Christmas 2008

We had a delightful holiday week! Mom says it’s one of the most relaxing she can remember. It started Sunday as we headed to Gammi and Papa’s (notice I changed her name to “Gammi,” so mom says we’ll go with that). I ate all kinds of good things (as usual) and we went to some fun parties – at the Bradfords I played with my new friends Reece and Ava Gray. Christmas eve we went to church and mom and I joined the procession of children who brought the baby Jesus up to the manger. Then, we went to Great Gram’s house for dinner and to open our stockings and a few gifts, too. I got a “cell phone” from Great Gram and a baby doll from Gammi and Papa. To mom’s delight the baby is not Caucasian (she wants me grow up appreciating many different ethnicities!) We named him Moses and now he has a brother T-Shawn, which I named after one of Grandma Jeanne’s friend’s sons. Afterward, I entertained everyone at the Shums with my favorite yoga position – the down dog! We headed for Leavenworth Christmas morning to see Grandpa Carl & Grandma Jeanne & Uncle Alex. We all gathered around the tree to open gifts – I opened some cool new books and then ran off with them while everyone else opened their gifts. Finally, they lured me back in and I discovered all sorts of goodies – even a high chair and a cradle for my baby dolls! We watched daddy played in an alumni basketball tournament at IMAC. I wasn’t sure at first about the whistles and the buzzer and daddy being jostled around out there, but then I decided it was pretty fun to run around the bleachers and watch people. As we watched, I kept saying, “Go Daddy!” He loved having us there. In the last week, my vocabulary has exploded. I like to say, “C’mere!” and “OH MY GOSH!” “I see you!” (which I kept saying at Christmas eve mass in the cry room). I like to point at the dollar bill and say “George Washington.” I like bust out singing “Happy Birthday, Jesus” like mom taught me at Christmas. Tomorrow is my last day with Miss Peggy before I begin Lil’s Sprouts next week. Mom and Dad are praying for a smooth transition!

From the desk of Josephine:

OK, I’m WAYYYY behind with my blog update. Mom and Dad have been dragging me all over creation (actually, being a true socialite, I love it!) Most recently, we spent a week together in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Our generous friend Jack gave us a week in his timeshare! Here are a coupla pix. I learned some Spanish and said HOLA over and over. Other favorites were: Buenos Dias, Buenos Noches, and Josefina (the name of my new Mexican doll). Our room was really nice with 2 balconies that I loved to play on. However, I just wanted to be outside ALL the time.“Outside!  Outside!” I kept saying. And also “Elevator! Ding-dong.” I LOVE the elevator and the sound it makes. Still not sure about the water. I usually resist it and then end up having a good time in the pool. DEFINITELY didn’t like the wet sand on my feet. I saw the ocean for the first time, which was really cool.Mom and Dad took a MILLION pictures. Grammi and Papa flew down and spent a few days with me so mom and dad could have enjoy some romantic outings together. Whatever. I don't know how they could stand to be without me. I'm becoming quite independent and i prefer to go where i want to go. If you want to me walk left, i'll probably go right. I enjoy the word NO. Mom says i'm establishing my boundaries. Dad says i'm just being a turd like he was when he was my age.  When we got home from mexico Grammi and Papa and Grandma Jeanne came to church with us for the annual Christmas program -- Walk to the Manger, so we could be reminded why we're celebrating. Then, we had a little "pre-Christmas" dinner at our house. Everyone else cooked and brought stuff over and we ate it.  Good deal for us, huh!  Oh, also, before we went to Mexico, we headed up to Lincoln to celebrate the Kopetzky Christmas at Aunt Julie’s house. As always, we had a blast. I played with my cousins since I could actually run around this year and get into all kinds of mischief.  Oh, and before THAT we went to Des Moines for the annual Thanksgiving gathering with the Kellers and Great Grandma and Grouchy Great Grandpa. Everyone doted on me, fed me stuff and played cards together like always. Next week we head for another tour -- Marysville until Christmas day and then Leavenworth for the rest of the week. Guess what!?! I start Montessori school -- "Lil' Sprouts" with Miss Natalie on January 5th!  There are chickens, bunnies, a real tree house, a green house, organic garden, and lots of other farm-y granola stuff mom loves.  Also, Miss Natalie loves Jesus, so she'll carry on Miss Peggy's loving Christian care.  Merry Christmas!!!

