6 Months..

Joel turned 6 months old on November 16th. He had his well-baby check-up with Dr. Ball, and everything is looking great. He had fallen behind in weight gain, but gained 2 pounds in the last month! At his check-up he weighed 15 lbs and 9.5 oz. (20th percentile) and was 27.5 inches long (80th percentile!). He is a happy and healthy guy.

He is very chatty these days. He loves to say mmmmmmummmm, and explore his voice from top to bottom. He can get up there :) In the mornings he sighs sweetly cuddled up with mommy.

I am making my own baby food, which has been really fun. He has tried quite a few things now: rice and oat cereals, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, avocados, green beans, carrots, pears, and bananas. Pears are definitely his favorite, and he can't get enough of them. He really loves carrots and sweet potatoes too. He can't stand the green beans....can't really blame him, they are pretty awful in pureed form!

Given the opportunity to "feed himself" this is what happens:




At least we have fun! He is pretty giggly these days, and you never know what will get him going.
Here he is post-meal watching mommy clap her hands....pretty funny :)


We are looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow, and enjoying a lovely week off of school. It is so nice to be home together.

Happy Halloween

Joel's first Halloween was fun...probably more for us than for him :) He dressed as the cutest little Charlie Brown we have ever seen!

On the 30th we went to the carnival at Knott Ave. Christian Church with Joel in his costume. He enjoyed looking around and seeing all the activities. On Halloween we stayed home with our little "Charlie" and passed out candy to the Trick-or-Treaters. We had a ton of them!

October fun!

This has been an eventful month. I had a birthday on the 15th, and Joel turned 5 months on the 16th. The 16th was also Joel's first experience with solid foods (hooray!). He started with rice cereal, which he seems to like. He impressed Keith and I, and Nana and Papa with his eating. He took to the spoon like he had always been doing it! Since then he has also tried to "help" us with his feedings by grabbing at the spoon and guiding it toward his mouth. Last week I started making my own baby food. I steamed and pureed a ton of sweet potatoes, carrots and butternut squash. It tastes wonderful, and is so much fun. We have a whole shelf in the freezer for Joel's food. We started him on Sweet Potatoes on Saturday...so far so good, although he does seem to like the cereal more. In a few days we will add one of the other veggies to his diet.




On the 17th we went to the pumpkin patch at Tanaka Farms. It was busy and hot, but really fun to see Joel with all the pumpkins.



Halloween is just around the corner, and we are excited to dress our little guy up in his first costume. Pictures to follow!

Welcome To Our Blog

Now that we are three, there is so much to share with friends and family.

God has blessed our family beyond measure. I feel that every day (even the tough ones) is filled with blessings, in our marriage, our work, our home life, and now in our precious son.

Joel is nearly 5 months old already, and it is true what everyone tells us...it goes so quickly! He is more of a joy than we ever could have imagined. Nothing could have ever prepared us for the overwhelming love we feel for him. He loves to smile, and singing a tune for him is a good way to get one of those smiles! He giggles from time to time as well...the most joyful sound I have ever heard! Lately he has really been discovering his voice and carries on sweet "conversations" with us. He loves to "stand" with support, dance, and play in his jumperoo. He is quite fond of his hands and feet, and anything he can get into his mouth. Mostly he just loves to be with people.


Keith is enjoying another year of teaching at Tesoro, and Chapman. Fall concerts will be soon, and Joel and mommy are eager to hear the progress the students are making. I am teaching part time this year: Kindergarten-3rd grade music at Bathgate Elementary on Tuesdays, and at Tijeras Creek Elementary and Reilly Elementary on Fridays. I am also working with 10 private voice students. The other days I get to be at home with Joel. I love having the best of both worlds.

We are happily attending Mountainview Covenant Church where Keith leads the worship, and I serve by singing on the worship team, and leading some children's music. We meet with our Home Group every Wednesday evening. This is a group of seven young families from church. We are incredibly blessed to be a part of this fellowship, and we are so happy to have found these awesome friends.

So much is happening each day. Stay tuned!