All he wants for Groundhogs Day are his 2 front teeth

It has been a long week. Joshua is having a terrible time teething right now. His gums are swollen and red and you can see the outline of his teeth under them, but those teeth just won't pop through. This means poorly-rested and grumpy baby and parents. We are hoping the teeth will hurry up. But enough griping...

These are some pictures we took at the university last week. We had a good time on a really pretty day in between several really rainy and cold days. Even with the driveway scrape on his forehead, the peg puzzle friction burn on his chin and a bedpost busted nose, he is quite a cutie!

Birthday Party

Joshua's E-I-E-I-O party was a hit. Our friend Amy made an awesome farm cake (as seen in the above video) that not only looked good but tasted good too.

As expected, Joshua enjoyed being the center of attention. He looked very handsome in the farm outfit Nana smocked for his birthday.

Opening presents was such fun. Joshua is opening But Not the Hippopotamus from GG in this picture.

He was ready for cake but waited patiently for the singing part to be over.

Abigail was such a fun party guest. She even wore her birthday cupcake outfit for the occasion. She and Joshua always have a good time stealing toys from each other.

Dave with the two party animals.

Below is a cake eating video. Joshua methodically destroyed his piece of birthday cake. He picked it apart one finger full at a time and ate a man-sized piece of cake. Toward the end as you will see in the video he just had to go for it and take a bite out of the big piece.

Another new post is below...check it out!

12-months old

Not only did Joshua turn 12-months old, he also allowed for a civilized photo to be taken of him. There is nothing like a kid in a batman shirt with only one visible tooth!

Today we had Joshua's one year check-up. He weighs 20 lbs 5 oz. and is 29 3/4 inches tall.

Joshua the Gnome

A little peak at Joshua's dance moves.

364 days old...

Tomorrow is Joshua's first birthday and if you ask him how old he is, he will show you (sometimes).

Joshua teaches us new things everyday. Some things we now know:

• A baby doesn't have to be one year old to try to play one parent off the other.
• You can watch the sunrise from the rocking chair in Joshua's room. It makes being awakened before sunrise a little easier when you can rock a snuggly baby and watch the sun come up.
• Telling Joshua "no" produces the same results as spanking him.
• Babies with ear infections are miserable and being away from home with a sick baby is miserable for the parents.

(photo taken on 1/7/10-it was snowing outside and we had just been out to check the mail. The Crimson Tide was about to play for the National Championship.)

It us unbelievable to us how much Joshua has grown up in one year. He gained another tooth this week...that makes 4! He continues to fight an ear infection in his right ear-hopefully round 2 of antibiotics will take care of it. Joshua loves to play peek-a-boo and will say boo to his reflection in the mirror and crack himself up. In addition to these new developments, these are things we know about Joshua:

• Joshua does not need music playing to dance. Sometimes the rhythm takes over and he starts dancing on the spot.
• Joshua loves to laugh and make others laugh.
• He is a problem solver. For example: Joshua spent 10 minutes last night figuring out how to move the chairs we had set up as a barricade at the door in order to get out of the living room.
• Joshua is very curious. He opens doors, drawers, cabinets, books, baskets, boxes, etc. just to see what is inside.

(Joshua also likes to remind you where the Crimson Tide is ranked after their win over Texas!)

We are celebrating Joshua's birthday Saturday with our families. Joshua is having an E-I-E-I-O party. We are looking forward to having everyone at our house celebrating with us.

The 2 weeks of Christmas

We celebrated Christmas for 2 weeks. We started at our house the Sunday before Christmas. Santa visited us early since we were going to be travelling later in the week.

Joshua's "big boy" chair

Dave's new electric hedge clippers!

Opening the fire station toys

I'm not sure who likes Joshua's remote control car more.

We arrived at our final destination (Dave's parents' house) in South Carolina on Wednesday. We were excited that Jonathan and Michele were able to spend Christmas with us and meet Joshua.

Opening presents on Christmas Day

We are going to have to work on Joshua's reaction to receiving clothes for Christmas. Joshua will be wearing his new red and white striped sweater, from Jonathan and Michele tomorrow for the National Championship game.

Sometimes it is easier to kick a present open then to use your hands.

Joshua liked Uncle Jonathan's new basketball.

E-I-E-I-O

While in South Carolina, we made a quick trip to Summerville to see Amelia's grandparents. Joshua wasn't feeling well that day and sat quietly in the lap of anyone who wanted to hold him.

Joshua's great-uncle Bruce

Showing Pop Pop love with a gentle head butt.

A sick baby snuggling with mom.

Unfortunately, Joshua got sicker that same night. We left South Carolina a day early in order to get closer to home and to see a doctor.

We saw a doctor in Birmingham and learned that Joshua had an ear infection. 2 medications and a few days of help from Aunt Beth and he was back to his old self.

We then travelled to Jackson to have Christmas with Amelia's family on New Year's Eve.

Abigail opening her present from Joshua-peg puzzles!

Joshua's first Longaberger basket from Grandma. It has a basketball lid.

Joshua and Nana waiting patiently for Coach to pass out the presents.

The trash from Christmas on New Year's Eve!

Coach and Joshua play with one of the Christmas presents from Abigail.