Goodbye Blog

After discussing it with Andy, I think we are both in agreement that our (mostly my) time can be better spent on other things at this point (especially my 1 year old boy :) than on posting our lives to the blog. So, for now, we are no longer going to be updating. I will still post all our pictures to Facebook so friends and family can keep up with us, and I promise to make comments there of anything especially noteworthy. Thanks to all those who love us and want to follow our lives. Email and phone are also always a good option if you're not on Facebook :)

Trip to Peoria

Last week, Joshua and I headed to Peoria, IL to see Shannon, George & Mark. Joshua did well in the car both going and coming. He certainly didn’t sleep quite as much as last time, but he slept over half the way, which was nice. It's always a fun to get out of town and away from laundry, dishes, and work responsibilities and just focus on Joshua and having fun with Shannon and George. The trip included lots of great food, including many great meals Shannon planned for us, as well as walk to Dairy Queen (just a few blocks from their house) and dinner at a local Italian place with ice cream at a local shop for dessert. Shannon is working on getting George to eat a bit more and put on a little weight, which is challenging at times. It was good to get to visit during this season since I definitely know how Shannon feels having gone through a similar stage ourselves. It was also neat to see how similar and different the boys are. George is still an excellent crawler and climber, and while he can walk, he still does more crawling. While Joshua walks well, he couldn't climb on furniture, toys or stairs like George...though I think he took some lessons from George. Since our return, his climbing skills are showing marked improvement...much to mommy's dismay. Our visit also included trips to the park, where the boys played on the swings and on the play structure. We also walked around the grounds and lake near the zoo. Most of our trip was simply hanging out at their house and letting the boys (or whichever one was awake at the time) play, eat, take their naps and just do as they wanted. Overall, it was a great time and a great trip.

Visit from Mimi & Pops

The week after Easter, Lee, Andy's mom, had her spring break from school. So, she and Denny spent a few days visiting with us. They kept him on Tuesday and Wednesday while I went to work and to Bible Study. It was good for them to get to spend some time with him without a busy schedule. Joshua played some basketball with Eric, Andy and Brian Cole. (Brian has been staying with us a few days a week while he finishes up his PhD classes at UK. He and Amy sold their house at the end of March, and Amy and Caroline moved down to her parent's house in Auburn, where he's been joining them on the weekends.)

Denny & Lee treated us to Rigatta's Tuesday night, and the weather was perfect for eating on the patio. While I headed to a Women's Ministry meeting, the rest of the crew finished up dinner and took some pictures by the lake.

On Wednesday, before they headed back to Owensboro, we went to the cemetary and fed the ducks. My mom joined us. We were a bit disappointed that there were only a couple ducks...but tons of geese. They had left their droppings everywhere, so we couldn't let Joshua walk around. But, they did enjoy the bread...and Joshua did too. After training him to feed himself, it was hard to get him to give the bread to the ducks but adorable to watch him eat it :).

Easter Pictures

We had a good Easter. While it wasn't Joshua's official first Easter, it was certainly the first one he could participate in. We went to church then came home for Joshua to take a long nap. We pulled a little bunny Easter outfit out of Kelly's hand-me-down's, which was a big hit...but not the most comfortable. So we changed into a summery one piece before we headed to my Aunt's for Easter dinner. She had several Easter baskets, and the weather was wonderful. So Joshua spent a good bit of time walking around the yard, picking up eggs, and putting them into the different baskets. Then we headed back to church for the evening service and Lord's supper.

Spring Fun

So, it's been a while since we updated the blog...but I'll have several posts shortly (assuming Joshua keeps sleeping ;). Here some random pictures from the last few weeks. We've been busy enjoying the nice weather and having friends over.

The week before Easter, we went to dinner at Joe Bologna's with my family and met my cousin Rachel's new fiance, Peter.

Joshua and I made a trip to PetSmart, and he LOVED it! He especially loved looking into the bird cage, which was right at his eye level from his stroller. He also liked the fish, kittens and hamsters, but the puppies were a little excited for his tastes.

Sitter Swap with the Waddell's

This month, we again swapped days out with Jeremy and Erin Waddell. They watched Joshua while we went to eat with Chris and Julie Friday night, and we watched Cora Leigh so they could shop for a few hours the following Saturday. With Cora at about 6 months, it's amazing to see how different it is to care for each of them. Joshua was again a little jealous when Mommy held her, but Daddy said he did great, once I took Cora upstairs for a snuggly nap. Here's a few of our pictures. Jeremy and Erin posted several of Joshua at their house. Their blog is http://jeremyanderinw.blogspot.com/. Erin is a little better about updating than I am, so it's a few posts back...with cute pictures of Cora Leigh in between.

Spring is Here

We have been enjoying the awesome weather. Here are some outside pictures. He is walking much better, which makes playing outside better, since he can walk in the grass with minimal falling. (And when he falls, grass makes a soft landing.) My mom has a baby swing, which is I think his favorite toy right now. He smiled the entire time! We also very carefully went down the slide from Grammie's playhouse. He thought that was fun, too.

There are a few other picks from around the house. He's obsessed with carrying things. He'll pick something up, and walk the house, end to end 20 times looking like he's on a mission. It's adorable. Note the remote and diaper (clean I might add).

We've been enjoying Grammie's Easter decorations (since we haven't made sufficient attempts at finding ours since the move...maybe next year). He loved carrying the Easter basket around my mom's and would even pick up eggs and put them in. He's clearly very smart ;). Should make for a fun Easter!


We have two Mexican restaurant experiences to report. We went to the new Rincon off Harrodsburg Road with my family, and Joshua got to hear the Mariachi guy play. He was quick to let us know he does events like birthday parties, we agreed to keep that in mind for Joshua's 2nd birthday...or maybe Dad's 60th in a few weeks! Second, we went to El Chico's where Joshua demanded the lemon wedge from my water. Thinking giving it to him would teach him not to demand, I gave it to him. But, what does mommy know? He loved it!

An Ear Fix

After about 8 ear infections since July, we finally got the go ahead to have tubes put in Joshua's ears. We went for his one year checkup last Monday, where ear infection #8 was discovered. After fever Tuesday night, Wednesday and Thursday, we headed back to the doctor where they switched his antibiotic and gave us the contact info for Dr. Good, the pediatric ENT they recommended. We were in with him the next day and got on his Tuesday schedule. Apparently he does up to 6 every Tuesday morning. We showed up at 7:30 for paperwork, were getting Joshua prepped (by driving him around in a wagon and waiting for our turn) by 8:15, and after about 7 minutes, they called us back to come get him. They never even changed his clothes! It was definitely assembly line surgery...which actually made me feel much better. Joshua was very fussy and disoriented after the anesthesia and was upset for about the next hour. As they said, it's one thing to feel dazed and confused and know why. It's another if you're just a baby who has no idea why you feel so weird. By 10:00ish, he was back to his old self. He ate breakfast, drank his milk, had a few snuggles, then was ready to bother Emma again :)

Most importantly, he has been so much happier since. Apparently his ears had been bothering him much more than we knew. We have had the best couple of days. He's smiling, busy, doesn't cry or cling. He's back to the our sweet baby again. We are so pleased!

By the next day, we were carrying toolboxes at Grammie's. It's heavy for him, and it's hilarious to listen to him grunt! And Wednesday afternoon, we enjoyed the weather by walking with Erin and Cora Leigh.