FINALLY said MAMA

JoElle FINALLY said Mama! I have been waiting for this day since she was born!! After Daddy and I have been trying to coax her to say it, she finally did Nov 19th and then again Nov 20th! It's about time! She has been saying "Dada" forever!

Sick and more teeth, first hospital trip

Our poor baby has her first ear infection and she is wheezing. She either has asthma like mommy or bronchiolitis, which causes wheezing and a runny nose. Either way, she is now on breathing treatments of albuterol. JoElle is taking after mommy; when I was a baby I was constantly sick with runny, stuffy noses, coughing and wheezing just like her. I think Grandma is having flashbacks...
So her first breathing treatment went ok, for the most part she stayed still while I held the little fish mask to her face and Daddy read "Hop on Pop" to her. Of course, she occasionally took the mask off to look at it and watch the vapors wafting up!

We had to take her to Cook's children hospital to find all this out, she was unable to drink her bottles because she was so stuffy, so her pediatrician said to take her to the hospital since it was a Saturday. The ER dr there let us know that at around 4-5 months old, babies get sick because their mother's immunity is no longer covering them, they are having to develop their own immune system.

Last night, she was screaming at 3:00 a.m.; her nose was stuffy and bleeding, she would not stop screaming so I held her until 6:00 so that she could get some sleep, but she still screamed; we both knew there was something more going on, but JoElle couldn't tell us it was her ear :(
At any rate, I think she is now on as many meds as I am! I hope it works; at least she is already much happier. What a refief!

Yesterday, JoElle and I also visited the Little Gym for a intro class. It was lots of fun, even though JoElle wasn't feeling so good, she made friends with some of the other babies; we joined the class. I know that she will really enjoy it!
JoElle's 7th tooth (top, right of her big tooth) popped in last week, Friday Oct. 28th.

Waving

JoElle started waving on November 7th. She loves to wave at everybody, even the cars that go by when we are outside. She does a cute entire-hand-wave-from-the-wrist-wave.
Lately, JoElle has been laughing a ton; she has picked up a new laught that sounds kinda fake, and she will go around laughing at anyone and anything. She tries to throw a little fit when we don't let her do something she wants to do, like eat the carpet, but she gets over it really quick. JoElle cries when Momma leaves the room, but she gets over that quick too!

She also is staying up much later, until 9:00 and sometimes 10:00 p.m. She wants to stay up and play with Mommy and Daddy. JoElle is already sleeping like a toddler, she is taking only one nap, from around 11:00 to 1:00 p.m. and that is it!
JoElle loves to push things around and rearrange the house and her daycare class. She pushed our trashcan around the kitchen the other day and she loves to play in the fridge!

First Halloween

JoElle's first Halloween
JoElle dressed up as an angel and went around in her wagon on our street. She got lots of candy from our neighbors who all thought she is adorable! (Of course we think so too...)
Then we handed out candy and JoElle had a great time with all the kids at out door. After the last group of kids were gone, she stared at the door waiting for more kids to come....
She got into her candy and hand fun chewing on the wrappers. Then Daddy fished a wrapper out of her mouth, the candy was all gone!! Who knows how much chocolate she ate???
JoElle got really hyper after that; she was taking little steps, running away from daddy, giggling hysterically in Mommy's face and laughing at Mommy's socks moving around. JoElle is just so precious!
She had a great time and so did we! We forgot how fun Halloween is!

9 month checkup

JoElle went to the doctor today for her 9 month checkup; she is ALMOST 20 pounds (19 lbs 13 oz) and she is 27 inches long, making her average for height and just above average for weight.

She got a flu shot and her blood taken. I can't believe how fast she is growing up! I thought I was going to cry last night when she picked up her bottle on the floor, stuck it in her mouth, leaned back and just fed herself! She also gave up baby food several weeks ago; she prefers table food!

Wedding

We took JoElle to our friend Thuy's wedding reception tonight. She had a great time, she behaved so well for 4 hours :)
She ate up the Vietnamese food and got her picture taken with the bride!
Everybody kept telling her how beautiful she is and she loved every minute of it!

JoElle's First Steps!

JOELLE TOOK HER FIRST STEPS ALL BY HERSELF! She took her first unassisted step Friday, October 21st, at home with Daddy.

Then on October 27th, she was taking more steps at daycare in the toddler room. They told us she has been taking steps for the past several days up there with them!

JoElle is 9 months old.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Today is JoElle's Grandpa's birthday (he is in heaven with Jesus and all of our friends and family who have gone before us). We were at the funeral home for my cousin Amy's wake. She was only 30 and just passed away from leukemia after finding out about three weeks ago that she had it. Please pray for her and her little daugher, husband, and her parents and brother.

My dad is also buried at this cemetery, but we didn't get a chance to go by today as it got dark too quickly. I did take JoElle out there on the anniversary, May 26th. So she has been out to see the graves where Grandpa and Uncle Travis are buried.

At the wake, she had a ton of admirers like my Uncle Herb, Aunt Carol, and Trisha, and all my other aunts and uncles. She was slobbering on her cousins Emily and Bailey and they thought it was gross! She loved playing with them though!

