Joshua's Gross Motor Update

After taking a break from marked improvement in his gross motor development Joshua is making some significant progress again. He is taking a couple steps here and there from table to chair or to reach something he wants. Yesterday after watching Rebekah push her doll stroller around the house Joshua wanted to play with it too. I weighted the front of it with a heavy book so that it wouldn't tip over on him. Joshua had so much fun pushing the stroller around! When he wants to do so he is also walking while holding our hands. He won't let go of one hand to walk, but he used to let his legs go when we would hold his hands so that we had to pick him up, but now he will hold our hands and walk.

Today Joshua had physical therapy and showed Amanda what he could do. He also stood to play with bubbles then took several steps in a number of directions to reach for the bubbles. I have a feeling it won't be long before he's walking. Amanda is backing off PT to monthly now, and our next visit may be our last, depending on how well Joshua is doing by then.

Extreme Makeover Blog Edition 2

Well, I've done it again. I was ready for something fresh, so I created a new template and header for my blog. I spent way too much time doing it, but I'm happy with the new look.

Things that Make You Go Hmmmm...

One word I wish I had never taught Rebekah is 'vagina'. In the beginnings of potty training I taught her the word, but I wish I had taught her 'private' or something similar. Fortunately, Rebekah has not used the word in public other than in the bathroom at the mall when no one was around, and she only says it at home, but part of me is afraid she is going to blurt it out somewhere that will cause embarrassment.

Lately Joshua has had some diarrhea and a low-grade fever, if you can call it a fever. I'm fairly confident it is due to teething. His temperature has been below 101, and his bowel movements have been mushy to runny. (OK, so if you're not a parent this probably is not what you wanted to know.) Joshua has also had a clear runny nose. Of course, these could be symptoms of a little virus, but Joshua has also had his fingers in his mouth more than normal lately, and it seems like there may be some teeth starting to work their way in, although they have a long way to go before they will cut through. I could see some white under his gums, plus it's been forever since he's cut any teeth, and he only has 6 teeth so far.

So, Joshua has had explosive diapers lately, and I was changing a very explosive one after supper. I had to get Darrin to help me some, and of course, Rebekah knew that something interesting must be happening, so she stands over me while I am cleaning up Joshua on the floor. She looks straight down at him and asks, "Is that Joshua's pbajina?" Darrin and I just give each other "the look". You know that look. It's the look that says, "What are we gonna do?" I told Rebekah no that it was his boy parts. I told her she has girl parts and Joshua has boy parts. Of course, Rebekah went on to talk about boy parts and girl parts, but I was just glad and relieved that she was content with that answer.

Walking, Talking, and Eating

Joshua is showing some more progress lately in his gross motor skills. He is now walking while holding our hands. Before, every time we grabbed hold of his hands and tried to get him to stand and walk he would let his feet go like he wanted us to pick him up. Now he is bearing weight on his legs and walking while we hold his hands. One of my friends suggested putting a hula hoop around him to hold while we guide it around the room for him to walk. I'm going to pick one up on my next trip to Wal-Mart.

Joshua is also saying new words and seems to understand a great deal. The other day Joshua was fussing after a nap. I tried all sorts of things to settle him down and nothing worked. I finally asked him if he was hungry and wanted a snack. Joshua immediately calmed down. I then asked him if he wanted a cracker and he replied, "Yeah". That was exactly what he wanted too!

This morning when I brought Joshua into our bedroom to see Darrin and Rebekah he went straight to his daddy on the bed. Darrin told him to say "Good Morning" to Rebekah, and Joshua said, "Good More". Just this evening he has also said 'tractor' and 'dog'. It's amazing to us what he is learning and saying!

Joshua has also decided to start eating with a fork by himself. Well, we stab the food with the fork and he is feeding himself.



Rebekah didn't want to be left out. She took a really big bite!

A Visit with Friends

Darrin and I have been considering the possibility of getting Rebekah her first real dollhouse for a combo birthday/Christmas present this year. We had thought about it last year and decided to hold off one more year since Rebekah was not a huge doll player. In anticipation of seeing how Rebekah would enjoy a dollhouse we went to LeeAnne's and Maggie's house to play so Rebekah could play with Maggie's Fisher-Price Loving Family Twin Time Dollhouse. Rebekah played with the house for about 10 minutes them moved on to other toys and activities. I am not sure if this is an indication that she still would not play with one much or if there were just so many other things to do that she preferred.

Rebekah and Maggie had a blast playing together! The girls don't get an opportunity much for the two of them to play one-on-one, so this was a great opportunity to give them that time together. They enjoyed each other's company so much and played so well together. Rebekah was tired by the time we left but she did not want to leave!

Joshua also enjoyed himself a lot. Once he discovered the stairs he was all about practicing climbing the steps. He does not have the opportunity to climb stairs at home since we have a rancher, so he did everything within his power to get to the stairs and climb. He never went past four steps because he would look back then climb down again, but it was good practice for him.

Joshua also enjoyed carrying around the daddy doll to the dollhouse. I guess he could relate. LOL! He also played with the dollhouse some, which I found was funny that he played with it as much as he did. Every once in a while he also plays with Rebekah's Fisher-Price Little People Sweet Sounds Home. He likes the noises it makes.

Here are some pictures from the day with our friends.

The girls playing in Maggie's bedroom


Joshua looks so happy messing with the baby gate.


Joshua enjoyed this table of cars and track.


The girls give good-bye hugs.


Hanging out on the porch swing right before we left


Maggie started tickling Rebekah.


What a fun day we had! Thanks again, LeeAnne, for having us!

