, there is not a whole lot of anything interesting happening at our house these days. It has felt really busy though. Here are a few things we have been up to:

- Getting Chris moved into his new office. He had to paint it and get it set up, and he has been counseling in it all of this week. He seems to be really enjoying his own space. It is clean and fresh, and just in need a of a few more touches before it feels done. He wants to wait and share pictures with you after it is completed, so you'll have to wait a bit longer!

- Chris is feeling much better than he was. For about three weeks, he was really sick with a cold/flu/sinus infection/ear infection. He is still not completely himself, but he is doing much better.

- I have been volunteering to help gather prizes for Touchstone's (that's the agency where Chris works) major golf tournament fundraiser coming up in June. It has been very time consuming, and I find myself using most of Josiah's nap times to make calls, send emails, etc. I have even been out, in the rain, collecting prizes. I'm sure it will all be worth it. It has been difficult for me, as I do not feel very efficient anymore, but I love to feel helpful!

- I went to a banquet on Tuesday night to celebrate with the mom's group I have been attending this year at Hillside Church. I love it, and am sad that it will be ending in a few weeks for the summer. I have met some really nice moms there, and will hopefully be connecting with them and their babies/kids throughout the summer.

- Josiah cut two more teeth, and I didn't even know it! I knew he was majorly teething, but just couldn't see anything. Last night we were singing an action song where I tip him over at the end, and I saw something white in the top gum. At first, I thought it might be a piece of food, but I felt it and it is definitely a tooth, and the one on the other side is poking through too. The strange thing is, that they are on the sides (either the second or third ones from the front), which is why I missed them. I had been looking for the top front two, or the bottom ones that will grow in beside the two he already has. Oh well!

- Josiah went to a birthday party last weekend. One of his little baby friends turned one- so much fun! Of course, Josiah loves any opportunity to see a large number of people, so he was thrilled. We had to leave a little early, as he started getting cranky and tired and I didn't want him to ruin the party with a major melt-down!

- We had a cheat/waffle night with our friends, and I made, for the first time, gingerbread waffles, and they were so good! I've had the recipe for a while now, and just hadn't gotten around to trying it.

Well, that's us. Hope y0u all have a Happy Mother's Day!

Seven Months

On Sunday, Josiah turned seven months old. When he was born, I remember people telling me how quickly time flies when your kids are little. For the first four months I thought they were crazy! Those early months just dragged on forever- it felt like more than a year had gone by! But the last three have flown, and I can finally understand what they were trying to say. I sometimes wonder how Josiah has gotten so big and old so quickly!

Here are just a few things he is doing...

- Josiah holds his own sippy cup, and has been doing this for over a month now. He does pretty good, and doesn't hit himself in the head with it nearly as much as he used to.

- He is eating lots of different fruits and vegetables, and rice and oat cereal. He even had his first teething cookie last week. Josiah is starting to pick things up with his finger/thumb, so hopefully he'll try to feed himself soon. He attempts with the spoon, and even dips it into the bowl himself, but, as you can see, this results in huge messes!

-He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks, pushing himself still backwards. The only way he moves forward is by a judo-push-up-like crawl, sticking his bottom straight up in the air. It looks way more challenging than the traditional crawl, but I guess he just hasn't figured that one out yet! We have still had to do some child-proofing, because he no longer stays where we put him.

-Josiah says dad and mom (the sounds anyway- I don't actually think he is calling us these yet!). One of the sounds he makes sounds like "mom mom baa", sounding an awful lot like mom is bad. Hopefully he'll lose that combo soon!

- We think there are more teeth coming. Lots of growling and attacking continues. Right now, he still only has the bottom two.

- Josiah is sitting really well for the most part, and has been able to go from a crawling position to a sitting position on his own and vise-versa for a while. He can stand for a bit with someone holding his hands, but generally does not seem interested in this yet!

- We are now finding summer clothes, and he is wearing 18-24 months, so he has stabilized a bit. Hopefully no more growth spurts in the near future, or he'll be wearing a diaper for the summer!

- He loves to play, and shows preference for certain toys over others. He still smiles and laughs a lot, and is becoming more and more social, if that is possible.

- Oh, and for those who have asked, Josiah is still taking his socks off and putting them in his mouth. We still don't know why!

And that's our boy!

Long Update

Hi everyone. This will be a long update, as I have been too busy for blogging lately. I know that fellow bloggers can appreciate that overwhelming feeling of getting behind, and then wondering where to start writing again. So this post will be a bit of everything that has been happening in the past couple of weeks.

For Easter, we went to Andrea & Dan's place (my sister and her husband), along with my mom. It was a very fun weekend, except that Chris wasn't feeling very well for the last part of it. Andrea had an Easter egg hunt for us, and one of Josiah's treats was his very first Easter book, which he loves. He was pretty into the hunting part, almost as much as Dan was! Oh, and you can probably tell from the pictures, if you haven't heard me boasting about it already, that Andrea and Dan are expecting their first baby this summer- isn't she beautiful pregnant?!

Due to all of the excitement, Josiah literally passed out from exhaustion after church. He actually fell asleep in my arms as I was carrying him into the house.

