In Loving Memory of our Nana

I wish I never had bad news to share on the blog, but such is life. With a heavy heart and a lifetime of wonderful memories, I must dedicate this post to the loving memory of Estella Johnson - our Nana and Josephine's great grandmother - who passed away this morning at the age of 86. I am beyond grateful that I had Nana in my life for a few days short of 31 years. Those who knew her will understand when I say that there truly are not words to capture the woman that she was - full of such a fire for life, a compassion for all she knew, and a sense of humor that kept a smile on all of our faces - traveling through life with a song in her heart, dancing shoes on her feet, and a fishing pole in her hand. :)

Here are a couple of photos from the first time Josie and Nana met. I will never forget the way Josie found comfort in her arms and the way that Nana's mind seemed to come springing back to soothe Josie with one of her loving songs.

We will be traveling to Indiana at the end of the week to lay sweet Nana to rest. As much as we all hate to see her go, my Papaw has been waiting for over 25 years for her, so I can't be too sad in knowing that they are finally together again. Plus, we are all fortunate to have one more person looking out for us all from "the other side". :)

I flip for books!

Now that Josie is rolling like it is what she was put on Earth to do, it's a lot easier to capture the elusive roll on film. Introduce a book that she wants to read, um I mean eat, and she'll roll like crazy. Here's a picture of her getting a good taste of a favorite book. (Her expressions really do crack us up.) And here's some video of her rolling from her back to her belly to get to her book for another bite! Enjoy!

I should mention that Josie is rolling so much now, and with so little fanfare, that it's not usual to lay her down in one spot and find her seconds later somewhere else. We're in real trouble once she starts crawling.

Sweet! Sweet Potatoes.

We can officially add sweet potatoes to Josie's list of favorites. Here she is after a messy meal last night. She's trying to feed herself (what a big girl), but totally has the wrong end of the spoon. I won't show you the picture I took right after this one which was of Josie totally choking herself by sticking that spoon half way down her throat (oops, lesson learned). Our little "sticky face" needed a bath last night & we finally got a photo of a clean little Josie in her new puppy towel from Grandma and Grandpa. Now that we have perfected the after-bath routine of a dryer-warmed towel and a Nuk, bathtime is fun for everyone.

Jumperoo Part II

Here's another installment of Jumpin' Josephine! ENJOY!

To brighten your day

I hope you all find these photos of Josie as hilarious as I do. It's just so much fun to watch her personality developing. She is unbelievably active, always smiling, and a total giggle box. Her expressions just crack me up. Take, for instance, this first photo. She's totally getting too big for the Boppy, but here she is just chillin' in it. Doesn't she look like she needs a drink in one hand and a remote control in the other? This week we have embarked on the great adventure of experimenting with solid foods. Here's Josie eating some delicious mashed bananas. As usual, she gave them a good lick before she would eat and swallow. But, once she got into the swing of things, she enjoyed herself quite a bit.
Josie is also beginning to sit up unsupported. For the moment, we only try this trick in the crib in case she wipes out (which she does quite often).
Today we moved on past bananas to try a little bit of baby oatmeal mixed with breastmilk. Here Josie is after the first couple of bites. I was about to give-up and try again later when she suddenly started "opening wide" as the spoon approached her mouth. There were a couple of times when it looked like she was one of those snakes that can un-hinge their jaws to eat large animals. So, the verdict is in... Josie loves solid foods. (Really, are any of you surprised?)
This is the end of the oatmeal bowl. I think she looks like a little Buddha. (Rub her tummy for good luck.)
I'm also pleased to report that Josie continues to sleep long stretches at night. Last night she set a record by going from 8am to 5am (9hours!!) without waking up once. (Actually we heard her waking up a couple of times, but she put herself back to sleep.)

Here's another video to brighten everyone's day! Josie's Great-Grandmother (Nana) has just had a stroke and is having a hard time in the hospital. In times like these, there is truly nothing better than the laughter of a child. (And to all you out there in blog-land, please keep my Nana and our family in your thoughts & prayers.)

Express Yourself!

