Bountiful Butterflies

Emily Has Arrived

2012-02-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

Our Princess,
Emily

Born: February 7, 2012, 8:49 am

8 lbs, 0 oz.
20 1/2 inches
Precious in every way

DING! Time's Up v2.0

2012-02-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

Our due date day has arrived.

Just a quickie update. My ribs have been bothering me for almost a week and this morning they popped out of place. I've been in excruciating pain and can barely move. At our OB appointment she wanted to schedule me for induction tonight but was concerned about my pain. After the first of two chiropractor appointments today, I updated the OB with the chiro results and the induction is still on. I head back to the chiro this afternoon to try to manage things a little more.

I'm scared about the rib pain during labor, but definitely ready meet our little girl and get my body back on the mend.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2012-02-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

Josh is slowly getting into singing songs. He has begun joining me when I sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at nap and bedtime. It is just the cutest thing!

39 Week Appointment

2012-02-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

At our 38 week appointment last week I learned that I was 1 cm dilated. This was very exciting to me. Since then I've been getting increasingly uncomfortable and things have been happening which made me believe things were progressing. At the 39 week appointment yesterday I was hoping to hear 3 cm, but would be happy with 2 cm.

My doc checked and kind of questioningly said "nothing?" When I reminded her that last week I was 1, she checked more and said "barely 1".

Complete disappointment.

My cervix is still high and thick and no effacement. The baby has not started to descend into the birth canal. She decided to do an ultrasound to check on things too. Thankfully everything looks fine, so there are no concerns. Things just are not happening.

I asked if there was anything that could be done to nudge my body and she just said squats, sex or Castor oil. Blech! She was willing to induce me if I really wanted it, but since I have always had issue with people being induced by choice prior to the due date, I declined and we'll just wait another week and hope things get going.

So I was pretty blue most of the day. Mostly because for all the discomfort over the past week, it has been for nothing. But also because I really do not want to be induced. I want to experience that normal labor process.

So Jim declared that we would be walking every day. As soon as he got home from work, we put Josh in the wagon and headed out. It actually felt really good. However, just minutes after returning I went into a huge coughing fit. I still have some lingering symptoms from my cold (I believe made worse by increased mucous from pregnancy). It got so bad that I actually started throwing up. Lovely. But in the back of my mind I'm hoping this will trigger something!

I'm trying to just accept the fact that I'll being seeing my doctor at a normal appointment next Monday (my actual due date) and we'll talk about induction at that time if necessary.

The Kids' Room

2012-01-30T11:49:00.001-08:00

I am enjoying referring to the "kids' room" rather than the "nursery" or "Josh's room". It's been a fun switch. Being off work has finally given me the time to finish up preparing the kids' room for Emily's arrival.

I wanted to share pictures of the transition but was shocked to find that I didn't have any pictures of the room before we added Josh's toddler bed back in November. So if you want to get an idea of what we did to the room previously, here are links to my prior posts of prepping the room for Josh's arrival:

The First Major Transition Phase

Painting Dressers

Bedding and Decor

Below is a shot of how Josh's name hung on the wall. At least I caught that before we moved it.

I think I've mentioned before that I've had a hard time getting into "girl" mode. Early on, after finding out we were having a girl, the first thing I found for decoration were these wall decals with butterflies and flowers. I've always known that with a girl I wanted to do bugs: butterflies, ladybugs, dragonflies etc. I had hoped these decals would help me get in the mode. But even after their arrival, they sat around for a long time while I was paralyzed from ideas. Decorating is not my forte and I move very slowly, basically one item at a time. I am not one who can visualize the whole thing and just make it happen.

I'm happy to say that I finally found bedding that I loved and, after an exhaustive search, ribbon to hang Emily's name. The decor only has butterflies and flowers, no other bugs, but what I found worked well with the colors we already had for Josh's stuff.

The new crib wall.

Josh's name got moved above his bed.

It feels a little high, but I was concerned that below the window would be too tempting to play with. Now the area below the window looks bare, so I think I have found a train decal that I would like to put there. I just need to pick the colors to order it in. All along I have had a difficult time finding train stuff that I truly like.

A view of both beds.

And now that the table is in the corner, I kinda want to put "A, B, Cs" or something. But worry it will be too much. So in my one step at a time manner, we'll get the train decal up first and then see how it looks.

Dressers

Mama's corner

Everything is ready to go. Tick Tock, Tick Tock.

Word of the Day: Ubiquitous

2012-01-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

This word was in my head all night last night. The only reason I can come up with is that my sister is kicking my butt in Scrabble and some of the letters I have are in "ubiquitous". Too bad I can't play that word.

Just Waiting

2012-01-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

It doesn't feel right to be bored with waiting. I look so forward to having a good four weeks off of work before the baby comes, but with three weeks passed, I'm getting impatient. I remember feeling this way while waiting for Joshua. I should be enjoying a potential 10 day stretch before our family of three becomes four, but that is not where I am.

All the essentials are ready. The kids room is prepped, the kitchen is reorganized and the last of our ordered baby items have arrived. That's not to say there is nothing to do, but I guess there is nothing left I want to do. Except, of course, have a baby.

I think this just must be the breaking point of dealing with all the physical stuff. My body is tired. Everything seems hard. I'm anxious to be on the up-swing of getting back to a normal body that can reach down to pick up a block without being winded or getting heartburn. And having Josh as an additional ingredient during pregnancy has been quite the challenge. I'm not really meaning to complain, but this is the reality, and I think also just evidence of my state of mind of being done.

I'm also really praying that I don't have to be induced. Because Josh was induced, I felt a little cheated out of some of the birthing experience. Plus, I truly believe that it made my labor harder to deal with. I had visions of walking (or at least being mobile) through contractions and letting my body due it's thing. Instead I was restricted to the bed the entire time.

Jim and I have both felt convinced that our little girl will make her appearance before her February 6 due date, but by how much is where we differ. Jim says January while I still think February. We've wanted to place a bet, but can't decide what the wager should be.

Things do seem to be starting to happen though. At my doctor appointment on Monday I was dilated 1 cm. Tuesday I started to lose my mucous plug and my Braxton Hicks contractions have returned quite a bit. I definitely feel the baby moving lower in my pelvis and she seems more centralized in my abdomen and not just on my right side. So it really could be any time now. Every night I go to bed expecting to wake up to my water breaking. A friend of mine told me a way to try to get things rolling, which seems weird to do, but once we get past Friday, I may try it. (No, I'm not going to share what it is. And no, it's not "that".)

As much as I want to win the non-wagered-February-bet, at this point I'll take her as soon as she will come.

Manners

2012-01-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

I continue to be amazed when something just suddenly "clicks" with Joshua.

A couple of the first signs we taught him were "please" and "thank you". So these are not new concepts. But as his language skills advance, we've made a more concentrated effort on teaching when to say these considerate words.

For a while it was a little hard to distinguish "peeees" from "pee". We worked hard on getting that "s" in there. "Thank you" has always been so soft spoken that if you breathe too loud you would miss it.

About two or three weeks ago, Josh suddenly was saying "please, thank you, 'scuse me, and welcome" all the time and in the right context. AND without being prompted much of the time. Can you imagine the pride of his parents??

There are amusing times when he goes overboard with the manners too. We were at the grocery story the other day and Josh said "thank you" to the bagger every time he put a bag in the shopping cart. I'm sure the checker wasn't understanding (or couldn't hear) what Josh was saying and she asked me "who is he talking to?" Once I told her he was being thankful for every bag, she just melted and thought he was the cutest thing.

She was right.

The Countdown

2012-01-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

We are officially three weeks out from my predicted due date.

Saturday I had a nice baby shower with a few friends and family. I have had such a hard time getting into "girl" mode, but this shower definitely helped a lot. It was so much fun opening all the pink packages and seeing the darling clothes.

Today Jim and I went to Babies R Us to pick up the rest of the essentials that we need to be ready for our little girl to arrive. Jim was a crack up to watch as he was loving seeing some of the different toys. As Josh is getting older, Jim sees stuff that would be fun to have for him. I've never had the opportunity to see him get excited about that kind of stuff, so it brought a big smile to my face.

We spent the afternoon moving around the wall-hangings in the kids' room so that we could get Emily's name up on the wall. I'm so glad to finally have that piece done. I have one more project to do for the walls and then I'll post pictures. But all of today's prep really has me motivated now .

Josh's bag is packed and ready for his stay with the grandparents while we are in the hospital. I've started packing my bag. But there still is a lot of settling and rearranging of stuff to get done. I'm trying to get rid of unnecessary things, but it's hard when you think you just might need it in the future. Hopefully over the next week I can really get to a place where I feel done and ready so that I can just relax.

Tomorrow I think I'll take Josh shopping to pick a gift for him to give his new baby sister.

Am I Nesting?

2012-01-11T16:25:00.001-08:00

This question has been funny to me. I've heard of nesting. I know it exists, I just don't think I have felt it in the sense that I have heard it described.

To me, nesting is this great urge to get things done. The task itself can be normal (setting up the nursery) or bizarre (scrubbing the baseboards...at 2 a.m.). What makes it nesting is the drive to get it done.

Now, I have been getting things done lately, but to me it's because they need to get done. I need to stock up on groceries. I need to get the kids room rearranged. I NEED to polish the baseboards!!! (just kidding).

The problem is that I have been sick. I started getting sick last Wednesday, and Friday was my last day of work. TODAY is the first day I actually have some normal energy. HOORAY!! So guess what? I feel a drive to get things done. But isn't that normal? My new problem is that I probably should still take it easy while I'm actually chomping at the bit to go, go, go. So what do you say? Nesting? I'm not convinced.

I feel conflicted about how much time I have before the baby comes. We're looking at about three weeks and in one regard that seems like a good amount of time, but I'm also a little freaked out about it. I think it's the freak out that makes me want to check off my to-do list. Once the important things are done I can relax. On my nest.

Story Time

2012-01-02T13:57:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago Josh and I were sitting down for some book time. He decided he wanted to read to me and climbed into my rocker while I sat on the floor. Here is the book he read:

"Fish fish
Glub glub glub
Mommy, who dis?"

(Mommy says "octopus")

"Octopus
Fish fish
Glub glub"

Best story I've ever heard!

Christmas Program

2011-12-19T22:13:00.000-08:00

Joshua was in his first Christmas program this past Sunday. Jim and I were happily surprised that Josh was old enough to be a Blue Angel at our church. He has been learning Away in a Manger and some hand motions to go through it.

We've developed a range of curiosities of how Josh would behave come show time. Sometimes he refuses to do it: "no 'way manger!" Or he will want EVERYONE around him to participate "do dis..." And his latest thing was to lay down, since the song is about sleeping. Then of course there was the fear that he would see one of us in the audience and cry or run to us or both.

So we carefully plotted out our attack, with Jim taking Josh to the church to get into his costume. I met the grandparents in the sanctuary where we picked seats that we hoped would conceal us enough while allowing a decent view of the performance at the same time.

