It's been too long...

This was Joshua talking on the phone on Wednesday during our snow day. He told me he had to call Aunt Libby because he had to tell her something. Who can argue with that?

Sorry I've been absent lately......it's not for a lack of things to write about, but more about my lack of time to put my fingers to the keyboard. I'm awake, dressed and about half packed to head to Lewistown for a quick one-night visit, so I thought I'd check in on everyone and say hello. Mostly, I'm thinking about Emily and her VERY long work shift today, so I MUST give her some reading material to pass the time.

I still have to do my tagged post from Libby, but I'll work on 25 Things About Joshua for all of your reading enjoyment (and my reminiscing)...

1. Joshua came into the world in a bit of a complex way. If left up to him, I would still be pregnant. I'm convinced of it.

2. He LOVES cheese....best source of protein he's got. Might have something to do with the 40 pounds of cheese he made me want to eat while we were travelling around together in 2006.

3. Favorite snack these days: Nilla Wafers (the mini ones that are colored). Oh....and fruit snacks.

4. Adores lawn mowers. We got one at Toys R Us that I wish had an odometer. He walked that thing around last spring/summer until I thought the wheels would fall off. $12 well spent. If he hears one anywhere in our development, he's on it.

5. He gets quite a kick out of playing with his Daddy and laughs the hardest when Daddy tickles him. He begs you to stop, but then smiles and begs you to "do it again please".

6. He doesn't, at least at this point, have the best singing voice. It's pretty monotone and everyhing is sung in whole notes. I have no idea when the vocal talent might be "supposed to" emerge, but we're still waiting.

7. He loves his Aunt Libby so much it's almost scary. And it's been that way since he was brand new. Warms my heart.

8. He loves Lucky Charms, but it takes some convincing and trickery to get him to eat the brown ones. He'll pick marshmallows out all day long and leave the rest.

9. He still falls asleep in my arms in the rocking chair every single night. And while I know it's a habit we need to work on breaking, I love it too much to push too hard.

10. His Bear is never far from his sight. He goes along with us EVERYWHERE, although we have made a new rule that Bear has to stay in the car when we're in malls or big stores where he could get........uh........left behind.

11. He gets so excited each morning when he sees Grandma's car pull into the driveway.

12. His favorite show on TV is Imagination Movers...particularly Mover Scott. It's the only 30 minute period of time you can really count on getting anything done around the house when you're here with him.

13. His middle name is Robert....after his Pap.

14. Speaking of names, deciding on his was a major event. We couldn't agree on anything. In the delivery room, Dr. Miller knew the two names we were considering and said, "He looks like a Joshua." (We were pretty set on that anyway, but as long as everyone was in agreement...) By the way, the other choice was Nicholas....which I still love.

15. He LOVES to eat vegetables. I know.....it's weird. I never worry about this child and his fruits and veggies. Last night he sat down and ate an entire (pretty big) bowl of blueberries. And then asked for more. Who IS this child?

16. He has enormous feet. Seriously.

17. He loves to do crafts and make things for people. Paints, stickers, markers, you name it.

18. He is quickly developing an obsession for Legos (the bigger ones).

19. He has attended 3 Key Club conventions (sick, I know)....one in my tummy right after we found out about him, one in the Snugli (and I'm not kidding) while I was walking around, and one last year on his own two feet. This March will be 4....and probably the last.

20. We are bribing him with a trip to Disney World in order to generate some interest in potty training. Shameful, I know...but you do what you must. He's still not on board, but we keep talking it up.

21. He shakes when he pees. It's a dead giveaway. Too bad it's after the fact and doesn't do anything to help with #20.

22. He loves watching videos of himself on the computer. He giggles at the silly things he did when he was a baby.

23. He gives the best "squeeze tight" hugs you could ask for.

24. He loves steak from Byerlys. They're thrilled with this and know that we're good for at least two steak dinners a month from there. They smile when they see me come in the door, and I don't think it's because they're so happy for the chance to talk to me. It's the big list I walk in with that entices them.

25. He makes me laugh at least a thousand times every single day. How'd I get so lucky?

Snow Day...And 5 out of 6!

This was AFTER we cleaned the house. Can we possibly get anything else out?

Playing "drums"......that would be a tamborine and maracas in case anyone wonders.

As expected, Joshua and I find ourselves in our sweats at home today because of the winter weather. I don't actually think it's as bad out as the weather people predicted...but their forecasts scared us enough to make the call to stay home yesterday.

