Okay, so it's been way too long . . .

I could make many excuses for not posting, but I have just been spending time I could be blogging spending time with Josephine. Are you jealous? If not you will be after looking at some of the pictures below.

I am sure a lot has happened in the almost two months since the last entry, but it kind of blends together, so here are the highlights. Josephine had her 4-month checkup on May 22nd. she is 25 inches tall (75th percentile) and 15 pounds, 1 ounce (80th percentile--what a chunky little monkey). Other than that, he said she looks like a happy baby interested in her surroundings and doing just fine.

She also started swimming lessons. These consist of Mommy holding her in the pool while they sing songs like "Popcorn Man" (this is Josephine's favorite) and "The Hokey-Pokey," or playing motorboat and 3-2-1 blastoff. So far she has not cried at all and is smiling quite a bit in the water. Here are some pictures of the little girl in her very stylish swimsuit.

The other fun thing we are doing now is trying to give her tastes of some solid (actually quite mushy) foods. So far rice cereal, applesauce, and cherries have not been hits (and the cherries nearly ruined some brand new clothes--Daddy really did not think that one through). But pineapple, on the other hand, was a big hit, and Josphine did not want to let it go.

There have been other events, visits from relatives, stroller strides exercise classes, playdates, babysitters, etc. And Jospehine smiles and laughs lots, and when she learns to make a new noise she makes it over and over. The latest is this weird gurly think that sounds like she is rolling her rs. It is pretty funny. And her new favorite position is grabbing her toes, as you can see in some of these pictures. Anyway, here is a big batch of our beautiful baby girl uninterrupted by my commentary.

Three Months Old

Josephine has already been around for 3 wonderful months--she is growing up so fast. This third month was a really exciting one.

First, Josphine made her first overnight trip away from home for a girls' weekend with Mommy and her high school friends. She behaved very well and had fun.

Then we had visits from all of Daddy's siblings. Josephine spit up on Uncle Joe, laughed at Uncle Mark, and cried whenever Aunt Ellen came around--pretty close to Dad's reactions. (Sorry, there are no pictures of Ellen because Josephine really did cry every time Ellen held her.)


The uncles made a trip to Toys 'R' Us where Uncle Mark got Josphine a teddy bear, Joe got her a miniature Lorelei, and they picked up some Lincoln Logs for them to play with which they were kind enough to leave behind.

Lorelei also enjoyed the visit because it meant lots more attention, and there was another bed laid out for her to sneak into.

We had a reunion of the parents from our child birth class. It was fun to hear everyone else's stories and see the babies. I think it's pretty obvious which baby is cutest here.

This was probably far more exciting for Mommy and Daddy than it was for Josephine, but she also had her first babysitters not named Grandma. Our friends Megan and Jeremy stayed with her so that we could have a much-deserved (at least for Mom) night out.

But Grandma also made another visit to town, so Mommy and Daddy were able to head out to dinner to celebrate their anniversary.

And the most recent event was Josephine's first visit to a bar and first pig roast wrapped in one big day. Again she was extremely well-behaved, and she was very popular so Mommy and Daddy had no trouble freeing up their hands to eat some of that pig.

So as you can see it has been a pretty eventful month. In other exciting news, Josephine is now sleeping through the night most of the time (at least for the past couple of weeks--guess it could change, but hope not). Every day she smiles more and talks more than she did the day before. She is more interested in her toys. Her neck is starting to get stronger; she is starting to hold her head up pretty well while laying on her stomach, but it's hard with such chubby cheeks. And she is busy just being so darn cute.

So much activity can really wear a girl (and her Daddy) out. (I had to add this picture because our cuddly naps are getting fewer and farther between.)

Josephine is over two months old!

It's hard to believe that it has already been over two months since this beautiful baby girl started waking Browyn up in the middle of the night, but it has been. Here are a couple of recent pictures to show you how amazingly beautiful she is. Pretty crazy how quickly she's growing up, huh?

To celebrate her two-monthiversary, she got to go to the doctor for her two-month checkup. Luckily, Dad had to be at work, so he missed this one, because it involved lots of shots. At least Mommy was not the mean nurse for Josephine. She was very cranky that night, so we are hoping it was just the shots. We also learned that she now weighs 11 lb. 9 oz., 75th percentile and is 23.5 in. (long? tall?), 90th percentile. So it looks like any worries we had about her eating were ridiculous. Her head circumference is also in the 75th percentile, but keep your big head jokes to yourself--trust me, they are emotionally traumatizing.
Other than the shots, the doctor's appointment went very well, and Josephine is pretty much perfect in every way.
Josphine also had her first Easter. She and I went to church where she was very well-behaved (sleeping). And she got her first Easter basket. It had much more candy in it than the pictures show, but Mom and Dad got to it before the camera came out. And since 2-month-olds can't have candy, Mom and Dad had to finish it off, too.

