What's New with Josie

Well, it has been a month since my last posting and a lot has happened. As you all know we made our way to Michigan for Josie's baptism. She did great on the plane - either slept or sat quietly. She must have her daddy's flying gene.

Here she is all strapped into her seat and ready to go.

The baptism was fantastic! St. Paul's members did a great job getting things set up and John and Fr. Homeyer provided a beautiful service. Here is one of the many many photos of the day.

We also got to see the cousins and that was a treat. Katherine and Clarissa could not get enough of Josie. They are very good with the little ones by the way. Avari did not quite know what to make of her but she was cute with Josie also.

About 2 weeks ago Josie started to get two bottom teeth. So far she has not been at all fussy. We continue to marvel at how easy going she is. Yes, we know we are lucky.

Not much else is going on here but we will keep you posted if anything happens.

4 Month Update

Well, believe it or not Josie is almost four months old. She went to the doctor yesterday and she was 25 inches long and 13 pounds 12 ounces. Jay and I can't believe she has grown so much. Right now she has a runny nose and watery eyes. We think it is allergies. She looks a mess and sounds awful but she just keeps smiling. She has giggled a few times and she talks a lot. I wonder where she gets that from. Tummy time is not so bad any longer. She gets right up on her arms and holds herself up for a long time. When you put her on your lap she pushes up with her legs and stands for several seconds then she starts to wobble and her legs go out from under her. The doctor said she is quite strong. Everyone continues to say how much she looks like Jay.

She is having a conversation with Siam. She was talking to him and he was meowing back at her. This went on for about 3 minutes.

Sheree, a woman from church has started staying with her a few times a month so I can go to meetings. We are so fortunate to have her coming over. Josie loves her and she is great with Josie. Not to mention that she has done several loads of laundry and quite a bit of ironing for us. Now I just have to figure out how to get her to grocery shop and cook dinner.

Jay carved the first family pumpkin the other night at the town pumpkin carving contest. His pumpkin won the prize for the cutest pumpkin. We put Josie next to a stack of pumpkins to take her picture. She is so cute in the little pumpkin outfit.

Jay, Josie, and the winning pumpkin.

It did not work quite the way I thought it would but we gave it a shot.

She also took her first plane ride last week. I had a meeting in San Diego so we flew down there. She did not make a peep. In fact she slept the entire way down and most of the way back. I can't remember who gave me the tip about giving her a bottle during take off and landing but it works. I think she has her dad's flying gene.

Three Month Update

Well, Josie is now three months old. The time has flown by and she is getting so big. She is making squeaking noises and loves to grunt and groan. She usually wakes up and lays in her bassinet making noises. This can go on for about 10 minutes before she wonders why nobody is getting her. I took the video clip one morning last week. She is also finding her hands and moving her arms with a bit more muscle control. She is starting to grap things. One of her favorite things is to pull up blankets over her face. I am not sure if she likes the feel of the blanket or if she just likes moving her arms. Tummy time is still not her favorite thing but she is getting really good at keeping her head up.

I am not sure how big she since we have not been to the doctor since last month. I bet she is about 12.5 pounds or so. We go to the doctor on the 28th so we will see how much she has grown. She is starting to wear some 3-6 month clothes but still fits some of the 0-3 month stuff.

She continues to go to work with me almost everyday. John Shefelbine my co-director loves her and she responds well to him. Whenever he holds her to falls asleep in his lap. When I have meetings that I can't take her to she stays home with Jay. If Jay is out of town we have a lady from church who comes and stays with her. She is excited to be watching her and it works out for us because she comes to the house - she even said she would do laundry or whatever else we might need. YEAH!

We had the first ever Courtland Movie Night last Saturday. We showed It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and The Wizard of Oz. Our friend's daughter Emily was dressing up as Dorothy and I did not want to be outdone so Josie went as The Great Pumpkin. Emily loves to play with Josie and have Josie hold her finger. She was so sweet when they were in the chair together because she had her arm around Josie holding her up.

Like Mom and Dad

It may not be a good habit but at least we are teaching her to have taste.

