We had our third anniversary of living in Hawaii this month. Poor Josephine got Todd's cold so our baby had her first runny nose and cough. We tried to keep her away from Todd, but it didn't make any difference. She caught the cold anyway. At first we thought she was teething, but we had her 6 month shots doctor appointment and Dr. Derieg said she had a cold. By the way, J was 15 lbs 6 oz and 24 3/4 inches long.

     We had a 1/2 birthday cake for Josephine. I saw the cake in a magazine and thought it was a cute idea. I made a round cake, cut it in half and stacked the halves. I decorated it saying Happy 1/2 B-Day. Unfortunately, J is too young for cake. She can make a mess of herself with birthday cake on her first birthday. Six months is a big milestone. J ate food for the first time this month. She ate rice cereal. She ate with such gusto the first time that I thought feeding her would be easy. We have settled into a pattern from that first time. She looks around, blows bubbles, and takes about 45 minutes to eat. She has had bananas and papaya from our farm, but she really liked the baby food peas. She also really likes squash and sweet potatoes.

     Josephine had a very busy month. She went to her first wrestling practice. She hung out in her pack and play outside with daddy while he did some farm work. She went with daddy to the vet for Buddy and Louie's appointment. She has gone to Todd's jobs to work on pools. She also went to the computer store with daddy to take back our sick computer, again. For Thanksgiving, we went camping at Hokulia. We had so much stuff that we had to take 2 cars. We had food, tent, air mattresses, sleeping bags, lights, dogs, baby, me, Todd, pack and play, chairs, clothes, baby toys, two umbrellas, dog water bowls, and food bowls. We spent two nights. Todd and I did not sleep well, but Josephine didn't have any trouble. Josephine wore her bikini for the first time and went swimming in a tide pool with Todd and me. Todd put the beach jar and umbrella in the tide pool so J could be in the shade. She had lots of fun splashing around. She also liked putting her feet and hands into the sand.

     Jodi went back to New Jersey this month. Her mom had heart surgery. Thank goodness she did great during the operation and is healing. We all miss Jodi a ton. It has been really hard for us to not have a babysitter, but it is more important for Jodi to take care of her mom. We are managing and daddy and J are spending lots of special time together. In just a week, we also lose Joe. He is going to visit his family for Christmas. We had an "Aloha for now" cookout at the park side of Two step. Aunty Beryl fed Josephine. Beryl can feed her anytime! There wasn't any food on her outfit, but I can't say the same for Beryl's shirt.

     We had some of our first guests return this month. It is nice to have people return. It is more like having friends stay. Happy Birthday to Todd's Dad, Joe. Josephine's 6 month birthday was on the same day as Poppop's birthday. I can't believe November is already gone. Between our trip, Todd and Josephine's illnesses, Jodi leaving, our computer dying twice, time has flown by. We are thankful for so many great blessings in our lives. We are blessed with a healthy and beautiful daughter. We are blessed with each other, a loving family and friends. We have good health and the opportunity to live Hawaii.

     Our deepest sympathies go to our friend Kristin and her mom for the loss of Billy. There is never anything that can be said to lessen the pain of losing someone you love. In time, thoughts of Billy will be of good memories that will no longer make you cry, but smile and laugh instead.