is home, unpacked, load in washer, load in dishwasher, and now getting Joseph ready for bed. It was a great trip! I kinda miss a big city! Ready for bed!

Nothing like your van deciding that it is "vacationed" out! Ugh! Thankfully Mike's boss was only a mile from where we broke down!

Joseph is cutting in a top tooth and he's a bear! He was up 3 times last night! Joseph now scrunches up hi face and then he snorts! We can't help but laugh!

Joseph weighs 23.2 pounds and is 29 inches long!

is laughing at Joseph as he masters the art of blinking! He is doing long exaggerated blinks! He is too cute/funny!!

Update

Just an update of what is happening around here.  We are out for Thanksgiving break!! Tosha and Zac are heading to Chicago tomorrow to march in the McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade!  It will be televised on WGN starting at 8:30am Central time.  We are not sure where they are in the parade yet, but look for an awesome looking band wearing gold and black uniforms!

Joseph is growing leaps and bounds!  He is outgrowing his 12 month sized clothes, and he is learning to pull himself to a standing position!  Joseph can scoot across the floor (reverse is his favorite gear right now!)!  The more active that he is, the happier he is!  Joseph and I like to get out of the house and do things! Right now I have been taking him to the "Y", and he is breaking the hearts of the nursery ladies there! This is the first time that I have not worked after having a baby and I'm not used to this! None of my friends are phone talkers, so I am going without adult conversation a lot of times!

Mike was released as Bishop in October.  That has definitely been a new exprerience around here! Having Mike sit with me during Sacrament meeting is still odd! It had been almost 7 years since that had happened on a regular basis! With his release, work has become a bit more demanding.  He is on the road a lot more! It's funny how that happened!  I always knew that was one of the blessings of Mike serving as Bishop, but now I'm seeing it first hand! 

We are slowly getting ready for Christmas! It feels like we just had Christmas! Time is flying by too quickly!

Has it really been a month?

I am sooooo sorry!! I did not know it had been so long!! It has been crazy-but not that bad!! I guess I am just lazy!!We are getting ready to go back to school in just a couple of days. =( The kids are not ready for school to start and neither am I! Tosha will be a junior, Zac a freshman, and Katie will be in the 6th grade! Oh my goodness! No one in elementary school for 5 years! Of course with school starting, this means that Seminary will start again! I spent quite a few weeks subbing in Primary! I wish I could do that, be in youth, teach Seminary, and do the bulletin. I guess 2 out of 4 isn't bad!! =)

July was busy with Scout Camp and band camp, birthday and 18th wedding anniversary, a trip to Gonzales, LA for back to school shopping, hanging out with friends, and just trying to stay cool!

Joseph now has the nickname of "Fat Albert"!! He is a chunky boy! But I am so glad that he is like that right now versus how he looked when we brought him home almost 5 months ago! He is laughing, talking (learning how to get VERY loud!) scoots all over his crib, has to put everything into his mouth, and is just a very happy boy - for the most part!

Everything seems to be on track with the adoption. We hope to have things finalized the last Friday in September. Then we will spend the second weekend in October having him sealed to us and then blessed. I can't wait for that to happen!

quick update...sorry no new pictures right now!

I took Joseph to the doctor today for his 4 month check-up. He weighs in at 14lbs 10oz and is 23 1/2 inches long. He is definitely a chunk now!!! He is eating cereal and loving it!! Now that we are putting him on his tummy to sleep, he is sleeping so much better (me too!!)! Joseph smiles almost constantly and loves to "talk" to us and the ceiling fan! He blends in well with this family!!

We are enjoying our summer break. We are just wishing it was a lot cooler!! This has been a miserable summer. We went 2 months without any rain, and temperatures in the 100's! Trying to convince people to stay in Mississippi (you know who you are!!) has been very difficult to do with these unusual temperatures!!!

Laundry is loudly calling my name - UGH!!!! Hope all is well with you!

One of the Most Peaceful Places on Earth...

I had a wonderful opportunity to go to the Northeast a couple of weeks ago. It was just Joseph and I with Debi and her four children. We took two days to drive to New Jersey, and spent several days with Debi's sister and family. Where we were staying was about an hour away from NYC. So, Debi was sweet enough to take me to go see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and downtown NYC! Joseph, Gabrielle (Debi's youngest daughter), Debi's mom, Debi, and I went to go see the Statue of Liberty. The weather was gray and dreary, but the rain held out while we were visiting "Lady Liberty". It was an amazing sight. To think of what the immigrants must have felt when they saw her standing so majestically, and to realize that there lives were going to be changing (hopefully for the better). Ellis Island was also very thought provoking. NYC was just crazy!! And we went on a Sunday! It was so neat to see this big, bustling city. We had all of the kids with us on this trip, and we just drove through parts of downtown. I was glad that we were able to see Ground Zero.