Over the weekend, JoElle got to eat BBQ and Chinese food (she loved both) but then again, we haven't found any food this girl won't eat! She loves food! She loved climbing on the steps inside cousin Peyton's house. She is a pro at it! JoElle was jumping on Peyton's kitty and trying to ride him. The kittty liked all the attention from her.

Today we visited a wonderful small group Sunday School class at our church. Tim and I were both praying for a place and God led us to it today! Also, we visited choir practice at our "new" church (we've been members at Fielder Road Baptist since Easter of this year) and we will be joining this week. Since JoElle doesn't go to sleep early anymore, it doesn't matter if we stay out later with her. She does great when we stay up past her "bedtime"( whatever time that happens to be each day! )

Happy Birthday Grandma

Grandma just had her birthday on Oct. 14th, so JoElle made her a picture with finger paints! JoElle gave Grandma her handprints and footprints, and then she at the paper and the paint :)


Lately, JoElle has been laughing a ton; she has picked up a new laught that sounds kinda fake, and she will go around laughing at anyone and anything. She tries to throw a little fit when we don't let her do something she wants to do, like eat the carpet, but she gets over it really quick. JoElle cries when Momma leaves the room, but she gets over that quick too!


She also is staying up much later, until 9:00 and sometimes 10:00 p.m. She wants to stay up and play with Mommy and Daddy. JoElle is already sleeping like a toddler, she is taking only one nap, from around 11:00 to 1:00 p.m. and that is it!
As I type this, JoElle is with Daddy at Granny and Grandad's house. She loves their doggy, Tee (who lives mostly outside). JoElle loves to stand at the window in the back door and talk to Tee. Tee is a little scared and runs off!
We are about to go to cousin Peyton's house to play with him and tell Grandma happy birthday!

Our little girl has been sick all weekend (vomiting and other unpleasant things) but she is still in such a great mood! She helped us with the laundry...while enjoying playing in the basket! Cousin Peyton, Aunt Ana, Uncle Aaron, Grandma and Granny all visited on Saturday. Then Saturday night we met up with Granny and Grandad at Cheddar's. When Grandad took her walking, JoElle saw Daddy (he was at a homecoming game in OK) and jumped out of Grandad's arms!

JoElle has been wanting me to hold her a lot this weekend, everytime when she doesn't feel well, she wants me. But this evening I was about to give her a bottle and put her to bed, and she wanted her Daddy! I am staying home from work Monday to take care of her and let her get some rest. I am not sure if she has food poisoning from spoiled baby food, a stomache virus or an allergic reaction to the milk in her baby food...
We bought her a new walker that she can also ride on, she likes it. I think she is teething again, it feels like some more top teeth are coming in. JoElle already has 6 teeth.

Walking by pushing

JoElle just learned how to walk around pushing her toys- she is using toys that aren't actually meant to be walkers as walkers! She also learned how to use an old walker that our neighbor gave us. The other night, on the 20th, she just took off with her toy piano, walking around the house! When she would get stuck in a corner she would keep pushing and turning until she got out of it; she is very determined.

Today I visited JoElle for lunch and when I got there, her and her friend Toby, who is a year old, were both standing at a swing, dancing and chatting. Then, the two of the started using a toy as a walker together. It was so cute! They were walking around together. They also like to bang on the other cribs together and wake up the babies. Whenever Toby, Becca or Cassidy try to sleep, JoElle yells so that they will wake up and play with her! She won't stop until they wake up for her...!! JoElle also loves to rearrange the room, she moves the cribs around all the time.

JoElle just started refusing a morning bottle this week, instead she wants breakfast at daycare. Ms. Judy fixes really good pancakes and muffins, in fact, the other day JoElle ate 1 1/2 pancakes for breakfast at school!! She has a great appetite, and her nose is stuffy all the time from allergies, so she is getting tired of eating from a bottle.

Aunt Ana, Uncle Dan, and cousin Peyton are moving this weekend to their new house in Keller/Watauga, so Grandma is bringing cousin Peyton over Saturday while they move, so we are going to have lots of fun! Then we are going back to Peyton's house; he has stairs so it should be lots of fun!!

JoElle still loves to say "Da Da" although she will throw in "ba ba" and "la la" as well. The other night, Tim and I were both trying to get her to say "Mama" and everytime we said "Mama" she would answer "Dada!" It was cute!! She loves Daddy so much, especially when he tickles her and plays with her. She giggles like crazy when Dada tickles her!

"walking"

8 months old:
JoElle learned how to use her walker on September 20th; in fact, she turned her toy piano into a walker! She took the seat off and started pushing it to walk around! I can't believe she is so close to walking already. I wanted to cry becaues she is growing up so fast!!

