Road Trip

I had a little fun with photoshop on this picture. When I left to join the Navy, Mrs. Ingram wanted me to promise that i would never get a tattoo. I don't think I ever did make that promise. I still haven't gotten one... as far as she knows anyway.
I can remove those with photoshop too ya know ;)
Jenifer and I took Joey to Peachtree City, GA this past weekend for his first big road trip. He traveled really well on Friday evening. He slept almost the entire way there. On Saturday we went to the north side where Perry and Marge hosted our Christmas gathering for my Mom's side of the family. They have a beautiful home and always throw a classy party. It was very nice. My only regret is that not everyone could make it.
We made the most we could of the rest of the weekend, fitting as much visiting with friends and family as we could into the short visit. We were so happy to introduce Joey to everyone. Most everyone knows how long our road to parenthood was and everyone seemed to be forgiving of our overflowing pride and boundless happiness. It was so special to hear people telling Joey how much they had prayed for his safe arrival. That really does mean the world to us. Joey was a little more grumpy for the trip home. The important thing is we did arrive home safe and sound. Even with all the people we got to see this trip, we still have lots more we need to get a visit with.
I am happy to announce that our plans have changed and we will be visiting PTC again this coming weekend. Our original plans were to have our Christmas celebration at our house since I work on Christmas day. I found out I won't have to work any OT on my off week before Christmas so we have decided to celebrate at my parents house on Tuesday morning 12/23. I am looking forward to that very much. I really do miss everyone in Georgia.
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

December is finally here... and I have finally made some blog and photobucket updates. I don't have time right now to write a long blog post... I am busy getting ready for Joey's next big adventure. Let's just say that I'll have lots to blog about next week!
Oh... We did go see Santa yesterday... but I am forbidden from sharing those photos just yet.
I hope the Christmas season is shaping up wonderfully for everyone!
Merry Christmas!

Milestones

Joey smiles regularly, he started smiling purposely around mid November.

Joey giggled for me on Saturday Nov. 22nd and he laughed for his daddy last night Dec. 1st.

Joey coo's and carries on baby conversations now. If you coo at him or say la and wait he may talk back if he's in the mood, but it sure makes him smile.

Joey is clutching at things, he tends to grab handfuls of fabric, be it burp rags, blankets or your shirt. If you place toys in his hands he will hold small rattles or linking rings also.

Joey holds his head up more now. He is working on not wobbling so much while holding his head up. He is still working on this during tummy time but he's quite good at it when he's being held upright.

Joey found the toes on his right foot yesterday, he was sitting up (with a little help)
and he kept leaning (more like lurching) forward when all of a sudden he connected with his toes and held on.

Observing Joey growing and learning constantly is fascinating!

Look How I've Grown!

Joey had his eight week checkup today, he is a healthy growing boy. Joey is now 11 pounds 15 ounces and 22 3/4 inches long, he grew two inches and gained nearly four pounds in the last four weeks.

I know its hard to fathom the changes so I've gone through some photos to try and illustrate the change. The first photo was taken October 22nd while Joey was on his play mat, note the outfit he is in, it fits nicely sleeves are not short and he has room to grow in the mid section and length wise as well.

Note the second photo though it was taken while he was laying on his changing table. This photo was taken on November 20th. Joey is in the same outfit, on this date the sleeves were short, the mid section did not have much room left for growth and the length was at capacity. We retired this outfit after November 20th.

November Pics

I have been pretty busy lately as you can probably tell from my infrequent updates. I am also way behind on commenting all of the blogs that my friends have. I will try and get to that soon. I updated the Photobucket account yesterday finally. Today I figured out how to embed a Photobucket slide show on my blog post. This slide show is some pictures from the November daily pic album. I will play around with this feature more in the future so that it might be a bit easier for you to check for updates. You will still be able to see all the pictures by following the link and password instructions at the top right of this page.

For some strange reason the computer keyboard I am using will not enter an apostrophe, so I am trying to avoid contractions and possessive nouns.

