"Car Show!"

Ever since I told Joshua we were going to take him to the Auto Show downtown to see the cars he has been very excited to say the least! Since he has to wait until the weekend to see the auto show he created his own "car show", as he calls it, yesterday by setting up all his Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars on the piano. We even taped the little tv spot they had on last night so he could get a sneak preview before actually going. Throughout the little bit of the tv show we watched he had to find some of the "matches" from his little "car show" to match to the ones he was actually seeing. Funny how the kid can recognize them somewhere and then can find the one that matches in his fleet. Already at 2 1/2 I think he can recognize and name more cars than I can. I'm sure the little car enthusiast will be overcome with excitement when he sees all the cars this weekend!

Happy Birthday Cory!

We aren't big into birthdays in this family and usually do small celebrations (although for Joshua's we make a little bit bigger deal about his birthday - it's much more fun for kids). So, we did dinner out to celebrate Cory's birthday. We went to Red Robin due to their great deal they offer of a free burger for your birthday (you have to sign up on line ahead of time). It's also a great place for kids, already noisy and there is lots to look at. My dad, Shawn, Erin and Owen joined us for dinner. The highlight for the kids was seeing the Red Robin (someone dressed in a costume) and giving him high fives, Joshua even gave him a hug! Joshua was so intrigued he kept asking me where the "red duck" was all through dinner. At the end of dinner the Red Robin came back around to our table and Joshua shared all his toys with the Robin. Owen especially enjoyed when they sang and clapped for Cory when they came with his free birthday sundae. It was a fun night out, especially since Joshua and I haven't been out of the house since Monday afternoon. Happy Birthday Cory, we love you and hope you enjoyed your day!

Special Mail!

Joshua got a special surprise in the mail today! After hearing that the big envelope was for him Joshua immediately began to tear into it. He was excited to find a note from my Aunt Cher, Uncle Steve, Matt and Rachel as well as a few books and a Highlights High Five magazine geared toward younger kids. We of course had to read all the books and part of the magazine right away! Joshua was also excited to find out that he will be receiving more mail in the coming months as they signed him up for a subscription to the Highlights High Five magazine!!! What a fun surprise! Thank you Aunt Cher, Uncle Steve, Matt and Rachel your surprise mail made Joshua's day!!

Books, books, books!

Yesterday we went to library, like we do every 3 weeks (when our books are due). Joshua enjoys going to the library, mostly because he likes to play with the train set and the other toys they have there. However, lately he has been more into choosing his own books than playing with the toys. Yesterday spent almost the entire time at the library picking out books with me. He went a bit overboard as we took 25 of them home, but I'm not going to tell the kid he can't get books! (Can you tell by his selections what the boy likes??) We spent most of the rest of the day reading all of his new books. In fact today we have spent a good chunk of time doing the same and Joshua has spent time just paging and looking through them. I just love the way Joshua devours books, he just can't get enough of them! Hopefully this is a life-long love of Joshua's!

Celebrating Sam's Birthday

Our nephew Sam turned one this weekend and we headed out to celebrate with him. The cousins all had a good time playing as they usually do and Sam had a great time pigging out on his cake! Way to attack that cake Sam! The rest of us enjoyed cake, including Owen who just recently discovered that cake really is delicious (he screamed and cried when given his cake at his first birthday and hasn't touched it since)! Joshua loves the frosting (a boy after my own heart) and delights in licking the decorations from the cake! Sam attacks his cake!


Joshua prefers to lick the frosting off the cars that were on the cake.

Owen finally eating cake!

Dreaming. . .

Yesterday we picked this Playmobil catalog up at a local toy store and ever since Joshua has been paging through it and looking at all the items. He has enjoyed playing with his Playmobil boat that he received from his Uncle Dave this Christmas. He loves to take the people in and out, pretend they are swimming, taking showers, going potty in the little boat bathroom, etc. With the boat came a mini catalog that has been perused almost every day since Christmas. So, when Joshua found this catalog at the store yesterday he was thrilled! It's hilarious to hear Joshua as he pages through the "book" (as he calls it). You'll hear things like, "I like that one", "Oohh, a big jet", "Wow that is cool", "That one is cute", "I got this boat from Uncle Dave", "I want this one". Playmobil makes excellent toys that stand the test of time, even though they can be a bit pricey, and they are toys that I love because they encourage a child to use their imagination and creativity. Joshua has a long time to look at the catalog and dream because his birthday isn't exactly right around the corner.

Not a good morning

I thought I was up for an award for worst day as Joshua was up at 3 am and 6:30 am because bunny-bear was lost under the blankets and then again crying and very crabby at 8:10 am for the morning (about 40 minutes earlier than normal). Apparently I didn't win the award for the worst start to the day because Cory called at 9:00 am and asked if I had gotten his email. I hadn't, I had a kid get up early. So, I went and checked while on the phone. The email he sent was entitled "My hour and a half commute to work this morning" with this picture attached. Someone swerved in front of Cory and into his lane this morning and unfortunately Cory couldn't avoid it. What a bummer, it's the car we actually bought, not the leased vehicle. Oh well, it goes in the shop next week for repair. Thankfully Cory was fine, just not thrilled about his morning commute. I hate Michigan's crummy winter weather!

