Put It To A Vote

As I’ve mentioned before, I am decorating Josiah’s new room in a cowboy theme with this bedspread and other paraphernalia.

I have decided I’m going to blow up one of two pictures from his first birthday party to hang on the wall.  My uncle (who also took the pictures) is going to print it on canvas for me, but I can’t decide which one I’d like to use, so help me out by voting!

Big open-mouthed laugh out loud?

OR….

Big goofy toothy grin?

I can’t wait – it will be so cute!

One Trimester Down, Two To Go!

13 Weeks

I hate these kinds of pictures, but I suppose they are some kind of unspoken requirement.  Besides, I’m sure this next baby will enjoy them down the road.  Apparently you grow faster the second time around!

I lucked out once again with  my first trimester of pregnancy with very little sickness and what I had was mild.  Also, at this point with Josiah I was already struggling with a weird lower back pain.  I feel little tinges of it every now and then this time around, but mostly I am free of that burden so far.  I thank God because that was NOT good.  As before, I did have that extreme fatigue at the end of the day, but that is mostly gone now.  Now I’m looking forward to what is supposed to be 2nd trimester bliss!

I had a checkup today and heard the heartbeat averaging 140 beats/min (normal).  Everything seems to be going well and I’m no longer able to suck in my gut!

The pressure is on because Jacob and I had Josiah named before we knew his gender and we’d like to do the same this time because it is fun to bond.  While we have things narrowed down, neither of us love the same names at the same time, though if it is a girl I think we will be going with the name we had picked out for the first go round.  You will have to wait to hear it, though!  We have 5 weeks to decide if we are going to know at the time of the ultrasound.  October 25th is the day!

18 Month Doctor’s Appointment

This week Josiah had his 18 month pediatrician appointment and it was a huge success.  They warned me practically as soon as we walked in that this is typically a difficult visit due to stranger anxiety, increased willfulness and lack of ability to reason with this age group.  However, I think Josiah’s peak stranger anxiety was at 9-10 months and I’ve noted over the last 8 months that he has been progressively better about that.  As long as he doesn’t feel like he will be left behind, he is happy to interact.  I’ve been so thankful that this is the case because he is doing great just in time for me to have a job and put him in someone else’s care at times.

At any rate, Josiah never shed a tear, even with the vaccine.  He did so well that our pediatrician made special note of his good temperament in the file.  He checked out perfectly and is right on track with growth and development.  We love Dr. Worthington!  She spent plenty of time with us (as usual) reviewing his progress, answering my random questions, and talking about what to expect to come.  She also has a way of making me feel like I’m doing a great job and my son is fabulous while directing me in areas she’d like to see a little different or has additional ideas.  I always leave there feeling like I have great goals and lots of ideas to get there.

P.S. Josiah is currently cutting all 4 of his canine teeth (I think they are called cuspids in the human world???), but he seems to be handling it fine.  I dread those 2 year molars, though!

Just for fun:

Here is Josiah reading his book during his nightly potty time.  I love it!

Josiah stole a pair of Jacob’s underwear while I folded laundry the other day and he wore it on his head for a good 10 minutes while he played and rode his horse.  He took it very seriously, as you can see, and I cracked up!  The funny thing is that he usually hates to have things on his head.  I guess it is ok on his terms.

Impeccable Timing?

I know God’s plans are perfect and that they always turn out to be for the best, but he sure has a way of stressing me out!  It is true that every time in my increasingly LONG life (I’m getting old quick!) that plans didn’t go the way I planned them, I can see in retrospect how He took care of me and made things work out in ways I could have never imagined as they seemed to derail in front of me.  It was true about my pregnancy with Josiah and while I’ve been a bit stressed about it, I have a peaceful calm that the same will be true with this next sweet baby.

Within a week of finding out about Josiah’s coming, life turned upside down, or at least it seemed to.  Then life did another flip several months later. Throughout pregnancy and the following year there were multiple other hurdles to overcome.  Nothing was as we had planned, yet if anything was changed, I’d have given up a blessing.  I wrote about it in the post called “God is Good” in February 2009, if you are interested.

We had hoped to wait to expand our family until I was firmly established in job.  After all, it would be difficult to get a job while pregnant or immediately after having a baby, rendering me unlikely to be employed for yet another year.  However, after learning someone else had been hired for only the second job I’d even heard of in our area in 1.5 years of searching, we decided it just wasn’t my time to work and that we should move forward with life.   A week later I got the call that the job could be mine.  Surely it wasn’t too late to change our minds, right?  Apparently it was, as we later found out.  Several weeks later I was on the work schedule for the next month and needing to share my news with my new boss.  And I thought telling my boss whom I’d worked for for a year that I was having a baby was nerve wracking!

(Meanwhile I have also had three other offers for relief/part time positions.  Feast or famine, right?)

I’m excited to see what path our lives take over the next year.  I definitely have my hopes and plans, but if there is one thing I’ve learned in the last 2 years or so, it is not to get caught up in my plans and stress out when they go awry.  (That’s a lie; I still stress.  I just do it differently now.)  Even so, this is one girl who is counting her blessings!

