What a cute lil' tush...

Ok, this post is not so much for the people who like to read up on Baby J as much as it is for me and James to remember this story when Baby J starts to date:

So this past week was Christmas. (Merry Christmas to all). The three of us made our way over to Grandma and Grandpa Walker's house on Christmas Eve and spent the next two nights there. Well, the first night we were there, Baby needed a bath. We made our way up stairs, got the bathtub ready for baby bath, and sat her into the tub for some scrubbing.

Baby J loves to have a bath at Grandma and Grandpa Walker's house because they actually have a bathtub and she doesn't have to get clean along with the dinner plates like at home. She splashes, crawls around, and stares at her image in the drain cover. Daddy and I were commenting on how we're not used to looking at her play naked because she's usually just sitting in the sink. Just at that time, baby stands up and we both comment: see, even her butt is cute.

No sooner than we finish that sentence, and baby poos in the tub! We couldn't help but laugh at the irony. We cleaned the place up and resumed bath time, but wow, just wow.

Our Little Singer

Baby J has conquered a new skill today, singing. The three of us made our way to Grandma and Grandpa Walker's house to take care of some much needed laundry washing.

Grandma and Grandpa have this great toy that is a little house of sorts with weird little ball monsters that live in the house. As with most baby geared toys, this one sings songs and teaches colors, number, letters, etc. What great is there is one part of the toy where you pull on one of the little monster things, and they sing songs. (Mary had a little lamb, row row row your boat, This old man, etc...) But rather than sing they take a sound (ba, ma, ga, ta) and only say that sound to the tune of the song.

This is where it gets good: after listening to theses songs, Baby will start to sing the song. It's a bit off tune, but she does it and gets most of the notes. The first song was "Mary Had a Little Lamb." but after a while, I noticed her doing it to all the songs.

American Idol watch out! Baby J is on her way!

"I do what I want"

Imagine if you will: it is a Tuesday evening in the Walker house. Daddy Walker is out of town, leaving Mommy and Baby J to "bond." Baby J is in a particularly good mood this evening and has been playing quite nicely since arriving home from day care. They venture into Baby J's room to change a diaper. Baby J is so good that Mommy can put her down to play with the collection of books on the floor while Mommy hangs up some clothes. It is quite a nice set up.

Some how Baby J manages to wedge herself under the glider in while playing with her plastic star-ring. Hunched over at the time, she is unaware of the situation. Until she tries to sit up. She hits the glider and gives it a dirty look. She hits the glider with the star; nothing. At this point Mommy notices what's going on and sits down urging baby to crawl forward to get out of the way, baby does not move. Mommy urges more, baby hits the glider more, now with her brow furrowed. Grunt. Hit. Grunt. Hit..... GAAAAA! Baby finally moves.

She moved when she wanted to.

Whatever you do, don't smell the food.

My baby really is quite an amazing person. I know, most parents think the same thing about their own kids, and nothing she does is really any great accomplishment that other babies can't do, but every day she amazes me.

As of October 21, 2009 Baby J is mobile. She crawled her first 6 feet solo. It was straight to me, no toys and sadly no Daddy could tempt her, but Mommy on the other side of the room was just the right amount of motivation. She put out a cautious hand, then a knee, hand, knee... flop... repeat. It reminded me somewhat of the end of Grease when John and Olivia are dancing on fun house platform: up and down, up and down. But she made it and was utterly proud of herself! Flash forward 2 weeks and she's all over the place: except the kitchen. Its the oddest thing, but she gets to the line where the carpet ends and the tile begins, puts both hands on the tile and is frozen. For a while I was planning on helping her overcome this phobia, but then I realize keeping her out of the kitchen is a good thing!

Another major milestone of our lives is finger food! Baby J is now a master of finger food... if you count half of the food going in mouth and half in lap a master. She can pickup a puff and on occasion shove it in her little mouth. Half the time is' already dissolved and is stuck on her hand, but no worries. She's also taken to small carrots, peas, cooked apples, etc. It our little ritual: Mommy cleans the kitchen as she gradually gives Baby J things to munch for dinner. Gets us over the bored/tired/cranky evening times. :-)

So tonight Daddy is working the poles for elections which means Mommy and Baby J are home alone. We were doing our usual nighttime feeding ritual and I decided to turn on some music (they say it makes her smarter, we'll see).