Everything worked out perfectly. Josh did great and I cried with pride throughout the whole thing.

Here are some videos of his performance. Josh is in the first row, second from the left. In the second video you will see him receiving some personal assistance.

Away in a Manger:

Celebrate:

This was my first (and quick) time editing videos, so I apologize for the choppiness.

The Waiting Room

2011-11-14T19:48:00.001-08:00

I must have a comfy waiting room. You know, a place where one can put their feet up and just relax...letting the worries of the world just wash away. One might have a brandy. Another might have a little scoop of ice cream. Whatever makes you comfy.

Unfortunately it is at the expense of my comfort.

Joshua found this plush waiting area first. He spent the final months before his arrival in the waiting room, making last minute touches on his cute little face. Getting every last hair in the right spot, placing some darling birth marks, and affixing that one little dimple in his cheek.

During this time I became very aware of my ribs.

This waiting room must also be very sturdy. It's great to use as leverage when trying to get out of a jam. Joshua wedged his foot into this support with all his might in his eagerness to meet the world.

My ribs have never been the same. I have been adjusted by the chiropractor so many times, and the ribs keep slipping.

Emily was given the key to the waiting room today. Josh must have told her where it was. She knocked on the door around 11am today, settled right in and shows no signs of leaving.

I feel a bruise coming on.

But I'm happy to know that she, just as her brother before her, is attending to those last few details. Is she curling her hair? Will she choose one or two dimples? Maybe she's trying out a crooked little smile.

Only time will tell.

(Hang in there ribs, we'll get back in the right spot someday)

Joshua's First Trip to Disneyland

2011-11-06T20:01:00.001-08:00

For Joshua's second birthday, we took him to Disneyland for the first time. We wrestled with how old he should be for the first time, but settled on two. I think it will be a good age. We got annual passes, so we'll get to go lots and lots (for the one year while Josh still gets in free).

I expected his head to come spinning off with all that he would be seeing, but that was not the case. I think it was too much for him to take in. He was so serious the majority of the day. I think he enjoyed it, but he was in overdrive trying to process it all.

We were there right at opening time, so got to hear the announcement when they opened the castle gate. Since it was Josh's birthday, we got him a birthday pin so he could get a little extra attention from the Disney staff. He got some, but not as much as I expected. He turned shy each time anyway.

Our first ride of the day was the carousel. It was amusing to me how fast the carousel seemed. I also got a little dizzy. I wasn't sure if this was because of my pregnancy (and standing up while moving backwards) or because I was focused on Josh. Jim said it was because my focus was different since he was feeling the same way. I had the same feeling on the Dumbo ride. Funny how those protective instincts kick right in.

The first characters we were able to meet was a group of villains. Josh wasn't scared about any villainous demeanor, but he didn't really want to get close to these guys on his own. He would say "hi" and "bye" to them when prompted, but that was it.

I think the favorite spot all day was Goofy's house in Toon Town. It had a playground-type area and just fun stuff to play with that was his size.

But the best part of Toon Town was this phone. I think he could have stayed there forever. Josh would pick it up, "LLLOOOWWWW!" and walk around with the phone to his ear (as far as the cord would let him) and hang the phone back up. Over. And Over.

And of course we had to meet Mickey Mouse (Mee-Mee House). I was hoping Josh would be less shy with him, but he still wanted to be held. Hopefully future visits will be better.

We took the train around the park, mostly to take a rest from walking. Josh was looking pretty sleepy so we tried to find a quiet spot for him to take a nap in the stroller. He has never done this well, but we hoped he would be tired enough. I thought it was going to work, but he just wanted too much interaction and was starting to get cranky. We decided to head home and maybe consider coming back in the evening.

As we were walking to the front gate, he passed out. So we turned around and found another quiet spot by It's a Small World since it is closed in preparation for Christmas. Josh took a wonderful one hour nap. It was a nice rest time for Jim and me too!

He woke up and got to enjoy some popcorn and a Mickey Mouse Ice Cream (at least what little I would share with him). Yum-O!!

What was funny was not long after he woke up a four-man drumming band came thundering out of a gate very close to where we were sitting. Thank goodness Josh had already woken or there may have been an unhappy Mama (and maybe an unhappy child). Instead we got to enjoy these fun guys.

One thing we had to do was get the boy a Mickey Ear hat. I was trying to decide between traditional black or a blue one when Josh spotted the Kermit the Frog hat. It was all over from there. I tried to talk him into a Mickey one, but that only had him choosing other hats from the wall. So I walked him away from the wall, presented him with one Mickey hat and one Kermit hat and told him to pick one.

Yep.

We got his name embroidered on the back.

We left the park around 6pm. Jim and I were both shocked at how long we all lasted. My hips were killing me and I could barely walk by the end. Even though we have passes, there is just something that makes you want to stay as long as you can - on a first visit anyway. We only rode a few rides and didn't go to many lands, but we took the day slow and just enjoyed ourselves.

On the tram ride back to the parking structure we sat across from another family with two daughters, the youngest of which was 2.5 years old. The mom said this was her third visit and the first time she really seemed to be getting it. That gave Jim great hope for Josh showing a little more outward enthusiasm after more visits.

Happy Birthday Little Dude!

2011 Wish List

2011-11-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this kid is two already. I still feel pretty stumped at what things he should have, but below are a few ideas if anybody is wondering...

Veggie Tales - CDs or DVDs

Music - Anything music related makes me happy. I so desperately want this kid to love and appreciate music and he seems to be showing some promising signs.

Bath Toys - the poor kid has had nothing but cups to play with. I'm sure he would love something a little more creative.

Learning Toys - anything that really helps with letter and numbers.

Art Supplies - We're not quite into them yet, but I'll bet this next year will be a big one for being artsy.

Themes - He's pretty much into Pixar Cars ("Keem" for McQueen) right now. He still loves Elmo. He's also getting good with Mickey Mouse ("Mee-Mee House") and his friends - especially now that we have Disney passes.

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-11-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

It's getting into my favorite time of year. I really love fall, with the cooler weather, rain, yummy food, fall colors and pumpkins.

Josh picked up on the excitement of pumpkins pretty quickly and calls them "pump-pump".

My Aunt Judy and Uncle Ed were visiting from Indiana, so we took a day together to go to a fun pumpkin patch.

The hay maze was a big hit. I think it was really my dad's favorite because he kept wanting to go in there. He taught Josh how to get excited about it too by having him lead the charge and looking for "doors" or "no-doors".

"This-a way!"

Josh even taught his Great- Aunt and Uncle the proper way to journey with your hands behind your back. We're not sure why he does this, but it is a crack up.

The giant Thomas bounce house freaked his freak. He kept wandering over there saying "Thom-Thom". He must have been amazed at how big it was.

My dad is really good at getting Josh to experience everything and soak it all in. He'll say "try this" or "touch that". So when my dad saw a line of hay bales, he had Josh get on top and walk along.

So cute!

They also have pony rides. I wasn't sure how Josh was going to do because earlier in the day we sat him in a saddle that was on a hay bale decorated to look like a horse. He did not want to be on it. But once on the horse, he was a natural. Wasn't scared at all.

I love that they let the parents walk the pony at your own pace and not as part of some carousel.

You really would have thought this kid has been riding his whole life already.

"Don't wait up for me, little darlin'!"

My angel.

Joshua Makes Koff-Koff

2011-10-28T19:43:00.001-07:00

I am happy to introduce our first "guest blog" post here on Bountiful Butterflies. This post is brought to you by my dad, otherwise known as Grandpa B.

Take it away, Grandpa...

Joshua has learned to be a barista, making cups of espresso for his Grandpa B. He calls it koff-koff (coffee) and has the whole process down pat.

First he needs for the tool (stool) to be placed up by the counter. He has been able to pick it up from where it was standing and unfold it in front of the bathroom counter, where the capsule espresso machine sits, but lately, he wants it placed for him. Then he opens the drawer that has the capsules in it and selects one. Then he climbs up the stool to reach the machine.

Next he lifts the lid/handle and drops the capsule into place.

Then he pulls the handle down to puncture the capsule and fetches the espresso cup to place it under the spout.

Then he pushes the start button for the espresso to start streaming into the cup.

He waits for Grandpa to tell him when to push the button again to turn it off.
Then Grandpa moves the cup away (so it won't spill) for Josh to again lift the handle to eject the used capsule.
Then he climbs down off the stool and Grandpa enjoys his freshly made cup of espresso.
One day, the stool was in another part of the house, so Grandpa made his own cup, and Joshua got quite upset that he hadn't been asked to do it.
Maybe someday he's going to own his own Starbucks store!!

The First Official Haircut

2011-10-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Josh turns two in just a couple days. One of the things we decided to make a big deal during this time was his first official, professional haircut.

I have been going to my hairstylist, Lynn, for at least 17 years and I love her. And she of course wanted to give Josh his first hair cut.

Well, I cut it myself for the first time after his first birthday and several times since. Sometimes it turned out well, and others...well...not so much. But it was fun to learn. I stopped cutting it three or four months ago just to see how it would look a little longer while we waited for this first official haircut. I am not a big fan of long hair on any boys in general, so started to get pretty anxious for this cut. His hair went through an awkward stage, but seemed to get cute again just a couple weeks before the appointment.

Here is my hippie child:

Josh has become much more active and wiggly in the last month or two, so only then did I start to worry how he would behave. Lynn assured me that she was ready for anything. She sat him on a booster, which he wasn't too sure about, and then really didn't want the cape on. So we set him on my lap, but he still didn't want the cape. Then Lynn started to spray Josh's hair wet and that really wasn't going over well.

We were armed with distractions and bribes, but nothing was doing the trick. Lynn got as many snips in as she could, but we eventually reached a point where we decided we should stop. His hair was at least even on both sides.

Lynn said I could just bring him in several times for him to watch and also try to get a few clips snipped here and there. She was confident that he would eventually get used to it.

Since there was some time left, Jim sat down to have his hair done. Josh and I sat in the next chair, and Josh was really studying Dada. I kept telling him that dad was getting a hair cut, and we looked around at the other people in the salon getting their hair done.

That really seemed to make a difference because suddenly he was willing to get his hair cut. I still expected him to freak out once in the chair, but that did not happen.

He was suddenly a perfect client.

He sat still, ate his cracker and sang songs with me.

I should have known better that he really likes to observe things and soak them in before diving in (he's like me after all). Now we know in the future to book his appointment back-to-back with dad's so he can watch and get mentally prepared. I guess it's like psyching up for a big game. =D

Here's my little man with his new do.

Say cheeeeeeeese!!!!

Word of the Day: Capitulation

2011-09-26T14:07:00.001-07:00

2011-09-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

Potty Training - 11 Day Update

2011-09-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

Training has continued to go great overall.

For some strange reason Josh has stopped just sitting on the potty on his own. So a couple hours will go by and I'll take him to the potty because it seems like he should need to go. And sure enough he does. I guess the good news is that he is successfully holding it for pretty good stretches.

