One Small Step...

Joshua is walking!!! Ok...so that's a bit of an exaggeration. He's not really walking, but he's in the beginning stage of learning to take steps. :) We have a gait trainer on loan from Joshua's new PT (who we LOVE)...so without further adieu, here are Joshua's first steps...

Niagara Falls & New Skills!

Last weekend, we drove up to Niagara Falls for the day. It was how Ben wanted to celebrate his birthday. So we got food packed, extra clothes, drinks, addresses, plans, blankets, coats...everything we could think of into the car and head out. The skies were dark and the clouds looked like they might burst at any moment, but the rain held off. We had hoped that Joshua would sleep on the way up, but he entertained us by singing and chatting and talking to himself in the back seat. Ben kept his eyes on the road and soon enough, we were there.

We were almost to the border when Ben suddenly said, "Um, hon? We forgot our passports." Drat, drat and double drat! See, after July 1, 2009, you can no longer cross the border without passports. Your NY license will not do it anymore. So, we fell back and regrouped. We decided to stay there and explore the American side of the falls. I had actually never been to the American side, so it was a new experience for me. We parked on Goat Island and walked around the island (it's a small island!), stopping to see the falls...or at least what we could see through the incredibly heavy mist. We originally had thought that it was raining...but it turned out to be just the mist from the falls. Crazy! So after a few self portraits and two pictures of Josh & Ben at the falls...

...we ran for cover. All of us looked as though we had run through a rainstorm, and we had to bundle Josh up to keep him warm.

Once we got back to the car, the skies opened up and it poured. So we drove into downtown Buffalo, had wings at the Anchor Bar (where chicken wings were created), and headed home. Josh was sleeping by the time we hit the thruway. All in all, it was a really good day spent together. What more could we ask for?

This week has been a big week for Joshua motorically. His OT got him a new splint for his right hand and there was a noticable difference in the first few minutes he had it on!

We are keeping it on him whenever he is awake, sometimes with the supinator strap (it puts a very slight amount of torque on his arm to remind him to turn it out, not in) and sometimes without. But whenever he tries to use his hand now, it's so much easier for him. It's so exciting to see him use his right hand!This morning, while having his morning bottle, he even reached up (with his left hand) and started to push the bottle back into his mouth when I pulled it away! That, my friends, is HUGE! Up until now, he has relied on us to make sure he gets his bottle. If we don't hold it there, he cried and screamed at the injustice of it all. The simple act of reaching up to keep it in his mouth means that he's starting to want to be independant. It's awesome.

Once he masters this, we can move on to a sippy cup or maybe even a straw!!! Those are both goals on his IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) through Early Intervention...and oh, how it warms my heart to see *Achieved* checked next to a goal. :)

Hop On Pop (or Nana)

Three posts in one day?! Are you kidding me?? I'm not going to give you specifics, but I'll just leave it at this...I've had plenty of time to catch up and post this morning, because I got a whole bunch of sleep last night. And that's all I'm saying on that subject.


Joshua was sick yesterday. Sick with a horrible somethingoranother that filled his diaper (and by filled, I actually mean bypassed completely and went up his back and down his legs) with something that I'm pretty sure could be used as a biological weapon of mass destruction. And just to be a little more graphic (sorry...I've had too much sleep...my brain doesn't quite know how to handle it)...it smelled like a horrible combination of rotten eggs and rotten goat's milk. I'm gagging just thinking about it. Aren't you glad you visited this blog today? :) So after three outfit changes, and entire box of wipes and a bath (all before noon), we just layed low. Nana came over after work to give me a break and some time to clean up a bit. She made Joshua a "sick bed" and played with him on the floor for a bit.
Once Josh was feeling better, he filled his belly with bananas and then did some jumping. He likes to jump on you while you're laying down...the only problem with this is the fact that starts on your sternum and then he jumps forward. Right onto your neck. And chokes you with his toes. And sometimes, he jumps right onto your face! Poor nana. Good thing Joshua likes to give kisses to make up for all that jumping...

"Ok mama...no more pictures."





Ben's birthday is this weekend and we're planning some family time away...I'll tell you all about it next week. :) Talk to you then!

Cheerios!

