Our First Christmas

Josh "slept in" a little later than his cousins but we were still up before sunrise to see what Santa had brought us. Josh had been such a good baby this year that Santa brought him a ride on/walk along dinosaur, a talking puppy that plays his favorite song (Heads, shoulders, knees and toes) and his own set of car keys.







Sorry for not realizing our video camera wouldn't let me edit the videos to change the orientation.



He also loved watching his cousins play with their new toys.








Mom and Dad got him a new hiking outfit complete with his own Merrells, zip off hiking pants and drymax onesie to use on our spring vacation.




He wasn't too interested though but if bows or tissue paper was involved he had a good time.



Nana got all of the grandkids matching shirts to wear on Christmas day.






Maybe next year they'll all be a little more cooperative in having their picture taken.






We had a great first Christmas and feel very blessed for all of the miracles and gifts we've had this year.

Twas the Night Before Christmas.

We all traveled to Houston to celebrate Josh's first Christmas. On Christmas eve we got to introduce Josh to my grandparents who loved all over him. In fact I'm not sure he touched the ground for more than a hour the first two days we were there since everyone wanted to hold and snuggle him.

We traditionally get dressed up for Christmas Eve dinner and Josh looked adorable in his Christmas sweater. The Reindeer bib was a concession to our constant drool problem.








He had a great time laughing with Brad and Dave



Joyce was also a big hit and was the best way to make sure we could get a smile for pictures.




Pretty soon though, Josh went on to dream about what Santa might bring him.

Month Six

Have we really had a baby for half of a year? By looking back through the blog it appears that we have - sometimes this is so much better than a baby book (and easier to keep updated). He has changed so much from his newborn pictures and we love seeing his personality develop.

Nicknames: nothing new this month, Munchkin and little bit seem to be the predominate favorites
Temperament: He is still such an extrovert. He's pretty happy most of the time, but he loves it most when there's lots of different people around or when he's riding around in his sling where he can see the world go by. It makes it really easy to run errands with him in tow but we're starting to need to add in some "flirting time" since he usually captures the attention of at least one of the sales people or customers and will "talk" and laugh with them for as long as we'll stand there.
Stats: Nothing official until his six month appointment next week but from what I've measured at home he's a little over 16 pounds and 25 inches
Looks: His hair has been filling in more and is starting to be a little lighter in color. Currently it sticks straight up off the top of his head with all of the extra static electricity we've had lately. The fair skin, chubby cheeks and blue eyes are still in full effect. He looked adorable in his Christmas sweater and coudoroy pants at my office Christmas party and completely enthralled the Ohio State women's basketball/volleyball team (not sure which they were but they were all really tall).

Accomplishments: Well our sleeping through the night phase was short lived but he has been going to bed earlier and napping a little bit better. He'll nap now at 11 and 4 usually for an hour and is generally ready for bed by 8:30 or 9. Unfortunately he's also waking up at least once a night but thankfully he still just wants a quick bottle and diaper change and then he's back to dreamland. He still loves standing with some support and can sit now with just a little help. When he's really motivated he'll extend his arms and push up during his tummy time but he's still not crazy about rolling from his front to the back. Rolling from his back to his front though is a favorite pasttime. He loves to talk and will often string together several syllables. Nothing that makes any sense yet but it's cute to listen to him "talk" to himself especially when he's in his crib in the morning. He'll almost imitate the sounds you make and we've been working on "Ho, Ho, Ho" but we usually just get a "Heh, Heh" in response. He decided he wasn't quite ready for trying solid foods this last month. He tried it a few times but either the taste, texture or both were just not appealing and there wasn't a lot of swallowing going on. He does recognize his bottle now and will reach for it with his mouth open when he's hungry which is really cute. He did try some mushed banana while we were doing our Christmas baking and that seemed much more interesting than just the plain oatmeal. We'll likely try to expand things a little once we're back from our Christmas travels.
Things he loved the most: He loves chewing on anything he can get his hands on. He's also finally taking an interest in the dogs and cats (which is sometimes reciprocated)and he loves to reach out and pet them when they get close enough. The dogs rough housing also sets of fits of giggles. The Christmas tree and Christmas lights are also fascinating now that he recognizes color.
Things we loved the most: Even though nothing he says makes sense, it's been so fun to have him interact with us and respond to the questions we ask him. Everyday he seems to recognize something new.
Things he could do without: He had his first cold this month and while he tolerated all the sneezing and coughing with no change in attitude, we hated hearing him with all the congestion. He sounded so sad with the middle of the night coughing spells.
Things we could do without: He's still so camera shy. We know our times of the gummy grins and baby giggles are limited but they are next to impossible to capture on camera even though he he spends so much time laughing and smiling during the day. The minute you pull out the camera he's all business and we're sad to not have much documentation of his happy personality.
Item/toy he loved the most: He's definitely taking more of an interest in toys this month. He'll interact with all of the activities on the exersaucer and this last week we set up his Leapfrog learning table that was an early Christmas present from Gra. He also got a little Einstein book that talks in English, Spanish and French. He's not too interested in the pictures or words but the flashing light is fascinating (as is Scott's imitation of the French accent).
Items/toy we loved the most: His trapper hat. It has been freezing here in Ohio the last few weeks and we've had a good bit of snow. Luckily he's a hot box to begin with but he looks so cute in his little hat and it keeps his head nice and warm so we're not stuck in the house all the time.
Item we all hated: Cold germs. Thankfully we made it through six months and two hospital stays without any major illness but for the last week some bug has really hit Josh and Scott hard.
Surprises: We knew that pictures with Santa were going to be an overpriced experience but we were amazed at the racket they have going on. Thirty dollars for two pictures and you don't even get to see if you like them before you have to pay for them? Luckily we hadn't waited in line long so we bypassed Santa this year. I know there were a few charity events around earlier this month that we'll try to do next year. At least then the money goes to a good cause.

