Stockings - Socks - Boots

Joey found some old stocking and thought they needed to go on his feet. I don't know if he thought they were socks or boots, but it was pretty funny. He...was not so amused.

Joey: 27 Months

Where has the last month gone? At 27 months Joey is busier than ever! From the second he opens his eyes in the morning, until the moment his head crashes into his pillow at night, this kiddo is running at full speed and talking up a storm. Conversations are being much easier. He understands us more and we understand him. We still have frustrated moments when Joey tries to express his feelings or thoughts and can't get them out, so he has a little melt down. Most of the time we can work through them with minimal tears, but it's a work in progress.

Joey is weighing in right around the 25 pound mark, slow and steady wins the race. :)

Joey continues to love to play with dinosaurs, read books, play with cars, trains, trucks, balls, legos...the list goes on. He's all boy for sure! Joey loves movies. He's particularly fond of Rise of the Guardians, Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Happy Feet.

He's a complete joy and makes us laugh daily. Joey's still a bit of a picky eater, but has a serious sweet tooth - ice cream, cake, candy...the list goes on. He also has a special place for chips.

Check the photo of this little cutie this month!

Yummy Christmas Dinner!

We enjoyed a yummy Christmas dinner together - ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, peas, rolls and a chocolate pie.

Joey on the "Jump Jump"

Joey got a trampoline for Christmas and while I was putting it together, the sweet little man patiently waited and looked out the window. Once it was complete, there was no keeping him off it.

Easel is a hit!

Santa brought Joey an easel. I think he's a fan! :)

Merry Christmas!

The holiday season has been especially enjoyable this year. Joey is picking up on so much and really loves it. When we drive down a street and he sees Christmas lights he will point and scream at the top of his lungs “Kiss-mis Wites!” He will say “Merry Kiss-mis” on command. He loves Christmas movies, especially the Grinch, and he’s partial to the Jim Carey version. So much so, that we picked up a Grinch ornament for the tree for him this year. Joey is totally on board with all things Christmas this year, except for the actual Santa visit. He will point Santa out and say Santa, but wasn’t a fan of the big man in a red suit.

I was a little worried about how Joey would coexist with the Christmas tree this year, but I’m happy to report that he did wonderfully. I left the bulb ornaments off this year on purpose and strategically positioned “Joey approved” ornaments on the bottom and those that were too pretty for him to touch way up high. He loved walking around the tree pointing out ornaments and telling me what each of them is. He also enjoyed turning the lights on and off. Presents under the tree were quite interesting. The first present we put down, he tried to open. He understood rather well that he had to wait until Christmas and left them alone. He was right there every day to inspect if there were new presents under the tree though. It was funny, on Christmas morning, we had to tell him it was ok for him to open the presents. The excitement and surprise on his face was priceless.

Here are a few photos from Christmas morning for everyone to enjoy. It was super successful and we’re excited to see the changes the next year will bring.

Patiently Waiting for Santa

Visting Santa

I was a little worried about Joey's visit with Santa this year. Guess my fears were right on track. While Joey didn't melt down, he wasn't happy. He wouldn't sit on Santa's lap and had little interest in being anywhere near him.

Usually we get a few photos to choose from. This year we got one, and we were lucky to get that.

Christmas Crafts!

I am lucky enough to have almost two weeks off work to spend with my little guy! We started this Christmas Eve off by crafting a couple of dinosaur ornaments for the tree.

 

This afternoon, some cookie baking and a Christmas movie are on the agenda, for sure!

Daddy/Joey Time

I love moments like this!

Baby It's Cold Outside

All bundled up and less than pleased about it.

Cozy PJs

I just love cozy PJ days!

Joey: 26 Months

Joey is weighing in right around 24 pounds and is busy as ever. His verbal skills continue to grow. He says countless words and is talking in at least 5-6 word sentences. It’s fun to watch his brain think through what we’re saying to him and come up with a response. He is definitely not afraid to speak his mind.

Joey continues to enjoy running, jumping, playing outside, reading books, playing with cars, trains, legos, blocks, balls and so much more. He’s starting to enjoy coloring and will ask to color whenever he sees a box of crayons.

For his 26 month photo, Joey’s sporting his dinosaur pjs and slippers. He likes to put on his “dinosaur feet.”

 

Elmo donut

Those of you that know my husband well know that he loves donuts. He will never turn them down for breakfast and will often "volunteer" to go get them himself. Joey is starting to catch the "donut bug" as well. Joe suggested donuts for breakfast this morning and eagerly headed out to get some. He saw one he thought Joey would be a fan of and had to pick it up.

What a ham!

The colder weather is starting to set in and this was a cool enough day to bust out the heavier coat and hat. Joey didn't want to take his monkey hat off - go figure!

Playtime

Just a little playtime. What a busy little bee.

Apples!

I found a new fruit Joey not only likes, but requests on a frequent basis. Score!

More Strawberries!

I found a video hiding from early October. So here it is!

Joey loves strawberries!!!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our little pirate!

We took Joey trick or treating tonight and he had a blast! He was a little timid at first, but started running up to houses, picking his treats out of the bowl, even saying trick or treat to people. He got a little tuckered out toward the end and we carried him the last half block. He did great!

Scary Movies

Halloween is one of Joe's favorite holidays. He loves the scary movies, costumes, decor, haunted houses...the list is endless. He watches countless scary movies the entire week of Halloween. Something tells me it may be rubbing off on Joey. Luckily, it was more cheesy than scary. =)

Home Sick

Poor little Joey came down with a stomach bug, so we had a Mommy/Joey day at home. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay home/work from home. The poor little guy didn't perk up for much, but the Pedia-Lite popsicle seemed to do the trick.

Pumpkin carving

We carved pumpkins today. Joey lost interest after about five minutes or so, so Joe and I finished up.

Joey: 25 Months

Joey continues to amaze me with his verbal skills. I feel like he's changing every day. He understands what we're saying to him and repeats so much. New words over the past month include: basketball, soccer ball, giraffe, elephant, gator, waffle, grapes. We've even taught him to say Happy Halloween and Trick or Treat, just in time for the upcoming holiday.

He's also started to pick out more family members in pictures and call them by name: Aunt Steph, Uncle Travis, Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, John. He also says Eli and Adley - he can say each of his aunts, uncles and cousins names. He will pick birds and planes out in the sky and is obsessed with the moon. He's constantly looking for it. We are trying to convey the message that he can only see the moon when it's dark.

Joey is a happy kiddo. He loves to dance! Any music that's on will do. He continues to do the Hot Dog Dance and will sing more words along with it. He has also started doing Ring Around the Rosy - usually on his own, unprompted.

Joey is inquisitive - always asking questions: What's that, Who's that, What are you doing, etc. He's very nosey. =)

Although I always seem to feel like this kid has gotten heavier in the last month, he's hovering at right around 23 pounds, so not much different than last time.

This month's photo is another from the trip to the pumpkin patch this morning. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Patch

Joey and I headed to a local pumpkin patch to pick out this year's pumpkins.

Decisions, decisions. Which pumpkin to choose?

Loading him up!

Apparently he's ready to go. =)

Night Eyes

We took Joey over to Blank Park Zoo to Night Eyes so he could trick or treat through the zoo. He got to see a few animals while he was there too.