So much is happening every day, it is really amazing! On Sunday, JoElle learned she can stand in the middle of the floor without holding on to anything; she is really learing some great balance. She can even stand up in the middle of the floor without pulling up. She is so flexible too everyone says she needs to be a gymnast.
JoElle loves talking, she jabbers all day. JoElle loves to eat finger foods, her two faves are green beans (which she eats everyday, her daycare likes to fix them for her) and as of today, tomotatoes from our garden in the back yard! We thought she was finished with lunch today and then I was fixing her bottle and she grabbed our tomatoe from the counter and devoured it! Then she ate another later on in the day from Uncle Aaron. At least she likes good stuff :)

JoElle is getting closer to walking, she loves to crawl. Cousin Peyton, Aunt Ana and Grandma spent the night Saturday and Daddy and Uncle Aaron went to see the TCU vs. OU game (Aunt Ana and Uncle Aaron are both horned frogs!) We had so much fun; JoElle was following Peyton around and imitating him. Once, he pushed her and she pushed him back...We took them to Ridmar mall to play at the indoor playground that they have and they both had a blast! JoElle made two new friends, a cute little girl and a cute little boy. She was chasing after them and giggling. They kept coming back and smiling and giggling at her too! A mean little boy came up to JoElle and intentionally pushed her down; I almost made him cry though by telling him he could have hurt the baby and he needs to tell her sorry. JoElle wasn't crying, I guess she is used to it from daycare!! She bumps her head all the time, no biggie we just clap and say "Yay" and she smiles! (That is, unless she is tired or sick)

Over the weekend, JoElle started crying every time Grandma or Aunt Ana left the room; she seems to think that Ana is her Mom too, she is getting the two of us a little confused :) I guess we look enough alike and talk alike! She loves to crawl to both of them so they can pick her up too!

We finally got to see cousin Isaiah and cousin Elena again (I think it has been around 2 1/2 months since we have seem them) Elena is already 4 months old, much bigger now. It's hard to believe that the two of them are cousins as Elena still doesn't have hair! Isaiah was making JoElle laugh, reading a book to her, hugging and kissing her and just having a ball with her!

Standing alone

Almost 8 months old:
JoElle can also stand up by herself without holding on to anything! She figured it out on Sunday, September 4th, when she was watching her cousin Peyton standing and walking all over the place. Now she is practicing this new skill all the time! JoElle can also stand up from sitting without holding on to anything, it's pretty impressive!

JoElle is 7 months old

JoElle is 7 months old! She is crawling like a pro now (she started crawling 3 weeks ago). JoElle loves to pull up on everything and stand up in her crib and she loves to walk when we hold her hands. JoElle looks like a little gymnast the way she does the splits and bounces around; she can almost stand in the middle of the floor with no help from any objects around her! She has really strong legs (chubby too!)

Cousin Peyton was over today with Aunt Ana, Uncle Aaron, and Grandma. We went to Marquez Bakery and the kids ate tamales and Mexican cookies. They also loved the colorful pinatas! JoElle was crawling around after Peyton, who just learned to walk. Everywhere he went, she crawled after him! It was so cute! Grandma had JoElle giggling so loud in the car like we have never heard before!
Yesterday, we walked around the mall with Granny and Uncler Aaron. JoElle really liked to eat with me, nuggets and fries from Chick-Fil-A.

JoElle- 7 months old

Her top two teeth are in as well as her two bottom teeth. She loves to pick up graham crackers and put them in her mouth to eat. JoElle also loves to eat tomotatoes that we grow in the backyard and green beans. She wants to feed herself EVERYTHING so I have to sneak her spoonful of baby food in while she is opening her mouth for whatever she is feeding herself. On August 6, we went swimming at Uncle Aaron's apartment and JoElle ate barbeque. She really liked it, she was grabbing my plate for more. JoElle will eat anything really :)

She also ate with my friend Layla for Layla's birthday at Razoos downtown Ft. Worth in August, and after downing an entire (big) jar of baby food, she also scarfed down fried pickles, some ribs, a piece of toast, and some cajun fries. Like I said before, she can eat!! JoElle also enjoys tamales. Her favorite baby food is still sweet potatoes. But I think pink guava comes in a close second (along with green beans & turkey and apples & chicken) Ok so bananas are also yummy, as are apples & blueberries....our little piggy!!

Swimming at Peyton's

Today we went swimming at Uncle Aaron's apartment with cousin Peyton, Granmda, Aunt Ana, Uncle Dan, and of course Uncle Aaron. It was lots of fun. JoElle ate barbeque, it was yummy stuff. She loved it so much she was grabbing it off Mama's plate! Also, JoElle chomped on some banana puddin' (see the pics I got it all over my mouth!!)

JoElle learned to crawl this week! She just took off last Wednesday and she is also pulling up to stand in her crib and anywhere else. JoElle loves to laught at our neigbor Lanrdri, who is almost three. Last night, Landri was jumping for JoElle and she was laughing so hard, it was really cute. JoElle is still learning lots at daycare, she gets to go outside, ride in a wagon, she made her first art project a few weeks ago, she sings lots of songs, and reads books.

She is still sleeping through the night, even with her teeth bothering her and her nose stuffed up from allergies. We have been really blessed, she has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 1/2 months old! I think she will probably be walking pretty soon.

Crawling

6 months : JoElle started crawling and pulling up!
JoElle has been crawling since she was 6 months and 1 week old! On August 3rd she started to actually crawl all over the place! Before that, she could only go a few crawls forward, and before that, many crawls backwards!! JoElle was rocking back and forth on all fours at 4 months, it took her two months to get the confidence and strength, but once she did, she just took off! She crawls and crawls and never looks back!
JoElle aslso started to pulling up to stand in her crib and everywhere else the same day she learned how to crawl. She likes to walk when we hold her hands. She is ready to just go! After a little over a month of this, now she can stand up in a split second, especially when we come in to her room to get her out of her crib, she scrambles up quickly and grins at us through the rails!

