Bryantown

Joey took his first shot at “cruising” today!  He moved from standing by the little chair in the living room over to the couch and back again. He is getting the idea of how he needs to move his feet, not just his hands.  Here comes trouble!!

He has also figured out the sign for “All done” when he is in his high chair.  I always raise both hands and ask “All done?” and then get the washcloth and wash his hands.  This afternoon after eating most of what I had out for him, when I brought another spoon to his mouth, he raised both hands, closed his eyes and sat back in his chair.

Here is our little guy airing out after a bath.

Having a great time playing with his favorite ball.

Joey now thinks it’s funny to pass gas.  When he did it a few days ago, I asked him if he tooted and he smiled.  Just now, I was holding him and when he tooted he looked at me and smiled, I said “Did you toot?!” and he just busted out laughing.  He looked much like he does in this photo.

He has been practicing pulling himself up to standing.  Every once in a while he will let go of whatever he is holding onto but just long enough to switch hands or wave. 

At the pool yesterday, he was standing holding onto the side of the pool and putting his face down to the water like he was going to blow bubbles.  Mostly he just drank the water.  While I was holding him up to float and moving him toward Daddy, he kicked his little legs like a frog.  He’s definately a water baby.

Today Joey went from barely crawling (inches at a time) to crawling all the way across the kitchen floor.  He was going after Luke’s milk cup which was apparently very attractive to his little eyes.  Luke was not too excited about it.  As Joey got close enough to touch it, he swooped in and hip-checked Joey to make him loose his balance and rolled him away.

Today, Kaity learned how to mow the grass.  This is how she spent her summer.

And here she is babysitting…I trust her…

Well, maybe watching the others crawl is what did it.  Joey went from rocking on his knees to moving them forward in a crawl!  We will try to catch it on video the next time we see him trying it out.  He only went forward with each knee once but it’s an official start.

We had cake to celebrate Joey’s 8 month birthday (any excuse for chocolate cake).  Here he is after eating a lot of sweet potatoes looking as if we’re trying to trick him.  Yes, the cake is really for you!

and after the initial taste, digging in…

and finishing it off!

Today Joey turns 8 months old.  Wow, the time has flown!  He and I went to a play date today with some of the other moms and babies from the “Mom & Baby” group that I joined just after he was born.  They are really seeing each other now –they used to not really pay attention to each other and just lay around while us moms talked.  Brady and Alyssa are actually crawling and all of the babies are more mobile (rolling or turning around or rocking into a new position).  It is pretty amusing watching them interact.  Joey and Addelyn were just not going to get along.  She was taking toys out of the basket and putting them down next to her, he would pick them up and put them on the other side of him.  Then he pulled a letter out of the play mat, started to chew on it and she took it right out of his hands!  He squealed at her and took it back, she squealed at him, took it again and turned herself around with her back to him so he couldn’t take it again.    We had a really fun visit.

For the first time today, Joey went from laying flat out on his stomach back to a seated position.  He just pushed really hard and finally figured out to bring his legs up while pushing back with his arms.  He was pretty proud of himself.

We purchased a new camera this weekend.  With Joey on the verge of doing so many new and exciting things for the first time, we wanted a video camera with sound.  After researching and talking it over, we decided we are not going to be taking hours of video but most likely only short clips as we’ve done in the past.  Since the new digital cameras take video with sound, that is the route we went.  The start-up speed is phenomenal!  Compared to our old camera, this one is a rocket from hitting the “on” button to taking a picture.  We’re excited to get some new clips as Joey starts crawling, pulling himself up, taking some steps and eventually talking!

Tonight when I was putting Joey to bed, I had just turned off the light, turned on the music and told Joey it was time to go into his crib.  He started fussing a bit, then Joe showed up in the doorway and Joey went crazy, bouncing, laughing and reaching for him - he practically jumped out of my arms.  He knew I was putting him to bed and he figured if he went to Daddy, he would be rescued.  Here’s another picture of him in case you need reminding.

We went to the farm this weekend for the 4th of July celebration and then to Sioux Falls for car races Saturday night.  What a great time!  We played horseshoes, rode the ATVs (even Joey), Dad & I went to the Wilno celebration, he played drums with the Shieks band and I saw my best friend from high school (haven’t seen her in years since I missed the last reunion).  My brother, Michael, got a double-leaner in horseshoes which is a practically impossible feat since the second shoe usually just knocks the first one off (see picture for evidence).

Joey’s first ATV ride - safe with Daddy - he really enjoyed it!

The races were great.  It brought back a lot of memories from going to watch Dad race stock cars when we were little.  Joe got to help my sister’s boyfriend Tony in the pits - it can be really hectic down there but also really exciting.  Tony’s driver is deaf and he had a lot of fans there that night - even his wife which is apparently unusual.  He won his heat but crashed in the feature race.  Pretty scary but he was ok.   

Updates on Joey:  He is rocking really far now when he sits - it looks like he is revving up to go forward and get up on his knees.  Mom put him up on them Friday and he did push a little and move forward, then just collapsed with his head on his hands like he was exhausted - it was so funny.

He is moving around and reaching further for toys now, rolls from his back to his front and arches his back, pushing with his legs to move a little.  We think he may actually be crawling soon.  The other really cool thing is that he is trying to pull up to stand.  He loves standing and bouncing so when he get ahold of your shirt or leg or anything higher than floor height, he pulls.  He just needs a little more strength in his legs, I think, and he’ll be there.  My sister Chris had him standing and pretending to walk - she got him to actually pick up the foot that didn’t have his weight on it for about 6 steps like he knew what to do. 

Some other pictures from our weekend:

Mom with her “parasol,” fancy hat and tea.

Joey being cool with the sun glasses.

Dad & Joey enjoying the day.