Grandma's Sweetheart

Grandma Lorna bought Joy this very cute outfit over the summer. It finally fits and the weather today is finally a little cooler so Joy can wear pants and not sweat! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa

 Joy playing with Rudy's toys. She finally found the secret hiding place for his toys but couldn't squeeze through the tight space. She also found the dog food yesterday and had a handful of kibble in her hand and a piece in her mouth. YUCK. Time to move the dog food. Poor Rudy can't keep track of where all his stuff in in our house.

Happy Halloween

     

 So since Joy doesn't keep on costumes (since everything goes in her mouth) and doesn't care about the holiday yet....I decided to go with something pretty low key and free. My friend Heather let us borrow a lamb hat and Joy was a little lamb for all of 5 minutes. We had a fun time at mom's group at Joy's first Halloween party. She had on my lap and ate a little Joy cookie (oats and bananas) but was eying the candy. Maybe next year baby!

 

 Lamb, Spider and a Jack O Lantern

Then Indiana Jones joined the crew

Happy 35 + weeks of life Joy

Where has the time gone? As of October 17th Joy as been out as long as she was in. I definitely felt like being pregnant for 35 weeks was a longer time frame than having Joy in our family for 35 weeks.  It is funny how we perceive time. The first 3+ months of pregnancy seemed to last forever and I never thought I would feel normal again. Similarly the first three months of Joy's life were endless days that melted into nights of nursing and wondering if we were doing it all "right"....and I wondered if I would ever the same again. Joy did change our lives and no we would never feel the same. It is impossible to imagine our life without Joy. She has forever changed our lives for the good. 

Here I am at 33 weeks pregnant (the last belly pic I took before Joy was born)

 

Here we are in Thailand with Grandma and Grandpa Christensen, the last vacation before Joy was born

  

Our first family picture (Joy 1 week old). Do I look tired or what?

 

Here are 35 things that we love about Joy, in no particular order. 

We love that.....

1.  you surprised us and came 5 weeks early 
2. your favorite books are "Llama Llama Nighty Night"  and "Daddy Calls me Doodlebug" (daddy reads them to you almost every night)
3. when you really like a book you try and put the main character in your mouth 
4. you prefer to eat solid food in the walker than in your high chair
5. you bounce up and down in the walker when you are excited about what you are eating
6. you are entertained by cheerios so mommy can work on dinner
7. you giggle and laugh every time you are tickled
8. you make friends with everyone we sit next to on the bus 
9. you love to chew on mommy's flip flops (I take them away as quick as I can because they are dirty) 
10. you love to splash in your bathtub 
11. you like to chew on your yellow rubber ducky 
12. you like to "pet" Rudy (with daddy's help) 
13. you love plants
14. you smile when mommy makes sheep sounds..every time!
15. you laugh when daddy makes monkey sounds 
16. you love to play with the Tylenol syringe...
17. ..and the dog toys
18. ..and your hair brush
19. ..and wooden spoons
20. you forever changed our lives
21. you like riding around in the Ergo
22. you still want to nurse because it is mommy's only time to snuggle with you
23. you are healthy and growing(and never spot moving when you are awake)
24. you slept for 12 hours straight two nights in row (with no eating in the middle) 
25. for the past 2.5 months your bedtime is 6pm
26. you have the cutest two bottom teeth
27. you take great naps (now that mommy has cut out caffeine)
28. you love to be near mommy or daddy 
29. you smile and laugh as soon as daddy walks in the door 
30. you listen so attentively while daddy reads to you at night
31. you babble and squawk when you are awake in your bed 
32. you suck your thumb 
33. you  love your bear 
34. you don't mind being all sweaty (good thing since we live in HK)
35. God blessed us with the most amazing little person in the whole wide world

Our most recent family picture (Joy almost 8 months old)

Two teeth and a bath

We tried to get a picture of Joy's two little front teeth while she was chewing on a teething biscuit....it was pretty hard but we finally got one. After eating that teething biscuit we had to have an early bath because she was COVERED in little pieces of the biscuit. Bath time has become quite the ordeal, as Joy has taken to pooping in the tub at every bath....fun. There is no poop in the pictures below just a cute baby bum and Joy's favorite rubber ducky.

 

Grass Island "Tap Mun"

We wanted to go on a hiking adventure and even though it started like a misadventure it ended up being lots of fun. It was beautiful weather (but yes we are still sweating in HK in the third week of October), fun hike, and even a ferry ride. We capped off the day with Thai food and then home so joy could have a nap.

8 Months Horray!

 I love chewing on wooden things, so my hair brush and blocks are great!

What Joy is doing: 

• Joy is moving very quickly but not in a crawling motion, more of an army crawl. She likes being on the tile because she can scoot even quicker. It was very hard to get pictures this month because in most of the pictures she was moving and not sitting all cute and smiley. 
• Joy has two bottom teeth.  They just poked through two days ago and we are glad! Poor girl was in a lot of pain (especially at night). They feel just like Rudy's puppy teeth.  
• Joy has been practicing sitting up and can finally do it unassisted. However, she only lasts about a minute because she wants to move and sitting is not conducive to movement. 
 

