Army Crawling

Yep, he's finally doing it!! Joshua has been scooting around for a while now, in sitting position. But now, he's moving the army style and gets anywhere he wants. Not real quick yet, which is good for me, but he's certainly on the move!! Go Joshua!!

Joshua is 9 months old~

We went in for Joshua's 9 month checkup on his actual "month-day" this month!! Doctor says he looks great, growing well, and looks very healthy. Joshua weighed in at 20 lbs 6 ozs, and measured 28.5 inches. He is right at 50th percentile for his age. Same as Kateli, Joshua is not keen on the checkups, he hates for the doctor to look in his ears, much less use the tongue depressor to look in his mouth; yet, he did great. He did have to get a shot, and that was NOT fun. He cried for about 5 seconds and then was done. We were lucky that he didn't run any temps due to the shot. He was a happy boy as always after his appointment.

I have to add that Kateli went with us to Joshua's checkup, and she behaved like an angel. I could not have asked for any better behavior from her. She was truly a big girl, and she showed so much concern when she heard her little brother screaming as he got his shot. "what happen, mommy?" she asked me with a look of concern on her sweet little face. Once I grabbed Joshua in my arms to console him, Kateli came over to us quickly and pulled me down so she could pat him on his back, give him a big kiss and say "i luv you, mano"....how sweet is that!! My kids are wonderful!! Thank you Lord!

Dapper, dapper?

Here is a shot of my little guy that I took today. I can't decide if I like it in color better, or in the b&w. What do you think?

Back at the zoo for a new year

We went to the zoo yesterday with abuela and enjoyed walking around. The weather was beautiful, a little windy, but the temperature was just right. Here are some pics that I took on our outing

More pics of our little guy

Okay, so I know that I'm taking lots of pics of this little guy lately and not too many of Kateli. It is by no means that I DON'T want to take pics of our little princess--actually I would love to get some good shots of her. For right now though, she sees the camera come out and she starts saying "no, no, mami, no pictures/fotos" so you can imagine how much cooperation I get from her...:( I am hoping it is a phase that will pass and she'll let me take pics of her soon. For now, I'm enjoying taking shots of the only one in the house that doesn't mind it when I have the camera out--although as you'll see in the pic, he DOES mind being on his tummy...not his favorite!! Here is one shot. I've posted some more to share on Flickr. You can view the pics here: Joshua 8 months almost

Front two teeth...well, bottom teeth

Yep, our little guy has his second bottom tooth. I guess he's been working on that one for a few days now, but I just noticed it today. We were out in the front yard, and I was being silly...so he smiled BIG, and I took a peek. There is a second little tooth coming in!! WOW!!!

Days shy of 8 mos old

I know...I know. I was late in posting Joshua as 7mos old, and now I'm early at posting him as 8 mos!! but time is FLYING!! Here is a cute pic I got of this little guy recently!

He is now trying to move forward to get things that are out of his reach! It's so much fun to watch. Joshua has not ever really enjoyed his tummy time, so since he started sitting up, I put him on the floor with toys in front of him. He's going to start crawling from the sitting position, which is different than what Kateli. Kateli enjoyed tummy time! So, she started crawling by getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. Joshua on the other hand, is starting from sitting position, so he leans over, catches himself with his arms and starts turning one leg out behind him. He hasn't gotten the other one quite behind him yet, so for now he ends up in a split position. I'll have to post some pics of that--it's quite amazing. So, anyway once he's in this position he starts rocking forward, grunting and reaching for the item in focus...

Joshua is sleeping through the nights now--well, for the most part. Seems that when Kateli is up at night, he tends to be woken up. Can't say that I blame him, I mean if everyone else is up, why miss out on all the fun!! He's graduated to eating fruits now, and three times a day, all the while nursing about 4 or 5 times a day! I'd tell you if he had a favorite, or if he preferred the fruits over veggies, but I can't say that he's shown a preference. He eats whatever is on his spoon and put in front of his mouth, and he DOESN'T wince! He has his cereal for breakfast; then a fruit for lunch, and for dinner it's a veggie and cereal. In between these meals he nurses!! It's amazing how well this child eats. Let's hope it lasts!!

