Happy St. Patrick's Day

We wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Rocking and Rolling

Joey Rolled Over!

Monday March 9th Joey crossed his legs arched his back and rolled over from laying on his back to laying on his stomach as you see here.

Joey was playing on the floor on his blanket for a while. He had a toy on the floor with him and he was chasing it around the blanket. He would get hold of the toy play with it drop it wiggle around too far to reach it then wiggle back within reach of it again. Along with playing with the toy when Joey worked his way to the edge of the blanket he would turn onto his side grab the satin bound edge of the blanket and either suck on it or rub the silky cloth on his face. (I understand it, I did that when I was little too.) Well after several times of working his way to the edge and enjoying the silky fabric he just turned to his side and kept on going. It took effort it wasn't an accident.

This whole time I was on the floor next to him talking on the phone with my sister. I was stunned for a moment when Joey rolled over. Once I had a chance to take in what had just happened I told my sister what Joey was doing. Next I jumped up and got my camera to commemorate the moment with a photo. Joey was happy, he did not fuss a bit about being on his tummy. Tummy time is not Joey's favorite thing but being in control and putting himself there seemed to sit well with him tonight.

What fun it is marking progress, we're so glad we could share this news with you.

Beware of Baby

Don't be deceived by this baby's cuteness, he pinches.

All jokes aside, Joey has learned to pinch and he is quite good at it. I seriously need to trim his nails every three days especially since he's learned this latest trick. Joey is fascinating to observe from day to day, he takes in so much of what goes on around him and he picks up on how things work so quickly it amazes me.

I put up one of Joey's crib toys in the last week. It looks like an aquarium, it lights up and plays music when you press a button. I've shown Joey what it does, at that time he didn't seem at all interested. Since then I have laid Joey down in his crib with his head near the toy pressed the button so it would play for him while I left the room for a moment. Upon returning I was surprised to find that Joey had wiggled and scooted around to where he had his feet towards the toy and he was kicking it, pressing the button in doing so. I didn't realize right away when I returned what was going on because the toy was off. I pushed the button to make the music play and when I did Joey kicked it shutting it back off. We went back and forth like that for a minute, it became a game. I stopped pressing the button but Joey kept on kicking it turning it off and on repeatedly, he was so pleased. I really think Joey enjoys toys that he can control, he enjoys a little octopus toy that you pull a teether style toy and it plays a short verse of music and now the crib toy seems a good fit too.

Joey is growing so quickly and learning so much. He is fascinated by his toes. Joey is not quite sitting on his own yet but he is getting closer every day. He wants to be able to do this though so we will hold him in a sitting position, with his interest in his toes though I frequently have to stop him from leaning to far forward if I didn't he'd topple over.

Joey is also becoming increasingly vocal. He makes all sorts of sounds and he's beginning to make strange faces while he's talking which is beginning to change the sounds he makes. I hear all sorts of things forming in his language. Several days in a row now I've heard him repeat back sounds to me. In the evening when we're winding down I'll cradle him in my arms and we stare at each other. I will tell him "I love you" and he will repeat the sounds ah uh oo. It is just the sweetest sound ever. This evening while getting him ready for bed I heard a more distinct mmm sound I nearly jumped when he did it I thought he was going to say mama.

I talk to Joey all the time. I'm trying to not baby talk him too much since I've read that its better for his vocabulary in the long run not to baby talk to him too much. But I do repeat key sounds to him that I think will help him observe the sound and how they are formed. I frequently repeat the sounds ma ma ma ma, da da da da and ba ba ba ba. I do lessen the gap now and then creating the words mama, dada and baba. Till Joey is ready though Jamie and I will be listening intently when he speaks anxiously awaiting his first words.

Jump! Jump!

I put up Joey's jumper this past week. The first day I put him in it he didn't really seem to know what to do but his second time in the jumper he really began to have some fun.

Joey really seems to enjoy the jumper now which makes me so very happy. I had a jumper when I was a baby. I know I enjoyed it very much and I wanted my child to enjoy a jumper also. I think I have memories of spending time in my jumper (it's possible I'm remembering it because I saw pictures of myself in it as I grew up but I honestly believe I remember my jumper.)

It is so much fun to watch Joey play. Joey has such strong legs, with this he can bounce around turning this way and that. Monday night he spent a while jumping while I fixed dinner. He was so content, looking at the little hanging animals on the straps and then leaning in to investigate the strap material itself.

Joey seems to be gaining more awareness of his surroundings all the time. He has been enjoying feeling different fabrics and textures. Tonight he thoroughly checked out the nylon strap on the jumper, the smooth plastic tray and then before bed he spent a couple minutes studying/stroking the cloth on the love seat.

In other noteworthy news Joey turned onto his side for the first time this week. I laid him down for a nap and he grabbed a handful of his fuzzy soft blanket and turned onto his side. I have not seen him do this before but it was rather cute. He slept like that for a while, I kept checking in on him quietly to see if he would move again or shudder... roll over. If I missed that, oh I hate to think. I don't want to miss a single "first."

M I C K E Y M O U S E !

One of the benefits of living in Sunny Florida is being so close to the happiest place on earth. Joey is much too young to appreciate what Disney is all about yet, but he does get wide eyed at every chance for a new experience. Jenifer and I decided to go to Downtown Disney yesterday for Joey's first Disney exposure. He thoroughly enjoyed his stroller ride through the stores and looking at all the toys. He was quite the celebrity with the cast members. Joey is quick to smile and slow to cry and everyone always comments on how good he is. We have yet to expose him to the Lego store... but believe me that is coming! We ended up getting him a baby Mickey Mouse collectors pin and a Mickey Mouse ring stacker toy and of course his first set of ears. Jenifer and I are both looking forward to more Disney adventures with Joey. It is so much fun to witness his journey of discovery of every little thing that is new to him. With his blog and nursery theme being Joey's Jungle, we will have lots of fun taking him to Disney's Animal Kingdom! Question for those of you who have already been down this path with your own children... How old do you think Joey should be before we will get our money's worth out of annual passes?
Until the next blog-worthy adventure, I wish you all health, wealth, and happiness!
Thanks for stopping by.

First Foods!

Joey went for his 4 month check up on Tuesday, February 3rd. His latest stats are: 17 lbs, 13 oz. 25 3/4 inches long. What a big boy! The doctor told us we could now start Joey on first foods. Rice cereal comes first because it is easy to digest and will help him get used to the feel of food. The picture above is of Joey's reaction to his first rice cereal. Once he gets the hang of eating, we will try other new foods. Jenifer and I plan to try only one new thing each week to help us isolate any foods that don't agree with our little man.
Joey has been sleeping very good lately. 11-12 hours of good solid sleeping at night sure makes for a hungry boy in the morning. The doctor also encouraged us to get Joey sleeping in his own room as soon as possible. I think, however, that Jenifer and I aren't quite ready for that. He isn't causing us any problems sleeping in his bassinet next to Jenifer, and we kind of like hearing the little noises he makes in his sleep. Joey is making progress toward rolling over, but he definitely isn't a big fan of tummy time. 5 minutes and he's all done with that. Those are the latest goings on in the Jungle... We'll keep you posted as news develops.
Thanks for stopping in.