Baby's 1st Christmas

Dear Joshi,
We had a wonderful Christmas season. Although times were stressful with Papa having a new job working long hours, we managed to squeeze in some wonderful Christmas activities, including taking an old-fashioned steam train ride around Munich, going to a Christmas tree farm near the Alps and cutting down our own small Christmas tree, a Christmas party in Austria hosted by Christian's new employer, Bischof. Everyone swooned over you in your Santa hat. We also made an appearance at the JYM Christmas party and you were the heart throb of nearly every female JYMer there.

Your Oma came down for Zwickau for the Christmas and we spent it very low key in our cozy little apartment. We did German-American Christmas, in other words, we decorated the tree and did a gift exchange on the 24th and then hung up the stockings and left cookies for Santa, who brought more presents for everyone on the 25th. It was wonderful. Mama made Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings for Christmas day dinner and it was a wonderful white snowy Christmas. We took a walk on Christmas day through the snow-covered neighborhood and not a soul was out besides us. It was truly a winter wonderland.
And you enjoyed Christmas, except for being sick with a fever on the 23rd and crying inconsolably for hours, breaking mama's heart all the way....being afraid of Oma, who was a stranger to you again after so much time (3 months!), by the 24th you felt quite a bit better and on Christmas day, you were back to your old self and you and Oma the best of pals.
You were not so much into the packages and the unwrapping, but you loved all the new toys Santa brought you.
You are nearly 9 months old now. You are definitely saying Mama....since you were 7 1/2 months old you have been saying Mamamamama....but we weren't sure if you meant me specifically or if you were just mumbling words. You were at Lena and Bernhard's for the day once, while Mama and Papa had some downtime at the Sauna and you looked around for me at some point saying Mamamamama.....
Now it is clear though that you mean it.
I also swear you tried to say Kitty Cat to Erasmus.....sounds a bit like Keeee Kaaaa
but this could be a coincidence???

You are definitely understanding a lot and you are busy playing, playing, playing exploring your little world. You are able to crawl now, more or less....not your favorite activity though, and it is more just a necessary evil to get to one of your stations where you like to pull up to standing. Like the coffee table. You pull yourself up there and play with the coasters for long stretches. You love standing and seem to never tire of it. You can even stand for a few seconds on your own. It is soooo cute, to watch you finally becoming more mobile.
I love you my little Christmas elf!


Here as some nice fotos taken of us at the JYM Christmas party:

Joshi investigating his spoon

Joshi "shadowboxing" (at 8 months)

Special things about you !

My sweet Joshua,

There are so many special things about you and I want to recount a few here, so that someday when you read this you will know how you were as a little baby. I imagine that some of these qualities are ones you will have your whole life.
Whenever we go out in public, whether it be in a store or on the bus or if we meet others in play group, baby swimming, or whatever, people are always taken with and comment on your gorgeous blue, blue eyes. I get so many comments on your eyes, I'd be rich if everytime they gave me a dime. You have a charm and magnetism about you and when your smile is so infectious - you bring the even the most sourpussed German face to light up and smile. We were having lunch in a restaurant one day and an old lady sitting by herself lunching in the corner stopped by our table to say what an amazing baby you are and that the sun comes out when you smile.
You also laugh a lot. In baby swimming you are the one always laughing and everyone knows you as such. You find things fun and funny and are very immediate about expressing your delight.
You regularly crack up at stuff your brother Leo does. He doesn't even have to be doing anything in particular, directed at you or trying. Just his being cracks you up. It is the same with the cat, Erasmus. You laugh at the very sight of him - and even more if he is doing something funny like playing or jumping, then you laugh hysterically. But the cat needs to only walk by or only sit there blinking and you thing he is a riot and giggle and giggle. You have also pet him a few times, or grabbed on to his fur in a fist full. We are working on teaching you to be gentle with him (and with others! like your poor mommy).
The other sweet little thing about you, is you love books...not necessarily in the way I had hoped, at least not yet. I sit down with you and try to read books, or show you pictures. You take a limited interest. More interesting for you is to take the book and investigate the shape of it from different angles and then more importantly yet, the book goes into your mouth for closer exploration. You give "devouring" books a whole new meaning! I have to make sure therefore, I give you cloth books or otherwise spit-resistant books, cause they would be otherwise destroyed in no time. As of recently, you have started to take more interest in the actual pictures and content, but it is always straight back to mouthing it.
You are also really into telephones, remote controls and keyboards....anything with buttons to push and pound on. We of course give you limited access to telephones and remote controls...however, you have gotten your very own keyboard (old broken one from Papa). You love to pound away at it. Whenever I am talking on the phone with family, I put the speaker phone on and the person on the other end talks to you too. You stare at the phone and want to take it, push the buttons, talk at it and put it in your mouth (naturally), trying to make closer contact, I suppose.
It is so sweet.
You are generally a very good natured baby, but you do have a hot head sometimes. You are trying to crawl and are still unable to move forward ( you only are able to push yourself backwards still) and this makes you mad...you pound on the floor and yell.
I think one of the cutest things that you do though, as of recent, is play with your shadow! You play with it on the floor trying to crawl, or on the wall behind the couch when you are lap standing. You are so curious about it! You play with the shadow of your head and mama's or papa's head, trying to touch it, grab on to it and recently we have started making rabbit ears and barking dogs which you find totally fascinating. It is truly adorable.

