As Promised...Joshua's Stats and Dr.'s Visit

Well, we finally went to the doctor yesterday for Joshua's 18 mo. well check appt. He weighs 23lbs and 12oz(24th%) and he is 32in long(48th%). OK, so the weight stayed about the same he lost a few ounces, but she didn't really say anything about that, but his height, wow he grew almost 2 inches in 3 months. Pretty cool! She said that he looks like he is progressing well. Everything checked out and she gave him an "A+" for being so healthy! We talked a little bit about his speech and word development. He isn't quite where he needs to be but she said between now and 2 yrs. it should develop more and more. She was a little concerned about his 18mo. developmental milestones, but not overly concerned. I am chalking it up to be that he is a boy and he has always done stuff his way and when he wants to.

As I said before, Joshua marches to the beat of his OWN drum! Just because a book says that at 18 months they should be able to stack blocks and "point" to a body part when asked and use "two word" sentences, doesn't mean that every single baby is going to do that. (It is just frustrating)!! OK, I will get off my soap box. I know in time Joshua will do all the above things when he IS ready! I also discussed with her how moody he has been lately and how nothing really seems to satisfy him and this was her answer: "Welcome to the terrible 2's!" Um, excuse me he isn't 2 yet...yea, well they start about now. Great, thanks! So, I guess it begins, the terrible 2's stage!!

Which leads, me to the last bit of information before I close out this post. Joshua is getting more and more independent and with that comes frustration because he doesn't know exactly what he wants or how to get it (explained by the doctor). After she explained that it was like certain things started to make sense. Joshua is still a fun, loving, laughing little boy who loves any and everything. Some, of his new favorite things are looking at the world upside down(top pic of the blog), playing with his new water sprinkler(of course, its water) and drinking from big kid cups(cups with straws). He has been doing the straw cup thing for awhile but finally got the hang of it, that you have to hold it down if you want to get a drink...lol!! This little boy lives life to the fullest! Really and truly, he tries his best to take in and do everything around him. He is such a delight!

P.S. Still loving and doing well in the toddler bed! It's kind of funny because I thought by now he would know that he can get it out, but nope, even in the mornings when he wakes up he lays there and waits for us to come in there and then he sits up and scoots to the edge of the bed and gets out....so funny and thankful!!

A Well Deserved Father's Day Gift!

Let me start off by saying that Dan is an exceptional father! He is so patient and kind with Joshua. He steps up to the plate when it is needed and beyond. He truly loves this kiddo with everything he has. Even from the first moment that we found out we were having a boy to when he got to hold him in his arms for the first time, Dan has truly shined and lived up to "Daddy". It is cute to watch Dan and Joshua together, because Joshua will follow Dan all over the house and try to mimic whatever it is that Dan is doing. Anyone can be a father, but it takes heart, strength, dedication and true unconditional, over the top, will sacrifice everything to be a DAD! Dan is for sure a DAD in my book! I am so blessed to have Dan as my husband and for him to be Joshua's Daddy! We love you and hope enjoyed your "dada" day!!

Now to explain the title of this blog. A week ago I asked Dan what he would like for father's day and he said "nothing". OK, well, that is Dan's usual response to things, because he is such an easy going guy. So, I asked him again and he said I literally want "nothing", I don't want to do anything but hang out with you and Joshua and just have a fun and relaxing day. OK, well that was an unusual request for a present, but I was determined to give him what he wanted. So today we literally did nothing. I made blueberry muffins for breakfast and then we had lunch with my brother and then we just hung out around the pool and in the backyard. Came in and watched a few episodes of Scrubs and ate dinner(I made one of his favorites, Roast). Then Dan decided that it would be fun to take a trip to the Congress Bridge to watch the Bats fly(one of Austin's famous tourist attractions). So, we got in the car and went to the big lawn and waited for the bats. Finally the bats started to fly out from under the bridge, there were tons and tons of bats. Joshua kept saying "whoa, whoa". It was really funny to watch him and Dan; eyes glued to the sky and fingers pointing. Joshua and I had never been there before so it was a neat experience for us to share on father's day. This was a great day! Very, very relaxing and I asked Dan if his "gift" worked out and he said absolutely. He said he got just what he asked for!

HAPPY DADDY'S DAY TO DAN and to ALL THE DAD'S TODAY!!!

The End of Swim Lessons, but not Swimming...

Joshua had his last swim lesson on Thurs. He did very well in the water. He learned to kick, use his arms to "scoop the water away" when swimming and even went under. The course was mainly to teach water safety and get the kids use to the water. Since, this was Joshua's second time in this class he was able to do alot more with what was being taught. His favorite thing was going under. He would come up shocked, but smiling! He would even try to dunk his face in the water without our help. At the end of the last lesson his received a certificate and a lollipop. I am so proud of our little water bug! We will continue to practice what we learned in the classes throughout the summer and we can't wait for next summer's lessons! I leave you with a few pictures from our last day:

Hoping everyone is having a great summer so far!!!

