A Lesson In Perseverance

Remember how Joshua had that little oral aversion? You know...the one that made it really really hard for him to put anything in or near his mouth?

Well it seems he's getting over it! He's putting EVERYTHING in his mouth lately (except his toothbrush which he still won't let near his mouth). If it's food and you're putting it in your mouth, he'd like a little too please. Of course mama's still kind of strict with what goes in for fear of what will eventually come out, and because while he may want to try it, it doesn't mean that he can handle the texture of certain things...but we'll get there eventually! He's on a roll so far.

He eats bumpy (keyword: BUMPY) ducks...
And graham crackers (that CRUNCH)...And daddy's pancakes on Saturday mornings...And even watermelon...ON A FORK!Granted, there are dangers with eating things. Graham crackers can be kind of pokey in the soft parts of your mouth...And sometimes you can't fit a whole pancake in your mouth...Sometimes watermelon can be kind of cold at first...Or even a little bit sour!But Joshua is learning that it's exciting to try new things...And as long as he keeps trying new things, eventually he'll find new favorite foods!

Watching Traffic

We live on a pretty busy street. This is both good and bad. It's bad because the sound of the traffic can keep Joshua awake. Of course, the sound of a mouse sneezing two counties away does that too...but I digress. The reason that all the traffic is good is that traffic is great for keeping Josh entertained. See, he LOVES watching traffic. Trucks are his favorite, but school buses and UPS trucks send him right over the edge.

The best thing of all, though, is when Daddy pulls in the driveway.

Isn't that funny? Joshua doesn't let on if he can tell a cow from a monkey. You can ask him where the cow is or where the monkey is and he won't tip his hand. But he can tell the difference between just any old black truck and daddy's truck in a heartbeat.

ps...Gina's wedding was beautiful...if you want to see pictures, go HERE. Joshua is waking up and I don't have any more time to tell you about it. But it was an adventure. :)

Catching Up...

Joshua has picked up a few more tricks in the past few weeks. Here's one of them....

TAADAAAAAA!!!! He is now a master roller!! He can roll independantly (and does it all.the.time) to both the right and the left, although he prefers going to the right. He has rolled from tummy to back a few times now, but nothing consistent enough to say he's mastered the skill.

The trick that led up to rolling from tummy to back was this little gem...Look at that extention and form! I give it a 9.7. He'd have a 10 if his elbows were just a litte bit straighter. :) That's usually how we find him in his crib in the mornings. He loves to peek over the edge to see who's coming to get him.

He has also fallen in love with standing in the exersaucer and will jump in it if you ask him to. :)

Finally, here's a trick that Ben has picked up. Hmmm...that sounds kind of sketchy, doesn't it. Well, you know what I mean. :) Multi-tasking indeed! Joshua loves mowing the lawn with daddy. The wind in his face, the bugs in his teeth...it's all good. And since safety is key, Ben goes slowly and holds on tight and they both wear hearing protection.

This weekend, we're flying to California for Auntie Gina's wedding! It's going to be a really exciting weekend...and all too short I'm afraid. We get to see Auntie Jodi and Tio and Auntie Gina again and Joshua is going to meet Uncle David and Elise and his great grandma Sharp as well as his Papa and Grandma Carol! I can't wait to see my dad and Carol again and to meet my little neice! I'll post pictures when we're back. :)

Paris! (Part 2)

Wednesday - We went to the market on Wednesday morning. All the food was so beautiful! I don't imagine that French radishes are any better than the kind you get in the the grocery stores here in the good old USA, but they sure do look better!
In fact, all the food looked better. And the flowers too! Everything was so artfully arranged. It was amazing.

As we were looking at the food, a tourist came along and took a picture of this fine little item! Ben and I just laughed that someone took a picture of our sweet little American boy. :)

While we were at the market, my mom found these little tiny bananas thinking that Josh may like them. And he did! He held it all by himself and proceeded to almost eat it! It was so much fun to watch.

After the market, we rested a little bit and then went out for a walk. Shelley just started walking and we just followed. As it turns out, here is where we were headed!
It's really impressive once you get close to it. It's so much bigger in person than it looks like in pictures!

Thursday - Ben and I took a little time to ourselves and left Joshua with Nana and Auntie Shelley for the morning. We wandered down to the Eiffel Tower, took some pictures of various buildings and then headed back. After lunch, we loaded Joshua into the backpack carrier and set out to explore more parts of Paris. We saw the Centre Pompidu (which Ben loved because all the pipes & heating & cooling & everything is on the outside of the building).Joshua was impressed too. We saw the Hotel de Ville (City Hall)and then went to wander around Le Marais. Le Marais is the medieval part of town. Since Paris was not destroyed in the war, some of the buildings date back to medieval times. The amazing part is that they are still in use today! There were many amazing details on the houses, like this door: Tired after all our walking, we headed home.

Friday - On Friday, John came home early from work and we all went to Montmartre. Montmartre is where the Moulin Rouge is and where all the artists paint 'en plein aire' (outside). It's the highest point in the city and the views are just amazing. After a light lunch and some giggles, we saw Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur is simply breathtaking. See? I couldn't take pictures inside, but it is just as beautiful inside as out. The priests here still pray 24 hours a day for the souls of soldiers who have died in battle. After a few more pictures, and a loooooonnnnggg walk down a HUGE flight of stairs, we headed home.

Saturday - Saturday started out with a walk to breakfast. On the way, we saw a wedding taking place. Here was their getaway car.... Oh my gosh. So cute, huh? So after breakfast (which was absolute heaven)

We headed back to the apartment to wait for the plumber. Don't ask, it's a long story and if I stop to tell you, I'll never get this posted. So while mom and the Fischers waited for the plumber, Josh took a nap and Ben and I ventured out to have some alone time. We saw the fountain at Place de la Concorde, had a crepe in the Jardin des Tuileries and wandered back to the Arc du Triumph. It was very cold and the rain was starting to come down, so we headed back to the apartment to get warm. The rain cleared that evening and we headed out to see the Pantheon and a few other sights.

We saw Saint-Etienne du Mont church while we were out. My goodness...the stonework in that church was incredible!

We stopped for a fantastic dinner in a little brasserie and you have to got to see the bathroom....

So what do you think? Is this for ladies or men? If you guessed for the men...you're wrong. It's for both! Hey, at least there are treads to keep your balance, right? :)

After dinner, we walked around the Latin Quarter, saw a few more beautiful churches, more beautiful architecture and more beautiful displays in the windows.We watched a couple guys try to get the crowd to do the macarana and then one of them took his pants off and chased the girls around the square. It was a really fun way to end the night. :) We were all tired and chilled and so we hopped on the metro and headed home.

Sunday - Sunday was our last day in Paris so we had lots to finish up and see. One of Ben's 'must-do's' was the Louvre. So on Sunday, while mom and the Fischers waited for the plumber (by this time we were really missing our hot water!) again, Ben and I went to the museum.

The building itself is incredible. One reminder for next time you're in Paris...always look up. The ceilings are some of the most magnificant parts of the buildings!

After spending a few hours in the Louvre, it was time to head home and pack. After packing, we made sure to take some time to go see the Eiffel Tower sparkle. And while my pictures of the sparkling left something to be desired, I love the night shots of the tower that I got. Monday - Monday morning it was time to get a few last pictures various places, have one last pain au chocolat and head home.

And while we were sad that our vacation was over, we are so thankful that we had the opportunity to spend a week in Paris with good friends. We're thinking about going back next spring. :)