Staycation Day 1

Since Joshua is not a great traveler and sleeper other than in the car or in his own crib we decided to stay home for vacation. We are hitting some family fun places in our hometown over a few days here and there. Darrin is taking off work on Thursdays and Fridays over the next few weeks until Rebekah starts back to preschool.

Friday we went to the Creative Discovery Museum for our first staycation day. I chased Rebekah around the upper part of the start of the museum while she played, climbed, and went sliding. Darrin was with Joshua playing in the water feature, and I wish I could have gotten a picture of that. By the time Rebekah was finished playing upstairs Joshua was finished playing in the water.



The second level of the museum always has a special exhibit displayed for several months at a time, and presently they have Clifford the Big Red Dog on display, complete with a ferry, a doghouse, lots of mailboxes to send mail to Clifford and his friends on Birdwell Island, and more. This exhibit was Rebekah's favorite of the entire museum.

Rebekah wanted to climb up Clifford


Joshua enjoyed sliding down Clifford's tail


Making sandcastles


Making a picture to send to Clifford


Here is a funny little story. Rebekah went over to the ferry and began to play like she was driving it. Just as I was snapping a picture this girl ran up to the wheel as if she had been wanting to play and just took over playing.


Of course, she was bigger than Rebekah, who wouldn't fight back, and Rebekah went over to play elsewhere. In my heart I knew I should have said something to the girl because no other adult was around. Rebekah didn't get upset, though, but I had a check in my spirit that I needed to defend Rebekah and be on her side.

A little while later Rebekah went back over to the ferry to play with the wheel again. Guess what happened? The same thing! This time I did say something to the girl. I told her that Rebekah was playing there first and she needed to wait her turn. I mentioned that this was the second time she had done this. The girl just looked at me with her eyes as big as bowling balls and waited. Rebekah only played for a few seconds before running off to something else. I told the girl she could play now and thanked her for waiting.

The next activity Rebekah visited was Clifford's bowl of dog bones. It is a huge bowl with a conveyor belt leaning against the bowl with one end of the conveyor belt on the floor and the other end over the bowl. It looks much like a slide, but it is intended for putting large bones on while you turn the wheel on the side to send the bones up the conveyor belt and into the bowl.

I showed Rebekah how to turn the wheel to send the bones up the conveyor belt while an older boy of about 9-10 years placed the bones on the conveyor belt. Rebekah turned and turned the wheel. Can you guess what happened? The boy decided Rebekah wasn't doing a good enough job, so he started to grab the wheel from Rebekah. Evidently, she had the courage to stand up to the boy this time, and she told him, "No! It's my turn!" The boy wouldn't give in until I said something to him, but then he climbed up on the conveyor belt and started running, forcing the wheel to spin extremely fast so that Rebekah couldn't play. At that point it wasn't worth dealing with the boy so we just moved on to another activity.

I thought it was so funny that Rebekah stood up to that boy, though, after I defended her from the girl earlier. The older kids may not listen to her, but I'm glad to see that she is standing up to the kids who try to bully her just because she is little. Now we just need to work on how to be polite about it. ;-)

After visiting the Clifford exhibit we went downstairs to the toddler area to meet up with Darrin and Joshua. Joshua enjoyed the train table.


The kids "working on" the car. Do you see the little girl climbing in the car? While she was driving Joshua wanted in also. The girl told her no, that it was her turn, and Joshua got so upset. It took him a while to recover. He just didn't understand, and poor thing, he's such a sensitive little guy!


It's finally his turn!


The kids look so happy to be there, don't they?


Playing tools with Daddy.


I stayed back with Joshua while Darrin took Rebekah to visit the rest of the museum as well as to visit the Clifford exhibit, so I don't have any more pics of Rebekah visiting the other museum exhibits, but here are some of Joshua playing in the toddler area.

He never wanted back in the car, but he enjoyed playing with the buttons and such.


In the toddler play area they have 4 steps leading up to what resembles a treetop with a large opening where kids can hide "inside" the tree. Joshua practiced climbing the steps. He went up 3 then came back down, then up 3 then back down, over and over until he went up all 4 steps then back down. He never crawled around once he got to the top, but he was ready to move on to something else.

Over in the kitchen section he discovered a plastic banana. He did not want to let this thing go for the longest time! I asked him if he wanted to go find Daddy and Rebekah, and he did, but not enough to let go of the banana!

Making Progress

Over the past two weeks Rebekah has not made any effort to poop on the potty...until yesterday. She had had an accident nearly everyday, and the incentive chart did not seem to help much. While I was at a consignment sale yesterday I came across two twelve-inch talking Little Einstein dolls - June and Annie - and I about went nuts over them. I knew these would have to be the perfect incentive! Just as I was checking out I got a phone call from Rebekah. She called to tell me that she had pooped in the potty! Of course, I couldn't wait to tell her about the dolls, but I did, no, I only waited until I got to tell her in person. Hopefully this will do the trick.

That night we went out to dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday. It was two weeks late due to conflicts and previous postponements, but we finally got to go. While there Rebekah initiated going to the potty! It was the first time she's ever asked to go when she felt the urge. She did it again today, so she is showing progress across the board!

Here are some pics from our night out at Provino's to celebrate my mom's birthday.






After dinner we went to my parents' for dessert and so the kids could play.


Rebekah is as surprised over my mom's gift as she is!



Yesterday was also Rebekah's last day of preschool for the summer. Starting this fall she will be at a new school, so I had to get a couple pics of Rebekah with her teachers as well as her friend Brock. Brock and Rebekah were very good friends last winter and spring, and they were in the same class again this summer.