Picture this if you will: baby in highchair in kitchen. In view: baby toy area of living room including baby rock-star mirror that plays music. Not in view: tv. The music I turned on was from the classical station on the TV. Baby is eating, having a good time trying to introduce carrot to mouth... and then the music comes on. She stops, looks at the rock-star mirror... it's not on... what?... why isn't it on?... she looks some more.... it's still not on.... Eventually I had to take her out of her chair and show her the TV just to get her to resume eating. I personally found it hilarious.

Thats what I'm talking abou though. She's so smart to know that music comes from the mirror; enough to be confused when the lights weren't on with it. And I know it's common place for you and me but for her, she's made that connection for the first time, and it's amazing to watch.

So, I will enjoy every new moment my daughter experiences and smile every time I see her little teeth show though. I just won't smell the baby food.

World of Wonders

There really is something awesome about babies. Every day they encounter something for the first time. Now, I've never been the sappy type of person, but when it's your baby, you get completely enthralled in the new experiences with her.

Tonight was another one: It was a regular nightly routine; baby had dinner and was taking her evening bath. Now, usually her bath goes like this:
1.baby sits and attempts to pick up the floating toys
2.when successful she eats the toys
3.when unsuccessful Mommy pulls baby's face out of the water and/or catches head
4. wash and dry.

Well, today we did our usual routine, but then I realized that baby was happy and we had some time. I decided to refill the bath and let baby splash around a little more. This presented something new for baby, she's never been IN the sink while the water was filling up.

The water turned on and "OH!"... she didn't know what it was. She tried to grab it, but she couldn't. It turned off, she tried to find it but couldn't. She grabbed the faucet, maybe she could make it come by trying to chew on the faucet. No, Mommy thwarted the attempt. No one knows when they will meet again, I'm sure Baby J will be ready to yet again try to catch the running water.

First Family Vacation

Well, summer is over, but the Walkers finally got to get out of town and take our vacation. It wasn't a long one seeing as Mommy has very few vacation days (according to work, those first few months with Baby J were my vacation). We were lucky that Jim has a wonderful Aunt Liz with a wonderful husband, Troy. Liz and Troy happen to have a house in Ocean City, MD and were gracious enough to let us use it for a weekend.

That weekend was this weekend. I took off half a day from work and we loaded (and I mean loaded, babies have way more accessories than adults) the car with our belongings and made the trek out to MD. I can't say we didn't anything mind-blowing, but that's not what vacation is for. We just enjoyed being in a new surrounding and showing Baby J new adventures in the world.

Saturday we took Baby J. to Assateague Island National Park. (Apparently they have wild horses, I had no idea!) It was a bit overcast, but nice. We hiked around the island and the beach and Baby J was able to feel the sand between her little toes for the first time. Hopefully she'll have many more adventures to the beach in her future. There really is something majestic about the ocean.

Six months, oh my!

Well, it's come and past. Baby J has reached the half a year mark! All is well with Baby J. She is in perfect health as of her check up this week. Beyond the 95% in all measurements. What does that mean? That I'm buying 18mo. size clothing for my 6mo. old baby. But she still looks adorable in all of the outfits. :-)

Baby J is busy moving about. She can sit up, roll all over the place, push herself into sitting... she hasn't quite mastered crawling yet, but she manages to get around nevertheless. This has been quite a month of firsts for Baby J; she has started eating "solid" food. So far she's loved everything we've given to her (except for my one attempt at home-made baby food pears).

Here's her stats:
Weight: 21lbs 6oz
Height: 28in.
Head: 18in.

A tooth!

Big news, Baby J has a tooth! We've been anticipating it for a few months now; Baby J goes though about 3 bibs a day just for drool. About a week ago (Saturday, Sep 19) Mommy decided to do a status check on said tooth... low and behold, there as a little tooth in the front starting to poke though!

Baby J of course is oblivious to the fact that she has hit one of many major milestones in her young life. It's quite odd to me that her father and I are so excited about this tiny little tooth and she's still just like, "I want to chew on random stuff, where's my bottle?"

No picture of said tooth yet exist. Whenever she smiles a tongue seems to come out too, hiding the tooth.

Someone else's clothes?

Wednesday afternoon I (mommy) gathered my belongings at work and made my usual 5 min. drive down Wilson Blvd toward the house of Janet were my beautiful baby girl was waiting for me. I pull up to the familiar house and park my car.

