Holly Days

We've had a wonderful holiday season and it's not even over yet! As a throwback to the last blog regarding firsts, it's been a season of firsts for this entire multicultural family...

The thing about having a near five month old is she has the curiosity of a toddler with the mobility of an infant, so we need to explore the world with and for her. It's equal parts amazing and exhausting. Thank Santa for Jonathan, the energizer bunny. Speaking of the big guy...look who met mall Santa with ZERO TEARS! She is fearless! To be fair, this chap does look like the real McCoy. Josie's first Santa encounter - check!

A few days later, we lit the menorah, which was pretty funny. You see, I am what I call a "holiday Jew" and I may have overestimated my knowledge of Hebrew prayers we had a colorful introduction to the Young family Chanukah experience, literally and figuratively. First, the literal color - little Jo loved the lights and we spoke of the general theme of perseverance, which I feel captures the spirit of the occasion. Josie's and Jonathan's first menorah lighting and Chanukah celebration - check!

Now onto the figurative color. You may become ill from the various angles of this ridiculous clip. Sorry about that, but it might be worth it. Remember that time we sang happy birthday to the menorah and a Chanukah prayer became a Whitney Houston song? In the Young household, anything is possible.

For the next series of firsts, let's move on to the purchase (and decoration) of a Christmas tree. Jonathan warned that I would disapprove of his tree selection because I would think it would be enormous and he was right! I stand corrected, though. That tree was perfect. I might be allergic to it, but it's perfect. We loved decorating it, and Josie loved her first ornament from her Auntie Ashie.  Josie's and Jaimie's first Christmas tree - check!

Onto Christmas day! Josie opening her first present ever - check! Never mind she would have preferred to eat the wrapping paper...

While I made a collage, this picture is the CUTEST thing I have ever seen so it merits it's own place of honor:

This holiday season, we've been so lucky to have family come to US. My parents came for Thanksgiving and Jonathan's were here for Christmas. A four and a half month old is a good excuse to avoid holiday travel, so maybe she'll keep working for us when she's one year and four and a half months, and two years and four and a half months...! 

We had a great time and they were so helpful. Check out the adorable moments below:

Finally, I discovered my inner arts and crafts goddess. I had A BLAST making all kinds of things that did not involve cooking (although I did bake once!).

Special thanks to one of Josie's besties and her sweet family for our a&c sesh. Check out their mistletoes!

See ya next year, everyone! 
Xoxo, the tiniest Santa

Josie's Firsts at Four Months Old

I can't believe my babe is four months old! This is the only photo I got where she wasn't trying to eat the stocking. Four months has brought an array of firsts, such as first stocking snack. Read on for more firsts:

Where did that newborn Pup go? Here's Josie at 4 months, 2 months, and one week.

Josie's stats

• Is wearing size 3 diapers. Is wearing 6-9 month clothing. Weighs 18.9 pounds. Earn her first A+ in size: is in the 99%tile in height, weight, and head circumference. 
• Said her first word: "Bill". This did not actually happen, but Jonathan swears it so. We've never said "bill" in front of her. She probably said "buh" followed by "illlllllll", and Jonathan beamed so now all stuffed animals are named Bill. 
• Uttered her first shriek! Jonathan was warming up his voice for an audition and thinks she attempted to copy him. Check out Josie the Pterodactyl:                                      
• Made her first onomatopoeia. She buzzes when she wants to voice a complaint, so she's basically always buzzing. She is easily the tiniest dictator. Here are a sample of her complaints:
• I am bored.
• I want you to stand up with me, not sit down.
• I want you to have both hands and eyes and all of your attention on me. Do not touch anything else. Do not look at anything else. Do not do anything else.
• I am done with the office and my reports.
• I am done with the jungle gym.
• I am done with this carseat.
• I want you to lift me out of my crib.
• I don't want to wear those socks.
• I want to touch my feet.
• I don't like this headband.
• I like that you are holding me, but I need more bouncing.
• I am done with this bath.
• I have a soiled diaper, but I don't want to lay down as it is removed.
• I want to eat my washcloth. Why are you taking it away from me?
• I'm tired but I don't want to go to bed.
• Found her feet (and thumb) for the first time. Check out her First Foot Discovery:                                                                                                                                
• Continued to wake up 6 times a night, and thus prompted a family first motion to "consult the experts" by buying an audio book. Let's be real: sleep training is really for the adults, and not Josie. I admit it. I am an enabler but I if I wake up from a bad dream, I want to be comforted. And, I refuse the cry it out method, though I'm okay with "Buzz it Out". We had a family huddle and decided we needed to act so we listened to a book on tape Twelve Hours Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old on a recent road trip. Although half of the recording was spent on reviewing the author's credentials, we did glean a few nuggets of wisdom. I am happy to report Josie slept from 8:45 pm - 5:15 am so I'm a believer!
• Landed her first desk job, and hates when she runs out of TPS reports on her desk.

