Say Cheese

I think Joseph may actually understand what "saying cheese" means. He also understands what yes and no mean, and continues to get frustrated with us when we use the N word in response to his pleading to watch nemo. He's made several attempts to turn on the tv and dvd player by himself, and I find myself feeling strangely proud that he seems to almost have it figured out just from watching us do it. We allowed him to watch several scenes from the addictive disney movie this morning, and as soon as he woke up from his nap and had lunch he requested nemo once again (shouldn't have been surprised as the name of the friendly fish is repeated over and over at least 50 times each day). So as a distraction Jay took Joseph upstairs to play on the computer and practice his shapes and songs. Can't wait for it to warm up a bit so we can get outside and play! Next week we start swim lessons so that should help keep the little man entertained and get him ready for the summer. Only three more months! (yes, I naively still count May as summer).

Apple Juice

The clearest words spoken by Joseph. As he is now requesting his "Apple Juice" on a regular basis, we've decided to take the advice of a wise Bubbie and mix water in with the good stuff so he's doesn't drink too much of it. Not aiding us in our effort to limit his apple juice, is that I think when he sees beer or cider poured into a glass, he thinks that we are drinking some of the good stuff without him (which we are, but it's not what he thinks it is!) Still forcing him to have milk instead of juice for two meals a day, which I'm sure will mean that eventually he'll be diagnosed with a mild allergy to the disgusting white beverage. :)

Brrrrr it's cold....

Joseph doesn't seem to mind the bitter cold, since we're trying to only have him ride in the car that has functioning heat (that's right, the 4runner is not blowing heat and it's 0 outside). Hasn't been too big of a deal since we carpooled one day and Jay's heading out of town tomorrow...it'll just be a cold ride to the airport for him unless he breaks down and wears a hat, scarf, and gloves. (what is up with men not wanting to wear coats and gloves when it's cold?) I tried to drive into work today (in the car that does have heat) and man that was a mistake. One inch of snow + bitter cold = freaking chaos. Oh well, it is winter in Wisconsin. Joseph loves wearing hats and mittens, even in the house (sometimes he gets upset if you try to take them off). We were able to de-mitten him last night, though we did find him sitting on the couch with his hands under his butt while watching "finding nemo". It's his favorite movie of the moment, he points at the tv and asks for "fishy". And he'll actually watch happily for 30 minutes, which allows us to either veg out early in the morning, or get some stuff done while listening to the now very familiar beginning scenes of the flick. For a while it seemed like Joseph's bedtime may have been getting later, but we're back to getting tired at 7pm and it seems the crib escapes have stopped....at least temporarily which gives us some time to figure out what to do next!

Happy New Year

Joseph went to bed on New Year's Eve a bit earlier than most, and started 2009 with a bang at 6:30 this morning (why he couldn't sleep until 7:45 like he did yesterday I do not understand). He has continued to show off his climbing expertise this week....but thankfully has not hopped out of his crib again since monday. We're debating on whether we should replace the front of the crib with the toddler rail that came with it (so that he can climb in and out on his own), or go straight to the twin bed (minus the frame, so that it's lower to the ground). We're not quite ready for the little man to be released from his cage, but it seems we have no choice. He is in control and loving every minute of it....