Conversation of 2 Potato Heads

Tonight Joshua had a conversation with two Mr. Potato Heads - it went like this:

1st Potato Head: How are you?

2nd Potato Head: Fine, how are you?

1st PH: What doing?

2nd PH: What doing?

1st PH: What doing?

2nd PH: What doing?

Do you think he will ever answer the questions here of the 2 potato heads?  I think he has finally hit the stage of not really knowing what to say, but wanting to say something, so he just talks.  At least he has a creative enough imagination to carry on the conversation with the two potato heads instead of asking his father and I "what doin" all the time. 

Afwica Pwane

Not soon after we dropped David  off at the airport yesterday did Joshua begin asking where his daddy was.  To keep things simple, I told Joshua that Daddy was riding a plane to Africa to preach God's Word.  Joshua then said, "Daddy pwane, Daddy wide (ride) pwane?" 

"Yes," I responded, "Daddy is riding the plane to Africa."

Joshua then replied, "Joshua wide pwane to Afwica. Joshua [go] to Afwica."

I said, "Maybe someday, Joshua, maybe you'll go to Africa."

Cute!

Even cuter still - Today, we saw a plane fly over our home, and Joshua asked, "Daddy pwane; Daddy wide pwane?" all while pointing to the plane overhead.  

I said, "Yes, Joshua, Daddy rode a plane to Africa, but not that plane.  That is not Daddy's plane. Daddy already got off his plane in Africa."  

Joshua said, "No, Daddy pwane. Daddy pwane wight (right) there." 

I said, "No Joshua, that's not Daddy's plane. He's in Africa already off the plane."

Joshua just ignored me and yelled, "Bye Daddy, bye Daddy", all the while he was waving his little hand at the plane overhead.  

Yep - he makes me smile. 

Don't Throw Me in the Potty!

Joshua has an imagination - a BIG imagination.  He loves to pretend that he is riding his "motorcycle" when he is really riding his tricycle.  He loves to pretend he is talking on the phone, when he is really holding a banana to his ear, saying "helwo."  He also loves to pretend he is a dead bug on the floor, by lying on his back and flailing his arms and legs in the air (like a bug, I guess). 

Well, yesterday, Joshua decided to pretend he was a dead bug again.  So, Dave said, "oh, Joshua, you're a dead bug?  Well, you know what we do with dead bugs, don't you? We flush them down the potty?  Come here, I guess we need to flush you down the potty."  Dave started to pick Joshua up to "pretend" to carry him to the potty, and Joshua, thinking Dave was serious, had a look of stark terror cross his face.  He didn't know Dave was being silly, and instead thought for sure his daddy was going to flush him.  

When Dave saw Joshua's face, he quickly reassured Joshua that he wasn't going to be flushed down the potty because he was loved too much.  He also told him that we don't really flush people down the potty.  

While Dave and I got a little chuckle out of this, it also made me realize that kids don't understand what tricking them really is, and in fact could be considered lying.  I guess we'll just have to watch what we say more closely to our kids from now on, because I surely don't want them thinking we might "flush them down the potty." :)

Joshua Calls the Cat Home

Yesterday, I took the boys outside to look for our cat Nina (who appeared to be lost).  I began saying/yelling, "Here Nina, Here kitty kitty. Here Nina, Here Kitty Kitty." Now, Joshua, who tries to mimic most anything Dave and I do, decided he would "yell" for her too.  So, he repeated me, yelling, "Here Nina, Here kitty kitty. Here Nina, Here Kitty Kitty." 

Unfortunately for us, Joshua can not form his "k"/"c" sound very well in his mouth yet, and instead he puts a "t" sound its place.

  

In order to avoid further embarrassment, as I write this, I'll let you do the substitutions and come up with what he was REALLY saying. 

Note, we came inside pretty quickly after that!

He Walks

Just wanted to shoot in a quickie on Caleb.

Caleb surprised Dave and I last night by taking his first step without holding on to anything. He then proceeded to stand still for about 30 seconds just looking at us. He seemed to be proud as a peacock, and we certainly we proud of him.

Do you think he'll be running in a week?

A Day in a Box

 

      Last week, I was packing some things up I had sold on Ebay, so Joshua decided he wanted to play with the peanuts I was using for packing.  I couldn't let him play with them really because he kept dropping them on the floor where Caleb could quickly grab them and put them in his mouth.  However, the peanuts were keeping Joshua occupied, and since I wanted him to STAY occupied while I worked, I decided to let him put him in the box to play with the peanuts.  Here are some pictures of what he did in the box.  