Lots of love,
Your mommy

Working on standing and crawling

Joshi pulls himself to standing position at 7 1/2 Months!


Dear Joshi,

We are all noticing that you are really going through a major developmental spurt. You are 7 1/2 months old and on the verge of crawling/standing/walking. You push yourself around, usually backwards....you go from sitting to all fours position, or from stomach to push-up position or you get up on one knee, but forward motion still alludes you. You creep backwards and can go quite a distance. You get very frustrated though too, that it isn't working yet the way you want and you start yelling. I try to give you encouragement, you grin at me and cry at me simultaneously. It is quite endearing actually!

You also pulled yourself to a standing position on Saturday! It was with great effort and all your muscle power. You were in your crib and playing with your activity center when you grabbed on to the top of it and with all of your might pulled yourself up! You were so incredibly proud of yourself. You beamed with accomplishment. I couldn't believe my eyes....I didn't expect that to go so fast. Especially since you are not even crawling yet. You are also not sleeping in your crib yet. You still sleep either in your bassinet in mommy and papa's room, or starting in the middle of the night in bed with us. We have to move you soon to your crib and we will already have to lower the mattress in your crib before you sleep in it for the first time to make sure you don't pull yourself up and over the side!

As for other new things about you, you love to play with the wooden spoons in the kitchen, while either mommy or papa is cooking. If nothing else interests you and your are cranky, wanting attention or to be held, we just need to give you a wooden spoon and you are totally in to it and forget everything else. You hold in up in the air, chew on it, swing it around, etc.

You also love to read books, but mostly by yourself! If I try to read with you look and listen shortly, but soon get impatient, you want to turn the pages yourself and put the book in your mouth. But if I sit you down with one of your books you hold it up, examine it, put it in your mouth, place in on your lap and turn the pages, the whole while cooing at it. It is sooo cute.

Music is still one of your favorite things on the planet...you love to listen and watch me play guitar - you are also totally fascinated when papa plays his saxophone. The rest of the world is on pause in these moments.

You have also taken a major interest in fabric patterns, since ever and always you have loved when I wear polka dots. If I need to entertain you while I am getting dressed or whatever, I give you one of my polka dot shirts and you examine it like a scientist.

You also understand the sign for milk/nursing, as well as diaper change, eat and....you also already do the sign for milk yourself, however you have been using the sign mostly indiscriminantly, as a general "I want" sign since you were about five months old. When I ask you if you want to nurse with the sign for milk and you are hungry you indisputably show your understanding and affirmation with your body language...like Yes mommy, you get it! That is what I want!!! You do ask to nurse with the sign as well, but it is always combined with whining and an urgent look in your eyes, so that it is mostly unmistakable.

Other news is that as of one month you have been spitting up only very occasionally, much to our relief and the relief of the washing machine! Mommy can now wear her clothes more than once between launderings again!

Well, that is all for now my little Joshi-Bockers.

More next time!