As I walk around the fence and down the stairs I see the perfect head of my beautiful baby. She is sitting in an exersaucer outside with her buddy, Daniel (a baby just 6 weeks her senior), in a matching contraption, and Ms. Janet and the other children buzzing around her. But something is different today. Her shirt is not one of the few size 9 mo. onsies that we own and dress her in on a regular basis. No, today she has on a yellow onsie with green trim that reads "100% adorable." I think, well, this is quite accurate for a foreign shirt, but why is she in it?

"Oh no, did she spit up on her only extra clothing today?!" I ask Ms. Janet.
"Not exactly" states Ms. Janet, "She and Daniel were playing/fighting this afternoon and Daniel spit up on her."

It seems my baby girl is already giving the boys a run for their money. We'll see where this ends up. :-)

5 months and on the move (in a few ways)

So our precious little baby is 5 months old now. It's crazy to think that in a few short weeks she'll be half a year old, but I get ahead of myself. I'm a little slow in posting her monthly birthday announcement because as a family we have moved! Luckily we have amazing friends and family who have help us out both before and after the move, and everything went pretty smoothly and we are just about all moved in. All I have to do is figure out where to put all our stuff...

Baby J is doing great! She rolls like a champ and is currently pushing herself backwards (not crawling backward but pushing). Her latest favorites: 1. sticking her tongue out (in fact, the further out her tongue is, the happier she is) 2. blowing spit bubbles (I think I brought this one upon myself as I constantly stick my tongue out at her and make the "bllh" noise.) 3. Putting her mouth on EVERYTHING!

As always she's just a joy in our lives and we love being around her every min.

Daddy's Little Clone.

For those of you who may teeter between if Baby J looks like her mommy or her daddy, let me clear some things up for you. Baby J is pretty much a little clone of her daddy. I think the eyes may turn out to be from Mom, but that's about it. As for me (mommy), I couldn't be happier. As you can imagine, I kinda like the way her daddy looks, so I'm thrilled to have two of them! Compare for yourself Sorry for the foggy copies.

4 months!

Baby J is 4 months old! She is the joy in our day and a very happy, chatty baby girl. Mommy suffered though another "well baby visit" where the poked my baby again making her face bright red as she screamed. I guess that will never get easy. But Baby J is in great health (after a week of her first cold/ear infection a week earlier). Here's the stats:

Weight: 17lbs 14oz (>97%)
Length: 28in (>97%)
Head Cir: 17in (95%)

She's growing fast!

Splish Splash!

Our first attempt in the water was quite a bust. We were at a friends backyard party. Baby J was on the brink of tired and we decided to try the pool anyway. As you can imagine, it didn't go well and she was out of the pool within 2 min.

THIS TIME, we went on Saturday evening around 5:30. This is a good time for her because #1, it's not an oven outside and I don't have to worry about sweet baby getting a sunburn #2, she gets bored/fussy in the apartment at this time anyway, so we are usually out for a walk if not in the pool. It went great! We got there. Put baby in the stiff swim diaper. Daddy hopped in the pool and baby was passed off! She didn't quite know what to do with the pool. I can't tell if she loved it or hated it but I do know this: she didn't scream, and she didn't laugh. What she did do is try to drink the water. Her little face was all squished together from the way Daddy was holding her, and every so often, you'd see a little tongue come out.

I'd say our entire adventure lasted about 20 min. (including travel to and from apartment). This wins as the shortest pool visit I have ever made. But I think it's a good start toward turning Baby J into a little fish like her mom.

Happy Summer

So I'm not very good at keeping up with Summer Activities on the blog. We've had quite the summer. July 4, Grandma and Grandpa Walker came over with Uncle Matt and Aunt Susanna. The grandparents played with baby while the rest of us had some r&r by the pool. Then it was a wonderful dinner of fried chicken and such and some board games by the glow of the NY fireworks on the TV. :-)

The following weekend Grandpa Douglass and Grandma Eva stopped by to meet Baby J. We had a great time hiking at Great Falls and drinking some Starbucks. Baby J did great in her Baby Bjorn as we meandered though the trails... she had so much fun she fell asleep half way through. We even got a show! There was a kayaking competition down the falls.

So now we're on weekend #3 in July. Our biggest achievements: Mommy and Daddy found a new house to rent for the next year. Complete with a big fenced in yard for Baby J to run around in. Baby J is also rolling more easily, holding her own bottle, and in general a very chatty little girl. She really is quite a joy in our lives and gets cuter and more fun every day (and I thought all of you parents were just full of it when you said that) :-)

Say Cheese!