Joshua is 7 months old

Drinking from a straw?

Yes, Joshua does well drinking from a "straw sippy cup" I haven't tried a real straw, but I would think it's the same. In fact it may take a little more to drink from the sippy cup than from a real straw...who knows. I decided to try a straw sippy cup, because while Joshua does well drinking from a regular sippy cup, he doesn't quite know how to tilt it up yet. Anyway, that is something new that our little man is doing now.

I may have spoken too soon!!

But with babies, I guess you never know what the new "day" will be like. It's kind of unpredictable. Well, I may have spoken too soon to post about Joshua sleeping 12+ hours. Last night, he slept from 8:00pm to 4:45am, and then pretty much stayed awake after that. The good thing though, is that while he was awake, he still stayed in his crib quietly. He didn't take his afternoon nap today, yet he was still happy as could be. As much as he rubbed his eyes, and I tried putting him down for naps, he was just wanting to be up playing and part of the fun! Didn't want to miss anything, I suppose!

Sleeping through the night. Eating like a champ. And drinking from a sippy cup!

I guess, in a way the Marshy Corner blog has become all about our little guy. You may already be aware of the new blog we started for our daughter, after being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). If you're not up to date and would like to walk alongside us on the journey to recovery, please visit the new blog, ALL in God's Hands.

So, an update on Joshua. Can I just say again that this little guy is the happiest baby boy I've ever seen!! I know I say that almost each time that I write about this little man. But seriously, I think this little guy is ALWAYS happy and smiling! Lately, he doesn't even complain when he's got a dirty diaper; and he doesn't cry too much when he's hungry either. So, what can I tell you about him that's new??

Well, last night for the first time in his 6 1/2 months, Joshua slept through the night. His night sleeping has elongated once we started eating cereal, but he would usually wake up about 11pm to nurse and then sleep through about 5:45 or 6am. That was awesome and we were enjoying that quite a bit. But last night, I put him down for bed about 7:15 pm and I had to go get him this morning at 7:30am so that he could nurse. You mommies, out there that nurse, can imagine in how much pain I was when I woke up this morning. He had skipped two feedings!! yes, I was in some pain!!

Let's see, what else?? Well, I've already shared with you that he's cutting his first tooth. And, he is!! But the little pearly seems to be taking it's sweet time. I check every day to make sure that I am not making up this milestone--and I'm not. I see the little white slit of a tooth under his gum, trying to make it's entrance! In the meantime, he continues to soak his tops with drool. He's chewing on anything that he can get his little chubby hands on and he's bitten me a couple of times, while he nurses--OUCH!!

He's still enjoying his breakfast and dinners with the family, in addition to the few times a day that he is still nursing . These days, Joshua eats cereal in the morning, after he nurses. In the evening, I nurse him and then we sit down for dinner; he eats a Stage 1 veggies, followed by rice cereal. He nurses again right before going down for the night. So far, Joshua is enjoying the veggies. He's had green beans, sweet peas, sweet potatoes and carrots!! and do you think he's made a face at any of those?? NOT ONCE!! He's a great eater! Let's just hope that he continues to like the veggies, after he has a taste of the yummy fruits.



Oh, before I forget! Joshua has also gotten the hang of drinking out of a sippy cup!! No, he hasn't quite figured out how to hold the cup, so mommy has to help. Must be a different sucking motion than nursing though, because it took him a couple of times before he finally figured it out. Our pediatrician recommends that Joshua only take about 4 ounces of water or juice throughout the day; he prefers for babies to get the majority of their liquid intake from formula or breastmilk--which is fine by me. So, I've given the little guy water. His favorites though seem to be the fresh squeezed apple juice and the fresh squeezed orange juice he's had the last two days!! Yummy!!

I FOUND IT...

The little sweater that I knit for baby, when I was pregnant with Joshua!! Yes, he is 6 1/2 months old now, and I'm just now finding it. Luckily I didn't knit a newborn size, but a 3 to 6 month size. So, it fits...well, kinda; and probably just this one time. But check it out, does this little guy look dapper or what?