  

  Josie at her office with her TPS reports, which includes Bill, the Bee.

• Held her first bottle. I can tell we are going to have a very independent little Pup who wants to do everything herself. She may look like Jonathan but it's clear in this case the Josie apple does not fall far from the Jaimie tree.
• Performed her first magic trick although Josie has since forgotten this skill. We discovered it as we were packing for Boston. Jonathan left her on her tummy on one of her favorite blankets, and told me about a minute later to check on her as we were in the bedroom. I came out and found her on her back! I tested the theory, putting her back on her tummy and she rolled over again. I tried it once more with the camera out and caught it. She only performed it in that moment, though. She won't replicate the skill for any amount of bribery. Maybe she'll remember next month.

First Roll

• Finally, we had our First Visit From Grandma! Josie's west coast grandma visited about a month ago and was soooo helpful! Check out this adorable clip of their time together.

Three Generations of Youngs!

Giving Thanks

Josie's first Thanksgiving was delightful and delicious! Our sweet little apartment housed 9 people (I refuse to refer to Josie as a fraction of a person). My parents met my sister's boyfriend's parents and everyone had a really nice time.

We are incredibly thankful for this little turkey. 

She *almost* let me eat half of my plate!

Our meal was actually catered by one of my dad's clients, which was a lifesaver. Jonathan still elected to make a few healthier choices, so we had some kitchen prep. Well, I should tell the truth: we = they. I have many skills and none of them involve me in a kitchen, except when I was pregnant. I enjoyed being barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen as I fixed my very complicated meal of Frosted Flakes and soy milk. I digress. Back to kitchen prep.

While fixing "healthy" stuffing, Adam (my sister's boyfriend) and Jonathan filmed their audition tape for the new hit show: Amateur Chefs in V-Necks.

Josie did her best to imitate an actual turkey with her ear-piercing squawks. It was headache-inducing so sweet. My mom kept Josie entertained in fifteen second intervals. This photo was taken at 14.5 seconds into the interval.

Jonathan and Adam would take over periodically to film their second audition tape: Button-downs and Babies. Here are a few stills from their clip.

Here's a pic of some of us mid-bite.

Photo credit: Adam Lekach

Here are a couple of group shots:

Photo credit: Sydney Lekach;
I can't tell if Jonathan and I clash or compliment each other here.
I was going to make a joke about this being a microcosm of our relationship, but it's not.
We are kind of amazing together and, for that, I am beyond thankful. #longestphotocaptionever 

The Lovely Lekach Clan + One Krause.
Photo credit: Yours truly

In true family fashion (heh, get it?), my husband and father did not disappoint. I'm not sure if this makes my dad hip or my husband not hip. :)

We have many, many blessings this year and we were so happy to share the holiday with our family, including our little angel.

By the way, this blog is sponsored by the people who brought us 25 sun hats:

Josie, the Three Month Old Giant

Josie's stats

• Current nicknames: Puppy, Jojo, Jojobear, Honeybear, Josie Posey, Little Jo, Little J, Baby J
• Still has blue eyes! Looks like Jonathan. Does not look like me at all. Only acts like me when throws a fit.
• Is wearing size 3 diapers. Is wearing 6 month clothing. Weighs 17 pounds. Is giant.
• Has started picking up objects and shaking them or placing them in mouth. Is likely the reason she weighs 17 pounds. Has probably swallowed a teddy bear.
• Still makes goat noises after a good shout. Also sounds like a buzzer.
• HATES: getting dressed, when feeding ends, staying in bed one minute more than necessary, her Halloween costume.
• MEH: marathons, Skype/FaceTime calls, photoshoots, anyone not her dad including her mom.
• LOVES: bath time, morning diaper changes, flash cards, her dad, Club 806 (hip hop and dancing with her dad), sit-ups. See below.      

