The Jina Skirt

Here is Josie in the cute skirt from Jina. We had to wait until I got some tights because otherwise she was flashing us when she bent over.

A Classic!

Josie is learning about the bodily function - gas. The other day in the car Jay asked her if she had a poopie diaper and she said, "No, no poopies. I just have gas." She now lets us know when she has gas by using the same phrase. So far this has not occured in public but I am sure it is only a matter of time.

Alleluia

Enjoy!

Josie Wine

Josie always asks for wine when we are drinking it for dinner so we decided to give her some wine of her own. It is white grape juice but she loves it all the same.

My New Raincoat

Josie got to pick out a new raincoat and when it rained the other day she decided that she wanted to go outside and try it out. She had a blast wandering around the backyard.Just like her dad and her grandpa - a little rain can't stop her from her golf game.

Sick but Funny

We haven't had the strength to end the pacifiers at nap and bed time. Josie found three of them and thought it would be funny to see if they would all fit in her mouth. Real cute huh.

"I'm George Makes Pancakes"

I decided that I wanted to make Josie's Halloween costume this year since it is the first year she actually celebrated. I figured she would want to be the caterpillar from The Very Hungry Caterpillar book but I was wrong. She has fallen in love with Curious George Makes Pancakes - we have read it about 500 times. She decided she wanted to be George making pancakes.

Well, I did it. It may not be the best but you gotta love the pancakes. :)

Berlin Shirt

Thanks Gina for the very cool Berlin shirt. Josie is just now able to fit in it and she loves wearing it. She plays with the beads and tells people it is from mommy's friend.

Josie's First Art Project

When I picked Josie up from preschool last Friday she had her first art project to bring home in her cubby. They used shapes they had learned about to make a car. Clearly she is a Picasso in the making. :) We brought it home and put it on the refrigerator. She kept taking it off and "driving" it around the house. She would say she was going up to the market or to the gym to see her friends.

First Day of "School"

Here is a picture of Josie on her first day of "school". She wanted to take her caterpillar book and her sippy cup.

ABCs

So Josie has been in her beginner preschool class for 3 weeks now and she seems to be doing very well. Nap time is difficult for her but she lays down quietly and sleeps for a short time. She knows the names of her teachers - Miss Mari and Miss Tammy - and likes them a lot. When we get there the kids gather around and say hi. Usually when we leave at the end of the day there is a round of "Adios Josie". Josie surprised us both one night at dinner by singing the ABC song. She gets most of it each time she sings it. She was so proud of herself so we took a movie to share with all of you. Enjoy.

"Don't Do That "

So, Josie's newest thing is to say, "Don't do that." She uses this phrase all the time. She doesn't want us to talk - "Don't do that." She doesn't want her diaper changed - "Don't do that." She doesn't want to clean up - "Don't do that." Well, you get the picture. If she is really perturbed at you she will enhance the phrase to, "Don't do that. Don't do that now." Isn't she a sweety! :)

Home Improvement

So this post is not about Josie but I know some family members have been curious to see the new bookshelves and desk that we had done in the living room. We are lucky to have a fantastic cabinet maker as a neighbor. He did our other cabinets when we remodeled as well as the china cupboard and the wine rack.

Now as you can see the alcove is no longer wasted space but a functional desk - I am using it at this very moment. Since this picture was taken we have hung some pictures that we had and did not know where to put so the wall is not so bare anymore.

Happy 2nd Birthday Josie!

It is hard to believe that it has been 2 years since Josie was born. The time has gone by so quickly. Sometimes Jay and I ask her where Baby Josie went and she points to herself and says, "Right here." We have learned a lot of things we never realized we would need to know and each day is a new learning experience. There are times we think of the line from .... okay I can't think of the name of the movie but the quote still applies ... "I wonder what I am going to learn today." Anyway, we did not have big plans for the day - breakfast tradition (now that it is year two we can call it a tradition), shopping for her presents (a sand box and a tent), playing around, and Elmo cake (thanks again Grandma Joan). This year she decided she wanted bacon instead of sausage but other than that so big surprises for the day. She again enjoyed the breakfast, as you can see in the pictures.

