Aunt Libby's Baby Shower & Other Fun

Eating some lunch with Aunt Rhonda and Stacie

Never far from Aunt Libby's side...particularly when there are presents involved!

I thought I'd share a few pictures from Libby's baby shower over the weekend. Joshua was funny to watch---- he was intent on getting the presents opened. I kept joking that he was probably getting pretty disgusted that there was NOTHING in all of those packages that was for him. Such cruelty.

The pictures below are from some silly time this morning before I left for the office. I have to point out Joshua's new helicopter shirt. When we saw it at the store, it just HAD to come home with us. He kept pointing to his belly this morning and saying "Hel-COPPER" with a big smile. I already can't wait to get home to play with him after work.

Enjoy!

Fast Asleep in my BBQ Chicken...A True Story

You may not believe it, but I tell you no lie on this one. Ask Libby, who happened to call in the midst of our evening last night.

Let me start at the beginning. To say that this was a "full" weekend for our little munchkin is quite an understatement. From the time I walked in the door on Friday afternoon, it was a bit of a whirlwind. We ended up in Lewistown around 7 on Friday night, and didn't really slow down much until last night at dinner. In between we had a beautiful baby shower for Aunt Libby and Baby Brooke, Joshua took 4 big tractor rides with Pap, had two short naps and the not-great sleep that often accompanies travel away from home. We left to come home yesterday morning around 9:30 am.

By Middleburg, Joshua was snoring away in the back seat...not a real surprise given how much we had crammed into one little weekend. Jason and I figured that it would cause some problems yesterday, but were pleasantly surprised by Joshua's good attitude the majority of the afternoon. He had one meltdown on the way home from the mall and our new Target, but we figured that was because we had pressed our luck a little too far. It was foreshadowing... (how's that Mom?)

Joshua ate officially 3 bites of BBQ chicken and one spoonful of potatoes and then we saw it. The child who has ALWAYS been a struggle to get to sleep, even in his most tired moments, fell asleep in his high chair. And despite our efforts to keep him awake, it was no use. He was OUT. Seriously..............OUT.

We tried everything we could to keep him awake. All I kept saying to Jason was "I don't know what to do here!" It was 6:30. He'd had no supper and no bath. Sleeping now meant that he would wake up at 8:30 raring to go, and Mommy and Daddy were feeling no where near "raring" to go anywhere for any reason. So we tried everything we knew how to do to wake him up. Although the whole thing was humorous, at one point, we both got a little scared that something was really wrong. This was so far out of the ordinary for him and nothing was working to wake him up- not loud noises (including cherry pits in the garbage disposal that sounded like bricks rolling around down there), not the sweeper, not tickling, not sitting him straight up, not calling his name. Nothing! Finally a wet paper towel on his cheeks woke him up, but he wasn't happy about it.

Parents who have experienced narcoleptic tendencies in their children might not find this worthy of such a long post, but I have to tell you, this was so far out of the realm of "normal" that we didn't know quite how to react.

All is well today. He went down early last night (if you consider 9:00 early for 21 month old) and didn't stir until 6:45 this morning. Hopefully today he'll get back on track...just in time for another trip to Lewistown this weekend for the Richard Reunion.

The Prince

So I promised a picture of Princess Lila...and I can't deliver. Lindsay and I were so caught up in our catching up and staring at the baby that I didn't manage a picture of my very own. There was one taken of the three of us. Someday I'll get it, but let's face it...Lindsay is a little busy right now. Suffice it to say that she and Ian have a wonderful, beautiful, pleasant and perfect little girl. And Lindsay has the mommy thing down already, which I never doubted for a single second she would.

