So this is what I've been missing out on....

Real Food!!!!
Nan, Pop, Joseph and I went to eat at Golden Corral over the weekend. Joseph got his first plate of real food and the best part was that it was free for him!!! He ate strawberries, applesauce, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked spaghetti, and navy beans! He really enjoyed his meal and I was so glad that he was eating real food that was not pureed.

For those of you that don't know, "Agoo" has to come with us everywhere we go! Agoo is Joseph's favorite toy since he was about 4 months old. Every time he would see it in the earlier months he would say "Agoo". So that's how this silly rattle got its name....and it continues to be a favorite!

Nana made a yummy broccoli, turkey, and cheese quiche and I ate one whole piece!!! I loved it so much that I wanted to eat the bowl!

Anniversary, Occupational Therapy, and Water Fun!

5 years ago today, Joe and I said "I do"! It was a rainy Saturday that day, but the sun came out and the rain stopped a hour before the ceremony! The sun dried the sand and I got my beach wedding pics after all (that was my biggest worry all day)!!!
Making sure you know it's been 5 great years!!!

5 great years later and a little Joseph.....

Joe and I were able to go out to a movie and dinner earlier this week to celebrate our anniversary! It was a wonderful evening.

Occupational Therapy.....Joseph had his first OT session yesterday at our house. It went GREAT! She introduced a therapy called Wilbarger Brushing Protocol that she wants to try with Joseph and see if it helps him. Based on the theory of Sensory Integration, the brushing technique uses a specific method of stimulation to help the brain organize sensory information. It involves deep pressure on his arms, hands, legs, feet, cheeks, chin, and tongue. It seems to be working great for him so far! She started with the brushing and Joseph was able to touch his "Feel and touch" book without jerking his hand away from it (which is what he's been doing for months now). He actually reached out to touch the different textures in his book for the 1st time during his therapy yesterday! We then put him in his high chair and she continued to do the brushing technique on his cheeks, chin, and tongue. She turned it into a fun game for him so he was laughing and giggling the entire time! After eating some puffs, I offered him diced peaches and he ate them with no gagging! It was amazing! I hope this therapy will continue to help him get over his texture aversions!

This week we spent lots of time in the water! We went to the beach one day and then to the pool a couple of other days!

Hanging out at Chix Beach!

Playing at the water park on base!

There we are getting ready to slide down!

Another fun day in Nan and Pop's pool.

Joseph and his buddy Hayden

Holy Cow!!!! He ate "REAL" food!!!!

After months of struggling to get Joseph to get "table" food......HE DID IT!!! I cooked baked ziti with ground turkey tonight for dinner. I cut his portion into small pieces and he gobbled it up!!! Yay! I'm so proud of him for making this progress! His OT comes to work with him this Thursday and she will be so surprised that he decided to eat "REAL" food! Woohoo!!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

We had a great Father's Day! It started at 7:15am when Joseph woke up and gave his daddy his present. Joseph made a shirt for his daddy using his handprints and footprints. It turned out so cute and "Dad" was so proud of the shirt and wore it all day (and got several compliments on it while we were out today)! Mommy helped Joseph by printing 50 pictures of Dad and J through out this 1st year and put them in an album! Last year on Father's Day was Joseph's 1st full day of being home from the hospital! (He actually came home in the afternoon of the 14th on Flag Day). Dad took lots of time looking at each picture and was shocked at how small our little 4 lb 10 oz preemie once was in the beginning! Joseph got a good morning nap and then we headed to the pool on the base to swim. The clouds rolled in and the wind kicked up so we stayed for only an hour before heading back home. After Joseph's afternoon nap, Pop (AKA my dad) came over and we all went to Outback for a wonderful dinner! Joseph enjoyed throwing all his toys on the floor in the restaurant and watching mommy pick them up one by one. After dinner "Dad" took Joseph on a 45 min bike ride and both boys had a great time! It was a wonderful day and I am thankful to have such an amazing Dad! I'm also thankful for a loving husband who takes such good care of his son. Joseph couldn't ask for a better daddy!

Present time, present time!

Joseph's artwork on daddy's shirt

Joseph waving bye as he rides away!

Copy cat

This is how we communicate around our house. Joseph's favorite two sounds are "Ah Ha Ha" and "Ahhhhhh".