                                           
Other notable experiences

Josie the Reluctant Cheerleader
Josie was a marathon cheerleader for her Aunt Ashley (and Deirdre and actor Ethan Hawke)! She received so many high fives from other runners, all of whom obviously sanitized their icky, sweaty mitts pre-five. #parentingfailnumberonemillion

Josie the Emoji

I'm not even sure this needs an explanation, except I'm still experimenting with apps on my phone. And I'm nuts.

Josie the Diva

Josie had her first Halloween! I was torn between putting her in an adorable infant costume (like the kangaroo I found) and capitalizing on her name for a fun pop culture reference. I decided on the latter except...there were a few complications. Mainly, my daughter is a beast who definitely does not fit in clothing intended for tiny humans her size. So, when I ordered the costume pieces a few weeks prior, they weren't even close to the right size. Instead of cool lead singer duds, Josie's costume was more sausage encasement. Oops. At least I'm giving her good material for her future therapy sessions. But, COME ON. JUST LOOK AT HER.

In typical lead singer fashion, our diva is throwing a FIT

In a moment of Halloween panic (we take Halloween verrrry seriously in this house), I called on my mom friends for costume support. Anna (mom of adorable lobster Lucy) came through with a ladybug. Josie hated this one equally but looked equally as cute. She could have been the Queen of Hearts or a lady in an old-timey saloon, minus the antenna hat and wings. Pictured below is also sweet Harper aka Minnie Mouse and daughter of Trish. Lucy, Harper, and Josie are besties - I'm not sure they totally know that but we all love getting them together. More on Josie's wonderful friends in a later post.

I Wish They All Could Be California Blogs

We did it! We traveled by plane. And, not a single tear was shed and Josie was t-e-s-t-e-d (really, she tested herself but keep reading).

Things started out pretty easy breezy. Josie was really into the agent next to us
and was a little bummed we didn't have him checking us in. She is such a flirt!

Security was fairly painless and I even smuggled in a bottle of water "for the baby". I now know I can also smuggle in a variety of things"for the baby" such as my favorite grapefruit beer apple juice.

When we boarded the plane, the guy sitting next to us took one look at Josie (without realizing she is a perfect angel who never cries) and literally upgraded to first class on his iPhone in the span of thirty seconds. I didn't even know that was a thing. It happened so quickly, it makes me wonder if there's a secret photo of a screaming baby one presses on the American Airlines home screen that automatically grants you a seat as far away as possible.

It probably looks like this and is invisible to parents.

Anyhow, he tried to be less of a jerk polite and said, "Hey, win-win!" Totally, dude. Totally.

Haha! I didn't plan for this but as I was reviewing our pics
from this trip, our plane selfie caught the guy in action!! Busted, baby hater!

As we were taking off, Josie became enthralled with the safety presentation. Really, Josie? I can tell she is going to be one of those people who ALWAYS flosses. Her dentist is going to be pumped. Mine hates me!

"So wait, like, I make the mask levitate and then what?"

Josie snuggled with me for most of the flight but every once and a while, she'd wake and Jonathan would fly her over the seats so she could check out the other passengers. That's right: we played airplane on an airplane. How meta.

This is Josie before one of her take-offs

Alright, 8 readers I have, I know what you're thinking and it's one of two things:
A) "Wow, Jaimie. You are a paparazzi and need to chill out on capturing every single moment of Josie's life."
B) "Wow, Jaimie. You are a such a dedicated mom and I applaud you for capturing every single moment of Josie's life."
C) Some combination of A and B

Well, guess what? You are incorrect. There is one moment I did not photograph and it rhymes with scoop. If you read past blogs, you know Josie has this delightful habit of disregarding her diaper when she's gotta go. Well, friends, it happened on the plane. Boy did it happen.

Have you ever felt claustrophobic on an airplane bathroom? Take that feeling and multiply it by infinity. I had to not only change Josie's diaper, but give her a birdbath and an outfit change while she was sideways. AND SHE DID NOT MAKE A PEEP! Mom merit badge acquired!

WE LANDED!

We were so excited to introduce Josie to her west coast Grandma Anne and Grandpa Bob! Anne doesn't know this, but I saw her earlier and hid behind something until we had our cameras ready.

This was a pretty surreal moment for all of us. 

I have the best mother in law!