So, instead of princess photos, I thought I'd share a few of my "prince". Daddy had a meeting last evening, so Josh and I had a very gourmet pizza dinner (of which he ate almost 1 and a half pieces-- alert the media) and then played and played until it was time for bubbles in the tub. Interestingly enough, we were involved with puzzles of all varieties for over an hour last night. I happened to move them into the playroom just for a change of pace, and it was as though Joshua forgot he had them. He did them over and over and loved giving me a high five when he'd complete one all by himself. Vocabulary continues to explode. Joshua is now routinely putting together 4-5 words at a time and turning them into nearly a complete coherent thought.

Joshua is beginning his countdown to Pap and the tractor now. He's been requesting the tractor videos regularly and keeps saying "Pap tractor ride pee-bee soon" (pee-bee=pretty in case you didn't make that connection) since we'll be headed to Lewistown tomorrow evening. He can't wait.

Getting Into Things

It was a relatively quiet night at home for us last night. We did have one injury to report, but I think Joshua will live. He's taken quite a liking to climbing inside of things lately. He'll dump all of his blocks out of the bin and then get into it, or he'll take all of his trucks out of their basket and then try to sit in it (it's nowhere NEAR big enough for him to fit in it). He loves taking all of the (clean) laundry out of the laundry basket and then getting into it. Well, last night, the block bin did him in. He was in it, and then started rocking despite my warnings that it wasn't a good idea. Pretty soon it tipped over and he landed on a block and now has a scrape and a bruise by his eye. Why all of this child's injuries happen close to his eyes I have no idea....but I'm considering investing in safety goggles for him to wear all the time.

Today's pictures above are two silly ones from dinner time last night. The first one was Joshua attempting to feed his "Blue Bear" some of his dinner. Funny, neither Joshua OR Blue Bear were interested. My cooking isn't THAT bad!

The second one was while we were playing and Joshua said that he wanted to see "Josh Mommy camera" so we snapped a do-it-yourself shot and he thought it was pretty funny. Sorry for the arm across the shot. I never said I was a pro. But that smile from Joshua is a keeper for sure.

I'm very excited to tell you that I get to go and meet baby Lila tomorrow and spend some time with Lindsay. I can't wait to see them. So, no updates fro me tomorrow, but perhaps I'll sneak a shot of the little princess to share on Thursday. Baby Boom 2008 sure has produced some pretty special babies so far. Three have already been born, with Baby Brooke only 9 weeks away (I nearly fell over when Libby said that yesterday). I can't wait to be an Aunt and for Joshua to have a cousin to love!

Joshu Funny...

You may be thinking that I spelled the post title incorrectly. First of all, don't doubt my neurotic spell-checker tendencies. Secondly, that's what Joshua has been saying recently when he's feeling silly, or is finding someone else to be silly (mostly Daddy). But that's pretty much how I'd sum up this weekend. It was a very silly one. I captured most of the giggle-fests that we had this weekend on video, and wish I could post that. But anyone who has been blessed to have heard Joshua's giggle in person can probably hear it in these pictures. It's the best sound in the world to me.

The pictures above are of Joshua "helping" (and I use the term very loosely) with folding his laundry on Saturday. He pulled his frog towel out of the basket and immediately put it onto his head and started using it as a cape, flying around the house. He'd pull the hood down over his eyes and then take off running. Amazingly, he'd crack up when he ran into a wall, or a door, or whatever else.

Saturday during the day we had a nice visit with Pap and Nana, back from their cruise of the Mediterranean. Joshua referred to their trip as "big boat" which I guess was correct. Aunt Libby came along too, which Joshua tremendously enjoyed. While mom and I were scheming on the final details for Libby's baby shower (this coming Saturday), Joshua and Lib were off giggling somewhere...their usual activity.

This weekend, Joshua has managed to learn how to tell a knock-knock joke, which leaves me in stitches every time he says it. Here's how it goes:

"Knock Knock"
"Who's there?"
"Joshu"
"Joshua who?"
"Joshu Dugan"

Too cute.

