Odds & ends

We went out to dinner to celebrate Jason's birthday (he turned 30 on February 10th!) and Valentines day, so we took some pictures since we were all dressed up. Josiah was in this super cute puppy sweater that was handed down to him from his cousin Kason. He says thanks because he is way into fashion right now.
I'm not sure what we were doing in this picture, but we were getting ready to go somewhere when Josiah decided to spit up to protest getting his picture taken.
Today we had beautiful weather and we appreciated it very much after a bitterly cold February. We underestimated how warm it was outside (about 68 degrees), so when we took Josiah for a walk today we may have bundled him up just a little too much...not to mention that his gloves are each about the same size as his head. His daddy dressed him, which is why his outfit does not coordinate very well! Here's a picture we took before the walk.Here is a picture we took after the walk - Josiah was a little warm so I decided to let him cool down!

Josiah has had a couple of 4 and 5 hour stretches of sleep which has been amazing for me! Then other nights he gets up after only 2 hours of sleep, so sometimes he is not sure if he would rather sleep or eat. He is now about 12 weeks old, but it has only been 6 weeks since his due date. He isn't officially smiling yet, although we catch glimpses of partial smiles every once in a while.

As you can probably tell, he is still getting cuter every day!

Our Big Boy

This is my 1st week without a paying job, and so far I have no regrets! I am so thankful that God arranged the timing so perfectly for us.

Josiah is now 10 weeks old, but because he was premature he really acts like a 4 week old. This is important because in a couple more weeks Josiah should be able to sleep a little longer at night! He is starting to study things more now, which is a good developmental milestone. He is about 9 lbs 12 oz, and is getting super strong. Here he is holding his head up as his daddy tries in vain to get him to go to sleep.

Jason shaved his beard off this week. Here's Jason feeding Josiah while Josiah stares at him wondering who he is and where the bearded guy went.
Here's Josiah all bundled up for this crazy cold weather. This coat is a 0-6 month size so it's just a teensy bit big on him. At least he's warm!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Super Tuesday

Yesterday was a big day (and not just because of the caucuses/primaries)! First I went to the breastfeeding group, and weighed Josiah - he is now 9 lbs 3 oz!!!

Then I got a phone call from my director at work and found out that my request for voluntary severance got approved! It is crazy to think about purposefully trying to lose my job, but that's exactly what I did. It is actually a great opportunity & great timing, because I want a part time finance position and it didn't work out to do part time in the group I was in. Since I've been with the company for over 8 years I get 6 months of severance pay, so when I heard they were offering voluntary severance it seemed too good to pass up. We would appreciate your prayers as I try to find a part time position, and as I adjust to the thought of not having a paying job (because I still have a very challenging full time job - it just doesn't pay very well).

I'll post some more pictures later this week - I just wanted to post to share our exciting news!

Long time, no post

Hi everyone! Sorry for the long stretches between posts!

I would like to issue a correction to the last post - I spelled Connor's name with -er instead of -or. Sorry Heidi & Ben (& Connor)!

Last Tuesday (1/22), I took Josiah to a breastfeeding support group that Jen & Andrew introduced us to. It is super informative & offers a great support system, because breastfeeding is not as easy as you would think! Anyway - while we were there I weighed the little guy, and he was 8 lbs 3 oz!! That is huge! I didn't make it to the group this Tuesday (1/29) because I didn't want to get out in the snow & freezing cold weather, but I'm guessing he's up to about 8 lbs 10 oz by now, and that he will hit the 9 lb mark next week.

The weekend of the 19th, my aunt Naomi & her husband Kevin came to visit. We went out to a restaurant (Josiah's 1st time at a restaurant!) and watched the MU/KU basketball game with them, which was fun. Jason made sure that Josiah wore his MU bib. Even though no one got to see it (because he was sleeping in his car seat for the duration of the game), Jason said that it still counts as cheering for MU.