Joey is doing really well... Jenifer is taking him to get some of his shots today so we are crossing our fingers that it will go easy on him. I am sure she will have a story to tell about that later. Joey has not started sleeping through the night yet but we are thinking it might happen real soon. The doctor said that once they get above 12 pounds is when it seems to happen. My guess is that he is there. Jenifer is excited to get the official weight today at his doctor appointment.

Last night was a real treat for me. He was totally awake, not fussy at all, and really making good eye contact and even smiling some. When he does get fussy it is usually about food or gas... That boy of mine can suck bottle dry in no time at all and still want more. I think it is time to move up to the next size bottle.

My next big improvement to the Jungle will be to post some videos here.

Until then I hope you all stay happy and healthy!

Later!

Mommy Time and Music

I have always loved music, music of all types, I hope to pass this on to Joey. While I was pregnant I enjoyed listening to my playlists of music I've built up on my ipod while Jamie and I were in the truck on road trips. I felt Joey respond occasionally to some music, he'd kick and let me know he was there and the music was coming through loud and clear. I took his response to mean he approved and enjoyed the selection.

So today while spending time with Joey while he was awake we had some fun with music. It started off with me singing silly camp songs to Joey, things like John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, Fried Ham and I Had a Little Chicky (want to see some camp song lyrics check this site; http://www.ultimatecampresource.com) then I started up itunes on my computer and we listened to music I have stored there. Joey seemed very content and I enjoyed singing along with the music, crooning to him and delighting him with my vocal styling. (He's not a tough critic thank goodness.) We listened to and I sang along with; Aerosmith Sweet Emotion, I don't Want to Miss a Thing, Walk this Way (I think he really enjoyed this one), Alan Jackson A Love Like That, Alicia Keys No One, Big & Rich Ride a Horse Save a Cowboy, Black Eyed Peas Don't Phunk with My Heart, Bono (from the Across the Universe Soundtrack) Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Billy Miles Sunshine and finally Bowling for Soup 1985. We ended the music lesson there, by then Joey had finished a bottle and was grinning at me sleepily as his eyes fluttered and his eye lids shut for his mid day nap.

Mommy time today was a lot of fun. I hope I can make you grin that goofy grin of yours again soon Joey.

Slide Show

I haven't been very good about posting or commenting while I was on night shift. I start back on day shift tomorrow and I'll try and do better... here is a slideshow of the daily pictures for November for Denise. I hope everyone is healthy and happy and has a wonderful turkey day planned!!!

Click here for a Slide Show The password is still junglepass.

Caption Challenge

I have had some fun with Joey's pictures by adding captions. I thought with this picture I would share the fun. If you think of a funny thought that you think might be going through Joey's head, feel free to leave it in a comment for everyone to read. I also wanted to mention how red his hair looks in this picture. Sometimes it looks blond sometimes it looks red... but there is no question what color is showing through in this picture.
Here is the update: I am working 7 night shifts starting tonight. Jenifer and I are happy to welcome her sister Larae into our home for a week long visit. Larae arrived yesterday evening and was very excited to meet Joey. Larae is from the left coast and she and Jenifer stayed up until 2am last night chatting. I am thinking they will both have jet lag today. We still don't have an accurate way to measure Joey's weight at home. I tried putting him on the bathroom scales and got a reading of 10.5lbs... but on a scale with a 0-330lb range that isn't very accurate. We do know he is gaining weight at a healthy rate and he certainly has a healthy appetite. I found out last night that he can get excellent distance when he spits up... I was laying in the recliner with him on my chest... his head next to my chin... when old faithful hit my ankle with some projectile puke.
Ahh the joys of daddyhood.

