We Went to the Fair

We're dorks like that, we love going to the county fair - even before Josie. But it was even more fun taking her along :) The best part to us is always the animals. Every year they have a really nice and fun kids tent that has at least a dozen different baby animals the kids can get up close to investigate. I personally would love to take a baby piggy home, but josie liked the horse and bunnies...




We'll give it another year before taking her on the rides :)

Another fan of The Office...

Thanks Vern, and you better leave Josie a comment and tell her how cute she is :)

The doctor says...

22lbs!!! I was right :) And I don't remember her height, but it was in the 85th percentile, weight being in the 90th... and her head size in the 5th!! YES 5th percentile. Whatever. Makes no sense. She does not have a small head! It looks pretty proportionate to me, doc says all is well and on a normal growth curve and she's a great patient. He did warn me though, by one year the baby stuff has to go... no more bottles, no more baby food... big girl stuff! I'm sad to start saying goodbye to those things.

And I'm just about ready to call this whole every-month-bear photo session quits. Whomever's idea this was apparently had a kid that doesn't move around a whole lot or doesn't put things in their mouth ;) I think I can tough it out for a few more months, but don't expect any better shots than this:


But all in all, it was pretty worth it to get this gem:

Happy 10 Months...

to my beautiful baby girl... her sweet cheeks just keep getting sweeter each day and I can't believe we've had 10 months worth already!



We're going to be running around all day today, so it's doubtful I'll get her 10 month official photo in today (hopefully tomorrow) but these will suffice for now...

At 10 months old, Josie is busting out of her size 3 diapers, shoes, and is being squeezed into her 9 month clothes b/c I just haven't gotten enough wears out of the cutest things just yet ;) I suppose I should be happy because this means some shopping is in order, but I'm beginning to learn how to buy more practically with few exceptions if it's to die for cute.

Toys are really getting good use these days, and we're so thankful to find such great bargains at our local Once Upon a Child and our dearest little cousins so generously sharing their once loved toys! The only toy ever to pull her attention away from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is this cool ball coaster - and this morning she was even getting the ball in the chute to send it twirling down!

No new words, lots of "dah dah dah's..." still. Food has become quite the struggle as we have tried for weeks on end to spoon anything into her mouth, it typically becomes quite the battle. I've decided not to worry about it, she'll eat if she's hungry... and at the urging of some loving aunts, we've started with more finger foods and that has relieved this nutrition conscious mom - as Josie really enjoys feeding herself we've discovered. So baby ravolis, greenbeans, cheerios and I can't think what else, but suffice to say it's a welcomed sight to see food actually going in and staying in the mouth. We thought she'd be drinking a bottle until highschool :)

Our 9 month doctors vist had gotten canceled and couldn't be reschedule for an ENTIRE MONTH! Our very busy doctor is going to see us tomorrow, at 10 months +1 day. Not sure how the measurements wil be compared, b/c obviously she's bigger at 10 months than she was at 9. I'm guessing a good 22 lbs at least, we're excited to find out.

Not much else exceptionally new, sleep is great, 7:30 through the night... 3-4 naps per day, no walking yet (but I'm guess first steps by 11 months), she can climb all the way up the stairs (with hands behind her ready to catch if she falls, but she never does), loves her armpits tickled, loves taking a bath, loves Mickey... does NOT LIKE being put in the carseat, bu is fine once strapped in and a pacifier in her mouth... working on mastering the sippy cup :)

Weekend Visitors

A weekend with these monkeys, aka my littlest cousins, is pretty much a great weekend :) We were laughing our tushes off the entire weekend. I think Ed is secretly an 8 year old little boy... he knows exactly how to entertain and how to be the jokester all day long. From Friday afternoon until this morning we dashed from one fun thing to the next, from the Albanese Candy Factory, the arcade, 4 wheelers, mini golf, more arcade, more 4 wheelers, camping out in the play room with popcorn... what a fun weekend :) And these guys couldn't be any sweeter or more adoring to Josie, I could really get used to having 3 babysitters in hand on a regular basis! Josie had just as much fun with them as they did with her (and many thanks for the cool new toys guys... she was lovin' up the ball coaster thingie tonight!)..... oh dear... 10 months old tomorrow :) sniff...

