Pumpkin

My little punkin'! This is probably one of the only costumes he'll ever have, but it was adorable and a hand-me-down so I couldn't resist. Josiah was nice and cozy all day.

My nephew was the cutest monkey ever. I had some treats for Caleb and Aliza and we had pizza for supper with Brian and Meghan and Mom and Dad. A fun evening.

3 Things

These three things helped make my day today. The Kraft Food & Family magazine is essential to my family's nutrition. As you can see this is the holiday edition, I'll have to make sure I keep nutrition in mind! Then after the children went to bed I made a Starbuck's run--hot chocolate and classic coffee cake. Michael's pulled me in and I sprung for a 40% off scrapbook album.

So my friends have been posting these wonderfully intellectual blog posts on many different topics and I enjoy reading them while wishing that I was so intellectually inclined. I guess my gifting is entertainment because if you are reading this, clearly, you are not here for the intellectual stimulation!!! I'll refrain from wishing to be something I'm not. =)

On to the good stuff...

I've been losing a lot of sleep the last couple months due to Aliza waking up and wanting to be "re-tucked in". I got tired of getting up and started realizing her needs were really unnecessary so I had to figure out how I was going to end this habit. I decided that I was going to start off by having a heart to heart talk with my 2 1/2 year old.

I sat her on my lap on the rocking chair while Josiah was taking a nap and in a quite adult way explained to her that she was too old to get out of bed during the night. I told her that when she wakes up she needs to just roll over and go back to sleep. And that when she calls for Mommy that wakes Mommy up and Mommy needs to sleep. In her child gibberish and a few English words we carried on quite a conversation. I really had no idea what sunk in until naptime. I tucked her in and she said, "no get up, Mommy sleeping."

That night I reminded her of the basics of our conversation and do you know what? She did not get up!!! I stayed in my bed ALL night long! The next day I bought a nightlight for her room and reminded her again to stay in bed. Last night I heard her cry a little and call for me from her bed. Then I heard some rustle and that was the end of it. She didn't get up. Tonight is night 3. We'll see what happens. But, maybe, just maybe, I had a rational conversation with my daughter. How cool would that be?

And a really sweet moment for me was yesterday morning when I laid Josiah down for a nap and Aliza wanted to sit in the rocking chair and talk. Awwww....she wanted to talk to Mommy. And she did. She had a lot to say much of which I didn't understand. But she did repeat some of our earlier conversation.

This afternoon Laura Dye took some pictures of our family and the children and Jeremy and I and the children alone. Well, you get the idea. She and Jared are awesome. They are a great team and super relaxed and, well, they take great pictures! Aliza is in a stage where she acts shy, pouty and whiney around new people and they were patient with her and pretty quickly became friends with her. After they left Aliza wanted to give Laura and hug and kiss and Jared gave her money (yes, it was a shameless bribe... all for the sake of a good picture) so he was an instant friend too.

Time to catch up on Amazing Race and my hubby's day!

Josiah--8 Months

I think I feel this way every month, but I can't believe that Josiah is 8 months old. He has 3 teeth now. This is one of the first pictures where you can actually see his teeth. He babbles a lot more. Once in awhile I will hear a consonant sound--da usually. Otherwise he's just a happy kid who likes to explore!

A Long Anticipated Weekend

My problem with motherhood is that I want to get away and then when I do, I cry when I leave and miss the children while I'm gone!

I looked forward to this weekend of scrapbooking for a couple months. It was a rather small group of scrapbookers so there were only two people to a table. We had plenty of room to spread out. The Cricut was stashed in our hotel room which was right down the hall from the conference room. This was a Creating Memories event, but Michael's was right down the road and it was no secret that people were making trips there throughout the weekend. It was a lot of fun to do something with my sister.

Jeremy did great with the children. His brother came to hang out with him. The children were happy, the toys picked up and the dishes washed when I came home! Yup, he's awesome.