First words and new daycare

JoElle is saying Dada, especially to her daddy. She loves the reaction she gets from him. At daycare, her and the her friends like to see who can say it the loudest (I think she probably wins, she is very very loud!!) She has her first two bottom teeth, and two top teeth part way in.

Unfortunately, JoElle has allergies. The Dr. finally put her on Clarinex last week b/c she has been sick non-stop for the past 2 months with a runny, stuffy nose and cough. I keep getting sinus infections, and I am passing them on to her. Poor baby, it breaks our heart to see her suffering. She can't eat well b/c she can't breather. Please pray for complete healing. Tim and I both had allergies from the time we were born; we were praying she wouldn't have to endure this...

JoElle is in a new daycare, Christ Fellowship Baptist Church, as of June 18th. We all love her new daycare! They are so caring and they teach her so much.

She is learning so much, she learned how to clap her hands the first day at her new daycare and play peek-a-boo. They do so much with the kiddoes and there are only 4 of them in the room. She gets to sing, listen to Bible stories, play outside, play inside, and touch everything!! She really likes it there and is growing so much.
JoElle is babbling and giggling a ton! JoElle suddenly loves blankets and touching everything!!

JoElle's 6 month checkup

JoElle went to for her 6 month checkup yesterday. She has grown so much! She now weighs 17 lbs 3 oz (bigger than 75% of baby girls her age) and she is tall too, 27 inches long (bigger than 90% of baby girls her age). Yeah for JoElle, maybe she won't take after Mommy and Daddy after all!

Unfortunately, she did get allergies from Mommy and Daddy. She is now on Clarinex for her allergies and she also has eczema, we kept switching soaps b/c right around the time she got pink eye and a bad sinus infection, she started breaking out really bad on her back when she got her bath, esp from the shampoo. So now the Dr. told us to use a special soap and lotion, no more good smelling baby products for her! She gets her skin issues from Mommy, I couldn?t use perfume or anything like that until recently either.

Also, her dr. told us she is eating WAY too much formula a day (around 40-45 ounces a day); babies should only be consuming between 24-32 ounces daily. She is even eating baby food twice a day and still eating this much formula! Her Dr. said to offer her less milk and then she will eat more food.

JoElle has learned to clap, she loves patty cake and peek-a-boo. She also loves to blow raspberries again! Last week she was saying dada all the time, especially when Daddy was nearby! This week she would rather blow raspberries.

Today she was singing like crazy with me to praise and worship songs on the way to school. JoElle is SO close to crawling (and has been so very close for a month now) but instead of going forward, she extends her legs all the way when she is on all fours and sticks her boodie in the air! It looks so funny. Then she sits back and claps for herself. She is so proud of the way she can sit by herself. Last week she perfected getting into a sitting position from her tummy, so now she is a pro.

In the mornings, if she is already awake, I often find her sitting up in front of her aquarium, playing with it. She turns it on and plays around. She also likes to play with her plush turtle we bought for her before she was born from Sea World and her polar bear that Kim and Amy Stepp gave her. JoElle loves to hug the bear.

As soon as my home computer is fixed, I will post pics!! Both our computers aren?t working, so I am posting this from work!

Sitting alone, first tooth

( 5 months old) I can't believe how much JoElle has learned within the past week! She can sit all by herself, even without anything propping her up. I am amazed; she just learned this yesterday, but has been practicing for a while.

Her first tooth started to cut last week, it is showing and is so cute! Now her second one is popping up; she stopped sucking on her hands (which used to be her favorite thing to do) She must have chomped down on her finger once or twice...!

JoElle is SO close to crawling. She can crawl backwards and scoot while she is on her back; but she gets so frustrated that she is not going forward!! She is reaching for EVERYTHING, drooling on everything, and putting everything in her mouth.

She got pink eye last Friday, and now she has a cough again from a litlle boy in her class. JoElle weighs in at 15 pounds now; perfectly average. We visited our old church, First Baptist Euless, on Sunday since she couldn't go to the nursery at our own church (Fielder Rd Baptist). She had fun and it was great for her to see everyone again; it has been about two months since we were there last, the week after we dedicated her.
SO....any day now she will be crawling............

Separation anxiety kicks in...

JoElle started this over the weekend( 5 months), if Tim or I walk out of the room, she will cry until we come back, even with others in the room. She doesn't always do this, but she realizes now that if she cries or yells we will come back and get her!

She is starting to understand the concept of object permanance; I put her toy away today when we were at the credit union, and she looked over my lap and onto the floor where I had put it because she knew just because she doesn't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there...we are going to be in real big trouble soon I'm afraid! She is catching on quick....

Happy 1st Birthday Peyton

Cousin Peyton had his first birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese today it was lots of fun!! Peyton and JoElle both loved the disco lights and the people singing happy birthday and dancing! Peyton got a bunch of great toys; JoElle will have lots of fun over the coming months playing with Peyton and all his great toys! Aunt Ana, Uncle Dan and Peyton are moving closer (they are 1 1/2 hours away right now) to Keller; so it will be great to go visit them at their house once they move in July.

