Miss Joy

This little girl keeps herself busy, and keeps us entertained! She doesn’t like hats, but kept this old fireman’s hat on long enough for someone to grab a photo.

She was engrossed in the movie everyone else was watching! Can you see what she chose as a seat? It’s a 10-liter paint bucket on its side. She was actually sitting on it, though it’s hard to tell from this picture.Her daddy helped her walk in this empty potato bag.

We found her one evening diligently scrubbing her foot with a cloth. I couldn’t quite capture her scrubbing on her foot, because she moves too fast, but she worked at it for about five minutes.Does she like pudding?

Tired baby!

She loves brushing her teeth. Any time she sees the toothbrushes, or someone brushing their teeth, she wants to do hers, too. That’s Mr. Imagination brushing his with Daddy and Miss Joy.

This is a “canoe” that Mr. Imagination built for her.

Miss Joy spent a long time carefully putting her blankie into this bucket, and then climbed in on top of it.

One evening we went to the park across the road from us. Several of us played a game, and Daddy took the younger ones to the swings. Miss Joy loved the gravel under the swings!

She loves to feed the cats. Then, she helps herself, too. Esther caught her eating with them one day—putting her mouth down to pick pieces up just like the cats do. She’s such a mimic—but this is one thing I’d rather she not do!

She went into the milking shed one day and found the jar of salve we use on the cows’ teats. She had it spread liberally all over her face, arms and legs. She had pulled her pants up so she could get it all the way up to her knees. What a mess!

Here’s a short video clip Esther got of her one evening when Mr. Diligence was playing with her. I laugh every time I watch it!

Miss Joy is growing fast! At nearly 8 months, she crawls anywhere she wants to go. She stands up against anything that will support her—or not; she’s always experimenting to see what is solid and what is not. Nearly everything goes in her mouth; you have to find out if it’s edible or not! She has learned to leave the cat alone. That tail is so tempting—but the cat has made sure that Miss Joy knows she is off limits! No scratches, but there were definitely some warning slaps and growls. We’re also treated to a fast-growing repertoire of sounds, as she practices with various syllables. She has the funniest growling cackle that makes us laugh every time she does it. She was sick the last two days with a mysterious fever, which made her quite lethargic. We enjoyed the extra cuddling time, but we’re all thankful today that she’s well again, after a solid night’s sleep. I think I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: We thoroughly enjoy this baby!

I think this first picture was from early March. She was thrilled to find a window she could see out of! She likes being outside better than in the house.

The dishwasher is such fun to explore! I have to take the cutlery basket out and put it out of reach when dishes are drying, or spoons and forks end up strewn all over the floor.

She was tickled one day to find the pea vines in the bathtub planter. Peas are so yummy!She crawled into Esther and Little Miss’s bedroom one day and gave Esther this beautiful grin. See those two little teeth?

Tomatoes are so delicious.

Little Miss asked Esther, “Is it all right if we share germs?”

Mr. Imagination got out the box of games and puzzles one day. It was such fun to climb over and through, and then sit up in!

She found an apple under the table. Mr. Imagination took this first picture. I love it even though it’s blurry. Esther got two more, which are clearer, but I don’t think they’re quite so cute. The poor baby ends up stuck under the table sometimes because she can’t crawl under the benches.

Here are a few video clips we made of her laughing. I love how she laughs so hard sometimes that she loses her balance!