More Newborn Pictures...Finally

I found a photographer who was looking to photograph newborn babies to add to her portfolio. She made the deal to good to refuse, so I signed Josiah up even though my Uncle took such good pictures of him. I have only just now received these pictures (which is one reason why I don't recommend this photographer and did not include her name), but some of them did turn out really well. Here they are:

This is our favorite!

Jacob's Newest Endeavor

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Jacob likes to try his hand at everything. He is actually good at practically everything he does, but it is a bit tiring to be married to the man! There is always a new idea and a new thing going on. You would think that after nearly 9 years of marriage I would be used to it, but I still find myself surprised when he announces his new plans.

A few years ago I asked Jacob to start keeping a few bee hives because my grandfather, who is a beekeeper, was going to retire and the idea of paying for honey just seemed crazy to me. Jacob said he wasn't interested and that was that. So, I was surprised and happy when he came to me a few months ago and said he was going to start keeping bees! It will be some time before we get any honey, and we only have one hive, but he is enjoying doing it so far. I had to laugh at first because he had never been stung by a bee before and he didn't even know if he was allergic. He soon found out he isn't.

Smoking the bees.

Checking the hive.

And of course some pictures of my baby.

Lilah is Josiah's baby sitter. Before he was born I was really worried about how my cats would respond, especially Eeyore who is scared of everything and hides under the bed constantly. But they have both done really well and hang out with Josiah on the floor. That may change after the first tail pull!

Summer Days

This weekend Savannah came for a visit with Grandma and as usual, Josiah, Jacob, and I got in on the action. We had a kiddie pool, a sprinkler, and good times hanging out.

This is Josiah's brand new swing that Savannah is testing out. It says for ages 9+months, but I figure 4.5 months is close enough, right?

Here is the toy meant for Savannah at Grandma's...

...and here is what she would rather play on.

Love this!



Josiah didn't care for the pool, which really surprised me, but we did manage one picture that made him look content. I guess he prefers warm bath water!


Isn't he cool?


Waitin' and watchin' Savannah play.

Savannah wouldn't play in the sprinkler by herself, so I claimed Josiah and made mom play in it with her!

A Special Visit

Granny, Papa, and Mikayla came for a visit last week and stayed Friday night and Saturday. On Saturday we went to the Butterfly Rainforest and the Museum. We had a great time visiting and got some great pictures. One of the big blue butterflies landed on Josiah's head and stayed there for awhile. It was so cute, but my picture didn't turn out very good. Hopefully one of Granny's turned out. We hope they come again soon!

Josiah and Daddy looking at the butterfly on Daddy's hat.

They are supposed to be looking at Granny's camera, but you can see my baby only has eyes for his Mommy!

Papa, Mikayla, and Josiah.

A proud Granny and a tuckered out Josiah.

This is the kind of butterfly that landed on Josiah's head. Beautiful! Hopefully the other pictures turned out!

Doctor Report Among Other Things

Josiah went for his 4 month checkup with vaccines today. He cried a bit, but was much better than last time. My poor little guy. Now he is sleeping like a rock.

He weighed 13 lb, 9 oz (25%) and is 24.5 inches long (50%). He dropped in his weight percentile, increased his length and raised his head circumference to 75%. So I guess he is a long, skinny, big headed baby! He's still cute, though! By the way, big heads are a common trait for the men in my family (literally and often figuratively), so he'll fit right in.

His doctor was discussing beginning solids foods soon, but she says since he is sleeping so well and is content, he is probably getting plenty of calories. She said wait until he starts telling me he is hungry. I'm glad she thinks this way. We aren't just going to start just because he is a certain age. Each patient is different, so treat them differently. She gave me this option with vaccines also. Who knows, he might stop sleeping so well tomorrow! Yikes!

On a different note...I was just going to write this post while my washer filled with water before I put the clothes in, but of course I got sidetracked...checked my email...finished writing, then realized my washer has been through an entire cycle without clothes. Oops.

My baby intrigued with his foot.

This is a doe that has been hanging around our place. She has 2 fawns at her side (they are behind trees here), but I can never get a good picture of them. We also have a group of 4 (3 does and spike, I think) that come around daily. They make our dogs crazy!

Growing Up Fast!

Josiah is 4 months old today! I can hardly believe how fast time passes, yet I can’t wait for more. More time with him, more firsts, more special moments, more smiles…

This month Josiah found his feet! They haven’t yet made it to his mouth yet except when I made it happen, which Jacob thought was nasty (I told him to get used to it!). I’m sure that will soon follow.

He has been rolling over from tummy to back since the first month, and now he is oh-so-close to going back to tummy. He gets most of the way there but is too lazy to raise his head. He prefers to lounge, I guess.

Josiah has mastered naptime! He takes at least 3 naps a day (2 two hour and 1 one hour, usually) and generally I can lay him down fully awake and he’ll fall asleep without making a peep – I love it! He gets his sleeping skills from his daddy for sure!

He still loves his pacifier, but it is becoming more of a chew toy these days.

He loves when we hold his hands and say “ready? One, two, three!” and raise him to a sitting or standing position – depending on whether or not he bends at the hips.

Jacob and I stay bewildered at how much joy and laughter Josiah brings to our daily life. It is so great to interact with him. While I am still able to coax smiles more frequently, Jacob is able to bring out the biggest smiles by far. I love to sit back and watch. Josiah wakes up so happy every morning and Jacob gets him up and spends that special time with him before work. I have to watch from afar, though, because he immediately becomes fussy and wants to eat when he sees me. I guess I get enough special times with Josiah, so I’m glad Jacob has this. Besides, it means I don’t have to change the first, nastiest diaper of the day!

Jacob has given Josiah his first driving lessons . He is teaching him to drive an imaginary stick shift (probably the red Ranger, Jacob's first truck. It still runs and lives behind our barn.) I'll have to video these "lessons" and post it sometime.

Once again, I’ve been a bit negligent in taking pictures at family gatherings and such. I have plenty from just hanging out with him at home, but I forget when we are out. He did get to spend some time with all of his cousins, grandparents, great-grands, aunts, and uncles this past month, but I only have a few pictures to prove it. Here are some from the month:

So proud of himself. Wait till he realized we only get 2 channels!

This is where Josiah and Daddy play in the mornings - propped up on the loveseat.

Lovin' on the bear from Granny.

On rainy days we like to pretend we can get out of the house. Doesn't he look like a bouncer?

We read A LOT! We recently started using this seat. It converts into a play area and later a booster seat for the dinner table.

He's great with his hand to mouth coordination and holds onto things really well.

We started needing to use a bib. He loves to play with it, but cried the first few times he covered up his face and couldn't figure out what happened.

Lovin' on the bib.

Josiah with Grandma and Savannah. Savannah picked out her own clothes and her Daddy did her hair. Can you tell???

Josiah and his cowboy great-grandaddy (Dandy). How many boys can say they really do have grandaddy's who are cowboys?
First Father's Day
Well, it is impossible to sum up this little life in one blog, so this is it for now.