Eating Antics

Joshua had some stomach trouble for a few weeks. I thought he was just turning into a picky eater, but I think he just didn't feel like eating. He has finally gotten better, and the past couple of days have been more normal in the eating department. Joshua has come into a new phase of exerting his will, so "normal" has gotten a bit more interesting. Yesterday, he discovered how fun it was to push his food out with his tongue. It wasn't that he didn't want to eat it; it just took my catching the food a few times and returning it to his mouth before he got tired of the ritual and swallowed. Anyway, I humored him for awhile, and then I realized that this would get pretty old if he thought it was acceptable behavior. I told him, "no," a couple of times, and he finally burst into a tantrum that would make you think he had seriously gotten hurt. These little outbursts have made me dread even more the process of discipline as our little guy expresses himself more every day!

Red, white, and blue

One of our most recent and decent family pictures. We took it on the Fourth of July. It may seem cheesy, but we had to do it because it is our one and only Fourth where we can be red, white, and blue as a family. We find out the gender of Baby Balch #2 in two weeks!

Our little ham at 10 months

We e-mail monthly pictures of Joshua to our family so that they can watch him grow from far away. I decided to share one of this month's pictures that has given all of us a good laugh. Joshua has always been a photogenic little guy. He simply sees the camera and smiles. I am not trying to be a braggy Mom, that is just the way he is. In the last couple of days, it seems Joshua has started to "try" to smile. The picture is an example of his goofy grin. We can add this to the list of things he will do "on command;" when I scrunch my nose at him he responds with this sweet little face... and we respond by laughing a lot, so he repeats. This picture was taken on day number 2 of antibiotics for tonsillitis... what a good sport! Check out those teeth in there!

My idea of vacation

I approached this summer thinking we weren't really going to have a vacation. It is true, if a vacation is leaving the country. However, we just finished a little stay in Beirut with David's sisters, and I realized that it was TOTALLY a vacation. I thought of the ways that, in 9 short months of being a Mom, my idea of vacation has changed a lot. I guess I should say being a Mom where we live. I have to qualify this list by saying that we have lots of friends that live in more difficult places than we do, but I am simply sharing from my new perspective. The things I enjoyed and appreciated most about our little getaway:

• with few exceptions, 24 hour power... which means air conditioners the whole time you sleep, which means I did not wake up every 2 hours to feel how hot it was.
• endless food options that did not require my cooking or washing dishes
• lots of walking to get nearly anywhere you want to go
• bagel with cream cheese for breakfast... yes, I really did order it at a coffee shop, and I definitely saved the cream cheese that squeezed off of my little sandwich. You wouldn't think it was gross if you didn't have the option to eat it all the time!
• coffeeshops across the street from each other and on every corner... with American-style coffee! Not instant coffee, and not with powdered creamer...mmmmmmm
• sitting at previously mentioned coffee shop for 2 hours with sisters-in-law while Joshua, David, and Andrew had a "guys' morning.":-)
• bathing Joshua in a real bathtub; he LOVED it! We are going to have to figure something out at home because during his first bath at home, he successfully emptied a good portion of bath water on me as well as the kitchen floor
• and finally, the indicator that I am, at heart, a city girl: I was relieved to hear construction and honking at all hours of the day and night rather than our neighbors, their roosters, their dogs, and their screaming kids at all hours of the day and night. I think I actually thought the village sounds were charming at first, but I guess that has worn off.

More lessons learned

Two lessons I have learned in the past few days:

1. When you take a baby to a restaurant, particularly one who has started throwing temper tantrums, it is helpful to have some toys that do not make a lot of noise when thrown on the ground. Good options are toys that are made of softer plastic with the exception of teething rings; they bounce and might end up underneath the table next to you.
2. It never hurts to bring along preparations for the next bottle... we have bought 4 containers of formula in the last several days because I either just wasn't thinking or didn't anticipate being gone for the next feeding.

A very big day of firsts

David's sisters and brother-in-law have been visiting for the past week. We have been having a great time. Yesterday, we went on a day trip to some caves that David and I had never seen before. Thus began a long afternoon of fabulous firsts... although the rest of the things were firsts for Joshua. The list follows:

1. first visit to a cave
2. first time in a train
3. first time in a boat
4. first trip to a zoo (there were approximately 3 animals, but hey, it counts!)
5. first attempt at drinking out of Mommy and Daddy's water bottle... he actually did pretty well, and he thought it was the best!

We will include some pictures later!

Yay!

There are a couple of ways that Joshua actively participates these days. I previously mentioned his love for coughing. He continues to respond with a cough if he hears anyone around cough. When he sneezes, he coughs several times in an attempt to duplicate the sound. A few days ago, when Joshua first attempted to crawl, we said, "Yay!" every time he pulled in his knees and pushed. After a few of these, he started responding with his version of the sound. It is more of a high-pitched shriek, but he definitely does it in response to our cheers!

Bottoms up!

It has been a long time since I last attempted to take a picture of Joshua while he was sleeping. Joshua now wakes up in a different place every time he sleeps. I rarely find him sleeping at the end of a nap these days because he is content to explore for quite some time before he makes noises. The other day I went to check on him, and I couldn't resist taking a picture. He didn't even wake up with the flash or the beep of the camera. Now, I have to point out that it is between 80 and 90 degrees in our house these days, and when there is now power, I just lay there and try to fall asleep without touching anything. Joshua, on the other hand, likes to curl into a ball, stick his rear into the air, and get as cozy with the side of the crib as possible. It is no wonder that he usually has a ring of sweat around him when he wakes up!

Making Moves

Joshua has just started to express an interest in moving from one place to another. Our little pillow potato has realized that there is more to life than lounging around. He prefers to play laying on his back since he can roll around as much as he wants. Yesterday, he continued to roll over like a log until he reached the edge of the bed. I fear our days of playing unattended are over! Along with rolling over and over again, he is attempting to crawl. I am not quite sure what inspired this sudden change in him, but Joshua now pushes back and forth on his knees. Always something new and exciting!