Jonathan's dad, Bob, was also on the scene. Here's a sweet pic of Anne and Bob at home with a sleepy Jojo.

Cuddles with Grandma

Josie also met her Uncle Paul and Aunt Crystal! As you can see, she was snuggled for a solid 7 days. Josie does not like to be put down in general so she was quite content with this. I'm not saying it's totally our faults that our child is spoiled rotten with affection, but I'm not relinquishing blame either. 

Did I mention we were in town for Grandma Deane's 90th birthday party? As a result, Josie got to meet so many family members!! Pictured below are Karin (left) and Susan (right). I swear Jonathan's entire family is made of organic sugar and maybe a little organic wine <insert wink>. They are the nicest people and staying with them felt like we were nestled in a small village. It was awesome. We had 300 babysitters!

Grandma Deane had a weekend full of events to celebrate being 90! We knew we needed a special dress for Josiebear, who has now acquired about 70 nicknames. 

On a scale from 1-ridiculously cute, this dress is off the charts adorable.
The child inside of it is also pretty delicious.

Here's Grandma Deane with her great granddaughter! These moments are so, so special! There's a balloon for every generation pictured below! Okay, I am a nerd. I know. Moving on...

Way back when we were only two months pregnant last December, we made another CA trip. We visited lots of family, including Tessie and Bim. During dinner everyone ordered wine. I did not. Since I had lots of wine a few months before at Paul's wedding (like, a lot), Tessie and Bim did the math. They were sworn to secrecy, as we had a plan to reveal the pregnancy to Anne and Bob (see my first blog ever!).

Being a new parent takes a lot out of you -
sleepless nights, cluster feedings, 25 diaper changes a day...
Jonathan is wearing a name tag so he doesn't forget his own name at the family gathering.
Did I mention I am LOVING Josie's little dress? Oh, like twice already?
Well, let's discuss another feature of it, because that bow on her tulle butt is almost too much for me.

Speaking of things that happened last year, I had an astonishing realization whilst in CA. These two photographs were taken on the very same day, one year apart. WHAT?!

October 10, 2014 and 2015. It's amazing what can change in a year.
That's right: I got highlights. Crazy! :D

Since she is so small, many group photos of much bigger humans means you can't really see her.
Here's a closeup of her sweet little mug.

The aforementioned ballerina dress dinner was for close family (of which Jonathan has hundreds compared to my ~11), and it was followed by an afternoon gathering in his grandmother's beautiful backyard. I don't often photograph people's backyards/homes, but just look at this:

It looks like elves live here who happen to whistle while they work,
but tall ones who surf in their spare time.

Back to people, a subject more in line with this blog's theme. Here's a really sweet group photo of the family! Josie looks particularly smashing.

Growing up, I had a friend who had her photograph taken with her two cousins once a year in the same poses until they were 18 so I proposed we do the same with Josiebear, her cousins Theo and Finn, and their sweet mamas. It actually came out really well!

Here's the moment Josie and Theo met. Both are newer additions to the giant clan of west coast fam. The babes were super into it.

Jojo also met friends who are family. First up: Uncle Arya, Jonathan's best friend since he was six. It must be surreal to see your childhood best friend become a parent - Jonathan's friends are some of the sweetest people I know and truly treat Josie as if she was their own, as evidenced in this photo. It's such a precious moment. I forgot to bring it out when he was around, but Arya made Josie the coolest rattle. M-A-D-E it for her. He also helped assemble Josie's bassinet. Did I mention he's an MD/PhD? Annnd a cat dad? Annnd his mom knitted Josie a blanket? I'm just sayin'.

We also got to watch the Dodgers' game with the Sullivan family! Here's Josie meeting Auntie Lyttle and Rhyle and Sadie. The Sullivan family visits Disneyland quite a bit since they're so close and Josie is wearing the outfit Stephen delivered to us in NYC - cutest Minnie around!

Pardon the blurry photo. I had to post it!

Rhyle and Sadie were so sweet and gentle with her. Josie was only mostly oblivious.

Finally, I've been loving our little family outings. We took the Real Housebabe of Santa Monica to the Santa Monica Pier and has so much fun!

Who wore her better?

We'll miss you, California! I will leave you with this gorgeous sunset, which is just a whatever Tuesday in the Sullivan neighborhood. Gasp!

One last thing! Anne flew back with us, which is a really big deal and we were so happy to have her! Stay tuned for her visit next post. :)