Picnic at the Park

I've had this mental list of all the fun things I wanted to make sure we did before summer got away from us. This included spending a day on the beach in Michigan City. While we didn't go for a dip in the lake, it's been far too cool this season, we loved walking the boardwalk and ended in the park for a picnic. Michigan City beachfront is simply gorgeous, lots of fun people, lots to see - including the lighthouse, and there was even a little festival in the park with live bands.


We perched ourselves under the shade of a tree with some drinks and watermelon and just chillllled out. I'm glad we found the time to get away and enjoy the day here :)


(impossible to get a family photo, there was to much crawling around she had to go to...haha..) We're going to have another thing checked off our summer list this weekend as my cutie pie cousins are coming to stay with us for a few days, I know we'll be mini golfing, getting pizza and having a fun time!

Zoo Review

I think we're getting to that age when squirminess is Josie's full time job ;) We didn't have any plans for the day so we headed out to the zoo. The weather couldn't have been more perfect - not too hot or too cold, and a little cloud cover to shield us from the bright sun. This local zoo is the perfect size for us to stroll around and enjoy, and plenty for Josie to see from her stroller - which was the only place she'd sit and not squirm away. Our arms get a workout trying to hold her in one place these days...

Here she was checking out kangaroos for the first time ;)




Then we visited some goats that wanted to eat her toes...



Peacocks roamed throughout the zoo, just like they were visitors themselves - pretty darn cool ;)

Truth be told, after a few exhibits, Josie wasn't all that interested - but we still loved visiting the zoo for the first time in years! We'll be waiting until Josie gets just a little bit bigger (and interested ;)) before we venture to Brookfield or Lincoln Park zoo.

Watermelon big hit... and big mess!

A super wonderful day to have a picnic by the lake... we discovered Josie enjoys melon last weekend, and nothing like a nice July day to make a mess outside :) Today was her first try of watermelon and it was a big hit!

Rainy 4th of July

After all the fun we had planned for the perfect 4th of July bash - we were rained out! It started raining in the morning and didn't stop until dark. That meant all of our guests were in the house and garage - but we still had a good time and ate a lot of good food. The kids didn't mind the drizzle and were running around the yard most of the day. Luckily though, the rain tappered off just as it got dark enough for fireworks to start. Nate didn't want part in all the loud noises (and Josie was fast asleep already) but we went outside to watch our neighbors shoot off their fireworks, and then we had a few of our own that we lit off while all the neighbors watched from their front porches too. We are definitely going to do this again next year! So much fun with all the kids around.


And we even made it a sleep over. Cheerios and fruit for breakfast :) It's a beautifully sunny day today (go figure! hrmpph!) and we off to catch some rays!

Loving Summer

We're turning into a school of fish around here these days :) If it isn't our baby pool, we're at the big pool just about every day (with the exception of the last few days that have been unseasonably cool)! It was chaaa chaaa chilly getting in at first dip, but we warmed up pretty quick and J loved bobbing around the pool for at least a good hour. This $9.99 floatie from Target has to be the best money we've spent, not only is it adorable for surfing around the pool, but the visor keeps the sun off my little pie :)




Lots of fun things going on this holiday week, including my hometown parade. It was such a treat to take J to such a special spot that my family has sat for many years watching this parade go by. Lots of friends and family were there, including Nate :) The fire truck sirens were a bit much for him but the best part of the parade if you ask me. We're both off work tomorrow and will be getting ready for a 4th of July party here... and as I sit here writing, J is fast asleep, the windows are open and I can hear the fireworks in town popping away (but can't see with all the trees around)... and the tree frogs croaking away. A perfect summer evening :)