Bits & Pieces

Just a few thoughts I thought of while trying to put Josey to bed the last few nights. Since her ear surgery, Josey says WAY more sounds, walks better, and is happier than ever. I had a comment from a college friend of my sister about trying the chiropractor first but didn't see it until we had already done the surgery. I wish we could have tried that but nothing we can do now. So far the surgery has been a success.

Josey learned how to shrug her shoulders this past week. She does it when you ask her a question and most of the time just randomly :) She thinks she is quite funny when she does it too. She's smart enough to know when she is being funny and people are laughing at her. We have quite the comedian on our hands.

I dropped Josey off at daycare yesterday and one of the girls that watch in her room told me how they had lost Josey one day. She told me how she checked under the cribs b/c she likes to hide under them. She checked behind the door and still no Josey. She turned around and looked at the toy bin....low and behold there was a little girl who had tucked herself inside one of the bins (legs and all) smiling at her. It doesn't surprise me b/c she is always trying to squeeze into tight spaces.

Josey has a grand total of 7 teeth. She is working on one more on the bottom.

The latest thing Josey has learned all by herself is to make a surprised face. She makes this face to anything. She raises her eyebrows, makes her eyes big, drops her jaw making a perfect little O with her mouth, and making the "OOOHHH" sound. You can't help but laugh at her.

Josey is quite the little hugger. When she gives you the little tight neck squeeze and makes a sweet, soft "aaaahh", your heart just melts. For some of you, you know Brian isn't much of a morning person. Two days ago, Brian came out of the bedroom and Josey and I were up in the living room. As he was walking to the kitchen, Josey went running to him with her arms thrown up wanting to be picked up and chanting "dada". He picked her up and she gave him the biggest neck squeeze. His face lite up. You can't help but smile :)

New obsession...the deer head in our living room. Josey will stand in the middle of the living room babbling and holding her hand up towards the deer head. She stares at it all the time. When we raise her up by it she bends her back to get away from it. Apparently she only likes it from a distance :)

Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you all about our new neighborhood watch. The downfall is she doesn't talk. Josey thinks it is her business to keep an eye on the neighborhood. Our loveseat is in front of our living room window so it is perfect for her to see out. Josey rests her chin on the back of the loveseat and then whispers. She does it many times a day. You know if there is a dog in sight b/c she is in love with all dogs. "Doh" is her word for dog.

Christmas & Swimming

Merry Christmas to All! Yes, I know it is late but somehow time slipped away from me. Christmas Eve was bad weather so we went to my mom & dad's house early to celebrate. Josey loved ripping the wrapping paper off her gifts! She was the perfect age to get opening gifts. She did get sick of sitting still. Christmas Day, we celebrated Christmas as a family. Josey loved all her gifts. Here is a picture of Josey with everything she got: magnetic alphabet, magnetic barn with animals, tutu pajamas, 2009 official coin set (ok so maybe she wasn't ecstatic about this), doll stroller, and babydoll. This is Josey sitting on her trampoline she got from Grandma & Grandpa. She figured this out right away and LOVES to jump on it. I had to remove the big down blanket around it b/c she wouldn't jump with it there. What a turkey! She has quite the personality.

Josey & her babydoll, Ruby. She carries her doll everywhere. She give her hugs, kisses, and pats on the back all the time. You'll have to watch the video at the end of this entry b/c it shows you how much she absolutely loves dolls! I was never a doll person growing up but I am so glad she enjoys them. Josey's face lights up every time you show her Ruby.

I forgot to mention that Ruby came with a pacifier which is supposed to be velcroed (sp?) to her wrist. Let's just say that Josey has it more than Ruby :) She's constantly chewing on the paci. Doesn't surprise me though, we are working on getting two more teeth in on the bottom!

We decided to try spaghetti. Brian doesn't care for spaghetti so Josey and I had a little the other day. One of our neighbors gave us a jar of homemade sauce for Christmas. It was excellent so I think I'll just have to ask his recipe :) Josey loved it and you can tell from the picture!

Brian had a great idea on Saturday to go swimming at the local hotel here in Kasson. We were going to go on Saturday but when I got to the hotel there were quite a few people in the pool so we postponed our trip. We found out that checkout time was 11am so we decided to go after that hoping most people would be gone. There were quite a few adults in the hottub but only 3 older kids in the swimming pool. Let me tell you...I was surprised at how cool the pool was when we got in. Josey was shivering at first. I don't remember them being that cold when I was a kid but maybe I just didn't care :) Josey wasn't too keen on the idea of swimming when we got into the water but warmed up to the idea quickly. Here's a picture of Josey in her blowup boat we had for her. She loved to lean over the side and splash in the water. Brian played motorboat with her several times and she loved every minute of it.

