Happy 2.5 years, Josiah!

As I read back over Sarah's 2.5 year blog post I feel like she is so much the same as she was then and am surprised that those memories were almost 2 years ago. But as I read Josiah's 2 year post I couldn't believe how much he has changed in the six months since May. He is exposed to so much more as a second child and I think it is most evident in the way his favorites have changed. I have loved watching him grow an attention and affection for those around him in the recent months. He remembers and cares about the things he hears and notices going on around him.

Weight: 35 lbs 3 oz (93%)
Height: 39 in (98%)
Head: 19.75 in (72%)
Diaper: size 5 and potty trained
Clothing: 2T/3T/4T, shoe- size 9

Likes: scissor time, singing, freeze dance, playing catch, being tickled by dad, clementines, playing house with Sarah (they both like to be the baby), playing with cars, being "doctored" by Sarah, jumping on the couch, drinking water, bubbles, playing the Set game

Dislikes: getting in the car quickly, not being heard right away, going potty when he is having fun

Schedule/Sleep: Josiah is a pretty consistent boy. He is waking up around 7am, napping at 1pm for two to three hours, and going to bed at 7pm. I am thankful that he is still taking the afternoon nap- he needs it!

Eating: Josiah is generally a really good eater. I have noticed lately that he can be distracted from his stomach, especially at breakfast when the toys are just begging to be played with. Favorite foods are clementines (I love these too since the travel well and he can peel them himself), green peppers, grapes, cheese, and pancakes. He drinks a lot more than Sarah and gets his water bottle frequently.

Communication: He is really able to communicate anything these days we are thankful to understand the majority of what he is saying. His sentence structure is wonderful and he is always surprising us with new ways to say things. Josiah still likes to sing and will sing to himself in the back of the van. Favorite songs are The Solid Rock, Twinkle, Twinkle, Good Night Lydia, Praise God, and Jesus Loves Me. He is just starting to recognize some letters.

Potty Training: We decided at the end of July to give potty training a three day trial and make a decision for go forward with it or wait until January based on how things went. Well Josiah did great, so we went forward. And then the next day he got a very, very, very yucky stomach virus. So we put potty training on hold and started from scratch a couple of weeks later which was just a couple of weeks before Lydia's due date. He picked it up well and had accidents for a while, but doesn't really anymore (though he has mastered the art of only going enough in his underpants that he doesn't have to actually take the time to go to the potty). Big differences from our experience with Sarah are that he has no qualms about going in his diaper during nap time, night time, and out of the house time, so we are still diapering regularly throughout the day and he is already going on the big boy potty. We let Sarah use froggy potty for a long time, but Josiah got comfortable going on the big potty while we were in MS recently and we decided on the drive home to put froggy potty away and see how it went. He is fully self sufficient from getting on to pulling his pants back up, which is wonderful!

Random:
- He is so sweet to Lydia and takes special time when she is awake to talk to her and otherwise entertain her.
- He has started to be able to tell me what they did in nursery- songs they sang, story they read, what he played with, who was there, etc.
- He has started pretending to be people. Favorites characters are his friends Bubby and Baby Isaac.
- A pair of blue light up shoes make him really happy.
- Josiah loves to brush his teeth and have them brushed.

Next appointment: next May for his 3 year well visit

At his two year appointment back in May. Selfies are a fun to ways to wait for the doctor!

Loving the spray bottle this summer.

Sometimes it is fun to play the tourists!

Rare one on one time on our drive to NC.

King of the rest area!

Pappy and his boys throwing rocks.

Big fella' ran out of room to stretch out his legs :)

He has really gotten into playing Sarah's set game.

Americana! Popcorn at the Cape league baseball game.

Oh, you know, just driving a fire truck.

Everybody likes a little company, right?

Watching Sarah's swim lesson.

I think this was the day Lydia was born :)

What you can't see in this pic is Lydia in her bouncy chair at my feet. She was upset and Josiah went the extra mile to create the perfect comfort. I'm not sure being read to comforted her, but it sure was sweet!

Vaseline. Everywhere.