Willing To Trade For a Boat

There are hundreds of reasons I love my little brother, but this surely makes the top 10. He is trying to relieve my parents of this entertainment center, and is willing to trade for a trailer...or a boat :)

Pulling Dandelions

This has been a banner year for dandelions on the Cape. The sweet white and yellow flowers are all over the place, bringing joy to little girls and dread to their daddies. We have accepted the challenge to battle on behalf of our lawn. Uncle Frank next door loaned Dave a handy little tool that looks like a screwdriver that helps get the root out.

Several times during the week we have done a clean sweep of the yard. A few days later there would be fewer weeds, but we would sweep again. And then again. This gave me lots of time to do that dangerous thing we call thinking :)

Most recently I pulled dandelions while the children were napping. In the quiet, with the paced work, my mind was able to really run. I started thinking about the dandelions. And how as we pulled them and felt accomplished when we got them "all" up, the next day there seemed to be twice as many. I thought of cultivating our lawn as cultivating our children, who had a particularly challenging week. And pulling dandelions I related to the discipline that they need. Sometimes it seems like we get all the weeds pulled, then there are just as many as before. Sometimes I get physically tired, and it seems better to just stop and let things be than to keep going. But to not pull a dandelion has consequences. The white puff blows tons of seeds across the yard. The dandelion also covers and kills what can be a large piece of good grass. This exposes a piece of dirt which then becomes a breading ground for bad grass and weeds, that will then spread to the rest of the yard.

Isn't it the same with sin in our lives, as well as the lives of our kids? It is exhausting to keep fighting. The battle is hard. But it isn't an equal trade to give up and let things lie. The consequences of not fighting are serious. The weeds win if we do nothing in our yard. Sin wins if we do nothing in our lives.

This year I am just a little bit thankful for the dandelions as they encourage me to keep up the good fight for things worth fighting for.

As for you, brothers, do not weary in doing good.

2 Thessalonians 3:13, ESV

Happy 1 year, Josiah!

Dave and I just spent some time (OK, it was a significant amount of time!) flipping through family photos. It is amazing to see how our kids are growing. And they are changing so fast. We saw in the pictures that Josiah looks really different from when he was born, but not so different from month two or so. We saw Sarah adoringly mothering him, just as she does now. We saw him sleeping, which he didn't do much then and doesn't do as much as we would like now! Pictures give us such a full scope of where we have been. They fill our hearts. But they also get us so excited to enjoy the present and anticipate the future. Our kids are growing fast- we want to enjoy every minute.

Weight: 25 lbs 2 ozs (94%)
Height: 31.75 in (98%)
Head: 18.25 in (58%)
Diaper: cloth and size 4
Clothing: 18 and 24 month (some 12 month still fit)

Likes: climbing, cruising, being tossed twice (it's not fun the third time), high fives, being held, smiling at people, playing intently, blocks, knocking down towers, being tickled, finding things he can pull up on and then push around, puzzling with Sarah a.k.a destroying the puzzle she is doing, being chased

Dislikes: big boy baths (we have considered moving this battle back to the baby tub...we'll see...), napping past 3pm, thinking he was going to be picked up then learning that wasn't my intention- I was just wiping your nose, Josiah :)

Schedule: Same old same old here. He hasn't slept until 7am in a long time and we often put him down for the first nap more like 8:30am if we have somewhere to go in the morning. Josiah definitely still likes having the two naps, even though he doesn't sleep more than 1.5 hours on average per nap.

7 am: Wake and nurse/eat
7-9 am: Wake time
9-11am: Nap
11am: Wake and milk/eat
11-1 pm: Wake time
1-3 pm: Nap
3 pm: Wake and milk/eat
3-7 pm: Wake time
7 pm: Nurse and down for bed

Sleeping: Josiah is still waking up during the night as well as starting his day earlier than we would like. Thankfully, he isn't eating at night (thank you Dave for putting him back down!) and is getting better at not needing someone to settle him back down when he does wake up. He is still falling asleep without protest, which is such a huge answered prayer from those first few months- we are so thankful!

Eating: We have started dropping nursing feedings and are now down to just two of his four feedings a day. Josiah and I are both enjoying the transition. He is a champ with a cup, though he doesn't inhale it the way Sarah does. We are using our freezer reserve of milk as we make the transition and mixing it with whole milk. Josiah doesn't really seem to care what is in the cup, he just enjoys filling his tummy. In anticipation of his first birthday we have added berries, peanut butter, and eggs to his repertoire.

Moving: Josiah is still a lightening fast army crawler, though, if he is being cautious, he goes up on all fours. He loves being up. I am always impressed when he cruises on something above his head, like the kitchen table. That seems really scary to me! I don't know that he is going to take off walking any time soon, but I don't think he will hold out quite as long as Sarah did either :)

Communication: Josiah is mimicking all kind of sounds, but never quite how we say them. That means we have lots of cuteness and no new words. His learning seems to be slow and steady when it comes to signs and understanding- good communication days are ahead!

Teething: Josiah now has four good teeth through. After the top two took ages to come through, the ones on either side immediately started to come through just to keep things nice and interesting, I'm sure. Thankfully, Josiah is handling it pretty well.

Visiting the doctor: In the three months since Josiah's 9 month check up we have visited the doctors' office three times. Three. Sarah loves it, seeing as she gets a pretzel at the end of every visit :) First we were working on a pretty bad rash on his hip. They thought is was eczema at his check up. When it didn't clear with the steroid they tried remedies for a bacterial and, finally, fungal problem. Fungal was the winner. And then last Thursday his nose started to pour. We credited teething until he woke up with a pretty good fever and lethargic spirit Friday morning. I might add that I was feeling pretty lousy Friday as well. The doctor crossed several treatable illnesses off her list and deemed it a good virus. And we just had to wait it out. When we went back for his check up on Monday the doctor said the same was true, just keep waiting it out. She graciously heeded our request to check Sarah's ears and sure enough, Sarah had a little infection in her right ear. We have a prescription in case it doesn't clear. It has been an adventure!

Next appointment: Wednesday, August 14, 2012 at 10:45am

Sarah gave him "all the toys"

watching the herring run and the gulls eat

"I'm one of the big kids, mom!"

typical :)

Mr. J challenged Josiah's army crawl to a race- Josiah beat him to the fridge!

Josiah's first time to the National Seashore . . . he doesn't look impressed . . .

the beloved blue doggy

BIRTHDAY BOY!

Happy Birthday, Little Boy!

I remember this morning in 2012: we were sitting at a local breakfast joint called The Daily Paper. I always wanted to be the new dad who sped off to the hospital, but instead we had enough time to stop for breakfast and take a walk. The waitress of course, had no idea we were on our way to have a baby. We looked at Facebook statuses together and came across a terrible realization: our little man would have to hear, "May the 4th be with you," for every birthday of his life.

He was born that evening, through much stress but no real complication. Soon afterward he met his sister, his grandparents, and many friends.

At the same time, our friends Matt and Jenny were welcoming their baby girl into the world. Now Kate and Josiah go to nursery together, play together, and just celebrated their birthday together. They spent the morning at a double birthday party, which was lots of fun for all of us.

It's been a great year with our little guy. He's charming, so very ticklish, and full of life. As he learns to walk, talk, and love his neighbor (or just his sister), we thank God for such a lively little boy.

Happy birthday, little guy! May you grow strong, wise, and full of faith. We love you.