Teething Toys

The past couple of days have been rather rough for little Joseph. Over the weekend he got his 7th tooth and today I felt a big bump where his 8th tooth is trying to make its appearance. Poor little boy is shoving anything and everything in his mouth all day long. If he can't find something quick enough, he puts all his fingers in his mouth and begins biting down on them. He also likes chewing on the multiple bibs that he wears during the day due to his heavy drooling. Joseph got some musical instruments for his birthday. Tonight I let him play with them and as you will see in the video below, they go right in his mouth!

Ocean City, MD

On Thursday morning we were all packed and headed to Ocean City, MD to watch Joe fly in another airshow! Nan and Pop drove their motor home and stayed in a rv park about 5 miles away from the oceanfront at a park called Frontier Town located in Berlin, MD. http://www.frontiertown.com/ The park was great! It had a huge water park (with lots of water slides, a lazy river, a pool, and a kid water play area), a big miniature golf mountain, arcades, parks with play areas, etc. My nephew Jordan is already out of school and he was able to come on this trip too! Jordan, Pop, and I enjoyed playing at the water park on Thursday (although the water was really cold) while Nan took care of Joseph in the motor home. Joseph has a portable crib and tons of toys in the motor home so he feels right at home! On Thursday evening, Joe and his buddy Justin from his squadron flew jets down and I was able to go meet up with them and attend some social events with all the airshow performers while Nan and Pop watched Joseph. Joe always has a backup jet to fly just in case 1 of them has problems and isn't runny smoothly.

On Friday morning Joe had to brief and do a practice flight, so I did a little shopping at the Outlets in Ocean City! I spent most of the day back at the rv park with Nan, Pop, Jordan, and Joseph! We went on golf cart rides and enjoyed the wonderful weather. Friday evening was the kickoff events for the airshow. Joe and I went to another performers event that was on the beach. They had a full buffet style meal for us set up under huge tents on the beach with tables, chairs, and a band playing! After the sun set, the Army Golden Knights (parachute team) and the Navy Leap Frogs jumped out of a plane high in the sky and all landed within 10 feet from where I was standing! It was incredible to watch them jump and be so close to them! They had sparklers lighting up on their feet as they fell from the sky, and the lead guy came down with an American flag attached to his foot while they played Lee Greenwood's God Bless America on the loud speakers! What a fun night!

On Saturday, we got the VIP treatment and was able to watch the airshow from the beach right at center stage! Unfortunately the sky was full of haze so it was difficult to see the planes. We sure heard Joe flying before we could even see him! :) He was lucky to be able to fly b/c after his flight, they canceled the rest of the airshow due to the haze. Joseph and I headed home after we saw Joe fly. The drive was beautiful and only took 3 hours! The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is so very scenic so I stopped and took a few pics.

We had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed spending time with the family! I uploaded pics from our trip so check them out on the right side under "Photo Albums". Here are a few of my favorites....

The shark is eating my precious boy! Oh no!

Waiting for the airshow to begin!

Hey, this is just my size, but I'm sleepy and ready for my nap!

Daddy's plane is so loud and Mommy's VIP past tastes great!


Our transportation around the rv park! Joseph LOVED the golf cart!

Pool playdate!

Joseph (and his mommy) had such a fun day yesterday playing with friends! We invited some of Joseph's friends to have a swim playdate! The boys seemed to really enjoy themselves and the moms did too! My friend Shannon was a swim coach for several years and she taught us some great "first swim lesson" tips to help our little ones! The weather was beautiful and we had a blast! Looking forward to lots of swimming this summer!

Cousins hard at play

Family pool time!

We had a fun Saturday playing in Nan and Pop's pool! My nephew is out of school and staying with them for the week. We enjoyed spending some time together. The pool water was the perfect temperature and we had a little cookout too! What a great day!

Mommy and her little guy!

Playing with my nephew Jordan

Joe and Jordan playing tag

That octopus was slippery!!! We named him Octiman!

Nan hard at work

6 teeth

Joseph just got a new tooth on Wed. He now has his front 2 bottom teeth and front 4 top teeth. He's always a little "off" when his teeth cut and motrin seems to help him a lot. He gets a bad runny nose each time a new tooth appears. Hopefully with all these teeth he can learn to eat more table food!!!

Botanical Gardens

Joseph and I met up with his playgroup at the Norfolk Botanical Garden! The flowers were beautiful around the garden and they have a water play area for children. The babies had the best time playing!