Jo - 6 Months

Jo is almost 7 months old. I forget what life was like before this little bug came along.  She's our playful, sweet, rambunctious baby girl and life is so much fun with her around. I love watching her personality develop as she continues to grow, but sometimes I want so much for time to stand still. She's growing too fast for this mama and I can't get enough of her 6-month-old, suction cup slobbers on the chin, baby kisses or her sleepy cuddles before she goes to bed--things I know she'll soon outgrow.

Tim and I sat down tonight and made a list of all our favorite Jo-isms. Here are a few:

- Jo is an avid thumb sucker. She pops that bad boy in her mouth on all occasions. Tired? Hungry? Excited? Sleepy? Teething? Her thumb is always there for her.

- The Jo smile. She scrunches her entire face - nose wrinkled, eyes squinted, and she breaths fast through her nose as she flashes a gummy (and as of yesterday, one tooth) smile. It's maybe the cutest thing in my life.

- She never holds still. If I'm holding her, she's grabbing my face while trying to somersault in my arms, or climbing onto my shoulders and trying to jump overboard. The girl is very very active. She often wakes up from naps, tufts of hair sticking out all over her head because she was rolling around in her sleep, however, the picture below is post-church hair. I'm not sure what happened.

- She loves tickles from her daddy and playing with daddy's beard. When mommy walks in the room she starts laughing and scooting her way to mommy's arms (melts my heart every time).

- When we go for walks, she's super chill: she sits in her stroller with one leg kicked up, resting on the front tray, pops her thumb in her mouth, and is good to go for the next hour while we walk and she checks out the world around her. She's very content to be outside.

- She's healthy and happy with a crazy appetite. She started solids a few weeks ago and loves her meal times. When she wants more food or we're not feeding her fast enough, she lets us know by slapping her fist down on her tray. She can be a tad bit demanding.

- She has stayed a steady 50% for height and weight and a whopping 90% head circumference (I feel now is a good time to remind you that I pushed that sizable noggin out without any drugs. Ahem.)

- She has the cutest little ears that stick out just a bit, the most beautiful blue eyes, and a head full of light brown hair.

- She's easy to make laugh, but especially laughs at anybody who takes a tumble of any kind (America's Funniest Home Videos fan in the making).

- She started scooting last week and within a few days began rocking on all fours, and she's just about got the crawling thing down. Consequently, she's always busy exploring and getting into everything!

June's obviously in shock.

- And June's learning what it truly means to have a little sister:

- Jo wakes up to nurse each morning around 6, a few hours before June wakes up. One of my favorite moments of the day is when Jo and I walk into June's room to get her up for the day. Jo starts jumping in my arms and gets SO excited to see her big sister. And June always smiles and responds with, "hi Joooo!" June is a very good big sister to Jo, and Jo is inevitably smiling if June is with her in the same room.

We sure love our Jo bug.

June's "Bae dol"

Since Jo came along, June has been particularly attentive to her baby doll that she got for her first birthday from "Mam-ma" Miller. Every day, her "Bae dol" is carried from room to room throughout our little home. In the playroom, she's often placed in the exer-saucer and given a few rice puffs. In the family room, June settles in on the couch, lifts her shirt and presses baby doll's face against her belly for some lunch. I often go to put Jo down for a nap and find June standing at Jo's door and peaking in on her baby. When June notices me, she usually puts her finger to her mouth and whisper-shouts, "Bae-dol sleeping! Shhhhhhhh!" After convincing her that Jo needs to use her room for a nap, I go in to find the noise maker cranked to the high heavens, and baby doll laying in Jo's crib.

Almost everyday we go for a walk, Jo in her stroller, and June walking alongside me with baby doll in her little pink toy stroller. When looking for baby doll, June often finds her in a toy bin, rushes to her, cradles her and asks in a concerned voice, "Bae-dol bonk head?" And in the last week, our little Jo has started scoot-crawling everywhere. Yesterday, June came in the room with baby doll in tow, placed her tummy down on the floor, backed up, and with eyes wide and a big smile, started clapping her hands saying, "Bae-dol crawling!!!!" "Good job, Bae-dol!" "Yay Bae-dol!!"