 

Side note: you may have noticed an increase in blog posts lately.  I’ve had a lot on my mind since finding out I was pregnant and I was just bursting to blog about many things, but they all gave away our little secret, so I pre-wrote several of them and have been posting them here and there as appropriate.  This is the last of them and was written when I had just told my boss about this coming baby (that went so-so) and I was highly stressed about it.   I have since started the job and everything seems to be playing out nicely.  Isn’t God a mastermind?

Learning to Pray

Josiah always makes me laugh and he frequently melts my heart, but one night last week was extra special.  When we pray before a meal, we fold our hands in order to encourage him to not have busy hands. 

I said a little prayer as usual the other night when I was putting him to bed and when I said “amen”, he looked at me and said “maymen” for the first time.  He thought it was so funny that he just kept saying it.  Then he folded his hands and quietly mumbled a short prayer then said “maymen” again and unfolded his hands.  He did this repetitively as he laughed and giggled.  It was so cute and sweet. 

I realize he most likely has no real idea who we are talking to, but you have to start somewhere. 

Since then, he has taken to folding his hands while we pray at dinner and trying to end it early by saying “maymen” while Jacob prays.  Sly little guy!

18 Months! Where Does The Time Go?

Josiah is a year and a half old today!  I think that officially means he is no longer a baby and entering the exciting world of true toddlerhood.  Thank goodness another one is brewing, though.  It is ok that our little baby has grown because he is more fun than I ever imagined.  It’s also ok that he is highly mobile and able to get into everything because that also means he’s a little independent and I don’t have to carry him everywhere.  Also, he listens pretty well, so I don’t have to constantly worry about where he is and what he is doing.

This little man LOVES a good stick!

Overall, we are quite blessed with Josiah’s temperament.  He throws very few short-lived fits (though I’m sure these will increase in frequency and duration with time), is relatively easy going, a great eater, and quite happy.  He keeps us laughing and has us acting like fools regularly in order to play his games. 

Did you know Superman sucks his thumb and has a blankie?  Actually, while Josiah does love his thumb, he doesn’t carry a blankie or any other comfort item.  I do think his thumb sucking is one reason for his good temperament as he just sticks it in when he’s tired.

Unfortunately we STILL struggle with the church nursery.  He’s doing much better actually being in the nursery these days, but after we pick him up he just wants to high-tail it out of there!  Heaven forbid we need to stick around for a bit for some reason.  He’s all business about getting far far away from that place. People probably think I’m a terrible mom because he carries on so, but I figure if that is the only time I have to deal with it, then he must have some reason(?) and I’m golden.   Heck, I think he enjoys the doctor’s office more!  I just don’t get it, but I sure wish I did so I could maybe fix it.

I’ve been trying to think of new words Josiah says since his 15 month update, but most of his words are just sounds I recognize and they are difficult to pin down.  He also says lots of stuff one time just to mimic us.  In addition to the words mentioned last time, he does clearly say “G-ma” for Grandma, “Papa”, “boof” for boat (bath toy) and “this” when he points.  He also seems to say “juice” ever since he got sick and I gave him juice, though now he never really gets it and we give water instead, so now he’ll be confused!  As far as animal sounds go, he can do the cat, dog, bird, cow, rooster, elephant, monkey, gorilla, and the horse.

My little man loves his magnetic animal puzzle, can you tell?

Since the last update, I have begun working part time, so Josiah and I haven’t been together 24/7 and lately much of our free time together has been spent in search of child care or in some other preparation for this next stage such as attempting to shop for work clothes/maternity clothes.  While I know all of this will pay off in the long term, as I write this and realize we haven’t had as much fun and I have fewer pictures to share, I kind of want all that time back.  On the positive side, he has had the opportunity to spend more time with his Daddy, Grandma, Granny, and Papa, as well as a couple other friends here and there.  Thanks to each of them for their help!  Also, since starting his new childcare (today is day two), things have gone fabulously!  I’m hoping this even helps with the church nursery issue.  Today when I dropped him off, he didn’t even whine.  It helped that there was a 3 year old there that he loves.

I don’t know why I’m including this picture, but I think it is funny that he routinely stores his leftover food in this little nook of his sippy cup.  Can you see the sweet potato slices?

It seems that everyday Josiah develops more, begins playing in new ways and mimicking more of what we say or do.  He loves storytime and is beginning to anticipate what is next in books.  He enjoys pushing tractors and trucks around and has to do sound effects when he does.  We also laugh at him when he does his silly “rain dance”.  It is quite odd looking and reminds me of an Indian dance.  We’ve had so much rain lately that we’re sure that is what he’s doing.  He also recently learned to show his muscles.  He clenches his fists and just shakes and makes a fighting face, then bursts into a huge smile.  Too cute!  Each day is a new discovery for both him and us.

  Here are several pictures of one of our pool/sprinkler playtimes:

     

He loves the hose.  I taught him to drink from it.

Yay!

Muscles!

