Happy 7 years, Josiah!

Seven sounds big . . . seven is big! Josiah is growing up so wonderfully. We have seen such growth over the last year academically, as well as a consistency of character in his curiosity and care for his sisters.

Weight: 62 lb 9 oz (taken 9/6)
Height: 4' 5.25"
Clothing: 8T, shoe size 2/3

Likes: knowing how things work, painting, bike riding, reading, board/card games, being outside

Dislikes: unclear instructions, things not going how he planned, injustice

A day in the life:

7:00-7:15am: Josiah comes out of his room, often with Anna in tow. He sleeps in a little now and then, which is a new thing!

Breakfast: Milk, half a banana, and cheerios (lucky charms on the weekend), but this boy loves eggs and any other form of big breakfast when available.

9:00am: Be started on school work. He can do math and handwriting by himself if I'm not ready to go yet.

Lunch: Our go to choices are sandwiches and salads and he eats both very happily. He enjoys peanut butter/nutella and turkey/cheese sandwiches. Salads are best with lots of toppings. Josiah loves to fix his own lunch and he is pretty good at cleaning up, too!

1:00pm: Rest time! Josiah reads for an hour and then can play alone for an hour. We also use this time to finish up any school we have left or do special projects.

3:00pm: Play time . . . finally! This kids are ready to play together and love to go outside when the weather is nice. Joisah also enjoys legos and pretend play.

Dinner: He is a good eater, and would always choose mac and cheese if it was up to him. He loves fruit salad, asparagus, cheese sticks, meats, sauces, and pastas. This kid can eat.

7:00pm: Bed time. He can do all his bedtime routine on his own and is a good help with Anna and keeping his room picked up. His favorite song at bedtime is Jesus Paid It All.

Fun facts:
* He still loves to help in the kitchen, and sometimes he is really helpful!
* During the fall he took lesson at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and had a great time. He is now taking piano lessons with the organist from church and she says she thinks he has his dad's knack for music. We'll see!
* I loved seeing him grow in confidence as he gave presentations at school throughout the year. Week 1 to Week 24 saw a big change!
* He is reading super well! I love watching him engage with books off the shelf at the library and figure out phonograms he hasn't yet learned.
* Themes of the year: reading, crafting, fishing, being kind to his sisters, teaching the little kids

A chronological look at the past year . . .

He received a rock painting kit for his birthday last year and loved it!

End of Kindergarten, on to 1st grade.

Our little road warrior.

Family time at the Seminary.

These two!!!

We studied Ancient History over the last year,
and thus dressed up appropriately for the first day of school.

Sermon notes.
I'm not sure what this sermon was about, but someone is DED.

He did soooo well with reading.

It is helpful to have another reader in this house!

Letting Anna fix his hair :)

The two finger throw back is going strong.

Lots of fishing this year.

He spent days cutting out all these arrows to make a trail for Lydia.

October in the mountains.

A brave thing!
He was quite scared, but took a lap on the pony.

Keeping those big brother skills in check.

Trick or treating with our buddies.

Dissecting an owl pellet.
He kept the bones in his backpack for waaaaay too long.

Learning the parts of a flower.

Thanksgiving!

The Louisville Science Center had a fort building station.
This boy was in pure bliss!

Always teaching.

His first Bible!
He loves to read Exodus 20, because it was their first Sunday school lesson at our new church.

Our maker.
He made something out of odds and ends for everyone at our family Christmas.
I was the proud recipient of a phone holder to go next to my bed :)

And Dave can always use another guitar :)

The worst hotel, but the best brother.

Josiah received a tackle box for Christmas and he spent months tying knots and teaching the other kids to tie knots.

PATRIOTS

Doing math with Lydia.

He had a friend over for the night.
As you can tell, they are fast asleep :)

Bridges!

What you get with an all boy class :)

A rare nap during nap time.
I am thankful for slow afternoons!

His buddy (and twin!) came to visit.

Lots of tooth fairy action this year.

Josiah enjoying picking aspects of his cake from Pinterest.

Last night as a six-year-old!!!

Lydia drew him a picture of his cake.

We love you, Bud, and can't wait to see what this next year brings!

These Feet Were Made For Walking

- We first noticed that things might not be on track with Anna as a baby. When we stood her up in our laps, her legs were like noodles. She wouldn't put any weight on them. The same was true in the jumper. She loved being in it, but wouldn't stand up much.

