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.

New Wheels

Joey got some new wheels on Tuesday. Jenifer and I went for a date at the Mellow Mushroom in Brandon and then some shopping at Babies R Us. The two latest additions to Joey's stuff are the stroller shown above, and a high chair that straps to the top of a regular chair (it reclines too). Now Joey can be more comfortable in the kitchen with Jenifer when she is baking and he can see where we are going when we go on walks. This stroller is collapsible and will be much easier to travel with when we attend Emily's wedding out on the left coast in May (Emily is our niece). Joey is growing like kudzu. Very soon he will need a forward facing car seat. It's hard to believe he's almost 4 months old. Joey's new favorite thing is a toy that hangs in front of him when he is in his bouncy seat. When he pulls on one part it plays the notes from the song "Sailing, Sailing". He loves being able to be in control of something. He has also discovered his thumb and so far prefers it to his pacifier simply because it's easier for him to put it into his own mouth. He does this at 4am instead of waking up... which can be nice. I wonder how long it will take us to break him of this habit. Jenifer and I are looking forward to first foods... I expect the doctor will tell us soon to start him on rice cereal. Watching his reactions to different foods will be lots of fun. Finding out how far he can throw smashed peas might not be fun though.

Baby it's Cold Outside!

Hi there Jungle viewers. Just an update to let you all know that things are going well here in Florida. Jenifer, Joey and I are not used to all this cold weather... it has actually been below freezing for a few hours a day these past two days. The few days a year that I can't wear shorts really bum me out. I have at least 5 Winter coats in the closet and if I wear a different one every cold day that we have... I might get some use out of all of them this year. I have enjoyed all this off time lately. This time of year is always slow for overtime at work. Less OT means more family time. This week we are looking forward to some warmer weather for a picnic and maybe some nice walks around the lake. One of the other advantages of living in Florida is that when everyone's birds fly south for the Winter... a lot of them end up here. Our walks around the lake always yield some fantastic scenery. I look forward to the day when Joey starts to enjoy the scenery and starts asking questions.
For those of you who don't already know. Fightingtown Creek flows through the campsite up in Caches Valley GA. where I grew up camping. That is where I look forward to teaching Joey about camping someday too. I can't wait to share things like that with him. We used to spend hours building a dam to raise the creek level then we would swing on a rope out over the creek and try to drop our behinds right in the center of a big inner tube. Success required both skill and luck. It was also important to make sure the valve was NOT pointed up!!!
Joey is doing very well. He is so well behaved. He only complains when he's hungry. The rest of the time he seems to be investigating the things around him. You can see from some of the recently uploaded pictures that he is really getting good at holding his head up and grasping toys. My favorite thing of all though is his smile. When he looks right at me and I know that his smile is for me and not because he's passing gas... That is an amazing feeling.
Of course he still smiles when he toots... but who doesn't?
Y'all take care and thanks for stopping by.

Guess What Mommy Did!

Today mommy, daddy and I went out for the afternoon. We did a little shopping at Target, had lunch at Louis Pappas, hit the sale at Bath & Body then finished up with coffee and buying books at Books-A-Million!

Mommy has been enjoying my new book case next to her glider, so she decided to add more books to it. Today she got me three Seuss books; Fox in Socks, The Lorax and The Sneetches: & Other Stories plus three non-Seuss books; Time For Bed by Mem Fox Illus. by Jane Dyer, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and How Do I Love You? by Marion Dane Bauer Illus. by Caroline Jayne Church. I love my books so far and I'm sure I'll enjoy these new ones.

I love to look at the pictures while I'm being read to. When mommy reads to me she will sit in her glider, put the Boppy at her waist then sit me on it with my back to her. It is comfortable and sitting like this I can see the pictures while she reads to me.


My Aunt Christie is a fan of books and she hoped mommy or daddy would find a way to keep a list of my books so she would know what I have already. Well on our way home from Georgia on our last trip mommy was reading Redbook magazine. She saw a story about a new web site called listography.com so she checked it out and began keeping all sorts of lists there. There are three lists about books one list of all my books, one of mommy's books from childhood & beyond and one of daddy's books from childhood & beyond. There is also a list of movies that mommy and daddy have collected while they were married that eventually I will get to watch (when it's appropriate.) Mommy also started a list about places she wants me to see during my life, her list for me reflects places she's grown up around or visited during her life and maybe a few places she hasn't been to but wants to see eventually. Daddy will make a list of places he wants me to see also, I know he has a whole bunch of places he wants me to see. Anyway Aunt Christie thought this new web site was "very cool." She is happy now she can keep up with "my library." If you want to you can read the lists too. Just look for the link on the right side of the page a little ways down its under the title "My Links" just click on the words "My Library" that will take you to the site.


Well thanks for visiting my blog,
Joey