Look who is 18 Months Old!!!!

Yes, you read the title right, Joshua is 18 months old TODAY and what a big boy he is!!! We will not go to the doctor until next Monday, so I will not have any stats to give in this blog. I think Joshua weighs between 24-25lbs, if I had to guess. He is probably around 31-32 inches. Like I said these are guesses, so don't quote me. I will be able to give you the exact stats next Monday. So, what has this little guy been up to lately? Well, we are still taking swim lessons. We take our last 4 classes this week. Joshua has been practicing his T-ball skills. He goes and gets the ball, puts it on the tee and takes the bat and taps the ball off the tee. It's pretty cute! This is repeated several times before he moves on to something else. We are trying to teach him how to hold the bat with 2 hands, but for now a one handed swing gets the job done. Joshua is starting to walk/run now! When he is in a hurry(which is most of the time) he walks as fast as he can and ends up almost at a slow run. Joshua's favorite thing to do is READ!! He loves for you to read to him over and over again. He is also talking/babbling more and more each day. His latest words that have been added to his vocabulary are "pleeee"(please) "uh oh!" "whoa", and "tah-u"(thank you). Perhaps the biggest change of turning 18 months old is on Friday night we converted his crib to a toddler bed. I was a little nervous about doing it, because I was afraid that he wouldn't respond very well to the change. I was also sad, because there is truly no turning back. No more baby Joshua, he is a big boy, a toddler and that just makes me have a "mommy moment". Every mom knows what I am talking about. Tonight will be night #3 and so far so good. Joshua loves his toddler bed. In fact, he loves it so much that in the morning we can't get him out of it. I just sits there and smiles at us and points. He slept through the night both nights and never got up or tried to get out. Even nap times have been a success. Now, I am not saying that he will never get out of bed or not fight us to go to bed, but for now this is working and he is enjoying his big boy bed. I am sure some of you are thinking, "why?" Well, first off Dan and I discussed doing this around 18 months, we would have to do it sometime in the near future, and at MDO he will not be in a crib anymore, he will be on a nap mat, so it just seemed like a good time to transition. We know he will probably get up at some point and play and we know at some point he might even fall out, but that is all part of it. We have had so much fun with our little man, these past 18 months. To see what he has achieved is just mind boggling. He is such a smart, sweet, precious little boy! I love this little guy more than I can imagine. I am truly blessed to be his Mommy! Below our some pictures of his new toddler bed and some playtime. HAPPY 18 MONTHS BUDDY!

First time waking up in his big boy bed!

Last time to be in his crib!!

Last night to sleep in his crib!

This pic seems like he is too cool for the camera

Signs of Summer!!!

I have noticed many signs of summer all around and I just thought I would blog about a few of them.

The traffic is lighter because everyone is out of school for the summer.

• It doesn't get dark until 9(love this!)
• There are thunderstorms, lots of thunderstorms
• Everyone is out working in their yard, while kids ride their bikes up and down the street.

You can hear the famous music of the ice cream truck in the distance(you know what I am talking about).

Gas prices go on the rise again.

It is so blooming hot that you think you are going to melt, but you just can't make yourself go inside because HEY, IT'S SUMMERTIME!!!!

In addition to the signs of summer, I have a cute moment to add. This evening we were outside working in the yard and our next door neighbor and his son, who is 6 months older than Joshua came over. The little boy(it is sad, but I can't pronounce his name) said "hi" and Joshua squealed and said "hi". Joshua was probably just repeating what he said, but it was still cute. They "patted" each other on the arms and then just walked all over the yard. It was so cute to see these two little boys! They didn't actually play together but they interacted and that was a really cute moment. I can see these boys playing outside together many more summers to come!

First Day of Swim Lessons and a Surprise Dinner

Today was the first day of swim lessons. Joshua is enrolled in a parent/toddler class. Which means, that the parents are in the pool with the child through out the lesson. Joshua took this class last summer when he was 7 months old, and loved it. We enrolled him in the class last summer just to get him used to being in the water. This summer he is the oldest in his class(6-18 mos) and is all about the water! He was really impressing his instructors, Mr. Eric and Miss Stephanie with his water skills. He was kicking and splashing the whole time. In fact, when we first got there it was a big challenge trying to keep him from getting in the water before it was time. I am so happy that he loves the water. Dan and I both loved the water as kids and still do. I am glad Joshua has the same love for water as we did as kids. His sessions are Mon-Thurs 6:30 to 6:55 for 2 weeks. Such a little water bug! After our first lesson tonight we went to a surprise dinner for my brother Jason. He has gotten 2 promotions in 2 weeks at his job and his sweet wife Missy wanted to honor him with taking him to dinner and having us be there as well to help celebrate his achievement. Dan, Joshua and I along with my other brother, Chad were the surprise! It was a fun dinner with the family!

