Happy Merry Christmakkah!

We celebrated the first night of Hanukkah just the 3 of us at home.  Joshua seemed somewhat intrigued by the idea of lighting the menorah.

He was a little more interested in opening his present.

Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Jeff came over on the second night to celebrate.  We ate Grandma's delicious brisket, latkes and applesauce.  Then after dinner we opened gifts.  Grandma and Grandpa got Joshua a sled and loved when Grandpa pulled him around on it.  When Grandpa stopped, Joshua bounced and babbled to keep going!

For Christmas, we celebrated with the Blackmer's on the 22nd at Aunt Nan's.  Joshua liked playing with his cousin Hayden.

 On Christmas Eve the pond was perfect for skating.  Andy got a Christmas present (new skates) early, and we went skating.  Joshua didn't show much expression or enjoyment, but he didn't seem to hate it.  After skating we headed back home and Jeff came for the night.  We had dinner and watched a movie, while Lisa made cinnamon rolls.

On Christmas morning, we opened presents at home first before heading to Grandma and Grandpa's for breakfast and more presents.

He had about had it with opening presents, so he went down for his morning nap pretty soon after getting to Grandma and Grandpa's.  After his nap, he perked up and opened his presents.  After resting and a short nap at home Joshua was still cranky as we left for Great Grandma Hart's.  We feared how the night might play out with him being so crabby.  Fortunately, he became our happy little boy again pretty quickly.  Joshua enjoyed crawling around and convincing everyone to walk him around the house.  He even cooperated for a few family pictures.

Although we got to see Jeff for Christmas Eve/morning, we were sad not to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Layne, Steve, and Great Grandma Layne.  They were all out in Ohio getting Great Grandma moved into an assisted living facility.  We are so blessed to be able to spend time with family and receive such gracious gifts.    Next event....Joshua's first birthday!

Joshua's 1st Haircut

I had been saying for weeks that Joshua needed his hair cut.  Finally, Andy decided to take matters into his own hands and cut Josh's hair.  It was a several day process of slowly working at it.  After a few tries with the scissors, we used the buzzer on him.  Joshua wasn't thrilled with it, but tolerated it.  For the most part it is now somewhat even.  We're still trimming a few stray, long hairs.

Thanksgiving

We made the rounds again for Thanksgiving this year.  Things started at Aunt Nan's for breakfast with the Blackmers.  Then after getting things together at home we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Layne's for dinner with them, Uncle Jeff, Great Grandma Layne and Uncle Steve.

Joshua did pretty well, but he's not a fan of a change in routine.  He liked eating all of the different Thanksgiving foods and spending time with family.  Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures on Thanksgiving.  Luckily Jeff got a few and shared them with me.  The day after Thanksgiving we headed to our friends, Matt and Amy's house for Friendsgiving.  There was a lot of delicious food and we all had a great time.  Joshua even stayed up until midnight with us and did a pretty good job sleeping in his pack-and-play.

My baby can't be 10 months old already! And now 11 months!

I put Joshua's 10 month pictures on here then never finished the post.  Time has passed and he's 11 months old, almost 1 year old!  As the picture below shows, he loves hanging upside down and being tickled.  As long as Joshua is fed and not tired, he is a happy little boy.  

The day after his 9 month doctor's appointment, he crawled.  The day he turned 11 months, he started walking.  He can still only take a few steps on his own, but loves holding your fingers and taking laps around the house.

Joshua is learning that he can pick things up and put them in baskets, cups, and bowls.  As quickly as he learned to put them in, he learned to take them out. This is a video of him "helping" with laundry.

Joshua's latest idea of fun is pointing to things.  At mealtimes, he will point to his milk or the container of Cheerios.  When we're together with family, he points to someone until you hand him off, then points to someone else.  I think he gets a kick out of the fact that we pass him wherever he wants to go.  Although he loves to jabber, Joshua only has 2 distinct words in his vocabulary: "dada" and "Aga" (Agger).  I'm a little bitter that "mama" hasn't entered his vocabulary yet.  Joshua's favorite toy is his stacking cups.  He also enjoys anything that you can bang together to make a noise.  He's also been known to crawl around while holding a toy.  He takes it over to the tile so that he can bang it on the floor.  Since he's now on the move, we have to be sure to keep all doors closed on the first floor.  If we don't, he will head to the bathroom and play with the drawers and the door.  Bath-time is another favorite activity of Joshua's.  As soon as he hears the water running, he makes a beeline for the bathroom.  He loves to splash, play with his toys and the drain.

I'm very late in posting his 9 month pictures taken by our friend, William.  These are a few of my favorites.

These men bought the same glasses....

I had to post this picture.  Joshua LOVES this commercial.  He can be minding his own business, but when this commercial comes on his head whips around to watch it.

For a while, Joshua was always sitting up in his crib when we went to get him.  He has since transitioned into standing in his crib.  Time to move the mattress down!

Joshua likes to help Daddy play video games while Mommy makes dinner.

Happy Halloween from our little Monkey

The Saturday before Halloween we went to a part at John and Laura's.  We were going to be Dora, Diego and Boots.  Last minute we changed our minds, though.  I went as Peek-a-Jew, and Andy wore our baby carrier with a bag of sugar (Sugar Daddy).  Joshua still dressed up as a monkey.  On Halloween we went around to family and trick-or-treated.  Joshua was didn't hate the costume, but he was happy when we took it off at the end of the night.

A fun weekend with friends

We had a busy, but fun weekend October 20th and 21st.  On Saturday the 20th, our friends TJ, Lisa, Ashley, Bill, and their son Brady, came out to visit.  We started off with grilling burgers for lunch, then made our way outside to play.  Brady got to ride in the combine and honk the horn.  He wasn't such a big fan of the semi, however.  Then it was over to Bob's to see the cows and giant pumpkins.  Brady was more interested in the cat than the cows.  Joshua didn't seem to interested in much of anything.  He was mostly excited when Uncle Bob came home and held him.  We took pictures sitting on the giant pumpkins.  Brady enjoyed sliding off of it.  After heading back to our house we played in the family room for a while, then they had to leave.  We enjoyed having everyone out to our house and showing them fall in the country.

 

On Sunday, we met our friends Johnathan, Joanna, Matt, Amy and Amy's godson, Shane, at Brookfield Zoo.  It was a beautiful day to walk the the various exhibits.  It was "Boo at the Zoo" so they were pretty crowded and many people were wearing their Halloween costumes.  Joshua was in a good mood most of the day.  When it came to be nap time he fought sleep for quite a while.  Then we just put him in his stroller and let him cry for a while.  The motion of the stroller soon put him to sleep.  It was perfect timing so that we could eat lunch.  Joshua seemed to be more interested in people watching than, animal watching.  We all had fun and were happy to catch-up with good friends.