We think she is under the impression that birthdays go on for days because presents continued to roll in for about a week after her birthday. She loves the opening of the presents and then spends quite a bit of time playing with each thing. Now however, when a package arrives she thinks it is for her and wants to play with whatever it is. Oh well, let her enjoy it now while she doesn't understand soon enough she will figure it out.

She has entered the "terrible twos" stage - except everything I read says it is more like the terrible twos, threes, and then some. She is still a sweet, kind, and loving kid but boy does she have her moments. One of her new things is to yell, "Stop talking." when you are having a conversation with someone. When you tell her that is rude and that you are going to finish talking she says, "shh". There are more examples but I won't bore you with them.

The new ladybug tent. As it turns out Weezie has more fun in it than Josie.

Chocolate chip pancakes and bacon - YUM!

In her cool 2 shirt from Joie, Avari, and Kurt.

Michigan Trip

It was wonderful to see family and friends while we were in Michigan. Josie had fun with her cousins. It was interesting to see her interacting with them and playing with such joy and excitement. Her languague skills were much more advanced after that week. Aunt Eunha was the big hit with the swimming day. Grandma Joan gave us an Elmo cake mold and we made a cake for Josie and cousin Avari (they are a year and a few days apart) to celebrate their birthdays with the family. Josie still says it is Avari's birthday when she talks about birthdays.

Jeremy and Megan's wedding was beautiful and Josie behaved herself (except for the few small outbursts in church). She still talks about Jeremy and Megan getting married whenever she sees a picture of them.

Happy Birthday Avari and Josie.

She loves swimming - thanks Aunt Eunha!

With the cousins - Avari (in purple), Katherine (in back), and Clarissa

Finally - An Update

I know we will be seeing the family in a few days but since it has been a long time I thought I would give some updates. Besides, Joie is still updating with all her recent events so I have been put to shame. Anyway, what is new with Josie? Well, she has found her inner sassy self. Time out has begun to find its way into our days - still doesn't quite get the concept but we are working on it. She still loves to read and she gets the story line of things we read over and over. Her favorite right now is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. She is speaking in phrases and very simple sentences. She is big into saying Thank you when she gets something. Also, if someone around her burps and says "excuse me" she will fake burp and say it also.

She is learning the names of the family members so she will be ready when we get to Michigan. She is excited about the airplane ride and if you ask her she can tell you we are going to Michigan. Enjoy the videos and the pictures.

This goes under - what the .... She just started taking napkins out of the cupboard and putting them on the floor and then putting things on top of them.

She enjoys going inside the new cupboards and hanging out. Here she is reading her favorite book.

"The Dress" Thanks Gretchen. It will be fun to have pics of all the girls when they wore it.

How Josie gets a hole in one - she just puts the balls in the hole - one after another.

Here she is reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. You might be able to catch her saying leaf, hungry, berry, orange, hungry no more, and beautiful butterfly. She is also counting but as you will hear she is a little off on the number sequence.

Here's Josie

Here are a few pics to update everyone on what is new with Josie.

Uncle Mike came for a visit - she loves Uncle Mike! The morning after he left she woke up saying, "Mike, Mike, where are you?" While he was here he gave her a few driving lessons - CHP approved of course. Thanks for the car Grandma Joan.

We had a play date last Saturday with a friend from work and her daughter Maura who just turned two. We went to feed the chickens and have a picnic. Then the girls played together and got to eat pushups. Josie had a great time and it was fun to see her around a friend close to her age.

We tried decorating Easter eggs - not a great idea with a one year old but what the heck. Love the apron Grandma Tup.

This one is just fun. :)

AIRPLANE!

Josie is totally into airplanes. There is a cropduster that flies over our house and whenever she hears it she yells, "airplane" and wants to go outside and sit in her rocking chair on the porch so she can watch him. She can hear planes off in the distance and she stops to watch and listen. Given this excitement, Jay took her to the airport the other day to see the pilatus. She was soooo excited! Check out the future Captain Kirkman.