Momentous events of this month: We celebrated our first Thanksiving with lots of family and friends. Josh loved having everyone around and was so distracted that we could hardly get him to eat or sleep without shutting him up in his room. He was fascinated by his older cousins and laughed and laughed and laughed the entire weekend. We also had Josh's first snow. He obviously hasn't been able to play in it yet but it has made everything look ready for Christmas and makes the subfreezing temperatures we've been dealing with more worthwhile. He also got to travel to Tennessee to drop Gra off for the holidays and was able to meet Aunt Stacy and Uncle Mark and all his cousins there. Evidently he and cousin Seth spent a lot of time texting all of Josh's girlfriends.






For a little comparison here he was at two weeks. Look at how tiny he was.




Things we're looking forward to next month: We are so excited about celebrating Josh's first Christmas. It's hard to believe that this time last year we didn't even know if we were having a boy or a girl. We're traveling to Texas later this week and we can't wait for him to meet Bubba, Papaw and BeaBea (my grandparents). Beign able to sit up will make playing with his new Christmas toys and cousins so much easier and we know he'll be excited about all the action. Hopefully next month will also include some playing in the snow and some more attempts at some different foods as we welcome what will hopefully be a less eventful 2011.

I thought this "always jolly" onsie was appropriate even if we can't catch it on camera



Helping mom with the holiday baking



Wrestling with Charly



Playing with my new Christmas toy from Aunt Stacy and Uncle Mark

A Time of Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving Holiday despite one hospital emergency that kept me occupied most of Friday afternoon/night. Everyone made it in safely from their long drives and Josh was thrilled to have a house full of new people. He spent so much time laughing that it took some convincing to get him to take a break to eat or sleep.





After everyone left on Saturday, we settled into our gear for The Game. There wasn't a lot of cheering going on but Josh seemed to like the fight song.



Yesterday we hopefully started a new family tradition of going to cut down our Christmas tree. This year, Josh wasn't quite feeling up to traipsing through the fields to find the right one so we settled on a precut tree from the farm but next year we know exactly where to go to find the good ones.






Good thing we bought the bigger car.




Josh was a great supervisor while Scott put the lights on.




Then (with a little help) he hung our family ornament and his heart ornament commemorating his big event of this year






Overall, it was a great start to the holiday season and we stopped to take a few moments to appreciate how blessed we've been this year despite all of the stressors. Our thoughts are going out to all those other "heart parents" who don't have their babies to hold this Christmas as we snuggle our little one even closer and we're sending special prayers to Josh's friend Colton and his parents as they prepare for his second heart surgery later this week.

Month Five

Nicknames: munchkin, little bit, droolie
Temperament: It's starting to sound a bit like a broken record but he's still happy, social and easy going. We're not sure how we were so blessed to have such an easy baby but we stop to appreciate it each and every day. He does start to get a little fussy at night now when he's over tired. He start with lots of eye rubbing and work himself up to a few crocodile tears. We're trying for an earlier bedtime but thus far all we're getting is a little longer evening nap around 7pm.
Stats: 15 lbs, 24 inches
Looks: Evidently Josh is a little on the small size but at least he's proportionate. When we saw his pediatrician two weeks ago for his delayed four month shots he only measured in the 25% for height and 13% for weight. He still seems chunky to us and we're happy that at least now he's on the charts. Before his heart surgery he was in the less than 5% for both. His head circumfrence has always been high and was in the 97th percentile this month. His Nana says he has to have a big head to support those cheeks. His cheeks are often quite rosy these days now that winter is here and we have to work constantly to keep him moisturized. We keep meaning to get a vaporizer for his room but we haven't quite made it to check them out yet. We've been working too on softening up his scars. It's hard to believe that we've been home for three months but his sternotomy scar is starting to flatten and whiten out. Hopefully soon it will be less noticable. The scar from his chest tube has always been a little bit retracted but now that his belly sticks out more it's a little more noticeable like a big dimple.


