Big talker

Josiah seems to be adding more words to his vocabulary every day. He started saying 'no' a couple of weeks ago but he says it in the sweetest way possible (most of the time). And now he says "no way". His affirmative response to things is "yeah" - but lately he has been saying "oh yeah". His most recent word is "cookie". Jason made his mom's famous ginger snaps this week, and now he cannot walk into the kitchen without saying "cookie? cookie?". It is cute but hopefully he will realize that there are other foods besides cookies. I think he also said "coffee" this week - he is obsessed with Jason's coffee mugs and thermos. He loves to just carry them around (don't worry, we only give him empty ones to carry). I will get a recording of him talking and get it posted one day soon, but wanted to let everyone know how he is progressing!

Since my last post my bestest friend Genevieve came to visit (and we decided on the spur of the moment to paint our kitchen), my parents came to visit and brought my nephew & niece (Kason & Ava), and we went with friends to see Disney's train tour (including a 10 minute 3-D movie trailer) to promote their Christmas Carol movie coming out in November. Here are some pics:

Summer fun

Summer is flying by! We are loving the weather and trying to get outside as much as possible. Here are some of the things we've been up to (I'm listing the ones we have pictures for):

We visited my side of the family for July 4th.


My family came here on July 10th/11th and we were in a fishing tournament.

I took Josiah to a BBQ at his friend Isaac's house on 7/18.


Got Josiah's picture made:
http://smilestore.picturepeople.com/
To log in use my (Danita) email address and this access code: 21b44d1385

Picked some cucumbers from our garden:
Bathtime fun:



He must have been really tired, because he thought this was hysterical. I was talking to his Elmo toothbrush:



More updates soon!

Dancing fever

Last week I took Josiah in for his 18 month doctor appointment. I can't believe it's been 1 1/2 years since he was born! He grew 2 inches and gained 2 lbs. in the 3 months since his last appointment, but the best news is that he doesn't have to get any more shots until he is ready for preschool!!

Last week he also figured out how to make a pig noise. We'll have to get a little video of that to post for you.

At the end of May we went to a family wedding (congrats Joshua & Stephanie!) and Josiah ate mashed potatoes for the first time at his granny's house, and he also ate fresh blueberries at the wedding reception. These things may not sound like a big deal to the average person, but this is a huge victory for parents of picky eaters all around the world! He had a blast at the wedding, which was held at a country club (hence the golf cart pic). He even figured out how to do part of the chicken dance the week before the wedding. Here are some pics:

"What! I can't believe I have to go all the way to the first tee to play with my toys."

"If only I could reach the pedals..."

At the reception:

Just bust a move:

Cutting a rug with grandma:

In other news, Jason and I celebrated our 5th anniversary this past weekend by staying at the Hyatt at Crown Center and relaxing for a couple of days while my parents watched Josiah. Everyone had a great weekend - Josiah did not even seem to notice we were gone, and we got some much needed down time.

Have a great week everyone!

Picture updates

Over the past 3 weeks we have had fun hanging out at home and hanging out with friends. Here are some cute pictures...

Our old frozen cookie dough container is now a very stylist hat (and yes, he does do all his own stunts).Josiah loves cars. He loves to sit in them unrestrained by those annoying safety seats. Here he is with his friend Asher...

"Look how sweet and innocent we are!" "Ok, I think they are distracted. I'll steer if you man the pedals."
"Wait - first let's roll up the window so they can't hear our escape plans!"
"Oh, you heard all of that? We were totally joking."

Josiah got a pair of Hot Wheels sunglasses as a gift from the amazing Parents as Teachers board. He looks super cool but he only wears them for a couple seconds at a time.

Wearing his daddy's boots. He wants to be just like his daddy when he grows up. Be very afraid.

Hanging out with one of his long distance girlfriends (Allie) who was in town for Memorial Day weekend. He's driving her around in his sweet (pink) ride.

First time drinking out of a straw!!! We were so excited that we caused a scene at the restaurant. We love you Crayola!

Chillin' with friends who are 1 day older - Connor & Jacob.


He loves Connor & Jacob's dog Millie. She is the first dog he ever really tried to pet without us forcing him. And then he found her very fun ears.

In other news, Jason replaced our back door last weekend. We are excited that we can no longer feel air coming in around the back door! The battle against the house continues. We won this round!

Have a great weekend!

On the farm

Last week I took Josiah to a nearby farmstead with some friends and their little ones. He got to show off his John Deere hat and boots. As you can tell from this picture, he had a blast seeing the animals......at least the ones that were behind the fences. He was not a fan of the goats.

But he did like the cow bench, and every bench swing we came across.

Josiah loves to play in the pantry. Here's a picture of when he got stuck in there - his foot is in the organic toaster pastry box.

Have a great week!

My little flirt

Josiah and I went on a tour of the Public Works department today! He had fun seeing all the big trucks, but at times was more interested in the other kids and/or their strollers. Here he is in the big warehouse where they keep the salt for the streets.

He is flirting with some little girls who were just off to the left of this picture...

I wasn't brave enough to try to climb up there with him. This bobcat made him so excited that he fell down.

Happy Easter everyone!

Not 'goodbye', but 'see you later'

This is my Maw Maw. She is my great-grandmother - my dad's grandma. She passed away on Saturday at the age of 91. She was an amazing and beautiful person and I will miss her. She lived in Belle Chasse, Louisiana so after we moved when I was 2, I only got to see her once or twice a year. These pictures are from the last time we got to see her in May 2008. She was full of life - she loved to dance and play cards and she was always happy and made everyone laugh.

I am so thankful that she got to meet Josiah!
Here they are taking a nap together...

Here she is telling me stories and making me laugh!

She always used to ask me "are you happy?" and say "just make sure you're happy". Now I know she is truly happy and always will be.