Daddy's Turn

Today was the first day that I got to be home alone with Joey. Jenifer went to get her hair done and do some shopping... a much deserved break for her. What did I do with my precious one on one time with my son you ask??? I put him in his best camo outfit and we watched hunting shows on TV over a nice bottle of formula. I also shared with him in the great family tradition of napping in front of the TV after a good meal. Watching him finish a bottle and seeing his eyelids drift shut is a powerful nap inducing force. I tried to keep from feeding him a second time until Jenifer got home so that she could feed him... but he wasn't seeing things my way. Jenifer walked in the door as he was working the last drops out of a bottle. With his Mommy home and dinner time rapidly approaching I set about the task of cooking our Low Country Boil. Now I am sitting here blogging and smelling the brownies Jenifer is cooking for our sweet tooth. Joey is tuning up for yet another feeding. I hope when he's done with this one we are in for a good night's sleep... but I'm not counting on it. Regardless of how tonight goes... today was a good day.
I hope you are all happy and healthy
Later.

Family outing.

Wednesday Oct. 29th was a really great day. Joey and I had doctors appointments, check ups at the four week mark after Joey's birth. I was looking forward to all three of us going out for a while. We have not made too many trips out around town yet, and I was looking forward to showing Joey off at my doctors office as well as meeting his pediatrician.

My appointment went well and it was every bit as much fun as I imagined showing off our baby boy to my doctor and his nurses. To top it off I got a picture of the four of us together which I really wanted. I don't think I will ever forget my doctor and his nurses they will be in my heart forever for the part they played in the arrival of Joey. They all took really good care of us.

After my appointment we were able to grab a quick bite to eat (Five Guys Burgers, yum) and run one small errand (Target, gotta love the baby stuff) before we went to Joey's appointment.

I've been anxious for this appointment. Anxious in a good way, expecting to hear how well Joey is growing but also a tiny bit anxious in a nervous sort of way hoping we get along well with Joey's doctor, which we did!

Joey's doctor confirmed Joey is growing well and shows all the signs of being a healthy baby boy. The doctor answered our questions and helped put us, as parents, at ease reassuring us that we are doing a good job. He also told us a few things we have to look forward too. He explained that around the time a baby hits 12 pounds or so that they seem to turn a corner and begin to get into more of a consistent routine and should begin to sleep longer at night. Joey is now 21 inches long, four weeks ago he was 19.25 inches. Joey now weighs 8 pounds three ounces, four weeks ago he weighed six pounds one ounce. His growth amazes me, and makes me very happy, who doesn't love chubby baby cheeks? I'm not sure how soon Joey will weigh 12 pounds but I don't think it will be too long. Joey no longer wears the newborn size diapers, they might still fit around his waist but they look too tight on his legs, so he really is growing.


Joey was very good for his appointment, he was very good for his big day out in fact and I think we might have to begin venturing out a bit more.

Bath Time

It is amazing how much intense emotion can be read in the face of a newborn. The books we have read tell us that the happy looks are just a reaction to passing gas, but the frustration that he displays at not being able to get any milk out of a pacifier is easy to read. You can see from my latest photo upload that Joey is happy (most of the time) and healthy and gaining weight. We are still waiting to see how his personality will develop. So far his routine is pretty much just Poop, Eat, Poop, Sleep, Poop some more, Sleep some more, etc. My favorite moments are when he appears to be wide eyed and actually seeing some of the things around him. Christie gave us a black and white book that he seems to like focusing on. That is something to do with enjoying certain patterns at this age. I am gonna say bye for now... Tomorrow is 4 weeks and doctor's checkups for Joey and Jenifer so I am sure I'll have more to blog about then.
Later!

Hello Sports Fans!!!