Here is a video of Josephine in her bouncy chair. She is like this often now--full of smiles, and beginning to discover she has a voice beyond crying. She makes a few noises here, but sometimes she is far more chatty.

And here she is playing on her animal mat. She can entertain herself for quite a while talking to and batting at Little Miss Monkey, Senor Elefante, and G-Raff. And you can't really see it, but there is a parrot at her feet that gets the stuffing kicked out of him on the regular. (She is rocking the GU shirt because it is tourney time, baby. Sadly, Gonzaga would go on to blow an 11-point lead over Davidson later that day.)

So this baby thing is working out pretty well for the four of us (that includes Lorelei for those of you who are confused). Josephine is sleeping for longer stretches on most nights. She almost always has a couple of smiles when she is awake. And she is changing every day. Think that's about it for now. Go back to the top and look at those cute pictures again.

Sorry it's been so long

Okay, I really meant to update this more regularly, but school, dog, and baby seemed more important. Anyway, here is some stuff.

First off, I know that many of you came here thinking, "Sure, the kid is cute, but let's see more of that awesome beard." Well, sadly, the beginning of March marked the end of the beard. But fear not facial hair fans, for the death of the beard brought the birth of the moustache.

All of that sweet facial hair action is tough to follow up, but I think Josephine has what it takes.

First, Grandma Jennie brought the quilt that she made with her on her visit last month. Some day it will make a great blanket, but for now it is a good-looking wall-hanging, and the first real decoration in Josephine's room. Check out the handiwork.

Sometimes Josephine feels like kicking it 70s rock star style. Browyn and I were trying to figure out if this was more early Tyler from Aerosmith or Bowie. Either way, it is a pretty sweet look. (Actually, it was a failed attempt to keep Josephine awake to eat--sometimes slowly exposing her to the cold does the trick, but not this day.)


March has brought on some awesome basketball action, and thanks to Grandpa Tom and Uncle Mark, Josephine is geared up. Don't know if you can tell is this picture, but she is rocking some sweet Gonzaga booties and a Gonzaga tuque. She also has a pretty pink GU jumper, but she needs to grow into it still.

Josephine is changing so much every day, and she keeps doing new little things that we haven't gotten good pictures of yet. She is more aware of her surrounding all the time, and she nowbats at the little toys hanging from various seats and playmats. She has also been a social butterfly (acually she sleep, but she lets Mom and Dad get out). She has gone to several dinner parties where she has been very popular, and she even went to her first happy hour on Friday.

But probably the most exciting development has been the increasing number of smiles--check this one out and try to tell me it isn't the most beautiful thing in the world.

We still spend copious amount of time just watching her make funny faces as seen in this little video clip. You may not find it quite as amusing as we do, but I can watch her do nothing but make faces for hours. (Looks like the clip didn't work--I'll try to get it up later this week.)

Well, I will try to update with more pictures soon, but finals are coming up, so no promises.

Josephine loves food!

Week four was another very exciting one for Josephine (or at least it was for Josephine's parents). The most exciting development may be that Josephine can now get her nourishment from a bottle. Mom is very happy about this, Dad a little less-so as it means the responsibility for the 1 and 4 am feedings can now be split more evenly (but Mom is still taking care of them for the time being). Here are a couple of pictures from the first bottle.

A visit from Grandma Jennie has added to the fun this week. This means that Josephine gets even more attention (or the same amount of attention but from more people), Mom gets some additional help, and Dad gets more homemade cookies and tasty dinners. Between sympathy weight during the pregnancy and all of the good dinners people have provided since Josephine came along, my clothes are not going to fit much longer.
Josephine is also eating quite well. A trip to the doctor's office today (just to satisfy our curiosity, no medical stuff) revealed that she weighs 9 lb. 8.5 oz. As Grandma Jennie pointed out, that's nearly what Uncle Mark weighed when he was born. She is growing up too fast.
And the final cool development is that Josephine is starting to smile, not just those smiles that come with relief of gas pain, but real happy smiles. We have not caught a good one on camera yet, but this picture came right after a beautiful smile. As you can see, she is still the cutest girl around--pretty much perfect.