21 months IS a Big Deal!!!!

Hi, it's me Joshua! I turned 21 months today, which means in 3 months I will be 2. Mommy keeps saying, "man, where has the time gone?" Turning 2 will come later, right now let's focus on what I am doing at 21 months old, because to me, 21 months is a pretty big deal. I have been busy doing a lot of things lately, so get ready to read...I am telling you there is a list! OK, lets get started, here we go! I guess first things first is that I am still going to school, and loving it! No preschool dropout here, he he! I love my teachers and the silly songs that we sing. We have a song for everything, it's like a musical around there, but I don't mind because I love music, so I just laugh and clap. I also take full advantage of nap time. As soon as I am done with lunch, I head straight for the nap mat and I am out. My class has 2 pet fish, a mommy fish and a baby fish, sometimes it is a mommy and daddy fish, but hey were toddlers, we are still learning. If you are the first one there, you get to be the special helper and feed the fish. Since I am usually the first one there, because mommy has to be at work early, I usually get to feed the fish. Feeding the fish is a great distraction for me, while I wait for my friends to get there and for breakfast. I love school!

Next on the list is all about me! I know you are dying to know all the new tricks that I can do, so I will not keep you waiting any longer. I love to give hugs and if I am in a hurry, I will hug you and give you a little "pat". I probably weigh around 26 lbs( this is a good guess, because I haven't been weighed since I had that silly rash and fever). My favorite foods are goldfish crackers(I seriously can't get enough of these little guys, I could eat these guys for breakfast, lunch and dinner, if my mom and dad would let me, but they don't. They say I will turn into a goldfish, I keep waiting for this to happen,but nothing yet...I think they are pulling my leg really). I also like lunchables, grapes, bananas and strawberries. I am going through a banana and grape phase. Mommy can't keep enough of these fruits in the house. Yummy! I am all about cups without lids. I don't like my cups anymore, I want mommy and daddy's cup. I love to drink with a straw, but please take the lid off so I can see what I am drinking. I love to clap and say "YAY"! I do this with everything, for example when a song ends I will clap, when I flush the potty for mommy or daddy, I say "YAY"(yea they love that) I will clap and say "yay" at almost anything. I know where my ears, mouth, head, shoulders, eyes and nose are and I can also find them on you too. I love to sing, "head, shoulder knees and toes" I usually skip the knees and go straight for the toes. I have added more words in my vocabulary: Grape, bath, a nana(banana) and bu (blue). I have a few phrases that I say as well. I point and say" thereitis" (there it is), "uh oh, wawa" (uh oh Joshua) and thereyouare...HA!(there you are...Ha!) When we sing the ABC song, I can say "Y" at the right time. I can throw fits with the best of them and I am very opinionated in what I want(Daddy says I get that from mommy...he he). I think that about covers the all about me section, but hang on just a little bit longer, I have one more thing to talk about and I will be done, promise. My ECI sessions are going really good. I love playing with Ms. Katie, she is great and very sweet. We mostly play with the ball that I pick out, but we have also built and obstacle course for me to go through, over and under. She said that she has seen improvement in me since my first session (Alright, way to go me). She is still coming every Tues. from 4-5. OK, well I think I am finally done, no wait, there is one more thing, hahaha just kidding! I am done. Thanks for hanging until the end of the blog. I told you it was going to be a long blog. Everything that you read about me is why 21 months IS a Big Deal!!! Night, Night, Friends!!!

Fall is Calling...

Fall is my favorite time of year! Although I live in Texas and we do not really have a fall season I still love it because that means it is getting close the holidays, families getting together, and hot chocolate. I have been hearing rave reviews about Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, and even though it sounded appealing I didn't want to try it because I do not like coffee. I am not a coffee drinker, never have been. I have been around coffee drinkers all my life, but never acquired the taste, that is until Pumpkin Spice Latte. I gave in and tried it for the first time, and I wish I never had. It is so good!!! It really masks the coffee taste and when you add whip cream it makes it all the better. I have never picked up and drank a whole cup of coffee and now I have had 2 lattes and 1 frapp in 2 weeks. I think I am addicted(obviously, I am blogging about it). Thank goodness this is a seasonal drink and I have some will power, because I drive by a Starbucks every morning on my way to work and have only stopped once! Drinking this latte has made me want to explore other coffee flavors, like white choc. mocha, Chai tea latte....but I want, I can't!! I am afraid I will like all of those drinks as well. So I guess I will be a seasonal coffee drinker. I would like to thank Starbucks and everyone for the rave reviews and advertising that has me craving for this seasonal drink! YAY for Fall and Pumpkin Spice Lattes!!!!!!

Platterpus Designs

My sister in law has a business called Platterpus Designs and she is great! She creates plates with hand and foot prints on them and then creates a design made to fit any personality. She has done many, many plates. These are the most recent ones she did for my family! She is awesome! It is such a great way to "freeze" these precious tiny hands and feet. These were all done with Joshua's hand and foot prints at 19 mos. She does everything from birth announcements to gifts for any occasion. Believe me these plates make fabulous, lasting gifts for anyone!!! Check out her link on my page under favorite websites for more creations!

My grandparents' plate: They live on a farm so she took Joshua's hands and created this:

My dad and step mom's plate: How cute is this plate!?


My mom and step dad's plate: This plate was coordinated with the colors of my parents' great room. Plus I just love the saying, so precious!