The only accidents we continue to have are related to poop. It's like he doesn't understand the need to poop or maybe he's not comfortable telling us. Not really sure. Typically he will have peed in his shorts a little and then fusses to go poop. There have also just been some flat out accidents with poop ending up in undesirable places.

Where we are today is still having him go bare-bottomed as much as possible. And just shorts if we go out. He did wear a diaper for some church related stuff because other people were watching him and I didn't want to put that burden on them.

He does seem to be getting better about communicating the need to go potty when in situations such as sitting in a lap or high chair. He still gives a soft little "poop" and off we go.

Today had a truly amazing moment. I took him to work to have lunch with my girlfriends. I had a potty in the car just in case and really didn't know what to expect. After touring the building a little bit he started to get fussy and I wondered if he needed to go potty. So we made our way to the big-people bathroom and I sat him down. Josh seemed a little freaked out by that and just wanted to hug me. So I didn't push the issue.

About 45 minutes later while we were all eating I heard his "poop" and away we went. I took him to the same potty and we sat there a long time. There was a little trickle and then nothing. But when I tried to get him off the potty, he kept saying "poop". So we stayed. My patience paid off because sure enough he went poop! Then a lotta pee! I was amazed. I couldn't believe he actually did this on the first day trying. But why do I keep getting surprised?

So we had our little celebration, but the best was when we rejoined the girls and he got huge cheers from all them. What fun!

Potty Training Boot Camp - Day 3

2011-09-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Day three was smooth as well. We had some weird weather so decided not to attempt a picnic. So unfortunately our outings for the day were just boring errands.

The funny thing was that I think all three of us were getting cabin fever. It's hard to stick around the house this much.

In the afternoon we left shorts on Josh for a little bit to start getting him used to that feeling and needing to specifically tell us when he needs to go potty. It's great that he does it all by himself when bare-bottomed, but he needs to learn to have us help him when dressed.

No accidents all day, so still feeling really good about it all.

Potty Training Boot Camp - Day 2

2011-09-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot to report because the day went so well. Josh never told us he needed to go potty because he would just go sit down when he needed to. This makes me a little concerned about when we do start putting pants on him, but I know it's just a matter of learning that next phase.

We did our outing this afternoon to Starbucks. We just put shorts on Josh with no diaper. He stayed dry the whole time. There was a little concern on the way back though. Josh wanted to walk so it was slow going heading home. About one-third of the way back Josh stopped walking and said "pee-pee". Oh, great. What do we do now? I scooped him up to try to walk home faster but he wanted to walk. I reminded him that he needed to try to stay dry. Amazingly we made it home without any hint of an incident.

It was a little while after we got home before he did go potty, so I'm not really sure he had to go when he said so on the walk. But at least he communicated it.

Tomorrow we're supposed to do two outings. It's a little funny to wait for him to go pee so that we can scoop him up to head out. We're hoping the morning outing can be a picnic lunch. Not sure what the afternoon will be.

Potty Training Boot Camp - Day 1

2011-09-03T20:05:00.001-07:00

Today we officially started potty training. The plan of attack for day one was to keep him naked from the waste down - no diaper, undies or pants of any kind. We started tanking him up with watery apple juice and salty snacks to promote thirst.

It took a couple hours, but Josh softly said "poop" so we headed to the potty. It was several minutes of distractions and getting him to sit still but he finally peed. Josh seems to say "poop" just as a general term to go potty, while "poo-poo" is for the actual thing.

We celebrated: "Yay!!! PEE-PEEE!!! Yay PEE-PEEE!!!"

After that the day went really well. He was peeing pretty regularly and good about telling us that he needed to.

The only real accident we had was while we were making Jell-O together. Josh just was too excited to be helping with the Jell-O that he didn't tell us he had to go. But we caught it quickly and he was able to finish in the potty. This also happened a little while making pizza.

After his nap (which he does wear a diaper for), he started just sitting on the potty without even telling us. I tell you, it was so amazing to see him do that. Our last potty of the day even had both pee and poop. I don't think he's going to be one of those kids who is resistant to pooping in
the potty. He's already done it lots of times.

Tomorrow the schedule is pretty much the same except that we do get to get out of the house for an hour. It basically is supposed to be seen as a reward to be able to go outside after using the potty. So I'm not sure what part of the day we will try to do that. It's a pretty exhausting process, but it is going very well!

Word of the Day Game

2011-09-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

Josh learned a new word today. Your challenge is to tell me what the real word is.

Josh says:

Pokepot

What is the word?

Winnie the Pooh

2011-08-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

We took Josh to his first movie in the theater to see...

It was at the $2 theater, so if he didn't last very long, we wouldn't be out much money. The theater was pretty full with the lots of kids of all ages. The strangest was to see two teenage boys there together. But then again, how could anyone not love the Pooh, right?

Josh did so great, he sat on my lap for the first half and was mesmerized. He recognized the characters from his toys. We had brought along his big Tigger pillow pal, the pooh blanket and two little figurines of Pooh and Eeyore. Josh kept saying "Eeyore, Eeyore".

At about the halfway point he got up and we put him in the theater seat - the darn thing started to fold up on him and eat him alive! So Jim and I had to hold the seat down for our little guy. When the movie started he had no interest in trying popcorn, but then when he was in his seat, he was a good little American consumer and mindlessly ate the popcorn while transfixed on the movie like he'd been doing it for years and years.

Then the wigglies set in and he just had to be on his feet. Even still he was mostly good. He just kept saying "Hi" to a girl (probably 11-years-old) who was in the row in front of us. "Hi. Hi. Hi." This kid has the talent to be cute and annoying at the same time.

And we made it through the entire movie! Luckily it was just over and hour long, so we certainly can't do anything longer yet. But I'm so glad we did it!

Swiffer Man!

2011-08-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

This video was shot about a month ago, but it shows how handy Josh has become.

He spent a good 15 minutes this morning Swiffering the house. I think I'll pay him in Cheerios.
That's not breaking any child labor laws, right?

Potty Training - Unofficially

2011-08-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

I've had potty training on my mind for quite a while. I heard that between 18-24 months is a great time to train and if you miss that window it may not work again until close to 3-years-old. I bought a potty several months ago and we have just had it available for Josh to get used to sitting on. Haven't pushed the issue and he has had some scattered success with both elements.

In the last month or so I have wanted to get more serious about it. I read a three day method where you basically keep the child naked from the waste down for those three days. That's the approach I'm leaning towards and hope to do it Labor Day Weekend.

However, this morning Josh was sitting on my lap and I could feel the warmth of him peeing in his diaper. I made a big deal about this and had him feel the warmth and told him it was pee and that he could do that in the potty. When I took that diaper off, I decided not to put one back on. So we spent the morning with one naked butt running around.

I kept asking him if he needed to pee and we would sit on the potty occasionally with no results. After a couple hours I knew he had to be able to go. Instead of asking I just walked him to the potty. He sat down and immediately had quite a bit of pee. We celebrated!

Throughout the morning I could see him starting to get the concept and kind of telling me when he had to go. We got a few little dribbles in the potty and some very minor drips around the house.

The hardest part was lunch time. He kept dribbling (and telling me!!) so I would take him out of the chair and sit him on the potty only to get a drop or two. After the second or third time, he had quite a stream in his high chair and nothing could be done to catch it in time.

But I am feeling very proud that at a minimum he is learning to communicate the need. I put a diaper on him for nap time and he peed again while we were reading. I think he may have told me before he started going and seemed mildly distressed about going in his diaper.

It will be very interesting to see how this progresses.
I'll keep y'all posted!

Today's Smile

2011-08-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

I love finding Josh's empty milk cup teetering on the edge of the kitchen counter because it means he tried to "put it away" but that was as far as his little body could reach.

Josh to English Dictionary

2011-08-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

Josh's vocabulary is ever expanding. These are some of my favorite words of his.

Boh-boh ... pillow

Sahr-sahr ... sorry

Boo ... open

Nah ... down

Show-show ... shoulder or lotion

Bee-weeh ... Bailey (the cat)

Foofie ... Sophie (the fat cat)

Side ... if he's inside, it's to go outside. If he's outside it's to go inside.

Noo-noo ... any meal in general, but more specifically dinner

Gahl-gah ... gorilla

Gurgle ... turtle

Loyoyoyloyoyo ... lid

Where Have You Been?

2011-08-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

I don't know. I guess I've just been too distracted to blog lately. We've had some issues with our computer. Josh is busier, busier. It's summer. Yadda yadda yadda. I've got lots of excuses. But luckily I've got lots of blog post ideas. Hopefully I can just find the time to do them.

But I can give you one good distraction excuse...

We are expecting our second little one. YAY!!! Due in early February. No, we don't know if it's a boy or girl yet. Hopefully we will find out sometime in September.

Our Little Getaway

2011-06-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

Jim's parents gifted us with a little two-night getaway in Leavenworth. It was a nice break for us and a good opportunity for Josh to spend some quality time with his grandparents.

The drive to Leavenworth took us to a high enough elevation where there was a pretty good covering of snow.

Now...I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to tell anybody.

Promise?

Are you sure?

You have to keep a secret!

It's about this place called Run of the River.

It's a bed and breakfast for adults only.

Our room was the top one on the left

In the middle is the dining hall

This is the beautiful dining hall.

Apparently the chandelier changes foliage with the seasons. In the afternoons, fresh baked cookies are made available as well as hot cocoa, tea and cider. The breakfast were very good with some of the items being organic.

This was our room

The ladder goes up to a loft. Behind the ladder is the jacuzzi tub.

Lots of counter space in the bathroom

Shower with two heads

The coffee station

The jacuzzi

The loft.

The lobby has movies and games that you can steal up to your room. I tought Jim how to play Scrabble in the loft.

Fireplace (which burned way too hot for the current weather)

Cozy chair by the fire

Our porch

The porch had a swing with a blanket and pillow on it. Behind the swing were hung a backpack, walking sticks and bubbles to play with. We were also given a bag of bird feed to place in various feeders on our porch railing.

The view from our porch

Leavenworth is a Bavarian-themed town.

We ate a nice, authentic German dinner our first night, beers and brats for lunch, and a yummy Italian dinner our second night.

Our full day there, Jim and I wanted to go on a hike. The weather was beautiful so we needed to take full advantage. I just wanted to find an easy, relatively flat hike to just take as a relaxation - nothing strenuous. Jim found what seemed to be a perfect trail and we hit the road to find it.

Suddenly we hit a road block. By following another vehicle through the campground to another road block, we learned that they were residents. They informed us that the road was closed due to a mudslide. There was no way to get to the trail we were looking for.

So instead we parked in the campground and just wandered around a little bit.

This bench was the strangest thing. I could not come with an idea of why it was so high off the ground. Do you see my feet dangling? I wondered if it was supposed to be buried in the ground, but as I looked at nearby benches, they were a different style, so couldn't confirm my suspicion.

Just weird

We walked along the Icicle River a bit

Ahhh...good quality time.

A trip worth remembering.

Just remember that secret you're supposed to keep.

