Josephine's First Summer

Josephine's first Summer has been a pretty exciting one. Lots of you have probably seen lots of these pictures via various avenues already, but just enjoy the opportunity to see them again. I will start with the major events/trips/etc. then finish with lots of pictures of her being cute in no specific order.
Once Dad finished school for the year, Summer started with a trip to Missoula. Josephine went on her first hike to the M, got to hang out with Grandma Jennie more, met Grandpa Tom and Great-Grandma Jean. Here are the pictures to prove it.



Josephine also went on her first camping trip. This included a hike, swimming in a lake, kicking it on the beach, hanging out by the campfire, and waking up Mommy and Daddy every couple of hours during the night. But it was still a fun time.


And we went on a trip to California. This required Josephine to fly on a plane for the first time. Much to Daddy's relief, she was extremely well behaved--laughing at other kids on the plane, flirting with flight attendants, etc. In California we spent a couple of nights with Great-Grandmother and Ray, then a couple of nights with 25 or so other relatives from the Miller-Howe side at a really sweet national park/convention center near Monterey. Josephine really enjoyed seeing other kids. This trip also included the first time seeing the ocean, swimming in the convention center's pool, and the first time gnawing on an apple (a little more on food later).



Other than that, what's been happening? Well, she has her two bottom front teeth, but she always hides them with her tongue, so no pictures yet.
She's been eating up the music (sorry, bad joke, but these are pretty cute pictures).

She's been kicking it with her friends like Luka.


She has gone on a few other "urban hikes" with Mommy.


Pineapple is still pretty much the only solid thing she eats despite trying rice cereal and oatmeal. If you have never witnessed this, check the video--judging by her face you would never guess that it is her favorite food. But today she did eat a peach using one of those gross, teabag-like baby food holders. We should have pictures of her using that with other foods (maybe, avocado was not such a hit) in the future in case you have no idea what I am talking about.

Other than that, she is just continuing to work on maintaining her cute.

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.)