Uh-Oh

Well, I thought I ought to get in one more blog post before the end of the year. I haven't been a very good blogger lately. It may be because I'm in one of those life modes where I've been figuratively holding my breath and waiting to do much of anything until some kind of sense of order makes its way back into my life. And it is slowly returning. Being back home for good helps a lot. Being through the holidays helps a lot. Knowing that I'm starting school on Monday and that, at least for now, I have a way to get myself there helps a lot too.

Anyway, there is so much I haven't blogged about, so here goes!

"Uh-oh" is Joseph's first word. John is mainly the one who taught it to him. Whenever he'd be holding Joseph and he was holding something and then would throw it, John would say, "uh-oh!" And Joseph would repeat him, but only as far as the "uh." Then one night while I was gone they were playing with a small ball together and Joseph threw it high and far and it landed behind the computer desk (where it will stay.) Then before John could even react much, Joseph said loud and clear: "uh-oh!" And the rest is history. He says it ALL the time now whenever he drops something.

riding in the tractor with John

As far as words he's spoken, he also says "doggie," when looking at pictures of them in a book, but only sometimes. And he has said "mama" and "daddy" although not directly towards one of us or without us prompting him, so I'm not fully counting those yet. And I swear he copied John saying "thank you" once, but I'm not counting that either.

Now signing is a different story. I've been doing baby signing with him since he was 4 months old and he's now to the point where my consistency with it is paying off and it is SOOOO much fun to see him signing! His first sign he did was "fan" because he LOVES them, and that was a while ago. He's added to that the following signs: milk, more, cereal, all done/gone, and dog. My absolute favorite to watch him sign is "more." Oh my heck it is so stinkin' cute.

Other signs that he recognizes are: eat, cracker, drink, juice, water, cat, mom, dad, & socks. He's also waving goodbye when people leave. The first time he did it he was happy with himself and while looking at his hand waving goodbye, it reminded him of his sign for fan so suddenly he got really excited, started signing fan and looking up at the fan and laughing.

Joseph has got his two bottom teeth, FOUR now on the top and is working on more. He's had this thing where he will only sleep through the night if he is sleeping between John and I. I don't mind him sleeping in the middle, but what is annoying is that more often than not, we'll get him to sleep and then lay him down, but he'll wake back up and then stay up with us until we go to bed because he doesn't stay asleep unless he's sleeping with us. And I don't go to bed as early as I'd like him to be going to bed. Although I definitely should start going to bed earlier.

where I WISH Joseph would sleep every night

When he sees pictures (or the real thing), Joseph makes sounds like monkeys and dogs. (If you haven't picked it up on it yet, Joseph really really likes dogs!) He also loves to growl. The funniest is when me or John is doing something and we grrrr in frustration, wherever Joseph is, he'll copy us. His favorite toys are balls, books, and anything with music.

This cracks me up. Whenever a movie is on, he doesn't really pay much attention to it. But when the credits start going? He starts watching the screen and dancing the whole way through them! Another thing that he always does is clap along if someone is clapping or cheering on tv. He also will "brush" his hair with whatever he is holding when we tell him to. He does it without being told if he is actually holding a brush or comb. And he loves to brush his teeth too. He holds his toothbrush in his mouth and shakes his head back and forth.

And I guess the biggest news with Joseph that I missed was that he celebrated his first whole year being here!!! It was the day before Thanksgiving and we had traveled up north to be with family. We got to celebrate his birthday with his Grandpa & Grandma Ball.

Grandpa showing Joseph how the lighter works

We gave him a birthday cupcake and the first thing he did was reach out and touch the flame out.

the HAPPY birthday boy

So we lit it again, sang happy birthday and then Grandma helped him blow out the candle. He was totally unsure about the whole eating the cupcake thing for a while until Grandma helped him dig in.

In other family news: John had the opportunity to ordain my brother Russell to the office of Elder. I am so proud of Russ and I love him so much! He is such a great example to me of living by faith in the Lord.

Russell & his wife, Rachel

We went up north again the weekend before Christmas for my sister's baptism.

Congratulations on your baptism, Saydi!!

We took the opportunity to get a family picture of us all together. So now I've got an updated family picture of my family on both my mom & dad's side! yahoo!

Top: Rachel & Russell, Judy & my dad
Bottom: John, Joseph & me, Elaine & Kristen

I had to do some major gimping on the VanDyke family picture and I am so pleased with the results. I think it's a great family picture!

what I started with


The finished product!
Top: me & John, Rachel & Russell, Elaine & Kristen
Bottom: Saydi, Chandler, Greg & my mom, Joseph, McKay

And speaking of family pictures, we got ours taken too! My good friend Jenny took them for us. And I absolutely love them. (see more of her work) Here are my favorites:

John is still looking for some full time work. He had a promising encounter yesterday with a cabinet shop that is like a block away from our house. He'll find out for sure about that job after the holiday.

I'm starting school on Monday! aaaaah! I'm going to SUU, which will be about a 40 minute commute from my house. I'm taking two sociology classes back to back: global issues in sociology and sociology of popular culture. I am looking forward to doing this. It's my first step on a road map towards a goal that will take at least 8 years to accomplish!

Joseph with his Aunt Elaine

Christmas was a lot of fun. We had our own little family Christmas morning together for the first time, and I really enjoyed it. We slept in until 8 am, made breakfast and then got Joseph up and opened our gifts.

notice Joseph is only interested in his new toys

what an adorable face looking at all the things under the tree

this horse sings: "I'm a little pony, clippity clop, clippity clop, such a pretty pony, clippity clop, clippity clop" and John and I get it stuck in our head like nothing else!

I'm so grateful for my husband and my son. They totally complete me. And I'm so grateful for our wonderful family members also who show so much love and care towards us. We are so blessed!

Joseph playing with his awesome birthday gift from Grandma & Grandpa Ball

I had a birthday on the 26th. Celebrated the end of my 28th year! I can't believe it. John and I went to see The Princess and the Frog. Not really sure what I was expecting, but I was looking forward to see it and I was not impressed. I don't recommend it and I don't really care to watch it again.

Anyway... there you have it. Somewhat of an update, interspersed with random pictures from the past few months. :) And some little videos for whoever cares to watch them. Probably only grandmothers. :)

Joseph signing "fan"


Playing mom's new pots on Christmas morning

Joseph's 1st Birthday - in case you weren't there and wished you were