Fun Around Bellevue

2011-06-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

We were told about a play area in the Bellevue Square just for little kids. So, Jim and I took an afternoon to have a family day at the mall. We had lunch, Josh got officially fitted for shoes for the first time, and then we made our way up to the play area.

Holy Cow!!!!!

This place was amazing! I'm ready to move to Bellevue just for this mall. I am not a mall rat by any means, but I loved the stores they had and this play center was truly the icing on the cake!! Next to it was also a cupcake shop, a Gymboree center, and a kids' haircut shop.

The play area was free and big and safe. Everything looked so shiny and slick, but it was a deception. They actually were kinda tacky and soft. And the ground was gushy too.

I think Josh's head was on the verge of explosion. It was like he was trying to figure out how to play with everything at the same time. He would almost turn in circles because he couldn't decide which thing he wanted to do most.

He got so good at climbing up the "rocks" of the slide and then sliding down. He couldn't quite figure out how to turn around onto his bum, but he was happy enough sliding down on his belly.

This boy is so ready to climb.

Jim and his parents took Josh for an afternoon to give me a chance to do laundry and get Jim and I packed for a little getaway. They took Josh to the zoo.

Lunch!

Uhm...does any one else see that big scary cat...Right! There!!

Pa and Josh

The gorillas were a big hit.

And again so close.

Josh's "GalGa" souvenier

Family: Bellevue and Yelm

2011-06-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

After 4 days in LaConner, we headed to Bellevue. We stayed with Glen's cousin Charles and his wife Lynn. The day we arrived we had a lovely lunch with lots of cousins.

Josh really took a liking to Leslie. He's good at picking out the kid lovers.

The next day we traveled to Yelm to spend the day with cousins related to the LaConner cousins. One of the main events was to get the "DeForrest Campbells" together - all these boys have the same middle and last name.

From the top:
Scott, Cameron, Glen, James, Joshua...
DeForrest Campbell

This house had a tent which Josh had a great time with. He struggled learning to duck down to get through the opening which brought tons of roaring laughter as the tent collapsed.

Washington Vacation: LaConner

2011-05-31T20:32:00.001-07:00

We took a family vacation to the state of Washington. Jim's dad has a lot family there and we wanted to introduce Josh to as many as we could. Jim's parents drove up and were able to take some of our bulkier items since we were flying.

Josh did AWESOME on the flight up. He slept about 45 minutes and was well behaved and charming the entire time.

Our first destination was the family farm in LaConner. Jim spent many summers as a teenager working here.

Here are just some pictures of the downtown area along the waterfront.

The boys - Jim, Josh and Glen - took an afternoon to do a hike.

We borrowed a frame pack from a friend of mine and Josh really loved being in it. Towards the end of the hike, apparently Josh found Jim's ears and had a good time pulling them.

This picture makes Jim laugh.

Here are some pictures of the neighboring family farm property.

I think this may have been the first time Josh met horses up close. He was fascinated, especially when they started talking to each other.

Our last night in LaConner, we had a family dinner.

Lauren (Jim's cousin), Mary (whom we stayed with), and Josh (of course)

Serena (Lauren's mom), Mary and Josh
Watching whipped cream be made

While his parents weren't looking, Josh got introduced to licking the beaters. He really, really enjoyed it!

Easter 2011

2011-05-05T20:01:00.001-07:00

This Easter was fun. I had hoped to take Josh to an Easter egg hunt and had a list of events happening around the county. When I was able to recruit my friend Andrea to join us with her son Silas, we picked the event in Cypress to go to.

I had visions of a big field with kids scrambling for eggs. I was a little concerned because it was for ages 11 and under and I just didn't know if Josh would get run over. My sister suggested that when they yelled "go" to grab Josh like a football and book it to the other end of the field to claim my territory like a squatter.

When we arrived we learned that it was in fact divided into age groups. However, the area for three and under was an obstacle course for the kids and they just got eggs at the end. That seemed really weird and a little disappointing. But when the time came, it actually was kinda fun and I see why they do it that way. I guess we should trust that an event that's been going on for 36 years knows what it's doing, compared to these first-time-egg-hunt-moms. :)

Josh went through the course while I tried my best to guide him and hold the video camera. At the end they throw down some candy and eggs filled with toys. He did really good picking them up and putting them in his little basket.

There were some people making balloon animals and teenagers doing face painting. We tried to get the boys' faces painted, but they both were not having it. When the girl tried to put the brush to Josh's face, he just leaned away from it - over and over. It was so funny. So we let that go.

Afterwards, we sat down to a nice picnic lunch. It was so wonderful to just sit there with Andrea and our boys. I was also amused to see other kids having melt downs and acting up and being reminded that my kid is normal.

I also wanted to take some fun pictures of Josh for Easter. Here are just a couple of my favorites.

Easter day was fun too. We had a nice big gathering with family and were joined by my friend Melanie and her family. Jim's parents had set up an egg hunt for Josh in the backyard. It took him some coaxing to pick up the first egg, but then he got the idea and was loving it.

The Bounty

Davia is Melanie's youngest and she just loves being with Josh. She was helping point out the eggs and just palling around with him all afternoon.

There seems to be a tradition in Jim's family that the men marry older women. Josh certainly has his pick already. There's Josie who is three days older, Eliana at 2 years older and Davia at 2.5 years older.

The couple with their Elmo kids

ScRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!!!

2011-04-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa B for my Easter gift! I love it!

It is with me whenever we go outside (along with my lawnmower), and when we come inside I make sure mom doesn't forget to bring the chair and lawnmower with us.

Mom is just delighted. Her eye has started twitching, but that must be a good thing.

Love, Joshua

San Bernardino Railroad Days 2011

2011-04-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

Jim is heading into a busy season for the train. Today was the first event with 3751 heading to San Bernardino for Railroad Days. He left the house early this morning to prep for a 10 a.m. departure from L.A. Union Station. Josh and I also departed at 10am from our house to make the drive to the San Bernardino station. We got there just after 11am and after wandering around a bit to check things out, we came across a marching-type band that was sardined into a corner of the station playing some fun music. Josh was into it right away.

Then we scouted out a spot along the tracks to watch 3751 roll in. We had lunch while we waited and chatted with some people around us. A Twitter feed was going out giving updates of the engine's location, and while it was great that the updates were provided, I quickly realized that the landmarks meant nothing to me in relation to San Bernardino. So I had no idea how close the train was. When "Rialto" was tweeted, I finally asked somebody if they knew how far away that was. "Five miles" sounded good to me and it wasn't long before we could see the steam billowing. Jim was riding in the cab of the Metrolink engine and we were able to spot him and give a big wave. After the train settled in, Jim had some responsibilities, so Josh and I made our way to the food and live country band. Josh was a total hit as he bounced to the music and I saw lots of people smiling at him.

When Jim joined us, we ventured over to the cab of the steam engine and Josh got his official tour. As we waited to climb into the cab, Josh was riveted by the rivets.

(Hahahaha!!)

A fireman in the making...

Proud Papa!

After a turn through the museum, Josh and I packed up and headed home. It was a pretty neat event and not as chaotic as I have felt at Fullerton. What I don't understand is why it is always BLAZING hot whenever I venture out to Railroad Days, regardless of where it is!! But Josh had so much fun and was a total trooper!! I thought he would sleep on the hour long ride home, but he was wired and excited and not interested in sleep.

Mail Call!

2011-04-09T10:31:00.001-07:00

Yep, still loves receiving mail.

Word of the Day: Pragmatic

2011-04-05T06:08:00.000-07:00

Woke up with this word in my head.

To: Josh's Fan Club

2011-03-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for the mail! He is loving it! I think we spent 15 minutes yesterday sitting on the porch moving his most recent delivery in and out of the mail box.

It went something like this:

"Dooh, dooh" as he points at the mail box. I open the door.

"Mayh, mayh" as he points at the mail box.

I hand Josh his mail and he pulls the card out of the envelope and smiles. He attemps to put it back in the envelope but needs mommy's help.

Once the card is in, "Bah, bah" as he points at the mail box. I put the card back.

"Dooh, dooh" as he points at the mail box, I close the door.

Big smile, aaanndd repeat..."Dooh, dooh"...

So, yes, Josh is loving receiving mail. I show him the front of the envelope and read each letter of his name so he can start to understand that the mail is specifically for him. He's so stinkin' cute!

"May! May! May!"

2011-03-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about the month. I'm talking about "mail". Or, rather, Josh is taking about mail, which in Josh language is "may".

He is picking up on so much so fast and really knows the routines. He has started indicating his desire to check the mail. I think his interest was raised when he got a couple cards for St. Patrick's Day that were just for him. He had fun opening them.

So, this post is to ask for mail for little Josh. I know that he would just love getting more mail. It doesn't have to be anything special. You could draw a picture or put stickers on a piece of paper that opens and he'll be happy.

If you don't have my address, get in touch with me for it.

"May, may, may" is not to be confused with "moh, moh, moh" which may be confused with "more" or "lawn mower".

Hurricane Wedding

2011-03-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday was wet. A wet day. Wet wet wet.

Oh, and WINDY! And cold too. And wet.

We had a friend's wedding to go to. On the beach. I have never been to a beach wedding in California and I was really looking forward to it. I had debated for a little while if we should bring Josh, but finally decided we would be better off leaving him behind.

As the rainy day in the forecast drew nearer, we wondered what was going to happen to this wedding. We we ready for an adventure and to just go with the flow. I packed a bag of contingencies: hats, scarves, gloves, umbrellas, different jackets for different conditions, and socks to help warm my feet on the drive from the wedding to the reception site.

We arrived at the beach and didn't see anything setup for a wedding. As we approached the parking attendent, I heard her explaining to the car in front of us that the wedding was moved to the reception site. Ahhh, I was quite relieved. As much as I want to go to a beach wedding, conditions were not of a pleasant nature and I would have frozen my Bippie!!!

The reception was at a beautiful house in Huntington Harbor. Everything that had been setup for the reception had to be taken down and the chairs that had attempted to be set up on the beach were brought into the living room. Let's just say it was cozy.

It's amazing how much easier it is to befriend strangers when you're rubbing elbows and practically sitting on top of each other. Everyone just had to go with the flow and it made it pretty fun. There were a lot of friendly people in attendence.

The wedding was really nice and the food was really good. The wind was whipping pretty wild and most people stayed crowded in the house. It felt like a hurricane party to me. Not that I've ever been to one. But this was pretty much how I would picture one.

On a side note, the kitchen of this house was beautiful. BEAUTIFUL! Dear Santa, for Christmas I want that kitchen. I've been a good girl. Thank you.

Sunny Days = Gardening

2011-03-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Our weather this winter has been weird - we keep getting cycles that swing from cold to warm to cold to warm... But the cold days have begun to be less cold and it's really nice to be outside.

We recently got a picnic table and umbrella for Josh. I've been trying to come up with a plan of how to set up a play area for Josh in our backyard, but for now the table sits in our driveway.

He loves it!

