Joseph this month you have been eating all kinds of stuff!  Rice cereal, oatmeal, teething wafers, baby food, bananas, wash rags and your own feet. You are such a stinker and dislike veggies so we have to trick you by dipping the spoon in fruits too or else you will spit it everywhere. Speaking of spitting, you have learned how and do it often.

You are getting pretty vocal and say sounds like “mmm” and “gaga.” I’m pretty sure you say “mama” in your own way and I swear you said “hi” to me one morning.  We have a theory this will be your first word because M and I say hello and hi to you ALL the time.

We have been practicing sitting up these days and you love this new position because you can see everything and grab at your toys.  Sitting up is also fun in the bath and pool because you get to splash around. We even tried swinging a few times this month and you always get a huge smile on your face when we push you a little higher. When you do lay down on the floor you roll immediately onto your tummy making diaper changes more of a wrestling match.

Some fun events from this month were the church festival, county fair, football games (loved), and volleyball games (too loud).

We have not had your 6 month check up yet but we had a visit to the doctor due to pink eye and a cold.  You weighed 14lb 4oz and were 26 inches long.  You are still in size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothing.  Your hair is coming in blonde and your BIG eyes are bright blue.

I cannot believe it has been half a year since you were born.  Happy six months baby joe joe.

My brother-in-law, David and his new bride Tarah got married in Colorado in August and the whole family got to be there. Colorado is where Tarah grew up and where David went to college AND the place where they met so it was very special to make it the place where they became husband and wife.

We had so much fun celebrating their marriage, playing in the hotel room, exploring the park and enjoying the beautiful CO summer.  Joseph enjoyed his first airplane experience and now Madeleine thinks all planes are flying to Colorado.  Madeleine was a great flower girl with her cousins and successfully distributed ALL her flowers at the start of the aisle while yelling “WEEEE!” Way to go girl!

Trip highlights include: checking 40 bags of luggage, tequila shots with the bachelorette, Joseph’s first plane ride, ring around the rosy, and the hotel breakfast.  Since we have been home M pretends to dress up like a “beautiful bride” and we dance just like we did at the wedding.  Here are some pictures from our trip and welcome to the family Tarah! #itspawelektime

Madeleine is two years old now and full of personality.  She definitely has a mind of her own and shows her independence most when it’s time to pick out her clothes in the morning when she says “let’s get ready for the day!” She is VERY into dresses and loves to wear her white patent leather shoes with everything.  Her favorite activities are coloring (chalk, markers, colored pencils, crayons), going on walks (she says, “bye see ya later”), play doh (we make pretend cookies), dress up (she pretends to be a beautiful bride), and dancing (we have the BEST dance parties to “the shake song” and M’s dance moves are A-mazing). She is my best buddy. The sweetest times are at night when we read stories and cuddle with prayers and then in the morning when we have coffee and milk in bed, she always request Peekaboo Barn.  This girl likes to go go go and often asks to go to the park, to Chick fil A, or “Karget.” She told me the other day she needed to go to HEB and I asked what she needed and she said, “groceries”, I asked what kind of groceries and she replied,”turkey and cheese.” Madeleine also likes to play with Joseph, and this means play while Joseph watches her.  She still has a hard time letting Joseph have toys but she loves to make him laugh by getting close to his face and making silly sounds and faces. Sometimes she asks to hold his hand and just sits beside him for a bit. Since J came along, M likes to pretend with her babies too and sometimes I see her on the monitor shushing and bouncing her “butterfly blanket” like a little baby when she is supposed to be napping.

I could go on and on with stories but the bottom line is we love this little girl and everything about her two year old self.  My sister-in-law had the great idea of interviewing our kids on each birthday and asking them about their likes and such.  Below are Madeleine’s answers and then a little input from me as well…

What is your favorite meal? “pasta” “quesadilla” (her fave is rice and beans)

What is your favorite color? “orange”

What is your favorite toy? “the frog ribbit ribbit” (This is Joseph’s favorite toy)

What is your favorite song? “The shake song” (Taylor Swift-Shake it Off)

Who is your best friend? “Joe Joe”

Who do you love? “Mama…. and Daddy”

Who is your favorite princess? “Eby” (her cousin Evelyn)

What is your favorite snack? “Teddy Grahams” (Its actually fruit snacks and colored goldfish)

What is your favorite book? “Go Dog Go”

What do you want to be when you grow up? “Two”

What is your favorite breakfast? “I like bagel”

What is your favorite sport? “run”

What’s your favorite drink? “Sonic”

….and a little throw back to Madeleine when she turned one.  Can you believe how much they change so fast??

Joseph you are five months old now!  How is this possible and how is the year almost over??  Time is flying but one thing is for sure, we are having lots of fun!  You have gotten very comfortable with your hands and we play with your toys now.  Your favorite is the crinkly book that makes lots of noise. You cry immediately when you drop it but stop as soon as its in your hands again!  You are exploring everything we give you by holding it and then tasting it:)

You also got your first taste of rice cereal this month.  I was so excited to start feeding you and you got the hang of it real quick, helping me with the spoon and making a mess are your new talents. Next up, oatmeal and pears…. Hopefully this will help your tummy and spit up situation which is still full force and quite embarrassing when we are in public. We all smell lovely these days:) You also like to eat our fingers and your toes, maybe some teeth are on their way soon?

You have really fallen in love with your sister and you are so content watching her play.  She loves to make you laugh so she will make silly faces and sounds to you and you quickly smile and coo back which makes her laugh and this game goes on and on.  Sometimes I feel left out with you two, hello Mom is still here haha! We all love to tickle you because you are just too easy.  You are ticklish everywhere it seems but the best spots are your back and  legs.

You are such a rolly polly this month.  You roll onto your tummy or side almost as soon as we lay you down and you prefer to sleep on your belly with you little tush in the air. adorable. During awake times we can usually find you propped up on your arms watching us or playing with your toys.

Some fun events happened this month!  You took your first airplane ride to Colorado for Dave and Tarah’s wedding and we went to Schlitterbahn!

You had a check up this month and everything looks great and healthy.  You weigh 13lb 4oz and are 24 inches long.  You still wear size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes and size 1 shoes.  The doctor wants us to see a neurologist just to double check your head shape isn’t interfering with your development so we have an appointment set up for next month. You had another round of shots but you were so brave and cried just a little before you were back to flirting with the nurse. Happy five months sweet boy!

We celebrated Madeleine’s second birthday the last weekend in August with a party at the park.  The “green park” as she calls it, is one of her favorite places. We walk there every week with our friends and play on the playground afterwards and on every other day of the week she asks to go to there so it was the perfect place for her  celebration!

We added in another one of her favorite things, sno cones!  The ice cream truck that comes down our street (#cityperks) gladly came to the party and made snocones for everyone!  Thanks Mr. Pete!

It was a great day with great weather and one happy little girl.  She had been talking about her birthday for weeks saying enthusiastically  (almost yelling) “I’m gonna be TWO YEARS OLD. My birthday is AUGUST 31st! Sno cones are gonna be there! I’m gonna have TWO PINK CANDLES for my SECOND BIRTHDAY!”

And she did. And now she is two.