Boy, Oh Boy!: Attempt #2

I've wanted to write so much lately, but have felt like there's not big milestone or date to talk about. It's just been normal day after normal day, adding up to a normal week. It seems like no big deal, but these are the details that make up my life. So, here goes:

Josiah is getting SO CLOSE to crawling! He gets up on his hands and knees, and is getting stronger and better at it each day. Once on his hands and knees, he both rocks back and forth and pushes up on his feet to a push-up or "downward dog" position. He's been able to move his feet/knees forward in little steps, but has no idea how to move his hands forward. So, from there, he face-plants it. That part is sad to watch and sometimes dangerous depending on what's in front of his face. He's trying so hard, though, and makes progress everyday. I kinda thought he'd already have achieved it, but not quite yet. I've had my camera on him throughout most of the day, just waiting for the moment he finally gets it. The kid is going to be one of the most documented ever!

He's also sitting up on his own a lot more. I still have to watch him closely because he tries to grab something and topples right over, but he spends more time sitting each day.

Other signs of my little guys growing up are his first time swinging at the park, his first time in a shopping cart without the carseat, his first time in the stroller without the carseat, and his first time sitting in a highchair at a restaurant. Each of these he's now done a few time, but each signifies that my little man is getting bigger and bigger.

We have finally found one food that Josiah WILL NOT eat- mac n cheese! I was really surprised. He's never seemed to care or even make a face about one food over another, but I tried 3 separate jars of mac n cheese, each one twice a day and he would just spit it out and fuss. I've found that a few other babies don't like mac n cheese either. Not sure why, but he obviously won't be getting that again for awhile. I'll try to re-introduce it when he's a little older. Meanwhile, in addition to the basic fruits and veggies, he's now had some mixed fruit and also a turkey and rice dinner meal. I've tried to feed him these little Gerber puffs and he doesn't know what to do with it. He makes weird faces and spits it out. I think he doesn't know what to do with thicker food, so I'm trying to slowly thicken up his pureed food by adding rice cereal to the Stage 1 and 2 foods. I don't want him to start gagging on anything that has any texture. He needs to learn.

His sleep seems to be a little more consistent now. He's still waking up about 2 times a night. I wait to see if he's full out crying or just whining in his sleep and then I make him a bottle and give it to him. Conveniently, he holds it himself, puts himself back to sleep, and I can go to sleep with a peace of mind, knowing that he will just spit out the bottle or drop it when he's done with it. Total, he sleeps about 10-12 hours a night and once he is playing and talking in the mornings (and not crying), I know that he is ready to get up. Josiah doesn't really ever use a pacifier. He'll chew on it and spit it out. He also doesn't chew on his fingers as a means of pacifying (like thumb-sucking). But he is DEFINITELY a bottle baby. Right now it's easy to give him a bottle to go to sleep. Otherwise, he cries and cries and cries and cries with no end in sight. Crying it out doesn't work for us. He just gets more angry. So, even though we know he isn't hungry, we give him a bottle to put him to sleep. It may come back to bite us in the butt, but right now it works. I'm open to advice, but unless it's hurting him or going to cause major problems in the future, I see it as one of those things that we do as parents to survive. :-)

Daycare is no different. I am still only watching Jaydon and Zoe.I enjoy my time with them, though. Jaydon adores Jesse. His own dad isn't around, and it's nice that Jaydon has strong Christian men who love him all around him. Jaydon looks forward to Jesse coming home everyday and wants so badly to please him and spend time with him.

(Walking around in Jesse's shoes)

In addition, Zoe loves for me to cuddle with her and play with her hair. I've begun to get very creative in my hairstyles and have lots of fun with it.

I've looked on Craigslist for more potential clients, but have found that A LOT of people are wanting to be providers, and not very many people are looking for a provider. I've decided, for now, to try to build up my party planning business while waiting for whatever may come along. Tonight, I was looking into taking any classes or getting any credentials that might help me in my business. I've also been trying to compile all of my pictures to have a put-together portfolio and website. Once I have a cohesive site, I'll advertise locally.

Quilting with Katelyn is still going awesome. We're building up a great friendship, and our husbands get along so well. It truly is an answer to prayer, especially since Katelyn and I have never really thought that we had too much in common. God works in mysterious ways. We had a game night with Rose and Chris too and had lots of fun. I hope to do it again soon.

Any free moment I have, I spend doing my countless craft projects. I sew, crochet, paint, do puzzles, draw pictures. It's never-ending.

Finally, Jesse and I have a designated date night every Friday night. Since we're both so busy the rest of the week, we purpose to spend Friday evenings together doing something fun. Sometimes we hang out with friends and sometimes we watch a movie at home, but it's a time for no work, no homework, no computer, and sometimes no Josiah, while we enjoy our time together. It's super important for us to nurture our relationship together. I was further inspired by a friend who was posting her status on Facebook with reasons she is thankful for her husband. After learning, on top of that, that 50% of all people cheat on their significant others, and that there are phone applications and dating sites that are specifically for people to cheat on their spouses, I decided to take initiative in my own marriage to nurture it. I began making a sign each day with a description and picture on it, telling Jesse why I love him. It motivates me to look all day everyday for things to appreciate and it also motivates me to do it EVERYday. I've been posting pictures of it on Facebook, and have gotten great feedback. It has even encouraged other people to do similar gestures for their spouses, which I think is awesome!