Time to Update

I've been told again it is time to update the blog! Josh and I have been sick so I haven't been very motivated. A couple weeks ago when I picked him up from the baby sitter's he ran up to me saying, "Mommy, mommy my neck hurts and I am sick." Then he cried and cried and cried. That's not like him, so I got him into the doctor that night. He had a sore throat and while we were waiting for the strep test results we realized that Josh couldn't turn his head side to side very well and couldn't go up and down hardly at all. We ended up having his neck x-rayed and everything looked ok, so then they did blood tests and those came back ok. We're not sure what happened but a couple days later his neck was back to normal. Then he ended up with a cough/cold which he was kind enough to share with me. Now we're both finally feeling better and hoping Gary doesn't get it!

Josh is getting smarter by the day. He knows where the treats are, and one day decided to get his stool out and help himself. So I put the treats on a higher shelf. He managed to get them while I was out of the room and I wasn't sure how at first. Then I caught him. He used the stool to get on top of the garbage can and then he could reach much higher. Another one of his latest accomplishments is that he has discovered that he can open the fridge/freezer all by himself. He is quite pleased with himself for this. I was in my bedroom getting dressed one morning when he came wandering in with some Dibbs saying, "Daddy got me a treat!" He took the lid off and started shoveling them in his mouth. 6:00 in the morning is a little early for treats but it was funny enough to earn him a few. I've had to rearrange things so he'll stop getting the ice cream and Popsicles out of the freezer.

Josh sporting his adorable new jacket Grammy Debbie gave him for Christmas. Josh and his new bed tent. I haven't convinced him to let me put it on his bed yet, but he really likes to hide. He has a balloon he puts inside his tent every night before he goes to sleep and also during naps. I guess that's where his balloon sleeps. Shooting some hoops with cousin Jordan. They are such cute pals. Early one morning Josh came into my bedroom and announced that he was going to Jordan's. I told him goodbye and he left my bedroom. A few minutes later he came back and told me he couldn't find Jordan's house. Jordan says stuff similar to this to Kristy. When I give Josh a snack he often sets some aside and says it is for Jordan. When he's playing by himself with his toys he also tells me which ones are for Jordan to play with.

Watching cartoons together.

Christmas Chaos

This is the gingerbread man Josh decorated at a family Christmas party. When I saw what he was doing I came to the conclusion that Josh most definitely did not get any of my DNA! He is all Gary. Josh insisted on using all the same types of candy. He would not use M&M's or gum drops or anything else and he wouldn't mix up colors either. That is sooo like his dad!

I really don't know what happened to the entire month of December. It was a blur and we kept really busy. It was a struggle to get Christmas shopping done with my two year old helper. My first weekend that I finally had time to go Christmas shopping the month was already almost half over. Best Buy happened to be the second store Josh and I went to, and he threw the biggest tantrum I've ever seen him perform. I quickly got what I was looking for but carried him out of the store crying and we ended up spending quite a bit of time in the parking lot before I could get him under control enough to drive him home and put him down for a nap. As soon as he woke up and was fed I tried again thinking a full tummy and a nap we'd be good to go. We walked into Walmart, and it was completely packed with people. I had to search for several minutes before I could even find a cart and of course as soon as I found one Josh said he needed to go potty. Reluctantly abandoning the cart I worked so hard to get, I marched him to the restroom. He wouldn't go because the toilet automatically flushes with every move he makes and it scares him. Of course he ended up having an accident (luckily he was still in his pull up from nap time) and he was so upset about it we immediately had to go home. Things like this seem to be happening with more frequency and I can say without a doubt that Josh is most definitely in the terrible two's!! I thought I'd do a quick post while I have a few extra minutes at work because I don't know when I'm going to have time to post Christmas pictures. I am in the process of painting our front room and it has turned into a much bigger process than I anticipated. After pulling off wallpaper on one of the walls I could see that the wallpaper was put up when the house was built, and nothing has been done to that wall since then. I could not believe that the house is almost 35 years old and I am the first one to change that wall!! I'm so excited I don't have to look at the 70's wallpaper anymore! We ended up having to texture and prime that wall before we could paint. After preparing that wall, patching holes, sanding, and pulling down molding I called the paint store so they'd have my paint ready when I got there and they were closed for New Year's. After all that work I couldn't do anything for two days because the store I needed to get the paint at was closed! We should be able to finish the painting by the end of the week but for two weeks I've had a love seat in my kitchen and a lazy boy at the end of the hall way. My house is torn apart and it is a mess. I can't wait to finish so I can start cleaning and putting things back together!! In the next few weeks we hope to get new molding and a ceiling fan up and then I think I've had enough home improvement projects to last me at least until Spring!

