New photos!

Thursday night, eating spaghetti for the first time. He wasn't impressed at first, but we persisted and he ended up eating quite a bit. He got plenty on himself!





Okay, so I tried to have a photo-shoot in the leaves Friday... was NOT successful at all. This one (the white blob off to the left is Tobey) is probably one of the better ones because he doesn't look horrified and is not crying.




Here's the horrified look. Can you see how cute it would have been if he wasn't being a cranky-pants?





So I tried to lay him in the leaves. He didn't like that much either, as you can see.

Almost one!

Josh is almost one now--just a couple of weeks to go! I think his party will be more of a celebration for me and Dave. "Yay, we made it through a year!!"

There have been noticeable changes to his attitude lately. Most of the time he is the most delightful, charming little guy ever, but at the flip of a switch he can get very upset. Tonight the switch flipped when he didn't get Cheerios for dinner (yep, he did end up eating mostly Cheerios and applesauce after many attempts at more nutritious foods...). Then he flipped back to charming and delightful we he knew it was bedtime--he was very happy to manage his way upstairs to play before bed.

That leads me into his physical accomplishments of late. He has completely mastered going up the stairs (don't worry, he's always completely supervised). Usually he laughs the whole way up. Tonight I was sitting on the floor and he was standing, propping himself up by holding on to my shoulder when he pushed off and was standing in the middle of his room. He stood for a moment without holding on to anything, which he's done before, so it's not miraculous, however, he turned and kinda stepped/leaned into Tobey, who was right there (that part is the new feat). Tobey thought Josh was trying to scratch his bum and kinda pushed back towards Josh. Josh fell on the floor, laughed, got up, and repeated the sequence a couple more times. Too funny!

AND he has verbal accomplishments too!!! Last night, Dave put Josh's bib on, which had a truck on it. Dave said "vroom" and Josh reciprocated "vroom" Dave and I were exclaiming about this when Josh said "Dada" very clearly. He usually says "dadadadadadada" in a mumbly way. Really, most of what he says is a mumble. It sounds like he's made up his own language. Too cute. Once in a while, things that sound like English words come out, and that's what we try to focus on and encourage.

This past weekend was quite busy. Friday I worked from home in the morning, then Josh and I visited Grammy, who was home on her last day of vacation. Friday night we visited with Adam and Jill and Peter. Saturday was Nana's burial. Saturday afternoon we visited with Melissa and crew. Saturday evening I went to Lori's Freedom Party. Sunday I cleaned, grocery-shopped and cooked.

Big weekend this weekend (and the next few weekends, actually). Sadly, it's Tuesday, and I'm already nervous about how I'm going to get everything done that I need to, much less the things I'd like to! On Saturday, Mom and I are going to do some early Christmas shopping (come on, it's only 2 months away) in Kittery. Shop til you drop! I've got to make sure I get some things for Josh's birthday party!!!!!!!

Melissa worked on my hair last night. We're going to do another layer of color over what she did last night, then it will be perfect and I will post a pic. I also need to download random pics of Josh I've taken this month, though I will admit, there are not many. And there are no "photo shoots" like I like to do with him. I really wanted to do one in the leaves but I think they may be a little too crumbly and brown at this point.... we'll see, maybe Friday??

Memories

I've learned a lot since the loss of my Nana and I've feeling a bit introspective, so give me a moment here. When you lose someone that you love, someone that is such a big part of who you, how you became the person you are, is very difficult. I feel like I've been through this a couple times now, and it doesn't get easier but the processing of accepting what has happened comes faster. I've come to realize that time is so precious because you never know how much time you have to share with your family and extended family and friends. You must savor those moments because you never know when if that hug or "love you" will be the last one.

Here's some things that I want to make sure that Josh knows about Nana:
*She loved her family more than anything.
*Excellent cook--especially rolls and bread
*Crafty, skilled knitter and did ceramics too
*Loved photos--always had one of those disposable cameras with her
*Thoughtful, always knew the right things to say
*Proud of the family she raised: her children & grandchildren & (though she was just getting to know them, she was proud to have great-grandchildren)
*Supportive, though she'd share her opinion
*Worked hard to make Christmas special every year

I love this picture--Dad had it on his blog. It's so typical of a family get-together with my parents house. Ladies hanging out in the kitchen, men in the living room watching golf. It's silly I suppose since neither Josh or Nana is looking at the camera and the kitchen isn't perfectly straightened up, but it feels warm and homey to me, typical of a Sunday afternoon. I'm upset that those gatherings will never be the same, yet want to make sure that their new versions happen often to make new fond family memories for Josh.

Eleven months

This is the day we've all been dreading since Sunday, but it is here so I thought I'd send some cheer. Here's Josh this morning eating O's and last night in the tub.

Farewell, Nana

Josh's Great Nana, my Nana, passed away today completely unexpectedly. I still don't believe it. I saw her two weeks ago as we celebrated my Great Grandmother's (Gigi's) 86th birthday. I am thankful that Josh got to spend nearly 11 months with his Great Grandma and regret that he will never know her as the wonderful person that I did.

It's been a while...

...a quick update...

Wow, I just realized that it's been almost two weeks since I've posted! Things are constantly in motion here. Josh has two new teeth on top, bringing the total to four. He's been more experimental with food. We've been trying to get him to eat what we eat, which is a work in progress. He now takes a 6-ounce bottle instead of a 4-ounce. He LOVES to eat apples. He's been expressing his wants more and more, and he'll let us know if he's not getting something he wants. It leads to a mini baby tantrum, which is kinda cute at this age, but I fear will get old fast. We've been trying not to give in to his every whim, which I know is the right thing to do, but not always the easiest thing to do. Last weekend, Josh spent the night Saturday night with Grammy Ri and Grandpa Padre--his first overnight without Mom or Dad. He did fine. It was harder on Dave and me than on Josh. Josh also has a word: car. He's says it in an old-time-Mainer type of way: "caaa" but he says it when a car goes by our house, so I know he is putting two and two together. Sometimes he says "caaa caaa caaa caaa caaa" So cute! I'll see if I can get some video this weekend. His other love of the moment is a toothbrush. I think he likes the feeling on his gums.

More to come....