A few more PSU pics...

The Chug Line...

Chris and Jason at the Redneck Tailgate

Tim and Jessy...still at the Redneck Tailgate

During this fun, I was babysitting our tailgate with Emily, Earl and Emily's Pap. Thanks, Steph, for the pictures!

What a weekend!

As I steal a few moments away from what I SHOULD be doing this morning (laundry!), I thought I'd try to post a quick update about the events of the weekend for all of the loyal Monday morning readers. (HA!) I should note that the Prince is fast asleep (I KNOW....it's 7:54!)

The weekend was awesome. Despite the pouring down rain on Friday and Saturday morning, our day at Beaver Stadium turned out perfectly. Emily's Pap assured me on Saturday morning that it wouldn't rain for the game. He was mostly right (somehow Paps always are) and we escaped the game pretty much as dry as we were when we got there. A quick shower as we packed up the tent and two little periods of drizzle during the game. Nothing a true Penn State fan can't handle. Clearly, we've been there for MUCH worse than that. (My mind flashes back to the game when I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Joshua that we literally sat in the pouring down rain all day just because we were afraid it might be the last game that season that we got to see.) But I digress...

The PSU tailgate was fantastic. Good food...great friends...and a chance to show my cousins from Massachusetts what a real PSU game is like. I think they were really surprised by the spectacle that it was. We took them to see the team buses pull in to the stadium, they experienced the chug line, playing washer toss (and dangle balls...which I won't go into) and had enough food and "beverage" to add to the fun. We were blessed with extra company of Steph and Jessy, Emily, Earl and Emily's Pap (who won the prize for BEST contribution to the tailgate menu with perhaps the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten and (breast milk) whoopie pies. There's a story there. Adam and Karyn joined in the fun as well and rounded out a very diverse, yet very fun tailgating crew. Can't wait to do it again.

I can't say enough about the game either. It was one of the most fun games I've been to in quite some time. Anytime you put together 109,000 people, most of whom have been enjoying the day together since early in the morning, put them under the lights to cheer on a good PSU team that they love, it's going to be good. And this one was. I was Penn State proud all the way to my toes on Saturday night. When the Blue Band comes out on to the goal line to start their pre-game show, and when the Alma Mater plays are the two moments that I get choked up at a PSU game. I'm thankful for my Penn State experience, and proud beyond belief to say that I'm a Penn State Alumni.

To add to the fun, a fellow University Choir singer happened to sit beside us.....RIGHT BESIDE US.......at the game. I couldn't believe it...or remember his name, but I suddenly felt better when he told me he knew that we had sung together and did the Europe tour together, but he couldn't remember my name either. We caught up a bit during the game, so that was fun. He was a former Blue Band trumpet player and a tenor in U Choir. But the irony of sitting next to someone that you graduated with was kind of bizarre. Add to that that another professional acquaintance from the area here marched up the steps to his seat just as we were sitting down. It's always a hoot to be there among so many people and run into familiar faces. But THAT'S Penn State.

Since this is JOSHUA'S blog, perhaps I should also include him on the fun. Friday night we had such a great evening at my parents' house with my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Carol and Chris and Tim from Massachusetts. Joshua especially enjoyed Pappy Ray too.

Saturday was a special day with Nana and Pap for him. He had been looking forward to tractor rides and gator time, but the rain put most of those plans on the back burner. Dad did tell me that they spent some time in the garage "fixing" things with Joshua's tools, and that seemed to soften the blow of only being able to go on one short tractor ride in between rain showers. Libby and Brooke came over to enjoy the day as well, and I think Joshua really enjoyed that. He keeps telling me about Brooke and how fun it was to play with Aunt Libby. I can't wait until the two of them can really play together....get into trouble together....the whole bit. I swear, Brooke is getting cuter by the second. Libby posted new pictures on her blog yesterday that just about made me cry when I saw them. I don't know how it happens, but I just love her to bits more and more each day. I wish I got to see them more, but maybe I'll just have to put that into the schedule more often. Sorry about your luck Lib, but Aunt Meg is having withdrawl!!!!