I have never been a follower of sports. I think that is a result of my Dad not being very interested in sports. I usually only have the patience to watch a game if I am at the venue with a group of friends. I come from a place where college football is king. Early on I would have said I was a UGA fan due heavily to the influences of Howard and Ed R. It wasn't long until I realized that my best friends in the whole world (Keith and Gary) were Georgia Tech fans. Since I had no real allegiance to UGA, I changed sides. If you asked me today I'd still say Georgia Tech is my favorite team... but the only time I don't pull for UGA is when the two play each other. I decided long ago that I am a home team fan... and Atlanta will always be my home. So for me it's GA Tech, The Braves, The Falcons, The Hawks, The Thrashers, and any other team associated with home. The reality of it, though, is that I still don't lose sleep over sports. I have a great love for hunting, fishing, camping, Jeeps, cooking, and anything else I can remember that created a closer bond with my parents. I have a lot of good memories of those things.
Jenifer is a baseball fan. She is also a home team fan... but she considers Oakland her home since she lived there until she was 11. She loves to see the Oakland Athletics win. So this raises the question in my mind... Who will Joey like? Tampa has The Buccaneers and The Rays. I think it is very cool that the Rays are in the World Series this year. Eventually Joey will want to play some sort of sports... probably baseball if Jenifer has her way. I think when that happens I will finally have a team to get excited about! In the end I am sure his friends will have more influence over these things than we will... But right now he is a blank canvas.
Funny how a blank canvas can be the most beautiful thing we have ever seen!

One on one time with my little man.

Joey,
Your Daddy went back to work on Thursday Oct. 16th, after having two weeks off for your arrival. His return was to night shift. I knew I'd have my hands full but I thought you and I would do well and have good bonding time. So far there have been some good times; quiet times together where I get to quietly tell you how very loved and wanted you are, and a few tears from nights when your appetite seemed insatiable and we spent three or four hours awake in the middle of the night trying to fill the void. I wouldn't trade a single moment of our time together, but I have wished for an extra set of hands and an hour or six of sleep. I'm trying to learn from you, Joey, and take every moment in never to be forgotten. I'm learning to trust my instincts but I'm also learning that just when I think I know what to expect, you change things up. That's okay baby you go right on ahead and change, I'd never hold you back. I do long for the days ahead when you sleep a little longer at night, and every day I hope I'm an even better mommy to you than the day before. Every day (and night) I look forward to spending time with you, gazing into those deep blue eyes, caressing your soft baby skin and fine baby hair. I hope as you grow, learn and become increasingly aware of us, your parents, that you too will always look forward to spending time together.

What have we created?

Joey was a good eater from the beginning. He did have problems with eating so much that he spit up right at first, but he never had a time when he refused to eat. That first few days we were thrilled to see the bubbles in the bottle that meant that he was actually eating and It was great to have him nearly finish a 40ml bottle of Enfamil. Today (only 2 weeks later) I fed him a bottle with 100ml in it and that didn't quite satisfy him. If his appetite continues to follow this trend of doubling every 2 weeks... then by the time he is 3 months old he will be using 2 Liter Coke bottles. I hope that isn't the way it works in reality. It is exciting to see the changes that are already happening. He's getting a little pot belly and his cheeks (both sets) are filling out too.

Jenifer and I have been trying to see our own features in him. Trying to answer the question who does he look like. While I can see similarities... I don't see an overwhelming likeness of either of us. He is just Joey... with some of each of us built in. I will say this without a doubt though. When he is mad... when he tunes up and demands to be fed... and he gets angry... He reminds me of my dad. His forehead wrinkles up and his whole head goes instantly flush with red. It hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I noticed it... I had seen that look before!!!

I guess he has a little redhead in him after all.

Rising Star

Tonight Joey made his first web cam appearance. As you can see, he has quite the fan club online. He is certainly a wiggly little monster. I had a tough time keeping him in view. His stomach was doing his thinking at that particular moment. Not much else to report right now. Jenifer and I are just relaxing and savoring the last bit of my vacation time before I go back to work. I hope you are all doing as well as we are right now.
Later

What's in a Name?