It's now 2:30, and Joshua is dreaming away upstairs. I can't remember when the last time was that he fell asleep before 2:00. Usually it's because he's sick, in trouble, or so grumpy that he can't stand himself for even one minute longer. None of those are the case today. He has been an angel all day and I'm really loving being home with him.


We have managed to cross officially 14 things off of my to-do list so far today. 8 to go. Our house is cleaned for the week (a few days early), which may just allow us some time to do some visiting with Nana and Pap, Libby, Zig and Brooke this weekend. And if we get out of the house for a night, Daddy just might be able to knock out a whole bunch of studying since we won't be around to disturb him. Sounds like a plan, huh?

I wanted to pass along the results of Joshua's allergy testing. I got a message from the nurse at the allergist's office yesterday that went like this, "Uh, Megan.....I just got the results from Joshua's blood work back and I, uh....I need to talk to you." I panicked for a second, and then called them back. She explained to me that the results for these tests go from Class 0 (not allergic at all) to Class 6 (Holy Smokes you're allergic!). Joshua came back at Class 5. In some ways, seeing the results and seeing how severe his sensitivity is to peanuts and tree nuts, I somehow feel better....like there's no possible way we were imagining the reaction he had, or embellishing it at all. She also said, though, that it's unbelievably serious that we keep him away from everything that could possibly have any slight trace of nuts or nut oils in them. Birthday cakes from grocery stores or Walmart......no way. Cookies from a bakery....never. Nothing into his mouth that we haven't seen a label on. And suddenly I'm feeling very stressed. But at least we know. She said we all need to know how to use the Epi-Pens and that anyone who would be watching him even for a short time has to know how to use them. Lovely. And, it'll be really important for us to teach him what he can and can't have, and what questions to ask before anything goes into his mouth. By the grace of God, we'll figure out how to do that, although I haven't a clue at this point how we'll do it. So that's the update.....ugly as it is. But, like I've said before, we are so lucky that this isn't worse than it is. He's shown no other allergic tendencies, so we're counting our blessings about that. So many kids have it so much worse. We can live without peanuts.....all of us.....birthday cake, now that might be tougher. Just kidding.

In other news, Emily has issued a reading challenge, and I'M 100% IN. I'll order the book now. Darn it....that's 9 more things on my list. Better get cracking.

Music Class Breakthroughs...

It's going to be a wild day in State Farm land today. I have 5 client appointments today (might be a record)....maybe I'm trying to prove that I can still keep the pace I did as a trainee agent...with one other sales appointment that I expect that didn't commit to a time despite my warnings about "the calendar looking a little full". Sounds like a good day to pack lunch, because going out to get something isn't going to happen. But anyway, that's the reason I find myself at 6:50 listening to Joshua snore over the monitor while I give a quick update from music class last night.

You'd have thought it was Christmas, honestly, when I told Joshua yesterday morning that we were going to music class that evening. "Really Mommy? Music Class.......for MEEEEEEEEEE?" I couldn't help but chuckle at his sheer joy. So I raced home (truly) to get my little singing buddy and get him bundled up for class. We were almost late...but we made it to our carpet square just in time. Our breakthrough came early on in the class. One of the first things they always do is to go around the room and ask what we can sing about each child in the circle. We use their names and use an adjective of their choice to describe them that day. (Sometimes we get "silly girl", "sleepy boy", "sneezy girl"...you get the idea.) Almost every single time, Joshua tells me on the way to class that he wants to be the tractor boy. And when the teacher asks him, "Joshua, what can we sing about you today?" he just looks back at her blankly and clutches on to me tightly. Well last night, he said, proud as can be, "I'll be the TRACTOR BOY!" with this big grin on his face. So evidently, it takes us two years to adjust to a new situation and get a routine down. That means by 2nd grade, he ought to be going to school like a champ and not screaming his head off at my departure. At least we know what we're dealing with, right?

He particularly loved "No Bears Out Tonight" (as he always has) and actually led the charge to hide under the tent. For the first year we took classes, he wouldn't even consider going in the tent with the other kids. Last fall, he went with a little coaxing. And now, he's right in there with the others.

