She wore and Itsy Bitsy, Teenie Weenie....

Well, not exactly.  My Mom use to sing that to my sister and I when we would put on our swim suits.  By no means is Jocelyn's swim suit  itsy bitsy....she is sporting an 18 month suit.  Wow!

So, this picture is not exactly what you think.  Yes, she is screaming bloody murder....and Yes, Derek is laughing hysterically.  Here is what happened....Derek was soooo excited to get her in the pool for the first time.  I was chasing after him with the camera toward the pool.  Her float started to float away, so Derek, with Jocelyn on his hip....leans over to grab the float out of the water and proceeds to completely DUNK Jocelyn's head underwater.  Nice.  So, her first experience in a pool was being submerged by her father.  Thanks Honey!

Things got a little better when mom and dad got in with her.  Sidenote: (I'll be honest...it was actually nice to get into the pool this summer and not displace all of the water due to my fat pregnant self)

 I forgot her sunglasses, so she had a hard time keeping her eyes open. 

 Hanging out with Uncle Steven.  Check out those chubby thighs.  Not Stevens, Jocelyns :)

She even took a nap on some pool chairs

 Pool action- Part II.  On Father's Day, we went over to my parents to hang out at the pool.  Jocelyn is sporting her hot pink bikini and sunglasses this time.

 My Dad was so excited to get her in the pool.  He was waiting at the front door in his suit, so cute.  He hardly let me get the sunscreen on!

 They have a really neat sunning ledge in the pool which is perfect for the little ones.  Looks like we will be hanging out at Poppy and Lynna's house for pool parties in the future.

She ended up being brave and sitting in the water by herself...with a little help from Poppy of course. 

After the big afternoon at Poppy & Lynna's pool, we headed over to Gramma and Grandaddy's house for dinner.  We had a special guest with us.  Jocelyn's Great Grandpa Freese had been in town visiting for a few weeks.  He just recently celebrated his 80th birthday, and he is still sharp as a whip!  He was so good with Jocelyn, he fed her, held her and played with her.  It was so sweet to see. 

9 months!

I cannot believe I have a 9 month old.  I do think that from the age of about 6 months on has be my most favorite.  I know everyone says this about their own children, but I would definitely enter Jocelyn into the "Best baby in the world" contest.  She is such a joy to be around and is happy all the time. 

A lot has changed since her 8 month post.  At about 8 months and 2 weeks, I got a call from Miss Shaela (her teacher) informing me this was the call I had been waiting for.  For once!  It was not a call from daycare informing me that my child had been bumped in the head....again!  She had crawled a few steps, yeah!  Of course, we got her home, put her on the floor....and nothing.  Geez.  The next week, I was in Cleveland for work, and she really started crawling this week.  Now, she is off and running.  Not long after she started crawling, she started pulling up onto furniture.  She is very strong and can stand for a really long time. 

At about 8 months and 3 weeks, she got her two front bottom teeth!  They are not all the way in just yet, but they are so cute.  We didn't even know she had them, because, once again, she was the best baby ever and never fussed.  I tell people that Jocelyn is God's trick to us as a couple so that we will have more children (don't worry, we want more!!).

Jocelyn has also had a few colds and 2 ear infections this month, which were no fun.  It just breaks my heart when she is sick and there is nothing I can do.  We have moved to 3 meals a day and about 19 or so ounces of formula and some juice.  Jocelyn loves the following food: yogurt, all fruit, green beans, sweet potato, ham, turkey, cheese, pasta and zucchini bread. 

Last Friday, I took Jocelyn in for her 9 month check up.  Dr. Fernandez said all looked good and she was progressing with her milestones well.  Here are her stats:

Height: 29 inches (90%)
Weight: 21.3lbs (85%)
Can't remember her head, but it was 90% too!

I have no idea where these 85-90% stats are coming from?!?  I admit, I do probably over feed her, but I have a fear that she will not get enough to eat?  Am I crazy?  I just wish she could communicate to me and say "hey, lady...I am trying to watch my figure here...quit forcing food down my throat...have you seen my thighs lately".  I will try to be better. 