Bath Time

Josie loves to take a bath with bubbles (she must get that from her mom and uncle Kurt) and her duckies. The duckies were not a big deal until she saw Ernie with his on Sesame Street and now they are the first thing to go in the bathtub.

Again, Again, and Again

How is it that a one year old never seems to tire of the same thing over and over and over?

Since it has been so long since I updated the blog I will take this opportunity to fill you all in on what is new with Josie.

She loves Elmo, Abby, Ernie, Bert, and Cookie Monster. Jay has her making cookie monster sounds - we are trying not to encourage this while she eats but it is funny. We spend a bit of time daily watching some kind of Sesame Street videos - either on DVD or on the website.

Her vocabulary continues to grow rapidly. Some words are: cookie, milk, juice, "raw" = draw, this (which she uses to point to what she wants until you figure it out), hot, chicken - she loves to eat this and says "peep, peep" whenever she does, up/down - she is still not clear on which is which, blankie, love you, help me, dog, kitty, nack = snack, ouch, and tv. I am not so thrilled with the last one but what can you do. There are others but no need to bore you with more. She continues to babble with expression but we have no idea what she is saying.

She is a good eater and will eat just about anything you give her. She is very independent so that means that she wants to try to eat everything by herself. This works well for somethings - chips and cheese (one of her favorite meals - just like her cousins Kathrine and Clarissa), sandwiches, chicken - and not so well for other things- yogurt, soup. As you can see the split pea soup was everywhere. Jay is less thrilled about this independence and the mess that accompanies it but Ernie is thrilled - he gets more treats from above.

Favorite toys include the phone, the remote control, her purse, balls, animal picture cards, and her crayons. She wants to talk on the phone whenever one of us is. When she is able to get her hands on a phone she runs off and tries to play with it undiscovered. A few times she has been able to dial someone up but I have caught her in time to hang up before someone answers. We have discovered that crayon easily wipes off of walls, the refridgerator, tile floors, and wood floors. She loves to throw the ball for Ernie and to roll balls across the living room floor. She can stay occupied for a long time with animal picture cards and likes to know their names and the noises they make. We are just starting with magnet alphabet letters and she is interested in knowing the name of each one. Of course, books are still a huge source of enjoyment.

She loves to go for walks - she takes at least one a day. She is no longer interested in the stroller so the walks take up a good amount of time. She leaves the front walk and turns left up the street and then crosses at the church. Once she gets to the post office she continues up the hill to the "boardwalk" along the River Road. She continues down the "boardwalk" and right up to the front doors of the Courtland Market. Once inside she heads to the Cheetos or the ice cream cooler - thanks Grandpa OD for showing her that one. If we are walking and don't let her head up to the market she cries. Oh well - good to learn disappointment early on.

She is starting to make friends at the kids club at the gym. A little boy named Max is one that she plays with every weekend when we are there. His parents said that he talks about Josie all the time and has even named his little pet after her. Already with the boys? She plays well with the other kids and is learning about sharing - she doesn't have to do that much at home.

Well, I am sure that is enough for now. I will not let so much time pass before the next post. Enjoy the pictures!

Sharing her snack with Ernie.

Sitting in the fridge- "What's for dinner?"

Three Generations

My mom and dad visited recently and the three ladies went to a tea party. Here is a picture of the three generations - Grandma Tup, Mom, and Josie. Aren't we a stunning group?

Grandma Joan's Airplane

Josie loves Elmo and we want her to love airplanes so what better gift than an Elmo Airplane. Grandma Joan sent Josie one for Christmas and while Josie did not really understand the whole Christmas thing and opening gifts she sure loved what was inside.

Earlier in the year Grandma Joan sent Josie a bomber jacket which is the perfect thing to wear when riding an airplane. One day at the end of December she and I went outside and played with the airplane. Enjoy