Much too long!

It's been much too long since I've logged on and updated this blog! But time flies! What can I say? Except that we've been extremely busy enjoying our little guy!! Joseph is now 15 whole months! It seems like it was just yesterday that he was 15 days old. A FLASH!
We've been enjoying our summer by staying busy and playing outside. We visit our local library every week for story time. We get together with friends and go to parks, swimming, or whatever our hearts desire. Joseph is enjoying himself and his personality shines through everyday. For example, he loves to dance to just about any music. He loves us to chase him around the house. He seems fearless of pretty much anything. But he's very cautious around people he doesn't know. He observes his surroundings very well before deciding if he likes things or not. He loves to chase birds and kick balls. He has a new whistle that he carries all around the house. Just the other day he was singing to me in the car. He is the joy of our lives! And the best news is that we're expecting another little one by the end of the summer!! We don't know if the baby is a boy or girl, but have gotten many opinions. The majority think it's a girl. Phillip and I go back and forth. Sometimes it feels like a girl, other times a boy. But whatever the sex of the baby, we will be thrilled! It honestly doesn't matter to us what we have. We just pray that the baby is healthy.
Having said that, I will leave you with some pictures of the past few months, and promise to update more often.

Joseph with his favorite blanket. He loves to wear it like a scarf! It's too funny!!

Joseph and Daddy at the beach. He loves the water!

Easter egg hunting this year was so much fun. Meagan and Jared joined us. Here's Nutmeg (Meagan), Joseph, Mama, and the Easter Bunny.

Joseph's 1st birthday! He had a great time at his party with family and close friends.

Our first Valentine's as a family

Firstly, Happy Valentine's Day to all our loved ones. From the bottom of our hearts, we hope your day was filled with love and joy.
Our Valentine's Day celebration stared on Friday at Meagan's school party. I was hesitant to take Joseph out in the cold windy weather as he's had a runny nose here and there. But when I saw the excited look on Meagan's face, I knew it was worth it. Joseph and I sat next to her and enjoyed her party. She was so excited to show us all her projects and drawings and work. It was so cute. She told me that she prayed that Joseph and I could go to her party and it came true. What a beautiful heart she has.
On Saturday Jared, Meagan, and I went to decorate mini Valentine's heart cakes. We all sat and decorated and talked. It was really sweet. I'm so glad our neighborhood grocery store has events such as that. It makes holidays that much more special. We even made a cake for grandma!
Today was our very first Valentine's Day as a "family" and boy, did it feel good. I love my family. I love living every single day with them, and we always love on each other (hugs & kisses) when we can. It is the sweetest thing in life for us. Especially now that we can share that love with our son. Both Phillip and I have lost loved ones and we like to cherish special moments because we know what it's like not to have dear loved ones in our lives.
We had a great service this morning as we were welcomed into our church as new members and Bible study was very meaningful and touched our hearts. Phillip shared his sentiments of watching the opening ceremony of the Olympic games, the power of prayers from the one minute of silence for the kid that passed away, and the powerful song Hallelujah sung by kd Lang. He was moved by that experience and decided to share it. Phillip is such a loving man. I thank God for giving me such a blessing. On the outside it may seem like we are total opposites. But our hearts are definitely in sync and in love. And that alone overcomes everything.
The kids (Meagan & Jared) went to Sunday school and they seemed to enjoy themselves. Meagan kept talking about getting into the Kingdom all throughout the day. The message seemed to sink in for her. Bless her heart.
When we got home we enjoyed our Valentine treats (including our mini cakes) and hung out. We watched movies, the kids played outside, and we all played with Joseph. It was a great Valentine's weekend! Thank you God!

Big Boy

It's amazing watching Joseph grow. His personality now shines through, and I have to say he is definitely a character! He likes to explore and get into everything. Last week I opened the refrigerator to get something out, turned my back for a few seconds, and when I turned back around, Joseph was IN it! He managed to use the shelves as steps to get inside. (I took him out, and watched as he did it again.) He's been walking more and more and I finally managed a decent video of him. He's growing and changing and learning so fast I cannot keep up! Here are some recent pictures.

Our all American boy.

Joseph and Daddy playing on the computer.

Uh Oh!

Aside from saying "mama" and "dadda", Joseph has learned to say, "Uh Oh!" And uses it correctly! When he falls or drops something. It is so cute!
I've been noticing that lately he mimics not only sounds, but tones. He loves loves music, and stops doing whatever he's doing when he hears something he likes. He's been dancing for a couple of months. And at church he likes to sing with the congregation. Trouble with that is that he doesn't stop when the rest of us do. I think I need to put him in music classes.

Joseph can walk!

Joseph took his first few steps today completely unassisted! Just hours shy of turning 10 months. This little boy seems to be in a hurry! Hooray for Joseph! Video of this milestone will be posted later.

Bonne Annee 2010!

New Year's 2010 - Paris, France

Jared and me wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

The Sammons family at Sacre Coeur.

My little French bebe!

Jared took to the French culture very nicely!

Spending time with Delphine and her family.

Christmas fun

This weekend was full of Christmas fun! On Friday Joseph and I went to Meagan and Jared's parties at their school. Joseph was so excited to see Meagan and to be around other kids. He could hardly contain his joy! It was so sweet to see Meagan and Jared interact with their friends at school and have fun playing games and eating treats. When we were leaving Meagan said she was going to miss school because she wasn't going back till next year. Music to my ears!
On Saturday we went to have cookies with Santa! Our subdivision hosts cookies with Santa every year and the kids love it! They get to visit with Santa and have yummy cookies and punch. The event is held at the country club, which is decorated beautifully for the holidays. This year, they received reindeer food! So, Meagan and Jared said they would sprinkle the special food across the lawn. Who knows, maybe they'll catch a glimpse of Santa's reindeer on Christmas Eve!
After visiting with Santa and other neighbors we went to make gingerbread houses. How fun that was! Meagan and Jared each decorated a house and I made one for our home this year, as well. We sat there for such a long time putting more and more candy on our houses! You can hardly see the gingerbread at all! It was really nice to sit with both Jared and Meagan and share that special moment with them. (Joseph did not go this year. Maybe next year. Maybe!)
We had a great family weekend! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!