Oh, look at me!

I'm (almost) too cute for my woolies!

Pictured in Hawaiian t-shirt from our friend in Honolulu and his fabulous new wool soaker from Teresa.

And a demonstration of mom's photog skills:

The pendulum swings

As soon as I post something, Joseph generally does the exact opposite the next day. So I hesitate to even tell you these things. But, for the adoring audience, I will take my chances.

• We had strolling success yesterday morning - Joseph took a walk in the BOB with no additional padding.
• He's started taking 3 naps a day, pretty much on schedule (still just while being worn though)
  
• He stopped crying (mostly) in the car the last few days

Who knows, I just roll with the punches.

The BOB is here.

It is as beautiful as I'd imagined. Unfortunately, Joseph didn't think much of it. The kid has no taste.

I think we need some sort of snuggler device so he feels more cozy. The seat is HUGE (it can carry a 75lb kid.)

Moms, tell me how you got your child to love the stroller. I had high hopes of taking it on museum free day tomorrow!

Look at him go!

He rolled once while I was looking for the little camera, but he did it again right away! I think he's officially rolling.

Joseph rolled over!

From his tummy to his back. What an all-star!

He keeps us on our toes!

Just when I think I have his habits down, he does things like poop on my bed (he "never" goes before 8am) or naps for a total of 90 minutes during the day (he sleeps "so regularly now").

Mommy - 0
Baby - 2

Haha! It's a game I don't mind losing. At least the poo stains came out.

Fun (free) activities

Joseph and I are on the hunt for fun (and free/cheap) activities for the summer. Luckily, he's easy to please, so I can count things like "grocery shopping" or "farmer's market" as a fun activity for him. But to appease my need to do something "educational" with him, and just because it's awesome, we went to baby story time yesterday!

There was only one other mom there, and her son Luke was a week younger than Joseph! It was neat to see another baby his same age. Joseph and Luke were pretty interested in each other, though of course they didn't "play" together at this age.

We sang songs and the librarian did some rhyming stories, it was nice. I think we'll try to catch a couple of story times every week at different places.

In addition to story time, we also have LLL meetings 2-3 times per month, which is always a fun way to spend the morning. I have a group of moms that I see once a month, as well, but once a month isn't much! The BOB shipped today! So we can go take walks at the parks around town without sweating to death. Plus the big shade hood makes me less nervous about him burning than when he's being worn in some positions.

If you have any cheap/free ideas for outings, I'd love to hear them!

Photography Final

I think I've told you before about my photography 101 class. I started class when Joseph turned 6 weeks old, and it's been a great way for me to get out once a week for a couple of hours, as well as nice one-on-one time for T.J. and Joseph.

My "final" is tonight, and here are the pictures I'll be using.

Joseph is 12 weeks old today!

It amazes me that if I were going back to work, it would likely have been today. I can't even imagine having to balance work, home, and family responsibilities right now. I'm really thankful that this is what we made work. Hat's off to the WOHM moms, I don't think I could hold it together.

PS. I'm still angry that women *have* to go back to legally be entitled to their jobs at 12 weeks. But I already wrote about that, so I'll leave that be.

Anyway... cool things about Joseph lately:

• He rarely cries anymore. Basically when he's startled, sometimes when he needs to be fed or changed and we're slow, and most frequently (though it's happening less) when we are in the car.
  
• He plays on his own. He will sit through a whole shower in his bouncer, hang out on his play mat during lunch, and lay next to us during dinner.
• He plays on the internet. Ok, he sits with mama, but he loves to see me scroll through my google reader and email. He also loves pictures of other babies!
• He's a chatter box - this kid is going to be a public speaker. He loves talking!
• Everyone thinks he is "wise". It's frankly getting freaky how often people tell me he looks like an old soul. I'm starting to consider reincarnation as a possibility.
• He loves to face outwards - we enjoyed a trip around the grocery store today like that, and he was so enthralled! It really exhausted him, though. All the people, colors, and smells I suppose.

More knitting modeling!

We got a nice compliment on the sweater at the baby store yesterday, too! Nice job Teresa!

"You again?"

Close up

Joseph and I had a talk about inappropriate hand gestures today.

"I'm innocent! Scouts honor!"

"Don't call me Pumpkin"