Kimberly's personal blog

Since Kimberly would probably never make a public announcement like this on her own, I'm going to do it for her...

She has wanted for a long time to create her own blog, and now she has done it. Head on over there, check it out, and leave all of your comments!

Pictures of Emily have been posted!

The title says is all, folks. We have received our first pictures from Emily, who is doing well and loving Croatian. Head over to her blog (here) to see them!

Local Wildlife

Nifty critters you can find in South Pas:

Hawk

Surly cat

Well-camouflaged squirrel

Woodpecker

Cute little girl with bear feet

A Historical Impression

Here is Joy's spirited impression of the fall of Rome:

180-193 AD - Period of insurrections

285-306 - Reign of Diocletian, empire split in two

455 - Vandal army sacks Rome (the end is near)

476 - Last emperor deposed by Barbarians, beginning of Dark Ages (aka Terrible Twos)

Literature Appreciation

Mama and Baby discuss important life lessons in "The Very Hungry Caterpiller" such as . . . "Strawberries are really good" and "Don't eat salami, cake, pickles, and a lollipop in the same meal."

La Tigra

Joy passed her two-month check-up with flying colors yesterday. She also received her first three vaccinations, and let everyone in the building know that she shares her mama's aversion to needles. Ouch!
Here Joy models the nifty Looney Tunes Band-Aids she got at the doctor's office (visible on her upper thighs), as well as the uber-cool onesie she got for Christmas (Go Cougars!).

And yes, folks, she does have a USC onesie as well. It's a size larger, though, so she won't be big enough to wear it for another month or so. Perhaps that's a type and shadow of things to come. I theorize that she'll get her B.A. degree at BYU, then an M.A. at USC. Phillip says she'll go to the Y until she matures and transfers to SC because it's a way better school. We'll see. No pressure, Joy.

WOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Joy slept eight hours straight last night! Of course, she decided to wake up every THREE hours Thursday night, so who knows what tomorrow holds?


Update (2/15/07 - from Phillip): Joy again slept an 8-hour night! In fact, she would have probably slept longer had Kimberly not gotten her up to eat. Yay!

Latest Cute Baby Trick

Joy learned to roll over this week. Next week we'll try teaching her to fetch.

Grasping New Concepts

The educational process continues:

Having mastered the art of holding her head up, Joy is now learning to grip things.
She's also learned that she can pull potentially tasty objects toward her mouth. Still working some of the bugs out of that process though - here she tried to suck on Daddy's finger, but something got in the way.
Additionally, Joy has discovered that she likes sucking on her fist.

Unfortunately, she hasn't yet figured out that if her hand strays from her mouth, she can choose to move it back (don't worry - with Mama's help, Baby and fingers were soon reunited).

All that learning is hard work! Time for a nap.

Joy's Daddy

Joy's daddy is a man of many talents:

Here, Daddy explains to Joy why the computer program he's developed is so cool. The future computer programmer listens with rapt attention.

Daddy is also an excellent dish washer, for which Mommy is very grateful. :)

Daddy is getting into photography these days. Some of his experiments are pretty cool, like this extreme closeup of our nutcracker and our Galilean thermometer.

On the other hand, some shots just don't turn out so well. Kimberly likes to call this photo "The Benevolent Giantess Contemplates Her Offspring" or "How to Cuddle Your Newborn and Show Off Your Wedding Ring at the Same Time." Oh well, practice makes perfect.

This Girl's Got Skills

All that tummy time has apparently paid off, because Joy is finally easing out of the "bobble-head baby" phase. Here she utilizes her well-developed neck muscles . . .

. . . sitting on the futon with Daddy and Fred (the fuzzy, red guardian of our domicile) . . .
. . . and in the "Superman hold" with Mom.