Joshua's first year collage and slideshow!

Just barely getting this post done before Joshua turns 13 months old...  I've finally finished Joshua's first year retrospective slideshow!  It's a collection of some of our favorite photos and videos of our dear wee lad -- and believe me, it was hard to winnow it down, because there's no such thing as a bad photo of our cutie.  :)

But before I post the video, I have to post our "Joshua Watch" collage, in celebration of making it all the way through a year of monthly growth comparison photos with Mr. Tiger.  There were definitely some months near the end there where I didn't think we'd be able to get any more usable shots of Joshua at least kind of lying back next to the tiger, but we managed to eke it out!  Any future children will have their growth comparison photos taken propped up in a chair or doing something more interesting than placidly lying back.  ;)  But in continued celebration of Joshua's first birthday, here's a little collage of all twelve of his Joshua Watch photos:


And then the slideshow video.  WARNING: It's long (almost 13 minutes), and super high on the cheese factor... David has been poking fun of my song choices all week.  :)  And he specifically wanted me to point out that his contribution was Randy Newman, not "let them giggle."  But I say, if you can't be sappy and sentimental about your baby turning one, when can you be?

Hope you enjoy this year-in-review of our amazingly cute, sweet, wonderful little boy!

Joshua Watch: Twelve Months

We did it!  We made it all the way to twelve months of "official" monthly photos of our dear little boy!  And let me tell you, we just barely eked out a proper tiger comparison shot this month... Any future kids we have will have their monthly photos sitting propped up in a chair from the very beginning.  :)  Here's the one and only photo we got this month of Joshua kinda sorta lying down next to Mr. Tiger...


It's hard to believe that Joshua is already a year old.  I've been so emotional about this birthday, especially as I've been going back through old photos (finally getting around to creating a first year slideshow for him, which will hopefully be done sometime in the next few days!).  It's crazy how quickly he's grown and changed from helpless newborn to rambunctious toddler...

And my goodness, how rambunctious he's grown!  This month, of course, he had his first birthday party, and went on his first winter retreat.  But in basic developmental news... He learned how to climb stairs!  We live in a single-story apartment, so he's never really had the opportunity to climb on stairs.  But earlier this month, while we were over at the Kaariainens' for small group, he started playing at the foot of their staircase.  Within an hour, he had figured out how to propel himself at top speed up the stairs, and did so over and over and over again, laughing every time he managed to make it to the top landing.  Going down stairs is still beyond his skillset, but he was happy enough to be carried down so that he could turn right around to start climbing again.  What a fun new game.  :)

He's also learned to point at things.  It all started while I was reading to him.  In an effort to teach him words and pictures, I've been pointing excitedly at his picture books ("Look, Joshua, that's a COW!  A cow says MOO!!") -- so I think I've inadvertently taught him that books are meant to be pointed at.  :)  Now when I sit him on my lap to read him a book, he'll excitedly point at everything -- because that's what you do with books, right?  It's still more him just running his index finger over the pages rather than pointing at specific pictures, but we're working on that!  And he's moved into pointing at things in real life in an effort to communicate his desire to put said objects in his mouth -- the remote control, our phones, our glasses...

His vocabulary has also been growing this month.  He'll somewhat reliably imitate us now, especially on the words "book" and "up."  He learned how to say "uh-oh" on the retreat whenever he dropped something (thanks in large part to the Sallade kiddos and many many students!), and that's now his very favorite word.  I think the glottal stop in the middle is a lot of fun for him to say.  :)  Other fairly reliable words include mama, dada, and night-night (or rather, "nah-nah," but he's said it a couple times when he was tired and wanted to take his nap!).  Oh, and this isn't a word that he says yet, but we've taught him to put both hands on his head when we say "head" -- it's the first body part that he reliably recognizes!

Speaking of body parts (awkward segue, sorry!) -- we've got growth stats this month!  At his 12-month checkup last week, Joshua was 21 lbs., 13.5 oz., and 30" tall, with an 18.5" head circumference.  He's back up to the 50th percentile for weight, and continuing on the 75th percentile for height, and Dr. N. was very pleased with his growth.

OK, before this ridiculously long post gets even longer... A quick storyboard of Joshua's 12-month photos!  Note how he tore off and tried to eat his sticker...