Here's Josey waiting for Brian to get her toy blown up so we could go into the pool. Isn't her little butt the cutest?!?! You can't see it but on the front of her suit are bigger flowers that match the ones on her butt. Believe it or not, some lady still called her a little boy! Seriously people!

Josey swimming without her floatie toy. She wasn't too sure what to think when we wasn't in her floatie toy. She did start to kick her legs when we were swimming. We definitely had a blast. I'm so glad that my husband isn't embarrassed to spend family time/play with his daughter out in public.

Here's the video of Josey getting to hold her babydoll for the first time after we got it out of the box. Tell me this doesn't just melt your heart :)

May you all have a very safe and happy New Year! Ours will be very quiet since I have to work both New Years Eve & Day.

2nd Playdate: Pipsqueaks

All of us girls met again to let our little tykes run off some energy. We decided to try out a kids gym in Rochester called Pipsqueaks. It was great! So to refresh your memory, it is a group of four of us girls that work on the cardiac surgery ICU with our 4 girls ranging from 10 1/2 months to almost 18 months. Josey does so well with all the bigger kids running around playing. She stays right with them. Quite a few little girls tried to be Josey's little mother but she wasn't much for help :) This first picture shows how excited Josey was to be at the gym. Action shot....Josey as she is screeching and running across the room in excitement! Numerous times she would just run across the room chattering/screeching.

One of Josey's favorite toys at the gym. This cozy coupe had a walkie talkie in it and she loved to play with it. She doesn't know it but one is headed here by FedEx for her birthday!!!!

Eliana trying to help Josey...I think she's inspecting to make sure Josey is wearing her seatbelt :) Josey absolutely loved these cars. She was screaming and crying when I took her out of them.

This was my very first picture I took of Josey at the gym. She was crawling through a big tube with holes in the sides. She's a riot!

This video is of Josey opening her first Christmas gifts! There was a miscommunication with daycare and they thought she was going to be there when Santa was visiting. Oops! They still gave her her present which was a CareBear coloring book. She didn't do as well with ripping of the wrapping paper on this gift but she did a bang up job on her cousin Tate's gift. I had all the gifts wrapped and in the entryway to be shipped to Georgia. She didn't touch anyone else's gifts but Tate's and when crazy ripping when I yelled at her to stop. Goofball...I had to do a little patching of the wrapping paper. At least Tate isn't old enough to know we sent him such a poorly wrapped gift :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Here are some photos Brian took to show everyone in Georgia our Christmas snow here. Most of his photos are on the move so they aren't the greatest but I think you have an idea of the amount of snow we got from our storm. We lucked out and will have a white Christmas this year :) I love it!

Brian was having some fun with Josey at the Children's Place clothing store. He was trying all kinds of hats on her. They don't stay on long so we had to snap the photos quick :) This hat is (as Brian said) her lunch lady hat.

This one seems extremely fitting :)

This was the very first hat Brian put on her. It was so adorable!

We took Josey to the mall to see Santa. We timed it just right b/c there were only 3 people in front of us. We walked by the spot a little later and the line was extremely long. Not sure how we lucked out but we did! Josey didn't mind Santa at all. She just looked at him and then at us like we had lost our minds. The cat had her tongue and she wasn't able to tell him what she wanted for Christmas. She even got a book from Santa before we left.

Sorry folks, I don't know how to turn the video. I thought you'd enjoy seeing Josey playing with the bells off the Christmas tree. She thought they were the greatest!

Snow Play & House of Bounce

As the whole country is aware, Minnesota is having a winter storm/blizzard. According to the weather, the storm hasn't even truly gotten here. I thought I would take advantage of a perfectly untouched snowfall for Josey's pictures but of course my footsteps are all around her :) She really didn't know what to think about the "white stuff." Brian had taken her out and let her touch it earlier. Josey just sat wherever I sat her but did lean over and try to stick her face in it. Her father hates this snowsuit but I think it is absolutely adorable! You can't dress them up like this when they are older so I have to do it now :)

Last week, we had a playdate with 3 of my co-workers and their little girls. We met at the House of Bounce in Rochester which for those of you that don't know it is a place with a bunch of blowup bouncy things with a few obstacle courses and slides. The best part of going there? They have a specific "toddler time" in the mornings so you don't have to worry about big kids running around. Josey had a great time. As usual, she was ecstatic that there were other kids. Josey really started to get the bouncing thing and loved the obstacle courses. Here are a couple of photos from our outting.

Climbing up the ladder to the slide.Crawling down a tube on an obstacle course. I think if you're a big kid, you are supposed to run through the big tube arms above her head but her and I crawled our way through it :)Attempting to get a group photo which we knew it probably wouldn't happen but this picture is priceless. From left to right: Avalynn, Calla, Josey, Elianna. Josey was so tuckered out from her playdate that she fell asleep while she was eating puffs. If you notice, she still has her hand stuck in her snack cup :) She played her heart out!