Jo recently started solid foods, so naturally, so did "Bae-dol"

June & Jo's 6 Month Sisterversary

Tomorrow Joanna will be 6 months old and June a few days short of 23 months old. These girls; they keep me laughing while simultaneously wanting to pop them on the behind at any given moment. June's at an age where she's soaking in everything around her, copying everything that's said, testing her climbing abilities, and consequently hitting her head more times than I should admit to keep CPS at bay. And Jo watches her every move, always laughing at her, always hoping for a peekaboo from her sister, always waiting for her June time each day.

June is talking in phrases and short sentences. The girl is exploding with personality, spunk, and enthusiasm.
She's recently learned the reality of time-outs and easily gives herself away when I hear her in the other room saying, "no no no." I walk in and generally find her wagging her finger while drawing on the wall, sneaking some sprinkles from the kitchen cupboard, climbing on the backs of furniture, or any other activity that she knows she's not supposed to be doing.

She knows crying won't get her out of bedtime, and she's now old enough to feel annoyed by this. Last week, she started clanking her sippy cup back and forth along the slats of her crib in protest of bedtime, in true baby-inmate form.

In the last few months, she's become much more independently active. She loves to climb anything she can, and she's finally brave enough to go down slides by herself. And she loves to run...away. Anytime someone comes to the door, she thinks she can sneak out and I won't notice. And she thinks this because she's been successful more than once now. For a chunky little toddler, she's quick. Before I know it, girlfriend's booking it down the sidewalk, belly pointed out full speed ahead, her little baby mullet blowing in the wind behind her, often laughing hysterically, so proud of her escape. In times like this, or when she's trying to stand in the shopping cart, or walk on my freshly mopped kitchen floor, I simply have to remind her that she needs to stop because she might bonk her head. This is always enough to make her freeze. The very thought of bonking her head keeps her cautiously obedient. I've taken FULL advantage of this - now almost anytime I don't want her to do something (don't judge), I remind her she could bonk her head. Sneaking chocolate chips? Better stop or else you could bonk your head. Running down the hall away from jammy time? Better stop or else...you get the idea. She always gets a very thoughtful, concerned look on her face and holds her head with one hand and shakes it back and forth while confirming to me that she could, "bok a head..."

But stubbornness pairs well with sweetness, and June is a good example of this. She is a thoughtful big sister, learning and slowly mastering the art of sharing, hugs, and playtime with Jo. If Jo starts crying, June walks over to sit by her, rubs her fuzz head and asks in a concerned voice, "ok Jojo? Jojo ok?" The other day I was doing one of the many crazy mama behaviors I do - talking to myself in the car, not even aware I was doing it - and June asked from the back seat, "ok mommy? mommy ok?" (Touche, darling. Touche.) She did the same last week when I was having a particularly hard afternoon. I sat down on the couch, thinking she was busy with her toys, and put my head in my hands and started to cry. She immediately put her toys down and pushed my head up, out of my hands looking intently at me. "Ok mommy?" It's hard to stay sad after that.

She's become increasingly aware of others around her. Tim yawned last night and June asked, "Daddy tired? You take a nap." During dinner and bedtime prayers, we ask her to fold her arms and without fail, her response is to look at Jo and demand, "Jojo! Fold arms! Jojoooo!!" Alrighty, miss bossy pants. She does then fold her arms and whisper along with the prayer.

She can count to 4, sing her abc's, and has an obsession with going pee pee and poo poo in the potty. I've been trying to avoid this for as long as she'd let me, for various reasons, but last week I gave in. And she pooped in the potty. Just like that. I got excited for her and said, "You did it!" Now, anything she does by herself - wiping her hands after eating, taking the broom and "sweeting" the floor, wiping her baby doll's bum with a diaper wipe - is followed with big, excited eyes and an, "I did it!!"

