1st Birthday Party

This past weekend, we celebrated Joe turning 1 and Jack turning 3. It was great food, fun and fellowship. My sister-in-law Lindsay got this really fun moonwalk and all the boys loved it, the girls weren't that into it. Lindsay also made this wonderful baseball cake for the boys. It was just a great day for both our little guys. We are so blessed to have all the friends and family that we do in our lives.

Joe fixing to go down the slide, but first he has something to say.

This cake was so awesome!!! I am stilling eating it!

Joe really wanting his cake. He has never had any until Saturday, so I was surprised he was getting so impatient. Yes, that is an entire half of his cake in his mouth. I never thought he would eat the entire thing. I thought he would just play with it and crumple it all up....nope! And no, there was hardly any in his chair afterwards.
Yes, the cake is all gone....now to wash it down.

One Year

I can't believe it has been a year. It has been such a blessing to have a little one around the house. Some things I have learned over this past year:
I can eat in about 10 minutes.
I can get house work done in 2 hours.
I never thought I would be happy getting up at 7:00 in the morning. One of my favorite things to do is to get him from his room first thing in the morning.
Never thought someone's smile could melt my heart.
I can do a lot of things with one hand.
I feel so blessed to have Joseph in my life and I hope that each new mom out there has had a great first year.

Merry Christmas

I don't know what it is about this video, but I laughed so hard when I saw it. It could have been the lack of food I had consumed in 48 hrs (had the flu this weekend) so I wasn't all there in mind, but I just pictured Joseph making his appearance at the dinner table in this fashion. You may have seen this video already and not have liked it, but I really enjoyed it, hence me wanting to share it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwkZHSbvBIY

First Halloween

John wanting Joe's twizzler (scroll to the bottom to see how it turns out.)

Our little zoo keeper.
A monkey (Grant) on the loose.
Our own little zoo.
Joe and Tigger (and the famous twizzler).

Luis, John, and Joe "Hey John, what's that in your mouth?"
John going after Joe's twizzler.
John getting Joe's twizzler. Joe didn't know what to think when John finally got it. Joe got very serious.

Manna Field Farms

My parents came in for the weekend and I wanted to do something Fallish. I had been asking around about hay rides and someone had told me of this place called Manna Field Farms. So, I went to their web site and it had some really fun stuff on there. So, Saturday we jumped in the car for a 45 minute drive to Angleton and came upon this huge field with hardly anything there. There was this big pillow thing kids could jump on, what appeared to be a homemade slide made from wood and plastic pipes, a hay bale, farm animals that were supposed to be so friendly you could pet them, but when we approached them, there were signs that said don't touch animals, they think your fingers are food. Well, as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, I said to Jeff, lets go...it looked that bad. But we got out of the car and thought since we had just driven 45 minutes lets at least do the hay ride. So when it was all said and done, we paid $10/person for a 10 minute hay ride. Not the best $20 I have ever spent. I guess for older kids it might be fun, but I just didn't not enjoy MFF. I would not recommend taking your youngin' or relatives from out of town to this farm. Also, if you just want to get a hay ride, you could probably sneak on the trailer...they never checked our wrist bands. My grade for MFF is an F+.

Pickin' Pumkins

Today we went to a Pumkin Patch. It was a beautiful day. Joe was so interested in the hay and not the pumpkins. It was so hard to get him to look and smile for the camera. Does anyone know of a place that does hay rides and the cost of them? Please email me if you do (kirklin_ag03@yahoo.com). Thanks

PRAISE!

Joseph was just released from all his hydronephrosis. We don't have to do anymore ultrasounds, unless he has unexplained abdominal pain or urinary tract infection. Thank you for all your prayers and encouraging words.

Here is video of Joseph crawling. He started to "really" crawl on Saturday. The other video I am trying to get him to clap(which he can do), but he would rather go after a block by my feet...lets just say he gets flustered.

Results

I talked to Joseph's pediatrician and Joseph's hydronephrosis looks much better. For those of you who don't know about this condition, it is fluid around the kidney's. It was found during one of my routine ultrasounds. From here we will see his urologist next Wednesday and probably have another ultrasound in 6 months. Joe's doctor said his right kidney looks great and his left kidney has been downgraded from a "hurricane to a tropical storm." Please keep Joe in your prayers.

9 Months

I can't believe I have a 9 month old! Joseph and I went to Dallas for a week and what a week it was. We tried so many new things. He has really started getting around. I think his "crawling" is going to be an inch worm/leap frog type of crawl. He really crawled on my parent's pool table but hasn't really crawled on the ground. We started some real table food: pancakes, french toast, crackers, cheerios, fries, and mashed potatoes. (real healthy, huh?) It was just a great week. He is really turning into a boy and not acting so babyish anymore. He likes knocking things down, looking at trucks/tractors, and playing with balls. He is already becoming independent. He likes to be put down more than held, which is kind of sad...miss that baby stage already. However, he is really starting to know when I am not in the room and if other people are holding him, he really wants me. Makes me feel good. This age right now is by far my favorite!!

Inaugrual Flight?

Here is Joseph sitting in Papaw's plane wearing his headset. When my dad put the headset on, Joseph wouldn't move his head, just his eyes. You could tell he was wondering what in the world was on his head. Flying with Papaw hasn't happened yet...Mama isn't ready for that. Joseph would want to push, touch and eat all the very important buttons.

Life's a Beach

Well, we made our first trip to the beach. We spent a lovely weekend with Jeff's family and all the cousins. It was a splendid time. Joseph really had a great time. He liked the water and the sand...so much in fact, he wanted to eat it. When he would suck on his hands after being in the water, he would make this nasty face...salt water never tasted real great. Here are some snap shots from our exciting weekend!

Fashion Fopa

Here is what happens when you let your husband dress your baby for bed. I guess I am the weird one and like Joseph to match all the times, even at bed time. Here is Joe in his prince charming shirt, (which go with some really cute pants), and his baseball sweats. I guess I need to lighten up.

Aggieland

Well, we made our first trip to Aggieland with Joseph. It wasn't the best experience, but we still managed to have some fun. We went to an Aggie soccer game...man, those girls are awesome! I was upset that I only managed to go to one soccer game my entire time at A&M. Saturday we walked around campus and we were able to muster up some free football tickets. It felt awesome to be back at Kyle field. It is so weird sitting on the other side now. I truly miss Aggieland and I absolutely love going back to visit.

Crawling

Well, we almost have a baby that crawls! I can't believe it. I took some pictures this weekend of him doing his usual push up. I don't see how this is easier than getting his hands moving, but he seems to enjoy doing this more. He has moved one knee a couple of times, but hasn't moved his hands. When we slap the floor to see if that will get him to move his hands, he plops down on his belly and starts slapping the floor. We need something else to get him to move his hands. Any hints?