You are My Sunshine...in August

Some cute pics from August

August 2nd

Duck-billed platypus face.  We don't know where it came from, but she does it all. the. time.

August 13th

Playing with Mommy's laptop

August 25th

Looking cute and on the move

The Zoo!

On Monday morning, the Youngs came over for about an hour before they left to go back to Ohio.

Playing with Grandma, Aunt Julie and Violet

Then, after Jovie's morning nap and lunch, we took Jovie to the zoo for the first time.  We weren't sure how she would react to the animals, as she didn't really like them at Carriage Hill in Ohio in May.  She surprised us with how much she loved the zoo!  She smiled and pointed at the animals, giggled a lot and paid very close attention to everything.  She had a bunch of fun.

We started with the farm animals

 Those goats are fascinating!

 Of course, so is the helicopter flying over.

 By the lions

 I think the mail lion was Jovie's favorite.

 She would laugh,

 clap, 

and say "lion" and make a roaring sound.

 We stayed by him for a long time, because she loved it.  Even when he made some roaring sounds, she would smile and laugh.

 It was a really nice day, but a little trip through the mister never hurts.

 The giant tortoise - we almost didn't see him until he moved, and then it took awhile for Jovie to spot him.  It's not like he makes sudden movements to catch her eye.

 Jovie in the giant ape house

 Watching the orangutans

 Yes, I know the sandals are too big, but she's grown out of all of her other sandals, and I don't want to buy more because the summer is almost over.

 Yay, elephant!

 Baby cheetah cubs playing

 Hanging with Grandpa

 Watching the giant pandas

 Getting sleepy

 Snuggles with Daddy

She had such a blast at the zoo, and we had so much fun watching her!

After we took her home for a nap, we went out to Guapos for dinner.  She was a hit, waving at everyone, and our server loved her.  However, he strummed his guitar in her face and scared her and she started crying.  He felt bad, so he brought her a little scoop of vanilla ice cream.  She really liked it, of course.  Two treats in two days - big deal for Jovie!

Jovie had a big week, and an exciting summer in general.  It's been fun to have all of our guests and activities.  Can't wait to see what fall holds!

The Big ONE!

It's true.  She's moving from baby-hood to toddler-hood.  One!!!

One year stats:

Weight: 23 lbs 10 oz, 80th percentile
Height: 29.5 inches, 70th percentile (I'm skeptical of this one.  Only a 1/2 inch in three months?  Her clothes beg to differ.  Pretty sure the nurse wasn't too precise on that one.)
Head circumference: 18 inches, 85th percentile

Jovie is a fantastic little girl!  She is still our sweet little baby in some ways - she hugs us so tightly around the neck sometimes, and at night or nap times, we sing her a song and hold her while she snuggles with us before putting her down in her crib.  She is becoming more and more social, and likes to be around people and will even reach for her favorites (sometimes even strangers if she really connects with them!).  She waves at everyone (sometimes animals, too), even if it's a delayed goodbye after they are gone.  She is still so determined, curious to learn and passionate.  Her temper is coming out a bit more, and we can see the face she gets when she's being defiant.

Reminiscent of Daddy, when she's eating, she's all business, and I have to remind her to chew a lot.  "Chew, Jovie" and making the chewing motion is something I do about ten times each meal.

She is a healthy girl, and growing so fast!  She:

• Points at EVERYTHING!  Can walk while pushing things, like her baby doll stroller, or around the furniture.  And, she can stand on her own for several seconds at a time.
• Can show us she's "one" with her finger
• Points to our noses, and giggles if we say "beep" when she presses them.  However, she refuses to point to her own nose.
• Has six teeth.  She's had the bottom two and top fangs for awhile.  The front two just cut!
• Definitely says "Howie" now.  It comes out like "o-WEE".  It's among her favorite words, along with "Dat" for that and "Daddy". She tries to say all kinds of words and makes all kinds of talking sounds. She holds up her side of the conversation! She has attempted "Anna" and "Brayden", as well as "bye," "baby" and "lion".  Her most common words are:
• Daddy
• Mama
• Howie
• That, This and See
• Dog
• Hi
• Yeah
• Does a few signs, like "more" and "all done", although her "all done" is a variation that Daddy taught her.
• Is learning to throw a ball, and is so proud of herself when she does it.

