Little Drummer Boy

Pah rum-pum-pum-pum! Joshua has several little drums. He has always enjoyed playing them. In fact, we have kind of wondered about whether he will play the drums as he grows older. In the last few days, Joshua has reached a new level of love for his drums. He pretty much keeps one with him at all times. He will begin to play in one room and then rotate from place to place. David started putting of worship music on the computer, and Joshua will sit on the couch and play along for as long as we will allow him to do so. David said that he recognizes when the drummer is visible, and it also seems that Joshua requests a song change when there isn't much drumming in it! I think he has his Daddy's love for music for sure!

Eating lessons

Ellie has been eating out of a spoon for just over a month now, and there are a few things I have noticed during that time.

1. Every baby is different. Of course! Joshua pretty much just started eating... just like that! He gobbled up whatever I gave him, and I kind of scoffed at the books that said my baby was likely to only eat a teaspoon or two at first. Ellie is my dainty little girl; well, she is dainty in the amount that she eats, but maybe not so dainty in the way that she gets food all over everything in the process!
2. Forget the bib. At least for now, there is really no point in using a bib when Ellie eats. Sure, it might protect the front of her outfit for awhile, but it is no match for my little girl! Even though I am the one holding the spoon, Ellie somehow manages to get food on her hands, her feet, and her arms. Of course, when you are a baby, anything that is on your hands will get everywhere else. Therefore, by the end of her meal that is usually less than 1/4 cup of mush, her bib is soaked with food, there is crusted rice mush deep in the folds of her neck, in her hair, and on the chair around her. Oh, Ellie! So I find that removing her clothes and fashioning a "bib" for the chair out of a receiving blanket is the way to go for now!
3. How quickly we forget and move into toddler mode! Joshua didn't take his first bites very long ago, but I am amazed at how much I have forgotten about the beginning stages of eating! I puree the food a LOT longer than I had to for Joshua when I stopped making it. Ellie's bites hardly seem like bites at all because they are so tiny, and everything is an experiment... from the amount of food I prepare to watching her reaction to different flavors to the position and chair we use at mealtime. It also takes a LONG time to feed a learning baby! I have said good-bye to leisurely quiet meals for awhile, but I have to allow Ellie to eat at her leisure, for sure! I catch myself ending the meal at times because I am just tired of being patient rather than because she seems like she is finished! (But don't worry, I am getting more patient and feeding her more food!)
   

Ayeiiiii!

(Pronounced like a sing-song "bye" without the "b")

Joshua has been playing "pretend" lately. There is some special term for it, but I can't remember it right now. He takes his little metal pail, waves and says "Ayeiiii!". He heads to the door and tries his hardest to open . Thankfully, even I have trouble opening it, so we should be okay for awhile! Now, I am not sure exactly what he is modeling. Perhaps Daddy heading out the door with his lunch? Well, Joshua is never awake at 5:45 when David leaves for work. (Thank goodness!) And Mommy avoids carrying a purse at all costs! Either way, it is pretty cute! Joshua also had his first encounter with a doll a few weeks ago, much to David's chagrin. He did exactly what any toddler with an Ellie would do. He fed her a bottle, and he gave her licks - I mean burped her.:-) Joshua also enjoys making his animal crackers gallop around on the table. He also made his Ritz cracker gallop around on the table last night. It is so sweet to see his little imagination at work!

Dressed to impress

I don't know about other Moms, but I have a hard time really dressing little babies. Don't get me wrong, I love to look at and imagine sweet little put-together outfits, but I just have not generally put them on my kids for long. Those decorative little dresses or accessories may sounds like a good idea, but both of my kids have mostly worn onesies for most of the first year of life. They sleep so much, I feel badly leaving them in much else! I mean, who wants to nap in a dress or a pair of jeans and shoes? Some of the outfits, while not uncomfortable, are simply not practical. For example, why wear something cute as a newborn when you are likely to have to change it after the diaper explodes, and if the diaper doesn't explode, you know you will change said diaper about 15 times in a 24-hour period? Ellie's little dresses seem comfy enough, and they aren't much hassle. She wore one to church, but she just ended up chewing on it, and when nap time came around, we just worried she would pull it up over her face and get disoriented! The exception would be what you see pictured, an outfit donned so that we could get a picture of the shoes while they fit Ellie. I mean, they are sooo cute, but what use does she have for little sneakers?! I thought she might humor me and wear them for a little while, but she was unhappy for most of the time she was wearing them. I tried to imagine how heavy they must feel on Ellie's very busy, kicking feet, and I took pity. She probably got quite a workout with those little weights!

Di-di!

Joshua loves his music. He would listen to it all day long. I think that he recognizes songs better than I do at times! Some of Joshua's current favorites are David Crowder, World Mandate 2010, and Humpty Who? Recently, I decided that he should learn to say "different" rather than whine or have to run over to the speakers when he would like the song to change. Each morning, each afternoon, in the car, after lunch, any time of day, Joshua gestures for music by dancing with his arms. He then says, "Di-di!" until we find a song that he likes. I think he also says it to inform me of the end of a song lest I be surprised by the beginning of the new, "di-di" tune.:-)

Singin' in the Rain

or playin'.:-) Last week was pretty rainy. I realized it was my first really rainy week since I have had a busy little toddler. Everything was fine as long as we got one little outing each day. Joshua likes water any way he can get it, so he even laughed gleefully when we ran to the car and got absolutely drenched after the doctor on Thursday. Since it is light so late these summer days, we usually have about an hour between bath and bedtime. Last week, we were able to go to the park one day, and then David and Joshua went to the water park in our backyard one evening!

Joshua's first report card

Today was a very big day for us. Joshua went to Mother's Day Out! Before we moved back to America, Joshua had been away from us for maybe a total of 12 awake hours of his life. (And I should mention that those 12 hours all occurred since Ellie was born!) Since we returned, he has really enjoyed participating in the Children's Ministry at our church. For a few weeks, we were taking a class, so he stayed for 3 hours on those Sundays. His "camp," as David prefers to call it, is for 5.5 hours, and nap time is included! Joshua brought home some artwork and a report card from his day. Here is what his report card says:

Art: creating nighttime pictures
Today's Theme: summer fun
Today I was: happy and friendly
Lunch Time: Ate well
Diaper changes...
Nap time: No
etc.

Did you catch that last one?! Joshua loves people, so my main concern was what he would do when they tried to get him to sleep in a room full of people. When I went to get him, (to take him to the doctor, I might add,) they said that he had not slept AT ALL!! The ladies told me he was in bed simply playing. They tried different things to help him fall asleep, but he stayed happily awake. After 45 minutes, they felt bad for him and let him get up to play. Apparently he never cried or got grumpy. I was dreading the trip to the doctor with a kid who never misses a nap and already detests the doctor, but Joshua stayed relatively pleasant for the rest of the day! In case you haven't read about our typical doctor visits, I will tell you this was probably the first visit in nearly a year that Joshua didn't scream the entire time the doctor was in the room. All things considered, I think it was a successful day!