We've also taken quite a liking to Dr Seuss these days. Joshua absolutely loves the book "Have I Ever Told You How Lucky You Are?" (He calls it "Ucky Are by Dr. Seuss"...and yes, he does say the by Dr. Seuss part). If you've not read this book, you must. It's hysterical. His other favorite is "Green Eggs and Ham" right now. I can't tell you how many times I've been through either of them in the past few days. Every nap time and bed time those are his requests...over and over and over again.

And I'll leave you with another picture capturing a very silly moment last night. Joshua was eating supper and decided it'd be best to have his shirt off to do that. So off it came. Then, once I let him get down from his high chair, he took off around the house, no shirt, jogging and wanting us to follow him. We giggled and carried on for a good half hour. This all worked to our advantage because when it came time for bed, he was zonked after one read of Ucky Are and half of Ham. He did have one request before going to sleep. He yelled downstairs for "Daddy monies piggy bank" (that's exactly what he said). Evidently he wanted Jason to bring him some change and help him count it while he put it in his bank. That's one of his favorite activities with grandma during the day too. So, Jason came running with a handful of change, and Joshua counted each one as he put it in. He can go to 14, and then it's 19 and nexteen, whatever that means.

Joshua and the Terrible-Horrible-No Good-Very Bad Night...

See post from July 15th. Insert start time at 1:30 am and final "back to sleep in crib" time as 5:30 am. It was a Kiwanis morning, so it was a double whammy. We had to be up, cheerful and dressed to leave the house at 7:00. You can do the math- not much time for resting Joshua falling asleep and needing to get ready.

Mommy and Daddy both are dragging today...big time.

My theory is that Joshua's two year molars are starting to work their way through his little gums. Sadly, there's been enough of a pattern to our sleep tragedies that I've made the connection between teething and poor sleeping.

Praying for improvement tonight.

"Oh Megan"...

Oh brother.

There's been a new trend starting at our house lately that about had Jason and I both in stitches last night after supper. About a month ago, when Libby and my mom were at the house staying with Joshua while we went off to Evan and Jen's engagement party, he heard Libby say that she was going to "Call Meg". He talked about "Meg" for weeks, not really putting together the fact that Meg and Mommy were one and the same.

Well, he's gotten more formal in the past week or so, and now refers to "Megan" constantly. Last night, he was searching high and low for her. Jason was egging him on (imagine that) and told him to go and look for Megan. So he came into the kitchen where I was cleaning up the dishes, looked all around and then said "Nope". Then he went into the office to look for her and also came back shaking his head and saying "Nope". He then decided that Megan was at Club Bob with Pap, Butch and the guitar. Unbelievable.

I wonder if he'll ever figure out that Megan and Mommy are the same person?

And, Happy Birthday to baby Lila Kathleen who was born this morning at 3:57. I'd like to say, for the record, that my sixth sense (or the Jack connection as I call it) is still alive and well. I was actually downstairs in the kitchen checking my cell phone at 4:00 am for updates on Lindsay's progress, worried sick that I hadn't heard anything (not like there was much I could do...but still). Evidently, all of the excitement was going on in Bryn Mawr just when I was tossing and turning and saying prayers for them. I can't wait to meet her and give her mommy a hug. It's pretty hard to believe that these two polar opposite strangers who met in Heister Hall in 1996 still stay connected and are now sharing life's greatest adventure...motherhood. What a blessing. Congratulations on Lindsay and Ian.

Joshua's OLD Mommy feels even older after last night!

So it's the turning of a new decade for this Mommy today. 30....how about that? Honestly, I've had no problems with the thought of being 30 until my darling son hit me with a zinger last night...or should I say this morning.

I awoke to full fledged screaming this morning at 2:55 am. It's been quite some time since I've had a night like that. But just in case anyone wonders, the children ALWAYS reserve the right to hit you with a zinger just when you think you're out of the woods in the sleeping department. When I got to the crib (in about 4 leaping steps because that's how quickly you MOVE when you hear a scream like that), Joshua was standing in his crib hysterical. All he kept saying was "bad dream". Poor little buddy. So we rocked. For an hour. Then I changed his diaper realizing that he wasn't likely to just fall back to sleep. And then he started with his list of demands.

