More Fun in MI

The rest of the week was very eventful as well. We spent Wednesday visiting Jen Britton, Ami and Matt Kipf, and Becky and Justin Vinson. It was really nice visiting with all of them and good that we can catch up even if it is only once in a while. Thursday we went to one of Jim's Highschool teachers Annual Christmas party. We were definitely old! But Josh was a huge hit. They throw the party every year to promote math/science programs for high school kids and so it is neat to see all the graduates and what they are all doing now. After that we went to Jimmy and Michelle Smiths. Ava and Josh got to play for a bit but it was pretty late so they crashed early. Josh was starting to hate all the new sleeping environments so he struggled a bit to go to sleep. He kinda had a rough night but we made it through and he was fine all day Friday.

Friday night Jim and I went to GLI (Great Lakes Invitational Hockey Tournament). It is an annual hockey tournament between the Div 1 MI hockey schools and one other team in the league. This year Mich Tech actually did awesome winning 4-1 against Michigan State. Jim actually watched the game. I on the other hand seemed to like seeing old college friends down in the Olympia room. I was definitely bummed as there were only about 5 DZ's... but I guess they all go down there Saturday night.

Saturday was Jim's b-day. We met up with his highschool friend Laura and Dave at teh National Coney Island. That was big fun! I had never officially had a coney dog. We went to DQ growing up to get hot dogs with chili on it. So this "Coney" world is new to me. It was a hot dog with chili. Didn't think there was anything special.

That night we went to dinner with some more of Jim's friends. We got to meet Sarah's fiance Mike and see Mark and Tara. Josh was SO tired by that point so G'ma and G'pa Kirkwood took him home early.

Sunday we made the trip back home. Again Josh did well for the first 5.5 hours. Glad the drive is only 6.5 total! We hope you all had a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!

It's Christmas!!

We are in MI this year for Christmas. We made the drive on Friday when Jim got home from work. It was a smooth first 5.5 hours. But then Josh wanted OUT!!! We got to Grandma and Grandpa Kirkwoods and stayed there for the weekend. Saturday Catherine and I went out with some of my sorority sisters to M-80's in Ferndale which was AWESOME. Jim went to hang out with his friend Mark and Josh got to hang out with G'ma and G'pa. Sunday our friends Anne and Ryan drove down from Lansing for lunch. Monday we went to Abby and Aarons for the Christmas gatherings.

There were SO MANY presents. I think we opened gifts for 3 days. It was crazy. Great G'ma Connie had a lot of fun watching us open the "grab bag" items and making trades. Josh and Izzy made out with a ton of clothes from the relatives. Which works out GREAT cause we didn't have a whole lot for the 12 month size. We had a huge dinner both on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day and were able to see almost all of Jim's family members. And of course we had Josh and Izzy where the santa outfits we got them. So cute!

Josh and Izzy played very well together. Izzy is really moving these days. She enjoyed stealing every toy from Josh at the beginning. Josh would just stare at her like, "why would you do that?" By the third day Josh started stealing things back. But they really did well together. They were on opposite schedules for the most part with eating and sleeping, so it seemed we always had a baby to play with.

Finally Christmas is here!!

It seemed like the month of December went on and on and on. Both Jim and I were very busy this month at work. We are both in need of some R&R... And Christmas always seems to help!

Mr. Josh is much happier now that his tooth has pushed all the way through. Monday and Tuesday night were a bit rough as nothing seemed to make him comfortable. We tried Tylenol and the baby ambesol stuff. He HATED the ambesol. The Tylenol did work, it just took a while. But I think he is back to his old independant self. When he doesn't want to do something boy does he let you know. The other night I put him in his usual favorite - the Jumparoo. He looked up at me with the biggest puppy dog eyes and frown I have ever seen him give! His lips did the quiver too! And then the howl. It reminded me of the "Lucy's" on the bus in the movie Rat Race... when they all start crying in unison. MMWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

He has mastered rolling over to get to the toys he wants and is often pushing up onto his knees. Maybe he will be a crawler??? He still loves to stand and now likes to grab onto the back of the couch or reach for the coffee table. Today I helped him walk from the family room into the kitchen where Dad was... He thought that was SO cool!