While we were in Halifax, we purchased our first family tent (Chris and I have always used a very small tent, perfect for the two of us, but not big enough for Josiah and all of his stuff!) at an outdoor adventure store, which we love to visit when we go to Halifax. I don't have any pictures of the tent up yet, because it has been raining here a lot lately, and on the nice days, we have been getting some spring cleaning done.

A nice surprise came in the mail just before Easter for Josiah from his Grampy Stewart. Here he is sporting it. He also got a pretty cool Bible from Grampy, which he is enjoying a lot. Josiah loves hats too, so while I was taking this picture, he was trying to get the hat off to look at it/suck on it.

On the few nice days we've had, while we have been cleaning up and sorting, we have had Josiah outside with us, and he loves it. He had his first, and definitely not last, handful/mouthful of grass/dirt, as he got to the edge of the blanket before we could catch him. He has also been enjoying his swing outside, which he always severely disliked as a baby, so this is really the first time it has been used- good thing I only spent ten bucks on it, or I might have been a little upset!

Josiah's Grammy and great aunt Faye came up a few weeks ago, and kept Josiah for us while we went to a church retreat. He has lots of fun with them! Grammy brought more clothes, which will be perfect for summer- cute little swimming trunks and tank tops. Aunt Faye brought a bag of clothes from my cousin's wife- really adorable stuff. Check out the army outfit below! Aunt Faye also brought a baby lego-type building set, which he loves. This has been great for him, as it has motivated him to sit up, which he often does now with no difficulty or wobbling. In the moms' group I attend on Tuesday mornings, Josiah goes into the nursery with eight to ten other babies, and this past week was the first time I left him sitting up to play. Before that, I always laid him on the floor so he wouldn't fall over, but he doesn't really fall anymore (unless he is super tired!). What a monumental day!! Okay, not really, but as his mom, I thought it was a pretty big deal!

Josiah was fortunate enough to inherit a lot of cool toys and books, and some clothes too, from his cousins, Aidan and Mac (thanks guys!). He now loves trucks, thanks to some that were passed on to him. He drives them with his little hands. I just keep waiting for the 'vrooming' noises, but there are none yet. Here he is playing trucks.

* The past week, we have all been sick again- what a rough couple of months for us! Josiah started it off last week, and Chris and I both got hit. It is brutal- cold/sinus/fever/nausea, etc... I think it is finally coming to an end, although Chris is still suffering with it.

* I started a new aerobics class with a friend last week. So torturous...and fun! Chris and Josiah gave me this as early mother's day gift, as I have been wanting to join for a while now. So I go to two classes a week. It feels so great to be doing something for just me again.



* Chris is finally getting his own office at work, after sharing one for the two years he has been with his counselling agency. We are very excited, and have been out shopping, trying to find pieces that will make it warm and inviting. All we have left to pick up is a small bookshelf, and some chairs. I will try to post pics in a couple of weeks after he is settled.

And those are our highlights!

Spring

Look how strong Josiah is getting! He can sit fairly good now, and he is ready for a backpack carrier, which we are so happy about.

Here he is going for his first walk in it. He did really well. It seems that he enjoys looking out- what a view! Although, Chris could have used a rain hat to shield him from the puke- we'll have to remember to not take him out right after he eats next time...yuck!

We love to be outside, and are looking forward to spring/summer. Maybe it is almost here...

Six Months Old

Guess who turned six months old yesterday?!

Josiah had his six month check-up, and his needles. He did better than me! He let out a squeal, then was pretty much smiling, until the last needle (there were 3), when he just pouted, very big. The doctor weighed/measured him, and he is still growing-

22 pounds and 29 inches long, and is still in the 95th-97th percentile.

But he is well-proportioned and healthy, so we are happy!

It is so hard to believe that he has been part of our family for half of a year! He is doing so much too! As you can see, he is sitting up quite well, although still leaning a bit.

Josiah is pre-crawling. What I mean is, he is dragging himself across the room quite well, and practicing getting up on his hands, then knees, then hands, then, other days, both! He has even been up on his hands and knees, rocking for several seconds. Although he didn't go anywhere, you could see the wheels turning...

He has started standing, briefly, holding onto something, with one of us close behind him, waiting for the crash!

Such a boy (his dad is proud!). He is pulling his socks off all the time (including in the waiting room at the doctor's office), and then sucking on them. Once, he threw his sock over the side of his crib (see below). Twice, he bit his own big toe after pulling his own sock off. He seems to be rather intrigued with his own feet, as you can see...

(I know this one looks staged, but really, this happens quite regularly in our house!)

Josiah is sleeping for about 10-11 hours each night without waking up, which is great for us! Napping is off and on (we've had some rough spells lately!). He sleeps mostly on his tummy now, and he crawls all around his crib, so I am never quite sure how I will find him. This was a funny position yesterday (his feet were suspended in mid-air, and he actually spent most of his nap this way.

Josiah is sitting in a high chair now, so it is a bit easier to take him out. Last week, we went to Fundy for a (hopefully) final winter walk and to a little restaurant there. Josiah played with toys on the tray the whole time.

And he is now eating solids, a loving them!

(More disgusting meal pictures to follow!)

He loves playing with toys too. He has many favorites already. He also loves playing peek-a-boo, and will initiate it himself by pulling a blanket over his head, then pulling it away fast, or hiding his face, then turning quickly and smiling. I love this age so much, and am enjoying the last few weeks/months when I am actually still faster than him, and know where he is most of the time!