Pictures

Jocelyn was a big screamer today...

Here's the addition to her outfit for the Steeler's game...isn't it cute???

Bert and Trish came over for the game!

Cats for Sale...or maybe I can pay YOU to take them!

When I was living in an apartment that did not allow pets, all I thought about was how much I wish I could have a kitten. I wanted one (or two) so bad. I have had cats basically my whole life and definitely classified myself as a cat lover.

As soon as Todd and I bought our house we ran out and adopted two kittens. Seriously, we closed on the house on a Thursday and we adopted the cats on the following Saturday. We didn't even have a dent made in the boxes we needed to unpack!

I had no regrets about the adoption, up until recently. Now that I am not working anymore I have to see them and deal with them all day long. They were used to getting all of my attention, but now I have a baby who needs much more attention than the cats could even wish for.

On top of the endless attention-needing (one cat is worse than the other), the cats puke, poop, and shed all over the house (well, they don't poop all over the house, thank God, they limit that activity, as well as peeing, to the liter box~knock on wood).

I have aluminum foil spread out over my kitchen table to keep the cats off of it. I have to vacuum every other day to pick up their hair so Jocelyn doesn't have to play in it while on the floor.

On top of that, these cats are the jumpiest cats ever. My cats give new meaning to the term 'scaredy cat'. We can barely move a limb or drop a pencil on the floor without a cat running, scared, for cover. My male cat hides for hours on end in the basement just because I open the door to the closet that the vacuum is housed in. I find these characteristics so annoying.

Having said all that, I feel this guilt that these cats live with an owner who is slowing getting more and more annoyed with them each passing day. On Saturday I actually looked up animal adoptions and printed out an application for a HTH (Home to Home) adoption. This happened after one of my cats had a puking party...I cleaned up cat puke from four different places that morning and was so grossed out, annoyed, and angry that I just wanted them gone.

I wonder if I actually went through with the adoption process, and found a new home for the cats, how I would feel. Would I feel guilty for the rest of my life? Would I feel relief that I don't have to worry about all the crap that goes along with having cats?

Would I be sad?

Would they be sad?

I think I need to find a way to give them a little more attention so they can feel loved once again...I must be the WORST cat owner EVER!

Dancer

Jocelyn loves music!

When I'm watching TV, and a commercial comes on, Jocelyn will usually stop what she is doing and watch, especially if the commercial has music in it. She also likes the intro music to General Hospital...just watch her little dance!

Missed Another One

September is obviously not my month to remember birthdays...

Happy Birthday Uncle John!

Hope it was a great one!

On September 13th:

• 1503 - Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David.
• 1609 - Henry Hudson reached the river that would later be named after him - the Hudson River.
• 1788 - The United States' Philadelphia Convention sets the date for the country's first presidential election, and New York City becomes the temporary capital of the U.S..
• 1898 - Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film.
• 1956 - IBM introduces the first computer disk storage unit, the RAMAC 305.
• 1969 - The premiere episode of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
• 1985 - Super Mario Bros., the best selling video game of all time, is released.
• 2001 - Civilian aircraft traffic resumes in the U.S. after the September 11, 2001 attacks

WOW! September 13th is a pretty action-filled day!

Remembering 9-11-01

I don't think I will ever forget where I was and what I was doing on September 11, 2001. I don't think I will ever forget or ever get over the feelings that went along with the images I watched live on television that morning, nor will I forget the worry I felt knowing my father-in-law was there in the midst of it all. I still can't believe Todd and I have this picture, taken by my father-in-law a couple years earlier. It was my reference point that morning when I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing on TV, and while I was trying to figure out what was going on. I am so thankful that I was not directly affected by the events of 9-11, but still feel sorrow for those who were.

A Matter of Time

I think it's just a matter of time. How long? Nobody knows...

Jocelyn's First Playdate

Today Jocelyn and I went to visit Valerie and her son Aiden. Aiden is 6 months old, and almost as big as Jocelyn! Aiden is one of the happiest babies I have ever met. The second he saw Jocelyn he was all smiles and screams. It was adorable. Jocelyn, on the other hand, takes a little while to warm up to new people. She just stared at Aiden while he so clearly projected his excitement to have another baby to play with. She warmed up though, and was after Aiden's toys in no time...babies sharing toys is a whole other story. Aiden was a trooper though, and shared with minimal protest.

Here's a picture of them playing "together" in Aiden's (Valerie's) living room. He has a lot of toys, and this picture wasn't even taken in his play room! Jocelyn almost didn't know what to do with so many options! Just look at that face...she can't believe it!

Jocelyn and Aiden seemed to get along pretty well. Hopefully they can be good friends! More play dates to come (hopefully)!

