Birthday Planning

Joseph will be 11 months old in just a few short days....can you believe it?!  It seems like yesterday I was just starting to feel him move in utero.  Well, as I stated before I have already begun the party planning. Here is a look at a few things I am planning.

First, the invitations, created by my neighbor (www.lilsweetprince.com) specifically for Joseph:

Here is the front:

 And the back:

I have also already ordered his cake and it will look something like this (just without the cake topper here, I ordered a different one - see later):

The cake is going to be banana cake with cream cheese frosting.  She is also making a small "smash" cake just for Joseph so he doesn't put his dirty hands into the cake for everyone else.

This is the cake topper I got, it's kind of small, so I may make a big #1 to go next to it:

  (from Sourpatch925 on etsy.com)

This is the birthday banner - of course it will say Joseph instead of Austin (madebyjackie on etsy.com)

And for favors, I'm also getting these cookies (batches on etsy.com):

I think we will have su.bway for lunch along with a few trays of fresh fruit (bananas included), juice, soda, and water to drink.

That is pretty much it.  I still have to get all the paper goods & forks & such - but I think I'll just go to the local party store & get ones that match the colors rather than getting the ones that actually match the monkey.  I've spent enough as it is!  hahaha!

I think there will be at least 40 people at the party, so luckily it is at a park & not our home.  I also hope I have enough cookies - I ordered 3 dozen, but may need to order a few more to be on the safe side.  Do adults really care though?  I think they are more for the kids anyway, so I probably won't worry about it.  For games for the kids I am debating on getting a pull-string pinata that has the monkey...but then that means I need to get candy & goody bags too.  I will probably also go get a few balls/toys that the kids can play with while at the park.  There will be a toddler play ground right there, but some toys might be fun for them too and then I don't have to worry about something "organized".

Can you tell I am excited?  :)  Now...when can I have another one?  ;)

Joseph's First Haircut

Yes, you read that right. Joseph got his first hair cut at six months old! He had so much hair and it was getting so long that it would tangle and get in his eyes. Well, Joseph's great-grandma came down to cut it this weekend. She did a great job too. Here are the before & after shots:




He did a pretty good job. We started him out in the B.umbo on the chair, but he started to get antsy so I held him in my lap the rest of the time. We both ended up covered in hair! :)

In other news, Joseph had his 6 month check up on Thursday. He was up to 16 pounds 6 ounces and 26.25 inches long. Perfectly average. He also had his immunizations and he actually did better this time than the last. He only cried for a minute and as soon as I picked him up and cuddled him he calmed down. He nursed and felt much better.

I need to go shopping to buy him something to wear to my brother "S"'s wedding next month. If you have any suggestions on places to go that would be great. T.arget doesn't have anything cute like that for boys.

A couple Easter pictures

Happy Easter! I hope you had a blessed one. We had a wonderful day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The next 50 days are considered a day for celebration. I look forward to it! :) Here are a couple pictures of our little guy. I love these!

A couple pictures that make me smile.

I haven't posted any pictures of my little guy, so I thought I'd start by posting these, which were taken on my birthday. He's 5 months and 2 days old here. Enjoy!

Sleep Training?

Joseph is 24 weeks old - nearly six months and he usually sleeps pretty well at nights. Unfortunately he got sick a couple weeks ago with his first cold (nothing major...just stuffiness and a croupy cough). He's better now, but ever since his sleep has gone out the window. At least I thought so until last night.

When he was sick he was only sleeping 2 to 3 hours a strectch and would end up in bed with me pretty early in the night. Once he got better I thought he would go back to his normal 5 -6 hours like before. Boy, was I wrong!! (gulible Christina) Instead, he got worse! We have a pretty normal routine - bath, massage, pajamas, nursing, singing, bed time. But, now it was every time I put him down he would wake up. It wasn't until I would lie down next to him & let him nurse that he would fall asleep for more than 30 minutes.

Last night I finally decided to start swaddling him again. I've done it before and he seemed to like it for awhile, but by 3 months he didn't seem to care for it any more. Anyway, I dressed him in nothing but his diaper and a short sleeve onesie and wrapped him in a blanket. He went down at 7:15, woke up slightly at 7:50, but after rubbing him for a minute or so he settled and slept until nearly 2:30 in the morning! That's 7 hours!! I couldn't believe it. Of course, by this time I was too tired to stay awake to nurse him, so I brought him in with me. We slept until about 5:30. What a great night! I hope it lasts or gets better!

New Tricks

I've been meaning to write more in this blog than I have, but time with my son has been so precious since I have started back to work it is hard to find the time to write all the happenings with raising him. Speaking of work, I wish I never had to go back. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job, but I would much rather be spending my time watching my son as he discovers all the wonders of this world.

I don't know if I mentioned this in my last post or not, but Joseph rolled over (from his tummy to his back) for me for the first time last week. I was so excited to see him do it. I had him lying on the floor in his bedroom and was playing with him then he pushed up on his hands and rolled to his back. I was so excited I started cheering for him. He looked up at me like, "What's the big deal?" It was so funny. I called Mr. B into the room and showed him the new trick Joseph could do. Apparently Mr. B had seen this several days before, but didn't realize this was a growing milestone for our little guy. Unfortunately I haven't seen Joseph repeat this new trick since that day. I guess he's moved on to trying to learn something else - like what his feet are.

Before I left for work this morning, Joseph was lying in our bed with Mr. B and was trying to bring his feet in close enough to grap his feet. Looks like he'll be obsessing over his toes now. I'm excited to see this & I can't wait to get some pictures of him playing with his toes.

I really need to get to work on taking 4 month pictures of him...especially as he will be 5 months in just two weeks. I also need to post some more pictures of him here. He's changed so much the past few weeks...I'm amazed.

Four months

My baby is four months old! I cannot believe how quickly time has gone by. I miss the first 12 weeks I got to spend with him all day everyday. He's gotten so big since he was born. He is now 15 pounds, 2 ounces and about 25 inches long (by my measurements, not the nurse). He was 6 lbs 12 oz and 20.5 inches when he was born. Such growth!
Friday we went to his four month well-baby check up and he's doing great. Right on track with everything...even teething already! He also LOVES to stand up. Every time we pull him up by the hands to sit he stiffens his legs so he can stand and then gets the biggest toothless smile on his face. I love it! The only downside to the checkup were the vaccinations...poor little guy had to get three shots, but he did great. He only cried for a couple minutes after and once he nursed he fell asleep until we got home. Saturday was tough though...I'm not sure if it was just the vaccines or if it is also the teething, but he was not happy pretty much the whole day after noon. He cried for nearly 45 minutes straight and I did everything I could think of to soothe him. The only thing that finally worked was the vacuum. It had to be going & he had to be able to see it. Once he finally settled enough I put him in his swing with the vacuum on next to him and he fell asleep.