Haircuts and Checkups

Josh turned 2 on November 18th, and we went to the doctor's today for our checkup. He weighs 32 lbs and is 37" tall! His height puts him above the 95th percentile for height in his age group. The doctor said "I'll just put him down in the 97th percentile in the chart." He hasn't started saying two-word phrases yet, so the doctor wants us to wait a month, and if he isn't by the end of the month, she will refer him to a speech therapist. I'm not too worried, he seems to pick up a new word or two everyday.

He got another haircut this week, and the clippers were used on him for the first time. He didn't cry, but he acted like it tickled his head. Other than that, not much else to report.

A dozen roses

So a FTD box arrives today, just as Ben got home from work. So I think to myself "awwww, Ben got me flowers." But then I notice the box is addressed to him! Who's getting HIM flowers?? He's a guy! So Ben says "oh, they have to be for you!" So we open the box up, check the card - and who are they from?? American Express thanking him for being a loyal customer!!! They should be thanking me - I spend the money!!!

One More Favorite

I always wanted to be Red.

More Muppet Fun

I so wish Jim Henson was still alive!

Sesame Street

Megan passed along this article, and it got me thinking abut the good old days of Sesame Street (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/magazine/18wwln-medium-t.html). It's really where my love of the Beatles started I think!

I can't believe it! He turned 2!!! He's growing up so fast, and I feel like time is just flying by. He got his "big boy bed" for his birthday, but I'm still hesitent. I have a feeling he'll get me up really early then. But, I know it's the next step. So after Thanksgiving, we'll give it a try! He's also showing signs of wanting to potty train! He's gone a few times in the potty, but I think we'll hit it hard after we've made the transition to the big boy bed. I don' t want to do too many changes all at once.
We're getting ready to go to my sister's house for Thanksgiving. It seems like the next few weeks will be crazy busy with family. Gotta love the holidays!

I'm trying a new way to post the pictures so that they are legible. We'll see if this works.
Aren't kids in winter coats the cutest? His new thing is to say "cheese" when his picture is being taken, but he keeps closing his eyes. We'll just have to work on this one!!

Interesting

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

What Holiday Food Are You?

New hair and whatnot

Well, I got my hair cut after 6 months. My hair stylist was on maternity leave, and I waited till she got back to get my hair cut. She straightened it for me (a completely different look for me), and I thought I would share.
In other news, Josh turns 2 next week!! I cannot believe it ! The time has gone by quickly. We'll have a small birthday party with close family and friends on Saturday -but small is a joke since there is a ton of close family around. It's nice, Josh really gets to know his great aunts and uncles!
Not much else to report. Going to Crown Point for Thanksgiving, and when we get back, Josh will have his 2 year check-up. We'll report more after that.

Halloween

 
Well, we've doneour second halloween now, and it went well. Josh didn't like to have his costume on at first, but once he figured out the whole "go up to the door, stick out bucket, get candy" routine, he was fine. Here's a picture of him in his "dinosaur" costume (ok, it's a dragon, but he likes dinos).

pics

These are REALLY bad pictures of me - but I HATE pumpkin guts! and I'm letting my hair grow out, so it's a bit unruly right now.

long time, no post

So it's been almost a year since my last post. I'm not the best at the blogging, so here it goes.
Been busy this fall. Josh has been attending "preschool" at Avon for their child development class. He does alright, he's not always happy about me leaving, but always has fun.
He is supposed to be a dragon for Halloween, but he screams everytime we put the costume on. I have a coat and hat that when he wears it, Ben calls him "Elmer Fudd" so perhaps that is who he'll be.

Ben and I celebrated 7 years of marital bliss this past weekend. I can't believe we've been married that long! I can't believe we've been together over 11 years! Time has flown by.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and we are going up to CP. Christmas is in Michigan this year.

Other than that, not much else is going on. Boring post, but pretty average lives right now, and I am thankful for that. Usually when we have less than average lives, that means something negative is going on.

