23 Months Old

The vacation post is still coming but first we must acknowledge that Josh is 23 months old today, which means that in one month, he will be 2 years old! Ahhhh! I think I am in serious denial. July was an exciting month that included a visit from Grandma and Cap, Josh's first baseball game, family vacation to Pensacola Beach, and a visit from Gram and Bo. I think we spent this month primarily in the water, either at the pool or on the beach and we're not complaining about that because it has been hot!

Josh continues to love all things trucks/buses or ball related. Josh still waves crazily at every semi or bus and says "bye bye big truck." Josh will stop to watch any sport involving a ball on TV whether it be baseball, golf, soccer, etc. Furthermore, you would not believe how many items around the house can be used as a bat and balloons make great items to swing at. I am particularly fond of the balloon as well because as long as you make sure to duck from the bat, you are fairly safe. The boy has got a pretty good arm as well and I will caution you here to be aware of the proximity of your head to a toy should Josh decide he is moving on since the toy generally gets flung aside. I found this out the hard way!

Over the past couple of weeks, Josh has had another major explosion in his vocabulary. I couldn't even tell you how many words he has in his arsenal these days. He repeats everything but not on demand. While we were on a vacation, Brad saw somebody in a Razorback shirt so I told Emma she needed to call the hogs. She finished up and next thing you know, Josh is saying "pig sooie" clear as day. The great thing though is he is starting to better communicate if he needs something or is hurt. Josh still loves to sing and is getting more and more words in the songs he knows. It is also clear that he loves music time at school because he knows all the hand motions in several songs. In addition to the vocabulary, Josh has really got it in his head that he is a big boy. He will no longer use his booster seat and while he can sit in a normal chair fine, he has problems with trying to stand up, wanting to sit in my lap, and staying put until a meal has ended but all of these can be overcome.

I am sure that there is much excitement in store for us with Josh over the next month and we can't wait to see him blow out his candles on the 28th!

*The photos above were taken by Emma in a series she called "Many Faces of Josh." I may have made the second part of that up.