He is SUPER ticklish too... and when he talks it is so loud and is pretty much screaming/singing rather than talking. He is starting to make an mmmaa sound. Or maybe it is bbbaa. The big move to the next room at daycare is quickly approaching. All the ladies he started with have moved over there now... It is weird to see him with the new babies... because he used to be the youngest and when I would watch the other babies I would always think, "okay that will be next". Now I am looking at these 2-3 month olds and thinking, "so glad he is out of that stage!" Is that bad?? My friend tells me it just means I am not ready for another baby yet... I responded, "UM NO!"

A tooth???

Well it has finally happened... Joshua is popping out a tooth. But it sure it taking it's time... On Monday I spotted something white in his mouth... so I stuck my finger in... and eventually had to pull his lower lip down. You could just barely see this white bumpy edge of a tooth poking through. I felt it too. But it seems that it just doesn't want to poke all the way through yet. (notice the drool on the shirt and pants... it is everywhere)

Josh has been pretty good though. He gets pretty cranky after daycare and we have been putting him to bed earlier and earlier this week. Last night he was in bed by 6:30pm! And he slept until 8am this morning! I think it is the tooth, but he could be hitting another growth spurt too. He is definitely surpassed the 6 month outfits and well into the 9 month ones. I feel like it is going to be quick though!

We learned another trick for Josh... daycare has been giving him at least 1/4 cup of oatmeal and 1/2 jar of baby food up to 2 times a day. We have been lucky if we can get him to eat half that much on the weekend. Amanda one of his teachers said that she mixes it all up and he gobbles it down. We had been giving him a spoonful of cereal with a dab of baby food on top. So we started mixing it all together Monday night and he just kept opening his mouth and going for more. :) He eats 3 solid meals a day now... Tonight we tried peaches for the first time. He didn't seem to notice. But the Ritz crackers... hilarious to watch him eat them. He is so excited to get them in his hands and to his mouth... but as soon as he tastes the salt he winces! I really wish I knew what he was thinking sometimes!

Not much new for Jim and I. He got a new car - Buick Lucerne last week so we are enjoying the new ride. :) Never thought I would be excited to drive a Buick... but this car is SOOOOO nice! As for me... just trying to keep up at work. Believe it or not we are barely keeping up with demand for DEPEND. ha ha! :) I am playing womens soccer again and our team is really good this year. We have 5 returning players and 4 new players this year. So far we have only lost 2 games out of 6. Which is much better than the years before. I even played goalie one half and didn't let a single shot in. Pretty hilarious to watch me - so scared of the ball! The ref kept yelling "nice hands keep"... i finally realized he was making fun of me using everything but my hands to defend the goal (head/shoulder/chest/feet). But whatever works.

We got the Christmas cards done and sent out... and we are home again this weekend. Love that we have had 3 weekends home! We have done quite a bit around the house... Well okay - Jim has done quite a bit. But I have helped here and there.

Alright - you got some new pics to look at... that is all you really wanted anyway!

I am 7 Months Old!!!

Hi everybody... this is Josh. I am officially 7 months old today and wanted to speak for myself finally... Todays been a good day so far. Mom and Dad gave me cheerios and my favorite food... prunes for dinner! We got to play with my favorite toys - my blocks. They are just the right size for me to pick them up and get them in my mouth. I am getting stronger and stronger every day. Still hate being on my belly, but I am much better at rolling over, so it isn't so bad. I love when Mom and Dad give me their hands... I reach out to grab on and pull myself up to standing... I am working on the crib rails now... and taking a few steps!



I would guess I am about 17.5 lbs and mom constantly says I am growing like a weed, whatever that means. I am getting pretty good at singing/screaming. I usually wait until no one is talking... which sometimes seems like never... but when it is quiet - I let it all out. Grandma/Grandpa Kirkwood and Nanna/Pappy Walsh eagerly listen on the phone for me to show off my mad singin skillz... but I get more interested in the shiny phone than talking... they will just have to wait to hear me in person.



Hmm what else... well my parents have FINALLY figured out how to get me to sleep at night. I seriously was getting annoyed. I mean - all the ladies at daycare were able to get a full night of sleep... I was starting to wonder how I got stuck with the incompetant parents. But low and behold... they got it together... it isn't "Rocket Science". Now if I could only get them to stop feeding me those damn PEAS...



Oh - back to the ladies at daycare. Well... I was the only man in the house from 8-5pm... I had my pick of the ladies of all ages... both old and young. But things have changed... my Casanova days seem to be dwindling... I got two young bucks coming into my territory. Jack and Wyatt. Yeah the girls all think they are "SOOOO CUUUUTE"... but I still got game.