Ana graduated from her residency on Saturday; she is finally done with ALL her education. We are excited for her and very proud of all of her hard work and stamina. I don't know how she does it! She is truly amazing and a mom on top of it all! While we went to celebrate with her, Dan, Aaron, and my mom, Tandi babysat for us.

Tandi said within 5 minutes of our leaving, JoElle was awake and ready to play! So she played for two and half hours before finally conking out for the night! JoElle loves Tandi, before we left Tandi was talking to her and smiling at her and JoElle was loving it and grinning back!
At the church nursery today, JoElle's teacher told me when we picked her up "JoElle sure does like toys, she has been playing this whole time. She loves banging on this toy that makes noises when you bang on it!" Boy don't we know how much she loves toys! She has many different toys and she plays with each and every one. JoElle learns a lot from all the older kids in her daycare class; right now she is the only baby in her class. the rest are toddlers from 12 months to 16 months, and she watches them and imitates them and then they also play with her.

First foods and rolling over

We started feeding JoElle rice cereal and she loved it; she grabbed the spoon from me and stuck it in her mouth. Then, the next day JoElle decided it would be fun to blow raspberries while eating- she made a mess making bubbles with her cereal, but Daddy, Grandma, Uncle Aaron and I were cracking up!

On Saturday we went to Tim's cousin's graduation party in Lewisville and spent most of the day there- JoElle got to meet some cousins and great aunts and uncles. She did great!
Then, on Sunday we visited my Uncle Mickey and Aunt Pat in Joshua. My Aunt Carol and Uncle Herb were also there. JoElle really loves her great Uncle Herb, when he was talking to her, she started giggling at him like we have never heard before! It was adorable!

JoElle went swimming for the first time and learned how to roll over from her back to her tummy (she's been rolling from tummy to back since she was 10 days old, I guess the other way is more difficult). So she was showing off her new skill. The water was freezing in the pool, she looked at me like "What in the world are you doing to me???" She loves taking baths, but she likes the water really warm. She did fine though with me in their with her, she had fun kicking and touching the water with her hand. But then her little lip was quivering from being cold, so we had to get out!

Busy weekend

We had a busy weekend, lots of visitors! Grandad and Granny came over to visit in the morning when JoElle is most active. Grandad was "fighting" with Granny to hold JoElle, and she ended up falling asleep in his arms! It was very cute. Then, after a short power nap, JoElle was ready to play some more!

JoElle, me and Granny sang silly kid songs to a tape. JoElle loved it! She was smiling, giggling, and moving her arms and legs all around. Then, cousin Peyton showed up and he looked at us a little warily at first, then he warmed up to the singing and JoElle's Granny ended up holding him.Aunt Ana and Uncle Dan went to a day spa for some pampering, so Peyton stayed with us. We had lots of fun! Uncle Aaron and Grandma showed up; Grandma took Peyton outside and let him put his feet in the water. Then, JoElle joined him and we played outside on a quilt under an umbrella. Peyton forgot his hat, so he had to wear one of JoElle's (at least it was yellow!!). Check

JoElle finally was able to grab her feet for the first time outside on the quilt. They both enjoyed the time outside. Then, after JoElle went back down for a little nap, Peyton decided he didn't want a nap yet, so he and I joined Tim by the tub. We started by playing with the bubbles, then putting our feet in the tub. Finally, we both ended up in the whirlpool tub, fully clothed! Peyton was splashing around having a great time! We finally wore him out enough to take a nap! By Sunday we were all tired (except JoElle, e wanted to play after we got home from church but we wanted a nap. Guess who won? JoElle of course!!)

Blankets and watering the plants

JoElle suddenly loves blankets and has re-discovered her mobile in her crib; she stares at it as if it is new! Sometimes she just wants a break from everything and we put her in her crib to chill. When we put a blanket on her, her face lights up and she smiles! Then she grabs the blanket and pulls it over her face while kicking her little legs all over the place. Eventually she sticks her hand in her mouth and falls asleep.

Her latest food is carrots; so far she likes them.

JoElle loves to touch everything now, she likes to feel all the different textures around and then of course tries to grab whatever is in sight! On Saturday, she was trying to grab my plate at Corner Bakery, so I handed her to Grandma; one of the guys working there kept walking by and everytime he did, JoElle flashed him a HUGE smile!

JoElle likes for me to put her in front backpack carrier and water our plants with me. We have flowers, bamboo, cannas, mint, lilies, a pepper plan and tomato plants to water. I put her little hand in the water and she is interested in watching the water spurt out of the hose. When we were watering our tree, she was grabbing the leaves. It is fun to be with her to explore and discover new things!

JoElle: 4 month checkup

JoElle went to the doctor Tuesday, May 17th for her shots and 4 month checkup. She handled the shots very well. How much does she weigh now?
JoElle is 13 lbs. 12 oz. and 24.75 inches long. Her weight gain has slowed; she is in the 50th percentile (average) for her age, but her height is 75%!

Maybe there is hope for her yet, she may not be a shortie like her parents!! Daddy wants her to play in the WNBA after all!! Her head is so tiny, she can't wear very many hats....her head is in the 25th percentile.