     

  

I told my husband that I would just go ahead and finish adding peanuts to the box and send Joshua on to our relatives.  Wonder how long it would take for someone to figure out he was in there? 

Not really planning on packing him up, but he sure was cute and had a good time playing. 

Two Boys - Lots of Differences

How different two people can be who come from the same tree really amazes me! God is so amazing at how he creates us.  Here is just an example of the differences in our two little boys.

Joshua is a risk taker.  He will actually beg to be flipped, tossed, and swung high in the air. 

Caleb seems to understand, even at such an early age, that his is not invincible.  He actually will cling to a person who tries to toss him too high in the air.

Joshua loves cars.  If he had a choice between a car or a ball, he'll take the car 10 out 10 times.

Caleb loves balls.  If he had a choice between a car or a ball, he'll take the ball 9 out of 10 times.

Joshua doesn't like his hands dirty, so he uses a fork to pick up his food.  He has been doing this before he was a year old.  He hates dirt/food anywhere on him.

Caleb doesn't care if his hands, face, feet, belly, legs, or even his hair at times are dirty or even covered in food.  He just digs in.

Joshua loves meat, cheese, and bread; yet doesn't like fruits and veggies very much.

Caleb loves fruits and veggies and will actually pick the meats and breads out of whatever he eats, so he doesn't have to eat them.  He just did this to my pasta meal last night.

Joshua doesn't eat very much (he's 3).  

Caleb eats "everything" and lots of it.  He LOVES to eat.  My mom says, "One way to make Caleb happy and pacified is to feed him." 

Joshua is up at the crack of dawn and loves the morning time.

Caleb likes to sleep late and can tend to be grouchy and impatient in the mornings.

Joshua loves to go to bed early.  He will actually bring his blanket to you and tell you it is "night night" time, if you don't go to bed when you should.

Caleb will stay up as late as he can get away with.  He loves to stay up late, and in fact protests having to go to sleep.

Joshua loves to wear hats, shoes, scarves, gloves....

Caleb can hardly stand anything on his feet, hands, or head. He likes to go NAKED. 

Joshua can tend to be rather clumsy, not watching where he is going.  He actually runs into the walls when he goes down the hallway.

Caleb is rarely ever clumsy and almost always watches where he is going, even at his young baby age.

Joshua doesn't like to be cold. 

Caleb doesn't like to be hot.

So very different little boys, but the loves of Dave and my life.  How wonderful to know that God loves each of us and has created us all so different.  

Bragging on Caleb

Caleb holding on to Mommy's chair for support

Okay, so I have to take a minute to brag on my little smiley man. I know that as parents we might not ought to brag so much, but then again I wonder, does God brag on us at all when we make accomplishments that He is proud of? I think He does, so here goes.

First let me say, that Caleb is probably the sweetest little boy on the planet.  I don't think I've ever met one sweeter.  He is so easy going, easy to please, easy to make smile, and easy to get along with .  He has been easy to nurse (did so in 5 minutes after being born), easy to change diapers (he doesn't squirm), easy to feed solids (he doesn't fight for the spoon), and easy to sit with in church (he is really quiet and still).  

Now, my little sweet Caleb is starting to walk.  He began pulling up a few weeks ago, and then decided he liked the standing position, so he plays with most of his toys while he is standing.  We just put them on a chair so he can stand to play with them.  

Caleb waving to Mommy as he cruises around her recliner

Well, on Friday, Caleb surprised us all and let go with both hands of what he was holding onto, took a step and stood still to keep his balance, then grabbed on to something else to hold onto, so he could cruise down the furniture some more.    Now, he's a cruising boy. :)

We are impressed, but then I guess we would be.  We are his parents.  Parents impress easily, it seems, when it comes to their kids.  :) 

Caleb spying on Joshua in the bathtub

Training Joshua - I'm a baby

Since Caleb came into this house, Joshua has wanted at times to be a "baby" like Caleb. In an attempt to get attention, he will do various things to prove that he is a baby, including: put a pacifier in his mouth and cry (he quit using a pacifier when he was 12 months old), try to sit in Caleb's baby car seat, attempt to sit in Caleb's swing, sit in Caleb's baby walker, and even climb in Caleb's high chair and sit to wait on baby food to be fed to him.

