Josie is 17 Months

-Josie is finally waving regularly. This is one of those skills that she hadn't been doing but should have.

-Josie is starting to stand a bit on own, but she is still scared. She stood for about 7 seconds in her playhouse but then realized what she was doing and lowered herself to the floor.

-Josie has been evaluated by First Steps. She is low in motor skills and communication and will need assistance in these areas.

- Josie, she  has two teeth that are so close to coming the surface. I expect them to pop out in the next few days.

- When you ask Josie to find certain items, like a ball, she will go find it. 

Will go find certain items when I ask for them

Josie is so excited when I come in to get her from her crib. She is hilarious and adorable!

 

Meeting baby Croslee. 

Tea party for three.

One of our favorite things to do this summer is to Facetime Joe during his lunchtime. The girls get so happy seeing him. 

Zoo trip with our friends. 

One of Josie's current favorite things is to open up the cupboard and take out all of the books. She pulls them out quickly, but will often stop to look at a random book. I often wonder if she is looking for particular books or just wants to create a mess (or both). 

Josie loves crawling around in the front yard. She is so excited with being outside. 

I love watching these two together. They really do love each other and enjoy each other's company. 

Josie constantly pulls up on our legs and hangs onto our pants and shirts. She does this because she wants to be picked up. It can be frustrating. I can't wait until she can stand on her own. 

Stuck!

Josie likes playing in the sand...and eating it. 

Dance Recital

Sophie has been taking dance lessons all year long. She absolutely loves her Tiny Toons class! They been working on their dance for a while now. It was to the song "Under the Sea." Their costumes were so adorable with little fish heads as a headpiece.

I was really sad because I didn't get a chance to go to the dress rehearsal. It was on our last day of school and I wasn't able to leave to get her ready. Luckily my mom saved the day (as always) and helped us out. She did great job and was excited for the big recital.

The day of the recital Sophie refused to take a nap. We got her as ready as we could at home and then drove over to the location of the recital. Of course she fell sleep in the car, so she was super grumpy when we woke her up to go inside. I finished getting her ready and then left so that I could watch the recital. Sophie did really well with her dance until about halfway through. They had to shuffle across the stage sideways so they could go towards the back and "swim like a fish" behind their teacher. Sophie was the third from the end so she had a long way to go. Her short little legs just couldn't carry her over to the other side fast enough. All the other kids were at the back and she was still scuttling across the front of the stage. The crowd thought it was really cute and laughed. Sophie danced her little heart out and finished the dance. 

When I went back to find her backstage she ran to me in tears. I'm not sure if it's because she was tired, embarrassed, or a little bit of both. Poor kid! She just wanted to go home. Seeing her daddy with flowers waiting for her did cheer her up though. I asked her later why she got so upset and she told me it was because there are a lot of people in the crowd and it scared her. 

We sure are proud of our tiny dancer!

Josie is 16 Months

My sweet and happy little girl is another month older. This was a fairly uneventful (though extremely busy) month in terms of new things going on with Josie. We are so thankful that Josie has a healthy month!

So sweet when she sleeps. 

Josie loves when we go outside to play. She always ends up climbing onto the porch and crawling over to the table and chair set we have. She loves to cruise and crawl around to the different chairs. 

Happy little girl

Playing in Sophie's room is part of the girls' bedtime routine. Josie enjoys pulling books off of the bookshelf, as well as playing in the ball tent. I love watching the girls play around with each other before they go to bed. They are so cute together. 

I have to put rubber bands around these cabinet doors because Josie constantly tries to open them up. 

Sitting on a chair like a big girl!

This is how we shop with the girls. 

Normally Josie gets nervous around people she doesn't really know and clings to myself or Joe. We had some friends over one night and Josie practically jumped out of my arms so she could get to Nick. I was shocked! She has met him a few times but I didn't think she remembered him. She snuggled up with him for a few minutes before coming back to me.  

Josie had a blast crawling around in the trampoline at my sister's house! We are going to have to start letting her crawl around in the one at our house. 

Big girl in her big car seat!

Sophie loves her sister. 

Josie playing outside. Her favorite thing to do out there is to put rocks, mulch, dirt, and sidewalk chalk in her mouth. Yuck!

Suckers are delicious and sticky.

I love how happy my girl is. 

Hot days require time in the baby pool. Josie enjoyed crawling in and out of it and splashing around. 

We spent some time at a local church summer kick-off. 

Beautiful! I love her dark eyes!
(Don't worry, we always buckle her up. This was after we arrived home and I was about to take her out of the car.)