Splashin' in the Pool

Finally, pool weather has arrived! This year we bought Joshua a tiny little pool that is just right for him to sit in and play. Being the water baby that he is, he loves spending time playing and splashing in the pool. He can spend 30-45 minutes in his new little pool entertaining himself while he stays cool! Joshua doesn't even mind sharing his pool with Owen, who also loves relaxing in the water. We are ready for summer, Shawn and Erin's pool and trips to the cottage!

Joshua is Cruisin' . . .

That is, cruisin' right out of his pants!!! For a couple months Joshua has been walking holding on to furniture (this is typically called cruising) so this is nothing new, but walking right out of his pants was! He was wearing his new Nike outfit that he got for his birthday from Phil and Ciejae. The shirt fit great, but the pants are a bit too long given the fact that Joshua is a tad bit short! Hopefully our little boy can gain some height soon!

Fun at Fredrik Meijer Gardens

Monday night we went to Fredrik Meijer Gardens for a special night offered by Bright Beginnings (a parent/child education program provided free to residents of Kent County). Joshua had a great time exploring the sand box, the Great Lakes water feature, the maze and more! It was a fun night and we hope to go back when we have more time and it is less busy.

Joshua's First Car

Okay, so it's not a real car, but at least Joshua has his own set of wheels now that he can drive around (the driveway at least)! We are not garage sale people, but I happened to see this at a garage sale down the street from us and it was in really good shape for being used. They had it priced at $15 when I first looked at it, which is pretty good considering it is around $45-50 in the stores, but on the second day of the sale it was still there and down to $10. Cory says you don't ever pay what people are asking at a garage sale, so Cory asked if they would take $5 for it and they did! Not a bad deal! Joshua has gotten a big kick out of rolling around independently of mom and dad in his new car!

Making Brownies

Being the early childhood educator that I am and wanting my child to have lots of different learning experiences I thought it would be fun to have Joshua help me (as much as a one year old can) make brownies this afternoon. Well, I have baked many times with preschool age children over the year so I am well aware of how messy it can be, but trying to bake with a one year old is a whole different story!!! We did manage to get most of the batter in the pan, but we also made a bit of a mess on the floor due to the spatula flying out of the bowl several times. Joshua seemed to enjoy this baking experience, so hopefully we will have many more in the future.

Joshua Had a Big Sister for a Day

Last Thursday our friend's little girl named Hannah spent the morning at our house while her mom and dad were working. She was excited to play with Joshua and I think Joshua was just as excited to play with her. Hannah wanted to be involved in everything when it came to Joshua, especially when it was breakfast time - she asked if she could feed him! It was such a cute moment I just had to capture a photo of it and share it with everyone! We had a great morning with Hannah and it was wonderful for both kids - for Joshua it was good to have another child around since he spends most of his time just with mom and for Hannah it was good practice for when she becomes a big sister later this year.

OUCH!

Yes, once again Joshua took a spill that resulted in a fat lip! This time we were outside and Joshua and I were sitting in the driveway and he was playing with his new tractor. It's one of those things you see happening but just can't get there in time to stop it, so in a split second Joshua somehow fell forward from a sitting position and smashed his little mouth right into the pavement. Of course this was followed by a wail and a frantic mother who ran him inside only to find blood around his front tooth and a nice slice to his upper lip. Thankfully the swelling of his lip has gone down quite a bit since this afternoon. I think this kid is destined to be as accident prone as his Uncle Phil was when he was young!!

Friends

Friday afternoon Kim and Ally were in town so they came over to our house. Joshua loved playing with Ally, although sharing his toys was a bit tough (whatever she was playing with Joshua thought he needed at that very same moment). It was amazing to see the differences in an almost 6 month old and a one year old (even though they aren't too far off from one another in height and weight)! We loved seeing our friends! Thanks for coming girls!

Happy 1st Birthday Joshua!

Our little boy is now 21.14 lbs and 28 1/2 in. at a year old! A far cry from the tiny little 7lb 10 1/2 oz. newborn who was only 19 1/2 in. long! We can't believe how many changes there have been since Joshua was born just one year ago today! It's been an amazing journey thus far and we are sure it will continue to be as the years go on. Happy 1st Birthday Joshua!!!