I'll work on some pictures for you soon. We spent last evening in total meltdown...and I mean TOTAL meltdown. After supper, everything went straight downhill, so it wasn't great picture material. If we end up with a snow day tomorrow, you can bet I'll snap some. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Children's Discovery Workshop

It was so nice to play hooky with Emily and the kids on Friday to go and check out the Discovery Workshop in Williamsport. I have to tell you, Joshua had a blast and is STILL talking about it. He's getting to the age where these hands on activities are really appealing to him, and I can generally take him places without the fear of him killing himself, having a total meltdown, sleeping through the whole thing, or puking all over everyone. (Those of you with little kids know what I'm saying...) So we're starting to round the corner on going out into the world to explore, and I have to tell you...I'm loving it.

Emily and I didn't get to spend as much time catching up as I would have liked, although we had some great conversations in small chunks. Something tells me that this is just like our moms used to talk to each other when we were little...in pieces, between boo-boos and snacks, whenever you can manage. What fun it's been to reconnect with Emily---- in case anyone doesn't know, we were 18 Edgewood Place and she was 16 Edgewood Place when we were very little. She was my very first friend and has a part of just about every memory I have prior to age 6 when they moved to Lewisburg. We were big wheel riding fools when we were little. She's a fantastic mom who I really look up to, someone who knows full well the struggles of work-home balance and who helps me keep it all in perspective, and someone I'm really blessed to have as a friend. We don't see each other as often as we'd like, but go back and read that work-home part again and it's pretty clear why. Thank goodness for email and blogs, though. And we're working on seeing each other's real faces more frequently.

So, on Friday, we spent most of our time watching and following our respective small people, but would manage to talk a bit when they were in one spot (or in the tunnel). Speaking of the tunnel, they have this big long tunnel that goes from one side of the place to the other, which all of the kids really seemed to enjoy. It was helpful to have 2 Mommies on hand---- one of us would put them in the tunnel, knowing that we didn't have to sprint to the other side to catch them when they came through. There was a wickedly slippery slide that Joshua nearly bit it on a couple of times, but as long as one of us was close, he was OK.

We ended our fun morning with a parking ticket (darn it) and a trip to Daddy's office. All of his co-workers said they didn't think Joshua was real...since they hadn't seen him in person. But we had a quick visit there to say hello to everyone and eat about 8 million pretzels out of Yondy's stash, and then back home we went. It was way past lunch time, and far too close to naptime for any great nutritious lunch, so I figured that the boat load of snacks Josh ate on the way home counted. He rounded it out with some cheese and crackers when we got home, and then crashed into a wonderful nap in the afternoon while I cleaned the house and started about 8 loads of laundry. I believe "played out" would be the appropriate description for Joshua since I had to wake him up from his nap.

Next on our list of adventures......Super Jump. I'm sure it's as fun as it sounds. The next time we feel a hooky day coming on, maybe Emily and I can coordinate again.

Aaaaaaah! And Not Me Monday...

So much to post...and so behind! We had a computer disaster at the house this weekend. It's dead. Really dead. The computer geniuses assure us that our videos and photos are recoverable (for a fee, of course), but it left me a bit unconnected for the weekend. We're hopeful that they can fix the computer for us as opposed to buying a new one, but that remains to be seen. On a side note, with no computer access this weekend, I was struck by the amount of sit-down-and-rest time I found during the quiet times of the day. Chores got done faster, laundry got done more efficiently and I found myself actually relaxing for a while yesterday. Maybe the computer is more of a distraction than I give it credit for.

So...there will be multiple posts coming your way today if I can get things under control from a business perspective. I have gazillions of pictures (not joking) from our adventure on Friday with Emily and the kids to the Children's Discovery Workshop. I owe about 20 pictures to Emily with her adorable kids in them, and I'll get some good ones posted here as well. But first, in hopes that this might get buried underneath less embarrassing material, I'll share Not Me Monday with you. Just when I was thinking I'd have NOTHING to share, this one hit me like a brick wall. I'm not proud of myself, but in the vain of full disclosure, here we go...

I absolutely did not hear this coming from the backseat of our car on Saturday while driving out of the parking lot at Wal-Mart. "Mommy, I can't get this." (The "this" that my adorable, precious son was referring to was his car seat straps. He couldn't get them buckled. Because I DID NOT forget to do it.) What kind of a mother would do something like that? I'm sure glad it wasn't me because I couldn't live with myself if it had been. The "car seat Nazi".....forgetting something like that? Can you imagine? I mean, I am the kind of car seat freak who panics if the thing wiggles even a fraction of a millimeter at the belt path. Surely I couldn't have done a thing like this.