Blissful Sleep

Most days Josie gets up about 5:30 or 6:00 am to eat and then she falls back asleep. Most days we put her in our bed either with us - I said I would never do that but it is only for a short time and Jay really likes it - or by herself if we are already up. Well, on this day we both thought she looked so cute in the pjs that some friends gave her because they match the sheets. Okay, I'll be honest we always think she looks cute so the matching pjs were just an extra element of cute. Anyway, Jay took her picture capturing the bliss she feels when sleeping - she sighs often in her sleep- and the bliss we feel when we can get a few things done while she is sleeping. It may seem strange to some of you that this is the second picture of her in our bed that we have taken and just let me say that you are correct; but it appears we have become those people who take pictures of their baby doing nothing.

Like Mom or Like Dad?

So, we had Josie propped up in the bed the other day while we were getting ready and when I looked over at her she had moved her hand and it was resting on the remote control for the tv. My first thought was, "This is not a good sign for such a young baby. Read in bed don't watch tv!" I went to get the camera and called Jay in to look at what we are teaching her but before I could get a picture of it she had moved her hand. I did recreate the picture because it was so funny.

A few days later I thought I needed to really make my push for books so we sat down to read Pat the Bunny. I put the book in front of her when we were done to see what she would do. After about a minute she pulled it up to her and I snapped the picture. I know she is too young to really get the idea of the remote but soon she will get it and we do watch way too much tv so we have to be careful. I do read to her but not everynight so now the new routine each night is going to be one book and talk to her about it. Call me crazy but it is time for us to modify our habits a bit - not so much tv.

Swing Time

Our friends John and Kerri gave us this swing for Josie and we tried it out to see how she liked it. The first time she was a little confused but now she loves it and usually falls asleep after a few minutes.

In the Big Bed

We have, at times, broken down and put her in bed with us early in the morning when we want more sleep and she is fussy. Usually we can get her to go back to sleep if she is near us. I thought this was a cute picture because she gets lost in the bed and the fluffy covers.

Two Months Old

Well, it has been awhile since I updated everyone. I started back to work on September 2 and I am more tired than I thought I would be. I come home with Josie and we crash. She has been to the office with me all but two days since I started back.

We went to the doctor on Sept. 3 and she weighed in at 11 pounds 13 ounces and she was 22 3/4 inches long. The doctor said she is growing nicely and is right where she should be in terms of weight and height. She can keep her head up for long periods of time and she pushes up with her legs when she is sitting in your lap. She has found her tongue and has figured out how to put her hand in her mouth. We can get her to smile at us and she even giggles sometimes.

Here are a few pictures of her at two months old.

I love the watermelon outfit and hat.

Here she is on our first day of work. She has a pack and play and a rocking chair by my desk. Doesn't she look thrilled?

Josie in Action

New Photos

Not much is happening here except that Josie is growing bigger every day. We thouht we'd post some of the latest photos. As you can see Pogo is warming up to her. I thought she looked cute in the yellow dress so I had to capture it. Finally, she hates tummy time but loves the quilt from Davina.

Remembering Frank

Many of you know our trials with Frank as he got older. We knew from the vet that it was a neurological issue and that the time would come when he would lose the use of his hind legs and bathroom control. Over the last month it had become worse and he was having trouble getting up and down, he was dragging his right foot sometimes, and having numerous "accidents" in the house. Okay, I admit it he was going to the bathroom inside more than outside. We took him to the vet Monday to be put to sleep and the vet did some tests and confirmed that this was the right time given his declining condition. It was a difficult day given that we have only had him for 3 years but we know that he lived a better life with us than he did as a stray dog wandering around Sacramento. Many of you know the story I tell about all the reasons why we should never have gotten him but he was a great dog and we miss him dearly.

He did not really seem to know what was going on when we brought Josie home but whenever he heard her cry he would go to where she was to make sure things were okay. When he saw that we had the situation under control he would leave the room or lay down where we were. We wanted some pictures of them together and he just laid there on the floor and when we propped her up against him he just sighed, looked up, and then put his head down.

