Two.

Dear Joshua,

Today is your second birthday. Two full trips around the sun! The fact that we've had you for two full years just astounds me...it just doesn't seem possible. Two years has never before been so wonderful, so heartbreaking, so magical, so frustrating, so tiring, so filled with happy tears, so filled with tears of sadness, so filled with so much joy.

You've changed so much in the past 12 months! You've gone from a chubby little baby who weighed in at 18 lbs...

to a little boy who weighs 25 lbs and is 32 inches tall!
Your tastes and preferences are really starting to show through, Josh. You'll almost always choose red over any other color, you prefer to hold hands in a certain way when we walk, you prefer certain books over all the others. You aren't really interested in the TV, but when there is a Monster Jam truck show or NASCAR race on, you are glued to it. And do I even need to go into how much you love Disney's 'Cars'? I'll just leave it at this..."Lightning" was one of your first words this year! You love cars. Any piece of metal with a motor, any make, any model (although you prefer trucks, school buses, and race/vintage cars), gets your motor running. Just hearing the sound of an engine makes you clap and giggle. The most exciting part of your day is after naptime when you get up and we watch for daddy out the window. You watch all the cars going by and scream when you see one you like. The biggest reaction comes when you finally see daddy. You can identify his truck (I'm still not sure how) before it even gets to the driveway! For you, daddy is more important than Lightning, Mater, and all the schoolbuses in the world.
In the past year, you have learned some amazing things. You have learned sign language, learned to say a few words (still no mama though!), learned to belly-crawl to get the things you want that are out of your reach, learned to try out different textures of food, learned to splash in the bathtub, learned to sit (almost) independently,learned to walk with the help of some equipment, learned what the word 'gentle' means (sort of), learned how to shake your head 'yes' and 'no' to get what you want, learned to identify facial features (ears are your favorite right now). You've also learned that your smile and charm will sometimes get you out of doing something you don't want to do.
Coincidentally, it's your charm that is one of the elements of your personality that you use the most often. You charm everyone you meet. You love to meet new people and play peek-a-boo with them. Your personality is growing and changing and developing and it's wonderful to witness. You are spunky and smart, you have quite the temper, but you go right back to smiling just as fast as you got frustrated. Your laugh comes easily and often and you love it when others laugh along with you. You've got this crazy fake laugh that you do (you sound like the Count on Sesame Street..."ah, ah, ah") when you want to make someone laugh. It works every time! You're simply amazing.
I think that I will remember this year for all the accomplishments you've had, but also for all the traveling we've done. We've been to Canada, Paris (with a stopover in Iceland), California, Disney World, and North Carolina. And let's just say it like it is...you are an amazing traveler. Daddy and I always smile to ourselves when people get on a plane and see you. It's always the same thing. They reassure us that they've traveled with a child before so they're prepared. Either that or they just eye us with that look that says "Oh man. We're in for it now". No one yet has been prepared for you, however. I can't count the number of people who tell us at the end of the flight what a great job you did on the flight or how wonderful you were. And we always smile and say, "yes, he is wonderful."
I can't get over the wonder you are. Everyone who meets you and knows you sees what a sweet spirit you have. You love to snuggle and give kisses to people you love. The sweetest part of my day is when you are just waking up. You look up over the end of your crib and smile that Joshua sized smile. And when I pick you up, you curl your body around me, put your head on my shoulder, give me a squeeze and pat my cheek. Then you sigh this contented little sigh and just stay snuggled for a few more minutes. Oh, I love those moments.

You are so very special, my son. Precious beyond description. My life has been so blessed by each moment you have been in it. I can't wait to see what the next year brings for you. Happy Birthday, my little bug.

Love,
mama

Not Even Close.

Today Joshua and I went out to have lunch with Ben. I wish I could capture the look on Joshua's face when he sees Ben walk up to the car...it's priceless. It's kind of like this...imagine you're 5 years old and you asked for The Wiggles to play at your birthday party. Did I just lose some of you? Ok...try this. Imagine you're 32 and you asked for U2 to show up at your birthday party. The Wiggles are the 5 year old's version of U2. :) Back on track? Good. Ok, so you wake up on the morning of your birthday, run outside, and there they are! Setting up a stage in your back yard! Security is roping off the streets and they are there to play a private concert just for you!!! That look that would be on your face? THAT'S the look on Josh's face when he sees daddy. Seriously. He shakes all over he's so excited.

Ok, so back to my story. So after we have lunch with Ben, we take him back to his office and drop him off. Remember how excited Josh was to see daddy? Can you imagine how he reacts when daddy gets out of the car? Oh. My. Gosh. My heart breaks in two when I hear Joshua cry that cry. There are always tears and wailing and lots of screaming coming from my back seat when we pull away from the office. :( So after the tears subside and there's only the little occasional sniffle and *hic* coming from the back seat, I looked in my rear view mirror, reached back there and patted him on the head and said, "Daddy will be home soon, Josh. And Mama's still here! Aren't I good enough for now?"

And my sweet, sweet boy smiled at me through the tears. He smiled a sort of sad smile, reached up and touched my hand....and shook his head to say "no".

Ouch.

So Proud!

I know I haven't posted in quite a while. The reason for that is that I feel awful. All the time. The only thing that seems to agree with me are iced decaf vanilla lattes. Hey, at least I'm getting my calcium in, right? :) We have an ultrasound tomorrow morning to check on Bean2, and I'll be sure to post pics tomorrow.

I wanted to share a quick video of Joshua with you....

