Busy baby

Joy is a very busy baby and into everything! She likes to sit for a few minutes but would rather practice standing up.

Dragon baby

Joy was born in the Year of the Dragon very auspicious and lucky year. She finally fits the Dragon onesie that was given to her at her baby shower.

Daddy is so funny!

Look at me stand

Joy has been practicing kneeling this week. Then yesterday she attempted to stand up. She still gets a little stuck and needs someone to rescue her from standing (or the splits :-)

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree.....

.....why are you so enticing?

After a little time of exploring this great new "toy" in our house with mommy and daddy watching carefully....the ottoman is now securely in front of the tree and for the time being Joy hasn't figured out how to get behind the chair. I'm giving her about a week to figure it out. This baby has a great memory. She now knows where the dog food is kept and makes a bee line for the bathroom door if it is ever left open. :-)

Setting up the Christmas tree

Brad had Friday off work (for Thanksgiving) and we set up the Christmas tree (I have been waiting patiently for weeks). We did it in shifts while Joy napped because putting up a tree with a little one around is a little hard. Joy loves the tree and will "sit" with Brad and look at it..or should I say strain and try to propel herself towards the tree so she can touch it. So far she has just been in the walker so we will what happens to the tree once she is crawling around. We may have to rig up the baby gate somehow :-)

 

9 months of cuteness

 What Joy is doing: 

• Joy loves to move! She is still doing her crazy "swimming" crawling.
• She finally mastered sitting but she hates to sit and likes to stand up. She can get up to her knees (sometimes) but can't pull herself up to a standing position. She has fallen over a few times when standing so when she is in the standing position she holds on for dear life. 

• Joy has two bottom teeth and is working on her top teeth but nothing is poking through yet. 

• Everything still goes into her mouth still. The finger nail clippers are still her favorite toy as is my lanyard from grad school. 
• 

 Eats

• Nursing:Joy still eats every 4 hours and once during the night. 
• Solid food: Joy loves to eat and really puts it away! She likes to feed herself cheerios and peas.
• Loves: pumpkin, carrots, green beans, apples, pears, avocado, bananas, peas, zucchini, egg yolks, oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, flax seed
• Verdict is still out on: I just introduced egg yolks and they are a strange texture. Joy eats them but is a little unsure if she totally likes it.
• Introducing this week:Lentils, chicken 
• Joy has mastered drinking out of a sippy cup without drowning in the water. She still can't tilt it on her own...but she is getting close

Sleeps:

•  Night time: Nothing has changed in this department. She still sleeps for 12 hours and goes to bed at 6pm.She is still swaddled loosely and once the weather gets cooler she will try a sleep sack. 
• Naps: Joy is taking 2-3 naps a day. Many days she only wants to take two naps,  so we are still trying to figure out the new schedule. She hasn't slept in the carrier at all this month. 

 

Weighs: Joy weighs 17 Lbs. Although weighing her using my homemade method (aka sling attached to a suitcase scale) is getting more tricky now that she is so wiggly!

Likes:
*Bear (and sucking her thumb) and Joy are inseparable even during waking hours. He comes in the car,in the stroller,  in the carrier and sometimes when she is playing. Thankfully Grandma & Grandpa Christensen are mailing us bear's brother "frog" and we will get him at Christmas.
*Joy is a people person still. She greets each new person who enters an elevator or who sits next to her with a cute little screech.
* She likes screws in things and metal objects (like the door stop) and will 'play' with them for a long time.
*  Joy loves trying to climb out of her bath tub....it is a dangerous and slippery endeavor.
* Joy gets a kick out of other babies and gets very excited when she sees one.
* Joy loves Rudy, especially when he is close to her. Rudy has been a little traumatized by her recently because she has been crashing into so many things with her walker, chases him around the house and wants to be in his dog bed. So we moved Rudy's dog bed to the back so he has a retreat from little miss Joy.

                                              
Dislikes: Separation anxiety are in full swing, but at church she did let two people hold her for a few minutes. She also still doesn't like her stroller. Joy is very vocal about expressing her dislikes, as you can see in the picture below (she didn't want to be sitting anymore :-)

Favorite event:Joy went to her first Thanksgiving lunch at church this past Sunday. Mommy and daddy are going to another Thanksgiving dinner on the actual day but are leaving Joy with a babysitter. This will be the first time someone other than mommy has put her to bed. We hope it goes well!