Well - it is WAY past my bedtime... I am out...

Sleeping through the night!!!

Time has really flown by this month. I bought the book "Solve your Child's Sleep Problems" by Dr. Ferber because Jim and I were plain old exhausted. Josh was still getting up 3-4 times a night screaming. The book came right as we left for MN for Thanksgiving... so I spent most of that vacation reading up on infant sleep habits.

We started keeping a log of when Josh went to sleep and when he woke up. The first 2 nights we did this it confirmed that Jim and I were both up with Josh at different times... and it went on all night long. The third night we really tried to keep things consistent (lullaby CD on all night real low, humidifier on, night light on, give him a pacifier and blanket, and leave while he is still awake). And we stopped offering him a bottle at night. Surprisingly the first night he didn't wake us up until 3. Jim and I laid awake waiting to see if he would calm himself down. After 2 minutes he started calming down. We never went in there.

The naps during the day were key. Since Thanksgiving we have noticed that if he gets 2 solid naps during the day and goes to bed between 7:45-8:30pm... he typically will sleep until 7am. If he doesn't get a good nap in... we struggle to get him to sleep well at night.

So - to sum it up... Josh is sleeping through the night. Which means Jim and I are sleeping through the night. It is AWESOME! It is amazing how much more productive I am at work off of 6 continuous hours of sleep. And Josh is SO much happier too! Which is very very important! I am not sure that the book told me anything I hadn't heard or tried, but it did help highlight things that can be counterproductive... like offering a bottle to speed up the going back to sleep process and going in to give him his pacifier. I am wondering how much I will use it in the future cause it has a bunch of sections on the toddler who won't stay in bed for naps, or wants to sleep with mom and dad.

Thanksgiving with the Walsh's

Okay - so time to catch up...

We spent thanksgiving with my folks in MN. We have started having our own family Thanksgiving... my mom works at the airport M-Th whether or not there is a Holiday... so we try to get most of the food ready so we can eat when she gets home. This year Jim and I brought Josh over to the Gabricks (my sister's inlaws) so they could all meet him. We got there around 1pm and hung out for the afternoon. Thankfully my dad was willing to handle the cooking at home while we were gone!

One of the funniest things happened while we were over there. Josh's godfather... Steve was having some fun with Josh. He was lifting him up above his head and then bringing him back down to the floor. Josh was enjoying this immensely... then all of a sudden we all watched as Josh spit up... RIGHT INTO STEVE's OPEN MOUTH!

We all sat there in disbelief and watched as Steve closed his mouth in disgust, gently lowered Josh down and laid him on the floor... grabbed the Sears ad... and spit a pretty big mouthful out... We seriously laughed at him for the rest of the weekend. Sorry Uncle Steve! ha ha!

Dinner was delicious... my grandparents and great granny came over for dessert... but other than that it was nice to have my parents, siblings, and spouses all together.

Friday morning my mom and sister and I embarked on the Black Friday shopping extravaganza. We met up at Target around 5:45am. Stood in line... because we needed to get that IPOD docking station. The doors opened at 6am and we of course pushed and pushed our way in... just to get in on the excitement. Everyone went straight and we opted to go to the right. The decision looked like a bad one as we approached the MASS of people in electronics... however the ipod docking stations were on an end cap... on our side... NICE!!!

We spent ALL day shopping and met up with my mom's sister Mary and my cousins Jamie, Melissa, and Sam. It was a great day. I bought lots of clothes and got the xmas gifts taken care of.

Friday night we went to my sisters place and hung out with the Thuente cousins. Again - we always seem to have fun. We have definitely grown up though... the appetizer assortment has improved significantly in recent years... going from white castle to tenderloin/asparagus wraps. Yep. Grown up.

Saturday we had our mini Christmas as we will be in MI this year. Josh enjoyed opening up presents with Aunt Shannon. Definitely loved the wrapping paper... and the toys and clothes inside. He got 2 outfits, shoes, Edison the talking catepillar, and a cell phone. It was a good Christmas for him.

We left for WI on Sunday and the drive was nice and uneventful. Got back just in time for my soccer game.

Pictures: Aunt Shannon (Godmother) helping Josh open presents, Giggling with Uncle Joe, Laughing with Nanna and Pappy, and Uncle Jack helping Josh do his favority activity - STAND.

Josh is 6 Months Old!!

