Time Marches On

For some reason I felt the need to wrap up 2010 with a year-end summary and a anticipatory outlook for 2011.

Overall 2010 was a good transitional year for us, though some of those transitions are still in play.  Aside from life with Josiah (nothing ever stays the same with a baby/pre toddler), the first half of the year was the same old, same old of 2009 that had been one trial after another.  Things began to change a bit in the spring and early summer when I started picking up more and more relief work that I could do on my own schedule.  This boosted our income and my morale a bit as well as creating a few more opportunities for Josiah to spend alone with his Daddy, grandparents and even a sitter without having to be propelled into daycare.  One of these relief positions turned into a permanent part time job about the same time that it became evident that our family would be expanding.  During all of this, Jacob was slowly gearing up to begin beekeeping, which is still in transition and will continue to develop through 2011.

Since that summertime of transition, things have progressed nicely.  Josiah has fit in well in his childcare arrangement, my job is moving along, the pregnancy is going well, and Jacob continues to do lawn care as he develops a foundation in his new passion and works towards making it his source of income.  As I look back at the last 10 years of our marriage, I see that this past year has just been another round of the ebb and flow of our life where God puts us into a time of wait that prepares us for the next phase.  Sometimes it is hard to see where in the world things are going, but he has yet to let us down and His timing has been right on in every instance.  We have had every need met or exceeded and have had a few great surprises waiting for us.

I’m not sure where this next phase will take us exactly or how long it will last, but I know there is a purpose for it and I’m content to know that in some way we are moving forward.  Any hiccups (or great tragedies, for that matter) will be dealt with and work out for the long term.  I’m hopeful that the very first few weeks of 2011 will bring some answers to medical questions we’ve had about Josiah, March will bring a healthy baby boy via a smooth delivery, late spring will bring a smooth start to returning to work and the kids to childcare, and that Jacob will have success with his bees throughout.  I won’t be so brave as to project beyond those first several months, but maybe, just maybe, there will be at least some talk about building our home….maybe.

I hope you all have a safe, healthy, happy 2011.

27 Weeks and Counting

Another boring OB visit update.  This sums it up: normal belly growth, normal heart sounds and heart rate, passed my glucose tolerance test, and lots of weight gain on my part…darn holidays!  But I say boring is good and I’m glad for the lack of drama and a healthy pregnancy.  Dr. Million says technically I should start going in for appointments every 3 weeks at this point, but I’m normal and healthy enough to wait 4 weeks this time, so that sounded good to me.  I can’t believe I’m already at the point to be seen more frequently.  I guess this is happening sooner than I think!  I better get busy.

Here is a 27 week picture: 

On another, unrelated note, we took Josiah to the doctor yesterday as well.  Despite the fact that he eats like a pig he’s never been a very big guy (I know, his parents aren’t big either, but we’re not THAT tiny), but lately he’s just seemed skinnier and skinnier and there were a few other things that just didn’t seem right, so I had been thinking I should take him in for a consultation.  We’ve dealt with some of the issues in the past and they just keep coming back up.  We make sure he has a great diet, watch his dairy product intake, blah blah blah, but now that all the easy to deal with things have been taken care of, it was time to dig deeper.

Well, then he started getting his 2 year molars and things got confusing as he started waking up in the night and vomited randomly a couple times (which seemed to be due to him gagging himself by either overstuffing his mouth with food or chewing on his fingers).  Then came the diarrhea.  He had had this issue with his one year molars as well, so I wasn’t too concerned.  Not to mention he acted just as happy as can be and was eating great.  But then a week went by with no improvement and I planned to take him in on Monday.  Then cold symptoms and diaper rash started on Sunday.  I got paranoid.

Before we left the house and in the waiting room he was bouncing off the walls in glee.  I felt like the over-reactive mommy of the year.  But my concerns were verified when we weighed him – he had fallen off his already low growth curve.  So, without going into all the details of possible causes that have been ruled in or out, we collected several stool samples for various tests and are awaiting those results.  Needless to say, I would be very happy to find out my child has parasites!  If nothing comes of this, bloodwork is next.  If still nothing….well, first things first.  PRAY FOR PARASITES!  Maybe asking for perfection is too much, but my little man is thriving in every other way – speech, physical abilities, personality, obedience, cuteness – and I’d love to have these nagging concerns be rectified as well.