Accomplishments: It's been a busy month. Most important to mom and dad, he's started sleeping mostly through the night. Occasionally he still wakes up once around 3 or 4 but most nights he's down from 11 until 7 and it is heaven. He's been the most excited about finding his feet. His toes can provide an endless amount of entertainment and he loves to grab them and roll back and forth. It's fun to watch but certainly makes diaper changes more challenging. Speaking of rolling, we're on our way to a mobile baby because he can roll front to back or back to front this month. Each time he does it he still seems surprised about how he got there and he hasn't figured out yet that if he just reverses the direction he'll go back to how he was so hopefully he won't get too mobile anytime soon. He's also able to sit unassisted for a few minutes and can stand for short times if he can hold onto something.

Things he loved the most: playing in the exersaucer, dancing to the "shake your booty" song (classy we know), grabbing his feet
Things we loved the most: seeing him respond so well to people. Thus far we have no hits of stanger anxiety and he loves to smile and coo at everyone when we're out and about. We also loved seeming him all dressed up in his Halloween costume and can't wait to take him trick or treating next year.
Things he could do without: Shots. While he did great with his two month shots, the combination of the Synagis and the month four shot cocktail put him over the edge for about 48 hours. He did fine at the doctor's office but by bedtime nothing could make him happy and he seemed confused as to why he felt so sad. Unfortunately the Synagis is once a month until we get through RSV season so we'll see how that goes.
Things we could do without: Going to have to stick with the drooling again this month. It seems like he should be dehydrated with as much liquid as he loses from his mouth but thus far he's always capable of making more. He's also learned to pool it in his mouth this month and then spit it out which constantly soaks his outfits even with the bibs.
Item/toy he loved the most: His sleep sack. It keeps him warm and toasty at night and is likely part of the reason he's sleeping most of the night. We wish they made ones that covered his hands since they're always ice cold but he doesn't seem to mind.
Items/toy we loved the most: Bibs. We go through at least five or six a day since the drool-fest continues. It's the only way to keep him from soaking his clothes and everything around him in less than fifteen minutes.
Item we all hated: The oatmeal in a bottle. Our pediatrician suggested we put some cereal in his formula to thicken it up since he's had some reflux lately and to help him gain weight. Well no matter how thin we mixed it or what nipple we tried, it just clogs the bottle and makes us all pretty frustrated. For now we've given up but if he can get coordinated with swallowing from a spoon we may try that soon.
Surprises: It's not really a surprise but it's so fun to see his personality developing every day. He's starting to seem less and less like a baby and more and more like an individual.

Momentous events of this month: After four and a half months of struggling with a low supply, we've given up on breast feeding. While I was sad I couldn't make my body work it is liberating to be free of the pump and it gives me more time to sleep and play with the munchkin so overall it is a good thing. His first Halloween was also a real treat just to see him in his costume. He may not have fully appreciated the experience but it was fun for us. Also this month Scott and I both survived weekends of single parenthood - Mine while Scott backpacked in Cumberland Gap and his while I went to Texas for girls weekend. Overall each weekend went well but I think we're both glad we don't have to do it alone the majority of the time. We're also excited that our friends Tricia and Chris moved to Ohio this month. Not only does that mean a shopping buddy for mom but it will allow Josh to get to know his future bride when she's born this next month.





Other fun pictures this month

Almost ready to go backpacking


Napping with my puppies



Wow Charly that's a scary yawn



Playtime


Bathtime




Chubby Cheeks




Here's a link to some more pro pictures we had made this month

http://piankiphotography.zenfolio.com/p942823080
.
Things we're looking forward to next month: A full house for Thanksgiving! Chris, Emily, Sam and Nate are coming for a long weekend late Tuesday night and Chris's parents, Rick and Joyce, and our friends Tricia and Chris will be joining us as well. We can't wait to celebrate our first big family holiday and start some new traditions of our own. Hopefully Josh will get used to a spoon and will get to try some "solid" food over the holidays.

The night owl

Since his surgery, Josh loves being awake and taking in the world. As I mentioned in my last post, he's quite the night owl and it's tough to get him in bed before 11 because he's just not sleepy. So for trick or treating on Saturday night, he snuggled into his costume and we sat on the front porch to hand out candy together.











Luckily his outfit was warm because it was only 40 degrees outside. He seemed to be quite comfortable because he quickly fell asleep contradicting his night owl status.





But it was just a trick. His evening nap lasted through most of trick or treating but after that he was ready to party all night. Too bad mom couldn't say the same.

The Great Pumpkin - Part two

We finally carved out some time to work on our pumpkins......

Josh was a great assistant in his monster jammies.



Wow Dad, that's a big knife you have.




It's time for Mom to use some of her fancy surgical skills



A crying baby? Is that supposed to be me? But I'm a happy baby.





Mom and Dad's pumpkin only has one eye. How funny is that.



I can't wait to scare the trick or treaters this weekend. Maybe they'll give me some candy.