Love, your adoring Mommy

Creeping and crawling

Dear Joshi,

You have been sick the last week with your first cold. It has been so sad to watch you suffer stuffy nose, crankiness from sore throat and achy body, etc....you had a fever as well, on Sunday nicht....still you made your first real attempts at crawling on Monday, November 8 at 33 weeks old : ) and even though you have been sick.
Mommy is super proud of you!

Big fat kisses from your Mommy.

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday was Halloween, and Joshi turned 7 months old! We didn't do anything real Halloweeny, it is not largely celebrated here in Germany anyhow. Leo is at his mother's, so we decided when he gets back we will all carve a pumpkin together. Baby Joshua sort of had a costume, his buck-teeth pacifier, gift from Amee, and his autumn warm suit with pumpkins on it. We took a walk in Westpark at dusk and saw a few autumn colors, watched the sunset and marveled at how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place. Joshi saw his first waterfall and he was fascinated by all the plants and the trees with turning leaves

Link to Facebook fotos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=335973&id=768494464&l=a2fe0912e8

Joshi also had his 5th examination nearly two weeks ago now. He weighed 7.5 Kilos and is 67 cm long!

Other big news. Joshi cut his first tooth today (and I don't mean the buck teeth)! He has been teething a bit these last couple weeks, but not too bad actually. Anyhow, the first one has surfaced now just about 19 or so to go for the first round!

As I said, Leo has been away for a few days. It was really clear to me today that Joshua misses him very much. He saw his picture on the fridge, smiled at it and then in an instant started crying, not just unhappy crying, but rather really sad crying, almost desperate. It was heart-wrenching. He did this same thing about an hour later, he looked at his picture on the desk and he was looking all around the room for Leo himself and started crying. Poor little guy misses his big brother terribly. It is so touching how much those two love each other.

Anyhow, Joshi is still not crawling but he is getting really close. Could be any day now! We just got a new play pen for him, sponsored by his Great-Grandma Sherrit, who sent us a generous amount of money to go baby shopping with.

Joshi is sitting like a champ

It is amazing how fast babies aquire new skills. Joshi was still struggling to sit steady one day, and the next day he totally had the hang of it. He did tip backwards after sitting for like 20 minutes today. He didn't hit his head hard or anything, but it surprised him and he lay there for a few seconds pondering his surprise and then bursted into tears. He was easily comforted by mommy though : )


Love this yummy face!

Leo feeding Joshi the other day

6 months old - yeah baby!

