The Big 1-0...

I'm in shock.

My baby is ten months old...it doesn't feel like it's been long enough... 

He's still just a baby, and he's not even one year old (yet). But ten months is down right crazy!

I mean, look at him: 

Joshua is getting so aware of everything around him. 

This month, he feels even taller than normal. But he hasn't grown a whole lot... 

It must be because he's crawling, standing, climbing, and cruising. Talk about a big adjustment, for him AND for mom and dad. I can't even count how many times I've heard sudden silence and found him halfway up the stairs calling "thhat" (for "cat"). He says "dada" and "nana" and uses his signs more and more frequently. It's still frustrating when I can't figure out exactly what he needs, but we're both getting better at interpreting and communicating in baby language. 

Camping was great (as soon as mommy stopped freaking out about every little thing that didn't go the way she planned...hehem..camping is tough with an infant...get over it, right?). 

New experiences at the Arby's parking lot.

We learned Joshua is not one to get dirty...or pricked by anything pokey...So grass was a new experience...

We call this the beached whale position... ;) Yes. I made my husband and son wear their fourth of July outfits to match me, even though we were camping and it rained. ALL DAY.

 Not even joking, it was like winter in Gilbert up at Big Lake over the fourth of July. I made Joshua  a quick little hat cuz his poor head was cold all the time.

The Donaldson Family Reunion got crashed by the Westenskows (not really), but it was fun to see all of our family on the holiday weekend. If you can't tell, Joshua is posing for the camera. He did this a lot this month.

See what I mean?

If he wasn't posing for the camera, then he was crying into it. This was his expression the first morning we woke up. He was up at 5AM, if not earlier, and slept with me both nights cuz it was SO stinking cold! I love the boogers. 

Where is Waldo?   These thermal pj's were extremely stylish! 

All in all, this month went by WAY too fast, and it made me feel like my little baby is growing into a toddler far too quickly. He's been standing for weeks now, climbing stairs all over the place (we're learning to go down still), and he's getting so independent that he won't just let me carry him all around places--he wants to be on the floor if possible. 

I love him so much and am so grateful for the wonderful experiences he's brought me and Danny. 

 




Best idea ever--play in the backyard with the hose.

Those who don't swim, spray.

Who needs a pool to get cooled off anyway? ;)

 I still don't know how he managed to freeze in the air for the picture. haha.

I LOVE how much he loves his daddy.

Peaches taste great. 

Along with everything else I can put in my mouth. 

Have a great start of the school year!

The Adventures of Baby, Dogs, Roosters, and Cats...(and other tall tales...)

Happy 9 Months and Early 4th of July everyone! We're SO excited for round two of fireworks and enjoying family time up in the mountains where it's cool for the first time. But that's for the future.

 At 9 Months, I am:

18 pounds, 3 oz (apparently I've slimmed out due to crawling cuz I haven't gained much weight in the last 3 months).

29 3/4 inches tall (but it's closer to 30 than anything)

Communication:

Signs- milk, all done, and a new one this month! EAT!

Words/Sounds:

"dada"   Danny is pretty proud of this one... :)
Coughing is a neat sound...he does it a lot.

Interesting and New Little "Quirks:"

- pushing buttons to release toys

- playing the drums on cans and other fun and noisy surfaces

- grinding teeth...not such a fund and nice thing...

- head banging on the back of the high chair (we don't like this one)
- Peek a boo!
- Sat up in my crib all by myself--ONCE! And haven't done it since....
- Waving bye-bye to Grandma Westenskow and Aunt Jenna after swimming lessons are over

And now onto the story of the month...(Serious, English Accent narrating begins now...)



Ah, the heat. I've truly discovered the art of sleeping covered in sweat, at least in the carseat. Despite the giant ice pack mom puts in my seat, the rest of the car heats up like a sauna and I, being young and small, am the one who suffers for it. But I digress. My sleep is valuable and I do not vary in nap times. They are to happen precisely at 9AM and 1PM, respectively. And I must have a pacifier. And a softie.

