Tractor...Ride!

So Daddy is Joshua absolute favorite person right now because he bought Joshua his very own tractor to ride. Ever since we got home from Nana and Pap's house on Monday, Joshua has been begging for a tractor ride. Jason happened to find one for him and surprised him with it on Wednesday after work. It was pure torture for Joshua, though, because the battery had to charge for 18 hours before he could ride the tractor. So all he got to do on Wednesday was what we called "sit it"...sit on it. Last evening, after work, Jason took him out to show him how it works. Within minutes, he knew just what to do to make it go. Our only problem is that he only knows how to go STRAIGHT. So, he reaches the end of the driveway and we have to turn him around. I think he rode it for at least a half hour last night. He doesn't stay with any one thing too long, so we'd shift from golf clubs to tractor to his mowzer (mower) to his broom until it was time for his tub.

No huge plans this weekend, so it'll proabably be a great outside weekend for us and hopefully I'll get some inside work done as well. Wishing you all a great weekend. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Caterpizzers & Buzzerhys

I hope everyone is rested and relaxed after the long holiday weekend. As is usually the case, we spent the holiday running, but had a great time. Hopefully you enjoyed the pictures from our weekend adventure. I feel like this weekend we guaranteed the fact that Joshua is 100% boy. He was loving dirt, tractors, bugs and the outdoors more than I've seen him enjoy them up to this point. Here are a few highlights from the weekend.

The title of the post captures Joshua's language of "z" right now. He throws the "z" sound into a lot of words right now, but we noticed it most when he was trying to catch the 4 million caterpillars that were on my parents' driveway. He was enthralled beyond belief with these bugs and even got Aunt Libby to get one for him on a stick. But, he referred to them as caterpizzers. Very funny. Then, when a butterfly went by, he called that a buzzerhy. And Libby and I looked at each other and immediately knew how to summarize the weekend. At one point on Sunday, Joshua got his first taste of bug guts, much to my dismay. He had been after this one particular caterpillar with his little golf club. He finally managed to squish the bug, but then nearly caused me a stroke when he put the bottom of the golf club in his mouth. Of course, when I shreiked, he giggled. Everyone assured me that he'd live, and would likely eat a whole bunch more bugs before the summer's end. I will say, however, that I brushed his teeth a little more diligently that evening.

Joshua's love affair with tractors has definitely reached new heights. If you ask him what his favorite thing from the weekend was, he'll smile and say "tractor ride". This morning while we were eating breakfast, he kept repeating "tractor ride". When I told him that pap's tractor was at his house, he said "Call Pap...ask peeeeeease!" Joshua and Pap took at least 3 or 4 tractor rides together over the course of the weekend, and he loved each one more than the last. They went all over their neighborhood visiting friends. Pap even let Joshua drive the tractor, which mostly put them in the weeds. But, I suppose that's part of the fun.

On Saturday afternoon, we got to take a little ride to Aunt Libby's house to see Baby Brooke's nursery furniture all set up. It's BEAUTIFUL! Frankly, if I could move in and call it my very own room, I would. I just can't wait to see little Brooke sleeping like a princess in her crib...all night long. (Like that, Lib?) After our trip to Burnham, we stopped at KMart to look for some outside toys for Joshua. We found him a little golf set that we were sure Daddy would love. And we also stumbled onto a little tricycle that Joshua is mighty close to fitting on. His feet reach the pedals, but he still needs about another half inch before he can push them on his own. For now, he likes to sit on it and let us push him---- he puts his feet straight out in front of him. We left the Flinstone car at the store, although something tells me we'll have one of those soon.

Something else that Joshua had been looking forward to was singing with Pap in Club Bob. On Sunday night, after our tub, Joshua went down to the club to hang out with the boys (and Nana, Libby and I came along for the ride). Pap got out his guitar and we all listened and sang. It was wonderful, and I think Joshua really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I neglected to capture it on a new "singing" video for Joshua to look at, but we'll do that next time. He really seemed to enjoy listening. Hopefully someday my dad can teach him to play like he does. It's something I regret not having learned when I was younger--- and now, this brain might be too old and mommified to make room for that, although I'll keep it on my list of things I'd like to conquer.

Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday (that feels like Monday). Hoping to see you all soon!

Silly Pictures...

