One Small Step for Joshua, One Giant Leap for Our Household

Last night after dinner, Shawn put Joshua down on the floor. He immediately crawled over to the dishwasher and gazed at his new friend he saw. Aren't these pictures adorable? He is soooo cute!

Hey, mom - who needs a puppy when I have a reflection friend?

Dada, do you see him, too? Isn't he handsome like me?

After the novelty of his "friend" wore off, he started opening all the cabinets. Ummmm...how 'bout no to getting out my breakable & expensive stoneware? So, I put him in his pack 'n play while I finished cleaning up until I could play more with him. I no more than sat him down and he immediately stood up on his own. Good job, Bean! After I was done, I took him out and put him in the good living room while we discussed our plans for the rest of the evening. He went right to the coffee table and pulled himself up. His feet weren't in the best position, but before I could move them, he took a step to get himself situated. Now, he was holding on, so it doesn't qualify as a "real step" Shawn told me, but this is the first time he even tried to step that I saw. The baby book calls this cruising. He didn't really cruise anywhere, but he's getting more and more courageous.
This morning after we got back from the gym, we were playing in the office and he pulled up onto his feet with the toy bin - another first! He used to just look through the bin while on his knees. Now he's anxious to stand any chance he gets. In fact, during his bath this afternon, he kept trying to stand in our tub. Thankfully it's a deep bath tub so he had a hard time reaching my shampoo, etc. Silly Bean! Sit down to play & splash like normal! His toys were okay, but anything Mommy touched was way cooler.
Doesn't the picture below look like Joshua is waving at someone or something? Well, I should go. My textbook for the second class I'm teaching at Millersville, Principles of Marketing, just came in the mail. That gives me less than two weeks to read over 700 pages, outline them on powerpoint, decide what to do to make it interesting, and write exams. Please pray that I stay motivated! Today I was bored just reading the first 10 pages. Ugh! It's hard to read when there's a handsome little guy beckoning me to play. I'm also writing, writing, writing. And, there's the house to clean, bills to pay, etc. I need to focus!

8-Tooth Tooter

Joshua got his 8th tooth yesterday! So, he now has four on top and four on the bottom. Yeah! Yesterday my mom's sister Loretta was in town - she's 81 and looks great for her age! She wanted to see the Bean, so we went over and so did Jen & her kiddos. Aunt Loretta said she'd take Joshua home with her, and I told her she'd bring him right back when he didn't sleep through the night. Last night he was up ALL night, making me miss church because I couldn't get myself out of bed after only an hour of actual sleep. I was bummed to miss it. I think the following picture of Joshua & Daniel is so cute - sure to be buddies when they get older!The rest of the pictures are from Saturday as well. We went back over to Mom's today since our turn to be with Mom & Jamie is Sunday afternoons. I'm not sure how much we helped - we got Jamie into a chair to be outside (like yesterday) and then back in bed, Shawn jumped his car that had been sitting awhile and drove it for a small bit, and I helped clean up our lunch dishes. Other than that, we just hung out like we normally would have. Mom made meatloaf (yum!) and we ate together and she spent time with Joshua while Jamie watched, Daddy read the paper and I addressed cards.

The Boys of Summer

Yesterday, Julie & Jude met me at Mom's house to swim since we missed them at Kristen's house. While Joshua was unsure of the floating raft last time Julie brought it along, he couldn't get enough of it this time! Jude does really well in his floating swimsuit and loves the slide that my nieces also adore. We splish splashed until noonish when the Bean started noticing his missed morning nap. So we got out, Grandma fed him and kept him while he napped, and Julie, the Judester and I went to the Upper Crust to have a tasty lunch. Jamie's Mom & Aunt Sylvia were there to be with him, so Mom didn't mind some Bean-time. Julie reminds me of myself in a lot of ways, and it's always fun to see her and Jude.