Let me explain......and, by the way, put down the phone. Do not call Children and Youth until I can tell you what happened. Joshua has taken a great interest in buckling his own straps, and I'm teaching him the importance of being safe in the car. He'll get himself buckled and then we'll talk about how those straps keep him safe and that he can never ever unbuckle himself. Only Mommy or Daddy can do that. So on Saturday, I let him work on it while I was unloading the cart into the back of the Highlander, with my eye on him the whole time. Then the blasted cell phone rang and Jason was telling me about our DEAD AS DOORNAILS computer, which made me forget to buckle our little buddy in. I didn't get very far- maybe 10 feet- before having a panic attack and stopping the car and running about like a madwoman. But good grief. Again, please don't think less of me. And please don't call the Child Services folks. I'm embarrassed to write it down, but know that you all are my friends, and we can all bask in the crazy things that do not happen to us each Monday while we write it down to share amongst ourselves. Really, you don't think I'm a bad Mom, do you?

My Valentine's Day, Mother's Day & Birthday Present

You're curious, aren't you? This must be good, right? Maybe some diamonds or a big vacation?

WRONG! It's way better than that!!!

My wonderful husband brought me a brand new camera last night thanks to the liquidators at Circuit City. This economy situation is tough on both of our businesses, but this is one situation that worked out in our favor. I've been thinking for some time about how I'd like to upgrade our digital camera. Since Joshua has been born, I've really gotten into snapping photos of him (what new parents don't love that?) but I've really enjoyed learning how to do some things. And I want to learn more. I want to learn about Photoshop (anyone know of a good class I could take?) and learn to do a good job of capturing those precious moments to look back on in 20 years. This might be getting a bit deep, but I feel like I live life through the pictures we've taken. I can look at one and remember exactly what happened that day and what we were doing and how I felt about it. So even though this has been on my mind, I've pushed it off thinking that we really shouldn't spend the money on a new camera. Quite frankly, there's nothing wrong with our old one.

Anyway, when word hit that Circuit City was bringing in the liquidators, we talked about looking into it to see if we could get a good deal on the camera I had my eye on. Evidently, Jason saw a good deal and snatched it up for us. I'm so excited.

Last night I played around a bit with the camera and loved what pictures I got, but I didn't have much to work with. Joshua has a cold and wasn't too chipper last night, so the subject wasn't overly interesting, but I'll keep practicing. Maybe tomorrow, if we're lucky, I'll have some good luck. Emily and I have plans to try out this Children's Discovery Workshop in Williamsport as long as Josh is feeling OK. (And yes, that does mean I'm playing hooky....I'm feeling slightly guilty about it, but not guilty enough not to take advantage of an opportunity to do something fun with Emily, McKenna, Cooper and Joshua. In case you were wondering.)

More to come on all of that. And pictures......lots of pictures.

Allergist Update

I thought I'd post a quick update about Joshua's trip to see the allergist today. I went with about a million questions and came back with at answers (and sometimes just support) for almost all.

Ever since this little "incident" in December, we've been in a state of confusion about whether it was definitely the peanut butter in the cookie that those two pesky M&M's touched that did Joshua in. According to the doctor, he says it's a "compelling story" and that he'd be "shocked" if it wasn't peanuts. Good. That's what I thought. I was a bit nervous that he was going to say, "Well, it could have been the peanut butter, or it could have been something else too." And then all of a sudden we'd be living in this tailspin of anxiety about everything that went through Joshua's lips.

Evidently skin testing can not be performed on a child as small as Joshua, which quite frankly I'm happy about. I've been through that, and it's about 100 shots up and down your arms and sometimes your back. I really hate the thought of putting him through that if it's not really necessary. According to Dr. Sutton, he can test for peanut allergy through a simple blood test (simple to the person who is NOT Joshua's mother and will have to help her little soldier be brave through a major stick). He also said that it would show the level of sensitivity to peanuts, which may (in a year or two) help us to know whether or not we should try very calculated reintroduction of peanuts and peanut products (ie. peanut oil) into his diet. He did warn me, however, that 90% of children who have peanut allergies go on to suffer with this for their entire lifetimes. I pray that Josh will be one of the lucky 10% who outgrows it. But the doctor reminded me of the "compelling story" of our trip to the ER....and then said he sounds more like the 90 than the 10. Rats.

