Baby Joshua

In my head, I knew that Baby Joshua would arrive early. His due date was officially set for May 16. There was no way.

However, he surprised us by making his way into the world THREE weeks ahead of schedule, on April 25th.

And, what about that quickie 3rd-baby delivery I was counting on? No such luck. I was in labor for about 12 hours before Joshua came screaming into our lives. As far as we can tell right now, all is well. He weighs 7 lbs., 9 ounces, and is 21 inches long. But, all the nurses kept saying, "I've never seen that before, I've never seen that before" after hearing him screech. He was angry about being here, and he let everyone within earshot of the building know about it.



Thanks so much to our dear friends, Kathy and Sean, who opened their doors to Jason and Michael, when I called at 12:30 in the morning, for emergency babysitting duty.



We worried the most about the boys' reaction to Baby Squishy, now known as Baby Joshua, although the names are interchangeable in the house. We have nothing to worry about, yet. The boys are fascinated by the baby. They want to "hold" him every chance they get, which, I can tell you, isn't often.



Maybe it's because he is number 3, maybe he knows what he needs to do to be heard. Baby Squishy goes from zero to VERY loud in about 3 seconds. But, he also calms down just as quickly. You just need to know what to do. Since we're still in the process of figuring that out, it's still a bit chaotic around here.



This is Joshua, Day 2.
We already can't imagine life without him.

Michael's pledge

We just realized that Michael knows the Pledge of Allegiance.



He recited it for us, verbatim, today.

You know it.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of da United States of Damerica.
And to the Republic for which it stands.
One nation, under God, indibisible, with liderdy, and justice for all."

I was kind of impressed.
Then, Jason chimed.

"OK, Michael. What is zero plus zero?"

Without hesitation, Michael said, "Nine."

Happy Birthday, Akong!

We were so fortunate to be able to spend the weekend celebrating Akong's 69th birthday.
It's a big deal. If he had wanted it, there would have been many, many candles on his cake.




Instead, we settled with just one. We had a splended Chinese banquet with exotic dishes that I think Dad liked. Best of all, Tim was able to come to town to mark the milestone.



We love you, Akong!

It's a dirty job....

and Michael is certainly up to the challenge.



Another ambitious project carried out by Michael's preschool teacher.



These 3- and 4-year olds, who might have difficulty picking up after themselves, learned the value of picking up after others on Friday.
Holding plastic bags and wearing rubber gloves, Michael's class became the school's enthusiastic outdoor cleaning crew.



Plenty of bottles, cans, and styrofoam coolers came inside with these pint-sized worker bees.

In return, they got big smiles and a chocolatey snack for a job well done.

For the love of T-Ball

No doubt you have already heard that T-ball mania has swept the household.
When we're not attending a T-ball game (which is difficult to imagine since we have about three a week), we are practicing. Jason has recruited little brother Michael and his 9-months pregnant mommy to throw balls to him. He's not that picky, to tell you the truth, as long as the balls don't fly too high.



Of course, Game Day is a very big deal. It's important that those times at bat count.
Oh, yeah, when we're not practicing T-ball or baseball, we're watching it, then analyzing it. We have never seen Jason so focused before.



Rest assured, Michael and I have found a way to make the time pass while Jason runs the bases.



Snacks, anyone?

Game day

The Mariners FINALLY took to the field today.

Jason woke up at EXACTLY 7 o'clock this morning and rushed downstairs to check in with us. He wanted to make sure the game was still on.

All he could talk about was home runs.

Unfortunately, I missed the first game of Jason's T-ball days.
Doug, very ably, captured the moments for me.



This is Jason's first time at bat. After fouling off a few pitches, Jason laced a ground ball down the first base line and raced to the bag.

Safe!!!

But there wasn't much time to celebrate. Jason had to pay attention and run the bases.



This is Jason standing on third base. He wanted to make sure Doug saw him in action.



Jason was more than proud of himself. He soon scored. Doug says he finished the game 3-for-3, all singles. Well, pretty much everyone finished the game 3-for-3, all singles. The kids, every single one of them, had a great time.



When Jason got home, all he could talk about was the game. And, this zinging hit he got. Apparently, the ball he hit went so fast, it almost went all the way into the outfield. Not quite a home run, but in his mind, close enough!

Thanks to Doug for his insight into today's actions.

I look forward to sharing more details of his games. Of course, you may not want to hear ALL of the details. He plays about 4 times a week!!!!

His friends might think it's good to get it out of his system, too. Anybody who comes over these days is now obligated to pitch to him, whether they want to or not.

On the bench

To be honest, the entire team is on the bench.
The weather has been so wet, two games have been cancelled, including the one on Opening Day.

But, that didn't stop the Mariners from taking part in their picture session.



Jason got his teal jersey and you could tell he was so excited to have it on.



The other boys in the family had to have a closer look.
Of course, if the team ever plays a game, we'll have the pictures to prove it!

One day...

Growing up

We haven't seen the sun in days.
So the boys haven't had the chance to play outside. Not since Grandma and Grandpa's visit, which really wasn't that long ago.




The boys had such a good time when they were here visiting. As you can see, Jason is very much into t-ball. He wants to practice any chance he gets.



Michael, well, he is definitely growing up.

We took him to the doctor just yesterday for his 3-year old checkup, and boy, was he a ham. He's weighs just over 30 pounds, and is three feet one inch tall. He was very proud of himself for giving the nurse a urine sample, in a cup. I'll be honest, I was, too. And, the one shot he received?

"It didn't hurt, mommy. I didn't cry."

Humility is not really his strong suit. Michael told anyone who would listen that he did very well at the doctor's office.

"I got two stickers because I was so good."

Michael's birthday bash

Sometimes at our house, you'll hear things like, "Mommy! Jason is sticking his finger in my ear!"



Thankfully, all of that animosity was cast aside for Michael's birthday bash.



We invited Michael's classmates from school, and friends we've known since we've been here. Actually, we invited their younger siblings. It was important, for some reason, to try to establish that these were Michael's little buddies.



Michael really had a blast.



We used to come to this play gym quite often, and Michael never wanted to participate. He never wanted to do what Jason was doing.



But, during this birthday party, Michael surprised us all. He did all the exercises, jumps, and running around that all his friends were doing.



Even better, his best friend was by his side, almost the whole party. Jason was very concerned that Michael would not have a good time, so he stuck by him. It was the cutest thing to see.



You may remember that Michael in the past weeks had been threatening the entire family with an "un-invitation" to his birthday party, unless we behave. Jason never got that. He was allowed to come, no matter what.

Of course, now that THAT party is history, Michael is focusing on #4.

And, he's telling all of us, again, we need to behave. Or else, "you won't be coming to my birthday party."