I had a chance to snap a few silly pictures of Joshua throughout the course of the weekend. With the crummy weather we've been having, we were stuck inside most of the time. Joshua had a special Daddy day on Saturday while I was celebrating all things pink with Karen at her baby shower. Never in my life have I seen so many pink and purple things---- it was unbelievable. Baby Delaney should be the best dressed little girl there ever was (something tells me that my little neice Brooke is going to be in the running, too!).

The potty sang again last evening. Joshua was in the midst of his bath when he all of a sudden stood up, pointed to the potty and said "POOP!" So, onto the potty we went. He seems to be confused about the difference between #1 and #2, so he ended up peeing on the potty, we said "YAY!" together and Daddy came upstairs to congratulation our little buddy. It's all luck and timing I think, but we'll keep working at it. I'm not getting too excited yet.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Potty SANG!

I apologize that it's been a few days since I last posted. Life is nuts...literally. But I had to share that we had a newsworthy moment earlier this week.

On Wednesday afternoon, I happened to be home from the office when Joshua woke up from his nap. I went to change his diaper and realized that he was dry, something I've always been told is a sign that potty training may not be out of the question. So, I asked him if he'd like to try to go in his big boy potty. He smiled and said "potty", so off we went. Well, before too long, the POTTY WAS SINGING! We clapped and said "YAY!" and were very excited. Now, I'm not dumb enough to think that peeing in the potty one time means that we're on our way to breaking up with Pampers. But, it was progress, and we'll keep working at it to see what happens. We haven't gotten lucky since, but we keep trying. He now points to the potty and calls it by name and also says "sing", so he knows that when he pees in the potty, it will sing. But that's about the extent of it.

Of course, we had to call Daddy to tell him. I'm not sure that it was appropriate to call him at work to discuss peeing, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time and I think he was glad to know right when it happened.

Big weekend planned- we're having Karen's baby shower tomorrow afternoon and there is much to be done for that. It'll be a special Daddy and Joshua day tomorrow while all of the preparations are being made.

Happy weekend everybody!

I turned around and saw this...

Now, I know what you're thinking..."So what, Megan. He's sitting on the couch reading a book like a good boy." But...he got there himself! He didn't grunt and carry on needing help. He didn't fall or cry. He just picked up his nursery rhyme book and climbed onto the couch to read for a while. He was pointing at the stories he liked and he was talking to himself as though he was reading. All evening, he just kept climbing up and down and looking very proud of himself.

The picture below was from this morning at breakfast. He was talking on the "phone" (actually a little Sudoku electronic game that he found in a drawer someplace). When I asked him who he was talking to he said "Ap" (Libby). So I told him to smile for Aunt Libby, and this is what we got. He also made our day this morning because when we left for work, he said "love you". There's nothing better...

Another newsflash. Skinny Minny is wearing a pair of 18-24 month pants from Gymboree today. Granted, they're rolled over at the waist, but they're on him and aren't falling back down when he walks. Now, if ever we get out of size 3 diapers, I'll be amazed. I've been sitting on a stock of 4's since before Christmas thinking that he was soon going to need them, but I just ordered another huge box of 3's. They're not looking too small any time soon.

Hope you all have a great day! We'll talk to you soon.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day everyone, even if it is a little belated. I thought you'd enjoy the picture in Joshua's big boy preppy sweater. I couldn't get over how adorable he looked to go to church yesterday. With his khaki pants and his little sweater, he looked like he was ready for a frat party.

It was another wild weekend, which seems to be our normal operating speed these days. Friday night we got to go to dinner with Jeremy and Darla and Sydney, who by the way is getting cuter every single day (which I didn't think was possible because she's always been so cute). We went out to Damon's, which we figured was a smart choice given that it's so loud in there that a fussing toddler might not ruin anyone's dinner. As it turned out, there was enough going on that both of the kids were very well behaved. Joshua and Sydney mostly just stared at each other across the table, but I think that they're soon going to catch on and have lots of fun together.

It was a sad Friday night for Aunt Libby and Uncle Zig, and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with them. Zig's dad passed away on Friday night after a long, hard fought battle with cancer. We had cleared the schedule in anticipation of possibly needing to go home to be with them for moral support, but that didn't end up being necessary or even something that would have been helpful. I can't imagine how sad it must be, but we're saying lots of prayers asking for strength and peace for everyone. I'll be there on Wednesday to pay my respects and support them the best way I know how.

