Vacuuming...

Many kids are scared of loud noises, especially the vacuum - not our child! Joshua and I are usually downstairs when Cory starts vacuuming the upstairs, but within seconds of hearing the vacuum turn on Joshua stops whatever he is doing and heads upstairs to find dad and the beloved vacuum. Joshua won't go for sitting and watching Cory either, no, he has to be carried while Cory vacuums the entire house! At least Joshua helps to hold the cord so it won't get in the way while Cory vacuums! What a huge help-NOT! I even found a child sized vacuum that comes complete with sound which Joshua loves, but it just doesn't quite compare to the real thing!

Fun at the Garden

This morning Joshua and I went to Frederik Meijer Garden with Erin and Owen. Thankfully the rain held off for most of the time we were there. Joshua enjoyed playing in the sand, banging on the drums (even Owen joined in with this activity) and exploring the flowers in the children's garden... but his favorite thing by far was playing in the little water hole in the middle of one of the sculptures as well as their Great Lakes exhibit! We were able to walk around the gardens and check out a few of the sculptures before the rain began to fall. So, we headed back inside and checked out the gallery full of Tom Otterness sculptures. The work of Tom Otterness is being displayed at the gardens as well as all over downtown GR until September and it is some pretty fun stuff! After a tasty lunch and a small walk around the exhibits indoors we headed back home. I think we just may have to get a family membership to the gardens so we can enjoy many more days like today.

First Pair of Jordans!

If you know my younger brother Phil at all, you know he is a HUGE NIKE fan, but more specifically a fan of Jordans. Phil owns I don't know how many pairs of NIKE shoes, but they go from floor to ceiling in his room (apparently this fetish with shoes runs in the family)! Anyway, last night Phil gave Joshua his first pair of Jordan shoes to start out his collection. These apparently are an old style that NIKE just reproduced and released yesterday. Now both Phil and Joshua have the same shoes! It's remarkable to see just how much the tiny little Jordans look like the adult version. Thanks Phil! Joshua will sure to get a lot of use out of is new shoes!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Last night we went to the Whitecaps game. This is actually Joshua's third time at the Whitecaps, but the first two times were last summer and at 2 and 3 months old and he was a bit clueless. This time however he was taking it all in! We actually got to sit on one of the decks and eat lots of free food because this was an invite from a company that Cory knows through work. There were a few other people from Cory's office there as well as tons of other people we didn't know. This didn't stop Joshua from making lots of friends though! It seems our child is VERY social and loves to get people's attention which is just what he did last night! Not only were other children drawn to him, but so were adults - young and old! Since Joshua's interest seemed to be everyone sitting around us he really didn't watch much of the game. We stayed for the entire game which was good, because in the last two innings the Whitecaps won. An extra bonus were the fireworks after the game as well as a visit to manger of the suites (a good friend of mine from graduate school) who showered us with delicious treats to take home! I'm sure these kinds of nights will only get more fun as Joshua grows up!

Early Stages of Writing

A few weeks ago Joshua finally understood that a pen can be used for more than something to chew on. So as he entered this first stage of developing writing I got him some things to help encourage his new interest. He now has his own coloring book and chubby little crayons as well as sidewalk chalk. I also had purchased him a small doodle pro (magnetic writing board) for his long ride in the car to Traverse City a couple weeks ago which was a huge hit. After years of studying about all the developmental things that occur with young children it's really amazing to see things develop with my own child.

Magnetic Powers...

I swear that water has some magnetic power! Every time Joshua sees or hears water he is drawn to it! You name it, the sink, bathtub, washing machine, sprinkler, hose, pool, lake, whatever water it is Joshua has to get his hands if not his whole body into it. In this picture you can see he managed to get soaked just by splashing in the water as I watered the plants on the deck. I guess I should have known this child loved water when he wouldn't come out of the watery womb until he was pretty much forced out!

Beating the Summer Heat!

HOT, HOT, HOT!!! With temperatures in the 90's the past few days we have been spending time either indoors in air conditioning or outside in water. A big thanks to Shawn and Erin who have allowed us to invade their home and use their pool for some much needed cooling off during this heat wave!