we've really been enjoying the beautiful fall weather!  a few weeks ago, mom and dad took me with them to the drive-in. we saw a movie called "eagle eye" with our friends colby and kim.  they set up my pack n play in the back of the van and i was content as could be hanging out, watching the flick, and eventually just snuggling in to sleep...that was our first movie all together!  the next day, granda and grandpa deruyscher came to spend the day with me while mom and dad went to the maple leaf festival and football game with the morrises...last week we went to marysville for black squirrel night (which ended up being too cold to be outside, so i wore my princess leia costume over to the crists for a pizza party where i met my new friend, campbell brewster. on friday we went to the wedding of mom's old high school friend and then we went to emporia for paige newland's baptism saturday. it was so much fun to be with all the "butlo" kids. 

tomorrow, we're going to daddy's work so i can "trick or treat" and then i get to stay with gma and gpa d for the weekend while mommy and daddy go to the nu - ou football game in oklahoma.  i'm chattering away more than ever. i like to say, "oh man" "oh my gosh" and "wow".  also, like to say my "opposites" -- up/down, loud/quiet, near/far, clean/dirty...also LOVE when mom sings the itsy bitsy spider song. i try really hard to make a good spider with my fingers. i am a very determined little one.

October Fun

Just catching up as october 2008 is in full swing!  Well, I started off the month heading to the husker game with daddy in Lincoln--actually, daddy went to the game and i went to stay with aunt julie, uncle roy, and cousin dj.  I had a blast with the yardleys (especially the puppies!)  and for the next several days, i practiced their names everywhere i went!  roy...julie...dj...kuba...sassy...repeat. Mommy went to arkansas to visit aunt trieste while we were in lincoln and then we all met back at our house on sunday night. A sweet reunion!

 Speaking of reunions...Mom and Dad just took their longest trip away from me EVER-- 5 days in colorado for mark and kim davidson's wedding. Of course they missed me sooooo much, but they had a really great time. I, on the other hand, must admit that I didn't really notice they were gone!  Grammi and Papa said i was just too busy having fun in marysville. Here's a pic of me at vering's pumpkin farm in marysville. They also took me to the park, to mom's favorite place of employment ever--the wagon wheel cafe--where i met her favorite boss ever, doug parks, to church, to great gram's, and to a whole bunch of other places!  During my stay with them, I decided to exercise my 15-month-old authority and start saying nononononono. It is so cute, mom and dad have to keep themselves from laughing. However, they are trying to respect my independence while they firmly remind me there are other ways of communicating!  I'm really starting to put little sentences together about things I remember.  For instance, I think Grammi is a great cook, so I've been saying "Grammi Food" at dinner time, even when she's not around!  On Halloween weekend, Grandpa Carl and Grandma Jeanne are going to keep me while mom and dad go to Oklahoma for the nebraska game. Hey, I'm not complaining!  All this grandparent time is right up my alley!  Tonight mom and i had a little belated italian birthday dinner for daddy's birthday. Happy 31st Birthday, Daddy!  Happy October everyone! 

september happenings...

some of my new favorite things--saying "tickle, tickle, tickle" and tickling whoever is holding me...

saying "diamond!"  (as in neil) when i want to dance to my favorite record...saying "melon" because i LOVE to eat watermelon! a few things that have happened recently--mom and i had a wagon wreck with the cool new wagon grammi and papa gave me.she was pulling me down a hill, the wheels turned really sharp, and the whole wagon flipped on its side.we both ended up on the pavement, but we thanked God that we were spared serious injuries. i have a little scrape on my head, mom has a big bruise on her leg--but we survived! and i got right back in the wagon just so i wouldn't be afraid of it. mom went to chicago for a few days so dad and i had some fun together. tonight grandpa carl came over to babysit while mom and dad went to a wedding shower for uncle mark and aunt kim. oh, and today mom and i went to hang out with charli for awhile while her mom and dad went on vacation. we went to mimi's house and played on the horse mom and aunt jenn used to play on.  we took good naps and played together.  we're learning to share! tomorrow we are having a breakfast for miss peggy at the morrises house to thank her for all she does for us. then, mom and i are s'posed to go to a 1st birthday party for sophie willett. daddy's goin' to the nebraska game. oh, yes!  i love to say "football" now too! wonder why...

Autumn is Here...

Here comes fall!  This is the second autumn of my life and i must say it is quite beautiful here in kansas.