Dear Joshua,

Today you are six months old. It is hard to believe that so much time has already passed and it is awesome to see how much you have grown and how much you have learned in what is actually quite a short time. You are sitting up pretty steady meanwhile but still need assistance and at some point you start to tip, so I have to be there to lend you a hand. You are rolling from side to side, but not rolling over yet. You love to play with your feet and standing is your favorite position on the planet. Even when you are lying down you love stretching your legs as straight out as you can. No signs of crawling yet, although you have begun creeping a bit (backwards).
You are a funny baby, you have definitely inherited your papa's funny genes and your mama's funny bone, you make me laugh all the time and seem quite pleased with yourself about it. You have started giving me slobbery wet open mouth kisses on my face. This makes me laugh which just encourages you to slobber even more. You laughed hysterically when I was eating a pear two days ago, because it was so juicy I was slurping it while I was biting it. You thought it was so funny and laughed every bite I took. You also found your bath toys funny, these little plastic figures that spit water, a walrus, a crab and a blowfish - You were non-stop giggling while I was filling them with water and spraying water on you.
Yesterday, your brother came in the room and you were on my lap and you just started laughing at Leo...at the sight of him. It was like you were trying to engage him. It was so cute. Leo started laughing too and the more he laughed, the more you laughed until you were practically shrieking. It was just adorable.
We have started doing ASL signs and the sign for milk has been a part of your vocab since you were about five months. We have also been doing "I love you", "mommy loves baby", mommy, papa, brother, eat, sleep, lion, play, swimming, as well as yes, no and more. It seems you understand the I love you, cause your eyes light up and you stare both at my hand then at me.
Your favorite songs are "Hush little baby" at bedtime, "Hey Mr. Nickerbocker" anywhere, anytime and "The eensey weensey spider" with hand signs in the morning. I also sing you "Fly me to the moon" at bedtime. You love to watch me play guitar and listen. In fact your eyes light up when you see me bring it out. I play Guns and Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine" as well as Neil Young's "Heart of Gold". I also wrote part of a song for you when you were around 8 weeks old, until just the other day I still only had a chorus and not an inkling of how the rest should go. I finally was able finish composing it and hope to record it soon! In general you just love music, though you don't seem to like children's music very much, with the exception of Lullabys which you love...you also really like The Beatles and your favorite song is "Free as a Bird". You are also quite fond of Jack Johnson as well as Willie Nelson. I have some Native American music which I play for you. You like this especially for all of the nature sounds that come up. And what is nice for your mama, is that you love listening to her sing and play guitar, so she gets to practice and you are entertained at the same time : )))
You are a nature lover just like your mama. I try to get outdoors with you as often as possible, nearly every day, and if the weather is nice, like it was on my birthday last week, we go out and lay on a blanket under a tree. You are in heaven and you could lay there staring up at the tree for days it seems. On my birthday you and I went to Südpark for a few hours. It was the first day of autumn and the weather was sublime. I did a bit of jogging through the woods and we found a nice tree in a field. Mommy did her stretches and you practiced your sitting and did your tummy time while examining the fallen leaves on the ground. Afterwards you stared up at the tree and contentedly watched the leaves blow in the light wind.
Last weekend you also got your first solid food! Just a few days shy of six months. You got pureed parsnips(turnip) to start Hipp Baby Food, all natural and totally pure (no additives). You made a funny face with each bite, but found it interesting, and kept accepting bite for bite. You to it down pretty well too! I got your first solid food on film and your papa fed you. Since then you have also tried the carrots and the pumpkin. In the meantime, mommy has made you pureed pumpkin with potatoes, you like mommy's freshmade much better than Hipp's food :) I also made you parsnip and fennel puree. Mommy always prepares this with a little flaxseed oil or extra-virgin olive oil to help you absorb the vitamins and give you a bit of fat and omegas....Since you are eating mommy's food you seem to love eating. In fact we can not get the food to your mouth fast enough. If the next spoonful takes too long you start yelling!
Your papa's temporary job at DHL as expeditor has now ended, thank God!, and he has had a few days off, those 12 hour days are behind us for the moment. He now has a new permanent job with Unterer GmbH as expeditor at Munich's wholesale marketplace. He is bringing fresh goods daily in from Italy and distributing them. This will mean a bit of travelling to customers in Italy. Anyhow your papa has long wanted to be working at the wholesale marketplace and has wanted a chance to use his Italian again and this job has given him both. We look forward to seeing how this will develope!
Your brother Leo is enjoying his new school just down the street from us. He is in the fourth grade, repeating it after a chaotic year last year. He has also started climbing lessons at the climbing facility. He is very agile, thin and long-limbed. In other words he has the perfect physique for climbing. He has been climbing around like a monkey for years. We are finally trying to channel this ability and interest of his.
Unfortunately for mama's ears you have started screetching again...mostly when you want to complain about something...boredome, restlessness, tiredness even hunger. It is very ear-piercing and I hope you get over it. You stopped this for a number of weeks, but have picked it up again - too bad for your poor family members as well as the cat, who takes off running when you start.
Falling asleep is still difficult for you. We have to rock you in your bassinet to help you fall asleep with your bunny-love, your binky and lullabyes and although a part of you wants to sleep very much another part of you can't let go, and wants to stay awake as if not wanting to miss anything. This struggle then makes you frustrated and you get mad, red-faced and kick. Finally at some point when you can relax, sleep eventually takes over. For the longest time when you slept you would sleep with both hands up and I always called this your praise-the-Lord sleeping position. You no longer do praise-the-Lord but have taken to what your papa calls the Italian traffic-cop: head to one side, hand up on that side and the other hand down...so cute. You sleep in your bassinet to start until you come to nurse in the middle of the night, then you stay in bed with us the rest of the night. You then at some point awaken us with your waterfall babbling, when you have decided it is time to start the day!
I could look at you for hours when you are sleeping, I love how peaceful you look. I love when you are awake and sit in your bouncy chair in the morning and stare at me, flirt with me and smile at me, while I have breakfast. We have whole conversations it would seem just with eye-contact. It is wonderful.
Your personality has become quite clear. You are very active, curious, alert and crave interaction - not a sitby and watch the world go by type baby. I think this will in some way be very challenging in other ways less challenging. Getting you interested in things is no problem, you just are.
I feel so blessed to be your mommy and to have such a wonderful baby as you. I love you to bits and pieces. We already look at your newborn pictures in awe, that you were ever that tiny and helpless. You have become so agile and present in the short six months of your life. Watching you grow into the little person you are becoming is an honor and a rare incomparable treat. I wouldn't trade it for the world!
All my love, Your adoring Mother.