A Surprisingly Good Day

Josiah is not a great sleeper, but he is a decent sleeper. Last night was especially interesting. At 2am he was having a happy little conversation with himself. This lasted until 2:40am when Jeremy went in and stuck the pacifier in his mouth. One time when we definitely used it to shut him up! This happy talking happened again at 5:30am and then at 6:30am. By 6:30am God and I had a conversation. My part was "God, I don't know if this counted as a night. Please help me to not take it out on the children today." Just before 7am there were 4 successive gunshots in seemingly close proximity to our house. It is hunting season and I sure hope they got the deer. Exactly two minutes later Aliza was up for the day.

Given my heartfelt prayer, I made extra effort to be an extra good Mom which usually pays off with happy children and good behavior. Today was no exception. Aliza and Josiah played really well and Aliza didn't have as many "hurting Josiah" incidents. You would think that would make me want to take extra effort every day, but I get lazy and complacent too. We spent lots of time on the floor playing together and even though it was a bit breezy and cool we took a walk to get some fresh air.

Tonight I did a little happy dance inside when they were both tucked in. I feel like I really worked today. I sure am hoping Josiah is not just a happy boy tonight, but also a sound sleeper!

On the Move

Josiah is a speedy little crawler now. Yesterday he found the pots and pans cabinet. What fun!

Wright's Market Fall Festival

We had lots of fun today at the fall festival at Wright's Market in Mardela. Aliza loved the goats and the haybale maze. She also got to jump in the bouncy tent. We took a hayride around the farm and Jeremy and I did the corn maze. Aliza also got to play in the pit of corn. Josiah enjoyed that corn pit also. So much so that he took a corn cob back to the car in his mouth!!!

You Love Me!

At every meal Aliza asks to watch a DVD afterwards because she is allowed to watch a DVD after lunch before nap. This evening she particularly wanted to watch Boz--a Boz DVD that is scratched beyond recognition that we have told her we would replace someday. We didn't have any plans of this Friday evening so we told her that we would take a trip to the Gospel Shop to buy a new "flowers" Boz DVD. She was SO excited. She jumped up and down, danced in a circle, clapped her hands and said "you love me, you love me" and ran over and gave me a hug.

Yes, Aliza, Mommy loves you....and when you get your pronouns figured out I think you might have said I love you, I love you! It's so much fun to be a parent when you can make your kid so happy!

Too Soon

Josiah is amazing me every day. At the library the other day I turned around and he had pulled himself up to a standing position at a low table and was playing with the toys on the table. One hand was hanging on very tight to balance himself. Then this afternoon I walked into the living room and he was standing at the couch. He looked up at me and promptly fell flat on his head. So he has the strength to pull himself up, but the balance isn't there at all. It is far too soon for this to be occurring!

If you are a fan of photoshop, you can check out some pictures Jeremy took of Janell in her wedding dress, here

Little Moments

After being up all night with a stuffy nosed baby, seeing these two fawns grazing in our yard was a welcome moment of tranquility. I had to just stop and enjoy it. They walked all around our yard and eventually wandered back into the woods.


Josiah is discovering all the nooks and crannies in our house. I never know where I'll find him. His cold is getting better. He took a long nap this afternoon. I think he's catching up on some missed sleep.


Aliza hit the jackpot at our neighbor's house today. We stopped in for a visit and they had these dishes and food in a bag for her. Their granddaughter was done with them. She wanted to cook with water. I told her she could only have water outside. So she packed up the dishes and moved to the deck. Lots of fun! I "sampled" several soups this evening.


And Aliza got her hair trimmed this evening. Debbie hardly cut any length off, but now the ends are even. I wasn't sure it was going happen. The second they pulled in Aliza became whiny, clingy, and shy. She is never like that so I have no clue what got into her. The only way her hair was going to be cut was if I held her, Dora was playing and she could hold the Wii Mario Cart case. But, mission accomplished! When Shane and Debbie were getting ready to leave, Aliza decided to be social. She played with Gavin and gave them hugs good-bye. Whatever.....