Giving thanks

We have much to be thankful for, and this Thanksgiving, we had the opportunity to share a day off (yes, we both actually had the day off!) with friends.

Claire and her mother prepared a true Thanksgiving FEAST~and in the future I know the boys will be kicking themselves over the amount of food they left on the plate.

We enjoyed ourselves immensely. And despite the look on Michael's face, we know he did, too.



As is always the case, Joshua ate more than the two of the others put together.



Then, Joshua decided it was time to play.



You can see his playful mood continued through the evening.



Don't let Joshua's angelic face fool you.
Notice that the baby has found a comfortable seat, on Tommy's dog, Archie.

At least he didn't bounce up and down to show Archie who's boss.

Don't forget the ranch

We have not really had a problem with Joshua's appetite. We still struggle with picky eaters Jason and Michael.

But if it's food, give it to Joshua. He'll eat (almost) anything. With a goofy smile at the end.

Recently, the baby has given us fits in public places. In our last outing for lunch, Joshua screamed through the appetizer, would not be appeased when the real meal came, and I went outside to keep the other restaurant patrons from throwing things at us.

We thought maybe it was because he was getting tired of the high chair.

We were a little worried today, but we pushed ahead, placing him in his normal seat, figuring we would move him to a booster if he got fussy.

He immediately dumped two glasses of water onto the floor before the food came.

But he wasn't screaming, so we thought, "Whew!!!"

Then, the food came, and we thought, "Finally!!!"

I offhandedly asked for some ranch dressing, since Michael has started to enjoy dipping his french fries in them.

Joshua grabbed the ramekin and had quite a grip on the porcelain all through lunch.

He grunted for the french fries, which we gladly gave him.

He proceeded to dunk his french fries into the ranch dressing, but instead of taking a bite out of the actual "potato," he started to lick the dressing off the fry. He repeated this quite a few times, dunking the fry, licking off the dressing. Then he realized he had a free hand.

He grunted for another fry, to fill his other hand. Two-fisting it, Joshua was not without ranch dressing for one moment.



We were astounded--but pleased that he was quiet!!!

He continued for about ten minutes. In between slurps of ranch dressing, I would push chicken pieces into his mouth. All good.

Then, some apple slices. He ate them heartily.

But, our independent-minded #3 needed to hold onto the fork himself. With an apple slice on the end, I thought he would bring the utensil toward his mouth.

He was about to, but thought better of it.

He brought the fork down to the ranch dressing, apple slice on the end, and dipped.

Yum yum!!!



Afterward, Joshua realized an empty fork can carry as much ranch dressing as a french fry...

So now we know.
Happy eating, everyone!!!

Season's greetings 2009

It is hard to believe, but the holiday season is here.
While it may feel a little early for it, our city had its annual Christmas parade tonight.

The weather was mild, we had a prime spot to watch the festivities, and it was the baby's first true view of Good 'Ole Saint Nick. We took him to a very small parade last year, but it was very small, so I'm not going to count it.

We think Joshua had a really good time, actually.

Of course, he looked like Simon Cowell judging the talent crossing in front of him. He didn't smile much, he waved occasionally, he waved and clapped only when he saw others doing so.



Joshua was truly captivated, not by the singing angels on floats or the loud marching bands, but by one of Doug's co-workers who was standing nearby.



The other boys weren't so interested in the activity in front of them, either. That is, until, some parade participants started handing out candy.

That made the night for them.



As we were leaving, we asked Jason and Michael what their favorite part of the night was. After their brief glimpse of Santa Claus, they both said the candy was the bright spot of the evening.



It was a late night for them. After a good flossing, all three of them went straight to bed.

Good night to you!

Shopping trip

We finally got out of the house after some terrible weather, and where do we go?

The mall.

Of course.



Boy, we were a sight, weren't we?

As you can see, not everybody was thrilled with this outing. Or maybe the displeasure was with the photographer. In any case, we were not alone. I haven't seen the mall this busy in months!



The kids were too young to enjoy our visit to the shoe aisle, the sweater racks, and the jewelry counter. They had to find entertainment somewhere.



Thank goodness for the play area! We haven't been in a while because Jason and Michael really are too big for it. But, Joshua (who really gets none of the experiences his big brothers did) had a blast.




The baby tried to do everything his older siblings did. He climbed onto sailboats, walked onto the bridges, and tried to escape.

But thank goodness his little blue blanket was safe in the car (we obviously abandoned our rule to never let it leave the house), and we had an uneventful, very quiet ride home.



Hope your week is going well!!!

A boy and his blanket

For the most part, we missed the "terrible two's" with Jason and Michael. Do not think we went unscathed, though. The "terrible three's" threw us for a loop with first Jason, and then, much to our dismay, with Michael. And, with Michael, sometimes we still feel like he's three!



Since everything has been turned around with Baby Joshua, it stands to reason that he wouldn't follow in his brother's footsteps.

Yup. At 18 months old, Joshua looks like he's hurtling toward the "terrible two's." Already! He is delightful still, but when he's feeling his age, watch out!

We've already learned what calms him down. The blanket that Grandma and Grandpa got him when he was born. Just in the last few months, we have found he cannot be separated from his small blue blanket with little satin tabs on the sides. If I misplace it, I know I am doomed. But when I produce it, for example, when I am laying Joshua down for a nap, I get the most delightful giggles of joy from our #3. He cannot find happiness without this square of fabric right now!