Our little baby isn't really a baby anymore.  He runs everywhere now, so I guess I really do need to start calling him a toddler... We love you, our little toddler, more than words can say.  What an incredible year it's been!

Joshua Watch: Eleven Months

STOP THE PRESSES!  We actually managed to get a good tiger comparison photo this month!!


It helps that he was a little tired when I first put him down on his back next to Mr. Tiger... I'll have to remember that for future months.  :)  Of course, Mr. Tiger had his usual effect shortly thereafter -- Joshua got his second wind and started playing rambunctiously in his nursery.  But I got this one placid photo!  Huzzah!!

Joshua did treat me to a new form of mischief this month, though...



Oh, little boy, you will be the death of this mama's photography dreams...  ;)

This month was a HUGE one for Joshua!  The biggest milestone, obviously, was him taking his first steps.  Within less than two weeks from his first tentative steps, he was walking more than he was crawling, and confidently toddling all over our apartment.  It's incredible how FAST his learning curves are!  These days, the only time he crawls is when he wants to get to something to help pull himself up to standing.  And he doesn't always need to pull himself up on something -- he's managed to stand up on his own, in the middle of the floor, just by pushing himself up off the floor and using his wee abs!  Such a strong boy!

Joshua has also gotten even more playful this month.  He learned how to clap (though he still can't make much noise with his hands yet), and will gleefully flap his hands together or hit his chest Tarzan-style when excited.  It's much more fun, though, to clap two toys together -- he still loves banging coasters, but he has now added Mega Blocks (a jumbo version of Legos) and wooden blocks to his banging repertoire.

And he's learned how to play peekaboo!  This is seriously the cutest thing ever -- he'll grab a blanket or his sleep sack and put it on top of his head, and then fling it down with a huge smile on his face, waiting for you to yell "peekaboo!" at him.  I really, really need to get this on video!  He also got this great peekaboo lift-the-flap book for Christmas, and delights in lifting the flaps to find the babies.  It's so awesome watching him learn to love his books!

We're also transitioning him away from purees and towards table food.  He's figured out how to take bites of larger things, so we're slowly giving him larger pieces of bread to gnaw his way through.  And he'll mostly eat nicely off a plate -- as long as there's food on it.  Once he's finished his diced carrots or cheese cubes or bits of meat, you've got about two seconds to refill the plate before he picks it up and throws it on the floor.  :)  We're working on his table manners...

We did have one negative milestone this month -- his first real injury.  In Indianapolis last week, we were all hanging out in the family room after dinner, and I think everyone was assuming that someone else was taking point on watching Joshua.  A steaming mug of hot tea was left on an end table within Joshua's reach, and he toddled over to grab the cup, and poured its entire contents down his front in an attempt to drink from it.  I'll never forget the way he screamed... We immediately took off his clothes and put his little neck and chest under cool running water.  Thankfully, the tea mostly hit his clothes, with just a little splashing at the underside of his chin and at the top of his chest -- none of it hit his face.  We took him to urgent care, where they told us to put bacitracin on the worst of the red marks (there was some peeling under his chin) and keep an eye out for infection.  Surprisingly, after that first terrible scream, Joshua seemed completely fine -- he was toddling about in the waiting room, flirting with the nurses, and didn't seem bothered at all by pain.  And the marks are all but gone now, a week later.  Still, we will never, ever, ever leave any hot drinks unattended in the same house as our curious little guy!

(I was unsure about including this particular memory in the Joshua Watch, but I wouldn't want to be accused of sanitizing our baby's history... So there, Keddiebears isn't always totally saccharine!  ;))

But I've got to close this out with a little bit of sweetness... Our absolutely adorable little 11-month-old!  Who looks more and more like a little boy every day...





Can't believe we only have one more of these posts left!  You're growing up too fast, little one...  It's so incredible, though, watching your mind and body and personality develop.  We love you so much!

Joshua Watch: Ten Months

You know how I've been saying the last few months that I really can't guarantee another good tiger comparison shot, with Joshua placidly lying on his back next to his tiger?  Well, folks, I'm afraid that day has finally come... Joshua is a man on the move, and there's no way he's going to just lie back like a baby for a silly old photo.  Not even if he's distracted by a book, or by the tiger itself...  Here's the very best photo I got of him next to his tiger this month:


I managed to buy myself about three seconds of quiet time by giving him that book.  But it wasn't long enough for me to jump up on the bed (which I have to do these days in order to get him fully in the frame)... Seriously.  He's a man on the move.