Julie also hooked me up with a new client, Shear Miracles. I went to get my hair colored Thursday night, and Robyn (the owner & hairdresser) also invited a few other people to discuss her business and what she needs marketing-wise. It was a little awkward to have my hair being colored during a business meeting (she must like to multi-task), but I have a few projects that I'll be working on. Plus, my gray hair is covered. So, all's well that ends well I guess. Since I was there until almost 10, I decided to wait to get my hair cut until another day.

This morning Shawn, Joshua & I were playing in the office and Shawn decided to go get a shower. Since Joshua was contented with his toys and I have a lot of projects to work on with tight deadlines, I went to the computer to start to write. All the sudden, I realized I no longer heard Joshua. I flew out of my chair and went looking for him. Guess where I found him (luckily!)...in the bathroom looking for "Dada." He had crawled the length of the upstairs of our house, pushed open the bathroom door and said "Da!" Shawn looked out with soapy hair at the same time I got there (so Bean must have just arrived) and said, "Tooter? What are you doing in here?" Time to get the baby gate up! I'm so glad he didn't tumble down the stairs! So, no more multi-tasking until the house is ready for a crawling baby. We started putting in the outlet covers, put on the door knob handles and covered all the coffee table edges and fireplace with the safety corners. We also dug out the one baby gate (we need another for our second set of stairs) to put up by the upstairs. We have the kitchen cabinet latches, but we need to charge the cordless screwdriver before doing those. Joshua loves to chew on cords (another thing we need to somehow hide), and his new favorite button to push is the lit-up on/off button of the computer. BEAN!

I guess Grandma Ginder is looking for ways to cool off, too, these days. She's getting ready for her move to Florida, evidently!

Leaving On a Jet Plane...

It's official. We booked the tickets. We're flying to see Grandpa Georgia from Thursday, September 6 through Sunday September 9. Hopefully Joshua does well on the flight!

This morning I watched Jen's kiddos so she could go to a dentist appointment. Grace said how Grandpa Georgia called her, and I told her that Joshua, Uncle Shawn & I were flying down to see him. She said she'd never been on an airplane. Then she asked me to take her to Sesame Street. Everything the kids said today was cracking me up! Grace guessed that I was 27, Faith said she didn't invite me over for spaghetti because it wasn't her birthday, Grace told me she bought her shoes at a yardsale in the winter, Faith told me that Joshua likes to "eat" everything (since he sticks everything in his mouth), and so many more goofy stories. I giggled all morning long... Joshua also liked being there for the most part, other than when the girls would get nose to nose with him or take his toy. He's not used to that! He needs to learn how to share.

We just signed Joshua up for the Kids Club at LA Fitness. That's where they will watch him up to two hours while we work out. Shawn & I went together last night, and then I took the Bean this morning at 8 a.m. (when they first open so the toys have been freshly cleaned) before I watched Jen's kiddos. He'll need some time to get used to being there, but I hope to take him every morning and get more into a schedule of working out on a regular basis.

Yesterday I put Joshua down for his nap and started to hear different noises. When I went to check on him, he was standing up playing with his froggy mobile that Aunt Missy had bought him for my baby shower. He LOVES it, and now he knows how to grab it. Silly Bean! Be careful!

Joshua has been biting everything and everyone. I struggle with knowing when is too early to begin disciplining? We usually put him down if he bites us as a form of "naughty chair timeout" since he hates to be left alone. But, I fear when he's around other people or kids. Shawn & I both have teeth mark bruises. Lord, teach us how to be good parents!

Well, Joshua is up from his nap and it's time to feed him. I also have lots of writing to get done today before I head out to my hair dresser appointment. Hoping to have a little more style before the start of school! Also praying that my book comes in for my second class so I can prepare! Here are a few pictures of Joshua standing and getting into the nooks and crannies of our office/playroom. He's such a cutie!

Happy 8/8!

