Wordless Wednesday - Psst Linda, this One is for You!

22 Months

Josh is 22 months old today and an opinionated 22 months at that. The little guy definitely knows what he wants and doesn't and want and isn't afraid to let you know even if it means laying on the floor crying in protest. I don't know if Josh feels like a big boy now that he no longer uses a pacifier but lately, he does not want to sit in his booster seat at the table but if you do manage to get him in his seat, DON'T even think about trying to strap him in. While I recognize that he does want to be big like his sister, I would much rather still have him strapped in since he likes to try and stand or come over and sit on my lap during meals.

Just recently, Josh has also become quite the jumper. I think he must have jumped off the brick wall along our driveway at least 10 times in a few minutes last Sunday and then at the pool, he had no fear and would jump in whether you were ready or not. He was having the biggest time jumping in and certainly is a lot more brave than his big sister who won't jump from the side at all. Funny that this is the same boy who cried so much during his first swim lesson that we didn't even stay.

The words just keep coming and Josh is likely to repeat everything and anything. The other night at dinner, I told him to chill out and he immediately repeated "chill." I am definitely loving the fact that he can communicate his wants better although there is still a fair amount of just yelling to get what he wants. We're working on that! If he does something silly or has something to show us, Josh will say "Look at me." I wonder where he learned that one from!

I think that Josh just keeps getting funnier by the day. The thing is that he knows he is funny so he does stuff purposely to make you laugh. The assortment of faces he makes is amazing. In addition to trying to make us laugh, Josh loves to play the guitar. I think he is more interested in the guitar at this point than Emma and it doesn't even have to be a real guitar. Josh will pick up a necklace that Emma has with a little wooden guitar on it and act like he is playing that. He has found that playing with a pick is even better because everything is a little bit louder. By far, his favorite song to play and sing is "Jesus Loves Me." He definitely has enough words and the tune to make it clear what he is singing. Josh will also try to sing along with Emma to the "ABC's" and "I Am Jesus Little Lamb."

I would say, however, that as much as Josh loves to play the guitar, his favorite past time hands down is playing ball. I think he could thrown and chase a ball all day long if time permitted. He is making efforts to try and catch when we throw a ball back to him and beware, if you take him outside at all, he is probably going to grab the basketball and then position himself under the hoop until you pick him up and he can make a basket.

Our little toddler is turning more and more into a little boy. Gone is the toddler gait while he walks or runs although you really should see him running; he is like a little Tigger. Josh is also starting to lose some of that precious little baby fat especially in the face. He is definitely making huge leaps forward and I'll just put in my request and say that if he wants to get interested in potty training, I'm all for it! Happy 22 months Josh! How can it possibly be that you will be 2 years old in only two more months?

5 Things About Emma + 5 Just for Fun

1. Has a flair for the dramatic. A couple of weeks ago, Josh stayed home with a fever due to ear infection. When one of her teachers asked where Josh was, Emma replied "It's really very sad."

2. On the same occasion as above, Emma impressed her teachers by correctly telling them what street she lives on. When they expressed amazement, she responded "It's an easy state to remember."

3. Is really paying attention to her Bible stories and even made Brad pull out the Bible to check after she told us that God told him to go to Nineveh but he started out to Tarshish instead. We both knew he was supposed to go to Nineveh but neither of us would have been able to tell you, Jonah really started for Tarshish.

4. Refers to antibacterial hand sanitizer as "magic soap."

5. Is bound and determined to swim by herself and thinks she can do it. I'll give her credit though because she did try one day and each time, even though she started going under water, she tried again. However, we have to watch closely because she will try to ditch the swim belt without warning anybody.

6. Is a great Mommy to her babies and has mastered the art of diapering.

7. Has become really brave about trying new foods, which I will attribute to the influence of her friends. While she doesn't like 90% of what she tries, at least she is trying it.

8. Loves, loves, loves Amelia Bedilia, Eloise, and Fancy Nancy books.

9. Sometimes makes me forget she is 3 after she says things like "Looks like there is some weather coming in" following the tone alert notice on the radio.

10. Has mastered the art of procrastination at bedtime, which often times gets her into hot water.

Happy Father's Day!

