Lukas and Amy and Josie: 2011

I will be the first to admit that I am not as good of a blogger as my sister! Half the time it's not because I don't try...I usually run in to technical difficulties with my computer running slow or it's because I haven't loaded the latest 600 pictures from my camera onto the computer so I don't have anything to post. I know these things can easily be remedied. I just need to make the time to blog more often.

Josephine turned 8 months old yesterday. These are her 6 month pictures, taken by Jennifer of Lightning Bug Photography. (She did a great job!) When I think about the fact that my baby girl is 8 months old, I can hardly believe it to be true. Her first year is 2/3 of the way over and it seems to me that time is flying. My days are full of the "I can't wait until Josie...." statements followed by "I don't want Josie to get taller/start wearing size 3 diapers/begin eating table food" etc. It drives Luke crazy, I am sure. I look forward to so many things with this little girl, and then those moments arrive and I can hardly believe she is old enough to accomplish them. I know this is only the beginning of a lifetime of those emotions.

At eight months old, Josie has two teeth which she enjoys using to nibble on graham crackers, pickles and bananas. She smiles constantly because she is the happiest baby in the world. She says, "ma, ma, ma, ma, ma" but I am pretty sure she has not quite made the connection that the name belongs to me. She also says, "ba, ba, ba, ba." She likes to make smacking kiss sounds with her lips and clap her hands whenever someone says, "Yay!" She recently started giving her daddy high fives. She is learning how to wave and do "So Big" but neither of those skills have been mastered yet. Josie really enjoys her new daycare, and we are happy that Pam's variance got approved so we can stay there until the end of the school year. She copies her friend Molly a lot. We think that's why she catches on to tricks so quickly. Next week marks the last day of Josie's ECFE class. She is the oldest baby in the class. (Her mommy should have enrolled her sooner.) Her friends there are Nolan, Derek and Ella. There used to be a Brynn and an Izzie, too, but they don't come to class anymore. Josie really likes the song, "My Little Red Wagon" so we are thinking of getting her one for her first birthday. As I write this, I am realizing just how many accomplishments our little girl has had in the last eight months and it makes me wish I would have written sooner. She continues to amaze me every day with her bright smile and cute antics. Josephine, I love you more than words could ever say....