Sunday Nana and Josh got up and played while I caught up on a little more sleep. We got in about 1:30 on Sunday morning from the game, so when Joshua was raring to go at 6, I wasn't quite as enthusiastic. They had such fun. I think Joshua was really sad to leave their house yesterday. He had a very mopey look on his face all the way home and wouldn't talk to us. I honestly think he was mad that we brought him home. We assured him that he would see Nana and Pap again soon....but I don't think it's soon enough for him. Joshua enjoyed a few firsts yesterday. He had his first chocolate chip cookie and his first taste of lollipop yesterday. Pictures above. It was pretty cute.

Music class tonight, so I'll post about that tomorrow.

Happy Friday!

"On your mark....get set....GO!"

We had some silly play time this morning before I headed off to work. "On your mark....get set....GO!" was Joshua's game of choice. He says that and then runs full speed into me while I sit on the living room floor, giggling all the way.

It was night #4 of complete sleep. I'm starting to actually feel rested. Amazing.

The Jeep is officially packed "to the hilt". I'm not sure I ever really new what that meant until last night when we reached that status with the Jeep. Joshua's car seat had to be rearranged in order to get all the goods into the vehicle. I'm pretty sure that we've secured anything that could fly into him and hurt him...but good grief do we ever have a pile of stuff to take for this tailgate. Food for an army. Tables. Tent. Chairs. Blankets. Beer. Beer. Beer. Washer toss game. Cooler. We even outfitted the antennae with a PSU flag for spirit. Let's hope for blue, sunshiny skies tomorrow for a great day in Happy Valley. Fight on State!

Looking very forward to arriving in Lewistown to see Brooke and Libby and the clan from Massachusetts. Should be a super fun weekend. Stand by for pictures on Monday.

A little person lives with us.

I found a few pictures on our camera this morning that I don't believe I ever posted, so here's your Joshua fix for this morning. He's NOT wearing shorts at our house this morning in case anyone is about to report me to Children and Youth. He's appropriately dressed at home for the chilly air...

I had planned to try to get a few new pictures this morning, but wound up having a silly interaction with Joshua instead. When I set him up wtih his breakfast this morning, he dove in all by himself. Normally, this requires force feeding him, but he patiently worked with his french toast sticks this morning giving me an opportunity to get a jump start on taco dip for the tailgate at PSU on Saturday. And I suddenly realized that Joshua is now a little person who lives with us instead of a baby. While I cooked, he asked me questions about what I was doing. And I asked him questions, which he answered. Here were some of them:

"Mommy....what you doing at stove?"

"Mommy...Josh have chicky bock bock?" (as in, the sound a chicken makes)

I started to explain that I was making something special to take to the football game. And then he started asking about staying at Nana and Pap's while we're gone.

"Josh ride tractor with Pap...go see John and Digger. Get juice box?"

"Josh and Pap play with Gator and dig in mulch."

"Josh kiss Baby Brooke and Aunt Libby play too."

This went on and on while I made taco dip and he ate breakfast. It was a really nice change from our normal routine.

Sleep was a fantastic again last night. 9:15 until 6:30. I don't know what to do with myself.

We may be on to something here...

I never imagined that motherhood would sometimes resemble high school chemistry experiments. But it definitely does from time to time.

Anyone who has followed our blog, seen me in daily life with toothpicks holding my eyes open, or had the pleasure of getting one of "those" phone calls after a bad night with Joshua knows that sleeping is not his forte...not even close. Well, I've read all I can read. And the part of this whole thing that feels like Chem I is the process of experimentation. We try things- even things that don't seem like they'd make much sense. Is it the bedtime routine? Is the room too light? Too dark? Is he going to bed too early? Too late? Did he eat something for supper that is causing him not to sleep? You can seriously drive yourself to drink over this stuff. So, you go about your experiment changing one little thing at a time. Mostly, at least in the case of our son, it makes absolutely no difference. And the way you keep yourself from being committed is that you figure, "well, there's one more thing that it CAN'T be". Until...eureka...you find something that works. That's kind of where we are today, after (gasp) two full nights of sleep from Joshua.