It Really Is Worth It

Sometimes I wonder why I do this blog, if it is worth it, and if anyone even cares.  I tell myself that while I enjoy reliving these events while I write, my main purpose is to have an easy to do scrapbook of our memories.  But then I feel bad because I haven’t even printed the first page of it yet.  (It’s on my to do list.)  And while I love all the comments I get from each of you and I enjoy catching up on all of your lives on your blogs, I assume that one day blogs will be a thing of the past and this will be forgotten, but I’m hoping my little family will still enjoy the captured memories.  What grown kid hasn’t sat down and reminisced through old pictures?  I wanted my kids to have the stories behind them, as well, even if it is only from my point of view.

With all that said, I got a little confirmation tonight.  I jumped on the computer to do a little something and Josiah came up to see what I was doing.  I started showing him recent pictures of him and before I knew it he and Jacob had both cuddled up with me (and Elijah, who was quite active) on the couch and we spent an hour looking at pictures and videos from Josiah’s birth to present.  Josiah was actually enthralled by it the whole time and Jacob and I were so moved and grateful for our lives by the time we reached current events that the hour “wasted” was well worth it.  It was the highlight of my day and I’m grateful for my blessed life and this opportunity to blog about it.

Christmas 2010 Phase II

Week two of Christmas celebrations started with me going to work for a half day on Christmas Eve.  We only had one appointment scheduled, but somehow we ended up over-booked as everyone decided to bring their pet in for a last minute exam before the long weekend even though most of them had had their issue for a week or even a month.  We ran around like crazy people trying to get it all done, but at least it made the morning go by quickly.

Jacob, my mom, and Josiah picked me up after work and we headed off to the Tampa area to celebrate with my family.  As usual we had some good times and good laughs.  We had a traditional gift exchange and then we followed up with a game Deda loves to play.  He and Gram go shopping for lots of random but useful things, then we all draw numbers and as our numbers are called we get to go “shopping” to pick our own presents.  We get all kinds of goodies from tools to treats to kitchen gadgets and even a book called “Celebrating Sex” (yes, my grandparents bought this and my Uncle searched it for pictures after my cousin chose it!).  The first year we played this game was because Deda refused to wrap the MANY gifts he and Gram had bought for all of us.  We all thought it was a bit odd, but now we all look forward to it and think it is great.

I didn’t get many pictures, but here’s what I have:

Two tired kids.  I felt so special that they both wanted to be in my lap.  Josiah was super personable and was giving out kisses freely.

   

Thanks Martha for the flopping-eared, singing dog you gave to mom.  The grandkids love it, though Josiah did have to warm up to it! (Isn’t he handsome in his outfit?  It has a train on the front which he is so proud of.)

We made it back home around midnight in order to sleep in our own beds (and wake up repetitively between 4 and 5 a.m. to a teething toddler) and have a little Christmas at home.  We were supposed to head to Lake City for a low key celebration at my brother’s house, but that didn’t quite work out, so we took a nice long (much needed) nap, had a late lunch of leftovers, and headed to the park to play, followed by a simple dinner at Grandma’s.  It was kind of nice to just hang out all day and allowing Josiah to play with all his MANY new toys and get some rest.

Jacob was so proud of this white truck he picked out for Josiah since it looks like his.  Josiah loved all the trucks, four wheelers and train we got him, but didn’t like the bubble bath, backpack or slippers so much.

At the park:

  This was the first time Josiah used the big kid swing by himself with us just pushing and not holding him on.  You notice him looking to the side?  He was distracted by boys riding skate boards.  He fell off immediately after this picture!

While everything did finally come together this Christmas for each little celebration we had (thanks to Jacob’s help with shopping and wrapping presents), I have to say I’m kind of glad it is all over.  I look forward to a little break.  Now for the projects on our to-do list to get ready for Elijah.  So exciting!

Christmas 2010 Phase I

Christmas preparations have been a bit hurried this year, but we did manage to get the tree up just under 2 weeks before Christmas, though it did take 3 days to decorate it.  My plan was to take pictures while Josiah “helped” Jacob put the tree up, but Josiah didn’t care one bit about the tree.  Instead he spent the time picking up every tree needle that fell on the floor.

Jacob was having a problem figuring out why one strand of lights wouldn’t light up and finally found a broken wire.  While fixing it he bravely touched the two ends of the wire and commented about how little current was running through them because he couldn’t even feel a shocking sensation.  Later, once he had almost fixed it he grabbed the two ends again expecting perfect safety as before, but for some reason this time it gave him a jolt that made him jump and yell to unplug it.  I just had to laugh!

   

While decorating the tree, Josiah was taking the decorations off the tree and putting them in the storage seat of his ride-on toy as quickly as I could put them up, the cat was playing in the tissue paper the ornaments were wrapped in, and Jacob was standing on a chair attempting to get the star tree topper on straight and getting very frustrated.  All of us were happy except for Jacob, I think, who later saw the humor in it all.

