Lovin' My Little Family

 The other day Josiah got all excited when he looked at some newspapers that were in my recycle basket. He kept saying 'It matches! It matches!'. I asked him what he was talking about and he went to his room and brought back one of his trucks and held it next to the paper and told me that they match. After giving him a big ole hug I told him that yes indeed they do match. It just amazes me to see his little brain in action.

*I love him!*

 We have switched things up a little bit within the last couple months regarding J's afternoon nap. He gets to have quiet time with a book or two in bed which normally doesn't last long before he falls asleep. My heart melted a bit when I went to check on him and to close his door and found him zonked out with a book still on his chest. Michael had worked all night the night before and he woke up from his nap just in time to see our little guy like this.

 Yesterday, I sprayed him down with the water hose during his outside playtime. He was laughing and running around but he told me he didn't like it. I will MAKE him like water!! He lives in Florida after all!

 But what he does love is to hold the hose and pretend to be a fireman. We would love to find him a fire helmet that he can wear one day... hopefully before he grows out of his love of firemen.

When Michael got home last night, we were outside playing with Josiah's sidewalk chalk. Ok, Josiah was playing with the chalk and I was sitting in a chair being giddy over the fact that in my Winn-Dixie ad there was a coupon I can use at Publix next week. Anywho!

Michael started playing with Josiah and then it turned into pre-school. :) My hubby is so clever! He drew some circles with letters inside them and was having Josiah jump into the circle and yell the letter that was inside. He did some squares with numbers and then some triangles with J's name spelled out in them. Who says learning can't be fun?

I had a baby appointment today. No weight gain in the last two weeks... I start my weekly appointments beginning next week with a sono to check on Tadpole's weight gain since I don't seem to be gaining much weight at all.

Josiah went in with us today and got to hear his sisters heartbeat! :) He was a little shy about it all once the doctor came in. He didn't like how loud the speakers were and just cuddled into Michael the whole time. Afterward, Michael asked him what it sounded like and he said 'bump, bump'. :D 

Only 25 days left unless something changes!!!

What's New on the Home Front

So since it has been a long time since I blogged, you get the blessing of a zillion pictures! :)

We had our annual Restorathon at the beginning of March. Josiah loved going up to the radio station for an hour or so, then he drove me nuts because he was so hyper! He got to help Mike P. erase the board and he also got to sit with Daddy while he was 'On Air' but J wasn't feeling very social at that moment.

 Becky came up for a quick visit and we all loaded up and went to lunch together. We only had the little ones but they were all crazy tired that day (which means they were cranky).

Michael had the opportunity to preach the last meeting of this season of Senior Patriots. Josiah was feeling social and actually got on stage with him and 'helped' him out with a balloon.

We started using a chore chart for little man last week. He has been doing a great job at getting his chores done with a good attitude. There was one day that he didn't particularly care to clean up the floor after he made a mess. That seems to be his least favorite chore to do.

 Here Jman is holding his arms up and saying Whooo! He was pretty proud of his work and we tried to make a big deal of being excited so he knew that we were happy with his hard work.

Becky came up this past Friday during the girls' spring break so we could see them and the kids could play.

 Sweet little Emmy!

 Mom and Dad made it over for a little bit to enjoy some grand kid time.

Look what came in the mail today!!! :) Cloth diapers for Tadpole! We ordered a neutral color pack that came with a bonus diaper. Isn't is cute?! My mom helped us out by making this purchase, thanks Nana!

 We wanted to use cloth with Josiah but since we didn't have a washer of our own at the time, and we only washed clothes once a week or sometimes every two weeks, we decided against using them. Lord willing, these will work out great for our family at this time and also help save money in the long run.

Michael has already given me his solemn promise that he is "NOT TOUCHING THOSE THINGS!". So will we will not being using cloth exclusively, especially that first month, but I am hoping that this will cut costs way down! And for the record... they are incredibly soft!

The Lord sent us two HUGE blessings this weekend. Clothes for our kids! We got a giant box of clothes for Josiah and Tadpole got an armload of clothes as well. It is pretty incredible to see how God provides for our every need!

I am sure there are a handful of other things that are noteworthy but my little guy is fixing to wake up... thanks to the dudes who are drilling what I think to be a well. Anyways, its loud. So I am off to finally get that load of laundry out of the dryer! :)

Little man is noq awake and cranky...

Tadpole Update!!!

Tadpole's room is coming together nicely.

Daddy and Josiah worked hard to get the crib put together.

 I found a vinyl tree on Etsy that I loved but it was incredibly expensive. While out shopping with my mom we came across this tree for a fraction of the price. :)

 My sister passed on her bassinet to us. That thing was a challenge to get together! I finally googled instructions (which weren't real clear) and finally between Michael and me, we figured it out.

 I LOVE seeing little dresses hanging in the closet!

 Everything is finding its place slowly but surely.

 Michael put our new stroller together!!! Thanks, Mom!

 We bought a used stroller when we had J and it has served us well but it is falling apart from all the abuse over the last three years. This new stroller is actually a double stroller but it is not as large as the normal double strollers I've seen. It can be taken apart and the seats rearranged. There is one set up where you can completely remove one seat and J can stand on a step. Sorry I totally spaced taking a picture of the final product, but believe me... its awesome!

