We marked eight and a half months with Joseph on Friday with a degree of naughtiness on his part. He wouldn't settle for his afternoon sleep and then it went all quiet. I went up to check and what did I find but the clever monkey pants sitting up in his cot, looking very pleased with himself! So, a new trick that is getting used on the afternoons since! Luckily, a cuddle and a couple of rounds of "You are my sunshine" usually get him off to sleep!

As soon as Joseph wakes in the morning, there is only a short window of happiness before the need for a bottle kicks in - Dan snapped this shot when that window was closing!!

Dan has also been teaching Joseph some naughty tricks - standing in the cot. I'm not sure that is such a good idea so we've agreed to only have standing outside the cot! Joseph loves standing at the moment and while he hasn't quite mastered pulling himself to standing he is intent on giving it a go. He seems to prefer standing to being on his tummy at the moment and he makes himself go all rigid when I want him to sit down.

Joseph's second front tooth came through early last week but you can't see much of it at the moment. We managed to get this pic today at lunch time - you can really see how his left front tooth is growing.

True to form we went to see Bruce last Monday (chesty cough and manky ear) and we're back again tomorrow for a follow-up!

Week 36 of Joseph's life passed by in a blur - Dan and I have been busy at work and Joseph has been well and truly occupied at Bear Park. They keep telling me how musical Joseph is, how he likes all the instruments and dancing to music. We're not sure where he gets that from as neither of us excel at either! Here's a picture taken on Thursday night when Dan picked Joseph up from BP - absolutely shattered from a big week of activity! He seems to have got very big/heavy in the last week or so.

I haven't taken a photo on the chair for several posts, you can see how much his sitting has improved as he is actively leaning forward towards the camera - Joseph has definitely learnt to recognise the camera! After this was taken, Joseph and I popped into my work as I had to have a meeting - Joseph was very attentive during the meeting and had a lot to contribute. He also helped me send some emails and had lots of cuddles from people in the office.

Joseph continues to love bath time and he likes to pull himself up on the edges of the baby bath trying to stand up. His face is all red from the constant dribbling that is accompanying the growth of his left front top tooth. Its arrival is imminent!

Finally, we went for a family walk on Sunday in Cornwall Park. Here are Dan and Joseph looking at the cows (mums and their baby calves). nb pohutkawa trees blossoming in the background - a sure sign Christmas is on its way!

We've made it to 8 months as a family unit! Joseph was 8 months old (35 weeks) on Friday 17th. It seems like we've always had him and those early dark days seem a long time ago!!

Joseph had a very busy week upsetting our usual routine. Joseph and I went to see Bruce (GP) on Monday to make sure his manky ear was healing (it has) and we finished off the antibiotics. Little did we know that this would lead to lots of diarreaha (apparently starting/finishing antibitotics upsets the gut and runny poo can be a side effect). So, on Wednesday, I got a call from Antoinette at Bear Park to say that I had to collect Joseph and keep him at home for the rest of Wednesday and all of Thursday due to his squirty bottom. I am really hoping that this is the end of Joseph's ailments!! Although, on Thursday, we were joined by Joseph's top front left tooth cutting through - it's just cut the gum so there isn't much to see at the moment. He seems to be in a bit of pain so we've been giving him Pamol to help him sleep.

Here's a pic of Joseph on the couch downstairs - admittedly it is not the best shot of him but you can see his two bottom teeth.

Something else Joseph has been showing us over the past couple of days is his ability to throw his hands up in the air and then bring them crashing down on his knees - almost haka-ish in the delivery!

Joseph's appetite has definitely returned (our key indicator that he is getting better/feeling off colour) and he has been making great strides on the eating front. Here's a couple of pics of Joseph feeding himself a cracker and using his new ($13!!!) cup.

Week 34 of Joseph's life ended with a developmental milestone - he has learnt to clap hands! Very exciting and he is so proud of himself (and we are of him!).

I was on jury duty this week (but didn't get selected for a jury!) and we booked Joseph into Bear Park for an extra day so he ended up doing four days there. It didn't worry him at all and I think he had a good time (an even better time than usual with lots of playing the drums, exploring cellophane and making other various noises!).