My cardinal sin as a mother was to get him used to being rocked to sleep. Normally, I rock with him and read Dr. Seuss books until I can't rhyme one more silly word with another one. His latest obsession is "Yertle the Turtle". Very cute if you haven't had the pleasure of reading that one a million times. So on Sunday night, he was snoring away in my lap until I moved him into his bed to sleep. The eyeballs popped open and I figured I was in for another round of the Doctor...but instead, he eventually closed those beautiful peepers and went to sleep. We've exchanged the air conditioning in our house for the fall fresh air, so it's been a bit chilly at night time. I then covered him up with an afghan that he couldn't really roll out from under, so he couldn't get too cold during the night at wake up from that. I didn't hear another thing from him until 6 the next morning. Last night I figured I'd try the same thing. Yertle the Turtle until just about asleep, then into bed. (We had to do that twice last night.) Then he fell asleep...got the afghan treatment and slept until 5:15. I know most moms wouldn't celebrate a 5:15 awakening, but for us, this is a major victory.

So, that was a very long way of saying that we're doing better and we'll keep working on this new program we've developed. Keep your fingers crossed!

Joshua's Photo Shoot

I think I posted a while back about Joshua's photo shoot for the Union County United Way campaign literature. Just this morning at a United Way board meeting, I was given a copy of some of the photos that they took of our family, and I thought I'd share one. The photo appears on a brochure that was mailed to every household in Union County over the past week. Hopefully this adorable little boy encourages generosity... Luckily Joshua behaved himself and responded pretty well to the photographer. He still talks about "Mr. John" when he sees a camera from time to time.

This is a whirlwind week coming up for us. Tailgating stuff has already started appearing on our dining room table (bins, propane crockpot, etc.) and there are lists strewn about of things I'm getting/doing, and things that Jason is getting/doing in preparation for Saturday's tailgate at PSU. The greatest part about Saturday is that we'll have quite a gang to tailgate with. My cousins Chris and Tim are coming down from Massachusetts to enjoy their first Penn State game (they've been to a Blue/White game...which we all know doesn't really count...we know PSU is going to win that one!). Emily and Earl and a few guests will be with them and are planning to visit with us. And Stephanie and company will be along as well. Jason made a trip to Dicks this weekend and we've even added to our tailgating paraphernalia with one of those ring toss games. I absolutely cannot wait. Start praying now for a beautiful, cool, fall day that makes you happy to be at Beaver Stadium. Joshua will be enjoying a special day with Nana and Pap, and perhaps Libby and Brooke as well if they're feeling up to a day out of the house. Kickoff at the game isn't until 8, so it'll be a late one...but it should be tons of fun.

4 wakeups until we get to see Baby Brooke....and when she gets to meet Uncle Jason for the first time!

Spoiled by Daddy...& Weekend Sillies

"My Daddy missed me so much that he brought me my very own Black & Decker workbench with real power tools!"

Reading silly books with Daddy...can't you almost hear that giggle?

Using the snake light from my workbench to hunt for bears in the dark hall and office. Imagination....it's unbelievable how creative Joshua is becoming in his play.

It's been a fun weekend for us. We were thrilled to have Daddy return home from his long week away in New York when he got home on Friday afternoon. Joshua didn't leave his side all Friday evening. I really think he missed him a lot.

Saturday was a quiet day at home. We had some PSU football to watch on TV. We ended up selling our tickets because of the complications of arranging weekend care for Joshua. We weren't quite up for another trip to Lewistown, although I'm sure Joshua would have jumped at the chance to visit with Nana and Pap. So we tucked in for the weekend at home and enjoyed each other. Jason mowed our jungle of a lawn on Saturday morning while I appropriately laid to rest all of the summer flowers that have died over the past week. Joshua spent the entire two hours we were outside running his lawn mower just like daddy. Then he'd jump on the tractor and wave at Daddy while he drove. He's now learned to steer, although not really well yet. But it's amazing how fast he's picked that up. Drivers license, here he comes!

Today has been quiet...church this morning, football this afternoon, a nice long nap for Joshua. We've got some fantastic baked spaghetti for supper, so that'll surely be a hit with the little guy.

I'm getting kind of tricky here this afternoon. There are actually two new posts today, so don't miss the photos below. More to come this week...counting down to the big PSU/Illinois game on Saturday night and my next chance to visit with Brooke on Friday! Hurry up weekend!!!!

