Joshua: 44, 45, and 46 months

45 months

Joshua had gotten a red balloon monkey at Isaac's school and was excited because it matched the other red monkey (stuffed animal) that he had gotten from his teacher.

Letters: In the past few months Joshua has started putting sounds with letters quite well.  He only recognizes a handful of letters still, but it is improving.  (To me this is weird because it's the opposite way that Isaac did it, but I'm happy to do whatever works.)  He's also been rhyming up a storm.

46 months:

This month red monkey left the scene.  We have seen dragon come out a bit more than previously.  Otter made an appearance for a week or so.  Grey Bear is still the best loved animal though.  Grey Bear is always wearing his pajamas, which Joshua has been telling me several times per day.  It's hilarious that Grey Bear always gets to wear his pajamas.

Joshua still pretends to be a puppy a lot (see the above picture). 

Playing: Joshua plays with Duplos at his Duplo table a ton.  He often makes things for his animals...a house for Blue Bear, a castle for Grey Bear, etc.  There have been a few other really cute ones that I have now forgotten.  He plays with Legos quite a bit too, although we haven't put together any sets in a while.  He loves to play with Isaac.  He loves to jump on Isaac's bed.  (Side note: we kept the crib mattress around and Joshua uses it for sleepovers.  It also doubles as a trampoline, but it easier to store.)

Pajamas: Joshua wears slippers to bed if he doesn't have footy pajamas.  We lost one of his slippers recently.  It's been hot out, so he has on a t-shirt and shorts along with a raccoon slipper and an alligator slipper.

46 months:

Joshua got a hair cut this past month!  It's one of the best I've done.  I also got a ton of poses from him quite quickly for once, although not a ton of the smile ones turned out.

Eating: Joshua still eats well at breakfast and lunch.  He does not always like what I'm making for dinner and then just doesn't eat.  Sometimes he doesn't eat anything for dinner.  He always has great concern for his snack in the afternoon.

Napping: Joshua has been napping just a bit more lately.  He naps at school and will often fall asleep when we go to pick up Isaac at school.  He sometimes understands when he is tired and will put himself to bed.

School: Although Joshua doesn't complain about school and seems to enjoy it after the fact, he would much rather have a 'home day.'  I get asked multiple times per day if it is a home day.  (Oddly, he often asks this around dinner time, by which point he would be home no matter what.  I usually tell him what tomorrow will be.)  There is only one day of school left and he's rather excited.

Attitude: Joshua is usually quite sweet.  The other day at ice skating he tried to help the other little girl.  He often understands when Isaac wants a toy and while Joshua doesn't give him the toy immediately, he will often give the toy to Isaac within a few minutes.  That's not to say we haven't had any battles...there is still some throwing of things once in a while.  He does understand the rules that we set forth though (especially concerning eating dinner & treats and cleaning his room & screen time) and adheres to them well.  When he doesn't get screen time because he didn't clean his room he tries to walk around with his eyes closed or a hand over his eyes so he doesn't accidentally watch.  It's super cute.

Monday: sandals

I got some new sandals today.  It turns out they are exactly the same as the ones I am replacing.  I thought they looked rather familiar, but they were comfy and about half the price of the other ones I was considering.  The ones I had lasted several years, so while it's a rather boring purchase I will be happy with them.

A few pictures of Joshua from our day:

Sunday: this and that

The morning started off with me pretending to sleep in because neither boy had cleaned their room yesterday.  Isaac cleaned his pretty quickly though. :)

They continued to play a game they were calling "pussy cat."  I really have no idea what the rules were, but they both said it was a really fun game.  I think it involved a lot of running and yelling "pussy cat."

We all went to Joshua's class for Sunday school today and Ben and I were in charge of leading it.  It went well for the most part.  At one point we were playing red light green light and Joshua was taking super tiny steps, so Ben put him on his shoulders to help him get to the stop light.  I'm not sure he understood the point of the game.

This afternoon Isaac and I played Battleship, a game I picked up at a garage sale, and it was not as much fun as I remembered.  I don't remember it being all that fun, but I thought Isaac would still like it.  Well, the pins to put in the holes were a bit to hard for him and it made the game drag.  We found a few other pins from Mastermind to use and that helped, but still...ugh.  I think it could work for us if we think of something different that we could use.