She loves:

• Anything in the sky that moves - birds, airplanes, helicopters
• Leaves on the trees. She points to them, grins and says "eee". She likes to touch them, too.Music with a beat, preferably with a female vocalist
• Making anything into a drum, or pounding/knocking on everything

Funny things she does:

• Makes her "platypus" face

(and other funny faces)

• Laughs to make us laugh, and now she also laughs when she thinks something is funny or funny looking
• Fake coughs for a reaction
• Thinks it's funny when we toot - don't know how she picked up that one.
• Loves to dance!  Either with us holding her, or moving on her own to a beat in her head or one she can hear.  She'll sit in her highchair and shake those shoulders, or pull herself up and shake her bum and bounce.
• Has funny variations on her crawl - the lopsided crawl with a toy in one hand, the super fast crawl, head tucked and off she goes!

We are so grateful for our one year old!

Party!

Sunday was the big day!  Jovie's first birthday party.  The weather forecast for Sunday (when last checked on Saturday) was gorgeous, so we were going with our original plan to have the party at BelleHaven park.  However, when we got out of church, it was raining.  So, Julie remembered the shelter at the Fairlington Park, and we moved the party there.  Of course, then I gave everyone the wrong address.  And Julie and I had to finish softening the cupcake frosting by turning on the heat in the car (Julie's second save-the-day idea of the day) as we were setting up at the park.    But it all worked out, and everyone made it!  The rain stopped just as the party was starting and we had lots of fun with our wonderful family and friends!

Here she is - the big girl, making the "1" sign

 The cupcakes I was very proud of!  (Julie helped ice and present them)

  

 Yummy food

\

Mingling at the party

 Wonderful friends and family all came

 The favorite facial expression these days

 Grandmas and Grandpas

 Daddy and his One-Year-Old

Jovie kept reaching for all of our small group friends to hold her, and I think she asked each of them to hold her at some point during the party!

 Jovie loves Poppy!

 This bunting was made for one of my baby showers.  I said I would use it at that baby's first birthday party - yay!

 Daddies and Babies

 Grandpas on dinner duty

 All the kids with their star sunglasses (a party favor)

You'll notice - Jovie never keeps hers on

 It's a challenge for almost everyone to keep them on

(The pipe in Pyke's mouth is also a party favor - for bubbles)

 Jovie tried to escape every now and then

 Grandma and Jovie

 Our family on Jovie's birthday

 Cake! This part was super fun, and Jovie got right into the spirit of it.  While everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to her, she seemed a bit confused, but watched everyone.

Here it comes!  Blow out the candle!

 First touch

 Here, Jovie, you eat it

 First taste - tentative at first

 Diving in!

 And then she went all for it, and made a total mess.  Thankfully, we did a back-up napkin under the bib, so the dress came out unscathed.

Look at that bib pocket

 She was so entertaining to watch go for it!

 How much is stashed in there that I can eat?

 Since the Hoberts came, she's been doing the shy tilt her head and act coy thing with men lately.  Here, she's doing it to Grandpa.

 Here's the book she opened from Naomi.  We're not sure if it was due to sugar rush, but she was giddy with delight when she looked at it for the first time!

 Everyone was so generous.  What a blessed little girl.

(Blanket props go to Sandyn for letting us use her all-weather blanket)

 Opening presents

 Thanks everyone!

 So far, Jovie does a nice job sharing her toys with other kids.

 Hanging with the family

We really enjoyed ourselves, and I was overwhelmed by how loved and blessed a little girl that Jovie is.  She is surrounded by loving support, and I'm so grateful for that.

Happy Birthday, Jovie Rae!