Lights

About a week and a half ago, Joshua discovered that he is tall enough to reach the light switches & turn them off & on all by himself. I didn't realize he could reach them. I turned on our front light one evening, and walked back through a few minutes later & it was off. I turned it on again & a few minutes later saw Joshua turn it off. So, now he turns lights & ceiling fans off & on all day long....and all night. After we put him to bed, he turns on his bedroom light, or the hall light. I even woke up last night at 3:15 & went to check on him....his light was on! Hopefully this won't last long! Luckily, he hasn't noticed how to turn on the Christmas tree lights yet!

Preschool

Joshua has now completed three weeks of preschool. Its so hard to believe he is old enough....and well behaved enough to be at this point! He has done great! His teacher tells me every day how great he does. He seems to really like being there. We are hoping being around other kids his age more will help him with his speech & other skills. Here are a couple of pictures of him with his little backpack on! I think the backpack is too cute....not super practical for carrying everything he needs, but cute!

The Willard Suitcases

This is a reminder of how nascent the sciences of psychology, psychiatry, and neurology are.

When Willard Psychiatric Center in New York's Finger Lakes closed in 1995, workers discovered hundreds of suitcases in the attic of an abandoned building. Many of them appeared untouched since their owners packed them decades earlier before entering the institution.

The Willard Suitcases Exhibit

More Sewing

I just finished this shirt today for Joshua. I thought it would be cute for the holidays! I didn't realize the shirt looked so wet in the picture...I had just sprayed it to get the markings off from sewing it.

His Horse

I was out with Joshua earlier this week & we saw this horse...he went nuts when he saw it & had to pet all of them. I told John about it. We ended up going back today & buying it for him. It is huge! It is 39" tall...only 2-3 inches shorter than Joshua. It wouldn't even fit in the shopping cart completely. We had the back end of it hanging out of the cart. Joshua kept reaching behind him to pet it. I told John that we were causing quite a scene walking through the store with that huge horse. Everyone smiled; little kids would stop to gaze. So, now we have a 39" tall horse standing in our living room. It neighs when you squeeze its ear & sounds like a horse walking. Joshua loves it!

Smocking Classes

I finally decided that it was time for me to take a smocking class last month. I have been wanting to for a long time but have been way too busy. Last month I took a stacking class, & tonight I learned how to put a smocked insert into a shirt. I'm so excited! Here are some pictures of my shirt from tonight. This is the first stacking project I have done. It is a little off center, but I think it turned out pretty good for a first try!

Third Birthday!!

This weekend we celebrated Joshua's third birthday! Its hard to believe he isn't a baby anymore! We were so glad to have both sets of his grandparents & his great-grandparents at our house Saturday to celebrate. Here are some pics from his big day:

A rare picture of him actually smiling! He was making a serious face & then smiling after the picture. With 3 cameras flashing, we were able to get one of a smile!

Getting ready for the cake. Unfortunately, Joshua decided he didn't want his cake but ate animal crackers instead....oh well!

This was my attempt at a Clifford cake. My practice cake had actually looked better than the real thing.

With his talking Super Why toy.

A set of Clifford books.

Signing Time DVD.....he recognizes Rachel on the front!

Petting his new moose. When I asked him what it was, he signed "bunny".

Happy Halloween!

John & I each did a pumpkin this year. We just carved them last night, though!


John did a NASCAR theme for his....maybe since Talladega is this weekend?? Anyway, you can tell we love Jimmie Johnson!

I had wanted to find a Clifford pattern to do for Joshua, but Blues Clues was the closest I could find.

60 Minutes Story on Epilepsy

If you happened to catch 60 Minutes this past weekend, then you saw Katie Couric do a story on epilepsy. It really was a great story that I hope will bring more awareness to this issue. John & I know the agony of watching your baby go through multiple seizures in a day, and the helplessness that accompanies the situation. However, there are many whose situations are far worse than Joshua's. We are fortunate that his seizures seem to be controlled through medication. Here is the link if you want to watch.

Growing Up

Joshua will be graduating from his school this year. Its so hard to believe he will be three in a few days! We went to have his graduation pictures taken today. This is a picture of him dressed up before we left the house.

Playgroup Dress-up

This is the third year that the kids in our Sunday school class have gotten together in their costumes. The only way I could get Joshua to sit for pictures was to give him crackers. Joshua was Super Why! this year. He LOVES Super Why!! I was going to order a costume online but it had really bad reviews. So, I bought the dress-up set at Target (cape, mask, & Why Writer). I did an iron on transfer of the Super Why! logo onto a green t-shirt. I managed to find a long-sleeved blue shirt, blue shorts, & green pants. The colors didn't match perfectly, but it turned out cute! He refused to wear the mask....he thinks it is better if John or I wear it.


This is the only group shot I could get with Joshua. He was finished with his crackers when everyone else was ready to try to get in the shot! There were 2 more babies & 2 more toddlers. The other two in this picture are brother & sister. If you go back to our first year of doing this, you will see a picture of Joshua & this same little girl...they have grown up so much!

A view of the cape!

John always thinks it is fun to mess with our poor dog. She was a good sport & even wagged her tail.

Pumpkin Patch

Have I mentioned that it is hard to get good pictures of our child?? We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch today & out of all of the pictures we attempted, these three were the best! They are cute, but he isn't looking at the camera in two of the three! I may make a second attempt later this week if the weather is nicer.

Travelling with a Toddler

This trip to Philly was Joshua's first major trip. With all of his seizures, I had been nervous about taking him too far from home. We opted for driving to give me peace of mind...as I was terrified at the thought of him having a severe seizure while on a plane. And, we weren't sure how he would behave through airports & on a plane...not to mention having to drag a huge car seat along with all of the other stuff. Surprisingly, he did great in the car until the last day. We knew we would be making lots of stops & had planned to stop at several rest areas so Joshua could run around. For some reason, the state of Virginia has almost all of their rest areas closed! There were 2 open on the way to Philly & one open on the way home. Not sure what that was about, but it made it rough! Joshua did great adapting to hotels & being in different places.



He was quite helpful with the luggage!

He doesn't even look small on a king-size bed! We let him sleep with us on the trip & this is the position he often chose! He somehow managed to fall off of the bottom of the bed the first night.

Jason & Haley's Wedding Part 2

Saying their vows

My parents with Jason & Haley.

They're married!

A mural painted by one of Jason's friends for the wedding.

Jason & Haley's Wedding Part 1

Apparently, Blogger doesn't like me right now & isn't letting me upload photos, so I am having to post via Picasa, which only allows you to upload 4 pics at a time....technology!! Anyway...

My little brother got married this past weekend in Philadelphia. The wedding was in a vacant lot on the street where they will live. They had a block party to celebrate their wedding. The weather was great & everything was beautiful!



Jason & his pastor waiting for the wedding party.

Haley & her grandfather walking down the aisle.

The happy couple!

Philly

Philadelphia City Hall

In front of the fountain at Love Park

Independence Hall