 I am currently 32 weeks along! It is going by so fast, but I am thankful for that at the same time! ;)

Tadpole is growing like crazy. Her feet have found my ribs and I think she takes great fun in kicking and pushing as hard as she can. 

Today at my appointment they set up Tadpole's birthday! :D 

April 23 is the big day!!!

So unless anything unusual happens between now and then I get to meet my little girl somewhere around 8:30 that morning. I am so excited!!! 

54 Days!!!

The Many Hats Josiah Wears

 It seems every time I turn around Josiah is wearing a different hat. I have loved seeing him in his various 'characters' that he pretends to be as well. Sometimes I find his hats hanging throughout the house. The time that really made me laugh was when I found his hat and horse hanging in the bathroom. I asked Josiah why he hung them in there. He looked at me and says ever so sweetly, "I had to go potty."

Michael almost didn't believe me about J and his hat fetish as of late, but then when he was home yesterday and Josiah wore 3 different hats in about a 15 minute time span it made him laugh.

I call the above hat his "Beverly Hillbillies Look".

I call these two looks his "Hunting looks". Sometimes he is hunting animals and sometimes he is bird watching.

Another picture of "Jed".

Being silly with his Woody hat.

Below: I have no idea what he is trying to be but the picture totally makes me laugh. :)

One of my favorite looks is his "Indiana Jones Look". I love it when he wears this hat cocked forward and is climbing on everything.

Wow. This look- I'm not really sure what was going on but he came out in his hat, his favorite socks pulled as high as he could get them and his sandals. He MUST get his fashion sense from his Daddy. ;)

And lastly his "I look like that man!" AKA the Steak and Shake bus boy. lol

I love having a little guy whose imagination keeps me on my toes and my camera nearby. :)

Tadpole - A Pregnancy Update

Sorry Y'all- You'll have to forgive the 'bathroom self-portrait' because I didn't like the other picture I had.

I am currently 29 weeks prego! It's crazy how time flies. I only have 11 or so weeks left and our little girl will be here.

She is an active little Tadpole. Last week at my appointment it took almost five whole minutes for the doctor to get a heartbeat because she would not stay still. The doc cracked me up when she said the baby was 'Living la vida loca in there'. She is like that anytime I lay down or sit down to rest.

So far I have gained 1 pound- whoop whoop! :) I am still 3 lbs short of what my first weigh in was, but there are no concerns about that.

I have started my 'every two weeks' doctor appts. On the 15th I go back for another ultrasound! I am looking forward to seeing my little girl again. Hopefully, she will cooperate and be still so we can get some 3D pictures of her!

The only 'complaints' I have would be my feet and legs, but I just got new shoes and they have helped tremendously! My back has also been giving me a lot of issues but I have an appt. tomorrow with my chiropractor and hopefully that will solve the problem.

Next week I will hopefully have a new picture of Tadpole to share with you all!
Joy

P.S. No we don't have a name picked out yet, and if we did I wouldn't tell you anyway. :D

Highlights of Our Week

 1. Michael replaced my kitchen faucet.
The old faucet was corroded pretty bad. We knew we wanted to replace it eventually but we wanted to wait as long as we could before shelling out the money for it. Within the last month or so it has become a need to replace it. The corrosion got so bad that it became very difficult to turn it on. I thought about taking a picture of the old faucet once Michael dismantled it, but it was NASTY looking and I didn't want to ever see it again. But I took a picture of my new pretty one! 

2. A freshly painted kitchen with a color I LOVE!

Thanks to our friends generosity we were able to go buy another gallon of paint and with what was left on the gift card Michael was able to get a new pack of paint brushes!
I know it is hard to really see the color in the pictures but it is a beautiful light yellow color! The color card called it 'Corn Silk'. Michael finished getting my Wallies (the fruit wall paper) up last night. He said my kitchen looks 'girly' now but I don't think he minds too much.

3. Josiah got a playground!

It's more like a playground mansion! lol This was a Christmas/birthday present from Nana and Granddaddy to Josiah and Tadpole. J has had a ball playing on it! Yesterday he had the tire swing spinning as fast as he could then he'd throw his arms up and scream "YA-HOOOOO!" It was so hilarious! We have a toddler swing that we'll attach when the need arises. :)

4. We had a successful yard sale!
We got started late on Friday with the yard sale and didn't have a sign up for the first 45 minutes or so but we still had people stopping by! The Lord is good to us! There was another house down the road having a yard sale at the same time and they had advertised in on Craig's List.
Friday was the best day for us but we still did a fair amount on Saturday. We gave everything that we were going to take to a thrift shop to our neighbor out back so she can try and sell it in her next yard sale. :) Michael was happy to get rid of it all!

5. I found shoes that don't hurt my feet!
Sami has been telling me that I needed to get a pair of Crocs. I finally broke down and bought a pair. That was the most I've ever paid for a pair of shoes since high school! But after two days of wearing them and the pain in my feet and legs were only minimal I am glad I decided to shell out the money for them. On Sunday, I found that Crocs.com was having a sale on certain styles. Michael told me to buy two more pair! :) They should be here by next week. With the sale and coupon code for free shipping, I got both pairs for $10 less than what I paid for the first pair! Thankfully I was able to find a pair that will be passable for Church shoes. :)

Thankful and Blessed,
Joy

Josiah Has A Question

:)