One of the first things I asked my mom after telling her about Jenifer being pregnant was what she wanted to be called. I told her I was gonna teach the new arrival to call them Granny and Pappy just to tease her. This question is something that she took to heart and put a lot of thought into. I can understand why... after all, despite my teasing, my mom doesn't look like a granny or a grandma. Ray and Faye (Jenifer's parents) already have lots of grandchildren. We need to find out from Shannon (their oldest) what their grandchildren call them. I am not sure who came up with the idea... but the names that Mom has settled on are Nanalaine and Papa. We'll just have to see how long it will take Joey to be able to say that.
Nanalaine and Papa left yesterday to fly back to Atlanta. Mom has been here since the day Joey was born. I know it was hard for them to leave. They came at a moment's notice and stayed to help us take care of all the things that we needed help with since Joey came early. We have very much enjoyed their help and company. I hope that they will come visit Joey a lot. Thank you Mom and Dad, We love you.
With just the three of us here we will focus on getting our routine figured out and enjoying our together time before I go back to work on Thursday night. Joey is a complete angel so far. Our biggest challenges have been dealing with the hiccups after feeding, and his talent for holding his bladder until right after the diaper is removed. That last one is more comedy than challenge. We have some of those Pee Pee Tee Pee things... but he wiggles so much it is pretty difficult to keep it in place until he is done.
Right now he is sleeping on his tired mommy's chest next to me on the love seat.
Life is good!

P.S. I changed the spelling to Nanalaine at Mom's request.

Thursday was a big day.

Yesterday was Joey's first Pediatric appointment. The doctor said he is doing very well and that we haven't broken him yet. While she was examining him his cord fell off. I asked her if he is gonna have an inny or and outty bellybutton but she said it's still to early to know. She said if she was guessing by the looks of it she would guess inny. The Doctor also told us that they recommend that we not let lots of people around him for the first 6 weeks. Especially since it's flu season. Jenifer and I will be going to get our flu shots on Saturday. The other advice was to make everyone wash with soap and water and use lots of hand sanitizer before touching him. They even gave us a neat little stop sign to hang on his carrier that says to wash up before touching him. It may be overprotective on my part... but I am taking bids on having a bubble built around his room until after flu season.
My dad came back yesterday. He happened to be delivering a truck for a store in Bradenton FL. Mom went to meet him at the drop off to give him a ride back here. The two of them will be here until some time tomorrow. It has been very nice having them around so much. I love seeing how excited they get over Joey. It is clear that he will never have a shortage of attention.
Jenifer's glider came in yesterday as well. I was very pleased that it arrived so quickly. Dad and I went to pick it up at the Babies R Us in Brandon last night. I was also very happy that it was so easy to put together. All I had to do was hand Dad the screwdriver. I think today I will take some more pictures of the Jungle. Joey's room has changed quite a bit since he arrived. I am sure that I will have some more pictures of Joey to upload later today too. Until then...
Y'all take care and keep in touch.

Happy Birthday Mommy!!!

Today is Jenifer's Birthday. The best Birthday present by far is that Joey is finally home. He was released to our care from the NICU Yesterday around 2pm. Both Mom and son are doing very well. I want to express my gratitude to the Doctors ,Nurses and PCA's who took such good care of Jenifer and Joey. Nurses are amazing people. If you know a Nurse... please give them a hug from me.

Jenifer and I are quickly learning all of the demands of caring for someone who completely relies on us. Changing diapers, feeding, keeping up with the laundry and dishes... these things are all about learning a routine. Sleep comes last and in very short spurts, but we are so very happy that it doesn't matter.

I've included my favorite picture from today.

Like Father Like Son.You might notice that I have changed a few things. I have deleted the links in the individual posts to the Photobucket account. I have placed a link to the pictures in the column to the right instead. I have also re-arranged the photos some. It seems that in my hast to post photos for all my friends and family to see, that I just deleted the blurry ones and uploaded everything else. I found when I went to upload this morning's pictures that some of the photos had been removed by Photobucket for nudity... I think someone reported them. I can't imagine that Photobucket staff can review each of the millions of pictures that are uploaded there. It never even occurred to me to think of the pictures of my brand new son as being offensive or inappropriate. I guess I won't make that mistake again. Rules are Rules.