So after our time with the doctor, which by the way thoroughly screwed up my day at the office (our 11 am appt didn't start until around 12 making it nearly impossible to get to my 1:00 appointment, so we had to reschedule that one), we decided to get the dreaded blood test over with. What a heartbreaker that was for this mommy. Joshua was a champ...I had explained what they were going to do, which he repeated to the nice nurse who swore up and down to me that he had done this many times on even smaller kids than Joshua (but I warned him that he had one chance...get it on the first stick or we were GONERS) that he would put some cold stuff on his arm, tie a band around his arm and then pinch him. He was fine until the pinch actually happened....and then he was TICKED off. Like, "Geesh, I knew you said pinch, but wasn't that a bit HARSH?" He cried all the way home, but I later learned that it wasn't because his arm hurt, but rather because they had put a Band Aid on him, which is a cardinal sin in the land of Joshua. How dare they? Once the dreaded Band Aid (which was "hurting me Mommy!") came off, he was all smiles.

In the midst of all this excitement, we realized that we forgot Bear at the allergist, so back we went to resuce him. Can we get any more drama?

As it stands now, everyone is safe and sound at home recovering....Joshua from his pinch and Bear from his abandonment. What a rough day. I'll end with a few pictures (hidden treasures) from two weeks ago before church. Joshua was reading to himself. Thought you'd like them.

I'll know the blood test results in a few days, so I'll let you all know what we find out.

"Not Me" Monday...

So, for today's "Not Me..." Monday, I have an update in pieces for you. We had a relatively low-key weekend...busy, but not overly bloggable. However, I do have a few things that I do not want to tell you about because they most certainly did not happen on my watch.

First of all, Jason and I most certainly did not allow Joshua to scream like a banchee while taking pictures of him because his face made us laugh so hard we couldn't chew. This was not what he looked like at our dinner table on Friday.

Neither was this.

We most certainly did not bring some special new toys home for Joshua and Daddy's two days together. While I was at a board meeting all day Saturday and while I'm working today, Joshua is getting to spend some special one-on-one time with Daddy...and I'm sure he's loving it. However, I must say (although not from personal experience) that bribing with a few new toys, one of which was definitely not a firetruck tent, can be effective in provoking good behavior. But I wouldn't know because we definitely did not stoop to that level.

On Saturday night, I most definitely did not make our very kind waitress, Linda, go back into the kitchen 4 times to figure out what would keep us out of the emergency room with Joshua while eating at Damons. Note to all with peanut allergies or who don't want their kids introduced to peanuts before they decide to, Damons is not a good choice of restaurant. (Big bummer here.) They use peanut oil in their fryers and on their grill, so a bowl of lettuce is just about your only option there. I absolutely did not just about have a nervous breakdown in the middle of the restaurant while we realized that the entire kids menu was off limits. I most certainly wasn't sick to my stomach the whole time we ate being worried about my little buddy.

And in this one...Pap most certainly was not stuck in the fire truck tent needing the jaws of life to get him out. Good thing Firefighter Joshua was on hand for assistance.

And finally, this child IS the sweetest boy I know. Even on "Not Me..." Monday, I can't deny that. I'm blessed beyond what I deserve...and thankful beyond words.

New Bucknell Fan...

Last night, amid very cold temperatures and flying flurries, Jason and I decided to make the second "Feed the Fans" night at the Bucknell basketball game a family affair. I really wasn't too sure how it would go, but as usual, Joshua surprised us with his cooperation and relatively good behavior. You can see me in action above---- the one talking (surprise surprise), but doing business, so that was good. While we were handing out pizza to all of the attendees, Jason and Joshua were doing the really important stuff...checking out Bucky Bison (who Joshua referred to as "that animal") and sitting by the band to see the instruments. I got quite a chuckle out of Joshua cheering along with the students in the stands. If you've never heard a 2 year old chant, "defense" and "shoot the ball" and "Go Bucknell!", it's pretty funny. I'm 100% sure he had no idea what he was saying, but he seemed to be having fun. It was actually difficult to get him to go home when the pizza pushing was over and he's asked when we can go back to another game soon. Looks like we may have a fan on our hands. Daddy said he'd prefer to go to a men's game the next time, so we'll work on that.

So the child who has had me believing in the "terrible twos" for the past few days was as sweet as he could have been this morning before I left for work. He ate his breakfast without a fight (almost unheard of) and then asked nicely if we could "please get the Play-Doh out and make some snakes and spiders?" Who can say no to that. So we played at least 45 minutes worth of Play-Doh with no tantrums and lots of silly pretending about what we were making and what their names were. At one point when I told Josh I was afraid of spiders he said, "Don't worry Mommy. He's friendly." That helped.

