Happy 2 years, Josiah!

Two years! It has been two years since our precious little man entered this world. As I put Sarah to bed last night we thanked God for giving Josiah to our family during our prayer, then had a special time where we reminisced together (even though she doesn't remember life before Josiah) that two years ago on this very night she was the only baby we had to hold. She was our one year old. Now her one year old little brother is turning two. It seems as if he has always been part of our family. A friend asked yesterday if I was sad to see my littlest one turn two. I said mostly not, because he is so healthy and able that he doesn't seem like my baby anymore and because we know that it only gets more fun from here. We are so thankful for the past two years. The laughs and tears and successes, great and small. But we are also thankful for today, and tomorrow if the Lord gives us tomorrow. There is much joy to come!

Weight: 31 lbs 8 oz (86%)
Height: 37 in (98%)
Head: 20 in
Diaper: cloth and size 5 (he is still a little afraid of the potty, but agrees to sit on the potty in the summer- we don't think he knows that summer is a time that will actually come!)
Clothing: 2T/3T, shoe- size 8

Likes: trash cans, singing, counting, building, watering cans/spray bottles, the sandbox, flags (especially American), Baby Damon (the doll), play dough, being tickled, "hoping" into the car (getting into his seat by himself- I love it too!), helping mom cook (aka standing on a chair and playing), balloons, peek-a-boo

Dislikes: having his hair rinsed, sitting at the table when he wants to play, big scares

Schedule/Sleep: He is sleeping well, and for that we always give thanks. He naps at 1pm and sleeps two or three hours. Bedtime is at 7pm. We work hard to keep these two times as consistent as possible.

Eating: Josiah is our more adventurous eater at present. When he isn't distracted he puts away a lot of food. Favorites are clementines, grapes, cheese, yogurt, a peanut butter/nutella sandwich (always Sarah's request, but he certainly doesn't complain), pancakes, and popcorn. If there is a "treat" in sight, he is never afraid to ask, but takes "no" well. Notice there aren't any vegetables on his favorites list. He eats them regularly, you have my word, but I definitely wouldn't call any vegetable a favorite. They are just a means to an end!

Communication: We love communication. And he does so much of it these days. It is rare that we have no idea what he is saying or wants. "Where's Sarah?", "What Sarah doin'?", and "I do it" are phrases we hear quite a lot. He started saying "silly goose" in context, but also kind of randomly, which gives us a good chuckle. Favorite songs are Twinkle Twinkle, Jingle Bells, Holy Holy, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Skidamarink, Wheels On the Bus, and Hosanna (from Palm Sunday). Melts my heart when Sarah and Josiah sing together. He also surprised us by counting to ten out of the blue. He hears it from Sarah and we count thirteen flags in a favorite book, but when we said one, he said two, so we said three, and he said four, and so on to ten. It was a fun dinnertime surprise. :)

Random:
- His go to book at bedtime is Put Me In the Zoo and he has a sweet comment for every page (flag, hugging, clapping, etc). Favorite bedtime songs are Twinkle Twinkle (tinkle tinkle), Jingle Bells (bingle bells), and Good Night Josiah.
- He is more attached to blue dog than ever.
- He is capable of creating his own fun these days. I always get curious when he goes hunting for the stool. That means he has a plan!
- When he gets playfully excited he does a fun bug eye thing. We haven't even tried to capture it on camera, but oh does it make for a sweet moment!
- He and Sarah can wear the same size shoe (though she is moving up now).

Today's appointment: I would love to see this child become a doctor. The hardest part of this appointment was taking Josiah's clothes off in the beginning. He kept catching his breath like he was going to cry and asking for his pants. But the blood pressure cuff, finger prick, and shot? He was simply fascinated. And with each thing they did to him he just got more calm and interested. I don't know if it will ever happen like that again, but boy was it great!

Next appointment: November 10 at 10:40am

Tucking "Charlotte" in for a drive. He takes good care of her :)

First time riding in the front with Sarah

Getting a little love from one of Sarah's friends at a Frozen sing-a-long party

Pockets!

There is always a doctor on call around here

I love this.
Josiah calls guitars "picks" because Dave lets him hold a pick when he (Dave) plays at home.

My boy's last night being one. I might have gotten a little emotional as I was putting him to bed and needed to document the moment :)

Easter 2014

Our Easter through pictures! 

One of our favorite Easter activities this year was opening an egg each day starting the Monday before Easter. Each egg had one verse of the resurrection story from Matthew. 

 [66] So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

[1] Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. [2] And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. [3] His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. [4] And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. [5] But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. [6] He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

(Matthew 27:66-28:6 ESV)

This was a really sweet time with Sarah and by far one of my favorite parts of celebrating Easter. When we read on Sunday "He is not here, for He has risen" we all had a deeper appreciation for the impact of those words and that truth.

Josiah got a tie to go with his outfit.

Sarah got shoes.

Sarah woke up a little early. Since I was ready to go I let her come on downstairs.

Everybody loves a shaky egg :)

Please excuse Josiah's beauty mark in all of these pictures. He chewed on an old CD (which we were ok with initially) and the ink was impossible to get off.

"Op, it's empty!" "Josiah, you are already ate those jelly beans/goldfish."
If I had a nickel for every time we had that exchange! His excitement was sweet :)

He wasn't super into the peep, but Sarah took care of it for him :)

I attempted to get a few pictures of the kids before heading to church.

Sarah was chilly and ready to get in the van. Josiah was loving the camera and insisted on standing in front of the tree for more pictures. Funny boy!

We tried twice at church to get a family pic and, while comedic, neither was worthy of being preserved for posterity. But Monday everyone was ready to smile for the camera when we made the big trip to Target and had mom's favorite, the cafe Pizza Hut meal, and the kids' favorite, individual dreamsicle (orange cream) yogurts. 

Our Resurrection Sunday ended with a joy-filled dinner among friends and fellow believers. It was a delight to experience the details of the Easter story with Sarah and the fun of celebration with Josiah. We look forward to more discovery in the years ahead. 

He is risen. He is risen indeed!