A fun visit in overdrive...

This past weekend we drove up to the cities to the Kube residence where the Stumbo clan had also trekked. We had a lot of fun - we hadn't seen little Miss Ava for a long time - my how big she has gotten! It took a lot of coaching for Josiah to call her Ava - he thought she was Ben and that Ben was Ava. We debated this for quite some time. Then we tried to add "Jen" to the mix, but that was too much. We got there at bedtime, so Josiah enjoyed two hours of hyperdrive before we finally put him down. Boy was he a crazy man! He also enjoyed seeing baby "Buckle" (aka Brooklyn) and trying to show her way too much love and affection! All these girls around already! Things could get interesting :)


We got Ava a vacuum for her birthday. (We missed the party due to the pink eye infestation of 2007). They sat mesmerized and drooling with anticipation while Ben tried to fight the twistie ties and get the thing out of the box.

Josiah was so excited to see "ER-CA" and Josh again - he talks about them all the time (and is very proud to know their names).
Steve and I hogged baby Buckle a bit - he cashed in on the fact that I have a bum arm - so he got her way more! She is growing like a weed- these kids sure have that growing thing figured out!

Hey! It's out of the box! Then Ava had to run away, dragging the vacuum around the island while Josiah yelled vacuum and tried to steal it. We love learning how to share!

I don't have any pictures of the big event - the traditional Pictionary game. It's always a bloodbath, down to the wire. LOVE to play these games! And there were some amazing drawings - like the "zit face road" (dirt road) and the "valentine" (meow). Game time is serious stuff. We discussed the possibility of a wooden spoon collection for our next gathering - spoons is a great game except for pregnant people. When you are pregnant, you seem to the a big target for spoons. (thanks erik)

I cannot believe its gone.

Invitations have been sent out and supplies have been delivered. It appears as though year number two has come and gone and we are about to celebrate its passing. It is the most difficult thing to be a parent facing the years passing and a child growing. It has got to be the biggest struggle where emotions are pulling you fiercely in two directions and there is no middle ground. On one end, I am thrilled. Josiah knows his letters, his numbers, his colors and most shapes. He talks in sentences, he tells us about his day, his teacher brags about him, he behaves well for others, he plays on his own (sometimes), he can play with big kid toys (sometimes). He amazes me every day, his memory, his imagination, his sense of humor, his trickery. On the other hand, already (he's only 2!!) the list of things he needs help with has dwindled drastically. He can do it by himself and he lets you know thats the way it will be. He doesn't beg to jump in your lap and have you read to him - he tells you to sit down by him (while patting the floor) and he reads it to you (his own version of course). The cuddling days are gone. It happens so fast! You want to be excited for them to grow up and experience new things - but you want to hang on to your baby forever.

At any rate - in observance of the unsettled excited-nostalgic thing going on with my heartstrings - here are a couple of photos to show you how far we've come... and I am so excited to see what becomes of cake number 2!

Wow, what a day

So what a funny story. The evening was going so well. We all got home early, played with trains (what else), we played play-doh for a very long time, ate a well-balanced meal and then went down to play more trains. We came upstairs because Josiah was doing theatrics while attempting to poop. (Sorry, but parents talk about this kind of thing.) We got him undressed only to discover this was a huge fake (and I mean huge - he had put on quite a show). So we figured we might as well give him a bath since he was now nearly naked. We put him in the tub, we're all playing VanGogh with his tub crayons and covering the tub with amazing works of art. And then come the bubbles. I said "Steve, watch his butt, he's blowing bubbles". Steve says "its just bubbles". And suddenly, the tub was full of poop. No joke. All varieties. Steve freezes and screams "gross!" and looks at me wondering what he should possibly do. I tell him he might want to think about lifting Josiah out of the tub. So he does. Then he leaves him standing there while looking at the murky water wondering out loud what he is to do with that. I suggest first getting Josiah a towel?? Like why did your brain go on vacation just because someone poops? Wow. Steve and I laughed for quite some time after this - I mean come on, once you get over how gross it is and the fact that someone (Steve) has to clean it up, all you have left is to laugh. It was bound to happen sometime, I suppose. The rest of the night was business as usual. We looked at his 'look and find' book, ran through the alphabet, and read a train story (what else) before he calmly climbed into bed. And then Steve began to scrub the tub.