18 Month Pictures

Here are some great pictures from this past week from Portrait's Innovations.

Josephine behaved so well while having her pictures made. Two weeks ago we tried to have her pictures made, but it turns out she was sick and wouldn't do anything. She would smile this time and do whatever we asked her to do. We also went to the Little Gym and got 3 new fish that night. Josephine still goes over to the fish tank to check out the new fish.

Nathan, Josephine, and I went to the pool yesterday afternoon inbetween thunderstorms. Josephine had a blast. She jumped off the side and even let me push her off the diving board to Nathan. She really enjoyed the diving board. She also "swam" by herself for a few seconds. Nathan and I would hold her and let go, she would kick her legs, and hold her breath. We would pick her up quickly, but it was still impressive. In the baby pool, she would float on her stomach and go forward by walking on her hands and kick. It was impressive. The pool manager or whoever commented on how well Josephine was doing.

We went to the zoo this morning with Naomi, Aunt Moug, and Granna. The girls each rode in their own car and had a blast. Josephine was especially excited by the pig at the bird show. She remembered it from last time and was asking for the pig as soon as we sat down.

Josephine said "Ratch" for Grannie Ratch this evening. Grannie was very pleased. Josephine is saying more and more words everyday. She still says "pee" and "poop" whenever she needs to get a new diaper. It's funny.

I'll put up another update next week.

Little Gym

Josephine loves to play with the balls at the Little Gym.


Josephine received a medal at the end of the semester at the Little Gym.


Josephine hanging all by herself on the bar.


Josephine jumping down from the balance beam.

As you can see, Josephine is still enjoying The Little Gym. These pictures were from 2 weeks ago. It was the last day of the spring semester and they had their "medal ceremony". She wears hers proudly around the house.

Josephine is doing better as far as her red blood cell count goes. She's still getting more energy and eating most of the day. She went for her 18-month checkup last Wednesday. She's about 22 lbs. and about 32 in. long. On Wednesday night she came down with a fever that didn't go away until Sunday night. We aren't sure what caused it, whether it be a virus, the immunizations, the anemia (probably not), or something else we don't know about. Today she's doing better, but she's still pretty pale. I may take her back to the doctor, but I'm not sure yet. As long as she's not developing any more symptoms I guess she'll be ok.

Josephine is talking alot more now. At least, we're able to understand more of what she's saying. She's always asking for cupcakes. She had one a few weeks ago and hasn't stopped asking for them since. She's also had her first french fries, potato chips, and banana pudding in the past couple weeks. She still likes her sweet potatoes and bananas, though. : ) Other cute things she says is "Here it is." It sounds like one word, but it's sweet. "Where'd it go? All gone." It sounds more like "w' go? All gone." She has a cute hand motion for that one too.

Coloring with crayons in her coloring book is one of her favorite activities now. She's getting better about applying enough pressure to actually leave a mark. If you ask her, every color is purple. She knows the different colors but likes to say the word purple.

We went to the pool about a week ago and Josephine had a blast. It was really cold, though. Josephine insisted on jumping off the side. We made her stop after 45 minutes or so because she was turning blue and purple. She was so excited. When I'm sure she's feeling better we'll probably join the local pool so she can go more often.

I'll post again in a couple weeks as long as nothing big happens with Josephine.

Josephine is doing better!

Elizabeth and Josephine playing outside. This is the face she makes when you tell her to smile.


Josephine in "doggie ears". Her hair is getting so long. This picture if a few weeks old. You can see how pale she was when she was anemic.



Josephine watering her plants as usual.





Josephine is doing better! Her red blood cell count is going up, she's getting color in her skin and, and she has more energy. She's wearing me out! And eating every waking minute. I just keep a package of crackers on the table for her. I take her back to the doctor on Wednesday to check her red blood cell count again. I wouldn't be surprised if she was back to normal by then. I didn't realize how much her behavior had changed when she was sick until now.



I bought a sprinkler for Josephine to play in last week. She is so excited about it. She won't run through it alone, though, she will only do it with Nathan. They are playing in it right now. : ) Nathan just informed me that she loves being SuperBaby flying through the sprinkler head first. She giggles the whole time. She''s also obsessive about baths right now. Someone gave her a huge rubber duckie and ever since then she has been asking for a bath at least once an hour. The past two days in a row she's poopped in the tub, though. : ( Not fun to clean up. Another obsession is collecting eggs at Granna's. She says "eggs" (sounds like "ice") and points to the garage door, wanting to go to the farm. Yet another obsession is her bowls. Everything she eats has to be in her "bowl bowl". She won't eat peas, but she will eat peas in her bowl bowl. It's all in the way you say it. : )

One big development/change around here is that Josephine is going to sleep by herself in her own crib instead of me rocking her. She was getting too mean--pulling hair and earrings to get a reaction--while I was rocking her. Either Nathan or I usually have to stay in the room with her until she falls asleep (usually without crying), but it's a step in the right direction.



Naomi's first birthday party was last weekend at Granna's. Granna bought a pool for the girls to play in. After putting some warm tap water in the pool, the girls had a good time.



Josephine (18 months) and Naomi (12 months) playing in the pool at Granna's.


Naomi playing in the water. Isn't she cute?


Josephine sporting her sun hat, sunglasses, and farm outfit (it has chickens on it). She 18 months old this week, what more can you say? : )