Just for kicks, here are some of the other outtakes from this month's attempt at a tiger growth comparison photo...






Sigh.  It's a good thing he's so incredibly cute...  :)  I think for the next kid, we're going to have to start our comparison photos with him or her propped up in a chair -- clearly, lying back is just for babies!

This month has been one of steady incremental development -- no big "firsts," per se, but tons and tons of growth and skill-building!  Joshua is a speed demon at crawling now, and is incredibly agile in doing so -- he loves crawling around and through our dining table and chairs.  It's like he purposely sets interesting and challenging goals for himself, and the smaller the space, the more he loves figuring out a way to crawl under and through it!  He's also getting much faster and more sure of himself in cruising around our furniture.  He loves walking the length of our sectional couch, rotating between holding onto the couch and holding onto the coffee table -- especially if there are coasters or napkins on the table within his reach.  And very little is outside of his reach these days!

Joshua has also grown in playing independently.  He very much prefers being near us -- if I'm at the computer, he loves playing under the computer desk (though we've had some luck in teaching him not to reach for wires or the trash can).  If David's at his laptop on the dining table, Joshua is right under the table, or at the bookcases just next to David's chair.  If either of us is sitting on the couch, he'll plop himself down next to the coffee table and occasionally pull himself up to pat our legs with glee.  But in doing all of this, he's been learning to entertain himself.  Give him a coaster, or better yet, a magazine that he can rip up, and he'll play happily by himself for several minutes at a time.

Which makes the times we're actively engaging with him even sweeter.  :)  He's learned the basics of being chased this month, and he will shriek with glee if I start crawling around after him.  I think he gets a kick out of seeing us behave like he does -- he'll laugh so hard when we crawl with him, or bang coasters like he does, or shake his rattles.  It's so adorable!

He's also saying "mama" more consistently these days, and introducing so many new consonants in his steady stream of babbling.  I think he may have learned the word "bonk," which I usually say when he sits himself down from a cruising/standing escapade.  And lately he's been saying something that sounds like "wow" when he plays with his toys.  It's mostly still just babbling, but it's incredibly cute!

And speaking of cute...  :)  More Joshua photos, from his 10-month "photo shoot"!


Our rosy-cheeked wee lad with a favorite book 

Getting into trouble... On tiptoes to reach the books, and checking to see if I'm watching as he reaches for the outlets and the diaper pail 

The beginnings of a cheesy camera face? 

Ahh, here are some real smiles!
Happy ten-month birthday, sweetheart!  You bring us SO much joy!

Joshua Watch: Nine Months

Oh, man, has this been an active and mobile month!  Here's the one and only tiger shot I got with Joshua during his nine-month "photo shoot":


I got this shot in the split second he was on his back after David tickled him to wear him out just a little, right after David stepped out of the frame and right before Joshua rolled over to tackle his tiger and then crawled as fast as he could out of the room... Whew!  I make no promises about having a tiger comparison photo for next month...

But yeah, this month has been huge in terms of developmental milestones!  At the beginning of the month (at 8 months and 1.5 weeks), Joshua pulled himself up to stand for the very first time.  He was crawling around on the daybed in his nursery, reached up for the railing, and pulled himself up to stand.  We were so excited!  Shortly thereafter, his new favorite game became standing on the daybed and slapping at the alphabet cards we have on the wall next to the bed.  He laughs especially at W is for Wolf (so silly that a wolf would ride a bicycle!) and X is for Xanthos (silly card makers had to dig into ancient mythology to come up with an animal for X!).

Within another week and a half (at 8 months and 3 weeks), Joshua took his first hesitant steps while clinging to the coffee table in our living room.  We now have a cruiser!  He doesn't do it very often -- he's clearly a goal-oriented little guy, and won't just cruise for cruising's sake.  But he will take a couple steps if it will take him from the couch to the coffee table... especially if there are coasters or books on the table for him to pull off.  :)  We've basically repurposed our wooden coasters as toys for him.  They're apparently much more fascinating than the pile of baby toys he's been given so far!