Joseph's many illnesses have all passed and he is in good spirits - very happy with lots of smiles and heaps of chatting (he definitely gets that from Dan!). His eating is back on track and he's easily getting through three meals, four bottles and a couple of snacks in a day. He even had baked beans at Bear Park on Wednesday (not good for the nappies the next day though!!).

Mum and Dad were here for four days on their way back from visiting their third grandson, Alfie, in Bristol. It is so obvious that Joseph is the favourite and he was at maximum cuteness with them.

Week 33 of Joseph's life was marked with, not one but, two visits to Bruce (our GP) and our fourth lot of antibiotics. I noticed on Monday that Joseph has some green gunk coming out his left ear and though it was best to get that checked out! We went back on Friday to find out what it was (Bruce took a swab and we found out it was the common bug "strep")...so for a few days Joseph had green stuff coming out his nose and ear! However, as I write this on Sunday 5th Nov, Joseph is well on his way to much better health and the leakng from nose and ear has pretty much disappeared. He's been eating really well too - I'm really pleased about that. It looks like that the winter ailments are finally on their way out of our house!

Anyway, in terms of growth and development, this post focuses on Joseph exploring and discovering with items both manmade and naturally occurring!

My boss, Sharon, and her husband, Bob, passed on some things that belonged to Bob's grandchildren - some Duplo and a Fisher Price ABC/counting toy (one that sings and lights up depending on which buttons you press - you know the ones where the song sticks in your head long after it's been turned off!?!). Here is a picture of Joseph engaged in the "soupy swirl" song.

Dan and I bought Joseph a swing today - he loves it! He giggles away like crazy and likes it when we push him higher and faster! It is supposed to last him until he is seven and converts in three stages.

Finally, Dan put Joseph into the swing's box and Joseph was really enjoying that too. He is actually standing in the box on his own. Standing has overtaken sitting and being on his tummy as the preferred positions!

Week 32 of Joseph's life saw us at the doctor for the third week in a row. This time with a chesty cough and runny nose (green snot - gross!). So, we've got yet a another kind of antibiotic to try for ten days! He definitely picked this up at Bear Park as when I collected him on Thursday afternoon a couple of the Moreporks (big kids) gave Joseph a cuddle goodbye and they both had runny noses! At the time, I thought that wasn't a good sign and that we'd see similar symptoms soon enough at 35 Tawa Road!!

We turned Joseph's car seat around last Monday so he now faces forward...another step on the way to becoming a big boy! He was a bit unsure of it at first but after a few days I think he quite likes it. It is lovely to be able to turn around and see eachother when I stop at the lights or an intersection and he gives me one of his big smiles.

Joseph's sitting is coming along well however this seems to be at the expense of any crawling! He seems to prefer sitting at the moment to anything else.

These past few weeks of sickness have put Joseph off his food - well, that's not quite true, he eats really well at daycare but pfaffs around a bit at home. I'm hoping he'll come right on the eating front on his own accord. Here is a pic from this morning's breakfast - nb poor posture, lots of vegemite on the face and hands!

Joseph was seven months old on Tuesday 17th of October - week 31. Monday 16th saw us doing the rounds of medical professionals with a visit to the GP for Joseph's squirty bottom and chesty cough. We're on our second lot of antibiotics and things seem to be improving (at both ends!). He was very tired last weekend and spent quite a lot of time asleep (very unusual!).

Then we had our seven month check with Plunket. Unfortunately, the weigh-in didn't meet our expectations of 10 kilos and Joseph is weighing in at 9.47kg (about 20 pounds). To be fair, he is still well in the high percentiles and he has been off his food for a couple of weeks due to his various ailments! His appetite has picked up this week and he's been waking about 4am and chugging back a good 250mls in about 5 minutes. Bear Park have noticed how hungry he has been and he's been making good progress through their daytime menu (including scones for afternoon tea on Wednesday). Here's the latest Warren Family weight chart - as you can see Joseph's gains have slowed down!

As you know, we usually give Joseph a shower but now that he can sit properly, we have dragged out the old baby bath and are using that as well. Joseph loves hitting the water and splashing about. He can sit in there for ages!

With the improved sitting has come standing (I think the activity centre has also strengthened his legs) and here is a pic of me and Joseph. He looks a bit pensive I think but he's been like this while he's been sick - he's nearly back to normal in terms of being smiley and chatty!