Looking over his shoulder as he makes off with my ornaments!

Jacob’s family celebrates Christmas the week prior, so we headed down to celebrate with his immediate family Saturday and extended family on Sunday.  Josiah had a blast opening presents, playing in a pile of paper, and feasting on all the good food.  Sunday was a cold dreary day, but due to space limitations we bundled up and headed outside to do our gift exchange.

Saturday:    Mikayla showing Josiah how to ride his new rocking horse from Granny.  Josiah wouldn’t even touch the thing, much to Granny’s dismay, until we got home with it and the pressure was off, then he hopped on and went to town on it!  He’s not much of a performer.

Someone had a visit from both Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy!

  Granny and Papa had plenty of help opening up every gift.

He loved his snow globe from Granny and Papa.

 

Sunday:   Nana and Dandy all bundled up. 

Little Will trying to stay warm.  I was impressed with this because he just accepted the gloves and hat whereas Josiah hates them.

Worn out, but working on a sugar rush!

Samantha playing with her butterfly wings.

Josiah’s new bath toy from Aunt Kelli.  He loves all the pieces that go with this thing.

Just like most people, I think, we end up celebrating Christmas in phases as we make the rounds.  Phase II with my side of the family and our own little personal celebration begins tomorrow after I get off work.  I’m already exhausted, but I think I’m ready…or will be once I wrap presents tonight!

23 Week Doctor’s Appointment

So, this is really late in coming seeing as how my next appointment is in 4 days.  Perhaps that is because it was another routine appointment lacking excitement, so I don’t have much to say. 

Elijah’s heartbeat was in the 130’s to 140’s again.  Josiah’s was always in the 150’s and this has me thinking…mildly concerned, actually.  You know how they say athletically fit people have low resting heart rates?  And do you remember how I started feeling him kick fairly strongly at 14 weeks and I didn’t feel Josiah until 17 weeks?  Well, I’m wondering just how rambunctious this little guy will be!  I’m sure there is no science to it and I don’t even know what the normal range of fetal heart rate is, but I do know I have a fairly mellow little man already and Elijah is not following his stats :)  I guess time will tell.

As far as I go, I gained another 6 pounds.  All I can say is that Thanksgiving and Christmastime is not the time to be pregnant!  (Not to mention our anniversary and a couple family birthdays.)  Who can resist all this junk food?  Anyway, Dr. Million says that while it is a lot, I could use it.  And I’m just thinking that I hope Elijah comes out as hungry as Josiah did.  He can have all these spare calories I’m eating now!

Next up, glucose tolerance test.  Oops, I just realized I was supposed to do this before my next appointment and now that’s not going to happen.  Oh well.

A Whole Decade?

Jacob and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage today!  Well, not exactly today, seeing as how I’m working and all, but today is the milestone day.  Jacob brought me roses and chocolate at work and then we had a quick lunch together along with a certain toddler who would only eat french fries, but we hope to celebrate for real in 2 weeks by going to the Melting Pot in Ocala, just the two of us. 

We started dating when we were 15 (on Dec. 13th), so that makes 14 years together.  We have even benefitted from years of friendship prior to that.  I remember those days of riding the school bus when he and his friend would tie my and my friend’s shoelaces to the bus seat.  There were also many recesses spent playing on the playground.  We have made some really fun memories from elementary school and beyond.  Did someone say “old”?

Sometimes I wish we could get those fun high school days back, but then I realize that what we have now is so much better.  We just need to pick our heads up from the grindstone of life long enough to see it and enjoy it.  Sometimes I think we project and goal ourselves to death.  We were talking the other day about how we need to loosen up on those sometimes and have more fun since we have accomplished so many of those former goals.  So, that is the “goal” while we work on the 11th year of marriage, although we might have to just focus on getting sleep during the March-April part of the year!

It is kind of strange that we are hitting the 10 year mark of marriage during the same time frame as we welcome a second baby and turn 30.  I still feel young, but how many more signs do I need to tell me youth is over?  I’m just glad there are no real regrets and only a feeling of peace, happiness, and satisfaction that goes along with the realization.

So, with 10 years of marriage behind us and a great future ahead, I have to say I married well, am thankful for what has been,  and look forward to what is to come.

(Hmm…I’m laughing to myself because I was just looking for a picture to post from our dating years or wedding, but too bad we were married before the “digital age” and I have none and have never bothered to scan any in.  Oh well.  I’ll work on that.)

21 Months Old…Moving on Towards 2!

Oh my, my, my…Josiah has certainly matured quite a bit in the last 3 months.  I’m sure a large part of it is just natural progression as they tend to learn things daily at this point, but I think at least a good portion of it is due to him expanding his horizons and spending time away from me! 