Speaking of poo in the potty, she often sings while she's sitting on the potty. Her last song that she made up while on the potty goes something like this, "hamburgers! (hamboog-ohs), aaaaannd hot dogs!, aaaaannd Dr. Pepper! (doc-toh peppa), aaaannd pickles!!!" She also loves to sing her abc's, "Twinkle twinkle little star," "Are you sleeping (brother john)" and the cleanup song.

When daddy comes home, she jumps in his arms and eagerly asks, "car?!" She loves sitting in Tim's Geo, playing with the stick shift, rolling up and down windows, honking the horn. And you better believe it makes her daddy proud that she loves his Geo just as much as he does.

And the last nearly-2-yr-old June-ism worth mentioning comes of a sleep deprived, desperate mama's slight addiction to Dr. Pepper. There were a few weeks a while back that were rough. I was exhausted and every once in a while, I'd throw the girls in the car and we'd make our merry way to McDonald's for a little sip of heaven in the form of Dr. Pepper. Now anytime we approach the intersection near the McDonald's, June exclaims, "Doc-toh Peppa!" And it's my favorite. I love this girl.

Moving on to Jo. The first time Jo laughed was at 2 months. June was taking a bath and popping up and down playing peek-a-boo in the bathtub with Jo. Jo's sucking her thumb, sitting up, ready to crawl, and so excited about everything. She's like a little puppy dog - mouth wide open and panting with excitement, always smiling.

She is the opposite of her sister in that it's hard to get her to finish a meal - she gets so distracted by anything going on around her and constantly wants to be part of the party. She was rolling over by the start of month two, and it's hard to get her to hold still. She moves all over her crib and produces the best bedhead this side of the Mississippi. I love walking into her room after she's woken from a nap and watching her little head pop up with a huge smile, and little tufts of hair sticking straight out from the side of her head.

Jo has the most beautiful blue eyes, and the biggest, brightest social smile around. She's mischievous. Someone recently asked me how I knew this and I didn't know what to say. Maybe it's the fact that she pulls out clumps of Junes hair and laughs, or laughs whenever June has a tumble, or grabs onto June's toys and laughs at June as her big sister squeals in frustration. Maybe "mischievous" is the wrong word. "Sibling" or "little sister" is a better fit. I can't wait to watch Jo's personality continue to surface. She loves her mama and daddy, but seems to only have eyes for June. Anytime June walks into a room, her face lights up. She loves her big sister. And I'm so proud to be a mama to these two cuties.

Welcome Joanna!

Our little Jojo is already 2 1/2 months old. Life's been exhausting (in the best way), but it's left me little time for journaling. Joanna Rae Shaw was born April 1, 2016 at 9:15 a.m. weighing 8lbs 2oz. I was five days over her due date and headed to the hospital early on a Friday morning to be induced. I was induced with June and based on her delivery experience, felt fairly optimistic about the day ahead. We checked into the delivery room a little after 7 and at 7:30 the doctor came in to break my water. Piece of cake so far. I was already dilated to a 4 and the nurse started me on a low dose of Pitocin to get things moving. But before the medicine had a chance to kick in, my body started contracting on it's own.

5 minutes before going into the delivery room.
(Just call me torpedo mama. Good grief).

Contractions started at 7:45 and by 8:30 I was really feeling it. They had been steadily coming every 5 minutes or so since they began, but by 8:30 they were coming in strong and fast. 8:45 and I was calling for an epidural, trying not to be a whimp--sure we were still hours away from delivery. By 8:50 I was moaning to Tim that I wasn't sure I'd be able to sit up for the epidural because the contractions were so frequent and painful (every 2 minutes by this point). Another patient was getting an epidural and I was next in line. The nurse assured me that it wouldn't be longer than a half hour before the epi came. I was wincing, breathing heavy, grabbing on tightly to the bed frame throughout each contraction. The nurse reminded me to breath slowly and said she'd check to see how dilated I was in an hour or so. No big deal, right?