Saturday: bike, Paw Patrol, not cleaning

This morning we went to look for a new bike for Isaac.  It turns out that he's big enough that to get a bike that will last for a few years he needs to get a bike that doesn't support training wheels.  So they converted a bike into a balance bike for him and he rode around the shop for 15 minutes.  He had definite improvement and with a bit more practice we should be able to get him the bigger bike.  (He was a bit upset though, because there was a silver bike in the smaller size that he apparently set his heart on.)  Tomorrow I'll see if he wants to convert his current bike to a balance bike and ride around the lake for practice or go back to the store.

We went to get our picture taken with some Paw Patrol characters.  It went quite fast, so we popped into the Peanut Store too.

 This afternoon was cleaning time.  Neither boy cleaned their room today, but instead they played with each other for about three hours.  I'm not really sure what they were doing, but there was a lot of laughter.  Since they didn't clean their rooms, they couldn't watch TV during dinner and instead ate outside.  They were rather excited about that and it didn't really feel like a consequence.

Friday: a nice day

Today was a rather nice day.  Joshua and I visited some garage sales in the morning and came home with some puzzles and some games.  Then we took down the Lego minifigure house, which I still didn't get a picture of.  This version had a few cookie rooms, an umbrella room, a sun, a bird shooter, a few monster shooters, lots of stairs, and a maze.  We started to make Lego marble runs instead.  Joshua's goes straight down.  Apparently he was thinking that it was a race (both making it and for the marble) and he wanted to win.  Mine is still a work in progress.

Pat came over for a dress fitting that went much easier than expected.  We had a treat after that. :)

Thursday: almost vacation

The kids were in school today and Ben took a vacation day.  I did productive stuff in the morning for a bit.  We went out for lunch.  I took a nap.  The children got home and had some play time, screen time, and Lego time.  We ate dinner and then it was time for them to go to bed.  I did some quilting.  And the lovely day was done.

Wednesday: kayak

Joshua and I took a kayak out for the first trip of the season.  I forgot how wet it gets, but it was very warm so it was ok.  Joshua thought that the ...drain holes?...that go through the kayak were fish talking to him.

Tuesday: cavities

Isaac had a dentist appointment today to fill some cavities.  It was the easiest thing ever.  They didn't numb him or give him gas or anything.  We were there for 20 minutes and then he was done with no restrictions.  Boom boom boom and we were out.

I wish dealing with my cavities as a kid had been that easy.  Yay for technology.

Camping

At the sort-of last minute we were invited to go camping with some friends this past weekend.  They had been planning on going with some others who were unable to make it and had a trailer rented.  So pretty much all we had to do was show up and it was awesome.  It was like luxury camping.  Yes, there was A/C.  And a freezer.  And a bathroom.  And enough room to stand up in.  But we were also outside more than we would have been at home and had an excellent time.

Friday night was a wagon ride.  Nothing all that exciting, but the boys were excited about it.

The boys also spent hours at the playground.  We did a lot of "can you find your way back to the trailer from here?" over the weekend.  Isaac could find his way back from the playground pretty quickly and Joshua could too by the second day.  Most of the time we just let them go and come back as desired.

Squirters were a big hit for all the kids.

This tree got squirt especially a lot.

Ben and I read a lot. :)

One downside to the campground is that since they are in a residential area they are rather strict on when you can and can't have fires.  We only had a fire one night, so we made sure to have hobo pies and s'mores.

CC stopped by on Sunday!

Joshua wanted his picture by these flowers.

Magnet blocks were a big hit.  These boys really do love their blocks.

We also finally got an anniversary picture.

We had lots of ice cream throughout the weekend.  There was also a great candy store that we all loved.

Monday was hot hot hot.  We had ice cream (above) and slowly got ready to leave.  We were all packed up, played a game of mini golf, and then took off.

Monday: funny things

I'll talk about camping soon, but in the meantime the boys were especially funny today.

1. We were playing mini golf and I told Joshua he couldn't touch the decorations.  He asked if he could touch the bricks around the edge of the holes.  I said yes, as of course you can touch those and he had been balancing on them earlier.  Right after I said that, on his way to the next hole, he bends down to touch one.  Almost like he was defying me...except that it was ok.

2. Isaac was talking about water bottles on the way home and how the one he was using had a good seal.  I said, "arf arf arf."  Ben said, "ARF ARF."  Two minutes later Isaac bursts out laughing, saying that he gets the joke.

3. As part of Joshua's bedtime routine, the adult has to fill up his water bottle so that he can hide under his blanket.  Ben read to him and left the room, bringing Joshua's other blanket with him.  I hid under the blanket and brought him the water.  I had to say "no" in a low voice a few times, and then I left the room.  Ben went back under the blanket.  Joshua pulled the blanket of Ben and said, "WHAT?!?  You were pretending to be Mom?!?!"  Ben told him it was a trick and that it had been me, and for the next several minutes he mumbled to himself about the trick.

