Meeting my new friend Catherine

Our friends Mel and Rus welcomed Catherine into their family two weeks ago. On Sunday we got to take them a meal. Joy couldn't meet Catherine in the hospital when we went to visit. Joy thought that Catherine was enthralling. Joy kept wanting to touch Catherine and put her in her mouth :-) It is hard to believe that six short months ago Joy was actually smaller than Catherine. 

 Joy actually wore this same poke-a-dot outfit!

Welcome to the world Catherine you are a blessing!

Happy Birthday Grandma Lorna

Grandma Lorna is having a BIG birthday today! I took some pictures of Joy with the bear that Grandma and Grandpa Christensen gave her. Grandma Lorna also gave Joy the bear that she sleeps with and sucks on all night. We love you Grandma and we hope that you had a good day celebrating with the rest of the family .

Rudy wanted to get in on the pictures (since he knows how much Grandma Lorna LOVES him) but he thought I was asking him to do some tricks :-)

  

Joy loves putting EVERYTHING in her mouth right now especially fuzzy soft things, so this bear was no exception 

The Many Faces of Green Beans

Today Joy tried green beans for the first time. I will let you decide what she thought about them. 

Bananas and carrots and cereal...oh my

Feeding Joy solid food has been hilarious! She likes rice cereal (made with breast milk) quite a bit and likes anything that has LOTS of breast milk in it...can't blame her since that has been her exclusive diet for the past 6 months. We have tried carrots and they went down easier when I mixed them with rice cereal and breast milk (thanks for the idea mom) and we have tried bananas. This morning she shuddered on every bite of bananas and milk but if she "helped" and held the spoon she was more willing to eat. Looks like we have an independent little girl on our hands :-)

 This picture is for Kalina who wanted to know why Joy wasn't wearing her hippo bib (Kalina's 3.5 year old son has one that matches)....well a) it is huge on her, b) I have forgotten how to snap it, so I may need a tutorial from her and c) Joy just wants to eat the bib :-)

 Rudy is becoming more of a fan of Joy now that solid food has been introduced. Inevitably Joy swings her hand and some gets on the floor so Rudy is learning to stay close. He tries to lick her fingers and bib when I turn away! Yesterday a whole spoonful of carrots, breast milk and cereal flew to the ground and Rudy couldn't have been more delighted. Maybe Rudy, this new hairless puppy isn't so bad after all.

We need to buy a high chair since the bouncy seat is a little too reclined and Joy wriggles out of the bumbo too easily (it was recalled for that very reason!). I think Joy might be left handed like her Grandpa Paul and Grandma Lorna, it definitely seems to be her more dominant hand.

Happy half birthday

Joy is 6 months old today. Happy half birthday baby! 

What Joy is doing:

 Got to love that mouth and sunshine eyes!

• Joy seems to still be working on teeth though nothing has come in yet, she chews on anything within arms reach. 
• Joy is rolling all over the place and loves sucking/chewing on her toes (or on whatever is nearest to her, in the case of the picture below: her dolly)

Eats: Nurses every 3 hours and has started eating solid food (once a day)

• Solid food:  Nothing too exciting yet, only rice cereal (and carrots once, which was hilarious to watch her eat because she actually gagged, her dad actually feels the same way about carrots). Next week I may start with some purees for real.  The first few times she wasn't really into it but last night she was quite excited to eat it. Sorry the video is so long (2+ mins), first time parents think that everything their child does is exciting so don't feel like you have to watch the whole video :-)

Sleeps: We have been doing some major sleep training with Joy now that we are back home.

•  Night time: Joy goes to bed between 6:30-7pm and wakes up between 6-7am. She now only eats once in the middle of the night (instead of 4 times like all summer). She goes to bed without her paci because when it falls out she wakes up. She still cries a little going down but not long and sometimes we hear a little noise in the middle of the night but it doesn't last long. 
• Naps: Joy still takes 3-4 naps and is doing much better at napping longer than 40 minutes. She loves per paci during nap time.

Weighs: Joy goes in for her 6 month appointment next week but I weighed her using my homemade method and she weighs:15.1lbs.

Likes: She still loves sleeping with bear and being swaddled (although she is getting strong and breaks out of her swaddle and then wakes herself up with flailing arms). Joy loves riding public transportation and people watching. She likes having books read to her and chewing on new toys.

Joy and her friend Elena (who is a couple months older so has mastered a few more skills :-)

Dislikes: Joy dislikes being left alone for too long even if she is in a good mood. I think we have a social butterfly on our hand.

Favorite event: Being back in her Hong Kong house and having her own room again (oh wait maybe that is her mom speaking :-)

Shoes

I sure hope that Joy loves shoes....because she already has 16 pairs (not all the same size....but still, good thing they are small :-)

Home sweet home

We are home after a very fun and full summer! It was great to see so many of our family and friends. We are happy to be back to our life and friends here. We have spent the weekend cleaning our house, buying groceries, unpacking, finding new homes for things we bought in our tiny house and feeling quite jet lagged. I have to remember how to cook since I barely cooked all summer.

Joy did GREAT on the flight, not a peep out of her. However jet lag is another story. Poor girl has a really hard time with it (like her dad) and thus we have all been a little sleep deprived and a little grumpy. This summer it took us a week to get over the jet lag so hopefully we only have a few more days of it.

Brad is at work this week for in service and school starts next week. I love the first day of school and it is a little weird that I will not be there, but Joy and I are having a very fun time together.

Here are a few pictures from before we left the US

 Yumm I love to eat everything these days

 My great grandma requested a picture and Joy cooperated with a smile

 Joy loves her activity mat and is busy rolling over