Her Dr. told us that she says a lot of babies, but none have such a personality like JoElle does at her age! She loves to smile and giggle at everyone, she is definitely a people person. I wonder where she gets that from!!???!!!???
When Dr. Sampson tried to stick the tongue depressor in JoElle's mouth, JoElle tried to chomp on it!

Pray for us as we are giving JoElle a bottle of regular formula that is lactose free to see if she can switch from the very very expensive hypoallergenic formula. JoElle needs to start eating solids as she is consuming a lot of formula each day......
But before we start her on cereal, the Dr. wants us to get her on regular formula....JoElle has been sleeping 12-13 hours each night for the past month and a half and we don't want to disrupt that!

JoElle 4 months

JoElle has SO much energy! I have been sick twice in the past threee weeks, and she finally is sick now, but she is still happy as always. Yesterday, she went to the dr. with me after work/daycare and the ENTIRE time she bounced in my arms and smiled at everyone. If someone wasn't looking at her, she would stare at them until they looked, then smile at them so they would smile back! This girl loves attention, as if she doesn't get enough of it at home and at daycare!!

Everytime I visit her at daycare during my lunch, she is the only baby up while the other babies, most of them toddlers, are knocked out. JoElle is getting all of the attention and loving it! I think she probably stays awake for this; she really loves her teachers!

JoElle is starting to stay up a little bit later each night; she falls asleep a little later, at 7:30 or 8:00 now instead of 6:30, so we are getting to spend more time with her. She is grabbing EVERYTHING! JoElle is almost sitting up and almost crawling, probably only a few weeks away from both; but I am not sure that Tim and I are ready to be chasing after her...she already is packed with so much energy, I can't imagine what it will be like soon!!!!

We visited Aunt Carrie, Uncle Billy, and cousins Isaiah and Elena Sunday. Elena is doing well, she is eating like crazy and gaining weight! I got to hold her and feed her and she was looking for Mommy because she heard her voice, she looked at me like "who are you?"

JoElle was thoroughly entertained by her cousin Isaiah. He was making her laugh by making silly noises and dancing in front of her. Too bad we don't have him around when she wears us out....my mom told me JoElle shouldn't be the first, she has so much energy she needs an older brother or sister to keep her busy!

But soon she will be able to play with her cousin Peyton and Elena will be joining them too, so that will keep her busy over the weekend! Peyton will be a year old next week, June 14th. I can't believe it's been that long already!! Before I know it, JoElle will be one, too.

I already miss being able to hold her close to me, she is becoming very independent and wants to turn around, look at everything and bounce on my lap. The only time I can hold her tight is when she is sleepy. Everyone told me how much love you have for your children, but I never could have imagined it to be this wonderful. I love her so very much and Tim does too. It is wonderful to see the two of them. She looks for him always, loves for him to make her laugh; she is already starting to laugh when she looks at him. JoElle loves Daddy's attention and he loves to give it to her.

Teething and new cousin, Elena

JoElle's first girl cousin, Elena Ray Coats, was born on April 23rd, 2005. She weighed in at 5 lbs 2 oz and 18 inches long; she was several weeks early and is a cute, healthy baby.

Cousin Peyton is crawling and pulling up; he is so very close to walking!! He loves to touch JoElle and touch her hair. Her toys are yummy as he loves to put them in his mouth, too! Peyton likes to come and play with her toys and she just watches him.

JoElle is teething now...she was pretty fussy today at different times and she was gnawing on a wet washcloth just now like there's no tomorrow!

JoElle: 3 month checkup

JoElle was 12 lbs 7 oz at her last Dr. appt at 3 months old. She is about 25 inches long now. She loves to smile at everyone! JoElle is teething and loves to gnaw on everything, especially her hand. She puts herself to sleep by sucking on it.

Growth Spurt

JoElle has hit a little growth spurt in the last few days, she is gobbling down bottles and is still hungry and now her jeans and sleepers aren't fitting- they are too short!

She loves day care and they love her. JoElle has lots of little friends who talk to her, touch her hair, and try to rock her in her swings. When I come pick her up, they try to help me fasten her in her car seat and try to rock her!

Her teacher Ms. Jennifer says JoElle smiles all the time and is such a happy baby! Her teacher Ms. Susan tells me JoElle loves to grab the toys on her activity center and she pays attention to everything, really studying the world.

She has been sleeping through the night for three weeks now, she falls asleep by 6:30 p.m. and sleeps until I wake her up to leave at 6:30 a.m. WOW! What a difference from the first two weeks!

JoElle loves to smile at everyone who talks to her and smiles at her. We read the Bible to her along with Dr. Seuss and some cute baby books she can put in her mouth! She will sit on my lap and touch the books, listening and sometimes cooing. She coos in the car to the music like she is singing! JoElle likes to suck on her fingers, her lip, and she sticks everything in her mouth. JoElle also LOVES to watch t.v. She gets mad when I turn it off; she watched an entire Baby Einstein video Saturday while standing in her activity center, cooing at the colors on the screen.
We are having so much fun with her!

April 2005

JoElle has been in daycare for 4 weeks already! Her and Peyton took Easter bunny pictures together. She loves to smile at us and her teachers, too.