By 9:00 I was audibly moaning. I couldn't help it. The contractions were SO painful and there was maybe a 30 second break between them. I was grabbing onto Tim telling him I wanted an epidural, telling him there's no way I'd be able to sit up for one. And by 9:05 the pain was so excruciating and the pressure so strong, I grabbed Tim and told him the baby was coming. The nurse moseyed on in and checked to see how dilated I was. I remember her checking me, and then quickly walking out into the hallway and shouting for the doctor. I remember her shouting something about the baby coming. I was in survival mode on the hospital bed, begging for the epidural. Grabbing Tim's arm and quickly shutting him up anytime he tried to comfort me. Several nurses and the doctor were all of the sudden in the room all around me. It still hadn't clicked that this was it. The doctor let me know that I was fully dilated to a ten and it was time. I was a little in shock. I asked for epidural again and they let me know that there was no time, the baby was coming. That's when pain and panic took over.

I remember repeating over and over again, "I can't do this! I can't do this!" And nobody seemed to have gotten the memo because the doctor told me to push. Wanting it to be over, I pushed. Man oh man did I push. Before my 3rd push, I laid there still repeating, "I can't" and the nurse came over, looked me in the eyes and said, "yes, you can do this." I remember thinking, lady, you don't know me. That positive talk ain't gonna work on me. I quickly disageed with another, "No, I can't!" And she grabbed my hand and said, "You can do this. Your little girl needs you. You can do this for your baby girl." And that's when I shut up, closed my eyes and pushed so hard I thought I might die.

And then she was here. I heard a few cries and they brought her right to me and laid her on my chest.

I'll never forget how beautiful she was at that moment. She stopped fussing and immediately became quiet as she laid on top of me. She was so sweet and I was instantly in love. We named her the next morning. I was alone with her in my hospital room, watching an episode of Fixer Upper. The host on the show is named Joanna. It put the name back in my mind from months earlier when Tim and I had discussed it as a possibility. I looked up the meaning - gift from God or God is gracious, and I knew we had found a name.

Let me preface this post with a bit of a disclaimer. I'm 9 months preggo, past my due date, and doggonit I'm tired. I keep my little 17 month old busy with all kinds of fun, engaging and educational activities, I promise. We read books, we sing the alphabet, we go to the park, we have play dates, we eat fruits and veggies at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and in between for snacks...and yada yada yada. This girl hardly ever watches tv. But occasionally when I'm puking every hour during my first trimester and resemble Mr. Burns from the Simpsons or when I haven't slept in a week because I'm up peeing every 15 minutes at night, the afternoon calls for a quick Blues Clues break on the couch with mommy. She usually loses interest before we get through half of the show, but today I'm a day over my due date and feeling it in every way. So, we popped some popcorn in the popcorn maker (*note: healthy snack!) ((*note note: can you tell I'm trying to feel better about my lazy, preggo mom decisions lately??)) and watched an episode of Blue today. It was her first sit down in front of the tv with a bowl of popcorn in hand and I've gotta say, the girl's a natural. Belly hanging out, eyes glued to the tv, and the fist shovin' in the popcorn. I was amused. Girlfriend can "veg" with the best of 'em.

One bonus to going past my due date - another day with my built-in ice cream table. (That's not a pint...)

Beans, man. They sure are fun. Hours and hours of fun. We've been on a dry bean trend lately. Some measuring spoons, cups, and a few fuzz balls for good measure and we're set for the afternoon.

When she's not beanin' it up, she's reading a book to herself or trying to escape mommy's hold. She took her first steps a month ago and now she's little miss independent. There's nothing worse to her than having to hold mommy's hand. She always looks at me like, "mom, c'mon. i can totes walk on my own! what are you thinking trying to hold my hand??" And just like that my little baby's a toddler. And you better believe that sentence makes me cry a little.

The following picture sums it up well - this is me trying to hold her hand while crossing the parking lot entrance, and June making a break for the parking lot entrance, trying to pull her hand away.

Her favorite time of day is waiting for daddy to get home. Sometimes we wait for him on the street corner by the rocks that she loves to play in. Evidence of her independent walking streak can be seen here on her nose. The poor girl's busted it numerous times at the park this week. And life is as it should be for our spunky little toddler :)