Josh celebrated his 6 month birthday with a new treat... puffs. I am not sure he really liked them, but he definitely enjoyed trying to get them into his mouth. Jim's parents were in town this weekend and Grandma Cindy stayed this week as Jim is in England. She has been doing a fantastic job of taking pictures and not too mention helping out with the late night feedings and occasional play time!

He is doing very very well on formula and continues to be significantly happier. He has had plums, sweet potatoes, squash, and prunes. Tonight we attempted to give him cereal again but this time I mixed in some pears. He took a few bites and even smiled! So I feel like that is an improvement!

And he has tried out the sippy cup! He really likes it, but don't even attempt to help him, he gets really mad at you!

He is sitting all by himself now, can reach for a toy and then sit back up. He has got the cutest giggle and finds me extremely hilarious. I take that as a compliment. He is noticing his room now and it is almost like he finally gets what things are. It is a snoopy theme and tonight he saw the little bird on the blanket and got this huge grin on his face as he lunged toward it. Babbling all the way. Later he randomly started giggling at something on the dresser. I decided to bring him over there to figure out what it was and he didn't hesitate to reach for the Ireland bear. I brought it over and sat back down on the recliner... He was seriously talking to the bear like they have been friends for a long time. Kinda makes me think Toy Story might be real! :)

We started just giving him a shower when we are getting ready in the mornings and found he really likes it. He still likes baths because of the splashing and toys, but it is nice to know he can take a shower so traveling will be easier.

What else...

Still hates to be on his tummy - again I don't think he will be a crawler. Still loves his jumparoo - one day i will figure out how to get the video off of the camcorder and onto this website for you to see.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Josh continues to be a happier baby during the day and at night. Phew! :) We bought him a Tigger costume for Halloween a few months ago because all he loves to do is jump. And finally Halloween was here so we could put the costume on.

All the little ones at daycare were dressed up. They were all SO cute! And you know it is purely for the mom's enjoyment. Jim dropped off today and said that he got yelled at by the other mom's dropping off because he wasn't hanging around. "Typical Dad, just drop the off and leave!"

We had a block party at work - basically a get to know your new office building / coworkers. We had a Halloween theme of course and so I dressed up as The Bride of Frankenstein. Everyone was calling me Elvira... so I put on the face makup... It was quite funny because very few coworkers recognized me. Many would do that awkward smile and eventually walk away because they definitely could recognize my voice... but it looked nothing like me. HA HA!

We got home around 4:30pm just in time for the trick o treaters. This year we had a few more kids which was fun! Then at 6:30 Jim, Josh, Hilo and I went to see the neighbors. I wore our friend Josh's adult size Tigger costume and carried Josh around. Josh was definitely laughing at me. He is really into Peak a Boo and so with the hood up on my costume he thought that was what we were playing. It was hilarious.

Now we are back home and Josh is chilling upstairs in his crib - all by himself, awake, and not screaming. THANK HEAVENS! :) This is the 4th night in a row now!!!

Time to make our own rules...

So the last month has been up and down with Josh. Last time I wrote, he had come down with a stomach virus. Which both Jim and I eventually came down with that following week. Overall though, he has been much more fussy on a regular basis. We still get happy Josh in the morning... but even daycare was starting to notice how fussy he was getting. I finally felt like someone else was noticing and it was not just me. After a month of phone calls to the doctors office and a few visits... I didn't feel like things were getting better or that the doctors really were listening. I felt like he was so hungry and didnt' have any more to give him... so cereal was the recommendation. But he refused eating cereal (both rice and oat). And I mean refused! But still they urged me to continue b-feeding and avoiding solids until he was six months. I argued that I thought the b-milk was making him more fussy... and that formula might be better. They said the opposite. The month of sleepless nights was finally breaking Jim and I. After a weekend at my parents, I finally decided to start him on formula. I had also heard vegetables that start with "p" can help gassy babies. So we did that too.

He enjoyed the prunes - much like he did the cereal the first time. And we mixed half formula and half bmilk. He guzzled it right on down. This past weekend we started going up from 5 oz to 6oz and then 7 oz a feeding. He just kept on guzzling. On Sunday he drank 6 7oz bottles and had 3 servings of prunes. He was happy ALL day long and went to bed without a fuss at 8:30 pm.

Him sleeping until we woke him up at 7am Monday morning - PRICELESS.