If you go to the picture link you will also see that I have created an album where I can post a daily picture of Joey. I have been informed by his Aunt Christie that I am not to miss a day of taking pictures or I will be in big trouble.
I also want to thank my brother in law Maurice. With the way that all of this happened, we didn't have much time to take care of some things that needed to be done. Maurice assisted us in getting pictures of Joey into the hands of Jenifer's parents. It was a very nice thing to do for us.

I am sure that I have much more to to write about, but Jenifer has just handed Joey to me and I have totally lost interest in blogging for the moment.
Later!

Happy Mommy!

How's this for a picture of a happy mom? Jenifer was released from the hospital yesterday as expected. She is doing very well. I only wish she would act like someone who just had surgery and take it easy. She is so focused on getting back to spend time with Joey that she forgets she needs to rest until her body reminds her. Joey is doing well too.He has some jaundice and the nurses said that they need to see his bilirubin levels stay low when he comes out of the photo-therapy light. They are also monitoring him for reflux which causes him to spit up some of his formula after eating. He has been switched to a formula with rice cereal mixed in and this seems to help greatly. Once these things have been resolved and he shows a weight gain he will be released to come home with us. I don't know when this will happen yet but the hospital staff all seem to think that some time this week is a safe bet. It will most likely not be on Monday as we had hoped.
Christie arrived yesterday to see her handsome young nephew. I have uploaded the few pictures that I took yesterday to the photobucket... but between my parents and my sister there are tons more that I don't have yet to upload. My Dad has even used this new arrival as an excellent excuse to finally get that SLR camera he has been wanting. Christie and Mom and Dad are having fun visiting Joey when they can and helping to organize and find places for all the baby stuff we have so that Joey's Jungle will be ready for him when he does come home. Jenifer and I are very grateful for their help.
Thanks again to everyone for the well wishes and congratulations. I will keep you posted on our progress.

More Pictures!

Hello everyone. The hospital doesn't have WiFi access or very good cell phone reception for that matter... so I am doing these updates each day when I come home to shower and get ready for another night at the hospital. The Doctor tells us that Jen will be released tomorrow after lunch. She is doing very well. Joey is still in the NICU for monitoring. He is doing very well and we expect them to release him to come home at the very latest on Monday. Thank you all for the flowers and the well wishes. We are truely blessed to have such great friends and family. I will keep you posted and keep posting pics so stay tuned!

Baby Joey Announcement!!!

Joseph Warren Sims (Joey) was born by C-Section to Jamie and Jenifer Sims at 1:21pm on October 1st. Despite being 34 days early Joey weighed in at 6lbs 1oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. Both Mother and Baby are doing well. Due to the early delivery and C-Section they will be in the hospital for a few more days yet. I am sure we will have much more to blog about this experience soon... but I wanted to go ahead and get these pics out there for everyone to see. I realize I haven't posted pics of Jenifer holding Joey yet... but I will soon. So far those are on her phone and I haven't downloaded them yet.

35 Weeks and Counting Down!

The latest plan for Joey's arrival is a C-Section to be performed on Halloween. I want to get some body paint and make up Jenifer's belly like a Jack-O-Lantern, but I haven't convinced her to participate in that one yet. We had another check up today. They will be done each week now until the birth. We are both so very excited. I guess I'll get to dress up like a doctor this year. We also went for a tour of the hospital today. It was neat to see where it will all happen. We even got to see them cleaning up a newborn in the nursery. The visit was very nice all except for one thing. I was shocked at how far you have to walk from the parking garage to Labor and Delivery. I asked about that and they said if it is urgent to pull up to the front and use the valet parking... This country boy isn't happy about the thought of some yo-yo driving his truck! I can't figure why they would make the Labor and Delivery area so difficult to access.... Just imagine a pregnant woman screaming with labor pain arriving at the hospital and having to walk a few hundred yards to get to the check in desk. Bah! In any case... with any luck we will arrive on a schedule and not in a hurry. We still have to pack our last minute bags. Jenifer has a list of ideas of what to pack for the hospital... but if any of you readers out there in internet land want to add your own suggestions, please leave it in a comment. We would love to hear from you.

