We got our family portrait taken last week and JCPenney. It was also Joshua's birthday, so we had his 1 year picture taken too. For those of you family and friends who we normally send pictures to, we will be getting the prints next week, so hopefully we'll get some out to you soon after that.
So, for any of you who may have thought I was exaggerating when I told you that Gracie likes her baseball cap so much that she wears it to bed, here is my evidence! Unless I tell her not to, or she loses it momentarily, she ALWAYS wears her beloved hat - yes, even to sleep in!
9-11-2001
Today, for the first time, I had the opportunity to explain to Joey what happened on this day 6 years ago. He was only 18 months old and I was pregnant with Gracie when it happened. As I'm sure is the case for every American, I can remember vividly the events of that day as if it were yesterday. I explained to him about the bad people called terrorists, their warped view of who God is, and the many people who died that day. We talked about the children who never knew their fathers because they died that day. We talked about the many firefighters and rescue workers who gave their lives for others that day. I know he doesn't fully grasp the events of that day, and as we watched the memorial service at ground zero and listened to name after name being read I'm sure he couldn't understand why his mom was crying. But on this day, I wanted to stop and remember, and to share the significance of it all with my son, and to talk about our great God who is in complete control of all.
Okay, so this may seem like a stupid thing to post, but to my parents and siblings, a baby's first Oreo is a pretty significant milestone - not quite as big as the first step or the first word, but still, noteworthy! So yesterday Joshua had his first Oreo (orange creme center for Halloween). He's already proven he has a sweet tooth with his "chocolate dance" and the little laugh he gives after daddy gives him a bite of a Hershey bar, and this was no different - big grins, his little laugh and, of course, his "chocolate dance"!
So Joshua started out last week by taking a tumble down 6 or so steps with no major injuries, just a little red eyebrow. Then Monday he had a low fever, no big deal, right? Or are they related? And did he have that bump by the front of his soft spot before?? We talked to his pediatrician and he seemed okay, just a little tired. Then Wednesday afternoon he woke up from his morning nap with 103 degree temp., which continued until Friday morning, at which time I took him in to his pediatrician. He had no symptoms except for the fever and the tiredness and fussiness that goes along with that. The dr. said he had a sore throat and diagnosed him with a "viral sore throat". Okay, sounds good. By Saturday mid-morning, he was off of his Tylenol and his fever was gone. Great! Then I got him up from his nap and noticed some pinkish spots on the side of his face, so I checked his belly, and sure enough they were all over his "trunk". So after talking to his pediatrician again, it turns out, after all that, he had Roseola - basically a high fever for a few days followed by a benign rash for a few days. So, you don't know what it is until it's basically over. The good news is that it's basically only found in children under 2, so we had no other "candidates" in our home! You can't see the spots real well in the picture, but I tried!
Joe's parent's got a new pet - a miniature horse named Liberty. We went up there a couple of weekends ago to meet her.
When we got back from PA, Joe's sister, Amy, and her family were already here from New Hampshire to visit with his parents. We were able to get together one afternoon, for dinner, a trip to show them the new church building, and some play time for the cousins. We were glad we got to see them, but wished it could've been a bit longer!
After the craziness of the wedding weekend, we had a few days to take it easy and enjoy visiting with our family.
We left to drive out to PA the Tuesday before my sister's wedding. We stopped half way in Washington, PA at a hotel with a swimming pool and then spent Wednesday morning and early afternoon at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh before driving the last half of the trip out to Lansdale. It was a nice time and the kids really enjoyed the science center.
We took the kids down this week to the county fair. It was unbearably hot and humid - the kind of day where you pour sweat just standing still, and Joshua was pretty grumpy the whole time - he didn't like the loud noises. We tried putting his ear plugs in, but that didn't seem to help. Joey, Gracie and Madie had a good time, though, riding the rides. Gracie likes the fast rides (just like her mommy), so I took her on a couple of those, but it's a little hard to get pictures of that - especially while daddy's trying to hold a cranky baby! But, here are a few pictures anyway.
Daddy left us alone for a WHOLE WEEK while he took the teens to summer camp down at The Woodlands Camp in Cleveland, Georgia. The teens had a great time, and I think we survived okay without him - but we sure are glad he's home!
