Happy Easter

The Easter bunny brought us lots of goodies this year and Josh had a great time unloading his Easter basket.

There were new books, bubbles, water toys, snack cups, a tickle duck and videos.

Knocking it over made it much easier to check everything out.

The "drool monster" then came over to crawl up and say thanks.

Then we all got cleaned up for church and brunch.

 

Turns out Josh is a fan of the sweater vest

A day at the museum

Since continued downpours were expected this last weekend we had to change our plans to go to the zoo. So off to the museum we went. Here in Cincinnati the children's museum, natural science museum and city history museum are all in the same place so there was something for everyone. We weren't sure if Josh would really appreciate the children's museum yet but they had a "Little Sprouts" area specially designed for infants and toddlers that had lots of fun things to do.

Josh was ready to check it all out in his new wagon

The standing bar and mirror were a big hit.

The car table was fun

Then Josh discovered a "real" car he could drive himself.

And a vegetable garden with veggies ready for picking

A rope wall to practice our new climbing skills on

Grandad and the puppets were a big hit

For older kids there was a great climibing maze, a huge water table, a ball zone and a minature city for kids to run. After seeing everything that was there and how much fun Josh had we turned our tickets into a year pass. I'm sure Scott and Josh will have many fun days playing here.

The natural science museum had some great areas to explore as well including a cave and lots and lots of dinosaurs and fossils. The city history section was also pretty interesting and offered some good photo ops.

An old streetcar

And a mockup of a World War II plane

All in all we had a great day inside while the rain came down.

Month Ten

Double digits, really?

Nicknames: J, munchkin, little bit, sweetness

Temperament: He has to be on the move pretty much all the time. Now that he's got it figured out how to get from point A to point B he is not interested in being kept in point C (especially when that is his car seat). He's getting better every day with pulling up and crusing but he gets very frustrated when he can't quite get to the position he wants and then he's so proud of himself when he finally makes it. The first time he climbed the stairs he squealed like crazy when he made it to the top. He loves playtime and is very excited about his toys now

Stats: No doctor's appointment this month, but by our scale he's about 18 3/4 lbs.

Looks: He has a dimple that's developing on the right side when he smiles and it is adorable. I want to stick my finger in it each time he smiles. He's added his left top tooth this month and the lop-sided grin has been charming all of the ladies around here. We've definitely had a few bumps and bruising from learning to move but this month we had our first real injury when he fell before we were able to catch him. The cut came really close to his eye but luckily it was pretty superficial and seems to be healing without a scar. All the extra movement is keeping him skinny and keeping his pants on is always a struggle. We definitely need to find some baby suspenders or just keep him in overalls all the time. With his short little legs finding shorts may be a struggle for the summer without embracing the gangster look but hopefully sizing down will help.


Accomplishments: We are on the go. He's able to pull up from lying down if there's something to grab onto and with a little support from us or the furniture he can bend over to reach something on the ground. He's crusing along the furniture and will transfer from piece to piece if they are close. He still gets frustrated with getting up the stairs since that is a new thing this week but I imagine by the end of next week he'll be a pro. He's been a lot more interested in words this month and he constantly wants to stick his fingers in your mouth while you're talking. He'll also finally sit still for us to read an entire book and he seems to like looking at the pictures with the words. He babbles like crazy and makes some possible words but they don't seem to have a context to him yet. He'll say BaBa (bottle?), Dah (dog? dad?) Heh (Hi?) and Na (no?) but nothing is consistent and certainly no mama yet :( He's also started anticipating that if one thing happens what the next step might be. Scott's been playing a game with him we call "blast-off" where he holds him and counts down from ten before tossing him in the air. By the time he gets under five Josh is usually already laughing like crazy.

Things he loved the most: He loves blowing raspberries either on your leg or cheek or unfortunately when he has a mouth full of food. As above, he loves playing blastoff and another favorite game we term "the drool monster" where we lay on the floor and taunt him to come drool on us and then we roll away in a new direction right before he gets to us. Besides the drool this involves lots of giggling from everyone.