A few fun things we've done lately--well, grandpa carl returned from hawaii and brought me back a cute shirt and mom and dad got some chocolates--yum! here's a pic with his "welcome home" sign.

gma, gpa, mom, dad and I all went to dinner at zios and i squirmed around as usual and kept everyone on their toes...mom and i have had a little routine going when she picks me up from missy & miss peggy's place after work---we go to homer's coffee shop and get a mocha for her and a bagel for me. i like to say COFF-EE and BAY-GEL and HOM-ERS.  Sometimes we go to the community center across the street and play in their play room. I looooove the slide. I say SLIDE...SLIDE...SLIDE.  I'm also into saying TRASH (love to be "helpful" and throw things away) and I point at the car radio and say MU-SIC. I love to dance and Aunt Kristin recently bought mom 2 neil diamond records on a garage sale. Mom and i have been dancing to "Forever In Blue Jeans" a lot on the record player....Let's see...other words I like to say...OH! the other daycare kids' names--especially AY-DAN.  Last friday night when mom picked me up from Missy's we had to stick around for awhile cause we were in a tornado warning!  The weather was really stormy last week--there was a hurricane named after me--Josephine!  Last Saturday, mom and i went to Homers to hear her friend play in a band.  I had fun dancing and hanging out with my homers buddies (the baristas all know me by now...) The next day, daddy and i bonded while mom went out of town to a 1st birthday party. tonight, grammi and papa arrived and they'll be spending a few days with me while mama writes some magazine articles.  I showed papa how to dance with neil diamond...I'm sure papa will take me for long walks over the next couple of days...we are soaking up every bit of this beautiful fall weather!

a weekend in marysville and some other stuff since then...

mom and i went to marysville with jenn and charli for aunt jenn's 15 -year class reunion!  the car rides are getting more interesting as we grow!  charli and i both always want to drive and want to play with the same toys, so there's a lot of passing back and forth going on...since grammi and papa weren't in town, we had their house to ourselves. mom and i would take morning walks and explore papa's beautiful "grounds" -- here's a pic of me sitting on a tree stump, enjoying a morning bottle and watching the sunrise. also, one on the bench outside the front door. we spent a lot of time with great gram--took her to church and entertained her at her house. here's a pic of us in her living room...oh, and then there's the little table i got for my birthday from annie fannie (bradford).  it was made by our dear cousin jim grauer and it is the PERFECT size for charli and i!  we spent a lit of time sitting there eating snacks.  we also did some sword fighting with mom's old batons, which is kind of funny since mom and aunt jenn used to be baton twirlers together...so sunday night when we returned, we went to our friend allie's house to say goodbye to our friend sarah easton, who's headed to england for 3 months to represent her church.  wow!  we played with the easton offspring and danced a lot. sunday night daddy returned from a bachelor party in vegas where he saw many women wearing things that he says i'll never be allowed to wear...i don't get it--i'm always running around in my diaper...monday, mom, dad and I spent some family time together--went for a walk to the park down the street. here's  a pic of dad pushing me in the swing.  i'm more into slides now and i'm always saying "slide...slide..."  speaking of what i'm saying these days, here's the latest:  today, i mastered "bagel" and "ice". mom let me have a bagel this afternoon and it's all i wanted to say for awhile. BAY-gel.  then, I got SO excited cause she gave me a cup of little tiny ice pebbles and i'd put them in my mouth, get a really surprised look and say ICE!  (don't worry, papa, only one at a time...)  another word today was RAIN!  i kept pointing outside (cause it rained ALL day) and saying RAIN.  mom and dad's favorite by far is what i've started to do when i swat at someone.  mom says, "no hitting josi...be nice...gentle touches" and immediately i start petting the person and saying "niiiiiice".  in fact, mom doesn't even have to correct me anymore.  i'll take a swat at someone and immediately pet them and say "niiiiiiiice". it's pretty hilarious.

End-of-Summer Life With Josi

Just a few little updates...

We went to a party at Grandma Jeanne's house last Thursday.A bunch of ladies were sitting around chatting and buying stuff, but I mostly cared about the snacks and playing with Daddy.

Grammi and Papa came to visit last weekend and we all went to cousin 

Charli's Hello Kitty birthday party. She's two. We had a blast.