He was so proud of himself! :) And we are incredibly proud of him too. His therapist isn't helping him walk, she's using her feet to prevent him from crossing his ankles/legs when he steps. All that movement is all him. This kid is going to run in no time. :)

Another thing that I'm proud to be able to share with you is that our newest niece was born today!!! Joselyn Aurora Rivera arrived at 11:43am, weighing in at 7 lbs, 9 oz and is a healthy 21 inches long. Both mama and baby are doing well. Josie looks beautiful from the blurry camera phone picture I got...and I can't wait to get more. :) We're heading down to NC on Saturday to spend time with our newest family member...I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!

Oh...By The Way...

Joshua is really excited. He has some big news to share......sometime around September 6th, he's going to be a... ...Isn't that exciting? Joshua certainly thinks so. :)

More Coming Soon...

There will be more posts coming soon. Promise. :)

I haven't been updating because our computer is ever so close to dying due to me stuffing it too full. :( I have less than 4GB of memory left on the computer, and one picture takes up around 4GB. See the dilemma? Now, if all of my faithful blog readers want to get together and buy me a 4TB hard drive, I'll be happy to post as many pictures as you want. :) No? Ok then. Until I get a new hard drive (or find a way to put my pictures somewhere else)...these few pictures will have to do.

A Regular Occurance.

Joshua loves to laugh. And it's really easy to make him laugh! A sound (his favorite is a big, loud CHHHH...like a crashing cymbal), or a big bang, or anything that surprises him makes him laugh. Today, I clapped my hands and he started laughing. And I'm not talking about a giggle. I'm talking all out, go completely silent and shake kind of laughing. At least once a day, he has a gigglefest. I've tried to catch it on video before, but he always gets destracted by the camera. So yesterday, I went undercover. We're talking covert ops, people. Ok...really I just put the camera on the desk and then pressed record once he got going really good. :) They say that laughing can add years to your life. If that is the case, Joshua is going to live until he's about 200!

Cousins

Both my sisters and their families came for Thanksgiving this year (minus my dad and Carol, of course. If they had been here it would've been even more awesome!). Gina, David & Elise flew in from CA, Jodi & Jay flew up from NC. It was wonderful.

Elise and Joshua are polar opposites. If something scares Elise, it's bound to make Josh laugh. Elise takes a while (like a week!) to warm up to people, Josh will go to anyone anytime anywhere. Elise is a bundle of energy and can't sit still, Joshua is content to be snuggled and just stay in one place. The one thing they share though, is how unbelievably adorable they both are!

Did I mention how skittish Elise is around new people? Even Joshua (who doesn't talk) is too much for her sometimes. :) Although maybe it was the slightly crazy look on Josh's face that set her off...

Thanksgiving was a huge success. Food, food, food and then we ate some more! Aunties Jodi and Gina helped make some delicious mashed potatoes...

...and Nana outdid herself with the turkey!
There was lots of snuggle time......and Josh and Elise both got to know their newest cousin, Joselyn (due Feb. 19!!!).And seriously...couldn't you just eat her up?!?!
While everyone was here, we had a baby shower for Joselyn......and a birthday party for Elise (it was her first!!!).
Joshua got all dressed up for Elise's birthday and spent a bunch of time in the gait trainer... ...and eventually, Elise warmed up enough to play with him!She even shared her cup with him! Of course Josh thought it was a game, so he promptly threw it on the ground. Elise patiently picked it up and handed it back. And Josh threw it down. After a few rounds of "throw the cup", Elise got fed up and stopped sharing. :)

And have I mentioned how edible she is?!

Oh, I could just eat her up. Except that would probably make her cry. :)

Walking With Mama, Laughing with Daddy

The weather here has been beautiful for the last few days (today it's supposed to be near 70!) so we took the opportunity to take Joshua out for a little walk in the driveway. :) Take a look!

We also made sure to take the time to play with the leaves that have covered our yard.

Joshua really liked it when Nana took him for a spin (seriously, she picked up a good amount of speed!) around the yard to crunch all those leaves under the wheels of his gait trainer!
Oh, one more thing. Have you ever wondered what could possibly make a little boy laugh so hard that he'd fall off a bench? Well, here's your answer. :)

It Makes My Heart Smile

There are lots of things that make me happy. The sounds of birds in my backyard in the morning, a cup of hot tea on a chilly morning, fresh sheets straight from the dryer on the bed, new socks straight from the package on my feet, the smell of something yummy baking in my kitchen, the smell of my mom's house when she's making dinner...the list goes on and on. But of all the things that make me happy, watching Joshua tops them all.

I love watching Josh "work" with Ben in the garage... I love watching Josh "work" with his physical therapist...I love watching Joshua "work" with his occupational therapist...I love watching Joshua pick up new skills (like pulling to stand on the chair!)...I love watching Joshua stand all by himself...I love watching Josh play in the new stander we're borrowing (different from the gait trainer, even though they look similar)...I love watching his face light up when he is playing....I love watching Josh snuggle with his new best friend...And I love, love, love, love watching Josh do anything that makes him giggle like this...

It makes my heart smile. :)

Happy Halloween!

Off the top of my head, I can count about 20 elephants around my house. I love elephants. They are smart and beautiful and majestic and strong and completely family oriented. They have feelings and emotions that mirror humans, and they are incredibly adorable as babies. I have elephant picture holders, elephant drawings, toy elephants, elephant Christmas ornaments, even a carved wooden rocking elephant!

But of all my elephants, this one...

is by far....

my all time....

favorite.