Flashback Tuesday!!!

My parents came to visit over Labor day weekend to help celebrate all the birthdays in Aug. and Sept. and while they were here, I went browsing through my step-dad's laptop and found some cute pictures of Joshua that I didn't have. I can't get over how small he was back then compared to now, but back then how I thought he was so big. Funny! I just thought I would share the pictures with everyone. Enjoy!

IT'S GAME DAY....HOOK'EM HORNS!!!!

It's opening day of UT Football season and the Feldman household is seeing burnt orange! We are looking forward to the first kick off of the first game against LA Monroe! We are all dressed in our UT gear with our horns up! Let's get ready for some football!!

GO LONGHORNS!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at these little longhorn feet!!! So cute!

Back to School and Art

Tonight was Back to School Night at Joshua's Preschool and we can not be more pleased with this preschool. His teacher has been working there for 10 years and has worked with toddlers for over 20. She is very patient, caring and loving. She expressed to us tonight, that her philosophy is to nurture, nurture, nurture! She explained to the parents that each day is full of learning activities, music, story time, and language skills(which will include teaching some basic Spanish words) and that it all ties into the theme for the month. The stations rotate weekly, but the theme is for the whole school (0-pre-K). The theme for the month of September is Story Teller. Under this theme they will learn about family/friends, nursery rhymes, apples and feelings. There are 10 children in his class with 1 main teacher and 1 assistant teacher. There is a lot of structure in the classroom, but there is also alot of freedom for the children to express themselves. She continued to stress that they do get a bit messy in the class, but that just means that they are learning. She said that by the time they leave her classroom, they will be drinking out of a cup without a lid or a straw without spilling and that they will have learned table manners as well as manners in general, plus much, much more. Although, Dan and I teach this at home on a regular basis, it is nice to know that it is being reinforced and practiced while he is at school. Dan and I are very excited about this new beginning and year for Joshua. The preschool has so much planned for these kids and I know that Joshua will have a blast and be able to flourish and grow in a loving and fun environment. He brought home his first art project from school and it is proudly displayed on the fridge! It was hand prints using chalk. Tonight there was a piece of paper on the table and Joshua started putting his hands flat on it and picking it up and looking, but wasn't quite sure why he didn't see his prints on the paper, it was funny. He kept repeating it over and over! It made me smile because I knew that he was trying to copy the project he had done in class. Below are some pictures from tonight and his art project.

My First Day at Preschool

My first day was pretty awesome! Mommy made me pancakes and I had grapes and milk to go with it(this would actually be my first breakfast, keep reading to see why). Then I got dressed and brushed my teeth and combed my hair. Mommy tried to get my first day of school picture with my backpack on, but I wasn't into wearing it just yet. Mommy and I walked into my new school and I was starting to get a little nervous, mommy kept saying it is going to be fun, you will have a great day with new friends, I just looked at her like, are you kidding me? When she opened the door to my new room, which by the way we are called the Teddy Bears, I kind of freaked out a little. OK, mommy had to literally pull me inside the door. I wasn't to sure about this new place. The teachers had friendly smiles on their faces and greeted me very warmly as a clung on to mommy. I didn't think it was going to be OK, until I saw a station that had a bunch of cars to play with, I then released my death grip from mommy and ran over and started playing while mommy filled out some paperwork, and talked with my teacher, Ms. Pat. After mommy said good bye, I kind of had another quick breakdown, but then it was time for my second breakfast, so I quickly got over the fact that I was crying for mommy. How great is this place that you get to eat breakfast again. Pretty cool, huh? After breakfast we have circle time, now that is a pretty cool circle, because we sing songs and read books with all sorts of other fun stuff. After circle time we have stations. Now there are a lot of stations set up with many, many things for us to do. Like cars and trucks, kitchen, arts and crafts and more. The stations rotate with new and different items every week or so. All these stations involve me learning my numbers, colors, ABC's and much more. One of my favorite parts of the day was the playground. I have never seen such fun stuff to play with! I walked through the gate and stopped and scanned the grounds and let out a big "whoa", which made my teachers laugh. I played really hard outside and was ready for lunch when we came back in. I ate all my ravioli, peas and carrots and pineapples!!! Then it was time to hit the sack. I slept on my new nap mat that I had been practicing on the week before. Good thing, because I just laid my head down and I was out until mommy came to get me. When mommy walked in the room, I was playing with my new friend, Greyson. He is about my age and we followed each other around all day. You know we are not at that playing together stage yet, so it was more side by side play, but none the less we became good friends! I didn't want to leave when mommy was ready to go, it took some coaxing, which she didn't mind, because that meant that I had a great day! My first day wasn't too bad! I really like my new friends and teachers! I had so much fun today! I can't wait for tomorrow when I can go back and see my friends and play! Here are a few pictures from today. Mommy did the best she could with trying to get some good pictures of me, but I guess I was pictured out, because I wasn't too cooperative really? In my defense I get my picture taken about a gazillion times a week, so sometimes I am just not feeling it.

Mommy, Daddy and Me on my 1st day of School


Gotta look good for my first day

This is my new backpack, it is the Wonder Pets! I picked it out myself

OK, mom enough with the pictures, can we go already, PLEASE!?

Much better..got my nap mat and backpack, I am ready to hit the road and head for school

BYE, BYE!!!!