"Hello State Farm..."

Joshua and I had a short visit to the office on Friday morning after his breakfast date with Mark (aka Kiwanis meeting). Every visit to Mommy's office is like a tornado...he has to touch everything, move it to a different spot, and then run around it like a May pole. But he seems to have fun, and I think Julie and Bonnie enjoy the diversion from the everyday stuff we do. Julie snapped these few pictures of him. I just love the one at the door---- I was outside at the car getting something for him and he was anxiously awaiting my return. The one with the phone is pretty funny (although not overly flattering). He was picking up Julie's phone and saying "Hello...State Farm". Maybe the fourth generation State Farm agent in our family? Who knows...

We're Back!

Top 10 Trip Highlights...in no particular order...(not Letterman style)

10. Joshua got to meet Brooke for the first time on Sunday evening. Amazingly, Libby was feeling well enough to come to Mom and Dad's house for supper. I think that getting out of the house was probably the most important part of that equation, and we enjoyed every single second. Pictures follow of Joshua meeting Brooke and interacting with her for the first time. He was very intrigued and wanted desperately to "help" her with things (bink, bottle, etc.) He did give her several kisses so that was very sweet.





9. Fall air! I don't know about where everyone else is, but Monday felt like a real fall day and I couldn't have been more excited. I had packed long pants for us, but definitely not long sleeve shirts, so Nana had to make a quick shopping run to pick up a sweatshirt or long sleeve t-shirt for Joshua in order to play outside. She came home with some adorable stuff for him. Let the fall season begin----summer's OVER!!

8. Special play time with Nana. Joshua decided that he would rather stay at mom and dad's house and play with Nana while I went out to spend a little more time with Brooke and Libby on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. They played outside the whole time I was gone both days and climbed on Pap's tractor, played with all of the extension cords in the garage (unplugged, of course, before anyone calls the Safety Patrol on us) and rode the Gator all over the place. Joshua had a blast and I loved my chances to spend some quiet, uninterrupted time with Libby and Brooke.

7. TRACTOR RIDES! I believe the complete count was up to 4 total tractor rides by the time we left Lewistown this afternoon. And each ride had its own adventure. One time, they saw a flock of turkeys. Once they went to visit Pappy Fred and Freda. This afternoon they finally caught up with John and Digger and Mia (Joshua's favorite puppy friends in Lewistown) and John gave Joshua a juice box for the ride back up the hill. He was in his glory when he returned.

6. Not really a highlight, but a good story nonetheless...DEAD DEAD BIRD. On one of Joshua and Nana's adventures outside, they discovered a bird who had met his maker by crashing into the windows on the side of the house. Joshua was completely mesmerized by the bird and stood looking at it from inside the house repeating "dead dead bird" over and over again. Pap finally returned to throw it into the woods this morning.

5. Joshua's first campfire. Last evening, Dad had a Kiwanis project going on at the local park and suggested that if Mom and I were looking for something to do, we could bring Joshua out to the park for a while. It was far too nice of a night to sit inside, so we packed Joshua up for an evening of fresh air at the playground. It turned out that Pap and the other Kiwanians had a campfire going and Joshua just loved it. He did learn that it was "hot" and that he couldn't go close to it, but he's been talking about that quite a bit since we got home this afternoon. It was fun to be back at the park because of all the time I spent there while growing up. All of the Relay for Life activities I participated in as a Key Clubber, and the mini golf course we played growing up were all there. And truly, nothing about that place has changed. Add to that the surreal feeling of being there with our son and seeing people that I had known during high school being there with their own kids...it was strange, but tons of fun.

4. Green Ice Cream... One of my favorite family recipes is jello & ice cream (and it has to be lime jello for me!) and it just so happened that Mom had prepared that for dessert on Sunday evening when we arrived. Joshua has never had much in the way of desserts, mostly because we can't get him to eat the food he's SUPPOSED to eat, so there isn't a lot of reward with dessert for him. But he ate a wonderful dinner on Sunday night and had deserved a taste of "green ice cream" (as he called it). I have never seen him dive into anything like he did that dessert. He wound up eating two bowls of it that night and another after his dinner on Monday. Grandma Mary would have been so proud of him.

