Joshua Daniel: One Year

Our little miracle boy is one! This past year has probably been one of the hardest years for our family, but it's also been full of tender mercies and many blessings.

Joshua is so close to crawling. I have been in no rush to see that happen, and with his adjusted age being ten months he still has time before he's considered developmentally delayed, but we've been doing things to try and help him get it figured out. And then there's no turning back and real chaos will ensue ha. He's figured out how to spin around while sitting and laying on his stomach so he can get to whatever he wants as long as it's within reach around him.
Edited to add: When I wrote this earlier he hadn't crawled yet, but while I was at my young women's activity tonight Dan informed me that he did. I got to see a little bit of army crawling when I got home but not the real thing yet. So let the chaos ensue!
Joshua has two bottom teeth that are starting to poke through. You can tell he's been hurting from them coming in and that's always sad. He's doing better with food and can gum some softer things like tiny bits of waffles, eggs, bread, etc. He has really been enjoying those teether wafer sticks, I think they must make his mouth feel better because they do not have much taste to them. He is also figuring out how to drink out of his little sippy cup. He still likes to chew on it more than drink out of it though. He still wakes up most nights to eat once in the middle of the night. Most of the time when I'm done feeding him he'll lay his head on my shoulder for maybe 10-20 seconds. I love that little time when he snuggles. Then he pops his head up and kind of points toward his crib. He wants to lay down to sleep and I wish he'd cuddle with me more! He loves to cuddle with his blanket and can't sleep without it.
Joshua fits perfectly in his six month clothes. I've been putting him in some six to nine month ones, and those work pretty well too. Even though he is growing, he's still so small. He's in size two diapers, but we will probably be moving up to threes soon.
Joshua is babbling more and more, but still no words yet. Sometimes I think he's trying to keep up with his sisters noise level because occasionally he will make some loud sounds. Thankfully it isn't very often or high pitched and it usually makes me laugh. He makes an O with his mouth a lot and I love that. He is getting more expressive.
Joshua is such a wiggle worm. I thought my girls were, but he is next level. He will rarely ever sit still. And he likes it better when I am up walking around with him than when I'm sitting, especially at church. He gets really excited and kicks his legs when he sees any of us coming to closer to him. It's fun to see how happy he is when we go out and wait for his sisters to get off the bus. They still fight over holding him and smother him all the time.
Josh loves to drum on things and Dan calls him little drummer boy. He has also become really interested in books and loves to turn the pages.

He's just like another doll to his sisters. This is apparently his girlfriend and they had a little wedding for them.

Finally fits in his Christmas gift from Aunt Britt.

Sucking on those fingers to help him fall asleep.

We met up with Dad after work for a lunch date.

Little guy was sick again so he did sleep in my arms for maybe half an hour.

First time sitting in the grass, and of course he tried to eat it.

Another lunch date with Dad.

And here are some of my favorites from his cake smash session. He is "One Tough Cookie!" Couldn't resist that theme with my love of cookies and because he's been my fighter since day one.

Love my baby boy, so much!

Joshua Daniel: Eleven Months

This past month seemed to fly by! I cannot believe Joshua will be one next month.

Joshua has made some progress with sleep and food this past month! Hooray! Once we got back home from Utah, he started sleeping so much better. It was also easier to let him cry a little bit more without worrying about him waking people up. Some nights he sleeps through the night (hallelujah!) and others he still needs to eat once. I'm so grateful to be getting more sleep! He will still use his fingers to help him fall asleep and has to have his blanket.
He has finally figured out how to eat food and seems to be more interested in it now. We mostly do baby food but I'll try and give him some little bits of egg or pancake or bread if we're eating it. He's getting better at keeping his puffs in his mouth instead of spitting them out a few times before eventually swallowing or getting it stuck in his fingers or high chair. I had always planned on breastfeeding him 'til his adjusted one year mark (end of October), but I also thought he'd be eating more food more often by now. We will roll with things however they end up working out, since he has had his own plans since day one!
Little man did well on his flight back to Dallas. I enjoyed the sleepy snuggles since I don't get those much anymore. He prefers to sleep laying down in his crib and not in my arms. He has fallen asleep in the swing at the gym childcare. The one we have at home stopped working so we don't use it anymore.
One of the times I picked him up from the childcare the worker told me how busy he is for such a little guy. It was funny that she noticed that in the hour that he was in there. So far it has proven to be true that he has been busier than his sisters and doesn't sit still like they did. I usually spend some time of Sacrament meeting each Sunday out in the hall walking around with him.
Joshua can STILL fit in some of his 3-6 month clothes, but has mostly transitioned to six months. I tried putting on one of his nine month outfits last week and the shorts were falling off him. He weighed 17 pounds at his recent OMFS (oral and maxillofacial surgeon) appointment so he is growing. I think most of his weight is in his head ha. And speaking of his OMFS appointment, he does not need a helmet! So that was good news and we are officially done with follow ups there.
Joshua had a NICU follow up appointment the day after we got back home from Utah. He still isn't crawling but they don't worry about that until his adjusted age of one. So he has three months to figure that out. I am not pushing it too hard cause everything will change once he becomes mobile. The girls were with us at his OMFS appointment for the first time since they're out of school and as we were leaving one the nurses said, "That boy's feet are never going to touch the ground," since she saw how they all fight over him and want to hold him. That made me laugh cause it's the truth.
Josh's hair is getting long enough for me to style it. And it curls a little on its own after he gets out of the bath. It's remained a dirty blonde. And his eyes look hazel or brown depending on what he is wearing. He is still pretty serious most of the time. The girls and I can get some good smiles from him but he mostly stares at strangers.
Josh got some good cousin love in while we were in Utah. He started getting used to my parents when it was about time for us to leave. He has done well at the gym with the workers since coming back home. Hoping I can leave him with a babysitter soon and not stress about it too much. He's definitely a mama's boy, but that's kind of how it goes when his dad works all the time and no family is around.

4th of July Parade.

Make shift bed on the floor at Grandma and Graddad's.

Sleeping on the airplane.

Sleeping at the waterpark in the wagon.

Celebrating his first hooligan day!

I was not very good at taking photos of him this past month. Poor last kid haha.