Friday: outside

Joshua and I were outside for a bit and he decided that he wanted to mop the driveway and run up and down the hills.  I sat in the shade and watched. :D

Next up, camping!

Wednesday: friends and naps

This morning we had no plans.  No plans tends to be a problem for me, so I checked in with a friend to see if they were available.  They were!  Joshua and I spent a happy morning at a different location playing and taking a walk.

On the way home Joshua fell asleep.  I was a bit annoyed, but then decided to work with it.  I unbuckled him, opened the car door and the garage door, made him a lunch, and took a nap myself.  It really worked out very well.  He woke up and came in.  I called to him to come find me, but he found his lunch instead.  By the time he finished his lunch it was screen time.  Ta-da!  It almost never works out that well.

Ice skating went pretty well today.  Joshua just did his own thing on the ice.  I decided I'm fine with that.  The teacher checked in with him a few times and tried to get him to participate, but he didn't want to.  He's skating and half of learning at this point is just practicing.  Isaac again doubled his speed and it only took him two minutes to get across the short dimension of the rink.  I saw his form getting better...a few more bent knees and a few times with one foot off the ice.

Tuesday: made it through

Today was actually pretty good.  Except for a few parts.

The first was the morning.  Joshua wanted banana bread for breakfast.  We don't have any more.  That set him off.  So he wanted a special granola bar.  I don't really know what that means, but the answer was no...he could have a normal granola bar.  He proceeded to throw his slipper at me.  Since we're working on not throwing things when he's mad, he went in time out...and proceeded to try and throw the rug.  Then he didn't want to get dressed before breakfast, but I use that time to make breakfast, so I made him get dressed anyway.  He finally calmed down, got dressed, and told me the normal granola bar was the kind he wanted.

After that my sinuses wouldn't stop filling up.  Seriously, every ten or so minutes they were completely full, which makes it hard to do anything.  I quickly gave up and worked from home, where the tissues are plenty.  I also got some different medicine this afternoon and it might be helping.  I still need to blow my nose and I feel a bit of sinus pressure, but I don't feel quite so miserable.  (Ask me again tomorrow though. :D)

During snack time Isaac was making dinosaur noises and Joshua was correctly identifying them.  Isaac would let out a squawk and Joshua said, "pterodactyl" and Isaac said, "yes!"  Then he did some other sound and Joshua said, "t-rex" and Isaac said, "yes!"  I have no idea how my sons have the same sound for an animal that no longer exists and isn't in animal noise books.

Monday: rainy day naps

Today was a beautiful rainy day.

I still have this cold/allergy thing.  I feel really good for about thirty minutes after waking up, but then get all stuffed up and tired again.  Anyway, I was making some progress on house work and laid down for a bit because Joshua didn't want to do our errands.  I was clear...he could play by himself, then he should get dressed and we would do our errands. 

He didn't want to get dressed.  I think he wanted to do errands in his pajamas, but I'm not really sure.  He was crying for a bit.  Then he said, "I'm going to take a nap!"  And so we napped.  The rain started.  It was lovely.  We napped until noon, at which point we ate lunch and then did our errands.

Sunday: out of the house

We were out of the house for most of the day.  It's been a long time since this has happened.

We had church.  We went out to eat with family for birthdays, but the restaurant took a while.  We went to Cheryl's house for desserts.  I took a nap there because I'm still sick.

We had small group after that.  We had some good discussions.

But I was also really glad to get home.

Saturday: sick

I'm still sick.  Sure, it's just a runny nose, but it's making me tired.  I thought I was getting better, but today was not so good again.

Friday: school and bike

This morning I went to Isaac's school for a family day activity.  We made a picture frame, Isaac read a book to me, and I saw this journal entry for the day: why I love my family.  It was a nice time.  Isaac was so excited for me to come, and it was nice to see him in his classroom.

Afterwards I got home, and Joshua told me to leave because he wasn't finished playing with CC. I didn't leave the house, but was happy to let them play a bit more.  Then Joshua and I went on a bike ride.  It was the first real time Joshua was on a pedal bike, so I took a pushing stick along too.  It was a good idea...I didn't feel as though I always had to say, "keep pedaling" and he could work on steering by itself.

Isaac played with a tape measure for quite a while after school.

Wednesday: healthy...almost

After having set up an appointment with the doctor for Joshua's ongoing fever, he woke up today without one.  I expect it was the phone call that did it. :)

We went for a bike ride.  This was the slowest bike ride I've ever walked with.  By the end he was a bit faster, so there is a chance he can do the balance bike again...we'll have to see.