Just some pics

Cutting his first tooth

Joshua is cutting his first tooth!! how exciting is that?? He has been drooling like crazy and sticking things in his mouth all the time. He's always seemed to be a drooler, but lately it has been a whole lot more drooling than normal. He's been a little fussy, and he's had a runny nose; which I thought were just remnants from his flu last week. Now, I'm beginning to think that some of the fussiness and runny nose is attributed to his tooth coming in. Today, as he sat down playing with toys and sticking just about anything in his mouth I decided to feel his gums and try to take a peek. I feel something, but it's really tiny so I had to look closely! Yep, he's got a bottom tooth coming in!! Kateli didn't cut her first tooth until about 2 days before she turned 9 months. I remember we were coming home from the gym, when she grinned at me and I saw that little tooth for the first time! Joshua is just getting them a lot earlier, which is surprising--but I guess no kid is the same right!??

Katherine sings her ABCs; Joshua is 6 months old and eating

We've had quite a bit going on at home the last few weeks that I had not been able to update just our general family blog. To see what we have been up to, check out our other blog--http://allingodshands.blogspot.com

Today, though I wanted to do a little bit of catching up.

Kateli started singing her ABCs about a week ago. It's so cute, she does it pretty much on her own...there are a few letters that she SLURS together; but what kid doesn't?? Especially the "K L M N O P"? She's awesome, and we are extremely proud of her!! I don't know when kids really start singing their ABC's but to us, she seems pretty young and super smart (we're just a bit biased! :) ) She's started counting in spanish at 26months, and singing her ABCs at 26 1/2 months! She is talking up a storm now. It's amazing!! She is repeating EVERYTHING!! I mean EVERYTHING!! and she comes up with new words all the time. The first time she says something, it takes me a little bit to figure out what she is referring to. She is speaking both languages; so when she says something new, I have to figure out if she's talking in spanish or in english.

Joshua was 6 months on the 12th. We finally took him in for his 6 month checkup, while Kateli was in the hospital last week. Little man weighed in at 19lbs 10ozs!! His length measurement was screwed up, so the doctor didn't bother to have him measure him a second time. We'll have to do that here at home sometime, when I get a minute. Joshua started eating rice cereal two weeks ago. He loved it. At first he was not QUITE sure that he wanted it; but it only took a couple of spoonfuls for him to figure out that if he opened his mouth he got more food! Last week we started him on Oatmeal cereal, and he likes it; but he doesn't like it as much as the rice cereal. I remember that Kateli was the same way. She always preferred the rice cereal over oatmeal. Joshua has been eating with us at breakfast, and dinner time. He is still nursing; just not as much or often. He's sleeping better through the night, which is great! Last night, I decided it was time for him to taste veggies. I bought his first veggies--got green beans, sweet peas, squash and carrots. Last night we started with the green beans. My goal is to start the kids on the green veggies first; the taste is a bit harder for our palate, then say fruits or anything sweet! So, last night I poured about two teaspoons of the green stuff because I was expecting a grimace, and it getting spit out each time I put a spoonful in his mouth! Much to my surprise he didn't even make a face. He ate the entire "1st stage" green beans package!! I was so surprised and proud of Joshua. He is a champ eater!! I remember with Kateli, we would toss out about half the little package because she could hardly eat 2 spoonfuls at each sitting!! Little man may just be my veggie eater! We'll see!

Joshua is 6 months old!