TOUR de DALLAS

I wasn't kidding when I said we would be traveling a lot! So, I give you the blog about the 4th road trip in a month. This road trip took us to the "Big D"! OK, well we never actually stayed in Dallas, but we sure did visit the surrounding cities! We left Friday after work and headed to my good friend, Kristy's house. She was lucky enough to get her hands on some George Strait tickets, so we offered to watch her kiddos while her and her hubby enjoyed a day to themselves. While they were living it up at the concert on Sat., we were hanging out in the backyard and visiting with my cousin, Brittney and her husband, Jeff and their precious little girl Maddie. The kids played in the pool and sprinkler, ate pizza and then watched Finding Nemo. It was a great time! We got up on Sunday morning and said our goodbyes to the Lee family and headed to Mimi and Papa's House. We spent most of the day with them. Mimi took us to this really fun place, called The Wiggles Play Center. It is a combination of bounce houses, playscapes and slides. Joshua had so much fun! His favorite part was the maze. We would chase him and he would laugh! It was so cute to watch him chase us and then us chase him. After the play center, we went back to Mimi's house to hang out and played with the water table and soak er hose! You know how Joshua loves the water, so he had a blast! We said goodbye to Mimi and headed to our last stop before heading home, my aunt LaVona's house. We were picking up a freezer from her, so we loaded it up and chatted for a while and then we were on the road again, this time to Austin!! Joshua had a very full and eventful weekend! It was nice getting to see everyone, but we are thankful that our road trips are done for awhile. Below are some pictures of our fun filled weekend in the "BIG D" area!!!

Happy Anniversary(when we started dating)!!!!

June 4th marks the day that Dan and I started dating. Some might think that this "anniversary date" goes away after one gets married, but I feel that it is still a very important date to be recognized! For, without it we would not be able to have a wedding anniversary, or a birth date for our son(obviously). So, lets just take a trip down memory lane, shall we(don't worry I will give you the short route, not the scenic route): In the beginning of 2004, my step brother, Jason tells me that he has a guy that I should meet. He says that we would be perfect for each other. I laughed Jason off, because I really wasn't looking for a relationship at the time, because I had been burned by other relationships in the past, so I just decided to be single for a while. Well, Jason just wouldn't let it go. He kept asking me so when are you going to meet "your future husband"...ok, now just one minute, what the heck are you talking about? So, after enough hounding from Jason; I decided to go meet this guy with no intention what so ever, but to just get Jason off my back about him. Let me back up for a minute. Dan and Jason worked together at Target when we met, so they had become great friends before we were ever introduced. Ok, back to the story: Dan was still at work and Jason had made arrangements for him to come over to the house after he got off. According to Dan, he was meeting me for the same reason as I was meeting him, simply to pacify Jason. When he walked through the door and shook my hand, I instantly felt a "spark"(seriously folks I am not making this up) this "spark" had never happened to me before. I really can't even describe the feeling to you. But you who know you have the one, know what I am talking about! Oh, by the way, Dan said he felt the same thing. Like it felt right!!!! So, on June 4th we had our first date at the Olive Garden. Each day just got better from there. I must give kudos to Jason for getting us together, but my personal opinion is that we were destine to be together and Jason was the link. I believe everything happens for a reason no matter what happens! You see I have prayed for a man like Dan to come into my life and for God to let me know when it was right and meant to be. I had always done it my way when it came to relationships and it always ended in failure. But when I put it in God's hands he guided me and lead me right into the arms of Dan. Dan is so wonderful and we have traveled a long road in the 5 years that we have been together. From our first date at the Olive Garden to celebrating our son turning 18 months old on the 14th. The song that was sung at our wedding when I walked down the aisle was the story of how my relationship journey had been. It is a very meaningful song to me. I feel that it tells my journey of how I got to Dan. "God bless the broken road that led me straight to you!! I love you, Dan!

Crawfish Boil at Papa Joe and Grandbee's

This past weekend we went on our THIRD road trip! This time it was to Papa Joe and Grandbee's for a crawfish boil!! We had so much fun! We hung out by the pool, ate crawfish and had smore's! It was nice that we all got to be together, we were missing my brother, Chad(his mean boss made him stay and work the weekend!) We missed him terribly! It is always great to be around family! I feel refreshed and energized after seeing my family! Below are several pictures from over the weekend! We enjoyed our time with everyone, and can't wait to do it again!

SOOO BIG!!!

Yesterday I was reading a book to Joshua while we were waiting for Daddy to get home. It is a book about baby Elmo and all the big boy things that Elmo does. The end of the book asks, how big is baby Elmo and then answers "soo big!" So, now that I explained the book, the video clip will make sense. I was soo thrilled that he was actually saying it! It was so awesome! Way to go Joshua! Joshua is "sooo big"!!!

Joshua can also do the signs to the song "if your happy and you know it"... Dan and I will sing it and he will clap when he is supposed to and when it comes time to "...and your face will surely show it..." Joshua will put his fingers up to his checks. So very cute! Joshua also started making sounds for a dog(woof,woof) and a cat (ow, ow). Hard to believe that he will be 18 months on the 14th of this month!