News From the Homefront

Maddie had a great week! She had her try outs for her Junior High Drill Team and she made the team! As if we had any doubt at all....ha!

The girls are so busy now I feel like I never see them anymore! I bought Alex a dress the other day posted "Thank you for my dress Nikki!" on my wall on Facebook. I think that's a combination of sad because I hardly see her anymore and sweet because she wanted to make sure and thank me. I hope we that isn't a sign that going into the teenage years, we will only communicate by Facebook....sigh.

I got to spend a day last week with my friend Jenny who lives in Carson City, NV. She was in Austin for a business conference and had a day free between her activities. We were roomates when we did our internship at GM in Michigan and I haven't seen her in years. She had her baby Kenley one month before Joe was born. It was so great to catch up and explore Austin together! Not to mention that I had a "Mother's Day Out!" (Thank you Do and Grandma!)

We are eating Amy's Ice Cream in this picture. That was on Jenny's "must do" list for Austin.

I think we've mentioned before that Joe is a puff addict. For anyone unfamiliar with puffs, these are gerber toddler treats. Little star shaped flavored wheat puffs that disolve in your mouth. He goes insane for them. One morning, I had him in the booster chair in the bathroom while I was getting ready for work. There was a canister of puffs nearby on the counter. Next thing I know, I look over and he's gotten the canister (from behind his booster seat), has opened the lid, and has his whole arm in there. Another time, he had the canister up to his mouth with puffs pouring out over his face. I tried both times to get video but no such luck.

We have a new game in our house. It's called "So where did you find puffs today?" We've found puffs in his pants, in the garage, under the drivers side of Grandma's car, and in Grandma's suitcase. He's like Hansel leaving a trail of puffs behind him.

Joe's been getting into all kinds of mischief lately. I've had a glimpse into the future and I'm not sure I like it. He's started laughing when I tell him no. For example, he bites my shoulder and I say sternly, "Joe, that hurts Mommy. We don't bite." and he looks at me, smiles (devilishly) and laughs. I'm not trying to be funny. I really hope that's just a phase that he'll grow out of.

On his other list of new fun things to do....

*Explore the pantry, freezer and refrigerator. Our refrigerator door beeps when it's been open for a certain amount of time and he kept crying when we would try to shut it. So the alarm just kept going on and on. See pictures below

* Feed the dogs. He MUST have learned this from Grandma.

* Climbing down off the couch. He's figured out he can turn over on his belly and scooch backwards off the couch.

* Climbing up the stairs. He really likes to do this himself and really, really doesn't want any help. He pushes hands away when we try to help him.

* Winking - Not sure how he learned to do this but it's hilarious.

* Clapping. He's so cute when he claps! He claps even when we say the word clap...or when we say "yeah Joe!!" It's the new trick I use to keep him still while I change his diaper. Normally it's like a wrestling match to get his diaper on. But if I say "where's my clapper?" he just keeps clapping and stays still. I'm sure this will only work for a few days, but I'll take it.

"Wabbit Season!"

This week was a big week for Maddie. She got her braces. We had only a few months between Alex's braces coming off and Maddie's braces going on. She still looks beautiful though! This picture is of GMS (Grandma Sherri) and Maddie on Easter Sunday.

We went over to Alex and Maddie's Mom's house (Nada) so that Joe could go to their neighborhood Easter party. He was napping so he missed the egg hunt, but he did get to see the two pet bunnies. He wasn't so sure about the bunnies....and it looks like the bunny wasn't too sure about him either.


We had Joe's one year pictures taken yesterday. Once we get them in I'll put a few out here for everyone to see. He was not in typical laid back Joe form. He pretty much cried the whole time and the poor photographer definitely had to earn her money that day. Paul and I still have nightmares where she's screaming "WASADOIN" and the stuffed bear is floating around above our heads. As much as that might have creeped us out, Joe thought it was hilarious and we got some good pics.

After pictures, we had lunch at Panera Bread. While we were eating, a little girl, maybe 10 years old, at a nearby table walked by and asked what his name was. We told her his name was Joe and she paused and said "he's beautiful." It was the sweetest thing! Paul still thinks she was really asking about him, and not Joe. I'm certain it was the other way around.


For Easter, we had GMS and GPJ (Grandpa Jim) over for dinner. I should say, we had them over, and GPJ cooked dinner. GMS brought the kids Easter presents. Joe's present was a book and Gerber puffs. He is ADDICTED to puffs so he immediately started flailing his arms. She definitely knows the way into his heart. Here's a cute picture of the kids on Easter.

Here's a picture of Joe riding in his new car. He got this for his birthday and he LOVES it. He rides pretty well in the stroller, but after a while he wants out. In this, we can go forever and he doesn't make a peep. He just looks and points and takes it all in. All while "steering" his car. I really wanted to get a picture of him chilling with one hand on the steering wheel and the other draped over the back of the car, but he moved every time I tried to get a picture.

Maddie and Joe have a little thing they do.....here's a video of it. They do this all the time. It's like their own little language.