He's incredibly fast at crawling these days.  And he loves following us around and exploring the entire apartment!  We've had some success at training him not to go certain places -- when he starts heading in the direction of the kitchen or the bathroom, we'll sternly say his name and tell him to turn around.  I think he's puzzled any time my voice drops anywhere out of the silly and fun high register I usually use with him, so he'll stop short when I use a lower register to say his name, and then turn around to try to figure out what's going on.  We've been mostly successful in teaching him not to play with the cords to our laptops and the books on our lower shelves, which is encouraging!

And in other news, Joshua is now a full-fledged babbler!  The floodgates opened midway through the month, when he all of a sudden just started a steady stream of babbling while crawling.  He would lock onto a target across the room (usually the coasters or the desktop CPU), start crawling towards his objective, and so very earnestly babble along the way -- "DA RA RA ba ba ba gee gee GEE GEE!!"  It's so incredibly cute.  And then he started babbling "mamamamama," which he promptly figured out how to shorten to "mama... mama..."  Our doctor says we can count that as his first word, so that's been written up in Joshua's baby book.  :)  And I suppose it's possible that he's thinking of me and/or looking for me, right?

Joshua clearly understands at least a few words, too.  We've trained him to know to lift up his arms to be picked up when we say "up!"  And a few days ago, after I said "up" and picked him up, he looked at me and said "up!"  Granted, it was more of an "aahhp" kind of sound, but I think he was imitating me and trying to say the word properly.  So exciting!

Oh!  And we've got baby stats for him this month, from his nine-month appointment!  As of 10/27, Joshua weighed 18 pounds, 12 ounces, was 28-3/4" tall, and has a 17-3/4" head circumference.  So he's about 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height.  Dr. N. was pleased with his growth, so I'm not going to worry about him not weighing as much as some of his 5- or 6-month-old friends (ahem, Evan and Phil)!  He's also cut his top two teeth, which are totally changing the look of his smile again... He looks more and more like a little boy than a baby every day!

Speaking of looks... I know most of you just want the Joshua photos.  :)  So here you go!  Our attempts at a nine-month photo shoot...


Target acquired... 

Mission accomplished 

Pulling up, standing to survey the possibilities on the daybed, and reaching for the pillow while still standing 

Standing and smiling -- apologies for the baby handprints on the mirror!
It may be more exhausting taking care of our very mobile and curious little boy, but it sure is a ton of fun!!  We love you, Joshua, and can't wait to see what new milestones are on the horizon for you!

Joshua Watch: Eight Months

Eight months -- two thirds of a year old!  And what a big boy Joshua is now, crawling and everything...  We just barely managed to get a decent tiger shot this month.  I make no promises for next month.  :)


Obviously, the biggest developmental milestone this month was Joshua's learning how to crawl.  He started scooting at almost exactly 7.5 months, and then full-fledged crawling happened a couple days later.  And a couple days after that, we caved and got one of those big SuperYard baby jails -- er, that is, play pens, which is now taking up the bulk of the space in our living room.  He's okay with being put in his play pen about 50% of the time, and that's only if we get down into the play pen with him at first... David pursues a stronger policy of letting him fuss in his play pen, whereas I'm much more softhearted and will go to him if he gets really loud.  Which has resulted in Joshua playing peacefully and quietly in the play pen for David -- but if he sees me in the room, he will turn deliberately towards me and start yelling and raising his arms up, and won't let up until I give in and pick him up.  He's a smart kid, that one...

He's also a very quickly growing kid!  Ever since we started him on solids last month, he's been bulking up... We haven't had him weighed since his 6-month appointment (he goes in for his 9-month appointment on Oct. 27), but he certainly feels denser these days.  :)  He continues to love eating solids -- the only things he hasn't like so much, interestingly enough, are fruits.  He'll happily eat as many mushy peas and spinach purees as we'll offer, but he turns his nose up at bananas and flat-out refused to eat peaches.  Crazy kid.

This month, we also introduced some meat purees, and started him on some finger foods -- it's the cutest thing, watching him try to feed himself puffs.  He'll grab a puff and clench his fist around it, and then try to jam his whole fist into his mouth... We're slowly teaching him how to grasp them with his thumb and forefinger instead, with varying degrees of success.  He does much better with Mum-Mums, these baby rice cakes, which are shaped like flat little surfboards -- he can grab them on one end and happily munch on the other.

