Random snapshots

Patting baby Joshua.

Putting the plug cover in the outlet....maybe this defeats the purpose?

Running in the park waiting for Truman.

He demanded to bring firetruck...

Posing for me....for once.

I'm not sure why but he loved the little garden statue...

Today after I caught him drawing on the bathroom door...he had to clean it off

We have been busy lately and Jay is learning so much. He was with Wes all weekend while I worked at a youth retreat and, after not seeing him for two days, I came home and noticed so many new things he can do. We are still working on colors...purple, orange, and blue are his favorites. He knows that Daddy's truck is red but that is all he will say red to. When I ask him what color something is he almost always responds with "blue" but will point to the correct color otherwise. He will count to three with me and loves when we go back and forth...I say "one" then he yells, "two!" and I follow with "three."  The other day I swear we counted to six doing that but I really don't think he understands what he is saying.

School is still so much fun to him and he runs in every morning. He is moving to the two year old classroom this week and I expect he will love the new toys. After I received a call everyday he was there for about 3 weeks with reports of him getting bitten/scratched by his friends for taking their toys we decided he had "outgrown his classroom" as his teacher put it. I think it will do him good to be the youngest in the group since he tends to boss kids around when he is bigger than them...maybe he will learn some humility. :)

I can't wait to see how tall he is at his 2 year check up in a few weeks since he is still one of the tallest in his class.  He is a good eater but prefers to shove as much in his mouth as possible and run off to his next project. I do try to get him to sit there for dinner but he is always finished before me and Wes, and he will not sit and wait for us. When he is done, everyone knows it.

I think we are getting closer to potty training. He tells me every time he "poopeys" and when I ask him if he wants to "tee-tee" and runs to the potty and strains as hard as he can. So far, we have not had a true occurrence but he is getting more open to the idea at least. I know boys can take longer to get ready so I'm going to wait until I am sure he is really ready before officially entering potty training boot camp.

We have been out in the canoe a few times and Jay loves riding in the "boat." He asks me to take him out in it during the day and I have to tell a white lie that "mama doesn't know how to use the boat." In fact, I am using that excuse for a lot of things lately. I remember when mom used to tell us that she didn't know how to do whatever it was we wanted her to and I thought, "how does mom not know how to do that??....I thought she was smart!" I guess this is what Jay thinks about me when I tell him that I don't know how to open Daddy's tackle box or open the gate to the fence.

His naps are getting shorter and I'm getting scared about that. I am soooooo NOT ready for him to drop his nap during the day. With the shorter naps he is going to sleep a lot earlier and easier though...so I can't decide which one I'd rather have. Does it make me a horrible mother that I wish more than anything for a 3 hour nap during the day AND bedtime by 730pm???

We babysat Josh and Jane's new baby a few weeks ago and I was a little nervous about how things would go with two little ones to take care of. It was so fun though. Jay loved "baby wa" as he calls him and helped me with diaper changes, burping Joshua, and would sit and talk to him about who knows what. Every time Joshua would cry Jay would walk over to him and rub his head. And when I fed him a bottle Jay cracked up. He thought it was hilarious that "baby wa eat! baby wa eat!"  Maybe he is ready to be a big brother??

As I said before I worked with the youth during Impact Weekend this week. It was so much fun and the speaker was amazing. I worked with the 12th grade girls and we had a great time talking until the wee hours of the morning and eating the entire time. I was a tiny bit worried about my two boys at home though. I decided that as long as the house was still standing and neither had a visit to the hospital, the weekend would be a success. Thankfully, that was the case so I guess I can safely leave the boys without supervision from now own. :)

We are getting excited about our quick trip home this weekend for Jay's 2nd birthday. I will have pictures, I'm sure, and Jay, now with a complete understanding of how presents work, will be in heaven as he is opening fun toys. He has been talking about "papa's tractor" all week so as soon as he realizes we are going to Papa Ross' house he will be beside himself. Oh the fun of seeing the ones who spoil him rotten!