Yep, today our little man is 6 months old!! YIKES!! Time flies, doesn't it?? Well, it has for us!! Anyway, we don't go in for our 6 month appt until sometime next week, so I don't know his stats right now. I can guess at his weight; somewhere around 19 1/2 lbs give or take a few ounces. I know, I always go on and on about how happy and content this little boy is...but I can't help it!! I can't emphasize it enough! He loves to be sitting, playing with anything that is in front of him--which I think I mentioned the last update that I wrote about him. Somethings that are new though... He finally sucks his toes! There for a while, I was thinking he was never going to be able to do that given that his tummy is huge. Turns out it's all MUSCLE and he is able to contort himself to pulling the toes into his mouth. Kateli and I witnessed this feat this morning as I was changing his diaper. He has had his first taste of solids! Yep, this morning Kateli, Joshua and I all sat down to breakfast. Kateli ate cheerios, I had cereal and Joshua had rice cereal for the first time. I got it on video, and I wish I had one of those little point and shoots so that I could easily download the video and post. However, I've got to download it from the video cam and edit it to put it up on the web. I'll see if I can get that done soon! But, take my word for it...it was funny!! He did great and ate well. In the beginning he was not quite sure about that "stuff" in his mouth and he would make a funny face and push it back out with his tongue. He did manage to eat a little bit though. Then, tonight as we all sat down for dinner, Joshua ate a whole lot better! Well, that's it for now...I'll update more later!
Here he is after breakfast this morning. Not too messy, right?

Abuelos visit!

We have had a fun time this weekend, sharing time with abuela and abuelo. They came to visit and arrived on Saturday morning. The kids had so much fun with them, and it seemed abuela and abuelo had lots of fun playing with the kiddos. I didn't expect gifts, myself, but I was pleasantly surprised when abuelo presented me with new "glass" for my photography collection! I got a longer zoom lens than what I had on my camera and I'm enjoying it a lot! While my parents were here, we mostly hung around the house, as it was too cold out. However, Saturday it was beautiful and warm enough to get the kids out for a bit to the park--so we did that! Hubby and I got to go out on a date Saturday night! Mom and dad stayed with the kids, while we went out to dinner and to get some ice cream. Sunday, dad and I, as well as Maria went to a photography seminar, which was very informative--but much to my chagrin, I didn't walk away with any free gifts as I was hoping! Oh, well!! But I did walk away with a lot of useful info and tips! We came home after the seminar to eat cake and celebrate my mom's birthday! Yum, Yum, we had Tres Leches!! Abuela and abuelo have returned home, and we are missing them. HOpefully they will come visit again, soon!

Joshua is sitting up!

I know, my little guy gets a little slighted with the updates and postings! But here is one, even though it's short, all about him! Our little guy is now a few days short of 6 months!! Yes, that's 6 months!! I'm still pulling my jaw up from the floor, I'm in awe of how fast his first 6 months have gone by! Joshua is an angel. He is so, so, so (I can't emphasize it enough) content!! He is such a sweetheart, and he's got a smile to melt for!! I only have to look at him for him to smile at me--how cute is that. He's always smiling (well, seems that way to me). His sleep at night could be better, but I shouldn't complain. That little guy wakes up, eats and goes right back to sleep (I should knock on wood now, before I jinx myself). The last couple of nights, he's been waking up only twice. His day naps are awesome, he takes 3 a day. I am not quite sure how long the naps are, because he could be in his swing wide awake and content as can be. kateli was never like that; I think our baby girl would start screaming as soon as her eyes opened after naptime! Anyway, our little guy loves to play. He doesn't enjoy tummy time as much as his little cousin does, ( I think Daniela could spend all day playing on her tummy), but he does last a good few minutes. Joshua loves to play in his exersaucer, and on his playmat. He also really enjoys laying on his quilt playing with either his feet or any toy that I give to him. Now, as of a few days ago he really enjoys sitting up and playing with toys in front of him. He's sitting up--well, not technically sitting up by himself--I put him down in a sitting position, but he sits there by himself for a while playing. He's got some really strong abs because he rocks back and forth and maintains his balance. Now, I still have to stay close by because sometimes he gets a bit too excited and will push back--so I have to be there to catch him!! I'll have to post some pics of the kids next time.

Lali counts, puts her shoes on and Oh oh, opens the door to her room!! YIKES!

I should begin by explaining part of the title to this posting. You may wonder who "lali" is, right?? Well, this is what has stuck with me to call our little girl. When she began saying her name, she would say "kateli" but over time, she's shortened it and while she may still say "Kateli", rather quickly, it sounds to me like she's saying "lali", so you'll read me refer to her as either "Kateli" or "Lali"...

