SMILE!

Joshua has started to smile!!! He really loves to smile at about 3 am in the morning right after his feed. I haven't figured out why this time is so funny because its not so funny for mommy, but its all worth it when he makes that little grin from cheek to cheek. I tried to get this infamous smile this morning while videoing but of course he wouldn't do it, but enjoy the videos anyway! He has been on the verge of smiling for quite some time now and we were trying all sorts of toys to help him along. We eventually realized that he loves smiling for people not for toys. He loves when we smile at him and when we play with his hands. The best is when he is making his baby noises and smiling at the same time, its almost like he is talking with us!

That is the good news. The bad news....the reflux is still here and its not getting better. It seems like Joshua goes through good days and bad. Lately, he has been waking up because of it and can't fall back asleep. We increased his medicine and have been holding him upright for almost an hour after feeds and even that hasn't helped much. We go back to the doctor in another week, so we are hoping there are some other things we can try.

We have taken Joshua out a little more lately because the weather has been so nice. We have gone for several walks around the neighborhood, walked along the trails at the park, and we even met his friend Christopher and mom Anna for a walk last week. It feels so great to get out of the house for little outings whenever we can. We are still keeping Joshua pretty low key, but soon enough flu and RSV season will be over and we can take him out more and introduce him to lots of friends and family who have yet to meet him.

The countdown begins for having to go back to work...8 days to be exact. Its going to be hard just because I have become so accustomed to being home with Joshua all day. Knowing all we have been through, Im probably a little more emotional than most when it comes to leaving their baby, but he will be in good hands. My fantastic Mother in law will be here for the first week I have to go back and my awesome mom and dad will be here for about 2 and a half months until I am off for summer break in June! LJ can't wait to spend time with his grandparents! (LJ is his nickname from Dad.)Words can't express how thankful Josh and I are to have such amazing generous parents who would do anything to help us.

We are in the process of determining a date for Joshua's baptism and will keep everyone posted on that! As always we thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Much love from Team Altman. Enjoy some pictures!

Close up

Joshua loves being naked!