33 and counting!

I had a great B-day today with my two men!  I spent lunch with Steve at a Cajun place close to my work and then received cookies at work courtesy of Joshua!  My coworkers and I also had chocolate cake!  Then after work I found Omaha Steaks from Subin outside the house.  Sunil and Julie also got me a spa certificate that I will be using this weekend :)  Definitely felt the love from family and friends today!

The best part of the day was just relaxing after dinner with Steve and Joshua.  I watched Joshua bounce up and down on Steve's back and stomach.  They just wrestled and giggled for 20 minutes.  Then we walked around outside in the driveway and backyard.  Just a great, relaxing B-day!

Here's a video of Joshua and his new favorite outdoor activity:

 

Joshua had fun on Sat. watching the ducks at the park

Happy B-day Mommy!

The Annual Samuel Family Visit!

The past two weeks have been filled with lots of fun, quality family time, and of course lots and lots of eating.  Scott, Betsy, Ethan and Mia made their annual visit to the States and were able to spend almost 2 weeks in Austin.  We were able to see them most every day and Joshua spent most all day playing with Ethan and Mia. 
It was so much fun seeing them interact.  Joshua was just 3 months old the last time they were here and really wasn't able to play.  This time around, he was able to play and run with both Ethan and Mia.  Ethan was so gentle and careful with him and Mia loved being a big sister to him.  She had the biggest laugh and Joshua would laugh when she did. 

Dave and Siji came for the weekend and we spent Sat. and Sun going to food trailers, sleeping, and eating some more.  Sunday evening we went to Ben and Abby's house and of course ate more - this time barbeque.

We celebrated Ethan's 4th B-day a little early on Tue and we took lots of pics with him, the balloons (I still have anxiety when I see them being squeezed or pinched), and the cake.

We were so sad to say bye to them on Thursday evening.  Joshua was very receptive to the kisses he received from Ethan and Mia and I think he could tell he was saying bye to them.  We had such a great visit and next year will be even more fun :)

Here are some pics from the past two weeks:

Mighty Cone trailer park

What up Home Slice?

Bananas anyone?

Children's Museum

Happy 4th B-day Ethan!

I love Torchy's chips!

Last night of family, food, and fun!

Milestones

We've had a busy month so far and Joshua has had lots of fun experiences.  I'm posting some pics of Joshua's 1st carousel ride at the mall in late July and of Joshua listening to live music at the Domain.  We are just enjoying spending time with him before our new addition arrives in January.  Currently, I am 16 weeks pregnant and feeling great!  Besides the normal fatigue at the end of the day (which could be attributed to 8 hour work days and running around with Joshua in the evening), I am not experiencing any other symptoms.  We are so excited and a little nervous about caring for two little ones in the near future. 

Joshua has been going to the church nursery the past month consistently and last Sunday was the 1st Sunday that he did not cry for long when we dropped him off.  I think he may be adjusting somewhat. 
He has also been cutting two additional teeth to the four he already has.  We wish he would just get the whole mouthful pretty soon :)   He likes to try to say words that start with "B" so he alway starts out saying "ba"  for ball, book, bath.  "Bye, no, up, Mommy, Doddy," are some other words that he is saying.
Foods that he has started:  loves chicken, peas, corn, Cheerios, strawberries, and blueberries.

Sixteen Months!

Joshua turned 16 months on Sunday!  Every month I think to myself how fast time is passing.  Joshua is now walking pretty fast - almost trying to run.  He loves for us to chase him while he just giggles away.  He goes so fast that often he falls so he's slowly learning to balance.  We've gone through many bumps and bruises and his first scraped knee.
He babbles a lot and his new word is "up."  Sometimes he responds to a question by saying "yeah."  He recognizes and understands most of what we are saying.  For instance, if we tell him to go get his puppy and put it on his car, he will do just that.  If we tell him to bring us the green ball, he goes and gets it.
Joshua is amazing at playing ball.  He can pick up a big beach ball, hold it in the air, and throw it back to us. 
He also loves the pool.  We've only taken him twice, since he got sick the first time. 
I'll post some pics and finish writing his milestones soon.
 

One more month of activities!

Joshua turned 15 months on June 17 and has been walking more than crawling now.  He even tries to run when he gets excited.  At his 15 mo. appt., we found out he has grown another inch and is now 30 in. while he's only gained an ounce since his 12 month appt.  He is my little skinny boy, just like his Daddy!

Steve and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on the 18th and we decided to have dinner at Kenichi downtown.  Can't believe we've been married for 6 years!  And now we have our little Jub-Jub walking around here!
The 19th was Father's Day and Joshua gave Steve a heartfelt card that made his Daddy tear up a little.  Then we had a nice lunch with Mom and Dad and we all watched the golf tournament.

The June 24th weekend we left for Dallas to attend Makayla's 1st B-day party.   Makayla looked too cute in her pink outfit and she seemed to be having fun with all her friends and family.  They had lots of food, a margarita machine, bounce house, and a snow cone machine that Steve and Jason ended up running :)   Unfortunately, Joshua was teething and had a rash and was just not himself.  He still had fun once we went outside and he could walk around everywhere.

We met Jason and Shawn on Friday evening in midtown at Urban Taco.  Weasel and some of his friends met us later and we hung around till 11:00.  My poor parents had trouble putting Joshua to sleep that night because he kept looking for us and Joshua finally fell asleep at 9:45.

Joshua had lots of fun playing with Ammachi and Appachan.  We also were able to meet Julie, Sunil's girlfriend.  They came down to attend Troy's wedding reception.  Joshua even let Julie hold him right before we left. 

The following weekend was the July 4th weekend and Austin banned all fireworks due to the burn ban.  This summer has been one of the hottest summers since I've been here.  We decided to go up to Houston on Sat. and we had a relaxing weekend with Dave and Siji going to a few restaurants and church on Sun. We also got to visit with our dear friends Abby and Tim and meet their 10 month old George.  Joshua loved playing with their dog and would giggle every time the dog would try to lick him. We left back on Mon. morning and spent our 4th of July inside since it was way too hot for anything else. 

Dave and Siji came up to see us this past weekend since Siji was taking her oral exam so we got to see them back to back weekends.  Fri night we went to Suzanne's 30 b-day party and Sat. I attended her shower.  Dave and Siji left after watching a great game of women's World Cup soccer. 

More Walking with Joshua

Not only has Joshua started walking everywhere but he's also talking more; he said "bath" as we were getting him ready for his nightly ritual.  And just yesterday he let me brush his teeth.  What amazed me the most was that when I said "Is Joshua ready to brush his teeth?" he put his hand in his mouth.  He understands so much of what we say. 
I do love watching him walk because he hunches his shoulders and his arms are placed outward for balance; he looks like Frankenstein walking :)

Hope you like the video.

Too many steps to count!

Joshua is taking lots of steps now!  He'll walk till he loses his balance and then fall to his knees.  Its just funny to see him waddle along and mumble his baby talk.  Along with truck, car, and bubble, he said 'book' today, though he was pointing at his puzzle :)
He has been sick this past week - only the 2nd time since he's been born and we think its a direct result from getting in the pool for the first time on Sunday.  On a brighter note, he has slept in his crib for a whole week!  I still wake up several times during the night but I feel like I'm getting more rest since he's not in the bed with us.

Here are some pics of the pool and a video of Joshua walking!