A LONG time overdue!

I'm a slacker. I admit it! It's been waaaayyy too easy to just take the pictures and video than it's been to post them here and keep everyone updated with the latest and greatest that is....Joe! So now I have 3 months to catch you all up on. And boy has it gone by in a flash! It's really hard to believe that our son is already (August 1 at least) going to be 6 months old! Egads! So much has happened and thank goodness for still cameras and video cameras! They've captured so much for us that we'll have PLENTY of blackmai...I mean things to share with Joe's friends in the years to come! So here goes...enjoy! And remember, if you'd like, just tell me what picture and I'll send the full size one via email to you.

3 months old:

Joe's third month was quite eventful! We went to Great America for Mother's Day. I was invited to be an "Ambassador" for their Courageous Kids day for kids with cancer. It was quite an honor for me as they were celebrating their 20th anniversary and were looking specifically for young adults who has been long term survivors. So we went down with my sister and her kids and had a great time!



Joe also got baptized this month. We had him baptized at the same Church, and the same Priest that married us! Joe did great all the way through the service...even when the Priest poured the water on his head...and then came the eucalyptus oil...and it was a little too much for him. But we made it through and had a great big party afterwards for him at the house. Here is a picture of us with Monsignor Church and also Joseph with his godparents, Jay and Melissa.



Closing out the month, we had our photographer, Penny, come over and do a session with us here at the house. I know I've said it before, but I have to say again what a great gal she is! We're truly blessed to know her. Here are some of our favorite shots from that day...






4 months:

Lots of stuff happened for Joe this month too, but nothing like last month! We had some of the biggest milestones yet though! Joe finally figured out how to roll from his back to his stomach, and he got his first tooth on Father's Day! That was way cool for me, no doubt. He also got his first taste of "real" food this month too! And let me tell you something...once he got his taste, he ONLY wanted the food too! He's been through all of the veggies and fruits that we can find and...knock on wood...he's liked them all and not had any issues with any of them! Here's some pictures from the month...








5 months:

Mom, Joseph and I celebrated early and often in July! Starting with Joe's first July 4th! We went to my sister's house in Roseville where Joe went swimming for the first time and got to see his very first fireworks show too! Mom was very nervous about the noise from the fireworks, but low and behold Nonna came through with the perfect fix! She is a little sensitive herself to the noise and so had her hubby go and get earplugs. She and mom cut them so they'd fit in Joe's ears and voila! Here are pictures of Joe on the fourth hanging out with his Tia, swimming and enjoying the fireworks.

This is NOT an April fools day joke!

Joseph is really 2 months old today! As I type this, I can hear him out on his playmat whapping away at the toys that hang down. His hand and eye coordination are really starting to come around now. And he moves his little legs around while he's hitting the toys too. If I didn't know any better (and I probably don't) I'd think it would be a good total body workout for us adults!

Bath time has gotten easier the more we do it too...suprise suprise! We found that the trick with Joe is to keep him warm at ALL times. So, when we're giving him a bath, we cover whatever part of his body we're not currently cleaning with warm wash cloths. And we keep the warm water flowing onto them as we go. For the most part this has made bath time much more enjoyable for Joe and us!

Well I never said he was totally enjoying it! Mom and Dad used the oldest trick in the book too this month after one of Joe's baths...the ol' mohawk after the bath trick! I don't really know why the is always so funny. Maybe in this case it has something to do the look on Joe's face when I took this picture!

Joe still loves being in his Pack 'N Play too. Mommy gets stuck (by her own choosing most times however) making the bears move around. It's the only mobile in the house that is not self-propelled. We've had to make one minor adjustment with him in there though...he doesn't fit width wise in the thing now! We have to put him in there long ways. And we think he's soon going to be too heavy to keep him on the upper level. They say that at 15 pounds you should move the child to the floor of the Pack 'N Play and guess what Joe weighed in at last night!

Joe got a new swing this month too. We lost the parts to one my sister gave us when we moved her up here, so Gina went out and found the one she wanted at Once Upon a Child. A great place no doubt for deals on previously used stuff. I won't buy clothes there I don't think (like the boy needs any more anyway right now!), but the furniture all looked pretty good. And Joe loves his new swing!

So that's all we have for now...it's been a very busy month! Joe is growing sooo fast and there's so many new things he's doing! Smiling has been new this month, and something Mom and I were so happy to see. His reactions to us talking or playing with him are absolutely worth the price of admission!

So that's all we have for now...sorry for the long read. Hopefully the pictures made up for it! Joe says good night to all his admirers out there too!

More Pictures...

No real news today...except he is sure smiling a lot these days! I'm just going to post a few more pictures to make sure I keep doing it!

Joseph with Gina's Godfather...the one and only time you'll also see my son in a Raider outfit!

Joe with his Great Nana

Joe and Dad hanging out trying to get Joe to go to sleep.

Joe and Cousin Ruben

Joe-Joe and his Cousin Aubrey Lin

Happy One Month Birthday Joe!

Today was Joseph's 1 month birthday. It seems crazy to think that one month ago we welcomed him into this world. There is just no feeling like it I've been able to come up with. It's truly amazing!

Joe is doing very good. He's back up to his birth weight...and then some most likely. And as for the blood issues, the hematologist doesn't think it's too severe that a little Vitamin K can't fix right up. We'll know more in 3-4 more weeks but Gina and I both feel A LOT better about what's happening now.

February is going to be a crazy month for us from here on. Gina celebrated her birthday on the 27th of this month too, and with Joe's on February 1st, we have both ends of the month blanketed! Throw in my best friend's (and Joe's Godfather) birthday on the 21st and my sister-in-law on the 2nd and we really have a busy month! Come to think of it though, there aren't many months that aren't crazy busy with birthdays after the combination of both families!