For all of you who have been trying to call us, we finally got a phone hooked up in the office that works. The cordless phones with the answer machine are still out of commission (we haven't figured out why) but the corded phone in the office is now set up and will ring so we can hear it and answer. Poor Grandpa Georgia was trying to call us all last night about an airfare special, and we missed the special price going down. However, the rate coming back still has us thinking we might book the flight to go down in September. On Airtran, kiddos under two fly free on their parents laps.

Yesterday, Joshua's physical therapy went really well. Laura was quite impressed that the Bean can sit up on his own and crawl. Hooray! She was also impressed with something that I hadn't even thought of - if we have him stand, he takes one hand to play with something and uses only one hand to hold on. He also drops himself gently and doesn't just fall backwards. These are usually "learned" items that he already picked up on. Good job, Joshua! I asked her about pointing and clapping, and she smiled and said that Joshua reminds her so much of her son Peter (who is almost exactly one year older than Joshua, with his birthday being September 20). Peter was also a little behind physically (she said "go figure, the son of a physical therapist is behind on moving!") but was very verbal very early. She noticed that when he started doing more physical things, he stopped gabbing quite as much and learning more new words while he was mastering the movements. Then he put them all together. He pointed a little late, and she furiously tried to teach him how to clap and he did it for the first time when her mom was watching him. She said from playing with Joshua on a regular basis, she doesn't think we have anything to worry about. He's very social, talkative and charming...you can see his wheels turning through his eyes. That made me feel good.

Last night I went to worship practice, and instead of taking Joshua along I played the keys with the Kim Miller team. It was interesting, and completely different than when Bill leads. We stayed on the same chords (only playing in two different keys - A & D) pretty much throughout the night, but we tried different melodies, different rhythms, different sounds and patterns (not really singing any particular song but just singing God's word or praying or reading the Bible). It was fun, but when it got to be close to 9 p.m. I came home to see the Bean before he went to bed.

This morning after giving Joshua his bottle, we went downstairs so I could get breakfast and feed him his solids. I put him in his high chair and gave him a "biter biscuit" to knaw on which usually gives me enough time to prepare. However, this morning he polished it off quickly and said clear as day "All done!" I couldn't believe my ears. I thought, that couldn't be what he meant, but sure enough he had finished his snack and was looking at me for more. I put his sippy cup on his tray (the cute froggy one from Aunt Erica that has two handles - thanks so much again for this neat cup!) and he grabbed it and took a sip on his own. Good job! My little Bean is starting to talk and be more mobile...I still remember when we put him in layers of blankets and clothing to keep his little body warm enough to survive...how quickly time flies!

Here are pictures of Joshua with his cousing Jordon and Poppy. He and Jordon seem to enjoy each other's company. I'll never forget the one day I was there and Jordon started to sing to Joshua "Here's a little song I wrote...might want to sing it note for note...don't worry, be happy...ooh ooh ooh ooh" completely on tune and correct word for word. Joshua smiled from ear to ear and loved every moment. If Joshua starts to cry or whine, Jordon always tries to cheer him up by being silly, which always works and makes Joshua laugh. It is absolutely adorable!

Who Does Joshua Look Like?

Every other person I talk to says, "Oh my, does your son look like his Mommy or what?" while the next says, "Yes, he sure does look identical to his Daddy, doesn't he?" Here are pictures of Shawn & me from when we were little - who does Joshua resemble more? I think this picture of Shawn is the spitting image of what Joshua looks like, but I see a few features of me in the Bean here and there. Weren't we cute?

Watching Joshua Grow

Joshua and I went over to Mom's yesterday to take her some milk since she was out, and she told me that Jamie said to her the thing that stinks the most is that he won't get to see all the kids grow up. She cried, I cried, Joshua looked at us and Jamie slept. She said the two of them had cried together that morning, too. Soooo sad. At Jamie's request, they have stopped the IV, are not seeing any more doctors, and are never stepping foot in a hospital again. His words were, "No more!"