Josh has become quite the helper in the garden. He's great at pulling weeds.

I also got him a couple gardening tools so that I could take full advantage of his "help". He took to the tools immediately and loved copying what I was doing.

Apparently he thinks I "throw" the dirt out of the boxes.

Jim taught him how to mow the lawn a couple weekends ago. Won't be long before this boy is earning his keep!

He was loving it!

The boys and their toys.

This past weekend was a beautiful sunny day and I realized I haven't taken any random shots of Josh in quite a while. The weather gave me the perfect excuse and motivation.

This bottom lip just cracks me up. He's not pouting or mad, just using his noggin.

Hee Hee

Ya just gotta love him!

Me and my boy!

Such a confident walker now.

Lent 2011

2011-03-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

I did not grow up practicing Lent. It is only in the last few years that I have tried to observe it. I think it all started several years ago when Jim started asking about it. He didn’t grow up with it either. Our church acknowledges it, but doesn’t make a big point to observe it. Perhaps that was how the seed was planted in our heads.

The first year, Jim did it alone. I wasn’t quite on board yet and I seem to have a memory of some other factor that discouraged me from trying, but I don’t remember what that was (maybe health issues). The funny thing was that because we were newbies to this tradition, Jim did it wrong this first year. What we didn’t know was that Sundays don’t count in the 40 days of Lent. He had given up caffeine (coffee specifically). About three weeks into it, I started checking the calendar because something was feeling off. It felt like more than 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. So I began to research.

This was how I finally learned that Sundays don’t count. It was pretty comical. I told Jim that he could have his coffee on Sundays, but he decided that since he was already geared to not have it at all, that he would just continue that way. What’s funny is that when you talk to people about this, there is disagreement about Sundays. But I think it’s pretty clear when you take the time to count the days. So at almost 50 days, Jim had his first coffee and boy was he jittery. Have you ever seen Hoodwinked?

Since then, one year I gave up soda. One year I gave up watching Ellen. This year I really struggled with deciding if I was going to give up anything. I just wasn’t feeling quite into it. But this past Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), I got on board and decided to give up two things: Facebook and sweets.

I don’t do a lot on Facebook, but I check it pretty often. Too often, especially considering how little I do on it. I like feeling the connection to people, but don’t like the addiction of checking it. So I think it will be nice to just concentrate my time on it to Sundays.

Sweets will be a little tough. I’m actually already surprised to have made it through two days. I even baked brownies yesterday for some friends and didn’t lick the spoon or anything! What will be tough is that my birthday falls in this time of Lent. So I may need to come up with some ground rules to allow a little bit of sweets. And basically I’m defining sweets as desserts or treats: cookies, candy, ice cream, cake etc. I really became aware yesterday of how much I eat sweets just out of boredom. I knew I did it for comfort, but I would be playing with Josh and get an idea to snack on something. I wasn’t hungry, but just wanted to have something. So I think as long as I have birthday sweets with intentionality and not “just because,” I should be able to have a clear conscience (kind of).

If Lent is a new or fuzzy concept to you, here is a decent resource: http://www.kencollins.com/holy-04.htm

UGH!!

2011-03-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

I want to blog. Really, I do. I've just been so busy!!

Soon. I promise.

The First Dental Visit

2011-02-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

Josh has a mouth full of teeth. He has been poppin' them out like crazy. I have been trying to figure out when I should take him to the dentist for the first time. I read everything from as early as after the first tooth appears to as late as three years. Three years seemed awfully late. Since Josh is so accomplished with his chompers, I thought I'd like to go now just to have them checked out. So here, in copious detail, is our experience today.

His appointment was at 11:50 which meant we would have to eat lunch a little earlier than usual. I pushed his nap back a bit so that when he woke up, I could just stuff him with food and hope to make it through without him getting the hungry cranks. We brushed his teeth and headed off.

The office was very nice, clean, and modern looking. I could tell almost immediately after our arrival that I needed to change Josh's diaper. I was very surprised to learn that they didn't have any accommodations for changing diapers. Their front door includes "infants" in the list of patients, so you would think they would be prepared. So I changed him in the car and returned.

Josh was in a great mood. Ice Age was on the t.v. and that tickled him. He started playing with some toys and helping another boy (about 8) play with his. This other boy was darling and kind and loved playing with Josh. When he heard me call his name, he started calling him Josh too. It was very cute. Then two other kids joined and kind of paid attention to him and one called him by name. It's a little weird to be the mom in the waiting room now. But I was so impressed with how well behaved all the kids were.

I had to wait longer than I expected, but learned that another patient was needing extra attention and they were apologizing a lot. The nurse finally took me back to the room and asked a few questions, gave me some samples and pamphlets, and let me know what to expect for his exam. Since it was still going to be a little while before the doctor was ready, we headed back to the waiting room so he could play with toys.

Then came exam time. Oh boy. I sat on the patient chair with my legs over the side. The dentist sat across from me so we were knee to knee. Then a little foam "surfboard" was laid over our knees and Josh laid back with his legs wrapped around me. Immediate crying. I held his hands while the nurse held his head still. As hard as he ended up crying, he actual didn't seem to be physically fighting all that hard. I wonder if it's because the nurse was holding his head and that suppressed any other fight.

She scraped some plaque, cleaned his teeth with the twirly thing, flossed, and applied fluoride to his teeth. It was so interesting to be able to watch this process and get a better look at Josh's upper teeth. While it's hard to hear the crying, it helps keep his mouth open. I knew he was working on his eleventh tooth (third molar), but hadn't seen any signs of the fourth molar. Well, I got to see a huge bruise where that molar will be coming in. And next to it, the eye tooth is already poking out. This poor kid - his mouth is just not giving him any relief.

Once the exam was over he sat up and clung to me pretty hard. The nurse brought him a balloon which helped bring some joy. It was then that they took the picture. Really? His face is all red, his hair is wet from tears and that's the moment you want to capture? Why not take it at the beginning? But I guess they will be mailing me the photo. But then they just showered him with gifts. He got a beach ball and got to pick a prize from a box (he seriously chose the Groucho Marx glasses himself). I was a little inundated with all the stuff I ended up having to carry: the diaper bag, a beach ball, a balloon, a bag of samples and pamphlets - and let's not forget the crying, clingy child. Thanks for all the stuff, but good grief!

But all in all I would say it was a good visit. While if it was up to me, there are things I would do differently, it really does seem like a great office. We'll see how the next one goes in six months.

A Special Message

2011-02-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

Word of the Day: Solipsistic

2011-02-07T12:23:00.001-08:00

I learned this word today in reference to Matthew Perry's character on his new show "Mr. Sunshine."

Dueling Cellos - Smooth Criminal

2011-02-05T14:18:00.001-08:00

Cellos. Michael Jackson. Love it!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Sign Language

2011-02-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

Josh has become a pretty good communicator with his sign language. I had always dreamed of teaching my baby to sign, but when it came time, I wasn't very diligent about teaching it or encouraging it. But around nine or ten months, it suddenly clicked for Josh. I was just about to give up and, viola!, he signed "more".

Some signs he does pretty correctly, others need quite a bit of refinement. The rule is that the non-Joshes have to do the sign correctly - not the way that Josh signs it. So there's a matter of not only knowing what the correct sign is, but what Josh's version of the sign is.

I thought I would just list out the words he can sign as of today:

milk
more
please
thank you
help
shoes
I love you
Dada
patience
water
food
bird
book

We're working on puppy, kitty and banana, but these have proven a little tough. Some signs he has learned in a day and others have taken a little more work. They say that kids who sign tend to start talking later. I'm okay with that because with the signs he is communicating earlier than if we waited for him to speak.

My favorite story was about a week ago I walked him in the stroller to the grocery store. As we were waiting in the checkout line, he looked up at me and started to desperately sign "help". He tends to use this sign when he really means "please" or sometimes just to get my attention. But this time he really seemed to be wanting something to be done. He kept frantically signing it as I looked around for what he could possibly be wanting. Then I spotted his link toys had dropped to the bottom part of his stroller where he couldn't reach them. I handed them to him and he was instantly happy. Another kid would likely have screamed and fussed, but my BRILLIANT child communicated to me through sign and without making an unhappy peep.

I'm not biased or anything, but he is just the smartest kid EVER! =D

Hair! There! Everywhere!

2011-02-01T10:25:00.001-08:00

I am a girl who likes clean cut boys. Always have. Always will. Many times I have seen a guy who is mildly attractive, but know he would be incredibly attractive if only he would CUT HIS HAIR. It's my thing. Accept me for who I am.

So, my boy's hair was getting long. It is special and significant to cut that precious baby hair for the first time. Jim and I were both in agreement that we didn't want to cut it before his first birthday, but after that was quite the negotiation. I finally got the green light from Jim in November. Woo-Hoo!

Look at this hairy, mulleted beast...

We sat him in his Bumbo to hopefully cut down on the squirmies, but also give me access to the back of his head.

It was a bit of a challenge for me to figure out the right technique.

But the job got done.

Doesn't' this look so much better?? Who's with me? I love it!

I have since become addicted to cutting his hair. He's gotten a haircut every month and each time I try to find the best way to do it. Last time I tried to go a little shorter in the back and did a total hack job. Lesson learned - don't go so short. Plus the squirmies are a factor, and as they settle down, I know I'll get better at it.

But I sure do love cutting his hair!!

Aquarium of the Pacific

2011-01-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

As Josh is getting older, we are trying to find what things interest him and keep him entertained. We went to a local small zoo a few weeks back and Josh didn't seem all the impressed. We thought if he had a good time we might buy annual passes and return frequently. But with his lackluster reaction, we figured Josh wasn't quite old enough yet to make that worth it.

This past weekend Jim and I had our first weekend away without Josh. Thanks to my parents and sister taking him on, we headed to Las Vegas for a great getaway. Since Monday was a holiday, we decided to make that a family day with Josh after our absence. We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach which is quite nice.

Josh absolutely loved it! He was so interested in the animals because they were so close and he loved seeing all the other kids. It was great! This time we decided to get passes. It was only double the daily ticket price, so with one more visit, it has already paid for itself.

When we walked up to the Harbor Seal exhibit, one immediately swam right up to Josh. It was amazing.

Then we found a nice spot by some sharks that Josh loved splashing the water. He didn't really notice the creatures just below him, but I'm sure he will one day soon.

I look forward to taking him for little visits throughout the year. And on some hot day, I'll let him play in the "wet zone"!

VOLLLL - CCAAAAAAA - NNOOOOO!!!!!

2011-01-04T06:26:00.000-08:00

Last week we went to Rain Forest Cafe with Jim's family. I was surprised to realize that they have never been to a restaurant with Josh. For the most part he is a lot of fun when dining out. He always charms the staff and he is pretty well behaved.

At Rain Forest, they have this colossal dessert called the Volcano. It is piled up scoops of ice cream with big slabs of brownie piled up on the sides, topped off with whip cream and a sparkler pom-pom. They bring it through the restaurant yelling "VOOOOOLLLLL - CCAAAAAAA - NNNOOOOOOOOOO!" You hear it all night long.

