The Zoo

On Tuesday, Mom and I took Dylan, Stephanie & Joshua to the zoo. I am not sure if the kids had more fun looking at the animals or riding next to each other in the stroller kicking their legs and laughing. They did great and loved the exhibits they could ride, crawl on, slide down or hide under. Joshua loved the farm animals best and even got to hear a rooster crow. He also liked the penguins, they were very playful and were splashing around on their bellies and backs. He left with a stuffed elephant from Memaw to remember the day.

Seasame Street

Joshua has discovered Seseame Street and Elmo and loves it. So every day we watch one that I have taped. He has fun dancing to the music and waiting for Elmo and Mr. Noodle to come on.

He has stayed dry now every day through naptime even for the past three days. He can take himself to the potty which I think he likes a lot. He pushes me away if I try and help him on and for the most part he just runs in and takes care of things himself. It is hilarious. So the only step now is that he learn to go standing up and then that he stay dry at night but I don't think we are very far off since naptime is improving.

I am posting a few pictures of our playground fun with Yanna, Val and Mr. Ron from the other day. He is such a monkey on the playground!

A Monumental Occasion

and I forgot to put it in the blog! On Sunday, Joshua made a leap forward in his potty training. He started pulling his own pants off, getting to the toilet, climbing on and off and flushing all by himself! If the pants are too tight the whole plan is foiled but he is doing a really good job when he can get them off. It is great! Next we need to work on him standing to go but inspite of our recent efforts he has shown no interest in that.

Take me out to the ballgame!

On Friday, we took Joshua to his very first baseball game. The first of many I hope! He loved it! He loved the mascot, the clapping, the music and cheers. He even watched some of the game from our shoulders. He clapped and cheered on cue with the rest of the fans. Because it was an evening game we left at the 5th inning but we all had a lot of fun. I think it was just the right amount of time for him, too.

Saturday, we went to Memaw and Grandad's house (mommy and daddy then went to see harry potter) and Joshua had lots of fun playing with Stephanie, Noella and Dylan. Memaw even took him to see a train!

Today, we mostly just rested but we did go to Miss Christine and Mr. Ron's house for dinner. Joshua did great playing with Yanna and Val and he ate a fantastic dinner. He had THREE drumsticks, some corn on the cob, a piece of water melon and ice cream. I was shocked.

Opinion

Joshua loves noodles ('Noo-noos") but doesn't like ANYTHING on them. They must be unadulterated. So, after finished off what I put on his plate, I gave him one of mine. It had alfredo sauce on it. "I don't like it," says Joshua. Mind you, he hadn't even tasted it but he took his plate and set it on the table (instead of his tray). The little stinker.

He is doing great in his big boy bed and has actually been sleeping until closer to 7 most mornings. Yeah!

At the beach

On a whim we packed up and headed to the beach yesterday. We stayed overnight and came home today. It was a fantastic trip! Joshua loved the sand this time (last year he wouldn't touch it) and we even got him to go in the water. We had a lot of fun playing with him: building sand castles, digging holes, scouring for rocks & sea shells. We are looking forward to our next trip!

Happy 4th of July!

We took Joshua to see the fireworks tonight downtown over the water. It was a late night as the show didn't start until 9:30pm but Joshua loved it! We thought since he liked the fireworks at Godfather's birthday party (small ground ones) that he may enjoy the big ones but the size and noise are so much bigger we just weren't sure. He did great and spent the entire walk back to the car saying, 'Watch the fireworks'. We hope that he will sleep in a little bit to make up for the three hours late bedtime.

Big Steps!

Joshua's social calendar has been busy these past couple of weeks so he hasn't been available to update his blog. However, he did make a huge next step and moved into a twin sized bed on Friday. The transition was actually pretty smooth. We had been letting him play in his new room for a couple of weeks. He now goes right to that room instead of his old one to get dressed and go to bed. Guess he doesn't miss the nursery! He has done all his sleeping and naps in that room since Friday and it is going well.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

The weather has turned hot and humid. It is going to be a long summer. We are getting out now in the morning before 10am for our walks and after 6pm in the evening. Last night, when Jason came home we ate dinner and then headed to the outdoor pool at the gym. We spent over an hour swimming with Joshua. This trip I remembered to grab a few toys and the duck ended up being a good choice. He really kicked hard to get to the duck. He went under several times, jumped in from the side and swam between us. It was a great evening.

Jason has been playing games with Joshua to learn numbers and we have been working on colors, too. If you ask him what color something is he will by default say 'blue'. But if you ask him to get the green ball ( when there are multiple colors) he will pick the correct one. So it is clicking.

Family Portrait

Hop Hop, March March

Another busy weekend for Joshua! We drove first to my parents house to attend the baby shower of a close friend and then Saturday we headed out to Ohio for the graveside service of my Grandfather who passed away in November. The service was Sunday and then we headed home. It was great to see lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. We came home last night so we could have one day of rest. It was a long drive but worth it since Jason is not feeling well and really could use a day-off!

Joshua has been 'marching' around the living room recently and this morning he started trying to 'hop'. He wasn't getting both feet off the ground a the same time but he is trying. It is fun to watch!

Time for oatmeal breakfast!

Big Boy!!

Our little baby is so not a baby anymore! Just the other day he stood at the sink and washed his hands. He is almost potty trained except for naps and night time and he is growing like a weed! He is now 34 inches tall, he was 32 at his last checkup in April? Maybe they didn't measure right then. I can tell he has grown a lot though because his pants are too short and they fall off at the waist. He needs a little belt.

This weekend we had the honor of celebrating Aunt Tara's graduation receiving her masters degree. It was wonderful to be with her on such a special day! We are so proud!! There are, of course, photos which I will post sometime.