Here’s Mr. Handsome Pants himself.  Last Sunday Josiah and I played hooky from church to rest and spend some quality time together since I have been working extra lately and missed my little man.  We braved the cold once the frost wore off the dead grass to go have some fun outside.

He started going to his sitter, Cindy, right at 1.5 years when I started my job.  He only goes 2-3 days a week, but just spending that much time without me and with Cindy and other kids (some younger, some older) seems to have made a difference.  He loves to go there, though some days I can tell he’d prefer that I stay, too.  Sometimes when we are interacting I stumble across things he has learned that I didn’t teach and I am pleasantly surprised by them.  I’m not sure how much of it is Cindy working with him vs. him picking it up from the older boys there, but it is nice either way.  Also, where the church nursery was once a dreaded place, he now has fun there.  It is so nice to drop him off and pick him up with no tears involved!  But don’t be misled, I gave him every socializing opportunity we came across during my 1.5 years with him.  I just think he needed a few more experiences without my presence :)  Overall, it has been a positive experience.

More hooky fun!  He loves to run for no particularly good reason other than to have fun like boys do.

Other big changes include his transition to one nap a day.  Cindy sometimes still gives him two depending on her day and how tired he is, but for the last month or so he has just been getting one when he is home (with me, that is.  Jacob still tries to take advantage of two naps a day when he has him.).  I can’t say it frees me up to do much more since we have to be home in the middle of the day, but it is somewhat easier, although when we are home it gives me much less child-free time to get things done!  Oh well.

While he still loves to ride in this wagon from Granny and Papa, he has grown quite fond of pulling it himself now that he is bigger.  You should see the things he collects.  Oh, and he tried to run over the cat with it the other day, too!  He just couldn’t resist it because she was frisky and chasing him around.  Good thing she’s fast!

Also during this time period, Josiah has gotten his canine teeth and his lower 2-year molars are starting to give him a fit and are huge lumps under his gums.  I love his little mouth full of teeth!  As usual, he still eats like a champ.  He is even eating some foods he has rejected before now.  Additionally, much to my dismay AND pride, he has mastered his climbing skills, though he did fall off the dining table once – yikes! – and he is doing all sorts of other things typical of little boys.

He looks very serious about this wagon pulling business, doesn’t he?  (I can’t believe he looks this big!)

Josiah is saying more and more words and has even renewed his sign language skills and uses them more precisely.  He understands way more than he speaks and follows directions pretty well, except “come here”, that is.  He has mastered his animal sounds, loves “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Ring Round the Rosie”, and makes everyone in the room participate when he is pretending to be an Indian.    We often catch him singing “ashes, ashes, ashes…” as he walks circles around toys in the middle of the room.  We are still blessed in that his tantrums are few and minimal, but seem to be most frequent at dinner time when he is supposed to be waiting patiently to eat.  We haven’t found a solution to that yet.

And last but not least, more good times in his faithful car.

As far as having a little brother goes…I’m not sure how much he gets.  He knows there is a baby in my belly, or at least points to it when asked where it is, but I’m not convinced he gets it.  We do know he loves babies, though, and does well with them at Cindy’s, so that is an encouragement.

I realize these pictures have nothing to do with what is written here, but I figured some random pictures of my cutie interspersed throughout would be a plus.  These are all from the last several days. 

It is hard to believe that the next time I write a three month interval update it will be for his second birthday.  Well, I guess it is time to start thinking about a birthday party!

Josiah’s Antics

I’m not sure how “normal” this is, but I find it to be special. Whenever Josiah gets a special treat of any type, a cookie in this case, he loves to just look at it for awhile and bask in the fact that he has it. Then he holds it with great pride for several minutes and finally he will take one tiny nibble with a sense of great satisfaction. Next thing you know, it will be gone! Here I gave him 2 cookies and he followed that routine precisely. He started off so clean and precise and ended up covered in chocolate.

Sitting straight up and being so careful to savor the flavor…

…starting to get excited…

…oh, there’s nothing like a chocolaty afterglow! You can’t really tell here, but the chocolate is smeared down both arms and all over his face and now he’s reclining back with satisfaction.

He’s also getting to be really good with a spoon. The fork has been mastered and since discarded!

In the past I have always cut up his bananas for easy eating, but lately I’ve started letting him hold the whole thing and eat it himself. He loves to hold on to the “handle” of the unpeeled banana while eating the peeled part. He loves it so much that he throws a tantrum when he’s eaten the top half and you peel the bottom half and he can’t find his handle to hold. No matter how you present the banana he will not eat it unless it has an adequate handle. He will search all over for it and is mad you took it away. He doesn’t seem to realize it is his fault he has eaten it away! So, for now, he eats the first half and I eat the second half.