Building a Blaze

I grew up with a dad who loved to "chase" firetrucks and apparently I married a firetruck "chaser" too. Once Cory heard about the fire in the condo building tonight, he was antsy to get over to watch it. I kept saying that there was no need to go, there was live coverage on woodtv.com so why not just stay in our warm home and watch. But, oh no, we just had to go and check it out! (I must say it was intriguing as it was the condo building Cory's sister used to live in years ago.) So we packed up and actually met up with Cory's parents who were already there. Joshua sure got to see lots of firetrucks and a horrible fire. He was fascinated with the ladder trucks and the water spraying. While watching Joshua kept saying, "that's bad!" We just watched in awe as the time ticked by and very little progress was being made in stopping the blaze. It was interesting to see, but very sad at the same time. On the way home Joshua kept talking about how bad the fire was so we decided we should pray for the people who lost their homes as well as the hard working fire fighters who have spent many hours in the chilling weather fighting the fire. Join us in praying for those involved in this devastating event.

Tolerant or Stupid???

I'm not sure which our cat is, tolerant or just plain stupid. Sometimes I think it's a bit of both. He has been a fabulous cat as far as dealing with Joshua. He let's Joshua pet him, lay on him, put toys all over him, etc. He has never bitten him or even attempted to bite him. Today, we were reading books and playing with a Franklin puppet I have in my office. Franklin has a winter hat, scarf and mittens we like to dress him in. Logan came and joined us on the bed and Joshua decided it would be more fun to dress Logan up than Franklin. So, with my help Logan was decked out in Franklin's winter gear and the silly cat just sat there! I've never been one to dress up my cats, but this was just too funny and I had to get a picture!

A Visit to the Dentist

The last time I was in the hygienist suggested I bring Joshua along on the next appointment to have him get used to the dentist office and have him watch me getting my teeth cleaned. So, today I was scheduled for a routine cleaning and Joshua went along for the experience. He was enamored by the office, the hygienist, the chair, and the dentist. He sat on my lap for a while to get a closer view of everything that was going on he was so interested. After I was finished and got out of the chair he insisted he should have a turn. So, up in the chair he climbed (along with his ever-present companion bunny-bear) and the hygienist gave him a ride in the chair and took a look at his teeth. She said his teeth looked really good and told us to keep up the good brushing. Joshua received a new toothbrush and got to choose a toy out of the treasure box! Who knew the dentist could be so fun?!?!

Bargains!

Have I mentioned that I love Old Navy for little kids clothes?!?! Today they started their annual half off clearance price sale and I was a bargain shopper on the hunt. I had already looked at the selection at the smaller Old Navy store in town earlier in the week in anticipation of the sale and had decided my chances at more bargains were better at the larger store across town. So my poor son had to sit in a stroller and entertain himself for an hour and a half while we shopped around the boys section, the women's and the men's. I purposely gave him alphabet pretzels for his snack which occupied him for a good 45 minutes as he tried to figure out every letter before he ate it. He did a phenomenal job while I shopped and even the lady at the register commented that he was the most patient kid she had ever seen. Joshua has a large portion of his wardrobe for next fall/winter thanks to this great sale. I didn't pay over $5.50 for anything pictured and most of it was $4 or $3 a piece with the total for all being $54!!! I'm so thankful that Joshua has always been predictable in sizes because I save so much money shopping this sale each year! Now I'm praying he doesn't break from this trend and have a growth spurt!

Getting Ready for Preschool

It's January which means its the beginning of enrollment time in schools. We've, okay, maybe it's just me that has decided that it would be good for Joshua to go to preschool. Being an only child he needs as many social outlets as possible, which he has lots of, but they are mostly with me. I am unlike a lot of parents in that I am looking for a program that focuses on social and emotional development, NOT academics. Just for the record I am the parent who didn't even sing the ABC song to him until a month ago, but the child can identify 11 letters already and all from the reading and playing we have done, not being directly taught. So, the big decision of where to send Joshua to school . . . was not a big decision at all for me. To me there is only one preschool program that will meets my expectations, and it just so happens to be the one I helped create and taught in for so many years. So, today we visited what will be Joshua's preschool come this fall. He will only be going two days a week for a couple hours, but at least this will allow him a social outlet without me around. Joshua had a great time exploring the preschool rooms, playing with the toys as well as watching and interacting with the children and teachers. Joshua felt right at home in preschool and even after a couple hours didn't want to leave. We'll attend an open house at the end of the month so Joshua can get another taste of preschool. Next on the list of things to do is signing up for T.R.I.P. (Tutition Reduction Incentive Program) so we can start saving up money that will go towards tuition!

Case Closed!

Today was Joshua's last visit with his Early On interventionist. She had to close his case because he is doing so well! We were sad to say goodbye, but glad to know that Joshua is on target, if not above now, in his language development. His interventionist, pictured with him here, has been an amazing help in getting Joshua's language to grow! He absolutely loved having her come over and bring toys to play with him (little did he know that he was really working on his language skills). I am astounded at how this stubborn little boy went from grunting and only a few words a year ago to a boy who talks constantly in multiple word sentences today! Thanks to his interventionist both Joshua and I learned skills to help his language develop and really explode! Early On is an amazing resource and we are very thankful and blessed to have been on the receiving end of some much needed help!

Happy New Year!

We started off the new year with a fun winter activity! Today we met Shawn, Erin and Owen over at a school by their house that has a perfect hill for little kids to go sledding on. It's just enough to sled down and not too steep or long for parents who have to drag or carry their kids back up. The boys had a great time and even went sledding down the hill by themselves several times. After a brisk time in the snow we played and finished our tasty leftovers from our spread last night at Shawn and Erin's house. A great start to another hopefully blessed year!