Well, today I decided to help Joshua understand that being a baby was not always a desirable thing to be. When Joshua crawled in his brother's highchair, I proceeded to tell him that once in the highchair, he could not get out. He said, "I'm a baby." I said, "Well, okay, but babies can't get out of the highchair." He said, "I'm a baby."

I then said, "Well, babies eat baby food in the highchair." He said, "eat food." So, I said, "okay."

I then went and grabbed some leftover over oatmeal cereal and pears I had fed Caleb this morning, and put a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in it. I then, mixed it up really good and then presented it to Joshua.

I said, "Okay, here's that baby food for that baby." He said, "eat food; I'm a baby." So, I fed him a spoonful. After some comical expressions on his part, he swallowed the food and said, "yum." I thought, "well, maybe this isn't going to work after all."

So, I reached for another spoonful. Joshua in turn shook his head "no" and clamped his mouth closed. I smiled and said, "no, open up, this food is for the baby, and you're a baby. Open up." After a little convincing, I managed to get him to open his mouth and eat another spoonful.

Well, he gagged, choked, and squinted, but he managed to get that second spoonful down. He then said, "all done," to which I replied, "oh, you're not a baby anymore; you're a big boy?" He said, "big boy." I again said, "so are you a baby?" He said, "no, big boy."

I then, let him down and sent him on his way. He hasn't wanted to get back in that highchair all afternoon, and he still says he's a big boy. He says he's no longer a baby. :)

Yeah, I laughed too.

Ketchup Anyone?

Joshua hates to get dirty. He hates to get his fingers dirty from touching food; he hates to get his feet dirty from walking without shoes; and he hates to get any food or drink on him while he is eating. To help Joshua get over being so picky about things, we are trying to teach Joshua that it is okay to get dirty usually. But, with a picky child, this can be a hard concept to get across.

So, we have been teaching Joshua that when he gets food on his fingers that he needs to wipe it off with a napkin. Well, just recently my parents have been showing him how to lick things off his fingers. In an effort to please them and also in an effort to try "not to complain" about getting dirty my creative son Joshua decided to take his "licking things off" to a new level.

While eating his meal at my parents home, he managed to get ketchup on his knee, fingers, and elbow. So, without anyone saying anything or even commenting that Joshua was "messy", Joshua proceeded to lick off his ketchup. Here are pictures of his attempts to lick it all off. Though you can't enjoy the event as much as you could have, had you been there, at least you can enjoy the pictures of Joshua's attempts anyway.

Joshua gets ketchup on his knee, fingers, and elbowJoshua trys to lick the ketchup off his knee

Joshua is Trained to Help

Since Joshua could crawl, Dave and I started training Joshua to help around the house. First we started training him to pick up his toys. If he could pull them out, he could pick them up. Now, at the age of 2, he expertly can pick all his toys up and put them away. He also can put his own plate and cup away after he eats, and he can wipe up his spills when he spills something.
Before he could walk, I also began training Joshua to help with the laundry. I would sit Joshua safely beside my dryer in the laundry room as I work on the laundry and then I would have Joshua hand me dirty laundry as he found it on the floor. He loved it, because it was a game, yet at the same time, he was learning that the dirty laundry goes either in a hamper or into the washing machine.

Joshua Trying to Vacuum when he was 1 year old

Today, Joshua puts laundry from my hamper into the washing machine; he puts clean clothes from the washing machine into the dryer; he cleans out the lint screen (his favorite part of doing laundry); and he helps me fold and put away the clean clothes. Joshua also can be found vacuuming our carpets at times (another favorite activity of his); washing the walls down the hallway; and even helping me wash the toilet. He has turned into a good little helper.

Many parents don't have their kids start helping around the house until they are much older. But by the time the kids have gotten older, they have been trained to think that it is Mommy or Daddy's job to clean and pick up after them. Then when kids begin being required to "clean" the kids think that their "help" is really a chore, which they hate doing. Training Joshua at such an early age and making a lot of it a game or filled with fun and songs, will help him to understand that as he gets older, it is not Mommy or Daddy's job to wait on him hand and foot, but for Joshua to pull his own weight in this house. Later as he ventures out of the house to his adult job, his work ethic won't say "hey, I do what little I can to get by," but it will be "hey, we all have a job to do, so let's do it right."