This isn't a banana he's eating, but it is cute anyway. This was the first time he willingly ate mac n' cheese. Up till this point he hated it, now he eats it like candy!

One of the most precious things he does that I LOVE is when I catch him taking time out to fold his hands and mumble a “prayer” to himself in the midst of play. Sometimes he’ll climb up into Jacob’s chair at the dinner table and mimic him praying, too. So sweet! Lately we’ve been trying to get him to close his eyes as well and Jacob showed him by pointing to his own eyes while closing them so now he alternates between poking his eyes saying “eyes” (sounds more like “ice”) and folding his hands during prayer. I keep meaning to video it, but haven’t yet. It cracks me up and I can’t help but watch him. At least he’s participating!

This is the only video I have of this thing I love so much and it is not the greatest. I'll have to work on that.

The other heart melting thing he does is give “noses”. When I first taught him to rub noses he thought it was the funniest thing and insisted on doing it repetitively. Now when you ask for noses, he has to run from person to person to touch noses and he screams with laughter between each one. It is too cute when he does it with the cat! He still gives great kisses, too. Now he even makes sure to kiss the cat and his little ride-on horse goodnight. I love that boy!

Oh, and he pee-peed on the potty for the first time the other night! More accurately, he pee-peed all over the potty AND Jacob. How are we supposed to make him aim it???

A Weekend of Thanksgiving

It seems like every year Thanksgiving weekend is an extremely busy time for us, but this year it was busy for a different reason for me – I have a job!  Reason enough to give thanks if you ask me.  While, of course I could use a little extra spare time right now, pretty much every morning I get up to go to this thing they call a job, I thank God that I have it to go to.  In light of that, since I had to work during the days surrounding Thanksgiving this year, we spent most of it in Gainesville.

On Thanksgiving day we celebrated with some family and friends at my Mom’s house.  It also happened to by my sister-in-law, Star’s,  birthday, so of course the day involved a little cake and ice cream in addition to the regular feast.  We had a not so thanks-inspiring turn of events, though, after our feast when my Mom’s well went out and left us without water.  The timing was ironic in that my brother had just started burning her large burn pile (made of yard clippings).  He pulled the hose out to keep it all under control and asked mom to turn it on only to get nothing.  All the boys, including the little guys, jumped right on fixing it, but it turned out to be a big problem that required a repairman (and lots of money) the next day.  Have you ever used a hose stretched from the neighbor’s house to clean up after a Thanksgiving meal?

Hmmm…what’s wrong with this thing?

All the boys on the job.  Brian Borges and his oldest two boys joined us for dinner while Julie slept at home to recover from a long night at work.  We put Brian to work while he was there.

Josiah is thankful for acorns.  He is an avid collector and they provide him with hours of entertainment.  You can see the remnants of our fire in the background.

Star’s birthday cake.  As you can see, she is only 12.

Jacob spent the next two days at the hunting camp in Appalachicola while I got to go to work.  As I said, I am thoroughly thankful for this opportunity, but I was also thoroughly worn out by then end of working. taking care of Josiah, being pregnant, and the holiday.  Needless to say, I was thankful to see Jacob’s face Saturday night.

Sunday we headed to the Tampa area for my annual family reunion and “turkey bucks auction”.  This is always a fun time with great food and catching up.  The Turkey Bucks Auction is where we all bring our unwanted stuff and bid on it with fake money.  This year I scored several baby items that were on my want list for Elijah.  Nothing like barely used free stuff!  Though not part of the auction, I also came away with the canvas of Josiah that my Uncle was printing up for me to hang in Josiah’s new cowboy themed room.  It turned out fantastic and I LOVE it!  I couldn’t be happier with it.  Now I’m inspired to get to painting and decorating his new room.

All the kids.  Josiah was the ONLY one who wouldn’t stand for the picture.  An older cousin had to hold him and this was taken moments before he started crying in protest.  From here they all dispersed and got really dirty as you’ll see below.

Uncle Teddy as our auctioneer.

Two dirty, but happy little girls.  Savannah and Audrey always have fun when they get together, can you tell?

And some more dirty but happy cousins.  These two both had to be bathed before going home.  The tub had a layer of dirt in the bottom of it by the time Josiah got out.

This is what a tired out little boy who didn’t have a nap looks like within the first few minutes of the ride home.  He’s such a sweetie and has permanently stolen my heart.