Surgery & New Chair

Josey loves to sit in things recently. She's really good at clearing out a spot in her toy bin for herself. This is what she did this day I took this picture. Some reason she has a fetish about sitting in things. Just like when she tries to sit in her hippo walking toy which is not big enough for her and she gets stuck...just like she just did as I was typing this :) I love all her energy! Friday: we went and saw ENT for Josey since she's had so many ear infections since July. The doctor took a look into one ear, frowned, and said, "When was her last ear infection?" I replied, "We just finished the antibiotic on Monday." The doctor proceeded to look in the other ear and told us she had a ton of fluid in her ears. My poor baby! I figured she did since she keeps digging in her ears cutting them up. She said she was definitely a canidate for tubes. Luckily, we got into surgery Monday! Josey did extremely well. She couldn't eat 6 hours before surgery so she only ate right before she went to bed, 7:30pm. She didn't get to eat or drink anything until 9am. She went right to the nurse that took her back for surgery. The procedure took 10 minutes and once they brought her back into the recovery area we got to go see her. Being a nurse, I know how people wake up from anesthesia but it still didn't help. I started crying when I saw her crying crocodile tears fighting the nurses around her trying to get her hooked up to the monitor. I got to pick her up and she snuggled right into me and fell asleep. By the time we left, she was back to herself: talking up a storm, jumping around, headbanging while bouncing on the bed. This picture is of our little patient with her treats she got from the nurses. They gave her a homemade surgical hat for her with duckies on it and a fleece stuffed pillow of a cat's head. The nurse gave her the pillow and she hugged it and squealed. A couple of nurses commented that they had never seen anyone react the way she did :)

We got Josey a little foam chair with Tinkerbell on it for surgery. We knew she liked these kinds of chairs b/c her cousins, Landen & Mason, had them at their house and she played in one of theirs for a half hour. I need to catch her reaction to something she likes b/c she squeals, pats on it, and usually hugs it if she can.

She's such a big girl!

Okay, here's a good video of Josey walking. She takes more than two steps and falls down :) Notice that she even is good at turning and going around things. She will even turn all the way around sometimes. She took off running the other night when Brian went into the kitchen. It was quite amusing. It doesn't scare her one bit b/c she runs whenever her heart desires. Enjoy!

New Adventures & New Shoes

Aren't these shoes just the cutest?! Josey had been taking a few steps at time but would get nervous and sit down. I thought just maybe that getting real shoes (not her soft soled ones) might be the confidence booster she needed. I was right. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find shoes She doesn't mind wearing her shoes. She even does quite a bit of walking when she isn't wearing her shoes. Another push to walk was daycare moving her up into the older infant room where all the kids are mobile and almost all of them are walking. They couldn't believe at daycare how she quickly went from just walking around holding onto things to taking off around the room by herself. 9 months was the start of our walking. Josey has now decided that she needs to climb up onto anything possible. She loves to climb on the entertainment center and the bookshelves. I also had a decorative ladder downstair which her father forgot about and she was on the second rung before he caught her. She even attempts to climb up on the furniture. If there is a toy near the furniture, she'll try to step on it to get on top of the couch or chair.

This is a picture of Josey trying to walk outside. Believe it or not but this picture was here at the end of November. The weather has been exceptionally nice so we've been able to go outside a little more than normal. She's even been able to swing on her swingset a few times which she absolutely LOVES to do! I just love her little stocking hat. She's so darn cute in it!

This is Josey wearing her Christmas dress. I was trying to get a few pictures of her by the Christmas tree for cards but she wasn't into cooperating much. :) I'm hoping to have some professional pictures taken soon so hopefully we'll have decent pictures of her in her little dress. She's such a little model!

Here are a couple of videos for you all to enjoy:

Josey walking. It goes quickly so pay attention. She will walk around like crazy but when I want to take a video of her then she keeps falling. Figures! She's walking even more since I took this video. She has excellent balance and is able to turn around sometimes.

Josey loves her bathtime. She let all of the water out of the tub b/c she was playing with the drain so I was filling up the tub again. I was laughing b/c Josey kept trying to grab/pinch the water coming out of the faucet. She couldn't figure out why it wasn't working.