I put her next to his head the next day and he just laid there until she started crying. Then he just looked at me as if to say "Do you have this under control?" When I picked Josie up he put his head back down and sighed. We wish that she could have had the chance to play with him.

Ernie seems sad and has become very clingy with both Jay and me.

He was Frank to the end - he peed all over the vet table. We will remember him fondly.

Meeting "Uncle Mike"

"Uncle Mike" came up from Salinas the weekend before last to hang out and meet Josie for the first time. It was nice to see him again since it has been a while since he visited. He and Josie hit it off from the start. This picture was too cute to pass up - I came around the corner and saw them together and had to capture the moment. Hopefully we will see him again soon.

Well finally I am sitting down to give the latest information on Josie. After Jay's mom left we had two weeks to hang out just the three of us. Things went well, some nights were longer than others and some days showers happened later in the day but we figured it out. Josie had her first doctor's appointment and she was 1/2 inch longer and 1.5 pounds heavier. The doctor said she was doing great.

Uncle Dave came out for a few days to visit and he and Josie had a great time together. He was all about holding her until she got too fussy and then he said that it was time for me to take her back.

My mom and dad and David were all for the Pear Fair together. Dad worked most of the day in the Information Booth selling things and giving some information. We don't have much information to give so it really is not an information booth.

It was very windy and cold the morning of the Pear Fair so Josie did not wear the dress. :( Additionally, it is way too big for her. We will take a picture of her in it so we can have pictures of both she and Avari in the dress.

Mom and dad were here for a week and tahnks to them the house is cleaner and our yard does not look so bad any longer.

Mom brought this baby carrier from Guatemala. She got it at the weaving cooperative. It is what all the women use to carry their babies on their backs. As you can see we tried it with Josie and she was not interested. Partly she can't hold herself up enough so we will try again when she is older. We had a riot, at her expense, trying to make it work. Mom and I were hysterical, dad was telling jokes that were less than politically correct, and Jay was speaking in Spanish.

We are now on our own again and so far so good. Josie is beginning to notice things around her and is doing better at night. We have had trips out places, including dinner with friends in a restaurant and afew hours at a training with me. She really is a laid back kid for the most part.

I'll try to be better about keeping this up to date.

Love to all.

Welcome to Josie Kathryn

Hello All,

Well, we couldn't be outdone by Kurt, Joie, and Avari so we have decided to try this blogging thing also. I am not sure how it will go but at least I have gotten as far as setting it up.

Josie Kathryn (Josie from my mom -Josephine and my grandpa- Joseph and Kathryn from Jay's grandma Kathryn Kirkman) was born Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 6:39pm. She was 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. Jay gets the credit for coming up with the name. As soon as he said it I knew it was perfect. We went into labor Wednesday night, boy that was a fun night, and went to the hospital about 6:30 am on Thursday. After a long day, thank god for Jay and our Doula Cyndi, Josie was born. She was turned backwards, sunny side up, as they say in the hospital so I had a lot of back labor. We did it without any medications and were glad when we saw how alert and awake Josie was. Below is a picture of her in the hospital - she is about 1 hour old here.

They had me out of the hospital by Friday afternoon so it was home to meet the rest of the "family". So far the dogs and cats are doing well with the new addition. They require a lot of attention and are never far away from where we are with Josie.

So far we are adjusting to our "new life" quite well. We are taking naps when we can and have a neighbor girl who is walking the dogs for the next few weeks. She gets the money and we are able to get things figured out with Josie.

Jay's mom was here when Josie was born and boy was that a godsend. I think I was more worried about how the dogs were going to get taken care of than I was about labor so having her here was great! They loved it too because they got lots of treats from her. They love the peanut butter and cookie kongs.

David comes out on Friday and my mom and dad come Saturday. We are going to enjoy the Pear Fair together. We will miss Kurt, Joie, and Avari this year.

I will do my very best to keep the news and pictures coming. For now here are some more pictures.

This is Josie's first bouquet of flowers. The neighbors, Robert and Dravo, cut them from their garden and brought them over for her. Aren't they wonderful!