10,11, 12

 Better late than never......Sorry GG!  

10 months

8.25.12

 

                                      

 Looking in the mirror and laughing at herself

11 months 

9.25.12

Birthday fun at the lake hanging out with Gretchen 

Big girl officially turned 1 last Thursday 10.25.12.  To celebrate her birthday and our anniversary, we decided a trip to our favorite city was in order.  Joanna got to see the beach for the first time! Because of Hurricane Sandy it was not ideal beach weather, but we managed to get a few smiles despite sand blowing everywhere!  These were taken on Sullivan's Island, near Charleston, SC.  We try to go to Charleston every year for our anniversary because we love it so much and because that's where we met.  Of course, we didn't make it last year because we were in the hospital learning how to take care of this little munchkin!  Oh man what a blessing she is to us!  Thank you LORD!

Our last day in Charleston it was raining so we decided to visit the Aquarium.  Joanna liked it for about 10 minutes until she figured out she couldn't touch the fish.  It was downhill after that!  A better age is probably 2.5 to 3 years old.  We'll try again in a couple of years!  

Things about our girl:

* She has 9 teeth....just found a molar popping through last week!

* She can now say two words neither of which are "mama" or "daddy".   No, her first word was "boo.." which is book.  Her second word was "baby".  She now points to a real baby when we're out, a picture of a baby, and her dolls and says "baby".  Oh man, it's so cute!  

* She has been crawling for about 3 weeks now!  No more dirty shirts from dragging her tummy.  Now all of her clothes are dirty on the knees.   She will pull up to her knees, but has only pulled up to her feet a handful of times.  She's just not that interested in standing right now.  

* She hates diaper changes and changing clothes and will let me know too.  Add trimming fingernails and toenails to that as well!

* Is eating all finger foods now.  When she is hungry or thirsty she will look at me and stick out her tongue over and over really fast.  I will try to get a video of that.....it's funny.  It's also nice to know when she wants something to eat/drink.  

* She will give LOTS of open mouthed kisses and they are so sweet!  I can't get enough!

* She will clap when she hears anyone else clapping.

This year has passed by in a flash.  It has been the best year of my life and I can't wait to see how she will grow and change in the years to come.  What a blessing she is to our family!  We will celebrate this weekend with family and I hope to take lots of pictures to document!

Oops!

I forgot how to do this it's been so long!  I was just reading over my last post and laughed when I read the last line "should have a 7 month post up this weekend".  Yeah right.  Joanna just turned 10 months old last weekend.....so this will be a catch up post.

We moved from Martinez, to North Augusta, to Augusta over the span of about 6 weeks.  We are beginning to get settled in, but there are still plenty of things that don't yet have a home.  One day.  We really love the new neighborhood!  It's a very established neighborhood with many of our neighbors having lived here for 20+ years.  The ones we have met are so sweet and we feel welcomed.   Tensy is enjoying the new backyard and Joanna is busy "crawling" all over the house.

Speaking of Joanna she is now so active!   I am planning on trying to catch some cute moments on video to post.  She is beginning to understand "no" and will immediately stop what she's doing if I say the word.  That doesn't last long though and a few seconds later she's back at it.  She started belly crawling at about 8 months and she's still getting around that way.  She can easily get on her knees but flops back down on her tummy to move.  She can easily move from lying to sitting and sitting to lying and is just beginning to move to tall kneeling and attempt to pull up.

When she's in the mood, she gives me kisses when I ask for them.  It's precious!  She will also give the animals in her "Ten Busy Buzzy Bugs" book kisses.  She has such a sweet disposition.  She hates being spoon fed and much prefers the independence of finger foods.  She still loves avocado and banana, but has also learned to like peas, green beans, mango, yogurt, cheerios, and cheese.  

7 month shots.

In May, we went on vacation at the lake and spent time with the Candler side of the family.  Here are some vacation shots with Gretchen and Aaron.  

Joanna and I also went back to the lake for the 4th but Ben couldn't come because of his new job at the VA.  We missed him but had some good family time.

  

               

8 month shots

And 9 month shots.  There are a lot because I got so many cute expressions.  She's not so happy in a few of these but it's still so cute.

 I haven't taken 10 month pictures but am planning on it this week!  Will post soon, promise!