Joshua Helping His Daddy Haul in the Trash

Caleb Rises

Top - Caleb playing with a musical doll
Bottom - Caleb spending time in his PaPaw's lap

Caleb has started pulling up on things to stand. He has been crawling pretty well for a couple of weeks now, but he has decided that his view of the floor isn't as neat as the view at a higher level.
I am so excited that he is pulling up so early and will probably be walking earlier than Joshua did. At least with him walking and crawling so early, he'll be able to escape from his older brother some of the times.

Joshua Waits

Joshua playing with his PaPaw's Cpap

Joshua has picked up saying the word "wait." He has decided that when we tell him "no" to something that he will just reply "wait" and hopefully we'll let him do or have whatever he wants later on.

Just one of the our conversations yesterday went like this -

Joshua: Outside, Mommy
Me (mommy): Not right now, Joshua. It's raining.
Joshua: Wait!
Me: Yes, Joshua, we have to wait to go outside.
Joshua: Wink (drink), Mommy.
Me: No, Joshua, not right now, I'm feeding Caleb. I'll get it for you when I finish.
Joshua: Wait!
Me: Yes, Joshua, you have to wait.
Joshua: Watch Tars (Cars), Mommy.
Me: No, Joshua, not right now. You have already watched TV today. You can watch it tomorrow.
Joshua: Wait!

You'd think he'd get tired of waiting, but he doesn't. He just asks for something; I tell him "not right now", and he knows to wait, so he moves on to find something else to do or get into. What a great concept to have already grasped at his little age. Now if I can just do the same thing (wait) on that ice cream I want in the fridge before dinner.

Mickey What?

On our way back from Orlando this past Monday, we passed the giant power line pole in the shape of Mickey's head and ears. I pointed Mickey's head out to Joshua saying, "Look, Joshua. It's Mickey." He quickly responds with a "where, where?" I then pointed again at the ears and said, "over there."
When he finally spotted the ears, he responded, "What's up, Baaaaaaaby?"
Dave and I laughed at him for almost a mile.

Toothpaste Anyone?

Last week, Joshua decided that Caleb should be decorated with toothpaste. I thought that everything was just fine and that everyone was safe from the Joshua, the decorator, while I used the restroom for a few minutes. But, it only took Joshua less than 3 minutes to do his decorating.
He laughed the whole time he did it. I thought that since he was laughing and not quiet, that everything was fine. However, when I came out of the bathroom, I discovered not only the dog, the kitchen, and the walls decorated in toothpaste, but also I discovered that Caleb had been a victim of the Decorator as well.
Here is just a couple pictures of what I found when I came out of the bathroom.



You'd think Caleb would have been upset to have had toothpaste put all over his face, but he wasn't. He seemed to think that whatever Joshua did was fine and even laughed about it.

So, instead of disciplining Joshua, I laughed and just took both boys and put them into the tub. As you can see, they seemed just as happy to play in the tub as they had been to play with the toothpaste. Well, at least here they are getting clean, even if they did smell minty afterwards for a few hours.

Fruit Basket Turnover

Each night before Dave and I go to bed, we do what we call the fruit basket turnover with our two sons. It starts like this:

Joshua starts each night at about 8:30 going to sleep in his little car bed in his room. Then, while he goes to sleep, Caleb nurses and plays and then goes himself to la la land. After Caleb is dreaming his dreams, Dave goes to get Joshua from his bed, then puts Joshua on a pallet in our room by Dave's side of the bed. Finally, we take sleeping Caleb and put him in the crib in he and Joshua's room.

tired David holds Caleb as he falls asleep

Why do we go to all this trouble? So, we can all sleep at night. Trying to get a baby and a toddler to sleep in the same room without waking each other up is quite a feat. So, we try to keep them in separate areas, until they can BOTH sleep a little better through the night.
Caleb will sleep through most of the night, or he'll wake up and play by himself in his crib and then go back to sleep. Caleb's "playing" can disturb Joshua, so we keep Joshua in our room, so as not to disturb him.
One thing's for sure, what we are doing is working for now. So we'll keep at it for now. We are all getting more sleep than we did before we started this routine. And, sleep is a valuable commodity in a house with a baby AND a toddler in it. So, we are willing to pay the small price to get it in lengthier stretches.
Hopefully, this time next year, we can report that everyone is happily sleeping in their own beds, and fruit basket turnover has happened for the last time.