Week 30 was rather dismal for all of us due to our first experience with a vomiting and diarrhoea bug that affected Joseph, then Dan (quite badly) and then me (just a little bit). Poor old Joseph didn't know what was going on and he has been off his food and milk all week. Dan had to pick him up from Bear Park on Tuesday and he didn't go to Bear Park on Wednesday.

So, I've decided not to discuss that grossness any further (although big thanks to Mum and Denise for helping us clean up Joseph and his bed on Friday night and for Mum to doing all the washing on Saturday before she flew out to the UK!) and rather focus on Joseph's latest acheivements.

He's just started to sit unaided - he looks so cute and so grown up! He also sits with a very straight back which apparently is required if you're going to play in the front row!

Joseph also likes to lie on his back and grab his knees, feet, toes and trousers.

The high chair is going well (just a pity that he's not so keen on eating at the moment due to his tummy bug!). He is a very good helper during feeding and likes to have two spoons - one for him and one for the feeder! This gets very messy but seems to be the most effective way to get food into him.

Finally, a smug parent moment - a picture of Joseph looking very angelic, asleep after a walk in the park with Dan.

Week 29 was characterised by Joseph recovering from his chest infection - he had his first lot of antibiotics. These went down a treat due to their orange taste!

As you've seen before, Joseph has a shower with Dan nearly every night. For many weeks, Joseph was all floppy and didn't really interact with the water. That has started to change since his back/neck strength has improved...so much so that now he puts his face in the water, his hand up to the shower rose and likes to put his head under the water and look at it as it courses off his head.

Just to finish off the baptism post...Dan has put some photos up of the baptism but he did it as a link off last week's post. I've had some feedback that people couldn't find them so have a look at last week's and the link is in green. Here's a pic of Joseph and his new favourite person, his Godfather, Matt. Joseph was always really happy to see Matt when he was staying with us giving him lots of smiles and cuddles.

Mum and Dad were here for a couple of days enroute to Bristol to see Kate and her new baby, Alfie (born end of Sept). They bought Joseph a high chair from Ikea (rumours are that Ikea is opening in NZ late 2007 - thank goodness!!). Joseph is still getting used to it and he tends to bob around a bit, hence the need for a bolster towel! Here's pic of Joseph having his first meal in the high chair courtesy of Grandad BQ.

Week 28 (or 6 and a half months!) culminated in Joseph's baptism in Christchurch on Sunday 24th September. Dan is going to do a separate baptism post so this one concentrates on the day to day activities of a busy monkey!

We borrowed an "activity centre" from our friend Jennifer (she is my personal baby shop as she has absolutely everything and is very generous in allowing us to borrow lots and lots of stuff). Joseph LOVES his time in his work station and seems quite happy to suss out how to make all the toys/activites work. Dan had him outside so it was a super-duper learning experience as he could feel the grass on his barefeet as well!

We flew to Christchurch on Friday 22nd and remembered to document Joseph's flight.

In Christchurch we stayed at Mark and Lucy Sutherland's house - such a great set up (amazing views) as Joseph was able to use all of Ben's things - cot, highchair and toys. Here's a couple of pics of Joseph asleep in Ben's cot and also his first time in a highchair.

We're a bit behind with our posts so I've got two to do...this is for Week 27.

We got the all clear from Kate the physio in terms of Joseph's torticollis (ie his tendency to favour his right side). He now sleeps on his tummy so Kate said this was a sign that he has full range of movement in his neck. She gave me some tips on how to encourage Joseph to practice his sitting, so we're working on that. He is quite "tippy" but he's getting better. It is hard to get a pic of this skill as I'm usually sitting behind him trying to prop him up!

Solids continue to be a great hit with Joseph - this week we introduced broccoli, nectarine and chicken. Doesn't faze Joseph in the slightest! Unfortunately, he wants to help me feed him which leads to a lot of mess and I'm not sure how much food he is actually eating.

The biggest news however for this week is that Joseph cut his first tooth! The bottom left. It is super sharp and he insists on "kissing" my chin with it, it really hurts and he tends to leave a big saliva trail as well. I haven't got a pic of this yet as he tends to poke out his tongue and cover up the tooth when I go to have to look.

Pic of the week is of Great Aunt Aida feeding Joseph his morning tea bottle in the weekend.