3...2...and 1...Brooke Brooke and Brooke! The entire purpose of our trip was to spend time with Libby and Zig and Brooke and we tried to do as much of that as we could without completely wearing out our welcome in Burnham. Brooke is so sweet and Libby and Zig are doing such a wonderful job getting adjusted to parenthood. It was just a blessing to watch it all. We served as gophers for Lib, which worked out wonderfully. I distinctly recall the feelings of utter helplessness once Jason returned to work following our c-section. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere and there are sometimes just things that you need. So, we tried to help do whatever it was that she needed. Laundry switched or started...done. Bottles washed...I'm your girl. Spit up cleaner upper....Aunt Meg's specialty. But just getting to be in the same house with that precious baby girl made me feel like I had won the lottery. I particularly enjoyed watching Joshua react to her. And the most special times were when it was just Libby and I talking together without the rush of a million people in and out, when I could hold Brooke, snuggle with her, and tell her how much we love her. Being an aunt is pretty amazing. And I can only hope to be the kind of aunt to Brooke that Libby is to Joshua. Enjoy a few pictures of this little bug...

And, most importantly, if Daddy is checking this from his Blackberry at the hotel, we miss you and we love you very much. Can't wait until you get home on Friday!

More soon!

Every good and perfect gift...

...comes from God.

And there can be no question who it was who delivered this perfect angel into our lives yesterday morning.

That was the scripture that kept repeating to me when Joshua was born. And it was all I could think about yesterday after getting to meet Baby Brooke. What a special day it was for our family. I was on cloud nine after getting to spend the day in Lewistown yesterday, and was equally thrilled when I got home to a super-rambunctious little boy screaming "Mommy!" at the top of his lungs when I walked in the door at home. There can be no greater joy than being a part of a child's life- whether they're almost 2 or not even a day old. And the love in your heart just about overflows from you.

Libby and Zig got to welcome Brooke Mackenzie into the world yesterday morning via c-section after a very long day and night of laboring without progress. Libby is recovering like a champ and Brooke seems to be doing great. It was such a blessing to be there with them yesterday to share in the joy of Brooke's birth. She will forever share her birthday with Zig's dad, who I'm sure was smiling from Heaven yesterday at the news of his granddaughter's arrival. What a special way to honor Zig's dad and his memory.

I think I can officially say that I've fallen in love again with the most precious baby girl I've ever laid eyes on. Brooke is perfect- with that beautiful round face and what seemed to be a very calm disposition (at least yesterday). I wondered if it would feel different than when Joshua was born, and I can honestly tell you that it did not. I am just as overwhelmed with love for Brooke, and for my sister and her husband, as I was when we first met our own son.

So now my sister and I have the most important thing in common- motherhood, our love for our children, and our love for each other's children. And I could not possibly feel more blessed.

Since Jason has to go away this coming week for some very official business in New York, Joshua and I are planning a bit of a "Brooke Vacation" for Sunday-Wednesday of next week. I believe Joshua is just as excited about tractor rides and playing with his Gator as he is to meet his new cousin. I'm not sure he understands that she's actually here, even though he said to me this morning "Aunt Ibby went hospital had Baby Brookie". So he's at least connected that much, but I don't know about the level of understanding about the reality of the baby. We'll see. I have a feeling there will be wonderful pictures of Joshua and Brooke's first meeting once we return from my parents' house next week. I've been promising myself that I'll allow myself some time to enjoy the baby and help Libby as much as I could once Brooke got here, and now I'll battle the guilt that I feel for leaving the office and enjoy my new niece and the time with Libby and Zig. They're going to be such awesome parents...I feel so honored that I can share it with them even a little bit.

So, please enjoy our newest family member...isn't she awesome?

Tractors, Gators and DIRT!

If there was any doubt that Joshua is 100% boy, the mystery was disspelled this weekend. He had such fun playing with dirt, riding Pap's tractor and learning how to ride his new Gator! He's still talking about it and asking to see the video and pictures, and wondering when we're going back to Nana and Pap's house again. It's funny, but "soon" doesn't have much value when you're almost 2 and very anxious.