So to all you new moms out there... trust your instincts. If something isn't working... try something new... don't be afraid to try. Every baby is different.

AND I AM OFFICIALLY QUITTING with B-FEEDING!!! WAHOO!

A nice weekend home...

Not much happened last week... we enjoyed coming home from work, having dinner, and relaxing on the couch. We were definitely in need of some R&R at home. On Friday morning, I dropped Josh off at daycare like usual. About 20 minutes after I had sat down at my desk I got a phone call from daycare saying Josh had just thrown up. She said if he does it again, they will need to send him home. I figured he was moved to much after just eating... but definitely not normal for Josh. About 5 minutes went by and she called again saying I needed to come pick him up...

It was a beautiful day... so I was excited to have an excuse not to be at work... but then I started freaking out. I would say this was the first time I felt scared to be "the mom". He definitely had the flu... as everyone else in his room had already had it this week. I don't know how to handle a vomiting baby... Do I hold him over a bucket? the toilet? can I give him 7up/crackers/chicken broth?? obviously I knew the last few are out of the question since he has barely had cereal up until this point. I picked him up and he looked completely normal.

About 15 minutes after I got home with him I had finally sat down on the couch with a bucket, towel, and some water. I heard some horrible rumbling... and I ran into the kitchen with him as he coughed/gagged... I held him over the sink just as he let it all out. It was horrible! The poor little man had it coming out of his nose! And of course he was crying too... just like his mom does! :)

We only had a few rounds of it... maybe 5 total all weekend. But it lasted all weekend. We tried getting him to take some pedialyte on Friday without much luck. Saturday we mixed in some apple juice and he took down 3 oz like there was no tomorrow. That night we added in some cereal... everything was great Saturday night and it had been about 6 hours since he vomited.

And then it happened. The next "I am officially a mom" item on the list. While I was watching Oceans 12 and holding Josh, I felt some rumblings in the diaper and almost threw up from the smell... I carried him to the changing table gagging the whole way. Jim thought this was hysterical. I pulled off the diaper to find one of the messiest/stinkiest diapers I had seen ever. And then it happened. Mid wipe... He exploded some more... It scared me so bad that I screamed which definitely didn't make Josh happy. So I have a sick, crying, diaperless, little man, one clean hand, one hand covered in the smelly stuff, a husband who can't stop laughing, and a dog who won't stop trying to get the messy diaper. It was AWESOME!!!

That night ended with laundry, a bath, and some more pedialyte for Josh. YUCK!

Today Josh was doing better so we tried the breastmilk. Not so much. That only stayed down for about an hour. So the rest of the day has been more pedialyte/apple juice/cereal. This afternoon he started making faces while eating cereal so I think that indicates he is fianlly feeling better. The pictures are of his new favorite face. He scrunches up his nose and breathes in and out of his nose... anytime Jim or I do this he will copy us. It reminds me of my baby brother Jack. He used to do this whenever he was really excited about something. Too funny!

I am SITTING!!

Josh continues to get bigger and bigger. He is 16 lbs and so so so close to sitting on his own. He can sit for about a minute now and play with a toy. But shortly after that he falls over to one side. As for rolling over or crawling... does a little rolling from side to side... and doesn't have any signs of crawling...

He used to love eating cereal, but now doesn't want anything to do with it. I am not sure what that is about... but this has been going on for 3-4 days now. Hmm. We tried Oat cereal at daycare for the first time. They said he took a while to finish it... and it required some fun noises.

He is back to sleeping better at night. We finally went with the 5 minute Ferber method. We went in after he cried for 5 minutes. This would usually last about 20 minutes tops before he was asleep. Every once in a while we still have to do this but the rest of the time he goes to sleep watching his mobile.

Joshua's First Plane Ride...

This weekend we went to Dallas for my cousin Debi's wedding. We stayed with my best friend Jennifer and her boyfriend Mike for the weekend as they lived about 2 miles from the winery where the wedding/reception was. I was a bit nervous about the trip, mostly the flight. We left early Friday morning. The day started out rough with an hour delay leaving WI due to storms in MN. That first leg was pretty manageable. Josh nursed while we took off and then slept the remainder of the flight. We sprinted to our gate in MN to catch our flight to TX and just missed it literally. They were pulling the jetway away from the plane just as we got there. So we had a 3 hour wait until the next flight... bummer! It was good though because we were able to get some food and let Josh nap.

