Happy Birthday, Grandma and Emma!

Today, Mom turns 54 and Emma turns a whopping 2 years old! To celebrate, Joshua & I got up at 6:30 this morning and took Mom out to breakfast at the restaurant of her choice, Perkins. It was nice to see her, and I even took my camera along - only in all the glory of their pancakes I completely forgot to snap a few pictures. Mom took Joshua to the window next to our table and showed him all the cars (he already LOVES watching cars) and she'd say, "Vroom vroom and zoom zoom" and he laughed away. After we got back and both took a substantial nap, I called Jen's house and sang Happy Birthday to Emma, who seemed to enjoy it since she wanted to take the phone from my sister - I could distinctly hear her say hi and bye, the rest was a little muffled on the phone. She & Joshua are certainly buddies now! She talked to him immediately when we arrived there last night and handed him a toy. Last night Jen thought she had grabbed the sprinkles for Emma's icecream and instead had the bottle of hot peppers that Mike had used in his spaghetti. She began to cover the chocolate mound, when I said, "uh, Jen, whatcha doin'?" We all giggled. WHOOPS! New ice cream, please, Grandpa Georgia!

Dad & Annette left this morning before the sun came up - they must have been quiet because I didn't hear them. Joshua enjoyed seeing them for sure - he and Dad would gab at each other, mostly with Dad asking questions and Joshua saying "YEAH!" (his favorite word). Last night, though, he also said "ok" once. We were surprised. This morning, I said something about him being a little tooter and it sounded like he tried to repeat the word tooter. He doesn't talk all the time, but he's starting to more and more. For example, just now I asked him if I should turn on the light in the room we're in as he plays and I type (it's a little overcast today) and he replied YEAH! He hadn't been saying that word recently, so I don't know if he understood me or just chose that time to say it. I think more and more he understands what we're saying to him - not completely, of course, but I think he picks up more than we think.

The latest new thing that Joshua is doing is clucking his tongue. He proudly "click-clacked" for the physical therapist and thinks it's amusing (I agree, of course). I also can now feel the 7th tooth - the beginnings of which are poking through his top gums. Today the Bean has a fever, which I'm thinking is probably due to that tooth, but since my nieces were sick, I'm keeping a close eye on him. I just gave him a cool bath to comfort him, too, and decided a little tylenol wouldn't hurt with how hot he feels. I dressed him in just a onesie and turned our air conditioner to a cooler temperature, too. I called the pediatrician to schedule his one-year well-baby visit, and heard on the "on-hold message" that fevers are normal and do no harm by themselves other than causing discomfort to the child so trying to keep him cool is good, the correct dose of tylenol can help, and a fever of more than three days is worthy of a visit to the doctor (or if the parents are concerned, they can always schedule a time to have their baby seen). So, that made me feel a little better. I'm glad I was put on hold!

Mom found out yesterday that Jamie's diagnosis in general is weeks to months. I told her that when I was looking for her gift, I found a picture that said "Strength and Endurance: Isaiah 40:31 Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." I bought it (along with other gifts) because I felt like it was what God was saying for Mom at that time. She said that was good because she was feeling "weary." She sounded weary. I can't imagine being in her shoes, or Jamie's for that matter.

Here are pictures from the past few days, including one with Dad and his two grandsons. Drive safely home, Grandpa Georiga! It was nice to see you!