The other thing that calms him down is my phone. If you receive a phone call from us with heavy breathing on the other end, I apologize. It is our baby. He has made phone calls, he has accessed the internet, he has tried to text message. And you know what? I let him. Until he gets through to a real-life international operator, I will likely leave my high-tech phone within his reach. The alternative is ear-splitting.

18 months and counting

What?

All of a sudden, the baby is creeping, no running, toward the age of 2!!!!

Joshua just visited the doctor for his 18 month checkup--just a few weeks late--and the changes are startling.

If you'll remember, at Joshua's last meeting with the doctor, he couldn't walk, was barely grunting, and he was always in a pretty good mood.

This time, he wouldn't let me hold him as he walked into all the open doors in the doctor's office, he babbled a few words, many of them sounding suspiciously like "no," and he screamed, loudly, when we tried to pin him to the doctor's table for examination.

The doctor looked at our really loud, crying baby (reminiscent of the day he was born) and said, "Sounds like an 18-month old."

Then she pried open his mouth to show me two huge teeth poking out of his gums. Ohhh. No wonder he has been kind of a pain lately. Those teeth are big. His 2-year molars obviously are making an appearance a little bit early.

Here are the stats:
Joshua now weighs in at 23 pounds 13 ounces.
He is 33 inches tall. Growing like a weed.



We were happy to have Amah and Akong with us this weekend.



Unfortunately, the kids (two of them got sick--Jason and Michael), so we gave the gift that keeps on giving.
Poor Amah also had to stay in bed, dealing with coughs and chills when she got home.

We love you, Amah! We hope you feel better.



Before the illness hit, Doug and I got out of the house--again--by ourselves!!! That may be twice in a month or something like that. We went to see Natalie Cole in concert. We had a great time!

We hope you are enjoying the day as well!!!

The weight of the world

It may be late fall, but we've been treated to some fantastic weather.



We renewed our zoo membership a few weeks ago. It may have been Joshua's first trip to see the animals. But before we could visit them in person, the boys wanted to stop and feel the weight of the world. It's just a little (big) fountain past the entrance gates that the kids like to examine.

We had a great time!

Catching up

We are getting into a school year routine now, and the days are going by quickly. Really, where does the time go?

All of a sudden, Jason is 7! We told him he could do anything he wanted to celebrate his big day. I was prepared for Chuck E. Cheese or a bounce house place. But, he simply wanted close friends by his side, at our house. Here was the catch, though. They would have to play Guitar Hero.

Many sets. And so they did.




Some of the kids were interested. For the most part, we all just watched Jason huddle over the plastic guitar in a bid to be #1. I think he had a good time.



Jason has had other things on his mind, though. Baseball has occupied much of our time over the last couple of months. He has moved up from t-ball to baseball and there is quite a difference. An out is an out and they keep score. The most nervous I have been all year has been watching Jason at bat or out in right field, where he spent much of his time during games.



Right after I snapped this picture, other baseball moms watched as he looked around and did a little dance. Thankfully, he snapped to attention when the batter for the other team came up, because he did a great job at stopping the ball and throwing it back to his teammates. Whew!



Jason's brothers did not watch one second of action on the diamond. Michael found a new friend, to my delight. Brittany was my hero during baseball season, happily taking away both kids and entertaining them on the playground.



Truly, it has been a nailbiter of a season. Some of Jason's teammates were very, very good. We knew we weren't in Kansas anymore, when during the first play of the first game, one of Jason's teammates easily caught a ball and threw it to a base to get a runner out. All within seconds.

Jason's team, the Red Sox, made it to the championship playoffs, playing a game against a team, the Orioles, they had alternately lost and won against during the regular season. Last Saturday, the Red Sox had to beat the Orioles twice to win the big trophy. They handily won the first game, but lost by one run in the second game.

Two great games, and here's the "baseball commissioner" giving Jason his team trophy.



Other things have been going on.

Halloween, for example. Falling on a Saturday this year was great--it meant Doug could take part in the candy free-for-all.

Jason has wanted to be a Clone Trooper for Halloween since last year. Last month, surprise, surprise. Michael wanted the same thing.

He had a little Halloween parade at school once again--and you can see, the Star Wars theme was a big hit among his friends.



On Halloween night itself, my two Clone Troopers were on hand to protect their little brother, our own Curious George.



Doug went with the older two for most of the time we were out on the streets. I went with Little Joshua, who really didn't get the correlation between saying "Trick or Treat" and getting tons of candy.

However, in between homes, the pull of candy was too great.

He would stop and dig in, wanting a bite of a sweet treat. Those peanut butter cups were definitely a draw.



Some of our neighbors went all out for the Big Night. Some just decked themselves out. For example, one of our neighbors sat in his driveway handing out candy. Joshua and I walked up to him, he turned around, put a Homer Simpson mask over his face, and turned back so we could see his face.



Joshua was not pleased.

After a little while, the sight of the candy, and Daddy, made the baby feel a little better.



Really--only on Halloween, and only when they're this young, can I get away with this.



Hope you had a great Halloween!!!!