Bathroom update

Well, the paper is down, the walls are primed, and the ceiling is painted. Now we are ripping out the vanity this weeknd and laying tile floor, and then I will pick out the color of paint.

For anyone who's interested - here are pictures of the fam from Christmas.

december06

Bathroom Saga- Day One

So today we finally decided to update our guest bathroom. My father-in-law has told us he will help during the MLK weekend if we prep the bathroom first. The first step to bathroom prep - removing the wallpaper.

I didn't know how hard this would be, but I'm finding it to be a good workout. I'm currently trying to do this without using chemicals, so it's just a wallpaper scrapper and water. It's slow going, but I have two weeks to do this, and Josh is averaging 1-2 naps per day, so I should be done by MLK weekend. We also have to rip out the old flooring and vanity, remove the toilet, and prime the walls.

We're not doing a total redo. We are laying down tile flooring, putting in a pedestal sink and new cabinets to make up for the removal of countertop space, and painting the walls. I'm hoping that this will give us a few more years of dealing with the pink tile that is in the bathroom.

In other news... Josh is doing well. He's my little string bean, tall and skinny. He's not walking yet, but he's beginning to try to stand on his own. He's done it for a few seconds hear and there, but nothing for a long period of time. He's discovering how loud his voice can be, and using it often, and also discovering the wonderful world of temper tantrums. I can see the fun beginning!

I'll update as often as I can... I just thought it would be fun to journal the bathroom saga.

After the drugs...

Well, Josh has almost finished the amoxicillin. He seems to be doing better, playing and laughing more. His naps are a bit off still during the day, but it's getting better. I really think he's starting to teeth, he's chewing on everything, and he started sucking his bottom lip all the time yesterday - and the only reason I can think of that he's doing that is that he's trying to soothe his gums.

We're traveling to Michigan this weekend. We haven't done the 5-hour drive in since February, so it will be interesting to see how he's going to handle it now that he's older. We're going to try and leave at night so that he sleeps for the better part of the drive.

That's about all now - it's been quiet since he was diagnosed. We'll post more later.

Strep Throat

Who knew it was possible for a 6-month old baby to get strep throat?!? We went in for a check-up today since he was crabby all weekend and acting like he didn't feel well. The doctor checked him, no fever, ears looked good, and the throat even looked ok. But - apparently there has been an outbreak of strep throat, and the doctor's in that office have been seeing more cases than usual, and the signs are not the typical signs of strep. So Josh now gets the fun of the bubblegum flavored antibotic. Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon and sleeping better during the day for his naps!

Unpleasant Evening

We had our first evening with Josh not feeling well in a LOOONG time. After getting sick, he cried for 2 hours straight. Nothing would make him stop. Because of all of this, he missed his last feeding. Ben and I were positive that he would wake up in the middle of the night hungry, but he didn't. He finally went to bed at 8:15, and he didn't wake up until 6:00 am, which is normal for him. Seems all is well today, there was laughing and giggling like normal. But you hate to see your child upset and know that nothing you do stops him from crying. Just the first of many nights...

I was playing with Picasa to see how it worked with posting pictures to the blog. This picture was taken yesterday. It has rained here for several days and Josh got to wear his raincoat that his Aunt Melissa got him. He received many comments on it from the ladies at the library. Most of the comments were in relation to the ears on the coat. 

First Post

Well, this will be my first post on this site. We hope to get it linked to our website with the pictures of Joshua, but for now, this is where I will be journaling our journey with Josh. If you want to see the pictures of josh - go to http://thegroffs.org.

Josh has been changing rapidly. He's now eating solids, including veggies and rice cereal. He hasn't had any fruits yet, since our doctor wants him used to vegetables before he tastes the sweet fruits. He's really starting to reach out for Lancelot, and I'm not too sure Lance appreciates it. The first time Josh grabbed at his fur - he growled. I was there to make sure Lance didn't do anything, but it reaffirms my thoughts of never letting Josh be alone with Lance in the same room. Not that I don't think Lance likes Josh, he's always licking him, and he keeps trying to get Josh to throw his toys. I just think Lance is a grumpy old dog at times.