I thought you might like to see what we wake up to every morning. While Josie is of course the sweetest little thing all day and all night long, she is definitely at her peak in the morning when she first wakes up. There really is no better way to start a day than to roll over and see a wide-eyed, smiling little sweet pea batting those long, thick eye lashes at you. Since we're not ready to invite you all over for a slumber party to experience this yourself - here's a photo of Josie this morning: I'll try to get some video of those early morning moments added to the blog soon. In the meantime, here is one of my favorite Josie videos yet! It was too big to add directly to the blog so I had to use Google Video. TRUST ME - it's worth checking out.

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO OF JOSIE "TELLING IT LIKE IT IS" TO THE BUNNY THAT'S BEEN DANGLING OVER HER HEAD FOR FIVE MONTHS NOW. WITNESS HER FINALLY WIN THE BATTLE OVER THE DANGLING BUNNY AND ENJOY HER "EXPRESSING HERSELF" AS ONLY SHE CAN. :)

Hit me with your best shot!

Josie had her Hib & Prevnar shots this morning. We were totally dreading them after the horrible reaction she had to her shots last month. But, little Josie didn't even cry! One big shot in each leg and only a two second yelp before she was back to smiling again. That a girl! (She's definitely more brave than her mom when it comes to needles.) She'll go back to Hot Doc on Feb. 13th for her full 6-month check-up. I'll have an updated height & weight to report then. For now, you'll just have to trust me that she's still growing like a little weed (and definitely well into 9 month sized clothes).
In other Josie news, she had her first taste of something other than mom this evening. I've been reading up a lot lately on starting her on solids. LLL suggested starting with sweet things like bananas & avocado so that's the route we went. Lou popped in between work and an evening meeting and grabbed a banana as a quick snack. I tore off a chunk, mashed it to bits with a fork, and served it up to Baby J with my finger. No surprise - she liked it! The plan is to continue to ease her into solids over the next month so that she's good and ready at the 6 month mark. (Sidebar to all of you who know Franklin the Turtle - the class pet not the cartoon - I totally felt like I was mashing bananas for him like I used to do. Who knew all that banana mashing would come in handy one day?)
Quick sleep update after the miracle 10 hour stretch the other night. She slept a 7 hour stretch the next night and about 7 minutes last night. I don't know what in the world got into her last night, but she kept waking herself up just to babble and play. We finally just brought her into our bed at 1am. She "sort of" slept between 1 and 6 and then was up again from 6-9. Thank GOODNESS she went back to bed from 9-12, because I needed sleep even more than she did. We'll see how it goes tonight. Hopefully she's back to some more long stretches.
I should also mention that returning back to work has been going well. One of my first projects is to research the education platforms of the Democratic candidates (most of the Repubs don't even have ed platforms), so that's been really fun. It's definitely been difficult to work as a consultant and as a mom at the same time, so child care is must (but that's in the works). Okay, Josie's all jumped out and it's her dinner time. Ciao!

Much to report!

It started like any other normal day, but that's not the way it ended. In the past 24 hours, Josie has accomplished the following:

• She slept through the night last night. We put her to bed at 8; she woke up once at 10, but was quickly back to sleep after a visit from dad; and she didn't make another peep until 6am. That's right - 10 hours!!! Then, she ate and went back to sleep until 9:30. WOW! (In an unfortunate twist of fate, I couldn't sleep last night Josie gave me her nasty cold, but I'm hoping this was just the first of many "sleep through the night" nights.)
• This morning, Josie also sat unassisted (albeit only for a few seconds) - all by herself. She has also begun "tripod sitting" (using her hands as a "stand" between her legs to support herself). It really is hard to believe how strong she has gotten.
• In other exciting Josie news, she rolled from her back to her belly today. She's been working on it for awhile and today was the big day. Unfortunately I did not capture this first roll on film (even worse, I totally could've gotten it but was too busy trying to get some work done to stop and grab the camcorder). I did manage to capture this photo of her completely passing out in the middle of the living room floor just moments after her first big roll. Apparently she wore herself out, because I was sitting next to her doing work on the laptop and looked over to find her sound asleep.

Josie also continues to practice standing and walking. She has really strong little legs, especially after all the bouncing (see video below). She loves standing up holding on to Louie's hands.
And now...Here's the long awaited video of Josie going to town in her Jumperoo. She's actually gone a lot more bananas that she does here, but it's been awhile since I posted a video so this one will have to hold you all over until I can grab the camera when she's absolutely losing it. So, here it is: Josie doing her Jumperoo Jig! ENJOY!

Well, that's all for now. At the rate she's going, I'll probably be able to report that she said her first words by the end of the week. :)

The final countdown...