During this time I also realized how similar Jim and I are. I asked him for some cash to get a magazine... he said to get him a scientific america magazine. I came back with three magazines total... scientific america, discover, and popular science. Yep. We are both nerds.

The next flight was similar... but this time Josh flirted with the lady across the aisle. She enjoyed it and so did her hubby!

We arrived in Dallas around 4 pm and met up with my family at the hotel. Everyone was lounging in the lobby and having some cocktails. Later that night we went to the grooms dinner at a steakhouse and eventually went to Jenny's house. We met Mike her boyfriend and stayed up way too late talking about life...

Saturday we hung out at the hotel again and then that evening went to the wedding. Josh wore a new outfit he got from his Great Aunt Deb and Great Uncle Chris... it was SO cute. He didn't mind wearing the hat, but loved chewing on it! We sent him home with Jenny so he could get to bed and Jim and I could have some fun. It was a blast! It was the smallest wedding I have ever been too... only 50 people. It was very intimate and beautiful. There was a bet placed early in the night between my Uncle Paul (the father of the bride) and my brother Joe on whether or not we would finish the beer he bought. Let's just say everyone tried to help my brother win that $100. We didn't win the bet... atleast that is what Paul claims... but we had a very very good time trying!

Jenny picked us up from the hotel around 1am. She said that Josh was very good and a happy little boy. Mike fed him a bottle and spent some quality time with him watching football... Jen has some really cute pictures of them! We didn't get to bed that night until about 3 am and had to wake up at 5:30 am to get ready for our flight back. YIKES! We were tired! :)

Josh was a little tougher on the flights back. Jim had to stand for a good portion of the leg to MN... bouncing Josh to keep him happy. The last leg to WI he zonked out for the entire flight. It was perfect!

That afternoon we crashed for a good 2 hours... and then went to bed around 9:30pm. It was so nice to get 7 hours of sleep!

NO MORE FAMILY TRAVELING FOR THIS MONTH!!!! YIPPEE!!!

Routines

Shannon - you probably don't want to read this one... (Josh's Godmother who demands I pick him up anytime he cries!)


I spent some time reading up on sleep/fussyness/cereal early last week. One of the things that caught my eye was establishing a routine for your little one. It also mentioned that traveling with baby can really affect their mood. I also read about the Ferber method. Apparently between 4-8 months babies will get accustomed to their sleeping routines. So if you rock them to sleep at night - they will want to be rocked later on - say 1-2 years old. And the habits that are formed during this time are extremely hard to break as they get older. Hmmmm....


We had a pretty solid routine, however it was drastically changed whenever we went out of town. Most of you know that we were out of town just about every weekend since August 25th. So we would get a very good routine during the week, but then on weekends it would change.


The other "Ferber" advice called for some tough love, i.e. "Letting them cry it out." I told Jim we had two different methods of administering "tough" love. The first option is to build up the length of time you allow them to cry before going in to comfort them. So you start with 5 minutes... and then add 2-5 minutes each additional time you need to go in there. The second option is what I call "Go big or Go home". This is where you let them cry as long as it takes them to fall asleep. And gradually they will get so tired out they will fall asleep on their own. Each time after this - they will cry less and less in theory because they will give up sooner.


Jim's response. "I am all in."


So last Monday, Jim and I set out to establish a routine and focus on keeping that routine. That first night we let him cry... I only lasted 30 minutes... (basically the time it took me to unload and reload the dishwasher as well as change the laundry) then I went up there and picked him up for just a second... layed him back down and he passed out.


The next night was a little less crying. And this continued until we left for MI. We tried as best as we could to keep the routine. I think it might have worked! He is back to only getting up once a night... YEAH!!!!

The Fussyness Continues...

So the solids definitely are keeping him full, (that is him after cereal on the right) but they didn't help us get anymore sleep. Jim and I are starting to get dilusional. One night last week I sat in the lazyboy with Josh all crunched up on me from midnight until 4 am. I finally got him to lay down in his crib and crawled back to bed. Only to hear him start screaming again 15 minutes later. I kicked Jim outta bed and he was up for another 45 minutes trying to get him to calm down.

We know that part of the problem is gas... because he is letting them rip louder than I have ever heard in my life... we are doing bicycle kicks, tummy time, mylicon drops, and squats. All seem to get him to quiet down quickly... and he is SO TIRED!!! As soon as we pick him up he usually starts falling back to sleep... so we'll lay him down and he'll start screaming again.