On Sunday, we met daddy at Ponak's after the game for a yummy Mexican dinner (I scarfed down

the guacamole dip!) and then Mom and Papa went to a Bruce Springsteen concert

and I went home to bed.  Monday night, I got to see Great Grandma Marge at the Royals game!

She and 2 of her friends and Grandma Jeanne and Aunt Karen met Mom and I there.

It was a beautiful night and we stayed the whole game! Even went up to see Daddy for a bit

and help him in the control room.  Needless to say, I passed out on the way home.

Got a postcard from Grandpa Carl--all the way from Hawaii!  He said the sunsets were lovely.

Maybe I'll go there someday! Tonight Mom took me to the community center pool and we had a lot of fun together.

I especially like the little water slide. Yep, I'm a thrill-seeker in the making...

a few things i really like...

-corn on the cob (see photo :0) 

-black olives 

-pretending i'm driving the car. passenger must sit beside me and keep door closed or i will express my displeasure.

-my fuzzy elmo chair where i lounge and drink my bottle every morning

-watching the olympics with dad

swimming, shooing, playing, pooping

mom insists that we write this blog right now so she can take a break from "work writing". So, here goes...

We had a fun weekend together hanging out as a family.  went to the pool down the street yesterday (it was a little bit nippy!) but we got used to the water pretty quickly. (daddy said our lower extremities just went numb, but whatever...)  when we got out, i had a bottle and lounged in the pool chair with my sunglasses on. check me out. a future "phelps" for sure! i've been cracking the parents up with my new words and actions. probably everyone's favorite right now is "fly". when i hear the word, I repeat it excitedly--"FLY!" as I wave my hand around vigorously in a shoo-ing fashion. today, daddy taught me how to kill the little suckers with a swatter.  i found it quite amusing indeed. i've also been into writing with a pen. the funny thing is, i hold it just like you're supposed to hold a pen!  i scribbled several things today to send to the great grandparents. works of art for sure!  we've been watching the olympics in the evening.  tonight we took a little family drive to see where i may go to school in 2010 -- highlawn montessori. it's right up the street!

hmm...oh, yes. one more amusing thing that happened today. mom was chattering on the phone and i was entertaining myself on the kitchen floor. daddy came in and said, "what's this?" and pointed to a brown pile of poop on the floor.  the cats, maybe?  no. it was me. they turned to see me crawling away happily, leaving a brown trail behind...ah, the life of a one-year-old...eating, pooping, playing and letting someone else clean it all up!

the stuff of my life

mommy and daddy have been working quite a bit lately, so i've gotten to hang out with miss peggy and the g-parents! yesterday grammi fran stayed with me all day. we had fun, as usual and grammi did lots of laundry (as usual :0)  today, dad took the day off and we all had some bonding time.  mom and i went to hallmark this morning for a friend's 30th anniversary...then, we went to the morrises for a little play date. izabella and isaiah love showing me stuff.  isaiah was teaching me how to share.  tonight, the deruyschers 3 went to legends to the jazz restaurant for some yummy cajun food. dad's been craving jumbalaya!  mom and i shared some chicken, veggies and rice. I danced in my high chair to the live jazz music.  afterward, we walked around and i played in the fountain with my new friend sanai.  (her name means marvelous--we thought that was pretty cool...)  check out this pic of us.  she's 20 months and i'm 13 months...can you tell?  ha!  time for nigh nigh...

alpine slides, gma and gpa d time, royals suite

mom can't BELIEVE i forgot to tell you that i went with her on the alpine slides in colorado!

i was definitely the youngest one in the lift line...i loved it!  papa and grammi went down the mountain in the slide next to us and we all laughed the whole way down!  while i have your ear...i'll tell you that grandma and grandpa d. took me to nebraska furniture mart yesterday and i quite enjoyed it! then, today they joined us (along with emily rand, the morrises, the millers, the wolfs, sarah easton and allie kistner) for our royals suite.  it was a lovely day with a nice breeze and after 12 innings, we beat the twins!!!  i munched all day on the buffet and was so good, even though i hadn't had much of a nap.  when we got in the car to go home it took me 2 minutes (seriously...120 seconds...) to fall asleep!  my favorite part of the day was that daddy got to spend some quality time with us and let the other guys take over. oh, and they put us all up on the video board! this time i was awake, though. (last year, i slept through most of the game...i was a bit smaller then...)

colorado and camp quality - our latest adventures...

