July

July brought big news in the Kochevar house for Sydney! ... Judson has been enjoying his last few weeks of summer since he starts daily band practice August 2. ...Meanwhile, Joseph is everywhere and it's a good thing he's cute 'cause he can be a stinker! We're having 9 month photos taken tomorrow so look for those this weekend at the picnic/next week in the mail. 

Sydney got her car last month! It's a 2009 Ford Focus and she loves it!!

Joseph is such a boy! He's constantly in motion. He likes to bang, throw, wrangle, jiggle and manever everything. He's particularly partial to thing that aren't toys (like cords, spoons, keys, cell phones and anything else he can find that's not actually a toy). This kitchen spoon is a favorite and provides me with an easy way to keep him busy while I make dinner. He likes to hit things with it (like the cat and a ball). He also likes to push it along the ground.

Shhh! I'm hunting wascally wabbits (I mean, kitties)...

He can also throw a ball. Sydney taught him how to say "whoo hoo!" after he throws it. (Please try to ignore me in this video. I really struggled with even posting it, but this is what I look like when we stay home for the day.)

Joe has started to pull up. He pulls up on the stairs. He's not quite strong enough to pull all the way up on tables, but he's really working on it.

 Joseph does not really like grass. He's starting to tolerate it, but he'll go to extrodanary lengths to keep from touching it....

He's starting to really love finger food! His favorites are spaghetti, mac and cheese, chicken fries, Cheerios, Kix, waffles (with and without Sunbutter) and whole or sliced fruit. He's a really good eater! We've only met 2 foods he won't eat: peaches and tomatoes. I also have to keep him busy with filler foods so he can have something to feed himself while I spoon baby food in between bites. I buy organic puffs, yogurt melts and (what I call) baby cheetos. He only eats organic baby food: Happy Baby, Yo Baby and Earth's Best. I'm very much realizing how much we eat as a family I'm unwilling to give to Joseph. We need to make some changes fast!

We still have play dates once or twice a week. He has a group of friends he sees on a fairly regular basis. We went to story time at the library last week. It was a lot of fun. We sing and play games with the babies as a group. They read 3 books to the babies - one was read in Spanish to expose them to another language. They have story time once a week and we're looking forward to going again soon!

Joseph and his friend, Jack, love sharing toys and swimming together.

Coming Next Month and Beyond:
The kids will start school in August. Jud will be a freshman and Sydney will be a senior at Legacy. Sydney will be getting her senior pictures taken so look for those in the next entry. Jud will also turn 14 years old next month! Jud will continue band practice everyday until school starts. He got a position in the section and he really seems to love being in band! He still has LOTS of fundraising to do for the Macy's Day Parade in NY this fall!

Ruggs and I have decided to have Joseph's baptism this fall. I'm meeting with Deacon Jim @ Immaculate Conception in Lafayette this week. More details to follow.

I'm also already thinking about JT's first birthday - it's only 2 1/2 months away! Ruggs will be out of town on his actual birthday so I will probably have a small (friends) party for him here at home. We will likely have a bigger (family) party the following Saturday, 10/22, so pencil us in! :)