"Downstairs... Diaper Change 'gain... sleep couch... milk." We did all of that. I vetoed his requests to "read books" because I couldn't see straight. Literally. I don't know if you've tried it, but your eyes simply won't work at that hour of the night.

Still awake.

At 4:19 am I came back upstairs with him bleary eyed and disturbed that my alarm was set for 5:00 am...normal waking time. I quickly reset that for 6:00 knowing I had zero chance of being able to function at 5. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm at the very last ditch option when Joshua ends up in bed with us. But I couldn't take one more minute. I laid down to at least make sure I didn't FALL down, and then Joshua played with my hair, touched my face and said "Mommy seep" and "big fan" (referring to our ceiling fan) about 57 times until he finally drifted off. At 5:49 I put him back into his crib and reset the alarm for 6:30. Not like that helped much.

And so, today 30 feels like 50...because I'm beat. Somehow, though, it all felt fine when I saw that smiling face after he finally awoke around 8:15 this morning. He was happy and was talking to me about his bad dreams while he got dressed and then had some breakfast. I tried to stress that if he wants his mom to make it to 31, he really ought to stop with the late night rendezvous. I'm hoping he's on board with that plan.

The pictures above in the little orange shirt (Thank you Aunt Libby!) were from this morning. You can't stay mad at them long when they're that adorable.

A fun evening at Knoebels...

It was fun to pretend we were kids again while we took Joshua on his very first Knoebels adventure. Growing up, I distinctly recall the elation we felt about our annual trip to Hershey Park. Looking back on it, I can't help but be amazed that my parents had the bravery and the stamina to deal with that park with the two of us...strollers, bad attitudes, my motion sickness and all. But we loved it. With Knoebels (albeit a MUCH smaller atmosphere than Hershey) being only about 40 minutes from home for us, we thought it would be a nice little evening adventure. So off we went.

We got some dinner in the park and Joshua marvelled at all of the people and especially all of the kids. Everyone knows he's not a great eater, and shaking things up on him with a different atmosphere had the makings of disaster, but he did pretty well.

Then the fun began. I honestly believe Joshua rode every ride in Kiddie Land. I was a little nervous about how he'd react, but he loved everything. Jason and I kept saying that he had a very serious look on his face, and we wondered if he was having a good time, but every time a ride would stop he'd say "again" or "more" or "nother ride". He never cried once and jumped on everything without fear. Honestly, I thought the rides went pretty fast, but he didn't seem to mind one bit. I thought it was especially cute when he saw the one ride that had the little John Deere tractor to ride. He REALLY wanted to ride that one, and said "Pap" the whole time.

It was a very late night for us. We left the park around 9:30...so needless to say it was a sleep in day today for Joshua. But he woke up this morning asking for the helicopters and another horsie ride. So I think it was a success. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. We sure had a good time.

Sprinkler!

Who can resist a smile like that? Not me...that's for sure. We were singing "John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt" to encourage Joshua to eat his dinner last night. He ended up doing more giggling than eating, I'm afraid.

Last night, Darla brought Sydney over for some play time outside with Joshua. It was a good excuse for Mommy catch-up-time if you must know, as well. Jeremy had a grad class that ended up getting done early, so he also joined with us. The idea was to get out the sprinkler and let the kids cool off a bit. We ended up having to start with the hose because the sprinkler ball needed quite a bit of blowing up. Even I (no smart comments please) did not have the quantity of hot air necessary to inflate it. After about a half hour of huffing and puffing, we finally got the sprinkler going. Joshua loved it. Sydney wasn't quite as sure. But they played nicely, giggled a lot, shrieked quite a bit and seemed to enjoy themselves.

