A Visit, Smiles & Baths

Last week we took a trip up to Salt Lake to visit with my family. We stayed with my mom. We got to visit with my dad too over lunch at Red Robin (one of my favorite restaurants) but Joseph was sleeping then, which was good so that he wasn't fussy while we were eating, but I would have liked to get him out of his seat and take a picture of him with his Grandpa Ball. Oh well, there will be other times. We also visited with Greg's parents who wanted to see Joseph. He is their first great-grandchild, although not a blood relation. We also visited with my Grandma Casto. Joseph is her 8th out of 9 great-grandchildren (I believe.) It was good to see her. She told us a lot of some of the births of her own children, which was fun to listen to. And just before we headed back home, we visited with my best friend from high school, but I didn't get any pictures of that either.

Uncle Chandler (11)

Aunt Saydi (7)

Uncle McKay (4)



Great-Grandma VanDyke

Great-Grandpa VanDyke

Great-Grandma Casto

The latest exciting news with Joseph is his smiles! He's been smiling for a few weeks now and it is so much fun! I love interacting with him. When he's fed and happy he likes to coo and smile... I will sit him up against my knees and usually sing songs to him. He really loves that! Sometimes I get tired of singing before he gets tired of listening! All I have to say is camp songs and primary songs sure come in handy being a singing mom!

not a smile, but I love the sweet look on his face!





a little adorable pouty lip for good measure

And as far as "firsts" go, you may be wondering where the "first bath" pictures are... well, we've had plenty of bathtimes, but no pictures yet because Joseph HATES them! We are so focused on getting him cleaned as fast as we can and out of the water. It would be torturous to him to leave him in the water a second longer to grab a camera! John hates giving him baths too because he feels so bad for him! The one thing that the both of them like though is cuddling with each other as soon as it's all said and done. John gathers him up in a towel and hugs him close and Joseph is always immediately calm in his daddy's arms.