Happy Birthday (of sorts) Joe!

Yesterday marked the 3-week birthday for Joe, so I thought what better time to post something again!

We are going to see the hematologist today for him. He has some kind of blood clotting disorder that they want us to see a specialist for before they will circumcise him. Hopefully they've gotten enough blood from the poor kid though because I don't know how much he (or mom) will take. For me, it's a return of sorts to my childhood seeing a pediatric hematologist/oncologist. The two usually go hand in hand as I've seen in the past and I even know some of the doctors that are in the same hospital as where we're going to. I don't know this particular one, but I know others that work in the same hospital.

So wish us luck, keep a good thought, even say a prayer for us. Every little bit helps you know!

John, Gina and The Moose.

Joe is finally here! (And I'm really LATE at posting this!)

Joseph Dennis Linden was born to us at 9:52 am on February 1, 2009. He weighed in at a VERY healthy 11 pounds and 8 ounces and was 22 inches long. Mommy and baby are doing quite well even with all the attention surrounding them both at the hospital and at home!

Joe had low blood sugar when he was born which is not uncommon for a baby his size. He was borderline at birth and then fell some more shortly after. It was hard for me because I watched as they had to do each blood test. They're no different than when a diabetic does their test and each time he cried out. He was fine though after getting some formula and by the end of the day he had climbed out of their worry zone.

The other thing we've been dealing with since his birth is his weight. It's a very difficult thing to keep the child awake when he's nursing with mom. All he wants to do is go back to sleep! That and mom swears that all he wants to do with it sometimes is to play with it. The little bugger! Anyway, he dropped over a pound in the hospital and had only gained back one ounce of it by the time we went to the pediatrician for the first time. We were supposed to have the circumcision, but due to his weight loss, she was hesitant to do it then. So, we have another appointment for Tuesday to get it done. And by our scales, he's gained more than just a couple of ounces!

Here are a couple of pictures of the boy they call The Moose, or as my sister Melody and her family call him, The Entire Line (instead of just a lineman or linebacker). Enjoy!

Joseph in the nursery about 4 hours after being born.



Here is Joseph and his Proud Daddy!



Mommy and son ready to leave the hospital finally!




This picture is Joe lounging around in his play area. He's so alert and strong already it's been quite amazing to Gina and me!

Late breaking news

And no, it doesn't have to do with the State budget or the lawmakers getting off their fat butts and actually getting any real work done...

Gina had her ultrasound today to see how Joe is doing. The good news is that he's a VERY healthy baby AND in the correct, head down position. Then there's the not so good news (depending on who you ask of course).

He's estimated at the size of a moose. Yes, it's official. My son will be ready to try out as linebacker for the Niners in a few more months. Actually, he's 10 pounds 12 ounces right now (estimated). The gal who was doing the ultrasound was cute too. She realized what she was telling us with this weight and immediately went to the "well, there is a plus or minus factor of 1 pound 10 ounces with this and my calculations may turn out different from the doctor's..." Yeah...not helping lady. I know how my wife thinks. You just told her that her baby is gonna be 12 pounds. That's EXACTLY what she heard! By the way, she's sitting here next to me right now laughing which tells me that I'm right.

So next is the next appointment with Dr. Knight on Thursday. We'll know for sure what's going to happen then so stay tuned!

John, Gina and the Moose (AKA Joe)

Update on Mom and Joe

Had another visit with the Doctor today. Gina is convinced that the baby is quite content to stay put for now. The doctor has different plans for him and I'm not quite sure that Joe understands that he's serious!

She's been really itchy for the past few days and almost didn't even say anything to the doctor today. Good thing I asked him before he left the room. It turns out there could be something more serious than just high levels of histamine in her system. Not deadly, but something that he had us go and get blood work done for. Something called bile acids and it supposedly can cause Joe's kidney's to stress if we don't take care of it. So that's one thing we definitely want to monitor.

As for the due date, we're still looking at the 26th of this month or 4 days from now. If he's not here though, we'll have an ultrasound done on Tuesday to check out the weight of the baby and the size of the placenta. The results of this will determine if we need to go the C-Section route or not. If he's still not here by Thursday, it'll be back to the doctor's office for a stress test/checkup on mom and baby. That will help the doctor figure out if he needs to induce labor or not. He said we're only waiting one to one and a half weeks past the 26th before he induces though.

So it's a waiting game right now. Gina is still in really good spirits and great health wise. All of her vitals have been spot on all the way through the pregnancy. She's even LOST a pound over the last two visits! What a trooper!

More news as we get it!


John and Gina

Why must I have these thoughts?

I often find myself curious about the strangest of topics. Today's was a doozy! Anyone care to try and answer this for me?

Q: Considering ettiquete: Is one obliged to hold the door open for someone else when entering the bathroom? Say for instance, you're walking down the hallway at work and you see another person walking toward you, or someone is following you and you think they might be heading the the same place as you are. Are you obligated to hold the door if you get there first? If so, how long should you hold it open? Count 5 steps or something? It's not so weird exiting, but there is that as well I suppose.

And why do people insist on talking on their cell phones while on the throne? Me? I don't take calls in the bathroom. Reading e-mail and surfing the Internet on my Blackberry is another thing, but I always keep my phone on silent when I'm on the throne. I consider that to be courtesy. And as for you people on the phone? I'm double-flushing regardless of it is was necessary or not.

I'm wierd...yes, but at least I can admit it!


Lindo

PS: The 2-week countdown has begun for my baby boy! 13 days and counting until the official due-date!