Joseph is now 26 weeks old, well he'll be 6 months on Sunday, 17th September. Can't believe it really! His development has really come along in leaps and bounds in the past few weeks, he's rolling around like mad, talking away, eating anything that comes his way, trying very hard to crawl (and to teethe!) and even his sitting is improving although he still collapses and looks a bit like a buddha! He seems to enjoy his two days at Bear Park and all the teachers comment how laid back he is, how much more alert he is and that he gives really nice cuddles! I'm not sure what he actually does at Bear Park but I think he's holding his own with the rest of the babies/fantails (mostly girls!).

Joseph has three meals a day and we also introduced rusks with his dinner. This is the second time he'd had them and he'd worked out that they actually provide some sustenance. He had a good go on this one and pretty much scoffed it! They are very messy and I kept finding lots of little bread balls everywhere once he'd gone to bed.

I thought it would be prudent to show everyone that Joseph isn't always a happy baby and here's a pic of him crying! We'd just received a parcel from Grandma (nb bib message "Spoiled by Grandma") and I thought I'd put the bib on before I fed him. He didn't really appreciate this as he was hungry!

Finally, this pic is fresh off the press. I came upstairs to write this post and thought I'd better check on Joseph. I'm not sure if you can appreciate this photo but his mouth is actually wrapped around one of the cot bars. Needless to say I moved him into a more comfortable position.

Another busy week for Joseph in week 25 of his life! We've changed daycare days for September and Joseph is now going Tuesdays and Thursday (rather than Wed and Thu). The change didn't seem to worry Joseph at all and he slept and ate well on both days at Bear Park...he'll be going three days a week from October (in Dan's new job he has to work five days a week!). Here's a pic of Joseph and I heading off to work/Bear Park last Thursday. It's still a bit chilly in the mornings so I make sure he's got a fleece and a hat on.


Illegal cot activity is continuing in earnest and we are finding Joseph in all sorts of positions when he's asleep. I've checked with Plunket about the rolling vs sleeping on his back and they said if he's got the head control to roll then he'd be alright sleeping on his side/tummy. Several people have suggested we get him a sleeping bag suit so that he stays warm through the night so I'm going to investigate these over the weekend. Here's pic of Joseph after his morning sleep on Friday - nb only one sock, no blankets and presence of toys.


I'm always keen to document Joseph's outfits and here's one from yesterday wearing his newish jeans and his rugby top (thanks to Aunty Di and Uncle Ben) - I'm not sure how many more wears we'll get out of the rugby top but I think he looks cute.


We had Mother's Group yesterday afternoon - lots of fun with five (of the six) babies present. Here's another pic of Joseph and his friends...they're all so much more active than the last time we took pics. This shot is the best of the bunch and after this was taken they all started to collapse on each other. They're in boy/girl order this time - William, Sarah, Joseph, Lizzie, Taylor (Joshie is missing). Taylor and Joseph are by the far the biggest - we weighed them on Chantell's scales - Taylor 9.6kg and Joseph 9.2kg. The other's are in the low 6kg range!!!!

Week 24

Week 24 was another success for us and the weather was quite spring like at the beginning of the week. Making the most of this nice weather, Dan and Joseph spent some time outside on the grass on Tuesday and here's a pic to mark that occasion. This was the first time Joseph had been on the grass in NZ (only other time was in Noosa).

Joseph is starting to try and roll from front to back and the only negative side effect of the rolling is that he can now do it in his cot. He will wake during the night and escape from his blankets - we have discovered him in a variety of positions - feet through the bars kicking on the wall; arms wedged between the bars, head at the bottom of the cot. He is also starting to rotate himself when he's on his tummy and this also contributes to some illegal cot activity! Here's a picture from Friday when I found him on his tummy after his morning sleep.


The week culminated on Sunday 3rd September with Father's Day. We had a very nice day celebrating Dan's first Father's Day. Joseph made Dan a card at Bear Park (a couple of green paint smeary handprints on a piece of paper) and also bought Dan his favourite chocolate and a scratchy Lotto ticket.

Also, here is a link to a story about Joseph's day at Bear Park a couple of weeks back.

And for some Bear Park "back issues" here is a story of Joseph's first day at Bear Park on August 2 and a "tummy time" story from August 10.