Maybe I am the last blogger out there to post about Father's Day but maybe not! We had a great, relaxing Father's Day including lunch out where we had the funniest albeit most polite waiter. I think he ended every single sentence with "sure sure." After a nap for Josh and rest time for Emma, we headed down to the pool where we spent a good amount of time cooling off from the heat. Even better was the fact that there weren't many people there. Before dinner, we tried to get a few photos of Brad, Emma and Josh but like always, it was more like trying to herd cats. We hope you had a great day Brad!

5 Things about Josh

1. Officially pacifier-free as of last Friday. No more "ashi" for Josh. The transition went fairly smoothly and he hasn't even missed it at nap time. However, it hasn't all been sunshine and roses as we did have several nights of crying himself to sleep along with some early wake-ups but I'm hoping we're just about over the worst of it!

2. Loves to play the guitar, any guitar, just give him a guitar already! He has clearly been watching Mr. Nathan at school as closely as Emma because he has got the idea and many times won't play unless he has a pick in hand.

3. No longer refers to Brad and myself as "Dada" and "Mama"; we are now "Daddy" and "Mommy."

4. Josh is so loud. Seriously, before he arrived I thought Emma was loud but turns out, not so much. I guess maybe he feels it is the only way to get a word in. He seems especially loud at 4:45 in the morning when he is in his room yelling for "Mommy." I do wonder how Emma continues to sleep most mornings after Josh wakes for the day.

5. Loves him some donuts (and really any sweet treat). We made a Starbucks run the other morning and as soon as we entered the parking lot, Josh started yelling "Donut" and "I want donut." He did not get a donut but we did hear about donut's basically the rest of the way to daycare.

Spring Recital

Emma's spring recital was last Sunday at the big auditorium downtown. It was a full house but once again, Emma felt no fear in front of the crowd. Her class did a tap routine to a song called Easter Parade and did great. They all danced in one line across the stage and near the end had to split into two groups where one circled to clockwise and the other counterclockwise and then each girl was supposed to return to their spot. Let's just say that at rehearsal, the circles presented a bit of confusion but they nailed it on the day of the recital. It was a great way to end the year and now we break for the summer although I'm sure Emma will dance her way to September. Now for some photos!

Emma & Karsen
Emma & Averi Emma & January Daddy's Princess! Photo Ops Bact at Home!

Still Dancing!

Who is that Boy?

Emma was looking at our calendar last night and asked me who the boy was next to her. I was totally confused and thought maybe there was a little boy in the frame of the photo of her at the splash park. I looked and Emma was the only one so I asked for some clarification. Turns out she wanted to know who the boy was in the picture below.

Guess she thinks he has changed a lot in a year!

Look at Your Two Kids and a Couple of Stories!

Last week while I was out of town, Brad implored Emma to entertain Josh while he prepared dinner. After Emma calling out, "Daddy, come look at your two kids," this is what he found. Seriously, how cute are they? Emma had pulled Josh into her lap and was "reading" him some stories.

The other night while I was making dinner, Emma and Josh were busy playing and having a great time. At one point, I heard a door shut. Once I finally had a chance, I headed back to open the door and make sure they weren't up to any trouble. I opened Josh's door to find him with a bare bottom and Emma in the process of stuffing a diaper into the diaper pail. She had taken it upon herself to change his diaper. She had even gotten out the diaper cream and spread some on. I will give her credit for not putting on too much and making a huge mess. At this point, I took over and put a new diaper on Josh but in hindsight, I kind of wish I had been a couple of minutes later just to see how she would have done.

On the same night, after dinner, Emma and Josh resumed playing and Emma was getting Josh to go "night night" in her bed. She went through the whole routine including their nighttime prayer and an admonition not to make any trips; more proof that she does hear us even if the follow through is lacking. Josh was more than happy to play along and get tucked into Emma's bed. At one point, I stopped as I was walking by and Josh looked at me and said "Night night Mommy" before laying his head back down on the pillow. I think he is angling for a big boy bed!

Josh and I were killing time at Walgreen's while Emma was at the dentist the other day and he got such a kick out of looking at the baby in the overhead mirrors. I had to remind him several times that said baby was actually him. He was also excited to see his Mama up there.

Wordless Wednesday - Mother's Day 2011

Congratulations Thomas!

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to head up to KC to celebrate a major milestone with one of our favorite nephews!

Emma and Josh loved getting to soak up some time with their cousins, Uncle Dale, Aunt Michelle, and Papa! Michelle is definitely the hostess with mostess and we're so glad that we were able to be there for the big celebration. Way to go Thomas! We can't wait to see what you will accomplish next!

Wordless Wednesday