Joshua's Charm

Joshua always seems to find a way to charm the socks off us. He tries to get away with his cuteness and funny looks and wise cracks, but even though we smile and even sometimes have to hide a laugh from him, he still usually has to be disciplined for whatever new crime he has just committed.

Joshua at Chuck E Cheese's

This afternoon, Joshua and David played in Joshua's little kiddie pool which was rather cool for this time of year, and afterwards got a warm shower to warm his purple body. After the shower, I put some clothes on Joshua and left him in his room a minute, so I could grab something else for him. I was only gone about 2 minutes, and in that time, Joshua managed to move his little rocking chair over to the dresser, open the drawer, pull out the powder and then baptize his room and bed in baby powder.

When I returned and found the mess, I proceeded to clean up, put the powder back in the drawer and change Joshua's sheets. I then, left the room to put the clothes in the laundry basket. While I was gone, I could hear Joshua moving his chair again, so as I came down the hallway, I said told him he had better not be getting into that drawer again for the powder. Now, my son is smart, but sometimes he's too smart and cute for his own britches.

When I walked into the room, I saw Joshua quickly sit down in th chair, that he'd been standing on getting ready to open the drawer again. He then went to rocking fervently and quickly, all the while chanting, "rock, rock; rock, rock; rock, rock; rock, rock," as he went back and forth in the rocking chair. Cute - I know. He's a mess.

Another cute moment- Joshua decided the other day that I needed to wear his Mickey Mouse ears that his Aunt Sue bought him, so he put them on my head. I was sitting in the floor when he did this. Joshua didn't like it that my sunglasses were in the way, so he pulled the ears back off my head and then removed my sunglasses. He put the ears back, but still wasn't satisfied. I had my scrunchy still in my head. So, he pulled the ears back off, and then proceeded to pull the scrunchy out of my hair.

When he finally got the scrunchy out of my hair, he put the ears back on my head. He backed up, put his hands on his hips and said the funniest thing I've yet to hear him say, I think. While looking at me with a cute and serious grin in his eyes, Joshua said, "yeeeeeeeeaaaaah baby." Hilarious! That's my Joshua!

Growing Up Log

Joshua and Caleb spending time together on the floor

I'm starting this new blog for the benefit of the boys, their grandparents/relatives, and myself. I want to be able to do a better job of keeping track of what the boys do from week to week and also record their milestones or special events as they happen. I haven't found the time to do it in their baby books, so I thought I do it here and then transfer it later. That way, the relatives could see what was going on at the same time I'm able to keep up with it. So here we are, and so we begin. :)

Dave spots Joshua in the backyard tree.

On a great note for me, but not so interesting for everyone else- Joshua decided he could poop in the potty for the first time this week. I believe it was Tuesday night that he managed to do that for me. I was elated to say the least, and Joshua just looked at me funny as I jumped up and down and rejoiced over his accomplishment.

Joshua is now in underwear ONLY. He doesn't wear a diaper anymore, not even to sleep in, since he is doing so well staying dry - even at night. My parents will be here next weekend, so we'll see how they like sleeping with a new and improved Joshua who doesn't wear diapers. Let's hope they don't give him a lot to drink before he goes to bed.
Dave's parents will be here the next weekend. I think they'll find that Joshua's verbal speech has improved a lot since they last saw him, and that he has calmed down some - well, only a little. :)

Caleb cut his first tooth today. This made me soooo sad, since I want him to be toothless a lot longer, especially since he is nursing. He isn't on solids or formula of any kind. I plan to hold him off for a few more months on the solids, since he is doing fine on nursing right now. He's a cute chubby thing, who smiles all the time. He is so very content and sweet, that Dave has dubbed him "Smiley". Praise God for such a sweetie!

My favorite picture of Dave and Joshua so far -

Joshua is in the backyard tree, while Dave looks on protectively and proudly.

Joshua was dubbed "Monkey" when he started walking, because he walked like and ape with his arms in the air. I don't know why Dave didn't just name him "ape" or "gorilla", but "monkey" it was, so monkey it stays. It seems more appropriate now, than then, because Joshua climbs everything he can get away with climbing. Now all we need is a few monkey bars out back to keep him busy and out of the things in the kitchen.

Well, that's all for now!

Be blessed!