Speaking of doctors, I called Dr. Devenyi's office since Joshua has been consistently throwing up on the Prevacid. I got a call back that said he wants to keep the Bean on it for four weeks, at which time if he's not better they will do a procedure where they sedate Joshua and look at his esophagus through a microscope to determine if there are food allergies or other problems. I hate to see Joshua go through more procedures, and yet I don't want to see him always vomitting either. Please, Lord, let him outgrow this and quickly!

I think Joshua just had a growth spurt. All the sudden he's looking thin to me, and he's now able to not only sit up on his own but also gets onto his knees and doesn't mind looking through his toy bin that way and crawls easily. He also pulled up to standing by supporting himself with his little froggy chair that Grandma & Grandpa Ginder got him. I'm so excited for these new feats of strength, but with them come challenges too. For example, this morning he was up on his knees and could have easily chewed on his crib...didn't we JUST move that? Also, his favorite place to play is underneath my office chair. The other day he got into the bottom and rubbed the oil & grease all over his face (the moustache was a little cute, Shawn said). Little ol' eagle eye finds anything out of place and tries to eat it - for example, a feather from my pillow made it's fluffy descent to the floor, and Joshua immediately tried to grab it and put it in his mouth. He's so quick! This morning he was being cute and I went to grab the camera and within that split second, he pulled the cord of the lamp that sits on the desk and the lamp came crashing down. BEAN! I always said he didn't seem extraordinarily motivated by toys but he sure loves anything he shouldn't be playing with...

He also has learned how to be cute and smile when he's doing something he knows he shouldn't be, figuring that he can get away with it if he's charming enough to make us smile, giggle or say "aww...". The other night Shawn was feeding him, and Joshua was full. Shawn wanted him to finish one last bite (since Joshua hasn't really wanted to eat at all), and all the sudden Joshua called out "MAMA!" I smiled and said, "Maybe we should call it a meal." In the middle of the night, Joshua has been waking up and screaming bloody murder. I let him go a full 15 minutes before going to check it out. On a side note, Shawn read that sometimes kiddos who fall asleep being held wake up in the middle of the night alone, and he's now old enough to realize he's alone and he's scared. So, feeling badly, I went into get him. I picked him up, rocked him back to sleep, and he woke up again when I laid him back down. At this point, I was exhausted and brought him back to bed with us. He saw Daddy next to me, and he sweetly began to sing a soft little song to him, "Dad-dad-dadda-da." It was SOOO cute! Shawn, who had been annoyed that we were awakened since he has to be fully functional at work, quickly turned to tickled at this beautiful voice singing his praise. The Bean then proceeded to lay against me and snuggle, putting his eyes next to mine - wide open. I had shut my eyes and when I opened them there was this cute little face smiling back at me. It was cute, but I was tired. GO TO SLEEP! Eventually, I put him back in his crib.

He is typically so smiley and cute, though, that it makes up for the times of frustration. Being a mom is way more work than I ever thought, but it's rewarding daily as you see your little one grow.

Morning Devotions

This morning I prayed to ask God what He would have me read, especially to remind us of all He's done for us, and I turned to Matthew 11. I know it was the Lord speaking to me because I prayed the same thing yesterday and turned to John where I read almost the same thing about John being the baptizer...God is so neat-o!

Matthew 11
John the Baptizer

1 When Jesus finished placing this charge before his twelve disciples, he went on to teach and preach in their villages.
2-3 John, meanwhile, had been locked up in prison. When he got wind of what Jesus was doing, he sent his own disciples to ask, "Are you the One we've been expecting, or are we still waiting?" 4-6Jesus told them, "Go back and tell John what's going on:

The blind see,

The lame walk,

Lepers are cleansed,

The deaf hear,

The dead are raised,

The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side.

"Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!"
7-10 When John's disciples left to report, Jesus started talking to the crowd about John. "What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend camper? Hardly. What then? A sheik in silk pajamas? Not in the wilderness, not by a long shot. What then? A prophet? That's right, a prophet! Probably the best prophet you'll ever hear. He is the prophet that Malachi announced when he wrote, 'I'm sending my prophet ahead of you, to make the road smooth for you.'
11-14 "Let me tell you what's going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer; but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God's kingdom. But if you read the books of the Prophets and God's Law closely, you will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for the Messiah of the kingdom. Looked at in this way, John is the 'Elijah' you've all been expecting to arrive and introduce the Messiah.
15"Are you listening to me? Really listening?
16-19 "How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, 'We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.' John came fasting and they called him crazy. I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riffraff. Opinion polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

The Unforced Rhythms of Grace

20 Next Jesus let fly on the cities where he had worked the hardest but whose people had responded the least, shrugging their shoulders and going their own way.
21-24 "Doom to you, Chorazin! Doom, Bethsaida! If Tyre and Sidon had seen half of the powerful miracles you have seen, they would have been on their knees in a minute. At Judgment Day they'll get off easy compared to you. And Capernaum! With all your peacock strutting, you are going to end up in the abyss. If the people of Sodom had had your chances, the city would still be around. At Judgment Day they'll get off easy compared to you."
25-26 Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."
27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. "The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.
28-30 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Party Animals

Yesterday afternoon, Jamie received his retirement certificate. One of mom's friends who works in personnel at the post office ordered pizza, a cake and drinks and invited all of his co-workers and friends to go to the hospital to have a retirement party, which was very sweet. Joshua and I went after the Bean woke up from his nap and didn't end up staying too long because Jamie was tired and went back to bed. I told him to tell his boss to "take this job and shove it" (from the song) and he did. His boss replied, "I'm saying the same thing in a few years myself!"

After we left, I met Shawn at home. I had been working on school work all morning (I've read over 333 pages, along with outlining them and creating powerpoints in only five days!) and had forgotten to get anything out for supper. So, we went to Ruby Tuesdays and took Joshua along. He did really well! He smiled at the waitress every time she was near, and she told us she had a son named Joshua. They became instant buddies. He behaved nicely the whole time, which we were relieved. I had made a delicious dinner Thursday night and offered to heat up left overs, but Shawn thought it would be nice to go out. A mini-date for the three of us!

We had great plans of everything we were going to get done this weekend, and somehow today escaped us. We did get rid of the bookshelf, and finding a home for everything took longer than expected (we still have a few things that we're thinking we want to keep but need a spot for). Other than that, doing dishes and laundry, it didn't feel very productive. We wanted to mow the grass, baby proof the entire house, work on our budget, finish my current copy job (which is taking way longer than I ever expected), go to the gym and other things. I guess there's always another day. I shouldn't have such high expectations - we did at least play with Joshua, which Shawn reminded me is an eternal investment. Joshua was crawling forward today, all day. He's getting into everything! When he picked up his one toy, I said "Shake, shake, shake" and he actually shook it. That was the first time we'd seen that. He also got onto his knees and then one foot, which is a pre-cursor to walking. Hooray!

Tonight Joshua and I went to Grace's birthday party and let Daddy have some alone time. We no more than got there and Mom got a call from my cousin Cindy (a visiting home nurse who was watching Jamie for Mom since he came home this morning) that the visiting nurse was there to show Mom how to do his IV, so she had to leave. She was very sad. The party began with a pinata, and all the kids took turns swinging at it. Once it was finally broken, they all scrambled for candy. Afterward, Grace opened her gifts. Grandma had gotten her a game, clothing for her Jill doll baby, tights and panties. When she opened the panties, Jen proclaimed "Look, Gracie, new panties!" at which point the oldest boy there, Ethan (7), rolled his eyes and dramatically fell backwards. It was so funny! He also told me that I look just like Jen. I put Joshua in Jen's baby swing outside for awhile, and he LOVED it. After they served the cake, we called it a night.