I shouldn't laugh this hard at work...

Guilty as charged. I came in to the office this morning to work on finances (this happens on or around the 15th and 30th of each month) and tends to be the most stressful and anxious we can mark on the calendar. It's just not the part I enjoy. So I thought I'd procrastinate for a quick moment and check in on all of the kiddos---- some I know, and some I don't. Great revelations this morning...

• Emily and I (third cousins twice removed or whatever the relation...I've never gotten a handle on it) evidently are more closely related than we think. Both of our homes smelled like lasagna over the weekend. Now, if only we had TALKED about this, perhaps I wouldn't still have lasagna for 13 in my refrigerator, after two meals had been eaten out of it for the Dugan Three. But funny nonetheless.

• And I'm literally just about peeing myself giggling (actually out loud) at Angie Smith's blog recounting her experience rushing to the hospital to be present for her best friend Audra's labor and birth of her new baby girl. Now, I do not know these people, but goodness did she make me laugh. Go read it (http://www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com/). You deserve to giggle too. This made me feel a bit like I did the day Libby was laboring to coerce Brooke to come and meet her fan club and I was sitting.....anxious....sitting and just feeling like I should DO something to help her. I should at least go there. Sitting and looking at my cell phone willing it to ring wasn't doing one single lick of good. And how I laid awake the night Lindsay was in labor with beautiful Lila just feeling like I should get in the car and go. Like I could have been helpful, which I'm sure I could not have. But if you've ever been on the "waiting" end of things, which I'm sure we all have, you should read it. It's really funny. And definitely better than finances.

Speaking of which, I must go and emerge myself into the dreaded middle of the month chore.

Just like my Mom...

I got thinking this morning about our weekend when I was thinking about what I might write about today. That's usually part of my thinking while I'm driving to the office in the morning...not that any of you really needed (or wanted, for that matter) to know what goes on inside this head.

I got thinking about the snow and how much fun we had playing this weekend. And then I flashed back to being a kid myself and how it used to go at home. I always knew when we were going to have a snow day before I even got out of bed or looked at the clock to realize I'd gotten to sleep in. I could smell a snow day immediately----- it smelled like rice pudding cooking. For some reason, my lasting memory of snow as a child is the smell of rice pudding. And that is the reason for my post today. Because evidently, there's something genetic about one's response to snow.

At the news of the impending snow storm coming our way for Saturday, I immediately thought, "I should cook something." And I started planning my grocery list. Before lunchtime on Saturday, we had a big (I don't know WHO I thought was coming to eat this) pan of lasagna ready for Sunday night's supper and a chicken was roasting in the oven for my chicken noodle soup. It really tasted great to come in from the snow and warm up with a homemade bowl of soup. And the lasagna....I won't even go into that. I LOVE LOVE LOVE lasagna, so there's no part of that that wasn't unbelievable. Neither of these things was very diet friendly, and I paid the piper for that when I weighed in yesterday morning (well that, and the liberal snacking I did throughout the week...not a good idea). My 21 pounds lost backtracked a bit, but I'm dealing with that in a serious way this week. But we enjoyed full bellies and a very yummy smelling house while we were snowed in this weekend. Interestingly enough, when I called home on Friday afternoon to check in, Mom already had her chicken noodle soup on the stove for their Friday supper (great minds think alike). I didn't ask about rice pudding, though. I'd bet there was some made.

As something fun for Joshua, I also made some finger jello for him. You'd think it was gold with the way he loves it. He insisted this morning that he should have it for breakfast. I vetoed that idea in a hurry. But, it's fun that he's found something that he enjoys (and that I can bribe him with). A mom needs her tricks...and I'm not ashamed to tell you about mine.

Here are a few pictures of Joshua from this morning. He was full (and I mean FULL) of spunk this morning. My parting words to Judy when I left for the office were "Good luck." He had been threatened with sitting on the steps at least 5 different times, and was seeming to have a great fondness for telling me "no" when I asked him to do something. I was worn out by the time 8:30 rolled around (and he had slept until 7:30 if that's any indication). Hopefully he's settled a bit by the time I get home this evening. But amidst all of this, I did capture these little pictures. He was reading me "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs"....word for word. He made it about half way through the book before something else caught his eye. I wish I had his ability to memorize things...

A new reason to love snow...

No words.....just the sheer joy on a 2 year old's face when he touches, tastes, and experiences snow for the first time. Oh my goodness are we blessed. Our clothes are drying so that we can do it all over again tomorrow.