On most days, my mother drives us early in the morning to Grandma's house where I get to play with this slow moving black animal called a dog. This dog, they call him Shadow, doesn't like it when I get too close...I will observe from afar.

Please avert your eyes from my expressions. I was newly awoken from a long nap and had just stopped calling loudly for my mother to come rescue me from my jail cell. I had however, managed to sit upright, which is a first for me. It was an enjoyable, but difficult experience which I have refrained from repeating.

Tables, you must know, are the most incredible things. I can move underneath them and NO ONE can see me explore their belongings. But I must move quickly, or Mom will see.

Ah yes. Meet King Henry IV.

He resides at our church building and we have met him before. Never before, however, have I met him on an occasion where his cock-a-doodle doo was loud enough to wake me from my slumber in the vehicle.

The stories I can tell about my adventures with this box.

It's a wonderful car for me to steer while Dad wooshes me through the kitchen as Mom creates delicious masterpieces for me to snack on. We do this often.

As you can see, this box has many functions. Car, a box bum, peek a boo through the back of the box, and weight lifting. I'm growing strong. Can you tell?

I'm mortified Mother included this photo, but I suppose it keeps all necessary parts covered, so I will allow it. Bath time with Daddy is absolutely the best part of my day, or one of the best: there are many "best" moments in all days.

These animals are the bane of my existence. They are called "cats" and they will not let me near them. Their tails are fascinating-and they twitch when you touch them. They also make strange noises at each other, which I must observe and be entertained by, particularly at moments when my parents are trying to give me nourishment.

Mom insisted on taking me to this place where there reside many animals. We babies (Easton, Linus, Logan, and myself), grew increasingly warm and tired, so a trip to the water park in this "Zoo" was a refreshing treat. I was mildly grumpy and Mom wasn't listening to my cues.

As you can see I was cooled off. It wasn't exactly my choice of activities, but it did feel nice to be cool that warm morning.

This turtle was creepy. And it kept spraying water up my trousers.

Mom has not mastered the art of selfie. You must refrain from duck faces..

Unfortunately all tales must come to an end (and all tails must end up in my mouth). This past month has been quite the adventure. Tatah for now!

And Happy Belated Father's Day to all the wonderful Dad's out there. 

Mine is undoubtedly the best of the best!

7 Months have come and gone.

7 Months!

Let's just let that sink in for a moment. 

SEVEN.

Has it really been a whole giant 7 months?

 Yep. It certainly has.

Our little wonder has grown so much! He seems to be gaining weight with him month of growth-- about 16 pounds at the 6 month appointment, 17 pounds or so at 7 months...I guess we'll see how long that trend keeps up.

Joshua is taller than ever--someone actually asked me the other day if he was 1 year old yet. Not quite folks. Not quite.

I had to hold the chalk board and show mom. It had to be that way...

He sure is stinking adorable though, isn't he?

Mastery of the art of sitting up. Please ignore my dad's funny expression. It's mom's fault. ;) 

 This month we have learned SO many new things!



Finger feeding is definitely on the top the list. Highly prioritized, independence is.

Joshua practiced sitting up and grabbing friends--he got VERY good at holding on to our friend Lincoln while they watched some safari animals.

He's just waiting until he can catch up to Lincoln in mobility, but they are best buds already: Joshua's got a hand on his back in this picture. Actually, it was a handful of his shirt, but same idea.

This last month we took our first trip as a family. Any guesses on the method of travel?

That's right folks. We're in an airport. Flying with an infant is pretty easy when they sleep the whole time. Sure wish this little beast had slept more than he did. But when he did sleep on the plane ride, let me tell you, it was something to behold.

We loved visiting Oregon and seeing a whole new host of cousins!

This was our motel room in Ashland.

Someone was super excited to be awake and ready to go. Seriously, he has the cutest smile.

Loving some baby food time during conference with Aunt Tammy and Joseph.  Joshua didn't just wear bibs back then. He wore capes.

This is a testimony to how much Joshua loves his cousins. He goes for their face with wide open baby kisses.  Joseph got the full face kiss. It just means they taste really great.

Don't worry Aunt Tammy.

He does this with his Aunt Brooklyn too.