Joshi being tickled

Joshi - Video just shy of 5 months

5 months old and growing

Today Joshua turned five months old. On Sunday he sat on his own for about a minute without the use of his hands to brace himself! Today, he sat for a little longer before he began to tip over and I had to catch him. He actually sat upright on his own out of a seated position using his hands. I was so proud of him and he was quite pleased with himself.
He is also pleased with himself and his new ability to screetch. His screetching doesn't have any particular meaning. He uses it when he is mad, or frustrated, as well as when he is bored but also when he is happy. Mommy hopes very much that this is only a very short testing-phase.
Joshua is already showing that he has quite a sense of humour. Papa had him dancing the other day on the kitchen counter. Joshua thought this was awesome and he makes this certain move where he makes a funny laughing face while he lifts a leg and bends down at the same time. I called this new dance move "the joshua" and started imitating him. He saw me doing this and thought it was hysterical. He was screeching with laughter and made it clear, he got it!
He also played peek-a-boo with me. I put a blanket over his face and said, where's the baby? And then pulled the blanket the way and said, there's the baby!" He laughed each time. I stopped doing this after a few minutes, but he continued the game on his own - pulling the blanket over his face and then pulling it way, while giving me a big grin!

Water Baby

Joshua is a water baby all the way. He really loves bathtime and starts to kick as soon as we go into the bathroom and I lay him down on his towel and he hears me turn on the water.

I started a baby swimming with him at the beginning of August. We already have had five or so swimming lessons and he loves it. There are anywhere from 8 to 12 other babies and mamas there. The pool is made for babies with warm water and low chlorine levels (oxygen is also used). Lots of the swimming is about singing songs and playing with objects in the water, like mini watering cans and colorful floating balls, but there is also the more serious 10 minutes where the baby practices a skill, like going underwater, floating on the back swimming underwater to mama with and without instructor. There is also a relaxation at the end where the main lights are turned down and a play of colored lights on the ceiling are accompanied by relaxation music, while the babies lie on mats and are pushed around the pool by their mommies. Joshua finds this part awesome too. He loves the games and the singing, the relaxation - he is not so convinced by the swimming underwater, but did very well with it.

Cherishing every moment

Joshua is 4 1/2 months old! It is hard to believe how the days are flying by and how quickly he is growing. Everyone told me that it would go fast, still until you have the experience yourself, you don't really know what people are talking about. I try to cherish every moment though, every smile - every cry.


Joshua has accomplished a lot since my last post. He has become quite adept at grasping toys and passing them from hand to hand. Everything is starting to go in to his mouth now too, especially since he has already begun teething on and off. He loves to play take the binky out of the mouth and try to put it back in. He often misses his mouth, or tries to put it backwards, when he realizes this isn't working out, he holds it out at arm length, examines it, re-positions it and tries to bring it on in. He has been successful a couple of times so far! Sometimes, he complains about loosing his binky, and one of us sticks it back in only for him to pull it out two seconds later - and he complains again immediately wondering why the binky is gone again. He doesn't quite realize the whole cause and effect process of it all.

He is getting stronger during tummy time - at 3 1/2 months he was able to roll over, from tummy to back, but for some reason he has totally stopped doing this, as if he has forgotten how. Not much to do here, because Joshua doesn't like tummy time very much and I don't feel it is necessary to torture him. We only do it when he is up for it, and as long as he is happy about it.

Joshua has been spitting up as often as usual. We did have an ultrasound of his belly done to make sure it is nothing serious. Thank goodness it isn't. He just has reflux due to an underdeveloped muscle between stomach and esophagus as very many infants do. Hopefully this will get better once solids are introduced.