Time to go and relax... Joshie is so busy, he wears me out!

Mr. Explorer

Well, Joshua has joined the ranks of the many children before him who locked their mothers in the basement. Luckily, I had a screwdriver small enough to pick the lock and I was out before he knew what he had done.

This morning, if Jason had not been there to witness it you probably wouldn't believe what Josh said. He pointed to a magnet on the refrigerator and said, 'Magnet'. I said, 'Yes, Joshua, Magnet" and he replies, "I just said that". Jason and I were in disbelief! He certainly keeps us on our toes with his antics!

Yesterday was storytime at the library, always a highlight of the week and in the evening Jason took his rc mini out and drove it around for Josh before bedtime. Both the boys had a lot of fun with that.

Happy Mother's Day!

It was Mother's Day weekend at our house :-) On Friday, since Jason had a day off we celebrated by having time together on our bike ride. Yesterday, I hosted a tea in the garden at our house. It was a lot of fun and a beautiful day to boot! I'll make you drool by telling you what we served :-)
Tea - a variety
Fruit Tray
Sandwiches - chicken salad, egg salad, cucumber mint
Yellow Squash & Basil Soup
Trifle, Lemon Squares, Orange Poppy Seed Bread, Cupcakes
Apricot Sage Scones with Devonshire Cream & Lemon Curd



I posted a number of photos from yesterday. It was nice to since the kids playing nicely together (for the most part) and it was so enjoyable to relax outside.

We love daddy being home!

Jason has been finished with class over a week now and it's been great! He got an A again :-), which is fantastic and now he is having fun hanging out with us. On Tuesday, Aunt Janet & Uncle Bob came and visited. I posted a few pics from that. Joshua is enjoying saying 'Uncle Bob' now. He liked that Aunt Janet got down on the floor to play with him.

On Friday, Jason, Joshua and I got the bikes out and went on a trail ride at a local state park. We stopped at the dam and had a little snack we had packed with us. While enjoying the beautiful view we saw Orioles, Herons, Geese and a bald eagle. It was fantastic. We road back and drove to a dairy for dinner. They had sandwiches and salads and soups. Afterwards we got yummy homemade ice creams. We sat outside so we could watch the tractor plowing the fields and Joshua could run around.

Right now, Jason and Joshua are out at a hobby store together and I am taking care of things around the house. :-)

March of Dimes

Joshua and I did the March of Dimes yesterday morning. It was a glorious day for it and we had a lot of fun. The walk was 6.2 miles and took about 2 hours. We found another mom and baby to pair up with and had a wonderful time conversing. I think we will need to make it an annual family tradition. Through the generous support of family and friends we were able to raise $210, which I thought was fantastic!

After the walk, Joshua tuckered out in the car ride home and slept another 2 hours at home! We all laid down at the same time and had a family nap. Then afterwards, Jason, Joshua and I headed over to the pool for some swimming time. Joshua showed off his swimming skills to daddy, who hadn't seen him swim in months, and everyone had a great time.

It was a memorable day.

Today, we drove out to see Dylan in the musical at church. He had a solo and did a great job! He has a lovely singing voice, was clear and loud enough to hear. After the play we went to lunch at Me-Maw and Grandad's and now we are home. Joshua played with Stephanie and Noella in the nursery at church during the performance. It seems they are getting along pretty well these days.

A step in the right direction

Yesterday, aside from his nap, Joshua stayed dry all day! He is finally telling me that he needs to go potty before he goes. We had a little bit of a setback with him being sick but it looks like he is back on the right track. Last evening, I put him in underwear with no rubber pants and he stayed dry from 4-7 including a trip to the pet store and grocery store!

We also went to the gardens yesterday to walk around. They are about an 45 min from our house. Joshua just ran from fountain to foutain, 'Water!' 'Water' he would say as he made his way to each one. We also saw flowers, a frog and lots of ba-ba-bees (bumble bees)

Glorious Spring Days

Today, was spectacular. We played in the yard, went for a hike and then Me-maw, Grandad and Nanny came over to go out for Me-maw's birthday. We missed going to her birthday party because Josh was recovering from being sick tha weekend. Tonight though, he did great at dinner and then we went for ICE CREAM which he loves. We've been out for ice cream three times this week.

Yesterday, Joshua was so dirty when he came in from playing out in the yard that he had to have a bath before his 11 am naptime. He loves being outside. In the late afternoon, I took him for a walk down by the water and into town with Kim, Ryan and Ellie. We picked up pizza on the way home.

Friday, I made muffins for us and Joshua absolutely love them. He had four the day I made them. I guess I'll have to make more!

There are more photos from early in the week but I'll have to go back and post them later.

That's all for now!

Thursday

Yesterday was a wonderful day! Memaw came over to visit with us and brought more Easter goodies and a motorcycle for Joshua. They played outside with the motorcycle in the backyard. After his nap, we all went to the gym to swim. That was a lot of fun. Josh was a bit hesitant having not swam for a couple of weeks but he was getting into it by the time we left. He even swam between us a little bit. Memaw left from the gym, we ran errands and headed home. Daddy was home when we got home and played outside with Joshua again. After dinner we all went for a walk. We ran into Ellie and Kim on the walk and did a little jaunt with them.

Joshua has learned to give Eskimo Kisses, we call them Noses. Here is a photo to make your heart melt:

Budding Artist

Joshua has graduated from scribbling lines to scribbling in circles now and pointilism. He is currently sitting next to me and dismantling the crayons. He is a lot like his uncle in that he likes to see how things work and put stuff together. It has been cold and windy but today it will be 50 so we are hoping to get out for a walk. Maybe we will go to the local gardens. Joshua is pretty much recovered from his last illness so I am taking him out again and working on sterilizing the house for any little playmates he might have here.