And this month also saw us getting more adventurous in our family excursions.  All thanks to our more adventurous friends.  :)  We took Joshua swimming for the first time, with his little buddy Phil -- many thanks, Hilary, for the extra swim diapers and the use of your neighborhood tot pool!  It took Joshua a little bit to get used to being in cool water -- he loves his baths, but those are nice and warm.  But once he got used to the feel of the water, he loved it -- he did his "skydiving" move while I was holding him chest down in the water, and really seemed to like how buoyant he was.  It's a shame we didn't take him earlier in the summer, but now we have something to look forward to for next year!  And, of course, we took him to his first playground earlier this month as well, to play with his friend Caleb.

The last big change for him this month was the start of the school year.  For David, not for him.  :)  With David needing to be on campus multiple days a week, and me working in the office, we decided it would be best if we could get one day of childcare every week.  And that childcare has come in the form of our very dear friend Carrie!  She's nannying for Phil B. four days a week, and for Joshua on Wednesdays.  We were a little nervous about this transition -- our Joshua has protested violently most of the changes in his little life thus far (the bottle battles, the transition to solids, etc.), so we didn't know how he'd react to being taken care of by someone new for a full day.  But he clearly loves Carrie.  :)  We're so thankful to have someone we trust so completely taking care of our little boy once a week!

You'd think there would be fewer and fewer "firsts" as these month updates go on, but I fear I've actually been getting longer and longer every month...  Thanks for making it all the way through this one!  As always, here are some adorable photos of our little man, for your viewing pleasure!


"No more tiger photos, okay, mama?"


Yup, we're a Canon family 

OK, usually he still eats his books... So when he started "reading," I had to fire off a ton of shots! 
We just can't get enough of this smile!

It's so much fun watching you grow, baby boy.  We love you so very much!

Joshua Watch: Seven Months

J-bear is SEVEN months old!  And there's no question about it now: he's definitely taller than his tiger.  :)


(Side note: I'm SO GLAD he cooperated for this one shot.  His rolling around isn't quite as bad as it was last month, but he's learned that there are so many cooler ways to play than just lying on his back like a baby, so more often than not, he's struggling to get himself in a sitting position so he can better see the world around him!)

And that takes us to the biggest developmental milestone from this month: sitting!  He started sitting up unsupported earlier this month, able to stay upright once we put him down in a sitting position.  And then he had one slightly difficult night in a Pack n Play, which gave him the last little bit of incentive he needed to learn how to get up into a sitting position all by himself!  It's become second nature to him now -- we put him down to play on his back, and within seconds he's rolled over onto his belly, gotten up on his hands and knees (almost -- he still can't quite get his left leg straightened out from under himself), and then he pushes himself up to a sitting position.  Because that's how big boys play.

He's such a willful wee boy, too...  If he doesn't want to be on his back, he won't stay on his back!  And that includes on the changing table.  Sigh.  He can be very determined about wanting to roll over to play with the blinds (we've hidden the string pulls away far out of his reach) -- who cares if he's undiapered and dangerous??  We've taken to pinning him down with one arm while doing the diaper change.  It's surprising how adept you become at one-handed maneuvers as a parent...

It can sometimes be a little frustrating trying to train Joshua away from certain behaviors.  He's certainly too young to understand or respond to discipline.  The rolling on the changing table thing is kind of cute and manageable.  The bigger issue we're dealing with right now is biting while nursing -- which HURTS now that he has two very sharp teeth.  Which leave puncture wounds.  I've tried pretty much everything Dr. Google has recommended, to no avail... Any suggestions would be appreciated, but I think we're looking at the end of nursing.  :(

However!  Joshua more than makes up for these little difficulties with his ever-happier personality.  This month, we've seen so much laughter, and we've learned how to make him laugh at us, which is so rewarding!  The biggest laughs we've seen so far, though, have come from his playing with other little kids.  Jemina, the two-year-old daughter of some small group friends, brought out the first belly laughs from our little guy by coming up behind me and playing peek-a-boo with Joshua.  He was startled, and then just laughed and laughed -- during prayer time, but we'll work on better praying etiquette later.  :)  And the second time we heard Joshua's belly laughter was when he was playing with little Caleb, who is 9 days older than he is -- Caleb kept trying to eat Joshua's toes, and Joshua kept laughing and reaching for Caleb's head.  So sweet to see our boys actually interacting, rather than just playing near each other!