He has also started to really explore using his voice. Babbles a lot. Sometimes he goes from happy babbling to a type of cursing (like when he starts to get bored or want attention) and he is a good yeller and complainer, I try to let him know I take him seriously but it is so cute sometimes, I giggle to myself in secret. Less cute is when he throws his baby tantrums, and he is quite a force to reckon with and he can be quite inconsolable. I worry that he will turn into one of those temper tantrum kids, but if hedoes, we'll deal with that too. Sometimes he gets frustrated very easily when he can't do what he wants to or go where he wants. I have the feeling he feels trapped in his imobility and can't wait to move around. Anyhow, it is clear that he fits the Aries personality profile, a very head strong type, his temperament is as firey as it is friendly.

Since last week Joshua has been able to sit by himself as long as he is supporting himself with his hands. He can't do it for very long (at some point he starts to tip over) but he can do it!!!


He loves to practice standing too and loves to climb on mama or papa like a monkey.

As most babies do, Joshua loves to look at himself in the mirror. The other day, I had him on me in his baby wrap and we stood in front of the mirror. He was looking at and laughing at himself and then at the mommy reflection. I was laughing too, he then looked up at me doing the laughing, bewildered he looked back and fourth at mommy holding him and the mommy reflection. He found it very curious and you could see the gears turning as he was trying to figure it out.

Anyhow, I love this little angel to pieces. And everytime he looks up at me with his big blue eyes and warms me with his smile or laugh, i feel so blessed that God has entrusted me to care for and love this little person.

Here are some recent pics posted in Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271796&id=768494464&l=3946bdb47d

Videos of Joshi

Here is a video of Joshua at six weeks taken right after waking up in the morning



For comparison, you can really see his development in this second video also taken first thing in the morning at 15 weeks:

Never a dull moment

Christian and I always say the same thing after each new challenge and hurdle, phew...now things will start to calm down and become more peaceful. Yeah right! And when they don't I always joke that, that the more peaceful times are an ever allusive pipe dream.
As it is, we have been run a bit ragged, with Leo's school year coming to an end, him breaking his arm - meaning for me not only doing without his help in things in the house, like taking back recycling cleaning the cat box and the rabbit cage, but him needing extra care. Add to that, the fact that Christian has been interviewing like mad and finally got a what seems like a good job offer. Money is not great to start, but not bad either, the job has lots of potential and better than being underpaid for his work as he has been. He started his new job this week as a disponent for DHL Supply Chain. With the commute time this has him out of the house 12 hours a day. This is also quite an adjustment for all of us.

This is the current background to the story of Joshua...

Trying to take care of this household (mostly) alone with a newborn has been a challenge to say the least. Especially with a newborn who loves to be held and wants nothing more to be carried around and adored. And while mommy certainly loves holding and adoring her baby, there are things to get done. I was using a baby wrap (sling) to carry Joshua when doing lighter household tasks, but with the heat this option has been out. It is just too hot for him to be snug on my body (and too hot for me as well!). Joshua is also getting cranky and irritated with the heat real fast. Sleeping only happens for short stints during the day until he sweats himself awake (yes, we are living in the land of no air conditioning) and at night sleeping in diapers with a fan is the only possibility

A week and a half ago, we went to the consulate to report Joshua's birth with the US officials in order to get his citizenship, as well as US passport, a US birth certificate and social security number. This was a grueling morning with mountains of forms to fill out. Both parents and baby have to be present, as both parents have to swear an oath and they want to see that the baby does exist. So in the meantime his file is on hold as I have to show proof of at least five years of presence in the states, usually in the form of a school records. So everything is on hold...I did also just apply for a new passport for myself, reflecting my name change - but all in all, the whole international marriage thing and name change has also been a paper and formula affair like no other, but hey - we have come so far and made so much headway, these are just final hurdles and we will be travel ready. We will need to get a passport for Leo as well and he and Christian will need a visa if they want to travel to the US.