It's about 4pm on Sunday, January 13th (Happy Birthday Mom) and the clock is ticking. Tomorrow I start back to work (boo)! Josie will not start at the day care center until the first week of February (yep, that's right, we decided the day care center down the street was the best decision, at least for now), so I will be balancing working from home and being a mom for the next three weeks. Wish me luck. Sure, I have a couple more weeks until I have to leave Josie is someone else's hands, but I'm already pretty sad about it so I don't want to "talk" about it anymore right now. :(
On to brighter things, this weekend we had "Double Dad & Daughter Night." My dad came down to Cincinnati to take me to see Aja (Steely Dan Cover Band), while Louie stayed home with Josie for their first Dad & Daughter night (although she slept through most it it). Josie and I both had a great time with our dads, and there are already plans for another Double Dad & Daughter Night in February. :)
So, Josie has another nasty cold & I am exhausted after staying out late and then sitting up with a coughing Josie from 5-7am last night. I'm actually having trouble typing, so time to go for me.
One last thing - I must report that Louie has added "getting Josie to sleep" to his list of credits - bedtime last night & nap time today. Quite impressive for sure! (He also doesn't know this but the baby monitor is still on from naptime & I can hear him having quite a good time with "Peek-a-boo" while changing Josie's diaper. What a dad!)

Hard to believe!

JOSEPHINE IS FIVE MONTHS OLD TODAY!

So, wherever you are today at 5:25pm, pause to thank the universe for beautiful baby Josie!

In other hard to believe news, we have reached 1000 hits on the blog! Thanks to everyone for visiting.

Movin' on up (again)

I forgot to mention that Josie is now wearing STAGE THREE diapers! We ordered them when we started running low on Stage Two and thought they looked enormous when we opened the box. But, once we tried one on her, we realized the other ones were way too small. Thank goodness Stage Threes go up to 25 pounds - maybe she'll be in those for awhile. ;) Oh & the baby on the diapers is crawling!

Sorry; It's been a while.

I apologize to all of you daily readers. It must be so disappointing to faithfully click on our site every day, hopes held high for another photo of our little cutie, only to be greeted by the same entry as the day before. Anyway, we're back. It's been a bit hectic since the last post - mainly because of Josie going on another Sleep Strike - but we think (at least hope) that everything is getting back to normal.
So, let's get you all caught up on the events since our last post. On Friday we took Josie to our favorite Mexican restaurant (Jalapenos in Kenwood). Ya know, sooner or later you just have to decide that your life can go pretty back to normal even with a little one. It just takes a some more preparation and of course the willingness to be "those people" out on a Friday night with a stroller. So, here we are headed out for some comida deliciosa complete with Josie in her amo a mama bib (how appropriate). Dinner was great as expected. The staff was very accommodating and gave us a corner table so we could just wheel Josie up right next to us in her stroller. I even had the coldest most delicious beer I've had in over a year. So we were off to a good start for the weekend. Saturday was wonderful. We met one of our favorite families - the Haddens - for waffles on Saturday morning & then stopped by the library on our walk home. We figure Josie might as well get used to "the stacks" early on. Besides the fact that a very creepy man was circling me like a vulture while I was nursing (apparently he thought breastfeeding was a spectator sport), we realized the library is another good spot downtown to hang out, read the paper, etc.
Here's another photo from the library. I think it's funny because of the way Josie is sitting. She totally has her hand "all sassy" on her hip - already looking like a teenager. You'll also notice that this is the third photo of Josie wearing a bib. We don't leave home without them. She is a total drool monster & it's much easier to go through 4-5 bibs a day than 4-5 shirts.
Now, on to more funny stuff. This is Josie with one of her new toys from Christmas (thanks Roundtrees). She loves this little duck. Last night she was sucking on it so hard that you could hear her across the room. Actually, she alternated between "nursing" it & biting the heck out of it. It was too funny! I seriously wish I would've had time to grab the video camera, because she was really going to town on it. This photo shows you the intensity.

So life continues with little Miss Josephine - never a dull moment. As I mentioned above, she's been having some sleeping trouble. Louie gave her tylenol last night (she was doing her "pain cry") and she actually slept for 6 hours without waking up once! Tonight we tried some homeopathic teething tablets & so far so good. I've totally given up on forcing naps. Every thing I've read (which is a ton) tells me what babies "should" be doing as far as napping, but our little mama must not be cut from the same cloth as all the other babies in the universe. She's a total power napper & is revived and ready to party after only 30-45 minutes. I guess that's better than nothing.