Hats

Have I mentioned how much Josh loves hats?

Doggie hat made at babysitter's Chef hat made at babysitter's

This is Josh's helmet he wears while running through the house pretending to ride motorcycles or four wheelers. It's also a great chair, stool, and bucket for toys. My shoes are a great way to complete the ensemble.

Marine Corps Ball

This weekend we went to the Marine Corps birthday ball. I can't say I really enjoy the ceremony or the speeches, and the food isn't usually the greatest, but it was really nice to have a night alone together and to spend some time with some of our friends! The ball was at the Snowbird Ski Resort. It was really pretty up there. He looks so good in his uniform!!

Did I mention he looks good in his uniform? I couldn't leave out the picture of the poker game after because I WON!!! We stayed up until 1 a.m. playing and too bad we weren't playing with real money! I can't tell you which poker hands are better than others, and I can't keep straight which chips are worth what, and they had to explain poker terminology. I had no idea what I was doing, but with a little help from Gary I still managed to win. I guess I should be spending more time in Vegas!

Halloween

Josh made a cute little pirate this year for Halloween!

He had a good time trick-or-treating with his cousins!

He really enjoyed carving a pumpkin too, although he would not touch the pumpkin guts with his fingers. He would only use the spoon since he does not like to get his fingers dirty, just like his dad!!

It has been a while!!!

I started this posting weeks ago and never got around to finishing it. The pictures are a couple months old now, but I thought I'd finish this posting anyway. Gary is back in school now, so he's gone a lot and keeps busy trying to stay on top of homework. I keep pretty busy trying to stay on top of everything else so he can focus on school and it has been crazy! We just got adjusted to having him home when he started school, and then we had to start all over adjusting to him being back in school. We're getting into a better routine now so hopefully we'll be able to handle the chaos a little better!!

Josh loves to go to the park to play. He really has a good time on the swings and slides.

He also likes to feed the ducks at Salem Pond.

These next few pictures are from Grandma Wood's 90th birthday party. Grandpa is 92 and they have been married almost 70 years! Josh and his cousin Jordan are pals. Jordan was a great help getting Josh to eat his food. The party was at my cousin's house, and the kids had a great time swimming in her pool. Josh absolutely loves to swim. He kept jumping off the side of the pool to me. He has absolutely no fear. He wanted to jump in by himself without me catching him, but he's not quite ready for that. Josh and Jordan are so cute playing together. They get along really well.

Sometimes this is a great sight for me to see, Josh fast asleep with his Snoopy, bear, and dog. We went several weeks with very little sleep because Josh kept waking up every half hour to hour for hours during the night. Then he was very cranky and very difficult all day from the lack of sleep. After being up all night it was really hard for me to function at work and stay on top of everything around the house. It took me quite a while to figure out Josh's lack of sleep was partly because he needed to go potty and wasn't awake enough to tell me, and partly because he cries in his sleep when he's dreaming. Now he's sleeping a lot better, which means we get more sleep, and it is amazing how much better you feel when you get some sleep!!!

Josh is great at helping me keep the lawn mowed!

Camping

This summer has been a very busy one even though it doesn't seem like we really did a lot. I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted. I've intended to post more pictures for about two weeks now but have been too busy, and we've all been sick!

This is our camping trip to Payson Lakes. I didn't get to go camping last summer since Gary was gone, and I didn't go the summer before because Josh was too small. I have really missed being in the mountains and was very excited to pull out all our camping stuff again!

It was so pretty up there!

Josh really enjoyed putting his feet in the water with Melissa, though he wasn't satisfied with just that. He wanted to get in the lake.

This was the path down to the lake that Josh ran up and down several times. I wish I had that kind of endurance in the high altitude!

He was entertained for the longest time sitting in his camping chair blowing bubbles.

He loved climbing on the big rock and jumping off it. We borrowed my uncle's kayaks and Josh really enjoyed riding in the "boat". This is American Fork Canyon. It was also a beautiful place to camp.

There were a few spots by our camp site that had run off coming down the mountain. Josh had a great time playing in the water, and after he was all wet fell down in the dirt and became pure mud. He really had a good time. He is a great little helper. We have to be careful where we set the hatchet or axe because he will pick them up and start trying to use them!

In the tent with Erin!

Erin and Randy

Josh very much enjoyed doughnuts and chocolate milk for breakfast!

When we got home, Gary was exhausted. I told him I didn't want him on our couch or bed until he showered since he smelled like camp fire and was dirty, so I came in the house to find him dead asleep just like this on the kitchen floor, snoring and everything. It didn't even phase him when Josh tried to play with the golf clubs.