So for our big group we decided to split one. Josh was in a great mood and just being silly. His reaction to the volcano was priceless:

It's hard to see because it was so dark, but his mouth was agape the whole time. The restaurant also has the occasional rain storm with thunder and lightning and the animals all come to life in reaction. He loved that just as well.

Rose Parade Floats

2010-12-31T05:45:00.001-08:00

Family. Lots of family in town. And what happens when family is in town? I get out of the house and actually do stuff. Fun stuff!

My cousin Jessica and her husband Dave moved from Pennsylvania to San Francisco this past summer. I'm so glad it only took them six months to make a trip down to see us. One of the main things they wanted to be sure to do on their visit was decorate Rose Parade floats. So my mom looked into finding a group to do it with and got everything set up. This was my third time doing it. It's always an adventure.

In the building we were working in there were about nine floats.

I'm guessing this is going to be the lead float announcing the parade theme:

Wells Fargo - "Building Dreams, Friendships & Memories"

The float we worked on is sponsored by the Lutheran Laymen's League and titled "What a Friend We Have in Jesus".

Here is our float.

We started by cutting the tops of flowers and applying glue to the back.

Uncle David and Jess jumping right in.

We also spent a lot of time cutting carnations and sticking toothpicks in the bud base so they could be attached to the body of the base of the float later. Our last task was to start gluing some flowers on the float itself.

I was really happy that Jess and Dave got to work directly on the float for most of the time. There was a lot of detail work in the stained glass decoration.

Jess and Dave

Some detail work.

We worked an eight hour shift with a break for dinner. We were supposed to get pizza, but they ran out with the group ahead of us. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we found a Boston Market and took a nice, brisk walk to get a much better meal than the pizza would have been. Plus we could sit down in a warm room instead of standing up outside to eat.

Here are some of the other floats that were in our building.

Shriners Hospitals - "Changing the World Through Caring for Kids"

City of Los Angeles - "Cirque Du Soleil Comes to Town"

Odd Fellows and Rebekahs - "Underwater Fantasy"

Farmers Insurance - "Dream Machine"

This float is amazing. It is so huge. We were all curious about how the float would compress to fit through the doors to get out of the building. I learned that the float stands 17'4" and the doors are 17 feet. There also is a bridge along the parade route which is always a factor for the float builders. For this float, the house lowers down into the boat. I don't think we'll get to see just how low it goes in. But it is a beautiful float.

Saving America's Mustangs Foundation - "Mustang Monument"

This was another spectacular float. The mustangs are beautiful and the detail is wonderful. In the back it is already collapsed, but there is a mountain with a horse and Native American on top. In the evening there was some sort of special dinner for "important" people. Among them were some Native Americans dressed in their garb who got on the float for some photos. I wonder if they are the people that will be on the float in the parade.

If you read this post in time, you'll know which floats to look for!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T21:28:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas
to you all
from
The Campbell Family!

Word of the Day: Caterwauling

2010-12-23T09:46:00.000-08:00

Caterwauling is today's Word of the Day.

"Why?" you ask? Well, two nights ago Jim and I woke at 2 am to the yelps of cats. At first I assumed at least one of our cats was involved. But thankfully they were not. I opened the back door and was shocked how loud it was.

As I was back in bed, I was envisioning the sound coming from near our back wall. These were cats.

"Caterwauling" popped into my head. So I began to wonder if that was the correct word or what it even meant.

So there you go.

Not the Weekend I Signed Up For

2010-12-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas is less than a week away. Yesterday was going to be my big prep day - wrap presents, make a few gifts and just get organized.

That all changed.

I've been feeling on the verge of being sick for several weeks. I would feel icky and then it would go away. I just wanted it to be done. This week it seemed to finally be coming out as I had a pretty good cold. Friday night, following a Christmas party, I had a sudden and severe onset of chills. I crawled into bed and kept turning the electric blanket higher and higher. I couldn't feel the heat of it and I just couldn't get warm. Through all this I had no fever. At midnight I rushed to the bathroom and threw up - a lot. (And the other which shall not be named.)

Wow! My chills were gone. I felt so much better. I was finally able to get warm.

I didn't sleep very well and went to the bathroom again at 4am. I could tell I was feeling pretty weak and tried to rush back to bed. That's where it all went downhill. I passed out and hit my head pretty good on the wall corner. I was carrying a bowl (in case I threw up again) and I think hit my mouth on the bowl on my way down. I just laid there hoping that either Jim heard and would come help, that Josh might wake up which would wake up Jim or that I would just regain my strength to get back to bed.

Jim did hear the crash (which apparently freaked out our cat too) and came to help. As he was helping me back into bed, we discovered the plastic bowl I was carrying had been obliterated. Hopefully I wouldn't need to throw up again. We were amazed that Josh didn't make a peep since this all happened right outside his door.

I was able to sleep for the next couple hours and then Jim and I debated about going to Urgent Care or the Emergency Room. I was most concerned about my ear which was in so much pain. I was worried something had ruptured. Jim called my primary doctor's office and once they heard I had passed out and hit my head, the recommended the ER.

So off we went to the ER and luckily no one else was waiting and I was in a bed within 15 minutes. I had blood taken, fluids and pain medication pumped in me and a CT scan. The scan came back fine and just showed a contusion (bruise). The doc said the vomitting etc was from a bacterial infection from my sinus issues earlier in the week. We were home by noon and after some lunch I slept most of the time until 6:30 this morning even though fighting a fever for most of it.

This morning seems to be the start of a good day. No fever and I feel alive again. My jaw and ear still really hurt. I miss Josh and hope to be able to spend a little time with him tonight.

And through it all, Christmas creeps ever closer.

I Love You, Kevin Bacon

2010-12-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

2010 Reflections

2010-12-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

2010

Approaching the close of a year tends to bring about reflection for a lot of people. I don’t know that I have done much of that historically or perhaps not very deeply. But this year I am definitely reflecting all that the year has held, not only for me but for people I know.

Earlier this year I was looking at the verse (James 1:2-4) I have posted at the bottom of my blog. I posted it when I was in the midst of fertility and health hurdles and feeling pretty low. I was so happy and blessed with the birth of our son that I considered removing the scripture or finding another one that I felt more applicable. I don’t remember why I didn’t remove it at that time, but it has come to be important again. Not just for me, but for others and the trials they are facing.

A friend of mine has been dealing with her own struggles with infertility and it breaks my heart. She has had other ingredients added to her life situation that she has come to really despise 2010. We both have high hopes that 2011 is a better year for her.

Several acquaintances have been battling cancer. One of them is not facing the best outlook. It’s scary to think about the path he might be on.

Other friends and family have just had various relationship and health concerns that have made 2010 a pivotal year for them.

The community of Facebook also exposes me to various trials and tribulations of people, some which I have never met, as prayers are requested through the network.

Personally, I have had my share of emotional struggles in 2010. Not one is devastating by itself, but I feel the compilation of them all overwhelms me at times. Balancing work with home has been difficult. I have lost a friendship that was very significant. My physical health has had its ups and downs.

But as the verse encourages, I will try to find the joy in these times as I know that God is refining me (and you).

Only God knows what 2011 holds, but I know that I trust God in his plans. I can hope (and pray) for a great year filled with new opportunities. I’m ready for significant change and look forward to what God presents me with. I pray that others are ready to receive His blessings.

Walking!

2010-12-06T19:08:00.000-08:00

Josh can walk. He doesn't really know he can walk. But his parents know he can walk.

His problem is letting go. And to quote a friend of mine, "Isn't that all our problem...we can't let go?"

But I am determined to have him walking by Christmas and Jim and I are being diligent in practice with Josh. Only slightly harder than getting Josh to walk, is capturing his successes on video. So here is a really quick glimpse.

Today he let go of the table and walked his few steps to me all on his own without prompting. YAY!!

Christmas Train

2010-12-04T09:12:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas decorations have been put up, the tree is assembled and decorated and yesterday Jim got the train around the tree.

This video is so cute of Josh watching the train in amazement.

Sing-A-Ma-Jig

2010-11-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

My Christmas Wish List is complete. When I saw this on Ellen, I instantly fell in love. Santa, if you're listening...

This is a longer clip, so start watching at 2:17 and you'll see what I'm talking about. At 3:42 is where it got really funny for me.

What will they think of next?

Christmas Concert

2010-11-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday our church had a Christmas Concert put on by an a Capella group. Here's a little taste of Josh enjoying the evening.

Ellen - The Details

2010-11-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would share some details about our experience going to the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Andrea and I started talking about going to the show several years ago. But pregnancies and babies sort of put it all on hold. Earlier this year, Stacy brought up the idea of trying to go and she and Gina tried to get tickets. That never panned out. Ellen went on break over the summer and I was determined to try to get tickets as soon as they were making them available again.

So once I remembered to look in September, they were already pretty booked up and the earliest I could get tickets for was November 11th. You can get a max of four tickets and you can only attend once per year (season?). I put my name in to request the tickets. THE NEXT DAY I received a call from the Ellen show confirming my request and saying we would have guaranteed seats. I was to receive a packet of information two weeks prior to the taping.

So we waited.

Everyone was so excited. We wondered who we would see. What would the gifts be that we might receive? Would we be able to handle the excitement?!?!?

The day came. We met at my house and had a nice lunch. We had to be at the check-in point no later than 3:30pm. We hit the road at 1:00pm and arrived at 2:00pm. We learned that the audience was still waiting to go in for the taping of the first show and we were scheduled to see the second show. They asked us to come back at 3:30. We took a walk to a coffee shop and made our way back just before 3:00. We checked in and were asked to take a seat until they opened the line at 3:00. Once they opened the line, we jumped in to await our numbers.

I'd say we got some pretty good numbers...

They state that the numbers don't really have any bearing on where you sit. They kind of "cast" you for seating. But you can't deny that the sooner you get in the studio, the more chance there is of getting good seats.

After receiving the numbers, you take a seat again and wait for an hour. You get to view the episode that is airing that day that you are missing by attending the taping. Ricky Martin was on and apparently I still have a bit of a leftover crush on him. I was so bummed we didn't get to see him live.

Here we are waiting and watching the show.

Me, Andrea, Stacy and Gina

At about 4:30 or so, we get in line by number. Then they take groupings across the street over to the studio. There we briefly waited in a sort of hallway with benches. From there they move us into the "Riff Raff Room". This is just outside the studio where audience members that didn't make it into the studio can sit on couches to watch the show on monitors. This is also where Ellen's gift shop is. I did a little shopping and picked up some fun items for Jim, Josh and me.

From there we were finally brought into the studio. By the time we came in, there was maybe one fourth of the audience already filled. As we wondered where we would sit, we got called down the steps and taken right to the FRONT ROW!!! WHHAATTT???? How cool is that????? We just about died! How exciting!!!

It was probably about 5:15 by this point and we spent the next 45 minutes dancing, and laughing and being entertained by the warm-up guy and audience dancing. A producer came to our front row and said "You are the first people Ellen will see, so lots of energy!" Cool!