In other news, I just signed my contract with KnowledgeWorks today & will be back as an independent contractor doing education policy/advocacy research starting Monday. My plan is to work "full days" on Monday & Wednesday and "half days" on Friday (for a total of about 20 hours). This means that Lou & I can no longer delay the "daycare decision." So much to figure out - maybe tomorrow. Ugh.

Alright, Josie is snuggly sleeping in her crib (after drifting off to her "Rockabye Baby" Beatles CD from her grand-daddy). Lou is playing Wii, and I *finally* got caught up on the blog. Hope you're all doing well. And thanks for being patient. :)

More photos

Here are just a few other photos of Josie (gotta love the new camera). This one is actually from Xenia of Josie cracking up (I love making her laugh & I must admit I'm pretty darn good at it.) Here's Josie just being adorable as usual: And here's the little lady performing one of her "feats of strength" (just in time for Festivus for all you Seinfeld fans out there). She *loves* standing up and has a whole little routine worked out. If you let her grab your fingers when she's on her back, she pulls up to sitting & then once she's sitting she pulls up to standing. Here she is multi-tasking by standing and watching tv over her shoulder at the same time.
These photos and many more have been added to Shutterfly collection. Enjoy!

http://www.josiemarie.shutterfly.com/

Wrapping up 2007 - family style

The first thing we did to close out 2007 was to give Josie her first "big" Christmas present from Mama & Daddy - the coolest toy ever - the Rainforest Jumperoo. We were going to just get her an "exersaucer" but when we took her to Babies R Us to "field test" them, the Jumperoo got much higher reviews from Josie. Since we couldn't fit it in the car for the trip to Xenia for Christmas, we gave it to her once we got home. She does the funniest little jig with her legs as she jumps up & down. You can definitely count on a Jumperoo video coming soon to a blog near you. In the meantime, here's a still photo. Caption: "What are you putting me in now?" We also had a visit from the other Schneider girls - Morgan & Katrina - Josie's cousins. Unfortunately I had an appointment for a (long overdue) massage, so I didn't get to hang out. But, Louie took lots of photos.
For New Years Eve, we decided just to hang out around home. We bundled up and walked over to the Square to see the live performance of "Team Lachey" from the tv show "Clash of the Choirs" (sans Nick). It's always funny to see people in real life that you've only seen on tv. We also saw Mayor Mallory again & we were pretty close to making him pose for another blog picture, because that just would've been funny. Here's Josie all bundled up in her winter best (thanks Mary) to head to the Square.
We also decided to try out the new Moby wrap that we got from Grandma & Granddaddy (thanks Cat for the enthusiastic recommendation). We *love* the new carrier. Josie loves being close to me & up until now I've just used the slings. This one goes over both shoulders so it is much more comfortable, plus it doesn't have all the straps and buckles like the Bjorn. We'll definitely be spending much more time in the Moby.
So, as you can probably tell, we're big advocates for "baby wearing." Check out Louie and Josie playing Nintendo Wii (too funny).
I must admit that our actual "celebration" of New Years Eve rivaled last year's living room camp-out (with pizza) for the NYE farthest from what you might expect from Lou & I. This year we watched Shrek 3 in bed and tried to make it to midnight. Josie was in bed around 9, but we didn't plan very well for the fact that we were just one block from New Years festivities - complete with fireworks. Needless to say, between that and all the whoopin' it up in the alley, she was wide awake and ready to party just in time to watch the ball drop with Dick Clark. We actually ended up keeping her in our room all night, which was a good thing because it was a noisy night with all the wind & the rattling fire escape. So, maybe it wasn't spent in the Everglades with Phish celebrating the new millenium, but it will still go down as one of the best New Years celebrations on record. What could be better than ringing in a new year with your beautiful baby girl in between you in bed? What a year 2008 promises to be!

Happy New Year!

Well, it's 2008 - hard to believe it's no longer "the year Josephine was born." The new year also means a big dose of reality as Lou returns to work tomorrow after a fantastic week of family time & I start back to work next week. I'll post tomorrow about how we rang in 2008. Until then, good night.