Recent Ruckus

See What happens when I feed myself oatmeal!

Ok, the snow looks like fun to play in, but I can't move in this stuff!
Winter stinks! I'm ready for a vacation!

We went to the Great Wolf Lodge In Cincy this weekend and had a great time. Unfortunately, the pictures in our water camera didn't develop. GRRRRR! Josh seemed to be in sensory overload in the water park for about 15 minutes with all the people and noise but was then WILD BOY after that. They had some baby-sized water slides which were enjoyed along with all the splashing and squirting. It was a good (and needed) break from the cabin fever we have this winter. We highly recommend it.

Josh now says a few words and tries on many others. He can also put things away when you ask him which is handy when emptying the dishwasher. It's about time he started pulling his own weight around - earning his keep.

Drool Boy!

As you can tell when you look through the pictures of Josh he is a "Drool Boy" right now. He's teething again and has been extremely cranky all week, but he has been in a great mood the past two days.

Josh has learned a couple new "tricks." He can point to his belly button when asked. He will sometimes point to his ear when asked. (This one is still a work in progress.) He will also open and close his hands to the Open Shut Them song. This is one of the songs we sing as the library each week. He also is doing a better job of stacking his cup and putting blocks together also.

Our Great Wolf Lodge trip is almost here. We can't wait. We are going stir crazy in the house this winter. We'll put pictures up on the blog when we get back. We're there just Sunday and Monday. We will have to get the pictures developed fast because our 6-month Home Study is also fast approaching. It is March 8th.

There has been a bit of excitement around the house this week. We turned in our tax paperwork over to our accountant friend and she had it done within two, but there is a problem. It has taken longer to get Josh's Indiana Birth Certificate than expected and we were waiting for it to get his Soc. Security Number. We can't file the taxes without that number. Plus, we won't qualify for the child portion of the tax rebate without a Soc. Security Number for Josh. Rrrrrrrrr. Well, we can't wait anymore so we called the attorney retrieved our Certificate of Citizenship and headed down to the Soc. Security Office. First, we knew that we were going to have to go through security in the Federal Building, but I didn't realize that the Leathermen was still in the diaper bag from Christmas. Thankfully, the guards let us through. Secondly, who knew that you could get in and out of the Soc. Security Office in 20 minutes. We packed lots of snacks and books for Josh and we were in and out. Thirdly, the Soc. Security website says it takes 12 weeks to get a card. Oh my gosh! The lady at the office said it would take 7-14 days. Thank goodness! Within the next couple of weeks we'll have his Soc. Security Number and our taxes filed.

Josh is climbing on everything. He pulled out the under-the-bed storage container and climbed on it the other day.

The fire house is such a fun place to take pictures and I have been wanting to get a picture of Josh in Matt's fire boots for sometime. How cute!

This one is my favorite of the ones I took. He is so happy here.

Boys and their trucks!

I think this picture is so sweet. Here Josh is looking down at his daddy's fire helment.

Caught in the cabinets again!

The pots and pans aren't safe at the fire house either. Just like at home he climbed right into the cabinets.

Although we aren't NASCAR fans, Josh is playing with an inflatable NASCAR that he got for Christmas.

Josh loves to put his cups on his feet. He tried for several minutes to stand up with his cups on his feet and finally did it. I can't believe he was able to walk with those things on his feet.

Who new that stacking cups would be the latest trend in shoe fashion?

Hope you enjoyed the latest and greatest about Josh,

Matt, Jenny and Josh

Nakee Boys!

I just had to add this picture of our "Nakee Boys" from the past weekend. This is Josh with his cousin Alex. Can you believe these two are just six months apart? They look pretty close to the same size in this picture. Josh actually out weighs Alex by about 3 pounds.

Click on the picture to make it large for some reason it's really small.

Also, for those that don't know. My nephew is wearing a helmet to reshape his head in order to make sure that his jaw will line up correctly. The doctors wanted to do it while the bones in his head had not fused yet. He'll have it for about 3 months. Of course we brought him a special sticker for his helment, a fire truck.

We love our "nakee boys,"

Jenny

Growin' Boy

Finally, Josh is completely healed from his surgery and has a clean bill of health from the urologist.

Josh is now 30 inches tall. He has almost outgrown his 6-9 months clothes. He has grown over an inch the last three weeks of January. Also, he is up to 23 pounds. If your wondering, yes that is heavy to carry around.

On February 1st Josh participated in Baby Dedication night at church. Basically, Matt and I got up infront of the congregation and promised to raise Josh believing in Lord Jesus Christ. It was very special and all the grandparents were there for this special moment. After the service we went to get some ice cream. (My mom has the pictures. Sorry none to share right now. Maybe I'll add them when I get them.)

Josh can not resist getting into the cabinets with the pots and pans.

Yes, I'll help get the lasagna out of the oven!

I'm not sure why, but Josh drags the pots all over the house. He also likes to drop them off the step in living room. I think he likes the sound they make.

Every kid loves the paper tube from paper towels. Here Matt would make a sound in the tube then Josh would repeat the sound in his tube.

Trip to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Chris's

February 2-3 Matt, Josh, and I went up to my sisters for our first visit to her house. We were really worried about how Josh would do on such a long car ride since he can't ride across town without crying. He did terrific. We even pushed him on the way back for a 3 1/2 hour stent in the car seat with one 5 minute break. A few short crying spells, but all in all not to bad.

Josh and his two cousins had such a great time playing together. Josh absolutely loves his cousins Alex and Marianna. Josh also was able to play with three of Marianna's friends at a small SuperBowl party Sunday night. Plus, Josh and Alex got to wake up Marianna on Monday morning which was fun for everyone. Oh, Josh also loved climbing the stairs in Lisa's house.

On Monday, we all went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Alex stayed with grandma so that he wouldn't have to be in his pumpkin seat all day. It was a lot of fun. We saw the dolphins and all kinds of different sea creatures. Both Josh and Marianna enjoyed all the creatures.

Marianna, Matt, Jenny and Josh infront of a huge tank of fish

Josh and Marianna had a snack on the way back to the house. Marianna had fun feeding Josh goldfish and fruit snacks.

This is such a sweet picture. They were holding hands as they both started drifting off to sleep as we drove back to Lisa's house.

Thanks Lisa and Chris for letting us come up. We had a good time and kids did too.

What's next?

Well, hopefully anyday now we will receive Josh's Indiana birth certificate. It has been at least six weeks now. In three weeks will be going to the Great Wolf Lodge in Cinci for a break of winter blues to play at the indoor waterpark. Then Josh has his next doctors appointment. I'm sure that means more shots. After that on March 8th, believe it or not, we will have our 6 month home study done. Can you believe that it's almost been six months? That home study goes back to China to let them now how well Josh is doing.

Love, M,J, & J