Monday: belated 24 months

Joshua turned 24 months several days ago.

He was not as excited as normal to have his picture taken.

Playing: Joshua does a good job playing.  He likes to do what Isaac does, but can play by himself too.  Buzz and the phone he got for his birthday were his almost constant companions inside today.  He likes to play with water, but isn't a fan of wearing wet clothes.  He still likes to read, although I haven't gotten quite as many requests the last little bit for books.  He also enjoys robots.  (Side story: we were watching Voltron tonight and Voltron was fighting "mean robot."  Well, Joshua was rooting for the robot to win because it was a robot and when he fell over he said, "oh no!")

Family: Dad is back to being the favorite parent, but I think Isaac might be the favorite person.  He's been quite excited to see all the grandparents too.

Talking: he now has lots of words.  (Ben was reading an animal book with him and he could identify most of the animals, including ones like caterpillar.)  He isn't that easy to understand though.  A few short sentences are coming through.

Eating: we're still in about the same place as last month...breads are good, yogurt, applesauce, strawberries, banana, cheese, and crunchy beans are sometimes ok.  I make lunches somewhat to order, so those have the highest chance of being finished.  For dinner he gets whatever everyone is having, so those don't get finished very often.

Attitude: it's been a bit better lately.  He still gets mad about stuff regularly, but most days it isn't too much.  He hasn't been throwing things quite as much either.  It all might change tomorrow.

Sunday: Joshua's birthday party

Today was Joshua's birthday party!  He was grumpier than usual for most of the day, but the appearance of Buzz and family helped him get in a better mood.  Phew.

Due to a busy week last week we went with pizza for dinner as it is super easy.  We added strawberries and crunchy beans as those are two healthy(ish) things he'll sometimes eat.

He was having a hard time posing for pictures.  

Then I said, "Where's Isaac?  He can usually make you laugh."  And Joshua immediately put his hands in the "where" position and started looking for, and walking to, Isaac.

He opened Buzz first, which was probably a mistake.  He loves Buzz and wouldn't open any more presents until it was in his hands.  We didn't make it through all the presents, but the car seat and swing wouldn't have any immediate fun so they were postponed.

Donuts for dessert!  Both boys love donuts as much as I do, and it made for an easy dessert.

Saturday: away

Today Ben and I spent most of the day away.  We started by going to the company picnic at Michigan's Adventure.  We rode a few rides and had lunch.  Then we came back to Holland and watched the new Star Trek movie.  (It was good, but rather spin-y.  I could have done with less "cool" camera work.)  They just redid all the theaters and now there are basically recliners in all the theaters.  It was awesome and so comfortable.

We had dinner and then came home to put the kids to bed.  It kind of felt like cheating, only being with them for about an hour this evening, but it was nice too.

Friday: VBS and old friends

Today was the last day of VBS.  It went well.  Our class says the Bible verse in a circle, one person saying each word, and I time it.  We started out the week at 1:15 and got it down to 25 seconds today!  Today was the first day that it finally felt as though we mostly knew it...it was a hard one this year.  "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised."  Gen 28:15.  There are a lot of clauses in it.  The best part of the day was at the end when one of the moms told me that her son ended up in the perfect group because of me.  (And really, because of my helper too.)  We were rather low-key and not in their faces.  We were there and made sure everyone was in the right spot but both of us seemed rather introverted and didn't force much talking.  (That doesn't mean we didn't talk to the kids, but not as much as some teachers do.)  Apparently that was just what her son needed and wouldn't have come back if we had been different.  It was very nice to hear.

This afternoon we met up with Amy and Brian.  The kids played on the playground and we had dinner and took a walk.  It was sad that it was such a short time, but the kids were all near the end of being happy.  And we had a wonderful time while we were together.

Thursday: VBS and 2nd birthday!

"Happy Birthday, Joshua!" I said this morning.  "You're two now!"
"No, no!  Stop!"  he replied.
"I kind of feel the same way about it." I responded

Then we went to VBS.  Twas another fine day.  Isaac and Joshua made the picture roll.

I remained somewhat elusive.  I was in this group shot...I'm sure... (if not, at least it reminds me of how big this even really is.)

I am in this one...the second head down from the top left.  My helper and the boys of the group are also in it.  (edit...you can also see Isaac's shoulder in the bottom right.)

And I'm sneaking in behind my helper for this one

Later in the day Ben said, "Happy Birthday Joshua!"  He again responded with a "No!"  We gave him some ice cream to celebrate anyway.

Wednesday: VBS, naps, worms

VBS again went well today.  They finally got all the pictures up.  I managed to miss the three I saw of my group, but Isaac got in a few...

Sitting in the pew in the sanctuary.  There is a T-shirt on the chair; on the back it say 4s.  He's in the 4 year old orange group.

You can barely see him here; he's in a red shirt on the left.  The 4s and Ks sometimes travel by rope and it really is the cutest thing.  (Although really, it might be good for my fourth graders too!  The group kept splitting up...but at the same time, it also kept coming back together without any problems.)

I took this one this morning.  In the very middle there is a kid in a light blue shirt holding an orange sign above his head.  That's Isaac.

Naps: we all took a nap today, even Isaac.  Joshua and I have been taking really good naps and we've been putting the boys to bed a little early this week, but I guess Isaac needed a bit more sleep.  This doesn't happen very often.  (Although now he's awake really late...it could be a problem again tomorrow!)

Worms: My worms are doing really well!  I checked on them today and they were all over the place.  A week or two ago I could always find worms, but it might take me a few cardboard flips to find them.  This time I would flip over some cardboard and see a whole bunch!

Tuesday: VBS

Today VBS continued.  Yesterday was fine, but ended on a down note...something that wasn't really a big deal but still made me upset.

Today went better, as expected.  I know the kids just a bit better...and it is surprising how some of them just start talking to you because you're there.  I don't talk to people just because they're there.  (Although I expect it is more of a personality thing than a kid/adult thing.)  Again, it went fine/good.

Isaac is able to go for the first time this year and loves it.  His favorite section is the craft, and the ocean bottle that they made yesterday still gets talked about quite a bit.  But he's talked about a few other aspects too.  Isaac looks so big at home and then when we get to church he looks so small.  Our activities are offset from each other, so I see him in the hallway a few times during the morning.  I'm not sure he sees me.

Joshua is doing well in the nursery.  I say nursery, but they get out to some of the activities.  They go to the music section and see the skit.  Today I saw them outside (for just a bit...it was rather hot).  Joshua is reported to really enjoy the music, which makes sense considering how much he likes music.  I should probably put it on more at home, but it just isn't something that I tend to do.  Here he is (not) looking at a sub that they had in the parking lot.  I didn't really want him to see me so it's a rather bad picture.

Usually they post pictures on the website, but I haven't seen any yet. :(  It's one of my favorite parts.