After we were in NJ, we went to central New York where Debi and her family lived for four years. It is a gorgeous area. Small town, but a lot to see and do. Debi, Gabrielle, Joseph and I went to Palmyra to see church sites. The Sacred Grove has to be one of the most peaceful places on the Earth - without entering into a temple. I could go visit there daily! I loved seeing the Joseph Smith home(s), and then we went and saw where the first editions of The Book of Mormon were published. The next day we went to Fayette where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. The Fayette church building is wonderful, and I was jealous of the Hicks for having the chance to go to church in such an amazing building! Not to mention that the Peter Whitmer home is just a few hundred yards away from their building! I can't wait until my whole family can take this amazing trip to see some of the church history sites.

Joseph is getting soooo big! He is smiling all of the time, talking/cooing, and has started eating rice cereal. Yes, it might be a little early (according to the new guidelines), but he is still getting up three times at night to eat! I need sleep!!!! It hasn't helped yet, but he does enjoy eating the cereal! He took to eating from a spoon very naturally! I was amazed! We go in for his four month appointment the beginning of July, so we will see how big he has officially become! He no longer looks like he was a preemie!

Everybody else is doing well. Tosha is done with Girls Camp. Zac goes to Scout Camp in a couple of weeks and they both have Youth Conference this weekend. Katie is a big help with Joseph! Mike is on the road - again. I hate that he is gone a lot, but at least he has a job that pays the bills!

I really need another set of arms!

I am learning that I truly need another set of arms! Typing and holding a baby is a challenge! Especially since Joseph is getting so much more active. He does not like to sit still anymore. His head is bobbing, or his arms are flailing about, or he is trying to push himself up to a standing position on my lap. But he loves to be held - and I love holding him!!

Nothing much new going on around here. Summer has started at the Lyon home. My kids have yet to tell me that they are bored, but I am a mean mom that will give them some housework to do if they dare to utter those words!! Tosha is packing the final stuff for girls camp - at least we hope this is the final stuff. We are enjoying the Wii Fit that we bought a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately it can get so hot and humid here, that going outside a lot to exercise, is very hard to do. The Wii Fit can definitely give you a work out! I don't like the scale part - but other than that, it is a lot of fun!

Mike is out of town again. His company is requiring a lot more traveling for their "outside" people. I miss him while he is gone, but I have learned that this is part of the job. I have also learned to appreciate the time when he is home and not out of town for work or gone for a church meeting (which can be multiple times in a week!). Heavenly Father made me strong and stubborn for a reason! :)

I am attaching a couple of pictures from our Memorial Day drive. We were going to drive down to Natchez, but never made it that far! One of these days...

Katie

Today was Katie's awards day for 5th grade. Our last child in elementary school for 5 years!! Katie is so glad to be finished at Highland Bluff. She loved her old school and her teachers, and she has really struggled at Highland Bluff. The awards ceremony today lasted for over an hour and a half!! This was just for 5th grade! No teachers singing and dancing either. =(

At any rate, Katie was one of the students awarded with the "President's Award for Educational Excellence" and the "Presidential Fitness Award"! Katie has always been our most athletic child, so I am really glad that she was recognized for this. The Educational Excellence award is a great honor as well!

We would have pictures for this day, but for some reason, our camera has never worked well in the school cafeterias!!

Tosha and Zac are also doing well in school. Tosha was recognized at her awards ceremony for participating on the academic team, which won first place in the Rankin County competition. Tosha and Zac were both exempt from their final exams (except Zac has to take the Algebra exam - he had a tough teacher this year that did not like to explain things very well.).

We are so pleased with how well our children are succeeding in school. We hope that this will continue!!

Pictures

You would think that they were up all night! Half was, the other half got up once in the night!!

Just a few too many bubbles!! Joseph loves bath time!

Joseph is getting so big! He smiles a lot more now and has begun cooing as well!

One of the first things that Katie wants to do, after finishing her homework, is to hold Joseph. She has been very cute to watch with him! I have to fight to hold him during Sacrament meeting!

Catch up

Sorry that it has been a while! I have been busy playing on Facebook! It has been neat to be able to see what family and friends are doing throughout their days/weeks. It is amazing how
many people are on Facebook.

We are doing well here. Joseph was up to 8lbs 14oz at his appointment last Friday. The doctor instructed me to only allow him to eat every three to four hours during the night. He is saying that Joseph's growth is remarkable! So far, we have only had one really bad night with Joseph thinking that he was supposed to eat every 2 hours. Thankfully he is a pacifier baby!!

Tosha had her final band concert for the school year on Monday, and Zac's is tonight. Katie will be playing the trombone next year. So we will now have a tenor sax, an alto sax, and a trombone in the house!

The school year is coming to an end this month and it is none too early! We are all ready for the break! I say break...with Girl's camp, Scout camp, band camp, youth conference, and any other things that might come up, I don't think it will be too much of a break!!! The joys of having teen-agers in the house!!

Facebook

Okay, I am trying to figure out Facebook. I'm guessing that blogging is more for journal entrying and Facebook is for quick comments. Yes or No?? If you have any insight-PLEASE let me know!

