Dropping a nap

This week we have been doing a little experiment. Joshua normally sleeps during the hours that people are out and about, so we have moved to two naps instead of three in the day. I wasn't sure if it would work out because he usually really sleeps well during that third nap. I think we are on day 4 of this experiment, and we will probably stick with it. It is a bit more high maintenance for me to keep Joshua entertained for longer chunks of time, but it enables us to do more outside of the house. He has been so sweet and flexible, but he is certainly exhausted by the end of the day! With this new routine, Joshua is in bed for 12+ hours at night, and I miss him because he sleeps for so long!

Warning: Suffocation hazard

David brought home some bins to store off-season clothing under the bed. I filled mine very quickly, and as I covered it with the lid, I noticed that it had a picture of a baby on the under-side of the lid. The picture was a warning advising the user against putting a child inside the bin. I am not even sure if it would be possible to fit anyone in there, but I will keep that in mind!

100% Potato Chips

When you buy a bag of chips here, you never know what you are going to get. That is not a deep Forrest Gump thought; it is reality! David brought home some nacho cheese tortilla chips today. Sounds like Doritos, right? Well, we were pleasantly surprised to find that they are, in fact, similar to Doritos... and much cheaper than the Doritos we can buy here. I noticed the bag said "potato chips", and that made me curious. I continued to study it, and the back of the bag says "100% potato." We thought that was strange since they sure taste like corn chips. The front of the bag says "100% Cheese Nacho Tortilla," and the back of the bag says "100% potato." Which one is correct? Well, the first ingredient is corn, so I guess that answers the question!

I'm bo-ored!

I am guessing that any Mom can hear that phrase ringing in her ears. The phrase I hear lately doesn't have those words, just lots and lots of fussing to let me know that Joshua is ready for a change... again.:-) So my new role as Mommy during much of the day consists of looking high and low for any random item in the house that will look fun to Joshua but not be dangerous for him to explore. His current favorite are his little plastic bowls. Who knows what it might be next hour?! I put away most of his toys, and I will get them out in a week or so in order to re-gain novelty. My next options are icecube trays, and I will just have to keep thinking!

Joshua is officially sitting up by himself! His big realization over the past few days has been that he can't actually lunge for a toy out of reach... this results in a shocking fall. Now he simply reaches toward something, and if he can't get to it, he looks around for something else. Always something new in the first year, right?

And the elephants came falling down

Joshua has a "pack 'n play" that he primarily uses for naps when we have meetings at different houses. It is light green with jungle animals. There are three elephant heads that hang over him when he sleeps on an arch that attaches to the sides. Over the past few months, we have enjoyed finding Joshua in all different positions when we get him from his pack 'n play. He usually makes a ninety degree turn for some reason, and he is very precise. His most recent adventure in the pack 'n play is pulling the elephants down. The first time David noticed it, there was one little elephant that had clearly been gnawed. The next time, all three were in the bed with Joshua... what fun he must have had! We have taken this as his way of telling us that maybe he is ready to be lowered from the bassinet portion of the pack 'n play... not because we don't want him playing with his elephants, but because he is getting far too active in there to be that close to the top!

What comes with spring

We have been here for just over a year now, so I now have memories of every season in the year in a new location. As the weather has gotten slightly warmer over the past week, I am remembering the differences that we will experience with the start of spring and summer.

The most obvious difference is construction. Maybe a month ago someone commented on how peaceful and quiet our street is. I now laugh when I think about that comment. There is one building going up across the street, a gazebo right behind our house, 2 buildings a bit farther away behind our house, and a cage next to our building. I thought it was going to be a fence at first, but no, it really is a cage! And the bulk of the noise is in Joshua's room, so I am very thankful that he likes to sleep! You can also hear people outside enjoying themselves well into the night. I thought this was a fun part of the culture last year, and this year, I am hoping that the sound of voices, laughter, and music doesn't remind Joshua that he is missing out on things!

There is one interesting more weather-related difference during this "in between" time. When I say "in between" time, I mean that the temperature outside is warmer, but not warm enough to make our apartment that warm. So starting yesterday, we wore short sleeves outside and put on jackets to go inside!:-)

Besame Mucho

Another family that lives here has a little girl who is two years and a few months old. She is really cute with bright blue eyes and light blond hair. We meet together a few times a week, and Joshua has recently been so interested in watching her when she is around. He also flaps his arms and leans toward whatever he wants to see. Yesterday, Joshua was sitting in David's lap when his little friend came toward him. He flapped his arms and leaned forward so that he could explore her face. Her Mommy told her she should give "Baby Josh" a kiss. (She calls him "Baby Dosh" when she sees him.) Anyway, Grace gave Joshua several kisses right on his mouth, and he made some interesting facial expressions in response! He still seemed stunned from the experience several minutes later. I think he was more expecting to tough her cheeks and grab her nose.