He did it!

2 things.

First - Josh was very very upset today when he came home from school. Jim and I spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong. He was just plain old sad. He kept pointing to the basement door and saying, "football". We kept trying to tell him that football wasn't on right now. At somepoint one of us mentioned Steve and Josh loudly said, "Yes". So Jim said Steve again and Josh said Yes and started bouncing in Jim's arms. So Jim went downstairs with him to show him that Shannon and Steve already left. Oh the crocodile tears started flowing! How cute to know he misses them!

Second - Josh again tried the potty. But this time he did go #2 and giggle the entire time. We spent about 3 minutes playing catch while he sat there. Finally I asked if he was done. We cleaned him up and started to head downstairs when he started pointing back up at the bathroom. So I brought him back up there and asked if he wanted to sit on it again. I figured it was now a "game". I got him back up there and sat on the side of the tub ready to play some more catch. Then I heard the sound of #1!!! I seriously screamed like I had won a million dollars. He was giggling the whole time. It has to be the bigger kids in the class using the potty. CRAZY!!!

Such a Big Boy

Josh has recently been noticing when he "goes". He started pulling at his diaper one day (few weeks ago) and I asked, "Do you have to go potty?". To my surprise he clearly replied, "Yes". He started walking to the bathroom and I followed. I put him on the potty and the first time he totally freaked out. The next time, he sat a little longer. This week, he found the seat that goes on a regular toilet and sat on it on the floor in his room. I asked if he had to go potty and he again replied, "Yes". So I sat him on the big toilet with his Elmo seat. He sat there for a good minute or two, enough for Jim to come up and take a picture. He only went #2 once in all the times we have used the potty. And I am pretty sure he didn't even know he did it. But he doesn't seem to be afraid of it which is a good thing I guess. I don't expect him to be potty trained anytime soon, but just think it is pretty cool that he is interested in at least sitting on it. He even pulls at the toilet paper roll and rubs his belly with it, then throws it into the toilet. So apparently that is what he thinks we do with it. Ha ha!

My sister and brother-in-law came into town this weekend. I was lame on Friday and was in bed by the time they got into town. I had the GRE exam on Saturday morning and from the 2/3 scores they gave me, I passed. Phew! Hoping the scores get sent to school soon so I can start taking the MBA courses this spring. Saturday we hung out all day at home, Shannon and Steve played with Josh ALL DAY. He loved it! Josh and Steve played hockey and hide and seek all weekend. Steve was showing Josh how to juggle the ping pong ball on the knee hockey stick. Josh grabbed his stick and tried very hard to keep that ball on there. It was so cute! Aunt Shannon got lots of hugs and cuddle time with Mr. Josh.

We went out on the town Saturday night. We started with a martini at the DejaVu Martini lounge... which is definitely not the same type of DejaVu as in major cities... in case you went there. Then to our favorite Speakeasy. We got a booth again and were able to just chat and enjoy the people watching. We got a cab back home and to our surprise, Josh was wide awake with Sam the babysitter. I think he was concerned that we weren't home. Because as soon as we got there, he gave us all hugs and let Shannon put him to bed. Too cute!

Today we were complete couch potatoes. It felt great not to have to study for the GRE anymore and to actually watch TV. So I did it all weekend. Now off to my soccer game. Have a good week everyone! Notice Josh's haircut. After the picture on the potty, I gave him a bath and realized that he needed another haircut. So I went to town. I think it turned out okay...

18 Months Old

Josh had his 18 month check-up this week and confirmed that he is growing like crazy. He is 34.5 inches tall - jumped up from the 24% to the 97%! His weight and height were right on track. The doctor asked a lot of behavioral questions like:

1. Can he say more than 5 words? Yes - Dadda, Mamma, Nanna, Puppy, Nuk, Soccer, Hockey, Ball, Elmo, Spongebob, Choo Choo, blueberry, Hi,
2. Does he run? Oh yes! He doesn't bend his knees though so it is pretty funny to watch.
3. Does he walk backwards? I said I didn't think so. When I told Jim later than night he proceeded to show me that when Josh is cornered, he will take a few steps back. So the answer I found out was yes.
4. Does he eat with a fork or spoon? Yes. He is actually pretty good at it too! Thanks to daycare for getting him started.
5. Can he stack two blocks on top of one another? Easily. He is really into the jumbo legos right now and putting them together to make garages for his trucks.
6. Does he eat a healthy diet? Yes. He loves fruit, vegetables, dairy, and spaghetti. He knows how to make toast and understands that when the light goes off it is time to pull it out of the toaster. He loves vanilla yogurt with frozen fruit. And eats just about every vegetable. So it is pretty easy to feed him.

We only had a flu shot this time. But I had a lot of questions again regarding vaccines and the link to autism. I have a friend who is very against vaccines and we had a very interesting discussion about it. I didn't have much to offer to the conversation and was frustrated. Our doctor was very understanding and spent a good 5 minutes just answering my questions. It was nice to just talk - rather than be preached to. The doctor gave me a pretty good article to read. It was interesting and gave me some new perspectives on vaccinations. At the end of the day - every parent needs to determine what is best for their child. It is just frustrating at times, because there is no end to the worrying. And people always have something to say about what the right thing is. We just keep trying to do the right thing!

Pictures: My parents came out to visit this month and we went to an apple orchard. They made the carmel apples right in front of you - they were DELICIOUS! For Halloween, Josh was a Lion. We went Trick-Or-Treating with the neighbors, Mike, Jodi, and their daughter Brayden. She was dressed up as Thomas the Train. Josh thought that was pretty cool! They did really well and made it around most of the neighborhood. We dressed up too. Jim and I went as Betty and Barney Rubble. We definitely got some good looks from people!