Man’s Best Friend…

…or is it Dog’s Favorite Snoozing Buddy? This is Cooper Thomas, born to my cousin, Becky, last week.  He is five days old here and the dog, Clark, apparently loves him.  Isn’t he (and the dog) handsome?  This picture is one of MANY taken by my uncle, the new Grandpa.

Most Heartbreaking Days of Parenthood Yet

Josiah has been SICK SICK SICK since Friday with each day worse than the previous.  We have just been in survival mode trying to take care of him.  It is like having a newborn again with around the clock care since he needs a different medication every few hours and I’m constantly trying to get him to drink something.  Thankfully this stage shouldn’t last as long as the newborn stage, though I have to say he was a much happier newborn than sick boy.  The poor guy has been miserable.  Thank goodness it is the weekend and Jacob is here (and willing) to help me. 

He has some kind of virus that has given him oral ulcers and tonsillitis so he has been drooling like a faucet.  I can tell where he has been in the house because there are little puddles left behind (that and the constant fussing/moaning make him easy to find IF he has gotten up the energy to move at all).  Because of all this drooling and lack of fluid intake, I’m afraid we are on the verge of needing IV fluids.  His drool is slowing down and his diapers are not very wet, so I think his fluid tank is nearly empty.  We’ll see.  The good news is that his fever that was once merciless seems to have subsided and he is FINALLY sleeping soundly on Jacob’s chest as I write this.  Until now the only reprieve he has gotten has been thanks to Benadryl (don’t worry, Peds After Hours of Gainesville ok’d this – I’m thankful for them) and the rest that Benadryl allowed him to have was fitful at best.

Jacob and I are feeling sorry for ourselves and our lack of sleep, but we are even more sorry for Josiah.  It is impossible to look into his slobbery, tear-filled, miserable eyes while his body is quaking with fever discomfort knowing I can’t do anything more for him without shedding a tear myself out of misery for him.  Am I the only crazy mom who experiences this?  I pray I never have a child with SERIOUS untreatable illness, particularly at a young age where communication is limited.  As you know, Josiah is usually a fabulous sleeper, even when he is sick, and he doesn’t get too upset about being sick, but this time has been hard on him – and us!  After two doctors visits and two phone calls to Peds After Hours, I’m hoping we are nearing the end of the miserable phase and we won’t need those emergency room fluids after all.

I know this post must seem a bit dramatic, but from where I sit in my sleep deprived state I realize how blessed I am that this is my biggest worry for today rather than something more negatively life changing. 

Survey Question

What method do you guys use to back up your photos?  I was thinking of buying an external hard drive, but figured I’d see what other people do before investing in one.

Josiah’s New Bedroom

I hate impulse buying, but I recently bought this bedding set for Josiah on impulse.  We have been thinking about reclaiming rarely used space in our house by moving Josiah into our guest room and reclaiming his room for other purposes, so I have been toying with ideas to redecorate the guest room for a toddler/preschooler.  (This means that I have resigned myself to living here awhile longer to continue saving for that house we can hardly wait to build.)

Anyway, after looking at decor I already have on hand, I was thinking that a cowboy/western theme would work nicely.  I was looking on ebay for other things and thought I’d just look at toddler stuff to get ideas.  Then I saw this at a great price, liked it, and couldn’t pass it up.  I know he’s still quite young for this, but oh well.  If it is a mistake, then its not too expensive of one!  I struggled with whether I should get toddler size or twin size that would grow with him, but opted for the space-saving toddler size (not to mention the practical plastic covered mattress).  This should last him awhile anyway because he’s a little guy, though hopefully he’ll outgrow it by Junior High!

So, now the question is how to paint the walls.  There is currently a white chair rail, so there are plenty of options.  Any ideas?

Here’s a reminder of what my cowboy looks like on his trusty steed!

Chillin’ in Summertime!

It’s been SO hot out lately, but we are trying to enjoy summer anyway.  Going outside between dinner and bath time in the evenings when the yard is shaded is the best.  Josiah can get as dirty as his little heart desires then we just throw him in the tub to cool off and clean up.  I bought popsicles for these times, but he’s not much of a fan of cold stuff, so we give him watermelon. Watermelon makes the boy happy!

 

My mom has had some trouble with her well, so yesterday I spent some time at her house while the well repair guy was there.  He cut the pipe at the pump and let the water gush out for awhile making huge mud puddles.  My little man LOVED it!  It was fun to watch him play, but after the man capped the water it was a couple hours before I had water to rinse him with.  Ooops!  Oh well, he lived and still has dirt under his toenails to remember it by.