Apparently Rice cereal does make some babies more gassy... great! We skipped the rice cereal on Saturday to see if that would help... We also put him in his bouncy seat in the crib to keep him upright. He only woke up 3 times last night instead of 5 or 6. That was better but still not what he used to do... which was sleep for at least 6 consecutive hourse. Jim and I aren't sure what helped him sleep better... the bouncy seat or the fact we didn't give him rice cereal. So we introduced too many variables to know what has helped him sleep better. AGH...

And during the day he seems completely normal. He is definitely more tired... but he continues to sleep his usual 3 hours total during the day... And he still falls asleep doing his favorite activity... the jumparoo!

I have talked to lots of new moms and they are thinking it is teeth or a growth spurt... I am hoping one of them is true... if not both! We just need some sleep soon!!!

Let's Try Solids

So the fussyness continues. Josh has been waking up after anywhere from 30 - 45 minutes of sleep. After work on Tuesday I came home to find Josh was screaming again. He had 5 oz right before Jim picked him up at daycare and 2 hours later been given another 5 oz. It was now 3 hours later and we couldn't get him to stop crying. So we pulled another 5oz pack of milk from the freezer. He guzzled that 5 oz down like he hadn't eaten in days! So he drank a total of 15 oz in 3 hours! Usually he would eat 5 oz every 4 hours. yeah. Time for Cereal.

So the next day I bought some Rice cereal on the way home from work. I mixed it up according to the directions on the box - super runny. We got him into his high chair, put on the bib, and we started feeding him. HE LOVED IT!!!

He would open his mouth and reach for the spoon as I would get it closer. And then move it around in his mouth with his tongue. After swallowing it, he'd look up at Jim and I with the BIGGEST grin we have ever seen.

Mark and Tara's Wedding

We headed back to MI this weekend for Mark and Tara's wedding. Jim was Marks' Bestman so we had a full weekend of activities to attend. On Friday night we went to Dave and Busters for the rehearsal dinner. I have never been to one of those places before. It was a blast. Jim and I left Josh with his sister and husband so it was just the two of us. We played games until about midnight and got everyone from the wedding party to pool their tickets to get Mark and Tara something nice and big. We ended up getting 8,020 tickets and decided to trade them in for the two HUGE carebears. One pink, one blue. The remaining tickets went to some hot tamales for Vick and a MSU candle holder for Jen.

Josh was a little fussy Friday night and had Jim and I getting up every few hours to change him or give him his pacifier. It made for a long night! Saturday Jim was busy most of the day and so Josh and I hung out with his cousin Izzy and aunt Abby. It was a nice relaxing day. We got ready for the wedding and left Josh with his aunt CJ and her friend. It was a very quick wedding and then we hopped on the big limo bus with the wedding party. We drove down to Commerica Park and the wedding party got some awesome photos of downtown hotspots. Meanwhile, Elaine, Michelle, and I were keeping the party going on the bus... yeah - lots of fun. The reception was a blast too... lots of food, drinks, and dancing. Jim, Abby, and Aaron, and I attempted to keep the party going by heading out to the bars afterward... I think we lasted 10 minutes!

We got back to Abby and Aarons to find out that Josh was again very fussy. He gave Catherine and her friend a hard time and just didn't want to go to sleep. This continued again all of Saturday night and the only way we could get him to sleep was in the bouncy chair. Hmmmm...

Sunday we hung out some more with Jim's family and then got back on the road to WI. It was another uneventful drive. Josh continues to travel well. :)

The Baptism

Josh was a pretty happy baby all weekend. And this morning was no different. We put him in the jumparoo early that morning to keep him occupied while we finished getting ready. He is so happy in that thing he just falls asleep when he gets tired. We got a few pictures of it. He would get the heavy eyes, slow down the jumping to just one leg, and then finally stop all together. Then soon he would wake up, do a little bounce, and then doze right back to sleep.

We got him dressed in his baptism outfit that my girlfriend Mandy's mom made. It was so darn cute! And again he didn't mind having something on his head. He was really good at church again. And the baptism went very smoothly. He cried when I first held him out over the baptismal fount... but then was fine after that. The priest even got water all over his face. Josh just batted his eyes until the water was gone. Just like bathtime. The priest annointed him and Shannon and Steve lit the candle. The priest then carried Josh up to the front of the church and held him up for everyone to see. He was so darn cute!

