7 months plus

Hi all - Sorry to have been so delinquent in keeping up here, the summer seems to have come and gone in a whirlwind and I have no idea where all the time went. Obviously our little man has aged still another month, and what a crazy month it has been! Gone are the days of placing Joshua somewhere and expecting him to be there 5 seconds later - he is on the move with a vengeance! His crawling adventures began with a type of one-arm dragging of his body, which eventually turned into an army crawl. He finally learned how to get up on his knees so that he could go a lot faster, and has taken to it incredibly, much to our combined joy and horror. He has begun pulling himself up on his toys and the furniture, and is beginning to take a few tumbles - nothing major, there are pillows all around our living room that he almost always lands on...almost. He has also taken to eating solids, inhaling many a pureed meal of fruits and vegetables as well as oat and rice cereals. After some minor constipation issues we added some prunes to his diet, which have become his favorite treat (and a successful home remedy to boot)! He has two and almost three teeth at this point, and continues to put anything and everything in his mouth as he works on some more. Finally, he is chit-chatting up a storm these days, experimenting with his favorite "word" - da da, which refers to everything including his dad and mom. Mom keeps trying to get a "ma ma", but it tends to only occur in the midst of a cry in the night, which I guess is ok - we'll see who he calls for when he knows what he is saying!

He continues to be the greatest joy in both our lives, and not a day goes by that he is not kissed and hugged, and snuggled and tickled, almost to the point of smothering! We are entering a new phase as I return to work full time - Joshua began attending dayhome last week, which has been a mostly smooth transition for him. MUCH harder on Mom, I have to say. The house sure is quiet without him here! As always, here are some photos of the last month of our lives.

6 months old and a world traveller!

Well, a long month has passed, and we are finally all home to stay. We have been all over the place for the last month, doing a major road trip where we met lots and lots of people for the first time. I have to say that we are AMAZED at Joshua's travelling over so many weeks, he was a real trooper and did a great job over thousands of miles. We are including lots of pictures of our adventures, and just some of the special people that he met along the way. We went swimming, visited the Lincoln Park zoo, saw Mount Rushmore, ate at LOTS of yummy places (yay Chicago) and visted and visited and visited with lots and lots and LOTS of relatives and friends, who were all so gald to meet the newest Pagel/Schroeder.

The trip went: Edmonton - Whitewood SK - Winnipeg, MB - Winkler, MB - Eau Claire, WI - Chicago, IL - Cedar Rapids, IA - Des Moines, IA - Omaha, NB - Rapid City, SD - Great Falls, MT - Calgary, AB - home! Our new van has over 8000kms on it already. We are so glad we had it, though, as it is a wonderful road trip machine!

I just got back from 8 days in Cincinnati, OH, where I attended the WASBE (World Association of Bands and Ensembles) conference. It was SO hard to leave my little sweetie pie, but he was spoiled by his Grandma Laura and Grandpa Rich while I was gone. He is sleeping like a champ, which is new since I left, so I am eternally grateful to my mother-in-law as well as my husband for this. We should have trained him a lot sooner!!! The conference was truly amazing and I am re-inspired about my career, and am once again convinced that balancing my professional and personal lives will be challenging but very worthwhile.

As for Joshua at age 6 months, we are quite sure that he has said both Ma-ma and Da-da, can roll all over a room, had his first REAL crawl yesterday (he's been VERY close for weeks) jumps like crazy in his "bounceroo" - he gets air all the time! - and is weighing in at close to 19lbs. He is constantly rubbing his gums, though no teeth are palpable just yet. He is a very happy boy and we are continually reminded how lucky we are to have him. I truly don't remember life before him, nor do I really want to!

Father's Day Surprise

Knowing that Geoffrey doesn't read this blog unless I direct him to it, and because we are going to be away on Father's Day, I wanted to post some pictures of Joshua's "surprise" for Daddy - sshhh, don't tell him if you see him! We'll show him this ON Father's Day! We had a good time doing this, and it will be nice to have Josh's prints for posterity!

5 Months Old!

Five months old!



We took a trip to Calgary on Joshua's 5 month "birthday", and went to a jazz night to hear Grandma Valdine sing. It was a fun night and Josh did great - he didn't upstage Grandma too much, and actually took a nap part way through. This will probably be the last time he wears this tux - he has grown out of it, but at least he got a couple of big nights out of it. Absolutley the cutest, and received LOTS of compliments (even a couple phone numbers...)

The Exploits of Joshua

It is now June, and Joshua is approaching his 5 month birthday this week. Where did 5 months go??? He is coming very close to having tripled his birth weight, and is getting VERY long! We are enjoying his temperament these days - lots of excited screams and squawks, and he is smiling and giggling a lot. He puts everything in his mouth and drools like a champion. He is spitting up less and less, though his aim is still set right on mommy...I can handle it. We have started him on some rice cereal, which he seems to enjoy - the photos show him in his high chair for the first time, making a big ol' mess. "Say it, don't spray it, Josh!" He does NOT enjoy going to bed, and this is our one struggle - he is just too happy spending time with us, which of course we don't mind, but he MUST sleep sometimes! Once he is asleep, he still wakes up needing to be fed a couple of times a night, but he is pretty good about going back to sleep quickly. A little sleep deprivation isn't so bad - the trade off is pretty spectacular! We are heading on our road trip in a little over a week, and are very excited to see how our little guy travels - he really hates his carseat, so we could be in for some interesting times! Hope we'll cross paths with many of you as we make our way through Manitoba, Chicago and Iowa - maybe even a Nebraska stop in there too!

Four months plus...

Well, my mommy has been a very busy girl since her last post, so ther is a lot to catch up on here. I have grown even more - at my last weigh-in I was 15lbs 6 ozs and 23 and 3/4 inches long. I still have a very chubby belly and my thighs have some serious rolls, but everyone tells me that I am incredibly cute regardless! The jury is still out on the colour of my eyes - Dad is convinced that they are blue like mommy's, but she is certain that there is some brown and green and grey to them, and thinks they will turn out to be hazel like dad's. In any case, there is no disputing that my hair is lighter (and thinner, as is my mom's these days...) and that I still have a bald spot on the back that will hopefully start growing back soon! I like to roll onto my side and arch my back a lot these days, as well as do some balance practice in my bounceroo - I'm a little wobbly yet, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I am a real talker, and have found my "screech" - it gets me LOTS of attention!

Mom was away on a couple of trips doing some music festivals - one in Terrace, BC, and another in Yellowknife, NWT. She had to leave early in the morning on her first Mother's Day, which made her really sad. I promised to make it up to her next year!

We have had some nice visits with friends and family lately - Auntie Lindsay and Cousin Jasper were her just before Easter, and then we took a drive to Calgary to visit with Grandma Valdine, Grandpa Arnold, Nan (Dorothy) and lots of Mommy and Daddy's friends. Some of the pictures are here.

We are getting ready to go on our road trip in a little under a month - not sure how I am going to like driving in the car for long days, but I'll do my best. My parents just bought a new minivan, so they will likely be able to entertain me much more easily. I know I have them wrapped around my finger, so it should be fun to see what I can get them to do for me!!!

More updates soon - I will be five months old before you know it, I am SUCH a big boy! (already tyoing and everything! ; )

My 15th Week

Here is some video footage of Joshua at 3 1/2 months of age - he is talking a LOT these days, and continues to build his dexterity and muscles with all kinds of tricks! We have also taken to calling him "Ferris Drooler" as he spends most days covered in his own saliva...must mean teeth are just around the corner!