15 Months of Fun!

Josiah is 15 months old!  He has become such a great little boy.  He’s happy, knows what he wants (and lets us know it), and he makes us laugh!  There is nothing like his scrunched-face smile to melt my heart and light up my day.  I love these exaggerated smiles that begin as a big genuine smile, then for effect, it seems, he scrunches up his entire face as if to reward us.  Oh, I’m in love!

It seems that Josiah has a new way of playing every day.  He loves to ride his ride-on toys and if we push him forward then he can push himself back.  He has yet to figure out the forward motion, though.  He loves his building blocks, books, and knocking over towers built by anyone willing to participate.  He also has a plastic screwdriver that he “fixes” everything with.  His favorite color seems to be orange.  He is beginning to put things away and putting smaller objects into a larger one.  He can even put his shapes into his shape sorter and after each one he cheers.  Spinning has become a new favorite, but he does it slow motion and squeals while doing it.   We introduced him to the pool when the weather warmed up and he wasn’t a fan at first.  Now it is great fun!

 Riding his “new” horse that I bought at an antique shop and painted.  It is mounted on a Radio Flyer wagon frame.

Developmentally, Josiah is an old pro at walking now.  After his first day of walking he just took off!  It is so strange to be doing some chore, say washing dishes, and just see a little toddler walk by!  Is he really the helpless baby I had at this time last year?  I guess he is still helpless, but also highly mobile!  He is also consistently signing several things like “eat”, “all done”, “more”, and occasionally “no”, “sleep”, “milk”, “bath”, “bye bye” and “frog” (ok, he only did that once).  Maybe if I was more consistent I’d have better luck in this area.  I can’t say he speaks any words clearly, but I recognize “da da”, “ma ma”, “uh oh”, “unck” (milk said as a grunt), “buh buh” (bye bye) and “di dah” (cat).  He does not say “dog” but he does bark at them and he does a not-so-convincing fake sneeze!

I am still enjoying two naptimes a day and I’m so thankful for that!  When the time comes, all I have to do is tell him it is time, sign “sleep”, and walk to his room and he follows behind.  It is so nice having a willing sleeper.  My only complaint is that he never sleeps in in the morning.

Josiah is completely weaned and never seemed to have an issue with it.  As long as he is not sick or teething, which occurs more often than I like, he is a great eater.  He has 3 of his 4 molars and that 4th is beginning to peak through the gum line.  These have by far been the most difficult, causing cold symptoms each time, but each successive molar is better than the last. 

Sharing his first apple with Daddy.

This is what you do when your toddler is in your way while you are trying to clean out the washing machine filters.  He loved it!

 

View Full Album

I always set aside some of my favorite pictures from our everyday life for Jacob’s parents.  These are the ones I have saved for them from the last 3 months.  I love looking through them because there are so many of him with his big smile in one place, so I just thought I’d include them.  Many of them have been in previous blog posts.

This video contains several different clips including lots of playtime with Daddy, eating an apple, making music with lids, and playing with the cat WHILE in the pool.  There is also a short clip of him attempting to spin, but I have yet to get good video of it.  In this clip he had already been spinning awhile and you will see his is really dizzy!

I Love Being An Aunt

I’ve been wanting to write this post for a long time now, but I haven’t had the pictures for it.  I raided my mom’s pictures and scanned a few professional pictures and here we are!

This is my new nephew Nathan, born to my brother, Caleb, and his wife, Star on February 7.  He is such a cutie and I can’t wait to watch him grow up (slowly, of course).  I can’t wait to see how Josiah and Nathan will interact through the years.  I love that both of my brothers have kids now!  So much fun!

A cutie pie!

Snugglin’ up in a blanket from Grandma.

Sweetness!

Proud Daddy!

And since we are on the topic of nieces and nephews and things I’ve been meaning to post…I have two silly stories from Savannah. 

Several months ago we were riding in the car and I was talking to her about her name (Savannah Rose Roberts) and I asked her if she knew Josiah’s whole name.  She said “yes, it is Josiah Rose Roberts”.  After a chuckle I explained to her that that was her middle and last name and that Josiah’s full name was Josiah Jacob Amlong and asked her if she could say that.  She replied with “Josiah Jacob Abby”.  I could totally understand the confusion.

Not long ago Savannah had spent the weekend with my mom and until she had to go to work and Savannah came to my house to wait to be picked up.  We were eating lunch and she told Jacob and I how she had been chased by a cow that said “Moo! Moo!”  and did this (pretended to paw at the dirt and lowered her head), so she cried “Help!  Help!” and Grandma came and saved her!  This story was told with such drama that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.  I asked her if it was a true story or just make believe and she told me very seriously that it was true.  Later I asked mom if she had watched a program or read something that might bring this up, but she said she had no clue where it came from.  Kids have the greatest imaginations.  By the way, while a mom’s (or Grandma’s) instincts to protect their kids is strong, I’m not sure my mom would brave a mad cow!