We are attending a new church- for various reasons- Fielder Road Baptist. It's closer to home than FBCE and we really love her teachers in the nursery. They look forward to her coming!
She is sleeping throught the night now! This whole week, she has slept from 7:30 to almost 7:00 a.m. Sometimes I have to wake her up to leave for work because she is still snoozing...

JoElle meets Isaiah and Aunt Carrie

JoElle met her cousin Isaiah and Aunt Carrie on Saturday! Isaiah had a great time with her, he insisted upon sitting next to her in the restaurant!

I taught Isaiah how to put her paci back in her mouth and wipe up all her drool! He told me he gives his baby sister Elena a hug in their mommy's belly every day. He didn't want to leave the restaurant because he was having fun with her.

JoElle is sick again with a cold from daycare this time, and so am I....She spent this morning in the nursery at church, and we went to Sunday School and worship service too. She was kinda fussy because she needed some sleep and wanted to be held by us. She has been through a whole week of daycare, and it went pretty well. She hardly sleeps there, just 20-30 minute naps 3 or so times a day. Instead of sleeping, she is busy looking around, watching the other babies and her teachers. When JoElle gets home, I feed her, we play a bit, take a bath, and then she is out for the night around 7:00 p.m.!

This little boy named "Scooby" kinda likes her, he is a toddler and whenever her swing at daycare stops, he pushes it for her! He always smiles at us when we get there in the morning.

2 month checkup

JoElle has really started noticing us and smiling at us in the past 3 weeks. She is even enjoying new people talking to her and smiling at her. She loves to smile back! JoElle also loves to talk to and smile at Grandma- my mom.

JoElle got five vaccinations at her last Dr appt on Aunt Ana's B-day (March 11th). She did great, but got fussy later that afternoon; it still wasn't near the fussiness we endured thos first two weeks when she couldn't tolerate the milk and the soy formulas!

She is now 11 lbs 9 oz and 23.5 inches long. Compared to other babies her age, she is now bigger and longer than only 80 percent of them, with an average sized head. So, compared to her body, her head is small which enables her to hold it up for minutes at a time, even while on her tummy. JoElle isn't growing as rapidly as she was at first, the first month she was bigger than 100% of baby girls her age. This makes sense, since Tim and I are both short and not huge people (ok so we both are trying to lose weight though...)

Grandma babysat for us on March 9th,which was our 3 year anniversary, so that Tim could suprise me by taking me to Sambuca's in Addison (it is a Mediterranean cuisines Jazz cafe that we both love....mmm delish!)

There is also a pic of JoElle with Grandma that I took when we got home. We don't worry about JoElle at all when Grandma is taking care of her. Grandma has really taken the time to get to know JoElle and the way we interact with her, feed her and all that, so JoElle is very familiar and comfortable with her, just like with us (until she gets superfussy occasionally!)

JoElle begins daycare on Monday in North Arlington, close to my new job. We really like the center and her teachers, and the other babies in her room are very friendly!
So pray for us and her as we transition into this new phase of babycare!

Going "back" to work...(new job)

I found a job on Wednesday, March 2, and training class starts on the 14th! I am both excited and sad. We must have the income and I need to work for myself, but I will miss being the one to take care of JoElle throught the day.

I know it will all work out just fine, please pray over her health and for protection for her as well as peace and wisdom for us.I will be working at a bankruptcy company called Ascension Capital Group, and the great thing is that it is in Arlington! It is across the highway from Six Flags, so my drive will be much, much better than the 1 hour to 1.5 hour commute I had to Irving. So we are wanting to find a daycare up in that area...

1 month old - smiling!!

JoElle is already a month old! Wow! Time flies...She started smiling at mommy and daddy Saturday! And when she smiles she really grins!

JoElle is really noticing us more; before she would stare at us when we fed her, now she is starting to notice us other times and is looking for us, too.JoElle got her pictures taken last week, and she did so well! She actually slept through most of them, so we got some cute sleeping baby pics.

She is still so very awake during the day, she doesn't require a whole lot of sleep. She has now been to church with us twice and lots of friends have met her. JoElle is getting used to us and us to her, things are much calmer!! She still loves to cry out when she needs or wants something, but we can calm her quickly, so it is not as stressful as her fussiness from the intolerance to milk!

I am actively seeking jobs, so please pray for me! It is challenging to apply and interview while taking care of the baby. My last job was temp to hire and they decided not to bring me back after having JoElle, ok so I thought this might happen, but it is still nasty. Needless to say, I must work for the income and my own sanity at times...:)

3 weeks old

JoElle is three weeks old today! She has been rolling over a lot from her tummy to her back- at first we just thought she accidently rolled over, but almost every time we put her on her tummy on the floor she rolls onto her back all by herself! She first rolled over the day we brough her home from the hospital, when she was 3 days old, in front of me and my mom.

Today she was waking up and getting hungry, so I went to get her bottle ready, and when I came back she was on her back looking at me! She is sleeping on her tummy a lot because she is much calmer this way, she doesn't sleep well at all on her back. She can move her head very well, so we are not worried about her. The reflux medicine and switching from soy formula to Nutramigen seems to be working, she is much happier and calmer.

