Splash- time!

It's amazing to see the daily progress that children make. Chris was away the other night, so I took over bath time. As I was washing J down, she began to splash around in the water. Now that may not seem like a big deal, but up until this point, she has only placidly enjoyed the bath. I thought maybe this was something that had been occurring and that Chris just hadn't mentioned it. The next night, when Chris took bath time back, he was all excited to see the same thing. So over the course of 1 day, J has begun to interact with the water around her. Just so amazing to see these changes!!

Another big of progress is at our music class. Instruments get passed out and normally it's Mommy banging on the drum (to her full hearts content) and just just munching on the instruments. At this past class, J actually started to shake the maracas and play with the tambourine. I'm of course guiding her to the bongos, but it's all in good time ;)

Going to shake that egg maracas!

She was shaking these just moments before... then the urge just got to great..!

Prospect Park Zoo

The weather has finally begun getting a bit cooler (I know I will hate myself for that statement 4 months from now!) so we took advantage and headed to the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn. A group of 5 ladies and our babies headed over. I have to say a prayer of thanks for having these ladies in our lives- without them, Jocelyn and I would not only be very bored and lonely, but I've learned so much from speaking with them and watching their babies grow.

The zoo was lovely, with a great "Farm" portion that is getting our little J-bird ready for her days on the Kromer Farm one day!

checking out the Lama's

She seems to prefer her Aunt Sam's real cow to the cut out provided here... hey, what do you want, it's Brooklyn!

8 months

J's best friend Burton. J was playing on the balcony one morning and I turned my back for a second. One turning back around, I found Burton with his tongue right in her mouth and when I yelled at him, the two of them gave me the guiltiest of looks..... already a duo!

Interactions: J is making a lot more eye contact, and will hold the gaze of both strangers and family members for much longer periods. She has also become quite insistent upon almost always being in the same room, if not actually touching you on some days. This can lead to some loud complaints from her when Chris and I actually try and get things done around the house, but if she's entertained (or Burton is amusing her!) she can stay engrossed for about 5 minutes. Burton is quickly becoming her best friend and she lights up when she sees him.

Moving: She is sitting up straight, completely on her own, and has begun to reach for items around her. Accidentally, J rolled over twice, but seems to shave no interest in intentionally rolling. When forced to be on her stomach, she has begun to push herself backwards and we often find her in the crib after sleeping in much different positions then we put her down in.

On the changing table she is a squirmy-mirmy though! It's hard to get the diaper on her somedays as she flips her body this way and that.

Newest Trick: Bottle holding is something we are working on, and she's just beginning to grasp the bottle herself, but can't quite get the angle of it. I practice by placing a pillow and blanket on her lap and let her go at it. When it starts to slide, she does actually grab for it and guides it back in, but it seems to be a bit to heavy for her still to get it fully up.

Eating: We are up to 3 meals a day and 4 bottles, each between 6-8ozs. J enjoys strongly flavored food, and will gladly accept anything coming from our plate. We often give her a piece of crusty bread while in the restaurant to keep her happy for a bit, but she's beginning to realize this is a distraction method and that there are much better things on our plates!

Sleeping: Still a great sleeper! 12+ hours at night and 3 naps a day. Her awake time is shorter in the morning (around 1.5 hours), then moves to about 2 hours and finally about 3.5 before her final nap. J has also begun just hanging out in her bed upon waking up from her night time sleep or a nap. This leaves Mommy and Daddy very happy b/c they then have time to make the tea, or just lay there for a few extra minutes. On a good day, J will lay in her crib for over a 1/2 hour, just playing with her toes and stuffed animals.

Talking: We're moving through the consonants: Dadadada was a few weeks ago, and a hot one at the moment is Nananana. No connection has been made between Dada and the actual person, but she enjoys practicing quite a bit! J is not one to hold her feelings back, and when not happy about something will complain quite loudly about it for LONG periods of time (or until is stops.) She doesn't cry, just loudly voices her opinion.

Overall, Jocelyn is a very happy baby that smiles easily and loves to be snuggled.

1st Family Vacation- Long Beach

Our little beach baby!!

Sacked out after a long day of hitting the waves!

Daddy doing some relaxing of his own with the Time out NY

We took our first family vacation very far from home... about 16 miles, but it felt like a life-time away! We rented a house out on Long Beach, LI, which is a great beach community filled with families and outdoor cafes (it thrilled us to no end to have so many choices- the Diner even had outdoor seating!)

The first day or two were an adjustment for Chris and I as we had to get used to vacationing as parents, not as a couple. That meant earlier mornings, and earlier evenings as well. But we figured out a schedule that worked for us that included morning walks along the boardwalk, afternoons at the beach, and J passing out exhausted at the end of each day and sleeping for 14 hours. I'd say it was a successful vacation!

J was a champ in the ocean, a bit nervous the first day, but by the 2nd and 3rd, she was very comfortable letting the waves roll up on her. Chris and I would sit at the oceans edge either on a chair or directly on the sand and just let the water come up on us. She was so tired each day from playing in the water, we had no problems putting her down for a nap right on the beach!

Since J is consistent with her bedtime of 6:30 (although there were nights that she wanted to hit the sack by 5:45 b/c she was so pooped) it gave Chris and I our alone time in the evenings. We would just sit out back on the patio or on the front porch and enjoy the sunsets and a nice glass of wine. Very relaxing and quite perfect.

Wet & Wild Days With Cousin Logan

Logan is showing J the wonders of the Sand & Water table. Anything that Logan does delights and amuses Jocelyn to no end! Oh, and can we check out those legs! Love them!!

Logan is giving Jocelyn some fashion tips- plastic is in this season... J isn't sold on the idea

Way #78 to amuse a baby- have her try and catch water

4th of July

The 4th of July was a nice long celebration this year, since it actually fell on a Sunday. We took the opportunity of a long weekend to head out to Long Island early and enjoy some summer breezes! The weekend was filled with a lot of family and tons of sunshine!

J's first trip to "Crabby Amy's" the clam shack that I've spent more then a relaxing at!

The annual Tomao 4th of July party! All dressed up in her red, white and blue!

J holding her own with the triplets! Aaron, Kyle and Tristan are 14 months and we look forward to seeing the 4 of them playing together!

"Is it a hair piece?!" We had a nice BBQ with the O'Brien's from Colorado, and J got to meet her great-nephew Mason

Hot Time, Summer in the City!

The days here in the city are heating up!

Thankfully, NYC is stocked with parks, waterfront, and friends with pools in their buildings! We've been enjoying all of them!

Getting out of downtown and enjoying Union Square Park with some friends- Sabella and Avery

J hangin' roof deck side after enjoying a swim at her bud Avery's pool

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One of the best parts of Manhattan- sidewalk cafes. Here, J is showing her newest talent of shoving an entire piece of bread in her mouth and eating it without hands.... ahhh, makes Mommy proud.