Posted 4:00 PM by Kathy
Josh's school had their Christmas program last night and Josh had an actual part. He was elf #2 and he had 2 lines! It was so cute. He wore red tights that kept slipping down, so when he'd hike them back up, his costume would come up too and display some of his, well...abilities. Fortunately, he'd pull it back down after only a couple of seconds, but it was so fun to watch.


I forgot to post a fun story about Halloween. We went out with the Touchets and another family we've met through them and they have a rather large neighborhood. Josh, Connor, and Cayman were a few houses ahead of Jensen, Lily and the rest of us, so Cayman's dad tried his best to keep up with the boys. He told me later that when a house had their particular college colors displayed, Josh would say, instead of Trick or Treat, either "Boomer Sooner" or "Go Cowboys". I think it worked too, he had a TON of candy!

Posted 5:56 PM by Kathy
Josh has become quite the expert at Lego construction. I am ever amazed at the detail and craftsmanship that goes into his creations. He builds these ships from his mind, he rarely uses other pictures or anything to guide him. Most of them also have intricate weapons systems which are really cool. He wants me to play Legos with him, but I am hesitant because I don't want to damage them.

Posted 9:03 PM by Kathy
We had Josh's parent teacher conference this past week and Josh is doing very well. He excels at spelling, he hasn't missed a word yet all year. He's above average in math, if he takes his time. Reading is coming along nicely if he is patient with it. When he is in a great mood, he reads so well and knows words that I didn't think he'd learned yet. But, there are times that he loses patience so quickly that his true reading potential doesn't come through. Overall, he's doing well in all areas. We are very pleased.

Posted 7:21 PM by Kathy
Josh and I have spent much of the past few days watching the original "Star Wars" trilogy. I think he gets why they are much better movies than the "new" stuff. I hope to get him into sci-fi as much as his friend Wil is, but I don't think that'll happen. He does enjoy robots a lot, but those are actually more of a reality now than science fiction. Oh well, we're still bonding and we will watch all 6 movies back to back when they play them on Cinemax in November!

Posted 7:18 PM by Kathy
Joshua is doing very well in school this year, especially with spelling. He hasn't missed a word yet and his other subjects are improving as well. Second grade has been pretty good so far. We're very proud of his efforts and his behaviour.

Posted 11:49 AM by Kathy
Yesterday at Target, Josh wanted to buy a toy for a little boy that we've never met before. This kid was about 2 or maybe 3 and was in the same aisle as Josh. He says, "Mom, I want to buy something for that little guy." I quietly said that we didn't have his money with him today. His mom said to me, "So, it never changes, they always want to buy new stuff." I said, "Yes, but this time he wanted to buy something for your child." She said, "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! That is so sweet!" Then she said to Josh, "You are so sweet, but he already has more toys than he can play with." Don't they all!

Posted 7:36 PM by Kathy
I am pleased to report that Joshua was excited about starting school this week. We went to meet his teacher on Friday and she is very sweet. When we got back in the van, Josh said, "Mom, I hate to say this, but I'm a little bit excited about going to school." Not sure why he hated to say it, I was thrilled to hear it.

The first day was good and I hope to post pictures soon. He did announce that the work is hard. I reminded him to take his time and think about each word or math problem, and it won't be so tough. He always does better when he doesn't rush through it. Isn't that true for almost everything in life?

Posted 2:37 PM by Kathy
Josh lost his first top tooth Saturday morning. The new one is already coming through! I'm thinking that he'll have to get some pulled to make room for new teeth. They are so slow to loosen up and fall out. I will NOT mention my fears to him until the dentist confirms my suspicions. But I had to have that done and I avoided braces, that may be unrelated though.

He had a great birthday though. We had it at a local swimming pool and there was almost no one else swimming that day. He had several friends from church and some really good friends/family come to the party. His cake was very cute, provided by Uncle Ryan and he got a lot of Bionicles!

Posted 9:21 PM by Kathy
Joshua spent the night with one of his friends from school on June 15. I was really worried that a) he would wet the bed, and b) that he would freak out and not want to stay. Neither thing happened I'm glad to report and he had a great time. Jensen on the other hand, was not happy. He was awake crying until 3:30 in the morning. We finally had enough and told him to go to sleep. I also hoped that he would sleep in for me since Josh was going to be gone all day. Nope. He didn't get up super early, but he only slept until 9:00.

Posted 8:27 PM by Kathy
OK, Mama really messed up last night! I do not know WHAT I was thinking about. I do not know what Shawn was thinking about for letting me make this monumental mistake. Are you ready for this one? I gave Josh a haircut. Now, after an emergency trip to Aunt Amy's house, he looks as though he is ready for Boot Camp. HE thinks he looks tough and his friends loved it! I cannot believe I tried to cut his hair. What's next? Minor surgery?

Posted 8:50 PM by Kathy
Shawn and I took Josh to see Blast! last night. It was as good as we remembered and we all had a great time. There was a guy in the cast that graduated from the same high school that Shawn and I did so we made sure to get his autograph.

One of my favorite things to do these days is to send the boys out in the backyard in the evening and watch them through the window. They don't know that we are watching and that's when all the heart rending stuff happens. A couple nights ago, Josh was singing Wiggles songs and Jensen was dancing and doing the motions. Tonight, Josh was running in circles and Jensen was chasing him, then they both started calling to a neighbor's dog. Jensen's voice is so sweet when he tried to imitate his brother. It's awesome!

Posted 2:57 PM by Kathy
Josh can ride a bike without training wheels! And what's one of my favorite things about this accomplishment? I taught him! We just made an executive decision yesterday afternoon to remove the training wheels from his bike (they never worked well anyway) and he put on his helmet. I did the run-with him-while-holding-the-handlebars-and-seat-back thing, showed him how to counterbalance himself, we turned around and I let go. Away he went! He was a little embarassed at the level of excitement that I achieved, but it was all good. I took some pictures and we waited for Daddy to come home so he could surprise him. The three boys made a trek to the playground later that evening.

Posted 8:33 PM by Kathy
MAN! It's been awhile. Lots of new stuff going on too. Josh has a third tooth loose--top one this time, so it'll take longer for it to come in, not sure why that is though. He's excited, but the beaver look is about to start. He has been such a helper lately. He helps clean up much better than usual, but the making of the mess is still an issue (with me, Shawn doesn't get as uptight about it as myself). He's doing so great in school with Mrs. Brown hanging out to tell me about his cute sayings in class, they mainly deal with some bodily functions which I will not go into detail about, but the comments aren't your garden variety bodily function comments either, enough on that. He has decided, based on conversations he has overheard, that he "is not going to do cute things anymore. cuz you tell them to people." He can't stop doing cute things, he is cute. He's just such a great boy with such a zest for life, I love every minute with him. Well, at least every other minute.

Posted 3:01 PM by Kathy
We visited my dad's on Sunday following the harrowing emergency room experience (see jensenlog.blogspot.com). They have a small Chinese pug that Josh is usually frightened of. THIS time, he was still a bit wary, but Jensen was VERY disturbed. It was really sweet then, to watch Jensen hide behind his big brother and see Joshua trying to "protect" him.