Jamie is home, but he still has a fever and came home with an IV, as I mentioned. With that, Hospice does not feel it's time to be involved. The MRI showed that it might be the tumor or it might be an infection, so Jamie needs to go see the surgeon. Mom, of course, can't lift him to get him in the car and the surgeon's office was upset that Jamie was being discharged. However, they waited until 5:30 Friday to comment (and no one works weekends, of course) so it was too late to stop the original plan. Please continue to pray for both of them.

Singing in the Sonshine

Today Jamie needed an MRI because he has a fever, so Mom came over for lunch to pass the time until he would be back. After we ate, I played piano and we sang for a little. We were singing the Newsboys song "He Reigns" since the worship team will be leading that song this Sunday, and all the sudden Joshua got into it. Grandma was holding him and dancing with him and he started to sing LOUDLY. It almost sounded like he said "hallelujah" after we did, "It's all God's children singing glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns! He reigns!" He kept singing and singing through each chorus (not in tune and not the words, but it was definitely singing at the top of his lungs) until the music stopped and we ended the song. Then, he knew it was finished and grinned from ear to ear at us. TOO CUTE!

Happy 5th Birthday, Grace!

Today is Grace's 5th birthday, so she'll be starting school behind my house this fall. I can't believe she's so old already! My little Peanut Butter is growing up quickly! I'm looking forward to going to her birthday party tomorrow night. I was bummed that I missed Emma's because I was sick. Today is also Missy & Kevin's anniversary - we hope it's a happy one! This morning I saw the tiniest baby bunny taking refuge beneath the shade of our bushes that surround our deck. Soooo adorable!

Shawn lowered the crib the beginning of this week. So far, so good - Joshua can't quite reach the top yet to chew some more. I think his 8th tooth will come soon - there's no question he is teething again. Our son has also been getting into everything lately! Yesterday Shawn was playing with him in our bedroom, and the Bean opened my bottom dresser drawer of our wider chest with the mirror on top. So, Shawn put his foot against it to keep it shut. Joshua proceeded to get onto his knees to open the drawer above it. Shawn put his leg against both drawers and tried to get Joshua interested in playing. The Bean simply moved over to Shawn's side of the dresser and opened the bottom drawer. Shawn sat him across the room, only for Joshua to go over to the tall dresser and open the bottom drawer. From there, he went to our armoire to try to open it. BEAN! Play with YOUR toys! The night before last I was playing with Joshua in the office and got up to go to the bathroom. When I came back, he had dumped the trash can. We had been playing on the other side of the room!!! BEAN!!! We gave him a bath (just to make sure he was clean) and Daddy put a long sleeve onesie on him before bed. He must have gotten hot overnight (I'm trying to let him get back to sleep on his own when he wakes up unless he's positively screaming in pain) because when I went to get him the next morning, his little arm was in the neck hole and the sleeve was dangling under his arm pit. Impressive that he was starting to get undressed. When I went to dress him last night, he's now shoving his arms through the sleeves. Hooray! This morning, though, he got confused and put his arm through the neck and was upset that I wanted to remove it and put it in the right spot. Silly Bean! We've decided we're overdue on baby-proofing the house. Tomorrow we want to disassemble the bookshelf in the office since Joshua loves to try to play with it and pull books off, and it's not the sturdiest thing we've ever seen. I think it's time to put up the dresser latches, too, and make the whole house safer in general, one step at a time. Any suggestions for us of things we might forget?