Watching him grow...

How's that for a silly face?

Do you ever feel like you can actually SEE your kids growing up in front of your eyes? I know Libby and I have talked about it lately and she's sure that Brooke has grown in the past several weeks since I've seen her. (Incidentally, she also has discovered THE BEST giggle!) Over the past few days, I've been feeling like I'm actually watching Joshua grow bigger from the time I leave in the morning until I get home at the end of the day...and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Shirts that used to fit perfectly all of a sudden are short in the arms, or short in the tummy. Pants are starting to resemble flood gear (we still need a tuck at the waist, mind you). Even his socks are starting to creep lower and lower on his little ankles. He, of course, tells me quite proudly, "Mommy, I'm BIG!" I always cheer right along with him, but silently in my heart I'm crying, "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Ever felt that way?

When he stands up on his changing table to jump around like a maniac (nightly) or when I stand him up on the bathroom counter to brush his teeth, he's now looking down on me. When we sit down in the rocking chair to read Dr. Seuss before bed, he's sprawling from my shoulder all the way down past my knees. (And one would think he'd want to try falling asleep in his bed, right? Oh no!) But it feels like it's all happened so quickly. Like somehow time just flew by in an instant.

Don't get me wrong-- I'm loving each "stage" more than the next. And I'm a BIG fan of this one. I love the talking and the expressions and the independent thinking. (I'm a fan of full disclosure, so I should say that I'm not particularly fond of the talking back, "no", temper tantrums or our continued struggle to sleep through the night, but the good far outweighs the challenging as far as I'm concerned.) But somehow I just can't believe that our "baby days" are concluding at such a breakneck pace.

And then, in the midst of all of these thoughts, they hit you with something really cool. Last night before bed, Joshua said his own bedtime prayers. Now, we're not talking about anything really complex, but I started with "Now I lay me..." and he took it from there. I only needed to prompt a word or two if he got stuck. And that warmed my heart...

A second attempt....pictures!

Reading in the kitchen while I cooked our supper for tonight. Because....well, why not?

Hiding. Say no more.

And my favorite...because I always turn my favorites into black and white for some reason.

"Ice Day"...Well said, Emily!

I'm attempting without success to upload some very cute photos, but have gotten sufficiently frustrated. Just like Emily's post, it was an ice related delayed start for me this morning, which means we have a clean house, a smaller pile of dirty laundry, and supper waiting to be popped into the oven upon my return home this evening.

Joshua and I rewarded ourselves for our hard cleaning work this morning with a little downtime and the first part of "Horton Hears a Who". A very cute movie- funny for parents and enjoyable for Dr. Seuss lovers like Josh.

I'll work some more on the pictures. I've tried 4 times and have gotten "an error occured during upload". I'm taking that as a sign that I should work on something else before it's time to head home for the evening.

A super Sunday...

Today is a day that is probably best described in pictures. And I surely have more than a few to share. I believe I took 31 today...goodness, wouldn't this be something if we were still in the days of "rolls" of film? It makes me so thankful that we don't have to wait the 5 days or so that you used to before the days of 1 hour processing and digital real-time pictures. But anyway...the picture above is of Joshua playing with his JACK-in-the-box (I emphasize JACK for Lindsay. She is still the keeper of our "Jack List" from 709 Heister Hall.) There's something really cool about the expression on a little person's face when that silly clown jumps out at you.

Sunday mornings at our house are pajama mornings. We have to get the messy stuff out of the way before we even consider the thought of putting on good clothes and getting ready for church. And let's face it, who wants to get up right away on the WEEKEND and get into nylons when you're already in them 5 days a week. Not me! So pajamas it is until it's time to get ready for church. This allows for syrup spills, milk dumps, playtime (including, but not limited to markers, paints, crayons and stickers) to show up on your clothing without giving Mommy a stroke. We save the good digs for the very last instant before we go to the car. So here were a few pictures of Joshua and I playing in the morning sunshine before church. One of Josh's favorite games involves hiding. He's convinced that if he hides himself under a blanket that I can't find him (and I encourage him a little by saying "Where's Joshua?" over and over until he comes out giggling). So, this is what I found when I was "looking" for him.

I bet you'd never guess that there is a sweet little boy behind that blanket, would you? Please take notice to the Elmo sweeper back there with him. It was adorable, and 100% Joshua that he took it along with him to hide.

These two are quite possibly my two new favorite pictures of Joshua. He's captured completely in them.