We wore the same shirt today...Puppy and me.

Grey Bear's new tracker is still being figured out.  I think I might have figured out that last part that really needed to happen in order for it to work for us.  Anyway, it also has a feature that you can use to take pictures...I forget what the name is...but you push the button and it takes a picture.  The boys were excited about this.

I made Puppy a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich.  He proceeded to put his applesauce on the top of the bun and then wouldn't eat it because it was too messy.  I made him eat a few bites anyway.  After getting his pjs on he ate the bottom part.

Isaac had ice skating lessons again.  (Joshua was home, since he had a fever in the last 24 hours.)  I think Isaac doubled his speed, although I'm not sure that's saying much.  He made it across the short dimension of the rink in about four minutes.  He's also rather good at going backwards with the hip twist.  I was much happier with the instruction this time.

I got home to find Ben with a fever.  :(  Hopefully it's not the same thing.

Tuesday: 14 years!

Today marks our 14th anniversary!  Woo-hoo!

We didn't do anything special.  We didn't even take a picture (yet).  What we did do is take care of a sick child who stubbornly won't get better but is rather normal with medicine and get a tracker for Grey Bear.  Grey Bear got lost for the umpteenth time this weekend and I was surprisingly worried about him.  (I finally found him.  I also found the laundry detergent container and the squirt bottles that I had been looking for.)

Monday: a sick stick

Joshua was still running a fever today.  However, once the medicine kicked in he was always back to his normal self.  I really have no idea what is wrong with him, because even when the fever has been up he's still been hungry.

I was singing a nonsense song today about sticks climbing up a clock and Joshua was suddenly like, "Mom!  Do you want to see me be a stick?"  Of course I did.  He explained the different elements to being a stick...eyes closed, hands at your sides, and feet together.

I am also rather sick, but with something different.  Allergies perhaps?  A spring cold?  Either way, my nose is plugged or running (annoying either way) and the medicine I've been trying doesn't seem to be touching it.

Sunday: Happy Mother's Day

It was a very nice day today.  There was some extra love and some good mothering dealing with sickness and bathroom accidents.

I got to sleep in, which was lovely.  Then the boys brought me breakfast in bed and some presents.  Isaac did a lot of blue things through out the day because he knows that's my favorite color...he picked out blue fabric as a gift, wore blue clothes, choose a blue background for the church gift, and colored a thing from school blue.  I got lots of hugs and kisses from him throughout the day.

Joshua only told me once that he doesn't love me, tried to give his Mother's day gift from church to Ben, and wouldn't give me any extra hugs.  However, he did fall asleep on my lap in church and came to sit on my lap when he wasn't feeling well, so we all know he loves me.  (Dumb fever.  Where did he get it from anyway?

Joshua filled this out in school.  Only a few are correct and a few I really scratched my head at.  For example, "my mom cooks the best hamburgers."  We hadn't had hamburgers for dinner for several months when I got this.  Ironically, we were having them that night.  Joshua ate the top part of the bun.  This is about what I expected him to do, since he has never liked hamburgers and I have no idea why those got listed.

Friday: oh well

Today could have gone a bit better, but it didn't go all that poorly either.

We got new sandals for the boys.  Joshua decided that meant he should wear them right away, even though it was raining and about 45 degrees.  He stayed out for about ten minutes...longer than I expected.

I got Isaac a new green ink pad.  He immediately made his hands all green for hand prints.

Thursday: raspberries

Isaac and I planted the raspberry sticks today.

The boys are enjoying building "the spaceship" (i.e. Millennium Falcon) with Ben.

Wednesday: playground, ice skating

We met some friends at the playground.  Leah gave us dandelions.

The boys had ice skating lessons again.  They were a teacher short, so Joshua was just standing in one place for five minutes.  Then he decided to move because that was boring.  He proceeded to come to me watching at the wall.  So I moved to the other side of the rink and he followed me back...several times.

Isaac did better than last week but still doesn't move much.  He needs to bend his knees more...hopefully next week there will be a bit more instruction.  He enjoys it though, so that's the most important.

Tuesday: haircuts

I cut the boys' hair today.  They've been needing one for a while, but I wanted to do it outside...it makes it so much easier.

Well, after that they continued to play outside.  They blew the hair from the deck with a manual air pump that I had tried to throw out last summer but continues to be an awesome toy.  Then the squirt bottles came out and I have no idea what they were doing, but there were wet socks again.