We had Joshua's fourth medical examination on a week ago Monday, July 12th along with his 2nd vaccination. He has grown quite a bit in the last two months. He is now 5130 grams heavy and 60 cm long. While he is still quite petite for his age and a light weight, so to speak, he is developing well within his curve. He is below average in size but he follows the bottom of the develepmental curver perfectly. His father, brother and mama were also rather petite as babies, so it is fine. One cause of concern still is all of his spitting up, sometimes it is really massive amounts (the doctor asked if it was more than ten spit ups a day, I and said he reaches 10 spit-ups easily by noon, it is more like 20 to 30, which is too much. Some babies just spit up that much and something like 30 percent of babies have reflux due to an underdeveloped ) and to compensate he is drinking all the time, it seems. He has also returned to coming a few times during the night, but this could also be due to thirst from the heat. He only drinks a short while and falls right back asleep.

As I said in previous post he loves being pulled up into a sitting or standing position and he likes practice walking. The other day his Papa had him standing up an the kitchen table, with papa behind him. Joshua is always so proud of himself when he is standing and looks at each of us in turn, as if to say - look at me! I am so big!!! Anyhow, on this particular occasion I happened to be sitting across the table and could see him face on, but he was more interested in looking at the surface of the table. I watch him suddenly get excited and full of courage and dared to take three large carefree steps forward. His own courage and adventurousness then faltered as he all of a sudden felt out of control and I watched his face change from brave to frightened in an instant, he turned red and he started to scream, my guess is cause he thought he was all alone cause his Papa was holding him from above and behind. Quickly both I and his papa sat him down and comforted him and told what a good brave boy he was and that everything was okay. He calmed down quickly, after his bottom lip stopped quivering, he was back to smiling within a couple of minutes. I was so touched to see this little personality in action. I think he gets impatient and frustrated at times because he already wants to be able to do more than he is able to do yet.

His laughter has become more spontaneous also, he definitely has a good sense of humour already. Laughs when I do silly things - the other day though on his changing table he found something hysterical and I had no idea what - or maybe he was just practicing. In any case he had a laugh attack for whatever reason and had me in stiches cause he was so funny.

Joshua has become more adept at grabbing and holding on to items. He has started holding on to and snuggling with a blanket. He likes to rub it up on his face and hold it up over his face. Sometimes it completely covers his face and eyes by accident and he doesn't seem able to remove it before he gets upset cause he can't see. So he starts crying and I have to rescue him.

Joshua's personality is becoming clearer by the day. He is definitely easily bored and adventure loving. He is constantly asking to be entertained and is super curious about the world around him. There is something so beautiful wathching him discover new things (and it almost always new things. We took him out for a walk in the woods and came to a spring, known to be the purest water running in the Altmühl valley before the alps. People come from all around to fill there bottles and it lies along an old trade route. Joshua is a nature lover for sure. He loves trees above all; could lay contently looking up at a tree for hours. So this was the first time he saw water running and bubbling over rocks and he was awe struck and fascinated by the sound and the look. I am filled with awe to witness this little person discovering the world around him, and day by day he is a bit more awake and a bit more alert. So I spend most of my days trying to balance work and quality time with my baby. We always make sure to spend uninterrupted time each day gazing into each other's eyes and smiling at and flirting with each other, like the two love birds we are : )

Promised 4th of July pics

Here is Joshua with his brother Leo who sadly has a broken arm. That doesn't deter him from holding his baby bro though.





Joshua and mama, color-coordinated ;)


Joshi being entertained by Bernhard:

Happy Fourth of July!

Today we went to the Amerika Haus because they were having a 4th of July party for the German-American community. This was of course Joshua's first 4th of July, but also Christian and Leo's first. I have been a member of the AAUPW (American Association of University and Professional Women) for a number or years now one group present at the event. The AAUPW also has a seasonal choir, which means choir members put together songs for different events, like the x-mas party, etc. to make things more festive. I have joined the choir on many occasions and this time we did a medley from the Music Man musical. We had about 5 rehearsals at Annie's house, to all of which I brought Joshua. He was given lots of attention by the other 8 singing ladies and he really enjoyed the music, especially as it became more and more familiar to him. It was nice for me to get out of the house and do an activity I love and nice for him as well.
So the party was interesting, not as "American" as I would have liked it, but they had some barbeque, Starbucks and KFC were also there. There was a Jazz band playing and the AAUPW choir performance went over well. It was hot, hot, hot though - the kind of hot where you know a storm is brewing and by evening there would be (you hope there would be)a nice summer night thunderstorm. The heat and stickiness bugged Joshua a bit but mostly he was in good spirits, wearing his red, white and blue "born to rock" shirt. Be patient, pics to follow!