So, after all this fun, I had one very wound up little boy, but were both committed to going to church this morning. One of my biggest issues to resolve in the new year is to settle the up-and-down about our church relationship. We went together as a family last week to First Baptist Church here in Milton (actually, when it's warm, we WALK to church...I can see it from our front porch) and Jason liked it as much as I had the other times I'd visited. So I'm feeling led that that's our new church home. There are scads of children, a great youth program, more than a couple young families, great music, a full (actually overflowing) choir loft, and I've left uplifted and touched each time I've been there. I sound like I'm convincing myself, don't I?

Their services are longer than what we're used to, and it's usually a source of anxiety about how long I can keep Joshua quiet, even with a 1 hour service. He screams his head off if he has to go to the nursery and I find that quite unfair to the kind volunteers who are there to help watch children. So I end up sitting in the nursery and missing church when he acts up. Today's service was particularly long (10:15 until 12:15 to be exact), but this angel of a child sat still, played quietly with toys and was as sweet as he could be for TWO HOURS. He ate more in that 2 hours than he does in most days- Nilla wafers, fruit snacks, marshmallows and goldfish. My theory is that if he's chewing, he can't be talking, so I'm all for it. We had two cute moments that only Joshua could provide. First, one of the microphones gave quite a feedback sound during one of the prayers. It was the only time in 2 hours that Joshua talked in full voice, but he said, "Mommy, what was THAT?" I think even the preacher smiled. Secondly, after the scripture was read, Josh wanted to look at my Bible. He held it in his lap and in a sort-of loud whisper voice started reciting his Christmas Story book from home. "An angel told Mary she would have a baby named Jesus." That wasn't exactly what we were talking about, but at least he knows that the Bible is about Jesus. I feel some success in his mastery of that concept, at least.

So after this marathon church service, he had a little steam to blow off. And boy did he ever. For about a half hour when we got home, he ran from one corner of the house to the other. See...

...he was upside down and backwards. And check out that HAIR!!! Needless to say, after a bit of lunch, our prince is now happily napping in his bed upstairs. It's hard to say what adventures might be waiting for us after he awakes. But that's the good stuff...

Not me!

What a face! No joke, this is what I got this morning when I told him to "smile".

Picaso at work. Love those paint brushes Aunt Libby!

Happy New Year!

So, I've quite enjoyed blog hopping in recent months and have come across some super blogs written by other moms to share stories about their kids. As a confession, I feel a bit strange peeking in on people I've never met or might possibly have cause to meet, but I've been blessed and encouraged by quite a few. I don't know whether any of the rest of you share this little hobby, but maybe you've run across MckMama who does a "Not Me Monday" post each week about all the things that DID NOT happen to her family. Early on New Years Day, I had a moment that lends itself to a "Not Me" post of my very own. So here goes.

I absolutely DID NOT watch my son pick up a piece of dog food from the floor and swallow it down. I definitely did not chuckle at the face he made when he said, "Mommy, that was gross!" And I definitely did not gag a bit at the thought of our son and our dog eating the same thing. I also did not have a small panic attack and then run into the garage to check the ingredient bag for Watson's food to see if there were any stinking PEANUTS in it. Thankfully, there are not.

New Years was quiet- very quiet. I did have a surprise phone call from two of my favorite Penn State alumni who I have not spoken to in YEARS! So, if you're reading, thank you Drew and Cara for making my New Years Eve. They were both in Pasadena (where Cara lives) enjoying the PSU pep rally and Rose Bowl festivities. How wonderfully thoughtful of them to call me. Jason and I did have a little quiet time, but I'm half embarassed to tell you that I did not see the ball drop, although I may have dreamed about it. With Joshua's sleep troubles kicking back up again, the thought of being up late, up several times during the night and then up again early just about did me in.

We had a quiet day at home yesterday, but we did manage to get the house cleaned about about 4 loads of laundry done, folded and put away...including sheets on the beds. During most of the folding stage, Joshua saw fit to try everything on. He had disrobed and was putting shirts on the bottom of himself, wearing pajama tops as what appeared to be skirts. I have to admit that it was comical. But, with all of those jobs done, I feel like a rock star. So that leaves us with groceries to get on Saturday morning and the weekend laundry to do, but it should be manageable. That should leave us lots of play time...YAY!

So happy weekend everyone...even though this time of the year I never know what day it actually is with all the days off. Hopefully next week things will return to a little bit of a normal schedule. More to come...