Joslyn Signs Dog!

I wasn’t going to post today, but I just had to share this.

It’s official…Nala reigns supreme around here!  Joslyn has been signing dog and attempting to say Nala.  It’s so cute.  She often looks toward the slider, where Nala likes to lay in the sun, and will sign dog even if Nala is not there.  In this video her sign is subtle, but there’s no question she is signing dog.  I have been trying to capture it on video but there’s never a camera around when she does it.  This time I was holding her in one arm while I grabbed my camera and turned it to video mode to record her with the other.  So, you will have to excuse the poor video quality.  She was much more excited in her signing before the camera came out…oh well, at least I got it.  It kind of sounds like she is saying   Dada at the end, but I really think she is trying to say Nala as her “Dada” often seems more pronounced to me, but maybe that’s just me.

After Nala, Dada comes in second place.  Joslyn says Dada alot and quite often seems to know who the word is associated with.  She’s not signing it yet though, so this is why Nala gets top honors!

Last but not least, is Momma in 3rd place.  That’s right, I am in last place.  Joslyn says “mom mom mom” but I’m not sure she knows it’s associated with me yet.  However, when I say, “Where’s Momma?” she definitely knows who I’m talking about.  I’m going to have to step up my game and start really reinforcing the Momma!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Hugs

Tiny Trekker

Joslyn enjoyed a desert hike to Ancient Lakes yesterday with Momma and Daddy.  We left early since we had a bit of a drive, packed a lunch, made sure Miss J was decked out in her hand-me-down sunsuit from our friends (Thanks Leah…this suit is perfect!), her sunhat, and she even had sunscreen on for the first time.  The weather was gorgeous and there was a light breeze which was nice.  Joslyn did awesome throughout the entire trip…her giraffe, Sophie, didn’t fare as well though as she made several nose dives to the ground below on our journey. We opted to leave Nala at home, I know…we felt really bad, but Nala wouldn’t have enjoyed this hike in the open sun.  Even though she is an African breed she will refuse to go and just stop in the middle of the trail if she gets hot…go figure!  Also, this area is home to rattlesnakes and while we didn’t see any and felt safe with Joslyn on the trail we knew Nala would be running around sticking her nose into everything, so we didn’t risk it.  She got some great play time in with her pal today though to make up for it.

One of the many lakes and a beautiful cascading waterfall.  Notice Joslyn trying to take her hat off…she is normally really good with hats, but yesterday she kept pulling at it.  She finally gave up and realized it was staying on.

Break time!

Daddy’s turn to carry Joslyn on the way back.  She fell asleep soon after we started our return trip…probably due to her Daddy’s smooth walk.

We happened upon The Duke and his partner on the trail.

Happy Day!

Joslyn’s 9 Month Photos

Here are a few of the 9 month shots I took of Joslyn last Friday at my friend’s house.  I posted a few more on my photography blog  and wanted to share some here too.  I am posting way too many because I really struggle to narrow it down especially when it comes to pictures of my sweet girl.

Joslyn can hold herself up now, but she still hasn’t pulled herself all the way up by herself. Today though she pulled up to almost standing using my knees, but they were to low for her to stand straight up, so she was a bit bent over.  Also, if she grabs something while standing she forgets about holding on and tends to fall backwards.

Lovin’ the grass and flowers…both of us, that is!

Let’s just say that Joslyn enjoyed the flowers a little too much! She tried to eat two of them and was highly upset when I took her yellow tulip from her.

I adore this one with Julie’s hand giving Joslyn the flower.

 This girl is the apple of my eye!

Joslyn & the Owl ~ 9 Months

Technically, Miss J is 9.5 months now, but I was waiting for her 9 month appointment, which we had on Monday, to post this.

Weight = 19 lbs. 13 oz. (74%)

Height = 27 1/4 in. (49%)

Head Circumference = 17 in. (50%)

She is definitely getting taller and not gaining weight as fast now.  She’s gonna start to lose that chubba bubba belly as she gets even taller and is moving around more.  I will miss her roly-poly belly once it’s gone.

Wow, in 3 months my baby will be 1 already! SHEESH!

The challenge for this picture session was that Jos would lunge forward to try and get a toy I had to get her attention, so I had to have my left hand free to make sure she didn’t fall while my right hand frantically snapped pics. Luckily, it’s a deep chair.

These are from Monday…waiting to see the doctor with Daddy.

Playing with Momma’s sunglasses while we waited for the doctor.  Joslyn LOVES to swipe people’s glasses!

She enjoyed scrunching the paper on the table too.

She was all smiles and giggles until the doctor came in and then the “stranger danger” kicked in and she didn’t enjoy the exam at all…not too surprising.

Once we got home, Miss J surprised us with…

crawling!!

Since Monday she has been getting better everyday and she can make it clear across the family room and into the dining room now.

Yep, we have a little crawling machine now and she is just so focused when she does it…check out that face.

Memory Monday

Joslyn ~ 1 month old

Joslyn ~ 8 months old

This was taken last month.  She may be upset with me for this one someday, but I think it would be rather cute in a wedding slideshow.

Park Date

Miss Joslyn made her first trip to a park today where she got to try out the swing and the slide for the first time.  She seemed to like the swing but wasn’t as impressed with the slide.  I think she would have stayed in the swing for quite some time as she seemed very content watching what was going on around her and getting a teeny push every now and then from Momma.  We were with our friends, Julie, Savannah, & Cash, and Joslyn enjoyed their company.  I was grabbing her toes when she would swing toward me and she would smile so sweetly and then Savannah started doing it too and she was just as thrilled.

She held on with this one hand the entire time she was in there…so sweet.

This is my favorite one from the day…I just adore her expression and how she’s holding on with one hand while the other is clenched in excitement.

Joslyn loved watching the big kids and checking out what they were up to.

Savannah getting Miss J’s toes.

Like I said, she was not as impressed with the slide.

The rest of us had fun sliding though.

Ok, there’s a smile but it wasn’t the slide, it was Julie coaxing that smile out of my baby.  Thanks to Julie for taking some of these pictures!

Playing with her stacking cups…looks like we are having a tea party.  I hope she wants to have tea parties when she’s older.

Joslyn was happy playing with Savannah but she wasn’t too thrilled about being on her lap…she only wanted Momma to hold her.

Playing shy with Julie.

Boys will be boys…

This is Joslyn’s latest facial expression…she does it all the time now.

Oh yes, this is what it looks like…Cash would sit at the bottom of the slide and then Savannah would come sliding down and ram into him knocking him onto the ground.  It was his idea and he kept asking for more…oh dear!

Can’t wait for the next park visit!