Last weekend we went to visit family in Missouri for a day. We got to see our nephews Chandler (13) & Bryan (11) play basketball (Josiah's first live game!). This was also my first time feeding Josiah in a somewhat public place, and our nephew Trent (2) was very curious & confused about what was going on, and tried to take a look under the blanket to find out! Fortunately his mom was able to deter him (thanks April!). Then we went to April's house where Josiah got to enjoy hanging out with his 2 great-grandmas & aunt Dana, and being held and loved on by his grandma and grandpa (and his aunt April of course). Unfortunately, Josiah had decided to stay awake for most of the previous night, so I spent a couple of hours sleeping while he was hanging out with the family, and he loved every minute of it. We forgot to bring our camera (which didn't matter because the batteries were dead anyway) so we'll post pictures from the weekend once we get them from Jason's parents!

Jason and I are enjoying being parents. Josiah is so cuddly right now. He hasn't started smiling voluntarily yet, but that could just mean that he doesn't think we're very funny. He is now 2 months old, which means that we have to take him in next week for his shots. I am going to make sure Jason is there because I don't think I can be in the room while they are sticking needles in him! I don't do well with needles being poked into me, much less my baby! We'll update you next week on how that goes and if I survive without crying.

As promised, here is a link to the pictures we got taken at JC Penney. Just enter my first name, a space, and my last name to view them. He is 5 weeks old in these, and there are pics of his cousins Kason & Ava interspersed. Enjoy (email me or Jason if you're not sure how to spell our last name!)! https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0417102572JCPSHR

Places to go, people to meet

Josiah has been a busy guy! We went to my parent's house last weekend so Josiah could meet his uncle Dave & aunt Jessica & his cousins Kason & Ava, his great-grandma Fultz and my aunts & cousins & their kids (don't ask me to figure out what their titles are in relationship to Josiah - 2nd cousin? 1st cousin once removed? It is too confusing).

He also got some pictures taken last weekend at JC Penney - we'll provide a link to those once they are available.

Jason has been busy working on the pantry. He is currently taping & mudding the seams around the new sheetrock. Jason also started back to school this week. Anyone want to do homework for him? We are hopeful that he will be done with his MBA this summer.

Yesterday Josiah & I went to meet some of his new friends - Conner & Jacob Byers. They are super cute twins that were born to our friends Heidi & Ben one day before Josiah was born! They got along for the most part except for the fight between Josiah & Jacob:

Jacob: Hi Josiah!
Josiah: Don't touch me man! That's it - I'm going to kick you!
Conner: I wouldn't kick him if I were you...

Jacob: I'm gonna knock you out!

Conner: Don't say I didn't warn you, Josiah.

Josiah: Bring it!

This is when Heidi and I had to intervene. Luckily no one was seriously injured, and the boys made up and were friends again before the end of the day.

Happy Friday everyone!

Quick update

Josiah's doctor appointment yesterday went really well, and we found out that his current weight is 6 lbs 15 oz!!! He is 20 inches long now, so he has gained 1 lb 11 oz from his birthweight (5 lbs 4 oz), and 2 lbs 3 oz from his lowest weight (4 lbs 12 oz), but has only grown an inch. We are super happy that he is starting to fill out! He is even getting those cute little baby fat rolls on his legs.

It is hard to believe that the little guy is already a month old! More pictures to come soon.

So many pictures, so little time

Happy New Year!! Sorry for our long delay in blogging. We've had a fun Christmas & New Year with family & friends in town to visit & meet Josiah.

Since our last posting, Josiah has had his first bath at home (and has had lots of them since then), first nail trimming (which is way tricky), and is almost ready for his first haircut! We found out that he was up to 5 lbs 10 oz at his last doctor's appointment and he goes back to the doctor on Monday. He looks SO much bigger to us! Any guesses on his current weight?

Here's a family photo:

Here's a more realistic photo - this is how tired we usually look...
We are learning how to survive on 2 hours of sleep at a time. It's not too bad for me since I can take naps during the day!

Here's a link to some pictures from the past couple of weeks - enjoy! (let me know if anyone has problems viewing these)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinhood_dgb/sets/72157603635898527/