put me in coach...

Joshua is ready to play t-ball.  Actually, he really wants to play baseball and skip the hitting off the tee stuff.

He was very excited for his first practice.  He thought he was hot stuff with his new glove and bat that Coach and Nana gave him.

Coach started practice off by asking the boys what they wanted their team name to be.  With 12 boys on the team there were 12 different suggestions.

Joshua did great at practice.  He hit the ball several times and had a great time throwing the ball to his teammate.  Catching the ball however, is not yet something that could be listed on Joshua's baseball card as a strong suit.

The stance = perfected!

By the end of practice, the team name was narrowed down from 12 to 3 choices....lions, tigers, and sharks.  The final decision = "tiger sharks because lion sharks aren't real."

Go Tiger Sharks!

Anna Ruth: 10 months old

How do the months go by so quickly?  Our little baby is turning into a little girl and I can't her stop!

These two.  They love each other!

Anna Ruth is all smiles about turning 10 months old.
She loves to laugh and talks up a storm.  I'm not ready to declare "mama" as her first word but she uses it pretty consistently when I (amelia) come into the room.

You can't tell from this picture but Anna Ruth has 8 teeth.  She puts everything in her mouth and will chew on a teether for hours.  She continues to be a good eater.  She loves baby food and tolerates "big people" food.  I think she prefers to be fed and doesn't want to bother with putting solid food in her own mouth...such a princess!

Anna Ruth is very curious.  Now that she is crawling (and crawling fast) she is into everything.  She especially loves Joshua's toys...they taste the best.

Sleeping patterns have had their hiccups with teething in full force but for the most part, this sweet girl loves to sleep.

Nicknames have been a topic of discussion in our house and on the blog since we found out Anna Ruth was a girl.  Currently she has quite a list of nicknames that are used regularly.  The most common are "Punkapoo" and "JuJu."  We call her "Punkapoo" at home and her teacher at school calls her "JuJu" (short for "Juicy").  Don't worry, we are starting to raise funds for the therapy she will require later in life.

Joshua is an awesome big brother.  He looks after Anna Ruth and is concerned about all things that pertain to her.  He makes sure to kiss and hug her every morning when we drop her off with her teacher and every night before he goes to bed.  This morning I was uploading this pictures while Joshua was eating breakfast and the following conversation took place:
J: "Oh mama, Punka is so cute in those pictures."
A: "She sure is.  I especially like this one of the two of you together."
J: "Yeah, it's good.  You know, that reminds me.  Are you going to get her up this morning?  Because I'm ready for her to wake up so I can say 'good morning.'"
 

a girl and her lovie

Anna Ruth loves her lovie.

As long as she has it close by she is primed for a good rest.

Her at-home lovie is a purple hippo, sometimes she holds 2 at once.

Her at-school lovie is a pink rabbit.

As she is falling asleep she usually holds it in her left hand and tries to suck her thumb and love her lovie at the same time.

I can't think of much cuter than this little girl!

A good night's sleep always makes for a happy baby!