After mass we got a few pictures and then went back to our house for lunch. We had everyone over again and things went just fine. Everyone took off by about 2 pm. At that point we all crashed. Jim and I on a couch. Josh in the pack'n'play. And Hilo on the floor. For 3 hours!!!

Joshua's Baptism

This weekend was Josh's big weekend. His baptism. We had both sides of the family coming into town. My grandparents and my immediate family. Jim's grandma, immediate family, and Aunt and Uncle also made the trip. It was a busy weekend but very fun!

Most of our guests arrived on Friday. The guys hung out on the deck while the ladies played rummikub in the kitchen. Pretty low key. Saturday was jam packed full of excitement. We woke up pretty early and by 9 am we had everyone outside with paint brushes. Jim and I put everyone to work! We were hoping they would help us finish the second floor... well they did more than that. They finished the entire back of the house too! So all we have left is the sides on the first floor! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

We also went grocery shopping for our big dinner and the lunch for Sunday. We had a huge dinner on Saturday night with everyone! It was the most we ever had in our house for dinner and it went pretty darn well. We had some really good food and great company. We spent the night around the bonfire in the backyard.

Labor Day Weekend

This was our first weekend without plans... But that didn't mean we had a lounge lizard weekend. We cleaned up the house in preparation for all of our out of town visitors coming for Josh's baptism and also decided to start painting the outside. They had a huge sale on stain at Home Depot... so we figured we should take full advantage of it! Jim and I worked on painting the house all day on Saturday. We got our first floor done on the front of the house and it looked AWESOME!!! We can't wait to get the rest of it done!

We made a last minute trip to MI on Sunday. The drive went super well and Joshua proved again to be a fantastic traveler. The funny story from this weekend is that Josh now jumps anytime you stand him up. He is super strong and loves to show you just how much by standing and stiffening his entire body. Grandpa Jay was holding him up under his armpits and Josh would let his knees give out... and Grandpa would hoist him up in the air... His smile would get SO big it was hilarious!

Along with a trip to MI is a visit with our new neice Izzy. And of course we took full advantage of capturing the cousins together. Izzy's hair still stands up on top and it is SO long. She is one cute little gal. Izzy and Josh are getting so much bigger - we can't wait to see them interact in the months to come!

Annual Walsh/Thuente Camping weekend...

This past weekend was the second annual Walsh/Thuente camping weekend. My siblings and our families (I can say that now because we have Josh!) get together with my Dad's sister's kids and their families. We grew up camping with their family and eventually our parents bought lake lots up north right next to eachother. Last year we decided we needed to start camping again. We had such a great time that we are going to make it an annual event. So this past weekend was the second annual trip and we found an awesome campground.

The planning was similar to last year. A ton of emails going back and forth between the 12 of us. Inevitably my brother Joe and my cousin Greg would get annoyed with the mass emails and just wait until someone called them to tell them what they were responsible for bringing. Jim and I put together a spreadsheet with what each and every person was assigned to bring, when people were expecting to arrive, what meals were going to be made and by whom. It was a bit ridiculous... but wouldn't be an event with the Kirkwoods without a spreadsheet!

The campground was wonderful. We were off in the Wilderness sites which allowed us to be as loud as we wanted to be. There was definitely a hike to the bathrooms but they did have running water and showers. Next year we are thinking about renting a porta-potty so we can have something close by to use... the woods looked pretty bad with T.P. everywhere from us squatting.

We had another keg this year and had absolutely no problem polishing it off by early Saturday evening. We played Tippy Cup, layed out by the pool, the boys played some basketball, and had some awesome food! It was a great time.

Josh did very well. He was pretty happy for the most part. And he slept so well... I think he likes the cooler weather! And yes - we got matching T-shirts - and they found a little red one and had that one printed just for Josh. It was hilarious!

A run down of the photos... obviously the first one is the group photo complete with keg and Hilo. Next is Joshua sporting this years shirt and a color coordinating sweatband thanks to my cousin Greg. It was hilarious - and he didn't mind wearing it for most of the morning. Then we have Josh and my brother Joe. I think he might be getting used to being an Uncle! Then Josh's godparents - Shannon and Steve. And finally - the parents to be - my cousin Pat and his wife Sarah. Pat insists that you need to talk to babies like they are adults - not use baby talk. So this picture captures his "adult" conversation with Josh.

Special shout out to my sister Shannon - Happy Birthday to you! She is a quarter of a century! We love you!