So, a couple of nights ago Lali showed us that she has learned how to open the door to her room--in the middle of the night, mind you! Yes, she's been opening doors for weeks now, but the one to her room was one that she had not been able to pry open--mainly because it sticks shut and you have to push pretty hard to open. We should have known this fateful day was coming, and prepared a strategy for this particular event. Well, we didn't and we paid for it! Kateli decided on Monday morning about 2:00am to take a stroll downstairs!! Yes, she came down the steps, in the dark, all by herself! I remember hearing her awake on the monitor, but usually she falls back asleep--not this night! I must have dozed off for a few mins or so, and then I remember hearing her again--I looked over at the monitor and realized it was not coming over the monitor, I was hearing her downstairs!! I leaped up, startled hubby awake and proceeded to send him out to check on her--or put her back in bed. Let's just say that it was not until about 4:30am that we gave up and hubby brought her into our bed so that we would get the last few hours of sleep before it was time for Joshua to wake up and start the day. Our tactic was to wait for Kateli to open the door and walk toward the stairs, at which time we proceeded to grab her little hand, lead her back into her room, tuck her back into bed, and walk out with out SAYING a single word--I really thought that would work. It did, a couple of times, but it was not our solution for the incident. The next night she did fine, and went to bed without protesting and didn't get up in the middle of the night. So, that's one new thing that our 2 year old is up to these days.

Something else that she is doing now, she puts on her shoes, all by herself and she does it RIGHT!! Her favorite phrase right now, which doesn't surprise us, is "Kateli help"--this translates into "Kateli will do it all by herself" so, everything we do, she says "Kateli help", and she gets her space. For a long time, she was putting on her shoes, but she would put them on the wrong foot; so I'd have to fix them after she was done putting them on. But yesterday, we were going out and I said "Lali, put your shoes on"; her response, "Lali, help" and proceeded to put them on. When I went to fix them I was pleasantly surprised to find that she had put them on correctly!

Finally, today she surprised me by counting 1 through 7 in spanish all by herself. Daddy and I have been working with numbers with her. Daddy does them in english; I do them in spanish. This afternoon, we were reading a book and there were items to count, so I started off and said "uno..." pointed to the next item and she continued "dos, tes, catro, cinco, seis, sete", and then we did "ocho, nueve and diez" together!! I had her do it again, just to make sure she knew what she was doing, this time counting out with my fingers. Sure enough, she did it again!! So, she counts, at least 1 through 7 in spanish--I'm not sure about in english! Smart cookie our little princess!

Our visit with "alela" and "tia pata"

I posted a picture of the cousins the other day, but didn't have much time to write anything. Tia Marta, or "tia pata" as Kateli calls her, and Daniela, or "alela" as Kateli calls her cousin, had just arrived in our home. We were overly excited that they were here and would be here for an entire week. Yesterday was the end of their week with us, and sadly we had to take them both to the airport. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, after they left, Kateli asked several times for "tia pata" and when I would try to explain to her that she and Daniela had gotten in a big plane and flown home, she would look at me a little puzzled; and then she would say "tia pata, peek a boo?" She thought tia Marta and Daniela were hiding, or as she calls it "peek a boo" So, needless to say Kateli was very sad when she couldn't find Tia Marta and Daniela in our house!!

We had a great week with them though; well as great as it could have been, given that we all got a little bit of a cold. I was the worse one off, I think I had a sinus infection. But I toughed it out and opted to do things rather than just sit at home and try to get better. So, we went out to eat a couple of times, we took Kateli to the mall playing area one afternoon, we drove to Edmond to visit with Maria and the kids and we played with the kids a lot when we were indoors. Daniela is such a happy baby, it was so much fun to get to know her a little bit better during the time that they were here. I hope that we can see them again soon; but I've already been warned by Marta that we shouldn't expect them again during the winter months. They will limit their visits to us to warm seasons!! Fair enough!! I have lots and lots of picture that I would love to post but I'll do that later!