The end of last week didn't exactly go as planned. Poor Joshua had a little trouble with his Mister (a new term that I'm more fond of than others that would be suitable to write about). His circumcision site has always been an issue. At every well-baby visit to the pediatrician's office, they have to reopen it due to adhesions. Needless to say, Joshua has never been happy about that. And despite the care that we're instructed to give to it, it's always grown back together within hours of being opened again. They've always told me that it would likely take care of itself as he grew...and it did. On Thursday morning. And oh my goodness was Josh in pain. We ended up taking him to the doctor on Friday morning and they looked at it, determined that there could be an infection, and prescribed antibiotics and Neosporin at every diaper change. (You can imagine how happy he was with that!) I'm happy to report that he's looking much better after a few days, and hasn't complained or whimpered about it much since Friday. I felt so awful for him and just wished I could have made it better. Poor little man. Luckily for him the doctors don't think that his circumcision needs to be redone. And boy was I pleased to hear that.

So Mommy had an unexpected day at home with Joshua on Friday. But don't worry--- we had plenty to do. We were at the doctor's appointment, then stopped at the office with Joshua's breakfast treat of his first Dunkin Donuts munchkin (and, for the record, he wasn't very impressed). Then we got groceries, ate lunch and got packed up for the trip to Lewistown until Daddy got home from work.

At Nana and Pap's house, Joshua was thrilled to spend time with a lot of family members who came by to visit with him. He, of course, ran right to his Aunt Libby. I'm constantly amazed (though not a bit surprised) by how much he loves her. If she would leave the room, even for a second, he would start looking for her. He just can't get enough. And, I think she's pretty cool too, but he's IN LOVE. He loved hanging out with Uncle Zig, like always. I'm not sure how this is going to go when he has to share Aunt Libby and Uncle Zig with Brooke...which could be as soon as tomorrow, and as late as Wednesday. I CAN'T WAIT! Cell phone will be in my hand until I know she's here safe and sound. Joshua got to visit with Pappy Ray, Pappy Fred and Freda, as well as Stephanie. It was loads of fun, and he really had a great time. We all got to watch the PSU game and cheered together as Pappy Fred went out on the porch to play the Fight Song after each score. I'm sure the neighbors loved it.

Yesterday afternoon was very cute with Joshua. He awoke from his nap and was talking about Brooke...which he does often. I'm thinking his infatuation is with all things Wray related. I asked him if he was going to hold the baby once she was here and he said "yes". Then I asked him to show me how he would hold her and handed him his giraffe to demonstrate with. Libby would have freaked, but he held him upside down and kind of rough. So I showed him how to hold the "baby" and we practiced a bit. Let's just say that any interactions between Joshua and Brooke will need to be closely monitored....very closely monitored.

It was a great weekend. Needless to say, there will be many more Lewistown trips in the comings day as we go to spend time with our newest favorite miniature person in the family. There's nothing more joyful than a perfect, brand new baby...and to share that with my sister, one of the people whom I love the most on the whole Earth, couldn't be more of a blessing. We'll pray for a speedy, complication free delivery. Hurry up Baby Brooke---- the world awaits you!

T-Minus 6 Wakeups...

UNTIL BABY BROOKE COMES (or at least starts to come, but let's not get hung up on technicalities)! Looks like the birthday party for Brooke is going to start sometime on Tuesday (her Daddy's birthday) and may extend into Wednesday (her Pappy Wray's birthday who's watching over her from Heaven). I'm so excited for them that I can't even stand it. And I can only imagine the excitement building in Libby and Zig's house...


We're looking very forward to spending our last "pre-Brooke" weekend with Mom, Dad, Lib and Zig in Lewistown this weekend. Joshua better enjoy not having to share his beloved Aunt Ibby...although I have a feeling we'll have a pretty even trade off when we're together. I can't wait to meet our new niece and love her to pieces. The whole idea of Libby and I both having children is very surreal...it seems like it was only yesterday that we were playing Hungry Hungry Hippos on our front porch with our neighborhood friends and dressing up our Cabbage Patch Kids for walks around the block. Maybe it felt strange to her when Joshua was born too...I don't know. But I'm so proud of my baby sister and her wonderful husband and just can't wait to share parenthood with them. They're going to be AWESOME!