 

• Everything goes into her mouth still. Her favorite toys are dog toys or anything that isn't a baby toy. Rudy BRINGS his toys to her now, which is cute but defeats the purpose of us hiding his toys from her. I have started putting her toys on the bottom book shelf and she thinks they are not for babies and thus wants to play with them. She had discovered the dog food and water..so we need to find an new home for that.  

 

 Eats

• Nursing:Joy still eats every 4 hours and once during the night. While teething she wanted to nurse more, poor girl.
• Solid food: Joy is doing a great job with solid food. She is ok with lumps (although it still has to be very warm, no lukewarm food for this little girl) and eats three meals a day. I introduced her to the baby puffs and she LOVES THEM. They are a great distraction while we are out to eat, or while I am on the train and she needs to be quiet. I need to track down regular Cheerios, but I think they are hard to find here in HK. 
• Loves: pumpkin, carrots, green beans, apples, pears, avocado, peas, oatmeal
• Verdict is still out on: bananas  (a bit to slimy for her I think)
• Introducing this week:zucchini
• Need to try again: sweet potatoes (gave her terrible diaper rash first time)

Sleeps:

•  Night time: Joy still likes the swaddler loosely around her waist, but she has got the hang of sleeping on her tummy. As long as her bear is there (and her thumb) she is a happy girl. Her bedtime is still really early (6pm) and sleeps until 6am. She is a happy morning person and can play in her bed for 15 minutes, talking and playing with her stuffed animals.
• Naps: Joy takes three naps and now that I have cut out caffeine they are much longer and no fussing when she goes down. 1st nap: 40 min, 2nd: 1 hour and 3rd:1 1/2 hours. So I guess part of her nap problem was the caffeine. She goes to sleep without any fussing, it is amazing!  It is very hard for her to sleep in the carrier and unless I bring her bear it is impossible. 

Weighs: Joy weighs 16.2 lbs and is finally wearing some 6-9 month clothes. She has been in 6 months clothes since about 5 months.

Likes:
*Her bear is still her favorite and holds it while she sucks her thumb. While teething she got to hold bear  A LOT.
*She loves people and if no one is talking to her or smiling at her on the MTR she will start to cry.
* She loves going out and gets bored if we spend the day at home.
* Dog toys & Rudy, although he is really not to sure now that she can move quickly.
*Chewing on board books
* She likes crashing into things and tearing down the hallway in her walker.

                                              
Dislikes: I was holding a friend's 2 month old a couple days ago and Joy was VERY jealous. She  doesn't like it when I leave the room. Also she is a little wary of strangers holding her. Can we say  a little mommy attachment/separation anxiety!

Favorite event: Having a Saturday morning with just her and daddy while mommy was out to brunch with friends.

Dear Joy,
You are an amazing little baby. You are so very smiley and giggly. You make your dad and I laugh a lot. Now that you are on the move you keep me on my toes because you love to suck on the grossest dirtiest stuff in the house. You are not a very cuddly baby because you like to be on the move but you do like to have mommy and daddy close and we like being close to you.You are always on the move now and it is fun to see you explore the world around you.  Our lives are brighter because of the joy you bring us. Joy we pray for you every day and we pray that your self-esteem as you grow will be rooted in the realization that you are "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:10).
love, Mommy and Daddy

A weekend of fun

This weekend has been a lot of fun. Brad watched Joy twice so that I could go out with friends!What a great husband I have :-)  I went to the movies on Friday night and then out to brunch this morning. Tonight Brad is off to a movie with some guys, so we are tag teaming going out to the movie since you can't really take almost 8 month old baby to the movies. I love Joy and missed her while I was out but it has been amazing to get out of the house without her, my purse is tiny without all of her accessories.

Mommy after the movie, it is amazing how quickly I walk without a 15lb weight strapped to me

Joy having a bottle with daddy (above) and Mommy at brunch with friends (below)

This weekend Joy has been practicing her crawling skills and is highly motivated to move for dog toys!  Here are some movies since Grandma Susan requested videos since she is traveling at the moment and hasn't had her dose of Joy on skype video.

Sore gums

 Can you see my bulging gums?

 Practicing my crawling skills. I like being on the tile because I get better grip with my toes!

Even while teething this little girl is full of smiles!

Joy comes in the morning....

Here are some pictures of Joy. It has been a busy week. Brad was off at camp for two nights, leaving me a single mother...which I hated (mainly because I had to take out the dog :) We are happy to have him home! Joy has been working on her two bottom teeth, so she has been pretty sad in the middle of the night and a big fussy and clingy during the day.  Hopefully there will be a picture soon of these teeth!

 Look I can fly!

All these pictures are making me tired