It is the weirdest feeling to have all these cameras in your face which you have to assume are filming all the time. Who knows what will ever be aired.

The show started pretty promptly at 6:00. It tapes just like it airs. We saw Indian acrobatic dancers, Halle Barry and Josh Groban performed. I am a big Josh Groban fan and from where we were sitting, you could not be any closer to him. I was in awe.

The show wrapped and we went back to the Riff Raff Room. We found a photo booth that we jumped in and took some fun pictures.

As we walked out, we were given our gift/prize of the Josh Groban CD. The show aired on Monday, November 15th. All four of us could be seen through different shots in the first 5-10 minutes, but never again. She actually didn't have as much audience-involved stuff that day, so there just wasn't a lot of the audience shown.

All told it was a really great day and a wonderful lifetime memory. We couldn't wait to turn on our cell phones and share our experiences with our loved ones.

Joshua's Halloween

2010-11-20T09:35:00.000-08:00

While this was technically Joshua's second Halloween...

(Remember this little blobby guy?)

... it really was his first that we got to enjoy in the traditional way.

On his birthday, we took him to a pumpkin patch to select our pumpkin to carve.

This next picture just makes me laugh so much. I thought we could get some great photos in this area where there were just tons of pumpkins all about. But this face...

...this face was pretty constant. I think he didn't like the smell of the hay or something. So, needless to say, not the best photo op.

For Halloween we got the pumpkin carved and Josh was a big help.

Josh's costume was a giraffe. For some reason I have become so drawn to giraffes since Josh was born. My friend Liz spotted this costume while we were shopping and I scooped it right up.

I just LOVE him in it!!!

Our church has a great big Harvest Festival which we took Josh to.

Yep...

... he had a great Halloween!

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

2010-11-15T06:18:00.000-08:00

If you watch The Ellen DeGeneres Show (and maybe even if you don't), be sure to check it out today, Monday, November 15th. Look for me in the audience. Three of my girlfriends and I are in the front row on the side where the DJ is. If you were standing on the stage and looking at the audience, we are on the right.

FRONT ROW, BABY!!!

Word of the Day - Proclivity

2010-11-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Proclivity is the Word of the Day

Joshua's First Birthday Party

2010-10-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

Joshua's first birthday arrived. What an amazing year it has been. We had a little birthday party for him the Saturday before his actual birthday. At one, how can you really know what "theme" to do. We chose Elmo because that's the character he has been exposed to the most and he does seem to like him.

Between all the cameras in attendance, there are a bazillion pictures and it's hard to narrow them down when there is such a story in them. But how are there ever too many baby pictures anyway, right?? Am I right? Can I get an AMEN?

Here is Josh with his "twin," Josie. They are three days apart.

I had some cupcakes for the kiddos to decorate.

My sister, Susan, flew down. She is such a wonderful aunt!!!

I made an Elmo cupcake. This was quite a production for me and I plan to do a separate post all about it. But in the end I was very pleased with the results.

Josh has had almost no sugar prior to his party, so he of course wouldn't really know the joy that awaits in a cake. We were a little worried that he wouldn't want to "hurt" Elmo.

But why not poke his eyes out first?

Josh is in no way a messy eater. I think in part due to his personality, but also because we have not allowed him to be messy with his food. Recently he has started to place rejected portions of his food in the cup holder of the tray in his high chair. The high chair he was using at the party did not have a cup holder. So instead...

...he used Grandma C's hand.
He was taking pieces of the coconut and handing it to her.

Dad tried to encourage by setting the example

Ah, a taste, finally.

SUGAR!!!!!!! YES!!!!!

"Take this mess with you!"

It's way more fun to feed it to dad anyway!

My boys.

The mess.
(even though most of it was made by Jim)

HALLELUJAH!!

And of course opening presents is always a hoot with the kids.

Everybody's gotta get in the action.

It was a great day and Josh handled it perfectly. No meltdowns and he was as social as can be. Such a good kid. Happy Birthday Buddy!

One Year Check Up Stats

2010-10-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Josh had his one year doctor appointment and here are the main points:

Weight: 22 pounds, 14 ounces
Length: 29 inches

Bottom molars appear to be coming in as there is some swelling.

I was enlightened about something that seems so obvious now. At Josh's last appointment, 3 months ago, his measured length was 28 inches. For Josh's birthday we bought a measuring stick to hang on our wall and wanted to christen it on Josh's actual birthday. So we measured him at 28 and 1/8 inches. Seemed really strange that he would only grow 1/8 inch in three months. We even measured twice to be sure.

So when the doctor measured him at 29 inches, I learned the difference in concept of "length" versus "height". Duh.

The First Birthday

2010-10-27T13:06:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Can't Stop Laughing

2010-10-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

There is a commercial that came out several months ago for Old Spice. I have absolutely loved and enjoyed that commercial over and over.

There have since been so many references to it and parodies of it. Every one continues to make me laugh. This commercial has become the gift that keeps on giving.

To my joy I have found a YouTube (my hero) post that shows the original commercial followed by the Grover parody.

(if the screen is cut off, click on it again and it will take you directly to YouTube to watch it)

Then, a site I love to look at, Cake Wrecks, has done their version.

Please enjoy.

Kids Love Music

2010-10-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

MAJOR CUTENESS ALERT!!!

I am so excited to finally be enrolling Joshua in some social activities. My mom found a five-week music class for kids 4-14 months at the local community center. The time of it is just perfect for me to take him on a day at home.

I really hope that Joshua will be musical. I am trying to expose him as much as possible.

This little class was so stinkin' cute! We sang songs, shook maracas, danced, tickled and bounced. We also played some drums. At the end there was one big drum for all the kids to gather around. There were little holes in the bottom for the kids' legs to poke through so they could get close.

I just love watching Josh in this video. He is taking it all in! He's watching the other kids and testing out the instruments. He just loves being around other kids. There were four kids in the class today: 3 boys and one girl. I think the youngest was 8 months and I think Josh was the oldest at almost a year.

I can't wait till next week!

Joshua's Wish List

2010-10-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

With Joshua's birthday coming up quickly and Christmas not too far behind that, I have been getting a few questions of things to get him. So I thought I would just list some ideas here, especially since my mind tends to go blank when I hear the question.

Wagon

Wooden Toys - I am a big fan of any toys that are simple and seem "old school". Little Alouette is one example of some cute wooden toys. They have a lot of teethers which maybe Josh is getting too old for, but there are some really cute things there. Also, a couple from my small group make some really cool stuff at French Family Connections.

~~Activity Table~~ - He loves standing and playing at our coffee table. On a play date Josh got to play at an activity table and seemed to really love it!

Hooded bath towels - big. He long ago outgrew the two little ones he has.

~~Walking toys~~

CDs - just some cute kids music kind of stuff.

Clothes - He doesn't have a huge need for clothes right now (we have been incredibly blessed with hand-me-downs), but if you ever wonder about sizes... His shirt size is pretty on track with his age. Pants need to be bigger to accommodate his cloth diapers. So while he is 12 months now, good size pants are 18M - 24M (or 2T).

Books - bedtime, learning, touching...they're all good at this point.

I'm going to keep a link to this post on the right for easy reference. And I may change the list as I think of anything else.

Word on the Street

2010-10-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

We have received a lot of comments on our house. A lot! In fact, Jim and I are starting to wonder if we should be embarrassed? Offended? We know our house was bad. We figured the neighbors would appreciate the change. But it's starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Were we that much of a pariah? The neighbors are coming out of the woodwork.

A little eight or nine year old was riding her bike and rode up to me and said "I really like the color of your house."

Who are you little girl? Why are you talking to strangers? Thank you for the compliment nonetheless.

Things are so close to the end that there is not much visible change. So I'll wait to post any additional pictures until we are all done.

Color!!!! - The End is Near

2010-10-09T08:55:00.001-07:00

We are so close to the end! I believe all the color painting is done. What a transformation on Thursday when all the color got put on the house and garage. No more red!!

Look at our beautiful, serene house. Doesn't it just put you at peace?

A couple friends already commented from the pictures that they were suddenly aware of the brick work. The red house was such a distraction from any other details of the house. It's no longer an assault to the eyes.

We even got our fall decorations put up in the house which means our wreath is on the front door.

Welcome!

Can't wait till they are completely done and we can put our outside decorations up.

And the debris pile is gone.

Now just the detailed trim work needs to be done.

I'm so happy with our color choice.

He also painted our water heater storage thingy. When Armando asked if I wanted it painted, I was stumped. I asked "Do people do that?" I had never noticed if others had their's painted or not. He said some do and some don't. So we decided we "do".

And no more blinding white wall with the crooked white splotchy paint bleeding over into our neighbor's yard. Our color goes well enough next to their natural wall.

I'm so excited to get some plants in there. But we'll have to wait for it to rain money before we can really do that. We may relocate our trees from next to the garage to go along the back wall and get some lower bushes to put along the garage. We'll see.

Rained Out - Day Six (and Seven) of Painting

2010-10-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Look at our porch!!!

Doesn't that look nice?

It will be great when our swing is hanging again. I want to find ways to make the porch more homey in the future and not so stark. Maybe some plants and a table and a chair. We'll see what I can find and when we can afford it.

Jim said the porch turned out just the way he envisioned it. I'm so glad.

Monday was a pretty dreary and drizzly day so I don't think the crew was able to work on quite as much as they had hoped to.

When I spoke with Armando this morning, he gave me his list of goals to accomplish today, one of which included getting the stucco work done on the house. Unfortunately today turned out to be pretty rainy. It started coming down around noon and within an hour was raining too much for Armando to do any more work. So no stucco work today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better weather. To think that just a week ago we had the hottest day on record.

On a side note, our new roof appears to have performed just beautifully in the rain.

I think Jim and I are both starting to get a little anxious for the project completion. Since the paint is the last step, it seems to be taking forever to get to the grand finale. We've added little projects here and there, and now the rain is pushing us out further. It hasn't been a huge inconvenience to our lives, but there are definitely daily adjustments we have to make. We are ready to settle back into normalcy.

Ruby's on the Pier

2010-10-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we took an impromptu trip to Seal Beach. We had just bought Josh's new car seat and decided to stay out to do something for dinner. I had just read that Ruby's was voted best restaurant in Orange County for kids so figured that would be a great place to go for some fun.

We were so unprepared for the beach. It was very windy and very cold. We had no jackets or hats. And to walk to Ruby's was to walk head-in to the wind. Poor Josh. I don't think he was all that thrilled about it. And the boardwalk on the pier made for a bumpy ride. It was pretty comical to see him bouncing along.

The really fun part was watching Josh drink his bottle. I've never seen him do this before but he was swinging it back and forth as he drank. I became aware of the trumpet music playing and thought it looked like Josh was playing the trumpet. Luckily he did it long enough that Jim was able to catch it on video.

He was having a grand time boppin' along to the music. And he of course charmed everyone around him.

