So, along with the adjustment of a new job, I've been sick off and on consistently for the past month or so AND we just took a road trip Georgia and South Carolina for my sister-in-laws wedding. A good trip to see family, but that took a lot out of me! Not to mention Josiah (and Richard too). I'll spare all the details, but the drive out there was manageable. We decided to drive through the night so Josiah could sleep. For the most part he did (minus the random moments of waking up squealing and giggling). The drive home, however, was just awful. To start, I was not feeling well so Richard did most of the driving (16 hours straight until I was able to finally help out) and then Josiah was so overtired from the trip and daylights savings that he was literally crying in his sleep the majority of the drive home. Talk about exhausting! But we made it and it's been about a week since being home and we're all pretty much caught up on sleep and back on normal schedules. Praise the Lord!
With all of that said, life goes so quickly. We definitely keep busy - how can you not when you've got an almost two year old running around?! I'm so very thankful for nap time when I have a moment to just sit (for a minute or for 60 - depending on the day) and just think. Stop and pay attention to the moments I've made or witnessed with my child. The other day when I had a minute, I realized how much Josiah has grown in the past several months. Even in the past week. I swear he grew a foot this past week!
You know when you're a new mom and you worry about silly things like - will my child ever talk? will he ever drink out of a sippy cup and ditch the straw? will he ever understand, learn, and grow? - I know these are valid in the right circumstance, but everyone knows I would worry about these things at all the wrong times. As Josiah's mommy, I've learned that my son is a very easy going little boy. I've known this since he was an itty bitty infant in my arms. Knowing that still wasn't enough for me to 'get' how to be patient with his developments. He does his own thing at his own pace with, what feels like every. single. thing. The Lord is still teaching me to relax and enjoy my son and spend less time worrying about all those milestones you read and hear about of what they 'should' be doing at such and such month/age. I feel like my son has told me time and time again: "Dude. Chill. I'll get there. Promise." Because I've learned that dude, he really has gotten there just as he promised.
Josiah started walking at 16 months and started running at what seemed like 16 months and 1 day. He LOVES playing outside. He's the kind of kid that doesn't really need toys to entertain him. He finds curiosity in most anything - doors, drawers, wheels, remotes, buttons, levers, dials, etc. I love this about him. I thoroughly enjoy watching him try to figure out how doorknobs and latches work. He's still pretty uninterested in TV, which is a blessing and a curse at times - mostly a blessing, though. I recently purchased him a Little Tikes slide. He loves climbing up steps so he got that right away. He had trouble figuring out how to sit down and then slide down the slide. That was about a month ago and just the other day it was like, BAM, he figured it out. He goes up and down that thing over and over again with no help! He takes his time with things and a lot of that has to do with how cautious he is. For a boy, it still kind of amazes me that he doesn't just let himself fall down the slide, or keep running when he comes across an obstacle. He will run at full force to a set of stairs and stop suddenly at the edge and very slowly figure out how he can step down without falling. I take him to an open gym every once and awhile. There's trampolines to jump on and things to climb on and jump off of. He loves to 'jump' - bend his knees up and down, His feet never leave the ground. If that's what you love, kid, then go for it. He'll get there. He really will. For now, I'm enjoying watching him figure that out and the pure joy and pride he has in himself for accomplishing it...in his own time.
Now, I know boys aren't generally the chatting type, but as a teacher I really wanted him to talk and say words early on. I felt like if he didn't, it meant that his certified-teacher-mom had failed. I've had to learn to change my expectations. He loves talking jibberish. His vocabulary has grown a lot more lately though. Some of his favorite words: cat, puppy, mommy, down (such an independent boy), light, and outside. When asked what the fire truck says, he replies: "weeoooh-weeoooh!" and he just learned that a lion says: "arhhhhh" It sounds more like a grunty sigh, but I love his version :)
My little boy is talking. He is understanding things. He is learning and he is growing. As far as the sippy cup thing...we'll get there. Right now, I'm enjoying watching him figure these things out.
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| Playing music at the park |
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| Sitting in his early Christmas present from Aunt Mindy and playing with his plane |
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| Road trip home from South Carolina and Georgia |
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| Trying to figure out the can opener |
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| Climbing at open gym |
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| Walking along the trampoline at open gym |
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| His version of jumping on the trampoline |
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| His shirt says it all |
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| So proud of himself going down the slide on his own |