We also have a stage 5 clinger on our hands.  Jocelyn wants me and Miss Shaela only.  She will go to Dad, but only if necessary.  She reaches for me, but for some reason says dadadada.  I know she doesn't know what Dada means, it just must be easier to say.  She also says "uh-oh"- so cute!  She also says some odd sounding rendition of "dog", it sounds like "gog"?? 

I think these are going to become more and more challenging to take as she becomes more mobile.

9 Month Photos

My good friend from high school, Kristin, has a very high tech camera and is starting to dabble in the photography arena.  So, when she asked if she could practice on my family, I said ABSOLUTELY!  She takes the most beautiful pictures of her little girl, Emma, so I knew these would be great!  We met bright and early on a Sunday morning.  If you remember, this was the weekend that was SOOO humid.  Hence, why my hair looks like crap-ola!  ugh!  The weather doesn't explain my double chin though...this could be attributed to the fact that I haven't stepped foot in a gym since J was born...oops!

 I love this one, it is like she has a piece of grass in her fingers and she is contemplating putting it into her mouth.

 Ahhhh, melt my heart!  It makes me so mad.  I wake up early, put on a cute outfit, fix my hair, etc....and look like crap.  Derek rolls out of bed, shows up to the photo shoot a little bit late and looks like a friggin model?!?  Every picture he takes with her is so good, and it almost brings tears to my eyes watching him with her.  I love being a silent observer seeing how much he loves this little girl.

I love this one too.  Kristin has this ability to see something and imagine the final vision.  Kristin is like 5 foot nothing, and when she hauled this gigantic chair out of her car, I was very confused...and concerned because this chair is from her mothers living room...yikes!  Now, it all makes perfect sense.  Thank you Kristin for your creative vision.

Don't mind us, we just belong on a post card or on the front of a JC Penney catalogue.  I love this picture.  I even think my left leg looks thin.  Thanks, Kris!!

 This one jerks at my heart strings a little too.  He is so good with her!

Funny story about this one....Kristin whips this beautiful quilt out of her car and lays it down.  Instructs me to disrobe J and starts snapping away.  I think this picture is so sweet.  The funny part is, I was nervous she was going to pee or something on the quilt, and Kristin was like "oh, don't worry about it".  It was not until after I picked up J and got her dressed that she told me the quilt belonged to her husband (Mark's) great grandmother, or something like that.  I was like, you have got to be kidding me!  Ahhh!  So, glad nothing happened. 

My sweet baby girl and her happy smile!  We love you Jocelyn!  Thanks again Kristin for taking these absolutely beautiful pictures of us.  Hope we can do it again soon!

Memorial Weekend

Our memorial weekend was kind of boring.  Derek had to work the ENTIRE weekend, boo!  I took Friday off to take J in for her 9 month doctor appointment (details in a different post) and we went to lunch with my good friend Karley and her precious little man, Cade.  I called it our "pretend we are stay at home mom's lunch", as she was enjoying her last Friday of maternity leave. 

On Saturday, I figured if I wanted to hang out with Derek, we needed to go to the ballpark while he worked.  This was actually fun.  I had a few adult beverages while pushing my child around in a stroller, and J had a lot of fun people watching.  She was turning heads in her super cute NEW 1 million dollar Texas Ranger's outfit.

 Oh yes I did....so stinking cute....hey, it goes with the outfit!  (Thanks Kristen!!)

 It was really hot on Saturday, and little J's cheeks were bright red.  So, we snuck into an unoccupied suite to watch a little bit of the game.  Dad is teaching J all about baseball.

 And here I am teaching her absolutely nothing about baseball!

 Yes, I know what you are thinking.  Gross...she is crawling around on the floor at Derek's office.  Guilty as charged.  Oh well, she had fun exploring.

 oookkkay, So, our good friend Dan was in town from California for a wedding and stayed with us for a couple of days.  Please take a look at my living room.  This is unbelievable!  I leave two grown men with Jocelyn and this is what I find.  Yes, they are using my foam roller to hit all of the balls out of Jocelyn's ball pit.  Dan would then retrieve them and bat them back to Derek one by one.  Sigh.....boys! 

Jocelyn had fun chasing after the balls that the boys hit all over the place.  I think this is the only reason why I didn't get mad.  :)