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".