3 1/2 Years Old!

Josh is 3 1/2 years old today so in honor of that, here are 10 things you need to know about our boy.

1. Loves, loves, loves basketball and pretty much any sport that involves, throwing, kicking, shooting a ball.
2. Remains a big Razorback fan but is also a big fan of the Cardinals, Wildcats, Tarheels and Jayhawks.
3. Has been writing his own name for many months now and writes it very well!
4. So excited at any chance to help Daddy with "guy" projects.  Josh had the biggest time with Brad at Home Depot last weekend and is still talking about how he helped carry the wood from the car.
5. Still does not sleep through the night.
6. Tells us every night at dinner that "I don't like veggies" but will eat them every night with a little help from Mommy or Daddy.
7. Regardless of the outside temperature, Josh would be happy if I let him wear shorts and a t-shirt every day; these are the required clothing to play basketball after all.
8. When he gets something in his mind, he is singularly focused.  For instance, when we were shopping for bikes and he settled on the first one he saw, for the next couple of hours, we kept hearing, "I'm still thinking about that blue bike."
9. Tried to give up napping on weekends but that only let to major breakdowns in the early evenings.
10. Cannot wait to be big and is fully confident that he is going to be the biggest in the house.  

Basketball

Josh is 120% (at least) obsessed with basketball currently.  Unlike in these pictures, he thinks that basketball must be played in shorts and a t-shirt so the normal is for him to come home from daycare and immediately change clothes.  I am a huge fan since he is basically doubling the amount of laundry he generates per week.  It seems fairly certain that he wakes up with basketball on the mind and goes to sleep with basketball on the mind.  He has mastered the art of dunking and likes to try trick shots after seeing the Globetrotters.  From the daily recap he gives, it seems like he plays basketball in the gym as much as possible too.  The boy has got some moves and gives it his all; we definitely have a little hoopster on our hands!

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday - Chocolate Face

West Plains

Since we did not get to see the Welch's over Christmas, we found a weekend that we could head up to West Plains.  Emma was so excited to go up and see Libby.  Our plan was to leave mid-afternoon on a Friday so Emma still went to school that day.  Her teacher emailed Brad and I to say that as Emma was unpacking her backpack, she looked in her snack bag and said "A chocolate granola bar and I get to see my best friend.  Is this day for real?"  We arrived in West Plains around dinner time and the girls were so happy to be together.  While we were there, we did check out the new bounce place in town and got in a little outdoor play even though it was cold.  The girls were just happy to play together and Josh was happy to be left to his own devices for the most part.  Josh especially had a great time since Libby and Anna have swords that he basically claimed as his own and even slept with.  Unfortunately right before we left on Sunday, the girls had a little fight but they were both tired and I think sad to be saying goodbye.  It is just great to see Emma and Libby together and we'll definitely have to go back!

Harlem Globetrotters

The Globetrotters came to North Little Rock a couple of weeks ago so we took the kids and met up with Ross and his Mom and Dad.  Emma and Josh loved the Globetrotters.  Josh's favorite part was when one of the players climbed up and was sitting on the backboard.  Emma's favorite part was when one player chased the other around with a bucket of water.  If you ask me, I would say that their favorite part was the cotton candy that Scarlett (Ross's Mom) bought for them to share.  They literally inhaled it.  When Josh wasn't watching the game, he was busy flirting with Scarlett.  We are seriously in so much trouble with that boy especially since he had been flirting with Kacy over the weekend! 

Big Boy Bike

Josh has been due for a big boy bike for some time and every time we passed the bike store by the grocery store, he would ask to go in.  Of course, he was usually asking on a Sunday and they are closed on Sundays.  Since we were all home for MLK Day, we finally headed to the bike store.  We went to one store first and Josh loved a blue bike that he tried out.  In the car and throughout lunch, he kept telling us that he couldn't stop thinking about that blue bike.  After lunch, we did head over to Chainwheel near our house just to see if there was anything else he liked.  Once there, the blue bike was forgotten and we came home with a blue, silver and black Canondale.  Of course, once we got home with his 16" bike, we realized just how small Emma's 12" bike was for her; she looks a bit like a circus clown.  No need to worry though as that issue was recently remedied and she now has a 20" bike that is basically just a larger version of the clown bike.  We could not talk the girl out of her pink but now we need to focus on ditching the training wheels!

Bowling

We met some of Josh's friends at Professor Bowl and had a great time.  The kids loved bowling and only threw it down into the ground ~1000 times.  Josh was hilarious and would watch his ball to the pins and then throw up his arms with a big "yes" when he knocked some done.  They scored well thanks to the bumpers.  They are anxious to get back out there!

Wordless Wednesday - Silly Boy

Birthday Parties

We had several birthday parties in January.  Josh's best buddy Ross turned 4 and celebrated at one of the kids favorite places, the Wonder Place.  Ross's Grandpa is a farmer so he had a cake with a "Don" Deere (as Josh calls it) tractor mowing the wheat.  If that is not the correct description of farming, please remember I am a city girl.

Emma's friend Emory had a party at the skating rink.  The kids could bring anything on wheels and roller skates were available for use.  Emma brought her new scooter and did ride a bit.  She also enjoyed driving Emory's Barbie car and was much improved from the last time she drove Libby's car.  Emma did want to try out the roller skates and really got the hang of it with a little assistance.  I got on some roller skates as well and managed to stay upright.  Took me way back!  The party theme was Candy Land and every guest got their own copy of the game and got to fill up a bag with lots of yummy candy.

Another new friend of Emma's had her party at a yoga studio.  The kids got to practice some yoga poses and then play a game where they ran around during the music and then had to get into the yoga pose the instructor called when the music stopped.  They also got to do a craft and after cake and ice cream had relaxation time.  Let's just say that the instructor was a little frustrated with a couple of the boys who wouldn't settle down during relaxation time.  To be fair, they did just load up on sugar.  Emma loved the yoga party and wants to go back and take some lessons.