Yesterday I watched the last half of Oprah, which was on autism. They were talking about signs, which included not pointing by a year, not playing "so big" by a year, and a couple other things that kind of got me worried. That one-year mark is quickly approaching for us, and he doesn't point yet or play "so big" or clap. Shawn said to me, "But you don't point, so how is he going to know how?" I felt so bad all night last night. It's true - I remember being taught it's not polite to point. So, if I'm showing him something, I'll often go pick it up and bring it to him. I rarely point. But, I'm trying to make sure that I start. I also rarely clap with songs. I used to, but now I'm typically playing the piano, or working if we're at home, or holding the Bean during the fast songs at church since they are the beginning of the service and I want to get him acclimated to the environment, or reading the Bible to look up the verse that goes along with the song. I have to start clapping more to demonstrate when it's appropriate. I was upset last night thinking, "Why, God, would you entrust someone so precious as Joshua to a mom like me?" I've been extraordinarly busy this past week trying to prepare for school and getting more copy jobs, plus trying to keep the house relatively clean and take care of Joshua... I feel like it's impossible to do everything well, and I fear the one who's losing out on "quality" time is our precious son. He's most important, but other than eating & changing diapers he's deadline-free. And, I'm not upset at all at having work - I've been praying to God asking for more work so we don't have to worry about money as much. But, I feel guilty at not giving 100% of my attention all the time to Joshua. I've been so worried about him growing and eating enough, being healthy all around and giving him his medicine on time, and now him getting stronger physically that sometimes I think I'm not working enough on teaching him new skills and things about the world. Lord, please help me to be the best parent for the bestest little boy I've ever known! My reading this morning from the Bible included this passage: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 "You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally. I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself." Jesus, please help me run the best race possible in every aspect of life!

In other news, Jamie comes home tomorrow. The hospital bed arrived today, which made mom cry realizing that we're nearing the end. We went to Good's Furniture Store last night to buy a recliner that will lift to help him sit down and stand up at the touch of the button. The sales guy was TERRIBLE! He told us they had three in stock, then said he could only sell us the floor model, then he had to check with his manager to make sure that was okay, then he left us waiting for 20 minutes, and finally Mom had had enough. She was trying to give someone money that obviously didn't want to make a sale, so we left. I felt bad for her since she wanted to get something before Jamie came home and was willing to spend whatever it took, only to be jerked around by some idiot. Shawn and I are going to be with them on Sundays, so maybe she can go look some more while we're staying with Jamie.

Ecstatic Over Elliott!

Happy first day of August! The past few days have been pretty busy. Yesterday, Joshua went to Nonnie & Poppy's house and spent time with Aunt Alicia, Aunt Hilary & Cousin Jordon. He LOVED it! They had the neatest ducky toy in a rain outfit that has children's voices singing "Singin' in the rain" when you squeeze it. Joshua thought that was neato-burrito! He also gave Alicia "five" when she asked him, but he still refuses to do it for me (maybe because he seems to really like it when I do it for him - who knows?). Poppy said Joshua was being treated like a puppy with everyone surrounding him and petting him. I know he loves the attention. Anytime Jordon would talk, Joshua would look at him in awe. Everyone said what an easy baby he is - I'm so glad he was good. Thanks so much for watching him!

Today we went to my friend Kristen's house for lunch so Joshua & Elliott could play together and us gals could catch up. We had a great time! Joshua loved Elliott's toys, and the boys seemed to enjoy each other's company. Elliott turns a year old next week, and he's walking like a pro! He also makes the cutest noises. I was surprised that he can clap when he hears music, and when Kristen asks him where things are in the room like his ball or bat, Elliott goes and gets them. He's a sharp one! Elliott would pat Joshua's head, and Joshua kept trying to grab at him. I'm beginning to think that Joshua's love language is touch, like mine. It's probably too early to tell, though.

When we were there, Joshua crawled "one step" toward Kristen. He definitely moved forward - no question about it! He also spit up on her carpet after sharing some of Elliott's puffs - sorry Kristen! At least she's familiar with that since Elliott suffered from reflux, too. The picture on the left made me giggle, simply because Elliott looks so unhappy where Kristen looks ecstatic! I'm not sure what made Elliott cry, but he seemed to get over it very quickly. I thought both boys did extremely well. Thanks for the pizza, Kristen! I'm glad our little boys will be friends!

Sorry we missed you today, Julie! We'll have to plan another day to swim sometime soon!