Here are some recent pictures of Joseph. That is the one nice thing about Facebook-I can download a bunch of pictures into an album!

Lynn W. and her mother-in-law threw me a wonderful baby shower! I haven't had one of those in 16 years! The members of our ward are wonderful!

Joseph was awake, but the flash on the camera caused him to jump!

Not sure if you can read what his onesie says - "Fatigued". In which I was very fatigued that day!

Thank you Grandpa V.!! We got Joseph a playmat. He loves looking at the toys hanging down and the mirror!

Prom

Yes, Mike had fun doing this!

Okay, we have now reached a new milestone in our lives. Not only are we parents of a newborn baby, but we just had our (almost by 4 days!) 16 year daughter leave for the prom. Tosha and Kent have been friends for over a year now. We let Tosha go to the prom with Kent since this is his senior year. Kent is a very good guy and he knows and respects our guidelines. I think I was as nervous as Tosha was for tonight! I still remember going to prom during my senior year. It just doesn"t seem possible that it is my baby that is going tonight!

We had Joseph weighed yesterday, and he is now up to 7lbs 6oz.! He is definitely working on getting caught up. Last night it looked like he was about to smile a few different times - and no it wasn't gas! Joseph was awake for well over 2 1/2 hours. Unfortunately that did not make any difference with his sleeping schedule!

I hope that everybody had a wonderful Easter. That was the first time that Joseph went to church. He did very well - of course he slept most of the time! We then went to a friend's house and had a great afternoon and evening with them and their family. I hate to say it, but the Easter Bunny did not hide eggs this year! He left something in the kids baskets, but no eggs to find. We were going to do an egg hunt at our friend's house, unfortunately Mother Nature was not going to cooperate with us (we were going to do the hunt outside, but we were under a tornado watch, and we had some heavy downpours!).

I hate to admit this, but I am obsessed with lion things for Joseph! When Zac was a baby, you could not find all of the cute lion clothing and other items that are available now. Joseph will be so tired of lions before he officially becomes a "Lyon"! (We are hoping that Joseph will be legally ours in every sense by the last Friday in September. We are then planning on having him sealed to us in the temple in Baton Rouge the Saturday after General Conference.) There are so many cute things out there with lions on them. I just can't help myself!!!

On Saturday I competed in my first 5K walk. I came in 60th. There were a lot of people there, and I was towards the front of the pack! I felt pretty good about this placing. I have no idea how many people were officially there, but it was like a herd of cattle to begin with! The bright yellow shirt I am wearing in the picture is from the race!

Is it morning or night?

We are going through the stage of night is day and day is night. I'm not even sure any more which is which!! Last night Joseph wanted to be awake most of the night. I am now only turning on a light long enough to change his diaper, and then it is lights off! I am hoping that this will help him change his internal clock. We worked really hard tonight to keep him awake for a lot of the evening. We will have to see if this will also help. Of course, Joseph objected to our new routine.

We had Joseph weighed last Friday, and he is now up to 6lbs 4oz!!! He is looking so much better. We are to go in again next Friday and have him weighed again. Maybe by then he will be up to 7lbs.
Mike is on his way to Wisconsin. He is sooo excited about this - NOT! Thankfully he is only gone for a couple of days!

Rain, rain go away...

I know that we needed the rain, but I am so tired of the dreary days! Joseph and I went out for a walk around the neighborhood yesterday, just to get out for a little while. I had a friend that asked me if I was tired of being cooped up in the house. The answer was a resounding-YES!! I love having Joseph, but with my other children I was able to go and do things shortly after they were born. I haven't even gone to church for the past 3 weeks. Thank goodness General Conference is this weekend, so I won't feel guilty about missing another week! Mike and I both feel that once Joseph reaches 5 weeks, we can slowly start getting out more.

Joseph is still a great baby, other than thinking that he is to be held in order to sleep (especially at 2 am!). He has outgrown his preemie clothes, and his newborn sized clothes are fitting him well now. This week will be a true test for us! Mike is on his way to Arkansas. He will come home on Friday. I was already doing the middle of the night feedings, but Mike was getting the three older children out the door for school in the mornings! I have a feeling that I will be doing that in auto-pilot mode! I probably won't even remember doing it, much less know what they are taking for their lunches! I hope I don't send them with a bottle of formula or something along that line!!

More Pictures

Here are some more pictures. Joseph is now up to 5lbs 2oz! I thought my other three children were small, but Joseph has definitely got them beat!

Joseph is doing very well. He was really fussy yesterday. He had a hard time burping and developed a diaper rash. We are not sure if the rash is from changing the brand of diapers and wipes, or something else. I had Mike stop by Wal-mart on his way home from church last night to get the brand of diapers we had been using and sensitive wipes. We are using the "butt paste", and he is not screaming as badly today when I change his diaper.

The picture of Joseph taking his first "official" bath looks like he is screaming,

but actually he was yawning. He loved his bath - until it was time to rinse out his hair!