A (Mostly) Finished Wall - Painting Day Five

2010-10-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

Paint! Paint! We have PAINT!

Seriously. Not just primer.

Josh's new wall is done for the most part. The stucco below still needs to be painted - but the new siding and the trim are all done. It's so exciting!!!

This is the Wooden Peg color which is darker than the rest of the house will be.

All the windows that were sanded yesterday have now been primed.

More progress was made on the porch railing. I was surprised and a little disappointed that this wasn't further along, but I will try to be patient. I shall try...

They did, however, get all the ribs cut. So they are ready to go and I bet once the final piece of the frame is up, the rest will just fly into place.

The garage got some primer today too.

More garage. And the bushes Jim cut way back to make room for the painters.

This is behind the garage and the wall that backs up to the apartment complex behind us.

This has been our pit ever since we moved in. We've essentially neglected it and grown increasingly afraid of what we might find. In the foreground was a grapefruit tree which we decimated. All the way in the back is an orange tree that Jim cut back but decided to give the fruit a little taste to see if it was worth keeping. To our surprise and delight, the oranges were super-duper tasty! We told the painters they could help themselves to the tree and that they did. There's not a ripe one left. But we're happy to know that we'll have good fruit on that tree - despite our neglect.

It's the weekend and the painters will be back on Monday. They did a nice job of really cleaning up after themselves for the weekend. Armando suspects they will be done on Thursday.

Stucco, Priming and Framing - Painting Day Four

2010-09-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

I was home again today for today's work. The main thing Armando focused on was our front porch railing. It took quite a while to get the old stuff ripped out. I would guess in part to be careful not to compromise the posts that needed to stay to support the overhang.

Since we had already purchased the ribbing for the railing, Armando said that to get the most use of the wood it would be best to reduce the gap of the railing from top to bottom. I think it only is a difference of about a quarter an inch, but it means the difference between getting two or three ribs from each length of wood. When Jim was preparing to purchase the wood, he became aware of how uneven the framing was so it will be nice to know that Armando has made it all straight.

The picture below not only shows the start of the framing, but our new house color. So that can be your little teaser.

Another major accomplishment today was the beginning of repairing the stucco. A lot of priming was done as well, particularly in the spots where the paint had come off from the power washing.

For a little more teaser, our paint samples are in the picture below. The color in the middle is the Pigeon Gray which we chose for the entire house. The color on the left is Wooden Peg and will be the color on the new siding put on Josh's wall. (The color on the right was rejected.)

The next picture is some of the stucco work and priming.

More priming

There also was a lot of sanding today. A. lot.

Josh's north window - sanded

The bathroom window - sanded

Josh's east window - sanded

Our bedroom window was sanded too. It was a rough day for Josh's naps. There just was work and noise surrounding the house all day.

And the debris continues to accumulate.

Armando anticipates they will be done next Thursday. There is just so much prep work for our poor little house. But the more detail they pay attention to, the better I am going to feel about our house when it is all said and done.

I also discovered a pretty big crack in the wall inside Josh room on the same wall where the siding was replaced. Armando was surprised and concerned about that and said he would fix it and paint up the patchwork.

Construction - Painting Day Three

2010-09-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

We came home to lots of stuff accomplished.

Our roofing contractor had pointed out how poorly the back patio covering was supported. So while we were aware of this, we had not specifically spoken with our painting contractor about it. Jim had wondered yesterday if one of the posts should be replaced. Well, our painter had already started the work on stabilizing the covering. I guess it was pretty comical how Jim found him working on it and asked about it costing more money.

We knew it needed to be done, so we weren't upset he already started work on it. Especially because we have a lot of confidence in this guy.

The crew tends to make a big mess throughout the day, but it is always cleaned up real well before they leave. Our neighbor said the guys were working their butts off all day. And we can tell.

The new siding is installed on Josh's room

Just waitin' for that fresh coat of paint

Slow and Steady - Day Two of Painting

2010-09-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Painting work progressed today, it just didn't seem as noticeable - no shocking changes. If I hadn't been home, I might have questioned why they got so little done. But I saw first hand how hard they were working.

We did have one little incident where some of the power in the house went out. I had to find the key to unlock the breaker box so the switch could get flipped.

The most evident work took place on the wall outside Josh's room.

Here is the wall completely exposed.

Since the wall was going to be opened up, we took advantage of this time to put some insulation in. This house was built with no insulation. We've opened up one other wall from the inside amidst our home improvements and we threw some insulation in there too.

Insulation installed

And the black protection stuff

(no, I don't know what it's called)

One guy spent the bulk of the day scraping and sanding the trim around the garage.

Wood supplies just waiting to be used.

I think some of this is for the new front porch railing.

These are the wood pieces Jim bought for the front porch. He and his dad got them all primed.

I can't wait to see how the house looks when I get home tomorrow. I expect that Josh's wall will be done with the new panelling.

VANDALS!! (or House Painting Day One)

2010-09-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

We moved into our house Labor Day Weekend 2006. We bought a red house. Barn red. Campbell Soup red.

What we noticed shortly after moving in was how bad a paint job was done on the house. There were several different random shades of red. Fixtures clearly weren't removed and there were splotches of red paint where there should be no red paint.

We knew it would be a while before we could afford to repaint the house. We optomistically hoped two years, but here we are at four. I think I'm actually a little surprised we're getting to it this soon. But we had our roof replaced last month and that just made us anxious to get the painting done and feel good about the house.

So here we go. Prep work started today. They powerwashed the whole house and it looks like a war zone! We're having the wood on the front bedroom replaced and changed from vertical to horizontal. You can see that it's removed already in the picture below. We also are having the railing around the front porch rebuilt. Jim and his dad ripped it all out a couple weeks ago.

It's been a little confusing to know what color(s) the house was before. It's looking like it really was a tannish yellow.

What a mess!

I keep wondering if the neighbors are happy to know the red is finally going away. Our house has certainly stood out like a sore (and very red) thumb.

The garage

The back patio

I'll try to keep posts updated throughout the week so you can see the progress.

Word of the Day: INNOCUOUS

2010-09-25T06:00:00.001-07:00

I’m introducing a new feature on my blog. It’s called “Word of the Day” Click here to understand the fun!

Introducing Word of the Day

2010-09-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Wanna know another peculiarity of mine? Of course you do!

As far back as I can remember, I randomly will have a word that swirls in my head. I don’t know where it comes from and it generally has nothing to do with anything. I wonder if it is partially a byproduct of the wordsmith that is my dad. I don’t know why that would be – I guess I’m just looking to blame someone. So I’ll blame him today (and tomorrow). Sometimes it swirls around in my head so much that I start to question the meaning of it. What does that word really mean? Have I ever actually used that word? Have I used it correctly?

Then Princess Bride pops into my head:

So I figure why should I keep all this fun to myself?

When you see a Word of the Day post, your challenge is to use that word as much as you can that day. If it’s a new word to you, look it up, learn it, and use it in a sentence. Dictionary.com is a great resource for definitions and will even have a sound byte of pronunciation.

Bonus points if you use the word with me that day. Extra points to me if I’m coherent enough to realize you are using my word of the day.

Movin' On Up

2010-09-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

Josh is movin' up in his bath time. We got a bath ring as he was outgrowing the little tub.

He took to it like it was nothing. Conquering the big vast waters. Kicking with his new-found freedom.

He just love it!!

Contemplative

2010-09-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

I’ve been in a pretty reflective, self-evaluative mode for several months. There’s been a lot happening in various facets of life lately.

One thing I find myself trying to understand is how I view relationships – friendships in particular; and what the circumstances are that have influenced the evolution of my views on relationships. Is the way I think about things in line with other people or am I just on another planet?

I think about various phases of life and how they have combined to shape my thoughts and feelings today.

One of my earliest memories of actually being aware of what people thought of me was when I was nine years old. It was my first official year in The Glory of Christmas (I was finally old enough!), I played one of Herod’s daughters. There were some guys that played Roman soldiers. Considering that I was nine, I am sure my speculation of their age is quite skewed. They were likely in their early-ish twenties, maybe thirties? I just don’t know. But I recall palling around with these guys. There weren’t a lot of kids in the cast and I was used to hanging out with adults. We seemed to get along just great. But I have not been able to figure out what triggered in my head to suddenly worry that I was a “pest” to these guys. I even remember asking them in some sort of way that if I was bothering them, that I wanted them to let me know. I guess I thought that they probably didn’t want a little kid hanging around with them. I know they reassured me that it was fine, but that memory likes to pop its head up when I find myself evaluating my relationship with someone.

Then I think of when my hormones ignited adolescence. I was pretty boy crazy for a while and I know I didn’t always behave in a way that I can be proud of. Nothing scandalous; just your stereotypical-boy-crazy-teenager – trying too hard to get their attention.

The biggest piece is the ebbs and flows of girly friendships. Some friendships come and go, and some last. Even those that last go through various phases. I know that I have had times where I am pretty obsessive about the relationships in my life. I think about them a lot. How much effort I am putting into the relationship? How much effort are they putting into it? Is it unbalanced? Should I be looking for signs? Do I care too much? Too little? Some relationships I wish could be deeper. Others, I wish they would go away. Which side of the coin am I on? Again, am I the “pest” that someone wishes I would go away?

I wish I didn’t obsess over these thoughts so much. And while I can see it’s been in my nature for a long time, I don’t know why it is there.

I have realized how self-protective I am because of these types of thoughts. In my early twenties I learned to become pretty independent. Girlfriends were getting married and starting families and I could no longer rely on their availability to always do what I wanted to do. So I just learned to be able to experience life without needing to be attached to a buddy. While I think this is great to be able to do, I wonder if I still do this too much. I do not want to become so interdependent with someone so that if they are not around or not available I feel lost or abandoned. I want to be self-sufficient and confident. But I think this can also make me distant.

And now I’m at an age where I feel like the people in my life are pretty well established. I’m not against nurturing new relationships, but I am not seeking them out like I may have for a while. I know that relationships will always take effort, but I guess I am currently trying to understand what level of effort is acceptable, normal and rewarding. At some point, I feel I need to realize that the level of effort may just be a sign to let go.

The people that want to be in my life will be there. They make me feel loved and valued and happy. They want to share life with me as much as I want to share it with them. And that is comforting. I am trying to feel peace and confidence in that comfort.

Motivation

2010-09-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

Nothing gets me more motivated to post to my blog than reading other blogs. I don't follow too many blogs, but I certainly have my favorites that I like to check. I love witty, humorous writing and it inspires me to to do my part. I never think I'm as witty as I would like to be, but I like to think I'm at least making an effort.

Also, I feel like posts are more fun with pictures and that is what holds me back the most from posting. To pull the pictures together that I want to, crop them, edit them, write about them. Oy vei! Too much! So, I'm trying to let myslef just write, unencumbered.

There is still a backlog of things I want to post about that must have pictures, so I will get to them as I can. But today, this is all I have to say. I am motivated. I've been reading a new blog that has me inspired again. It's refreshing.