Joshua also clearly loves music -- just like both his parents!  The surest way to calm him down is to sing to him.  Lullabies, upbeat kids' songs, Broadway show tunes -- he loves them all!  His latest favorite is "Edelweiss," but he also definitely responds to songs from Phantom of the Opera, which his very first babysitters, Katie and Rachel, discovered earlier this month.

And one last developmental bit in this very, very long update -- our kiddo LOVES eating solid foods.  He'll grab the spoon and guide it into his mouth, and hold his mouth wide open to demand more.  We've tried a number of pureed vegetables (sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, squash, spinach), and he loves them all!  Here's hoping we don't have a picky eater on our hands...

If you made it this far, congratulations!  Your reward is a set of photos of the cutest little guy in the world.  :)


Much more fun than being on your back like a little baby... 

C'mon, mama, can't I just play without you getting all paparazzo on me? 

Sitting up, and playing with Mr. Tiger, like a big boy! 

Soooo close to crawling... 

He terrorized that blanket, and then started trying to eat his month sticker, signaling an end to this photo session 

But he's still cute as a button!
Joshua, we love you so much.  It's so exciting to watch you grow!

Joshua Watch: Six Months

Joshua turned SIX months old a week ago!!  And he's getting sooo big...


At his 6-month checkup last week, he weighed in at 16 lbs., 4 oz. (50th percentile), 27.5 inches tall (75th percentile), and a 17 inch head circumference (80th percentile).  Such a big and strong boy!

And let me tell you, it's getting HARD to take these tiger comparison shots.  The photo above was the only shot I got with Joshua placidly lying on his back next to the tiger... The first time I put him down, he immediately grabbed the tiger and started nomming on its leg.  And then he proceeded to do this, over and over again, every time I put him on his back on the blanket:


Sigh.  Hopefully, this isn't the end of the tiger shots, but I make no promises for the seven month Joshua Watch!

As you can see, Joshua is really getting more and more active these days.  :)  He's rolling from back to belly and from belly to back with ease now.  I'd gotten so used to cheering like a madwoman every time he successfully rolled, to try to encourage him to do it more and to get him not feeling scared about it.  Now, though, every time I cheer, he looks at me quizzically.  As though he's saying, "come on, mama, this is no big deal."  Already my little boy is getting a bit too old for some of my silliness...

He really is so playful these days, though.  Earlier this month, we introduced him to the exersaucer, which he absolutely loves!  He's getting better at standing on his own inside the exersaucer, and is able to really play with all of the different toy options.  He seems to especially love the buttons that you push to make animal noises and music.  And, of course, he loves trying to shove each of the different toys into his mouth.

In other developmental news, we started him on solid foods this month, a few days before he turned six months old.  At first, he was having none of it -- much like when we first introduced a bottle, our little refusnik would shriek, thrash his head around, and actively push the spoon away.  When I did get him to take the spoon in his mouth, he would start sucking on it, as though it were a bottle, and then get very upset when the food quickly disappeared -- which makes sense, since his entire life experience told him that sucking would provide more food.  After a few days of this, I was about ready to give up for a few weeks, but decided to try thickening the rice cereal mixture a bit and feeding him while he sat on my lap (we'd been trying out the high chair, but perhaps that was too many new things all at once).  And just like that, a switch flipped, and Joshua decided he kind of liked this solid food thing.  We're now feeding him rice cereal at least once a day, and in another week or two, we'll start with yummier solid foods.  :)

In the middle of our initial struggles with solids, Joshua also started teething!  The points of his two lower front teeth poked through the day before he turned six months -- which I discovered somewhat painfully that night when he tried gumming my fingers.  His teething fussiness actually hit after the points cut through -- he had a very cranky week.  :(  It didn't seem like he was in constant or sharp pain, but it clearly was enough to annoy him during his normal little sleep disruptions.  What used to be short (30-second) moments of making noises in his sleep turned into full-out irritated crying jags... So none of us got very good sleep that week.  Thankfully, he seems to be past the worst of it now...

Whew, this is a long one!  Thanks for making it this far.  :)  As a reward, here are some six-month photos of our cutie-pie!  (Notice how he's sucking furiously on his lower lip in these -- the poor teething little guy!)







Happy six months, Joshua!  It's hard to believe it's already been half a year...