The last picture of them playing in the sandbox cracked me up. That'll be good blackmail material for down the road. Mommy will guard that one closely.

It's an at-home day for Mommy while Grandma is with her family at the hospital with Jason's grandfather. I'll never turn down a day with my buddy, although I think the girls at the office are starting to think I'm a temp.

No news yet on Baby Delaney. She may be making her first cries as I write this, actually. I talked to Karen around 8 this morning and her c-section was delayed ("rain delay" as she called it) while they did 2 emergency sections ahead of her. So her 7:30 surgery was looking more like 10. I'm chomping at the bit to get down to the hospital and see this miracle baby with my own eyes. I can't imagine a more welcome sight than to see Karen holding her brand new baby girl. It's been a long time coming.

First Annual Cousins' Day!

I should probably start this out by saying that I'm a serious sucker and am easily fooled. At least that's the word on the street.

For the past week or so, Libby has been making plans to come and spend the day with us yesterday. I was thrilled--- a day with my sister is always just what the doctor ordered. She's been claiming to be "bored" since school is out, and we're very much interested in enjoying some time before baby Brooke arrives.

Yesterday morning, I started to wonder about a few things. First of all, why had Libby planned this visit so far in advance. Usually it's the day before when we're making plans to visit. And why had Jason been so interested in extra hamburger from Byerly's? Was it really because he's on vacation this coming week and wanted hamburgers for lunch? My brainstorm was that this little party was going to turn into a bit of a birthday bash with my parents since they'll be leaving to go on their Mediterranean cruise on Tuesday and will miss the big Megan-turns-30 birthday. (Not a big deal in my book, but we had talked a few times about them feeling bad to be missing it.) I woke Jason up and asked him if my parents were coming along with Libby to surprise me. He said "not that I know of" and then went back to sleep. So I dismissed the whole thing and went about preparing for Libby to arrive.

I had all sorts of things that we could do, and no one really seemed to be attempting to dissuade me. I suggested that we could take Joshua to Knoebels since it was such a nice day. Then I said that Libby and I could take Joshua to shop at a little country store and then make quick run to the mall. She didn't disagree, so off we went. We were attempting a little schedule restructuring with Joshua yesterday...attempting to get him to go to bed earlier than 11:00 pm by holding back his nap during the day. He went without a nap except for a quick 25 minute cat nap on the way home from the mall and so Libby and I stalled a bit coming home to stretch it out a few more minutes. I can hear some jokes starting before I even say this...but we took the VERY scenic route through Milton before coming home.

Jason greeted us in the garage and led me out back to see the "work" he'd been doing on the railings. I came around the corner to find Jeannine, Danaca, Stephanie and Stacie all waiting there saying "SURPRISE!" and "Happy Cousins Day!"

For longer than I can remember, I've been saying that I'd love nothing more than to have a Cousins' Day with the girls. We all have such fun together when we make the time to spend together, but it's so infrequent, and normally complicated by other family things that we're doing. So, this was a wonderful surprise. It all centered around a birthday surprise for me, but the surprise of getting to spend time with everyone was unbelievable. Jeannine made quite a sacrifice to be there- she and Joe were MOVING that day into a new house with some other complicated family circumstances at the same time. What a blessing that she came despite how stressed she must have been feeling. Danaca has just moved to New York, but gave up time in Gettysburg to make the trip. Stephanie came all the way from York, and Stacie came despite being in the midst of a major house building project. Libby had done a whole bunch of pre-planning and cooking, and had two big coolers full of food that she had prepared. The "extra" burgers hit the grill and we had a great supper and some good time together.

Joshua had a blast playing with everyone. We had one minor meltdown that landed us indoors to feed Josh while everyone else was on the porch, but once the sun went down a bit, Joshua very much enjoyed playing outside with everyone. Steph, Stacie and Danaca worked with him on his batting skills. Let's just say that there's more work to be done. Stephanie- our resident soccer extraordinaire- says that his kicking was pretty good. So we'll keep working on that. We had a blast with sidewalk chalk- hence the photos above. I'm sure our neighbors are appreciating the artwork in the driveway.