Drooling and Spitting

My biggest challenge with Joshua has become keeping him dry. He is what is termed as a "happy spitter". He spits up unbelievable amounts after meals. Sometimes, I wonder how much he keeps in him, but according to how much he is filling out and increasing chunkiness of his thighs, he is definitely getting the necessary calories. So maybe he drinks too much and spits out the excess? I also make sure he is wearing a bib during the day so that I don't have to change his clothes after every feeding. Joshua has also started drooling and blowing spit bubbles. He loves this activity and while it is super cute it another source of wetness. So I have a drooly, spitty baby.Joshua has become ticklish and lauphs quite heartily now when I tickle him. He loves it.

Besides smiling, laughing, spitting and blowing spit bubbles, he loves standing! Loves when we hold him in a standing position. I predict this baby will skip crawling and go right to walking...let's see if I am right.

We are dealing with hot weather here (finally!!!) which Joshi is not used to, so sleeping has been more challenging. He finds it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep in the heat. What is more, he must be having another growth spurt as he has returned to coming for 2 middle of the night feedings around 3 am and 5 am. Hope he takes back to sleeping through the night again soon.
That is all for now. Today we have house cleaning and a walk in the forest on the roster. Will try to post more tomorrow!

3 months old!

I have no idea where the last three months have gone, but it has been a wonderful and challenging time. Joshua is 3 months old today! He is growing well and really starting to enjoy life. We definitely work on giving him lots of stimulation, without overstimulating of course! We try to have an outing every other day and lots of walks. Now that the weather is cooperating, this is easier to accomplish.

Joshua has hit these milestones recently: Today he rolled over from his stomach to his back in both directions. He has done this before, but more by accident and couldn't repeat it. Now he has it down pretty well. I think the motivation has been he doesn't like being on his tummy unless he is on me, his brother or father...otherwise tummy time is only shortly tolerated. He also does well with tummy time when I give him his baby massage. He especially coos when I massage his butt cheeks ; ). He likes the back rub so much he temporarily forgets he doesn't like to be on his belly.
He is able to bat at toys and grasp at things and hold on pretty well. Mommy's hair has been a fun target for him.
He also started actual laughing this week. He has been doing it on occasion since he was 2 months old but only sporadically. He also sporadically coos but not that often yet. We had a little conversation today though, and he loves to play stick out your tongue at eachother (he has been doing that since about six weeks though!)
Joshua loves to be sung to, and he loves to smile. He also loves water...he loves getting baths. When I put him in his tummy tub he stares at me almost the whole time with big, curious eyes and we took him swimming on Sunday, June 27th for the first time to the baby pool. He loved it as you can see from these pictures.



After swimming he was really tuckered out and fell fast asleep:


Joshua also loves to be in mommy's arms, apparently the best place in the whole world and loves going out in his baby carriage. He gets excited, his eyes light up and he starts kicking when I put him in it. If I then take too long getting out the door he starts screaming. As soon as I open the door and we are out of the apartment he is instantaneously silent.
He has started sleeping through the night pretty consistently for about a week or so now. He will sleep 8 to 9 hours without nursing! The he will nurse for about 20 minutes and go back to sleep for another couple of hours. His pattern has been to sleep from about 9 or 10 pm to 9 or 10 am, with a 6 or 7 am feeding. Quite a comfortable schedule actually. I was worried at first about him sleeping so long at only 3 months and going so long without nursing. But apparently some babies are like that. He definitely makes up for it during the day, where we have hourly feedings nearly the whole day with a break of 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon. So during the day, projects are slow going as my main activity is nursing.
Anyhow, I love this baby more than words can describe. Joshua is happiest in the morning, he loves mornings alone with mommy. Evenings he tends to be cranky, but this crankiness is getting less and less.
Here is my current favorite picture of the babe (Christian says my favorite picture of him changes by the hour)
Here he is wearing a hat, born to ride, sent by his Aunt Peggy and Uncle Gary.

I also want to share pics with you from our "honeymoon" in Switzerland, nearly three weeks ago now. Finally have them up in Facebook, enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=246003&id=768494464&l=764f60f119