Last week in therapy, Joshua worked on picking up individual Cherrios! Josh did great with raking and picking them up, but getting them to his mouth was a whole different story.

"Um, so now that I have it, what do you want me to do with it?"

"Put it in my mouth?! Are you nuts? It's crunchy! And hard! There's no way I'm putting it in my mouth. I'll just put it over here for safe keeping..."

Let's just say that nibbling on Cherrios is a work in progress. :)

Last Weekend

We went to Red Creek last weekend to watch daddy & Uncle Brian (& a few others too) start on the second story of Uncle Brian's house. It was a terribly hot day so we spent most of it inside with Auntie Carly & Timmy.

We watched some VeggieTales...

Played on the floor for a while...

Watched Timmy's fish for a little bit...

Got some good snuggles in with Auntie Carly...
And played with Timmy's music table.
All in all, it was a great day. We can't wait to see how the house turns out! There's going to be lots more room to play soon! :)

You Always Hurt The Ones You Love...

Ben: "I can't be in charge of our child anymore."
Jamie: "Why?"
Ben: "I keep injuring him." (Yesterday, Josh split his lip while Ben was watching him)
Jamie: "What happened? Did you drop him?"
Ben: "No...."
Jamie: "Did you hit his head on something?"
Ben: "Not really..."
Jamie: "Well then what happened?"
Ben: "Well...I was trying to swat a deer fly off his head and I cut his head open."
Jamie: "WHAT?!"
Ben: "I didn't mean to!"
Jamie: "Well I know you didn't mean to, but I mean, how bad is it?" *Goes to look at Joshua*
Jamie: "OH MY GOSH!"
Ben: "I know."

An hour later, I was tossing Joshua in the air...and he proceeded to throw up all of his dinner and juice. :(

Needless to say, mommy, daddy and Joshua are not having a good evening! Let's hope tomorrow will be better!

HE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night, we were at Auntie Kim's & Uncle Mike's house to celebrate Grammie's birthday. Joshua and I were sitting in the living room, practicing sitting and playing on the carpet. When all of a sudden...Joshua got up on his hands and knees...and stayed up there while he rocked!!!!

Let me say it again...HE GOT UP ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES AND STAYED UP WHILE HE ROCKED!

HE STAYED UP FOR A FULL 20 SECONDS OR SO!!!

HE WAS ON ALL FOURS...UNASSISTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We tried to get a picture of it on Ben's phone, but couldn't in time. So today, over at Nana's for dinner, we convinced him to try it again. And while he didn't stay up for more than a few seconds, it was enough to grab a not-so-good picture of it for proof. All together now....

WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! :)

Smiles, Signing, Sliding, and Sitting!

This...

is how I start my day. Jealous? :)

From then on, it's nothing but smiles...

and more smiles....

and cuteness.

Of course, we have our serious moments...and sometimes there's crying. I don't have any recent crying pictures because the camera usually nips those in the bud. (Although there is plenty of "crying" when he finishes breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I say "crying" because it's usually fake. Oh, our son is a master fake crier. He can even work up tears! But he usually gives himself away when he looks out of the corner of his eye at you to see if the "crying" is having any effect.) But if you really need a picture to go along with this part of the post, you can just imagine Ben and I crying when Joshua has been up 5 times between 9pm and 1am. That happens alot.

But mostly, it's all fun and games with Joshua...All smiles... and definitely lots of giggles...Yep, that's how my days usually go.

We've been teaching Joshua sign language. So far, he has 'eat' down perfectly. Are you surprised? :) He uses 'eat' for hungry and thirsty, so it takes a little bit of deductive reasoning to tell whether he's hungry or wants some water. He also knows the sign for 'mama'....although that looks exactly like 'eat' too. I can never tell if he is hungry/thirsty or if he just wants me. We're working on that though. His most recent sign acquisition is the sign for 'daddy' (which is an open hand with your thumb tapped on the temple area, kind of like you're pretending to be a moose). And while it may not look pretty, I was thrilled that Joshua asked all day yesterday for daddy.

On a walk last night, we came across a nice little playground and decided that it was high time Josh went down the slide. He seemed to enjoy it!

Finally, this was Joshua sitting at his 12 month appointment...This was Joshua sitting at a doctor's visit last week (just turned 16 months)...Can you see the difference? :)