it has been a busy few weeks!  (what's new?) all good stuff though...most recently a trip to colorado for great uncle dick and aunt nancy's 50th wedding anniversary. it went quite well considering i was a one-year-old on a very long car trip. we stayed in a really cool hotel in golden, co right by clear creek.  there were people floating down the creek in their kayaks and lounging lazily on innertubes.  2 weddings happened while we were there!  mom decided she wants to come back and bring daddy someday.  thankfully, we had a very safe trip with no tire blowouts or anything, however i provided several blowouts of a different nature--one in particular at the hotel was almost more stink than papa could handle--ha! he and grammi took such good care of me and helped mom a bunch!  (as usual)

we saw most of the cohorst family, cousins rick, mike, and tami and their kids, and other family friends who came to celebrate. we made some great memories together--one cool thing that happened is that mom, papa, and grammi discovered i can point to my eyes, ears, mouth, head, nose, hair, hands and feet!  apparently, miss peggy has been working with me on those things.  they had no idea how much i can understand! probably mom's favorite memory from the trip was this trucker named Joe who befriended us and was DETERMINED to contribute to my future college fund.  It reminded her of that verse:

"Do not be afraid to entertain strangers, for in doing so, many have entertained angels unawares..."

we won't forget joe and we pray for him whenever he comes to mind...

Last night, mom had over 50 people over for the annual camp quality barbeque!  I had fun socializing as usual (although I've been going through a bit of a momma's girl stage recently...it just takes me awhile to warm up to strangers...) I met my new friend Jackson (Jack-Jack) Bailey. i had my first boy baby kiss right on the lips. mom hopes to add that pic here soon. it was SO cute!  this morning, grandma and grandpa d came over to babysit while mom did a little work...thank God for helpful gmas and gpas!!!!

life on a tuesday

I've been hanging out with Miss Peggy and her crew a lot lately while mom and dad work. I'm not complaining!  Check out this cute new outfit Peggy and her daughter, Missy, bought for me. (They found a great sale at Sears!) This is me standing by the van, waiting for Dad to get home yesterday. I'll also include a pic of me doing one of my favorite things (thanks to Papa R...) SWINGING!  Mom and I walked down to the park this evening and had some fun.  Tomorrow, it's off to Peggy and Missy's again. Izabella and Isaiah Morris will be there along with some of my other peeps.  Lately, I've been jabbering all day long and I am quite determined to help you understand what I'm saying.  Also, crawling as fast as my little legs will go. I can't miss out on any action anywhere!  Gotta rest up for my big day with the kids tomorrow. Daddy is putting me in bed tonight cause Mommy's out at a book signing. Later!

Hope

it feels so good to feel good again, mom and i can hardly contain ourselves! we went to church this morning and while i played with miss peggy, mom heard a great sermon about how short life is compared to eternity. (you're tellin' me!  i've only been here one year!) anyway, the pastor talked about how much we want to control what happens tomorrow, but we can't. it is in God's hands. all we can do is trust him day by day. mom says that's the most freeing way to live. "how can you make a difference today?" the pastor asked.  it reminded mom of that quote by mother teresa about doing no great things -- just small things with great love. so today, we asked him what we might do with our afternoon and he sent us to the nursing home where i brought joy to lots of people, just by being me.  we met may, who is recovering from a broken leg, jean, who was watching the sound of music (she's an old friend of ours), harold and evelyn, who've been married 62 years, james, who had his legs amputated but is recovering and greeted us with a smile. our favorite was hope. here is a picture of hope and me. she was absolutely delighted by my presence. we sat on her bed and played and played.  then, after we came home, daddy showed up!  daddy and i wrestled a bit. here's a pic of us playing together.  nigh nigh.

summer days

well, it has been awhile...a little "bug" decided to visit the deruyscher home, but we're all feeling MUCH better now!  mom is trying to post a slide show on here. we'll see if she can figure it out!

meanwhile, i'll tell you what we've been up to. grammi and papa just left after visiting and helping mom take care of me while she worked a lot and spent several hours in the bathroom.  (hmm...why don't these adults get a clue and just wear a diaper in those situations?) g & p helped a ton, as usual, and mom and dad were very grateful for all they did around here.  speaking of generous grandparents...gma and gpa deruyscher came and took us all out to dinner for mom's birthday at texas roadhouse. yum!  mom and i had to sit in the saddle while they gave me a great big texas roadhouse happy birthday "yee-haw!" whose idea was that, anyway? i helped grandma j make a delicious birthday cake, too.

