New Toys!

I got a new toy on Tuesday. It's a new camera! A Nikon D60 to be more specific. Needless to say, I've had it attached to me for the past 48 hours. Oh how I wish you could see the pictures full size. They're really amazing. You can see Joshua's tastebuds! Each little eyelash! All the fibers in the carpet! The veins in the flower petals! And best of all, when I ask it to take a picture, it doesn't even have to think about it. It just does it! I can't wait to take this thing to Paris! :)

Joshua also got a new toy. Auntie Jodi and Tio Jay sent him a tummy time mat that is supposed to help strengthen his arms and back. It's a play mat with a water feature! That sounds strange, doesn't it? Here...let me show you... When he gets tired of playing, it doubles as a pillow! :) He really liked playing on it. He smiled nonstop! Of course, having the camera out all the time helps bring out the smiles too. :)

And the camera is really out all the time now. This morning, I couldn't resist getting a few shots of him fresh out of the shower...

The wrinkles! I just want to eat those wrinkly toes up. That's what new cameras do...make you want to eat baby toes. :)

Hip, Hip, Hooray for Cookies!

Happy belated Valentine's Day to all of Joshua's valentines! There has been lots going on in Joshua's world! A few weeks ago, we traveled to Fayetteville, North Carolina to see Auntie Jodi and Tio Jay. Joshua was wonderful on all the flights, usually falling asleep shortly after take off. Auntie Jodi got lots of snuggles and she was nice enough to share Joshua with Tio too! :)Joshua had a great time visiting with Auntie Jodi and Tio Jay. Of course, because Josh was in a new place, away from his bed and had not slept more than two hours at a time for many, many, way too many nights, it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine...but the tears were few and far between and there were plenty of smiles afterwards.

On Valentine's Day, we went down to Addison, NY (near Corning) to visit Chris, my mom's best friend. Joshua got to spend some quality time with Nana and Chris while Ben and I drove to Corning to wander around the town. We didn't last for long though...it was COLD! So we drove back to Chris' house and watched Joshua play with Tucker. This was Joshua's first experience with something so large, but he loved it. He loved to watch Tucker walk around the house. Maybe there will be a doggie in our future. Way, way, way in the future. :)

Joshua's newest and biggest accomplishment came in the form of a cookie. Josh's therapist brought over some Arrowroot biscuits (cookies) because she thought that Josh might be able to hold them and would like to chew on them. And he did!

I was in complete shock! He held the cookie, he chewed on it, he processed the large pieces that came off! This is HUGE for Joshua. He has an aversion to putting anything near or in his mouth. Oh, he'll put his hands or your hands in his mouth, and a pacifier of course, but he gets a little squeemish when it comes to anything else. Even spoons, spoons with food on them, are kind of iffy sometimes. So to have him hold the cookie first off...wow. What an accomplishment! But then to put the cookie into his mouth and chew on it?! Holy moly! Hip, hip, hooray for cookies!!!!

Josh has also started to make some progress in the language department. He's not saying any words yet, but he'll mimic sounds and tone. It's hard to get a video of him because whenever he sees the camera, he poses. Like this...

(Notice the red rimmed eyes? That's because he was SCREAMING 2.5 seconds earlier. The camera came out and so did the smiles. Am I a bad mom for pulling the camera out just to stop the crying? :))

So back to Joshua talking...I did get a couple videos of him "talking"...check them out. :)

So that's all for now. We're leaving for Virginia tomorrow. Ben is going down to visit a building site and Josh and I are tagging along so we can visit our friends. I'll let you know how it went when we get back!

Love,
us

Mark Your Calendars!

May 17, 2009.

That's a pretty special date, my friends. Why is it a special date? Because it is the date of the first ever Rochester CMV Walk N Rollathon! I've been helping organize the walk here in Rochester and I'm really excited about it. There are other walks scheduled in Minneapolis, Atlanta, Tucson, Houston, Long Island, Omaha, Detroit, Iowa City, Indianapolis, Idaho, and Raleigh/Durham that will all be raising money for the Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation (website HERE). The Foundation will be giving some of the money to research to help find a vaccine and some will be put into their public awareness campaign.

I'll give you more details as we get closer to the date. Ahh, May...the trees will be in bloom, the flowers will be up, hopefully there won't be any snow! If you already know that you're interested in participating, leave a comment or email me or get in touch with me somehow so that I can send you more information.

The First Kitchen Update (aka Why I Love Craigslist)

Since we moved in I've been lamenting the lack of a dishwasher. It is one of the basics of a kitchen, after all. However, in order to get a standard dishwasher, we'd have to give up two cupboards and two drawers...and that is precious space in our kitchen! After all, we only have three full size cupboards and three full size drawers. The other two cupboards and drawers are 8" miniatures.

One day as I was perusing Craigslist, I found a dishwasher that would actually work for us. It's only 18" wide! So we bought it, brought it home and gazed lovingly at it for a week. This past weekend, Ben decided it was time to install it. Yippee! Ben cut out an 8" cupboard & drawer, reframed the space and hooked up the plumbing. Joshua watched with great interest. He LOVED the sound of the sawzall and all the hammering. So without further adieu....this is what my kitchen looks like now!Oh my gosh...isn't it beautiful?! It works perfectly too! I've never been so excited to do dishes. :)

First project down...many, many, many more to go. Isn't owning a home fun?!