As I said, he loves a stick.  He tried to eat this one and I told him “no”, so he kept pretending to eat it as you see below.

Here, he had just picked up the sprinkler and the water had yet to come down on him…

…then the water mysteriously fell down on him from above and surprised him.  His response was to point it at me as he tried to get away from it….

       …then he breaks free and is safe only to realize that all is well.

Our little boy is SUCH a little sweetie and we can’t get over how crazy we are about him.  He is funny and (usually) pure enjoyment to be around.  I can’t believe he has been a part of our lives for so long, yet such a short time as he seems to have been such an important part of our lives for so long now, but it has passed so quickly.  I so look forward to our future with him and seeing just who he becomes.

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend we went down home for a little visit.  The original plan was to spend some time at the beach because Josiah hasn’t been to one in a year.  We debated between a short trip to St. Augustine or a longer visit to family and beaches in our hometown area.  My uncle happened to be free and willing to take some 18 month pictures of Josiah, so we opted to head south.

We had a rough night prior to taking these pictures as none of us got too much sleep, leaving Josiah a bit cranky and distracted for pictures, but we ended up with some cute ones, mostly serious though.  My uncle would be quick to point out that these are just proofs and in need of final detailing, but I think they are great.

 

This is the end of the photoshoot when we finally took him on a walk down to the lake to try to coax some smiles.  Doesn't he look like such a big boy?

Some serious headshots.  Nevermind the candy stain on his cheek in the second shot!

      

Josiah in his “Gone Fishin’” outfit.  We had to use cheerios on the basket to encourage him to stay where he was rather than go play with the Matchbox cars on a nearby shelf.  You can see him chowing down in the second picture.

Josiah’s cousin, Nathan, was able to join us for a few shots, though lack of time limited us.  Here the boys are playing Matchbox cars in their denim diapers.

After pictures, we headed to Fort Desoto to the beach.  Josiah is not much for pools, so I figured he would have to warm up to it.  He surprised me, though, because he hardly stopped laughing the whole time!  He was fearless and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The next morning we headed to Anna Maria Island for another few hours of beach enjoyment.  Here are the only 2 decent pictures I took:

Both of my salty, sandy boys pointing at me.

Checking out the big waves at Anna Maria Island before diving in.

Later we went to visit Jacob’s family where Josiah got to play with his cousin Mikayla and the next day we went to share a meal with my grandparents and Dad.  I was bad and didn’t take any pictures at either place, though.

So, that was our crazy busy weekend.  Going down there always seems hectic, but it is so fun to share Josiah with those we love.

First Day Of Childcare and Work

Today Josiah had his first day with his caretaker, Cindy, and I had my first official day of work.  Both went fabulously and were relatively uneventful – in a good way. 

After making our childcare decision initially, I was feeling quite confident and hopeful about it all.  That feeling was reinforced when we arrived this morning and I took him out of the car.  He was delighted to find their cat in the driveway and was squealing and happy.  As soon as we walked inside, their 2 other cats came up to greet him and one let him love on her.  He was in heaven, as he LOVES our cat.  He played contentedly while I briefed Cindy about a few basics.  I hugged him and he realized something was up, so he held onto my leg.  We had an easy separation, Cindy picked him up, I walked out, and he let out a little squeal.  That was  it.  It was very simple and lacked drama.

As I was leaving and thinking about the day that awaited me, I suddenly realized that according to other stories I had heard, I was supposed to cry, or at least want to, but I didn’t.  I had the urge to cry over “Wheel of Fortune” (see previous post), but not over someone else watching my son.  I felt a little guilty about that, but chalked it up to having a whole new venture in front of me to distract my mind.  At least that was my excuse.  Oh well, I naturally tend to focus on logic rather than emotion anyway.  I knew he was in good hands and had been happy there at our two previous “interviews”.  Plus I was 3 minutes down the road, if needed.

Anyway, I called once during the day and he had taken a beautiful nap in the morning, eaten his entire lunch, and had played nonstop with the other two kids there – one 6 months younger, one 6 months older.  Oh, and Cindy said he was a real sweetie, but I already knew that.  I was happy.  When I picked him up, he was watching her older kids do homework and was completely content.  Usually at this point, he cries hysterically when he sees my or Jacob’s face after a separation, but he simply pooched his lip, breathed quickly for a second…I waited for it…and he decided all was well.  SUCCESS!

When we came home he was wildly energetic.  Unfortunately I was a little too tired to fully enjoy it and Jacob was still working, so the evening took the last of my energy, but overall I am happy and satisfied about how things seem to be working out.  I’m just looking forward to that second trimester rush of energy!

As a side note….some of you have asked what we are doing for childcare and how I found it.  Here it is: After visiting several preschools and only finding two that could match my schedule needs (both of which were acceptable, but still made me nervous), I asked the vet whom I am replacing at my new job what she did for childcare.  She gave me a name that I recognized from my own church and said she loved the arrangement.  I hadn’t realized this person did childcare, but she lives less than five minutes from my job and is very reasonable financially.  Plus, it looks like it will be a good fit for the new baby as well.