HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jenn/Mom!

Just some B-Day pics of Jenn [Mom] over the past 9 years!

We love you! Josiah & Chris.

Here are pictures of Josiah's first trip to the beach (in July). He had to eat before enjoying the fun. Here he is, watching the ocean, just waiting to go for it!

Crawling on the sand bar...

Splashing in the waves!

This video is the only one we got of Josiah in the water. It was quite cold because July was not very sunny in this part of the country, so it was a brief swim.

Here are Chris and Josiah drying off.

This is Josiah after the whole experience. I think he really liked it!

On the way home from the beach, Josiah started doing this for the first time.

He has often put his feet in his mouth, but never like this. It scared me at first, because I thought he was choking on something, but now we know without even looking what is going on (and yes, this happens regularly now!). I can't get used to it. It still grosses me out!

We love the beach, and are happy to be able to enjoy it with Josiah now too. Maybe next year, he won't eat quite as much sand!

~Have you ever been so tired, that you just needed your baby to nap, if only for a short time?

~Have you ever done everything possible to make the nap happen, waking the baby into a greater state of alertness than when the nap started?

~ Have you ever been so desperate that you loaded the baby into the car, and drove around aimlessly in hopes that he would fall asleep?

~ Have you ever stopped for coffee so that you wouldn't fall asleep while you were driving the tired, screaming baby around?

~ Have you ever been so tired, that when you did stop for coffee, you paid, and then drove away without the coffee...

Summer Fun

Here are a few pictures (and video of Josiah) in his swimming pool for the first time.

It was an early birthday gift, but he didn't get to enjoy it until the weather warmed up.

He loves it, and now tries to lunge out of our arms every time we walk by to go inside.

This week, we've had frogs come to visit in the pool. I got them out, but they found their way back while Josiah was still swimming. We both chased them around, although I think for very different reasons!

Here is a video of his first time in his own pool. I think the water was a bit cool. You can hear his grunting sounds, which usually indicate over-the-top excitement and happiness! It's what he does when he just doesn't know what else to do, and his whole body shakes- kind of funny!

The new computer is finally set up, so here are a couple of new pictures, as promised.

Josiah is cutting his seventh and eighth teeth right now,

so everything is still going into his mouth!

He is waving good-bye a lot, and saying 'bye-bye sometimes too! (He was also given a beautiful new blanket, made by my cousin's wife. Josiah loves it, and matches our nursery too!).

Here he is trying to stay cool. Like his dad, he doesn't do well with heat. Although I am thankful he does not have the same inclination to sun-burns as Chris!

I have some fun outdoor pool pictures, and a couple of videos to come when I have more time.

Here are a few things we've been up to lately...

- Buying a new computer (sorry, no pictures to post until the new one is up and running). Our old one is pretty much dead.

- Enjoying the sun! We have been to the beach, Fundy, the zoo, and more. Josiah loves the water. It was pretty cold, but he dove right in. I do have pictures to share, so check back soon!

- Visiting family. All of us went home to NS a couple of weekends ago so that Chris and I could attend one of my friend's wedding. (It was beautiful!). While we were home, we got to visit with family, and Chris and I got a much needed break. We went to the beach (without our sand vacuum!), and out for dinner. My mom kind of spoils us by taking over with Josiah...and we totally let her! What a great weekend.

- Enjoying alone time. A true friend looks at you and says..."you need a break", and doesn't just walk away, but offers to take your kid for a whole day. She was right, and she did. I was kind of at the end of my rope, and she took Josiah so I had the day completely to myself. I went shopping, got my hair cut, went for coffee, read, showered...all without interruption. It was heavenly. (THANK-YOU!)

- (Chris enjoyed time by himself this past weekend too, as I took Josiah to NS for a couple of days by myself. Josiah did really well in the car, and I didn't even have to pull over once. We really enjoyed our visit, and Chris was thrilled to have an entire two days alone. I got to go yard saling with my aunt- she's like a pro- and we found some great stuff. We also visited with my mom and one of my other aunts who is visiting from Ontario).

-Getting a cell phone. I caved...and, yes, I now have a cell phone. I had an experience involving Josiah that made me decide it would be best. Don't get me wrong...I don't plan to chat on it, or volunteer my number, because I still really don't want people calling me when I'm out; however, I am feeling much better about being away from Josiah knowing that I can be reached if necessary.

- Watching Josiah grow up in a hurry! He turned ten months old on Sunday. He is such a boy...little bruises everywhere...as he explores his world. He is into absolutely everything and then some. He stands a lot without support, and takes lots of steps holding on...any day now, he'll take off!

-Waiting for my new niece or nephew to arrive. My younger sister has two weeks to go, and I can't wait to meet this baby!

- Shopping...for office stuff (I moved into a new building. My boss completely renovated it, and provided furniture, but I am filling in the gaps. I think it is starting to look really nice!)...for baby stuff (Clothes for Josiah. He is inching into size two, and I am getting ready. I get really great deals through a girl I met on Kijiji. She emails me now if she has things to sell before she posts them. She has one kid, and he wears really nice clothes! It's a great deal for us!).

Reading...we ordered some new books, and they arrived this week. I can't wait for Josiah to go to sleep at night so I can read- would it be wrong to put him down at 5:00? :). He got a new book that he LOVES too. I think I read it at least forty times today. I'm not kidding. It was really cute the first twenty times or so. I think he is trying to say 'again', because he taps the book and says something that sounds an awful lot like it! Chris is busy reading too.

Enjoying my boys...they surprised me yesterday with two of my favorite things, Gerber daisies and season two of The Office..just because!

Well, that's a bit of our news. It has been really busy, but I will post some pictures when our new computer is set up.

Standing!

Look who is standing! Josiah surprised us on Monday by pulling himself from a sitting to a standing position, and he has probably done it at least a hundred times since then. By Tuesday, he was starting to 'cruise' (walk around holding onto furniture) although he is still hesitant. The thing that always surprises me about Josiah is that you don't really see it coming, then he does it as if he has been all along- no big deal! He looks pretty proud of himself in this shot, I think!