Saturday morning, we ended up making a run to the outlets in Tannersville. I did some major damage in the Carter's outlet for Joshua and little Brooke--- to the tune of two humongous bags! I called Lib to ask her if she had room in her closet for a raining of pink and purple. I think she's working to make some space for when my delivery truck arrives. :o)

Sunday morning we went to church. Joshua was in rare form. This new verbal ability presents some challenges in church situations. Let's just say that every word out of the pastor's mouth was met with commentary from Joshua. When the choir got up to sing, Joshua urged them on by saying "sing...sing...SING". When the kids got up to go to children's church, he had to yell "KIDS!" And every time he caught a glimpse of a ceiling fan moving around, he had to exclaim (loudly) "FAN!" He was also moving up and down the pews- someone from the choir mentioned that it was funny to watch, because they could just see the top of his little head going back and forth along the pew. Needless to say, before the offeratory was even done, we were in the nursery. And then Joshua went into hysterics thinking that I was going to leave him there. He's had enough screaming fits in the nursery to remember that he doesn't like it there, so leaving him there wasn't an option.

My mom and dad came in yesterday afternoon and evening for a visit and really seemed to enjoy Joshua. He's getting so animated and really seemed to like playing with them. The pictures below are a few of Joshua playing with my dad's moustache--- he seemed very intrigued with it. I also threw in a picture of Joshua napping yesterday. I find it hard to believe that the child I took pictures of all swaddled up in his blankets is the same one who is laying here in this picture. He's growing up right in front of our eyes it seems.

So, it was a great Mother's Day weekend by all accounts. My husband is the best- he not only got me a new watch to replace the one that I smashed to smitherines when Joshua and I took our tumble down the stairs last week (long story--- not good posting material--- but Joshua was fine. Me, not so much.), but he also cleaned the house for me yesterday which was greatly appreciated. He's a great husband and a terrific Daddy. I'm so lucky...and I guess that's just the thing to focus on during Mother's Day weekend- family, blessings and making the most of every moment we have to enjoy our kids. So, to all my mommy friends out there- whether you have kids already, or are expecting their arrival very soon, hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Progress...

I have a bit of photo overload, but I hope it makes up for my lack of posting photos over the past week or so. The little guy is on the move, constantly, so snapping pictures is getting increasingly difficult. Gone are the days of snapping 10 in a row while he's sleeping peacefully in his bouncy seat. Now it's more like snapping 10 to get one where he's not just a blur in the passing.

We had a great weekend, albeit a busy one. Friday was carpet cleaning day at our house (desperately needed, might I add), so Joshua and I headed to Nana's for the day because of our wet floors. Joshua was quite disappointed that Pap was nowhere to be found. I had explained that Pap was at camp with his friends, to which Joshua repeated "friends" every time. But he still knocked on their bedroom door and stood at the top of their basement steps calling for Pap as though he expected him to appear any minute. We headed home on Saturday morning to attempt to do some chores. We didn't get too far, and mostly spent our time playing and unpacking.

Sunday was another busy day. We ended up not being able to go to church because Joshua was in monster mode- screaming at EVERYTHING, whether he got his way or not. He was really clingy and didn't find it acceptable if I left his side or put him down even for a second. It was a trying morning, and kept us from being able to go to church which disappointed me. But there was no sense sharing my miserable child with the world. After his nap, he woke up a completely different little boy. Jason was thankful since it was a Daddy afternoon. I had left during Joshua's nap to head to Lemoyne to meet Libby and Zig, my mom and Zig's mom and step-dad for the big reveal on Baby Wray.

Womb with a View was incredible. I definitely lost the bet because Baby Wray is a GIRL! We're so excited for them, and Joshua is thrilled about baby Brooke coming to be his new playmate. I've already promised Lib that I'll have some "dirt clothes" for her to wear when she and Joshua are playing together. Now we just have to wait until September to meet this sweet baby girl. Let the pink buying begin!

I titled this post progress because it seems that in the past 4-5 days, Joshua has gone crazy with the two word phrases and two syllable words he can handle. Like suddenly his little brain is able to process more than one word or one sound at a time. It's been loads of fun to listen to. He's said "Club Bob" (referring to my dad's basement hangout at their house), "mmm...cake" quickly followed by "ice cream" from a page in his word book, "love Dad" and "love Mom" (our personal favorites), "hurt Josh" and "plugs bad" (gee, do you think he's gotten scolded for getting into things?). It's been so much fun to experience this all with him. I can't imagine that life gets too much better than this!

I'll see you all soon. Enjoy the pictures!