Last Saturday Baby J had her first party to attend. Miss Janet (her daycare provider) was having a "picture party." This was a time for all the children and their parents (both old and new) to come, socialize, eat yummy Sri Lankan food, and let Miss Janet and Claire-Louis have pictures with all the babies. It was quite the gathering.

I must say, the interaction with other parents was a bit odd. First, it's the first time I've ever met a person through or because of my child. Second, I know all their kids, and I've seen some of the parents, but during the week we don't exactly talk to each other. Usually it's: drop off the baby, quick smile to the other parent, and rush to get to work in time. Third, Jim and I are pretty young parents for the DC area. I'd say the other parents were at least 7 years older, most more like 10-15.

Overall things went well. We were able to take some pictures. (I think we even got one where all the children are looking in the general direction of the camera and not screaming. Quite an accomplishment with so many children under the age of 3) And James and I were able to make a few grown-up friends as well.

My Thoughts on "80's Retro"

Overall I pretty much hate 80's styles. Back in high school when 70's styles were "coming back in" I would comment, "that's cool, but let's hope the 80's never come back." And then guess what, they did. For the past year or so I've be having to look at neon-plastic jewelery and oversized shirts all the while thinking that once again, people look stupid (**to all of you who embrace the return of 80's style, I apologize, I love you, you're awesome, but I most likely think you look ridiculous.)

There's my rant. Now, I have to make my one exception. BABY CLOTHES! I am in love with 80's stuff in baby clothes! Baby J is now the proud owner of leg warmers and a romper! I have to admit, her daddy thinks she looks ridiculous in the leg warmers, but I think they are awesome. Plus, the leg warmers are so practical because you can easily change her diaper without having to pull pants off all the time.

Now, I don't want any of you to think that this means I will be attending your next "80's party" decked out in acid washed jeans and frizzy big hair. But for my baby, I'm having fun dressing her up.

HellloooOOOO!

I don't know if any of you watch "The Daily Show." If you do, you know John Stewart's impression of the Queen of England. For those of you who don't, think of a stereotypical old British woman's accent. Then say the word "hello" in a high pitched voice and draw out the "o" sound.

Well, "The Daily Show" is a staple in the Walker household. We quite enjoy poking fun at world events. Over the last weekend, James took to saying "hello" to Baby J. She was kind of into it this weekend. As it turns out, I've adopted the practice over this week while James is in Atlanta for work. She LOVES it now. It doesn't matter if she's happy or sad, if I impersonate John Stewart impersonating the Queen of England, her little toothless grin just pops out. It's pretty awesome.

I know this is crazy, but...

Ok, don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to not be pregnant anymore. But for some reason I've noticed a lot more pregnant women in the last month than I ever remembered seeing when I, too, was pregnant. It's when I see a pregnant woman that I realize, I'm no longer the special person who all of human society looks out for. If I run to the store without Baby J, I no longer have a special parking spot. When people see me without Baby J they have no reason to think of me as any more special than the next person they will meet. (which by the way, then means they just think I'm always carry the extra 30#s around). I don't miss being pregnant, but I kind of miss being special...

Her favorite...

My sister has taught me a lot of "mom" stuff in the past few months. One of the best bits of advice was that maybe when my baby was fussy, she was actually just bored. So after that I started doing more things with Baby J in different parts of the apartment.

It turns out, one of her favorite places to "play" is sitting in Daddy's sink. It's quite nice because she gets the security of me holding her, without my back feeing her 13lbs. She has a mirror, shiny faucet, and lot of Mommy and Daddy's "getting ready" stuff to look at. Honestly, she' entertained there for a good 10 min most of the time. I just find it funny that my baby likes to play in the sink.

Daily Grind

So Mom is back to work this week. Well.. sort of back to work. I'm working 4 hours a day for a few weeks to give me some time to remember how to be a therapist. It's also nice because it also allows Baby J to get comfortable at school without having to be there all day.

The back to work/daycare experience isn't as traumatic as anticipated. Her teacher, Janet, is a very nice lady who takes care of 5 children in her home. She lives only a mile from where Mommy works, so that's convenient. Eventually it will be great because Baby J will have some friends to play with. It turns out that most of the current students are moving and all the "replacements" are also babies.