(or at least i took the credit for it cause it said "mommy")  i had to get a shot last week cause of an ear infection. i took it like a champ and even passed out afterwards in the doctor's office.  let's see...what else...

ah!  tonight mom and i went to the wedding of her former camp quality camper, amber. she was a beautiful bride and mom was so proud. i wore a cute dress. some little everyday things...i've discovered RICE and APPLESAUCE!  i love them. still have a GREAT appetite! i love to say bye-bye all the time while waving. gma jeanne also got me to say "bo" as in "pelini" the other night. still love those remote controls, love swinging outside, love to chase the kitties and say "meow." do NOT like having my diaper changed or when someone takes away my plate before i'm finished with my meal. well, that's all for now. time for nigh nigh... 

Our Afternoon at Deanna Rose Farmstead

Cousin Charlize and I want to Deanna Rose Farmstead today. We had so much fun! Auntie K, Mimi, Mom, and Aunt Jenn came, too. (Though Charli and I totally could have made it on our own...we thought it would be nice to invite them.) Check out this pic of Charli pushing my stroller. We're a great team. 

Celebrating Birthday Number One

Wow!  We've been so busy livin'... haven't had the chance to update our blog! My first birthday party was a back yard barbeque, and we had a great day. God blessed us with beautiful weather and lots of friends and family to celebrate with us. We had 2 little swimming pools and some yard games. Delicious side dishes made by Grammi Fran and of course, those signature yummy cakes by Grandma Jeanne! Daddy barbequed and Mom just enjoyed visiting with everyone.  Cousin Charli spent the night and we girls left for Marysville the next day for a little celebration there, too. Papa Ron put up a swing for me in the backyard (Great Uncle Roy gave it to us).The Peschel family, cousin Chase and his girlfriend Tiffany, Great Uncle Tim and Jane, and Great Gram came to celebrate my birthday at Grammi and Papa's. I had a blast.

i decided to come into the world one year ago...

well, one year ago today dad was at work and mom was entertaining the nursing home folks at manorcare when she felt what she thought were mild contractions -- little nudges from me that i was ready to make my grand entrance into the world. she went home and labored for a little while -- listened to a peaceful song on her i pod that she will always remember. she calls it "josi's song". she called daddy and he walked away from kaufman stadium knowing he was about to meet me!  mom, dad, and i (in utero) headed for the hospital around 9pm and had a beautiful birth experience at shawnee mission medical center. the grandparents arrived (gma and gpa D. came straight from the royals game and grammi and papa drove from marysville!) everyone was overjoyed to meet me and mom was especially relieved when i finally showed up. so...tonight, one year later, mommy and daddy have decided to sit down and watch the video of my birth ("yikes!" says mom...) and then the rest of the video is my first year of life.  yes, it has gone fast in ways, but we have savored every moment we could and I've been shared with lots of people! family, friends, co-workers, nursing home folks who have adopted me as their granddaughter, the mail lady, david the salvation army guy who works at hyvee (he can't talk but he is teaching me sign language!), paul the neighbor guy,  random people we have met on road trips in gas stations, coffee shops, jogging on the street, churches, restaurants...you get the idea!  what can i say?  God made me a people person and I'm just happy to be here! :0)  

teething, swimming, living

i've been so busy livin' and cuttin' teeth --haven't had time to post!  

yes, i've been a bit, shall we say, "extra sensitive" lately due to the giant teeth that are pushing through 

my sore gums on top.  i'm a trooper, though, as always.  one cool thing is I've been letting mom cuddle with me in the rocker more cause i'm uncomfortable. also, i've decided i like daddy again (after being grouchy with him last week) so we're having fun together--especially now that his ridiculously long homestand is over!  we celebrated as a family by going to texas roadhouse tonight.  this morning, mom and i had nursery duty at church.  she and miss peggy and i babysat 4 other little ones who are around my age. i love the nursery and get so excited to interact with the other kids i start squealing.  i did my first ever "craft" today in the nursery. miss peggy painted our hands and we did 4th of July handprints.  yesterday mom and i went to the 18th birthday party of her former camp quality camper, matthew wright. it was at the matt ross community center where we had my baptism party.  we swam for 2 hours. i LOVED it!!! i've been rather subdued around big crowds lately, so i just let my mom hold me and we floated in the lazy river and watched people. needless to say, we were prunes when it was all over -- but we were happy prunes. monday night mom and gma jeanne have girls night, so i'm hanging out with papa carl for the evening.  daddy has a birthday party at hooters. i wanted him to take me, but i guess he doesn't want me to get any ideas about future job opportunities...