JoElle: 2 week checkup

JoElle went to the Dr. for her two week checkup today.She now weighs 10 lbs 4 oz and is 22.75 in long. So she is a growing girl! She is in the 100 percentile for height and 97 percentile for weight.We switched her formula AGAIN to an even more easy to digest formula(hence more expensive, Nutramigen) and now she is on acid reflux medicine, too. We hope this will reduce her fussiness and allow her to get some rest at night.

2 weeks old

JoElle is two weeks old today- but it seems like she has been here even longer than that!We are still struggling with her formula, we aren't so sure that this soy formula is good for her either, but we go see the doctor on Tuesday, we will know more then.

She was up for 5 or so hours last night crying almost the whole time because she doesn't feel well. She hardly got any rest last night until I slept with her in my arms. This week we plan to take her for pictures (we will see how she feels!!) and it is also my birthday on Wednesday, so Grandma has offered to babysit so Tim and I can go out. She is a perfect angel for Grandma! Grandma also offered to stay a night or two so Tim and I can both sleep. Sounds like a plan to me!

First encounters

Our neighboor's Mark and his girlfriend Andrea came to see JoElle today- Mark says JoElle looks just like Daddy. They both walked off saying how gorgeous (and big) she is...well we think so too (not big though, she seems small to us especially compared to her 7 month old cousin Peyton) Grandma came for a visit, too (my mom). This is her first time to visit since she helped us coming home from the hospital. She changed JoElle's diaper like an old pro!

First bath- still so fussy

Last night we gave JoElle her first sponge bath (yeah yeah it's been almost a week, but she has been fussy! Who can blame us?)She enjoyed it, maybe because she was quite drowsy from Tylenol!!! JoElle is a very touchy, fragile baby. If you know what she wants and what she is trying to tell you, she is happy and responds well. But if you miss it, she gets herself worked up rather quickly! But now we are confident we CAN calm her down, and are finding more ways to do so.She loves to suck, so sometimes it is confusing: is she hungry? Just likes to suck?? So she is on a 2 hour feeding schedule, which is working out well! This morning, she found her thumb! I found her in her swing sucking on just her thumb with all her other fingers up in the air like a big kid. She has always loved to suck on her hands (since birth and before, as seen on the last ultrasound in Dec), and the Dr. told us she was going to be a thumb sucker! Well, she is already!

JoElle is not tolerating milk or soy based formula...

We have made it through a week! WOW!!Poor JoElle has been having digestive problems and not able to sleep for hours on end each night- crying the whole time because she has gas and can't get it out (even with Mylicon). Daddy and I have both been calming her the best we can, but she is in pain. So this morning, we called her doctor and said enough, what can we switch to? So now she is on soy based milk instead. Daddy also has a problem with lactose and both of us couldn't tolerate milk based formulas as babies either, so this is really not surprising.We just can't wait to have a happier baby once she adjusts to her new formula! It is hard to see her in such pain.

First doctor visit

We are going to her doctor today. This will be her first trip out of the house since we brought her home!! At 5 days old, at her first Doctor visit, JoElle weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz. After birth, she did not lose any weight, she left the hospital weighing the same as when she was born (9 lbs).

JoElle is born! January 17, 2005

JoElle Alexandria was born at 4:52 p.m. on Monday, January 17, 2005 after two and a half hours of pushing. She just didn't want to come out to see the world yet, but we are so happy she is here!

She weighed 9 lbs and is 20.25 in long! Two days later, at her first Dr.'s appt JoElle weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz. At her two week checkup she was 10 lbs 4 oz and 22.75 in. long. She is just growing so fast!!

JoElle was born with head full of curly gorgeous black hair- it was very curly when she was born, it kinda flattens a little when she is laying down and her hair dries.

JoElle came home from the hospital with us on Wednesday the 19th. We had a rough few nights Wed, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday because her tummy is really upset- We decided to take her off of milk formula and try her on soy based formula. She is doing SO much better! She actually wants to take her bottle now and eat and she sleeps afterwards! She wasn't getting much sleep for hours on end because she was so miserable. This is the baby we THOUGHT we were bringing home from the hospital!! She definitely loves her Daddy, especially his voice. It is adorable how she gazes up at him. JoElle is very precious, and I can't wait for her to meet everybody! From the moment she was born, when Daddy said her name, she stopped crying to look for him as she recognized his voice! Daddy had been reading Hop on Pop to her almost every night, plus talking to her before she was born.

JoElle was born on her Great Grandma Bertha's birthday. JoElle's cousin, Peyton Garlon Schuman, was born on June 14, 2004 to Ana and Dan. Peyton and JoElle are only 7 months apart! JoElle has another cousin due (a baby girl to be named Elena Raye) in May of this year. They will be only about 3 months apart! JoElle's oldest cousin is Isaiah James and he is 7 years old.

40 weeks pregnant

JoElle is somewhere between 7 and 8 lbs (it has been several weeks since the last ultrsound, when she was 7 lbs).Yes I am huge...If she hasn't come by the 17th, our Dr. will be inducing that week, which is a week after her due date. So, no more than a week and 1/2 now!I am still working, keeps me busy. But Tim has been driving me to work for the past few weeks now.