The Furniture Is Here!

Well, the furniture for Joey's Jungle has finally arrived. The Jungle is almost complete. We still have to get a mattress for the crib, a nice glider and ottoman for Jenifer, and a pad for the changing table. If you go to the link for the photobucket pics of Joey's Jungle you will be able to find the rest of the Jungle pics and also ultrasound pics from 27 and 33 weeks. I would like to say a big huge thank you to all the people who organized the baby showers for us this past weekend. It really is moving to feel all that love from so many great people. We can't wait to introduce you to Joey!!!

No Comments

I was a little dissapointed that I didn't get any comments at all on the questions post... but then I noticed that for some reason there was no link to allow comments on my last two posts... so I have re-posted them and corrected the problem.

Winning the Battle

Little by little I am winning the battle of the nursery. Earlier this week I put up a nicer set of blinds. Today I finished putting up the chair rail. Tomorrow I have to countersink the nail heads and use some white caulk hide the nails and make all the joints and corners look nice and smooth. Then maybe Friday we will put up the border. I have also added some pictures to my photobucket that shows my progress. Once the border is in place and my mess is all cleaned up we will be ready for the furniture which is scheduled to arrive on Sept. 18.

Some Questions I Have Before Joey Comes...

Alright... so I have been trying to study up on things a father needs to know so that I am ready. One of the things I looked up is lullabies because I remember the tunes... but not so much the words. Between the lullabies and the nursery rhymes... I have a few questions about the stuff people sing and read to their kids.

1. Why did anyone ever put a baby in a tree top?
2. Is Bye Baby Bunting a story about child abandonment?
3. If I don't want to fall asleep thinking about itsy bitsy spiders, why would I want that for Joey?
4. Did the 5th little piggy have an incontinence problem?
5. Did Little Jack Horner grow up to be the CEO of Delta?
6. In the Jack and Jill story... why didn't they dig the well at the bottom of the hill?
7. Wouldn't the black sheep's dame have her own wool?
8. Does the Hey diddle diddle rhyme make sense to anyone?
9. My version of Humpty Dumpty involves bacon and toast. (yes I know this isn't a question)
10. Did Jack be nimble spawn a whole generation of extreme athletes?
11. How did Old Mother Hubbard's dog come back from the dead?
12. What did the farmer's wife do with the mouse tails?

I don't remember being scared by these stories, but they all seem to be disturbing material for a baby to hear. I think I am gonna let Elvis sing Joey to sleep instead. That has to be better than stories about playing with fire and carving knives. I welcome comments and advice from experienced parents about what passes for good children's reading material these days. I think I am a bit out of touch.
Until next post...Y'all take care now... ya hear?

Jungle Upgrades

We have made some progress on Joey's Jungle... so I thought I'd share some pics.

The next step will be to put up a chair rail to cover the transition between colors. Jenifer and I ordered the furniture that will go in the Jungle from Babies R Us just yesterday. We still have to order the border that will go on top of the chair rail, some wire shelves for the closet, and a new set of blinds for the window. I have decided to leave the ceiling fan alone for now... but I might pick a nicer one later. We also are thinking about one of those glider rockers and maybe some floor lamps. Then there will be the finishing touches like a monkey light switch cover and wall decorations. Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Getting Stronger

For a while now I have been able to feel the Joey move. Sitting perfectly still trying to perceive the faintest of movements. Jenifer has been disappointed that I can only barely feel it. Well Joey must be getting much stronger because I finally felt him using her belly button for a punching bag. These weren't little love taps either... It felt like he had his little construction hat on and was trying to knock out a wall and make his apartment bigger. What an amazing process this is. It seems to be going by so quickly too. Jenifer is already in her 3rd trimester. I am soooo far behind on the projects that I must complete before Joey arrives, that I am gonna have to start the sleep deprivation early to get them all done. I am excited about jumping in to the nursery work. We have a plan and will be photographing our progress as we work on that project. I finally moved the last big piece of furniture out of the room that is to become the nursery. It was the treadmill. I moved it next door to the other spare room. I gotta tell you, that is the best workout that treadmill has given me in a while. The next step is getting pics of the starting point and then using the blue tape and plastic to protect the things I don't want to paint. That is what is on my plate tonight when I get home from work. I hope none of this sounds like complaining... I am so incredibly happy right now I'm gonna change my address to cloud 9!
That's all for now... I'll post pics soon.

