Bryantown

May 23, 2008 - Luke is such a good teacher.  Here he is showing Joey how to play with the jeep.

It is so nice that the weather is finally warming up.  Here is a picture we got of the kids out on the patio.  Luke and Addie are loving playing in the sandbox.  We’ll get a water sprinkler or pool soon too.

Addisen (16 months), Luke (2 & 1/2 years), Joey (6 months)

Joey is starting to clap his hands now.  He won’t do it when I say “yay” and show him how but on the changing table he brings them together in a clapping motion all on his own - like he’s experimenting.  The concentration on his face as he watches them is fascinating.

Joey is 6 months old today! 1/2 a year!! How did this all go by so fast? We saw the doctor today and she says he looks great and is on track with the motor skills milestones. He is 17 lbs, 11 oz; 27.5 inches long - you can check his stats and % on his growth page.

He is sitting on his own for really long periods of time - in fact he prefers sitting to laying down now but he still hasn’t figured out how to get himself into a sitting position.

Here we are outside on the patio enjoying a brisk spring day (May 9, 5 1/2 months).Yes, we tied the towel in front of him to keep him from falling out of the chair but notice he is not tied TO the chair. Addie was over that day. We all played outside.

He also likes to stand on daddy’s lap and balance against his chest (May 9).

He is eating really well. We shared a cracker Saturday at a BBQ - he ate most of it and really made a mushy mess all over our shirts. We’ve introduced him to some other “big people” foods too… here he is with his first banana (April 27).

Trying out the sippy cup with some pear juice (May 15)

And enjoying (making a mess of) some white cake (May 18)

Yes, we did this to our child to take him for a walk on a bright sunny day. Don’t want to get a sunburn, you know!

Joey is learning that he can control his head.  When we ask him a question, he concentrates really hard, then shakes his head no and we all laugh so he thinks it’s really funny.  He does it when you say “Da-da” to him too.  We’re trying to get him to nod but apparently up and down is much harder than side to side.  Maybe next week.

Joey loves this bouncy chair that Amy let us borrow.  This is one of his favorite passtimes…

Joey has been practicing his sitting skills.  He is able to stay up longer and rebalance by himself better every day.  Sometimes he does get stuck bending toward his toes where the toys usually are.  Here he is on May 4, 2008 (at 5 months and 2 weeks old) doing a pretty good job.

I participated in the MS walk today and the weather could not have been more perfect! Our team all walked together the whole way this year. We had Janet, her brothers Gary and Brian, her father Jerry, Kim (Brian’s girlfriend) and Tracy (one of Janet’s fellow postal employees). It is really nice that they have people at the finish line with noise-makers and cheering for every single person who comes across that finish line. You can tell that several of them actually have MS.  I am very grateful to all the wonderful people I know who contributed to support me this year; our team was able to raise nearly $2,000.  I’m a little sore - haven’t walked that far since before Joey was born - but I feel good overall. Next year I’ll have to consider getting Joey to go along.

Joey is doing really well with learning to sit up by himself.  Today I sat him up on the floor and let him watch me folding clothes.  He was able to pick his hands up and wave them around without falling over!  He sat up for about 2 minutes without needing any help regaining his balance.

He is growing so much — he is now in 6 - 9 month clothing.  I think he weighs just over 17 pounds.  He’s always looking around, watching us - makes you wonder what he is thinking.