Tonight while Tim was giving Joseph a bath, our little vocabulary neophyte switched from saying "Mama" to saying "Dada" over and over again!

Although Joseph has been babbling things like "ma ma ma ma" and "ba ba ba ba" for several months now, we're pretty sure he is saying his first real word! There's a twinkle in his eye when he says it, and it seems to come out at all the appropriate times. In any case, it's like music to my ears!

Tonight during Family Home Evening, Joseph decided he wanted to play the accompaniment for the hymn we are singing. His rhythm and expression are definitely improving!

After his morning nap today, Joseph and I are reading his favorite book, Animal Kisses by Barney Saltzberg. He just loves turning those pages!



His favorite part of the book is the page with the "squeaky" pig kisses. He is such a little hoot!

Here are some cute shots of Joseph playing around in the kitchen area this afternoon!

He is definitely getting better and better at crawling. He's got the appropriate motion down, alternating hands and opposite knees, but just needs a little more strength to get that pudgy belly off the ground!



He's getting better at climbing, too! Yikes!

Here's one last shot of our busy little guy!

This morning Joseph and I are going for a walk, and I decided to bring along the camera! Are you ready to go Joseph?

I think that means yes!

It's so moist and humid around Blacksburg, you're almost always liable to run an interesting mushroom or two when you're out. I think these two look pretty wild, but maybe that just shows how little this desert girl knows about fungus!

This Northern Flicker, a relative to the woodpeckers, is out early this morning, too, making lots of noise way up in this dead tree!

Wouldn't you like your backyard to look like this?

I think Fall has just about arrived, as evidenced by these maple leaves. From what I understand, these colors are nothing compared to what we'll see around here when things really get going!

Yesterday, our Virginia-made Kozy Carrier arrived in the mail, and today we gave it our first real test run! It's neat because it distributes Joseph's weight so well, mostly on the hips, but some on the shoulders, too. I did some cleaning, jogged to catch a bus, and picked out some library books all with Joseph comfortably on my back. Joseph seemed pretty comfy, too, although he was happiest when he had lots to look at, which is just what you might expect from a little hot pepper!

As we were getting ready for lunch today, Joseph rediscovered the Tupperware Cupboard!


Now that we're actually eating, our little hot pepper is getting a big kick out of watching me slice and drop pear hunks onto his highchair tray!

It seems like most everyone we talk to who knows anything about babies suggests that we create a "Tupperware Cupboard" for Joseph to play in. My mom says she used to pretend like we had discovered it ourselves and were sort of getting away with something, which I'm sure only increased the fun! In any case, we finally moved things around in our kitchen to do the same for Joseph. We had expected him to try to pull some things out of it, but we hadn't quite expected him to crawl inside! What an adventurous little guy!

Here's a funny little video of Joseph stuffing a bunch of bread in his already full mouth during lunch today!

Here's our little Joseph riding the Laundry Basket Express!

Joseph has absolutely, unequivocally graduated to the big tub, and he's loving it! We bought a nifty nonslip mat that really grips his little bottom. He can even practice his headbanging routine without fear of taking an unexpected plunge!

Blueberries and yogurt everywhere — that's our little Josephus!

It's still raining! We're heading out today, so Joseph has his little rain coat on, and he sure looks cute in it!

Since Joseph is still refusing any and all spoon feeding, we've decided it's time to free up some freezer space. Tim had this idea to make a mostly vegetable soup, complete with frozen, pureed sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, spinach, peas, potatoes, cauliflower, and maybe more. I honestly can't remember anymore! Tim is confident it will be tasty as well as nutritious, and I think I'll just wait and see!

Another baby bird is at our feeder this morning. This time it's a cute, little Carolina Wren with ragged feathers and stubby tail!

Even though it's September, the birds around here are still hatching chicks! Here's a little cardinal chick looking for some sunflower seeds at our feeder. You can tell it's a baby because it's beak is still gray, not reddish orange like an adult's, and it's crest is so short. We sure love watching birds at our feeders!

Meanwhile, Joseph is trying mozzarella cheese for the first time and is quite literally eating it up! He has absolutely refused to allow us to spoon-feed him the last few days, complete with clamped jaw, turned head, and fussy warnings, but has been quite happy to eat things he can get to his own mouth. Since he still has no teeth and everything must be soft and small, we're going to need to get a little more creative with our offerings!

Joseph seems to be feeling a little better already! His nose is still pretty stuffy (he sounds like a little tin horn when he babbles or cries), but he's ready to be back in his jumper. What a cutie!

Joseph has slept 11 hours straight the last few nights, without any real encouragement on our part! That's definitely nice, since we haven't needed to wake up and tend in the middle of the night, but it also means he's been waking up about an hour earlier in the morning. He's still feeling a little sick this morning, so he's been content just to sit in his bouncy seat and watch the sun rise while I whip up some breakfast for the three of us. This shot is a little dim, but it really captures the sweet, sweet mood he has been in all morning long!