In other news, Joshua slept through the night last night! YAY for our little monkey! I woke up at 5:00 to the alarm clock...and then realized that I felt pretty rested. Joshua woke for the first time at 5:45, but fell fast asleep again until about 7:30. He awoke smiling and very proud of himself. I sure hope we can get back into this kind of a schedule again soon. Mommy likes to sleep at least a little bit during the night.


Enjoy a few pictures from this morning...he was making some silly faces and I tried to capture them the best I could.

"Love you big big much..."

Too cute...reading "Lyle Lyle Crocodile" with Daddy

"High Five Daddy...Good luck golfing!"

The Aftermath...Joshua and baked ziti on Monday night

That's how Joshua greeted me on Friday morning...and my heart melted. That one ranks right up there with him saying "Mommy so pretty" a few weeks ago.

We had such a fun LONG weekend...and I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Friday night was a quiet one at home. We cleaned some and got some quick groceries to make a dessert to take along to our family picnic on Sunday. Joshua was his usual giggly self, and we loved it. We've been noticing lately that he's much more content to play on his own than he used to be. Now granted, you have to keep at least one eye on him at all times, but he's able to entertain himself (mostly with his trucks and tractors) for 10 minutes or more without needing to be constantly talked to. Mommy and Daddy are enjoying this change very much. I was beginning to think that I was never going to be able to pee in private again. (Sorry...but it's the truth.)

Saturday, Joshua played with Grandma while Jason and I went to the PSU game. You'd have thought that it was the Ohio State game with the amount of traffic that we had to contend with on the way to State College. What should have been an hour drive and a leisurely morning at the stadium soaking up our PSU spirit turned into a sprint from Centre Community Hospital in order to make it for kickoff. We entered WD just as the band was playing the alma mater, so I sang while we climbed to our seats. The game was so much fun to watch, and I think the team has a great shot at being pretty good this year. We have some really special PSU plans this year, including a day of tailgating with the Confer cousins from Massachusetts on the 27th for Illinois (night game!) and Lindsay's return to Beaver Stadium with Ian for Michigan State, and a trip with Bill and Staci too. We can't wait to break out the new propane crock pot for some chili or chicken noodle soup once the fall air turns for good.

Sunday was a family picnic day in McClure with Grandma Shirley and Bill. Joshua had such fun playing in the great outdoors. He dug in the stones, drove trucks and his tractor all over the place, and chased gorillas with Pap from under the porch. I should add that he is STILL (as of this morning) saying "probably gorillas" and looking for them under everything. Thanks a lot Dad! He laughed and giggled and loved playing with Danaca and Neen and Stephanie and Stacie. He missed his Aunt Libby so much, but understood that she just wasn't feeling up to the excitement. He only left with one small spill in the stones that hardly left a mark (though he cried as though he had lost a limb). Joshua and Nana spent some time on his tractor and he really seemed to enjoy playing with her. He's already talking about going to Nana and Pap's house this weekend to ride on the big tractor with Pap. Little does he know about Pap's gator that's waiting for him to try. I so love seeing Joshua interact with everyone and to see how that interaction has changed over the past 2 years. He now remembers everyone and looks very forward to playing with them again. He hopped right up into people's laps and talked to them freely. And that makes us so happy to know that, even though some miles separate us from the majority of the family, Joshua has gotten to experience the same memories of our extended family that I remember from growing up. We are very blessed.

Monday was a quiet day at home. Labor Day to me meant LAUNDRY day. How three people (one of them miniature) make so much laundry I have no idea. Daddy went golfing while the little guy took a nap and Mommy kept cleaning. The baked ziti picture came from dinner on Monday evening--- I've never seen Joshua dive into baked ziti like that before. He hadn't eaten well all day, but I'd like to credit that one to my good cooking. Hee hee!

It's a shame that these nice, long weekends don't come around more often. We sure did enjoy our extra time with Josh...the minutes are flying by so fast, but we're cherishing them as much as we can. Happy Tuesday everyone!