- I brought my concern to her pediatrician at her 9 month visit and was told to keep an eye on it. If she wasn't progressing I was to give them a call before her 12 month visit to get the ball rolling.

- At 11 months I made the call. An x-ray was taken of her hips and all was determined to be well. (Interestingly, she had an ultrasound of her hips at 6 weeks because she was breech.) We then were put on a waiting list for an evaluation for physical therapy at Wendell Foster in Owensboro. (For the record, my other option was someone coming to our home. I was told our wait would be longer. Turns out the wait was quiet long at WF and I never dreamed we would be going weekly for more than six months!)

- At 14 months we got the call that Wendell Foster has an opening and scheduled an evaluation. We met Nicole for the first time and were relieved to hear that nothing big stands out to explain why Anna doesn't put weight on her feet. It is on Thursday, September 7.

- On September 24 Anna pulled up for the first time.

- At 15 months insurance has cleared and we begin a weekly trek to Owensboro for PT from 4-5pm on Fridays. Her first session is on Friday, October 6.

- On November 11 she starts cruising. She went back and forth playing with plastic cookies and cupcakes on the coffee table.

- Anna commandeered a sucker just before bed on Sunday, March 19. I pried it out of her hands and she angrily followed me to the trash can. It sparked an idea!

- After naps on Monday, March 20, I opened a little pack of jelly beans, stood Anna up, and gave her one. Then I backed up and held a jelly bean out. Sure enough, she shuffled her sweet little feet to get that jelly bean. Josiah videoed, and she probably walked six feet. This was significantly more than she had ever done before. When Dave got home we did the experiment again the long way across the living room giving her pieces of a chocolate chip cookie as she walked.

- Our physical therapist was out on Friday with a sick child, but the therapist filling in was familiar with Anna and had watched our journey. Everyone in the room (who administers or receives PT during the same hour) rejoiced with us. Anna was brave and delighted. We were told that her arm placement (low guard) and ability to squat and stand back up were great for a new walker.

- On April 20 Nicole did another evaluation and Anna made a significant jump up the scale. I think it placed her at an 18 month level. Skills she could do were walking down a line and walking backwards. Nicole said that was a biggie for a new walker. Biggest news- we are slowing things down and coming back in a MONTH!

- At our May 18 appointment Anna was not up for our games to get her to do the things on the Nicole's checklist, such as sidestepping and going a certain distance in a certain time (she did this!). She threw a big fit over a corded play phone- she would have had a hard time being tied to the wall to talk! We had the option of being finished, but decided with Nicole's advice to come back in three months to see how she has developed and try to master the checklist.

- August 17- our last appointment. Nicole watched Anna work, then we went to the playground and played. She then said she had done all she felt like she could do and didn't feel like Anna needed to be monitored further. We felt the same way, had a round of hugs and high fives all around, and left Wendell Foster for (Lord willing) the last time. Anna was given a SUPER ACHIEVER shirt, a reminder to me of how far she has come over the past year.

We are incredible thankful for the respect and care of all those we met at Wendell Foster. God is good, a tender Shepherd. While waiting on Anna to progress and trekking to Owensboro weekly wasn't easy, we certainly appreciated each milestone in a way we wouldn't have otherwise. That is, we are grateful for the open eyes we were granted over past year of Anna's life.

September 24
Anna pulled up for the first time!

October 4
Now she can play with the big kids better.

October 13
First she sat in a walker.

October 20
Then Anna stood in a walker.

November 10
Anna learned to love pushing the shopping cart.
The cart was filled with weights to keep it grounded.
Anna wore light ankle weights for "input"- or to keep her grounded! 

November 11
She cruises! She moves her feet!

November 22
Working hard to color with the big kids at Thanksgiving.

December 1
Once Anna started moving her feet, she graduated to the reverse walker.

January 5
It became her favorite PT activity.
The walker and the slide :)

February 19
We even got to bring one home. She got really good at maneuvering it through the house.

We took it outdoors on an unusually warm February day. . . this was just before my silly girl went headfirst into the pavement and earned her first busted lip.

March 12
Anna started walking holding on to the end of a rag at PT.
A fall on the carpet resulted in a carpet burn on her nose, which turned into quite the scab.

Our SUPER ACHIEVER after her last PT appointment!