...
...
...


It just is a different way of saying "I love you."  ;)

Cousin Jacob.


Yep. I love him lots Mom. See.


His cheeks taste wonderful.

Handsome boys at the baptism! All dressed up in Sunday clothes!

We've been doing baby sign language with Joshua for basic things like milk, more, eat, food, drink, cat, dog, etc.

Not sure if it was a fluke or not, but when he first met Tammy and Ammon's dog, Dobby, he patted his leg and got all excited. (Patting your leg is how to say dog in sign language).

Joshua was given plenty of doggie kisses up in Oregon. But they were kinda slobbery. I'm sure he just wished he got slobber all over Dobby to get back at him for all the crazy kisses.

Canadian geese nest up north in Oregon.

We had a wonderful time up in Oregon with family. This guys live so far away it seems like they grow a mile every time I see them again! We'll miss them and hopefully see them again soon!

Avocado, cheese, and banana food. If all else fails to entice this little man, he will gorge himself on avocado and banana. He's getting quick with those messy little hands!

Play date with mom's friend from when we were 8 YEARS OLD! Crazy right?

Good thing her baby is so stinkin' adorable!

Best pals forever right there!   Princess Aurora needs a super flirty Prince to whisk her away one day. I think Joshua is putting in the application to be her knight in shining diapers in the future.

Bonus Features this month:

*** TEETH!  Joshua has TWO sharp little daggers on the bottom gums. Took some hard work to get them and it looks like the top 2 aren't far behind!

*** First signs: Milk and "all done"

***Worming crawl. He doesn't go far, but he can inchworm around a portion of the floor to reach for the cats. I am willing to bet that the cats will motivate him most to start crawling...

Easter was a beautiful day in the Peterson home. Early morning church got us going bright and early!

Easter basket favorites included the matching ties (which were spilled on with prune juice during Priesthood), and the fun bumblebee toy.

I am so immensely grateful for my Savior and that he provided the way for us to be together forever in eternal families. Because of Him, I have the precious opportunity to be Joshua's mother. 

He is a JOY to be a mother to. I wouldn't ask for anything more. 

Next up: 

Mobility...here I come!

OH....oh! We're halfway there!

Pretty incredible how much growing a little body can do in 6 months.

Of course, if I bring that up, then we have to get into how incredible it is that he can grow from an embryo to a baby in a short couple of weeks, and have fully functioning organs by the end of a brief nine months. Though it certainly didn't feel brief to me...

These last 6 months though, wow have they been brief.

Classic pooping face...I couldn't resist...

I feel like there isn't enough time in a day for us to do all the things I would love to do with Joshua, but then it's like there isn't enough time to do anything except play together cuz he's just that much fun!

Eating is an adventure. Sometimes he nose dives into his food.

We love jabber talk. His favorite sound is nananananannana. We show him a banana when he says this. lol

He also enjoys rolling on the floor, trying to grab things off of the table, going to the park with cousins, bike riding with mom (and falling asleep real quick), wiggling like crazy on the floor to get attention (which he's doing right now), trying lots of new foods, nearly sitting up independently, and all around getting ready for exploration.

Jabber talk in the jumper. 

Boy is he gonna be a handful when he can crawl.

Favorite moments this month include:

* watching him "stomp" on the drain in the tub after Danny gives him a bath. He's so fascinated by the sound it makes and that circle of silver that is the drain.

* watching Danny make him laugh. They are adorable together.

 Staring at the drain over here. I'm not ready for bath time to end quite yet...

Sometimes I wear my food. 

* Waking him up in the mornings (if he isn't already awake and chattering) and watching his face light up as one of us gets him out of the crib. his arms and legs flail like crazy cuz he gets so excited.

* Giving him food as he makes a spitting noise with his mouth. I can't figure out the write letters to make the onomatopoeia for it...lol. thpt? maybe...

I can't get enough of this cute kid! 

* Going swimming 2 times at the pool and seeing how great he is at kicking and floating! :)

I'm getting so independent Mommy doesn't know what to do about it! (trying to put the spoon in my mouth, all kinds of grabbing, and plenty more).