Our Family: a queen and three kings: March 2009

I can't believe it's March already! Well, our little boy has teeth!! 3 teeth to be exact! I took him to his 9 month check up a week ago Tuesday, and she said four on the top are coming in, and that his gums were swollen. One of the top popped through, and he's got two on the bottom. And so far, there hasn't been any issues with breastfeeding. I heard from some moms that it's like starting all over when they get teeth... but I haven't had any issues at all... thank goodness :)

And the big news is: Jude is officially employed with the City of Orange, as a Police Officer Recruit. He starts the pre-academy on march 16, and the academy on March 30th! We are really excited and so thankful that everything moved so quickly. We feel really lucky. He got his hat and a bunch of other stuff last night, and it was fun taking pictures and putting his hat on Josh :) We are definitely blessed.

Last week, we were fortunate to spend some time with family from out of town. My aunt Rita and my cousin Jenny, and her son Mason were here for about a week. It was fun to see Mason and Joshua play together... they're only a month apart. We were busy, and made a trip to the beach last Saturday... and let me tell you, it was absolutely beautiful! Not crowded, not too hot... it was so fun, and Joshua LOVED it! It was lots of fun to be able to spend time with them, and we're sad that they're gone!

Joshua continues to babble like crazy, and now his favorite thing to do is point. He's getting really good at saying 'all done' in sign language, and 'more' too. we're working on 'please' and 'thank you'. He wants to walk, and i think he'll be there soon. He does crawl on all fours now, but he'd much rather hold one of your hands and walk around the house. Some friends of ours let us borrow a really cute little mini-wagon, and he walks all around pushing that thing. It's adorable. I just weighed him this morning, and he weighs 24 pounds... we recently had to get a different car seat, because he out grew the one we had.

It's so much fun, and I feel like he's really understanding what I say now, and he'll even do things I ask him to. He dances now too, which is amazing... and I really need to get that on film. He's been really interested in putting his toys into this little box... and then dumping them all out again. He pats my back when I give him a hug too... well not all the time, but sometimes. It's so fun to see him get bigger, and develop into a little boy. Sometimes I wish I could just squeeze him SO tight!

Just this week, we've been working on going to sleep on 'our' own. A friend of mine told me it would only take about a week to train him... so I started on Monday, and I haven't rocked him to sleep since. And let me tell you... it is so freeing. The first and second day were the worst... but now he doesn't cry for very long at all, and he's sleeping better through the night too! It's a win-win! It was getting to the point where I was getting up 4 or 5 times a night, and I was so tired of it. I kept making excuses as to why I shouldn't let him cry... but I think I reached the end of my rope and felt like I had no other option, unless I wanted to keep getting 4-5 hours of sleep per night. I really do think it's best for him and me, and he's learning to sooth himself and sleep! I can't help but feel proud of myself, and I kept thinking, when he's two years old, I do not want to have to rock him to sleep... or even if I get pregnant again, I can't be getting up all night long! So that's where we're at, and it feels good. For the first time in MONTHS, I've been able to sleep for 5 and 6 hours in a ROW! It's amazing!! Little mason helped convince my I think, because they started early with him, and he just hangs out in his crib for a couple minutes, and then he's out. So I'm looking forward to when Josh doesn't cry at all, and just knows that it's time for bed. Oh, and the last couple nights, I go in there, and turn off the lights, get his blanket, and pacifier, and Josh actually points to his crib and leans towards it... like he wants to go in there. I think that's a victory! :)

Anyway... He's already nine months old, and going to be 10 months old soon, and I'm still learning! I guess you're never done learning when you're a mom! :) And I absolutely love it. This is my dream job, and I'm so glad I get to stay home and be a mommy. I have my husband to thank for that... Love you honey!

So join me in congratulating my amazing Husband for his new job!! :) He deserves it!! And thanks to all of our family and friends for talking to the background investigators, and saying nice things about Jude :)

Thanks for reading... and here are some cute pictures of my little family :)

Jude bought Josh his first basketball... so cute!