Monday, April 30, 2012

Exercising with Mommy

A few times a week, I do the Mommy and Me workout DVD with Jovie, and she loves it!  Lately, now that she's bigger, we do Pilates together, too.
(As you look at these pictures, please remember that I'm trying to get back into shape...)
Helping her do Pilates moves
She catches on pretty well!
 Using Jovie as my weight during squats in the Mommy and Me DVD
 Having so much fun!

 After Mommy does her workout, we do some moves with Jovie.
Bend and stretch!
Someday she'll be too big to hold.  But then, she can do the moves right along with me!

You Are My Sunshine... in April

Some favorite April pictures that don't really go in a post, but need to be shared...
April 5th, 2012
In the new highchair from Grandma and Grandpa Young
 April 5th, 2012
 April 6th, 2012
Chillin' in the stroller
 Monday, April 9th, 2012
Flapping those arms when she gets excited

Cute baby by Azaleas!
April 15th, 2012


April 20th, 2012 
See the cute baby in the shirt
 Lounging with Daddy
 April 22nd, 2012
Big girl standing at the couch Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa
April 23rd, 2012
Reading her favorite book
 She loves the page with the kids!


Sunday, April 29, 2012

Jovie and Friends

We are so blessed to have dear friends with children Jovie's age.  This weekend, she got to hang out with two of them.

On Saturday, Ruthie came to visit.  She was an angel!
They played
 And we tried to teach Jovie "Be nice!"
 Friends don't pull friends' hair.  We had to pull Jovie away a number of times during our picture attempt.  It's how she shows her love...
 Thankfully, Ruth can get up and walk away.  We really couldn't blame her.
 They dined together
 And played in Jovie's room

Ruthie slept at our house for a couple hours in the evening until her mommy came and picked her up. Such a fun night!  

Then on Sunday, the McGinnis' came over for grilling and s'mores.  So Jovie and Peyton got to play together!



So grateful for our friends!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Sweet Potato Puffs

We've been giving Jovie puffs for the last couple days, trying to help her learn how to feed herself and get used to new textures with a little practice chewing.  It's the cutest thing, so I wanted to post some pictures.
Trying to pick them up with those cute fat fingers
 Hasn't really mastered the art of opening her fist to eat the puffs

 Sometimes it turns into sucking her thumb (notice the puff peaking out of the fist)
 "I know I picked it up.  Where did that puff go?"
 Learning Coordination
 When she eats one she gets really proud of herself
 Leftovers
 Love this face
 How do I get this out of there?
 Really love that face!
Our baby is growing up!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Eight Months Old

Eight months old.  And here are the giraffe pictures!






Jovie is curious, observant, and really tries to figure everything out. From inspecting a new toy very carefully to watching the kids on the playground, Jovie seems to notice everything.

And she's at such a fun age!

One of our favorite funny things she's been doing lately is that she'll make a hard "H" sound over and over like she's laughing or being demanding. It's usually done with a twinkle in her eye and smirk on her face - it's her little joke with us, and she knows it makes us laugh and when we do it back, she laughs too. She'll also cough when we cough, and even imitate the number of coughs we do, and then she'll laugh.  She's going to be a silly one!


She sometimes calls for me in the morning from her crib now, usually making a pretty good attempt at "ma-ma!"

She makes a new facial expression, sound or movement every day, it seems.  And she can really move herself now, even though she doesn't crawl.  She launches herself off of our lap, rolls around everywhere, twists and rotates, and from a sitting position will lean down and start rolling.  She just hasn't figured out how to move forward yet.

Here's some pictures to demonstrate.  She started on the blanket, and just kept rolling.



 She couldn't roll any further, so she started moving backward.
 And this is finally where she stopped.
 Baby on the move!

Jovie has always watched us intently while we're chewing. But she's added a new funny twist: if I'm holding her when I'm chewing, she'll stare at my mouth for a few moments then will open her mouth and lean forward toward mine like a baby bird waiting to get fed! I don't know where she got this, and it's a little weird, but it makes me laugh.

Jovie's into seeing under and into everything. When we play peek-a-boo with her, she now knows how to pull the blanket off herself, and you can "hide" her toys under the blanket and she'll "find" them by pulling the blanket off. And, one funny but not socially acceptable thing is that she grabs your shirt collar and pulls it, trying to look down your shirt.

She's so sweet and gives lots of kisses, and a hug now and then.  She's even started giving Howie a kiss now and then. Still working on those teeth.  They seem to be close, but we've thought that for several months now. Who knows when they're coming.  Every day is an adventure!