Joshua has become quite the social butterfly lately.  We joined a new ‘mommy & baby’ group & met lots of new mommies & their little ones.  Of course, Joshua had to be the loudest baby at the group’s monthly meeting when we first joined.  But it was a fun, chaotic gathering where kids were running & crawling all over the place while the moms (tried to) listen to a presentation.  Then a few days later, we joined a new playgroup with other babies Joshua’s age.  Last week, we went to the park down the street from our house & went on a kiddy train & carousel with some friends.  We’ve been here this whole time & never made it to the park, & now we’ve been there twice in a week (we went back with Daddy last weekend).  When Joshua rides the horses on the carousel, he gets this oh, so serious look on his face.  Erick kept trying to get him to smile, but he wouldn’t have any of it—he held onto the pole, stared straight ahead, & tried to ‘gallop’ his horse, as if to run faster than Daddy to escape his nonsense.  I had a hard time standing up next to him since I was laughing so hard.  We had a potluck the other night with the parent-tot group through the spouses club I’m in & it was a lot of fun, except I was sweating from running after Josh all evening.  He had a great time playing with the other kids’ toys & watching the others his age.

Joshua has learned to clap, gotten a new tooth, & said his first real word.  What a week!  He likes to clap his hands when he feeds himself a bite of food—he got this from us, since we’d clap whenever he’d get the foods into his mouth as opposed to the floor where he likes to throw things.  Josh looks like half a vampire now, since his new tooth is on the top & is a lateral incisor & not one in the middle like typically happens first.  It’s his fang, & I bet the other will make its appearance pretty soon, since Joshua has been drooling & fussing a lot more than usual the past few days.  Last week, Joshua pointed at himself in a mirror & said ‘baby.’  It was the most adorable thing (although most of what he does is adorable, in my unbiased opinion).  He’s said it a few times since, most recently toward his little friend Charlie.

Other than Joshua’s recent fussiness, we’re still managing to have a great time.  We’re looking forward to his first birthday which will be here before we know it.  Erick is busy with his surgical rotation but he manages to have a little time here & there to play with, feed, & sometimes change Joshua.  It’s nice to watch them interact, & it’s a welcome break for all of us since it’s usually just Joshua & I while Erick’s at the hospital.