Things we loved the most: Playing games with him and coming up with new things to make him laugh. The hugs and snuggling he gives out in the morning. He wakes up in such a good mood everyday and it's like he can't wait to share it.

Things he could do without: Raspberries the food. I tried them mixed with mango and banana which he loves and he was not a fan.

Things we could do without: The blowing of raspberries while eating raspberries (or anything else). Obviously he doesn't understand cause and effect so reasoning with him about not spitting on us or stopping the food doesn't seem to get our point across. Hopefully it's just a phase.

Item/toy he loved the most: The riding dinosaur, his star stacker, singing alligator and activity table are all part of the daily play routine.

Items/toy we loved the most: Our new collapsible wagon we got off Amazon. We saw some folks with it at the Kite festival a few weeks ago and ordered one for ourselves. We've only used it so far to go crusing around the block but since it collapses completely but then opens up with plenty of room for a cooler and has it's own canopy we're sure it will get lots of use over the summer. If nothing else we've learned people in Ohio love festivals so it will give us some times to try it out.

Item we all hated: The cold bug we all kept passing around to each other.

Surprises: How when he falls, he moves so fast but you feel like you're moving in slow motion.

Momentous events of this month: It's finally springtime here in Ohio and we've been out enjoying the weather when it cooperates. The kite festival was a nice time to enjoy some naps in the sun. We also got everything settled with our new house. Hopefully everything will continue to go smoothly and we're excited about planning our next move.

Things we're looking forward to: Nana and Grandad came for Easter which was a great visit. Later this week we're going to try for a get away to the mountains if we can find someplace that won't be deluged by rain.

More pics from this month

Off to the Kite festival

Playtime - then and now

I was just going through some old videos and found this one from the first time we put Josh into his exersaucer when he was about three and a half months old. I can't believe how little he looks. He looks less than impressed with everything except our observation that he might need another month or two until he fits into it better.



Fast forward to this quick video from last week. Sorry for the blurriness and the angle (it's from Scott's phone). Obviously the exersaucer fits now and we're actually on the second extension of the legs. It now serves as the source of much enjoyment (and exercise).



I can't believe the difference six months make. Can we slow down the next six, please?

Home Sweet Home

Since our lease is almost up, the house hunting has definitely stepped up over the last few months. We found some great houses but didn't like the lot, or it was a great house on a great lot in a bad location. We were starting to get a little worried we were going to be homeless at the end of June, but luckily four weeks ago a house came on the market that we fell in love with and after a stressful few weeks of bartering with a couple who evidently is going through a divorce and having a hard time agreeing to things, we've finally arrived at an offer acceptable to all parties.

The new house is still in Springboro where we're renting now but it's a bit farther south so it's less of a commute for me. It's part of a neighborhood but it sits back up on a hill on a 3.5 acre lot.

Let's just say it is a boy's paradise - there's a creek to play in, lots of woods to explore and a great flat space for a swingset and running around. This picture is from the back of the lot looking back towards the house. The creek is off to the left complete with bonfire pit

And to the right is a big swatch of yard

Here's a closer view of the creek/fire pit. Evidently the current owner may be planning on burning the place down before closing. They've got a separate bonfire prebuilt in the woods on the front of the property that is triple the size of this ones. Anyone want to come over and roast some marshmellows?

The rest of the lot is wooded with daffodils just waiting to bloom now and a weeping cherry tree. There's a great "friend's porch" that leads off the driveway into the kitchen

There's also the large deck out back and the screened porch I've always wanted along the entire back length of the house

Inside there'a great mudroom, a big kitchen with brick floors, a great family room, formal living and dining room, four large bedrooms and 3.5 baths. Downstairs the daylight basement has ten foot ceilings, an office area, theater room and game room.

Finally a place we're not planning on moving out of in a few years.
We can't wait to move in at the end of June and make it our own. I'm thinking the move this year should be slightly less stressful than the move we made the same week last year but Josh will be lucky to get a first birthday party not themed around moving boxes.