Thanks for having us!! We had lots of fun!! See you next time!

J-Bear is 8 Months Old!

Jocelyn is 8 months old today... Hooray!!

...and she is changing so fast. She's babbling like crazy now, and has recently realized that she can babble in her growling voice...so the sweetest sounding "bababa" turns into a growling "bababa" that sounds like it may be coming from the underworld. We are starting to think we should have got her a monster costume for Halloween.

Solid foods are going much better. Jocelyn does not like baby food at all. She will eat the real version of every baby food that I tried and got the sour face for. The only thing she doesn't seem to like much is applesauce. I'm still struggling a bit in what I should feed her because she will mostly only eat things that she can feed to herself. Her pincer grasp is well developed, so she does a great job with foods left on her highchair tray. She loves cheerios. She likes cherry puffs. I have also given her bits of banana, watermelon, cantaloupe, apple, corn, peas, yogurt, egg, and most recently very small bits of shredded chicken. She loves it all! Oh yeah, and Mammie gave her her first teeny tiny taste of ice cream, and also some sweet potato. I'm working on making a phone call to the pediatrician to make sure I don't give her anything she can't handle yet. The girl just wants to eat what we are eating! She uses her front teeth to chew with. Watching her eat is so cute!

Jocelyn is also tolerating tummy time much better now. It may be because she gets on her tummy herself, usually ending up there from a sitting position when she is trying to reach a toy (or a cell phone or remote) that she wants. Anyways, she looks as if she is going to get on her hands and knees sometimes, but then ends up splatting on her belly. I'm really not in a big rush for her to be mobile. I know it will definitely change things around here. No more just sitting her down on the living room floor to play once she can get around on her own.

Jocelyn has not pulled up on anything by herself yet, but she can stand while holding on when I put her that way. She thinks it's fun to push off and have mommy catch her. It's always a good way to get a big smile and a little laugh!

She's down to two longer naps a day, which I like. She enjoys watching mommy doing chores around the house, and I make sure to explain everything well. Kids can start doing dishes as soon as they can stand up by themselves, right?

Jocelyn is also starting to express herself a little more lately. She definitely makes it known when she is not happy! Daddy and I are working on what seem to be the beginnings of baby temper tantrums...ALREADY...what a diva!

Jocelyn continues to be the joy of our life. We feel so blessed more and more each day, and look forward to all the milestones that lie ahead!

Here We Go Steelers!

The Steeler season has officially begun.

Today was Jocelyn's first real Steeler game!

Jocelyn is giving the Steelers a thumbs-up!

Vince is always here to watch the game!

Waving The Terrible Towel

Clapping during one of many touchdowns!

Steelers won!

Steelers 38, Texans 17

Mammie's Visit

My mom came to visit this past week. We had a lot of fun hanging out together. I need to try to remember to take some pictures of Jocelyn WITH Mammie next time. My mom is always taking pictures, so I usually don't even think about getting my camera out. Here are some of her pictures...

You can see Jocelyn's two front teeth in this picture!

A close-up.

Jocelyn has perfected her pincer grasp and can now feed herself cheerios and bananas among other things. She chews with her top and bottom front teeth. She makes little crunch noises that are just so cute!

She thinks she's such a big girl!

She still loves bouncing in her jumperoo, but she's going to be too tall for it very soon!

Jocelyn likes to put her toys on her feet!
We had fun, Mom. We hated to see you go!! We miss you already!

Shame on me!

I forgot a birthday post...darn those first-of-the-month birthdays when you forget to turn the page on the calendar!

Happy Belated Birthday Aunt Laurie!Hope you had a great one!
On September 1:

1752 - The Liberty Bell arrives in Philadelphia.
1804 - Juno, one of the largest main belt asteroids, was discovered by German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding.
1897 - The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground metro in North America.

Labor Day Picnic 2008

Here are pictures from yesterday's Labor Day picnic. We picnic the day before Labor Day so we can have a day of recovery and relaxation before most have to return to work on Tuesday.

We think Jocelyn is getting used to letting other people hold her. Especially if she lets Tyler hold her without crying...

Jocelyn and Jen...VERY cute!

Jocelyn decided she wanted to eat Grandma's camera rather than take pictures with it!

Tyler is acknowledging just how tasty the food is!

Group photo...was anyone ready??

Kathy, James, Jimmy and Colleen having good times...

Great Grandma had good times too!

These two just wouldn't have a seat!

Jim was antisocial AND refused to eat a s'more...Boo to you!

Todd had the fire going good!

Aiden showed up!

So did Bella!

I hope everyone had a great time!!