Expecting Joey

When I found out I was pregnant in late February I was overjoyed. I've been marking off the weeks and days as time passes bringing us closer to meeting you our son. All the milestones that have passed while being pregnant so far have been so special to me and your daddy; seeing then hearing your heartbeat in early ultrasounds, marking off the first trimester, showing a baby bump which has grown into a baby belly, seeing you kicking and moving inside me during the ultrasound at 19 weeks, feeling you grow even stronger and moving and kicking inside my belly.

I loved you from the moment I knew I was carrying you, but my heart has grown in size and fondness for you as you've continued to grow. When I first started feeling you move inside me I was so happy and it made me feel so protective of you too, a little selfish as well. I can't wait to hold you but feeling you move made me not want to share. I can't imagine once your here being apart for even a minute, I'm sure there will come a time when we will be apart, briefly at first, but lets not rush that, I feel like I've waited for you for so long I don't want to let you go too soon.

I know that there are so many people besides me and your daddy that are anxious to meet you and love you too. You've got two sets of grandparents, a great grandmother, four aunts, 1 uncle, and so many cousins and friends all anxiously waiting to meet you.

Some funny things you might want to know, early on while I was pregnant with you I craved tomatoes, everything tomato from sliced to marinara to soup to ketchup. I think the first candy I had while pregnant with you that got your attention was Reese's Pieces I had some at a movie, you moved around a lot after I ate those candies. I think you might like apple juice a lot, I like apple juice, but I've never wanted to drink it so much as I do lately. I'm not sure how you'll feel about chicken while pregnant with you I've gone through phases where I just can't eat chicken, its just not appealing. I have enjoyed pickles so much more and that has been consistent the whole time I've been pregnant, but no not with ice cream (you'll understand that joke later baby.) The most unusual thing I think there is about liking pickles right now is that if they are dill or sour pickles and sort of warm that makes them even better. Your Aunt Christie introduced us to new sweet slightly spicy hot pickles too called Wickles and they are very good too. The first toy I just had to buy you was a sock monkey, your daddy and I picked out a theme for your room that includes monkeys, zebras, lions and giraffes. I really like monkey's though, go figure I was born in the Chinese calendar year of the monkey, anyway I hope you'll like monkeys too because I think you'll wind up with a few.

Soon daddy and I will get another glimpse of how you have grown, we have another ultrasound next week, the next mile marker after that is the end of the second trimester. Every day brings us closer to your birth day, I'd say I can't wait but I will wait till its the right time. Until then I'll be busy making a special place for you here at home.

Love you baby Joey, mommy.

Welcome to Joey's Jungle!

Hello all,
This is a place for friends and family to follow the adventures of Joey. I'll start it off by giving a little back ground. Jenifer and I got married on August 16th of 1996. I was in the Navy and after the wedding she moved to Georgia with me. We decided at first to wait to try for children... but the closer to getting out of the Navy I got the more we wanted to start our family. I got out of the Navy in Fall of 1999 and we moved to the Atlanta area. In 2005 I took a job in Florida and we moved to Lakeland where we live today. The road to pregnancy for us was long and not as easy as we had hoped... but here we are in the hot Southern Summer of 2008 expecting our son Joseph Warren to be born November 4th. Our family and friends are spread all over this great country of ours so Jenifer and I figured we would write updates about Joey here for all to read. We hope you enjoy his story... and we'll try to keep it limited to the interesting stuff!!! (by the way I am judging what is interesting by what I think my mom will want to read)