It is quite hard to leave my precious baby every morning, especially when she's happy and smiling at me from her carrier as I leave her on the living room floor at Janet's house. And when I pick her up in the afternoon, she doesn't smell like my baby, but instead a slight aroma of Janet's house. However, it's a necessary evil, and ultimately I'll be a happier mommy because I have some adult interaction for part of the day. But I guess my "no agenda vacation" is over and it's back to the daily grind.

2 month check-up

Baby J had her 2-month check up today. The doctor said everything looks and sounds great and Baby J is doing exactly the things she should be doing at 2 months. Then they gave her shots and her face turned a shade of red that I have never seen before. But all is "ok" for her now (she's still in shot-shock)

Here's her stats:
Weight: 13lbs 8oz (97%)
Length: 25in (>97%)
Head: 16.5in (95%)

So basically we have a large, very long, healthy baby (who will once again be happy when she forgets about the shots). I can't ask for much more.

ADVENTURES OF BABY J: baby j and the family photo

It was a hectic morning in Baby J's home. Mommy and Daddy were quickly putting on "fancy clothes" and Mommy was gathering Baby J accessories. Baby J couldn't understand why she had to wear her dress too. What was going on?

Mommy and Daddy eventually gathered everything and the whole family was out the door. On the way to the car, Mommy said, "Are you excited to see your friend Baby F's baptism today?" Baby J was quite content to finally know what the hustle was for and was quite happy for her friend's big day. She decided to fall asleep.

While Baby J slept in the pew by Grandma, Grandpa, and Mommy, Daddy stood up with Baby F and her family for the baptism. Afterwards, they all headed over to Baby F's house to party. Baby J had a grand ol' time flirting with Grandpa. Just as Baby J decided it was time for yet another nap, Mommy and Daddy decided it was time for family photo... not too bright Mom and Dad. They tried in vain to convince Baby J that family photo would be fun and she should smile for the picture. Baby J just wanted to sleep, and let them know her dissatisfaction with them attempting to make her do anything else.

But Mom and Dad got the family photo.. Baby J will just forever have to live with the faces she chose to make for it. :-)

HAIR!

So it's not exactly like mine was, but James claims Baby J has my hair. For those of you who don't know, my hair stuck straight up for the first few months of my life. My mother tried everything to get it to go down with no success.

Baby J's hair will eventually go down, but after her bath I am very quick to get a hat on her head... this is how her hair dries and stays for a few days.

So this is what it's like to be a mom.

Well, I've been a mom for almost two months. As most of you mom's probably know, it doesn't 100% set in for a while. Sometimes I still feel like I'm just on the never-ending babysitting job. The kids cute, but when are the parents coming back? Well, I think I had a very "mom" moment this weekend and it didn't even involve Baby J.

This weekend our little family of 3 made a trip down to Virginia Beach for Aunt Katie's bridal shower and bachelorette party. I was able to have a wonderful time with the women-folk while James so graciously watched Baby J all day. (that's not my mom moment). Sunday morning we woke up and made it out to Cousin K's soccer game. She had quite a showing on the sidelines to support her team though the tournament.

During the game one of the players hurt her ankle. All the other girls patiently knelt on the floor as the coach ran out the the crying girl in the middle of the field. James' sister Nicole made a comment that she tears up every time one of the kids gets hurt. And noted how it's been like that since Cousin K started playing. Well... I didn't fess up to it then, but I was freaking crying. It seriously broke my heart to see this little 9 year old girl who I don't know and will never meet hurt her ankle. So I guess that's what it's like to be a mom. (And I thought the excessive crying would stop once pregnancy hormones were gone).

This is how I'll do it... and other things from the weekend.

So if you look at the post just before this one, you'll notice I've decided to go "storybook style." If there is a story I personally find somewhat funny, I"ll put it in story book style. I tend to be pretty boring otherwise. Hope y'all enjoy it.

Background to the story:
Baby and I were able to travel to Chapel Hill this past weekend while James attended a wedding. It was Baby J's first time meeting Uncle Woody and Cousin W. She had a great time, and Cousin W seemed to take a liking to her; sharing his all important Ernie doll! It was really wonderful to spend the weekend, and my first Mother's Day with my family.

Don't be too jealous of me and my sleepy baby. About 30 min after she f ell asleep at the truck stop, she woke up and would have nothing of the car seat. So we pulled over yet again and spent a good 45 min "bounce walking" around a parking lot until she fell asleep.

Adventures of Baby J: Baby and the Truckers.