Chattering and Tea Parties

2 new favorite things to say: "hi" and "night-night"

Probably because when mom and dad hear me in the morning,

they come into my room and say "hiiiii"

and when it's time for bed they say "night-night".

I especially like to say hi to myself in the mirror.

Here's a pic of me playing with my tea set from gma and gpa d.

Now that I can crawl everywhere, I like to pull it off of the

bottom of the bookshelf and open it up.

Mom says it reminds her of when her grandpa 

played tea party with her when she was little.

He's my papa don who I haven't met yet.

But mom tells me about him and we will meet 

someday in heaven (along with Great Grandpas Walt and Ted!)

Charli Left a Baby Ruth

Spent the day with cousin Charlize and Auntie Jenn.

Mom and Aunt Jenn chatted and scrapbooked.

(well, aunt jenn scrapbooks...mom does what she calls "crapbooking", which is a

cheap version of the real thing!)

Then, Mimi, Auntie K, Jenn, Charli and us went swimming in the neighborhood pool.

I love the water! We played and laughed a lot.

Have you ever seen Caddy Shack? Remember the Baby Ruth incident in the pool?

Yeah, that sort of happened (but it wasn't me!)

summer days

well, i've been doing even more talking lately--repeating all kinds of words.  probably my favorite is "car". Daddy will be happy to know that i can identify him in pictures now (and mommy too). we're working on grandma, grandpa, grammi, and papa!  i'm determined to start coloring. mom got a little $1 coloring book for me at walmart today and i LOVED watching how the crayons colored the paper. i'm still figuring out exactly how to do it, but don't worry, i'll get it...also, mom inflated my new frog swimming pool today.  she learned a very important lesson. if something is larger than your head, use an air pump. she is still recovering from oxygen deprivation. i had a blast in the pool though, and that's all that matters! :0) we also got a big purple rubber ball at walmart, which makes me squeal with delight whenever i even look at it.  i've decided i don't like having my diaper changed. remember my old "happy place" on the changing table?

that's a thing of the past...mom and i are planning to stroll down to the park to hear an old college buddy and his band who are performing outdoors this evening.  happy weekend!

The latest in the life of ME!

Hey, it's me--Josi D!

For my first year of life, Mom and I sent emails every once in awhile to update the grandparents about life at our house, but it's time for us to graduate to something bigger and better--our very own blog! Mom hopes this will become an online journal/scrapbook of sorts for me to keep forever. So...here goes...We've had a busy week and here are the pictures to prove it!  We went to dad's "home country" of Nebraska. Started out in Lincloln and stayed with Uncle Roy, Aunt Julie, and DJ Friday night.  They are always so good about taking us in!  Then, we spent Saturday in Columbus with GG Seal, Grandpa Carl, and Grandma Jeanne (daddy says Columbus is his favorite place in the world). Sunday, it was on to Omaha to celebrate my friend, Logan Vanecek's 2nd birthday.The party was in a park with a water hydrant and I had a blast playing in the water! (see picture below!) Monday, we joined our friends the Wolf family at the Kansas City Zoo. We only made it through the continent of Africa though, and hope to return someday to tour Australia.  I fell asleep halfway through our tour and snoozed peacefully until we reached the monkeys.  Grammi Fran and Papa Ron stopped by on their way home from vacation yesterday.  I think they missed me.  They brought me some seashells and Papa took me to the park.  Today, mom and I went Aunt Jenn and Charli's for a swim at the country club. It was my first official swimming experience and I had a blast! Charli has this cool raft that I floated around in and giggled.  We finally got rained out but not before we made a nice memory.  So, the last few days I've been talking a lot and I think they're starting to understand me.  It all started on Father's Day when I finally started saying "Dad-doo" and knew who I was talking about. Then,  I started pointing at our car and saying "car". Now, I'm repeating a lot of things. I even said "Charli" today. When mom says Charli's name, I get the giggles, cause I get so excited!  It's late...gotta get some zzzz's.