It all ended way too quickly for my liking, but with a promise that this was the First Annual Cousins' Day...not just a fluke. There's nothing more precious than family, and I've got to tell you, I'm one lucky girl to have the one that I do. Maybe it's the way we were raised and the way our parents were always focused on spending time together as a large, extended family. Maybe it's the fact that we all get along so well, giggle so much and love each other a whole lot, even though we're very different people who all live extremely different lives. And maybe we're just trying to hold on to that "Richard" tradition of being together, even when it's inconvenient and takes a lot of planning to do it. What was really special to me is that Jason and Libby coordinated to put all of this together. And it shows me just how well Jason really knows me and knows what's important to me. There couldn't have been a better surprise for me.

So, girls..... thanks is all I can say. I'll do the catering next year, but we WILL get together again. I have the 30 decorations that we'll continue to recycle as we all cycle through it. What an awesome day it was. Joshua slept like a brick last night. A good party will tire anyone out! And that it was.

The RIVER!

One of Joshua's latest obsessions is the river...that would be the Susquehanna River, which we cross in order to get pretty much anywhere around this area. He loves going over the bridge, and he stares in total disbelief at the river when we're crossing it. Last night after going to Cartoon Night at Damons (which was a big hit, although with fewer cartoons than I anticipated...guess you have to keep the adult crowd satisfied as well), we stopped at a little state park that just happened to have river access. Joshua and Daddy went walking down to the water while I fumbled around with a few things at the car, and when I looked up, I saw my two favorite guys walking hand in hand and couldn't resist snapping a picture. That's good stuff---- and a photo that I'm betting will be special in the years to come.

They had some nice swings there too, which Joshua couldn't resist trying out. What a great little spot it was, and a great end to the evening.

If only it would have stopped there, we could have avoided the bloody mouth that happened when Joshua tripped while drinking his milk. Luckily he survived and doesn't appear to have any long lasting effects this morning, but I still hated to see him hurting...and bleeding! All boy. No questions about it.

We also pulled a late nighter again last night--- 11:00 until Mr. Joshua saw dreamland. I have no idea what the big issue was, but he just kept wanting to read book after book after book. "I'll Love You Forever" finally did him in...along with about 10 times through "Hush Little Baby".

The little guy is having a special Daddy day today. They went for a haircut, did some shopping and ran some errands. I got a quick visit with him and already can't wait to get home for the nice long weekend of play time with him. We're headed to the parade tomorrow morning in Watsontown- he's already talking about the horsies that he'll get to see. Then we're looking forward to Aunt Libby's visit on Saturday. Should be a nice, easy weekend for us.

Next week will be a big week. Baby Delaney (a true, God given miracle) makes her debut on Wednesday morning. Lindsay's little girl (who appears to be a bit unwilling to meet all of her adoring fans) will be here soon as well. I'm praying for safe, easy (AND QUICK) deliveries for both.

Happy 4th!

How FUN is this?

Love at first sight--- Joshua and his new sand and water table!


" Thanks Daddy!"

So, Daddy is the hero at our house. We've been talking for a while about wanting to find an outside toy that might keep Joshua occupied. We've put about 100,000 miles on his little mower already this summer and he's now taken to digging up our landscaping with his golf clubs. After the fun he had with the bubble table at our weekend picnic, we thought this might be perfect, and it seems to be. One half is sand to dig in, and the other half is water to splash in and play with boats. What kid wouldn't love this? Here's the best part---- do you see Jason SITTING in the pictures? This is the first time we've been able to SIT while Joshua was playing outside. Normally you're chasing him and pulling him out of the bushes, out of the mulch, keeping him from falling down the steps. But the sand and water table kept him occupied long enough to sit down and.....gasp........even have a conversation. $79 well spent.