Playing in the pool.



Cooling off in the hose!

Joshua Walking Solo!!!

Yes, you read the title correctly! Our stubborn little boy who hasn't been very willing to try to walk on his own has finally been taking some solo steps. With the help of a little motivation called Smarties Joshua has walked on his own many times (apparently he loves his candy as much as his mom does). He has even walked to us a few times. Now this is by no means his preferred method of getting around since he is a speedy little crawler, but at least he is making some progress in the area of walking on his own. Check out the video below to see Joshua in action!

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Weekend in Traverse City

Four adults and two children in car seats along with lots of luggage packed into a Rendezvous...that was the scene Friday morning as Cory, Joshua and I headed up to Traverse City for the weekend with Shawn, Erin and Owen. We arrived around noon after hitting an 45 minute emergency detour on 131 (a tanker truck had tipped over in the median earlier that morning and was leaking ethanol). We spent the afternoon walking around downtown shopping in all the neat little shops and then preceded to the hotel to all take a nap (adults included)! Dinner and sitting in the hot tub concluded our first day. Then came the worst part of our vacation...Joshua has never slept in our room, nor has he spent the night in his pack-n-play so this combined with a new environment made for a very crappy nights sleep for all of us! It really bites when your toddler wakes up at 4 am and peeks over the side of his pack-n-play, sees you and starts to giggle and thinks it's time to get up and play!!! Saturday morning we headed to some of the Cherry Festival activities going on around town and walked throug the zoo in Clinch Park. Our poor little sleeper fell fast asleep in his stroller for a 45 minute nap as we walked around. We ate lunch and hit the outlet mall on our way out of town. With two overly tired children we piled back in the car for a two hour ride home. We thought both kids would sleep on the way home, but only Owen decided to do this, Joshua never closed his eyes! How in the world can a kid who slept so poorly the night before and only took a 45 minute nap stay awake for a 2 hour car ride?!?!?! As Shawn predicted on the way up to Traverse City, "you all know we are going to go home from this vacation more tired than we left" and boy was he right!!!

Packed in!
Taking a break from the detour at a park.
Eating a snowcone at the Cherry Festival
Watching Oscar the black bear.
Joshua wants to pet the coyote at the zoo.

July 4th Celebration

Yesterday morning we went to the Kentwood parade. Joshua had a great time watching all the fire trucks, bikes, cars, and people go by. He got lots of candy thrown his way that Erin and I gathered up for our own consumption. In the afternoon we, along with several family members, went over to Shawn and Erin's house (otherwise known as the 4th of July hangout). We spent the afternoon swimming in the 81 degree water in their pool and soaking in the sun. Of course we had a delicious BBQ dinner with tons of delicious food! The culmination of our day was watching the Kentwood fireworks outside in the front yard. We were worried about how Joshua would react to the loud noise, but to our surprise he sat with us watching and pointing at the sky as the fireworks went off. We looked over at him during the grand finale and he was just reaching for more popcorn. It was a fabulously fun day! Just click on the Play button to enjoy some photos from our 4th of July celebration.

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Sprinkler Fun!

Joshua loves the water, whether it is his little pool, Shawn and Erin's pool, the tub, the faucet or even sprinklers. Since we have a sprinkling system that goes on in the morning Joshua usually doesn't get to play in them. One night this week Cory turned them on for him to explore. Then, last night Cory decided to get out a regular sprinkler to water our side yard that was in need of a little extra water. Well, it didn't take Joshua but a second to make his way over to the water! Fully clothed Joshua and Cory ran and played in the sprinkler. I'm not sure who had more fun, Cory or Joshua!

New Shoes!!

If you know me at all, you know I have a shoe fetish. My motto is "the more, the merrier'! Well my brother-in-law's wife Erin just happens to have the same fetish so when she saw a pair of cute little "Crocs" type shoes yesterday in infant sizes she had to tell me about them! So, last night Joshua and I went off to the mall to get him a pair. They are the most hilarious little shoes I have ever seen for infants! They are a crazy light-weight material and they are very wide so they are perfect for Joshua's fat little feet. It's hard to find a cute pair of shoes for a boy, so we snatched these up when we found them! They will be the perfect shoe for the beach and camping since they can just be sprayed off with water! Aren't they just too cute for words?!?!?!