It was a calm Friday morning. Baby J played with Daddy while Mommy diligently packed up the car. Today was the day Baby J would be taking her first road trip to Aunt Jen's house. Once the car was packed they said their good-byes to Daddy who was on his was to a wedding in Kansas, and hit the road. Baby J instantly learned that road trips are best spent sleeping, which is exactly what she did.

Around 10am, Baby J was hungry again. Mommy pulled off the interstate at the first exit she could find toward a "Subway" shop. Mommy was a little timid about this location as the Subway shop was located inside a truck stop. Luckily there was a church across the street, and church parking lots are usually empty on Friday mornings. Baby J enjoyed a second breakfast in the church parking lot and then played "stare at the baby" in the window of the church shuttle.

Well around that time Mommy realized she need a break as well, so she decided they would brave the truck stop. Mommy pulled the car into the truck stop and assembled Baby J in her stroller. As they entered the truck stop Baby J was wide eyed; there are so many things to look at in the convenient store of a truck stop. With her toothless grin she coerced the truckers to open doors and smile, something Mommy has never experienced when interacting with a trucker.

Once Mommy had her road trip snacks, she and Baby J headed back to the car. Baby J promptly fell asleep again in preparation for the continuation of road trip. It looks like she'll have many travels in her future.

One Month Down... A lifetime to go!

So Baby J had her one month birthday on Friday! It's hard to believe she's been in this world for a whole month already. Time goes quickly. She's growing very fast; at her doctor's apt. on last Monday she was already 10lbs 5oz.

The weather has finally gotten nice here in DC, and Baby J has made the most of it. Our family walks have increased in time, and she took part in the all important "family car wash time." She's a little sun lover (in the shade) already!

We are quickly approaching the one month birthday of Baby J. It's crazy that it's gone by so quickly, and it's even crazier how big she is already. I think they seriously do grow in the middle of the night. This week Aunt Jen came to stay with Family Walker for the week. Aunt Jen was a big help for me in that she was there to hold my hand and help me with (what I feel were) big deal new-mom activities: driving with baby in the back by herself, taking baby on an outing, and what to do with the evening fuss fits.

The first is pretty easy to get; we only went to the shopping center that is literally across the street from my apartment, but it was quite a big deal for me to leave Baby J back there by herself. We were driving for our first official outing: a trip to Starbucks and an errand to Target. Baby J was quite wonderful! She slept for the ENTIRE 2 hour adventure. And I came home just a little closer to feeling like a normal person who goes places.

Now, I don't want y'all getting the wrong impression and thinking that Baby J is difficult. I've actually been informed that she is quite a good baby and gives mommy and daddy adequate sleep during her 4 hour sleep stretches. However, over the past few days, we've noticed that Baby J was getting fussy in the evenings. Aunt Jen was great and we figured out that she probably isn't eating as well as I thought she was and was simply hungry. A bottle at mid-day and a bottle in the evening have seemed to fix our problem!

So that's our life this week. Lots of trial and error, and even more staring at Baby J. It's crazy that you really can't get sick of looking at her, even when she does the same things over and over again. :-)

Sweet Niece

Hello everyone, this is Aunt Jen. I've hacked into Josie's blog to tell you she is indeed as cute as she looks in her pics -- actually, much cuter. She has soft baby skin, a perfect head and a very lovely desire to sleep for long stretches at a time. She is, in my expert opinion, the most perfectest little girl baby ever. Once you meet her, you will love her too!

Hi all! So we are finally getting around to this blog thing. Munch, as most of you know, is a girl munch, Joceline . Born March 24, 2009 at 11:44pm, weighing in at 8lbs 11oz and 19.5 inches.

Most of you are interested in name as Jim and I were able to keep in secret for the whole 9 months. Basically, Joceline is a girl name that Jim and I both liked from the beginning. We actually had a very easy time deciding on the girl name, maybe that should have been a sign for us. For her middle name we chose one from Jim's family that's very rare. Unfortunately I was never able to meet the original owner of the name, as she recently passed away. But, according to the stories I have been told, she was a wonderful woman and the matriarch to a great family... someone who we are thrilled to have our daughter named after.

Joceline is 8 days old today. Mom and Dad are slowly getting the hang of the parent thing. Although, I've been told that as soon as you think you know what you're doing, they change it up on you. But we look forward to every new stage.

Love to everyone, and thank you for the support. Enjoy the pictures!

First day

Trial blog.