Frustrated

As many of you know, we've been battling ear infections since July with Josey. Most the time she has double ear infections. We were at the doctor on Thursday at 3pm and the doctor said her ears were clear. Oct 29th, Josey went to the doctor and had double ear infection and was put on amoxicillin. Just over 2 weeks, she has a right ear infection! It came up in less than a day and a half!!! I feel absolutely awful about it all. There is a light at the end of the tunnel b/c we are seeing ENT on the 27th to discuss tubes. I know they might not recommend them or the tubes might not even be our saving grace but it's worth a shot. I mean she's on the 4th or 5th antibiotic since this all started. It can't be good to keep giving her antibiotics. The antibiotic that Josey's on this time is giving her one hellacious butt rash. She screams anytime you lay her down to change her b/c she knows what is coming. She doesn't even like when you put cream on her bottom.

Josey also has a bad case of eczema. We've been putting hydrocortisone cream with a ton of lotion on her before we dress her. It is looking a little better but not much. The doctor said eczema puts her at a higher risk for asthma and seasonal allergies. She also said she isn't surprised with my history of both and Brian also has season allergies. I was a little broken hearted when she told me that information. I guess I was just praying Josey would not have to deal with them; only time will tell.

Enough gripping for today. After reading my sister's blog I figure I better put something in here I'm thankful for today. I'm extremely thankful for my family and having a job during this bad economy.

Flashback: Josey 2 weeks old

Georgia Trip

Josey and I ventured down to Georgia on Halloween sadly without Dad. I was extremely nervous flying by myself with Josey but we met nice people willing to help us along the way. Coming back was a different story...help wasn't in people's vocabulary in Atlanta. We had a very enjoyable trip visiting with family and friends. It was a long week for Josey since she was teething trying to get her top two front teeth. Aunt Christie and Granny picked us up at the airport. Josey was entertaining us all by giggling almost the whole trip down to Tifton. Here's the first picture of our trip. Josey just woke up from a nap. It was a long day since I woke her up at 4am to head to the airport. It must not have been all bad because she was still able to give me a smile. How do you not just LOVE that face ?!

The first night we were there was Halloween so we went trick-o-treating with Uncle Randy, Aunt Cassidy, and cousins Taylor & Tate. Josey wore her costume like a champ. She was a little bothered by the wings but quickly forgot about them as soon as she saw kids running around the neighborhood. She LOVED trick-o-treating! She was clapping, jumping in my arms, and screeching almost the whole time we were out and about. Not one costume scared her and trust me there were some freaky looking ones :) Josey was a fairy which just by chance her costume was Georgia Bulldog colors.

Here is a picture of all the kids before we headed out trick-o-treating. If I remember right, Tate made it a whole 2 houses before he crashed :) It was just too much excitement for the little guy. In the picture is McKenzie (Butterfly, a friend of Randy & Cassidy's child), Josey, Taylor (Hannah Montana), and Tate (Giraffe). They were too cute!

Josey hanging out with Randy because it started to sprinkle pretty good while we were trick-o-treating.

So I didn't realize that I was depriving my daughter of a baby doll! Granny Gloria had one and so did Nellie Dean (Monty's mom). She would go crazy over them. When she'd get the baby doll, she'd hug them and kiss them squealing the whole time. This picture is her trying to suck on the paci that came with Granny's doll. Notice the cute little jammies :) She even had a pumpkin hat to complete the outfit.

This was the day we were leaving and Josey was helping me pack. Somehow she was doing a better job taking stuff out of the bag than putting it in the bag. We didn't have a scale to weigh my bag before taking it to the airport but believe it or not I was so good it weighed EXACTLY 50.0 lbs. Woohoo! Sadly, these about half the pictures I have from Georgia b/c my camera decided to die the second day I was there and I couldn't find a charger for my battery right away. I was extremely disappointed but that's my luck.

Play date with Ethan

My best friend, Annie, had to take her little boy Ethan to the doctor the other day for ear infection so they stopped over afterwards. Ethan is 3 months younger then Josey and not quite crawling yet. He was a little intimidated by Josey cruising all around him. This picture is of Josey showing Ethan how she can sit in her hippo. She got stuck and couldn't get out :) Goofball!
Here's a picture of how Ethan was anytime Annie would leave his sight. Josey would steal all the toys we would put by Ethan. She wasn't doing a very good job of sharing. Ethan might be 3 months younger than Josey but is the same height and weighs a pound more.

Another picture of Ethan just chilling out on the Boppy pillow.

Here's a good picture of Josey stealing a toy from Ethan. She was actually sitting next to him and when I went to take the picture she lunged forward to grab the block. Ethan is whining in the picture because Annie stepped out of the room.

This is Josey trying to be helpful and smash her suitcase down. I was rounding up things to put in her suitcase and this is where I found her when I entered back into the room. She began whining because she couldn't figure out just how to get off of the bag. She kept sinking into the middle.

This video is of Josey and Brian playing with her diaper box. He was pretending it was a racecar and she was having a blast. In case you miss it, she screams after Brian says, "WEEEE!" Enjoy!