Sick Bay

Being sick is never any fun. Well, we had the pleasure of trying it out four times. In the last few weeks, each of the kids has gotten an ear infection, then someone shared something with me. So far, Doug is the last healthy man standing.

On this day, we were comforting Baby Joshua, or Baby 'Oshie, as he is now called.



It's contact like this that probably gave the germs a great chance to find new targets.



Michael is all better now, and you can see, Joshua is, too. Thank goodness for amoxicillin. Jason still has a lingering cough.



Tomorrow, Baby Joshua turns 9 months old. Hard to believe he's at this milestone. He's beginning to crawl a little bit, he can sit up well as long as we prop him up, and he very confidently can pick up Cheerios with his cute little fingers.

He just loves to smile.



And we love to see it.

New year, new memories

We started the new year off right with smiles among friends.



Christy and her family came to visit and we had the chance to see the kids who have grown so big!





The boys were thrilled to see their friends last weekend, but, it's nice to know they have each other to keep them entertained.
It seems these days they are always wrestling with each other--today, they included Joshua in the "fun."
Yeah, I think that's how the baby would describe it.



Once he broke free, though, Baby Joshua showed us what he's been working on lately. Another tooth.

Saying goodbye to 2008

We have had a wonderful week with Grandma and Grandpa.



The boys got to exercise their culinary side by baking THE BEST cookies EVER--from scratch.
They painstakingly decorated the sugary treats, and well, we would share, but they are all gone now.



Over the last few days, Doug and I have had some days off (even some together!) and we've been able to watch baby milestones closely.

Here is Baby Joshua, smiling in anticipation of mealtime. It's no longer just milk, solids are finally a part of his diet. Yummy mushy carrots, soft sweet potatoes, liquid-like peas, cheerios. Not "Top Chef" cuisine yet. He pretty much eats everything, but we have noticed it takes him MUCH longer to finish his "chicken and rice" in a jar than bananas with apricots.



The baby loves to sit up. And we love to watch him.
The best thing about this is he doesn't move from this position. No crawling, no flopping over. Just sitting, and after three boys, I know what happens when he starts to move. This is just fine.



Our #3 is beginning to notice the toys around him. It's hard not to, there's so many to choose from. But, here he is really interacting with a plaything for the first time. He loves this drum set.



And, yes, the last bath of 2008. As messy as this baby is, and as prone as he is to throwing up, we should wash him down several times a day. He would probably like it, too.



Here's to a good clean start to 2009.
Happy New Year!