Simple Summertime Pleasures

Today Joshua and I headed outside to play in his little pool because it was so nice. However, Joshua's pool filled with lots of great toys apparently wasn't good enough for him so he crawled out, up the front walkway, up the steps to the faucet. He tried to turn the water on, but just couldn't get the right motion so I helped turn it on. Joshua stood there putting his hand in the water and squealing. Worried about what my budget-loving husband would do when he gets our next water bill and sees how much our little afternoon of fun costs, I grabbed a bucket and started dumping the water on the plants so at least it wasn't a total waste. Joshua thought this filling up the bucket thing was the greatest! He stood there for about 15 minutes just playing in the faucet. Who would have thought that a faucet and a bucket would make a kid so happy?!?!

Playing at the Park

There is a great developmentally appropriate playground for children 2 years of age and under that happens to be about 5 minutes away from our house. Joshua and I have been there a couple times for playgroup, but the three of us have never gone together. So, off to the playground we went last night. Here are a few pictures of our time there. . .

Trying out the steering wheel


Crawling through a tunnel.


Ringing the musical chimes.


Holding on tight while dad slides him along the track.

Sadness...

Last night my 32 year old cousin Chris passed away. He was battling very aggressive cancer. He leaves behind his wife Ana and their three young children Abby, Aaron and Willem. This family has had amazing strength and faith throughout Chris' illness and I just pray this continues. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families during this very difficult time. May God wrap his loving arms around this family.

9 Years of Marriage and Counting!

June 20, 1997


Today Cory and I celebrate our 9 year anniversary! I really can't believe it has been 9 years of marriage already! I guess the years just fly by when you are married to your best friend and enjoy almost everyday with him. It's amazing how much we have gone through together in nine years! Tonight we get to celebrate with a dinner just the two of us that doesn't include any child-friendly finger food! Thanks Shawn and Erin for taking care of Joshua while we spend some time alone (we are really enjoying this kid swapping thing we have going on)!

Father's Day Celebrations

Dads are such an important part of a child's life! It was fun to celebrate the fathers, grandfathers and even a great grandfather that are in our lives. Thanks guys for all you do! We love and appreciate each of you!

Spare change anyone???

Last night I was going to through some spare change I had in my pocket in Joshua's "College Fund" piggy bank, but decided I would see if Joshua could put the coins in himself. I've tried this in the past, but he never got the concept of putting the coin in the slot nor did he have the coordination. Apparetnly his fine motor skills have greatly improved because it only took him a few seconds to drop the first coin in and he was looking for another coin to drop in. Thanks to his new found skill our little scammer cleaned out almost all our change and put it into his bank! Oh how they learn young!

Joshua see...Joshua do...

It's like that saying "monkey see, monkey do". Joshua has been into the stage of copying what we do. He likes to mimic us talking on the phone, washing our hands, etc. So if we are doing something he has got to try to do it too, which is just what happened the other night when we were putting our patio furniture out on the deck. As you can see, Joshua had to get right in and help Cory put the table together.

Shakin' It

Click on the title above to view the video!

Cat chasing and wrestling!

Joshua's interest in the cats seems to come and go. Lately he has really enjoyed crawling around chasing after the cats. Since Logan is a very tolerant, laid-back kind of cat Joshua is able to catch him once and a while. Logan doesn't even mind is Joshua lays on him, sits on him, or even rolls on him! So, let the chasing and wrestling continue!

Mr. Independent

Our little baby is quickly becoming an independent toddler! A couple weeks ago Joshua became very interested in trying to feed himself with a spoon. So, I bought him his own set of silverware that was kid-friendly and safe. He has been working on feeding himself with a spoon and a fork. We still have to work on getting more food on the spoon from the bowl (he only gets a little bit and gets frustrated when he is hungry) as well as poking food with the fork, but he has the hang of getting the utensils up to and into his mouth. It's amazing just how quickly little children develop skills!

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!!!