Great strides!!

Joey has been doing just wonderfully the past few weeks. He's actually doing more and learning more really fast. I think it must be a growth spurt of his brain! LOL

He's not a big talker but out of the blue he shocked me with a 4 word sentence on Jan 4th. Joey and I had just gotten out of the shower and were getting him dressed. I stood him up to pull up his pants and he leaned into me (which is common) and gave me a big hug. As he did this I said "Ahhhh, I love you!" and out of the blue, clear as day, I'm not joking here...he replies with "I love you too"! OMG I was floored!!! Could have knocked me over with a breath at that point. What a wonderful wonderful sound as to hear your child tell you they love you.

It wasn't a fluke either. Later that same day we were out running errands, doctor appts etc and I was singing my "I love my Joey" song that I made up. When I was done I hear from the back seat "I love you mama"!!!
Then I think it was Friday night we were in the basement and daddy was up in the kitchen. Joey could hear him and wanted daddy to be down here playing. So of course when daddy can't hear him, Joey says up the stairs, "I love you"!! And Jim had so been wanting to hear those words and then he missed them :( Poor Daddy!

Few other things that Joey's just started doing: Washing himself in the shower. He takes my poof and will wash what he can reach which is almost everything! He even lifts his leg to the side of the tub to wash his lower leg and feet! It's so adorable. And yesterday in the shower after swimming he was washing his hair too, that was a first. He was rubbing in the shampoo!!

He's being a very big helper around the house. Daddy was unloading the dishwasher and Joey decided to help him. He's take out a dish or cup and hand it to daddy then go for another. Only problem was if daddy wasn't ready to grab the next item Joey would drop it on the floor! LOL

Joey is climbing up onto chairs and such very well now. Daddy was standing on a chair to re-install the door bell he'd taken down months ago (he was painting). Joey must have felt a little left out so he climbed up on the chair all by himself and stood there while daddy worked!

We were at McDonalds the other day in the playland. I think Joey took the other kids shoes out of the little cubby and I asked him to put them back and he did! Every last one of them had they're own spot. I don't know if the kids whos shoes they were could easily find their mate but at least they were in the cubby and not all over the floor right? LOL

Oh he's learned how to jump in his crib and actually get air between the mattress and his feet and it wasn't long, maybe a week or so before he could do that without having to hold on! He was jumping on MY bed this past Monday and his hands were free. Soon he's going to love going to someplace that has a bounce house.

And then there's a mommy update. We learned the hard way that pregnant hormonal women should NOT be allowed to go anywhere near their child's hair with scissors or clippers. Joey's been needing a haircut for the longest time but I just couldn't seem to get him anywhere to get it done. Finally after a little girl at McDonalds thought he was a girl and MIL called him Julie because of his long hair, I decided to just cut it myself. I was Just going to trim his "bangs" and the back, that was it but Joey wouldn't let me come near him with the scissors. He actually put his hands up into his hair an messed up what I'd combed! So my mind said "use the clippers, it won't be too short." I got out the clipper and put on the 1" thingy (what are those pieces called?) and started clipping. Immediately I knew I screwed up but you can't leave the kid with just one swipe of the clippers now can you? So through my massive tears I finished the top and that's where I stopped. I couldn't stop crying. Because of his light blonde hair it looked more like he was a kid who was just getting his hair and not one that was born with more than he now had! The Mullet I left on him just had to go but I was NOT touching his hair again! I called Jim at work and bawled how I ruined his son's hair. He was just releived that it wasn't anything major like Joey fell down the stairs and broke a bone or anything like that. In my mind at the time it was that bad and thinking along those lines did not help any!

After Jim got home from work we took him to the Hair Cuttery to let a professional fix it and cut my hair as well. Of course the girl who took care of us was pregnant too! I joked that pregnant women should not be allowed near scissors and hair! LOL She did a good job on us both though. Joey's now a full buzz cut and my hair is above my shoulders so I can wash and go since I'll have a baby to care for soon.

So that's it for Joey updates for now....